Roundup ‘Weedkiller’ Feeds Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, Study Finds


From ‘GreenMedInfo’ by Sayer Ji, Founder

The nightmarish toxicological profile of Roundup herbicide (glyphosate) continues to emerge within the peer-reviewed research, this time revealing its role in supporting the growth of a pathogenic bacteria of great medical significance.

A concerning new study published in the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology titled, “Influence of glyphosate in planktonic and biofilm growth of Pseudomonas aeruginosa,” indicates that the world’s most widely used herbicide Roundup (glyphosate) may be contributing to the enhanced growth of the pathogenic bacteria P. aeruginosa in our environment.

The Brazilian team responsible for the study expressed concern over the “virtual nonexistence” of research evaluating glyphosate herbicide-pathogenic microbiota interactions, and conducted a series of microbial experiments to fill this data gap.  They noted:

“Glyphosate is probably the herbicide most discharged into the environment. Due to its extensive use in the protection of crops, it is inevitable that it will reach surface and deep waters (Pournaras et al., 2007), especially after rainfalls.”

P. aeruginosa is commonly found in watercourses and reservoirs in both oxygen (aerobic) and non-oxygen preferring forms (anaerobic), and can be a source of waterborne infection.

 

Read the complete article here.

Posted in ENVIRONMENT, FOODS, HEALTH | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Is the Sun driving ozone and changing the climate?


From the JoNova excellent blog, some scientific information that contrasts starkly with the general flood of propaganda.

In 2015 the hunt for clues continues…

The central mystery in climate science is the Sun. The direct energy from the 1.4 million-kilometer-wide flaming ball stays remarkably constant. The radiation pours down on us but the relentless sameness of the watts can’t be causing of the swings in temperature on Earth. Something else is going on with the Sun. For one thing, the total light energy coming off the Sun stays almost the same but the type of light changes — the spectrum shifts –  with more shorter wavelengths at one point in the cycle and longer wavelengths at the opposite part of the cycle. These have different effects. Shorter wavelengths (UV) generate ozone in the stratosphere and penetrate the ocean. Longer wavelengths don’t. But the Sun is also sending out charged particles and driving a massive fluctuating magnetic field, both of which affect Earth’s atmosphere.

But the tiny changes in total sunlight (TSI) may still be leaving us clues about other things going on with the Sun. David Evans’ notch-delay theory is that TSI is a leading indicator, and after solar TSI peaks, the temperatures on Earth follows with a peak roughly 11 years or so later (or one solar cycle). But what’s the mechanism? Stephen Wilde has a theory. Plug in your brain, and follow this chain of potential influence:

The Sun —-> UV or charged particles —- > ozone —->  polar jet streams —–> clouds —–> surface temperatures.

Stephen Wilde  put forward the first version of this hypothesis in 2010. It is long past time to get into those details.

Read all about it here.

Learn about true science, as distinct from political agenda-driven, “settled” pseudo-science.

Posted in AGENDA 21, AGW, climate change, ENVIRONMENT, Science, World Issues | Tagged , , , , | 13 Comments

Smart Meters Have Failed and Were a Dumb Investment


Failed Smart Meter ProgamAs we approach the end of 2014, it is clear that it has been a devastating year for utility smart meters and smart grid advocates.  Whether all utility executives yet realize it or not, smart meters have failed.  They have failed miserably to the deliver the promised benefits.  We are left with nothing but the increased costs and risks associated with boondoggle projects reminiscent of pork barrel spending bills approved in the middle of the night by a Congress wanting to get home for the Christmas holidays.

 

