Deadly Outbreaks of West Nile Fever Kills Dozens in Greece, Israel

West Nile fever virus infects hundreds, killing dozens in Greece, Israel

As of September 20 (13:00 hours), some 234 “laboratory diagnosed cases of WNV infection have been reported to the Hellenic Center for Disease Control and Prevention (HCDCP), the center reported. Some 183 “of which presented with neuro-invasive disease (WNND, encephalitisand/ or meningitis and/or acute flaccid paralysis)” and 51 cases with “mild symptoms (febrile syndrome).” Some 27 deaths were reported in patients, the weekly report said.

US WNV infections

As of September 18, 2018, a total of 47 states and the District of Columbia have reported West Nile virus infections in people, birds, or mosquitoes in 2018. Overall, 1,077 cases of West Nile virus disease in people have been reported to CDC. Of these, 608 (56%) were classified as neuroinvasive disease (such as meningitis or encephalitis) and 469 (44%) were classified as non-neuroinvasive disease. [CDC]

Hong Kong: Dengue Fever Outbreak

Meanwhile, dozens of people have been diagnosed with dengue fever in Hong Kong.

• Additional information available from FE-MIU via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

 

FIRE-EARTH Report: Gaza Massacre (051602)

• CJ
• OCT
• TML

Report Gaza Massacre 051602 issued by FIRE-EARTH affiliated political scientists.

• Report available via FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Gaza Massacre 051602

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Would the MIC Kill the Geese that Lay the Golden Eggs?

• CJ
• OCT
• TML

FEWWR:

The Military-Industrial Complex Would Go Out of Business Without Rouge States, Terrorist Groups,  Israel…

[Prepared by an affiliated team of political scientists.]

• Report is available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Related Links:

• FIRE-EARTH Report: Who Really Pulls the Strings on N. Korea?

 

Who’s Dictating US Human Rights Policy, Kushner or Netanyahu ??

• All Groups

US threatens to leave UN Human Rights Council over “chronic anti-Israel bias”

UN ambassador Nikki [rode-to-the-devil] Haley said the US was considering withdrawing from the UN agency on human rights because of the Council’s “biased” stance on Israel.

“The council must also end its practice of wrongly singling out Israel for criticism. When the council passes more than 70 resolutions against Israel, a country with a strong human rights record, and just seven resolutions against Iran, a country with an abysmal human rights record, you know something is seriously wrong,” she said, whitewashing the brutal Israeli occupation.

[ Prepared by an affiliated team of political scientists.]

• Israel Focus 01 – 07 are available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

What Makes America Great: “Freedom of Thought” in the Confines of Servitude

• CJ
  
• EAC
• OCT
• WRK

Reflexive action by America’s “best and brightest”: All 100 US senators petition U.N. for “equal treatment of Israel”

[Prepared by an affiliated team of political scientists.]

• Presentation available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

Background:

“All 100 U.S. senators signed a letter Thursday asking U.N. Secretary General António Guterres to address what the lawmakers call entrenched bias against Israel at the world body.”

The petition, initiated by “little” Marco Rubio, who is convinced his only path to the Oval Office is through the AIPAC, reminds the U.N., short of an explicit threat to withhold funds:

“As both the U.N.’s principal founding member and its largest contributor, the United States should insist on reform. As duly elected representatives of the American people, we take seriously our responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight of US engagement at the United Nations. We are deeply committed to international leadership and to advancing respect for human rights. But continued targeting of Israel by the U.N. Human Rights Council and other U.N. entities is unacceptable.”

Fragmented Lives: Humanitarian Overview 2014 – (Released March 2015)

The year 2014 was a traumatic one in the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT). In the Gaza Strip, 1.8 million Palestinians endured the worst escalation of hostilities since 1967: over 1,500 Palestinian civilians were killed, more than 11,000 injured and some 100,000 remain displaced. In the West Bank, increased confrontations between Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli forces resulted in the highest casualty levels in recent years, while settlement expansion and the forced displacement of Palestinians in Area C and in East Jerusalem continued. Overall, some 4,000,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip remain under an Israeli military occupation that prevents them from exercising many of their basic human rights.

Israel massacred at least 2,220 people (67% of them civilians) in Gaza during its summer 2014 operations, which resulted also in 71 Israelis deaths (9% of them civilians), according to the U.N.

“Between 7 July and 26 August, the Gaza Strip witnessed the deadliest escalation in hostilities since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967. According to preliminary figures by the Protection Cluster, a total of 2,220 Palestinians, including 1,492 civilians, were killed. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 11,231 Palestinians were injured. Israeli attacks striking residential buildings accounted for a significant number of the civilian casualties, raising concerns about respect for the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attack under international humanitarian law (IHL).”

