Monthly Archives: July 2012

The SIns of Monsanto

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Monsanto: A Modern Day Plague

15th July 2012

By Lisa Cerda – citywatchla.com

Monsanto’s history is one steeped with controversial products, deadly consequences, massive cover ups, political slight of hand, and culminates as a modern day plague on humanity, a plague that is about to peak to biblical proportions. Created in 1901, the company started producing its first form of poison, the artificial sweetener saccharin. The rise in use of saccharin really began 70 years later. Monsanto had plenty of time for a realistic and long term study on the impact of saccharin on human health. Instead, Monsanto learned how to finagle political support and grow its empire despite the growing consensus that saccharin caused cancer.

No surprise then that the company continued on a path of controversy. Here’s a bullet point history.
•    Contributed to the research on uranium, for the Manhattan Project, during WWII.
•    Operated a nuclear facility for the U.S. government until the late 1980s.
•    Top manufacturer of synthetic fibers, plastics and polystyrene (EPA’s 5th ranked chemical production that generates the most hazardous waste).
•    A top 10 US chemical company.
•    Agriculture pesticides producer.
•    Herbicide producer – herbicides 2,4,5-T, Agent Orange, Lasso, and DDT.

•    Agent Orange (used in Vietnam), had the highest levels of dioxin and contaminated more than 3 million civilians and servicemen of which only partial compensation awarded

•    Nearly 500,000 Vietnamese children were born deformed and never compensated.
•    Lasso was banned in USA, so weed killer “Roundup” is launched in 1976.
•    A major producer of both dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which generated many law suits and environmental cleanups
•    $180 million settlement for Vietnam War veterans exposed to Agent Orange
•    Fined $1.2 million for concealing the discharge of contaminated waste water
•    Ordered to pay $41.1 million due to hazardous waste dumping
•    Paid $600 million in settlement claims to more than 20,000 Anniston residents in Abernathy v. United States.
•    Produced GM cattle drug, bovine growth hormone (called rBGH or rBST)
•    Acquiring seed companies from the 1990’s and forward.
•    Monsanto Filed 144 lawsuits against struggling farmers and settled out of court with 700 farmers, for reportedly violating seed patents.  A full time staff of 75 Monsanto employees investigates patent infringement. They are dedicated solely to finding farms that have been contaminated by their unwanted seed. As of 2007, Monsanto was awarded in 57 recorded judgments against farmers a total of $21,583,431.99. Monsanto vs. Farmers.

The Washington Post reported:

For nearly 40 years, while producing the now-banned industrial coolants known as PCBs at a local factory, Monsanto Co. routinely discharged toxic waste into a west Anniston creek and dumped millions of pounds of PCBs into oozing open-pit landfills. And thousands of pages of Monsanto documents — many emblazoned with warnings such as ‘CONFIDENTIAL: Read and Destroy’ show that for decades, the corporate giant concealed what it did and what it knew.

PCB’s are considered an absolute threat to our world. Environmentalists rightfully want a pound of Monsanto’s flesh!  In 1969, Monsanto knew the impact of their products and put together an abatement plan for the entire United States, Canada and sections of Europe, especially the UK and Sweden. It’s disingenuous to suggest it could be done, for any amount of money. In the town of Anniston, Alabama, where the Monsanto plant was located, residents had PCB levels hundreds and sometimes thousands of times higher than the average person. They were dying or ill.

Monsanto decided to look at other products they could produce because their economic reliance on one profitable product was precarious at best. They split the company and Monsanto spawned Solutia, so that the massive lawsuits would not take down the entire company. Found guilty of conduct “so outrageous in character and extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency so as to be regarded as atrocious and utterly intolerable in civilized society.” The court decisions were destroying profitability.

Monsanto was just getting started with its assault on our ecosystem. Roundup was being marketed in 115 countries. Meanwhile Solutia was going down by means of Chapter 11 bankruptcy and lawsuits.

With the popularity of Roundup, the company became increasingly concerned about the patents expiration in 2000. They sold off the plastics division in 1996 and their phenylalanine facilities in 1999. Here again, Monsanto was trying to avoid financial liability for its hazardous waste producing past.

Monsanto merged with Pharmacia, and became legally a different corporation, despite sharing the same name, the same corporate headquarters, the same executives and employees, not to mention most of the liabilities from its former activities.

The new focus was genetic engineering and particularly creating genes that are resistant to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup.  Can you imagine farming without weeds? Farmers were intrigued and some delighted. Growing food and spraying poison at the same time did nothing to boost the confidence of consumers. False claims that it was biodegradable lead to its frequent use. Health complaints came from neighbors of farmers and farmers themselves. Soon the biodegradable claim on the packaging was removed.

