Angela Merkel Sends German Envoy to Greece...to Mend ties

RHODES, Greece — To long-suffering Greeks, German officials embody the diktats from abroad that have deepened their country’s descent into insolvency and depression. Listening to Angela Merkel, Germany’s Iron Chancellor, her tough-talking finance minister or the uncompromising head of the Bundesbank, it often feels like a game of bad cop, worse cop, worst cop.

Now Ms. Merkel hopes to reverse the spiral of recrimination that has unraveled the bonds between the two countries. Her handpicked emissary, Hans-Joachim Fuchtel, a deputy labor minister and member of Parliament, is willing to try almost anything to mend relations, even riding a bicycle through a ballroom at a banquet with local officials here last week.

The bicycle was a gift from his hosts with an implicit message: Greek workers and businesses manufacture products that Germans want. Mr. Fuchtel — a jovial, brass-band-loving Black Forester who bears a resemblance to the actor John Goodman, but with the added touch of curly brown hair — knew when the time for talk had ended and the moment to pedal had arrived. He went for a short spin to the delight of the crowd. Read More

Greece: Protesters, police clash over gold mine

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Hundreds of protesters have battled riot police for hours over plans for a gold mine in northern Greece's Halkidiki peninsula.

Police say protesters threw firebombs at them, setting ablaze a forested area on the site. The fire has been put out.

Protesters claim a tear gas grenade thrown by police injured Radical Left Coalition member of parliament Vangelis Diamantopoulos.

This is not the first clash over the gold mine, which has pitted inhabitants of the area against one another.

Owners of tourist lodging are fiercely opposed due to environmental reasons while prospective miners claim the project will create thousands of jobs at an economically difficult time.

Opponents, abetted by leftist activists, succeeded a decade ago in canceling a multimillion-dollar gold mining project in a nearby area. Source

Jay Whiston Killed at a party advertised on Facebook

The mother of a 17-year-old boy stabbed to death outside a house party has said her son was trying to protect a friend when he was attacked.

About 100 teenagers were at the party in an affluent area of Colchester, Essex, on Saturday night. It is believed the party was advertised on Facebook, but that more people turned up than were invited.

A-level student Jay Whiston, of Clacton, Essex, was taken to Colchester General Hospital with abdominal injuries but died shortly after his arrival, having been stabbed at around 10pm. A provisional post-mortem showed he died from a stab wound.

Three teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder and are being questioned by police. Read More

Syria: Rebel car bombing kills more than 25 in Aleppo

ANTAKYA, Turkey — More than two dozen people were killed and scores injured late Sunday when at least one car bomb exploded in a residential district of the embattled northern Syrian city of Aleppo, according to state television and other broadcast reports in Syria.

State television put the toll at 27 dead and 64 wounded in the attack, which appeared to have taken place in a government-controlled district of the divided city.

The state-controlled media blamed "terrorists," the usual label for opposition fighters seeking to oust the government of President Bashar Assad.

The governor of Aleppo province, Mohammed Wahid Akkad, was quoted on the pro-government Addounia TV channel as saying that two car bombs may have been involved in the attack. The explosions targeted a pair of nearby hospitals, the governor said. Read More

France's Hollande Outlines Austerity Goals

PARIS—French President François Hollande on Sunday sought to brace the nation for its toughest budgetary effort of the past six decades, as he outlined a raft of austerity measures—including a controversial tax on the rich—to shore up public finances.

In a television interview, Mr. Hollande said he has given himself two years to turn around France's economy and acknowledged the gravity of that task. He said the country's growth prospects have clearly deteriorated and significantly downgraded the growth forecasts to "barely above zero" for this year and "about 0.8%" for 2013.

France's first Socialist president in 17 years used his prime-time television slot to seek to counter criticism that he is moving too slowly to fix France's problems and that he has failed to be decisive. Read More

4.5 Magnitude Earthquake TARAPACA, CHILE - 10th September 2012

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake has struck TARAPACA, CHILE at a depth of 122.9 km (76.4 miles), the quake hit at 02:14:04 UTC Monday 10th September 2012
The epicenter was 123 km (76 miles) East of Iquique, Chile
No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Hillary Clinton rejects Russian plan for UN on Syria

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has dismissed a Russian proposal for a new UN Security Council resolution on Syria as pointless "without teeth".

