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Technical information and scientific data from the US Government agencies (NASA, EPA…) are subject to variation due to political expediency.
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A major heatwave, dubbed “LUCIFER” by Italian forecasters, threatens 11 countries with “very dangerous” weather conditions.
Warnings have been issued for 26 European cities as the heatwave from Africa blankets the Mediterranean with high temperatures reaching 43ºC (109F).
Temperature of up to 47ºC have already been recorded in Southern Europe this year.
The heatwave is affecting Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Romania and Poland, as well as China and other parts of Asia.
[Report Issued by FIRE-EARTH Science Team.]
Details of Report, as well as regional forecasts are available via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.
Red
The weather is very dangerous. Exceptionally intense meteorological phenomena have been forecast. Major damage and accidents are likely, in many cases with threat to life and limb, over a wide area. Keep frequently informed about detailed expected meteorological conditions and risks. Follow orders and any advice given by your authorities under all circumstances, be prepared for extraordinary measures.
Orange
The weather is dangerous. Unusual meteorological phenomena have been forecast. Damage and casualties are likely to happen. Be very vigilant and keep regularly informed about the detailed expected meteorological conditions. Be aware of the risks that might be unavoidable. Follow any advice given by your authorities.
Yellow
The weather is potentially dangerous. The weather phenomena that have been forecast are not unusual, but be attentive if you intend to practice activities exposed to meteorological risks. Keep informed about the expected meteorological conditions and do not take any avoidable risk.
USA, Ukraine, Sri Lanka, Russia, Romania, Pakistan, Mexico, Kenya, India, Germany, France, China, Bangladesh, Belgium, Austria hit by major flooding
Widespread flooding has left scores of people dead, hundreds of thousands displaced, tens of thousands of homes destroyed, hundreds of cities, towns, villages inundated…
Storms seem to be competing for dumping the largest amount of precipitation on multiple regions, with record rainfalls reported across many areas.
France flooding: Extreme rain events, deadly flooding continues…
“Torrential rain brings flooding from Paris to Prague”>Torrential rain brings flooding from Paris to Prague…
Mongolian herders risk losing their livestock and livelihoods as Dzud looms
Extreme winter conditions known as ‘Dzud,’ a cyclical slow-onset disaster unique to Mongolia, are being exacerbated by a summer drought and extreme overgrazing, leading to insufficient hay for winter grazing, said a report.
“This, coupled with heavy snows and freezing temperatures is causing large numbers of animals to die from starvation. Parts of Mongolia are experiencing continuous heavy snowfall and snowstorms with average temperatures below – 25 degrees Celsius during daytime and around – 40 degrees during the night. More than 80,000 herder families (around 400,000 people) in the northern and western part of the country are at risk, with millions of livestock facing starvation in the coming weeks and months.”
Both the weather conditions and the state of grazing are worse than they were in the Dzud of 2009-2010, when millions of animals died, said the Mongolian Ministry of Food and Agriculture. “Tens of thousands of households lost all or more than half of their animals and many of these families were forced to move to slum areas on the outskirts of Ulaan Baatar and other urban centers. Large scale migration to the cities resulting from loss of livelihood among herders has magnified urban social problems such as unemployment, crime, alcoholism, domestic violence and extreme poverty.”
Europe faces an imminent humanitarian crisis
A rapid build-up of people in already over-stretched Greece is threatening Europe with imminent humanitarian crisis, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned today.
“With governments not working together despite having already reached agreements in a number of areas, and country after country imposing new border restrictions, inconsistent practices are causing unnecessary suffering and risk being at variance with EU and international law standards,” UNHCR spokesperson Adrian Edwards told reporters in Geneva.
Edwards added that as of last night (Monday), the number of refugees and migrants in Greece and needing accommodation had soared to 24,000. Around 8,500 of these were at Eidomeni, near the border with the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
“At least 1,500 had spent the previous night in the open. The crowded conditions are leading to shortages of food, shelter, water and sanitation. Tensions have been building, fuelling violence and playing into the hands of people smugglers,” Edwards stressed.
As of March 1, some 131,724 people had crossed the Mediterranean during January and February with 122,637 of them landing in Greece.”This is approaching the total for the first half of 2015 (147,209). So far, 410 lives have been lost.”
Critical fire weather conditions and Arctic airmass impacting U.S.
Critical fire weather conditions to impact at least seven states, as Arctic airmass moves into Northern U.S., said NWS.
