Libya: West ready to use force against Col Gaddafi amid chemical weapon fears

The Prime Minister disclosed that he would not rule out “the use of military assets” as Britain “must not tolerate this regime using military forces against its own people”. Britain and America are also thought to be considering arming rebel forces in Libya.

Adding to growing concern about the crumbling regime’s ability to commit last desperate acts of mass murder, British sources have disclosed that Libya still has stocks of mustard gas chemicals.

Mr Cameron told MPs that Britain and its allies were considering using fighter jets to impose a no-fly zone over Libya, patrolling and shooting down Libyan aircraft ordered to attack protesters.

The Pentagon announced that the Americans had begun “repositioning forces” around Libya to provide “flexibility”. The French also announced that they would back a possible military intervention with Nato partners. (read more)

Anti-government protests break out in Lebanon

Hundreds of Lebanese protested in the capital Beirut on Sunday against the country's sectarian political system.

Emulating protests that have spread across the Arab world in recent weeks, some Lebanese protesters chanted the now-familiar refrain of "The people want to bring down the regime".

Lebanon is governed by a delicate power-sharing system to maintain the balance between the country's many sects. It is unlike many other Arab countries where protests have been against rulers who have governed for decades.

"We are here to bring down the sectarian system in Lebanon because it is more of a dictatorial system than dictatorship systems themselves," said protester Rahshan Saglam. (read more)

Gaddafi's end is nigh: 'Free Libya' Chants Heard in City Near Tripoli

With residents shouting "Free, free Libya," anti-government rebels who control this battle-scarred city nearest to the capital deployed tanks and anti-aircraft weapons Sunday, bracing for an attack by troops loyal to Moammar Qaddafi. Politicians in the opposition stronghold of Benghazi, meanwhile, set up their first leadership council in a step that could lead to an alternative to the regime.

In the capital of Tripoli, where Qaddafi is still firmly in control, state banks began handing out the equivalent of $400 per family in a bid to win back loyalty. (read more)

Carnage continues down under: Quake-hit Christchurch braces for 130 km windstorm

The death toll from the disaster reached 148 Monday but police expect the final tally to exceed 200, with more than 50 still listed as "unaccounted for" in the rubble of New Zealand's second largest city.

Police have said some victims may never be identified.

The catastrophe flattened office blocks, tore up roads and destroyed the spire of the city's landmark cathedral, leaving one-third of the downtown area facing demolition.

Winds of up to 130 kilometres (80 miles) per hour were forecast to whip through the region on Monday, officials said, likely forcing rescuers to retreat from ruins already on the brink of collapse.

"(It) will of course, if you have gale-force winds, impact on structures, it will affect rescue operations in the area where we have loose masonry," mayor Bob Parker said. (read more)

Beginning of American Rebellion? Rallies in all 50 states support Wisconsin protesters

A coalition spearheaded by liberal advocacy group Moveon.org held rallies across the country Saturday in support of public employees and others outraged at the Wisconsin budget-cutting bill they consider an attack on unions.

MoveOn.org and other liberal and labor groups held noon events at all 50 state capitals.

"Save the dream, we are reunited," a group shouted in Washington, D.C.

The focal point of the protests was the Wisconsin Capitol, where a light snow and cold temperatures failed Saturday to deter about 70,000 who drummed, chanted and marched.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, Governor Walker has got to go," chanted the group rallying in Madison. (read more)

Top US lawmaker sounds alarm over Syria nukes

A top US lawmaker pressed President Barack Obama on Thursday to impose new sanctions on Syria after photographs emerged suggesting its secret nuclear program was broader than previously revealed.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairwoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen said she was "gravely concerned" after a Washington think tank published satellite photos that appeared to show Syrian efforts to conceal a second suspected nuclear site allegedly linked to a reactor bombed by Israel in 2007.

