Temperatures above 40 deg C, (104 deg F) and strong winds are causing the worst bushfire in 20 years south of Australia's capital Canberra: Authorities have declared a state of emergency

he Orroral Valley fire as seen just outside Tharwa on Boboyan Road on Friday. Picture: Dion Georgopoulos

We began January 2020 with an Australian wildfire crisis and we are going to end the month with another one. Authorities of the Australian Capital Territory, (ATC) have declared a state of emergency as the worst bushfire in 20 years is devastating areas south of the nation's capital Canberra.

 The main blaze, in the territory's south, is burning over more than 18,500 hectares. Residents in suburbs of Canberra have been urged to "remain alert" for potential evacuations. "The ACT is now facing the worst bushfire threat since the devastating fires of 2003," Chief Minister Andrew Barr told reporters on Friday. "There's now no higher priority for the ACT government at this time than the bushfire threat." Mr Barr warned the fires "may become uncontrollable" as temperatures climbed to 40C and were fuelled by strong winds. He said the worst blaze was just south of the district of Tuggeranong, a 20-minute drive south of Parliament House in Canberra. BBC

 
Elevated fire conditions in the ACT set to accumulate on Saturday afternoon... 

The warm and windy conditions forecast for the ACT and NSW surrounds on Saturday are set to accumulate in the afternoon. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe fire weather warning for the ACT on Saturday. Strong wind gusts of up to 45km/h are set to hit elevated areas on the fireground and winds are set to pick up across the ACT late morning, BOM meteorologist Gabrielle Woodhouse said. But winds on the fireground were forecast to persist overnight on Friday. "In Canberra city itself we will see winds increasing from about 10 or 11am in the morning," Ms Woodhouse said. "But through the higher parts, it may remain a bit windy overnight and become windier slightly earlier than Canberra city itself." Northwesterly winds in the afternoon, along with hot temperatures will be when the fire danger is at its highest. Canberra Times

Wildfires 2020

Front Page

Coronavirus censorship: Will they shut down the web? What happens when the virus hits third world countries? Leaders and the media are lying (Projected 500,000 contaminated and 114,000 deaths by mid Feb

Photo, people wearing masks queuing to buy more masks, credit AP

• The rise in new coronavirus cases outside China now constitutes a global health emergency, the World Health Organization’s Emergency Committee declared on Thursday, calling on all countries to take urgent measures to contain the respiratory disease.
• Deaths outnumbering the recovered
• When will they shut down the internet? Since The Big Wobble started daily reports of the Coronavirus, it has lost 50% of traffic and people coming to the site are warned of a "WEB-ATTACK!" by their Firewall software.
• When will they shut down the internet altogether?
• “We think we have it very well under control.” (We think they don't have it under control!)
• The virus has now spread to the UK, no shock but, get this, the BBC announced, the last passenger jet arrived in the UK from Wohan 10 days ago, the UK government do not know where the passengers are, in the UK, they have NOT been quarantined!

On Jan 30th, The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China released its latest "official" figures: 10,000 confirmed cases in the Republic of China, which is probably a very conservative number. Another 15,000 are suspected. At this rate by the 1st of February, 25,000 people will be contaminated with 500 deaths and by the middle of February more than 500,000 will be contaminated and 114,000 deaths. As Stephen King once wrote: Done bun, can't be undone!

Deaths outnumbering the recovered

We are being constantly told the death rate is relatively low, however, The National Health Commission of the People's Republic of China's own stats show Deaths are easily outnumbering the recovered, see chart below...

Source

When will they turn off the Internet?

Governments and the Media are constantly warning us of social media spreading fake news. (The internet is bringing the truth to the people, the real truth our governments neglect us, so people like me are being targeted.) The Big Wobble is a very small fish in a mega-sized pond! I started covering the Coronavirus with a daily timeline 3 days ago. Since then I have received hundreds of emails and comments from loyal readers claiming they are warned by their firewall software of a "WEB-ATTACK," if they click on my site, ladies and gentlemen that is absurd. In just three days I have lost more than 50% of my traffic, Full Story If this pandemic continues at its current pace, how long will it be before sites like mine are censored and will our governments actually shut down the internet?

For instance, YouTuber, NewsMonger was releasing at least 2 videos a day out of Wuhan, documenting the virus and the city, he has suddenly stopped uploading videos in the last 24 hours, ok I know, he may be sick, or something but, he could also have been arrested, we just don't know. You see, the problem is people like me and many of my readers have to look for "alternative sources," because of the official people more often than not are feeding us nonsense, dumbing us down if you like, for instance, a headline from the BBC yesterday claimed, "the reason the contaminated figures are so high is because the "experts," have become more skilled at detecting the virus!" I mean, come on, do they think we are idiots? 


Quotes like this one below don't help either!

“Hopefully, it won’t be as bad as some people think it could be, but we’re working very closely with them (Chinese) and with a lot of other people and a lot of other countries,” he said. “We think we have it very well under control.” Donald Trump on the Coronavirus yesterday. AP  The virus has now spread to the UK, no shock but, get this, the BBC announced, the last passenger jet arrived in the UK from Wohan 10 days ago, the UK government do not know where the passengers are, in the UK, they have NOT been quarantined!