NWS has issued Red Flag Warnings for all or parts of at least seven states in central and southern Plains.
Meanwhile, temperatures are forecast to drop by up to 15 degrees below average over the Great
Lakes/Ohio Valley to parts of the Tennessee Valley.
Snow, colder temperatures and gusty winds will continue to impact the northern Great Lakes, northeast and New England. Strong thunderstorms are possible in the southeast. In the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies, mountain snow and valley rain are expected. Critical fire weather conditions will impact the central and southern Plains.
Bluff or True? Sick Saudi terrorists claim they have nuke warheads
“Warning: Saudi Arabia, although a signatory to the Nuclear Weapons Non- Proliferation Treaty has just, in violation of its pledge, acquired atomic bombs from Pakistan.” http://www.voltairenet.org/article190499.html
At least 10,000 migrant children may have disappeared in Europe over the past 24 months, said the EU’s police intelligence unit (Europol).
“We estimate that at least 26,000 unaccompanied children entered Europe last year – children who have risked everything to flee war, persecution and extreme poverty alone. They come from Afghanistan, Syria, Eritrea, Somalia and Iraq, among other places, seeking sanctuary,” said Save the Children’s CEO, earlier this month.
On Friday, IOM said an estimated that 55,528 migrants and refugees had crossed the Mediterranean to enter Europe during the first 28 days of 2016 – a rate of nearly 2,000 per day. The daily average is nearly equivalent to the total numbers for the month of January as recently as two years ago.
During the same period IOM has recorded some 244 deaths at sea [global total of 361 fatalities,] as well as at least a dozen more deaths of migrants and refugees who died either after reaching Europe or traveling to a launch point in Turkey. By comparison, total deaths on Mediterranean Sea routes were 12 in 2014 and 82 last year.
Just hours after IOM released its latest statement, 39 more migrants and refugees including 10 children drowned on Saturday trying to cross the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece.
In May 2015, Italian authorities warned that about 5,000 children had disappeared from asylum reception centers since the previous summer.
In Sweden, about 1,000 unaccompanied refugee children and teens had gone missing by October last year, within a month of arriving in the southern town of Trelleborg, officials have admitted.
In 2015, a total of 1,047,844 refugees and migrants arrived in Europe [Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, Malta, as well as Cyprus] including 1,011,712 by sea, with at least 5,394 fatalities recorded globally, said IOM’s Missing Migrants Project.
1,000,000+ migrants and refugees cross into Europe
The number of migrants and refugees crossing into Europe by land and sea this year has passed one million, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
Myanmar: Precursors to genocide
Violence since 2012 has killed scores and left 140,000 trapped in displacement camps that have been described as open air prisons. More than 1 million face persecution in Myanmar and nowhere in the world are there more known precursors to genocide.
Boko Haram violence forces one million children out of school – U.N.
Violence targeted by the terrorist group Boko Haram has shut down than 2,000 schools in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger, forcing more than one million children out of school, “leaving them prey to abuse, abduction and recruitment by armed groups,” said the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF on Tuesday.
Extreme Weather Events and Storms
Extreme weather events and storms on the lower end of intensity scales regularly affect at least a million or people across African, Asian, Pacific and South American countries.
Air Pollution
Smog caused by coal consumption is expected to kill an estimated one million people in China in 2015.
Flooding
“From the onset of the rains in mid-December 2014 through mid-January 2015, the country received continuous rainfall that led to the worst flooding in many years,” said Malawian President Peter Mutharika. “The floods affected about 1.1 million people. It damaged people’s property and public infrastructure and at least 64,000 hectares of crop fields throughout the country. 101 people were killed and 172 people were reported missing.”
Mortality 2015 and Crude Death Rate
Total number of deaths in 2015 is estimated at 57.6 million. The estimate is based on the 2014 crude death rate of 7.89 deaths per 1,000 and global population of 7.3 billion.
In 2015, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) will be responsible for about two-thirds of all deaths globally.
In 2012, more than half (514) of each 1,000 deaths were caused by the following 10 conditions:
Source: WHO, 2012. [Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a progressive lung disease that makes it hard to breathe.]
More than One Million
Cancer The most common cancers in 2015 are projected to be breast cancer, lung and bronchus cancer, prostate cancer, colon and rectum cancer, bladder cancer, melanoma of the skin, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, thyroid cancer, kidney and renal pelvis cancer, endometrial cancer, leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.
