Pages

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder

A universe of beauty, mystery and wonder
©http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/ UNAUTHORIZED USE AND/OR DUPLICATION OF THIS BLOG'S MATERIAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. EXCERPTS AND LINKS MAY BE USED, PROVIDED THAT FULL AND CLEAR CREDIT IS GIVEN TO OTTERS AND SCIENCE NEWS BLOGSPOT WITH APPROPRIATE AND SPECIFIC DIRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL CONTENT. --- THE FACTS AND OPINIONS POSTED ON THIS BLOG ARE HERE FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSE AND DO NOT NECESSARILY REFLECT THE VIEWS AND OPINIONS OF THIS BLOG'S ADMINISTRATOR.

Saturday, January 4, 2014

RADIATION SPIKE 500% HIGHER THAN ELSEWHERE IN THE U.S.A. FOUND AT CALIFORNIA BEACH

 
(NaturalNews) High levels of radiation from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster reached Pacific shores just days after the catastrophe occurred, according to a recent study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.  But the worst contamination of all, at least as far as iodine-131 is concerned, was found at Southern California's Corona Del Mar Beach.
 
Tests conducted on samples of Macrocystis pyrifera, also known as Giant kelp, revealed the presence of radioactive iodine-131 at levels 500 percent higher in Southern California than in any other area of the country tested.
 
According to the figures, samples of Giant kelp pulled from the Santa Cruz area revealed 2.0 becquerels per gram dry weight (Bq/gdwt) of radioactive iodine-131, which can also be written as 2,000 becquerels per kilogram (Bq/kg) of radiation. At Corona Del Mar, however, levels of radioactive iodine-131 were discovered at 2.5 Bq/gdwt, or 2,500 Bq/kg.
 
 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s established maximum contaminant level (MCL) for radioactive iodine-131 in milk is a mere 170 Bq/kg. This is the same maximum level established by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for radioactive iodine-131 in food. (http://fukushimafaq.wikispaces.com/Radiation+Allowable+Levels)
 
 
 
Local authorities response
to a video showing the radioactive spike
 
An amateur video of a Geiger counter showing what appear to be high radiation levels at a Coastside beach has drawn the attention of local, state and federal public health officials. Since being posted last week, the short video has galvanized public concerns that radioactive material could be landing on the local coastline after traveling from Japan as a result of the 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi reactors.
 
Government officials say they are looking into the video shot on Dec. 23 and performing their own sampling of the beaches, but they have found no indication so far that radiation levels were hazardous.
 
“It’s not something that we feel is an immediate public health concern,” said Dean Peterson, county environmental health director. “We’re not even close to the point of saying that any of this is from Fukushima.”

 
Although the radiation levels were clearly higher than is typical, Peterson emphasized that it was still not unsafe for humans. A person would need to be exposed to 100 microREMs of radiation for 50,000 hours before it surpassed safety guidelines by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, he explained.
 
Peterson admitted he was “befuddled” as to why radiation levels were higher than normal, but he was skeptical that the Fukushima meltdown could be the cause. He noted that many innocuous items could spike the radiation levels in an area, including red-painted disposable eating utensils.
 
Source:  Half Moon Bay (California) Review

*****************************************************************************

Friday, January 3, 2014

MARTIAN SOIL CLOSE UP - THE MYSTERIOUS ASPECT OF A STRANGE WORLD

 
You've never seen detail such as the one on these close up pictures of the Martian landscape.

See pictures here -
http://all-that-is-interesting.com/martian-landscape

*****************************************************************************

WHY IT'S HARDER TO LOSE WEIGHT IN MIDDLE AGE - THE GOOD FAT AND THE BAD FAT

 
Why we get fatter with age: Losing weight becomes harder because our 'good' fat becomes less efficient

  • There are two types of body fat - 'good' brown fat and 'bad' white fat 

  • Brown fat helps the body generate heat by boosting metabolism
  • But as people age, their 'good' brown fat becomes less active
  • There is also a 'switch' which can be used to reactivate the brown fat - this finding could pave the way for new treatments for obesity-related illnesses
  •  
    Fat around the organs is linked to diabetes and heart disease while carrying a 'pot belly' increases the risk of heart problems.  Just three or four inches around the abdomen can be an external sign of a build-up of fat in the arteries.
     
