Archive for June, 2008
Posted by msrb on June 22, 2008
NASA Mars Project: A Massive Black Hole Swallowing Other People’s Money
It makes NO sense whatever blowing away the taxpayers dollars looking for ice on Mars as life becomes extinct down here on Earth!
How much does NASA spend looking for the ‘holy grail’ in the solar system and beyond?
Scientists using the NASA Swift satellite have found evidence of a black hole swallowing a neutron star. The black hole may have first stretched the dense neutron star into a crescent and broken off crumbs in the process. The black hole could have then swallowed the star largely in one gulp, feeding on the crumbs in the minutes and hours that followed. Such a black hole would grow more massive, like a python that downs a wild boar. Credit: NASA/Dana Berry, Skyworks Digital
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Posted in 6th Great Extinction, agriculture, American economy, Armageddon, biosphere, carbon dioxide, Chinese, CO2, coal, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, NASA, politics, war | Tagged: biosphere 2, First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities, holy grail, life extinction, mars, Mojavefied, NASA, Phoenix Lander, solar system, University of Arizona, Water | 1 Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 21, 2008
The Best Caption Competition Winners:
- There’s no war here.
- Don’t trouble me with national emergencies, I have a war to fight.
- Our troops need all the money we can send them to fight the enemy over there.
- Don’t be sissies! This is nothing like the 1993 deluge.
President George W. Bush talks to the media after viewing receding floodwaters on Normandy Drive in Iowa City, Iowa, USA, on 19 June 2008. EPA/MATTHEW HOLST / POOL. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
“They all told us, `The levees are good. You can go ahead and build,”‘ said Parks, who did not buy flood coverage because her bank no longer required it. “We had so much confidence in those levees.”
“People put all their hopes in those levees, and when they do fail, the damage is catastrophic,” said Paul Osman, the National Flood Insurance Program coordinator for Illinois. “New Orleans is the epitome; a lot of those people didn’t even realize they were in a floodplain until the water was up to their roofs.”
This used to be a road, and we parked our trucks right there!
Volunteers sandbag a building submerged in Burlington, Iowa June 15, 2008. Officials moved paintings, books and documents out of harm’s way on Sunday as record flooding in parts of the U.S. Midwest partly submerged the University of Iowa campus in Iowa City. REUTERS/Eric Thayer (UNITED STATES). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!
“We reported to the president in ’94 that the levee system was in disarray, the levees were not high enough to take care of any potential problem. People didn’t understand their flood risk and there wasn’t good co-ordination across federal, state and local governments,” said Gerald Galloway, a professor of engineering and flood control expert.
“The same thing applies today,” Galloway said. “It’s amazing that in the face of [Hurricane] Katrina and now this particular challenge that we continue to relearn the same lessons.”
Galloway’s recommendations to improve the levee system were basically ignored. He said that he’s experiencing much the same response now from officials as in 1993.
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Posted in Bush, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, politics, war | Tagged: China, Climate Change, climate refugees, CO2, crop damage, Drought, Energy, environment, Extreme Rain Events, extreme weather events, floods, Food, Gerald Galloway, GHG, Global Warming, government, Health, historic hydrological event, levee system, Midwest Flood Victims, Midwest Floods, Misled by Feds, Mississippi River, Missouri river, National Weather Service, northern Louisiana, Quincy, St. Louis |, tourism, travel | 3 Comments »
Posted by msrb on June 17, 2008
Could Food and Fuel Riots Break Out Across the U.S.?
Iowa Survives, But only Just!
Climate fury stays execution of Iowa—for now, any way. The worst flooding in the Midwest, at least in the last 15 years, is receding.
A home is flooded along the Mississippi River near Gladstone, Illinois June 16, 2008. Flooding in the U.S. Midwest is taking a toll on freight carriers, costing barge lines about $1 million per day and likely disrupting railroads for months to come, said traders and industry executives on Monday. REUTERS/Eric Thayer. Image may be subject to copyright. See PRO fair Use Notice!
