This Blue Marble, a Global Current Events Discussion Forum http://thisbluemarble.com/ This Blue Marble, a Global Current Events Discussion Forum en Mon, 20 May 2013 09:28:50 GMT vBulletin 60 http://thisbluemarble.com/images/misc/rss.jpg This Blue Marble, a Global Current Events Discussion Forum http://thisbluemarble.com/ NK Piracy reports http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53014&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 09:00:55 GMT NK group hijacking ships for ransom. --- China is urging North Korea to release a Chinese fishing boat whose owner says it was seized by... NK group hijacking ships for ransom.

---
China is urging North Korea to release a Chinese fishing boat whose owner says it was seized by gun-toting North Koreans earlier this month and held for ransom, in the latest irritant in relations between the neighbouring allies.
Yu Xuejun, who wasn’t aboard the boat, first publicised the seizure on his microblog late on Saturday saying that North Koreans seized his boat on May 5 in Chinese waters and that they demanded a 600,000 yuan (HK$750,000) ransom. Yu, posting on a verified Tencent Weibo account, said he was asking for help from internet users and China’s Foreign Ministry. His post was reposted and commented on more than 12,000 times.
In another plea for help on Monday, Yu wrote on his blog that he received another call from “the North Korean side” on Sunday night, still demanding money.
“My captain gave me the phone, his voice was trembling, could feel he was very afraid, told me no later than 5pm today,” Yu wrote. He said he suspected his crew had been mistreated.
http://www.scmp.com/news/china/artic...t-hijack-claim





A year ago three private Chinese vessels with 29 fishermen on board were seized by a North Korean gunboat, with unidentified captors reportedly demanding $190,000 for the fishermen's release. They were freed less than two weeks later.
“This is not the first time it has happened and it won’t be the last,” said Cheng Xiaohe, an expert on Sino-North Korean relations at Renmin University.
North Korean forces and Chinese fishermen often played a cat-and-mouse game, with incursions over the line by both sides, he said. Other cases had not become public because boat owners simply paid up but this time the ransom appeared to be much higher than usual.
http://maritime-connector.com/news/s...north-koreans/ ]]> News Samen http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53014 <![CDATA[97% of peer reviewed articles says "we cause the warming"]]> http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53011&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 02:29:57 GMT http://www.skepticalscience.com/97-p...t-al-2013.html

Quote:
However, research has also shown that the public is misinformed on the climate consensus. For example, a 2012 poll from US Pew Research Center found less than half of Americans thought that scientists agreed that humans were causing global warming. One contributor to this misperception is false balance in the media, particularly in the US, where most climate stories are "balanced" with a "skeptic" perspective. However, this results in making the 3% seem much larger, like 50%. In trying to achieve "balance", the media has actually created a very unbalanced perception of reality. As a result, people believe scientists are still split about what's causing global warming, and therefore there is not nearly enough public support
]]> Environmental News Oric http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53011 Perimenopause symptoms handled naturally http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53009&goto=newpost Mon, 20 May 2013 01:12:52 GMT I'm looking for natural therapy for perimenopause symptoms. So far I have decided on trying evening primrose, Mexican wild yam, black cohosh, and red clover. Other things that were recommended were Dong Quai, Motherwort, and Licorice root. Has anyone tried any of these things with positive results? I don't want to use hormones. I also thought about adding some soy to my diet for the natural estrogen in it. ]]> Herbarium Mousehound http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53009 Mega Tornado North of Oklahoma City http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53008&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 22:07:24 GMT per Fox news ..... Being described as a 'wedge shaped tornado' .... The live video from a chopper several miles away is showing a mammoth sized tornado --- No way of telling yet, where it will track of the F scale, but the sheer size of it is huge ---- Near Wellston, OK???


http://www.wunderground.com/q/zmw:73101.1.99999

Statement as of 4:48 PM CDT on May 19, 2013

... A Tornado Warning remains in effect until 515 PM CDT for west
central Lincoln and northeastern Oklahoma counties...

at 445 PM CDT... National Weather Service meteorologists and storm
spotters were tracking a confirmed tornado located near Luther...
moving east at 30 mph.

In addition to a tornado... ping pong Ball size is expected with this
storm.

Locations impacted include...
Wellston and Luther.

