DEMOCRAT MAYOR OF HOUSTON DELIBERATELY IGNORED FED WARNINGS AND HID VITAL SAFETY INFO FROM POPULATION prior to Hurricane Harvey as HE REFUSED TO EVACUATE THE CITY - City authorities dismissed as FAKE NEWS leaked projected losses of property and life

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• Harris County, where Houston is located, is heavily Democrat. It voted overwhelmingly for Hillary Clinton.  The population loves and trusts their Democrats.  They trusted their Democrat mayor. 
• But he did not tell them the truth at a time of life-threatening crisis.  He had been informed ahead of time by federal government experts about the projected damage but he kept this information away from the public, so as not to panic them. 
• And when one woman leaked information  about the expected severity of the storm (which eventually turned out to be very accurate), city officials and the media attacked her as purveyor of fake news.  Here is the story.

Federal and State authorities warned Houston's mayor and city council  of the expected damage from Hurricane Harvey and advised an evacuation, but the mayor chose to withhold that information from the public and told the population to "shelter in place".

The alarming projected details leaked online, but city officials officially declared them to be "fake news".  Only now, after all the unnecessary distress suffered by the most vulnerable victims, we realize that city authorities lied to the population.

Mayor Sylvester Turner's decision not to call for Houston's evacuation has been criticized by experts and victims, but the media itself has kept itself away from the controversy.  Turner is a black Democrat, after all. 

Turner's argument has been that it is risky to evacuate millions of people all at once.  Highways get clogged, people run out of gas.  It has happened before. 

 

However, between a full evacuation and none, there is a more rational alternative:  Evacuate the vulnerable:  the elderly, the sick, pregnant women, those living on a ground floor.  There does not seem to have been even a mention of this possibility.

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner defied Federal and State authorities' recommendations for an evacuation and ignored their scientific projections for damage and losses from such a big storm.  The Federal Government made it clear to Turner and city council:

 
Houston and Harris county’s four commissioners were briefed on Thursday morning, August 24 after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warned officials that Hurricane Harvey, which at that point had not made landfall, was shaping up to impact the region even worse than Hurricane Allison in 2001. That storm killed 22 in Houston, left 30,000 residents stranded, and damaged over $5 billion of property.

City officials were given ample time to evacuate the city, federal officials and correspondences examined by True Pundit confirmed.

 

According to sources familiar with the federal briefing, county and Houston officials were specifically warned that there was a high probability the storm event would be catastrophic, including the following intelligence provided to Houston and county officials the morning of Thursday, August 24:

Hurricane Harvey would impact the county and surrounding Texas counties far beyond what weather forecasts predicted.

A minimum projection of 10,000 homes would be underwater and at least 100,000 more homes would be flooded in Houston.

Houston is expected to be hit with five days of rain and at least three days without electricity.

The hurricane was projected to impact the “heart of Houston.” Harris County would see 30 inches of rain with a possibility of 50 inches of rain which was likewise projected for Colorado County. That county sits west of Harris. The storm turned east and impacted Houston, as was warned.

Homes and properties south and near Katy, Texas would be severely impacted, possibly flooded out. Houston is on a parallel with nearby Katy.

Despite this information, provided two days before the hurricane, officials did not call for a mandatory evacuation of the area and Houston. In fact, the Mayor of Houston Sylvester Turner defiantly told residents to ignore weather warnings and to “think twice” before evacuating the city, often referring to the threatening hurricane as a “rain event” and implying residents were not in any real danger until the city issued an evacuation mandate

 

The mayor, other city authorities, and the mainstream media dismissed as "fake" reports alerting the population of the true details of the upcoming disaster   Not to evacuate was not just a bad decision on the part of the mayor.  There was outright the misleading and the withholding of key life-and-death information.    

 

Prior to Hurricane Harvey hitting Houston, Texan Rebecca Reisig posted a warning on her Facebook page that went viral.  She projected specific details that have been proven accurate with the official announcement that 100,000 homes have been seriously damaged after more than 50 inches of rain fell during the storm.

 

Ms. Reisig charged that the Houston City Council knew Hurricane Harvey was expected to do far greater destruction than was being reported to the public – and she forecasted precise data that was subsequently officially confirmed on all counts.  Her predictions proved right, but city officials and the media strongly dismissed them as fake news.

 

The mainstream media, along with Mayor Turner and fellow officials, launched an immediate smear campaign against Ms. Reisig and “false forecasts and irresponsible rumors on social media.