What are we NOT being told?

The real problem here is, when-not-if this virus begins spreading in third world countries whos governments just cannot cope, then the shit will really hit the fan, imagine if this virus can bring a country to its knees with the facilities China has, then how will countries like Kenya, Somalia, Iraq, Yemeni, for example, cope? The virus will cut through these unfortunate countries like a hot knife through butter!

Disease

Front Page

China Crisis: An Italian cruise ship with 7,000 people on board is being held off the coast after a Chinese woman fell ill with a suspected case of coronavirus

Photo AP

An Italian cruise ship with 7,000 people on board is being held off the coast after a Chinese woman fell ill with a suspected case of coronavirus. The Costa Smeralda vessel is currently being held in port at Civitavecchia, 35 miles north of Rome after a 54-year-old woman from Macau came down with a fever. She and her husband, who is not thought to have symptoms, were immediately placed in solitary confinement and have been tested for the virus. Daily Mail

They are in the hospital on board a ship of the Costa Cruises, tests are expected. 

Translated from Italian

Russia closes the borders with China Couple in solitary confinement on the cruise ship: stuck in 7 thousand Two people are currently in solitary confinement in the hospital onboard the Costa Smeralda ship, currently stopped at the port of Civitavecchia. It is a couple from Macau. The 54-year-old woman showed up at the hospital on board last night with a fever and mild flu symptoms. Immediately both she and her partner (who for now has no symptoms) were put in solitary confinement. Doctors from the National Institute for Infectious Diseases "Spallanzani" of Rome arrived on the Costa Crociere ship. Health workers tested the couple to find out if it was normal flu or coronavirus that caused the woman to get a fever.

The results will be available in the afternoon. The other passengers on board the ship, around 6 thousand, cannot currently disembark. A couple of Macau citizens had boarded from Savona a few days ago and had arrived from Hong Kong to Malpensa on January 25th. On the Costa Smeralda, there are a total of 751 Chinese citizens including those of Hong Kong, of which 374 embarked in Savona.

Suspected cases of coronavirus are multiplying, also in Italy: the last three in order of time have been reported: in Rome; aboard a cruise ship now stopped off Civitavecchia and Alessandria. For all the people involved, the health protocols have already been taken - as has already happened for the previous suspect patients in Bari and Naples - in order to avoid contagions and quickly ascertain the causes of the disease. corriere.it

Disease

Front Page

Warm waters have enhanced unseasonal downpours across Kenya killing 150 people since October 2019: 100,000 have been displaced: Unprecedented locust invasion eating what crops are left

Photo: KRCS
Flooding in western Kenya has displaced hundreds of people in Homa Bay County and paralysed transport in Turkana. According to local media, 117 families have been displaced by flooding from the Kuja and Oyombe rivers in Ndhiwa, Homa Bay County. The flooding came after a period of heavy rain that began around 26 January 2020.

Homes and crops have been damaged and a bridge over the Oyombe river destroyed. About 200km east of Ndhiwa, flooding caused damage in Narok Town in Narok County on 26 January. Also in Narok County, floodwaters from the overflowing Talek river have left tourist areas of the Maasai Mara National Reserve isolated. Further north, flooding has affected parts of Turkana County after the Kawalase river broke its banks. Local media said the flooding has paralysed transport around the towns of Lodwar, Lokichoggio and Karakol.

Devasting floods caused by a weather system known as a "positive Indian Ocean Dipole have been hitting Kenya hard since 2018. Warm waters have enhanced unseasonal downpours. Recent rains in Kenya have affected more than around a quarter of a million people since the onset of the rains in October 2019, according to the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). Around 150 people have reportedly died, including dozens who lost their lives after a landslide in West Pokot County on 23 November. KRCS said that nearly 100,000 who are displaced countrywide, including 10,000 in West Pokot County. According to the Kenyan government, 16,000 houses have been destroyed across the country. FloodList

To make matters worse swarms of locusts are sweeping across Kenya and is likely to grow 500 times bigger by June. The plagues are hitting the East African region where food insecurity has already reached record levels following unprecedented droughts and in some areas flash floods and millions more are at risk to go hungry unless these swarms are immediately controlled, warned Oxfam today. The Big Wobble

Climate Change 2019

Climate Change 2017/18

Dear readers, visitors to my site are being warned by Norton (firewall) not to click on my site because of a web attack: The only dangerous thing on The Big Wobble is the news items I publish!

Dear readers, many visitors to my site are telling me their Norton (firewall) has warned them of a web attack if they click on my site. Ladies and Gentlemen, I have a freely available blog from Google, the same Google Blog shared by billions of people around the world, there is nothing dangerous on The Big Wobble except the news I report!

In just two days, the traffic to my site has dropped by more than 50%. What is happening is not a coincidence, I hope my loyal and regular readers keep coming back, Thank you for your wonderful support.

