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Deciphering Trump’s Coded Messages: “Grease My ‘Yuge’ Palm, Save Money ‘Bigly!'”
How much cumshaw must Seoul pay Trump to have him wave the cost of the THAAD system?
[Prepared by an affiliated team of observers.]
Report available from FIRE-EARTH PULSARS.
Background:
Trump told Reuters he wants South Korea to pay for the $1 billion Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, in an interview on Thursday.
The US military currently has six THAAD batteries in it global arsenal, with the cost of each unit estimated at $1.2 billion, according to a former U.S. State Department official, who said Washington would be unwilling to sell THAAD to Seoul.
Saudi-led airstrikes kill 44, leave many wounded in Sanaa, Yemen
Airstrikes by Saudi Arabia and partners on the Yemeni army headquarters—controlled by Houthi fighters—in the capital, Sanaa, has killed at least 44 people including 20 civilians, and wounded at least 100 others, capital of Sanaa on Sunday, the official Saba news agency reported.
Weeks of conflict have killed at least 2,000 people, with many others wounded and tens of thousands displaced.
5 fatalities from MERS in South Korea, 64 cases reported
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has claimed another life in South Korea, with 14 additional cases reported.
The death toll was five, as of posting, and the total number of reported infections had climbed to 64.
Meantime, the authorities have closed 24 hospitals where MERS cases had spread, and quarantined at least 1,600 people including the medical staff from those hospitals which may have come in contact with the infected patients.
Eastern Star disaster: More bodies recovered from Yangtze River
At least 431 people are now confirmed dead after the Chinese cruise ship Eastern Star capsized on Yangtze River, last week. Fourteen people reportedly survived the disaster, and 11 others are still missing.
The MERS virus has killed three people in South Korea since its outbreak on May 20, prompting the authorities to close down at least 1,200 scholls and quarantine more than 1,600 people.
The latest fatality from the virus was the 36th officially confirmed case of the infection in S. Korea.
US forces on alert
Meantime, the United States Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday it will tighten health checks at its military bases to protect its service members from virus, according to a report.
“The move comes after a Korean chief master sergeant serving at the U.S. Air Force base in Osan, Gyoneggi Province, tested positive Wednesday for the deadly virus.”
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness that is new to humans. It was first reported in Saudi Arabia in 2012 and has since spread to several other countries, including the United States. Most people infected with MERS-CoV developed severe acute respiratory illness, including fever, cough, and shortness of breath. Many of them have died, according to CDC.
Countries with Lab-Confirmed MERS Cases
Countries in or near the Arabian Peninsula with Cases
About 57% of South Koreans see Japan as a “militaristic state”
More than 58 percent of those polled in South Korea thought Japan was a “military threat” to their country, 2nd only to North Korea.
[In May, the cabinet of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe approved new legislation authorizing Japan to expand its military outreach and play an international role beyond self-defense. In January, Planet of the Abes approved its largest military budget since WWII, raising it to about 5 trillion yen, or about US$42 billion.]
Tokyo-based Genron NPO, together with its South Korean partner, the East Asia Institute, have published the findings of a joint public opinion survey concerning “the course of mutual understanding and views among the peoples of Japan and South Korea.”
In their third survey of its kind, each of the two think tanks interviewed about 1,000 people in their respective countries, ahead of a landmark meeting between the South Korean and Japanese defense ministers to be held in Tokyo on June 21, just a day before the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between South Korea and Japan.
Sentiments among Japanese and South Korean peoples toward each other’s country, and their views about the current situation of Japan-South Korea relations worsened sharply last year, and this year’s survey showed no sign of improvement. The situation in South Korea remains harsher even than last year, said Genron.
Highlights of the Survey
Almost 80 percent of Korean respondents despised the Japanese, while 52 percent of Japanese felt the same way about South Koreans.
Nearly 57 percent of South Koreans saw Japan far worse than just a threat, but a “militaristic state,” up from 53.1 percent in 2014.