In 2015, an estimated 1,658,370 new cases of cancer will be diagnosed in the United States and 589,430 people will die from the disease.
Cancers figure among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide, with approximately 14.1 million new cases and 8.2 million cancer related deaths in 2012 [latest data available -WHO.]
Tobacco use was the most important risk factor for cancer causing around 20% of global cancer deaths and around 70% of global lung cancer deaths.
Cancer causing viral infections such as HBV/HCV and HPV are responsible for up to 20% of cancer deaths in low- and middle-income countries (2).
More than 60% of world’s total new annual cases occur in Africa, Asia and Central and South America. These regions account for 70% of the world’s cancer deaths
The Global HIV/AIDS Epidemic: 78 Million people infected
Since the beginning of the epidemic, almost 78 million people have been infected with the HIV virus and about 39 million people have died of HIV. Globally, 35.0 million [33.2–37.2 million] people were living with HIV at the end of 2013. An estimated 0.8% of adults aged 15–49 years worldwide are living with HIV, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
The 39 million people have died from AIDS-related causes so far, including 1.2 million in 2014.
An estimated 2.0 million individuals worldwide became newly infected with HIV in 2014. This includes over 220,000 children
About 17.1 million people are unaware they have the virus and an estimated 22 million do not have access to HIV treatment, including 1.8 million children.
The vast majority of people living with HIV are in low- and middle-income countries, with sub-Saharan Africa being the most affected region, with 25.8 million people living with HIV in 2014.
Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for almost 70 percent of the global total of new HIV infections.
According to WHO, Exit Disclaimer an estimated 34 million people have died from AIDS-related causes so far, including 1.2 million in 2014.
Background: On June 5, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publish a Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), describing cases of a rare lung infection, Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP), in five young, previously healthy, gay men in Los Angeles. All the men have other unusual infections as well, indicating that their immune systems are not working; two have already died by the time the report is published. This edition of the MMWR marks the first official reporting of what will become known as the AIDS epidemic.
Parkinson’s disease
As many as one million Americans live with Parkinson’s disease, with 60,000 diagnosed with the disease each year. Worldwide, an estimated 10 million people are living with Parkinson’s.
10 Migrants killed each day trying to reach Europe
At least 3,573 migrants were killed while attempting to reach Italy, Greece and Spain by sea, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The 2015 death toll currently stands at 2,373 on all sea routes to Europe, which is more than 12 percent higher compared to the same period last year (2,081).
In 2014 a total of 3,281 migrants were killed, said the report.
The following statistic for the deaths at sea so far this year are as follows:
Central Route (North Africa to Italy and Malta): 2,267 (migrants killed)
Eastern Route (Turkey to Greece): 83
Western (Africa to Spain, including Canary Islands): 23
Severe drought has severely affected Europe this summer
Parts of western, central and eastern Europe could continue to experience severe drought conditions in the foreseeable future, forecasters have warned.
Severe drought has affected much of the European continent since June 2015, one of the worst since the drought and heat wave of summer of 2003, according to the latest report by the JRC’s European Drought Observatory (EDO). “The drought, which particularly affects France, Benelux, Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic, northern Italy and northern Spain, is caused by a combination of prolonged rain shortages and exceptionally high temperatures,” said the report.
The prolonged rainfall shortage (since April) and the temperature anomalies in July caused a severe drought which affected soil moisture content and vegetation conditions. Furthermore, the areas with the largest rainfall deficits also recorded exceptionally high maximum daily temperatures: in some cases these reached record values.
Another characteristic of this period was the persistence of the thermal anomalies: in the entire Mediterranean region, and particularly in Spain, the heat wave was even longer than that of 2003, with maximum daily temperatures consistently above 30°C for durations of 30 to 35 days (even more than 40 days in Spain).
Areas with the lowest soil moisture content since 1990 in July 2015 (in red) and in July 2003 (in blue). Source: JRC-EDEA database (EDO)
Temperature Analysis
Almost the entire European continent has been experiencing temperatures that were significantly above the seasonal norm since the beginning of June 2015. Spain, Benelux, Germany and France recorded maximum daily temperatures of up to 10°C above normal values in June., said the report. “Conditions got even worse in July, with absolute maximum daily values above 34-35°C in almost the entire EU and absolute maximum temperatures that were well above 40°C in many areas (e.g. 47.3°C in Apulia, 46.5°C in Andalucia, 46.2°C in southern Bulgaria and outhern Romania, 45.7°C in Alentejo, 44.7° in Sicily). Moreover, several areas in Germany, Benelux, France, Spain, Italy and even in Austria, the Czech Republic, the UK and Sweden recorded their highest maximum daily temperatures for July since 1975.”