    It is thought that to maintain a steady weight, people over the age of 45 need to eat 200 fewer calories a day than those who are younger.

    Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2533135/Why-fatter-age-Losing-weight-harder-good-fat-efficient.html

    ******************************************************************************
     




    A VIEW OF THE SPECTACULAR STOCKHOLM METRO ART

    For the admission price of one metro ticket, tens of thousands of Stockholm’s commuters can gain access to what is likely the world’s biggest (and longest) art exhibition. Within the capital city’s cavernous 68-mile underground train hub, 90 of the 100 stations are fantastically adorned with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, engravings, and various other works by over 150 artists.
    Read more at http://all-that-is-interesting.com/stockholm-metro-art#8RCxG9dVAeV2Ulpx.99
    For the admission price of one metro ticket, tens of thousands of Stockholm’s commuters can gain access to what is likely the world’s biggest (and longest) art exhibition. Within the capital city’s cavernous 68-mile underground train hub, 90 of the 100 stations are fantastically adorned with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, engravings, and various other works by over 150 artists.
    Read more at http://all-that-is-interesting.com/stockholm-metro-art#8RCxG9dVAeV2Ulpx.99
     
    It's the world's longest and biggest art exhibition.  For 68 miles, 90 of the 100 stations are adorned with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, and engravings by over 150 artists.

    See pictures of this amazing collection here -
    http://all-that-is-interesting.com/stockholm-metro-art

    *****************************************************************************

    For the admission price of one metro ticket, tens of thousands of Stockholm’s commuters can gain access to what is likely the world’s biggest (and longest) art exhibition. Within the capital city’s cavernous 68-mile underground train hub, 90 of the 100 stations are fantastically adorned with sculptures, mosaics, paintings, engravings, and various other works by over 150 artists.
    Read more at http://all-that-is-interesting.com/stockholm-metro-art#8RCxG9dVAeV2Ulpx.99

    IRISH TRAVELLER GYPSIES RESPONSIBLE FOR RHINO HORNS ILLEGAL GLOBAL NETWORK TRADE


    DAILY MAIL:  Irish traveller family at the centre of global network that flooded market with illegal rhino horn worth millions.
     
  • Traveller family were major players in $10bn-a-year global rhino horn trade
  • Criminal network from Limerick, Ireland, spanned Europe, Asia and U.S.
  • Detectives from 34 countries were called in to crack the case
  • Major police operation finally closed the net on 'Rathkeale Rovers'

  • Read more - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2533241/Irish-traveller-family-centre-global-network-flooded-market-illegal-rhino-horn-worth-millions.html



    WHO ARE THE IRISH TRAVELLERS?

    WIKIPEDIA - Irish Travellers (Irish: an lucht siúil) or Pavee, also called Tinkers or Gypsies (but not to be confused with the Romani people), are a traditionally itinerant people of ethnic Irish origin, who maintain a set of traditions.  Although predominantly English speaking, some also use Shelta and other similar cants.

    They live mostly in Ireland as well as having large numbers in the United Kingdom and in the United States.  Around 10,000 people in the United States are descendants of Travellers who left Ireland, mostly during the period between 1845 and 1860 during the Great Famine.  About 2,500 of them live in Murphy Village, a community outside North Augusta, South Carolina

    Land disputes

     
    However, Travellers also frequently make use of other, non-authorised sites, including public "common land" and private plots such as large fields and other privately owned land. The Travellers claim that there is an under-provision of authorised sites – the Gypsy Council estimates an under-provision amounts to insufficient sites for 3,500 people.[56] A famous example was Dale Farm in Essex.


    READ MORE - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_Travellers

    ********************************************************************************
     

    GEOLOGY - THE STRANGE PINGOS OF NORTHERN CANADA

     
    A pingo, also called a hydrolaccolith, is a mound of earth with a core of ice found in the Arctic and subarctic regions, that can reach up to 70 meters in height and up to 600 meters in diameter.

