What we certainly do not expect to see are objects hiding inside these clouds.
When you look at these videos and images, it appears as if there is a solid object in the middle of the clouds…
The images below show an unidentified flying object inside a storm cloud.
The photo was taken in November 2002, at sea aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, lightning filled the horizon and lit up the flight deck and the aircraft on the ships forward elevator and bow.
I could not help but notice after reviewing the photos of the night, what was in the clouds and possibly emitting this lightning. Credits: Ken Pfeifer, Mufon NJ Credits: Ken Pfeifer, Mufon NJ
Another curious incident involving an Unidentified Flying Object appearing during a thunderstorm took place in Taiwan.
The images and video show a pyramid-shaped UFO in the middle of a lightning cloud.
Pyramid-shaped UFO seen in Taiwan
Scientists try to explain away these kind of objects and call them sprites.
“Lightning from the thunderstorm excites the electric field above, producing a flash of light called a sprite,” said Colin Price, a geophysicist at Tel Aviv University in Israel. “We now understand that only a specific type of lightning is the trigger that initiates sprites aloft.”
Image credit: NOOALarge thunderstorms are capable of producing other kinds of electrical phenomena called transient luminous events (TLE’s).
The most common TLE’s include red sprites, blue jets, and elves.Red Sprites can appear directly above an active thunderstorm as a large but weak flash. They usually happen at the same time as powerful positive CG lightning strokes. They can extend up to 60 miles from the cloud top.
Sprites are mostly red and usually last no more than a few seconds, and their shapes are described as resembling jellyfish, carrots, or columns.
Because sprites are not very bright, they can only be seen at night. They are rarely seen with the human eye, so they are most often imaged with highly sensitive cameras.
Blue jets emerge from the top of the thundercloud, but are not directly associated with cloud-to-ground lighting. They extend up in narrow cones fanning out and disappearing at heights of 25-35 miles. Blue jets last a fraction of a second and have been witnessed by pilots.
Elves are rapidly expanding disk-shaped regions of glowing that can be up to 300 miles across. They last less than a thousandth of a second, and occur above areas of active cloud to ground lightning. Scientists believe elves result when an energetic electromagnetic pulse extends up into the ionosphere. Elves were discovered in 1992 by a low-light video camera on the Space Shuttle.
However, to many people these strange objects will remain UFOs, despite scientists’ explanation.
Have you taken any interesting images or filmed something unusual? Remember you can always send the images to us so we can publish them.
MessageToEagle.com – As our Sun goes through its 11-year cycle that is due to peak in 2013 or 2014, scientists worry about dangerous solar flares that could practically wipe out a lot of our electronic civilization.
There has also been concern in what way our Suns’ abnormal behavior can effect human health.
Some scientists say there is actually a correlation between the rise and fall of solar activity and the human consciousness
Professor Raymond Wheeler of the University of Kansas has come to the same conclusions that Russian scientist Alexander Chizhevsky discovered in 1915, namely that solar storms directly cause conflict, wars and even death among humans on Earth.
In the 1930′s Wheeler began a lifetime study that analyzed world climate and cultural activities back to the dawn of recorded civilization. He presented his research in his book, Climate: The Key To Understanding Business Cycles.
There is no doubt according to Wheeler that weather does affect us.
Wheeler’s studies show studies that there exists a most important 100-year-cycle of climatic changes that influences human affairs in a profound manner.
The cycle occurs in four distinct phases, which are descriptive of worldwide conditions rather than specific areas.
The four phases are disturbed by secondary leads and delays — as much as 10 years — in isolated and widely separated areas.Prof. Wheeler stated: “The climatic curve is intended to represent — as far as one curve can — the weather trend in the world as a whole at any one time.
The curve has no absolute significance. The meaning of the curve at any one time is relative to the pattern of the 100-year old cycle as a whole.”The 100-year weather cycle and its phases are not of precisely equal duration. The cycle can contract to 70 years or expand to 120.
The cycle is divided into a warm and a cold phase, each of which has a wet and dry period.
Because people are affected by weather, the cycles of weather produce similar patterns of behavior and events in history during the same phases of the century-long weather cycle. The phases are: (1) Cold-Dry, (2) Warm-Wet, (3) Warm-Dry, and (4) Cold-Wet.
We are now in a cold-dry phase, which will prevail until about 2000 A.D.
Our Sun affects our mental and physical health. The Sun’s activity as it interacts with the Earths magnetic field, effects extensive changes in human beings perspectives, moods, emotions and behavioral patterns.
Solar flares affect human health, scientists say. Image credit: SDO
During solar minimums and maximums the geomagnetic fields begin to intensify. The magnetic fields interact with human electrochemically within the brain. It affects psychological mechanisms creating anomalous hormonal swings and significantly mutated brain-wave activity.
Wheeler expanded on Chishevsky’s work by studying violence during 1913; measuring the time between battles and severity. These findings were compared with the suns 11 year sunspot cycle.
The results showed that as the sun cycle peaked, there was a rise in human unrest, uprisings, rebellions, revolutions, and wars between nations. As the magnetic fields intensified, the reaction within the human brain was a mixture of deadly emotional tantrums and unadulterated killing sprees.
As Wheeler further compared his findings with human history, he found a startling pattern that could be traced back 2,500 years.