The Year in Review
Here is a list of some of the most important articles and events highlighted this year at SkyVision Solutions:
Whether the issue ranges from privacy to cyber threats to fires to health effects, it has been all bad news.  Furthermore, there have been news reports that question the fundamental underpinnings of why governments and the smart grid industry were supposedly trying to ever sell us this smart meter fiasco of a project in the first place.
Cracks in the Industry Narrative
Cracks in the smart grid industry narrative began to appear in June when the industry mouthpiece website SmartGridNews.com ran an article called, “Smart meters trapped between benefits and dangers, claims Forbes.”  In quoting the Forbes article, SmartGridNews.com stated:
“Despite the promise of empowering people through enhanced consumption data… some people are scared and resist the idea of smart metering, citing concerns about meter accuracy, data security, and health,” wrote Forbes contributor Federico Guerrini.  “Privacy is probably the most sensitive issue:  similarly to what happens with phone calls metadata, information about the energy consumption of a family or of an individual, can reveal a lot of details about the life of the persons monitored.”
A “reality check” report was released in July by the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) in Texas, entitled “An Update on Smart Energy in Texas.”  In that report it was stated that:
“Texas has nearly seven million smart meters deployed, but according to the most recently available published data:
  • Only 30,000 customers log in each month to Smart Meter Texas to obtain consumption information.  That’s less than ½ of one percent.
  • Only 60,000 customers have ever logged in to Smart Meter Texas, or less than 1% (Smart Meter Texas, 2013).
As of the last public report about Smart Meter Texas, there are only 12,000 HAN devices connected to Smart Meter Texas, or less than 1 for every 540 smart meters deployed (Smart Meter Texas, 2013).  According to an anecdotal report from the Smart Meter Texas Operations Manager, that number has fallen by over 15% in the year since the report was issued.”
Also in July an article was featured at Bloomberg.com regarding hackers finding an open back door to the power grid.  According to the Bloomberg.com article:
“Making the electricity grid greener is boosting its vulnerability to computer hacking, increasing the risk that spies or criminals can cause blackouts.”
“Adding wind farms, solar panels and smart meters to the power distribution system opens additional portals through which hackers can attack the grid, according to computer security experts advising governments and utilities.”
“… electronic meters that send real time power usage to consumers and utilities are providing new back-door entry paths for computer hackers to raise havoc with the grid.”
There was another admission from SmartGridNews.com in late December in an article that dealt primarily with smart meter-related fires:
The fires put utilities in a bind.  Smart meters have been an essential building block for the smart grid initiative and have been represented as providing several benefits, including more reliable service, enabling customers to better control their energy use and participate in money- and energy-saving programs, as well as enabling automating smart devices in their homes.”
“However, several utilities have or are dealing with lawsuits and backlash from customers who do not want the advanced meters, criticism that they invite invasion of privacy and cause health problems — all issues that have led to organized groups dedicated to stopping smart meter deployments.  While many utilities have fine-tuned their customer outreach and communication programs and offered or agreed to opt-out options, those solutions are likely inadequate to the task at hand:  reassuring a number of wary customers that smart meters are safe.”
So finally there has been at least some recognition of the “dangers” associated with smart meter technology; plus, consumers are not necessarily all that interested in reviewing their private “enhanced consumption data” that was supposedly going to “empower” them.
Warnings from the UK, Canada, and Australia on Costs 
Then came a warning in September from the UK:  “Smart metering technology ‘could be out-of-date’ by the time it is rolled out, MPs [Members of Parliament] warn” and that the Public Accounts Committee also questioned the value of the £10.6 billion project, with consumers expected to save just £26 a year.
Plus, keep in mind for the UK that the measly savings of £26 a year, 2% of the average bill, is a hypothetical number that is projected if consumers change their behavior based on what the smart meters are telling them.  This amounts to wishful thinking that people need or want smart meter data to reduce energy consumption.
Furthermore, a new published study released in mid-December showed that in-home displays (IHDs) provided to customers in the UK in combination with smart meters would likely have little effect on influencing consumers to conserve energy.  The smart meters and IHDs may have a “novelty factor” for awhile that will wear off over time.
For a press release summarizing the Ontario Auditor General report, refer to the following link:  Auditor General New Release – Smart Metering Initiative Had Serious Shortcomings – Benefits Not Yet Realized
Posted in AGENDA 21, AUSTRALIA, HEALTH, radiation, World Issues | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Empire is Crumbling, A Realistic Viewpoint and an Appeal for a Sane Future.


André Vltchek PictureThe Empire is Crumbling, That is Why it Needs War, by André Vltchek

From ‘The Vineyard Saker in Oceana”

What follows is a little of what Andre writes, read the complete article here, and please tell me where you think it is not right on the ball!

The world is in turmoil. Like in the early 1940’s, something tremendous is gaining shape, something irreversible.

Almost all of us who have been analyzing the Empire fighting against the propaganda and nihilism it spreads, and its venomous tentacles extending to every corner of the globe, know that ‘appeasing’ Western imperialism is clearly impossible, as it is impractical, and even immoral.

