Category Archives: Earth Stuff

News of Earth Changes, climate shifts, weather anomalies, volcanoes, etc

Monsanto & the EU

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Monsanto Promises Pain to EU, Assault Underway

July 10 2012

Story at-a-glance

  • The European Commission has issued a proposal to drop the policy of zero tolerance for unapproved and untested GMOs in food; the proposal suggests setting a threshold below which contaminated imports could enter Europe’s food chain
  • In 2011, the EU decided to allow contamination with up to 0.1 percent of unapproved and untested GMOs in animal feed, which was previously not allowed
  • France recently asked the European Commission to suspend Monsanto’s authorization to plant genetically modified MON 810 corn, but the EU stepped in and blocked the ban
  • GM opponents are urging the EU to reject the proposals, noting the pressure to drop their zero tolerance policy regarding GM contamination is coming from the U.S. government, the WTO (World Trade Organization) and the biotech industry

By Dr. Mercola

The European Union (EU) has historically taken a strict, cautious stance regarding genetically modified (GM) crops, much to the chagrin of Monsanto and in stark contract to the United States.

For instance, while GM crops are banned in several European countries, and all genetically modified foods and ingredients have to be labeled, this is in stark contrast to the U.S., where Monsanto has effectively restricted any unfavorable legal actions because of the massive conflict they have with federal regulatory agencies.

Recently Connecticut and Vermont where ready to pass statewide GMO labeling requirements but backed out at the last minute when biotech giant Monsanto threatened to sue them if it was passed.

As a result, the U.S. has only recently begun passing legislation that protects the use of GM seeds and allows for unabated expansion, in addition to the fact that GM ingredients do not have to be labeled.

It’s quite clear that the U.S. government, which is closely tied to Monsanto, has been aiding and abetting Monsanto’s tireless and often ruthless quest to control the world’s food crops.

U.S. diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, showed the government even conspired to find ways to retaliate against Europe for refusing to use GM seeds, mainly by engaging in aggressive trade wars against reluctant nations.i As you might suspect, the EU has been under heavy pressure to add some slack to their GM regulations – and it seems they are about to cave …

EU Proposes to Drop Zero Tolerance Policy

The European Commission has issued a proposal to drop the policy of zero tolerance for unapproved and untested GMOs in food. The proposal suggests setting a threshold below which contaminated imports could enter Europe’s food chain.

This is similar to the EU’s move in 2011 … they once had a zero tolerance policy regarding GM contamination from unapproved GMOs in animal feed, but last year decided to allow contamination with up to 0.1 percent of such materials. At the time, Greenpeace EU agriculture policy adviser Stefanie Hundsdorfer said:ii

“If the safety of a GM crop has not been tested in Europe, it should not be allowed. Setting a tolerance threshold, however low, is a sign that Europe is losing control over its own food production to please American exporters. The danger now is that EU countries come under pressure from the pro-GM lobby to also allow GM contamination in food products for direct human consumption.”

And, alas, that moment has come, just over one year later. Several GM opponents are urging the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Secretary of State Caroline Spelman to reject the proposals, noting:iii

“Pressure to drop the zero tolerance policy comes from the US government, the WTO and the biotech industry.”

EU Blocks France’s Ban on GM Corn

France recently asked the European Commission to suspend Monsanto’s authorization to plant genetically modified MON 810 corn, citing “significant risks for the environment” shown in recent scientific studies (Germany has also banned the cultivation of MON 810 corn).

The EU stepped in and blocked the ban, which was an unsettling move to put it mildly, considering that in a leaked cable from 2007, Craig Stapleton, who was the U.S. ambassador to France at the time, commented on France’s plan to ban the cultivation of GM corn, and stated that retaliation would occur:

“Europe is moving backwards not forwards on this issue with France playing a leading role, along with Austria, Italy and even the [European] Commission… Moving to retaliation will make clear that the current path has real costs to EU interests and could help strengthen European pro-biotech voice.

… Country team Paris recommends that we calibrate a target retaliation list that causes some pain across the EU since this is a collective responsibility, but that also focuses in part on the worst culprits. The list should be measured rather than vicious and must be sustainable over the long term, since we should not expect an early victory.”

UK Also Moving Full Steam Ahead with GMOs

to read more, go to:    http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/07/10/drop-gmo-zero-tolerance-policy.aspx?e_cid=20120710_DNL_artNew_2

Red Rain in India

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Morning shower paints rural Kannur red

TNN Jun 29, 2012, 02.02AM IST

KANNUR: Though not for first time in the state, red rain in parts of Kannur on Thursday did create some panic and curiosity among the residents in the district. The strange phenomenon happened around 6:50am and lasted for 15 minutes. People in the 1km area in and around Edachery in Puzhati panchayat panicked as their courtyards turned blood red after rain.

Kannur block panchayat president Shaija M, who collected the sample of the rainwater, said the water was as dark as black coffee and had the smell of raw beetroot. “I thought someone killed some animal and its blood got mixed with water on the courtyard,” she said. Akshay Sajeevan, another resident in the locality, said in his compound the colour of rainwater was a bit lighter. According to meteorological department, though red rain is a rare phenomenon, but it is no way harmful. “I assume this is due to atmospheric pollution. The pollutants in the air get dissolved in rainwater resulting in red rain,” said M Santhosh, director of meteorological department, Thiruvananthapuram.

from:   http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-06-29/kozhikode/32472196_1_kannur-red-rain-rainwater

Oh, No, Bono!

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Doomsday Bloody Doomsday: Why Is Bono Supporting the G8’s GMO Initiative That Will F#&% Africa?

bono.jpg
Claiming that the continent of Africa is to this century what North America was to the 19th, U2 frontman Bono has become one of the biggest supporters of the recently announced G8 initiative that’s sending $22 billion dollars in aid, supplied mostly by multi-national corporate conglomerates, to “lift Africa out of poverty” over the next ten years. One of the biggest tools being leveraged in this plan will be the use of controversial agricultural practices-mainly non-native genetically modified crops and the accompanying fertilizers and pesticides-under the moniker The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition. Companies that have pledged their dollars and support through NAFSN include: DuPont, Monsanto, Cargill, Syngenta, Kraft, and Unilever.

