Post by Michael James Stone on Jul 31, 2012 8:03:46 GMT -8
31 Jul 12
Corn Ratings Worsen as U.S. Midwest Drought Expands: USDA
The condition of the U.S. corn crop worsened for an eighth straight week amid the worst Midwest drought in a generation. Soybean ratings also fell. About 24 percent of the corn was in good or excellent condition as of yesterday, down from 26 percent a week earlier and 77 percent in mid-May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report.
As truth about Fukushima radiation emerges, Japanese authorities struggle to maintain cover-up
The cat is out of the bag, as more evidence continues to emerge proving that clean-up workers at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan deliberately covered up high radiation readings at the order of their superiors. And as more people become aware of this disturbing fact, Japanese authorities are trying to maintain the facade that the cover-up was an isolated incident, and that there was not a larger conspiracy to hide legitimate radiation readings from the public.
Second India blackout in two days cuts power to 670 million
Grids supplying electricity to half of India's 1.2 billion people collapsed on Tuesday, trapping coal miners, stranding train travelers and plunging hospitals into darkness in the second major blackout in as many days.
Euro zone crisis heads for September crunch
Over the past couple of years, Europe has muddled through a long series of crunch moments in its debt crisis, but this September is shaping up as a "make-or-break" month as policymakers run desperately short of options to save the common currency.
Earthquake rumbles Mineral, VA
Almost 1 year after Central Virginia was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, a smaller tremor was felt early Tuesday morning. According to the latest reading from the U.S. Geological Survey , it happened just after midnight.
Little Rock, Ar. hits third highest temperature ever recorded: 111 F
Triple-digit heat intensified across Arkansas on Monday, setting records in at least two cities and increasing the danger for wildfires. Temperatures exceeded 100 in some areas, and are expected to stick around for much of the week. Low humidity also is settling in, increasing the threat for wildfires.
Al-Qaida turns tide for rebels in battle for eastern Syria
...According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. "We meet almost every day," he said. "We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations." Abu Khuder's men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.
Heat record broken Monday
The mercury rose to over 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this summer in eastern Finland as meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms later in the day.
Post office nears historic default on $5B payment
The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency's solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.
Russia to keep Tartus base
Russia will maintain its logistics naval station in the Syrian port of Tartus. Commenting on the issue earlier this week, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov accentuated the importance of the Tartus base in providing logistics services to the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Japan heat wave death toll rises to 30
At least 30 people have already died due to extreme heat in Japan, with more than 8,000 others rushed to hospital, including elderly people.
Syrian troops capture 4 field commanders
Syrian troops have driven out the terrorists and mercenaries from the region of Salaheddin in the Syrian city Aleppo. According to news being broadcast by the SANA news agency, on Sunday Syrian troops were mounting surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts and rebel positions in an effort to avoid damage and casualties.
Drought and wild fires destroy Russian harvest
Russia is currently in the grips of an extremely strong heat wave. City and town residents are suffocating from the sweltering heat. For example, it is about 30 degrees in Moscow with prospects of the thermometer going up in the next few days. The heat wave situation is aggravated by wild fires producing clouds of poisonous smoke.
Uganda says avoid handshakes as Ebola returns
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday advised people to avoid shaking hands, casual sex and do-it-yourself burials to reduce the chance of contracting the deadly Ebola virus after an outbreak killed 14 people and put many more at risk.
Weather station temperature claims are overheated, report claims
Global warming believer-turned-skeptic Anthony Watts, a former TV meteorologist, posted a new report online questioning the reliability of weather stations in the U.S. Historical Climatology Network, a 120-year-old weather system that forms one tent pole of climate measurements. As the country has evolved, building urban metropolises and airports and pouring parking lots, the weather stations haven’t moved -- and poorly cited stations are spoiling the data.
Republicans to issue report blaming five ATF employees for Fast and Furious' debacle
The congressional investigative report, to be issued Tuesday, specifically faults Acting Director Kenneth Melson; Deputy Director William Hoover; William Newell, special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field Division; William McMahon, deputy assistant director for field operations, and Mark Chait, assistant director for field operations. Melson told investigators he felt the Justice Department was making him a scapegoat for the operation's failure.
Dems move to include gay marriage support in official party platform
Democrats are moving, for the first time, to include support for same-sex marriage in the official party platform at their national convention. The decision comes after President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to voice support for gay marriage, and as party officials try to build the anticipation ahead of the convention set for early September in Charlotte, N.C.
Turkish military convoy heads for Syrian border
Turkey sent a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying troops, missile batteries and armoured vehicles to the border with Syria on Monday amid growing concern in Turkey about security on its southern frontier, news reports and witnesses said.