Just as George W. Bush (clearly borrowing from fundamentalist Christian rhetoric), liked to say: “You are either with us or against us”. Countries are now evidently put on the spot: ‘they either accept the Western neo-colonialist doctrine’, or they get destroyed, one after another, as were Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and Syria.

No logic can help, no negotiations, no international mediation from the United Nations. The willingness to compromise is mocked. Appeals for simple human compassion do not move the rulers of the Empire even an inch.

It is clear that the Empire is preparing for the final assault. It will not back down. It will attack, destroy and annihilate. No idea when, but it will. And it will happen sooner rather than later, and with tremendous force.

Some would ask, why now? Why is there suddenly such a rush to fight the final battle for the total control over the planet?

The answer is very clear: for the first time disgust with the Empire is widespread, and worldwide. Many people are getting cured from blindness.

The mask of benevolence and rationality has been torn off by powerful media outlets based in the countries of Latin America, in Russia, China, Iran, but also in North America where the independent media is playing an increasingly important role. It is not even a matter of some elaborate ‘objectivity’, anymore. To get things right, it is enough to call fascism by its real name, as it is sufficient to identify mass murder perpetrated by the Empire on all continents!

The mask has fallen and what is now exposed is horrifying: the face of a monster, with blood and pus, a greedy grin and merciless fangs. It is a monster that is still in love with itself, unable to see its dreadfulness. It remains proud of its fundamental religious dogma, which it often doesn’t even see as ‘religious’. It dwells on self-righteousness, and at the same time, on its twisted market-fundamentalist faith that everything and everybody are for sale. It is a monster full of complexes – both those of superiority and inferiority.

 

Despite all of its terror, propaganda and brainwashing called ‘education’, the Empire is well aware that it is losing its grip on global power. And it is horrified, because it does not know how else to live, except with a whip in its hand. Planet Earth realizes that the ruler is sinister, ruthless and degenerate – some people realize it clearly using logic, others just sense it, intuitively. If there was really a global democracy, the people of our planet would throw the existing power structure straight to the dogs. But there isn’t, there still isn’t! Just look at the toothless, constantly humiliated United Nations. Almost everywhere, voting has become nothing more than an act of sticking a piece of paper into a box, and not much more.

 

The ‘peace’, we were told about again and again, is something that has to be achieved and upheld by all means.

But what kind of peace are we aiming at, and peace for whom?

The Empire want a ‘peace’ arrangement, in which countries like Cuba and Russia, Venezuela and China, just back down, give up, and surrender. That is not peace!

We are asked, ordered, to live peacefully in a world ruled by European and North American masters, as some slaves crawling in filth.

Are we expected to succumb to the one and only religious dogma on which this entire racist, imperialist and capitalist system is built?

What a prospect, what a peace!

To them, to the imperialist West, peace means only one thing: unopposed rule over the planet.

 

The Empire is decomposing; it is sick, unsustainable.

But it is also toxic, and its illness is contagious. Its propaganda is mighty and its dogmas are violent.

Let us make sure that it goes away, crumbles, step by step, without destroying the world, without dragging it into WWIII.

Let us unite, individuals and nations, movements and parties. At least until the most dangerous period passes.

Source:http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/26/the-empire-is-crumbling-that-is-why-it-needs-war/

 

Andre Vltchek is a novelist, filmmaker and investigative journalist. He covered wars and conflicts in dozens of countries. The result is his latest book: Fighting Against Western Imperialism‘Pluto’ published his discussion with Noam Chomsky: On Western Terrorism. His critically acclaimed political novel Point of No Return is re-edited and available. Oceania is his book on Western imperialism in the South Pacific. His provocative book about post-Suharto Indonesia and the market-fundamentalist model is called “Indonesia – The Archipelago of Fear”. His feature documentary, “Rwanda Gambit” is about Rwandan history and the plunder of DR Congo. After living for many years in Latin America and Oceania, Vltchek presently resides and works in East Asia and Africa. He can be reached through his website or his Twitter.