According to the White House, the G8’s announcement of NAFSN represents the “next phase of our shared commitment to achieving global food security.” Under the guise of working with Africa’s leaders to develop transparent “country-regulated” policies for food security, in his G8 speech, his ONE organization’s blog, his interview with MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell, and in an article he wrote for TIME magazine aptly titled “The Resource Miracle,” Bono repeatedly and not-so-subtly hints to the wealth of minerals laying just underneath the feet of Africans.

In his speech at the G8 summit held in May in Chicago, Bono jokingly refers to the African continent as “richer than rich; like 19th century America with elephants,” adding that “the continent that contains the most poverty also contains the most wealth.” Be that precious metals, gems or even (god help us) more oil-the message is a simple one to decode: Feed Africans and they will make you lots of money. (Besides, the Chinese are already over there doing it.)

Wal-mart, says Bono, has already invested more than $2 billion in development in Africa. And while he consistently avoids talking specifically about the plans NAFSN has to tackle the poverty issue, he does say the efforts are “way, way smarter” due to “the advances in science and technology.” One only need to look at the companies funding the plan to read between the lines.

African countries have slowly begun opening the door to genetic modification in recent years. Just 40 years ago, African nations exported more than 1 million tons of food, but now, due to drought, war and famine, the continent must import more than 25 percent of its food supplies. And once staunchly resistant to the technology, countries including Kenya and South Africa now permit GMOs to help tackle their poverty and starvation issues. The multinational biotech companies, of course, see dollar signs all over the continent-not just in being able to sell peasant farmers patented gene technology and companion products-but also in the many resources Bono speaks to: Sixty percent of Africa is arable land, which could make it one of the premier biotech testing grounds in the world. What lies underneath the soil-the metals, minerals and oil-all have uses for the industry as well, from petroleum-based fertilizers to pesticide development and fuel for the trucks that transport and spray them.

If history is any indicator, what has happened to other areas of the developing world when genetically modified organisms are introduced as a means to sidestepping poverty, malnutrition and disease is no miracle. Hundreds of thousands of Indian cotton farmers have (and continue to) commit suicide because of failure to meet crop yield expectations and therefore failing to pay Monsanto and Bayer CropScience for what is, effectively, a highly faulty product.

More than 5 million Brazilian farmers are currently in the midst of a lawsuit tangle with Monsanto over unrealistic royalty expectations on crops, including genetically modified soy and corn, which have quickly outpaced the growth of non-GMO crops in the South American country, but at a cost the farmers claim was misrepresented and unrealistic. Not to mention that the rapid growth of GMOs in Brazil have been intrinsically linked with irreparable destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the vital species and cultures that have thrived in the world’s most important ecosystem since it first sprouted eons ago.

Hybrid Monsanto seeds given to post-earthquake Haiti failed to produce crops and led to uprisings in the streets with protestors burning the faulty Monsanto seeds. Even here on American soil, farmers repeatedly find themselves struggling to meet yield expectations, battling Monsanto lawsuits over seed-saving or patent infringement if crops drift from neighboring farms, all while pests and weeds become more and more resistant to the harmful pesticides that the farmers were told they’d be able to decrease use of over time.

Over the last three decades, Bono has built a reputation as a humanitarian, an environmentalist, and a responsible artist. He helped build the ONE organization, which according to their website, is “a grassroots advocacy and campaigning organization that fights extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.” He and his wife were pioneers in environmentally-friendly clothing (Edun) that encourages ethical trade in Africa, and even his band’s music has come to overtly encourage listeners to live compassionate, authentic, and joyful lives-overcoming personal and global transgressions together.

Intending to combat the extreme conditions in Africa-drought, blights, poor soil quality, etc-the NAFSN roster of corporations continually make claims that GMO crops can handle these very issues, when similar circumstances repeatedly prove otherwise. This is why it’s most confusing that Bono would be so vocal about supporting such controversial agricultural methods. When the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced support of biotechnology, it was disheartening, yes, but almost expected. The Microsoft guru is known for glitchy software and a generally geeky level of oversight.

But Bono was once the voice for the counterculture. He encouraged rising against the forces-political or corporate-that won’t ever really take anyone’s best interest to heart, no matter what kind of pandering they do. So why isn’t he supporting organic farming and the further development of empowering community models like Fair Trade-both of which have shown tremendously effective and long-lasting results-instead of faulty, toxic and greedy mechanisms like genetically modified crops?

In his TIME article, Bono writes, “If I’ve learned anything in more than 25 years of making noise about this stuff, it’s that partnership trumps paternalism,” but that’s exactly what he’s supporting: a paternalistic corporate-political blunderbuss of misinformation and misguided intentions. Bono once asked the anthemic question, “How long must we sing this song?” Longer still, it seems…longer still.

from:    http://www.realitysandwich.com/why_bono_supporting_gmo_initiative

Drought Now Affects 56% of US

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Drought Reaches Record 56% of Continental US

Jeanna Bryner, LiveScience Managing Editor
Date: 05 July 2012
dry lake bed

The Southwest may be stuck with more scenes like this dry lake bed.
CREDIT: NOAA.

The United States is parched, with more than half of the land area in the lower 48 states experiencing moderate to extreme drought, according to a report released today (July 5).

Just under 56 percent of the contiguous United States is in drought conditions, the most extensive area in the 12-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. The previous drought records occurred on Aug. 26, 2003, when 54.79 percent of the lower 48 were in drought and on Sept 10, 2002, when drought extended across 54.63 percent of this area.

When including the entire nation, the monitor found 46.84 percent of the land area meets criteria for various stages of drought, up from 42.8 percent last week. Previous records: 45.87 percent in drought on Aug. 26, 2003, and 45.64 percent on Sept. 10, 2002.

The recent heat and dryness is catching up with us on a national scale,” Michael Hayes, director of the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said in a statement. “Now, we have a larger section of the country in these lesser categories of drought than we’ve previously experienced” in the past 12 years.