 

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HAWK FLEES HURRICANE HARVEY IN TEXAS AND SEEKS REFUGE IN A TAXI - Hawk refuses to leave and makes himself at home in William Brusso's place - Watch VIDEOS

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Animals sense upcoming catastrophes and this very intelligent hawk, perhaps with some physical injury, thought the best way to hunker  down during Hurricane Harvey was in a cozy place, such as William Brusso's taxi cab, and then his home.  Brusso is an animal lover, so this bird may have sensed he was the kind of person to ask for help.

Take cover! The moment a hawk flew into a taxi and refused to get out as hurricane Harvey barreled towards Texas

William Bruso was buying food before Hurricane Harvey hit Houston on Friday

He returned to his taxi cab and a hawk jumped into the passenger seat

Bruso said the bird looked scared with its wings tucked close to its side

The man filmed the strange interaction and posted the video to Facebook

Bruso named the animal Harvey the Hurricane Hawk and kept it at his home

The Houston man handed the bird over to Texas Wildlife Rescue Center Saturday

A man filmed the moment a hawk wouldn't budge from his taxi cab as Hurricane Harvey barreled towards Texas.  As thousands evacuated the Houston area ahead of the Category 4 hurricane and others hunkered down, one hawk sought refuge in a car in Houston on Friday. 

 

Continue reading, see more pictures, and watch VIDEOS of Harvey the Hawk making himself at home at William Bruso's place.

CLIMATE CHANGE FANATICISM - NOW THEY ARE AFTER YOUR PETS, accusing them of contributing to global warming

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• Most dogs and cats act as therapy animals.  Other than dogs with jobs, the rest of them are companions, and therefore they play a key role in our mental health.  They are children's best friends, and sometimes they are the elderly's reason for getting up in the morning.   
• These wonderful creatures deserve better than being the target of the global warming pseudo-science, which has been proven fraudulent time and again.  
• Earth's climate has been changing, sometimes abruptly and dramatically, for the past 4.5 BILLION years.  This is part of the normal evolution of the planet, and the causes are as varied as the sun's weather, and Earth's geology itself.  
• Climate change is not going to unleash immediate catastrophe to life on Earth.  But a nuclear meltdown or an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) frying all our electronics might.  Read more about this truly alarming subject further down this page.   

 

KILL A PET TO SAVE THE PLANET?  Just how fascistic are climate change activists and scientists becoming? 

by James Delingpole, Breitbart 

ACCORDING TO CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTISTS:  Think before you give Lucky and Tiger another mouthful! They may look cute and affectionate, your dog and your cat, but at heart, they are ravening planet-destroying creatures whose insatiable appetite for meat and deadly feces threatens to kill us all with deadly global warming.  

 

Those are the conclusions of a study from UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability on the Environmental impacts of food consumption by dogs and cats.  According to the study, by geography professor Gregory S. Okin, the 163 million cats and dogs in the U.S. alone eat so much meat that if they were a country they would be the fifth largest meat consumer after Russia, Brazil, the U.S., and China.   Also, they produce 5.1 million tons of feces — the same as is produced by 90 million human Americans. 

 

Indeed, 25 to 30 percent of the environmental impact of meat consumption in the United States is created by cats and dogs.  Their carbon footprint — about 64 million tons of carbon dioxide each year — allegedly has the same “climate impact as a year’s worth of driving from 13.6 million cars.”   The report’s author insists that he isn’t literally suggesting that America should have a mass pet cull:

“I like dogs and cats, and I’m definitely not recommending that people get rid of their pets or put them on a vegetarian diet, which would be unhealthy.”

Hmm. It’s the half of him that’s not joking that I think should worry us.

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THE PARIS CLIMATE DEAL SWINDLE - All about economics and not the climate - USA expected to pay $ hundreds of billions to other nations, while they contribute zilch - USA expected to cut down on pollution while China, India and others are allowed to pollute all they want

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• Promoters of the Paris Climate Accord generally avoid addressing two main problems for the United States: 
• (1)  The US is the only country expected to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to the Green Fund - money which so far has ended up in the pockets of other countries with no clear accountability on how it's being spent.
• (2)  The US is the only country expected to take significant and expensive steps towards a cleaner atmosphere - while other countries are exempt, and allowed to pollute as much as they want for a number of years.
• Trump was right on when he said that other nations were laughing at the US.
• The following article explains how these two items, along with others just as unfair to the US, became part of an international agreement signed by former president Obama.
• The article says the Accord is actually is all about economics instead of climate policy.  This explains why so many CEOs are enthusiastic supporters of it. 
• On this page see transcript of president Trump's speech rejecting US participation on the Paris Climate Accord
• Also watch the full movie The Great Global Warming Swindle

 USA Paid $1 Billion already to Paris Agreement Green Fund -  All Other Nations combined $0.....