Heading in a new direction, Monsanto was buying up seed companies left and right. They became the world’s largest seed company, acquiring a quarter of the global proprietary seed market. By coupling their sale of Roundup with their gene modified seeds, they began dominating the agriculture market. By 2007, almost 90% of the world used GM seeds carrying at least one genetic trait for herbicide tolerance. Now Monsanto was a dominating the food chain, the farmers, and its assault on mankind.

Where there is market control, there is price gouging. In 2006 Roundup cost $32 per gallon, and by 2008 it was up to $75 per gallon. Not satisfied with this dominance of the world food chain, Monsanto began patenting their glyphosate resistant seeds. They hiked up the price of corn seeds by 35% and soy by 50%, leaving farmers financially plundered. Farmer suicide went from a trickle to a torrential rain. Averaging about one farmer suicide every 30 minutes.

Soy, corn, sugar beets, rice, alfalfa, cotton seed oil, canola oil, Hawaiian papaya, zucchini, crookneck squash are now the sources of genetically food. But it gets worse. Corn and soy products are being fed to livestock, the livestock that you eat; chicken, eggs, sheep, pig, cows, goats, turkey, etc. Unless you have removed meat from your diet you are being systematically poisoned and perhaps even sterilized like the livestock that eats GMO corn and soy products.

The rights of farmers to save or exchange seeds have been stolen from them. Something that has been done for centuries, that guaranteed the survival of our species, changed overnight. Like a game of chess, Monsanto has with absolute intent, created a food crisis, offered up its poisonous solution, and has knocked chess piece after chess piece down in a calculated plan.

Just look at the list of players behind the schemes and profiteering. Monsanto, U.S. regulators and judicial bodies have become strange bed fellows:

•    U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a former Monsanto lawyer, wrote the majority of the opinion in a key Monsanto case.

•    Lawyer Michael Taylor, FDA employed, represented Monsanto sometime after, then returned as the FDA’s Deputy Commissioner for Policy right as rBGH was granted approval. He was appointed as a senior adviser to the Food and Drug Administration (United States) Commissioner on food safety in August 2009 by President Barack Obama.

•     Dr. Michael A. Friedman, prior deputy commissioner of the FDA, hired as a senior vice president of Monsanto.

•    Linda J. Fisher, prior assistant administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency, became a vice president at Monsanto from 1995-2000. In 2001, Fisher returned as the deputy administrator of the EPA.

•    Donald Rumsfeld, Former Secretary of Defense, former chairman and chief executive officer of G. D. Searle & Co., (Monsanto purchased in 1985). Rumsfeld privately made at least $12 million from the transaction.

If by now you are feeling paranoid, targeted, and overwhelmed by this information, I understand why.

You will move through all the stages of rage in time. Resist the urge to kick the produce man. Don’t hire a plane to spray Roundup on the White House, Senate, or House, I don’t advocate stooping to their levels.

You can now expect the spread of Monsanto’s mutant genes and seeds across the nation, contaminating other farms, and taking down other farmers by lawsuits.

A Swedish study found that spraying Roundup doubles the risk of getting cancer for farm workers’ and rural residents’. More worrisome is the fact that Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) do not require safety testing, nor labeling identifying them as GMOs.

Anti- GMO efforts by organic companies, who demanded labeling and oversight, will begin to accept the so-called “natural” foods that are routinely contaminated with GMO’s. Companies like Wal-Mart, Kroger, Costco, Supervalu, Publix, Target and Safeway shy away from the attacks on GMO’s that they sell to their unwitting customer base.

Consumers must learn the difference between products marketed as “natural,” and those products that are “certified organic.” They are misleading you by masquerading natural as organic.

GMOs and organics cannot coexistence. They are polar opposites in every way imaginable. GMOs destroys biodiversity, damages the environment and public health, economically devastates farmers, and destabilizes the climate.

In the European Union, all foods containing GMOs or GMO ingredients must be labeled. Thus the market shelves are empty because consumers are not buying them. American consumers want mandatory labels on GMO foods, and according to the polls by a strong 85-95%. They don’t want the top poison producer, to monopolize the agricultural industry and have anything to do with the worlds food supply.

Bush, Clinton, and Obama administrations have prevented consumer GMO truth-in-labeling laws. A new bill by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (Democrat, Ohio) calling for mandatory labeling and safety testing for GMOs is in Congress now. But Monsanto is allowed to buy vote’s thanks in part to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, and the Citizens United case. In 2010, big corporations and billionaires got the right to spend obscene amounts of money to buy media coverage, elections, and do it anonymously,

Recent news is … 5 million farmers are now suing Monsanto. They are fighting for the right to use seeds from previous year’s harvests. Seeds they harvested, but Monsanto patented. The bad news is … it’s still GMO seeds, a toxic transgenic breed, in markets without labels and health studies, and we have a government that finds this all acceptable.

