BP official grilled by frustrated mayors at news conference

Frustrated Gulf Coast mayors confronted a BP official during a news conference Saturday after they said requests to meet with high-ranking executives at the oil company went unanswered.

The incident occurred as BP's senior vice president briefed reporters in Mobile, Alabama, about the ongoing efforts to contain the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Bob Fryar said an operation underway to funnel crude from the underwater gusher to a surface vessel was going "extremely well," and that he was "pleased" with the effort thus far.

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 Live video from the ROV monitoring the damaged riser

Henning Mankell on Gaza flotilla attack: 'I think they went out to murder'

The bestselling Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell today accused Israel of murder, piracy and kidnapping after describing how the aid ship he was travelling on was seized by Israeli forces this week.

Mankell, whose detective novels featuring the commissar Kurt Wallander have sold almost 30m copies worldwide, was aboard the Swedish ship Sofia, one of six ships in the flotilla carrying aid to Gaza. The 25-strong crew, including Mankell, were all arrested and held in custody.

Henning Mankell speaks to Kate Connolly Link to this audio

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian in Berlin, Mankell, 62, described the "horrifying moment" when he realised the Israelis had chosen to attack the ships "deep in international waters".

"Our idea had been a non-violent, non-fighting back method. But we soon realised the Israelis had chosen the real, real ugly solution to attack in international water … It was only when I got on my flight home that I realised that people had died in the attack, when the stewardess told me on the plane," he said.

He called on the international community to step up its pressure on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and said he would like to see an investigation into whether Israel could be prosecuted for its alleged attack on the ships, believing it had set out to deliberately kill protesters. Nine Turkish citizens, one of whom had a US passport, were killed in the attack.

Read the full story on The Guardian – Henning Mankell Website

Mobile phones responsible for disappearance of honey bee

The growing use of mobile telephones is behind the disappearance of honey bees and the collapse of their hives, scientists have claimed.

Their disappearance has caused alarm throughout Europe and North America where campaigners have blamed agricultural pesticides, climate change and the advent of genetically modified crops for what is now known as 'colony collapse disorder.' Britain has seen a 15 per cent decline in its bee population in the last two years and shrinking numbers has led to a rise in thefts of hives.

Now researchers from Chandigarh's Punjab University claim they have found the cause which could be the first step in reversing the decline: They have established that radiation from mobile telephones is a key factor in the phenomenon and say that it probably interfering with the bee's navigation senses.

More on Telegraph.co.uk

Lithuania and the Nazis

Within five months of Nazi Germany's invasion in the summer of 1941, most of Lithuania's 200,000 to 220,000 Jews were dead -- shot and left in massive sand pits and mass graves along with thousands of ethnic Poles, the mentally ill and others. By the end of the war, the percentage of Jews killed in Lithuania -- 90 to 96 percent -- was as high or higher than anywhere else in Europe.

"And the question is, 'Why were the numbers so high?' And here we come to a subject that is very, very delicate and difficult," says Efraim Zuroff, who’s great-uncle was kidnapped in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 13, 1941, by a gang of Lithuanians "roaming the streets of the city looking for Jews with beards to arrest.".

"One of the main reasons so many Jews were killed here is because of the help of the local population -- of the Lithuanians."

The pace of the mass murder of Lithuania's Jews -- and the active participation of the local population -- are meticulously recorded in two of the most infamous documents of Holocaust history.

The Jaeger Report, written by Karl Jaeger, the SS commander of a Nazi killing unit that operated around Vilnius, Lithuania, is a matter-of-fact account of those killed each day under his command.

September 1, 1941, a typical entry, lists those killed for the day as: "1,404 Jewish children, 1,763 Jews, 1,812 Jewesses, 109 mentally sick people, one German woman who was married to a Jew, and one Russian woman."

Read: The Holocaust in Lithuania: One man's crusade to bring justice on CNN.com (with video)

Barcelona 1908

Nigeria: Gas flaring – major contributor to climate change and human rights abuses

It’s not only BP…

Nigeria holds 11,700 square kilometres of mangrove forest: the third largest in the world and the largest in Africa. Most of this mangrove is found in the Niger Delta.