Deadly Seal Flu Virus Poses Threat To Humans
The strain is closely related to one that has been circulating in North American birds since 2002. But unlike the bird strain, it has adapted to living in mammals. It has also evolved mutations known to ease transmission and cause more severe symptoms. Specifically, the virus has the ability to target a protein found in human lungs. Dr Anne Moscona, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, who led the researchers, said: "There is a concern that we have a new mammalian-transmissible virus to which humans haven't been exposed yet. "It's a combination we haven't seen in disease before."
Less Than a Week Remains Before NASA's Biggest Rover Yet Lands on Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down on Mars at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 EDT, 0530 GMT). The car-size robotic explorer is designed to investigate whether Mars is, or ever was, capable of hosting microbial life.
Solar Storm Expected to Hit Earth Tuesday
A medium-size solar flare erupted from the sun this weekend, hurling a cloud of plasma and charged particles toward Earth on a cosmic path that is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet... (July 31), according to space weather forecasters.
Euro zone jobless rate hits record high, inflation static
Inflation in the euro zone remained steady for the third straight month in July, offering little comfort to consumers at a time when the number of people out of work continues to climb and the unemployment rate hit a record high.
Grain prices threaten growth – except in Canada’s breadbasket
Grain prices, which are hitting record highs as crop failures ripple around the globe, are likely to remain strong for at least three more years, the World Bank says, threatening to push the price of nutritious food beyond the reach of the world’s poorest citizens. While the massive drought in the United States has garnered a lot of attention, the situation is made worse by a shortage of rain that has damaged wheat crops in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. India’s monsoon rainfall is also about 20 per cent below average, hurting crop prospects in the world’s second-most-populous country, while excessive rain is pinching farm producers in many European countries.
Chronic drought to become commonplace, scientists warn
The four-year-long drought that affected western Canada and the U.S. at the turn of the century was the worst to hit the region in 800 years, say scientists who warn that dry spell was nothing compared to the “megadroughts” still to come.
Corn Ratings Worsen as U.S. Midwest Drought Expands: USDA
The condition of the U.S. corn crop worsened for an eighth straight week amid the worst Midwest drought in a generation. Soybean ratings also fell. About 24 percent of the corn was in good or excellent condition as of yesterday, down from 26 percent a week earlier and 77 percent in mid-May, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said today in a report.
As truth about Fukushima radiation emerges, Japanese authorities struggle to maintain cover-up
The cat is out of the bag, as more evidence continues to emerge proving that clean-up workers at the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power facility in Japan deliberately covered up high radiation readings at the order of their superiors. And as more people become aware of this disturbing fact, Japanese authorities are trying to maintain the facade that the cover-up was an isolated incident, and that there was not a larger conspiracy to hide legitimate radiation readings from the public.
Second India blackout in two days cuts power to 670 million
Grids supplying electricity to half of India's 1.2 billion people collapsed on Tuesday, trapping coal miners, stranding train travelers and plunging hospitals into darkness in the second major blackout in as many days.
Euro zone crisis heads for September crunch
Over the past couple of years, Europe has muddled through a long series of crunch moments in its debt crisis, but this September is shaping up as a "make-or-break" month as policymakers run desperately short of options to save the common currency.
Earthquake rumbles Mineral, VA
Almost 1 year after Central Virginia was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake, a smaller tremor was felt early Tuesday morning. According to the latest reading from the U.S. Geological Survey , it happened just after midnight.
Little Rock, Ar. hits third highest temperature ever recorded: 111 F
Triple-digit heat intensified across Arkansas on Monday, setting records in at least two cities and increasing the danger for wildfires. Temperatures exceeded 100 in some areas, and are expected to stick around for much of the week. Low humidity also is settling in, increasing the threat for wildfires.
Al-Qaida turns tide for rebels in battle for eastern Syria
...According to Abu Khuder, his men are working closely with the military council that commands the Free Syrian Army brigades in the region. "We meet almost every day," he said. "We have clear instructions from our [al-Qaida] leadership that if the FSA need our help we should give it. We help them with IEDs and car bombs. Our main talent is in the bombing operations." Abu Khuder's men had a lot of experience in bomb-making from Iraq and elsewhere, he added.
Heat record broken Monday
The mercury rose to over 30 degrees Celsius for the first time this summer in eastern Finland as meteorologists warned of severe thunderstorms later in the day.
Post office nears historic default on $5B payment
The U.S. Postal Service is bracing for a first-ever default on billions in payments due to the Treasury, adding to widening uncertainty about the mail agency's solvency as first-class letters plummet and Congress deadlocks on ways to stem the red ink.