Posted in 'WAR on(of) TERROR', New World Order, Russia, War Crimes, World Issues | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

UFG MakerSpace – Hope for the ‘Hopeless’


Wow! This is impressive.
First a picture of ruin and devastation, of people and homes, not only not dealt with by governments but dealt out by them.
A picture of bad government destroying their own country.
Then a revival of infrastructure, people’s lives, hope and self-sufficiency. A picture of successful human endeavour, a rescue mission that creates hope for the future.
A lesson to all ‘damaged’ neighbourhoods, all it takes is a little money, maybe even one benefactor, and an organizer, and life and hope are resurrected.

Posted in Financial Crisis, organic, outdoors | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Four Horsemen – Feature Documentary – Official Version


Out on my proverbial limb again. Reblogging this without even watching it.
Happy for readers to criticize or comment as appropriate.

Posted in 'WAR on(of) TERROR', AGENDA 21, AUSTRALIA, Civil Liberties, Conspiracies, Human Behaviour, New World Order, united states, War Crimes, World Issues | Tagged , | Leave a comment

US Bases in Australia


Thanks Patrick, for posting this.
My recent comments about American bases all over the world and the hypocrisy (US), of criticising Russia for defending their own interests, together with my posting (sticking) the Malcolm Frazer suggestion of the dangers of Australia’s ties with the US, make your post very timely and important.

Posted in AGENDA 21, AUSTRALIA, united states | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

New Study: Two Thousand Years of Northern European Summer Temperatures Show a Downward Trend


So where is the evidence that Carbon is a significant factor in global temperature trends?Featured Image -- 16859
Air pollution needs controlling, but what has that to do with carbon controls and costs?
So where is the justification for the political and financial controls?
Perhaps world government agenda is the real reason!

Posted in AGENDA 21, AGW, ENVIRONMENT, New World Order | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Revolution – Humanity, It’s Time To Rise – Peacefully!


From Collective Evolution post on Face Book.

An opinion on this video which deserves serious contemplation.

Revolution is a strong word which can take many forms.
Peaceful revolution is the only just form, but it might not succeed.
The might of the hierarchy with its military and associated supporters, is clearly in action. Public revolution in the streets, or voiced on the internet is relatively impotent and is leading to violence and censorship respectively. It gets the attention of the ungodly, but only niggles them into responses that clearly show their presence and their power. Nothing done so far has any influence on their evil intentions or on how they are going about creating their own world empire.

Russia and China with a degree of international support, will stand up and be counted, but, heaven forbid, a serious world war may result. Meantime what can the public do?
What is the answer?

If there is one, it can exist  ONLY IF the majority of the population actually realize that they are at the bottom of the heap and being squashed.
The sooner the general population learn the true situations, and do realize that there is a real threat to humanity, the easier it might be to negate the evil slaughter that is deliberately being thrust on us.
Apparently, half the American population are ok with torture. How can that occur?
They think that it is ok because it is being applied to ‘baddies’ and that their own safety is ensured by the result. Or perhaps they are simply sadistic people?
Will they ever open their eyes and minds to enable them to see that they are wrong!
They are being lied to, in so many ways, and cannot comprehend otherwise.
Apparently the same limited understanding of reality applies to most Western countries. If people only had more time to read widely on the internet and many published books, and also have the inclination and ability to push their minds past the indoctrinated barrier of unqualified trust in authorities, unthinking acceptance of news media and come out of their mental comfort zone, things might change.
Imagine!

If all American people said “we abhor our countrymen torturing other people”, “we want things to change”, “we do not support gross expenditure on warfare overseas whilst our own people are suffering from lack of funding in health, education, public services, etc”, “we do not accept brutal behaviour of some police”, “we want the justice that John Lennon, JFK and MLK Jnr stood for, and spoke out for!”

Perhaps then, the force of opinion by the public would have an impact.
If the public stopped buying newspapers and paying for transmitted media propaganda, perhaps the media would support the public instead of their masters?
But first, the public must be aware!
The public must clear the cobwebs from their mind and consider the enormous amount of information on the internet in particular, that convincingly tells of the real driving forces in play and of the illusions that are promulgated by mainstream press.

This video might help that process.

Could there then be a revolution of the public peacefully taking back their freedom?
Dream On!

Maybe there is nothing practical for individuals to achieve, but at least realize that many people are fully aware of the injustices and do speak out about them. At least be aware that these injustices really exist and that they represent considerable dangers to a humane civilization. Then one can make a realistic choice of how they should deal with it.