Resources

Monsanto Food wars, GMO seeds and Animals

The world According to Monsanto video

The Health Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods

What is in your milk is not in the news

Stop Monsanto from Poisoning Hawaii

GMO rice with human genes

Article Source

citywatchla.com

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2012/07/16/monsanto-a-modern-day-plague/

On Australian Aboriginal Spirituality

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Australian Aboriginal Spirituality – Interview With A Senior Aboriginal

By Lynda Flower – Spiritual Space Magazine

Michael Williams gives an insight into the depth and richness of Aboriginal spirituality, estimated by some researchers to span 125,000 years. Aboriginal spirituality is based on an ancient cultural belief that life is a vast web of inter-connected relationships. Everything has meaning and purpose and everything is connected – the land, the people, the ancestors and the animals. The past is viewed as being inextricably linked to the present and throughout time the over riding spiritual value has been respect for Aboriginal cultural law.

What do you consider to be the most important aspects of Aboriginal spirituality?
Following your Law.  Don’t break Law.  Respecting all things, animate and inanimate in the entire natural world.

How do Aboriginal perceptions of spirituality differ from western interpretations?
A profound connectedness to land.  Living on your land is essential to maintaining the strongest possible links with land and ensuring proper practice of Aboriginal spiritual life.

What do you think is the biggest misconception about Aboriginal spirituality?

People try to make sense of it from their own perspective [spiritual] and do not often open themselves up to knowing it from the inside.  This is not unusual or surprising.  This is an ancient spirituality embedded in a culture that is acknowledged as being the longest continuously surviving culture in the entire world.  By the time the British and others arrived on Australian shores they had long-established behaviours relating to Indigenous cultures. With this entrenched behaviour, coupled with Christianity and Missionary zealousness, there was little chance of Aboriginal spirituality being assessed from a standpoint of respect and a desire to understand it on its own terms.

Is Aboriginal spirituality today different from what it was in the past, how has it changed (or not)?
The spirit has not changed. The Law lies in the land and the spirits of our ancestors have continued to inhabit the landscape during ancient times, during periods of colonisation and after our peoples have been removed from their lands.  Human engagement with Aboriginal spirituality is now challenged by the intervention of other spiritual and religious beliefs and doctrines, as well as the demands of a world filled with technology that infiltrates every corner of human existence.  It is now increasingly hard, except for the committed individual, to stay true to the old ways.  Moving in and out of vastly different domains requires discipline of a high order, but many do so by staying on Land.

What lessons can us ‘white folk’ learn from Aboriginal spirituality?

Simply be. Respectful attention to a commitment to a spiritual path will bring what is meant to be.  Don’t have expectations.  If it is meant to come your way – it will.  Stay on task.  The spiritual domain and practices of the longest continuously surviving culture in the world must have something to offer humanity.  Limit the overlay of other spiritual traditions and try to let Aboriginal ways stand for themselves.


What have been the most important spiritual lessons you have learnt as an Aboriginal man?

Never doubt the presence of spirit and the ability of old ones who have passed to be there for you.  Ask and they will come and ‘show’ themselves in some way.  The land is alive with the spirits and presence of our ancestors and creation heroes.

What works best for you/what do you do when you need some spiritual upliftment?

Go to my Homeland – visit my traditional lands. I engage with my old ones every day and ask for their guidance.

In your 30 years of university teaching, were there any spiritual (or other) changes you noticed in students undertaking Aboriginal studies?

Students have always been interested in Aboriginal spirituality. There are two issues to consider here.  Most students who choose to take a course in Aboriginal studies are already interested in all matters regarding Aboriginal culture and are thirsting for knowledge.  Then there are students who are required to take courses in Aboriginal culture as part of their degree and sometimes these students are resistant to the content raised in these courses. In my experience, the vast majority of students who showed some resistance at first end up thoroughly enjoying the course and go on to take other Aboriginal studies  courses as electives.

From all your years of experience, what spiritual advice would you pass on to others?
Never doubt the existence of spirit and of a Creator – however you may wish to term it.  Spend time regularly [daily] pondering the importance of a spiritual approach to life and take time to care for others and all things.  Respect Planet Earth and the Universe.

Where do you see (or hope to see) Aboriginal spirituality heading in the future?
It is here, always has been here and remains.  The spirit never leaves the land.  People leave the land.  In my experience the spirit presence in my traditional homeland has become more overt since my mother died and there has not been anyone living there permanently.  I notice them when I visit.  It demands that I establish a more active presence there.

