Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Daily Headlines:

Massive Earthquake In Indonesia

A massive earthquake occurred several hundred km out of the Sumatra Banda Aceh coast. Theoretical calculations concluded that no widespread tsunami would occur in the Pacific Ocean. Indonesian authorities have however called a tsunami alert for many areas in Sumatra.

Update : Indonesian media are currently reporting a SR magnitude of 7.6

A TSUNAMI ALERT has been called by the local BMKG for parts of the country (unclear at this moment, but certainly the islands and Sumatra, including Banda Aceh). Our experience is that people in Indonesia are mostly not waiting for an alert but are auto-evacuating when a strong shaking for more than 30 second occurs.
Indonesian media are only reporting earthquake numbers , no background information yet

Fault line west of the Sumatra coast
Update : Magnitudes and depths as calculated by other seismological agencies :
EMSC : M 7.3 @ 10 km
GEOFON (Germany) : M 7.1 @ 10 km
CEN (China) : M 7.2 @ 20 km


Seismic Monitor

Car Bomb Kills Nuclear Scientist Near Tehran University

A university professor and department head of a uranium enrichment facility was killed by a bomb placed on his car by a motorcyclist in Tehran on Wednesday, Iranian media reported, in an incident that looked similar to attacks on nuclear scientists in the city more than one year ago.

The semi-official FARS news agency cited witnesses as saying a motorcyclist stuck a bomb on the side of the car which then exploded, killing one and injuring two people inside.


Also see:

Timeline: Mysterious Deaths And Blasts Linked To Iran's Nuclear Program

Iran, West Approaching "Turning Point" In 2012, Officials Warn

War games. Threats to close a key oil passageway and block a U.S. aircraft carrier from returning to the Persian Gulf. An American sentenced to death in Tehran, accused of spying. And now a breakthrough in Iran's nuclear program.

The developments portend what officials see as a momentous year ahead in the standoff between Iran and the West, as Iranian leaders appear to grow bolder despite a new round of international sanctions which, by most accounts, is taking a toll.

The array of actions and latest warnings -- particularly on the Republican presidential campaign trail -- highlight the West's effort to make tough choices on Iran, within a quickly narrowing window.

The latest alarm bell came Monday when the United Nations' nuclear agency confirmed that Iran had started to enrich uranium at its underground Fordo site. The level of enrichment being pursued is said to be 20 percent, far more than the 3.5 percent-level material being produced at Iran's central enrichment site.

The State Department described the development as very bad news.

Reflecting the views of the senators who wrote to the European Union, Bolton said a nuclear Iran would trigger a nuclear race in the volatile Middle East among Iran's powerful neighbors.

"I think it's a very dangerous period. I think Iran is drawing close to the point where it will have a nuclear weapons capability," Bolton said.


Arab Monitor Quits Syria Mission In Disgust

An Arab League observer has left Syria, saying he had witnessed "scenes of horror" that he was powerless to prevent and that the Arab monitoring team sent to the country was not acting independently.

"I withdrew because I found myself serving the (Syrian) regime," Anwar Malek told Al Jazeera television, still wearing the orange vest used by the Arab monitors.

Asked why he had quit, Malek said: "The most important thing is to have human feelings of humanity. I spent more than 15 days in Homs... I saw scenes of horror, burnt bodies... I cannot leave behind my humanity in this sort of situation."


Syria: Defiant Assad Blames "International Conspiracy" For Destabilizing Country

Syrian president president Bashar al-Assad on Tuesday took to the airwaves to blame an international plot for destabalising his country that for 10 months has been gripped by anti-government protests and resulted in thousands of deaths.

An "external conspiracy is clear to everybody," Assad said in a rare televised national address that lasted more than 90 minutes.



Meanwhile, back in America:

New Czar Tied To Occupy, Acorn, Moveon

Prior to her appointment yesterday as the next director of President Obama’s Domestic Policy Council, longtime immigration reform advocate Cecilia Munoz served on the board of George Soros’ Open Society Institute.

Munoz also chaired the board of directors of the Center for Community Change, or CCC, a Soros-funded community organizing initiative whose board boasts activists from ACORN, MoveOn.org and other radical groups.

Munoz is currently the head of the White House office of intergovernmental affairs. She most recently worked for the National Council of La Raza, an open-borders group that lobbies for mass immigration and amnesty for illegal aliens.

The official White House statement announcing her new appointment yesterday noted Munoz’s previous work for both the CCC and Soros’ Institute.


Administration Gives Birth To New Agents Of Tyranny: The Bureau Of Counterterrorism

Apparently having goons grope the public nearly every step of the way as they walk under the watchful eyes of full-spectrum surveillance just isn’t good enough.