I am trying to contact Norton to get to the bottom of this (Just got off the line with someone in India, I don't think he had any idea what I was talking about!)

Locust Plague Update" Devastation is unsurmountable." The unprecedented plagues of locusts sweeping across East Africa to grow 500 times bigger by June: One swarm contains billions of locusts

Credit AP

• According to the Daily Mail, One swarm is estimated to contain billions of locusts and is big enough to cover Greater London.
• "The scale of devastation is unsurmountable."
• To put it in perspective, a large desert locust plague can contain up to 150 million individuals per square kilometre.  
• Collectively, the insects can destroy at least 200 tonnes of vegetation per day.

Credit Daily Mail

Oxfam is preparing for a potential response as swarms of locusts sweep across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia and is likely to grow 500 times bigger by June to neighbouring Uganda and South Sudan. The plagues are hitting the East African region where food insecurity has already reached record levels following unprecedented droughts and in some areas flash floods and millions more are at risk to go hungry unless these swarms are immediately controlled, warned Oxfam today.

Lydia Zigomo, the Regional Director of Oxfam in Horn, East and Central Africa (HECA) said: “Currently, 25.5 million people in Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda are already suffering from hunger and severe malnutrition. These infestations of hundreds of millions of locusts need to be quickly contained before the next main cropping season of March to July.”

The scale of devastation is unsurmountable. To put it in perspective, a large desert locust plague can contain up to 150 million individuals per square kilometre. One million locusts weighing approximately two tonnes could eat as much food in one day as about 20 elephants, 50 camels or 5000 people. Collectively, the insects can destroy at least 200 tonnes of vegetation per day.

Oxfam and partners are on the ground monitoring the humanitarian situation. "We have plans to provide cash support to people most-in-need, particularly small farmers and pastoralists, so they are able to buy food and fodder for their livestock,”

Lydia Zigomo, Oxfam Regional Director in Horn East and Central Africa

Oxfam

“Ethiopia has already been suffering from continuous droughts since 2015 and more recently hit by floods which destroyed people's harvest. This locust infestation, which was partly fueled by recent cyclone hitting the country last December, has now eaten hundreds of square kilometres of vegetation in the Amhara and Tigray regions,” Zigomo added.

In Kenya, the locust swarms have increased spread over the past month across 13 counties including Isiolo, Samburu, Wajir, Garissa, Tana River, Marsabit, Laikipia, Mandera, Kitui, Baringo, Meru, Embu, and Turkana, and have destroyed food crops and pasture for livestock. These same counties have already experienced devastating droughts and floods in recent years pushing over 3 million people to extreme levels of hunger.  These swarms will likely devastate the upcoming planting season. 

 In Somalia, tens of thousands of hectares of land have been affected in Somaliland, Puntland and Galmudug (Mudug), as mature swarms hit the Garbahare area near the Kenyan border. Locusts are also reported to be travelling south to Somalia’s Gedo region leaving a trail of destroyed farms. Operations are underway in the northeast (Puntland) to control the swarms that continue to move towards the central and southern areas, but the lack of security in some of these parts is hampering efforts to survey and control the infestations. Oxfam

Desert locusts are eating their way across large parts of East Africa in a swarm of enormous proportions. It is the worst locust outbreak in some countries there have seen in 70 years. Researchers say they pose an unprecedented threat to food security in some of the world's most vulnerable countries. Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are the worst affected, and Uganda is bracing for an invasion too. Authorities have advised citizens to stock up on food as the insects approach the border with Kenya.

Environment 2020

Front Page Headlines

More than a months rain falls in 24 hours: Torrential rain breaks records in North Queensland: A new fire rages out of control near Canberra with a new heatwave on the way

Earthwindmap
Torrential rain breaks records in North Queensland as 529mm of rain falls in 24 hours Rainfall records have been broken as unprecedented rainfall lashed North Queensland communities, closing businesses, schools and major roads. The average monthly rainfall in January for North Queensland is 405mm. Travel On Line

North Queensland communities are bracing for more torrential rain, while the state’s southwest is baking in another summer heatwave. Water inundated backyards and lapped at doorsteps in Ayr, just south of Townsville after an extraordinary deluge dumped 458mm of rain in just 24 hours on Monday. Further rain in the region on Tuesday quickly caused floodwaters to cut the Bruce Highway between Ayr and Home Hill, on the southern side of the Burdekin River. Roads in Ayr itself are also closed with only emergency vehicles allowed through. Rita Island, just south of Ayr, had even more rain, with more than 615mm falling since Monday morning, and 529mm in 24 hours to 9am Monday.
The deluge broke records in the Burdekin, with the previous highest totals being 395mm in Home Hill back in March 1988, 254mm in Ayr DPI station also recorded in March 1988 and 478mm in February 1947 at Burdekin Shire Council weather station. News.com.aus

Meanwhile, Australian fires are back: Blaze 'sparked by helicopter lights' rages near Canberra An army helicopter's landing lights are thought to have sparked a bushfire burning south of Canberra.