Dry conditions destroy crops in Central and Eastern Europe
Additionally, a drought is severely affecting agricultural areas of southern Poland, amid where crops bone dry condition and the blazing heat, said a report.
“The heatwave has also forced Poland to restrict electricity supplies to industry, pushing some firms to limit production.”
Meanwhile, soaring temperatures in excess of 40 degrees Celsius have broken multiple record across Germany. Record heat has also affected River Elbe in Dresden, with ware levels falling to extreme lows.
Record-breaking heatwave is also affecting France, Italy, Sweden and Ukraine, according to local reports.
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service has issued the following bulletin:
Heat building into the West
Temperatures will soar this week in the West. The hottest temperatures will be felt in the deserts of southern Calif. and Ariz. where Excessive Heat Watches are in effect. Temperatures could exceed 115 [46°C] in some locations. Farther north, these hot temperatures will contribute to fire danger in parts of northern California and the Pacific Northwest where Red Flag Warnings are in effect.
Extreme heat continues to scorch much of Europe, killing hundreds and igniting forest fires in Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain…
Health authorities in Italy have issued a level-3 “red alert” for at least 22 cities, while the fire authorities in Liguria placed the entire region under a forest fire alert as the elevated temperatures brought by the latest heatwave dubbed “Caronte,” and dry conditions posed significant risks.
Record temperatures in northwestern Italy have killed at least 140 senior citizens during the first ten days of July, according to data from the environmental agency, Arpa Piedmont, said a report.
“July 2015 has everything it takes to be among the hottest ever,” says a meteorologist with 3bmeteo. “[We are experiencing] the most intense heat wave in 70 years.”
The extreme heat has caused a fall in production across Italian farms. Milk production in Italy fell by more than 50 million in the first two weeks of July due to the heat stressing the dairy cows, said a report.
Temperatures in many parts of Europe have been persistently above average by as much as 6ºC for more than three weeks.
Some 60,000 residents of Troyes, a town in the Champagne region of France, woke up in a sweat as the temperature climbed from 24ºC to 33°C, an increase of 9ºC (or 16.2 degrees F), in just one hour (between midnight and 1.00 am), in a phenomena called a heat burst, said a report.
An earlier heatwave that hit France between June 29 and July 5 left 700 dead and thousands more hospitalized, said a report quoting the country’s Ministry of Health.
Heat warnings and alerts are in effect throughout Spain and Portugal after temperatures soared to as high as 44ºC (111ºF).
The hot weather has also impacted Belgium, France, Italy and the Netherlands, while UK had its hottest day in nearly a decade.
England had its hottest July day on record, with temperatures reaching 36.7ºC (98ºF).
Paris saw temperatures of up to 40ºC.
Red Alert was issued for the southern city of Cordoba in Spain.
Heatwaves across Europe
In 2003, a heatwave resulted in excess mortality, causing 70,000 more deaths than usual across Europe, including up to 20,000 in France.
In 2010, the daytime temperatures in Moscow climbed over 38ºC (100°F) for the first time since record-keeping began in 1879. A total of about 56,000 more deaths were reported nationwide during July and August 2010, compared with the same period previous year.
U.S. High Temperature for Tuesday, June 30, 2015
In the US high temperature of 52ºC (125ºF) was registered at Death Valley (CA), while the lowest temperature for Wednesday, July 1, 2015 was 0.6ºC (33ºF) at Tomahawk, WI
Cossack settlement of Luganskaya devastated by Kiev airstrikes
At least two airstrikes by Ukraine government forces have devastated densely-populated residential areas in the Cossack settlement of Luganskaya (population: ~15,000), residents say.
Ukrainian authorities deny the accusations and instead blame the pro-Russian separatists.
Meanwhile, Kiev has admitted that 279 people have been killed in Donetsk region since the start of fighting, including 160 civilians. The death toll for Lugansk has not been revealed.
