Post by Michael James Stone on Jul 27, 2012 7:58:21 GMT -8
27 Jul 12
US: Iran Siding With Assad Regime 'Extremely Dangerous'
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland was responding at a daily press briefing on Thursday to Iran's comments that they were going to step up and increase their support to the Assad regime.
Skeptics put the freeze on NASA 'hot air' about Greenland ice
NASA’s claim that Greenland is experiencing “unprecedented” melting is nothing but a bunch of hot air, according to scientists who say the country's ice sheets melt with some regularity.
6.7-magnitude earthquake strikes the Indian Ocean off Mauritius
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake at 9:33 a.m. local time (0533 GMT) was centered about 387 kilometers (240 miles) northeast of Port Mathurin, the main village on Rodrigues island in Mauritius. It struck about 9.8 kilometers (6.1 miles) deep, making it a very shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Bipartisan group of senators threatens to oppose UN arms treaty as deadline looms
A bipartisan group of 51 senators is threatening to oppose a global treaty regulating international weapons trade if it falls short in protecting the constitutional right to bear arms, as the United Nations bumps up against a Friday deadline for action.
Drought ruining crops in Russia
"Such an unfavorable year has not been witnessed since the second world war," said Yuri Tkachenko, head of the Krasnodar weather forecasting center. The immediate effect of the lowered crop yield is a severe reduction in Russian exports of grain and corn, Russian news service ITAR-Tass reported Thursday.
Worsening Illinois drought points to increasingly ominous signs for crops
...the central and southern portions of Illinois are experiencing even worse conditions that are classified as extreme or exceptional, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Surrounding states, especially Missouri and Indiana, have also been hit hard, with 55.5 percent of the Midwest experiencing at least a severe drought, compared with 45.6 percent of the country.
Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling
From highways in Texas to nuclear power plants in Illinois, the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation’s infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms. On a single day this month here, a US Airways regional jet became stuck in asphalt that had softened in 100-degree temperatures, and a subway train derailed after the heat stretched the track so far that it kinked — inserting a sharp angle into a stretch that was supposed to be straight.
Storms knock out power to thousands from Plains to Northeast
Hundreds of thousands lost power due to a potent storm system that extended eastward from the Plains toward the Northeast on Thursday, bringing with it high winds and destructive lightning.
Markets Surge after Draghi Vows to Protect Euro
It was the signal investors were waiting for. The European Central Bank "is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro," its president, Mario Draghi said on Thursday. Markets leapt because the statement was a strong signal that the ECB will resume its program to buy the bonds of struggling euro nations.
'Muslim Brothers plotting overthrow of Gulf states'
"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general...This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries..
"Hot War" Erupting With Iran, Top Terror-Watchers Warn
“We’re seeing a general uptick in the level of activity around the world. Both Hezbollah and the [Iranian] Quods Force have demonstrated an ability to operate essentially globally,” Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told an audience of more than a hundred security professionals gathered here on Thursday. “This is a hot war that has gotten hotter,” Michael Leiter, Olsen’s predecessor at the NCTC, told the Aspen Security Forum. “The Iranians have considered this a shooting war for some time.”
Official: Israel will act if militants raid Syrian chemical or biological weapons stocks
Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles could be used against them as the crisis there deepens.
US government ran chemical experiments on military veterans under operations MKUltra, Bluebird and Artichoke
Details of this sad episode in our history were contained in a 2009 class action suit. Filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers, the suit charges the U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency, with the help of former Nazi scientists, of using at least 7,800 vets as guinea pigs to test the effects of as many as 400 different types of drugs and chemicals. They included mescaline (psychedelic alkaloid), LSD (psychedelic drug), amphetamines, barbiturates, nerve agents and mustard gas.
Poll: Less than half of voters think Obama is Christian
About one in six voters still thinks President Obama is Muslim while only half identify him as a Christian, according to a new national poll released Thursday.
RICK SANTORUM: Mayors Shunning Chick-Fil-A Reflects The 'Absolute Intolerance' Of The Left
Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum went on CNBC's Kudlow Report to talk about Chick-fil-A and the mayors who have spoken out against the chicken chain. The mayors of three big cities — Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia — have all made statements slamming Chick-fil-A for the controversial anti-gay marriage statements made earlier by president and COO Dan Cathy.
