Poland and the United States will announce next week the deployment of U.S. ground forces to Poland as part of an expansion of NATO presence in Central and Eastern Europe in response to events in Ukraine. That was the word from Poland’s defense minister, Tomasz Siemoniak, who visited The Post Friday after meeting with Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel at the Pentagon on Thursday.The strongest impetus, he said, is not even Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea, but President Vladimir Putin’s bald lies about Russian actions there and his exposition of anew doctrine allowing Russia to intervene in any country where Russian-speaking populations are, in Russia’s judgment, under threat. This poses a potential danger to the Baltic nations, which are members of NATO, and even more to Moldova, Belarus and central Asian nations that are not, he said.
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February 19, 2014 — (TRN) — Some worrying developments are taking place at the Super Volcano located beneath Yellowstone National Park; the kind of developments that were seen shortly before other volcanoes erupted. Not only was there a sudden rise in the elevation of the ground, and development of new cracks, but a gas called Helium-4, a very rare type of Helium, has begun coming out of the surface. It is the presence of this gas that has scientists quite concerned. If the Yellowstone Super Volcano were to erupt, it would be 2,000 times bigger than the eruption of Mount St. Helens in the 1980′s. Everything within 500 miles would be dead or destroyed within minutes, 2/3rds of the entire United States would be covered in volcanic ash and the climate of the entire planet would cool within a month. On top of that, just this past week, the largest earthquake in the US took place just a few miles from Yellowstone proving hot magma is on the move. Here’s what has scientists concerned: Since late summer 2013, the Yellowstone GPS network has tracked a small ” ground deformation episode” in north-central Yellowstone National Park. During the past five months, the NRWY GPS station has recorded about 3.5 cm (1.4 in) of uplift (the ground is rising) and about 1 cm (0.4 in) of southeastward ground movement, relative to a stable reference station north of the Park. Measurements from other GPS stations in northern Yellowstone show smaller displacements, forming a circular pattern of deformation (circular — as in the round mouth of a volcano) consistent with a minor pressurization (building-up underground), about 6 to 10 km (4-6 miles) deep, near Norris Junction. What has scientists very concerned is that Yellowstone has suddenly begun emitting massive amounts of Helium-4. Helium-4 seems to be the predictor of activity, as proved with other volcanos. For instance, as the volcanic island of El Hierro, the smallest of Spain’s Canary Islands, rumbled and groaned over the course of seven months in 2011 and 2012, gases silently percolated up through the island’s soil and groundwater. Eventually, a spectacular plume appeared off the southern coast of the island, a sign that El Hierro volcano, an underwater volcano just offshore, had finally erupted. [link to www.livescience.com] The team’s analyses show that, as the El Hierro volcano began to stir, the crust fractured and helium, mostly from the mantle, flowed to the surface. As the actual eruption began, gas flow at the surface increased dramatically, and gas pressure beneath the island dropped. Then as seismic activity at El Hierro picked up again, the crust fractured and deformed extensively, and helium-4 became a larger component of the total helium released on the island. Looking at the past ratios of helium at Yellowstone 1978: Helium isotope ratios (³He/4He) in Lassen Park and Yellowstone Park volcanic gases show large ³He enrichments relative to atmospheric and crustal helium indicating the presence of a dominant mantle-helium component. [link to onlinelibrary.wiley.com] Study released today on Yellowstone helium: [link to www.nature.com] The scientists who revealed today’s information report the quantity of helium-4 in Yellowstone’s gas emissions is hundreds to thousands of times greater than it should be — a sign that the crust is releasing its ancient stores of the rare isotope, the researchers said.”However, much of the helium emitted from this region is actually radiogenic helium-4 produced within the crust by decay of uranium and thorium. Today’s report shows by combining gas emission rates with chemistry and isotopic analyses, that crustal helium-4 emission rates from Yellowstone exceed (by orders of magnitude) any conceivable rate of generation within the crust.” This means the Helium -4 is coming from very far beneath the ground, a clear signal that something big is happening that hasn’t happened in Yellowstone in our lifetime. From LA Times It’s up, up and away for ancient trapped helium at YellowstoneLATimes:By Monte Morin February 19, 2014, 10:15 a.m. Steam plumes rise above thermal features along the Firehole River at Yellowstone National Park. Researchers with the U.S. Geological Survey determined that the famed national park was releasing hundreds — if not thousands — of times more helium than anticipated. (Ken McGee / U.S. Geological Survey ) In areas where there is little groundwater or movement in Earth’s crust, helium-4 can remain trapped