Nigeria is also a major oil producer and most oil extraction takes place in the Niger Delta. There, petroleum or crude oil abounds in rock formations. The complex mixture of hydrocarbons and other organic compounds that make up the flammable liquid fossil fuel is extracted from oil wells found in those oil fields.

When crude oil is pumped out it also drags associated gas with it. Such natural gas could be separated from the oil and be used but oil companies prefer to burn it off. Shell-BP was the first one to start with this practice in the 1960s.

Flaring of natural gas associated to oil extraction has been internationally acknowledged as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions and a major contributor to climate change. In combustion, gaseous hydrocarbons react with atmospheric oxygen to form carbon dioxide (CO2).

World Rainforest Movement

Shell in Nigeria: What are the issues? - Essential Action | Boycott Shell/Free Nigeria Campaign

Friends of the Earth

Chinese hiding three million babies a year

"I am the biggest offender against the one-child policy in China!" laughed Fu Yang, a wiry and energetic 47-year-old man, as he fidgeted and poured tea. "I had seven daughters in just ten years." Mr Fu and his rather more reserved wife are among the millions of Chinese parents who risk threats, fines and even imprisonment in order to defy the country's one-child policy. The couple, who now live a prosperous life in a small village outside the southern city of Xiamen, have had to flee across three provinces and hide their children with friends in the past.

Since 1978, China’s government has limited each couple to one child in a bid to stem the growth of the world's largest population. To police the law, neighbourhood committees keep a close eye out for any pregnancies, and Family Planning officials have the power to force women to have abortions and sterilisations, as well as to monitor their contraception.

The policy does not apply to everyone. In the countryside, parents are allowed to try for a second child if their first is a girl. Couples who are both single children themselves are also allowed to have two children. A growing number of rich Chinese also pay fines in order to have a second child.

But for parents who do not comply with the law, the penalties can be harsh. Workers in state-owned companies can lose their jobs. Others face huge fines, the possible demolition of their homes, or even a prison term.

More on Telegraph

Bilderberg 2010

Another year, another Bilderberg. The first "participants" (as the delegates are known) won't be arriving until Thursday, but already the Hotel Dolce in Sitges is buzzing with anticipation. This Catalan seaside town hasn't hosted an event as large and politically sensitive as Bilderberg since the legendary 2008 Foam Party at the Mr Gay Sitges awards night.

Last year, Bilderberg was held in Vouliagmeni, on the coast just south of Athens. The Greek minister of finance attended, the minister of foreign affairs, and the governor of the National Bank of Greece. A few months later, Greece was bankrupt and Athens was in flames. So … good luck, Madrid!

For a long and luxurious weekend at the Dolce Sitges, relishing its "new and creative buffet concepts" (a table with food on it), prime ministers will mingle with European royalty, with various EU commissioners, with representatives from Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, AIB, Deutsche Bank, Chase Manhattan and Royal Dutch Shell.

They'll clink glasses with President Obama's special envoy to Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard Holbrooke (he is confirmed for this year). And join the Friday night conga line behind the US treasury secretary (Tim Geithner went last year; he goes a lot). We can reasonably expect the head of the Federal Reserve, the president of the World Bank, the secretary general of Nato … they've all attended in the past and many will attend again. So yes, important it is; to think otherwise is painfully naive (see below for the usual "just a big boys' club" comments …)

More on The Guardian

List of Bilderberg 2010 participants

Facebook-protest site Bilderberg 2010: a Spanish idyll

Israel wanted highest number of fatalities

Arab Knesset member who participated in Gaza aid flotilla holds press conference says, 'It was clear from size of force that boarded ship that purpose was not to stop sail, but to cause largest number of fatalities to prevent future initiatives'

Knesset Member Hanin Zoabi, who was on board the Marmara ship when it was raided by Navy fighters, held a press conference in Nazareth on Tuesday, in which she accused Israel of committing crimes during its takeover of the Gaza-bound aid ship. She called for an international inquiry into the incident.

Ynet News

Knesset Member Miri Regev (Likud) slammed MK Hanin Zoabi (Balad), who took part in the flotilla to Gaza raided by the IDF on Monday.

"Zoabi is party to a double crime – joining terrorists and a moral crime against the State of Israel," she said during a heated Knesset session Wednesday. "She must be punished. We don’t need Trojan horses in the Knesset." Regev even shouted at Zoabi in Arabic, "Go to Gaza, traitor."