The monitor uses a ranking system that goes from D0 (abnormal dryness) to D1 (moderate drought), D2 (severe drought), D3 (extreme drought) and D4 (exceptional drought).

At the lower end of the scale, moderate drought involves some damage to crops and pastures, and low water levels in streams, reservoirs or wells. Areas in exceptional drought would experience widespread crop and pasture losses and water shortages that lead to water emergencies. Currently, 8.64 percent of the country would meet criteria for either extreme or exceptional drought.

“During 2002 and 2003, there were several very significant droughts taking place that had a much greater areal coverage of the more severe and extreme drought categories,” Hayes said. “Right now we are seeing pockets of more severe drought, but it is spread out over different parts of the country.

“It’s early in the season, though. The potential development is something we will be watching,” he added.

Further into the past, the United States has experienced some really serious droughts, including one in the 1930s, the Dust Bowl drought, and another in the 1950s, each of which lasted five to seven years and covered large swaths of the continental United States. Droughts are one of the most costly weather-related events in terms of economics and loss of life, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Between 1980 and today, 16 drought events cost $210 billion, according to a recent report.

While no single event like this year’s extensive drought can be said to be the result of global warming, scientists say more extreme weather should be expected as the planet warms, according to a report compiled by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2011. That year, there were 12 $1-billion disasters.

In particular, the report authors predicted that with climate change there would be an increase in certain types of extreme weather, including daily high temperatures, heat waves, heavy precipitation and droughts, in some places.

The U.S. Drought Monitor is a joint endeavor by the National Drought Mitigation Center, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and drought observers across the country.

from:    http://www.livescience.com/21419-drought-record-weather.html

Leon Lewis on Your Earth Calling

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ANCIENT LEGACY

By Leon Lewis

Each of us, whether we are aware of it or not, has a unique, sacred Earth calling via which we discover, assimilate and express aspects of Earth’s legacy that we have come to explore, both individually and collectively. Life is offering each of us the opportunity to rediscover our original promise that was made on a soul level. This calling and the power to bring it forth, is available for each of us to explore by paying conscious attention to the relationship we have with our environment and the messages we receive from it.

Having lived in Southern Africa for all of this lifetime, my attention has to a considerable extent been focused on the Earth legacy of this part of the world. Ever since I can remember I have had a deep respect for the First Peoples of our planet and the magical aspects of their relationship with the environment. An alternative term to describe these First Peoples might be ‘the people of nature’.

Many correlations between groupings around the world can be found within the context of the expression of Earth wisdom. There are also distinct differences, specific to each particular group, which define their unique contribution to the tapestry of our human experience. The correlations unite and bond not only all of the World’s First Peoples around the common aspects of their wisdom and legacy, but also incorporate the peoples of contemporary society – who might be described as ‘the people of technology’. Some, from within this context, have been exploring the various indigenous legacies, from the ancient as well as the contemporary viewpoint.

If we regard Mother Earth as a living being and teacher, then it stands to reason that we acknowledge her many ways of communicating to each living entity its encoded purpose, which has been held in safe keeping, to be released as and when the time is right. The earth is guardian to a fragile and exquisite legacy that records the sum total of all experience since her primordial beginnings; a legacy which each of us has helped to create and which contains many clues that we left for ourselves as markers along life’s ancient road. These serve as stepping stones to greater awareness, to be gathered up as ‘pieces of the puzzle’ and put together to create a more expanded picture.

As we grow in the profound realization that we are here to seek and become the harmony between heaven and earth – between the world of energy and matter, or between masculine and feminine aspects – we discover a simple truth, namely that the five elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water and Ether have to be in balance within our lives. We establish this balance through the medium of all of our relationships.

The First People of Southern Africa lived in harmony with the elements for thousands of years. Their descendants generally refer to themselves by the collective names of “Bushmen” or “San”. As with many of the First Nations upon our planet, who nowadays mostly constitute minority groups in the lands of their origins, the cultural traditions of the Bushmen are greatly threatened. Dispossessed of most of the land that nurtured their forefathers for countless generations, and destabilized as a result of westernization, the few Bushmen groups who have to some extent remained connected to the natural ways of their ancestors struggle to thrive. Most have moved off the land, to nearby towns and villages, and have thus become assimilated into relatively westernized communities. Some still remember the old ways, but many have forgotten.

In times gone by, their respect for the land equaled their respect for the Great Spiritual source, and it was understood by all that Spirit lives in everything. The spirit within sang in worship of the trees, the sky, the wind, the animals, fire and rain. They were a nation of great story-tellers, hunters, rainmakers and healers. Each individual had a sacred calling, a special gift. One person could see into the future, another could communicate with the spiritual realms and ancestors; some could communicate with the animals and, through this communion of souls, hunt food for the people. There were those who were gifted in the magical ways of the trance dance, in which the Shaman would experience entry into spiritual dimensions and from this perspective assist in healing the sick. Sometimes the healer would ‘become’ the animal by assuming particular qualities of its being. This special gift, sometimes referred to as ‘shape shifting’, has often been depicted in the numerous examples of Bushman rock art to be found throughout Southern Africa, as therianthropic beings (part human, part animal). Still others were blessed with intuitive knowledge about herbs and plant medicines.

These gifts were all understood to have come from the spiritual realms and were intended to maintain the ‘love connection’ they had with the Creator. The healing dance – the dance of the ancient consciousness of the land – has always been the dance of community, the dance that invokes the life-giving legacy of nature. Thus it was that the First Peoples of Southern Africa lived in peace with Mother Earth, sharing all that they had with one another. Their love connection – the simple communion with the animal and plant spirits, the sun, the moon, the stars and the ancestors – was their natural way to balance and share energy in order to live in harmony with all life everywhere. They always understood this essential interconnectedness of all life – that one member of the group is diminished by the lack of the other.

It is the Oneness of all of life which forms a common thread and establishes a bridge, from the spiritual perspective, between individuals and between countries – beyond borders and boundaries. If this Oneness is held as the common guiding principle in all that we do, think and say, it has the power to help us unite more deeply within our search for harmony, truth and light.