The Paris Treaty was/is always about distribution of economic wealth; and the convenient use of “climate phrases” as branding instruments used to create political policy favorable to multinational corporate interests who control the shifting of economic wealth.

Continue reading

CLIMATE CHANGE HYSTERICS DISTRACT US FROM FACING OUR LACK OF CONTINGENCY PLANS for nuclear power plants meltdowns, nuclear waste disposal, and EMPs or electromagnetic pulse catastrophes unleashed by nukes or giant solar flares, which would bring the USA back to the stone age

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The ongoing fixation with man-made climate change serves to divert attention from the real danger to all life on earth from the nuclear industry and from EMP events.  Well-meaning environmentalists have fallen for this ruse quite unaware of how they are being manipulated.    

• Clean, safe  nuclear energy is nothing but a hoax. There is no safe way to dispose of highly toxic nuclear waste, as it continues to accumulate.   
• Nuclear power plants have a relatively short life (a few decades at the most) and their decommissioning is extremely expensive. 
• A number of catastrophes can certainly precipitate the meltdown of all nuclear power plants (NPP) in an affected area.  
• For example, a major solar flare directed towards the USA and Canada would fry all electronics and destroy the electric grid.  It's not a matter of if, but when. 
• NPPs need electric power to function.  Without it they would go into meltdown in a matter of days, contaminating large swathes of the country, killing millions of people, and leaving survivors to starve in a world reduced to the stone age.
• A terror attack with one or more nuclear bombs strategically detonated in the atmosphere would have the same effect as a major solar flare. 
• Those bombs would produce an EMP (electromagnetic pulse) that would destroy the grid, unleashing a chain of events bringing chaos, famine, and savagery. 
• The real perpetrator (China, Russia, Iran, North Korea) could give the technology to jihadis, manipulate them into claiming responsibility, and thus save itself from American retaliation. 
• There is no plan for the short-term repair of a fried electric grid.  It is no exaggeration to say that it would result in the collapse of our civilization. 
• Add to that natural catastrophes such as major earthquakes and tsunamis, that would render NPPs inoperable and vulnerable to meltdown.
• The experiences with Katrina and other similar disasters prove that governments at all levels are incapable of dealing with major catastrophes, even when they claim to have plans in place.  
• The United States has NO CONTINGENCY PLAN in place to deal with the loss of the electric grid, or the social chaos that would ensue.  None whatsoever, although the government knows that millions would die.

There have been a small number of politicians and activists trying to call attention to the danger of EMPs, but Congress has chosen not to act.  The majority would rather listen to climate change hysterics, in spite of proven scientific manipulation of data for political reasons, including by the much cited government agency NOAA.   

 

Climate does change naturally over the years, centuries, and millions of years.  The fascinating science of geology gives evidence of continuous environmental change, some gradual, some abrupt and disastrous - all of it natural.  However, infinitely worse than man-made CO2 is the creation of the nuclear industry, which could wipe out civilization in a matter of days.    

 

On this page read excerpts of articles explaining the danger of EMPs, nuclear industry pollution, and on how a whistleblower exposed blatant manipulation of scientific data to push the climate change danger agenda.  

 

How to bring the USA to its knees

 with the push of a button  

LIVE SCIENCE - One way to create a widespread and damaging electromagnetic pulse (EMP) would be to detonate a large nuclear weapon over the central United States, at an altitude of 25 miles to 500 miles (40 kilometers to 800 kilometers), according to the Commission to Assess the Threat to the U.S. from EMP Attack, in testimony before the House Armed Services Committee in July 2008.

At this height, a nuclear blast could interact with the ionosphere, the shell of electrons and electrically charged particles surrounding Earth, to create a series of electromagnetic pulses that could reach across a continent, according to the commission. Once a burst of atmospheric radiation hits the ground, it could induce strong currents in telephone and electrical cables, which can short out transformers, said Daniel Baker, a physicist at the University of Colorado.    

Transformers take high voltage current and "transform" it into low voltage current that can be used by households. But an EMP could derail this process, creating currents that overheat transformers and cause them to fail, Baker said.    An electromagnetic surge from a solar storm is a more likely threat for an EMP.  