About 65 percent of “well-informed” S. Korean respondents felt there was a strong current of “nationalism” in today’s Japan, up from 57.8 percent last year.
More than 58 percent of the respondents thought Japan was a “military threat” to South Korea. Japan ranked only second to North Korea (83.4 percent), and China (36.8 percent), meaning that Korean people perceived Japan as a greater military threat to their country than China.
As many as 37.8 percent of the S. Koreans said a military clash between Japan and South Korea was likely, compared to 9.3 percent for the Japanese respondents. The corresponding figure among S. Korean intellectuals was much higher, at 43 percent.
Japan Continues to Deny its WWII Atrocities: Former “Comfort Women” seek Japan’s apology for WWII rapes
Former Filipino “comfort woman” Piedad Nobleza, 86, holds slogans during a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in suburban Manila on Friday Aug. 15, 2008. Elderly Filipino women and their supporters demanded Tokyo’s clear-cut apology and compensation for wartime sexual slavery by Japanese troops. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila). Image may be subject to copyright. Rangoon, Burma. August 8, 1945. An ethnic Chinese woman who was in one of the Imperial Japanese Army’s “comfort battalions” is interviewed by an Allied officer. Source: Comfort Women
Former “comfort woman” Lee Yong-Soo (L) stands beside her supporters holding portraits of Chinese, Philippine, South Korean and Taiwanese comfort women who were sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, at a protest held in front of the Japanese parliament in Tokyo, in this 14 June 2007 file photo. Japan on 27 June 2007 brushed aside calls from US lawmakers for a fresh apology to wartime sex slaves, even as the former “comfort women” renewed their demands for Tokyo to acknowledge their plight. Japan said the US move to pass a resolution calling for an “unambiguous” apology from Japan for the coercion of women into army brothels during World War II would not damage relations between the two allies. Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images. Caption Daily life. Image may be subject to copyright.
SURVIVING WWII ‘COMFORT WOMAN’ awaiting justice! Source: Survivor_1. Creative commons license. Some rights reserved.
IMPORTANT NOTICE
FIRE-EARTH Population Models show Japan as the greatest military threat in the region, not only due to its culture and history, but especially because of its dependency on foreign energy, food and material resources, which is also reflected in its current program of re-militarization.
Hundreds missing as Chinese ship capsizes on Yangtze
A cruise ship carrying 458 people capsized on Jianli section of the Yangtze River in central China’s Hubei Province, teh official Xinuhua reported
The ship named Dongfangzhixing, or Eastern Star, sank after being caught in a cyclone, said the report.
“Carrying 406 passengers, five travel agency workers and 47 crew members, the ship was heading from Nanjing, capital of east China’s Jiangsu Province, for southwest China’s Chongqing Municipality.”
Officials say at least 15 people survived the disaster, including the captain and the chief engineer. Some of the survivors were found inside the ship’s submerged hull.
MERS deaths stokes fear in South Korea
An outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in South Korea has infected at least 24 people, killing two of the victims and stoking fear among Seoul residents.
MERS in China
China’s first confirmed Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) patient is currently quarantined in Guangdong province, which borders Hong Kong, said reports.
“A man from the Republic of Korea (ROK) tested positive for MERS in Guangdong last Friday. He is being treated at Huizhou Municipal Central Hospital and is still feverish,” health officials said, Xinhua reported.
Reported Cases Worldwide
About 1,200 cases of the virus have been reported worldwide with at least 481 fatalities, said the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control.
Warning Signal Shuts Down Reactor Unit 5 at Hanul NPP in Uljin, S. Korea
Reactor No. 5 at Hanul Nuclear Power Plant in Uljin, located some 330 kilometers southeast of Seoul, was automatically shutdown at 4:17 am on Wednesday (UTC +9 hrs) after an emergency signal was activated.