Who Benefits from Conman-in-Chief Bombing Syria

• CJ Members
• EAC
• OC Teams

U.S. Drops $250 million* worth of bombs on Syria…, or why the Cabal always nominate the most corrupt, depraved demons for US presidency

Long Term [Perceived] Beneficiaries of the bombing: Israel, Trump-Kushner Family

Short Term Beneficiaries: ISIS (USIS), Al Qaeda, Al Nusrah Front, and all other US-approved terrorist groups. [As well as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Gulf Sheikhdoms…]

Status of the Refugees: NO CHANGE! “Even beautiful babies [who] were cruelly murdered in this very barbaric attack” have been banned from entering the US.

Losers, Suckers and Morons: The U.S. Taxpayers.

*Cost of maintaining warships in the Mediterranean NOT included.

[Prepared by an affiliated team of political scientists.]

• Report available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.

 

FIRE-EARTH Alert: Wildfires Force Mass Evacuations in Haifa, Israel

Tens of Thousands of People Flee Raging Wildfires in Haifa

• Some 50,000 of Haifa’s residents have abandoned their homes.
• Fires are also threatening homes in the West Bank and near Jerusalem.
• Fire has destroyed/damaged homes and vehicles in the city of Modi’in.
• Evacuations are also underway in the occupied West Bank.

 

Israel Admits Spraying Poisons Inside Gaza Strip

International law requires occupier Israel to facilitate normal life in Gaza Strip: Rights group

Israeli Army says they sprayed  herbicide to ‘enable security operations.’ Palestinian farmers say the poison has destroyed or damaged hundreds of acres of crops, said a report.

“The Israel army has confirmed that it used crop-dusters to kill off vegetation—and perhaps inadvertently, agricultural crops—inside the Gaza Strip last week.”

“The aerial spraying of herbicides and germination inhibitors was conducted in the area along the border fence last week in order to enable optimal and continuous security operations,” an IDF Spokesperson told +972 on Sunday.

Although various crops including beans, peas, parsley and Spinach were destroyed around the al-Qarrara area in eastern Khan Younis and the Wadi al-Salqa area in central Gaza, the Israeli media failed to report the application of herbicides.

“The IDF has for years imposed a lethal no-go buffer zone along the Gaza border. The army killed at least 16 Palestinians and wounded at least 379 more who entered or approached the no-go zone in recent months, most of whom were participating in demonstrations along the fence,” said the report.

“Spraying crop-killing pesticides, like opening fire at people of all ages and gender in the vicinity of the fence, puts civilian lives at risk and hurts livelihoods,” the spokesperson for Gisha, an Israeli rights group that works to promote freedom of movement for Palestinians in Gaza, told 972+. “By virtue of Israel’s substantial control of the Gaza Strip, international law requires it to facilitate normal life in the Strip.”  Read more…

Related Links

• Gaza Declared a Disaster Area July 31, 2014
• Genocide in Gaza: Dozens Killed in ‘Shejaiya Massacre’ July 21, 2014
• Genocide in Gaza: New Phase Begins July 14, 2014

ISIL Terraforming Syria for Israeli Expansion

Sent by a reader

“Operation Inherent Resolve:” Decidedly Irresolute!

The Coalition of “unwilling” cannot be serious about stopping ISIL terror.

According to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD):

As of Sept. 8, the U.S. and coalition have conducted a total of 6,700 airstrikes (4,198 Iraq / 2,502 Syria).

• U.S. has conducted 5,239 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (2,858 Iraq / 2,381 Syria)
• Coalition has conducted 1,461 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria (1,340 Iraq /121 Syria)

The following countries have participated in the airstrikes:

• In Iraq: (1) Australia, (2) Canada, (3) Denmark, (4) France, (5) Jordan, (6) The Netherlands, and (7) UK
• In Syria: (1) Bahrain, (2) Canada, (3) Jordan, (4) Saudi Arabia, (5) Turkey* and (6) UAE

* [It’s unclear whether the Turks have actually bombed any ISIL targets, or instead targeted positions of their old enemy, the Kurdish militias—ironically the only successful local force fighting against the ISIL.]

As of September 8, U.S. and partner nations aircraft have flown an estimated 53,278 sorties in support of operations in Iraq and Syria, according to DoD.

Assuming that the Coalition have dropped an average of, say, 10 bombs in each airstrike, and each bomb has killed a modest average of, say, 4 terrorists, then the 6,700 airstrikes should have resulted in eliminating more than quarter of a million terrorists—268,000 to be exact!

Unfortunately, that is pure fiction and wishful thinking.

