Tuesday, December 4, 2012

NATO: Syria Chemical Weapons Warrant Immediate International Reaction

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen holds a news conference ahead a two-day NATO foreign ministers at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, December 4, 2012.

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VOA News, Al Pessin

December 04, 2012

BRUSSELS — The NATO secretary-general says the alliance will authorize Tuesday the deployment of a missile defense system to Turkey "within weeks" in response to the continuing violence in Syria and concern its government might resort to using chemical weapons. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen made the prediction as he went into a series of meetings with alliance foreign ministers, as well as partner nations and Russia.

Secretary-General Rasmussen says the NATO ministers will “demonstrate our determination to deter against any threats” to the alliance's southeastern border. That border is the Turkish-Syrian frontier, with Syria's more than year-long civil war raging on the other side.

Turkey asked for NATO help after Syrian government shelling near the border hit some areas inside Turkey.

The alliance is expected to deploy American Patriot missile defense batteries in southeastern Turkey, but Rasmussen said specific decisions will be left to individual countries. The Patriot system is designed to intercept incoming missiles, not to strike targets on the ground.

But Russia is concerned about any NATO missile deployment, even if the missiles are only defensive. Rasmussen says he has tried to reassure visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and will do so again when Lavrov meets with the NATO foreign ministers on Tuesday.

Suspected Syrian Chemical Weapons

Sarin

Man-made highly toxic odorless, tasteless, colorless nerve agent
Possibly used during Iraq-Iran war
Exposure can be by inhalation, ingestion and skin absorption; people can recover with treatment form mild or moderate exposure

Odorless, tasteless man-made nerve agent; most potent of all nerve agents
Slow to evaporate, can last for days on objects
Exposure can be through skin contact or inhalation; people can recover with treatment for mild or moderate exposure

Mustard Gas

Chemical warfare agent that causes skin blisters and mucous membranes
Sometimes odorless, sometimes smells like garlic, onions or mustard
Exposure can be by inhalation, ingestion or skin contact
Vapor released in the air can be carried long distances; exposure not usually fatal

Source: CDC

"This is a purely defensive measure," he said."We have no intention to prepare offensive operations. So the purpose of this possible deployment is to ensure effective defense and protection of Turkey."

Secretary-General Rasmussen called Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons “a matter of great concern,” which adds to the urgency of deploying the missile defense system to Turkey. He called any use of chemical weapons “completely unacceptable,” and said it would result in “an immediate reaction.”

The NATO ministers are also expected to discuss the ongoing mission in Afghanistan. On Monday, the secretary general told visiting Afghan reporters the alliance's commitment to Afghanistan will continue even after its combat role ends in two years. But he said the Afghan government must also fulfill its commitments to the international community to improve governance, fight corruption, protect human rights, including women's rights, and to hold transparent and credible elections in 2014 and 2015.

Secretary-General Rasmussen said he expects the Afghan security forces to be able to take full responsibility for the country by the end of 2014 as planned, and he repeated that the NATO role will change to support and training only at that time. He said that will be a focus of the foreign ministers' meeting, along with ways to ensure continued foreign funding for the Afghan forces.

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NATO: Syria Chemical Weapons Warrant Immediate International Reaction

Magnitude-5.8 quake rattles Anchorage

An earthquake struck Anchorage, Alaska, Monday afternoon. Earthquakes are common in Alaska, which is one of the most seismically active parts of the US.

By Reuters / December 3, 2012

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Anchorage, Alaska

A magnitude-5.8 earthquake struck off the coast of Alaska on Monday, close to the city of Anchorage, rattling buildings and knocking bric-a-brac from shelves, but no serious damage or injuries were reported.

Monday, December 3, 2012

Storm from Northern California to British Columbia

New Storm Northern California to British Columbia

By Alex Sosnowski, Expert Senior Meteorologist

December 03, 2012; 8:10 PM

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The latest in a long line of storms will slam areas from northern California to British Columbia Monday night into Tuesday with rain, snow and wind.
The heaviest rain will fall over northern coastal California to southern coastal Oregon once again, where local rainfall from this storm alone will reach between 4 and 8 inches.
The combination of this rain and prior rainfall over the past week will lead to new rounds of flash and urban flooding, mudslides, erosion and stream flooding.

According to Meteorologist Andy Mussoline, "Farther north, the rain will be more of a nuisance in the major cities of Seattle and Portland."
The heaviest rain will also avoid San Francisco and Sacramento with this storm.