The cause of the shutdown of the 1,000-megawatt unit was not yet known, said officials from the Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power Co, Yonhap reported.
The Hanul Nuclear power plant [previously named Uljin] has six pressurized water reactors (PWRs) with a total installed capacity of 5,881 MW. The first unit went online in 1988.
Hanul Nuclear Power Plant. Undated photo provided by Korea Electric Power Corporation.
Currently 19 [out of 23] nuclear reactors supply about 30 percent of South Korea’s electricity.
Fake Parts, Bogus Certificates
South Korean nuclear regulators discovered about a thousand more fake parts supplied for their nuclear plants with bogus quality certificates in 2012.
In November 2012, eight companies were found to have submitted 60 fake certificates that covered more than 7,000 parts mostly used in the two reactors that were reportedly shut.
S. Korean government is planning an additional 11 nuclear reactors, to add to its existing fleet of 23.
About 12,500 tons of nuclear waste filled more than 70 percent of the country’s storage capacity at reactor sites, as of June 2012.
“Safety-related action” automatically shuts down South Korea’s nuclear reactor
The auto shutdown at the 587-megawatt Kori No. 1 reactor occurred on Thursday raising the tally of nuclear reactors closed to six and increasing the probability of power blackouts this winter, Reuters reported.
The reactor was commissioned in 1978, and had recently returned online after a 180-day overhaul, the report said.
South Korea’s peak demand could exceed 81,000 MW this winter, some 5,000 MW short of total supply capacity, according to industry data.
Of the other 5 nuclear reactors currently offline, three are shut due to fake safety certificates, a fourth awaiting a license extension beyond its 30-year life span, and a fifth is shut down for maintenance until 2014.
The Kori Nuclear Power Plant is located in Gori, near Busan (metro population: 8.2 million), South Korea’s second largest metropolis after Seoul. It is owned and operated by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power, a subsidiary of KEPCO.
Kori Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1. Source: KNHP [KHNP is a subsidiary of Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO), accounting for about 40% of South Korea’s electric power supply, both nuclear and hydro.
Fake Parts, Bogus Cetificates
South Korean nuclear regulators discovered about a thousand more fake parts supplied for their nuclear plants with bogus quality certificates in 2012.
In November 2012, eight companies were found to have submitted 60 fake certificates that covered more than 7,000 parts mostly used in the two reactors that were reportedly shut.
S. Korean government is planning an additional 11 nuclear reactors, to add to its existing fleet of 23.
About 12,500 tons of nuclear waste filled more than 70 percent of the country’s storage capacity at reactor sites, as of June 2012.
Japan’s war time atrocities and baseless claim to Dokdo leave “no purpose” for talks: SK President
As the rift between South Korea and Japan deepens, the region struggles to reach agreement concerning control of North Korea’s growing nuclear capability.
“The fact is there are certain issues that complicate [any relationship with Japan,]” said South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
“One example is the issue of the comfort women. These are women who have spent their blossoming years in hardship and suffering, and spent the rest of their life in ruins.” She told Bbc.
South Korean President Park Geun-hye.
“And none of these cases have been resolved or addressed; the Japanese have not changed any of their positions with regard to this. If Japan continues to stick to the same historical perceptions and repeat its past comments, then what purpose would a summit serve? Perhaps it would be better not to have one.”
Japan’s war-time atrocities against Korea, including the use of Korean woman as military sex slaves, or “comfort women,” as well as its illegitimate claim to Dokdo, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan (known as Takeshima in Japan), draws great public anger in South Korea.
Park Geun-hye, who took office in February, is the daughter of former President Park Chung-hee. She has promised to redistribute wealth, reform big conglomerates and seek greater engagement with North Korea.
Panoramic View of Dokdo, Photo dated 2008/06/28. Permission: CCL 2.0by-sa-kr
Much to her credit, Ms Park has refused to meet with the Japanese Prime Minster, and correctly asserts any talk of a summit would be premature, until the long-standing issues between the two country have been resolved.