Posted in 'WAR on(of) TERROR', AGENDA 21, Human Behaviour, New World Order, terrorism, united states, War Crimes | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Science is being corrupted by political bias


Linked from Facebook and copied here because it is the truth!

From Matt Ridley’s Blog:

Policy-based evidence making

Science is being corrupted by political bias

My column in the Times, with post-scripts:

As somebody who has championed science all his career, carrying a lot of water for the profession against its critics on many issues, I am losing faith. Recent examples of bias and corruption in science are bad enough. What’s worse is the reluctance of scientific leaders to criticise the bad apples. Science as a philosophy is in good health; science as an institution increasingly stinks.

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics published a report last week that found evidence of scientists increasingly “employing less rigorous research methods” in response to funding pressures. A 2009 survey found that almost 2 per cent of scientists admitting that they have fabricated results; 14 per cent say that their colleagues have done so.

This month has seen three egregious examples of poor scientific practice. The most recent was the revelation in The Times last week that scientists appeared to scheme to get neonicotinoid pesticides banned, rather than open-mindedly assessing all the evidence. These were supposedly “independent” scientists, yet they were hand in glove with environmental activists who were receiving huge grants from the European Union to lobby it via supposedly independent reports, and they apparently had their conclusions in mind before they gathered the evidence. Documents that have recently come to light show them blatantly setting out to make policy-based evidence, rather than evidence-based policy.

Second example: last week, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a supposedly scientific body, issued a press release stating that this is likely to be the warmest year in a century or more, based on surface temperatures. Yet this predicted record would be only one hundredth of a degree above 2010 and two hundredths of a degree above 2005 — with an error range of one tenth of a degree. True scientists would have said: this year is unlikely to be significantly warmer than 2010 or 2005 and left it at that.

In any case, the year is not over, so why the announcement now? Oh yes, there’s a political climate summit in Lima this week. The scientists of WMO allowed themselves to be used politically. Not that they were reluctant. To squeeze and cajole the data until they just crossed the line, the WMO “reanalysed” a merger of five data sets. Maybe that was legitimate but, given how the institutions that gather temperature data have twice this year been caught red-handed making poorly justified adjustments to “homogenise” and “in-fill” thermometer records in such a way as to cool down old records and warm up new ones, I have my doubts.

In one case, in Rutherglen, a town in Victoria, a recorded cooling trend of minus 0.35C became a reported warming trend of plus 1.73C after “homogenisation” by the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. It claimed the adjustment was necessary because the thermometer had moved between two fields, but could provide no evidence for this, or for why it necessitated such a drastic adjustment.

Most of the people in charge of collating temperature data are vocal in their views on climate policy, which hardly reassures the rest of us that they leave those prejudices at the laboratory door. Imagine if bankers were in charge of measuring inflation.

Third example: the Royal Society used to be the gold standard of scientific objectivity. Yet this month it issued a report on resilience to extreme weather that, in its 100-plus pages, could find room for not a single graph to show recent trends in extreme weather. That is because no such graph shows an upward trend in global frequency of droughts, storms or floods. The report did find room for a graph showing the rising cost of damage by extreme weather, which is a function of the increased value of insured property, not a measure of weather.

The Royal Society report also carefully omitted what is perhaps the most telling of all statistics about extreme weather: the plummeting death toll. The global probability of being killed by a drought, flood or storm is down by 98 per cent since the 1920s and has never been lower — not because weather is less dangerous but because of improvements in transport, trade, infrastructure, aid and communication.

The Royal Society’s decision to cherry-pick its way past such data would be less worrying if its president, Sir Paul Nurse, had not gone on the record as highly partisan on the subject of climate science. He called for those who disagree with him to be “crushed and buried”, hardly the language of Galileo.

Three months ago Sir Paul said: “We need to be aware of those who mix up science, based on evidence and rationality, with politics and ideology, where opinion, rhetoric and tradition hold more sway. We need to be aware of political or ideological lobbyists who do not respect science, cherry-picking data or argument, to support their predetermined positions.”

If he wishes to be consistent, he will therefore condemn the behaviour of the scientists over neonicotinoids and the WMO over temperature records, and chastise his colleagues’ report, for these are prime examples of his point.

Please read the complete article here, and consider the whole picture. The science institution has much to explain.

Posted in AGW, AUSTRALIA, ENVIRONMENT, Science | Tagged , , , | 8 Comments