NOTHING SHORT OF GENOCIDE !

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Genocide is being committed against people of Syria by all those who destabilized the country

In 2010, there were no Syrian refugees drowning in the Mediterranean while escaping the Wahhabi block terrorists. Even polio had long been eradicated across the country…

When President Barack Obama secretly authorized the Central Intelligence Agency to begin arming Syria’s embattled rebels in 2013, the spy agency knew it would have a willing partner to help pay for the covert operation. It was the same partner the CIA has relied on for decades for money and discretion in far-off conflicts: the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. —Mark Mazzetti and Matt Apuzzo

U.S. officials have not disclosed the amount of the Saudi contribution, which is by far the largest from another nation to the program to arm the rebels against President Bashar Assad’s military. But estimates have put the total cost of the arming and training effort at several billion dollars.

Statement to the Security Council on Syria, New York, 27 January 2016

Since 2011, more than 250,000 people have been killed, well over a million injured, and 6.5 million internally displaced within Syria. About 4.6 million refugees, and most of the remaining population – some 13.5 million people – are in dire need of humanitarian assistance, said the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Stephen O’Brien.

At least 24 migrants including 10 children drowned in the Mediterranean on Wednesday, after their boat capsized near Greece.

In 2015, some 3,811 people were reported dead or missing in the Mediterranean, most all were migrants trying to escape war zones, poverty or persecution in their homelands, reported the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

At least 224 similar deaths have occurred so far this year, said IOM.

Highlights of a U.N. Report Last Week

• ISIL launches an offensive on GoS controlled areas of Deir-Ez-Zor city causing the displacement of 3,200 families;
• Unconfirmed reports of 300 civilians killed by ISIL and 400 civilians abducted
• Already limited supplies of foods and other commodities are likely to diminish soon putting 200,000 individuals at risk of increased malnutrition
• Those living in GoS controlled areas also face serious protection risks should ISIL take full control of the area
• On 19 January, the Government of Russia announced that they dropped 40 MT of relief supplies from the air.

Meanwhile, several European countries, which feel threatened by the influx of refugees, threaten to deport tens of thousands of asylum-seekers:

• Sweden to deport up to 80,000 asylum-seekers
• Denmark passes controversial bill to take migrants’ valuables
• Germany confiscates more from refugees than Denmark
• Migrants: Norway ‘sending us to death’ in Russia

Powerful Storm EGON Wreaks Havoc in Northern Europe

EGON causes record sea-level rises in Denmark

Storm EGON, the second of two powerful storms to hit northern Europe over the weekend, cut power to hundreds of  thousands of people in Norway, caused record sea-level rises in Denmark, and battered Sweden.

EGON pounded Denmark with hurricane strength winds for about  15 hours and became “the worst storm to hit the country since December 2013,” said a report.

Strong winds from EGON and the preceding storm DAGMAR raised sea levels to new record highs in parts of the country, the report said.

Denmark has its hottest year on record

Denmark reported its warmest ever annual average temperature.  The Danish Meteorology Institute (DMI) said the 2014 average temperature was 10.0°C.

“For the first time ever, the annual average temperature in Denmark is at double digits, a feat that meteorologists say is ‘unthinkable without climate change,'” said a report quoting DMI.

Sperm Whale Explodes!

Faroe Islanders watch in horror as the  carcass of a beached sperm whale explodes

Was it something the poor animal ate?

Rocks to halt overfishing rolls!

Activists drop rocks on seabed to stop overfishing

Environmental activists dropped large granite rocks on the North Sea bed off the German coast on Tuesday to stop trawling, which decimates fish and other marine life.

Deep net trawling near the seabed and other destructive fishing methods are decimating stocks of plaice and sole near the Sylt Outer Reef and destroying the reef itself, a feeding ground for creatures such as common and grey seals, activists said.

The Island of Sylt, Northern Germany. [A screenshot from NASA’s globe software World Wind using Blue Marble, Landsat or USGS layer.]

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The stone reef, an EU-protected area, is similar to a coral reef but made of rock, and is located off one of Germany’s North Frisian Islands, near Schleswig Holstein and Denmark, Reuters reported.

“The harbor porpoise population is one of the most threatened species of whale and dolphin in Europe and giving protection to this species was one of the primary objectives for the area,” said Greenpeace.

“We believe what they’ve done is illegal and risks the lives of fishermen,” said the general secretary of the German Fishing Association, denying that German fishermen used nets in the area or that the reef was in any danger.

Greenpeace said its tactics of dropping rocks on the seabed was not endangering marine life.

“We have a very clear knowledge of this and are placing the stones next to the old reef, effectively extending it. There is no damage,” Greenpeace oceans campaigner Iris Menn told reporters. (Source)

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Whale Meat ‘n Blubber Tastier With PFCs

Bon Appétit!

Danish researchers have discovered that people in Faroe Islands [situated between Norway and Iceland] in the North Atlantic who eat whale meat have high levels of polyfluoroalkyl compounds (PFCs) in their blood. They are particularly worried that the pollutant has spread globally.

“This pollution is a new health concern for the Faroese and many populations worldwide,” said an environmental health researcher at the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Southern Denmark.

Traditional Faroese food 1: Dried mutton and whale meat and blubber (Source: Wikipedia)

Traditional Faroese food 2: pilot whale meat (black) and blubber (middle) and dried fish (left) and potatoes, a typical meal on the Faroe Islands. (Source: Wikipedia). For licensing details click here.

“We know very little on the toxicity in humans so far, even less in regard to whales,” he told reporters, referring to PFCs, which are used as water or grease repellents for textiles, papers and fire-extinguishing foams.

In case of PFOs, a variant PFCs, “a single dinner with whale meat every two weeks is associated with an increase of 25 percent in the blood concentration,” he said.