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2011/07/15/australian-aboriginal-spirituality-interview-with-a-senior-aboriginal/

On Benevolent Outcomes

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Most Benevolent Outcomes – A Simple Tool for Your Toolbox

13th April 2012

By Tom T. Moore

As we get older, one of the things we must face are more trips to a hospital for any variety of reasons.  This happened to me recently when I went in for arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn cartilage brought on by years of skiing. After a vacation this past September to Orlando’s amusement centers and St. Petersburg, Florida, I could barely walk.

Certainly there’s stress involved with any type of procedure, but I’m going to give you a simple tool you can use not only in serious circumstances, but for ANY situation, no matter how mundane for the rest of your life.  It is requesting Most Benevolent Outcomes (MBO’s) each time you go anywhere or do anything.  As an example, before I left for the hospital I said out loud, “I request a Most Benevolent Outcome for my drive to the hospital, thank you!”  Now I believe that my own Guardian Angel handled that request, but you can believe the request is going to God, Allah, Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Vishnu, or any other deity.  It does not matter, because IT WORKS!  Before the surgery I said, “I request a Most Benevolent Outcome for this surgery, and may the results be even better than I can hope for or expect, thank you!”

You’ll find a calmness comes over you, and it tremendously lowers the stress and fear factors.  I was so calm for this surgery I dozed off waiting for the doctor in the pre-op room.  I also said what I call a Benevolent Prayer for the doctors and nurses to perform the operation perfectly.  It went well and in the recovery room I even serenaded the nurses with a couple of oldies.  I requested a MBO when I started rehab, and was assigned the most experience physical therapist at the facility.

In 2006 I was scheduled to travel to Houston, Texas to give a talk about my first book, but I had a nagging cough, and went to my doctor to have him prescribe an inhaler.  He checked me over and said, “Tom, I’m not going to prescribe the inhaler; you have congestive heart failure and you’re going downstairs and check yourself into the hospital.”  I replied, “Well I’m glad I wore my clean undies today Doc!”  Naturally I requested a MBO for the heart problem.  They first tried to shock my heart back into normal rhythm, but on awakening they said it didn’t work.  I didn’t worry, as I KNEW something better was on the way.  They brought in an electro-cardiologist and he did an ablation procedure to bring the heart back to normal rhythm, and a year later he performed another one that allowed me to come off all my heart medications.

These requests work quite simply.  When you request a Benevolent Outcome you’re saying you would like a specific outcome, but that benevolent being on the other side knows what’s in your best short term and long term interests, so you’re turning the request over to that spiritual entity.  If you ever watched THE SECRET movie this simple tool is better than any modality presented in the film.  One lady wrote to me and said The Law of Attraction was like driving an old Ford Pinto and requesting MBO’s was like driving a Ferrari—both may get you there but the Ferrari will get you there a lot faster!

I’ve requested 15,000 or more MBO’s in the last 15 years, so I can say they work PERFECTLY, even when at first it does not seem so.  Months later you’ll see something better come along.  You can request Benevolent Outcomes for the perfect job for you, the perfect home for you, and even the perfect mate for you!  You can request them in business situations and even when you feel in danger.  But I do recommend starting with the mundane requests, such as a parking space in front of a busy restaurant or store, your drives to work or the mall, a seat on a bus or train, and around town.  This achieves two things:  First you will build up a trust that this actually works for you, and secondly it will get you in the habit of requesting MBO’s, so that when some emergency or very serious event happens in your life the first thing you’ll do is the request a MBO.

Have fun experimenting with requesting MBO’s.   This will change your life for the better, and will make the rest of your years much less stressful and more successful!

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2012/04/13/most-benevolent-outcomes-a-simple-tool-for-your-toolbox/

July 15-21

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Overall Color for the Week:    Mid Royal Blue

Things are what they are this week, and it will not be revealing to look too deeply into them.  That is the key.  The surface.  So often you think it is important to look below the surface, but the current energy has brought everything to the top.  This is a week for understanding and compassion.  There are things that will be falling apart on all levels. You will see them, and while you can feel for them, it is important to step back and see the larger picture.  Perspective.  Ugh.  Sometimes a good thing, bit at others something that brings to the folly of many and the wish to believe.  It is just how things are.  The pattern is there behind it all.  Look for that ad beyond the tears and laughter.  Sometimes there is more of being human in understanding how things are moving forward than in getting caught on one individual event.

A general theme at this time is one of a disconnect between cause and effect.  This means that a lot of tings you used to take for granted will be unpredictable.  It is a good idea to prepare for anything.  That way when anything happens, you will be able to respond appropriately.