"Israel's destruction in 2007 of Syria's suspected uranium enrichment facility may have ended the immediate threat, but this new evidence indicates the regime has yet to abandon its nuclear goals," said Ros-Lehtinen. (read more)

Expert Warns Oil Prices Could Double To Reach $220 A Barrel If Mid-East Political Crisis Intensifies

Oil strategist at Nomura, Michael Lo, estimates that oil prices could top $220-a-barrel - almost double today's high of $119 - if both Libya and Algeria halt production as a result of political unrest.

He told The Daily Telegraph: "We could be underestimating this as speculative activities were largely not present in 1990-1991."

The oil price increases, coupled with such warnings, spell danger for economic recovery, as inflation feeds through the supply chain.

RMI Petrol, the body which represents fuel retailers, said prices demanded by wholesalers have risen "an unprecedented" 3p-a-litre so far this week and that increase is set to feed into pump prices by the weekend. (read more)

Crude Oil prices may skyrocket past $200 on March 20 - the day of scheduled Saudi protests

With the facebook revolutions having claimed virtually every other country in the region, the time may be coming for that most important one of all. And if Facebook is to be relied on for its revolutionary calendar, a job it has so far done without reproach, the revolutionary wave will come to Saudi Arabia on March 20.That will also the day crude passes $200. (read more)

Homeland Security urges Americans to "be ready" - but why?

Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge on Wednesday launched a national Ready Campaign to prepare Americans for terrorist attacks, urging them to take such measures as storing 3 or more gallons of water for each family member and watching for dead birds as a sign of chemical attack.

A week after Ridge and his department came under fire for suggesting that duct tape and plastic sheeting would be a defense against possible attacks, the homeland security secretary traveled to Cincinnati to tout the new campaign he said was designed primarily to prevent fear and panic.

"Fear is the terrorists' most effective weapon," Ridge said. "The threat of terrorism forces us to make a choice. We can be afraid or we can be ready. And today America's families declare we will not be afraid and we will be ready. (read more)

China droughts now predicted to cause soaring food prices across globe

The soil lies cracked and broken in China's Shangdong Province, thirsting for rains that will not come. China's key wheat producing region, lying just south of Beijing, has received just 12 millimeters (1/2 inch) of rain since September, according to the Chinese news service Xinhua. If no rains come during the remainder of February, it could become the worst drought in 200 years. The latest precipitation forecast from the GFS ensemble model predicts the possibility of rains of around 1/2 inch for Shandong Province early next week, but these rains would help only a little. A longer-range 2-week forecast from the operational GFS model shows little or no rain for the region from late next week well into March.

Columbia University's International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI) projects that spring in Eastern China has an enhanced probability of being dry, with only a 20% - 25% chance that the region will see above average precipitation, and a 40% - 45% chance of below average precipitation. So the great drought will likely continue, and China's ability to feed itself may be greatly challenged this year. (read more)

Farmers Fail to Meet Demand as Corn Stockpiles Drop to 1974 Low

The smallest corn inventories in 37 years are a sign farmers around the globe are failing to produce enough grain to meet rising consumption, even as planting expands and food prices surge.

Growers from Canada to Russia boosted annual output of wheat, rice and feed grain by 16 percent since 2000, not enough to keep up with the 20 percent gain in demand, U.S. Department of Agriculture data show. While a Bloomberg survey of 25 analysts shows the agency on Feb. 24 may forecast a 3.5 percent increase in U.S. corn planting, the government says world stockpiles will equal 15 percent of use, the lowest since 1974.

Global inventories for all grain will drop 13 percent before the next harvest, the USDA estimates. That’s the first decline since 2007, when surging food prices sparked more than 60 riots from Haiti to Egypt. Increasing demand is causing isolated food shortages and accelerating inflation in developing countries even as it boosts farmers’ incomes and shifts planting strategies. (read more)

Goldrunner: Fractal Analysis Suggests Silver to Reach $52 – $56 by May – June 2011

Dollar Inflation remains the driver of the pricing environment for almost everything denominated in U.S. Dollars as long as the Fed continues to monetize debt. The debt monetization creates Dollar Inflation that results in Dollar Devaluation. As the Fed ramps up the QE II that they have announced will end in June, I expect Gold, Silver, and the PM stocks to aggressively rise.