Japan Continues to Deny its WWII Atrocities: Former “Comfort women” seek Japan’s apology for WWII rapes
Former Filipino “comfort woman” Piedad Nobleza, 86, holds slogans during a demonstration outside the Japanese Embassy in suburban Manila on Friday Aug. 15, 2008. Elderly Filipino women and their supporters demanded Tokyo’s clear-cut apology and compensation for wartime sexual slavery by Japanese troops. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila). Image may be subject to copyright.
Rangoon, Burma. August 8, 1945. An ethnic Chinese woman who was in one of the Imperial Japanese Army’s “comfort battalions” is interviewed by an Allied officer. Source: Comfort Women
Former “comfort woman” Lee Yong-Soo (L) stands beside her supporters holding portraits of Chinese, Philippine, South Korean and Taiwanese comfort women who were sex slaves for Japanese soldiers during World War II, at a protest held in front of the Japanese parliament in Tokyo, in this 14 June 2007 file photo. Japan on 27 June 2007 brushed aside calls from US lawmakers for a fresh apology to wartime sex slaves, even as the former “comfort women” renewed their demands for Tokyo to acknowledge their plight. Japan said the US move to pass a resolution calling for an “unambiguous” apology from Japan for the coercion of women into army brothels during World War II would not damage relations between the two allies. Photo from Getty Images by AFP/Getty Images. Caption Daily life. Image may be subject to copyright.
SURVIVING WWII ‘COMFORT WOMAN’ awaiting justice!Source: Survivor_1. Creative commons license. Some rights reserved.
Drought 2013: Agricultural Disaster Declared in 1,336 Counties Across the U.S.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has designated a total of 1,336 counties across 29 states as agricultural disaster areas, so far this year.
The designations include both primary and contiguous disaster areas.
Map of the U.S. Drought Disaster areas as of September 4, 2013. At least 1,336 counties, or 42.5% of all U.S. counties¹, were designated as agricultural disaster areas² due to the ongoing drought. [The figure includes both primary and contiguous disaster designations.] Source: USDA. Map enhanced by FIRE-EARTH.
1. [U.S. has a total of 3,143 counties and county-equivalents.] 2. Agriculture officials declare disaster when crop damage has exceeded 30 percent.
The Disaster President Signs Arkansas Disaster Declaration
The Disaster President has declared a major disaster exists in the State of Arkansas due to severe storms and flooding during the period of August 8-14, 2013.
Most of the losses and damage caused by the severe storms and flooding occurred in the counties of Benton, Boone, Carroll, Madison, Marion and Newton.
Additional designations may be made at a later date if requested by the state and warranted by the results of further damage assessments, FEMA has said.
-oOo-
S. Korea bans seafood from eastern Japan
The South Korean government has banned imports of seafood products from 8 prefectures in eastern Japan due to the threat of radioactive contamination from toxic water leaks at Fukushima nuclear plant.
The ban, announced on Friday, will take effect on Monday, September 9, 2013, and will apply to ALL seafood imports from fisheries in 8 prefectures: Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate, Aomori, Chiba, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma.
“The measures are due to the sharply increased concern in the public about the flow of hundreds of metric tons of contaminated water into the ocean at the site of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan,” a spokesman for the South Korean Prime Minister’s office said.
“The officials also say the country will ask for test certificates if even a trace of radioactivity is found in fish, dairy products and other foods from anywhere in Japan,” said a report.
China banned imports of seafood products, dairy and vegetable from at least 5 Japanese prefectures, including Fukushima, immediately after the triple meltdown at Fukushima nuclear plant on March 11, 2011.
Train explosion kills at least one, leaves dozens missing in Lac-Megantic, Canada
The entire town of Lac-Megantic in Quebec, Canada, was evacuated after a freight train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded, killing at least one person.