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Extreme Weather 2020

Front Page 

There she blows (again): The Mexican monster Popocatépetl Volcano, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain erupts again for the second time this month!

YouTube

One of Mexico's most active volcanoes erupted in a dramatic nighttime show. The mountain is officially called Popocatepetl, but commonly referred to as "El Popo." On Monday night it shot huge clouds of smoke and ash into the sky. Witnesses say the columns rose some 2,000 feet above the crater. Mexican Civil Defense issued a volcanic alert, warning people to stay away from the volcano and its foothills. So far there have been no reports of damage or injury associated with the eruption. KYMA.com

It's not the first time the Mexican monster has erupted this month, on Thursday the 9th of January 2020 the Popocatépetl Volcano, whose name is the Aztec word for smoking mountain and towers to 5426 m 70 km SE of Mexico City to form North America's 2nd-highest volcano spewed a volcanic ash plume that rose up to an estimated 3,000m (9,800ft) into the Mexico sky.


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Volcano Eruptions 2020

Front Page

2020 is shaking: The second major quake in two days rock the Solomon Islands and is the 3rd major quake in less than 24 hours after the mag 7.7 and a mag 6.1 last night in the Caribbean

Map USGS

According to USGS, a magnitude 6.0 has struck the Solomon Islands and is the 2nd major quake, (mag 6 or higher) there in the last 2 days and the 3rd major quake in less than 24 hours. A mag 6.3 has rocked the Solomon Islands on Monday. The powerful shallow quake struck at a depth of 18 km (shallow quakes are more powerful than deep quakes). 

Last night a massive mag 7.7 and a mag 6.1 were very near misses for Jamaica, Cuba and The Cayman Islands (The same fault line which has rocked Puerto Rico with more than 4,000 quakes since January last year)

Today's quake is the 15th major quake in a very busy January 2020

Major Quakes 2020

Front Page Headlines  

A massive mag 7.7 and a mag 6.1 are very near misses for Jamaica, Cuba and The Cayman Islands (The same fault line which has rocked Puerto Rico with more than 4,000 quakes since Jan 2019)

USGS

No Tsunami Warning, Advisory, Watch, or Threat Has Been Issued.
Two powerful major quakes have rocked the Cayman Isles and Jamaica along both the American and Caribbean tectonic plates last night, it is the same area where more than 2,000 quakes ranging from mag 1 to a mag 6.5 since January the 1st 2020. The massive magnitude 7.7 quake struck between the island of Jamaica and Cuba, the quake was very shallow at 10km deep.

Buildings shook and tremors were felt across the Caribbean, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. Some offices were temporarily evacuated in Miami and parts of Jamaica. Warnings by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC) were later withdrawn. The PTWC initially said "hazardous tsunami waves" were possible for coasts located within 300km (186 miles) of the earthquake's epicentre. This included parts of Belize, Cuba, Honduras, Mexico, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica, it said. But in an update at around 20:45 GMT, the PTWC said the "tsunami threat had now largely passed". BBC

The other major quake (mag 6 or higher) was a magnitude 6.1 - 57km SE of East End, Cayman Islands, less than a hundred km from the mag 7.7, there have been aftershocks nearby. Last nights earthquakes came along the same faultline as the mag 6.5 rocked Puerto Rico 2 weeks ago where almost 2,500 quakes have struck from mag 1 up to mag 6.5, see USGS map below.

Above, 2,500 quakes have struck from mag 1 up to mag 6.5 in the first month of 2020

What is this? According to USGS, more than 4,000 small to mid-sized quakes, including this month's magnitude 6.5 have rattled the tiny island of Purto Rico since January the 1st 2019.

January 28, 2020, M 7.7 earthquake in the Caribbean Sea to the south of Cuba and northwest of Jamaica occurred as the result of strike-slip faulting on the plate boundary between the North America and Caribbean tectonic plates. Preliminary focal mechanism solutions for the earthquake indicate slip occurred as the result of left-lateral motion on a steep fault striking towards the east-northeast, or as the result of right-lateral motion on a steep fault striking towards the south-southeast. The fault plane striking approximately east-west is consistent with the orientation of the regional plate boundary; this transform structure is named the Oriente Fault. At the location of this earthquake, the North America plate moves to the west-southwest with respect to the Caribbean plate at a rate of approximately 19 mm/yr.

Extensive diversity and complexity of tectonic regimes characterize the perimeter of the Caribbean plate, involving no fewer than four major plates (North America, South America, Nazca, and Cocos). Inclined zones of deep earthquakes (Wadati-Benioff zones), ocean trenches, and arcs of volcanoes clearly indicate subduction of oceanic lithosphere along the Central American and Atlantic Ocean margins of the Caribbean plate, while crustal seismicity in Guatemala, northern Venezuela, and the Cayman Ridge and Cayman Trench indicate transform fault and pull-apart basin tectonics. USGS

Major Quakes 2020

Front Page Headlines

The Iranian media are claiming the CIA agent behind Soleimani killing was shot down in Afghanistan: The Pentagon has not officially ruled anything out.