Rainfall has been more gradual (on the order of 3 to 4 inches) in Seattle and Portland, when compared to areas in northern California (over a foot of rain) since the last weekend of November.
According to Western Weather Expert Ken Clark, "Snow levels will be very high over the northern Sierra Nevada and Cascades, generally above the passes with this storm."

Farther north, the Coast Mountains in southern British Columbia will be buried with up to 60 centimeters (2 feet) of fresh snow.
According to Canada Weather Expert Brett Anderson, "At Whistler/Blackcomb Ski Resort, B.C., nearly 5 feet of snow has already fallen since Monday, Nov. 25, 2012."
Rounds of rain and snow will continue in the Northwest into Wednesday. Snow levels will fall during the day Wednesday with accumulating snow likely at pass levels during the middle of the week.
Winds will be a concern throughout the coastal Northwest until the storm's cold front swings through later Tuesday.

Most gusts originating from the south will range between 40 to 60 mph along much of the coast from northern California to southern British Columbia, including the Cascades and northern Sierra Nevada. However, peak gusts can reach as high as 80 mph on the immediate coast, ridges and gaps in the mountains.
Meteorologist Anthony Sagliani sums of the storms thus far along in "Intense Winds, Feet of Rain, Snow Slam West."

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Latinos Post

New Storm Northern California to British Columbia

AccuWeather.com ‎- 12 hours ago

The latest in a long line of storms will slam areas from northern California to ... over the past week will lead to new rounds of flash and urban flooding, mudslides, ...

end quote from google.

I looked on satellite radar and was looking for how northern California and Southern Oregon is faring under the latest 4 to 8 inch deluge and found the above article which explains what is happening quite well through Wednesday.

Greeks seek Strength in Revered Monk

Greeks Seek Strength in the Powers of a Revered Monk to Predict Events

THE A-HED
Updated December 3, 2012, 12:11 a.m. ET

Greeks Seek Strength in the Powers of a Revered Monk to Predict Events

Elder Paisios Expected Travails; A Skeptical Facebook Page Draws Ire

By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH

SOUROTI, Greece—Legend has it that nearly three decades ago, a bearded Orthodox Christian mystic visiting here made an unsettling prediction: Greece in the future would experience a "great disruption and confusion," followed by hunger and political turmoil.
Believers say this grim vision of Elder Paisios, an ascetic monk who died in 1994, was actually a prescient glimpse of the upheaval now gripping this debt-racked country—helping fuel a surge of interest in the Orthodox holy man by Greeks struggling to make sense of a brutal financial crisis.
Elder Paisios, who spent much of his adult life as a hermit on the monastic peninsula of Mount Athos in northeastern Greece, has become a popular sensation—with tales of his prognostications and miracles he is said to have performed posted online and recounted in popular books.

Enlarge Image

Alkis Konstantinidis for The Wall Street Journal

A book on Elder Paisios on display at an Athens bookstore.

On Saturdays, hundreds of pilgrims line up at Elder Paisios's gravesite here, waiting their turn to kneel, pray and kiss the wooden cross that marks his final resting place. They ask for help finding jobs, paying bills and surviving a downturn that has upended their lives.
"Paisios predicted many things, and his prophecies are now coming true," said Costas Katsaounis, a 41-year-old military officer on a visit to the shrine. "He foresaw the crisis. But he also said it would get better, that we will overcome and prosperity will return. He's helped a lot of people."
Elder Paisios's fame in some ways echoes that of Michel de Notredame, better known as Nostradamus, a 16th-century French apothecary who believers say foretold everything from the rise of Hitler to the terror attacks of Sept. 11.
"Figures like Paisios represent the shaman, the magician of the tribe," said Alexandra Koronaiou, a sociologist at Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences in Athens. "They are the incarnation of a transcendental, invisible power."
With Greece's economy in the fifth year of a grinding recession that is expected to deepen further in 2013, unemployment above 25% and even middle-class families struggling to feed their children, many Greeks feel like their society is teetering on the brink of collapse, and they are seeking solace.
"When there is an event that brings an entire country to its knees, people look for a religious explanation," said Vasilios Makrides, a religious-studies professor and specialist on Orthodox Christianity at the University of Erfurt in Germany. "They are seeking support from the supernatural."
That is driving a fresh boom in all things Paisios. The elder's wizened and bearded face, peering out from below a black cap, adorns devotional banners and cards inscribed with inspirational messages.
Bookstores stock dozens of Paisios-related titles, from books detailing his spiritual teachings to volumes filled with his commentary on everything from the coming of the apocalypse to Greece's retaking of Constantinople, once the seat of Byzantine emperors and now Istanbul.