The explosions destroyed dozens of buildings in the town, located about 250km east of Montreal.
The runaway Montreal, Maine & Atlantic train, with five locomotives and 73 freight cars carrying crude oil, was parked in the village of Nantes near Lac-Megantic, when the loaded cars became uncoupled, rolled downhill into the town and derailed, said the company.
“We do fear that there will be more fatalities and from now we’re trying to locate the people that are still missing,” said Quebec police.
“When you see the center of your town almost destroyed, you’ll understand that we’re asking ourselves how we are going to get through this event,” said the town mayor.
The incident has been described as a “major catastrophe” by the police.
-oOo-
Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events
Korean plane crash at San Francisco airport, killing at least 2
An Asiana Airlines flight from Seoul, South Korea, crashed while landing on San Francisco International Airport’s Runway 28L Saturday, killing at least two people and leaving 60 unaccounted for.
San Francisco General said they had received at least 10 of the critically injured, including two children, according to a report.
Asiana Airlines Flight 214 was carrying 307 people including 291 passengers and 16 crew. Not all of the 60 people missing were presumed dead, said the San Francisco Fire Chief.
At least 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans and 61 US citizens were on the plane the plane, said a report.
‘A new born puppy knows no fear of a tiger’ —NK Diplomat
North Korea has threatened the South with ‘final destruction’ during a debate at the UN Conference on Disarmament, Reuters reported.
The threat follows the underground nuclear test, which NK conducted on February 12.
NK has warned that it could take “second and third steps,” referring to the nuke test.
“As the saying goes, a new born puppy knows no fear of a tiger. South Korea’s erratic behavior would only herald its final destruction,” said North Korean diplomat Jon Yong-ryong, Reuters reported.
The North Korean diplomat said Pyongyang recent “resolute step for self-deference” was “strong counter-actions to a foreign aggressor.”
“If the US takes a hostile approach toward the DPRK to the last, rendering the situation complicated, it (North Korea) will be left with no option but to take the second and third stronger steps in succession,” he added.
The US and UK Representatives to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva have strongly criticized North Korea.
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February 19, 2013 – DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,117 Days Left
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,117 Days Left to ‘Worst Day’ in the brief Human History
Louisiana’s Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) have confirmed 53 new human cases of the West Nile infections, marking 145 reported cases and 9 deaths so far this year.
At least 31 of the new cases are neuroinvasive disease, which infects the spinal cord and brain and can lead to death, LDHH reported.
United States is in the midst of “one of the largest West Nile outbreaks ever seen,” said Dr. Lyle Peterson, director of vector-borne infectious diseases section at CDC.
About 1,331 reported cases of the disease have occurred in 38 states including about 640 Neuroinvasive disease cases, leading to at least 46 deaths so far this year.
Nine other states have reported “some activity.”
Texas, the worst-hit state, has reported 641 cases with 24 deaths so far this year.
Since 1999, more than 30,000 people in the United States have been infected with West Nile virus. Occasionally, a person infected with the mosquito-borne disease may develop more severe symptoms including “West Nile encephalitis,” “West Nile meningitis” or “West Nile meningoencephalitis.” CDC reported.
The 1,331 cases thus far in 2012 is the highest number of West Nile virus disease cases reported to CDC through the third week in August since West Nile virus was first detected in the United States in 1999.
About 75 percent of the cases have been reported from 5 states (Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota, and Oklahoma) and almost half of all cases have been reported from Texas.
About 13,000 of the individuals who have been reported as being infected West Nile virus since 1999 have been seriously ill, and more than 1,200 have died, CDC said.
WNV Infection Causes Kidney Disease
WNV infection causes serious and lasting kidney damage, according to a new report by Baylor College of Medicine. Researchers found that 4 in 10 patients had varying stages of kidney disease caused by WNV infection.
About 45,000 people in Houston area have been infected with the virus, many of whom are unaware of it, the report said.