The wreckage of an aeroplane is seen after a crash in Deh Yak district of Ghazni province, Afghanistan. © Reuters / Stringer

American forces were able to reach the wreckage of a U.S. Air Force jet in Afghanistan overnight to retrieve remains, but it remained unclear what brought the high-tech aircraft down in Taliban territory the previous day. The Taliban claimed it shot the plane down, and while a U.S. official said Monday that initial information brought "no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire," a U.S. military spokesperson told CBS News national security correspondent David Martin the cause of the crash was still under investigation. The Pentagon has not officially ruled anything out. CBS

The Iranian media are claiming the CIA agent behind Soleimani killing was shot down in Afghanistan. The Taliban has claimed that a number of CIA agents were on board a plane it says it shot down on Monday; a claim the US denies. Iranian media claims that “many CIA” officers were killed in a plane crash on Monday. The Taliban initially claimed large numbers of Americans were killed, while Russian media and Iranian media then asserted that a senior CIA officer responsible for killing IRGC general Qasem Soleimani was on board. The claim has been greeted with scepticism. Jerusalem Post

Meanwhile, the Taliban say they have repelled an attempt by Afghan government forces to reach the site of a crashed US spy plane in Ghazni province. According to Zabiullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman, clashes erupted as the government forces, backed by the US military, tried for the second time to reach the wreckage site in the militants' stronghold. "Taliban fighters on the ground counted six bodies at the site of the U.S. aeroplane crash," he said, adding there was uncertainty regarding the total fatality count because the fire had consumed everything. The American spy plane, a Bombardier E-11A, came down in the central province early Monday. PressTV

The US military has acknowledged the loss of a Bombardier/Northrop Grumman E-11A plane in central Afghanistan. They added that they have not found any “indication” that the aircraft was downed. The aircraft crashed in Ghazni city area on Monday. An investigation into the incident is underway and the military will provide further information when it's available, a spokesman for the US forces in Afghanistan, Col. Sonny Leggett has tweeted. RT

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Conflict 2020 

Front Page  

Record rainfall that began on 23 January has now claimed almost 50 lives with 4 missing in Greater Belo Horizonte Brazil: More than 14,000 forced to flee their homes

Flood damage in Raposos, Minas Gerais, Brazil, January 2020. Photo: Civil Defence Minas Gerais
Massive floods and landslides hit Greater Belo Horizonte and interior parts of the state after record rainfall that began on 23 January 2020. Initially, fourteen fatalities were reported. Since then the figure jumped to at least 47, with 4 people missing. According to State Civil Defence, fatalities occurred in 14 municipalities in the state, with 13 deaths confirmed in Belo Horizonte, 6 in Betim, 5 in Ibirité and 4 in Alto Caparaó.

At least 3 people are missing in Luisburgo and 1 in Conselheiro Lafaiete. A total of 14,609 people have been forced from their homes due to flood or landslide damage. Severe damage has left 3,386 people homeless, including 1,092 in Greater Belo Horizonte and 2,294 outside of the metropolitan area, referred to as the interior. On 27 January the Minas Gerais government issued a state of emergency for 101 municipalities. Floodlist

Extreme Weather 2020

Front Page 

Europe’s largest colossus, the Mount Etna volcano, is spewing lava again after a number of explosions signalled an increase in volcanic activity (Spectacular Video)

Europe’s largest volcano, Mount Etna, is spewing lava again after a number of explosions signalled an increase in volcanic activity. The explosions have taken place in different crates over a couple of days, sending rocks flying through the air and creating lava flows. Etna is also the largest of Italy’s three active volcanoes, alongside Mount Vesuvius and Stromboli.

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Volcano Eruptions 2020

Front Page

A powerful magnitude 6.3 has rocked the Solomon Islands: Today's quake is the 12th major quake (magnitude 6 or higher) of January 2020.

USGS

A mag 6.3 has rocked the Solomon Islands this morning, according to USGS. The powerful shallow quake struck 5-o-clock this morning (UTC) at a depth of 18 km (shallow quakes are more powerful than deep quakes). USGS has issued a "Green" alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage. Today's quake is the 12th major quake (magnitude 6 or higher) of January 2020.