The early dividends are as follows:
- The price of corn at the Chicago Board of Trade rocketed past $8 a bushel [a bushel of corn or maize weighs about 25.4kg; wheat and soybean, about 27.22kg.]
- About 3.3 million acres of cropland was deluged [2 million acres of soybeans, and 1.3 million acres of corn.]
- An estimated 2 million acres wasn’t planted.
- About 21 percent of Iowa’s 25million acres of cropland were flooded.
- At least twenty-six people have died since May 25 as a result of the storms or tornadoes in the Midwest.
- Up to 40,000 Iowans in 11 counties, declared federal disaster area, including 30,000 in Cedar Rapids were evacuated.
- About 200,000 gallons of drinking water were distributed.
- Nearly 5 million sandbags were used.
- Mississippi River, the main shipping artery to the export terminals in the Gulf of Mexico is closed due to high water levels caused by heavy rains throughout last week.
- The President [sic] is spending a day in Iowa
The Iowa flooding will have a significant impact on the global food prices because the United States exports 54 percent of the world’s corn, 36 percent of soybeans and 23 percent of wheat.
“Estimates show 3 million acres of corn under water and probably 2 million didn’t get planted. So that gets you up to 5 million or over 700 million bushels, and that takes out the entire carry-out [stocks carried over to the next crop,]” said Glenn Hollander, a grain merchant on the CBOT trading floor.
NO estimates are yet available concerning the permanent damage done to the soil.
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Posted in Bush, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, politics, war | Tagged: agriculture, CBOT, Cedar Rapids, corn, cornfields, cropland, farmland, floodwater, food export, global food prices, Gulf of Mexico, Iowa, Iowa flooding, Midwest flooding, Mississippi River, soybenas, storms, tornadoes | 6 Comments »
Posted by msrb on June 16, 2008
Fuel and Food Strikes Spreads to South Korea
About 18,000 operators of construction machinery went on strike in South Korea on Monday demanding cheaper fuel and higher pay, joining thousands of truckers who began their strike last week.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. Lee may be forced to resign in the coming weeks.
The strikers are also angry over the policies of the new President Lee Myung-bak, who came to office amid a landslide victory in December, but has since become increasingly unpopular because of a decision to resume imports of U.S. beef.
Protesters chant slogans at a candlelight vigil on a street leading to the U.S. embassy and the presidential Blue House in central Seoul June 10, 2008. REUTERS/Lee Jae-Won. Image may be subject to copyright. See PRO Fair Use Notice!
There have been waves of street protest in the recent weeks demanding the government to repeal of the U.S. beef deal. The South Koreans are concerned about the threats of mad cow disease associated with the US beef.
Adding to the pressure, the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is expected to call on its 600,000 members to stage a walkout against Lee’s privatization and pension reform plans, Reuters reported.
The strikes have so far cost Korea $3.5 billion, the commerce ministry said.
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Posted in Bush, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, politics, war | Tagged: big oil, biofuel, boneheads, BP, Brent crude, cabal, catastrophe, CEO, Chevron, China, Colombia, Congress, ConocoPhillips, construction machinery operators, corn, corporate racketeering, corporations from hell, energy riots, ethanol, Exxon Mobil, Exxon Valdeez, feedlots, free market my foot, gas-guzzling cars, gasoline prices, George W. Bush, Gulf, House of Representatives, hypocrisy, inflation, insanity, Iran, Iraq occupation, Justice Department, Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, Lee Myung-bak, lifestyle, lynch mob, mad cow disease, Middle East, Mobil, niger delta, Nigeria, oil, OPEC, Pinheads, politics, Public Citizen, Ralph Nader, red heifer, renewable energy, Rep. Kagen, Rocky Mountains, runaway economy, Saudi Arabia, senate, Separation of Oil and State, sheeple, shell, South Korea, Speculators, StatoilHydro, Steve Kagen, supply and demand, truckers, truckers strike, uncertainty, Uncle Sam, US, USD, van der Veer, Venezuela, Wall Street, Weak dollar, White House, Wisconsin | Leave a Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 16, 2008
The Human Rights of an Octogenarian Chinese Woman
Google has effectively blocked the following posts from its search engines:
Google Censorship is a Flagrant Violation of Our Freedom of Speech!