In solar cycle 22, at the sun’s maximum we experienced Iraq invading Kuwait and the US entering the first battle against Saddam Hussein.
Just eleven years later, as the sun became active again, 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq ensued.
In the latter half of 2010, the sun reached another peak that affected the Earth’s magnetic field; we witnessed dissent in Tunisia, Egypt and Yemen.
Those global uprisings spread to Syria, Libya, Iran and China as riots continued across the European landscape.
This civil unrest has now reached its influence across the modernized world and even into Middle Eastern countries, Africa and Asia.
It is projected, based on Wheeler’s research, as the sun’s activity increases, so will the violence on Earth.
We are now entering the 24th solar cycle.
A surge in solar activity by 50 times more than previously recorded is anticipated. NASA and other space agencies have been warning of this fact.
Through 2011 and onto 2012, the X-flares are expected to endure toward their maximum. As this incredible activity is being witnessed, we are assured that more wars, toppling countries and populations will be displaced.
In 2012 we are seeing these events coming to pass; with only more intensification to come.
In what way will Earth be affected during this solar peak?
Wheeler’s predecessor was a man named Dr. Robert Becker. Becker was an author, expert in biological electricity and a Professor with State University.
In 1963, Becker, along with his colleague, Dr. Freedman, discovered that there was a marked correlation between solar activity and psychotic outbreaks of mass insanity on Earth.
Becker and Freedman made their most dire predictions of incredible violence to culminate in the years 2012 and 2013.
So far, history has proven them correct.
There obviously appears to be connection between solar activity and psychotic outbreaks of mass insanity on Earth. The world is not ending, but there might be some rough times ahead according to these scientists.
disclaimer: image is for illustration purposes only
U.S. researchers say microscopic mechanical devices that withstand intense radiation and heat can be used in robots dealing with damaged nuclear power plants.
Such devices can withstand high amounts of radiation that can quickly fry silicon-based electronic circuits, University of Utah engineers reported Tuesday.
Such electronic circuits were in robots sent to help contain the meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant after Japan’s catastrophic 2011 earthquake and tsunami, they said.
“Robots were sent to control the troubled reactors, and they ceased to operate after a few hours because their electronics failed,” Utah researcher Massood Tabib-Azar said.
Tabib-Azar and his colleagues have been working on mechanical substitutes for such electronics and showed their devices, known as micro-electro-mechanical systems, kept working despite intense ionizing radiation and heat by dipping them for two hours into the core of the University of Utah’s research reactor.
“We have developed a unique technology that keeps on working in the presence of ionizing radiation to provide computation power for critical defense infrastructures,” Tabib-Azar said. “Our devices also can be used in deep space applications in the presence of cosmic ionizing radiation, and can help robotics to control troubled nuclear reactors without degradation.”
Israel has deployed tanks on its southern borders with Egypt in violation of the Camp David Accord signed by the Tel Aviv regime and Cairo.
Two Israeli tanks have been spotted moving toward the border fence on Monday. Both Egypt and Israel are obliged to keep the area demilitarized under the Camp David Accord.
The move comes just hours after an Israeli man was killed in a cross-border attack, after which Israel launched an airstrike on the Gaza strip, killing two Palestinians.
The Camp David Accord was signed by then Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat and then Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin on September 17, 1978, following thirteen days of secret negotiations at Camp David in Washington D.C.
The deal comprises two agreements, a Framework for Peace in the Middle East, and a Framework for the Conclusion of a Peace Treaty between Egypt and Israel. The latter agreement led to the signing of the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty in 1979 which also took place in the United States.
About 1 in 4 of the nearly one million physicians in the U.S. still belong to the American Medical Association, but at its 161st House of Delegates meeting in Chicago, the AMA found a way to remain relevant.
It weighed into the policy debate over genetically modified foods, and made both sides mad. AMA called for mandatory pre-market safety testing for all GMO foods. However, it also supported continued use of genetically engineered ingredients in food and beverage products with no need for labeling GMO products.
Consumer Union’s Michael Hansen commended AMA for coming out for mandatory pre-market safety assessments, but remained disappointed about the group’s stance on labeling. Meanwhile, the Grocery Manufacturers Association immediately put out a statement commending AMA for its continued use of genetically engineered ingredients.
“Today’s action is in line with the position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and numerous regulatory and scientific bodies that agree that foods and beverages that contain GE ingredients are safe and materially no different than those foods that do not contain GE ingredients,” said the GMA statement.
It’s not clear how the AMA-envisioned mandatory safety assessment would differ from the actual process genetic crops have to follow now — namely the full-blown adherence to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Up until now, federal judges have had more say on the process biotech companies must follow for GMO crops than any lawmakers or FDA and USDA. Federal Judge Jeffrey S. White in San Francisco ordered sugar beets literally torn out of the ground in early 2011 so as to not interfere with the GMO process he’d laid down. The 9th District Court of Appeals overturned that part of Judge White’s rulings.
Before environmental attorneys began winning the process decisions in federal court, biotech companies could get by with going through safety consultations with federal agencies.
For the remainder of the year, labeling of GMO foods is likely to get more attention than the approval process. That’s because California voters in November will be deciding upon a ballot initiative to require mandatory labeling.
Labeling proponents think a victory in California would force the issue on a nationwide basis because food companies would not want to carry the costs of dual labeling.