Ynet News

US Will Stand with Israel - I’m told there won’t be any daylight between the US and Israel in the aftermath of the incident on the flotilla yesterday, which resulted in the deaths of 10 activists.

Regardless of the details of the flotilla incident, sources say President Obama is focused on what he sees as the longer term issue here: a successful Mideast peace process.

“The president has always said that it will be much easier for Israel to make peace if it feels secure,” a senior administration official tells ABC News.

End the Wars

War is terrorism. Soldiers are not heroes. Presidents are not saviors. A powerful call to action, to move from ritualized 'marches' to sustained rebellion.

Soccer Slavery

On a pitch strewn with broken glass and bordered by an asbestos mine and a canal of rotting sewage, dozens of young lads chase a football - and an unlikely dream.

They are pupils at one of the thousands of unlicensed soccer schools in Africa. Their families have often given up everything in the hope that their boys can become the next Michael Essien or Didier Drogba.

Coach Isaac Aloti, 23, runs the school in Accra and tells The Sun: "These are my boys. I have their contracts, their parent's signatures - they will go for trials in London when they are ready. "They will go far and they will help me go far."

In the lawless backstreets of the Ghanaian capital and the city of Abidjan in neighbouring Cote D'Ivoire, "soccer slavery" - the trafficking of child footballers from Africa to Europe - is big business. It is a trade in exploitation that snares truly talented young players into binding contracts that will ensure any future fortunes will go to ruthless agents, and not their families.

More on The Sun

Amazing Jesus

“What a sad little existence you must lead, not being able to think for yourself and always aware that you are under permanent surveillance from a malicious, malevolent and barbaric monster who watches and judges your every move all the time from before you were born and into eternity. You are a slave to a brainwashing technique which only you have the power to vanquish with your own mind - should you take the leap and start thinking freely for yourself.”  Comment on YouTube

Approaching space object 'artificial, not asteroid' says NASA

NASA boffins report that an unknown object approaching the Earth from deep space is almost certainly artificial in origin rather than being an asteroid.

Object 2010 KQ was detected by the Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona earlier this month, and subsequently tracked by NASA's asteroid-watching service, the Near-Earth Object Program headquartered at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California.

According to the NASA experts:

Observations by astronomer S J Bus, using the NASA-sponsored Infrared Telescope Facility in Mauna Kea, Hawaii, indicate that 2010 KQ's spectral characteristics do not match any of the known asteroid types, and the object's absolute magnitude (28.9) suggests it is only a few meters in size.

The mysterious artificial object has apparently made a close pass by the Earth, coming in almost to the distance of the Moon's orbit, and is now headed away again into the interplanetary void. The object has used no propulsion during the time NASA has had it under observation. However the spacewatch boffins believe that it must have moved under its own power at some point, given its position and velocity.

"The orbit of this object is very similar to that of the Earth, and one would not expect a [naturally occurring] object to remain in this type of orbit for very long," said Paul Chodas, a brainbox at JPL.

The Register

BP clashes with scientists over deep sea oil pollution

BP has challenged widespread scientific claims that vast plumes of oil are spreading underwater from its blown-out rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The denial comes as the oil giant prepares for a new operation to put an end to the worst oil spill in US history – which could see the leak get worse before it gets better.

The company's challenge to several scientific studies is likely to put it further at odds with an increasingly angry Obama administration, which has accused it of playing down the size of the leak in an effort to limit possible fines.

The Guardian - BP-website – BP Oil spill site

Undersea Oil Adrift in Gulf May Create Oxygen ‘Dead Zones’ - Bloomberg

   

 Live video from the ROV monitoring the damaged riser

The Phobos Space Station?

Phobos is, in fact--

An "ancient ... ex terrestrial ... very battered ... 15-mile-long"-- Spaceship.

Which now (according to our European sources -- backed up by the actual Mars Express data itself, which you will see more of - below) ESA is about to officially ... publicly announce!

Possibly -- even before President Obama's up-coming ... suddenly-called ... STILL super-secret "Space Summit"--Which is scheduled to take place, within a few days, at the Kennedy Space Center -- personally hosted by the President of the United States of America -- in the middle of an on-going shuttle mission-- STS-131.

