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San
Francisco Bay bears brunt of powerful US storm
A
powerful storm churned down the United States' West Coast yesterday,
bringing strong gales and much-needed rain and snow that caused
widespread blackouts in Northern California and whiteouts in the
Sierra Nevada.
The
brunt of the storm hit the San Francisco Bay area, flooding freeways,
toppling trees and keeping thousands of people at home.
"It's
a big storm, as we expected, and it's headed south with very powerful
winds and heavy rainfall," said National Weather Service
meteorologist Will Pi.
In
Oregon, strong winds felled a tree, killing a homeless man who was
sleeping on a trail, and a teenage boy died after a large tree fell
on the vehicle in which he was riding, causing it to swerve and hit
another tree.
A
huge gust blew down a 25m fir tree at a Santa Cruz school, pinning a
sixth-grader by the arm for 15 minutes until chainsaws cut him free.
"Unexpected,
very unexpected," said Gateway Elementary head Zachary Roberts,
who closed the school as the boy was treated and released from a
hospital.
The
storm carried warm air and vast amounts of water in a powerful
current stretching from Hawaii to the mainland and up into the
mountains, where gusts up to 225km/h blew through passes, damaging
homes in the Lake Tahoe area.
Waves
slammed on to waterfronts around the Bay Area, ferries were bound to
their docks, airplanes were grounded and many schools and businesses
told people to stay home.
The
gusts made motorists tightly grip their steering wheels on the Golden
Gate Bridge, where managers created a buffer zone to prevent head-on
collisions by swerving cars.
The
suspension bridge is engineered to swing in cross winds, so "the
concern we have right now is more about vehicles", spokeswoman
Priya David Clemens said.
Computer
glitch causes UK airport chaos
Dozens
of flights have been cancelled in Britain and many others delayed
after a computer failure at the headquarters of air traffic control
company Nats.
For
a time there were no flights able to take off or land at some UK
airports and although Nats were able to resolve the problem by around
4pm local time on Friday, delays and cancellations were expected to
drag on into the evening.
Transport
Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the disruption was unacceptable.
"Any
disruption to our aviation system is a matter of the utmost concern,
especially at this time of year in the run-up to the holiday season.
"Disruption
on this scale is simply unacceptable and I have asked Nats for a full
explanation of this evening's incident. I also want to know what
steps will be taken to prevent this happening again."
Friday's
problem at Nats' state-of-the-art STG700 million ($A1.28 billion)
centre at Swanwick is by no means the first glitch at the Hampshire
centre.
Having
resolved the problem, which started around mid-afternoon, Nats said:
"It will take time for operations across the UK to fully recover
so passengers should contact their airline for the status of their
flight.
"We
apologise for any delays and the inconvenience this may have caused."
Heathrow
said 50 flights had had to be cancelled at the west London airport
and warned that this figure could rise and that delays could persist.
A spokesman added that there could be delays lasting into tomorrow.
US
Senate Passes Bill to Arm
Ukraine, Impose Sanctions
on Russia
According
to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the USSenate has passed a
bill, aimed at providing lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine and
imposing additional sanctions against Russia.
US Senators have passed legislation to impose harsher sanctions
on Russia over its alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict and
provide lethal and non-lethal aid to Ukraine, the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee has announced.
"The
hesitant US response to Russia's continued invasion of Ukraine
threatens to escalate this conflict even further. Unanimous support
for our bill demonstrates a firm commitment to Ukrainian sovereignty
and to making sure [Russian President Vladimir] Putin pays for his
assault on freedom and security in Europe," Republican Senator
Bob Corker said, as quoted by the Foreign Relations Committee
Thursday.
According
to the Committee, the bill, which was coauthored by Corker and
Senator Robert Menendez, would provide Ukraine with "lethal
military and non-military assistance" as well as "energy,
defense sector, and civil society assistance" and would expand
sanctions against Russia.
The
bill, called "Ukraine Freedom Support Act", has yet to be
passed by the US House of Representatives.
US
President Barack Obama has urged Congress not to pass the
legislation. Speaking at the White House Export Council on Thursday,
Obama said the legislation would be counterproductive and create
divisions with Washington's European allies.
Obama's
administration has not yet approved the Ukrainian government's
request for arms, voiced by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in
September during his visit to Washington, DC.
Ukraine
has been gripped by an internal conflict since April, when the
country's new government, which came to power as a result of a coup
in February, launched a military operation against residents of the
southeastern regions, who want independence from Ukraine
The
West has accused Russia of meddling in Ukraine's internal affairs and
aiding Ukrainian independence supporters, but these allegations have
not been supported by any proved factual evidence.
The
United States, as well as the European Union and a number of their
allies, have introduced several rounds of sanctions against Russia in
recent months, targeting its banking, energy and defense sectors. The
West says the measures are aimed at making Russia change its stance
with regard to Ukraine.