Precautionary/preparedness actions...

Take cover now in a storm shelter or an interior room of a sturdy
building. Stay away from doors and windows.

Lat... Lon 3562 9702 3563 9724 3572 9725 3574 9702
time... Mot... loc 2145z 257deg 25kt 3569 9720



This storm system is part of the system that spawned the twisters in Texas day before yesterday ---- Likely to be a serious storm system through Tuesday as it tracks NNE ..........

Be safe any and all in the path of these twisters!!!!!! ]]> Lookout Tower NowVoyager http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53008 African Safari Trip Lessons http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53007&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 20:18:29 GMT The most amazing thing I learned on my first safari trip is that elephants have the most incredible, very long black eyelashes. Second, lions could... The most amazing thing I learned on my first safari trip is that elephants have the most incredible, very long black eyelashes. Second, lions could not care less about nearby trucks and people, nor lights at night. Third, though giraffes seem to walk slow and gracefully, their legs are so long that they cover long distances very quickly.

Countless people from all over the globe book African safari tours because of the widespread desire to see exotic, beautiful animals in their native habitat. I can attest as someone who has traveled very widely internationally for decades that taking a safari vacation is one of the best, most rewarding things a tourist can do. I want to share some things I have learned from my recent trip that can help others make good decisions, because these safari tours are pretty expensive. The toughest decision is what tour company to select of the great many in the market.

A critically important issue is how many game drives you actually get, usually one in the early morning and one in the evening at safari lodges. These drives in specially designed vehicles usually last for three hours or more and can be very rough rides over dirt roads and sometimes directly into the bush landscape. Each vehicle has a ranger who drives and provides information continuously to usually four to six guests in the vehicle. He also has a rifle that is always at hand, just for that remote possibility of an animal charging people. Check out this reference for general information on safari trips.

Up front on a special seat sits a tracker who, in the daylight, is continuously examining the ground for evidence of specific animals. At night the tracker continuously directs a large flashlight into the bush to spot the eyes of animals. It is truly amazing how the trackers actually locate various animals, including lions, elephants, leopards, rhinos, giraffes and many more so that guests can get up close to magnificent creatures.

On my tour there were blankets for passengers because of the chill in the morning and nighttime hours. In the morning there was also a much appreciated hot water bottle. Midway during the drives drinks and snacks are served. Upon return from drives there is a sumptuous breakfast and dinner.

Everything is done to make it easy for people to take pictures of the wildlife, often getting extremely close to the animals. Most people take many hundreds of photos on these trips.

For months my wife and I researched a great many African safari tours and finally selected the Tauck company and its South Africa: An Elegant Adventure tour; it offered eight animal drives in two different safari areas in Kruger Park; and the itinerary included seeing more than just wildlife in safari regions, including Cape Town and surrounding areas as well as Johannesburg and Victoria Falls. Second, we had the distinct impression that it would be a luxury tour with true first class hotels and other amenities. Other tours at lower cost, perhaps half as much, mean roughing it and this may appeal to many people.

Let me emphasize that we absolutely loved our trip just as everyone else we met while traveling who were on different tours, mostly because of so many wonderful experiences seeing all the animals in glorious settings. Local guides and staff were excellent. Yet there were some disappointments. Of the five hotels the first three were wonderful five star hotels with great food and amenities, including the waterfront Cape Grace hotel in Cape Town and the two safari lodges, Tinga and Sabi Sabi. But all the satisfaction of staying there set us up for disappointment.

The last two hotels did not live up to the Tauck reputation for elegant accommodations and supplying comfort to its clients. The rooms at the DaVinci hotel in Johannesburg were in the two star category, small, poorly designed and dysfunctional in many respects. The tour director upon hearing complaints justified the hotel on the basis of its location, the safe Sandton suburb with interconnected underground malls. But nearby was an Intercontinental hotel and the Saxon Boutique Hotel that would surely offer superior rooms. Whatever safari tour companies you consider, question them not only about what hotels or lodges they use but also what type rooms in them you will get; all too often tour companies like Tauck buy the cheapest rooms.

