Air France Airbus Vanishes Over the Atlantic

Air France plane with 228 people aboard goes missing

An Air France Airbus carrying 228 people from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, France, has disappeared over the Atlantic.

An Air France Airbus 330-200 carrying 228 people on which was flying on the Rio de Janeiro – Paris Charles de Gaulle route has vanished over the Atlantic, the airline said.

Distraught relatives and friends of passengers of Air France flight AF447 arrive at the crisis centre at Charles de Gaulle airport near Paris, June 1, 2009. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes. Image may be subject to copyright.

The Brazilian air force conducted a search mission over the Atlantic Ocean looking for the missing plane, Brazilian television said.

Flight AF 447 with 216 passengers and 12 crew reportedly left Rio de Janeiro on Sunday at 19:00 local time and was scheduled to land in Paris on Monday at 11:15 (05:15 EDT).

Air France announced on Monday that it had no “news from flight AF 447, which was flying on the Rio de Janeiro – Paris Charles de Gaulle route and was scheduled to arrive at 11.15 a.m. today [05:15 EDT).”

Air France Airbus 330-200. Airbus seems to be a plane with an identity crisis: Submarine envy. Air France Airbus A330-200 F-GZCG- Paris CDG, France.  Copyright (c) Filimages – Philippe Jeandy (dated 14-JAN-2007 ).

It’s not yet known when or where the plane vanished, but it seems the Gremlins were pulling one of their usual stunts on Air France because, regardless of the timeline, both Sunday  (May 31) and Monday (June 1) were odd days the month. See Second Airbus Plunges into Water.

Despite this oddity, flying airbus is still twice safer statistically on odd days of the month than even.

Related Link:

• Second Airbus Plunges into Water
• Air New Zealand Flying Coffin Crashes in the Mediterranean
• US Airways Plane Goes Down in Hudson River

Phew, It Was a Jungle Out There!

Images of the Day:

DOMESTICATING AMAZON JUNGLES

Cattle rest in deforested jungle near Maraba, in Brazil’s central state of Para, May 3, 2009.  Soon thousands of cows will be chewing pasture on the freshly cleared land in Brazil’s Amazon state of Para, just a tiny part of Brazil’s 200-million-strong commercial cattle herd, the world’s biggest, that makes it a beef superpower. More than 70 million are in the Amazon area, three for every person. This is where the industry has grown fastest in recent years, a trend activists say is due to cheap land, widespread illegal clearing and weak government enforcement. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker. Images may be subject to copyright.

Putting Amazon Jungles to Good Use (!)

“The Amazon has lost about a fifth of its forest in the past three decades and the rate of deforestation rose 69 percent in the 12 months to August 2008 as 8,147 sq km (3,145 sq miles) were cut down. It is expected to fall this year, partly due to the global economic crisis, but ecologists say government policies and market forces still drive deforestation.” Reuters said.

“Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter and has the largest commercial cattle herd of 200 million, a third of which is in the Amazon region where loose laws and cheap land have helped its rapid expansion in recent years.

“The government has backed the industry in recent years with billions of dollars in financing and aims to double Brazil’s share of the global beef export market to 61 percent by 2018.

“It has acknowledged that cattle ranching is responsible for about 80 percent of Amazon deforestation.”

Enter Greenpeace

In a report titled “Slaughtering the Amazon” Greenpeace  has accused the Brazilian government of being complicit in the destruction of Amazon jungles by way of providing financial backing for the beef industry, Reuters reported.

The report says  that meat [and hide] that is exported by Brazil’s major meatpackers to Italy, U.S. and U.K., for making shoes, dog chews and  ready-to-eat meals, often comes from ranches with recent illegal deforestation.

Brazil’s  major meatpackers including  JBS, Marfrig and Bertin are accused in the report of  shipping the beef and hides thousands of miles south for additional processing before export.

“In effect, criminal or ‘dirty’ supplies of cattle are laundered through the supply chain to an unwitting global market,” it said. “Expansion by these groups is effectively a ‘joint venture’ with the Brazilian government.”

It’s NO good blaming it all on just Brazil, as Greenpeace has done, it’s the exponential growth economy and globalization that are ultimately responsible for the Amazon deforestation.

Related News Links:

• Greenpeace says global beef trade destroying Amazon
• Cattle a tough target in Amazon protection fight

Related Links:

• Southern South America Gripped by Drought
• Ethanol Dries You Out
• Brazil’s Extreme Rain Events Trigger 4,000 Landslides
• Famous Last words …

Another Quake Swarm to Strike Al-Ais, Arabia

FEWW Earthquake Forecast: Al-Ais, Saudi Arabia

FEWW forecasts another swarm of earthquakes occurring in the Al-Ais volcanic region this week, with the largest shock measuring up to 4.6 Mw. [Probability of occurrence: 0.8]

Riyadh city, the Saudi capital, could also be jolted by a similar size shock. [Probability of occurrence: 0.6]

For earlier forecasts and other seismic related posts see:

• Arabian Subcontinent Earthquake Forecast 2009

• FEWW Saudi Quake Swarm Forecast 100 pct Correct!
• Saudi Quakes Oil Drilling Activity Related?
• Oil Drilling Likely Caused Texas Earthquake

• FEWW Earthquake Links