What Force Is Torturing Residents of Kazakh ‘Village of the Damned’ Hit by Mysterious ‘Sleeping Sickness’? [+video]

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28185C3B00000578-0-image-a-30_1430219066368People living in Kazakhstan’s ‘Village of the Damned’ have spoken of the horrifying side effects of the mysterious sleeping sickness which can leave them unconscious for days – as others reveal they fear they are being poisoned to force them to make way for a gold mine.

When a photojournalist spent a night at the infamous village, she was told of how children have seen their mothers grow eyes on their foreheads and usually well-mannered pensioners denounce their nurses as ‘whores’ and ‘prostitutes’.

Meanwhile, men struggle with uncontrollable sexual desires after waking from the coma-like sleep in the village of Kalachi, in northern Kazakhstan.

It is the first time residents of the village, which has also been dubbed ‘Sleepy Hollow’, have spoken of the debilitating side effects.

The illness which sends people into a deep sleep without warning first struck four years ago, and is thought to have affected about a quarter of the population – about 160 people – at some time or another. . .

Baffled doctors have diagnosed the sufferers with encephalopathy, a disorder of the brain, of unclear origin. Scans have shown that many of the sufferers have excessive accumulation of fluid in their brains – known as oedema. (Read more from “What Force Is Torturing Residents of Kazakh ‘Village of the Damned’ Hit by Mysterious ‘Sleeping Sickness’?” HERE)

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“Major Provocation”: Vietnam Buys Submarine-Launched Land Attack Missiles to Deter China

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vietnam-navyVietnam is arming its expanding submarine fleet with land attack missiles that could be capable of reaching Chinese coastal cities, a choice of weapon likely to be seen as provocative by China in the ongoing South China Sea dispute.

The independent Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) recently updated data on its website to show Vietnam’s acquisition of the Russian-made land attack variant of the Klub missile for its state-of-the-art Kilo attack submarines.

SIPRI arms researcher Siemon Wezeman said the entry was based on an earlier but little-noticed filing Vietnam made last year to the United Nations’ register of conventional arms.

Regional military attaches and analysts see the missiles as a further sign of Vietnam’s determination to counter the rise of China’s military and part of a broader trend of Asian countries re-arming amid rising territorial tensions . . .

While those would potentially target Chinese ships and submarines in the South China Sea, the land attack weapons are capable of precision strikes at a range of 300 kilometres, making China’s coastal cities potential targets in any conflict. (Read more from “Vietnam Buys Submarine-Launched Land Attack Missiles to Deter China” HERE)

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‘In God We Trust’ Sign Shot Down by Florida City Council

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ingodwetrust_0In the continuing dialogue surrounding the placement of the motto “In God We Trust” on governmental buildings, the city of Venice, Florida, decided not to place the national motto on a wall in the council chambers at City Hall.

Supporters of the motto included Venice City Councilmember Emilio Carlesimo and Jim Walker, a North Port resident, who asked the council to consider the measure during a meeting on April 28. He said the measure was more an act of patriotism than one of religion.

At least 20 people who came to the meeting supported the measure, but those who opposed it also showed up.

David Williamson of the Central Florida Freethought Community and Marie Glidewell of the Gulf Coast Humanists Association both asked the council to leave religion out of politics.

“This is not a chamber of the majority, it is a chamber of all,” Williamson said. (Read more from “‘In God We Trust’ Sign Shot Down by Florida City Council” HERE)

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Nepal Quake Toll Passes 6,200, $2 Billion Needed for Reconstruction

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Mamta Gadal waits to hear from the rescue team of news of her husband, who is trapped under a collapsed building, after Saturday’s earthquake, in KathmanduThe death toll from Nepal’s devastating earthquake rose steadily past 6,200 on Friday as fresh aftershocks and the stench of rotting bodies made it hard for nervous survivors to return to their homes.

Disposal of the hundreds of bodies still being found six days after the 7.9 magnitude quake devastated the Himalayan nation of 28 million people was becoming a problem for officials, who have ordered immediate cremations.

“Morgues are full beyond capacity and we have been given instruction to incinerate bodies immediately after they are pulled out,” said Raman Lal, an Indian paramilitary force official working in coordination with Nepali forces.

Aid was slowly beginning to reach remote towns and villages nestled in the mountains and foothills but the overpowering smell of bodies trapped beneath the rubble of collapsed buildings in the capital was making it hard for residents to return to their homes.

Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said Nepal would need at least $2 billion to rebuild homes, hospitals, government offices and historic buildings and appealed for help from international donors. (Read more from “Nepal Quake Toll Passes 6,200, $2 Billion Needed for Reconstruction” HERE)

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U.S. Air Force Watching Falling Russian Cargo Ship

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International Space Station cargo spacecraft - Apr 2015The Air Force is watching an out-of-control Russian satellite tumbling toward earth that could reenter the atmosphere with some 3,000 pounds of toxic fuel within two weeks.

An Air Force center in charge of monitoring space threats at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., said the unmanned Space Station resupply cargo craft known as “Progress-M 27M” was initially determined to be in trouble at 3:04 A.M. on Wednesday . . .

“Currently, the [center] can confirm that the resupply vehicle is rotating at a rate of 360 degrees every five seconds,” Air Force said in a statement . . .

A defense official told the Washington Free Beacon that military commanders are aware of the potential threat posed by spacecraft. However, the official said so far there has been no immediate discussion of plans to shoot the craft down before it enters the atmosphere . . .

Another concern is that some 44 pieces of debris are also moving near the satellite and the upper stage of the rocket body that delivered the craft into orbit. The Air Force said it did not know if the debris is from the rocket body or the vehicle itself. (Read more from “Air Force Watching Falling Russian Satellite” HERE)

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Iowa Reports More ‘Probable’ Bird Flu Cases

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beautiful-birds-wallpapers_blue-bird-wallpaper-freeThe highly pathogenic H5 avian flu turned up in initial tests at five more farms in Iowa, including a commercial egg operation housing up to 5.5 million birds, Iowa’s agriculture department said on Thursday.

If the virus is confirmed at the farms in additional tests under way at a U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory, the total number of American cases could surpass 20 million birds and result in the biggest death toll in a bird flu outbreak in U.S. history.

Avian flu at the egg farm in Buena Vista County, where workers saw an unexpected jump in bird deaths before the flock was tested, could be the largest single farm operation to be hit in the current outbreak.

The egg farm’s owner, Rembrandt Foods, one of the top U.S. egg producers, confirmed the outbreak but disputed the number of birds affected. The state did not identify the affected farm by name.

Avian flu was “probable” at four other commercial farms in Buena Vista, Sioux and Clay counties, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship said. If the virus is confirmed at all five farms in the coming days, the number of sites where H5 has been found in Iowa would rise to 17. (Read more from “Iowa Reports More ‘Probable’ Bird Flu Cases” HERE)

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