In order to embrace Oneness as inhabitants of Mother Earth, we are now challenged to recall the ancient memory, which is beyond language. The experience of the First Peoples suggests to us that collective memory be accessed via the feeling nature, by consciously acknowledging our pain and our joy (past and present), and then expressing this primal experience in symbolic ways that are meaningful to us. The sum total of a multi-dimensional inner journey of this nature is too vast and too intricate to be effectively conveyed between people solely by means of the intellect. If communicated via the heart and heart connections, we might authentically share with each other and with Spirit, who it is that we are.

The shared results of this re-awakening, sensed in the energies and feelings that form part of the experience (including feelings of love), have the power to bring about an acknowledgement in each individual of the fundamental nature of being human upon our planet – ‘god-man, god-woman’, with the potential for conscious awareness, within the context of the microcosmic and macrocosmic aspects of our universe.

As we recognise the significance and power of sacred sites associated with the ancients, we have the opportunity to honour these places as pilgrims. Furthermore, we are encouraged to become re-acquainted with natural medicines and to revive our intrinsic respect for natural law, thus regaining the knowledge that is necessary to thrive and live in harmony with the land.

As we remember, we release ourselves from time – from ‘the beginning and the end’ – and return to our essence. Resonating more harmoniously with the song of Mother Earth, we become more familiar with the intimate dance of relationship with our higher and lower nature, as well as with others around us. In honoring the Oneness of humanity, nature and Spirit, we begin to radiate creative vitality and the wisdom of the ages, which has always been our birthright.

Leon Lewis

from:    http://www.spiritofmaat.com/jul12/ancient_legacy.html

And the Heat Goes On

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The June 2012 U.S. heat wave: one of the greatest in recorded history
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 7:34 PM GMT on July 03, 2012 +35

Intense heat continues to bake a large portion of the U.S. this Tuesday, with portions of 17 states under heat advisories for dangerously high temperatures. The heat is particularly dangerous for the 1.4 million people still without power and air conditioning due to Friday’s incredible derecho event, which is now being blamed for 23 deaths. The ongoing heat wave is one of the most intense and widespread in U.S. history, according to wunderground’s weather historian, Christopher C. Burt. In his Sunday post, The Amazing June Heat Wave of 2012 Part 2: The Midwest and Southeast June 28-30, Mr. Burt documents that eighteen of the 298 locations (6%) that he follows closely because of their long period of record and representation of U.S. climate broke or tied their all-time heat records during the past week, and that “this is especially extraordinary since they have occurred in June rather than July or August when 95% of the previous all-time heat records have been set for this part of the country.” The only year with more all-time heat records than 2012 is 1936, when 61 cities of the 298 locations (20%) set all-time heat records. The summer of 1936 was the hottest summer in U.S. history, and July 1936 was the hottest month in U.S. history.

According to wunderground analysis of the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) extremes database, during June 2012, 11% of the country’s 777 weather stations with a period of record of a century or more broke or tied all-time heat records for the month of June. Only 1936 (13% of June records broken or tied) and 1988 (12.5%) had a greater number of all-time monthly June records. I expect when NCDC releases their analysis of the June 2012 weather next week, they will rank the month as one of the top five hottest Junes in U.S. history.


Figure 1. Across the entire Continental U.S., 72% of the land area was classified as being in dry or drought conditions as of June 26, 2012. Conditions are not expected to improve much over the summer: the NOAA Climate Prediction Center’s latest drought outlook shows much of the U.S. in persistent drought conditions, with very few areas improving. The rains brought by Tropical Storm Debby did help out Florida and Georgia, however. Image credit: NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory.

The forecast: hot and dry
July is traditionally the hottest month of the year, and July 2012 is likely to set more all-time heat records. The latest predictions from the GFS and ECMWF models show that a ridge of high pressure and dry conditions will dominate the weather over about 80 – 90% of the country during the next two weeks, except for the Pacific Northwest and New England. This will bring wicked hot conditions to most of the nation, but no all-time heat records are likely to fall. However, around July 11, a sharp ridge of high pressure is expected to build in over the Western U.S., bringing the potential for crazy-hot conditions capable of toppling all-time heat records in many western states.

The intense heat and lack of rain, combined with soils that dried out early in the year due to lack of snowfall, have led to widespread areas of moderate to extreme drought over much of the nation’s grain growing regions, from Kansas to Indiana. The USDA is reporting steadily deteriorating crop conditions for corn and soybeans, and it is likely that a multi-billion dollar drought disaster is underway in the Midwest.

The wunderground Extremes page has an interactive map that allows one to look at the records for the 298 U.S. cities that Mr. Burt tracks. Click on the “Wunderground U.S. Records” button to see them.

Quiet in the Atlantic
There are no threat areas to discuss in the Atlantic, and none of the reliable computer models are developing a tropical cyclone over the next seven days.

Have a great 4th of July holiday, everyone, and I’ll be back Thursday with a new post.

Jeff Masters

fr/    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2144

Remote Viewing Results for 2012 fr/The Farsight Institute

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Post-2012 Earth Changes
A Global Climate Change Remote-Viewing Study
Multiple Realities, Timelines, and Events

Introduction: We at The Farsight Institute are currently engaged in a fascinating study using remote viewing to study climate and planetary change between the years 2008 and 2013. The initial results appear dramatic on a global scale, and our research does indeed suggest that major global change is a possibility between now and 2013. However, web site visitors are reminded that this is research, not certitude. Remember what Albert Einstein once said, “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it?” Web site visitors are encouraged to examine all of our results carefully, and learn with us as we complete this experiment in mid-2013. We will not fully understand these remote-viewing data until the experiment is completed at that time.

How we obtain these results is a bit complicated, but it is worth the effort to understand our methods. The actual types of global change is discussed in the second part of the video presentation below, but the first part of this presentation is absolutely essential to understand how these results were obtained. Web site visitors should watch both parts of the video presentation. This presentation was given during the 29th Annual Meeting of the Society for Scientific Exploration in Boulder, Colorado in June 2010.