and build up over time. This is especially true at Yellowstone, where inactive rocks, or what geologists call “craton,” have been estimated to be 2.5 billion years old. (The park is located primarily in Wyoming.) Things began to change roughly 2 million years ago, however, when hot magma intruded on the crustal system from below and triggered several enormous volcanic eruptions, the most recent about 640,000 years ago. For scientists, there are important implications to the recent developments at Yellowstone. Helium and other noble gases are used to estimate groundwater residence times—for example, scientists assume that the more helium-4 present in water, the longer that water has been sitting in the rocks surrounding it. But the study of helium at Yellowstone shows that some of these assumptions—specifically helium-4 produced by the steady decay of elements found only within the rocks and sediments of the local aquifer — aren’t quite right. Helium can suddenly come into a system from unexpected places—a pocket of ancient rock, for instance, or a magma source — so the dates in past calculations, particularly those from aquifers in volcanic regions or near earthquake faults, might be way off because of that extra helium. Scientists, though, are used to dealing with new data that changes long-held theories; that’s the nature of science, after all. One of the largest earthquakes in the US this week, at just M3.6, occurred close to Yellowstone crater, on 11 February. The area, which overlies a hotspot (where hot magma from the mantle rises to the surface) is characterized by frequent earth tremors, which often occur in clusters (or ‘swarms’) such as those of 2004, 2009 and 2010. WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS NEWS
1) The ground inside the gigantic mouth of the Yellowstone Super Volcano is rising and moving southeastward. 2) Helium -4, not normally present, has suddenly appeared at Yellowstone in unbelievably large amounts never seen before. 3) When Helium -4 was seen at other volcanoes, it appeared shortly before major eruptions of those volcanoes. 4) Prior to most volcanic eruptions, earthquakes occur near the volcano and just this past week, one of the largest earthquakes in the US at just M3.6, occurred close to Yellowstone crater, on 11 February. Naysayers beware, the evidence is stacking up. if you’re waiting for an mass-media announcement….it has now happened and wont get any more direct. These words don’t come lightly from experts who appreciate that such statements – if wrong – can undermine the jobs these scientists do. We have previously (within the last week) been warned an eruption could occur suddenly with no warning….that was the warning! All those living locally should not expect anything more but the evidence above!! Tectonically speaking, Yellowstone lies to the east of most of the major earthquake zones which characterize western North America and the earthquake swarms around Yellowstone are related to movements of the magma which lies beneath. Residents of the Yellowstone area, however, probably wish researchers would just hurry up and figure out whether or not the supervolcano that’s simmering below them and last erupted 640,000 years ago is going to blow again anytime soon. Read more on related topic: Yellowstone indications of severe earthquake/eruption ,Yellowstone trembles again, Yellowstone ground raises 10 inches Article Source TRN Referencing Article LA Times pROPHET WHO PREDICTED AMERICA'S DESTRUCTION FROM RUSSIA BACK IN THE MID 80'S SPEAKS TONIGHT!!!3/27/2014 Investigators have found that six Hanford workers were sickened Wednesday from ingesting chemical vapors at the nuclear facility. Three were helping to conduct a video inspection of an underground nuclear storage tank. Two of the three were transported to Kadlec Medical Center by ambulance for treatment of symptoms. Another received treatment at Hanford’s onsite medical facility. Late Wednesday night KING learned both employees have been released from the hospital and are cleared to return to work. A spokesman for their employer, the U.S. Dept. of Energy’s contractor Washington River Protection Solutions (WRPS), said three additional workers who do not work for WRPS reported “possible vapor-related symptoms” Wednesday after working in an area Tuesday that had a chemical release. “All three were taken to the site medical provider," said Jerry Holloway, External Affairs Manager at WRPS. Those three have all been released from that facility "for return to work as well," said Holloway. This brings the total to 17 Hanford employees who have needed medical care since last Wednesday due to the inhalation of toxic vapors. All but three of the workers are employed by WRPS, which has the multi-million dollar contract to manage all of the site’s underground nuclear waste storage tanks. There are 177 tanks holding 56 million gallons of radioactive and chemically contaminated sludge at the site. “Data collection and analysis is underway in the affected (tank) farms to understand what happened and what might be done to reduce the likelihood of future occurrences,” said Holloway. On Wednesday, March 19, two WRPS workers inhaled a release of unknown chemicals in what’s called the AY-AZ tank area. Those employees returned to work but continue to receive medical care for persistent symptoms such as coughing, difficulty breathing