Continue reading this and related articles

STUDY: CARTOONS ARE MORE EFFECTIVE THAN PHOTOS IN PERSUADING THE PUBLIC - Global warming advocates hope to use cartoons to manipulate the public with discredited arguments

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• This blog loves good political cartoons.  A scientific study found that they are more persuasive than photos in helping you understand a point of view and make up your mind. 
• The reason is that a good political cartoon, such as the dozens published regularly here on  THE NEWS IN CARTOONS  can powerfully summarize in a single image a message that a photograph alone cannot. 
• A cartoon more than a photo will go straight to our heart and our mind.   And then there is the irresistible element of good quality humor, which we love. 
• Of course this is a communication method that can be used for good or for evil.  The National Socialist Party of Germany - AKA Nazis - used cartoons to incite racial hatred and violence.  
• On the other side of the pond American cartoonists availed themselves of cartoons to inspire patriotism and the need to fight tyranny and genocide in Europe. 

• Leftist ideologues desperate to persuade the increasingly skeptical public about global warming and climate change were the instigators of this study.
• A cartoon can become a medium for flawed or misleading scientific messages such as many of those advocated by the left.  Leftists defend wind farms in spite of the fact that they kill millions of birds and make people who live in the vicinity very sick.
• The same environmentalists have remained completely silent at the scourge of nuclear power plants, although nuclear waste and nuclear meltdowns are more dangerous to life on the planet than anything climate change may do in the next thousand years.
• In the end, all is fair in love and war.  It is up to us to be skeptical of what the media are selling.

The left wants to learn more about mind manipulation through cartoons 

SCIENCE DAILY - If you're creating a message to educate, inform, or persuade, don't underestimate the power of a well-executed cartoon. A new study suggests if you're trying to convince the public to change their stance on a topic, you may be more successful if you use a cartoon rather than a photograph.   Source:  University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES).  

"Photographs were shown to be more credible, but cartoons were more likely to change behavior," says U of I agricultural communications professor Lulu Rodriguez who led the study.  "    Participants in the study said the content was better in the cartoon brochures (even though the text was identical), but the credibility was lower than the brochures using photographs.

 

A cartoon grabs people's attention long enough to deliver the message. That's what you need in today's message-heavy atmosphere. Why not use a tool that has proven ability to cut through the others and inform people in a way that actually works?"   "It may be because of the more light-hearted approach of cartoons," Rodriquez says.

 

Continue reading and see more related cartoons

AIR CONDITIONERS WORSE THREAT THAN ISIS, says US Secretary of State John Kerry - Knowing that the White House has a sharp focus on the real enemy should make Americans feel a lot safer

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Actually, the liberal class is a worse threat to civilization than Muslim terrorists.  They are the ones who actually OPEN THE DOOR WIDE to people who support oppression, intolerance and terror, and invite them to settle in  your neighborhood.  And liberal authorities are the ones threatening law-abiding and patriotic citizens with lawsuits and jail for speaking out the truth about Islam.

 

The irony is that as the most recent terror attack unfolds in Munich, we realize that Germany - the same country that unleashed Nazism in Europe - has unleashed racial and religious strife, rape, crime, and constant terror and fear on European citizens by importing millions of Muslims migrants.  Following Germany's example, the US and Canada are trying to catch up, ensuring the repetition of Germany's policies and disastrous results.

Jihad Watch:  Stop laughing. Kerry is right. Watch for the next mass shooting by your air conditioner. Remember all those manifestos your air conditioner issued, vowing the imminent destruction of the U.S.

 

Secretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna on Friday that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State.

 

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SOUTH CAROLINA'S 1000 YEAR FLOOD - THE TRAGIC AFTERMATH IN IMAGES - The situation could get worse - Swollen rivers may bring more flooding - Cleaning up the mess inside people's homes - Children going to school on a boat

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The $1billion flood: Devastating scenes in South Carolina as rain which killed 19 people finally relents revealing damage to homes, road and stores

The record-breaking downpours have subsided, but now thousands of people have to contend with the floods 

Initial estimates suggest the floods caused $1billion damage to homes, stores, and roads

Columbia mayor Steve Benjamin said: 'I believe that things will get worse before they get better' 

South Carolina governor Nikki Haley warned: 'This is not over', as residents try and pick up the pieces 

At least 19 people are confirmed dead - the two latest deaths occurred when a pickup drove past a barricade and plunged into water
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For dramatic photos taken during the flood, please go here:
FLOODS OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS - 1,000 YEAR RECORD RAINFALL in South Carolina - But pet owners still take their DOGS out for a walk on flooded streets
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2015/10/floods-of-biblical-proportions-1000.html
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Rankin Craig watches as friends and family remove belongings from her flooded home in Forest Acres in Columbia, S.C., on Wednesday