 

Sunday, July 15:    Night Blue

This is a good day for stay close to home and just recuperating.  There was a large shift of energies throughout the night which has left things unresolved.  It can be felt as physical symptoms, emotional unrest, and/or ennui and a lack of wanting to get things done.  If there are tasks to complete,

you may just find that you cannot concentrate or focus and they take many times longer than they should.  There is change in the air today, and it is affecting all and everything.  Be aware in what you do of what you do.  There is a disconnect right now between cause and effect.

Monday, July 16:    Neon Pink

This is a day for noticing and being noticed.  If there are things that you have been wanting to get out there, the energies of the day will assist you in resenting them in the best light.  It is a good idea to know what it is that you want people to know and what it is that you want to keep private.  There can be some slip-ups if you do not.  This means to know your priorities and to be ready to stand up for them.  Morning time is a good opportunity for focus and grounding.  And be aware of who is around you, who is listening and who is not.  This information will be important as time goes on.

Tuesday, July 18:    Grainy White

Emotions will run high today and be close to the surface.  Because of this, you will want to think before you speak or act.  There is a good possibility that things will be taken the wrong way, and this can lead to ongoing issues.  There is someone who has information for you, however they do not wish for you to be aware of what it is they know.  Be alert to signs and signals of people who come into your life today.  Patterns are happening, and relationships are shifting.  Things can happen in the obscurity of the current energy which you will have to deal with later on.

Wednesday, July 19:    Steel Grey

Be ready for some surprises today and for a change of schedule.  Right now, glitches and screw-ups abound.  There is nothing that you can do about it other than keeping a sense of humor.  Well, actually this is a time for taking the longer view of things.  See he context before you relate a single item  Things are falling into place at this time, but not everything has reached where it is heading.  This is not a good time for making plans or decision based upon partial knowledge. Sometimes the wisest thing is to sit back, observe, allow to happen, and watch.  It is no longer business as usual.

Thursday, July 19:    Blue Violet

Completion.  This is a great day for getting things done and off your agenda.  Take time in the morning to look at your list of things you have been wanting to do, prioritize, and get to work.  You will be surprised at what you can accomplish.  This is not a day for dwelling on anything, past actions, past wrongs, past regrets.  Honestly, they really do not mean anything any more, and basically they serve to trip you up.  You do not need that!

Friday, July 20:    Zephyr Blue

This is a good day for taking a risk. If there is something you have been wanting to do, yet making excuses out of fear, this is the time to go ahead and go for it.  There is much that you will learn by that of where you are standing in the midst of all the craziness that is going on at this time.  Listen carefully to things that are said, whether it is in conversation, by overhearing, or perhaps through the media.  There is a message that you have been needing, and today it can come through.  You will know it when it comes.

Saturday, July 21:    Medium Red

There is luck in the air today, and it is yours if you choose to grasp it.  This is a day also on which you can be fearless.  The energies favor accepting, facing, and overcoming some deep rooted fears.  The first step is to overcome the fear of facing them!   Oftentimes, that is what is most difficult.  Take time to recognize your own personal power.  Take time to congratulate yourself on what you can do.  Limitations often are imposed from the outside, and you accept them or not.  Perspective is part of the current energy.  It is a good time, having fought the good battle, to congratulate yourself, and to look forward to what it is that you want to create from this point forward.  There is help there if you will be aware, listen and comprehend the signs.

El Hierro Update

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El Hierro Volcano : Green and Yellow alert – New M3.4 earthquake tonight

Last update: July 14, 2012 at 9:20 pm by By

Update 14/07 – 21:13 UTC
– At 19:52 UTC, El Hierro got another (but luckily isolated) strong M 3,4 earthquake. The epicenter was at the usual lighthouse area and the depth was reported at 20 km. People at El Hierro are reporting that they have felt this earthquake.
– This last earthquake brings the total number listed by IGN today on 9.
– Joke did her best to show our readers how El Hierro looked today.  Click on the images to watch the photos in their real size.

Update 14/07 – 15:53 UTC
– 7 earthquakes so far. Depth 18 to 24 km.

Update 14/07 – 14:02 UTC
– 4 earthquakes since midnight. The strongest being a M2,5 earthquake at 13:13 UTC. Depth 18 km.

Update 14/07 – 10:26 UTC
– Only 1 very weak M0.6 earthquake at 01:52 UTC – depth : 20 km
– Vertical deformations as showed in Univ. of NagoyaGPS station graphs are generally down, another sign of the decreasing to halted activity
– Based on what we have seen the last couple of days, we can conclude that the current activity is over. We will (of course) continue to follow up what will happen in the coming days and weeks as a new swarm maybe possible.

Update 13/07 – 21:50 UTC
– 15 earthquakes so far today
– The latest earthquake listed by IGN occurred at 09:44 UTC!
– Joke Volta made 3 pictures today + a report that there was nothing to report. How events can change in such a short time!