Russia says it wants Security Council approval for a peace plan agreed in June in Geneva that called for a ceasefire and political transition.

But Mrs Clinton said a resolution without consequences would be ignored by Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Activist groups in Syria say more than 160 people died in the latest fighting.

Government air attacks are said to have killed many in the northern city of Aleppo, where a water supply pipe was also hit.

Meanwhile, state TV has shown government troops overrunning rebel-held areas in the south of the capital Damascus. Read More

Obama Motorcade Rider Killed By Truck

A police motorbike rider escorting President Barack Obama's motorcade has died after his machine was hit by a pick-up truck.

The officer died in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Sunday at around 4.45pm local time.

He was about to shut down Interstate 95 by the 45th Street exit when he was hit by a Ford F-150, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera.

He was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

The officer served with the Jupiter Police force in Florida but further details of his identity have not yet been released.

Ms Barbera said an investigation was under way. She added that no charges had been made against the truck driver. Read More

Nuclear waste set to power spacecraft (What could go wrong?)

Britain’s nuclear waste could be used to power spacecraft as part of government attempts to offset the huge cost of the atomic clean-up by finding commercial uses for the world’s largest stock of civil plutonium.

A £1m pilot programme by the European Space Agency has shown that nuclear batteries for use on deep space missions could be made from an isotope found in decaying plutonium at the Sellafield waste storage site in Cumbria.

Britain’s National Nuclear Laboratory has harvested americium-241 from the plutonium, produced from reprocessing fuel.

The ESA believes this could replace plutonium-238, only available from Russia and the US, and provide an independent source of energy for planned deep space missions to Jupiter and other distant planets.

Tim Tinsley, who manages the programme for the NNL, said the space battery was an unforeseen benefit of past inaction, which has left 100 tonnes of plutonium in ponds at Sellafield.

“It is available due to a twist of fate,” he said. “We have been able to extract that americium and prove that it works.”

Full-scale battery production would be “worth hundreds of millions of euros” and provide skilled jobs in west Cumbria, an area of high unemployment, he said.

Nuclear batteries – each containing about 5kg of nuclear material – have been around since the 1950s and are used in Nasa’s Cassini and Voyager probes as well as Curiosity, which landed on Mars in August. more

Calls for action to tackle Korea’s suicide rate

As Korea continues its battle against rising suicide rates, organizations and civic groups planned a wide range of activities and events for Monday to mark World Suicide Prevention Day here.

While suicide rates have decreased in many developed nations since 1995, the rate has increased rapidly in Korea.

In 2010 alone, more than 15,500 people in Korea committed suicide. This amounts to about 28.4 deaths by suicide for every 100,000 people, or 42 deaths every day ― the highest rate among the OECD countries, followed by an average of 19.8 people in Hungary and 19.7 in Japan, according to recent OECD data. more

Israeli PM thanks Canada for cutting ties with Iran, asks why right boot wasn't licked as much as left

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he is grateful that Prime Minister Stephen Harper is getting tough with the Iranian government, saying Canada's decision to suspend diplomatic relations with Tehran is one of "principle and conviction."

Netanyahu made the comments in an exclusive interview with CBC's The National, airing Sunday night.

He reiterated a statement made Friday after learning Canada had closed its embassy in Iran and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird had instructed Iranian diplomats in Ottawa to leave the country within five days. At the time, Netanyahu called severing diplomatic ties "extremely important" to show Iran it can't continue its nuclear program.

In the interview, he praises Harper for taking a "forthright stand" that is "particularly important" at this time. more

Thoughts: Could this be another huge reason everyone in Canada is starting to hate their PM? How many Canadians will end up dying (for a war that has nothing to do with them, for a country that actively steals Canadian passports to conduct Mossad operations) once the bombs start falling, I wonder?

D-FOX: Please contact us if you can read this

To D-fox: if you're reading this, please contact us at thecomingcrisis@gmail.com. It's important -- we believe.