Gordon Fairclough/The Wall Street Journal

A woman prayed at the mystic's grave in Souroti.

"They sell like crazy," said Ionnis Aivaliotis, who works at the Zoe religious bookstore in downtown Athens. "Even nonbelievers are starting to read them. It gives people courage to withstand what's coming."
There is a Paisios diet guide—he was very thin—and a kids' book, "Once Upon a Time, Children, There Was Elder Paisios."
Over the past two years, conservative newspaper Dimokratia has sold 350,000 copies of Paisios-related titles—from compilations of his prophecies to his views on education. Other newspapers carry accounts of his reputed miracles.
Elder Paisios, born Arsenios Eznepedis in central Anatolia in 1924, is part of a long tradition of monastic spirituality that believers say confers a power of divination—to see things others cannot, to interpret signs and predict the course of events.
Even before his death in 1994, he was well known in religious circles, drawing the faithful to Mount Athos for spiritual guidance and advice. Many expect that he will eventually be canonized. (A church spokesman declined to comment.)
But the recent increase in attention has prompted a backlash from skeptics and drawn cautions from some in the Greek Orthodox Church hierarchy.
"People are looking for somewhere to turn," said the Rev. Vasilios Havatzas, head of the church's charitable operations in Athens. "But some are overreacting. They are making him into some kind of prophet," he said, adding: "That doesn't mean everything he said is right."
But in a sign of the broad support for Elder Paisios, Greek police arrested 27-year-old Phillipos Loizos for creating a Facebook page that poked fun at Greeks' belief in the miracles and prognostications of the late monk. He was charged with blasphemy and insulting religion. The blasphemy charge was later withdrawn.
Police received thousands of complaints about the page on the social-networking site for Elder Pastitsios, a play on the monk's name. Pastitsio is a traditional baked pasta dish similar to lasagna. An ultranationalist lawmaker condemned the page in Parliament.
Mr. Loizos said he was using satire to criticize the commercialization of the monk and his message.
Many of Elder Paisios's purported prophecies resonate. "The people will be so disappointed by the politicians of the two big parties, that they will get sick of them," is one that rings true in an era when voter support for the country's two mainstream parties, blamed for the crisis, has dropped sharply.

Enlarge Image

Elder Paisios

Some of the elder's reported remarks hint at dark conspiracies—among them that the world is ruled secretly by a cabal of five people. He also predicted national triumphs for Greece, saying that Greeks would defeat Turkey, rule Constantinople and take part of Albania.
"Holy people like Elder Paisios are born once in a thousand years," said Nikolaos Zournatzoglou, who has compiled three books of the elder's pronouncements. "He was a gift from God and the Virgin Mary for humanity."
In Souroti, about 20 miles from the northeastern Greek city of Thessaloniki, busloads of pilgrims arrived one Saturday recently to see the elder's grave. Young and old, they prayed and took pictures. Some plucked a leaf of basil from a plant growing near the simple cross at his head.
Afterward in a gift shop in the basement of the rough-hewn stone church, visitors bought postcards, plaques with images of Elder Paisios and books by and about him, along with icons, crosses and other religious paraphernalia.
"There's a lot of uncertainty now. We don't know what is going to happen," said Anastasia Constantinou, a waitress visiting the shrine who said her family has had to cut back on meat, on driving their car and on other normal activities as their income has fallen amid the downturn.
"People find consolation in faith," Ms. Constantinou, 32, said. "Even though everyday life is difficult, Paisios gives strength to people. He helps them hold on."
Write to Gordon Fairclough at gordon.fairclough@wsj.com

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Greeks Seek Strength in the Powers of a Revered Monk to Predict Events

Anyone can live through good times, but in order to survive really bad times people need modesty and something more, whatever works for them. Believing in God to take care of them and their families through adversity has always been one of the most effective ways to survive bad times for thousands of years.

In addition to this my favorite saying that helped me survive the early 1990s is: "There are no problems only opportunities". If you take this to heart likely you will survive almost anything.

When will Next MegaFlood Hit California and West Coast?

It is close to 100% safe to say that it will hit sometime between now and 2112 because historically they average one every 200 years. By studying silt accumulations in coastal areas scientists are now able to predict historically when Megafloods have occurred in the past. When a Megaflood occurs we can expect about 1/4 of the towns and cities either washed away completely or flooded completely and so at least 25% of the population of California would be homeless during and after this event.