In previous articles I have shown that fractal analysis suggests that:

• Gold could reach $1860 into the May/ June period based on the late 70’s Fractal. I have also shown the potential for Gold to rise even higher if the market psychology is volatile enough – up to $1975, or even up to $ 2250.
• The HUI at from HUI 940 to 970 by mid-June is a distinct possibility and we will discuss the fractal considerations for the PM stock indices further in the next editorial.
• Silver could reach $52 – $56 into May – June of 2011 as explained in this article.

(Read more)

Vultures on the verge of extinction - 28th Feb 2011

Seeing vultures flying high in the sky is already a thing of the past in most parts of the country. Any further delay in starting efforts for conservation will lead to extinction of these ‘natural scavengers’ in five years.

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has changed the status of long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus) and slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) from ‘vulnerable’ to ‘critically endangered’ species in South Asia, including Pakistan.

According to Save Our Species (SOS), a global coalition initiated by three founding partners IUCN, GEF and World Bank, vultures are specialised feeders in the ecosystem with the ability to consume carcasses to the bone. Without vultures, these carcasses would rot and taken over by disease-causing organisms that cause anthrax and botulism.

“Vultures have an extremely important ecological role as they are sanitizers of nature and their decline would eventually increase the stray dog population, which is also a health hazard for human communities,” said a report compiled by the SOS. Read More

Many carcasses of birds found on, along Route 222 in Spring Township - 28th Feb 2011

Janeen Grell peered out of her car window Sunday and noticed a bunch of little black things lying along Route 222 in Spring Township.

"What's that?" she said to her husband.

"Oh, my God," she said an instant later. "They're birds."

Grell, 37, of Reinholds estimated that 50 to 100 black birds were lying dead on or along the highway, just north of the ramp from Route 724.

Just what killed so many birds in such a concentrated area remains a mystery.

Though a definitive number of dead birds could not be established, there were enough for Spring police to turn the matter over to the Pennsylvania Game Commission for investigation. Officials there could not be reached Sunday.
It is believed the birds are European starlings. Read More

Update: Public offer £5,500 reward to find swan killer - 25th Feb 2011

SHOCKED members of the public have today put up a £5,500 reward to find the callous gunman who shot dead eight swans.

As reported, three dead swans were found covered in blood in a field off Totney Drove near Burtle by a passing motorist on Monday morning.

Animal care manager Sara Cowen from East Huntspill-based Secret World Wildlife Rescue and a Burnham hovercraft crew rushed to the scene and found an injured swan, which had survived the shootings, in the rhyne.

Rescuers found a total of eight dead birds which x-rays later confirmed had been killed by airgun pellets - one had been shot three times.

Pauline Kidner, Secret World founder, told the Weekly News: “It is hard to understand why anyone would do such a callous thing. Read More

More Marine Lake swans hit by mystery illness, taking death toll to at least seven, with 29 in a critical condition - 25th Feb 2011

A FURTHER 17 swans have been taken off the Marine Lake due to a mystery illness.

The total number of swans removed from the water in 10 days is now 36, with at least seven dead and the rest in critical conditions.

The ill birds are being looked after at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Cheshire. Post-mortem examinations are also being carried out.

Volunteers from the RSPCA have been working together with Southport Swan Rescue to save the remaining birds on the lake.

RSPCA inspector Ian Robertson said: “This is getting up to a third of all the swans in the lake in a space of time that isn’t even two weeks.

“All we know so far is that it is a bacterial problem.

“But the swans at Stapeley won’t be coming back until it is 100 per cent safe to do so.

“We have contacted all of the relevant agencies about this and we have had a meeting with Colin Pool, the Marine Lake commissioner, and informed the Environment Agency.