    They are formed as a result of what is called a “closed” system of unfrozen soil developing within an area of permanently frozen ground.
     
    Pingos usually grow a few centimeters per year, and the largest take decades or even centuries to form. They eventually break down and collapse. Evidence of collapsed pingos in an area suggests that there was once permafrost.
     
    Tuktoyaktuk in the Mackenzie Delta of the Northwest Territories in Canada has one of the highest concentrations of pingos, with some 1,350 examples. Pingo National Landmark protects eight of these features.
     
    Two of the most famous pingos are Ibyuk and Split. Ibyuk is about 50 meters high and is the tallest pingo in Canada and the second tallest in the world. It is the world’s largest growing pingo, and continues to grow at a rate of about 2 centimeters per year. Ibyuk is estimated to be more than 1,000 years old. Other pingos in the landmark range in height from 5 to 36 meters and represent various stages of pingo development.

    Read more and see pictures of pingos - http://www.amusingplanet.com/2014/01/the-pingos-of-tuktoyaktuk.html

    ******************************************************************************

    INSIDE THE NSA 'TAO' HACKING UNIT

     
    DER SPIEGEL Special Report on the NSA Office of Tailored Access Operations, or TAO
     
    The NSA's TAO hacking unit is considered to be the intelligence agency's top secret weapon. It maintains its own covert network, infiltrates computers around the world and even intercepts shipping deliveries to plant back doors in electronics ordered by those it is targeting.
     
    TAO is the NSA's top operative unit -- something like a squad of plumbers that can be called in when normal access to a target is blocked.
     
    According to internal NSA documents viewed by SPIEGEL, these on-call digital plumbers are involved in many sensitive operations conducted by American intelligence agencies. TAO's area of operations ranges from counterterrorism to cyber attacks to traditional espionage. The documents reveal just how diversified the tools at TAO's disposal have become -- and also how it exploits the technical weaknesses of the IT industry, from Microsoft to Cisco and Huawei, to carry out its discreet and efficient attacks.
     
     TAO specialists have directly accessed the protected networks of democratically elected leaders of countries. They infiltrated networks of European telecommunications companies and gained access to and read mails sent over Blackberry's BES email servers, which until then were believed to be securely encrypted. Achieving this last goal required a "sustained TAO operation," one document states.
     
    It is from hacker circles that the NSA recruits new hires for its Tailored Access Operations unit. In recent years, NSA Director Keith Alexander has made several appearances at major hacker conferences in the United States. Sometimes, Alexander wears his military uniform, but at others, he even dons jeans and a t-shirt in his effort to court trust and a new generation of employees.
     
    There are now TAO units in Wahiawa, Hawaii; Fort Gordon, Georgia; at the NSA's outpost at Buckley Air Force Base, near Denver, Colorado; at its headquarters in Fort Meade; and, of course, in San Antonio.
     
    One trail also leads to Germany. According to a document dating from 2010 that lists the "Lead TAO Liaisons" domestically and abroad as well as names, email addresses and the number for their "Secure Phone," a liaison office is located near Frankfurt -- the European Security Operations Center (ESOC) at the so-called "Dagger Complex" at a US military compound in the Griesheim suburb of Darmstadt.
     
    Don't miss page three of this report:
     
    At the same time, it is in no way true to say that the NSA has its sights set exclusively on select individuals. Of even greater interest are entire networks and network providers, such as the fiber optic cables that direct a large share of global Internet traffic along the world's ocean floors.
     
    Sometimes it appears that the world's most modern spies are just as reliant on conventional methods of reconnaissance as their predecessors.
     
    Take, for example, when they intercept shipping deliveries. If a target person, agency or company orders a new computer or related accessories, for example, TAO can divert the shipping delivery to its own secret workshops.
     
    The NSA calls this method interdiction. At these so-called "load stations," agents carefully open the package in order to load malware onto the electronics, or even install hardware components that can provide backdoor access for the intelligence agencies. All subsequent steps can then be conducted from the comfort of a remote computer.
     