See more images of the mess this flood left behind

FLOODS OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS - 1,000 YEAR RECORD RAINFALL in South Carolina - But pet owners still take their DOGS out for a walk on flooded streets

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Catastrophe -  Six dead and hundreds stranded as dams break and cause 300 road collisions in ONE DAY during 1,000-year record rainfall across the Carolinas
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For new images and an update on the aftermath of the flood, please go here:
http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2015/10/south-carolinas-1000-year-flood-tragic.html
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Emergency management officials in South Carolina sent a statewide alert telling people to stay off roads and remain indoors unless their homes were in danger of flooding 

Tens of thousands customers were without power, thousands have left their homes, and at least 8 deaths have been reported

Columbia was hit the worst on Sunday, with officials said 100 people had been rescued by midmorning from vehicles after trying to cross flooded roads - and there were another 200 rescue calls pending

South Carolina Highway Patrol responded to more than 300 collisions around the state in the 12 hours leading up to 6am Sunday - and it cleared nearly 140 trees from roads

More than 1,200 emergency calls were made as 600 National Guard were drafted in, with another 1,300 on standby

Dramatic images have emerged of a helicopter crew rescuing a mother and her 15-month-old baby from the flood

Authorities have warned that the repair effort may take months

Quinn Hurt looks across Atlantic Avenue as he attempts to cross the flooded street in Wachapreague, Virginia

See more dramatic images

SCIENTISTS TO AWAKEN MONSTER-SIZED VIRUS FOUND DORMANT IN THE MELTING SIBERIAN PERMAFROST - One of several viruses showing up after thousands of years of dormancy - What could go wrong?

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Resurrecting a monster virus: Scientists to 'awaken' bug that has laid dormant in frozen Siberian wastelands for 30,000 years

Virus is called Mollivirus sibericum, which means 'soft virus from Siberia'

It is an oval shape and measures 0.6 microns, making it a 'giant' virus (photo on the right)

The bug was discovered in the permafrost of northeastern Russia 

Experts warn that climate change awaken more dangerous pathogens 

The regions in which these giant microbes have been found are rich in mineral resources, especially oil, and will be increasingly exploited as ice melts away.

 Scientists will revive the newly discovered virus by placing it with single-cell amoeba, which will serve as its host.

 Continue reading, see illustrations and watch VIDEO

BOOK BITS - THE TBILISI, GEORGIA, WEATHER CATASTROPHE - ZOO WILD ANIMALS ON THE LOOSE IN THE MIDDLE OF A FLOODED CITY - Haven't we read it already on Kim Stanley Robinson's Trilogy Forty Signs of Rain?

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About ten years ago science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson published his trilogy "Forty Signs of Rain," "Fifty Degrees Below," and "Sixty Days and Counting".

On these novels he describes the chaotic effects of abrupt planet cooling in the city of Washington DC.  There are floods, freezing temperatures, and escaped zoo animals on the loose.   Animals adapt.  So do people.  These books are intelligent and thrilling.   They are fun to read. 
 
Reality is something else altogether.

The plight of enslaved, caged animals in zoos

 

Unfortunately many of them are in even greater danger in the wild, due to human cruelty and greed.

 

  

Tbilisi, Georgia - Hundreds of animals have been killed or have disappeared as a result of a massive river flood that caught the city by surprise.  Some animals have been murdered by authorities to prevent them from attacking the human population.  A few large carnivores are still on the loose, and only yesterday a man was attacked by a hungry white tiger. 

 

The iconic picture of a hippo that managed to escape the flood

and survive in the streets of Tbilisi.

 

See more images of this disaster

NEW MASSIVE CRATERS APPEARING IN SIBERIA COULD BE CAUSED BY CLIMATE CHANGE - as underground methane gas may be heating up and igniting - At least one explosion was witnessed at one of the craters

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Four new craters have been spotted by scientists in the Yamal peninsula, in Siberia

May be caused by gas from underground and fear craters becoming more common due to rising temperatures

Bright flash of light seen close to one crater which led to theories that buried gas pockets in the soil may be igniting 

Another new crater has been found less than six miles from a major gas plant and experts have called for an urgent investigation into the phenomenon 

Unexplained: The first of the new craters discovered, named B1 (pictured above), shows signs of an huge eruption of gas

 

See more images