West Nile virus (WNV) activity reported to ArboNET, by state, United States, 2012 (as of August 21, 2012)
One thousand three hundred thirty-one (1,331) human West Nile virus infections have been reported to CDC ArboNET from Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
South Korea. Reactor No. 1 at the Ulchin nuclear power plant located in South Korea’s North Kyongsang province stopped operating on Thursday for “unknown reasons,” the Yonhap news agency reported.
Human induced climate change is wreaking havoc across the globe. Extreme rain events and incidents of flooding, landslides … are increasing both in frequency and severity, burying building, cars, humans and everything else in their paths.
Bury the cars, before the cars bury YOU!
Flooding in Busan, South Korea, July 16, 2009. Photo: AFP. Image may be subject to copyright.
Torrential rains caused flooding in South Korea triggering landslides, which buried at least a dozen people last week, leaving thousands homeless. On Thursday a record 266.5 millimeters of rain inundated South Korea’s second-largest city, the port city of Busan [Pusan] causing severe flooding which submerged more than 1,200 homes and 3,000 hectares of farmland, S. Korea’s National Emergency Management Agency said.
Floods caused by 5 days of nonstop rain kill up to 20 people, mostly children. A senior government official described the floods as the worst in 100 years. More than 20,000 homes have been flooded and 7,000 people evacuated.
Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko (3rd L) visits a settlement affected by floods in the Ivano-Frankivsk region July 27, 2008. Floods described by a senior government official as the worst in a century have killed 13 people in western Ukraine and four in neighboring Romania, officials said on Sunday. REUTERS/Mykhailo Markiv/pool
President Viktor Yushchenko flew to the worst affected area in the Ivano-Frankivsk region after leaving early a service in Kiev marking the 1,020th anniversary of the adoption of Orthodox Christianity in the region. Reuters reported.
Romania
Up to 10,000 people from 200 villages were evacuated as 2,500 houses and 25,000 hectares of farmland were flooded. At least 4 people were killed, including a child who drowned.
“We have two critical situations, on the rivers Siret and Prut,” Romanian Prime Minister said.
“So you understand the gravity of the situation, water levels on the river Prut next to the borders with Ukraine and Moldova are higher than on the Danube.”
New Zealand: Worst weather in 50 years.
g at least three dead and as many as 100,000 homes without electricity. About 10,000 tourists were stranded. [In 2008, New Zealand has thus far experienced the worst deforestation rates,worst snow storms, worst floods, worst drought and worst storms in 50 years.]
South Korea: Worst Floods in 50 Years
Up to 20 people were killed or reported as missing as the fourth day of torrential rains lashed parts of South Korea . In the worst-hit areas of North Gyeongsang province, up to 250 mm of rain
in a 24-hour period caused landslides and flooding forcing people to evacuate their homes.
Kenya
Cholera outbreak has affected eight districts in Nyanza and Western provinces. Over 80% of cholera transmission has been attributed to lack of access to safe drinking/domestic water. About 75% of the water sources are contaminated.
Myanmar
Some three months after Cyclone Nargis struck the country inflicting immense damage, as many as 700,000 children are still in need of assistance. The cyclone destroyed or damaged about 750,000 homes, affected about 2.4 million people and destroyed three quarters of the local health facilities. “In addition, the cyclone struck a severe blow to people’s livelihoods by flooding 600,000 hectares of agricultural land, killing up to 50 per cent of livestock in the affected areas, and destroying fishing boats, food stocks and agricultural implements. According to the report, the damages and losses amount to $4 billion.” UNICEF reported.
Taiwan
Typhoon Fung-Wong with winds up to 147km/h (92 mph) struck the east coast of Taiwan today with heavy rains, forcing schools and businesses to close. In July 18, tropical storm Kalmaegi struck southern Taiwan, which left 20 people killed and 6 missing. “A Central Weather Bureau forecaster was quoted as saying the total rainfall may reach 900mm (35 inches).” BBC reported.