Russia
has repeatedly denied any involvement in the Ukrainian crisis,
stressing that sanctions are counterproductive and threaten
international stability.
Another
war. More deaths, more torture. Not exactly headlines
Senate
Panel Votes to Authorize U.S. War on Islamic State
A
Senate panel voted to give President Barack Obama a three-year
authorization to use military force against Islamic State, opening a
debate unlikely to be settled until the new U.S. Congress convenes
next month.
The
Senate Foreign Relations Committee acted today along party lines,
with the 10 Democrats voting yes and the eight Republicans voting no.
It
was the first congressional vote on granting Obama war-fighting
authority against the Sunni extremist group and its affiliates.
Chairman Robert Menendez, the New Jersey Democrat who offered it,
said he’d like to see a Senate floor vote even if there isn’t
time for action in the House.
The
panel was holding its final meeting before Republicans take control
of the Senate in January. Senator Bob Corker, the Tennessee
Republican in line to become chairman next month, said the resolution
“is going nowhere because we’re going to be out of here in two
days.”
The
debate underscored the tangled politics of the issue. Democrats led
by Menendez sought to put more conditions on the war authorization
than the Democratic Obama administration would like. The resolution
would impose a three-year limit on authorization and bar the use of
U.S. forces in ground combat in most cases, restrictions that
Secretary of State John Kerry had urged Menendez to drop.
Military
Restrictions
Most
of the committee’s Republicans expressed concern about the
restrictions on military operations, even as they criticized Obama’s
approach to the fight as too imid.
“Even
if it doesn’t get to the president’s desk by the end of the year,
I think we have sped up our ability to work in a bipartisan way next
year, perhaps, to pass an authorization that fulfills our
constitutional responsibility,” said Senator Chris Murphy, a
Democrat from Connecticut.
Corker
said the committee will revisit the issue early in the new year,
which would give Republicans the chance to use the measure as
leverage on Obama in matters such as fighting Syrian President Bashar
al-Assad. Republicans have criticized Obama for not doing enough to
remove Assad while focusing on Islamic State.
Corker
said he has “no earthly idea” of how Obama intends to degrade and
defeat Islamic State and “zero understanding” of his strategy
against Assad. Corker said he wants to hear more from officials about
the strategy before moving ahead with a new version of the measure,
and said he may subpoena officials if the administration doesn’t
cooperate.
Incrementalism
Condemned
The
administration’s approach “almost reeks of the incrementalism”
of the Vietnam War era, said Corker, citing a view expressed by panel
member John McCain of Arizona.
Obama
has asserted that he already has adequate authority for military
operations against Islamic State militants under the 2001
authorization for use of military force, or AUMF, from Congress
following the Sept. 11 attacks, which authorized military force
against al-Qaeda. Islamic State was previously known as al-Qaeda in
Iraq.
Lawmakers
from both parties have challenged that interpretation, and Obama
agreed to seek a new AUMF that directly addresses the fight with
Islamic State. Yet the White House was largely uncooperative with the
committee, and never proposed language that the president would find
acceptable.
In
his testimony this week, Kerry said that the provision generally
barring the use of U.S. forces “for the purpose of ground combat
operations” would “bind the hands” of the president in case of
unforeseen circumstances, even though Obama has vowed not to use
Americans in such a role.
Paul
Versus Rubio
The
measure approved today would repeal the 2002 AUMF that authorized the
war in Iraq, and would phase out the 2001 measure.
Senator
Rand Paul of Kentucky broke with his Republican colleagues --
including potential presidential rival Marco Rubio of Florida -- with
an amendment seeking to limit the authorization to operations in Iraq
and Syria.
Paul
said the language in the measure -- referring to Islamic State and
“associated persons or forces” -- could give Obama authority to
act in as many as 30 countries where groups have expressed solidarity
with the militant group.
“To
limit it geographically would be a terrible mistake if we’re
serious about the objective of this undertaking, which is to defeat
them,” said Rubio. It’s important that the president have
authority to target the Islamic State militants “wherever they
emerge as a threat to the United States.”
That
amendment was defeated on a bipartisan 13-5 vote, and Paul then
joined the panel’s other Republicans in voting against the measure
that was approved.
Retaking
Mosul
In
a sign that the fight against Islamic State will be long and
difficult, the U.S. envoy to the international coalition fighting the
extremists cautioned today against premature attacks by Iraq’s
security forces to retake the city of Mosul.
“The
moment that the battle is joined at Mosul has to be one that is very
carefully considered,” retired Army General John Allen told an
audience at the Wilson Center, a Washington policy group.
Using
an alternate name for Islamic State, Allen said that care had to be
taken that “the forces arrayed are the right combination of forces
with the right support so that when Daesh ultimately feels the weight
of the counteroffensive, it is something it simply cannot resist.”