Whaling in the Faeroe Islands. Atlantic White-sided Dolphins, on a concrete-floored dock at a small port of Hvalba, Faeroe Islands. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. Photo: Erik Christensen; via Wikimedia Commons.

Larger marine animals including pilot whales, caught around Faroe Islands, are at the top of the marine food chain because they consume smaller fish and other marine creatures that dewll on the ocean floor and are rich in PFCs and other chemical pollutants that end up in the oceans. A diet of marine creatures leads to the build up of PFCs [and other toxics,] especially in the whales blubber and liver and pose a serious threat to people who eat them.

In accordance with the [ tradition,] men gather on the shore to kill the whales [as women and children look on,] here in the town Vágur [on the Faroe Island of Suðuroy, Denmark] June 28, 2004. Photo: Erik Christensen, Porkeri; via Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation.

Previously, PFC contamination was associated with long term exposure to textiles or furniture containing PFCs. “Now we are seeing evidence that they are widespread in the environment and building up,” Grandjean said.

“The sea turns blood red.” Licensed under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation. Photo: Erik Christensen; via Wikimedia Commons.

“The study, issued online, would be in August edition of the journal Environmental Science & Technology. A separate study had also shown high levels of PFOS in polar bear livers.” Reuters reported.

“A report by the European Food Safety Authority this week said that some PFCs have produced tumors in rats but do not seem to cause cancers in humans. It said more data was needed. One study has linked PFCs to lower human birth weights.”

Related Links:

• WhaleWatch
• People who eat whales (Video)
• Stop killing whales! (Video)

Image of the Day: Heat Wave in Northern Europe

On the calendar, Scandinavian summer starts on June 21 in 2008, but summer temperatures had already settled over much of northern Europe by early June. This image shows land surface temperatures—how hot the ground is to the touch, a measure that is different than the air temperatures reported in the news—as observed by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite between June 2 and June 8, 2008.

The image compares the average temperature between June 2 and June 8, 2008, to average temperatures recorded during the same period in June 2000 through 2007. Areas that were warmer than average are red, while cooler than average conditions are represented in blue.The heat that dominated the weather in northern Europe in early June is evident in the dark red that covers Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and parts of Germany and Poland. Southern Europe experienced cooler than average temperatures during the period.

The intense heat and dry weather led to dangerous fire conditions in Scandinavia. Both Norway and Sweden were plagued with several forest fires in early June. A fire that burned for several days in southern Norway was the largest in the country’s history, causing an estimated ten million dollars worth of damage, reported The Norway Post on June 17, 2008.

You can download a 9-kilometer-resolution KMZ file of global land surface temperature anomaly suitable for use with Google Earth.

• References
• Deutsche Presse-Agentur. (2008, June 13). Norway asks for help to tackle large forest blaze. Monsters and Critics. Accessed June 20, 2008.
• Solholm, R. (2008, June 17). State pays part of cost of forest fire. The Norway Post. Accessed June 20, 2008.

NASA image created by Jesse Allen, using data obtained from the Goddard Land Processes data archives. Caption by Holli Riebeek.

Wind Energy in Norway, Nuclear in F*nland

Are the Norwegians More Intelligent Than the Finns?

Top 10 Reasons why the Norwegians May Be More Intelligent that the Finns [then again …]:

10. Finland with an estimated population of 5.32million, most of whom are intoxicated most of the time [no offense intended, just citing a matter of fact relayed to us by a Finnish colleague,] wants more nuclear energy despite the fact … well read it for yourself: More nuclear power and How Do You Say ‘Duck-n-Cover’ in Finnish?

As for our Norwegian [distant] cousins, the North Sea gas pipeline operator Gassco has just awarded [Aug 20, 2008] Sweden’s Marine Matteknikk AB “a contract to survey 636 km of seabed for potential pipelines to carry carbon dioxide to offshore burial sites.” (Source)

Let’s hope there’ll never be an earthquake on the Norwegian Continental shelf.

Continued …

“You can be sure of Shell !”

Shell nixes wind project, UK government peeved

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell Plc plans to sell its stake in one of the world’s largest wind farm projects, much to the annoyance of the the UK government, project partners and environmentalists.

Shell is one of three shareholders of London Array, which plans to erect 340 turbines with a combined generating power of 1,000 MW on a 20km stretch along the Thames Estuary, east of London. [The other two are the German utility E.ON AG and Denmark’s state-controlled DONG (!) Energy.

The upstream (search, recovery and extraction of crude oil and natural gas) provides about 70 percent of Shell’s revenues. [The Arguello Inc. Harvest Oil Platform is located about 10 km off the coast of central California near Point Conception. Photo: NASA JPL]

Accused of “hypocrisy” by environmentalists, Shell is the world’s second-largest non-government controlled oil company.

“We’re very disappointed that Shell — which touts itself as a progressive green company — is pulling out of the London Array project and leaving a key clean energy project high and dry,” Friends of the Earth Energy Campaigner Nick Rau said. (Source)

Apart from the obvious, what is it about Shell that people so intensely dislike?

In Europe and most of ROW, I’m told, “you can be sure of Shell!” That is, you can be sure that Shell is the bête noire of the major oil corporations. My colleague who lives in London, England, reminds me about the non-stop demonstrations Greenpeace held against Shell in the late 70s and early 80s. Everyone, understandably, despised Shell: “Out! Out, with Shell!” But What about the other majors like ExxonMobil (the direct descendant of Rockefeller’s Standard Oil company) and BP (then British Petroleum), the world’s largest and third largest oil and gas corporations respectively? Were/are they really “greener” that Shell? The interesting point was that Greenpeace in London, home of the BP, never uttered a word in anger against British Petroleum.

It’d be interesting to find out why!

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