This is the most carefully collected set of professional-grade remote-viewing data involving this time span that currently exists. This experiment is potentially one of the most significant experiments ever attempted using remote viewing as a data-collection platform.

 

Principal Investigator: Courtney Brown
Remote Viewers: HRVG viewers led by Glenn Wheaton and CRV viewers led by Lyn Buchanan.

Initial Results:

This project describes change between the years 2008 and 2013 across nine geographical locations with a global spread. The locations are

  1. Vaitupu, Tuvalu
  2. Fort Jesus, Mombasa Kenya
  3. Sydney Opera House, Sydney, Australia
  4. Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania
  5. United States Congress Building, Washington, D.C.
  6. Malé International Airport, Malé, Maldives
  7. KITV Building, Honolulu, Hawaii
  8. The Vehicle Assembly Building at Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, Merritt Island, Florida
  9. Key West, Florida

In general, these remote-viewing data suggest the following types of physical changes across many of the above geographical locations by mid-2013:

  1. Impacts from what appear to be large meteors leading to tsunamis and possible volcanism
  2. Extensive and forceful flooding of coastal areas
  3. Excessive solar radiation
  4. Storms and other severe weather

In terms of the effects of these changes on humans, these data also suggest:

  1. Massive self-organized relocation from coastal areas (refugees)
  2. The breakdown of rescue or other notable governmental functioning
  3. The breakdown of the food supply system
  4. The breakdown of the vehicular transport system
  5. Extensive loss of buildings near coasts

Oddly, these results largely parallel recent warnings being issued by NASA relating to the dangers of severe solar storms anticipated around the years 2012 and 2013 that would threaten the global long-term use of electricity. NASA is not currently explaining exactly why these unprecedented and severe storms are anticipated, but the warnings themselves could not be more clear. Meteor impacts are not included in the current set of NASA warnings.

For this project, all targets are assigned two timelines for the date 1 June 2013. This allows us to attempt to use remote viewing to describe alternative futures by specifying characteristics of future timelines. Web site visitors who are not familiar with our research into multiple realities might want to view this introductory video presentation on the subject.

The two 2013 timelines examined in this study are

Timeline A: 1 June 2013, 12 noon target local time, following the timeline in which the leadership of the mainstream global scientific establishment continues to ignore or deny (1) the reality of the remote-viewing phenomenon, and (2) the existence of life not originating from Earth.

Timeline B: 1 June 2013, 12 noon target local time, following the timeline in which by the end of 2009 leaders of the mainstream global scientific establishment publicly recognize (1) the reality of the remote-viewing phenomenon, and (2) the existence of life not originating from Earth.

The results of this study do suggest that there is a difference between the two timelines. These data suggest that the impact of planetary change is less severe for Timeline B as compared with Timeline A. This suggests that having the mainstream scientific community openly acknowledge the reality of remote viewing and life (even microbial) not originating on Earth may help ameliorate the impact of severe planetary change, perhaps by giving people a greater chance to prepare for the changes. The Key West target was added late in the study to explore a timeline in which the scientific community recognizes the reality of remote viewing and the existence of extraterrestrial life by 2011.

Here are links to some of the data and analyses for the current project.

Speculation

Predicting any event on a single timeline may involve (1) using remote viewing to examine alternate timelines to check for unusual events, and (2) looking for clues in a given present to see if anything that is currently happening suggests that the future events perceived in the alternate timelines might be possible for our most likely future. Thus, if the above results are indeed correct for the two specified timelines (Timelines A and B), then it is natural to ask if the results are relevant for our most likely future timeline. Since it seems likely that major governments would be aware in advance of most near term global threats, then it also seems likely that they would take some actions that would reflect their anticipation of those events. These actions would likely not be explained to the masses to avoid panic. Below is a list of largely anomalous governmental actions that may indicate an awareness of a near term global threat that is suggested by these remote-viewing data. Again, these are only speculations, none of which “prove” anything. But considered collectively, they are exceptionally odd.

  1. The U.S. Space Shuttle will launch its last mission in mid-2011. At that time, NASA is entirely abandoning its government-funded manned spaceflight program. Given the investment that the U.S. has made in launching humans into space since the 1960s, this is odd, especially since private efforts to launch humans into space are years away, and currently unproven. It is as if the government does not anticipate being able to launch humans into space in the near future for reasons not currently stated.
  2. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is being sealed in 2011. This will allow the world to restart agriculture given a global catastrophe. The United Nations formally inspected the facility, which might seem odd for a Norwegian project. The timing of this project seems like a strange coincidence.
  3. U.S. and global debt. It is as if various governments are not expecting to have to pay back their debts, perhaps anticipating a global economic reset due to reasons not currently stated.
  4. The devaluing of the U.S. dollar seems to be a trend that will stay. Moody, Standard and Poor, and Fitch have announced that they may be devaluing the rating of U.S. Treasury bonds (see NY Times article, 15 March 2010, as well as the editorial on 20 March 2010), and there have been discussions within the United Nations of the International Monetary Fund phasing out its dependency on the U.S. dollar. The governments seem to be acting as if the U.S. dollar will be replaced as the global currency.
  5. Digging, digging is everywhere. The U.S. has no nuclear enemies, yet it is digging huge underground facilities in inhospitable regions difficult for the masses to reach. Why? On the other hand, the Chinese tend to think collectively, and China is digging extraordinary subway complexes under most of its major cities in a crash program that seems odd in terms of timing and scope. See, for example, the NY Times article by Keith Bradsher, 27 March 2009. Subways are, of course, conveniently located underground tunnels, and such tunnels could house millions of people in an emergency. Russia announced in 2011 that it is adding 5,000 new nuclear bomb shelters in Moscow, enabling it to protect all of Moscow’s residents. The program is to be rushed so that it is finished in 2012. Why? Russia has no nuclear enemies. Russia’s new subway systems have also been placed deeper than needed so that they can be used as deep emergency shelters. Again, why? Why all these preparations, and why the rush?
  6. NASA is now predicting that the Sun may generate unprecedented solar storms for a lengthy period in 2012-13. We cannot accurately predict Earth’s normal weather a week in advance, and it is by no means clear how NASA can do this with respect unprecedented weather on the Sun years in advance. They are saying that we are more dependent on vulnerable computer technology now. But we had similar dependencies in 2001 and 1990 when previous 11-year solar cycles hit. What is different about the current cycle? Some might suggest that NASA is acting as if it has some extra information that is not currently stated.