Freedom of speech is being able to speak freely without censorship. The United States Constitution protects opinions under inalienable 1st Amendment free speech rights.
The right to freedom of speech is also guaranteed under international law through numerous human-rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
How much longer is Google allowed to continue its censorship in violation of the United States Constitution and the international law?
Posted in Energy, environment, government, money, politics | Tagged: 1st Amendment, China, China quake, Chinese Victim, Europe, free speech, free speech rights, freedom of speech, Google, Google censorship, google gag, google law, Health, human rights, murder, New Zealand, New Zealand Poisoning Syndrome, Octogenarian Chinese Woman, Plumbing the Depth of Depravity, politics, pollution, racism, Racist Storm, rape, tourism, Tourist Deathtrap, Tourists, travel, United States, United States Constitution | 8 Comments »
Posted by msrb on June 13, 2008
Europe Fuel Protests Turn Deadly
Two truck drivers were killed in fuel protests in Spain and Portugal, while a third driver received serious burn in a suspected arson attack.
The imapct of haulers’ strike is now being felt throughout the Spanish and Portuguese economies.
In Spain the country’s 18 car factories are running out of parts and fuel. The car industry accounts for about 5 percent of Spain’s GDP.
As the blockade continues in the European nations, consumers rush to stockpile food and fuel causing severe shortages in some areas.
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msrb
Posted in Bush, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, politics, war | Tagged: big oil, biofuel, boneheads, BP, Brent crude, cabal, catastrophe, CEO, Chevron, China, Colombia, Congress, ConocoPhillips, corn, corporate racketeering, corporations from hell, energy riots, ethanol, Exxon Mobil, Exxon Valdeez, feedlots, gas-guzzling cars, gasoline prices, George W. Bush, Gulf, House of Representatives, hypocrisy, inflation, insanity, Iran, Iraq occupation, Justice Department, lifestyle, lynch mob, Middle East, Mobil, niger delta, Nigeria, oil, OPEC, Pinheads, politics, Public Citizen, Ralph Nader, red heifer, renewable energy, Rep. Kagen, Rocky Mountains, runaway economy, Saudi Arabia, senate, Separation of Oil and State, sheeple, shell, StatoilHydro, Steve Kagen, supply and demand, uncertainty, Uncle Sam, USD, van der Veer, Venezuela, Wall Street, Weak dollar, White House, Wisconsin | Leave a Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 12, 2008
One Day Soon, A Tiny Wall Street Black Hole Will Suck In the Rest of Your Assets!
The Goal of the Cabal is to Strip YOU of Everything You’ve Got. Then Your Hearts and Minds Will Follow!
Posted in Bush, cabal, China, collapse, Earth, ecosystems, Energy, environment, George W. Bush, government, lifestyle, money, politics, war | Tagged: Black Hole, BushCo, Casinos on Wall Street, charlatans, Citigroup, Federal Reserve, gold, investment bank, Las Vegas, Lehman Brothers, megagambling, Merril Lynch, money, oil, Paul Volcker, Ralph Nader, Supervision, Wall Street, Washington DC, your money | Leave a Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 9, 2008
Could Fuel Strikes Break Out Across the U.S.?
Tens of thousands of Spanish truck drivers strike to protest fuel prices.
[ June 10, 2008] Global update Fuel protests in Hong Kong and India (Video report)
As fishermen’s strike throughout Spain protesting fuel costs entered its second week, tens of thousands of Spanish truck drivers began an indefinite strike to protest fuel price rises, blocking roads at the main border crossing with neighboring France.
Spanish truck drivers bring traffic to standstill near Barcelona at the start of an indefinite strike to protest against rising fuel prices. Photograph: Xavier Bertral/EPA. Image may be subject to copyright. See MSRB Fair Use Notice.