Major Quakes 2020

Front Page Headlines

At least three rockets struck the US embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday causing injuries: 2 million Iraqis protest against US occupation: Iran-backed military factions blamed

File photo of Iraq troops deployed in front of the US embassy in Baghdad. PressTV

At least three rockets struck the US embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday. One rocket hit the embassy cafeteria while two others landed a short distance away, a source told AFP. At least three people were injured, security sources told Reuters. This would be the first time in years that staff have been hurt in such attacks. No group has claimed responsibility but the US has blamed Iran-backed military factions in Iraq in the past. Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi condemned the attack, stating that the continuation of such acts could "drag Iraq into becoming a battlefield". What is the future of US troops in Iraq? Moqtada al-Sadr: The firebrand cleric who could calm Iraq Soleimani attack: What does international law say? The US State Department said: "We call on the Government of Iraq to fulfil its obligations to protect our diplomatic facilities." Recent attacks have targeted the embassy or Iraqi military bases where American troops are deployed. Iraq has been dragged into a rapid deterioration in relations between Iran and the US in recent months. BBC

The American embassy in Baghdad, the world's largest, lies within the fortified neighbourhood, also known as the International Zone, which is surrounded by concrete walls. The development came two days after nearly a million Iraqis took part in a huge march in the streets of Baghdad to demand immediate withdrawal of all US forces from the country. The massive rally came after influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called on Iraqis to stage "a million-strong, peaceful, unified demonstration to condemn the American presence and its violations." Also on Friday, a senior official of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) issued a statement warning the US president to voluntarily order the withdrawal of US troops from the country before being forced out. PressTV

Conflict 2020 

Front Page  

China Crisis: Impossible to contain: Actual number infected thought to be up to 200,000: Virus can spread before symptoms show: Towns around Wuhan barricading roads and motorways to stop people entering

The shiny happy version of Wuhan shown on the World Health Organisation website.

Today is the anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation 75 years ago, as we remember the horrors of WWII and the death of 6 million Jewish people, the world is in the grip of another horror, the Chinese Coronavirus explosion which could quite easily kill many more millions!

“Show me a man or a woman alone and I'll show you a saint. Give me two and they'll fall in love. Give me three and they'll invent the charming thing we call 'society'. Give me four and they'll build a pyramid. Give me five and they'll make one an outcast. Give me six and they'll reinvent prejudice. Give me seven and in seven years they'll reinvent warfare. Man, may have been made in the image of God, but human society was made in the image of His opposite number, and is always trying to get back home.” ― Stephen King, The Stand

The death toll from the 2019-nCoV coronavirus outbreak in China has reached 80, however, that's the good news The bad news is hundreds more are in critical condition and hundreds more infected, and that is the spin version, the actual number is thought to be up to 200,000 and something I mentioned early last week, Chinese officials yesterday finally told us the virus can spread before any symptoms show because of a five-to-ten day incubation period.

We are seeing official pictures of Chinese health workers handling the sick, in wonderful, pristine, state of the art hospital facilities but the actual horror version is slowly being leaked by terrified citizens showing corpses lying in the street and hospital corridors, hospitals overrun by sick and scared people who are in total panic. Towns and villages around Wuhan have begun barricading roads and motorways to stop people entering, Wuhan itself, a city the size of London is a ghost town.

With almost 3,000 confirmed cases, the actual number of infected people is probably near a quarter of a million, with many of them not even knowing at this stage they are sick. We estimate ( MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis at Imperial College London) that a total of 1,723 cases of 2019-nCoV, (Coronavirus to you and me) in Wuhan City (95% CI: 427 – 4,471) had onset of symptoms by 12th January 2020. This estimate is based on the following assumptions: Wuhan International Airport has a catchment population of 19 million individuals. There is a mean 10-day delay between infection and detection, comprising a 5-6 day incubation period and a 4-5 day delay from symptom onset to detection/hospitalisation of a case (the cases detected in Thailand and Japan were hospitalised 3 and 7 days after onset, respectively) Total volume of international travel from Wuhan over the last two months has been 3,301 passengers per day. This estimate is derived from the 3,418 foreign passengers per day in the top 20 country destinations based on 2018 IATA data and uses 2016 IATA data held by Imperial College to correct for the travel surge at Chinese New Year present in the latter data (which has not happened yet this year) and for travel to countries outside the top 20 destination list. Wuhan International Airport was not closed until January the 23rd, more than 2 weeks after the horse had bolted.

What we are not being told: More than  two hundred million pigs died of the flu last year and the virus is thought to have killed a quarter of the world population of domestic pigs since August 2018
Humans and Pigs have remarkably similar immune systems. 

Swine flu is a particularly nasty disease and can jump from pigs to humans. (apparently, African swine fever can not but...it can mutate!) In 2019 an astonishing one-quarter of the world's domestic pig population died of African Swine Fever, an estimated 200-million pigs, died in China alone. A report by the Guardian in November 2019, claimed, since August 2018, when China notified the World Organisation for Animal Health that ASF (swine fever) was in the country, the disease has spread with extraordinary speed. (sound familiar?) Some 40% of Chinese pigs – hundreds of millions of animals – have now been lost, and the result has been a chronic shortage of pork and rocketing prices. The Chinese government has been forced to dig into its gigantic emergency reserves of frozen meat. “The producer price has risen 125% since July,” said Rupert Claxton of international food consultancy Girafood. That increase has helped drive up China’s inflation rate, which in October broke through the government target of 3% to hit 3.8%. Why has our mainstream media not jumped onto this glaring coincidence?

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola and had it's annual safety drill days before outbreak!