Russia to keep Tartus base
Russia will maintain its logistics naval station in the Syrian port of Tartus. Commenting on the issue earlier this week, Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy Vice Admiral Viktor Chirkov accentuated the importance of the Tartus base in providing logistics services to the anti-piracy mission in the Gulf of Aden.
Japan heat wave death toll rises to 30
At least 30 people have already died due to extreme heat in Japan, with more than 8,000 others rushed to hospital, including elderly people.
Syrian troops capture 4 field commanders
Syrian troops have driven out the terrorists and mercenaries from the region of Salaheddin in the Syrian city Aleppo. According to news being broadcast by the SANA news agency, on Sunday Syrian troops were mounting surgical strikes on terrorist hideouts and rebel positions in an effort to avoid damage and casualties.
Drought and wild fires destroy Russian harvest
Russia is currently in the grips of an extremely strong heat wave. City and town residents are suffocating from the sweltering heat. For example, it is about 30 degrees in Moscow with prospects of the thermometer going up in the next few days. The heat wave situation is aggravated by wild fires producing clouds of poisonous smoke.
Uganda says avoid handshakes as Ebola returns
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni on Monday advised people to avoid shaking hands, casual sex and do-it-yourself burials to reduce the chance of contracting the deadly Ebola virus after an outbreak killed 14 people and put many more at risk.
Weather station temperature claims are overheated, report claims
Global warming believer-turned-skeptic Anthony Watts, a former TV meteorologist, posted a new report online questioning the reliability of weather stations in the U.S. Historical Climatology Network, a 120-year-old weather system that forms one tent pole of climate measurements. As the country has evolved, building urban metropolises and airports and pouring parking lots, the weather stations haven’t moved -- and poorly cited stations are spoiling the data.
Republicans to issue report blaming five ATF employees for Fast and Furious' debacle
The congressional investigative report, to be issued Tuesday, specifically faults Acting Director Kenneth Melson; Deputy Director William Hoover; William Newell, special agent in charge of the Phoenix Field Division; William McMahon, deputy assistant director for field operations, and Mark Chait, assistant director for field operations. Melson told investigators he felt the Justice Department was making him a scapegoat for the operation's failure.
Dems move to include gay marriage support in official party platform
Democrats are moving, for the first time, to include support for same-sex marriage in the official party platform at their national convention. The decision comes after President Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to voice support for gay marriage, and as party officials try to build the anticipation ahead of the convention set for early September in Charlotte, N.C.
Turkish military convoy heads for Syrian border
Turkey sent a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying troops, missile batteries and armoured vehicles to the border with Syria on Monday amid growing concern in Turkey about security on its southern frontier, news reports and witnesses said.
Deadly Seal Flu Virus Poses Threat To Humans
The strain is closely related to one that has been circulating in North American birds since 2002. But unlike the bird strain, it has adapted to living in mammals. It has also evolved mutations known to ease transmission and cause more severe symptoms. Specifically, the virus has the ability to target a protein found in human lungs. Dr Anne Moscona, from Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City, who led the researchers, said: "There is a concern that we have a new mammalian-transmissible virus to which humans haven't been exposed yet. "It's a combination we haven't seen in disease before."
Less Than a Week Remains Before NASA's Biggest Rover Yet Lands on Mars
The Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Curiosity rover is scheduled to touch down on Mars at 10:30 p.m. PDT on Aug. 5 (1:30 a.m. Aug. 6 EDT, 0530 GMT). The car-size robotic explorer is designed to investigate whether Mars is, or ever was, capable of hosting microbial life.
Solar Storm Expected to Hit Earth Tuesday
A medium-size solar flare erupted from the sun this weekend, hurling a cloud of plasma and charged particles toward Earth on a cosmic path that is expected to deliver a glancing blow to our planet... (July 31), according to space weather forecasters.
Euro zone jobless rate hits record high, inflation static
Inflation in the euro zone remained steady for the third straight month in July, offering little comfort to consumers at a time when the number of people out of work continues to climb and the unemployment rate hit a record high.
Grain prices threaten growth – except in Canada’s breadbasket
Grain prices, which are hitting record highs as crop failures ripple around the globe, are likely to remain strong for at least three more years, the World Bank says, threatening to push the price of nutritious food beyond the reach of the world’s poorest citizens. While the massive drought in the United States has garnered a lot of attention, the situation is made worse by a shortage of rain that has damaged wheat crops in Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. India’s monsoon rainfall is also about 20 per cent below average, hurting crop prospects in the world’s second-most-populous country, while excessive rain is pinching farm producers in many European countries.
Chronic drought to become commonplace, scientists warn
The four-year-long drought that affected western Canada and the U.S. at the turn of the century was the worst to hit the region in 800 years, say scientists who warn that dry spell was nothing compared to the “megadroughts” still to come.