CLG: Global warming melts last stable edge of Greenland's Zachariae ice stream, scientists say

News Updates from CLG17 Mar 2014

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Previous edition: Malaysia Airliner Communications Shut Down Separately With 'Manual Intervention' - US Officials (which Google relegated to the sp*m bin, of course. Google subscribers: Google Filter Instructions for CLG Newsletter.)

ACARS switched off in MH370 before last radio message, transport official says 17 Mar 2014 The revelation that Malaysia Airlines flight MH370's Aircraft Communications and Reporting System was switched off before its last radio message was sent has brought the focus of investigations back to the pilots. Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein told the media yesterday that the ACARS was turned off before the message. Previously, it was reported that the system was turned off after the last voice contact. ACARS provides satellites detailed information about a plane's movements and current status.

Missing MH370: Flight engineer aboard missing plane under probe 17 Mar 2014 Police are allegedly investigating a flight engineer who was among the passengers on the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as they focus on the pilots and anyone else on board who had technical flying knowledge, a senior police official said. The aviation engineer, Mohd Khairul Amri Selamat, 29, a Malaysian, had said on social media he had worked for a private jet charter company. "Yes, we are looking into Mohd Khairul as well as the other passengers and crew. The focus is on anyone else who might have had aviation skills on that plane," a senior police official with knowledge of the investigations told Reuters.

Missing Plane 'May Have Sent Signals on Ground' --US intelligence fears the plane may have landed somewhere to be used later as a 9/11-style 'cruise missile'. 16 Mar 2014 The missing Malaysia Airlines plane carrying 239 people could have been on the ground when it sent its last satellite signal, an official has said. US intelligence is focusing on the pilot and co-pilot's possible role in the plane's disappearance and are worried it may have landed somewhere to be used later as a weapon. The Boeing 777-200's final 'ping' was picked up nearly seven hours after the flight vanished from air traffic control screens. But now investigators say a 'ping' was detected from one of two air corridors going north and south from the sea off Malaysia.

Malaysia Officials Open Criminal Inquiry Into Missing Jet 15 Mar 2014 The search for Flight 370 turned into a criminal investigation on Saturday, after Malaysia declared that the plane had been deliberately diverted and then flown for as long as seven hours toward an unknown point far from its scheduled route of Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Prime Minister Najib Razak of Malaysia said Saturday afternoon that he would seek the help of governments across a large expanse of Asia in the search for the Boeing 777, which has been missing for a week and had 239 people on board. The Malaysian authorities released a map showing that the last satellite signal received from the plane had been sent from a point somewhere along one of two arcs spanning large distances across Asia.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 Probe Sharpens Focus on Sabotage 14 Mar 2014 The investigation into the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 sharpened its focus on sabotage, according to aviation and industry officials, amid strong indications that one or more people on the plane deliberately changed its course and tried to mask its location. Officials suspect two different systems were shut off after the plane took off last weekend, one shortly after the other, people familiar with the investigation said. About an hour into the flight, the plane's transponders stopped functioning, making it much more difficult for air-traffic control personnel to track or identify it via radar.

Karzai: We Don't Need U.S. Troops in Afghanistan 15 Mar 2014 Afghanistan's outgoing president said the Afghani military is ready to handle security missions without the help of the United States and reiterated his opposition to a deal that would allow a 'residual' American force to remain in the country. Afghan President Hamid Karzai signaled his defiance of the United States in his final address before the country's parliament Saturday, claiming U.S. troops are not needed in Afghanistan as his military is ready to take over entirely. Karzai also reiterated that he would not sign a security agreement with the United States that would allow American soldiers to stay in Afghanistan to help train and mentor Afghan troops and hunt down al-Qaeda protect the CIA's op-um production, the Associated Press reports.

Crimeans vote overwhelmingly to join Russia 16 Mar 2014 Crimeans have voted overwhelmingly to break away from Ukraine and join Russia in a referendum today that has alarmed the former Soviet republic and triggered the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War. According to results of an exit poll announced first on Russian media, 93 per cent of voters backed a union with Moscow, 60 years after Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, an ethnic Ukrainian, gifted Crimea to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. Thousands of people filled Lenin Square in the centre of Simferopol, Crimea's capital, and waved Crimean and Russian flags in a festive celebration of what most locals wanted.

Crimea exit poll: About 93% back Russia union --There are 1.5 million eligible voters and election officials put the turnout in Sunday's vote at more than 80%. EU and US condemned vote as illegal. 16 Mar 2014 About 93% of Crimean voters have backed joining Russia and seceding from Ukraine, exit polls have suggested. Crowds of pro-Moscow voters celebrated in the main city of Simferopol, and Crimea's pro-Russia leader said he would apply to join Russia on Monday. One voter, schoolteacher Olga Koziko, told the BBC that she was voting for secession because she did not want to be governed by "those Nazis who came to power in Kiev". [US govt: Referendum 'violates international law.' Oh, but illegally invading and occupying about 20 countries in the last 30 years does not? --LRP]

Right Sector leader: Kiev should be ready to sabotage Russian pipelines in Ukraine 16 Mar 2014 The leader of [US-backed] ultranationalist group Right Sector, Dmitry Yarosh, has threatened to destroy Russian pipelines on Ukrainian territory if a diplomatic solution is not reached with Moscow. In a fiery address loaded warmongering rhetoric, Yarosh told his followers they should be ready to resist the Russian "occupiers." The leader of the Right Sector made his address to the coup-appointed government in Kiev, as Crimeans made their way to ballots Sunday to vote to join with Russia or to remain within Ukraine. The Right Sector movement, an amalgamation of several far-right groups, was formed in November 2013. Members of the radical movement were very active in the violence which triggered the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovich.