“We actually picked up one Canada goose too, which is the first time we have taken a bird out that isn’t a swan since this began. Read More

Defiant Wisconsin governor says state is 'broke'

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker took to the airwaves Sunday, defending his call to limit collective bargaining rights in his state because "actions speak louder than words."

The embattled first-term Republican, whose proposal has touched off a fierce nationwide debate and a series of rallies, brought his arguments to NBC's "Meet the Press."

Wisconsin is "broke," and unions use their power to block necessary cost-saving measures, Walker said. (read more)

Man-made earthquakes in Iceland - 22nd Feb 2011

Two human-induced spates of earthquakes took place in South Iceland on Sunday/Monday night and morning which have been traced to Reykjavik Energy’s activities in the area.

The first series of quakes lasted from 02.00 until 03.30 and the second, bigger spate from 05.30 to 06.00.

Both series were made up of a large number of individual earthquakes; none of which were felt in towns. The quakes took place in the Hengill area north of Hellisheidi and south of Thingvellir.

According to Icelandic Met Office geologist Sigthrudur Armansdottir, it came to light yesterday that the quakes happened because Reykjavik Energy is pumping cold water into the ground in the Hengill area, where there is a lot of geothermal heat. The cold water caused ground movements ‘similar to earthquakes’. But on closer inspection they turned out to be real earthquakes, even scientifically-speaking. Read more

NOTE: Regarding the initial article by myself earlier today, there have now been over 500 earthquakes recorded (48hrs) in the area with 5 measuring over 3 Magnitude and is showing no sign of slowing down. Could this be linked to last weeks event as mentioned above or caused by their actions?

ALERT: Seizures Now Reported in Kids Receiving Flu Vaccine -

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking into an uptick in young children having febrile seizures following a flu shot. There have now been 36 confirmed reports of such seizures during the current flu season.

All of the seizures took place less than a day after the children were given Fluzone. Fluzone is currently the sole flu shot recommended for very young children in the U.S.

"The [FDA] said recommendations for using the vaccine have not changed, nor has there been any change in flu vaccine guidance ... FDA officials said they've been paying special attention to seizure reports because of an unexplained higher rate of fevers and seizures in young children in Australia and New Zealand who got a specific flu vaccine earlier this year." Read More

"

Unfortunately, the safety of these shots is highly questionable, and even more so now that the new trivalent vaccine containing influenza A, influenza B, and 2009 pandemic swine flu (H1N1) strains is being administered.

In Finland, France and Sweden, narcolepsy was reported in teenage children in response to Pandemrix monovalent swine flu vaccine, leading the Finnish government to suspend its use. In Korea, nearly 2,600 swine flu vaccine side effects were reported as of August 2010, ranging from allergic reactions to fevers to headaches—and including 10 deaths."

'Men Found Buried Alive' At Gaddafi Compound - 27th Feb 2011

Sky News has uncovered disturbing new evidence of the barbarity of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime in Libya east, where the opposition movement has seized control.

Libyan revolutionaries in Benghazi claim to have rescued seven prisoners that had been buried alive.

They say the group was found entombed in a small underground cell in the city's dreaded government compound - forbidden territory for 40 years, now overrun by the forces of revolution.

The rescuers said they heard voices underground and dug through earth and freshly laid concrete to discover the seven men, some of whom were barely alive.

Sky News was taken to the small underground chamber lined with breeze blocks and topped with new cement. There seems to have been no way in or out. Read More

Norway's Blue Spiral (buried news 9th Dec 2009)

A brilliant spiral-shaped pattern of light was photographed and viewed by multiple witnesses in the skies over Norway.

Maybe a coincidence that on the same day President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize, gains respect from the world community, meets with the G20 again, introduces the 'Aliens', and declares himself and other country leaders as New World Leaders.

News stations were flooded with reports about the Russians taking responsibility for the light show that evening due to a out of control missile being fired however, some original reports coming from Russia declined the events taking place at the time, which were then changed several days later.