Biderman Batters 'Believe-Me'-Draghi
Somewhat stunned by the market's exuberant reaction to Mario Draghi's 'Believe Me' speech this morning, Charles Biderman, CEO of TrimTabs, sees the slow-motion train-wreck that is the European crisis speeding up and rapidly running out of track. Stepping back to look again at the European big picture; Biderman sees a bunch of economies whose citizens are making less money than before (and even before the current recessions European economies were not generating enough taxable income to pay current government expenses).
Two soldiers killed in blast in southeast Turkey
Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Friday when the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by a remote-controlled explosive, security sources said. Security officials blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a 27-year campaign against the Turkish state in which 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have died.
Draghi sends strong signal that ECB will act
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his sights.
Drought diminishes mighty Mississippi, puts heat on Congress
The severe drought in the U.S. Midwest wreaked more havoc across the country on Thursday, forcing barges on the Mississippi River to lighten loads for fear of getting stuck and raising concerns about higher prices for food and gasoline.
U.S. fears Syria preparing for massacre in Aleppo
President Bashar al-Assad's forces renewed a ground and aerial bombardment of Aleppo on Friday, extending efforts to crush rebels in Syria's commercial capital in what the United States said it feared could become a massacre. Insurgents targeted army roadblocks and security installations, with both sides avoiding close-quarters warfare in the city of 2.5 million people, Syria's biggest urban center.
Storms in Northeast knock out power, ground flights
Severe thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. The storms spawned a tornado that touched down in Elmira, New York, damaging a mall and a local country club, the National Weather Service said.
US: Iran Siding With Assad Regime 'Extremely Dangerous'
State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland was responding at a daily press briefing on Thursday to Iran's comments that they were going to step up and increase their support to the Assad regime.
Skeptics put the freeze on NASA 'hot air' about Greenland ice
NASA’s claim that Greenland is experiencing “unprecedented” melting is nothing but a bunch of hot air, according to scientists who say the country's ice sheets melt with some regularity.
6.7-magnitude earthquake strikes the Indian Ocean off Mauritius
The 6.7-magnitude earthquake at 9:33 a.m. local time (0533 GMT) was centered about 387 kilometers (240 miles) northeast of Port Mathurin, the main village on Rodrigues island in Mauritius. It struck about 9.8 kilometers (6.1 miles) deep, making it a very shallow earthquake, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Bipartisan group of senators threatens to oppose UN arms treaty as deadline looms
A bipartisan group of 51 senators is threatening to oppose a global treaty regulating international weapons trade if it falls short in protecting the constitutional right to bear arms, as the United Nations bumps up against a Friday deadline for action.
Drought ruining crops in Russia
"Such an unfavorable year has not been witnessed since the second world war," said Yuri Tkachenko, head of the Krasnodar weather forecasting center. The immediate effect of the lowered crop yield is a severe reduction in Russian exports of grain and corn, Russian news service ITAR-Tass reported Thursday.
Worsening Illinois drought points to increasingly ominous signs for crops
...the central and southern portions of Illinois are experiencing even worse conditions that are classified as extreme or exceptional, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center. Surrounding states, especially Missouri and Indiana, have also been hit hard, with 55.5 percent of the Midwest experiencing at least a severe drought, compared with 45.6 percent of the country.
Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling
From highways in Texas to nuclear power plants in Illinois, the concrete, steel and sophisticated engineering that undergird the nation’s infrastructure are being taxed to worrisome degrees by heat, drought and vicious storms. On a single day this month here, a US Airways regional jet became stuck in asphalt that had softened in 100-degree temperatures, and a subway train derailed after the heat stretched the track so far that it kinked — inserting a sharp angle into a stretch that was supposed to be straight.
Storms knock out power to thousands from Plains to Northeast
Hundreds of thousands lost power due to a potent storm system that extended eastward from the Plains toward the Northeast on Thursday, bringing with it high winds and destructive lightning.
Markets Surge after Draghi Vows to Protect Euro
It was the signal investors were waiting for. The European Central Bank "is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro," its president, Mario Draghi said on Thursday. Markets leapt because the statement was a strong signal that the ECB will resume its program to buy the bonds of struggling euro nations.
