Icicles that kill

While on the theme of ice... Plummeting chunks of ice is an annual hazard for pedestrians in Russia during the spring when the sun finally melts thick layers of ice and snow which build up on roofs over months of freezing temperatures and darkness.Medical authorities in the region of Samara told ITAR-TASS that five people died in the city of Samara and another person died in the nearby town of Otradny between February 23 and February 25.

Ice Tsunami

I have come across some of the most spectacular photos of Antarctica and its "Ice tsunamis". This really illustrates the point that "a freeze" happens very rapidly.
here is the link http://m3.bestpicever.com/piles/?s=icetsunami
just to tantalise your taste buds I am posting a couple of the photos.
Enjoy!

Glacial Volcanoes

New research of a previously unknown underwater volcano first discovered in 2004 off the coast of Antarctica has just been released. The presence of a volcano was first suggested in sonar studies during the January 2004 research expedition. The finding helps explain mariners' historical reports of discolored water in the area. Material from underwater volcanoes is known to cause discoloration in water over them.
Published this Sunday (Jan. 2008) in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers Hugh Corr and David Vaughan of the British Antarctic Survey, report the identification of a layer of volcanic ash and glass shards frozen within an ice sheet in western Antarctica. Vaughan states: "This is the first time we have seen a volcano beneath the ice sheet punch a hole through the ice sheet."The eruption occurred close to the massive Pine Island Glacier, an area where movement of glacial ice towards the sea has been accelerating alarmingly in recent decades. Co-researcher Hugh Corr states: "We believe this was the biggest eruption in Antarctica during the last 10,000 years. It blew a substantial hole in the icesheet and generated a plume of ash and gas that rose around 12 kms (eight miles) into the air."Volcanic heat could still be melting ice to water and contributing to thinning and speeding up of the Pine Island glacier, which passes nearby. Vaughan suggests the heat from volcanoes is the cause of glacier melt. This report adds another damaging blow to the Al Gore regime.

Asteroid TU24

For as long as TU24 is inside Earth's magnetosphere there is going to be disturbance.
Severe weather is being reported worldwide since TU24's entry into the magnetosphere. From extreme conditions in China where thousands of motorists have been stranded on roads in blizzard conditions to Canada and the States to extreme cold in the Middle East and snow in Jerusalem and torrential dumping of rain in Australia. Cobar Shire Council is investigating State Government disaster relief to help the dozens of businesses and homes that were flooded when 100 millimetres of rain came down.There have been bitumen roads ripped up, fences lost, a problem at the cemetery with some of the grave sites sinking, homes completely flooded. The Mayor, Lillian Brady, says she has never seen so much rain.
Across the Midwest of USA the temperatures are plummeting by as much as 30 degrees in just a few hours. Meanwhile, a storm along the leading edge of the cold air mass led to an outbreak of blizzard conditions across eastern Iowa.
The severe cold can lead to hypothermia and frostbite after a brief period of exposure. Anyone spending extended periods outdoors and motorists traveling in isolated areas should be prepared for the extreme cold and snow.
There is severe risk of electromagnetic disturbance and extreme weather conditions between the dates of January 29 and February 5 2008 when the asteroid is closest to the Earth and well within our magnetosphere.

Australia Day 2008

A reminder of what the then Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard said in 2007 during a vexing time when Australia was put under pressure about not accepting Muslim ways. I think he made a difficult stand that needed to be taken by the person who leads the country. I guarantee many people thought this but none had the courage to publicly make such a statement.
Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told to get out of Australia, as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali, we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.' 'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom' 'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!''Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.' 'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.''This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.''If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

climate change and recession

The upcoming recession is being talked about in the news right now, and it's mainly being blamed on oil prices and the sub-prime mortgage situation. But there's another area where the US economy is leaking money: the insurance industry. They've taken a beating from the bad weather caused by global warming. The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted a 21st century rise in ocean levels of 32 inches, but now they say it could be twice that: 64 inches. This is what happened the last time the earth got this hot, 100,000 years ago. This news has the insurance industry terrified, since they’ve already lost $75 million from natural catastrophes in 2007. cIn MarketWatch, Steve Goldstein quotes insurance expert Torsten Jeworrek as saying, "The trend in respect of weather extremes shows that climate change is already taking effect and that more such extremes are to be expected in the future. We should not be misled by the absence of megacatastrophes in 2007." The 11 warmest years worldwide have been recorded during the last 13 years.