Some
U.S. military and intelligence officials have said they’re worried
that the Iraqis may attempt to recapture Mosul from Islamic State
before their military is up to the task.
“Mosul
will be probably the climactic battle of the fight in Iraq,” Allen
said.
Oil
slump leads Wall Street to worst week in 2-1/2 years
Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange December 10, 2014.
.
U.S.
stocks fell sharply on Friday, leaving the benchmark S&P 500 with
its worst weekly performance since May 2012, as investors pulled back
from the markets in response to oil's free-fall and more weak data
out of China.
Oil's
declines have underscored concerns about global demand, and with the
S&P 500 having hit a record high only last week, investors were
loath to fight the downward pressure on stocks, which accelerated in
the final minutes of trading. The S&P dropped 3.5 percent on the
week after seven straight weeks of gains.
The
S&P energy sector .SPNY was down 2.2 percent on the day. It is
down 16.5 percent this year, the worst performing of 10 S&P
sectors. Dow components Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) and Chevron Corp (CVX.N)
both hit 52-week lows as U.S. crude oil fell below $58 a barrel,
hitting five-year lows, on expectations of reduced worldwide energy
demand......
Facists stick together. Fascist Ukrainian leader Poroshenkпo on a tour to Australia to cuddle up to Tony Dumb Dumb and buy uranium
Australia
looks to sell uranium to Ukraine
Tony Abbott (L) believes his threat to shirt-front Vladimir Putin served a purpose.
Australia's
improved ties with Ukraine could have an economic spin-off, with
talks planned on supplying uranium to power stations in the war-torn
eastern European nation.
Ukrainian
President Petro Poroshenko received a warm welcome in Melbourne on
Thursday, having worked closely with Prime Minister Tony Abbott on
the MH17 disaster investigation.
He
declared Mr Abbott "one of the most popular foreign politicians"
in his country, an image cultivated by his tough stance on Russia
over the downing of the Malaysia Airlines flight.
"It's
nice to be popular, even if only in Kiev," Mr Abbott quipped
after the Poroshenko meeting.
President
Poroshenko confirmed Australia is considering selling uranium to
Ukraine, a move guaranteed to attract controversy given the deadly
Chernobyl disaster there in 1986......
Lima
climate summit extended as poor countries demand more from rich
Climate
talks in Lima ran into extra time amid rising frustration from
developing countries at the “ridiculously low” commitments from
rich countries to help pay for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions.
The
talks – originally scheduled to wrap up at 12pm after 10 days –
are now expected to run well into Saturday , as negotiators huddle
over a new draft text many glimpsed for the first time only morning.
The
Lima negotiations began on a buoyant note after the US, China and the
EU came forward with new commitments to cut carbon pollution. But
they were soon brought back down to earth over the perennial divide
between rich and poor countries in the negotiations: how should
countries share the burden for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, and
who should pay?
The
talks were designed to draft a blueprint for a global deal to fight
climate change, due to be adopted in Paris late next year. But
developing countries argued that before signing on they needed to see
greater commitments that the industrialised countries would keep to
their end of a bargain to provide the money needed to fight climate
change. After 10 days of talks, developing countries argued that
those assurances were not strong enough.
By
midweek, a little over $10bn had been raised for a green climate
fund, intended to help poor countries invest in clean energy
technology. That was below the initial target of $15bn and many of
those funds will be distributed over several years.
It
was also unclear how industrialised countries could be held to an
earlier promise to mobilise $100bn a year for climate finance by
2020, negotiators from developing countries said. “We are
disappointed,” said India’s Prakash Javadekar.
“It is
ridiculous. It is ridiculously low.” Javadekar said the pledges to
the green climate fund amounted to backsliding. “We are upset that
2011, 2012, 2013 – three consecutive years – the developed world
provided $10bn each year for climate action support to the developing
world, but now they have reduced it. Now they are saying $10bn is for
four years, so it is $2.5bn,” he said.
The
frustration – with the lack of climate finance as well as other
aspects of the draft text – was widespread among developing
countries, especially those in the gravest danger from climate
change.
There
have been more than 20 years of Conference of the Parties (CoP)
meetings, such as those at Lima, with little in the way of concrete
outcomes, said Ahmed Sareer, the Maldivian negotiator who is about to
take over the leadership of the Alliance of Small Island States.
“How
many CoPs will it take for us to really see any tangible results? We
have been going from CoP to CoP and every time we are given so many
assurances, and expectations are raised, but the gaps are getting
wider,” he said.
“There
has been a clear commitment of $100bn a year but how are we really
being offered? Even when they make those pledges how do we know how
much is going to materialise? There is no point of knowing that
behind the wall there is a big source of funds available unless we
can reach it,” he said.
“We
are told it is there in a nice show case, but we don’t get to meet
it. We don’t get to access it. These are difficult issues for us.”