Cost of Operations

As of Aug. 15, 2015, the total cost of operations related to ISIL since kinetic operations started on Aug. 8, 2014, is $3.7 billion and the average daily cost is $9.9 million for 373 days of operations. A further breakdown of cost associated with the operations is here.

Syrians Refugees

The most troubling aspect of the war on Syria must be the obscene numbers of terrorized Syrian refugees, who are running for their lives, abandoning their homes and country.

Some 4,088,099 Syrians, including more than 2 million [typo corrected Sept.16, 2015 -editor] people aged 17 or younger, had fled their country as of September 6, 2015, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). More than 7 million others are internally displaced.

[Some 3,182,736 Iraqis, or 530,456 families, originally from three provinces of Anbar (42%), Ninewa (32%),  and Salah al-Din (13%) have been internally displaced between January 2014 and August 27, 2015 due to ongoing atrocities committed by ISIL, said IOM.

1948 Palestinian Exodus

More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs, or about 80 percent of the Arab inhabitants of what became Israel, were forced to flee or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 Palestine war [dubbed the Nakba, in Arabic “al-Nakbah”, meaning “disaster”, “catastrophe”, or “cataclysm”.]

The exodus was triggered by a combination of various factors including:

• Advances by Jewish military and the atrocities committed against Arab villages
• Fears of repeat massacres by Zionist militias after the Deir Yassin massacre, in which Zionist paramilitary groups massacred at least 107 of the village’s 600 inhabitants
• Expulsion orders by Israeli authorities
• Unwillingness to live under Jewish control
• Palestinian evacuation orders

Israeli government soon passed laws that prohibited the refugees from returning to their homes, or claiming their property. Thus the scene was set for Israeli expansion some 67 years ago.

To this date the Palestinians and their descendants remain as refugees.

The ever-growing state of Israel believes the only way it could realistically expand is by occupying additional, larger portions of Syria. And The only thing that stands on the way of its expansion is the Syrian population—a mere technicality [sic.]

Israel can no longer rely on the likes of Irgun and Lehi paramilitary groups to terrorize the Syrians and force them to flee their lands. Instead, the Jewish State has employed the services of ISIL, the seemingly unstoppable terrorist group with “license” to massacre, rape, and destroy—not unlike the atrocities committed by Irgun and Lehi.

The rest, if they succeed, would be history.

Heavy Snow Destroys/ Damages Hundreds of Homes in NE China

Global Disasters/ Significant Events

Relentless snowfall in northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province has destroyed or damaged hundreds of homes, the official Xinhua reported authorities as saying.

“The inclement weather resulted in the death of 271 sheep, 92 large animals, damage to 644 houses and destroyed another 78. Meanwhile, 37 hectares (ha) of greenhouse vegetables were also destroyed.”

Oil spill causes “one of the worst” ecological disasters in Israel

A major oil spill, which occurred after a pipeline burst, has severely damaged a nature reserve in southern Israel.

Millions of liters of crude oil have escaped from a breach in the pipeline, severely damaging several kilometers of the Evrona Nature Reserve, and threatening to enter Jordan.

According to the local media, dozens of Jordanians have been hospitalized after suffering from hazardous gas inhalation.

Original caption: Handout aerial photograph provided by the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection shows a large oil spillage caused by an oil pipeline that breached during maintenance work in the Arava desert, southern Israel, on Dec. 4, 2014. An oil spill flooded overnight a desert nature reserve in southern Israel, causing “one of the worst” ecological disasters in Israel, officials and local media said Thursday. (Xinhua/JINI/ISRAELI ENVIROMENTAL PROTECTION MINSTRY)

Disaster Diary: August 2, 2014

GLOBAL DISASTERS/ SIGNIFICANT EVENTS
SCENARIOS 911, 909, 888, 699, 606, 444, 201, 111, 070, , 09, 04, 02
.

Israel murders 107 Palestinians overnight searching for missing soldier

Israeli military murdered at least 107 Palestinians in Gaza overnight, while searching for a missing soldier, who may have been killed by friendly fire, said reports.

The renewed violence came after a tentative 72-hour ceasefire agreement on Friday broke down.

Israelis have murdered at least 1,655 Palestinians and wounded 8,900 others, said the health ministry in Gaza since July 8. Most of the victims have been civilian, according to the U.N.

Deadly landslide buries dozens of homes in Nepal

A massive landslide triggered by heavy rains in northeast Nepal has buried dozens of homes leaving dozens dead or missing, injuring dozens many more and forcing thousands to flee their homes.

“The landslide has blocked the Sunkoshi river, east of the capital Kathmandu, forcing thousands of people to evacuate their homes and move to higher ground,” said Bbc.