5.3 Magnitude Earthquake NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA - 9th September 2012

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake has struck the NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA at a depth of 120.6 km (74.9 miles), the quake hit at 19:23:51 UTC Sunday 9th September 2012
The epicenter was 118 km (73 miles) East from Attu Station, Alaska
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.7 Magnitude Earthquake OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO - 9th September 2012

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck OFFSHORE OAXACA, MEXICO at a depth of 15.2 km (9.4 miles), the quake hit at 18:59:39 UTC Sunday 9th September 2012
The epicenter was 26 km (16 miles) SSW from Pinotepa Nacional, Oaxaca, Mexico
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

4.7 Magnitude Earthquake PAPUA, INDONESIA - 9th September 2012

A magnitude 4.7 earthquake has struck PAPUA, INDONESIA at a depth of 49.8 km (30.8 miles), the quake hit at 16:49:20 UTC Sunday 9th September 2012
The epicenter was 53 km (32 miles) WNW of Nabire, Indonesia
No Tsunami Warning Issued - No Reports of Damage or Injuries at this time

Unemployment the only thing that's showing growth in Europe

Why You Should Care: Birds falling from the sky

'Both US & Israel preparing options for Iran strike'

ROB KIRBY: The End Game For Our Currency: WORTHLESS

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San Cristobal volcano Eruption: Residents in north-west Nicaragua Evacuated

Raw Video: Fires Burn 3,200 Acres in N. Calif.

Viral fever of 'mixed culture' grips Gurgaon, India

GURGAON: The number of people afflicted with viral fever of 'mixed culture' is rapidly increasing in Gurgaon. Private hospitals are full of patients suffering from viral fevers. Some unconfirmed deaths have also been reported from the city.

"This is the first time that patients suffering viral fevers are showing positive test reports of viral, malaria and typhoid simultaneously. In most cases, patients tested negative for dengue but showed all the symptoms of dengue viral," said doctor S.P. Yadav, managing director of Pushpanjali Hospital.

Doctor Vishal Sehgal, medical superintendent of Artemis hospital told IANS: "Lots of patients tested negative for dengue but the symptoms were the same. We call it fever with 'Thrombocytopenia' or fever with mixed culture. The virus responsible for such a disease is yet to be detected."

Daily, 8 to 10 such patients, victims of unspecified causes were being admitted to their hospital, Sehgal added. Read More

Japan not ready for Mt. Fuji eruption

Sept. 7 - Experts warn the risks of a catastrophic eruption of Mount Fuji have increased since last year's quake, but the government is failing to prepare. Ruairidh Villar reports

Car bomb at Iraq North Oil Company kills seven

IMF Head Calls US 'Fiscal Cliff' a Danger to the World Economy

U.S. tax increases and spending cuts set to take effect by the beginning of next year pose one of the biggest risks to the global economy, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said today.

While Lagarde has warned about the U.S. fiscal situation before, this time she took her case directly to leaders attending the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Vladivostok, Russia. She said the fiscal cliff was one of “three key risks” -- the other two being the euro crisis and medium-term public financing.

“We discussed over lunch with the leaders of APEC, the global economic situation, with the three key risks that we see on the horizon,” Lagarde told reporters today. She said there are a “combination of factors that could also increase the vulnerabilities of emerging economies.”

Lagarde made the comments to an organization whose membership oversees 56 percent of global economic output. The more than $480 billion so-called fiscal cliff of automatic spending cuts and revenue changes would probably cause a recession if left unchanged, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said in a report last month. Read More

German lawmaker makes new court complaint against euro measures

(Reuters) - A lawmaker from Angela Merkel's conservatives has lodged a new complaint with Germany's top court over euro zone bailouts, but legal experts and MPs say this is unlikely to prevent the court from making a key ruling on the bloc's rescue fund this week.

Germany's constitutional court holds the fate of the euro in its hands when it rules on Wednesday on whether the European Stability Mechanism (ESM) can go ahead, after already holding it up for several months.

Any postponement of the ruling could unsettle bond markets and exacerbate the three-year old debt and financial crisis gripping the 17-nation European currency bloc.

But Peter Gauweiler, one of the critics who filed a complaint with the court against the ESM, said in a statement released on Sunday that the fund should not be ratified unless the ECB rowed back on its plans to make unlimited purchases of sovereign bonds since, he said, that posed a major risk to Germany's own national budget. Read More