In the last event in 1862 Sacramento was completely under about 10 feet of water and the Sacramento River was 20 miles wide up to Redding, California from accounts of witnesses and Newspapers at the time, and several southern California Towns and Villages were completely washed away and I believe Weaverville was washed away in the north. So, this event is not an IF event but only a When event. Also, since the Capitol of California, Sacramento was underwater, Leland Stanford eventual founder of Stanford University was Governor of California and had to move the state government by boat and ship to San Francisco. Also, the state went bankrupt because 1/4 of the taxable land in California was lost or damaged.

Here is a quote from the most recent Scientific American Study

The flood layers can be dated using the common radiocarbon-dating method, which in this application is accurate to within about 100 years. A study of the marsh cores by one of us (Ingram) and geographer Frances Malamud-Roam revealed deposits from massive flooding around A.D. 1100, 1400 and 1650. A distinct layer from the 1861–62 event is difficult to distinguish, however, because hydraulic gold mining in the Sierra Nevada foothills during the decade before and after the flood moved enormous volumes of silt and sand that essentially wiped out whatever traces the floodwaters might have left.

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see this feature story

So, if we know for sure that Megafloods in California actually took place around 1100 AD, 1400 and 1650 and 1862 AD then we should prepare Californians for the next one in whatever practical way we can that is likely to hit within the next 100 years.

To learn more about the last one in 1862 here is more from Wikipedia.

Great Flood of 1862 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It is now 150 years here in 2012 since the last Megaflood in California. It will be 200 years in 2062.

Will We Still have a Free Internet Worldwide?

TECH TREK
Fears Rise Among Free Net Advocates as UN Meeting Kicks Off

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Fears Rise Among Free Net Advocates as UN Meeting Kicks Off

By David Vranicar
TechNewsWorld
12/03/12 9:32 AM PT

Today in international tech news: An international gathering to discuss regulatory changes to the Internet has netizens spooked. Also: Yahoo is hit with a huge fine in Mexico, Australia is the latest nation to focus on multinationals' tax-avoidance practices, and a handful of China's Web-based companies are financing growth with debt.

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The UN-sponsored World Conference on International Telecommunications, which will feature government regulators from 193 countries, opened Monday, prompting fears that the meeting could ultimately damage Internet freedom.

According to the BBC, the UN's International Telecommunications Union is trying to allay concerns that the conference will result in restrictions to free speech and the flow of information. Google, for its part, has warned that the event is a threat to the free Internet, invoking the adage, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
The ITU, founded in 1865, was originally designed to focus on telegrams, but now oversees other types of communications. It has, for instance, helped develop standards for international telephone networks and allocates communications satellite orbits.
The current conference, which could last up to two weeks, marks the first time since 1988 that the ITU "has overseen a major overhaul of telecommunications regulations."
The U.S. has warned that some of the proposals put forth are invasive and violate democratic ideals. To wit, Russia and some Arab nations are pushing for permission to do things such as restrict content or impose universal identification for Web users.

Yahoo Faces Hefty Fine in Mexico

Yahoo faces a US$2.7 billion non-final judgment in a Mexican lawsuit over a Yellow Pages listing service.
According to Bloomberg, the litigation was brought by Worldwide Directories SA and Ideas Interactivas SA. They allege a breach of contract, breach of profits and lost profits.
The $2.7 billion verdict, however, might not stand. The figure likely represents more money than Mexico's entire Internet advertising industry has generated and probably is not a credible amount, according to an expert cited by Bloomberg.
Yahoo's market value is roughly $22 billion.

Australia Takes Tough Stand on Taxes

Australia will crack down on practices -- legal though they may be -- used by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes.
According to Reuters, Australia's proposals include the preventing profit shifting and eanalyzing strategies to reduce tax bills that are employed by multinational companies. They harken to similar decrees from Britain and Germany..
On Nov. 22, Australia's assistant treasurer, David Bradbury, singled out Google, detailing the company's strategies for limiting corporate taxes.
He dubbed Google's tax structure a "Double-Irish-Dutch Sandwich," referring to its practice of routing income to Ireland, then sending a royalty to a Dutch subsidiary -- which then repays a second Irish holding company controlled in Bermuda. Bermuda, it so happens, has no corporate tax.
According to documents, last year Google's Australian subsidiary paid $815,074 in tax. Media reports, however, have pegged Google's Australian advertising to be worth more than $1 billion. Google asserts it has done nothing illegal.
Australia's proposals could discourage foreign companies from investing there, according to tax specialists cited by Reuters.