You definitely want to see Victoria Falls if you travel to Africa; they are truly electrifying. Boat rides along the Zambesi River that feeds the falls are usually included in tours; ours was wonderful, including close up views of an elephant and a hippo. But disappointing was the much acclaimed Victoria Fall Hotel. While the location, grounds, exterior and public rooms define a historic, elegant five star venue, nearly all the guest rooms were quite small with very old and drab furnishings and poor views. There are some very fine rooms which a few people on the tour got (including suites), which raises ethical questions why some people were better treated by Tauck. Our room was so awful with a thick smell of tobacco that we demanded and received a different room, which still was a one star accommodation. There are other hotels and lodges in the Victoria Falls area that merit consideration when researching possible safari tours, including The Kingdom, a modern hotel, and the luxury Royal Livingstone Hotel. If you go to the falls, definitely go to the local market where artisans sell their goods; the variety and prices are just about the best we saw on our entire trip.

Tauck proclaims that it offers personalized service with each guest treated as an individual, with their own needs understood, and most safari tour companies also seem to promise this. However, we did not experience this. Unlike luxury, small ship cruises where the cruise director and other staff go out of their way to make you feel cared for, at no point did the Tauck tour director seek to discover whether or not we were fully satisfied and having all our needs satisfied. In particular, it was very disappointing that the tour director did not facilitate shopping at local artisan venues, especially in Victoria Falls. Lastly, there is a valid view that Tauck tours like other companies are relatively small group ones, but there were 31 people in our group, not exactly small and intimate. Pay close attention to any safari tour company with regard to group size.

Most important, give serious thought to going to Africa for a memorable safari tour.

From Joel S. Hirschhorn ]]> Animal House statusquobuster http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53007 Top 10 Shocking Documentaries http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53006&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 20:03:13 GMT http://listverse.com/2013/03/03/top-...documentaries/ ]]> TV, Movies and Music Oric http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53006 IEA Epic Fail http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53005&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 19:10:18 GMT Will the IEA's oil forecast be wrong again?

http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com...encys-oil.html
...
Back in the year 2000, the IEA divined that by 2010, liquid fuel production worldwide would reach 95.8 million barrels per day (mbpd). The actual 2010 number was 87.1 mbpd. The agency further forecast an average daily oil price of $28.25 per barrel (adjusted for inflation). The actual average daily price of oil traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange in 2010 was $79.61. ]]> Op/Ed Dietrich http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53005 Antipsychotic drugs recalled http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53002&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 13:51:27 GMT Antipsychotic drugs recalled
May 18, 2013
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...-recalled.html

Health Canada says three companies are voluntarily recalling all lots of the antipsychotic drug quetiapine.
A Health Canada news release says it's due to potential contamination with the antibiotic product clindamycin during the manufacturing process.
Health Canada says quetiapine is used in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in adult patients.......................................continued
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/...-recalled.html

. ]]> Medical News kanuck57 http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53002 Moon Explosion Sparked By Meteorite Crash On Lunar Surface http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53001&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 13:44:29 GMT Moon Explosion Sparked By Meteorite Crash On Lunar Surface, NASA Says
Clara Moskowitz
05/17/2013
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...6pLid%3D315221

The moon has a new hole on its surface thanks to a boulder that slammed into it in March, creating the biggest explosion scientists have seen on the moon since they started monitoring it.

The meteorite crashed on March 17, slamming into the lunar surface at a mind-boggling 56,000 mph (90,000 kph) and creating a new crater 65 feet wide (20 meters). The crash sparked a bright flash of light that would have been visible to anyone looking at the moon at the time with the naked eye, NASA scientists say.

"On March 17, 2013, an object about the size of a small boulder hit the lunar surface in Mare Imbrium," Bill Cooke of NASA's Meteoroid Environment Office said in a statement. "It exploded in a flash nearly 10 times as bright as anything we've ever seen before."

Scientists deduced the rock had been roughly 1-foot-wide (between 0.3 to 0.4 meters) and weighted about 88 lbs (40 kg).The explosion it created was as powerful as 5 tons of TNT, NASA scientists said.................................................continued
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...6pLid%3D315221

. ]]> Science Center kanuck57 http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53001 Umbrellagate http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53000&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 03:03:49 GMT http://www.washingtonpost.com/politi...1f9_story.html ]]> Politics Oric http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=53000 Expect Us 5-19-2013 http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52999&goto=newpost Sun, 19 May 2013 00:45:18 GMT http://www.05-19-13.com/ Website was created in 2010. From what I have dug...]]> http://www.05-19-13.com/

Website was created in 2010. From what I have dug up, the date was first mentioned on 4Chan--of course--and is probably something from Anonymous, but mostly no-one knows very much about it.