    These minor disruptions in the parcel shipping business rank among the "most productive operations" conducted by the NSA hackers, one top secret document relates in enthusiastic terms. This method, the presentation continues, allows TAO to obtain access to networks "around the world."

    Read more about the above and about the methods employed to infiltrate German Chancellor Angela Merkel's computers here - http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/nsa-secret-toolbox-ant-unit-offers-spy-gadgets-for-every-need-a-941006.html

    More on the NSA spying:

    NSA paid computer security firm to weaken encryption
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/12/nsa-paid-computer-security-firm-to.html

    How the NSA infects computers with malicious software
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/11/how-nsa-infects-computers-with.html

    The NSA scandal - Connecting the Dots - The powers of General Alexander
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/06/technology-news-nsa-scandal-connecting.html

    How intelligence companies pay Congressmen overseeing surveillance
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/12/intelligence-companies-money-flows-to.html

    Satire - How the NSA intercepted children's letters to Santa Claus
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/12/satire-how-nsa-intercepted-childrens.html

    Satire - Video - You better watch out, you better not Skype
    http://rt.com/usa/aclu-nsa-santa-claus-328/

    ~~~~~

    This blog's archive on SURVEILLANCE by government and private companies
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Surveillance


    *******************************************************************************

    DRAMATIC PHOTOS OF STORM HITTING THE UK COAST

     
    Britain's coast battered by 30ft waves, high tides and giant hailstones as fiercest storms in 20 years leave trail of destruction... and there's more on the way.

  • 21 severe flood warnings - the highest level - issued in South and West with 500 alerts in total across the UK
  • Storm surge began at around 6am this morning - with risk of floods for 4 hours after high tide peaks
  • Stronger winds and waves predicted for this evening's high tide
  • Streets and homes in Cornwall, Devon, Gloucestershire are already badly flooded after morning's deluge
  • Police forced to spend time moving on weather watchers after large crowds gathered along the British coastline
  • Motorist died when his car left a Cornish road as storm hit region with torrential rain and hail
  • Met Office expects 70mph-plus winds and torrential rain to batter UK into next week, peaking on Monday
  • A Dorset petrol station had to be evacuated and a house in Wales caught fire after both were struck by lightning
  • River Severn's banks have broken in Minsterworth

  • See pictures here - http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532595/Swathes-Britain-remain-flooded-waterlogged-storms-Governments-Cobra-emergency-committee-meets.html

    HALO OF DARK MATTER MAY BE SURROUNDING THE EARTH

     
    Is Earth HEAVIER than we think? GPS satellites suggest a halo of dark matter is surrounding our planet

    Ever since scientists have theorised that dark matter exists, concrete evidence of the elusive substance has continued to confound them.  Now, data from a number of GPS satellites suggest that a halo of the strange matter may be surrounding Earth, causing our planet to be heavier than first believed.
     
    From his calculations, Professor Ben Harris from Texas University claims this halo could affect the Earth's gravity and that the planet could be 0.005 and 0.008 per cent heavier than the mass established by the International Astronomical Union.
     
    Dark matter is considered crucial to theories explaining how the universe is expanding and how galaxies interact.  It is thought to make up 27 per cent of the universe, but despite huge amounts of funding and research effort, experiments have so far failed to confirm its presence.
     
    In 2009, researchers at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Princeton, argued that changes in the speeds of space probes as they flew past the Earth could be explained by dark matter bound by Earth's gravity.  The theory has now been put to the test by Professor Ben Harris at the University of Texas, according to a report by Anil Ananthaswamy in New Scientist.
     
    DARK MATTER
     
    -  Dark matter accounts for around 27 per cent of the universe.
    -  It surrounds galaxies across the universe, and is invisible because it does not reflect light.
    -  It cannot be seen directly with telescopes, but astronomers know it to be out there because of the gravitational effects it has on the matter we can see.
    -  Galaxies, for example, could not rotate the way they do and hold their shape without the presence of dark matter, researchers say.
    -  The European Space Agency said: 'Shine a torch in a completely dark room, and you will see only what the torch illuminates.
    -  'That does not mean that the room around you does not exist.
    -  'Similarly we know dark matter exists but have never observed it directly.'
    -  Scientists are fairly sure it exists and is crucial to the universe, but they do not know what it looks like or where to find it.