** Now why would the Russians be test firing a missile just outside the country that President Obama is in?

** Also did anyone else notice the image of the event disappearing from all the search engines for over a week after the event? many accused the search engines of censorship.

Many other theories followed the event over the coming weeks until the story was buried and forgotten, but no real explanation.

Giant Sink Hole Opens Up in Guatemala City (buried news 1st June 2010)

A giant sink hole in Guatemala City which swallowed up a three story building. It looks like the Borg fired a particle beam at the surface of the earth. This is one of the freakiest things I’ve ever seen.

The sink hole was caused by tropical storm Agatha and the torrential rains coupled with inadequate drainage in the capital city. The sink hole is estimated to be 120 feet deep. At least 113 people were reported killed by the storm.

Guatemala was the worst affected country, with a confirmed death toll of 92. Source

About a 1000 Dead Ducks found dead on a farm, South Korea - 27th Feb 2011

About 1,000 ducks found dead earlier this week at a farm in southern South Korea were confirmed Saturday to have been infected with a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza, raising concern that the lethal virus is spreading in the country, officials said.

The H5A1 virus was found on the duck farm in Damyang county of South Jeolla Province, about 350 kilometers south of Seoul, quarantine officials said.

It was the 46th confirmed bird flu outbreak in the country since the first case was reported on Dec. 29. In the past two months, a record 5.5 million birds have been culled.

Quarantine officials at the province said they have been slaughtering about 13,000 ducks at poultry farms in Damyang to try to contain the spread of the virus.

"We are reinforcing quarantine measures to prevent the avian influenza from spreading here," said an official at the South Jeolla provincial government.

The spreading bird disease is a double whammy for South Korea which has been battling what many officials say is the worst-ever outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease. (Yonhap) Source

Iran: Removal of Fuel Rods from Bushehr Reactor Unrelated to Stuxnet Virus - 26th Feb 2011

Mahmoud Reza Sajadi, Iran's ambassador to Russia, denied claims that the removal of the fuel rods from Iran's nuclear reactor in Bushehr was related to the Stuxnet computer virus, and said that the rods had been removed according to a request from Moscow and in coordination with it, as part of the final testing of the reactor's functioning.

The pro-Ahmadinejad website Raja News claimed that the procedure was due to technical alterations made by the Russian company responsible for the reactor's operation. Source

Untold thousands of marine animals float dead in Amazon river & Florida - 4th Feb 2011 (buried news)

February 4, 2011 – MATO GROSSO DO SUL/AMAZON Region – At Aquidauana, pantanal region of the Mato Grosso do Sul state, shoals of painteds, pacus, golden fishes, cacharas – and even stingrays, are floating dead in Rio Negro, one of the largest in the Amazon River basin. The estimated Environmental Policy is of that several tons of fishes died, adding that the authorities and experts, they still do not have the scale of the ecological disaster. Read More

Florida – SEBASTIAN, Fla. — Thousands of dead fish have washed up at Sebastian Inlet State Park according to WPBF u local user jhazel. Jhazel uploaded the photos Friday morning. In them, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said they believe a lack of oxygen is what killed the bait fish. “Just because there’s such a large school of them, they use up the oxygen really quickly, and because they are coming closer to shore, there’s not as high of a water turnover rate sometimes when you’re in an area with not as much tidal flow,” said Kelli O’Donnell with FWC. Read More

North Korea Threatens to Attack South Korea, U.S.

North Korea threatened Sunday to attack South Korea and the United States, as the allies prepared to start annual joint military drills—maneuvers Pyongyang says are a rehearsal for an invasion.

The North has routinely issued such war rhetoric against South Korea and the U.S. The latest warning, however, came nearly three weeks after the rival Koreas failed to reach a breakthrough in their first dialogue in months.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula rose sharply last year over two deadly attacks: the sinking of a South Korean naval ship blamed on the North and a North Korean artillery barrage. (read more)

Tripoli's days are numbered - rebel forces preparing to march on capital?