Chinese Net Companies Cash In on Low Interest

A trio of dominant Chinese Internet companies are fueling growth with billions of dollars in debt, according to Reuters.
Baidu, which operates China's dominant search engine; Alibaba its top e-commerce outlet, and Tencent Holdings, which operates the wildly popular messaging service QQ, have accumulated a combined $6 billion in debt. The companies plan to use their coffers to bolster their domestic lead, expand their operations abroad and maybe buy foundering rivals.
Reuters attributes the funds to ultra-low interest rates on U.S. government bonds, which has driven down borrowing costs around the globe.
Baidu, for instance, is reported to have raised $1.5 billion -- in November alone -- largely by selling 10-year bonds at a yield of 3.518 percent. This, Reuters explains, is tantalizingly close to the rate of U.S. Treasury Bonds, which are considered more or less risk-free. In May 2011, Google sold 10-year bonds with a yield of 3.734.

David Vranicar is a freelance journalist and author of The Lost Graduation: Stepping off campus and into a crisis. You can check out his ECT News archive here, and you can email him at david[dot]vranicar[at]newsroom[dot]ectnews[dot]com.

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Fears Rise Among Free Net Advocates as UN Meeting Kicks Off

David Vranicar

U.S. Intelligence worried about Syria's Chemical Weapons

December 2nd, 2012

09:07 PM ET

Official: 'Worrying signs' regarding Syria's chemical weapons

By Barbara Starr

U.S. intelligence is concerned about the Syrian government's intent regarding its vast chemical weapons stockpiles after what one senior U.S. official described as "worrying signs" of activity in "the last few days."
"There are concerns the regime may be considering use of chemical weapons" the official told CNN. But the official stressed that the Obama administration has not come to a final conclusion about Syria's intent.
"This isn't just about movement, but about potential intent to make certain chemical weapons ready for use." The official admitted it is not entirely clear to the United States what the Syrian government is up to, or if this latest development was ordered specifically by the regime of President Bashar al-Assad.
Security Clearance: U.S. official: Turkey Patriot request not a prelude to Syria no-fly zone
The official, who spoke on the condition no name was used because of the sensitivity of the information discussed, declined to specify the exact intelligence that the United States has gathered in the last few days. The New York Times first reported the concern on Sunday.
Syria is known to store its chemical stockpile, in many instances, separately from the artillery shells, rockets or missiles that would deliver those chemical weapons in an attack.
As rebel fighters continue to make some gains, capturing military assets and territory, U.S. and Middle Eastern intelligence services have been watching for some months for any signs the Syrians would be loading up those weapons with chemical agents.
In recent months the Obama administration has acknowledged at least two instances of Syrian chemical weapons stockpiles being moved but has said it believes those were efforts to put the material in more secure locations as fighting increased.
"We don't know if there is actual intent," the official said about the latest observed activities. "This is worrisome. This is a step beyond moving them around."
The official said if the weapons are used it could mean the red line articulated by President Barack Obama has been breached. If they are used, "this puts us into the contingency of potential U.S. action," the official said.

Post by: By CNN Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr
Filed under: Assad • Intelligence • Syria • weapons end quote from:

Official: 'Worrying signs' regarding Syria's chemical weapons

Solar Maximums, degrading Magnetosphere, Atmospheric Rivers?

This question woke me up out of my sleep in the middle of the night, and as I thought about it I knew I needed to write it down, so here it is: Is there a correlation historically speaking between Solar Maximums (the type where Carrington type events happen), degraded magnetosphere with holes (during geomagnetic excursions or polar shifts), and an increase in Atmospheric Rivers and other unusual weather events?

I was reading one of the studies of megafloods in California which said they had been historically proven to hit California about every 200 years. So, for example, there was a megaflood in 1862 and one around the 1600s, one around the 1400s, one sometime in the 1000 Ad arena. But I was wondering what was happening at the same time regarding geomagnetic excursions and solar maximums as well as degraded magnetospheres from Geomagnetic excursions and how all these factors interrelate with other factors as well.

If correlations exist then it might be easier to actually predict within 5 to 10 years when the next Megaflood or Megafloods happen at various places here on earth caused by increasing atmospheric rivers.

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Russians Privately admit Assad is going to go

Begin quote:

Turkish officials believe Russian backing for the Syrian leader is finally fading. "Privately they have been telling us that they accept he is going to go," a senior official said.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is expected to fly to Turkey on Monday for bilateral talks with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which Erdogan will keep up the pressure for the Russians to pull the plug on their closest Middle East ally. "We are asking the Russians whether or not they want to help build a stable Syria after Assad," a Turkish official said.