'Muslim Brothers plotting overthrow of Gulf states'
"There's an international plot against Gulf states in particular and Arab countries in general...This is preplanned to take over our fortunes," Khalfan told reporters at a gathering late on Wednesday marking the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "The bigger our sovereign wealth funds and the more money we put in the banks of Western countries, the bigger the plot to take over our countries..
"Hot War" Erupting With Iran, Top Terror-Watchers Warn
“We’re seeing a general uptick in the level of activity around the world. Both Hezbollah and the [Iranian] Quods Force have demonstrated an ability to operate essentially globally,” Matt Olsen, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told an audience of more than a hundred security professionals gathered here on Thursday. “This is a hot war that has gotten hotter,” Michael Leiter, Olsen’s predecessor at the NCTC, told the Aspen Security Forum. “The Iranians have considered this a shooting war for some time.”
Official: Israel will act if militants raid Syrian chemical or biological weapons stocks
Israelis rushed to get government-issue gas masks Wednesday, the latest sign of mounting fears that Syria's chemical weapons stockpiles could be used against them as the crisis there deepens.
US government ran chemical experiments on military veterans under operations MKUltra, Bluebird and Artichoke
Details of this sad episode in our history were contained in a 2009 class action suit. Filed by the Vietnam Veterans of America and individual soldiers, the suit charges the U.S. Army and the Central Intelligence Agency, with the help of former Nazi scientists, of using at least 7,800 vets as guinea pigs to test the effects of as many as 400 different types of drugs and chemicals. They included mescaline (psychedelic alkaloid), LSD (psychedelic drug), amphetamines, barbiturates, nerve agents and mustard gas.
Poll: Less than half of voters think Obama is Christian
About one in six voters still thinks President Obama is Muslim while only half identify him as a Christian, according to a new national poll released Thursday.
RICK SANTORUM: Mayors Shunning Chick-Fil-A Reflects The 'Absolute Intolerance' Of The Left
Former presidential hopeful Rick Santorum went on CNBC's Kudlow Report to talk about Chick-fil-A and the mayors who have spoken out against the chicken chain. The mayors of three big cities — Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia — have all made statements slamming Chick-fil-A for the controversial anti-gay marriage statements made earlier by president and COO Dan Cathy.
Biderman Batters 'Believe-Me'-Draghi
Somewhat stunned by the market's exuberant reaction to Mario Draghi's 'Believe Me' speech this morning, Charles Biderman, CEO of TrimTabs, sees the slow-motion train-wreck that is the European crisis speeding up and rapidly running out of track. Stepping back to look again at the European big picture; Biderman sees a bunch of economies whose citizens are making less money than before (and even before the current recessions European economies were not generating enough taxable income to pay current government expenses).
Two soldiers killed in blast in southeast Turkey
Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the mainly Kurdish southeast on Friday when the vehicle they were traveling in was hit by a remote-controlled explosive, security sources said. Security officials blamed the attack on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has waged a 27-year campaign against the Turkish state in which 40,000 people, mainly Kurds, have died.
Draghi sends strong signal that ECB will act
European Central Bank President Mario Draghi pledged on Thursday to do whatever was necessary to protect the euro zone from collapse, sending a strong signal that inflated Spanish and Italian borrowing costs were in his sights.
Drought diminishes mighty Mississippi, puts heat on Congress
The severe drought in the U.S. Midwest wreaked more havoc across the country on Thursday, forcing barges on the Mississippi River to lighten loads for fear of getting stuck and raising concerns about higher prices for food and gasoline.
U.S. fears Syria preparing for massacre in Aleppo
President Bashar al-Assad's forces renewed a ground and aerial bombardment of Aleppo on Friday, extending efforts to crush rebels in Syria's commercial capital in what the United States said it feared could become a massacre. Insurgents targeted army roadblocks and security installations, with both sides avoiding close-quarters warfare in the city of 2.5 million people, Syria's biggest urban center.
Storms in Northeast knock out power, ground flights
Severe thunderstorms unleashed heavy rain and strong winds across parts of the Midwest and Northeast on Thursday, grounding hundreds of flights and leaving tens of thousands of people without power. The storms spawned a tornado that touched down in Elmira, New York, damaging a mall and a local country club, the National Weather Service said.