Update 13/07 – 07:29 UTC
– Yesterday has ended with a total of 12 “deep” earthquakes (17 to 23 km).
– Today was “earthquake-free” until 05:05. This period was followed by a weak new swarm of 8 earthquakes varying from M1,9 until M2,2. The epicenters were all located in the Las Calmas sea to the south of the lighthouse.
– In our Daily volcano activity report from yesterday July 12, we gave more information about volcanoes in Colombia, Mexico, Ecuador, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Nicaragua and the USA. Click here to read it.

 

Update 12/07 – 23:08 UTC
– The day will probably end with 10 earthquakes, the smallest number since June 24.  Unless something exceptional will happen, we can conclude that the swarm is over without creating a big risk for an eruption.

Update 12/07 – 15:00 UTC
– 9 earthquakes so far today. NO change in depths or epicenter areas.
– New images from Joke Volta from a couple of hours ago. No special news to report.

Update 12/07 – 08:34 UTC
– 3 earthquakes so far today. The swarm looks to have been ended completely
– A rather strong M3,0 earthquake occurred at 05:30 this morning
– Deformations are or stabilized or are decreasing in the vertical component
– yesterday, the day ended with 22 earthquakes
– the depth never changed fundamentally and may have been the main reason why the recent eruption lava tubes were not found by the new magma feeders

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2011/09/25/el-hierro-canary-islands-spain-volcanic-risk-alert-increased-to-yellow/

Earthquake — India/Myanmar Border

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Dangerous (shallow ?) earthquake near the India / Myanmar border (Manipur province)

Last update: July 14, 2012 at 10:03 pm by By

Earthquake overview : A dangerous extremely shallow strong earthquake occurred at 01:25 AM approx. 20 km from the Myanmar border in India. What looks like a moderate earthquake becomes dangerous because of the shallow depth of the hypocenter (6,5 km) reported by USGS.

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : M 5,6 (USGS), M5,5 (EMSC and GFZ) and M5,3 (CENC)
UTC Time : Saturday, July 14, 2012 at 19:55:12 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, July 15, 2012 at 01:25:12 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) :
Geo-location(s) :
24 km (14 miles) S of Phek, India
43 km (26 miles) ESE of Kohima, India
57 km (35 miles) S of Zunheboto, India

Update : Phek, the village at 24 km from the epicenter has a population of 12863 (last census). One of the greatest dangers in the area will be the potential for landslides. Depending on the weather and the deforestation, which is common in India, landslides can easily occur. The city of Kohima has endured a MMI V , moderate shaking and counts 92000 people (we do not think however that major damage has occurred in this city). We have almost no data from the Myanmar side of the border, but we know that the area is very sparsely populated.

Update : Due to the darkness and the kind of terrain (very hilly forested area) it will take several hours before we expect to hear more news.

Update : 66000 people are living in the area which earthquake-report.com calls at risk, mainly because of the building methods in the area (a lot of brick and adobe houses) and because of the occurrence of the shaking in the middle of the night. A lot of the houses are also in wood and bamboo and can resist strong shaking.

Update : Based on the USGS data (M5,6 @ 6,5 km depth), 19000 people will have experienced a MMI VII very strong shaking. 91000 people a strong shaking.

Update : If the CENC and USGS data are right (even with the lower CENC Magnitude), we call an area of 20 km around the epicenter as highly vulnerable for damage and injuries.

Update : We did hesitate to start up an in-depth earthquake report because of the confusing data. A 6 km deep earthquake (USGS and CENC) and 40 to 45 km (GFZ and EMSC) can be related to “very dangerous” to “harmless)

This is what we wrote in our daily (major) earthquake overview : What looks like a moderate earthquake becomes dangerous because of the shallow depth of the hypocenter (6,5 km) reported by USGS. This depth is preliminary and has been contradicted by GFZ and EMSC who are stating an intermediate depth of 45 and 60 km. We have set the color of this earthquake to Orange because of this uncertainty. It would be green by 60 km and red by 6,5 km. The coming hours will tell us more about this! Indian seismologic agency has no live Internet data.
CENC, The Chinese seismological agency who is very reliable in this area reports a M5,3 at a depth of 6 km. If CENC data are correct, we will have to maintain the orange color of moderately dangerous.

for more information and updates, go to:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/07/14/dangerous-shallow-earthquake-near-the-india-myanmar-border-manipur-province/

Comet 96/Maccholz Visits our Solar System

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HOT COMET: Periodic comet 96P/Maccholz is passing by the sun today deep inside the orbit of Mercury. At closest approach, the icy visitor from the outer solar system will be less than 12 million miles (0.13 AU) from the solar surface. Coronagraphs onboard the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory are monitoring the encounter:

“Discovered in 1986, Comet 96P/Machholz is a fascinating comet that has passed through SOHO coronagraph images four times now,” says Karl Battams of the Naval Research Lab. “It’s not a huge comet but it is very photogenic, and puts on quite a display with its beautiful dusty tail.”