Queen Partenope: Played by the entire population of Naples and Campania [and the estimated 1.2 million tons of rotting garbage]
Prince Armindo of Rhodes: played by Il Duce [the leader] of Italy Silvio Berlusconi and his gang.
Prince Arsace of Corinth: The garbage incinerators in Germany, Switzerland and elsewhere
Prince Emilio of Cumae [who is at war with Naples and with Queen Partenope] : Played by the Camorra mafia
Full List of Actors:
Il Duce [the leader] of Italy Silvio Berlusconi
Environment Minister Stefania Prestigiacomo
Camorra mafia
Cardinal Angelo Bagnasco, head of the influential Italian Bishops Conference
The corrupt regional governor, Antonio Bassolino, and 27 others under house arrest.
City’s chief officer and special commissioner Alessandro Pansa (one of the 27)
Rosanna Laraia, head of waste management in Italy’s Ministry for the Environment
Billions of missing, misappropriated, or unaccounted for euros [ € billions ]
Environmental campaigner Francesco Pascale
Sergio Sedia and his wife Giulia
President Giorgio Napolitano
Just over 1 million Neapolitans (and a further 5 million people living in Campania region and the province of Naples.)
Hundreds of police officers in riot gears
Probably as many as 10 million “super-charged” rats and 100 million cockroaches living in the garbage piles throughout the city of Naples
Composer:
Germany’s George Frideric Handel
Act I – Seeking Toxic Asylum
In Act I of the famous Naples Garbage Opera, Partenope, Sergio Sedia and his wife Giulia request “toxic asylum” in Switzerland.
Sergio and his wife Giulia live in the “Triangle of Death” near Naples where the mafia has illegally dumped tons of toxic waste. British medical journal, The Lancet, reported in 2004 on “considerably higher cancer and deformity rates” in the area compared with other parts of the Campania region near Naples.
[Other than rats and cockroaches, what sort of vermin would transform its place of habitat to this?] A woman wearing a filtered mask walks past piles of trash thrown into a street intersection in protest in Naples May 16, 2008. REUTERS/Ciro Messere/Agnfoto. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
“The (Italian) government has not protected my right to health, and in this area people are dying of cancers caused by tonnes of chemical and toxic waste illegally dumped here for more than 20 years,” said Sergio.
Camorra mafia has been secretly dumping thousands of tonnes of industrial waste since the 1980s in what is “the heart of some of Italy’s best farm land,” environmental groups said.
“This area is nearly entirely agricultural, there are no factories, but has mortality rates for cancers linked to pollution higher than the national average. Here one doesn’t die of a heart attack or an accident, but from tumors,” said Sedia, 34, who works in the finance industry.
Silvio Berlusconi Prime Minister of Italy (President of the Council of Ministers of Italy). Born 29 September 1936, he is an entrepreneur, media proprietor and Head of the
“What I eat and breathe every day makes me afraid because of the products — the asbestos, the lead, the dioxins that are there in the air, the soil, the ground water,” he told AFP.
Fearing also for the health of their unborn child, said Sedia, “we decided to demand protection abroad and our choice fell on Switzerland.”
“We want to save ourselves, and only another country can help us, because if waste is one enemy, the Italian state is another in continuing to deny there is a problem in this area.”
“The Italian authorities are trying to act as if the problem of contamination doesn’t exist,” he said.
“I am not very confident when I see the authorities test mozzarella (over dioxin poisoning) because it is a valuable product, but doesn’t conduct tests on us citizens because we don’t have any commercial value.”
Earlier this year samples of mozzarella cheese, made from buffalo milk, were found to have highlevels of the toxic compound dioxin. As a result, buffalo farms in the Campania region were quarantined.
Japan, Singapore and South Korea banned the import of Italian mozzarella, earlier this year. (Source)
Fire Earth 