Project Overview for the 1 June 2008 and 1 June 2013 Experiments:

The remote viewers participating in this study have remote viewed various geographically determined targets during two time periods: 1 June 2008 and 1 June 2013. This five-year gap will allow us to look for planetary change that may occur over that period. We are also aware that popular culture views the year 2012 as potentially significant, and some people may be interested in following our results because of this. (No reason scientific studies can’t be fun!)

From our past research we know that the future is probabilistic. (See also, the Multiple Universes Project.) If multiple realities emerge from every moment of now, then there is no single future timeline. Thus we hope that by specifying certain timeline conditions with our remote-viewing tasking, it is possible to perceive a specific future (for a specific timeline) correctly. For this reason, our participating remote viewers have perceived the 2013 targets along two separate timelines, with each timeline offering the potential for significant differences in future events given specific possible actions taken by the mainstream scientific community. Thus, we are hoping to discern what the future looks like if the mainstream scientific community pursues one policy as compared with a future in which the mainstream scientific community pursues a different policy. In the former case, the policy is a continuation of a current policy. In the latter case, the policy is an alternate policy that might produce a significantly different future. We are attempting to learn if the publication of information about two future timelines based on differences in current policies can change the future that our current now evolves into.

The various 2008 targets establish a baseline set of criteria by which the accuracy of the remote-viewing results in general may be evaluated. Thus, if the 1 June 2008 targets are perceived accurately by the remote viewers participating in the study, then it is reasonable to assume that the results for the future dates for those same targets will be comparably accurate. Since each geographically determined target is evaluated three times (once in 2008, and twice in 2013 — once for each future timeline), there are three times as many total targets as there are geographically determined targets in this study.

The remote-viewing sessions were conducted prior to the targets being assigned to those sessions by a truly random process (explained in “Experiment Details” below as well as in the video presentation that appears at the top of this page) that took place on Wednesday, 4 June 2008. It was not possible for a remote viewer (or anyone else) to know the identity of a target at the time the target was being remote viewed since the remote-viewing sessions were conducted before 4 June 2008. Thus, the targets are assigned in the future with respect to when the sessions were done, and the remote-viewing data describe the future target assignments.

from:   http://www.farsight.org/demo/Demo2008/RV_Demo_2008_Page1.html

Dr. Jeff Masters on Extreme Heat, Etc.

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Extreme storms and extreme heat hit the U.S.
Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 5:50 PM GMT on June 30, 2012 +36

A violent line of organized severe thunderstorms called a derecho swept across the U.S. from Illinois to Virginia on Friday, damaging houses, toppling trees, bringing down power lines. The storms killed six people in Virginia, two in New Jersey, and one in Maryland, and left at least 3.4 million people without power. The thunderstorms in a derecho (from the Spanish phrase for “straight ahead”) create violent winds that blow in a straight line. The traditional definition of a derecho is a thunderstorm complex that produces a damaging wind swath of at least 240 miles (about 400 km), featuring a concentrated area of thunderstorm wind gusts exceeding 58 mph (93 km/hr.) A warm weather phenomenon, derechos occur mostly in summer, especially June and July in the Northern Hemisphere. They can occur at any time of the year and occur as frequently at night as in the daylight hours. As seen on our wundermap with the “go back in time” feature turned on, Friday’s derecho began near Chicago in the early afternoon, then marched east-southeast, peaking in intensity over Virginia and Washington D.C. on Friday evening. The derecho was unusually intense due to the extreme heat, which helped create an unstable atmosphere with plenty of energy to fuel severe thunderstorms.


Figure 1. Radar image from our wundermap with the “go back in time” feature turned on for 11 pm EDT Friday June 29, 2012, showing the derecho over Washington D.C. and Baltimore. Click on the “hour” button above the wundermap to advance the time by one hour to watch the progress of the derecho across the country.


Figure 2. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center (SPC) logged 871 reports of damaging winds on Friday. Twenty one of these reports were for winds over 80 mph. The highest wind gust was in Oswego, Illinois: 92 mph.


Figure 3. A dramatic change in the weather in Buckeye land: the temperature at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio dropped from 97°F to 68° after passage of Friday’s derecho. The storm brought a wind gust of 82 mph to campus, and 0.86″ of rain.

Historic heat wave topples Dust Bowl-era extreme heat records
A historic heat wave on a scale and intensity not seen in the U.S. since the great heat waves of the 1930s Dust Bowl era set new all-time heat records for at least ten major cities Friday. According to wunderground’s weather historian Christopher C. Burt, fifteen of the 303 major cities he maintains records for on the wunderground extremes page have set all-time heat records in the past four days. The only year with more all-time heat records is 1936, when 61 cities set all-time heat records. In 2011, which had the 2nd warmest summer in U.S. history, only ten of the 303 cities set all-time heat records during the entire summer. With the the hottest month of the year (July) still to come, 2012 threatens to rival the great Dust Bowl summer of 1936 for extreme heat.

All-time records for any date tied or broken on Friday:

109° Nashville, TN (old record 107° 7/28/1952
109° Columbia, SC (old record 107° on two previous occasions)
109° Cairo, IL (old record 106° on 8/9/1930)
108° Paducah, KY (ties same on 7/17/1942
106° Chattanooga, TN (ties same on 7/28/1952)
105° Raleigh, NC (ties same on 8/21/2007 and 8/18/1988)
105° Greenville, SC (old record 104° 8/10/2007 although 106° was recorded by the Signal Service in July 1887)
104° Charlotte, NC (ties same on 8/9 and 10/2007 and 9/6/1954)
102° Bristol, TN (ties same on 7/28/1952-this site now known as `Tri-State Airport’)
109° Athens, GA. This is just 1° shy of the Georgia state record for June of 110° set at Warrenton in 1959.