Meanwhile, “snail protests” were staged by truck drivers held up traffic around Madrid and Barcelona. “We are the ones who move the goods that this country needs to keep working. If we stop because we haven’t got the money to buy fuel then the country will stop,” Julio Villascusa, president of the transport association federation Fenadismer, said.
Truck drivers’ strike, if it continues for more than a week, could potentially bring spain to a standstill.
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Posted in Energy, environment, government, money, politics | Tagged: biofuel, fossil fuel, fuel, fuel prices, fuel shortages, fuels crops, Hong Kong, India, NO fossil fuel principle, protest, rising fuel costs, spain, spanish truck drivers, strike, Truck drivers, trucks | Leave a Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 7, 2008
UNEP Clumsy Scaremongering Diminishes the Seriousness of Environmental Threats
Posted in Bush, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Global Warming, government, money, politics, war | Tagged: advertising industry, air pollution, airports, China, Climate Change, CO2, coal-burner, consumption, electric toothbrush, electricity generation, Energy, Food, gasoline prices, greenhouse gases, Health, Kick the CO2 Habit, parking lots, political economy, propaganda, roads, Snakeoil, tourism, travel, UN, UN hypocricy, UNEP, US, vehicle emission. | Leave a Comment »
Posted by msrb on June 2, 2008
Food Riots Break Out in Bangladesh Again
Thousands of Bangladeshi garment workers protesting over low wages and soaring food prices clashed with the police on Sunday during fresh protests over low wages and soaring food prices.
“They smashed dozens of vehicles, attacked nearby factories and pelted stones and bricks at our officers. Police fired shotguns to disperse the unruly workers,” police chief said.
Four protestors, including two with bullet wounds, were admitted to Chittagong Medical College Hospital A nurse said.
Bangladesh’s garment industry employls about 2.5 million workers, or 40 percent of the industrial workforce, and accounts for about 80 percent of the country’s export earnings. The average garment worker earn a basic minimum wage of about 25 dollars a month.
Bangladeshi households spend nearly 70 percent of their income on food. Prices for rice, the country’s staple food have doubled in the past 12 months mainly because of floods last summer and a major cyclone that caused severe damage to the crops in November.
Unions have demanded a major increase in salaries, saying the existing basic payment fixed in late 2006 has become redundant due to rocketing prices of food and other commodities over the past year.
In April, at least 20,000 protesting garment workers clashed with police and 50 were injured.
Bangladeshi demonstrators protesting against rising food and fuel prices on the outskirts of Dhaka in April, 2008. Police clashed with thousands of garment workers in southwest Bangladesh Sunday during fresh protests over low wages and soaring food prices. (Image may be subject to copyright. see MSRB Fair Use Notice.
Food Riot in Kenya
About a thousand Kenyan demonstrators protesting against rising food prices were assaulted by the riot police who fired teargas to disperse them on Saturday.
Widespread food shortages have led to skyrocketing food prices amid political corruption. Annual inflation rose by an average 24.2 percent in April and May.
“The government must subsidize the cost of food, it is not fair for the poor to be suffering with high food prices yet the government has not increased salaries,” said one of the organizers.
Disputed presidential election has also triggered violent clashes across Kenya killing 1,600 people and displacing about one half of a million people since December 2007.
Food and fuel riots, protests and strikes have erupted this year throughout the “third world” countries in Africa Asia and the Americas including Bangladesh, Bolivia, Cameroon, Egypt, El Salvador, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Pakistan, Philippines Senegal, Singapore, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Yemen (other countries may have been omitted inadvertently).
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Posted in Africa, against nature, agriculture, Americas, asia, basic needs, biocapacity, China, collapse, ecosystems, Energy, environment, Food, Global Warming, government, money, politics, staple diet, war | Tagged: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Bonn, Buffett the Poor, Cameroon, demonstrations, Egypt, El Salvador, Emerging Food Crisis, Fao, food riots, food shortages, Fueling Food Shortages, garment workers, Haiti, India, Indonesia, Italy, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Oil Chaos, Pakistan, Philippines Senegal, Poverty Index, protests, Singapore, Somalia, strikes, UN, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen | 6 Comments »