Which, turns out to be ... the 33rd Space Shuttle Mission ... to the Space Station ("ISS"). Can you say "the Fix is in" ... for "something?"

Regardless of these "politically symbolic numbers," the primary reason we can be increasingly confident about the outcome of these coming "ESA revelations" -- is because of the strength and depth of the published scientific evidence that stands behind these findings and conclusions; not only the stunning, obviously "artificial Phobos" now seen in the Mars Express close-ups (above) -- but the still-to-be-discussed results of two other key scientific experiments, carried out by Mars Express during these same fly-bys:

The "Phobos tracking" gravity/mass interior distribution experiment ... and the "MARSIS interior of Phobos" imaging radar experiment.

Spacecraft are usually monitored (tracked ...) by means of their broadcast radio transmissions; if the carrier frequency of the on-board radio system on the spacecraft is observed to vary ... as it is received by the ground stations here on Earth ... the major reason is usually a change (detected via a radio phenomenon called "the Doppler Shift") in the spacecraft orbit.

This orbit-change can be pre-planned -- the result of an on-board commanded thruster firing -- or (in the case of the close-in Mars Express Phobos observations), due to the slight gravitational field of the ~15-mile-wide moonlet itself being detected -- actually altering (very, very slightly ...) the expected (predicted) orbital trajectory of Mars Express around Mars ... during those super-close Phobos passes.

Much more by Richard C. Hoagland on The Enterprise Mission – Facebook -  enterprisemission.com

Spiritual Forums - ufos-aliens.co.uk - abovetopsecret.com

esa Phobos flyby images

Israel attacks Gaza aid fleet – 19 killed

Under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep. According to the live video from the ship, two have been killed, and 31 injured. Al Jazeera has just confirmed the numbers.  Free Gaza Movement

Israeli forces have attacked a flotilla of aid-carrying ships aiming to break the country's siege on Gaza. Up to 16 people were killed and more than 30 people injured when troops stormed the Freedom Flotilla early on Monday, the Israeli Army Radio said.

The flotilla was attacked in international waters, 65km off the Gaza coast. Footage from the flotilla's lead vessel, the Mavi Marmara, showed armed Israeli soldiers boarding the ship and helicopters flying overhead.

Al Jazeera's Jamal Elshayyal, on board the Mavi Marmara, said Israeli troops had used live ammunition during the operation. The Israeli Army Radio said soldiers opened fire "after confronting those on board carrying sharp objects". Free Gaza Movement, the organisers of the flotilla, however, said the troops opened fire as soon as they stormed the ships.

Al Jazeera - Free Gaza Movement – BBC - Haaretz

Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

Aid flotilla sets sail for Gaza

A flotilla comprising six ships aiming to break Israel's siege of the Gaza Strip has set sail from a port in Cyprus. Two other ships were damaged over the weekend, and remain in port in Cyprus.

Al Jazeera's Mohamed Vall, reporting from the flotilla's lead vessel, Mavi Marmara, said the ships finally left port on Sunday, after several false starts. "People [on board] are relaxing, they are having their supper, very happy the final journey has started," he said.

"We have so many kinds of people here ... all of different creeds, philosophies and politics. "But they are all united around one goal - they want to break the siege on Gaza and do something about what they call an injustice against the Palestinian people."

The organisers of the fleet, dubbed the Freedom Flotilla, said they might launch a second smaller convoy of boats on Tuesday, which would include the two damaged ships, plus a third that has yet to arrive.

Al Jazeera

R.I.P. Dennis!

Dennis Hopper (May 17, 1936 – May 29, 2010) on Wikipedia

The plight of Ahmadiyya Muslims in Pakistan

Friday’s terror attacks targeting two mosques run by the minority Ahmadiyya community show that Mohammed Ali Jinnah’s Pakistan has become an intolerant nation where religious and sectarian minorities live in fear, remain vulnerable, and are provided no protection by the state.

This mindset is not limited to the Taliban, who kill in the name of religion. There is no shortage in Pakistan of sectarian and militant outfits that feel justified in murdering Ahmadiyyas, Shias, Christians and Hindus — or anyone who doesn’t share their views.