There were unconfirmed reports Saturday that thousands of armed rebels from other regions of the country were marching toward Tripoli. Rebels have already taken over and held the eastern half of the populous coast. On Saturday, after days of fighting, they also reportedly took Sabratha, a town near the capital known for its Roman ruins.

At the birthplace of the revolt, in the eastern city of Benghazi, a group of senior military officers who had defected were forming a council to lead their troops against Colonel Qaddafi’s forces. One of them, an air force general, said three air bases had defected to the rebels, along with the region’s military police.

And the rebels said they were in the process of forming an interim government to oversee the areas no longer under Colonel Qaddafi’s control. It is expected to include Mustafa Mohamed Abd al-Jalil, a former justice minister who quit to join the insurrection and may now assume the role of interim prime minister. (read more)

360+ Earthquakes registered in past 48 Hours, Iceland - 27th Feb 2011

Iceland 27th Feb 2011 saw a increase of over 100% in earthquakes in the region of Krysuvik, with more than 360 earthquakes registering in the past 48 hours with a shallow depth of between 1 and 2 kilometers.

Known Volcanoes in the area are as following:

- Krísuvík is a system of eruptive fissures, craters and small basalt shields in SW Iceland west of lake Kleifarvatn. A large eruption occurred from the Ogmundargigar fissure in 1188.

Current Status: Dormant - Eruption Style: Effusive (lava flows)
Known Eruptions: 1075, 1100, 1151 and 1188

- Brennisteinsfjöll volcanic system, located east of Kleifarvatn lake, consists of a series of NE-SW-trending crater rows and small shield volcanoes.

Current Status: Dormant - Eruption Style: Effusive (lava flows)
Known Eruptions: 1000 (?), 1188 (?), 1200 (?) and 1341

- Reykjanes volcano is located in SW Iceland at the point where the Mid Atlantic Ridge meets the surface.
Current Status: Dormant - Eruption Style: Effusive (lava flows)
Known Eruptions: 1211

UPDATE: 18.52pm - The earthquakes show no sign of slowing down and have now reached 436 quakes in the past 48hrs - today 27th Feb 5 Quakes occured of 3Mag or more.

'Nuke scientist Khan next US target' - 26th Feb 2011

Islamabad, Feb 26(ANI): Former Pakistan Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Mirza Aslam Beg has claimed that the American agents’ network is spread throughout the country, and that their next target is disgraced Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.

“Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan is the next target of US agents,” The Nation quoted Gen. Beg, as saying to a TV channel.

“They are working from Karachi to Gilgit under the patronage of former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf,” he added.

Khan is known as the architect of Pakistan’s nuclear programme, and is accused of illegally transferring nuke know-how to China, North Korea and Iran.

The US maintains that the A. Q. Khan network is responsible for some of the most serious cases of nuclear proliferation in recent decades.

“We have worked intensively with Pakistan and other countries to shut down that network,” US State Department spokesperson P. J. Crowley said in August last year.

“While A. Q. Khan himself is out of business, according to the Government of Pakistan, we watch his network very closely for signs that others within his realm are still in business,” he told a regular press briefing. Source

Russia launches $650b military plan - 26th Feb 2011

Russia is planning to spend $650 billion on renewing its military equipments, including helicopters, submarines and warships until 2020.

The plan includes the purchase of 100 warships, 8 nuclear submarines, 600 jets and 1,000 helicopters.

Russia's Deputy Defense Minister Vladimir Popovkin says the plan would largely extend the number of modern equipments adding the main task is the modernization of the armed forces. However, Popovkin says Russia is not interested in purchasing any foreign weapons or military hardware.

With only 10 percent of its armed forces considered as “modern,” the Kremlin needs to upgrade its decrepit military by recruiting and training new troops as the country continues to rely on its antiquated equipments and is currently short of manpower. A drive to improve the forces is said to have already begun. Read More