and headaches. Six days later, on Tuesday, March 25, four more WRPS workers also working in the AY-AZ area inhaled fumes that made them sick. Immediately afterward, two workers with expertise in investigating chemical releases went into the area to attempt to find the source when they too became ill. KING 5 has found they were not wearing appropriate protective gear such as respirators. The area was evacuated after incident and remains closed. A few hours later Tuesday three more WRPS employees breathed in fumes approximately eight miles away in the S-SX tank area. It is not known what they inhaled, but two were transported to the hospital and one to the Hanford medical clinic. The incident Wednesday occurred in yet another location at the Hanford site, at what’s called the T tank farm, about a quarter mile from the S-SX area. Sources tell the reporter 17 people were working on the video inspection when three were suddenly sickened by the release of vapors. Chemicals that were used in the production of plutonium at Hanford from 1943 to 1989 are mixed with other wastes in the tanks and create vapors. At times the vapors exit the tanks through ventilation systems. Some workers have been critical of their employer, WRPS, for not installing enough safety mechanisms to prevent the exposures. A spokesperson for the company told KING “in recent years WRPS has taken a number of steps to reduce potential vapor exposures to its workers.” “It’s pretty scary. It doesn’t usually happen like this. Usually you see four or five a year. But to have this many in eight days is really abnormal,” said retired WRPS employee Mike Geffre. In his 26-year career at Hanford, Geffre was exposed to chemical releases three times. One of the incidents left him sick for a week. “Whenever you hear of someone getting tank vapors, you never know what the long term affects are. The affects of exposures like this can show up as health problems years down the road,” said Geffre. “The presence of chemical vapors is one of the hazards of tank farm operations, and WRPS takes a conservative approach to dealing with its risks – one designed to minimize potential worker exposure and provide an appropriate medical response, when necessary,” said Holloway. The talks between the first Latin-American pope and first African-American US president will focus on tackling the gap between the rich and the poor, but are likely to spill over into thornier issues such as abortion, homosexuals and contraception. The meeting at the Vatican comes as a welcome rest-stop for Obama during a six-day European tour dominated by the crisis over Crimea, and the US leader will doubtless be hoping some of the pope's overwhelming popularity will rub off on him. Obama will also meet new Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi and the country's president Giorgio Napolitano during his visit to the eternal city, as well as going on a private guided tour of the Colosseum. Diplomatic relations between Italy and the United States are close, though Rome still needs some convincing on the value of imposing sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine crisis, amid fears it would take a toll on a key market. Italy's 39-year-old Renzi, who used Obama-style catchy slogans and social media campaigns to shoot up the political ladder, will be keen to strengthen ties with the US leader. But political watchers say the meeting with the former boy scout will be overshadowed by talks and a photo opportunity with the 77-year-old pope. Obama is "mostly going I think to bask in the glow of the new Pope," said Jeremy Shapiro, visiting fellow at Washington's Brookings institute. His main aim will be "to highlight their sort of mutual attention to the problems of poverty and inequality. This isn't really a foreign policy stop," he said. - 'Challenge' of income inequality - According to the White House, Obama hopes to speak to the pope about their "shared commitment to fighting growing inequality", though the peace process in the Middle East, the environment and immigration are also expected to be on the table. Obama, whose approval rating has been slipping, will be keen to repeat his denunciations about income inequality, which he has described as "the defining challenge of our time". Earlier this month, he used the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington to argue that his calls for tax hikes on the rich and curbs on abuses by big banks had a strong moral and religious grounding, in an election-year swipe at Republicans. Pious religious observance should guide political motives and lead to policies that help the sick and the needy, he said -- echoing Francis's rallying cry for more to be done for the poor and disadvantaged. The pope's critical comments about capitalism last year saw him forced to rebuff accusations from rightwing Americans that his teaching is Marxist. But his condemnation of "the economy of exclusion and inequality" won the support of progressive Catholics. Obama said he was "hugely impressed" by Francis's inclusive approach after the pope called for the Church to stop obsessing debating teachings on abortion, homosexuals and contraception. However, Vatican experts say the relationship is not as cosy as it once was between pope Jean Paul II and Ronald Reagan, and Francis is unlikely to refrain from tackling Obama on his domestic and foreign policy.