China Factory Explosion Kills Dozens

A powerful factory blast killed at least 68 people and injured about 200 others in Kunshan City, east China’s Jiangsu Province, earlier today, said Xinhua.

Some 44 people were killed during the blast, while 24 others later. At least 137 of the injured have been transferred to hospitals in nearby cities of Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong and Shanghai, said the report.

Indian landslide: Hopes for Survivors Fading

Rescuers say hopes of finding survivors in India landslide that buried more than 100 people are fading, as the confirmed death toll topped 50.

Wednesday’s landslide buried almost an entire village in India’s western state of Maharashtra, destroying dozens of homes. More than 100 people remain missing.

Japanese war criminal’s confession of torture and rape released

BEIJING, Aug. 2 (Xinhua)—The confession of Mitsuaki Kimura, a Japanese war criminal, detailing his involvement in the capture and torture of Chinese people during Japan’s war of aggression against China was published Saturday.

The confession is the latest in a series published on the website of China’s State Archives Administration (SAA).

According to his written confession, Kimura served as lieutenant captain of the Japanese Garrison Army in Handan, Hebei in January 1939 and as captain of Boli County Military Police Branch of the “Manchukuo” from 1944 to 1945.

In 1942, he led and instructed Gubeikou Military Police to arrest and interrogate about 30 soldiers of the Eighth Route Army in Shixia Township and arrested another 150 in April.

More than 150 soldiers were captured in 1943, with seven of them tortured to death during the interrogation.

Kimura said he accused a Chinese businessman in Jining County of being an agent of the Soviet Union, arrested his daughter aged about 20 for interrogation and forced her to become his servant in 1945.

“In July, when my wife was not at home I was sexually stimulated on seeing her. I raped her,” he said in the confession.

This is the 31st of 45 Japanese war criminal confessions the SAA plans to publish. It has been issuing one a day since July 3.

The move follows denials of war crimes by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Japanese right-wing politicians.

Gaza Declared a Disaster Area

GENOCIDE
STATE TERRORISM
CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY
WARS FOR RESOURCES
MEGA DISASTER
MASS EVACUATIONS
POVERTY
COLLAPSE
SCENARIOS 717, 606, 600, 444, 200, 114, 070, 04, 02
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Israeli shelling kills dozens of Palestinians sheltering in a U.N. school, street market

The shelling of a school housing displaced civilians in Jabaliya refugee camp, and a market near Gaza City has killed dozens of people and left hundreds more wounded.

Some 106 people were killed on Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 1,346, with more than 7,000 others wounded. Most of the victims have been civilians, many of them children.

Israeli authorities say 56 soldiers and two civilian volunteers as well as a Thai national have been killed on their side since they resumed the latest round of genocide in Gaza on July 8.

The UN Spokesman Chris Gunness told the BBC that Israel had been told 17 times that the school was housing [more than 3,000] displaced people, saying the attack caused “universal shame.”

Thousands more have been killed or wounded during previous rounds of genocide perpetrated by Israel in 2008 and 2012.

Palestinian President declared the Gaza Strip a disaster area on Wednesday, said news reports quoting the state-run Wafa news agency.

Bolivia Declares Israel a ‘Terrorist State’

Bolivia has declared Israel a terrorist state and withdrawn a visa exemption agreement in protest over the ongoing Israeli military offensive in Gaza, said reports.

Canceling the 1972 visa-waver agreement, which allowed Israelis to travel freely to Bolivia, “means, in other words, we are declaring [Israel] a terrorist state,” announced President Evo Morales.

“Israel is not a guarantor of the principles of respect for life and the elementary precepts of rights that govern the peaceful and harmonious coexistence of our international community,” explained Morales.

“The Bolivian state and people have made a firm decision to terminate the agreement on visas to Israel, from August 17, 1972, signed under a regime of dictatorship in Bolivia and that allowed Israeli citizens to enter Bolivia freely and without entry visas,” said an official communique.

Earlier this month, Morales filed a request with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights to prosecute the Jewish state for “crimes against humanity.”

Related Links

• Genocide in Gaza: Dozens Killed in ‘Shejaiya Massacre’ July 21, 2014
• Genocide in Gaza: New Phase Begins July 14, 2014

Genocide in Gaza: Dozens Killed in ‘Shejaiya Massacre’

GENOCIDE
STATE TERRORISM
WARS FOR RESOURCES
MEGA DISASTER
MASS EVACUATIONS
POVERTY
COLLAPSE
SCENARIOS 717, 600, 444, 200, 114, 070
.