All-time state June heat records set Friday:

113° Smyrna, TN (old record 110° in Etowah in June 1936)
109° Cairo, IL (old record 108° in Palestine in June 1954)

Also of note: Atlanta, GA hit 104° (its all-time June record), and just 1° shy of its all-time record of 105° set on 7/17/1980. The forecast for Atlanta on Saturday calls for a high of 105°F, which would tie for the hottest day in the city’s history.

Wunderground’s weather historian Christopher C. Burt has a new post called The Amazing June Heat Wave of 2012 Part 1: The West and Plains June 23 – 27 summarizing the early portion of this week’s historic heat wave. He plans to make a follow-up post on Sunday summarizing the records set on Friday and Saturday.

Relatively quiet in the Atlantic
An area of heavy thunderstorms, associated with an upper level low pressure system, has developed in the Gulf of Mexico along the Texas coast. This disturbance will probably move ashore over Texas before development into a tropical depression can occur, and NHC is giving it a 0% chance of development. The tropical wave approaching the Lesser Antilles (Invest 97L) has dissipated due to dry air, and is no longer a threat. None of the reliable computer models are developing anything during the next seven days.

Jeff Masters

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=2141

Xinjiang, China Earthquake

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Xinjiang, China earthquake – collapsed houses, +37 injured, 40 workers and 80 people trapped, 500 houses collapsed, 22000 people affected + more to come

Last update: June 30, 2012 at 10:38 am by By

Update 10:25 UTC
– The damage toll is getting heavier every hour
– Most of the houses in the area have cracks in the walls
– luckily no killed people so far, but based on our China experience and the remote areas still to be inspected, the current state of damage and injuries is only temporary.
– The Chinese seismological agency has recorded 13 aftershocks of M3.0 or higher. 2 aftershocks surpassed the 4 level, an M4.2 at 08:46 local time and a M4.3 at 15:35 local time. All aftershocks have epicenters in the same area and the depths are more or less similar than the mainshock.
– Water distribution, roads, electricity, classrooms, hospitals, offices and other public facilities have various degrees of damage. Relief work is underway.

Big rocks on State Highway 2017 after a landslide – image courtesy and copyright Chinanews.com

Very important Update 06:47 UTC :
– a lot of houses collapsed during the shaking
– at least 37 people were injured
– As of 10:30 local time, there were 7223 households, containing 22000 people affected
– 40 workers have been trapped as well as 80 people when a landslide occurred at State Highway 217, Xinyuan county. The 40 workers were near a mountain top, and 80 people were at hot springs.70 police to the scene to conduct the rescue. An extra 40 soldiers and 10 local police were also sent later.
– 1650 rooms (around 500 houses) have been destroyed, 11300 rooms with moderate damage, and 8050 rooms with minor damage.
– 684 stalls have been damaged including 258 which collapsed killing 112 head of cattle and 245 sheep
– There have also been landslides reported given the torrential rain in the area combined with the shaking.
– temporary blackouts in a wide area
– emergency forces are currently trying to reach more distant locations. Chinese authorities have dispatched 220 assessment staff (analyzing what is needed and inspecting the damage) and 4500 specializeed SAR rescue troops.
– The quake also triggered landslides and caused cave-ins on several national and regional highways in Xinjiang, bringing traffic to a halt and making emergency help extremely difficult
– strong shaking was experienced in Urumqi, the capital of the province
– Two earthquakes measuring more than 7 on the Richter scale have jolted the region since 1900.

Emergency and rescue troops are helping a woman getting away from her partly collapsed house – image courtesy 92jn.com

 

Update 00:06 UTC :  We will have to wait at least another 3 to 4 hours before the assessment and emergency teams have reached the epicenter area. Trains have been stopped on various rails when the safety system enforced an emergency stop. Rails are currently being expected to avoid further problems (it is known that earthquakes often bend rails due to ground motion)

Update 23:52 UTC :  Emergency plans have been activated. The Chinese authorities are talking from a “larger earthquake disaster” although they have no detailed information yet.  Chinese media are indicating that SAR and assessment personnel has been rushed to the earthquake zone. They have the ability to help people and will tell the disasters offices what material they will need. Chinese will inspect EVERY house for eventual damage in the greater earthquake area. Chinese emergency forces are not perfect but based on what we have seen in the past earthquakes we have followed, ER calls them extremely well organized and disciplined people.

Update 23:48 UTC :  The area is considered in China as very scenic and has some tourist infrastructure. We expect the majority of tourists to be Chinese.

Update 23:30 UTC :  Hongqiaolong looks to us the closest village to the epicenter. The epicenter is however poorly constrained (10 km more or less in another direction may be a big difference). This village and the nearby village of Wulan Hate, are called by ER at extremely high risk for damage and injuries is approx. 20 km from the epicenter. The village is located at an altitude of 2800 meter, the mountain range were the epicenter took place at approx. 3400 meter. The picture shows the traditional Chinese villages which we know are very vulnerable for earthquake damage.

The village of Hongqiaolong is at approx. 20 km from the epicenter. – Click on the picture to make it bigger

Update 22:58 UTC :  Chinese seismological services have reported 7 M+3 aftershocks so far.

Update 22:55 UTC :  Houses in a 50 km area are mostly simple and made from Brick, rocks and adobe. Generally spoken Chinese houses have little resistance against earthquakes. New constructions however are build with a very high earthquake resistance.

Update 22:53 UTC :  Some tourists living in the Xinjiang Nalati prairie cabins told the Chinese media that the earthquake duration was more than 20 seconds (numbers are very variable), and very strong shaking. Among the many residents in Urumqi, the capital was awakened by the earthquake, panic, people running down the stairs to escape (NEVER do this but remain in the house close to an inner wall until the shaking has stopped).

Update 22:42 UTC :  Blackouts are reported in the greater epicenter area.