The
seven-page draft text under discussion so far remains in a very raw
state, with negotiators asked to choose between three options on
virtually every major issue of contention.
But
the multiple-choice format makes it evident that the old fault lines
between rich and poor countries remain.
In
addition to finance, one of the biggest areas of contentious is
“differentiation” in UN parlance – which countries should bear
the burden of cutting emissions that cause climate change.
The
US and other industrialised countries require all countries to cut
greenhouse gas emissions.
That
would be a departure from the original UN classification of the 1990s
– which absolved China, India and other developing countries which
are now major carbon polluters – of cutting their emissions.
Developing
countries are suspicious that the text being developed in Lima is an
attempt to rewrite those old guidelines.
“I
am certain that developing countries the majority of them will have a
problem with the way they framed responsibility. Most developing
countries will be concerned about that,” said Tasneem Essop, head
of strategy for WWF.
Countries
are also divided over the initial commitments countries are expected
to make on fighting climate change – known as “intended
nationally determined contributions”.
Rich
countries, including the US, only want to commit to carbon cuts.
Developing countries want those commitments to include finance for
climate adaptation.
The
rich-poor divide also holds over the issue of monitoring the scale of
those commitments – with China, India and other countries opposed
to outside review
US
tanks, APCs, Humvees roll through Latvia
A
freight train carrying a whole column of American armored vehicles
has been caught on camera in Latvia. Dalbe Railway Station, where the
train was reportedly spotted several days ago, is less than 300km
from the Russian border.
The
train was carrying at least 38 vehicles and several semitrailers,
including eight Bradley Fighting Vehicles, nine M113 Armored
Personnel Carriers (APCs), four petrol tankers, Heavy Expanded
Mobility Tactical Trucks (HEMTTs), High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled
Vehicles (HMMWVs), an M88 Hercules Armory recovery vehicle, a couple
of trucks, some tactical engineering and medical vehicles, at least
four containers and a pair of railcars with ammunition.
Six
released Guantanamo detainees ‘happy to be’ in Uruguay
Six
former US detainees, who have never been charged, are beginning their
new life as refugees in Uruguay. They arrived on Sunday and have
given their first comments to the press to say they are happy to be
there.
The
six include four Syrians, a Palestinian and a Tunisian.
Although
they were cleared for release in 2009, the US was not able to
discharge them until Uruguayan President Jose Mujica offered to take
them.
One
of the Syrians, 32 year old Ali al-Shaaban, has been held for more
than a decade in the Guantanamo prison in Cuba, after he was arrested
in Pakistan following the 9/11 attacks.
“We
are happy to be here,” he has told the Guardian by phone in his
first interview since arriving in Uruguay.
Snowden,
nein! High court foils opposition attempt to bring whistleblower to
Berlin
A
German court has rejected a bid by opposition parties to bring ex-NSA
contractor Edward Snowden to Berlin to testify about the US agency’s
intelligence activities in Germany before a parliamentary committee.
Members
of Germany’s Green and left parties petitioned Berlin’s Federal
Constitutional Court to grant Snowden temporary entry to Berlin in
order to answer questions about the National Security Agency’s
(NSA) alleged espionage on German nationals.
On
Friday, the court threw the bid out, saying that it does not have
jurisdiction in the matter and that the case should be decided by a
different court, Germany’s BHG Federal Court of Justice. The panel
labeled the petition “inadmissible,” the DPA news agency reports.
Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s center-left ruling coalition government is wary of
having Snowden enter the country, believing his presence might strain
US-German relations, and that the country could be put under pressure
to extradite the famous whistleblower.
For
right now I can find ZILCH about this on Google although it has been
on the news
A
swarm of quakes in Christchurch, NZ
| Intensity | moderate |
| Region intensity | weak |
| NZDT | Sat, Dec 13 2014, 9:30:01 am |
| Depth | 7 km |
| Magnitude | 3.3 |
| Location | 25 km south of Te Kaha |
| Felt it? | quake details... |
2 hours ago
| Intensity | weak |
| Region intensity | weak |
| NZDT | Sat, Dec 13 2014, 4:16:49 am |
| Depth | 14 km |
| Magnitude | 2.3 |
| Location | 5 km north-west of Mokau |
| Felt it? | quake details... |
7 hours ago
| Intensity | strong |
| Region intensity | moderate |
| NZDT | Sat, Dec 13 2014, 2:37:04 am |
| Depth | 9 km |
| Magnitude | 4.5 |
| Location | 25 km south-west of Christchurch |
| Felt it? | quake details... |
9 hours ago
| Intensity | light |
| Region intensity | weak |
| NZDT | Sat, Dec 13 2014, 12:15:20 am |
| Depth | 8 km |
| Magnitude | 2.7 |
| Location | 15 km west of Ohakune |
| Felt it? | quake details... |
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