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Turkey requested Nato missile defences over Syria chemical weapons fears

Ethics for Intuitives?

I have come across many quandaries as an intuitive. Often intuitives (actually very often) intuitives are faced with little to no choices in what good they can do. For example, you might know that someone is on the edge of suicide or you might also know that if someone goes to the wrong physical place in the next day or two that something awful might happen.

But, most of the time the people you see this happening to you might not even know personally, it's just something you pick up as they pass by. So, the best you can do is just pray for these people. Other times, (like today) I came upon a large family with maybe 5 or more children from about 4 years old through high school while entering a restaurant. But, as I entered the restaurant foyer the mother and the children left because it wasn't a good place for children to be acting out. But, I later realized that just my walking in prevented things breaking and kids harming each other. So, I was grateful that my 64 year old 6 foot 5 inch grandfatherly presence helped stabilize the situation. And then I thought later about it and realized that some of the kids there were very spiritually developed and it was good I passed by for that reason too.

But, more lately I think about the long term consequences of being an intuitive. If you look at our government here in the U.S., it's biggest weakness is that it is often too short sighted. In other words you cannot expect a great nation to continue to be great if the leaders only think in terms of 4 year terms and no further. Because in order for a great nation to stay great it has to start thinking more in terms of 1, 5, 10 and 25 and yes even 100 year terms of what goals we are heading towards? 4 years of planning just isn't going to work in the future.

However, another way to look at this is Global Warming. So, if the world climate is really changing as fast as scientists think, then what is the plan for civilization (any civilization at all to survive this?)

As soon as you begin talking about atmospheric Rivers dumping 15 Mississippi Rivers on someplace like California over 2 or 3 months it makes Hurricane Sandy and Hurricane Katrina silly in comparsison to 1/4 or more of the homes in California gone and potentially 5 to 10 million people homeless as a result.

And California, like the East Coast of the U.S. with Sandy is better prepared than 80 to 90% of the locations on earth where something like this could actually hit. How many dead are we talking potentially in California let alone if something like this happened somewhere else (like it also did last week in England and Wales?)

And, like, for example, I knew when the Loma Prieta Quake hit the week that it was going to hit and went to Hana, Maui and watched the whole thing happen on TV. But, I wasn't emotionally prepared for how that affected me either. And this one experience really changed me a lot about how I dealt with being an Intuitive. I think that one event was sort of like getting a Doctorate in being an Intuitive in some ways. I realized most people (including me at that time) just cannot emotionally deal with this kind of information if they are responsible people with a conscience.

So, it is not just being an Intuitive that is important. No. What is really important is can you emotionally deal with knowing stuff that is going to happen and still try to help people in the most mature way you can to survive their lives?

Unfortunately, the answer for most intuitives is: "No."

So, all of us can only do the best we can in any given moment and "pray" and meditate if that helps us stay calmer and more focused and level headed about everything we see and experience. In the end extremism isn't usually helpful. So, learning to calmly and rationally deal with things is usually best.

Syria may use Missiles with Chemical warheads as a last resort

Turkey requested Nato missile defences over Syria chemical weapons fears

Turkish officials say they have evidence Assad regime could resort to ballistic missiles if air campaign against rebels fails

Julian Borger, diplomatic editor
guardian.co.uk, Sunday 2 December 2012 07.23 EST

A Dutch Patriot missile installation. The Dutch and German parliaments are expected to approve the deployment of Patriot systems in Turkey this week. Photograph: Robert Vos/EPA