Looting angers flood-hit town of Emerald

Looters have ransacked a number of inundated homes in the flood-hit central western Queensland town of Emerald, adding to the woes of locals still waiting for flood waters to recede. While residents living in Emerald's northern parts have returned to their homes after they escaped unscathed, 166 houses and 97 units - mostly in the town's south - remain under water.Police said they were investigating reports of break and enters at a number of evacuated home units between Tuesday and Thursday morning.As the area is still surrounded by floodwaters, it is unknown what property has been taken," police said in a statement.Five complaints were under investigation but the number could rise as residents return to their homes, police said.Emerald Shire mayor Peter Maguire reacted angrily to the reports."I think people that do that sort of stuff are the lowest form of scum," he said."People are in dire straits and can't get to their property, and then people go out and, I don't know exactly what's happened, but people are taking advantage of those who are in those sort of situations. "We'll tip them (the offenders) in the river, it's running fast enough to get rid of them." The main road into Emerald, the Vince Lester Bridge, is set to remain closed until at least Sunday afternoon while engineers wait for the Nogoa River to fall low enough for them to inspect the underside of the roadway. The river, which peaked at 15.4m on Tuesday night, is falling at a frustratingly slow rate. It was still at 14.85m at 3pm (AEST) on Thursday. Australia Day celebrations have been cancelled in the town, with the venue still under four metres of water. However, Emergency Management Queensland (EMQ) spokesman Andy Christie said the community spirit is strong, with those who escaped flood damage responding to the aid of those in need."A lot of the people I spoke to, when they found their own homes weren't affected, the first thing they did was jump in their car and actually drive around to see who they could help," Mr Christie said.Supplies are currently being transported to isolated areas around the region, particularly the Gemfields district, with refrigerated trucks delivering milk, eggs, bread and other essentials to stranded locals.Farmers along the Nogoa have lost at least $80 million in damaged crops, infrastructure and livestock.Rural lobby group AgForce will request military assistance to help feed stranded cattle on farms in the flood-hit regions. President Peter Kenny said up to 90 per cent of stock was unaccounted for on many properties, and large numbers of stranded cattle would be impossible to salvage."There have already been reports of cattle being washed 40 kilometres downstream while unfortunately, larger numbers of younger calves have perished," Mr Kenny said.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd came to the assistance of those in disaster-declared areas on Thursday, allowing individuals to access grants of up to $10,000, and businesses up to $25,000, to clean up and restock, under Natural Disaster Relief and Recovery Arrangements (NDRRA).The Queensland government also opened the Premier's Disaster Relief Appeal with a $100,000 donation. The public can donate at any branch of the Commonwealth, Westpac, National Australia and ANZ banks.Meanwhile, Australia Day celebrations have also been cancelled in Rockhampton, about 200km east of Emerald, as the city prepares to be hit by flood.The Fitzroy River - which bisects Rocky - is tipped to rise to over eight metres on Tuesday.A disaster management centre will be established in the city on Friday.Rockhampton's Australia Day fireworks and celebrations were due to be held on the banks of the Fitzroy.Gavin Steele, the executive officer of the area's disaster management group, said the expected peak of 8.2m would not cause significant damage to property."Part of our flood plain area will see some inundation there, probably between 10 to 20cm of water in most cases," Mr Steele said."Most of the houses in that area are used to flooding, so their habitable areas are well above that mark."

70% of Queensland is currently UNDER WATER.