Attorney General Eric Holder (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
A defiant Attorney General Eric Holder lashed out at House Republicans over a contempt of Congress citation from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, calling the 23-17 party-line vote “an extraordinary, unprecedented and entirely unnecessary action, intended to provoke an avoidable conflict between Congress and the Executive Branch.”
Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, angry over Holder’s refusal to turn over requested documents on the Justice Department‘s failed “Fast and Furious” gun-running scheme and President Barack Obama’s use of executive privilege to seal the documents, forced the vote.
Said Holder in a statement released by his office:
This divisive action does not help us fix the problems that led to this operation or previous ones and it does nothing to make any of our law enforcement agents safer. It’s an election-year tactic intended to distract attention — and, as a result — has deflected critical resources from fulfilling what remains my top priority at the Department of Justice: Protecting the American people.
“Fast and Furious” was supposed to help Holder’s department track the flow of guns from the United States to drug cartels in Mexico but most of the arms went missing and two ended up at the crime scene where Customs and Border Control agent Brian Terry was murdered.
Said Holder:
From the beginning, Chairman Issa and certain members of the Committee have made unsubstantiated allegations first, then scrambled for facts to try to justify them later.
That might make for good political theater, but it does little to uncover the truth or address the problems associated with this operation and prior ones dating back to the previous Administration.
Repbublicans contend Holder lied to the committee and has withheld evidence. House Speaker John Boehner said Wednesday the full house will vote on the contempt citation next week “unless the Attorney General re-evaluates his choices.:
The U.S. House of Representatives announced today that a date has been set for a vote on a contempt of Congress citation against Attorney General Eric Holder for his failure to turn over subpoenaed documents related to the Fast and Furious scandal.
The Justice Department is out of excuses. Either the Justice Department turns over the information requested, or Congress will have no choice but to move forward with holding the Attorney General in contempt for obstructing an ongoing investigation.
Now that Speaker Boehner is behind the effort to cite Holder for contempt, the measure is expected to have smooth sailing in the initial vote in the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. The citation should also easily pass a vote in the full House, where 31 Democrats have already pledged to join the Republican majority in voting for holding the Attorney General in contempt.
An earthquake measuring 5 on the Richter scale jolted many parts of Gujarat in the early morning on Wednesday but there were no reports of damage to property or loss of life.
A moderate earthquake was experienced today which had the epicentre at 26 km South South-East of Dholavira in Kutch district. Tremors were felt in Bhuj, Rapar, Bhavnagar, Jamnagar and Ahmedabad cities too, according to officials of Seismological department.
“Earlier a mild quake came. Then occurred the bigger jolt measuring 5 on Richter scale and it had the depth of 80 kms,” Institute of Seismological Research Director General B K Rastogi said.
“There were 27 aftershocks registered, in the magnitude of 1 to 3 on the Richter scale, and majority of them were in Kutch and Saurashtra region. But there are no reports of damage to property or the life,” he said.
Residents of Kutch region, which was devastated by a quake in 2001, rushed out of their homes in panic.
“In Ahmedabad also some people felt minor tremors but we have not received any panic calls,” said Chief Fire Officer M F Dastur.
(Reuters) – A remote Aleutian volcano that has been restless for the past year rumbled to life, shooting a thin cloud of ash several miles into the sky, which could pose a slight hazard to aircraft, Alaska scientists said.
Cleveland Volcano, a 5,676-foot (1,730 meter) peak on an uninhabited island 940 miles southwest of Anchorage, had an explosive eruption at about 2:05 p.m. local time on Tuesday, the Alaska Volcano Observatory reported.
A pilot flying in the area estimated that the ash cloud rose to 35,000 feet above sea level, reported the observatory, which is a joint federal-state organization that monitors Alaska’s numerous active volcanoes.
However, satellite imagery shows only a weak ash signal, suggesting a thin cloud that dissipated quickly, said Stephanie Prejean, a U.S. Geological Survey seismologist at the observatory in Anchorage
“It was just one explosion, which was very typical of the thing Cleveland has been doing in the last year,” Prejean said. It is possible that the cloud rose to less than 35,000 feet, as the height was just one pilot’s estimate, she said.
Pilots have been advised of potential risks from Cleveland, which might explode again, Prejean said. “It could do that any time,” she said.
Cleveland has been in an off-and-on eruptive phase since last summer. The volcano has at times oozed lava out of its summit crater, punctuated by occasional small explosions, none of which had created clouds reaching above 20,000 feet until Tuesday.
Although Cleveland is one of the most active of Alaska’s scores of volcanoes, there is no on-site seismic monitoring equipment. The Alaska Volcano Observatory must rely on satellite imagery, records of lightning strikes, witness reports and other evidence to determine if an eruption has taken place, Prejean said.
That is in contrast to volcanoes closer to Anchorage, where the observatory has set up seismic-monitoring networks that allow scientists to see signals before eruptions happen, she said.
Before Tuesday, there had been an apparent slowdown in activity at Cleveland. The Alaska Volcano Observatory three weeks ago lowered the alert level for the volcano to a “yellow” advisory from the more urgent “orange” watch status.
“Obviously, it has some oomph left in it,” said Tina Neal, an Alaska Volcano Observatory geologist.
