It is moving across the face of the sun and during the next few days will move into a position whereby anything it does throw off will impact the Earth directly. … Read More
United States – Seizure of AP phone records condemned as “grave violation”
Reporters Without Borders regards the US Department of Justice’s seizure of the records of thousands of Associated Press phone calls as an “extremely grave violation of freedom of information.” The DOJ notified the AP in an email on 10 May that it had obtained the records of calls made from 20 of the news agency’s phone lines during April and May 2012. The email did specify the DOJ’s reasons for seizing them or the legal grounds on which they were seized. But the purpose was presumably to (…) … Read More
Breaking: Justice Department Admits to Spying on Over 100 Individual Associated Press Journalists Over Two Month Period
In what could become one of the biggest scandals of the Obama Administration, the Justice Department has admitted to unconstitutional wide ranging spying on over 100 individual Associated Press reporters. … Read More
East coast of US braces for billions-strong cicada swarm
Areas between the states of Georgia and Connecticut will experience massive swarms of the one-inch-long insects, all members of what is known as “Brood II,” one of seven species of the insect whose larvae (or nymphs) have spent nearly two decades feeding on roots. The peak of their arrival should come towards the end of May, at which point the red-eyed, noisy bugs will be well on their way to outnumbering the number of people living in the region from North Carolina to Connecticut by 600-to-1. The insects, though harmless, are considered a nuisance both for their size and sheer numbers, not to mention the noise pollution that has been measured at up to 94 decibels, loud enough to drown out the sound of overhead planes according to the Associated Press. The massive brood now preparing to make its debut went into the ground in 1996, one of eleven other broods that spend 13 or 17 years before reaching their mature form. Once the ground temperature reaches 64 degrees Fahrenheit, the cicadas are ready to burst out for a mating frenzy. The intense buzzing noise let off by the swarms is all part of an elaborate mating ritual that will last for six weeks before their deaths.Female cicadas will lay up to 600 eggs on tree branches after mating, and the offspring will fall to the ground and burrow to begin the 17-year cycle once more and return in 2030.Scientists are fascinated both by the mathematical accuracy of the cicada life cycle and emergence above ground, as well as the ecological impact of the massive broods, which both reproduce and die in vast numbers.The decomposing bodies of the adult cicadas will trap nutrients close to tree roots, which will act as a fertilizer for plant life. At the same time, those nutrients will feed the new generation of cicadas now developing underground, a process scientists say can slow tree growth by up to 30 per cent.Meanwhile, the small tunnels that cicadas bore on their way to the surface are thought to act as soil aerators, trapping rainfall during the summer season.Additional effects linked to the cicada mating swarms include higher yield for fruit trees, beneficial tree pruning, as well as an increase in bird populations.Despite the scientific mysteries that still delight the scientists that study them, most residents of the Eastern Seaboard will simply think of the hundreds of cicada husks they’ll be left to shovel off their properties. … Read More
Sweden’s Aussies and Kiwis remember Anzacs
Celebrating Antipodean military history may seem an odd crowd-puller at the Swedish horse races, but not only has the Täby Gallop Racing Club for Anzac day seen visitor numbers surge 20 percent every year, it has reunited families. … Read More
Record unemployment adds extra potency to Spain May Day protests
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International Workers’ Day in Spain came the week after the revelation that record numbers of Spaniards are out of work. Some 80 towns and cities in Spain have seen demonstrations, with large protests in Madrid, Barcelona and Bilbao.
The unemployment rate has hit 27 percent – 57 percent among young people – 6.2 million in all.
Unusually, the two main Spanish unions CCOO and UGT have joined forces to demand a new deal – in other words, a change of economic policy.
Austerity measures imposed by European institutions, they say, have been a ‘total failure’.
“With six million jobless in this country and the prospect that number’s going to grow, you think we don’t have to take to the streets?” asked one protester in Madrid.
“It’s happening every day, they’re taking everything away from us, in the end we’ll have no rights at all. Everything that’s been fought for 40 years will be taken away in four,” said another.
Last week the government said it had negotiated a two year delay with Brussels to bring the deficit under control, in order to avoid further austerity measures.
Unemployment is not expected to fall below 25 percent before 2016.
More about: Madrid, Protest, Spain
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