Residents flee for their lives after their homes the village of Luganskaya after airstrikes by Ukrainian air force left dozens dead or wounded. (Image credit: RIA Novosti/Valeriy Melnikov)
14 Million people threatened by exceptional drought in Istanbul, Turkey: Expert
Turkey’s largest city, and its cultural, economic, and historical hub, is seriously threatened by exceptional drought. The drought has left more than 14 million in the city with only 100 days of water, according to an expert.
“Having only 100 days of water reserve means that very tight measures should be taken,” Tugba Maden, a water expert in the Center for Middle Eastern Strategic Studies, told Xinhua.
The dams supplying water to Istanbul are down to about 35 percent of their full capacity, with a total current reserves of about 300 million cubic meters. At least three of the reservoirs are already experiencing severe water shortages.
Additionally, water levels in the Euphrates river valley and the Tigris River, the main water basins of Turkey, are at or near historic lows, with no sign of rain or snow, said the expert.
Sprawled over an area of 5,343km², Istanbul is one of the largest urban areas in Europe and world’s second-largest city by population.
All-time High Temperature Records Broken in Austria, Hungary (possibly
Temperatures have climbed to all-time highs in Austria and neighboring Hungary amid a persistent heat wave that has plagued the region for nearly two weeks.
Temperature in Vienna, the Austrian capital, climbed to all-time high of 40.5ºC (105 degrees Fahrenheit) on Thursday, shattering the previous record of 39.9ºC (104ºF) set just five days earlier.
Previously, the highest recorded temperature in Vienna was 38.9C set on July 8, 1957 at Mariabrunn station in Hadersdorf, said a report.
In Hungary, Serbia and Poland temperatures climbed to record or near-record highs of 40ºC on Thursday,
Officials in Budapest warned temperatures on paved roads could climb to as high as 60ºC.
“Croatia sent two water-dropping planes to Bosnia earlier in the week to help battle wildfires set off by drought and sweltering heat that threatened several villages. A Russian aircraft was dispatched to fight blazes in Serbia,” reported AP.
“Quantifiable levels” of Monsanto herbicide found in urine samples from 18 Euro countries
In a recent study by Medical Laboratory Bremen in Germany humane urine samples from 18 European countries showed residues of Glyphosate and the metabolite AMPA.
“On average 44 % and 36 % of the urine samples analyzed were found to contain quantifiable levels of Glyphosate and AMPA, respectively,” said the report.
The frequency of detection ranged from 10% to 90%. The highest Glyphosate concentration was 1,8 μg/L in Latvia, followed by Malta, UK and Germany, while the highest AMPA concentration was 2,6 μg/L found in Croatia.
A total of 6.6% of samples showed residues that “significantly exceeded the tentative reference value of 0,8 μg/L forGlyphosate,” the report said.
The report concludes; “The results give a first idea to which extent adults in 18 European countries are exposed to Glyphosate. The regional and individual variations are large. Diet seems to be the main sources of exposure. However, more scientific work is needed to distinguish between different exposure situations.”
Glyphosate was discovered to be a herbicide by a Monsanto chemist and was marketed in the 1970s under the trade name Roundup.
Aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), an organic acid, is one of the primary degradation products of the herbicide glyphosate.
Both Glyphosate and AMPA are said to have low toxicity, with glyphosate being an EPA Toxicity Class III chemical (on a scale of I to IV, Class I is most toxic) for oral and inhalation exposure.
In 2007, Glyphosate was the most used herbicide in the United States, with about 100,000 tons applied by the agricultural sector, government and home and garden users.
-oOo-
Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events
Black Forest Fire: Initial Home Assessment
Updated: June 15, 2013 at approximately 12:00 a.m. (DST) – El Paso County Sheriff’s office
The extent of damage caused by the Black Forest Fire to homes in the region is as follows:
Total Loss: 473
Partial Damage: 17
Note: This is a preliminary home assessment. Due to continuous and dynamic fire activity the information could change.
The blaze was reportedly 30 percent contained, as of posting.
Extreme Rain Events affect hundreds of thousands, destroy thousands of homes in South China’s Guangdong Province
Flooding triggered by extreme rain events have destroyed thousands of homes, affecting about 500, 000 people, and forcing the authorities to evacuate tens of thousands.
Torrential rains, the second round to pound the province this month, are expected to continue through Friday. The events have left dozens of people dead or missing since early May.
-oOo-
Millions of Italians too poor to heat their homes
14 percent of the population, 8.6 million Italians, are completely destitute, twice as many as two years ago, according to the national statistics institute ISTAT’s Annual Report 2013 – The state of the Nation.