     


    RELATED

    Dark Matter and Dark Energy archive at Science Daily News
    http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/space_time/dark_matter/


    NASA - What are Dark Matter and Dark Energy?
    http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/what-is-dark-energy/


    More on Dark Matter and Dark Energy on this blog
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/search/label/Dark%20Matter%20and%20Dark%20Energy

    *******************************************************************************

    POLAR VORTEX - DEEP FREEZE HITS UNITED STATES AND CANADA AGAIN - SNOWPOCALYPSE

     
    So cold exposed skin will FREEZE in 15 minutes: Hercules dumps 22 inches of snow on East Coast as 4,000 flights are grounded and ALL schools closed in New York, DC and Boston

  • New York, D.C. and Boston are being hit by up to 22 inches of snow
  • JFK airport is currently closed due to the snowstorm; limited flights resuming at Boston Logan
  • 4,000 flights canceled on Thursday and Friday across the U.S. 
  • Warnings plummeting temperatures and wind chills below zero could freeze exposed skin within 15 minutes
  • Man died outside Philadelphia when 100ft pile of salt fell on him as he prepared it for gritters
  • 'Ready for whatever hits us': New NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio remained confident in first test since taking office
  • Outreach teams looked to get homeless people off the frigid streets of New York City and Boston

  • See stunning pictures and video, including a map indicating national temperatures
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532566/Storm-Hercules-grip-Northeast-Canada-records-temperatures-cold-MARS.html


    MORE PHOTOS HERE -  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2532595/Swathes-Britain-remain-flooded-waterlogged-storms-Governments-Cobra-emergency-committee-meets.html


    RELATED

     
    Deep Freeze in Canada
    Another storm in the wake of previous storm that hit just before Christmas and that left hundreds of thousands of Canadians without power for many days. MINUS 56 CELSIUS IN QUEBEC
    http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/deep-freeze-extends-from-winnipeg-east-to-newfoundland-1.2481456


    Metric conversion Fahrenheit - Celsius
    http://www.metric-conversions.org/temperature/fahrenheit-to-celsius.htm

    *******************************************************************************

    A PENGUIN FAMILY STRUGGLES TO RAISE THEIR CHICKS IN ANTARCTICA


  • Photographer David Tipling charts the life of a King Penguin colony
  • He charts one pair of adults' journey to rear their young chick
  • The images were captured in Right Whale Bay, South Georgia Island

  • Penguin mothers and fathers are seen struggling to raise their offspring in the midst of harsh blizzards and freezing conditions.

     
    This colony of King Penguins were captured huddling together during a storm in Right Whale Bay, South Georgia island -  a British overseas territory in the southern Atlantic Ocean.
     
    In his new book Penguins: Close Encounters, photographer David Tipling documents a penguin parent's struggle against adversity to raise their chick.  The collection of 130 photographs showcases the birds in their natural habitat. Photos of each of the world's 17 types of penguins are included in the book.
     
    The couple are pictured creating a heart shape, craning their heads over their offspring.  Meanwhile another shot captures a group of young penguins huddling together to protect themselves from the icy winds.  And a tiny baby seeks shelter on its parent's feet while another image shows a line of adults making the arduous march back to the sea for food.
     
     
     
    RELATED
     
    Threats to Penguins
     
    The world of Penguins - Read article and watch "Nature" online
     
    ******************************************************************************
     


     

    PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST - WOULD YOU HIRE SOMEONE WITH THE UNITED STATES RECORD TO SOLVE THE ISRAELI-ARAB CONFLICT?



    The United States insists it is qualified to end the decades-long Jewish-Arab conflict. 

    Apparently by weakening and shrinking Israel to the point where it cannot defend itself - thereby setting up the conditions for its ultimate destruction at the hands of Arab countries (well armed and supplied by the United States) and terrorists.