Meanwhile, two moderate earthquakes rattled the western Aleutians on Tuesday.
The first, registered at magnitude 6.0, hit Tuesday morning about 90 miles northwest of Attu, the westernmost island in Alaska’s Aleutian chain, according to the West Coast and Alaska Tsunami Warning Center. The second, at about noon, measured at magnitude 5.7 and was centered about 65 miles northwest of Attu, the center said.
There were no reports of damage in the largely uninhabited region, and no tsunami warning was issued, said David Hale, a senior watch stander at the center.
The Midwest heat wave is causing headaches for the Department of Transportation, as roads around the area are giving way.
Not only does this heat have an effect on people but the streets and pavement can only take so much. A curb at 33rd Street and Dakota Avenue in Sioux Falls buckled from the heat Tuesday afternoon. The DOT says these buckle problems can strike any patch of concrete at anytime.
For many Interstate-29 travelers, Monday’s trip had an unexpected bump that led to flat tires and delays. A section of the roadway buckled under the heat. An unpredictable occurrence, but not a rare one for our area.
“It all depends on how hot it gets, quite often we see them in late July and August but yesterday and today temperatures are in the low 90′s, it’s not uncommon to see that.” Said Greg Aalberg.
Aalberg is the engineering supervisor for the South Dakota Department of Transportation and says there’s not much you can do to prevent buckling.
Aalberg says all concrete has the potential to buckle, sometimes it’s streets others it’s sidewalks or medians. When the temperatures rise it forces the concrete to expand and in most cases the only place it can go is up.
like the old adage, something’s gotta give, and when it does Aalberg’s team is ready to roll.
“We get some asphalt in there for a temporary fix and then come back later and saw it all out and replace it with new concrete.” Said Aalberg.
Unfortunately for Monday’s travelers, they’re responsible for covering the damage to their vehicles. So when you’re out driving this summer, whether it be on the interstate or just around the block, remember these buckling buggers can strike at anytime.
“You can go through a day where it can get to 90 degrees and you may not have a blow up it’s just an unknown thing and we try and be as prepared as we can so that if it does happen we can respond.” Said Aalberg.
One of the DOT’s repair trucks was hit by a car while they were trying to patch the I-29 buckle. So it’s just another reminder to slow down when crews are on the roads.
Tropical storm Talim is forecast to strike China at about 09:00 GMT on 20 June.Data supplied by theUS Navy and Air Force Joint Typhoon Warning Centersuggest that the point of landfallwill benear24.7 N,120.3 E.Talim is expected to bring 1-minute maximum sustained winds to the region of around83 km/h (51 mph).Wind gusts in the area maybeconsiderably higher.
The information above is provided for guidance only and should not be used to make life or death decisions or decisions relating to property. Anyone in the region who is concerned for their personal safety or property should contact their official national weather agency or warning centre for advice.
This alert is provided by TropicalStorm Risk (TSR) which is sponsored by Benfield, Royal & SunAlliance,Crawford & Company and University College London (UCL). TSR acknowledges thesupport of the UK Met Office.
Residents evacuated their homes and animals escaped from their pens at a zoo as floods fed by a steady torrential downpour struck a city in northeastern Minnesota, officials said Wednesday. Police officers helped track down a polar bear that got out of its enclosure overnight at the low-lying Lake Superior Zoo where several animals drowned. Duluth Mayor Don Ness said he would declare a state of emergency after the deluge of up to 9 inches of rain that he said caused extensive damage to the port city of about 86,000. Ness said the order would start the process to obtain federal aid. Gov. Mark Dayton said he would travel to Duluth on Thursday to discuss how the state can help. Much of Duluth is spread along a steep rocky hillside overlooking Lake Superior so the water speeds downhill, carrying debris with it, Ness said. “There are certainly reports of streets being washed out, but the more significant problems are as the water comes over the ridge and starts rushing down the hill, overwhelming our storm systems, overwhelming our culvert system and creating that forward momentum of rushing water,” Ness said. “That’s where the most significant problems are being felt.”
The zoo lies at the foot of the hill, making it particularly vulnerable. Several sheep, goats and a donkey in the barnyard exhibit were killed by the flooding, said Susan Wolniakowski, director of guest services. It also provided an opportunity for Berlin, a female polar bear, to escape. “Even though it’s a large white object, it’s pretty nerve-racking,” police spokesman Jim Hansen said of the chase for Berlin, the female polar bear. Zoo officials said she was darted by the zoo’s vet and placed in quarantine. Peter Pruett, the zoo’s director of Animal Management, said the “entire staff is devastated” at the loss of the animals. Wolniakowski said no animals left the zoo grounds and all have been secured. “I think it’s probably been the worst flooding we’ve ever had at the zoo,” Wolniakowski said. A train depot was completely underwater, she said. Ness said more rain was expected later Wednesday, and that it may take time for the damage to become fully apparent. He said the volume of rain in a short period puts a tremendous amount of stress on sewer and road systems.
Several major highways leading into the city were closed because of the flooding and authorities encouraged residents to stay home because of the volume of standing and rushing floods, and the difficulty in spotting hazards under water, such as missing manhole covers. “It’s a mess. There are too many intersections to even list that are closed,” Hansen said. Authorities asked residents of the low-lying Fond du Lac neighborhood to leave their homes because of the rising level of the St. Louis River. Hansen said about a dozen homes were evacuated. The Red Cross opened two shelters for evacuees. The University of Minnesota Duluth campus closed Wednesday but planned to reopen Thursday.
