Tuesday 31 March 2015

World hasdlines

Saudi-Led Airstrikes Destroy Scud Missile Facility in Sanaa, Yemen


http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150330/1020223778.html

Saudi-led airstrikes continue to bombard the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, continuing into Monday night.
Since last Thursday, the bombings have been targeting Houthi rebels and troops loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.
According to local residents speaking to Reuters, the airstrikes have largely targeted the area around the presidential palace. Figures released by Yemen’s health ministry — which is currently Houthi controlled — said 35 people had been killed over the weekend, with another 88 injured.
Bombing caused a large explosion at a Scud Missile Facility in the capital. According to Saudi Brigadier General Ahmed, all known Scud missile launch pads have been “devastated” by the bombing campaign.
All Yemeni fighter jets have been destroyed in the strikes, and Shia rebels have been forced from government airbases.
Despite the bombing campaign, Houthi fighters have continued to make gains. Though it has yet to make a decision, the Saudi Arabian government is considering sending ground troops into Yemen.

"I don’t know that anyone wants to go into Yemen but we don’t rule anything out. Right now the objective is being achieved through an air campaign," Saudi ambassador to the US, Adel al-Jubeir told NBC, according to Al Arabiya.
According to a statement by the Arab League on Sunday, Saudi-led bombings will continue until Shia insurgents "withdraw and surrender their weapons."
The Saudi navy has also announced that it’s control of all Yemeni ports.

Strong quakes hit off South Pacific islands


A series of strong earthquakes struck off the neighboring South Pacific Ocean states of Samoa and Tonga on Monday, Reuters reported. A number of 6.8 magnitude quakes struck southwest of the Samoan capital, Apia, in waters between the two island states of Tonga and Samoa, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). There were no reports of damage in Samoa, while the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said there is no tsunami threat. Just hours earlier, a major 7.7 quake struck off the coast of Papua New Guinea, near the town of Rabaul, in the northeast










The personal details of all 20 leaders at the recent G20 summit in Australia have been accidentally leaked by the Australian immigration department. Despite being notified of the high-profile breach four months ago, it neglected to inform anyone.

The details included passport numbers, visa details and other particulars of each leader at the summit. The peculiar thing is they were sent to the organizers of the Asian Cup football tournament, the Guardian has revealed.

The mishap was caused by an employee who inadvertently caused the leak, which involved the Russian, American, British, German, Chinese leaders, among others. It remains unclear if any of the leaders was notified.


During a floor speech on March 24, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) offered some frightening and seditious advice to Israel.

Alternet reports: Republicans have teamed up with their counterparts in the Israeli political system to do everything they can to obstruct a deal – with tactics such as drafting new sanctions legislation and warning the Iranian leadership that the nuclear agreement will not outlast President Obama.

But this past week Senator John McCain (R-AZ) ratcheted up this sabotage to a new level. During a floor speech he gave on March 24th, the senator suggested that Israel “go rogue” and that if they don’t they may not survive the next 22 months of the Obama presidency:

McCAIN: The Israelis will need to chart their own path of resistance. On the Iranian nuclear deal, they may have to go rogue. Let’s hope their warnings have not been mere bluffs. Israel survived its first 19 years without meaningful U.S. patronage. For now, all it has to do is get through the next 22, admittedly long, months.



News Links, March 27, 2015


Due to moving, I'll be offline for a few days. Look for the next update about the middle of next week. -- RF
Even if started, the project would never come anywhere near completion. Like Japan's maglev project, it would just be an environmentally destructive waste of money and resources. -- RF
Air travel in the U.S. is, if you haven't noticed, kind of miserable. Lines are long, airlines are reducing the size of seats, flights are fuller than ever, many airports are rundown and "ancillary fees" are becoming the norm.
Airline fees take off
Sky's the limit as carriers pile on charges for early boarding, seating choices and more
If recycled cooking oil is the key, then the airlines are in even more trouble than I thought. People never consider factors such as the sheer scale of industrial society, and where cooking oil comes from. -- RF
'War on Terror' Body Count (Physicians for Social Responsibility; PDF)
A report published Thursday by the energy consultant group finds the oil and gas industry as a whole is on pace to cut budgets for exploration by an average 30 percent.
The Most Challenging Oil And Gas Projects In The World
The fifth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon disaster is approaching, but in the intervening years since the well blowout deep offshore, oil and gas drillers have pushed even deeper and even farther afield.

## Infrastructure scavenging ##

Fort Worth church hit again and again by metal thieves
## Environment/health ##
Earth has just two giant forests left
Termite species mix in Florida, reproducing at breakneck rate
Two of the most destructive termites species in the world are mating in South Florida, producing hybrid colonies that are growing at twice the normal rate of other termites, scientists reported on Wednesday.
A mile deep, ocean fish facing health impacts from human pollution
Deep-water marine fish living on the continental slopes at depths from 2,000 feet to one mile have liver pathologies, tumors and other health problems that may be linked to human-caused  pollution, one of the first studies of its type has found.
## Intelligence/security/internet/cyberwar ##They Are Slowly Making Cash Illegal
This is serious, but as I've observed previously, a cashless system requires reliable power and internet. As the reliability of power grids and the internet decline, efforts to enforce cashless transactions will falter. -- RF
## Systemic breakdown/collapse/unsustainability ##
Don't hold your breath. -- RF
Number 2 takes the cake. -- RF

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