Israeli forces’ shelling of a Gaza district leaves at least 60 dead, including children

At least 87 Gazans were killed on Sunday  including 60 in the district of Shejaiya alone, and hundreds more wounded.

Palestinian president has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council following the “massacre in Shejaiya.”

“Shejaiya was particularly badly affected with thousands of people reportedly fleeing their homes this morning, as heavy bombardment from Israeli tanks and artillery continued,” said the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The total death toll in Gaza now stands at more than 438, with thousands more wounded.

The UN has recently stated that about 77% of the people killed in Gaza have been civilians.

Related Links

• Genocide in Gaza: New Phase Begins July 14, 2014

Genocide in Gaza: New Phase Begins

GENOCIDE
STATE TERRORISM
WARS FOR RESOURCES
MEGA DISASTER
MASS EVACUATIONS
POVERTY
COLLAPSE
SCENARIOS 717, 600, 444, 200, 114, 070
.

At least 172 Palestinians killed by Israeli military in latest Gaza massacre

Tens of thousands of Palestinians are fleeing northern Gaza after Israel warned it was targeting the area “to stop the continuing rocket attacks from Gaza militants,” said a report.

“We do not wish to harm civilians in Gaza, but these civilians must know that remaining in close proximity to Hamas terrorists and infrastructures is extremely unsafe,” the Israel Military said, claiming that it was  targeting militants and “terror sites,” including the homes of senior Palestinians “militants.”

However, the UN says 77% of the people killed in Gaza have been civilians, said the report.

Some 17,000 of the refugees have sought refuge in UN facilities, the report quoted the organization as saying.

Meanwhile,  power to about 70,000 Gaza residents has been cut, with the Israeli military blaming the “militants” for a rocket attack that they say damaged the electricity network.

Israeli military says it has so far struck some 1,320 “terror” sites across Gaza, while claiming Palestinians  has launched more than 800 rockets at Israel.

M6.9 Strikes Near Kamariotissa, Greece

SEISMIC HAZARD
HEIGHTENED GLOBAL SEISMICITY
SCENARIOS 08, 07
.

Strong quake occurs south of Samothrace island

Centered at 40.305°N, 25.453°E the strong quake struck at a depth of about 10.0km (6.2mi), USGS/EHP reported.

The quake was followed by at least one significant aftershock measuring 4.5Mw.

The earthquake, which was felt in Athens, Greece, and Istanbul, Turkey, had a category VIII shakemap, capable of causing moderate to heavy damage.

However, no damage or casualty reports were immediately available.

The quakes in the North Aegean Trough followed a magnitude 4.1 shock that occurred 35km ESE of Mizpe Ramon, Israel (0.545°N, 35.164°E, depth=10.0km) at 07:27:29 UTC.

Large earthquakes and destructive tsunami throughout the Mediterranean region have killed hundreds of thousands of people and razed scores of towns and villages since the M8.2 quake that struck Sicily in 1693.

Evros Quake Details
Magnitude: 6.9Mw
Event Time: 2014-05-24 at 09:25:03 UTC
Location: 40.305°N 25.453°E depth=10.0km (6.2mi)
Nearby Cities

• 19km (12mi) S of Kamariotissa, Greece
• 70km (43mi) SSW of Alexandroupolis, Greece
• 78km (48mi) ESE of Potos (Thassos), Greece
• 83km (52mi) WNW of Canakkale, Turkey
• 298km (185mi) NNE of Athens, Greece

Earthquake Location Map

EQ Location Map: Source: USGS/EHP

Other Significant Quakes Today

M 5.6 – 8km S of San Juan Cacahuatepec, Mexico
Time: 2014-05-24 08:24:47 UTC
Location: 16.541°N 98.154°W
Depth: 12.0km

M 5.6 – 35km E of Severomuysk, Russia
Time: 2014-05-23 19:42:28 UTC
Location: 56.142°N 113.993°E
Depth: 10.0km

M 5.6 – Myanmar-China border region
Time: 2014-05-23 20:49:24 UTC
Location: 24.979°N 97.872°E
Depth: 24.7km

Twin Atlantic Quakes

M 5.2 – Northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Time: 2014-05-23 23:41:49 UTC
Location: 45.009°N 27.867°W
Depth: 10.0km

M 5.2 – Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Time: 2014-05-24 11:49:26 UTC
Location: 0.727°N 26.348°W
Depth: 10.0km

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FIRE-EARTH EQ Forecast

The next detailed FIRE-EARTH Earthquake Forecast will be released together with Bulletin NO. 100 tomorrow  (May 25, 2014).

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9.3 Million Syrians Displaced

WAR OF TERROR ON SYRIA  – THIRD ANNIVERSARY
MASS EXODUS
.