Update 22:35 UTC :  the earthquake was strongly felt in Urumqi, Shihezi, Changji, Tacheng, Usu and Kuitun. People in these cities are standing in the streets out of fear for more aftershocks. None of these cities would have experienced a theoretical strong shaking (although people are talking different of course)

Update 22:25 UTC : People living in Urumqi (Urumqi  is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China) are reporting heavy shaking that lasted 1 minute.  This is an additional reason to be concerned. The longer a strong shaking is lasting, the more chance on severe damage. Urumqi is located at approx. 200 km from the epicenter.

Update 22:16 UTC : The Xinjiang seismological bureau is currently organizing SAR teams to be dispatched to the epicenter area. SAR = Search and Rescue teams

Update 22:15 UTC : At least (but probably a lot more) aftershocks have hit the epicenter area. The 2 strongest ones measured M3.9.

Update 22:12 UTC : Chinese authorities have updated the data and are reporting now M6.6 at a depth of 7 km.

Update 22:10 UTC : Chinese seismological staff is among the best trained staff in the world. These people are very well organized and take swift action whenever an earthquake happens. China has a long history of cruel earthquakes.

Update 22:07 UTC : It will take many hours before an in-depth damage report comes in as the epicenter area is very remote and as roads my be blocked by avalanches, damages road cover etc.

Update 22:04 UTC : The shaking has been well felt in the neighboring countries like Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Update 21:58 UTC : The shaking MMI data given below are based on a Magnitude of 6.3. The Chinese authorities however are reporting a 6.7 magnitude at an even shallower depth.

Update 21:54 UTC : One of the biggest treats in this area are landslides.

Landscape approx. 15 km from the epicenter – image courtesy 老何

Update 21:53 UTC : There are luckily NO hydrodams or Nuclear Plants in the greater epicenter area.

Update 21:51 UTC : The landscape in the area tells us high slopes on a high plateau but also a lot of soft land in the area.

Update 21:45 UTC : USGS is predicting a VII MMI (very strong shaking for 1,000 people. 9000 people should feel a strong shaking.

Update 21:45 UTC : GDACS report that 5 people are living in a 5 km radius, 27 in a 10 km radius, 483 in a 20 km radius and 8664 in a 50 km radius. 183,832 in a 100 km radius. We call the 50 km radius at risk for this earthquake.

Update 21:42 UTC : Earthquake-Report.com calls a radius of 50 km at high risk for serious damage and injuries

Update 21:40 UTC : 150,000 people are living in a 100 km radius

Update 21:37 UTC : The Chinese seismological authorities reported a depth of 7 km at a Magnitude of 6.7.

The preliminary Magnitude reported at EMSC is 6.3 at a depth of 2 km
The preliminary Magnitude reported at USGS  is 6.3 at a depth of 2 km
The epicenter is located in the Xinjiang mountains at the crossroads between the O217 and G218. Nearest big city (at a safe distance) : Xinjuan

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : 6.3 (USGS) 6.7 (CEN)
UTC Time : Friday, June 29, 2012 at 21:07:32 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Saturday, June 30, 2012 at 05:07:32 AM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 9.8 km (USGS) 7 km (CEN)
Geo-location(s) :
Closest village / city Gongnaisigouxiang at approx. 25 km
99 km (61 miles) S of Dushanzi, China
Xinjuan at +100 km
151 km (94 miles) SW (230°) from Shihezi, Xinjiang, China

http://earthquake-report.com/2012/06/29/extremely-dangerous-earthquake-in-a-sparsely-populated-area-in-xinjiang-china/

Brazilian Farmers Defeat Monsanto

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Five Million Brazilian Farmers Take on Monsanto and Win $2 Billion

15th June 2012

By  – timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Five million Brazilian farmers have taken on US based biotech company Monsanto through a lawsuit demanding return of about 6.2 billion euros taken as royalties from them. The farmers are claiming that the powerful company has unfairly extracted these royalties from poor farmers because they were using seeds produced from crops grown from Monsanto’s genetically engineered seeds, reports Merco Press.

In April this year, a judge in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, ruled in favor of the farmers and ordered Monsanto to return royalties paid since 2004 or a minimum of $2 billion. The ruling said that the business practices of seed multinational Monsanto violate the rules of the Brazilian Cultivars Act (No. 9.456/97). Monsanto has appealed against the order and a federal court ruling on the case is now expected by 2014.

About 85% of Brazil’s massive soyabean crop output is produced from genetically engineered seeds. Brazil exports about $24.1 billion worth of soyabeans annually, more than a quarter of its total agri-exports.

Farmers say that they are using seeds produced many generations after the initial crops from the genetically modified Monsanto seeds were grown. Farmers claim that Monsanto unfairly collects exorbitant profits every year worldwide on royalties from “renewal” seed harvests. Renewal crops are those that have been planted using seed from the previous year’s harvest. Monsanto disagrees, demanding royalties from any crop generation produced from its genetically-engineered seed. Because the engineered seed is patented, Monsanto not only charges an initial royalty on the sale of the crop produced, but a continuing two per cent royalty on every subsequent crop, even if the farmer is using a later generation of seed.

The first transgenic soy seeds were illegally smuggled into Brazil from neighboring Argentina in 1998 and their use was banned and subject to prosecution until the last decade, according to the state-owned Brazilian Enterprise for Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA).The ban has since been lifted and now 85 percent of the country’s soybean crop (25 million hectares or 62 million acres) is genetically modified, Alexandre Cattelan, an EMBRAPA researcher told Merco Press. Brazil is the world’s second largest producer and exporter of soyabean. China is one of its biggest buyers.

“Monsanto gets paid when it sell the seeds. The law gives producers the right to multiply the seeds they buy and nowhere in the world is there a requirement to pay (again). Producers are in effect paying a private tax on production,” Jane Berwanger, lawyer for the farmers told the media agencies.

Source – timesofindia.indiatimes.com

from:    http://wakeup-world.com/2012/06/14/five-million-brazilian-farmers-take-on-monsanto-and-win-2-billion/

(Note:  While not necessarily a step towards banning GMO seeds, it does show that governments are becoming aware of certain illegal and predatory practices used by Monsanto.)