The new Bureau of Counterterrorism was announced on January 4th by Obama’s State Department as an agency with,

The mission . . . to lead the [State] Department in the U.S. Government’s effort to counter terrorism abroad and to secure the United States against foreign terrorist threats. The bureau will lead in supporting U.S. counterterrorism diplomacy and seek to strengthen homeland security, countering violent extremism, and build the capacity of partner nations to deal effectively with terrorism. (Source)

Probably the least comforting part of this announcement is the use of the term “violent extremism.”

It is under this very flexible definition which allows the agents of tyranny to assign it to anyone, at any time, thus making them susceptible to the full arsenal of the War on Terror, which we now know includes the indefinite detention and torture of American citizens on American soil.

The idea that security actually needs to be further strengthened by a new bureau in addition to the CIA, TSA, Homeland Security, the FBI, NSA and every other alphabet agency ignoring the Constitution is a clear sign that the U.S. government is done with even pretending to listen to its own citizens, or those around the world who are subjected to dehumanization while traveling within U.S. borders


Rights? In The New America You Don't Get Any Rights!

In America today, the politicians have convinced most of us that in order to keep us all "safe" we must give up many of our rights and move toward becoming a totalitarian police state. In the "new America", you don't get any rights. They tell us that giving people rights is too dangerous. Instead, you get some limited "privileges" which can be revoked at any time by the authorities. Sadly, most Americans have become so dumbed-down that they don't even realize what is happening.

It has recently been revealed that the Department of Homeland Security plans to monitor social media outlets on the Internet. If you use the wrong "keywords" or if you are a key "influencer" on the Internet, there is no doubt that someone from the federal government will be keeping tabs on you.

As I have written about previously, the Federal Reserve has decided to start monitoring social media sites and blogs in order to keep track of what is being said about them.

And as a recent Fox News article detailed, the Department of Homeland Security is also developing such a system....


NDAA Protests End In Ironic Swarm Of Arrests

The absurdity of America today never ceases to amaze. In fact, it has become so elaborate that one might even suggest it has reached a kind of poetic symmetry. When a protest group is willing to stick their necks out to expose the horror of the National Defense Authorization Act and its open door strategy for unconstitutional arrest and indefinite detainment of American citizens, I have to stand up and applaud. This is the kind of protest we need to see all over the country. Of course, any establishment system which is willing to dissolve the inherent liberties of its citizens certainly isn’t going to stand by quietly while they blatantly point out the injustice. The Grand Central Terminal action featured in the video below is a perfect example of the swift and immediate stifling of peaceful dissent by an increasingly totalitarian government:

7 comments:

WVBORN56 said...

My wife told me there was also a small earthquake in WV yesterday as well. They are very rare for for our state. It was about a two hour drive from where I live and we did not feel any shakin. I still have never experienced an EQ and for that I am grateful.

Scott said...

Hmmm...Sounds like a "diverse place" doesn't it?

Nathan said...

Don't forget Virginia , Oklahoma , Ohio, Colorado in just the past 6 months ? I felt the Virginia one here in Asheville NC .

Scott said...

Nathan - I felt that one in VA down here in NC.
Yes, there have been a bunch and you left out Oregon and Texas in that mix :)

Caver said...

Everybody, sorry about abandoning the Blog so much here lately. Something about 12-14 hour days have a tendency to dampen the evenings.

The piece on another motorcycle/Iran nuclear scientist going to visit that forever where ever in Allah-Allah land just kind of twist my head around. You would think that by now, those boys would start getting some protection and a few inhibitions about leaving the men's room without a few armored divisions around their presence.

Pretty soon they're gonna figure out that it ain't healthy to go running around outside their cube or whatever small space that could be well guarded.

Oh well, hope the Workers Comp is paid up.

WVBORN56 said...

Yes Caver I would hate to pay the workers comp rate for for an Iranian Nuclear scientist. lol

"You live be the sword you die by the sword"

I hate to see any man die without Christ but this method if effective is preferable to large scale war.

Nathan and Scott I didn't get to feel the EQ in VA a few months back because I was in Indy visiting my daughter. My son has been out in CA for about 3 years now and still has not experienced an EQ.

Dave DU said...

My family and I were up in northern Australia when the 2004 earthquakes struck Indonesia. It was a wired feeling. I remember thinking it was a helicopter at the time, and the reason for saying that because the vibrations had cycles of about 3 secs then a break, another 3 secs and so on. I guess the series of cycles lasted for 40-50 secs.
My wife looked at each other and said "what was that"? In the next 12 hours we heard that Indonesia had been hit by tsunami. Very strange sensation. We were amazed at the machine precision movements of the earth plates.

Dave