Authorities in eastern Indonesia were searching for a missing 13-year boy Wednesday still missing after a landslide in eastern Indonesia.
“We have recovered 13 people, two of them were still alive and now recovering in hospital. Eleven people are confirmed dead,” the head of the regional disaster management body Broery Tjokro told dpa.
The landslide hit a residential area early Tuesday, in Ambon, the capital of Maluku province. The boy was the only person still unaccounted for.
Heavy rain and unstable terrain have hampered rescue efforts.
PPL Corp. shut down the Unit 1 reactor at its Susquehanna nuclear power plant near Berwick on Tuesday to investigate what it called a minor water leak inside the container structure surrounding the reactor. Unit 1 had been online only 11 days since a 69-day shutdown starting March 31, during which the company repaired cracks in Unit 1 turbine blades. The water leak does not affect the safety of plant or the public, Timothy S. Rauch, PPL’s chief nuclear officer said in a press release Tuesday. While the leaking water may have been contaminated by nuclear material, all of it was captured in drainage systems inside the containment structure and none of it leaked outside, Joe Copelliti, a PPL spokesman said. “We made the prudent decision to shut down the unit while the leak is small and will return it to service after we make the needed repairs,” Rauch said. Unit 2 is generating electricity at full power, the company said. Unit 2 also had been shut briefly to search for turbine cracks, but none were found.
Forty-one persons have been confirmed being infected by the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) at Nakhon Ratchasima Rajanagarindra Psychiatric Hospital, the Ministry of Public Health said, emphasising that the situation is under control. The patients are being closely monitored for two weeks to ensure that the epidemic will be contained. Public Health Ministry Inspector General Kamron Chaisiri said the infections were found in the Nakhon Ratchasima facility in the northeast in early June. Six female and 35 male patients have been admitted, including six who are hospital staff, he said. According to the initial investigation, one hospital worker was infected with the flu virus from his daughter who fell sick on June 8, with all members of the family subsequently infected with the disease. The hospital detected the first flu victim on June 12 in the ward for alcoholism patients. The ministry official said that such patients have weaker immune systems and are easily infected with disease. The patients were given the antiviral drug Tamilflu, and none have severe condition, he said, adding that the patients were separated for better treatment and care. Mr Kamron said the hospital has temporarily stopped admitting new patients until the situation is confirmed safe in two weeks but outpatient services are operating normally. Health officials have sampled the schools in the province and have discovered no other cases of bird flu infection.
Biohazard name:
A/H1N1
Biohazard level:
3/4 Hight
Biohazard desc.:
Bacteria and viruses that can cause severe to fatal disease in humans, but for which vaccines or other treatments exist, such as anthrax, West Nile virus, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, SARS virus, variola virus (smallpox), tuberculosis, typhus, Rift Valley fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, yellow fever, and malaria. Among parasites Plasmodium falciparum, which causes Malaria, and Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes trypanosomiasis, also come under this level.
World Health Organization is on high alert about new Ugandan outbreak, cause is not fully known
Updated: Added commentary from Jason Oh, a Johns Hopkins Univ. public health studies student who is currently in Uganda studying the disease post-conflict transformation. Mr. Oh described some of the symptoms in more detail, and offered different perspective from the CNN reporters’ experience.
CNN has also reworded their report to tone down the suggestion of violent behavior.
It’s called the “nodding disease” and it’s a baffling illness that has struck thousands of children in northern Uganda. The illness brings on seizures, violent behavior in some (debated), personality changes, and a host of other unusual symptoms.
I. Mental Degradation: Child Victims Have no Cure, no Future
Grace Lagat, a northern Uganda native, is mother of two children – Pauline Oto and Thomas — both of whom are victims of the disease. For their safety, when she leaves the house, she now ties them up, using fabric like handcuffs. She recalls, “When I am going to the garden, I tie them with cloth. If I don’t tie them I come back and find that they have disappeared.”
Reportedly the children gnaw at their fabric restraints, like a rabid animals — or “zombies” of popular fiction — in an attempt to escape. (This is based on CNN‘s commentary.)
(Jason Oh points out that the restraints are intended to protect the chidlren from harm, and from starting fires.)
The effort to restrain the children is not unwarranted. In one of the most bizarre symptoms of this tragic illness, children with the disease are reportedly setting fire to buildings in their communities. Coupled with the aimless wandering this disease provokes in victims, this is a deadly combination. More than 200 people have been killed in fires believed to be set by the zombified children.
(According to Jason Oh, there have been few reports of violent behavior. It is unclear where our primary source CNN received this information, though a reader suggested that a CDC report indicated that 10 to 15 percent of children were found to exhibit increased aggression. We were unable to locate this report.)
The disease leaves child victims in an often-violent “zombiefied” state. [Image Source: CNN]
The disease is not new. It popped up in the 1960s in Sudan. From there it slowly spread to Libya and Tanzania.
The Uganda infections, though, are a new outbreak — a troubling sign. The jump into a new region could be pure coincidence, or it could indicate the disease has become more virulent or found a new transmissions vector.