A request by Turkey for Nato Patriot missile defences to be deployed on its territory followed intelligence that the Syrian government was contemplating the use of missiles, possibly with chemical warheads, Turkish officials have told the Guardian.
The officials said they had credible evidence that if the Syrian government's aerial bombardment against opposition-held areas failed to hold the rebels back, Bashar al-Assad's regime might resort to missiles and chemical weapons in a desperate last effort to survive.
The Turks believe that the regime's Soviet-era Scuds and North Korean SS-21 missiles would be aimed principally at opposition areas but could easily stray across the border, as Syrian army artillery shells and mortars have done.
A missile, especially with a chemical warhead, would represent a far greater threat to Turkish border communities, so Ankara decided last month to ask Nato to supply Patriot missile defence systems, which can spot an incoming missile and intercept it.
"We have intelligence from different sources that the Syrians will use ballistic missiles and chemical warheads," a senior Turkish official said. "First they sent the infantry in against the rebels and they lost a lot of men, and many changed sides. Then they sent in the tanks, and they were taken out by anti-tank missiles. So now it's air power. If that fails it will be missiles, perhaps with chemical warheads. That is why we asked Nato for protection."
The New York Times reported that western intelligence officials had spotted new signs of activity around Syrian military sites where chemical weapons are stored. A senior US official was quoted as saying: "[T]hey're doing some things that suggest they intend to use the weapons. It's not just moving stuff around. These are different kind of activities."
The Syrian regime is believed to have stocks of mustard gas, sarin nerve gas and possibly VX, another nerve agent. Western governments have warned Assad that any use of these weapons would trigger direct military intervention against him. So far, western officials say there are no signs of the regime taking the final steps of preparing chemical artillery shells, missiles or aircraft bombs for use. The deployment of Dutch and German Patriot systems is due to be voted on by those countries' parliaments this week, and Turkish diplomats expect it to be approved. The same two countries supplied the launchers and missiles the last time Patriots were deployed in Turkey, in 2003 during the Iraq war.
In recent days the rebel Free Syrian Army has succeeded in shooting down Syrian government aircraft with shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles, in a potential turning point, but Turkey still expects a protracted struggle for the upper hand in the bloody civil war, in which it estimates 50,000 people have died.
Turkish officials still believe the best chance of a breakthrough that would cut short the conflict would be for Russia to withdraw its backing for Assad, forcing the Syrian president, his family and immediate entourage into exile, and thereby removing the most serious obstacle to talks between the opposition and the government.
Russia has blocked any punitive UN security council measures and has supplied the Syrian regime with arms and economic support. In recent weeks it is reported to have flown in tonnes of freshly printed banknotes to allow Damascus to pay its soldiers. But Turkish officials believe Russian backing for the Syrian leader is finally fading. "Privately they have been telling us that they accept he is going to go," a senior official said.
The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, is expected to fly to Turkey on Monday for bilateral talks with the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in which Erdogan will keep up the pressure for the Russians to pull the plug on their closest Middle East ally. "We are asking the Russians whether or not they want to help build a stable Syria after Assad," a Turkish official said.
A regional peace initiative launched by Egypt's president, Mohamed Morsi, in August, involving Egypt, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Iran, foundered on Saudi objections to Iranian involvement. Both Egypt and Turkey, however, believe that Iran has to be engaged in the search for a peace deal as it is Assad's only regional ally and an important source of weapons.
Turkey has sustained the effort by organising three sets of trilateral talks: Turkey, Iran and Egypt, whose leaders met in Islamabad late last month to discuss the Syrian crisis; Turkey, Iran and Russia; and Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. Ankara believes that all those relationships will be vital in rebuilding Syria after the conflict, but that Russia's role will be decisive in bringing it to an end.

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Turkey requested Nato missile defences over Syria chemical weapons fears

Better News for Napa and Truckee

Third storm in less than week drenches NorCal

By By JOHN S. MARSHALL | Associated Press – 2 hrs 4 mins ago

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Residents of Northern California endured the brunt of another powerful storm that drenched the area with yet another round of pounding rain and strong winds, but damage from the storm was less than expected, officials said.

The latest storm system — the third to hit the area in less than a week — moved across the region late Saturday and early Sunday dropping as much as an inch of rain per hour in some areas, toppling trees and knocking out electrical service to tens of thousands of people, officials said.

Rivers across Northern California swelled from the deluge, but did not flood as extensively as had been expected, officials said.

Forecasters had issued flood warnings for the Napa and Russian rivers, two rivers north of San Francisco with a history of flooding, as well as the Truckee River, near Lake Tahoe, but by Sunday afternoon had canceled the warning for the Russian River.

"It (the storm) moved through a lit bit faster than it was looking like it would, so it didn't plant on top of us and keeping raining," said Austin Cross, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. "The period of heavy rain didn't last as long."

In Napa, where officials had handed out more than 8,000 sandbags and about 150 tons of sand before the storm hit, officials breathed a sigh of relief Sunday afternoon after the heaviest rain moved out of the area and the city appeared to avoid any major damage from the storm.

"We've had some minor street flooding and some of the intersections were flooded," Napa city spokesman Barry Martin said.
Flood construction projects were credited with keeping the river within its banks through the city, while most of anticipated flooding, expected around 6 p.m. Sunday, was expected to hit a mostly agricultural area outside of the city, officials said.

In Truckee, 30 miles west of Reno, city officials were focusing on snow removal Sunday afternoon instead of flood control after the town received 4 to 5 inches of snow in the morning, said Assistant City Manager Alex Terrazas.

