Infinite

500 more dead sea lions; Fukushima radiation continues to spread across ocean

by

Flashback:

– More Than 400 Dead Dolphins Found In Northern Peru

– 500 more dead sea lions; Fukushima radiation continues to spread across ocean (Natural News, Dec 5, 2014):

Another mysterious wave of dead sea animals has washed ashore in Peru, the possible consequence of ongoing radiation releases from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility in Japan. BBC News reports that 500 dead sea lions were recently discovered on Peru’s northern coastline, some 250 miles north of the capital city of Lima, with no obvious explanation as to why this occurred.

The latest of several mass die-offs in recent years, the rotting corpses were found on Anconcillo Beach, located in Peru’s Ancash region. Both young and old sea lions were found at the site, which the local governor blamed on fishermen who may have poisoned them while they searched for food at the shoreline. Others like the environmental group Orca, however, say oil exploration is probably the cause.

Read more500 more dead sea lions; Fukushima radiation continues to spread across ocean

It’s official: Chinese Economy Now Largest In The World, America Is Now No. 2

by

China-Map-Close-Up-Country

– It’s official: America is now No. 2 (MarketWatch, Dec 4, 2014):

Hang on to your hats, America.

And throw away that big, fat styrofoam finger while you’re about it.

There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just say it: We’re no longer No. 1. Today, we’re No. 2. Yes, it’s official. The Chinese economy just overtook the United States economy to become the largest in the world. For the first time since Ulysses S. Grant was president, America is not the leading economic power on the planet.

It just happened — and almost nobody noticed.

The International Monetary Fund recently released the latest numbers for the world economy. And when you measure national economic output in “real” terms of goods and services, China will this year produce $17.6 trillion — compared with $17.4 trillion for the U.S.A.

As recently as 2000, we produced nearly three times as much as the Chinese.

Read moreIt’s official: Chinese Economy Now Largest In The World, America Is Now No. 2

The Smart Mouse With The Half-Human Brain

by

Astrocyte nerve cells make a wealth of connections
Astrocyte nerve cells make a wealth of connections

– The smart mouse with the half-human brain (New Scientist, Dec 1, 2014):

What would Stuart Little make of it? Mice have been created whose brains are half human. As a result, the animals are smarter than their siblings.

The idea is not to mimic fiction, but to advance our understanding of human brain diseases by studying them in whole mouse brains rather than in dishes.

The altered mice still have mouse neurons – the “thinking” cells that make up around half of all their brain cells. But practically all the glial cells in their brains, the ones that support the neurons, are human.

“It’s still a mouse brain, not a human brain,” says Steve Goldman of the University of Rochester Medical Center in New York. “But all the non-neuronal cells are human.”

Read moreThe Smart Mouse With The Half-Human Brain

Sears To Accelerate Closings, Shutter 235 Stores

by

Sears
Banners hang from Sears’ flagship store in the Loop on January 22, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois.

– Sears to accelerate closings, shutter 235 stores (CNBC, Dec 4, 2014):

Sears shares fell Thursday, after the struggling department store announced an adjusted net loss of $296 million—in line with the updated guidance it gave in November.

The retailer also said it’s accelerating the number of stores it plans to close this year, boosting its list from the 130 underperforming stores it announced in its second-quarter earnings release, to a total of 235 stores.

Read moreSears To Accelerate Closings, Shutter 235 Stores

‘Near Perfect’ Indicator That Precedes Almost Every Stock Market Correction Is Flashing A Warning Signal

by

– ‘Near Perfect’ Indicator That Precedes Almost Every Stock Market Correction Is Flashing A Warning Signal (Economic Collapse, Dec 4, 2014):

Are we about to see U.S. stocks take a significant tumble?  If you are looking for a “canary in the coal mine” for the U.S. stock market, just look at high yield bonds.  In recent years, almost every single time junk bonds have declined substantially there has been a notable stock market correction as well.  And right now high yield bonds are steadily moving lower.  The biggest reason for this is falling oil prices.  As I wrote about the other day, energy companies now account for about 20 percent of the high yield bond market.  As the price of oil falls, investors are understandably becoming concerned about the future prospects of those companies and are dumping their bonds.  What is happening cannot be described as a “crash” just yet, but there has been a pretty sizable decline for junk bonds over the past month.  And as I noted above, junk bonds and stocks usually move in tandem.  In fact, junk bonds usually start falling before stocks do.  So does the decline in high yield bonds that we are witnessing at the moment indicate that we are on the verge of a significant stock market correction?

Read more‘Near Perfect’ Indicator That Precedes Almost Every Stock Market Correction Is Flashing A Warning Signal

Congressmen admit to not reading NDAA before voting for it: ‘I trust the leadership’

by

Obama-2012-NDAA-Indefinite-Detention

– Congressmen admit to not reading NDAA before voting for it: ‘I trust the leadership’ (RT, Dec 5, 2014):

US House members admitted they had not read the entire $585 billion, 1,648-page National Defense Authorization Act, which predominantly specifies budgeting for the Defense Department, before it was voted on Thursday in Congress.

“Of course not. Are you kidding?” Rep. Jim Moran (D-Virginia) said when asked by CNSNews if he had perused the entire bill, which was just posted online late Tuesday night before it was ultimately passed in by the House by a vote of 300-119 about 36 hours later.