Syria: Tens of thousands slaughtered, more than 9 million displaced

On the third anniversary of war of terror waged by Saudi Arabia and Israel against the Syrian people, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, said: “three years have passed on this horrible Syrian crisis and that means more displaced people to expect. Today we have around 2.6 million Syrians displaced to neighboring countries and more than 6.5 million Syrians displaced inside Syria.”

Guterres expressed his gratitude to the “generosity of the Lebanese and the government of Lebanon,” for hosting most of the displaced Syrian refugees.

He called on the international community to “show more solidarity with Lebanon and provide financial support and share with it the burden because Lebanon cannot be left alone to confront the big challenges in these hard conditions.”

Meantime, Israeli forces continued shelling the Lebanese-Syrian border.

Return of Polio

In October 2013, an outbreak of polio was reported in Syria, more than a decade after the disease had been eradicated from the country.

Related Links

• Dead or Wounded in 2014 January 1, 2014
• Syria Terror: Children “Targeted by Snipers” November 24, 2013
• Polio Outbreak in Syria Risks Spreading October 29, 2013
• Drought Driving Syria to Collapse September 11, 2010

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – December 26, 2013

EXTREME RAIN EVENTS

Deadly floods and landslides kill many, force evacuations in eastern Caribbean islands

Torrential rains, flooding and landslides kill more than a dozen people and force hundreds of others out of their homes on the volcanic islands of St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.

Torrential rains have also caused  destruction on the islands of Martinique and Dominica, located north of Saint Lucia, in the eastern Caribbean Sea.

“I don’t think I can recall when we have had such heavy rainfall on the eve of Christmas,” said St Lucia’s Prime Minister.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

Israel Demolishes Palestinian Homes

At least 663 Palestinian buildings— including 259 homes— have been demolished, and 1,103 Palestinians have been displaced in the West Bank and East Jerusalem so far this year, according to The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

The UN agency has strongly condemned Israel for the demolition of Palestinian Bedouin dwellings in the West Bank.

“UNRWA condemns the latest demolitions in the West Bank, which displaced 68 people, the most recent of which occurred on Christmas Eve,” said a spokesman in a statement.

“The demolitions took place in Ein Ayoub near Ramallah and Fasayil al-Wusta near Jericho in the Jordan valley with 61 persons displaced in Ein Ayoub, and seven persons, all refugees, displaced in Fasayil al-Wusta,” he said, adding that 32 of the victims were children, “including a five year old girl who is paralyzed from the waist down.”

“In addition, some 750 head of sheep and goats are without shelter at this crucial lambing season,” he said.

Father and child walk among their belonging after their homes was demolished by Israeli forces. Source: UNRWA

“Demolitions often occur to facilitate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, with 60 percent of demolitions occurring in Palestinian communities close to settlement zones,” said NGOs, and rights organizations in a joint statement released earlier in December.

Mass Blackouts Continue in Freezing US, Canada

Up to 650,000 homes in northeastern US and southeastern Canada still without electricity days after deadly ice storm. Dozens of fatalities reported in the region, many caused by carbon monoxide poisoning from heating appliances.

SoCal Sets New Record Temperatures on Xmass

Mercury (!) rises above 86 degrees at Oceanside, CA. Warm, dry Santa Ana winds drove temperatures to record or near-record highs in southern California on Wednesday.

Syria Terror: Children “Targeted by Snipers”

“Stolen Futures: The hidden toll of child casualties in Syria”

Some 11,420 children aged 17 and under were killed in the Syrian conflict: 7 out of 10 by explosive weapons, 1 in 4 by bullets—Oxford Research Group.

Between March 2011, when the “conflict” began, and end August 2013, at least 11,420 were recorded killed in Syria. Some 764 children were summarily executed, 389 were killed by sniper fire and more than 100—including infants—were tortured, according to the report.

“128 children were recorded killed by chemical weapons in Ghouta on 21 August, 2013.”

Overall, a total of 113,735 civilians and combatants were killed during the report period.

10 year-old Issa carries a mortar shell in a weapons factory for the “Free Syrian Army” in Aleppo, September 7, 2013. Image Credit: REUTERS/Hamid Khatib

Related Links

• Syria Refugees Top 2 Million Posted on September 3, 2013
• Destabilization of Middle East Intensifies Posted on August 26, 2013
• Drought Driving Syria to Collapse Posted on September 11, 2010

Middle East Narrowly Escaped Major War Tuesday: Russian Expert

Russian expert says Mideast made narrow escape from major war Tuesday

By Itar-Tass World Service writer Tamara Zamyatina

MOSCOW, September 3 (Itar-Tass) – Launching of two ballistic missiles in the Mediterranean water area testifies to the ongoing U.S. preparations for air strikes against Syria, a top-rank Russian military expert said in an exclusive interview with Itar-Tass Tuesday night.