    Source - Dry Bones Blog -
    http://drybonesblog.blogspot.ca/


    RELATED

    United States administration to Israeli generals - Don't be so concerned with security
    http://ottersandsciencenews.blogspot.ca/2013/12/us-government-pursuing-destruction-of_27.html


    Why is the United States administration so intent on partitioning Israel to give a country to those who collaborated with Hitler's Final Solution?
    http://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/opinions/between-barack-a-hard-place/2014/01/03/0/



    Palestinian Leader Amin Al Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem, spent World War Two in the Third Reich collaborating with Hitler in the specific plans for the extermination of Jews.  He created a Muslim-Nazi division for Hitler's SS army, notorious for repeated mass atrocities.
     

    THE NAZI ORIGIN OF THE PALESTINIAN MOVEMENT


    ******************************************************************************

    Thursday, January 2, 2014

    LEVITATION POSSIBLE BY USING SOUND WAVES

     
     
    Scientists prove it is possible to levitate
    and move objects in mid air using only sound
     
    THE TELEGRAPH - Imagine how much easier life would be if it was possible to levitate objects. Maglev trains, for example, use powerful magnets to repel the carriages and remove the friction of the train on the tracks.
     
    But magnets are just one way of achieving this – and they require the object to have a repelling magnetic force. Now scientists in Japan have shown that a similar effect can be achieved with sound. 
    In this video they show that it is not only possible to levitate objects in mid-air using sound waves, but also to move them around. The results can be quite artistic – look about 1 minute in to see just what is possible.
     
    They then levitate match heads, drops of water, screws and nuts.
     
    The researchers at the University of Tokyo say they hope to refine the technique so it can be used to manipulate delicate electronic components when assembling hardware.
     
     
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     
     
    Researchers develop way to levitate objects
     in 3D space by using sound.
     
    Could hoverboards (like the one used by Marty McFly in a Back to the Future sequel) be closer than we think?
     
     
    HOW DO THE OBJECTS FLY?
     
    DAILY MAIL - A machine uses speakers that produce sound at high frequencies inaudible to the human ear to generate sound waves that intersect.
     
    They create a 'moveable ultrasonic focal point' or cross-over of high frequency noise made up of standing waves.
     
    The waves, which remain in a constant position, provide a suspending force so that the focal point or cross-over can support a small floating object trapped in the standing waves.
     
    Particles, a screw, 3mm piece of wood, water droplets and a soap bubble have been manipulated in mid air using acoustic levitation. 
     
     
    ****************************************************************************
     
     
     

    HISTORY COVERUP - PALESTINIAN-NAZI COLLABORATION IS A TABOO SUBJECT EVERYWHERE

     

    Wednesday, January 1, 2014

    THE BLACK-AGAINST-WHITE "KNOCKOUT GAME" - ONE OF THE MOST IGNORED NEWS STORIES IN THE UNITED STATES

    As news organizations nationwide tout their end-of-year lists of “most important stories of 2013,” a note of irony is hard to miss.
    “News 12 Brooklyn has been counting down the top stories in the borough for 2013 as voted by our viewers, and coming in at No. 1,” reports the local TV news outlet, “is a violent spree of so-called ‘Knockout Game’ assaults.”
    And so it is. Starting very late in the year – specifically, since just before Thanksgiving, when three prime-time Fox News shows, “Hannity,” “The O’Reilly Factor” and “On the Record,” discovered the issue – the disturbing story of black-on-white mob violence has been on every news organization’s radar.

    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/media-ignored-this-top-story-of-2013-until-now/#DEPpKG6DkDxGfF04.99
    As news organizations nationwide tout their end-of-year lists of “most important stories of 2013,” a note of irony is hard to miss.
    “News 12 Brooklyn has been counting down the top stories in the borough for 2013 as voted by our viewers, and coming in at No. 1,” reports the local TV news outlet, “is a violent spree of so-called ‘Knockout Game’ assaults.”
    And so it is. Starting very late in the year – specifically, since just before Thanksgiving, when three prime-time Fox News shows, “Hannity,” “The O’Reilly Factor” and “On the Record,” discovered the issue – the disturbing story of black-on-white mob violence has been on every news organization’s radar.