In an essay posted on his web site, Battams explains why the comet is so fascinating. Many researchers suspect 96P/Machholz is not a native of our solar system; some chemical evidence suggests it came from another star. Also, 96P/Machholz appears to be dynamically related (that is, the comet’s orbit is related) to a diverse collection of other objects in the solar system including asteroid 2003 EH1 and the Quadrantid, Southern Delta Aquariid, and daytime Arietid meteoroid streams. All of these things–the asteroid, the comet, and the meteoroids–might be fragments of a single “foreign” body that broke apart thousands of years ago.

fr/spaceweather.com

Bulgaria — Aftershock

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Moderate earthquake (aftershock) in Bulgaria

Last update: July 14, 2012 at 1:07 pm by By

EMSC Bulgaria Jul 14 12:52 PM 4.5 10.0

Moderate earthquake (aftershock) in Bulgaria
The earthquake will be probably harmless as based on our experience in Bulgaria the Magnitude has stayed just below damaging levels.
Todays aftershock proves that the fault area has not reached its stabilization.
Today’s epicenter gain in the immediate vicinity of Pernik. Pernik is one of the major Bulgarian cities and is located very close to Sofia, were people will have felt this aftershock very well

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/07/13/major-earthquakes-list-july-14-2012/

 

Dr. Jeff Masters on Hurricane Outlook

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July Atlantic hurricane outlook
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 12:55 PM GMT on July 13, 2012 +21

It’s mid-July, and we have yet to see a named storm form in the Atlantic this month. The computer models are not predicting any development through at least July 20, and if we make it all the way to the end of the month without a named storm forming, it will be the first July since 2009 without a named storm. Since the current active hurricane period began in 1995, 13 of 17 years (76%) have had a named storm form during July. The busiest July occurred in 2005, when five named storms and two major hurricanes formed. These included Hurricane Dennis and Hurricane Emily–the strongest hurricanes ever observed so early in the season. Only eight major hurricanes have formed in July since record keeping began in 1851. As seen in Figure 1, most of the last half of July activity occurs in the Gulf of Mexico and waters off the Southeast U.S. coast. These type of storms form when a cold front moves off the U.S. coast and stalls out, with the old frontal boundary serving as a focal point for development of a tropical disturbance (as happened for Alberto, Beryl, Chris, and Debby in 2012.) There will be at least two cold fronts moving off the U.S. Mid-Atlantic coast over the next two weeks. The first of these fronts will push offshore around July 20, and we will need to watch the waters offshore of North Carolina for development then. Formation potential will be aided by ocean temperatures that are about 0.7°C (1°F) above average along the U.S. East Coast.


Figure 1. Tracks of all tropical storms and hurricanes 1851 – 2006 that formed July 16-31. The U.S. coast from North to Texas are the preferred strike locations. Only a few storms have formed in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean in July. Wind shear is typically too high and SSTs too cool in July to allow African waves in the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic to develop into tropical storms. However, a few long-track “Cape Verdes” hurricanes have occurred in July, spawned by tropical waves that came off the coast of Africa. African tropical waves serve as the instigators of about 85% of all major hurricanes.


Figure 2. The seasonal distribution of Atlantic hurricane activity shows that July typically has low activity. Image credit: NHC.

Sea Surface Temperatures: slightly above average
The departure of Sea Surface Temperatures (SST) from average over the tropical Atlantic between Africa and Central America was about 0.3°C above average during June (Figure 3.) This figure has not changed much over the first two weeks of July. These temperatures are not warm enough to appreciably affect the odds of a July named storm or hurricane. The strength of the Azores-Bermuda high has been near average over the past two weeks, driving near-average trade winds. The latest 2-week run of the GFS model predicts continued average-strength trade winds through late-July, so SSTs should remain about 0.3°C above average during this period, due to average amounts of cold water mixing up from below due to the wind action on the water.


Figure 3. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) departure from average for July 12, 2012. SSTs were 0.3°C above average over the tropical Atlantic’s Main Development region for hurricanes, from Africa to Central America between 10° and 20° North Latitude. Note the large region of above average SSTs along the Equatorial Pacific off the coast of South America, the hallmark of a developing El Niño episode. Image credit: NOAA/NESDIS

El Niño on the way?
For two consecutive weeks, ocean temperatures 0.5 – 0.6°C above average have been present in the tropical Eastern Pacific, which is right at the threshold for a weak El Niño episode. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has issued an El Niño Watch, and gives a 61% chance that El Niño conditions will be present during the August – September – October peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. The likely development of a full-fledged El Niño episode means that Atlantic hurricane activity will probably be suppressed in 2012, due to the strong upper-level winds and high wind shear these events typically bring to the tropical Atlantic.