Moran said he did not plan to read the entire bill before voting because “I trust the leadership.”

Read moreCongressmen admit to not reading NDAA before voting for it: ‘I trust the leadership’

Full-Time Jobs Down 150K, Participation Rate Remains At 35 Year Lows, “No Job Market For Young Men”

by

– Full-Time Jobs Down 150K, Participation Rate Remains At 35 Year Lows, “No Job Market For Young Men” (ZeroHedge, Dec 5, 2014):

While the seasonally-adjusted headline Establishment Survey payroll print reported by the BLS moments ago may be indicative of an economy which the Fed will soon have to temper in an attempt to cool down, a closer read of the November payrolls report shows several other things that were not quite as rosy. First, the Household Survey was nowhere close to confirming the Establishment Survey data, suggesting jobs rose only by 4K from 147,283K to 147,287K, and furthermore, the breakdown was skewed fully in favor of Part-Time jobs, which rose by 77K while Full-Time jobs declined by 150K.

…

Ron Paul: Reckless Congress Just ‘Declared War’ On Russia

by

– Reckless Congress ‘Declares War’ on Russia (Ron Paul Institute For Peace And Prosperity, Dec 5, 2014):

kinziner

By Ron Paul

Yesterday the US House passed what I consider to be one of the worst pieces of legislation ever. H. Res. 758 was billed as a resolution “strongly condemning the actions of the Russian Federation, under President Vladimir Putin, which has carried out a policy of aggression against neighboring countries aimed at political and economic domination.”

In fact, the bill was 16 pages of war propaganda that should have made even neocons blush, if they were capable of such a thing.

Read moreRon Paul: Reckless Congress Just ‘Declared War’ On Russia

If Gold Is A 6000-Year Bubble, Then What Is This?

by

– Dear Willem Buiter: If Gold Is A 6000-Year Bubble, Then What Is This?  (ZeroHedge, Dec 4, 2014):

Citi claims gold is a 6000-year-old bubble, perhaps Mr. Buiter has not seen this chart?

gold-bubble

…and funny how Mr. Buiter never wrote any extensive essays about the bubbleness of Citi at any point between 1995 and 2007?

*  *  *

“A friend asked me to choose one investment that I would want to leave to my great-great-grandchildren. I immediately answered that it would be gold coins. The reason I explained is as follows – corporations can disappear, stocks can collapse, governments can change and they can fall, booms and recessions come and go – but gold is intrinsic money, and no man or nation has ever doubted its value. And they never will.”

Richard Russell

“Remember what we’re looking at. Gold is a currency. It is still, by all evidence, a premier currency. No fiat currency, including the dollar, can match it.”

Alan Greenspan

Read moreIf Gold Is A 6000-Year Bubble, Then What Is This?

US ‘ridiculous’ line on Egypt? Jen Psaki caught on hot mic (Video)

by

– US ‘ridiculous’ line on Egypt? Jen Psaki caught on hot mic (RT, Dec 5, 2014):

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki has been caught on a hot mic calling one of her prepared statements about the acquittal of Egypt’s ex-leader Hosni Mubarak “ridiculous.”

During a press briefing on Monday, AP journalist Matt Lee asked Psaki to comment on an Egyptian court’s decision to acquit former President Hosni Mubarak of murder.

The State Department spokesperson attempted to dodge the question with a convoluted platitude.

Read moreUS ‘ridiculous’ line on Egypt? Jen Psaki caught on hot mic (Video)

GCHQ spying ‘doesn’t breach human rights’ – UK tribunal

by

RAF Menwith Hill base near Harrogate

– GCHQ spying ‘doesn’t breach human rights’ – UK tribunal (RT, Dec 5, 2014):

Surveillance conducted by British intelligence agency GCHQ does not contravene human rights, a tribunal has heard, despite warnings from civil and internet liberties activists.

The decision was made by the Investigatory Powers Tribunal (IPT), after the case was brought to British courts by a collection of civil liberties groups including Privacy International, Amnesty International and Liberty earlier this year.

According to the IPT, it could only find one area of surveillance procedures that they were concerned about, regarding whether they would breach internet users’ right to privacy.

Read moreGCHQ spying ‘doesn’t breach human rights’ – UK tribunal

West’s action in Libya in 2011 was a ‘mistake’ – Italy’s foreign ministry

by

Flashback:

– Vladimir Putin Lashes Out At America For Killing Gaddafi And Backing Protests

– West’s action in Libya in 2011 was a ‘mistake’ – Italy’s foreign ministry (RT, Dec 5, 2014):

Western countries made a ‘mistake’ three years ago, when they intervened in Libya to overthrow the Gaddafi regime, according to Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs. The statement came amid reports of the US discussing airstrikes on Libya’s territory.

“Three years ago we might have made a mistake, when international forces interfered without thinking through the scenario, what will happen afterwards. Italian voice was too weak,” Italy’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Paolo Gentiloni said in a TV interview with national broadcaster RAI, as quoted by Tass news agency.

Read moreWest’s action in Libya in 2011 was a ‘mistake’ – Italy’s foreign ministry

30 Years Later Bhopal Survivors Are Still Fighting For Compensation

by

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

by

– 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

by

– 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

by

– 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

by

– 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

by

– 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

by

– 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

by

– 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’

by

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

by

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