It could be the scenario of a Hollywood Blockbuster but, could the mysterious Coronovirus which has exploded in China and other parts of the world in just 25 days have accidentally leaked from China's only lab designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola. "No chance" I hear you saying but it has happened before, in 2004, a SARS virus 'leaked' from a lab in Beijing.  Full story here  It seems highly coincidental that The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens and is the city where the mysterious coronavirus began!

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola. On December the 24th 2019, laboratory bosses accepted an annual management review with the object to ensure the implementation of the management principles and quality objectives of the laboratory safety system, and to maintain the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the system. A week later on the day the US Embassy was attacked in Iraq, The World Health Organization (WHO) alerted by Chinese authorities, of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Patients were quarantined and work began on identifying the origin of pneumonia. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies a seafood market suspected to be at the centre of the outbreak. The market was closed on Jan 1, 2020. Here is the actual transcript of the meeting 

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is located about 20 miles away from the Huanan Seafood Market and some have wondered if the outbreak’s epicentre is coincidental, but the scientific community currently believes that the virus mutated through and jumped to people through animal-human contact at the market, however, with past lies and coverups from corrupt leaders throughout history are we to believe what we are being told?

According to The Daily Mail, scientists warned in 2017 that a SARS-like virus could escape a lab set up that year in Wuhan, China, to study some of the most dangerous pathogens in the world. Now, a SARS-like coronavirus has infected thousands there and spread around the world

If the infection rate stands at 83%, this pandemic will be impossible to contain

The story is from TaiwanDaily.net and says this (translated):

Hong Kong and Chinese researchers published the latest research on “New Coronavirus 2019” (referred to as “Wuhan pneumonia”) in the medical journal “Lancet” on the 24th. Chinese experts pointed directly to the disease. The [fatality] rate is fifteen per cent. Hong Kong experts confirmed for the first time that Wuhan pneumonia can be transmitted from person to person, and patients may not have surface symptoms. Taking a Shenzhen seven-person home with six people as an example, the analysis shows that the attack rate is as high as 83% and the incubation period is three to six days It is expected that a large number of cases will break out in China within a week, and the next two weeks will be a crucial period to prevent any place from becoming “another Wuhan”.

The same article also reveals the recorded rate of symptoms among those who are infected:

Overall, 98% of the symptoms were fever, 76% coughing, 44% muscle pain or feeling tired.

With 98% showing fever, this means that one out of 50 people infected will show no fever and therefore easily bypass current screening methods that are practised by health officials.

If one in 50 infected people is able to get through screening that’s primarily looking for fever and respiratory symptoms, it means this outbreak is highly unlikely to be contained.

The article from Taiwan also describes the slow progression of symptoms, in some cases taking as long as eight days to appear:

As a result, one person had fever and diarrhoea in Wuhan one day; many relatives they visited also began to have fever and cough on the fourth day; another did not go to Wuhan but lived with four family members who were subsequently diagnosed, and the eighth day also began Found physical discomfort and confirmed the illness. Natural News

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Bone-Chilling! New cold records set in Russia: Magadan and Yakutia region suffer temperatures of -56C (-68.8F). ‘The wind chill sensation could go to -61°C

Earthwindmap

Not much ice will be melting a -56C (-68.8F). Every day of the past week in the Magadan region the frosts grew stronger, and over the past day, the air temperature dropped below the norm by 8.5 degrees. But in continental areas, temperature set new records. In the village of Talon, on January 24, the temperature dropped to -46.2C (-51.1 F), which is 0.2 degrees below the previous record set in 1978. But these are not the lowest temperatures in Russia. In the east of Yakutia last night, frosts intensified to -56C (-68.8F). ‘The wind chill sensation could go to -61°C in this region.’ Ice Age Now

Thanks to Martin Siebert for this link

Extreme Weather 2020

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Brazil – Deadly Record Breaking Floods and Landslides In Minas Gerais Kill 14 exactly a year ago since 259 people died in the municipality of Brumadinho after a mining dam collapsed.

Iron ore railway bridge destroyed by mudflow, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) downstream from collapsed dam killing 259 last year, Wikipedia

At least 14 people have died after record rain caused flash flooding and landslides in Minas Gerais State in southeast Brazil. The disaster comes just days after the deadly floods in Espirito Santo on 17 to 18 January, where 6 people died and exactly a year ago that 259 people died in the municipality of Brumadinho after a mining dam collapsed.

Minas Gerais Civil Defence reported 14 people have died in the Greater Belo Horizonte area, including in Belo Horizonte city and the municipalities of Ibirité and Betim. Many of the fatalities occurred as a result of landslides. Civil Defence added that 7 people have been injured and around 3,500 evacuated or left homeless. Roads were turned to rivers as floodwater raged through streets of the Greater Belo Horizonte area. Flooding and landslides damaged or destroyed buildings, including a city hospital. Belo Horizonte Civil Defence said that teams attended over 470 incidents of landslides and flooding across the region on 24 January 2020. A total of 171.8mm of rain fell in Belo Horizonte on 24 January. In a statement, Romeu Zema, Governor of Minas Gerais, said the rainfall was the highest recorded in Belo Horizonte. Civil Defence said that at least 8 locations across the metropolitan area recorded more than 100mm of rain in a 15 hour period on 24 January. Several areas of the state recorded over 300mm of rain in a period from early 23 to late 24 January. Some areas have now seen double the amount of rainfall normally expected in January. Warnings for further heavy rain have been issued. Flood List

Extreme Weather 2020

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A magnitude 6.1 - 57km, West of the Amatignak Island, Alaska is the second major quake, to rock the area this week along with nearly 200 aftershocks: Is the 11th major quake of January 2020.