16.6 percent of the population cannot afford protein-based meals, for example meat, every two days, up from 6.7 percent in 2010.
More than 20 percent of the population cannot afford to heat their homes.
A quarter of Italy’s 61 million population are living in families that meet three of more of ISTAT’s nine poverty indicators.
Italy’s youth jobless rate has climbed to about 40 percent, the highest in Europe.
Nearly 24 percent of young Italians are neither receiving education nor in the job market, also the highest level in Europe. In southern Italy, a third of the youth aged 15-29 fell into this group.
Italians’ purchasing power plunged by 4.8 percent in 2012.
-oOo-
DISASTER CALENDAR – May 22, 2013— SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,025 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,025 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
Tick clouds of smog from China rolled across southern Japan, as sandstorms reduced visibility forcing many flight cancellations in airports across the region starting Sunday March 10, reports said.
The sandstorm is believed to have contributed to unseasonably high temperatures across the Japan. Tokyo reported a high of 25.3ºC — the highest ever recorded for March since record-keeping began in 1876, NHK said.
Beijing PM-2.5 level, Tuesday 12 March 2013 @22:00. Source: Insdio
Major winter storm is wreaking havoc across Europe
Heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures forced the closure of Frankfurt International Airport, Europe’s third-largest, as hundreds of flights across other European airports were cancelled.
The Eurostar high-speed train service between London and Paris was also suspended due to heavy snow in France and Belgium.
“All Eurostar services are currently disrupted and are subject to severe delays,” said a statement on Eurostar’s website. “Our advice to passengers is not to travel today and not to come to our stations.”
Freezing temperatures follow the unusually warm spell last week that saw temperatures up to 20ºC (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in some parts of Germany.
Major outbreak of Hand-foot-mouth (HFM) disease in Vietnam
HFM, a contagious viral disease, targets mostly infants and children. The disease has affected more than 10,000 people in Vietnam the first two months of this year, said the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.
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March 12, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,096 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,096 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
Google Censorship is a Flagrant Violation of Our Freedom of Speech!
Freedom of speech is being able to speak freely without censorship. The United States Constitution protects opinions under inalienable 1st Amendment free speech rights.
The right to freedom of speech is also guaranteed under international law through numerous human-rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
How much longer is Google allowed to continue its censorship in violation of the United States Constitution and the international law?
Truckers and fishermen across Europe protest rising oil prices
Truckers and fishermen across Europe held protests against rising world oil prices on Wednesday, demanding government action to prevent the price hikes. Protests were held across Britain, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Netherlands and Spain.
Trucks are driven along a section of the A40 highway during a demonstration, in London on May 27, 2008. REUTERS/Alessia Pierdomenico. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
In Britain a convoy of truckers converged on London on Tuesday, closing a busy main road and causing traffic backlogs. Similar protests took place in Wales, were Welsh hauliers threatened to blockade ports and refineries. Refinery blockades in 2000 caused shortages in many areas. The drivers demanded a rebate because they said fuel bills had risen by 50 percent in one year. Britain has the highest fuel taxes in the European Union.
In Bulgaria hundreds of truckers launched protests in the capital Sofia, the Black Sea port city of Varna and the Danube port city of Russe on Wednesday, demanding lower taxes on fuels and calling for price ceilings on fuels.
In France the fishermen continued their ongoing protest against high diesel prices on Wednesday with truckers and farmers adding their voice demanding action from the government. Fishermen demanded to buy diesel at discounted rate at half the market prices, which have increased by 30 percent in 2008. They staged similar protests last year asking government to cushion the effects of surging marine fuel prices that have eroded their profit margins. Farmers blocked access to an oil depot operated by Total near the city of Toulouse and demanded the government exempt them from a special petrol tax called TIPP.
French truckers group OTRE also threatened to take action across France if the government failed to respond to their demands by Thursday evening.
In Italy fishermen in the Adriatic will strike commencing Friday.
In Netherlands truckers are planning a national day of action for Thursday to protest against rising diesel prices.
In Spain the Fishermen’s Confederation is arranging a protest in Madrid for Friday and the main truckers’ association has called a strike for June 8 concerning high fuel prices. Farmers in Catalonia are expected to announce protests.
(Original report by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit, Reuters. Copyright Thomson Reuters). Partially edited by FEWW
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.
Fire Earth 