Original Photo: The mushroom cloud from XX-11 IvyMike (Fusion Bomb). Public domain photo. Source: United States Department of Energy Inset: Tomahawk Block IV Cruise Missiles. Image source: EDRO. Image added by FIRE-EARTH.

The U.S. and Israel actually wanted to watch the reaction to the launch on the part of Russia, China and Iran, said Colonel-General Leonid Ivashov, Ret. From 1996 through to 2001, Gen Ivashov was chief of the Russian Defense Ministry’s Main Department for International Defense Cooperation. He is President of the Academy of Geopolitical Problems at present.

He believes that the missiles were launched for the purposes of reconnaissance.

“The thing is ballistic missiles won’t be used if the U.S. and their allies begin an intervention in Syria,” Gen Ivashov said. “While a cruise missile can hit directly not only the target as such but even a separate element of it, a ballistic missile very definitely won’t hit the target due to the impact dispersal effect. Hence it’s inefficient for the purpose.”

“Those who launched the two ballistic missiles towards Syria obviously hoped Iran would consider this launch as an attack on Damascus, its ally,” Gen Ivashov went on. “The Pentagon clearly wanted to see if the Iranians would respond to this by delivering a ballistic missile strike at Israel.”

“The provocation would have thus played into Binyamin Netanyahu’s hands and would have helped him to convince his nation Israel should throw its shoulder into a joint aerospace operation conducted by the U.S., Turkey and Saudi Arabia against Syria,” he said.

“Had Iran responded to the challenge, the U.S. would have gotten weighty reasons for attacking Syria by way of support for Israel as its ally, since Barack Obama still doesn’t have congressional support for an operation against the Syrian government either among the rank-and-file Americans or in the Gongress. In the meantime, the necessity of defending Israel would offer an important argument for shaping up public opinion in favor of ousting the Bashar al-Assad regime.”

“From the angle of view of military strategy, the launch of ballistic missiles compels Syria and Iran to bring into full-scale action all the tracking systems they have,” Gen Ivashov said. “Air defense systems, too, start reacting to missile launches.”

“When this happens, the U.S. warships, aircraft, and ground-based tracking systems immediately do the computerized identification of all the locations in Syria and Iran where combat operations control is exercised from – their working frequencies, the places where radar stations are deployed, their coordinates, technical characteristics, and so on.”

“Right after that, radio-electronic jamming of the enemy’s combat control networks goes into action. It is followed by string missile strikes, with the data on location of the enemy’s control and command systems loaded into the programs.”

“As a result, the Syrian and Iranian Armed Forces should lose control and coordination and lose the war eventually,” Gen Ivashov said.

This is a technological side of the provocation but there is a political side to the missile launch, too.

“Israel is demonstrating blatant disregard for the norms of international law,” Gen Ivashov said. “The Israeli Defense Ministry did not issue a warning to the countries, the ships of which were cruising in the Mediterranean at the moment. More than that, Israel has a bigger arsenal of nukes than France although it is not a member of the world nuclear club.”

“Nonetheless, Israeli government was prepared to set the machine of a major war in the Middle East into motion Tuesday – with support from the Pentagon,” he said.

Another Russian military expert commented earlier this year on the role that an element of spontaneity may play in triggering a large-scale armed conflict.

Major-General Pavel Zolotaryov, Ret., a deputy director of the Moscow-based Institute for the U.S. and Canada Studies made the comment in spring 2013 with regard to the crisis on the Korean Peninsula. “The Korean crisis may pose a danger to the world due a possibility of haphazard developments,” he said.

“When two countries, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea keep their Armed Forces in a huge tension, a factor of spontaneity can play a very bad role,” Gen Zolotaryov said. “Suppose someone has a nervous breakdown and fires a shot and then unpredictable developments start snowballing.”

A risk of a chain of haphazard events is looming in the situation around Syria, too.  [http://www.itar-tass.com/en/c39/863249.html]

Related Links

The Next Phase of Collapse: Wars initiated by Israel/US for Hegemony Over World’s Resources Posted by edro on March 10, 2008

Global Disasters/ Significant Events – 5 May 2013

Fifth of UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs

One in five UK households, or the equivalent of five million households, borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, according to a survey.

• The figures defy official statistics released last week that showed personal bankruptcies had dropped to a 5-year low.

• The households who used savings, or borrowed money to pay for food, were mostly low income families. Among this group:
• 82% worried about food prices
• 55% said they were likely to cut back on food spending in the next few months
• 57% said they found it difficult to cope on their current income
• 32% borrowed money from friends and family in April, said the report.