Most of these Sunni Deobandi organisations have their genesis in the Zia-ul-Haq era, a dark chapter in the country’s history which is responsible for rending our social fabric and fanning the flames of intolerance.

The Ahmadiyyas are a Muslim sect which was founded in Qadian, Punjab, in the 19th century. Its founder was Mirza Ghirlam Ahmad, a Muslim, who claimed prophetic status as the Mahdi or Messiah, in succession to Krishna, Jesus Christ, and Mohammed.

dnaindia.com

Inside the violent world of Britain's new far right - English Defence League

MPs expressed concern tonight after it emerged that far-right activists are planning to step up their provocative street campaign by targeting some of the UK's highest-profile Muslim communities, raising fears of widespread unrest this summer.

Undercover footage shot by the Guardian reveals the English Defence League, which has staged a number of violent protests in towns and cities across the country this year, is planning to "hit" Bradford and the London borough of Tower Hamlets as it intensifies its street protests.

Senior figures in the coalition government were briefed on the threat posed by EDL marches this week. Tomorrow up to 2,000 EDL supporters are expected to descend on Newcastle for its latest protest.

MPs said the group's decision to target some of the UK's most prominent Muslim communities was a blatant attempt to provoke mayhem and disorder. "This group has no positive agenda," said the Bradford South MP, Gerry Sutcliffe. "It is an agenda of hate that is designed to divide people and communities. We support legitimate protest but this is not legitimate, it is designed to stir up trouble. The people of Bradford will want no part of it."

More on The Guardian – You must see this video!

If Science Worked Like Religion

A clip from Richard Dawkins' Lecture at UC Berkeley (whole lecture) - via http://www.AtheistMedia.com

Russian MPs caught in voting scandal

Italian priests' secret mistresses ask pope to scrap celibacy rule

Dozens of Italian women who have had relationships with Roman Catholic priests or lay monks have endorsed an open letter to the pope that calls for the abolition of the celibacy rule. The letter, thought by one signatory to be unprecedented, argues that a priest "needs to live with his fellow human beings, experience feelings, love and be loved".

It also pleads for understanding of those who "live out in secrecy those few moments the priest manages to grant [us] and experience on a daily basis the doubts, fears and insecurities of our men".

The issue was put back on the Vatican's agenda in March when one of Pope Benedict's senior advisers, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the archbishop of Vienna, said the abolition of the celibacy rule might curb sex abuse by priests, a suggestion he hastily withdrew after Benedict spoke up for "the principle of holy celibacy".

The authors of the letter said they decided to come into the open after hearing his retort, which they said was an affirmation of "the holiness of something that is not holy" but a man-made rule. There are many instances of married priests in the early centuries of Christianity. Today, priests who follow the eastern Catholic rites can be married, as can those who married before converting to Roman Catholicism from Anglicanism

The Guardian

Von Braun: Illuminate Plan For E.T. Deception

Dr. Wernher von Braun, the head of the Nazi rocket program, was brought to America after the war because our government considered his knowledge and expertise too vital to fall into enemy hands.

Dr. von Braun brought a wealth of information gleaned from other top Nazi scientists like his boss, SS General Hans Kammler.  Von Braun was privy to work on anti gravity propulsion vehicles.  With access to NASA's secret programs, von Braun apparently began to see the "big picture" regarding the true goals of America's space program and how the military-industrial complex was manipulating it according to a secret, hidden agenda.

Dr. Carol Rosin was an industry executive when she first met Dr. Wernher von Braun in February 1974.  At this time, before his death in 1977,  von Braun confided to Dr. Rosin NASA's hidden agenda.

Inviting her into his office, Von Braun stunned Dr. Rosin by explaining that it was all leading to planetary control under an oppressive One World Government.

;

According to Dr. Rosin, von Braun then gave her one supreme assignment: He said a secretive trans-national power, already in existence, would move to permanently take control of this planet thru a hoaxed alien invasion from outer space.

According to von Braun,  space based weapons, later known as the "Star Wars" program, were to be promoted as a "shield" against the Russians.  Then, as a defense against  'rogue' nations. Then, as protection against asteroids and meteors. Finally they would be presented as a safeguard against an extraterrestrial threat.

More by L.C. Vincent on henrymakow.com