There is a countdown timer, and if you play with the brightness, a Japanese-appearing woman's face becomes clear.



On another forum, a guy from Malaysia watched it hit zero in his time zone and had this to say:

Well that was just a waste of time .... the timer just went "now" and nothing happened.

So right now it seems to be just another mysterious non-event, set into motion 3 years ago.

Let the wild stories, tall tales,witticisms and puns loose and maybe we can actually wring some entertainment out of it.

I just lost 5 minutes of my life typing this post one-handed! I realized too far in that it wasn't worth the effort, but...in for a penny in for a pound! :yawn:

And that reminds me of the Powerball tonight....:beer: ]]> Outside the Box linttrap http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52999 Ants http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52998&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 22:34:51 GMT For the first time ever I have an ant problem. I left a bowl of salsa on my computer desk while I went to take a nap and when I woke up the bowl and... For the first time ever I have an ant problem. I left a bowl of salsa on my computer desk while I went to take a nap and when I woke up the bowl and my desk are covered. They don't seem to be interested in the chips or cookies I also had at the desk. What kind of bait traps can I get for salsa eating ants? Spraying, powders or bombs aren't an option and with the carpet I can't tell where they are coming from.

I found a few on the couch and now I'm all itchy. ]]> Within Our Home LvDemWings http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52998 Double standard? http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52997&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 20:58:45 GMT Why is it legal abortion if she does it but first degree murder if he does? *Tampa man accused of tricking former girlfriend into taking abortion... Why is it legal abortion if she does it but first degree murder if he does?

Tampa man accused of tricking former girlfriend into taking abortion pill

By: Jacqueline Ingles, abcactionnews.com

TAMPA - Federal authorities arrested a local doctor's son, whom they say tricked his pregnant girlfriend into taking an abortion pill, killing their unborn child.

John Andrew Welden, 28, is now facing first-degree murder and interfering with interstate commerce charges.

link ]]> Op/Ed Coyote http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52997 <![CDATA[Class of '13 scammed]]> http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52993&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 16:53:56 GMT BRETT ARENDS'S ROI Archives | Email alerts
May 18, 2013, 7:53 a.m. EDT
Dear Class of ’13: You’ve been scammed
Commentary: How the College-Industrial Complex drove tuition so high

LEARN MORE
By Brett Arends
Class of 2013,

No one else is going to tell you this, so I might as well.

You sit here today, $30,000 or $40,000 in debt, as the latest victims of what may well be the biggest conspiracy in U.S. history. It is a conspiracy so big and powerful that Dan Brown won’t even touch it. It’s a conspiracy so insidious that you will rarely hear its name.

Click to Play
MBAs still eschewing finance
The dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College says his MBA graduates still aren’t heading into finance jobs in the numbers they did before the financial crisis.

Move over, Illuminati. Stand down, Wall Street. Area 51? Pah. It’s nothing.

The biggest conspiracy of all? The College-Industrial Complex.

Consider this: You have just paid about three times as much for your degree as did someone graduating 30 years ago. That’s in constant dollars — in other words, after accounting for inflation. There is no evidence that you have received a degree three times as good. Some would wonder if you have received a degree even one times as good.

More at link
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/dea...med-2013-05-17 ]]> Economy Potemkin http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52993 Earth Seen From The Sky http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52991&goto=newpost Sat, 18 May 2013 14:52:20 GMT Yann Arthus-Bertrand Project "Earth seen from the Sky" ...]]> The Yann Arthus-Bertrand Project
"Earth seen from the Sky" - PDF 5.2 megs
http://rense.com/general96/EarthseenfromtheSky.pdf

A collection of photos from around the globe.


2861 wallpapers of the world to download free for private use at:
http://yannarthusbertrand2.org/index...lang=en&l=1024

. ]]> Art and Photography kanuck57 http://thisbluemarble.com/showthread.php?t=52991