Uganda is located in central Africa [Image Source: U of Tex., Modifications: Jason Mick]
Infected children typically have regular seizures, which are proceeded by a repetitive nodding of the head. This characteristic symptom has given rise to the unofficial title for the malady.
II. World Medical Organizations Racing for a Cure
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) and World Health Organization (WHO) have been tracking the spread of this frightening ailment. Dr. Joaquin Saweka says the scene in Uganda is horrific, stating, “It was quite desperate, I can tell you. Imagine being surrounded by 26 children and 12 of them showing signs of this. The attitude was to quickly find a solution to the problem.”
Yet the WHO and CDC are not fully sure what is causing the illness, which cripples children and turns them into mindless, violence-prone zombies. The best clue they have is that most of the cases occur in regions inhabited by “Black flies”, which carry the parasitic worm Onchocerca Volvulus. That worm is responsible for another dangerous disease dubbed “river blindness”, the world’s second leading cause of infectious blindness.
(Jason Oh states that CNN misunderstood this reference. While it’s true the cause of the disease is unknown and the literature papers on the topic indicate an overlap with part of the river blindness afflicted regions, but he feels this reference was only intended to “state the obvious”, not hypothesize causation.)
The illness may have something to do with Black flies (left, center) and their parasitic worm (right). [Image Source: WHO (left), Wikimedia Commons (center), Human Healths (right)]
However 7 percent of infected children live in regions not inhabited by the Black fly, so a link is speculative at best.
Children with the disease also frequently exhibit vitamin B6 deficiency, leading medical experts to believe that the disease may be nutrition related. However, infections by microbes, parasites, fungi, or even fungi/microbes carried by a parasitic host, can all lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Dr. Scott Dowell, director of global disease detection and emergency response at CDC, says the race is on to determine the cause and a cure. He states, “At first we cast the net wide. We ruled out three dozen potential causes and we are working on a handful of probabilities. We know from past experience an unknown disease could end up having more global implications.”
In the current cases children as old as 19 have been found to be stricken, with the majority of the worst symptoms being spread over the 3-11 age range.
One mystery surrounding the disease is the seizures themselves. While typically seizures are either randomly occurring or follow some singular cue/pattern, the nodding disease seems to have multiple triggers, including eating new foods, changing weather, and other changes.
(Jason Oh says CNN reporters messed up and that it’s familiar foods trigger the seizures, not unfamiliar ones like bars of chocolate.)
Seizure often leave the children soiled with urine and drooling. Local nurses are afraid to touch the infected. States local nurse Elupe Petua, “I feel, because I don’t know what causes it, I don’t even know how it transmits, when I touch them I feel that I can also get the infection because I don’t know what causes it.”
III. Medication is Ineffective
Anti-epileptic medication slows the onset of symptoms, but is unable to stop the progression of the disease. The seizures eventually leave many children unable to walk, only able to drag their bodies along the ground as flies tried to attack them.
The current treatment approach of anti-epileptics has done little to halt the illness.
[Image Souce: CNN]
(Jason Oh says that the diseases offers a tragic, slow mental degradation, taking years to develop. Affected children, embarassed about the nodding and afraid of infecting classmates often drop out of school, while still mentally capable. Eventually the seizures lead to the more severe symptoms mentioned in the intro — loss of speech, partial paralysis, personality changes, and — according to CNN — violence.)
The government of Uganda has come under criticism for not being vocal enough in addressing the tragedy and demanding foreign aid/research expertise. Local politicians have taken to transporting victims from affected villages by bus to city hospitals in order to force the issue into the eyes of the more affluent city-dwellers.
(Jason Oh adds some perspective writing, “Uganda had asked the CDC to investigate in 2009. Most of the backlash against the government is because the Ministry of Health has been slow to use emergency funds that the Parliament made available. They’ve established many local centers for Nodding Syndrome, but they are under-staffed and under-equipped. The kids are being referred to and transported to Mulago Hospital (famous for being in The Last King of Scotland) so the top doctors at Makerere University and in Kampala can monitor them.”)
The issue is yet another woe for a nation in which the impoverished majority was terrorized for years by warlord Jospeph Kony’s militia, dubbed the “Lord’s Resistance Army.”
Mr. Kony is currently wanted by the International Criminal Court on multiple counts of violent war crimes, including rape and murder. These offenses are punishable by death (life in prison), if he is ever brought to trial. (Jason Oh clarified that under the new Rome Statute of 2002, the ICC is not allowed to seek the death penalty, even in murder cases.)
IV. What if the “Nodding Disease” Found a Way to Reach the U.S.?
Dr. Saweka says that for all the hand-waving by the government about using better anti-epileptics and offering more funding, he appreciates and shares in the villagers frustration. He states, “People complain that it looks like the lives in developing countries have less value than the lives in the western countries. When you know the root cause, you address the cure. Now you are just relieving the symptoms. We don’t expect to cure anybody.”
Ugandans, grief stricken, feel somewhat abandoned by the government and the wealthy developed “First World”. [Image Source: CNN]
While the “First World” may not be focused on — or even aware of — the zombification that is leaving children in these African nations violent (debated), crippled shells of their former selves — tied like dogs — it is an issue that must be addressed. After all, viruses, bacteria, parasites thanks to the wonders of evolution can mutate and adapt to new environments and new transmission vectors.