"We continue to keep an eye on the river, but things are certainly better than they could have been," he said. "We'll transition back to flood management if we need to."

Besides the speed in which the system moved through the area, weather officials were heartened by colder temperatures than expected in the mountains, meaning more snow and less rain fell.

In far Northern California, flood warnings remained in effect Sunday for the Eel, Navarro and Mad rivers.

Meanwhile, as Pacific Gas & Electric crews worked on restoring power, about 57,000 people from Santa Cruz to Eureka, including about 13,000 people in the San Francisco Bay area, remained without electricity Sunday afternoon as the powerful winds from the storm knocked down trees and sent broken tree limbs and branches across power lines, officials said.

"It really did broadside California," PG&E spokesman Joe Molica said of the storm.

About 2,000 PG&E crews were working Sunday to try to restore power, Molica said.

Wind gusts, recorded as high as 60 miles per hour in parts of the Bay area, were blamed for knocking over a big rig truck as it drove over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge at around 5 a.m. Sunday.

Tow crews had to wait for the winds to subside later in the morning before they could remove the truck, officials said.

Also, train service on the Bay Area Rapid Transit system was disrupted for about an hour Sunday morning because of an electrical outage blamed on the weather.

___

Associated Press writer Martin Griffith contributed to this report.

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Third storm in less than week drenches Northern Calif.

As I watched the Satellite Radar live I noticed that the far north like St. Helena and Napa were spared the main brunt of the storm. Instead it hit from Big Sur to the Golden Gate Bridge mostly and then another part of the storm hit from Ventura to San Luis Obispo and then inland as far north as Bakersfield and Fresno and then over the Sierras as snow.

note: If you have an IPad there is an app called WeatherBug that you can watch relatively live weather radar for anywhere in the U.S. and you make the map larger or smaller with your fingers just like with GPS or photographs and you can access it through your WIFI or whatever you have access to.

Atmospheric River soaks California

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Mysterious Atmospheric River Soaks California, Where Megaflood May Be Overdue

By Mark Fischetti | November 30, 2012 |

An atmospheric river (thin yellow band) feeds torrential rain into northern California on Nov. 30. Image courtesy of NOAA

Northern California is experiencing the first days of what weather forecasters are warning will be a long series of torrential rainstorms that could cause serious flooding across the northern one-third of the state. The relentless storms are being driven by a feature in the atmosphere you have probably never heard of: an atmospheric river.
Oh, and another atmospheric river created the worst flooding since the 1960s in western England and Wales this past week, where more than 1,000 homes had to be evacuated.
An atmospheric river is a narrow conveyor belt of vapor about a mile high that extends thousands of miles from out at sea and can carry as much water as 15 Mississippi Rivers. It strikes as a series of storms that arrive for days or weeks on end. Each storm can dump inches of rain or feet of snow. For more details, see this feature story that Scientific American has just published, written by two experts on these storms.
Scientists discovered atmospheric rivers in 1998 and have only recently characterized them fully enough to allow forecasters to warn of their arrival. They can strike the west coasts of most continents, but California seems to be a prime target. As many as nine small atmospheric rivers reach the state each year, each lasting two to three days, including the famous “pineapple express” storms that come straight from the Hawaii region of the Pacific Ocean. Ironically, although the storms are dangerous, they are also vital; they supply 30 to 50 percent of California’s rain and snow—in the span of about 10 days a year.
Megaflood Overdue?
The real scare, however, is that truly massive atmospheric rivers that cause catastrophic flooding seem to hit the state about once every 200 years, according to evidence recently pieced together (and described in the article noted above). The last megaflood was in 1861; rains arrived for 43 days, obliterating Sacramento and bankrupting the state. The disaster is largely forgotten, but the same region is now home to more than six million people. Simulations of a 23-day storm there indicate that more than $400 billion of damage and losses would occur, far surpassing the $60 billion estimates for Hurricane Sandy’s effects. New research also shows that climate change may make these storms more likely to occur.
You may begin to hear the term “atmospheric river” more often. The Weather Channel is using it, in quotation marks, in warnings for northern California, as well as the coasts of Oregon and Washington. And some popular media are beginning to adopt the verbiage as well.

About the Author: Mark Fischetti is a senior editor at Scientific American who covers energy, environment and sustainability issues. Follow on Twitter @markfischetti.

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Here is my driving experience today through this stuff:

Also here is even more research about the problem of potential Megaflooding in California:

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