    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/media-ignored-this-top-story-of-2013-until-now/#DEPpKG6DkDxGfF04.99
     
    BREIBART - The major television media are ignoring the “knockout game," a vicious assault perpetrated by young African-American males against Jews and whites across the nation.
     
    In the assaults, unsuspecting pedestrians are punched violently in the head so that the black youths can prance around exhilarated about their successful “knockout.”
     
    Many concussions and even deaths have been attributed to this “game,” but networks such as ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC have studiously ignored the issue, according to TruthRevolt.
     
    The black youths committing the assaults have even filmed videos of the incidents showing the violence and their subsequent celebrations, including some called "Polar Bear Hunting" and "Knock the Jew"; in one video one thug laughed, "White girl bleed a lot!"
     
    Thomas Sowell wrote an article for the New York Post acknowledging that the assaults are "nothing new." He continued that the reason the issue has not gone viral previously is that the media have been describing them as "isolated attacks" and leaving out the race factor because of "political correctness" or fear of "inciting a race war":
     
    Sometimes the attacks are reported, but only as isolated attacks by unspecified 'teens' or 'young people' against unspecified victims, without any reference to the racial makeup of the attackers or the victims — and with no mention of racial epithets by the young hoodlums exulting in their own 'achievement.'
     
    To ascertain how reticent the major media outlets have been to cover the story, TruthRevolt.org surveyed the responses of ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, and MSNBC to the attacks on Jews since November 12.  
     
    They all ignored the story in primetime, except for one two-minute segment on CNN's New Day which never mentioned the subject of race, only calling the perpetrators "kids", "juveniles", and "teens." 
     
    Fox News, on the other hand, has been reporting the story; On the Record with Greta Van Susteren reported first Monday, November 18 where Van Susteren denounced the crimes, then showed a video of a “knockout” attack in Pittsburgh on a school teacher leaving him unconscious in Pittsburgh.

    Read more - http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2013/11/21/Major-Media-Ignoring-Knockout-Game


    WND archive on Knockout Game incidents -
    Access all pages by clicking at the bottom of the WND page.
    http://www.wnd.com/author/cflaherty/?archive=true

    ******************************************************************************
    As news organizations nationwide tout their end-of-year lists of “most important stories of 2013,” a note of irony is hard to miss.
    Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2013/12/media-ignored-this-top-story-of-2013-until-now/#DEPpKG6DkDxGfF04.99

    NEW VOLCANIC ISLAND IS BORN - SHAPED LIKE A SNOOPY CARTOON


    Snoopy island! Volcanic eruption forms new land mass that resembles famous cartoon dog - complete with collar
     
    Japan has a new mascot - in the shape of a newly-formed volcanic island in the likeness of cartoon dog Snoopy.

    The island, off the country's Pacific coast, rose from the sea over the past few weeks as a massive undersea volcano erupted and spewed out magma which cooled to create the new land mass.

    By Christmas Eve, the island 620 miles south of Tokyo had expanded and it has now linked with existing Nishinoshima island. 

    After aerial photographs of the two islands were released, Twitter users pointed out how much they resembled Charlie Brown's faithful companion.  The likeness to Charles M. Schulz's creation is realised even further as a pool of reddish seawater, in between the two islands, looks like Snoopy's collar.

    The Guardian reports experts say the volcano is still active and there is the possibility it will continue to change shape as the magma continues to rise.


    Read more and see pictures of Snoopy Island here -
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531576/Snoopy-island-Volcanic-eruption-forms-new-land-mass-resembles-famous-cartoon-character-complete-collar.html

    ******************************************************************************

    GREAT PICTURES OF NEW YEAR'S CELEBRATIONS AROUND THE WORLD


    And as usual, it is the UK Daily Mail that is one of the very best news sources for amazing quality pictures in the world.

    Happy New Year! -
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2531642/Happy-New-Year-Midnight-strikes-nations-world-hail-start-2014-bright-bursts-fireworks-dancing-streets.html

    ********************************************************************************