Figure 4. Sea Surface Temperature (SST) departure from average for the the equatorial Eastern Pacific (the area 5°N – 5°S, 120°W – 170°W, also called the “Niña 3.4 region”). El Niño conditions exist when the SST in this region rises 0.5°C above average. As of July 9, 2012, SSTs in the Niño 3.4 region had risen to 0.5°C above average. To be considered an “El Niño episode”, El Niño conditions must occur for five consecutive months, using 3-month averages. Image credit: NOAA Climate Prediction Center.

Wind shear: above average
Wind shear is usually defined as the difference in wind between 200 mb (roughly 40,000 foot altitude) and 850 mb (roughly 5,000 foot altitude). In most circumstances, wind shear above 20 knots will act to inhibit tropical storm formation. Wind shear below 12 knots is very conducive for tropical storm formation. High wind shear acts to tear a storm apart. The jet stream has two bands of strong high-altitude winds that are currently bringing high wind shear to the Atlantic. The southern branch (subtropical jet stream) is bringing high wind shear to the Caribbean, and the northern branch (polar jet stream) is bringing high wind shear to the waters offshore of New England. This configuration often leaves a “hole” of low shear between the two branches, off the Southeast U.S. coast and over the Gulf of Mexico. The jet stream is forecast to maintain this two-branch pattern over the coming two weeks. Wind shear has been about 10 – 20% higher than average over the first two weeks of July, and is predicted to be mostly above average for the coming two weeks. This will cut down on the odds of a July storm.


Figure 5. Vertical instability over the Caribbean Sea in 2012 (blue line) compared to average (black line.) The instability is plotted in °C, as a difference in temperature from near the surface to the upper atmosphere. Thunderstorms grow much more readily when vertical instability is high. Instability has been lower than average, due to an unusual amount of dry air in the atmosphere, reducing the potential for tropical storm formation. Image credit: NOAA/NESDIS/CIRA.

Dry air: above average
As seen in Figure 5, there has been an unusual amount of dry, stable air in the Caribbean this year creating low levels of vertical instability. This has occurred due to a combination of dry air from Africa, and upper-atmosphere dynamics creating large areas of sinking air that dry as they warm and approach the surface. The Gulf of Mexico and tropical Atlantic between the coast of Africa and the Lesser Antilles have also seen low vertical instability this summer. June and July are the peak months for dry air and dust coming off the coast of Africa, and the Saharan dust storms have been quite active over the past two weeks. Expect dry air to be a major deterrent to any storms that try to form in the tropical Atlantic during July.

Steering currents: average
The predicted steering current pattern for the next two weeks is a typical one for July. We have an active jet stream bringing many troughs of low pressure off the East Coast of the U.S. These troughs are frequent enough and strong enough to recurve any tropical storms or hurricanes that might penetrate north of the Caribbean Sea. Steering current patterns are predictable only about 3 – 5 days in the future, although we can make very general forecasts about the pattern as much as two weeks in advance. There is no telling what might happen during the peak months of August, September, and October–we might be in for a repeat of the favorable 2010 and 2011 steering current pattern, which recurved most storms out to sea–or the unfavorable 2008 pattern, which steered Ike and Gustav into the Gulf of Mexico.

Summary: a below average chance of a July tropical storm
Given that none of the computer models are forecasting tropical storm formation in the coming seven days, SSTs are only slightly above average, and wind shear and vertical stability are above average, I’ll go with a 30% chance of a named storm forming in the Atlantic during the remainder of July.


Figure 6. Hurricane Emilia over the Eastern Pacific at 20:35 UTC July 10, 2012. At the time, Emilia was a Category 3 hurricane with 125 mph winds. Emilia peaked earlier in the day as a Category 4 storm with 140 mph winds–the strongest hurricane in the East Pacific so far in 2012. Image credit: NASA.

An active Eastern Pacific hurricane season
It’s been a very active start to the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, where we’ve already had six named storms, four hurricanes, and three intense hurricanes. A typical season has 4 named storms, 2 hurricanes, and 0 intense hurricanes by July 14. The formation of Tropical Storm Fabio on July 12 marks the 4th earliest formation of the Eastern Pacific’s season’s sixth storm. The record is held by the year 1985, when the season’s sixth storm formed on July 2. Record keeping began in 1949.

Have a great weekend, everyone, and I’ll be back Monday with a new post.

Jeff Masters

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2152