The executive director of “Which?”, the organization that carried out the survey,  said: “Our tracker shows that many households are stretched to their financial breaking point, with rising food prices one of the top worries for squeezed consumers.

“It’s simply shocking that so many people need to use savings or credit to pay for essentials like food.”

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Image of the Week

Crates of pesticides and fertilizer at a strawberry farm are destroyed as a raging brush fire  pushes towards the coast, in Camarillo (Ventura County, SoCal) May 2, 2013.  The so-called Springs Fire was just under 60 percent contained, as of posting. Credit: Reuters/Gene Blevins

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Israel strikes Syria again

Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for several hours and sending columns of flame into the night sky.

• Syrian state television reported that the bombing that occurred around a military research facility at Jamraya had caused ‘many civilian casualties and widespread damage’ and quoted a letter from the foreign minister to the United Nations saying: ‘The blatant Israeli aggression has the aim to provide direct military support to the terrorist groups after they failed to control territory.'”

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Death toll from Bangladesh factory collapse reaches 610

The death toll from Dhaka factory collapse climbed to 610 on Sunday after the authorities pulled dozens of bodies from the wreckage of Rana Plaza, the eight-story building that housed five garment factories.

• The toll is expected to rise further, an official told reporters.
  

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Chinese no longer trust the Red Cross! 

Many people in China no longer trust the Red Cross Society and refused to donate through the organization because the charity’s image has been seriously damaged by a series of scandals, said a report.

In contrast to making generous donations through the Red Cross after the earthquake in Wenchuan 5 years ago, many people choose to donate to other charities, or contributed nothing, after the recent Lushan quake.

[Search blog content for the role of Red Cross in disappearance of  donations after  911 and Haiti quake.]

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DISASTER CALENDAR – May 5, 2013 — 
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,042 Days Left 

Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.

• SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,042 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human  History
• The countdown began on May 15, 2011 …

GLOBAL WARNINGS

• WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
• WARNING: RAPID PLANETARY DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
• Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started 
• United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

Thousands Evacuated Amid Taiwan ERE, Flooding, Landslides

Dozens dead, injured or missing, up to 10,000 evacuated from Taiwan disaster zones

Flooding has triggered numerous landslides in Nantou County and Taichung in central Taiwan, as well as in New Taipei and Taoyuan County, and elswhere, leaving at least 2 dozen people dead, injured or missing, and forcing about 10,000 others to evacuate their homes, Taiwan’s  Central Emergency Operations Center reported.

• Extreme rain events (ERE) combined with the southwest monsoon have also destroyed or damaged thousands of hectares of crops around the island country.

• Flooding have also caused power cuts and water shortages to more than 100,000 homes, reports said. 
• Areas near more than 830 rivers and streams around the country have been put on  red or yellow alert for further flooding and mudslides.
• Meantime, several of Taiwan’s leading manufacturer have  suspended operations after a magnitude 5.2 quake followed by two smaller aftershocks rattled the mountainous Chienshih township north of the island, reports said.

Other Global Disasters, Significant Events

• Egypt. The so-called ‘Supreme Constitutional Court’ in Egypt has dissolved the parliament ahead of presidential runoff, reports said.
  • The highest court has also ruled the army candidate can remain in election race.
  • The decision by the supreme constitutional court, whose judges were appointed by Mubarak, is being seen as a ‘Judicial coup.’
  • Earlier, Mohamed ElBaradei said; ” Electing president in the absence of constitution and parliament is electing an “emperor” with more powers than deposed dictator. A travesty…”
  • On December 18, 2011, FEWW commented:
    • At least a dozen demonstrators have been killed and about 500 others wounded by the Egyptian army following a third day of clashes in a new round of uprising as the winter of the so called “Arab Spring” deepens.
    • Increasingly, the Egyptians are realizing that what they actually participated in wasn’t a “revolution,” but a coup d’etat, cunningly orchestrated by the military and its paymasters and carried out on the back of a mass uprising.
    • Egypt is Israel’s next-door neighbor. Hell would freeze over before Egyptians are allowed to have a functioning democracy!
• See also:
  • Oil Wars: Obama Intensifying Middle East Destabilization Posted  on October 12, 2011
  • Most Unethical Nations in 2011 [and Probably 2012] Posted on December 31, 2011
  • The Next Phase of Collapse: Wars initiated by Israel/US for Hegemony Over World’s Resources  Posted by edro on March 10, 2008

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

A Biochemical Weapons Testing Ground?

Main Entry:
New Zealand Violence Related to Biochemical Weapons?