Ukrainian CyberBerkut takes down NATO websites 16 Mar 2014 The hacktivist group calling itself CyberBerkut has claimed responsibility for taking down 3 NATO websites in a series of DDoS attacks. The group criticizes NATO for stirring up turmoil in Ukraine and helping the "Kiev junta" suppress freedom of speech. CyberBerkut claims it brought down NATO's main website, as well as the sites of the alliance's cyber defense center and NATO's Parliamentary Assembly. The group, in a message posted on its website, says its members will "not allow the presence of NATO occupation on the territory of our homeland!"

Russia says intercepted US drone over Crimea: arms group 14 Mar 2014 A United States surveillance drone has been intercepted above the Ukrainian region of Crimea, a Russian state arms and technology group said Friday. "The drone was flying at about 4,000 metres (12,000 feet) and was virtually invisible from the ground. It was possible to break the link with US operators with complex radio-electronic" technology, said Rostec in a statement. "Judging by its identification number, UAV MQ-5B belonged to the 66th American Reconnaissance Brigade, based in Bavaria," Rostec said on its website, which also carried a picture of what it said was the captured drone.

Executive Order - Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine 06 Mar 2014 I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, find that the actions and policies of persons -- including persons who have asserted governmental authority in the Crimean region without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine -- that undermine democratic processes and institutions in Ukraine [aka the entire US government]; threaten its peace, security, stability, sovereignty, and territorial integrity; and contribute to the misappropriation of its assets, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States, and I hereby declare a national emergency to deal with that threat...

Brzezinski Mapped Out the Battle for Ukraine in 1997 15 Mar 2014 Why would the United States run the risk of siding with anti-Semitic, neo-Nazis in Ukraine? One of the keys may be found by looking back at Zbigniew Brzezinski's 1997 book, The Grand Chessboard in which he wrote, "Ukraine, a new and important space on the Eurasian chessboard, is a geopolitical pivot because its very existence as an independent country helps to transform Russia. Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire. However, if Moscow regains control over Ukraine, with its 52 million people and major resources as well as access to the Black Sea, Russia automatically again regains the wherewithal to become a powerful imperial state, spanning Europe and Asia." The former national security advisor to Jimmy Carter from 1977 to 1981 and top foreign policy advisor to Barack Obama, Brzezinski wrote that US policy should be "unapologetic" in perpetuating "America's own dominant position for at least a generation and preferably longer still."

Russian diplomat stabbed in Canada 14 Mar 2014 A Russian diplomat was stabbed Friday in the Canadian capital following a drunken quarrel [?], officials and media reports said. Ottawa police said they responded to an emergency call at 8:43 am (1243 GMT) about a stabbing near the Russian Embassy and found a 44-year-old man suffering from "stab wounds." The victim was taken to hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries, while a second man was taken into custody for questioning.

US cites 'security' more often than ever to censor, deny records 16 Mar 2014 The Obama administration more often than ever censored government files -- or outright denied access to them -- last year under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act, according to a new analysis of federal data by The Associated Press. The administration cited more legal exceptions it said justified withholding materials and refused a record number of times to turn over files quickly that might be especially newsworthy. Most agencies also took longer to answer records requests, the analysis found.

Fukushima nuclear workers rally against TEPCO 15 Mar 2014 Fukushima nuclear plant workers rallied outside the headquarters of operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) on Friday, complaining they were forced to work for meagre pay in dangerous conditions. The group of about 100 demonstrators shouted and pumped their fists in the air as they railed against being cheated by contractors hired to find recruits to clean up the shattered site and surrounding area. "Workers at the Fukushima plant have been forced to do unreasonable tasks with no decent safety measures," said one man in his thirties, who declined to give his name. He said he was laid off after several months in the job due to heavy radiation exposure.

Radiation levels watched at Halifax ship terminal after uranium hexafluoride scare --Incident 'absolute worst thing that could have happened' 14 Mar 2014 Radiation levels are still being watched at a Halifax shipping terminal this afternoon after canisters carrying hazardous material fell while being moved off a cargo ship on Thursday night. Halifax Regional Fire and Emergency said a large container was being moved just before 10 p.m. AT at the north-end dock when the bottom released, dropping up to four canisters filled with uranium hexafluoride six metres to the ground. Uranium hexaflouride, considered a "class seven" dangerous material, is a chemical compound used in the gas centrifuge process to enrich uranium, that is then used as reactor fuel or to arm nuclear missiles.

Firefighters reach basement of NYC blast site 15 Mar 2014 With most of the rubble of two New York City apartment buildings cleared away, investigators hope to uncover the cause of an explosion that flattened them, killed eight people. City Fire Commissioner Salvatore Cassano said Saturday that investigators should be able to get to the gas pipes and meters in the front of the buildings' basements Sunday, adding, "We'll be in full swing with the investigation." Arson detectives and fire marshals have been waiting to enter the basements to examine meters, check pipes and inspect any possible ignition sources, such as light switches, that might have caused the blast.

Global warming melts last stable edge of Greenland's Zachariae ice stream, scientists say 17 Mar 2014 The last edge of the Greenland ice sheet that resisted global warming has now become unstable, adding billions of tonnes of meltwater to rising seas, scientists have said. In a study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, researchers said a surge in temperature from 2003 had eased the brakes on a long "river" of ice that flows to the coast in north-eastern Greenland.

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