Thus this zombie virus While reports of violence or strange behavior — like biting — are disputed, the disease is very serious. It may seem like a foreign issue to regions like the U.S. and EU who are struggling with their own financial crisises. But if the illness finds a way to broaden its spread, this outbreak could cripple children across the globe.
(A word of clarification… CNN has reworded their report slightly to tone down the suggestion of violent behavior. The reports of fire starting stand, but in the new context it’s possible these were just innocent accidents triggered by the childrens’ loss of coordination.
Floods, storms, earthquakes and a tsunami displaced 14.9 million people last year, 89 percent of them in Asia, according to an estimate by two Norwegian-backed agencies issued here Tuesday.
“The 10 largest disasters in terms of the amount of people displaced all took place in Asia, including multiple events in China, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Japan,” said Elisabeth Rasmusson of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).
“The worst were the prolonged flood disasters in China and Thailand, which together displaced over five million people.”
The estimate, issued on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio, applies to people who are internally displaced within a country.
But an accurate total of how many of the 14.9 million remain displaced is unclear because data is so sketchy, its authors said.
In northeastern Japan, 492,000 people fled their homes after the March 10, 2011 mega-quake and tsunami, according to the report, compiled with the Swiss-based Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).
One year on, 344,000 of them still live in temporary accommodation, it said.
In terms of the proportion of national population, Sri Lanka was worst hit, for 685,000 people, or three percent of its populace, were uprooted from their homes by heavy seasonal rains and back-to-back floods.
[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
Swedish state-owned utility Vattenfall AB said late Wednesday that it has found suspected explosives in a truck that was trying to enter its Ringhals nuclear power facility in south west Sweden. In a statement, the company said staff found the suspect material when carrying out normal security checks, with a sniffer dog confirming the vehicle was carrying explosives. Police are present at the scene and the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority have raised the level of protection at the site as a precaution, though the company stressed that the discovered object could not have caused any serious harm. Swedish police bomb technicians also said there is no risk of an explosion as there was no ignition device present. “The assessment is that the situation is under control,” said police spokesman Lars Grimbeck. Other nuclear stations in the country have raised their security level. No injuries have been reported and police patrols have been stepped up at the site. Ringhals nuclear power plant is the largest power plant in Scandinavia and its four reactors produce about 20% of all electricity in Sweden.
Non-categorized event in Sweden on Thursday, 21 June, 2012 at 07:35 (07:35 AM) UTC.
Just received the following email from a dear friend and coworker. He sent it to a local TV news channel, and I am posting it here in case they don’t do anything with it.
The takeaway: Don’t patronize Downtown Sports Bar and Grill in Raleigh, NC. Also, if you’re white and you’re the only person in the restaurant, you might want to ask around to make sure your favorite establishments aren’t pulling this kind of shit.
As for Jonathan, he’s a former student of mine. I call him “Mr. President” because he’s one of the most intimidatingly accomplished and polished undergrads I’ve ever met. He’s also one of the nicest people I know. He wouldn’t lie about something like this.
My name is Jonathan Wall, and I am a 21 year old black male from Raleigh, NC. I was born and raised here, and just a few weeks ago I graduated from Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA. This fall I’ll be headed to grad school at Harvard to get a Master’s degree in Education Policy and Management. I’m in Raleigh for the summer before heading off to grad school.
As the story begins, on last Saturday night around 12:30am, I and 2 other friends went to Downtown Sports Bar and Grill off of Glennwood Avenue. The night got interesting as soon as we got to the door, and the bouncer told us “you need a membership to come in tonight, I’ve never seen you here before.” My friend Chris and I looked at each other in curiosity, knowing that the establishment was a bar and not a club, and that people in line before us walked right in after showing their ID. The only difference between those people and my friends and I was our race. Still, we stood at the door in bewilderment asking “What?” as he further tried to explain that we weren’t going to be able to come in because of our “non-member” status. However, as he was explaining this, a police officer walked up to where he was standing to tell him something unrelated. As soon as he caught sight of the officer beside him, he said “Never mind, y’all go ahead.” This was the first interesting ordeal of the night, but not the last.
We were downstairs for all of ten minutes, when my two friends dispersed. My friend Chris went to the bathroom, and my friend Kristin went upstairs to get some fresh air. Only a few seconds after they left, what appeared to be a bartender came from behind the bar to clean drinks off of one of the tall bar tables that was near me. After he cleaned the table, it looked as if he was headed back behind the bar when he came up to me and said “Either buy a drink or leave right now.” Again shocked, I replied “I’m just waiting for my friend to come back from the bathroom.” He responded, “I don’t care, get a drink or leave right now.” I said “Okay” and began texting. He walked away from me, then went and sat with his back to the bar as he stared me down. Being non-confrontational, I looked towards the bathroom, waiting to see my friend come out so that we could leave. I also took notice of how many of the people surrounding the bar and the club area didn’t have drinks in their hands. I felt as if I was singled out. The common denominator, again, was that I was the only black person around. After staring me down for about 30 seconds, he walked back over and said “Are you going to buy a drink, or are you going to leave?” I replied, “As soon as my friend comes from the bathroom.” Before I cold utter another word, he grabbed my right wrist and my left arm and threw them behind my head in an effort to constrain me, although I was speaking to him a calm and non-aggressive tone and didn’t once even gesture. He then used excessive force to push me through the crown and out of the club while I was still in this “headlock” of sorts, before pushing me out of the front door. As soon as he grabbed me, I let my body go limp because with the degree of force he was already using, I didn’t want him to think I was trying to fight back. I accepted that he was on an ego-trip, and let him guide me through the club in this position before pushing me out. I was completely shocked and more saddened that this was happening than angry.