USGS Showing the two major quakes this week along with nearly 200 aftershocks

No Tsunami Warning, Advisory, Watch, or Threat

A magnitude 6.1 - 57 km, West of the Amatignak Island, Alaska is the second major quake, (magnitude 6 or higher) to rock the area this week along with nearly 200 aftershocks, according to USGS.

Today's quake is the 11th major quake of January 2020.

Structure Information Summary

Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are resistant to earthquake shaking, though vulnerable structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are unreinforced brick masonry and reinforced masonry construction.

Major Quakes 2020

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3 glaringly obvious coincidences missed by the MSM: Flu virus killed 200 million pigs in China last year: The Wuhan Biosafety Lab is the only one in China: Situated just 20 miles from Huanan Seafood Market

More than 200 million pigs died from African Swine Fever last year in China

• Humans and Pigs have remarkably similar immune systems. 
• The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola
• The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is located about 20 miles away from the Huanan Seafood Market and some have wondered if the outbreak’s epicentre is coincidental
•  Scientists warned in 2017 that a SARS-like virus could escape a lab set up that year in Wuhan

Captain Trips!

The Stand is a post-apocalyptic horror/fantasy novel by American author Stephen King providing the reader with a detailed vision of the total breakdown of society after the accidental release of a strain of influenza that had been modified for biological warfare causes an apocalyptic pandemic, killing off over 99% of the world's population. Sound familiar?

Well, I think 99% of the world's population is a little over the top regarding the spread of the 2020 Coronavirus, however, Stephen King's novel and what is happening now in China is remarkably similar.

Seriously though, there are three glaringly obvious coincidences being missed by the mainstream media, let's take a look.

Coincidence No 1

Humans and Pigs have remarkably similar immune systems. 

Swine flu is a particularly nasty disease and can jump from pigs to humans. (apparently, African swine fever can not but...it can mutate!) In 2019 an astonishing one-quarter of the world's domestic pig population died of African Swine Fever, an estimated 200-million pigs, died in China alone. A report by the Guardian in November 2019, claimed, since August 2018, when China notified the World Organisation for Animal Health that ASF (swine fever) was in the country, the disease has spread with extraordinary speed. (sound familiar?) Some 40% of Chinese pigs – hundreds of millions of animals – have now been lost, and the result has been a chronic shortage of pork and rocketing prices. The Chinese government has been forced to dig into its gigantic emergency reserves of frozen meat. “The producer price has risen 125% since July,” said Rupert Claxton of international food consultancy Girafood. That increase has helped drive up China’s inflation rate, which in October broke through the government target of 3% to hit 3.8%. Why has our mainstream media not jumped onto this glaring coincidence?

Coincidence No 2

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola and had it's annual safety drill days before outbreak!

It could be the scenario of a Hollywood Blockbuster but, could the mysterious Coronovirus which has exploded in China and other parts of the world in just 25 days have accidentally leaked from China's only lab designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola. "No chance" I hear you saying but it has happened before, in 2004, a SARS virus 'leaked' from a lab in Beijing.  Full story here  It seems highly coincidental that The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens and is the city where the mysterious coronavirus began!

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is the only lab in China designated for studying dangerous pathogens like SARS and Ebola. On December the 24th 2019, laboratory bosses accepted an annual management review with the object to ensure the implementation of the management principles and quality objectives of the laboratory safety system, and to maintain the suitability, adequacy and effectiveness of the system. A week later on the day the US Embassy was attacked in Iraq, The World Health Organization (WHO) alerted by Chinese authorities, of a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan, a city of 11 million people. Patients were quarantined and work began on identifying the origin of pneumonia. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identifies a seafood market suspected to be at the centre of the outbreak. The market was closed on Jan 1, 2020. Here is the actual transcript of the meeting 

Coincidence No 3

The Wuhan National Biosafety Laboratory is located about 20 miles away from the Huanan Seafood Market and some have wondered if the outbreak’s epicentre is coincidental, but the scientific community currently believes that the virus mutated through and jumped to people through animal-human contact at the market, however, with past lies and coverups from corrupt leaders throughout history are we to believe what we are being told?

According to The Daily Mail, scientists warned in 2017 that a SARS-like virus could escape a lab set up that year in Wuhan, China, to study some of the most dangerous pathogens in the world. Now, a SARS-like coronavirus has infected thousands there and spread around the world

Disease

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