As he was walking me out, my friend Chris came out of the bathroom and ran up to where he we were, asking him what I did wrong. He didn’t reply. I had done nothing but suggest that I would wait for my friend to come from the bathroom and leave instead of purchasing a drink. After making sure I was all right, my friend and I went to the bouncer at the front door to try to tell him what had just happened and get an explanation. He waved us off and told us to just get away.
I walked up and down Glennwood Avenue looking for a police officer to talk to—again, not angry, but sad and shocked that what I believed to have been blunt and undeniable segregation was taking place in an establishment in Raleigh, the city I was born, raised in, and love.
After about ten minutes and two redirections I was able to talk to the police sergeant, who was also on Glennwood. I explained to her everything in the previous paragraphs. She told me that this was a very unfortunate occurrence, but not an isolated instance. She explained that this happens all the time, and that if she approached the bartender about it, he’d have witnesses that would corroborate whatever story he made up as to why he kicked me out in such an aggressive manner. She then explained that my options were limited because if she proceeded with getting statements from both of us and conducted an investigation, the end result could be worse for me: either it would get dismissed in court, or we would both be charged with what is the equivalent of “fighting” and both have a misdemeanor. She said “He probably has a few charges already, but you’re young with a bright future ahead of you, and you don’t want that on your record.” I understood what she was saying, but wasn’t exactly sure whether I should trust a police officer within the network of bouncers/officers who worked the many clubs/bars of Glennwood. Just then, the man who threw me out came to the front door. I pointed him out to the officer, and she approached him to talk about the incident. They talked for about 3 minutes before she came back to me and said, “I knew this was going to happen. Now, I don’t believe him one bit, but he says that he has three people who witnessed you throw an elbow at him before he restrained you.” Shocked is an understatement. As I said earlier, I talked in a non-confrontational, clam and respectful tone, and didn’t even gesture when talking. There is no way that he could have perceived me as having thrown an elbow and I didn’t understand how three people would lie and say that I did. I asked the officer about video camera footage. If the club used cameras, they would show the conversation, and his aggressiveness in constraining me despite me posing no threat and remaining calm throughout the conversation and his constraining me. She said that it would require a search warrant and that there was “No telling” how the video could be edited, tampered with, or even done away with before it would be required to be handed over to the investigators. What troubled me about my conversation with the officer was that she seemed to assume the worst case scenario in every possible solution to my encounter. She kept talking about how much paper work would be involved, as if that were going to deter me from seeking justice. Still, it was 2am, and after speaking to both of my parents and my friends, I realized that justice couldn’t be served that night. Because of the lack of witnesses, it would simply be my word versus his (and that of his three “witnesses”), which could potentially yield extremely negative consequences for me, even though I had done nothing wrong throughout the entirety of the ordeal.
The next day, Sunday, my mother told my aunts and uncles about what happened and I found out something even more interesting. After my aunt told my 21-year-old cousin about what happened to me, my cousin called me immediately, requesting the name of the bar where this had happened. I told her the name, and she gasped before telling me that earlier that night, she and group of 4 of her friends had tried to go to the same bar (Downtown Sports Grill and Bar) but were told by the bouncer at the front door “I’ve never seen y’all here before. You can’t come in.” Confused, she asked “What?” and he replied “You’re not allowed in here because I’ve never seen you before.” My cousin didn’t feel like arguing or being somewhere she didn’t feel welcome so she and her friends simply walked away. Still, the only common denominator in her and my own dealings with the bar was one single factor: race. We were both African-Americans trying to enter and enjoy a bar that seemed to only welcome those not like us.
It is absolutely ridiculous that this still happens in America. It is even more ridiculous that it’s happening in Raleigh, North Carolina, one of the fastest growing and, increasingly, most diverse cities in America.
I talked to my attorney who said, simply, that although what happened was undoubtedly wrong and unjust, the fact of the matter was what I had assumed before: it would be an uphill battle to reach any kind of legal resolution. She then suggested that I contact the I-Team Troubleshooter to see if there was any possible solution when the media asked for answers as to why and how this was allowed to occur. She also suggested that I check whether my and my cousin’s stories were not isolated instances, and whether media coverage would expose more stories of racism and exclusion at this establishment.
I thank you in advance for reading this, and for any help or assistance that you may be able to offer.
*I take it back. 1960 at least had saner economics.
MessageToEagle.com – During a light storm we expect to see flashes in the sky and evil-looking clouds.
Credits: Ken Pfeifer, Mufon NJ 
Pyramid-shaped UFO seen in Taiwan
Image credit: NOOALarge thunderstorms are capable of producing other kinds of electrical phenomena called transient luminous events (TLE’s).
MessageToEagle.com – As our Sun goes through its 11-year cycle that is due to peak in 2013 or 2014, scientists worry about dangerous solar flares that could practically 
Solar flares affect human health, scientists say. Image credit: SDO