The pontiff spoke out strongly against a proposed military intervention by the US in Syria last year, organising a vigil at the Vatican which drew tens of thousands of people. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has repeatedly challenged Obama's signature accomplishment, the Affordable Care Act, arguing that it the health care scheme violates religious freedom by requiring for-profit corporations to provide insurance for contraception. Controversy surrounding the Affordable Care Act and Obama's drop in popularity risk resulting in a Republican victory in an upcoming Senate election, which would dramatically weaken the US leader's negotiating position for his remaining two years in power. Religious expert John Allen told Vatican Radio Obama will be fishing for Catholic votes to help him keep a hold on the Senate. Words of support from Francis would certainly boost his case: a survey published by the Saint-Leo University found that Francis was popular with 85 percent of Catholics and 63 percent of Americans. User Actions
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THE HAGUE — President Obama and the leaders of the biggest Western economies agreed on Monday to exclude President Vladimir V. Putin from the Group of 8, suspending his government’s 15-year participation in the diplomatic forum and further isolating his country. In a joint statement after a two-hour, closed-door meeting of the four largest economies in Europe, along with Japan and Canada, the leaders of the seven nations announced that a summit meeting planned for Sochi, Russia, in June will now be held in Brussels — without Russia’s participation. “This group came together because of shared beliefs and shared responsibilities. Russia’s actions in recent weeks are not consistent with them,” the statement said. “Under these circumstances, we will not participate in the planned Sochi Summit. We will suspend our participation in the G-8 until Russia changes course.” The move by the group —its first face-to-face gathering since Russia’s lightning-quick annexation of the Crimea a month ago — was intended as another signal of the West’s condemnation of Russia’s actions. Leaders said it represented only part of a series of punishments that might still escalate if Russia refuses to turn back its aggression's, the statement said. In particular, the countries agreed to consider broader sanctions against large sectors of the Russian economy. Mr. Obama had signaled last week that the United States was prepared to take such a move, and officials said his decision to call a meeting of the G-8 countries was in part intended to persuade them to do the same. “We remain ready to intensify actions including coordinated sectoral sanctions that will have an increasingly significant impact on the Russian economy, if Russia continues to escalate this situation,” the leaders’ statement said. Such sanctions could have an outsized impact on European economies that have close trade and investment ties to Russia. Before the meeting, other leaders also indicated that Russia’s actions had now left the country on the outside of the group. British Prime Minister David Cameron told reporters that “we should be clear there’s not going to be a G-8 summit this year in Russia. That’s absolutely clear.” Chancellor Angela Merkel gave a similar clue that the group might shed Russia in a speech to the German parliament last week, saying that “so long as the political context” is absent, “then the G-8 no longer exists, either as a summit or as a format.” The G-8 is a forum long-prized by the Germans. But Ms. Merkel has sounded increasingly firm — and frustrated — with Mr. Putin. Last week, she stressed that “we are ready at any time to introduce phase-3 measures if there is a worsening of the situation,” referring to the so-called third stage of sanctions — tough economic measures that would likely hurt German business as well as Russia. Early Monday, Mr. Obama expressed solidarity with Ukraine. “Europe and America are united in our support of the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people,” he said after touring the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam with Mark Rutte, the Dutch prime minister. Mr. Obama made his remarks while standing in front of “The Night Watch,” Rembrandt’s depiction of a group of 17th-century militiamen, calling it “easily the most impressive backdrop I’ve had for a news conference.” “We’re united in imposing a cost on Russia for its actions so far,” Mr. Obama said, adding that “the growing sanctions would bring significant consequences to the Russian economy.” For now, the costs were being felt more by Ukraine. Even as Mr. Obama and other world leaders gathered, Russian forces seized another Ukrainian military base in Crimea, which Russia has declared as annexed. Ukraine’s acting president, Oleksander Turchinov, told the parliament in Kiev that the Defense Ministry had ordered military personnel and their families out of Crimea following threats by Russian forces, according to Reuters. At a news conference, Vladyslav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Defense Ministry, declined to say what order the forces had been given. He also said he did not know how many Ukrainians had gone over to Russia’s side. The Ukrainian military’s humiliating retreat has delivered a damaging blow to the country’s fragile interim government in Kiev, piling further pressure on a leadership already struggling to assert its authority and find money to pay salaries and pensions and keep the country running. “The situation is very complicated,” Oleksandr Sych, vice prime minister, told a news conference in Kiev, as Mr. Obama and other leaders met in The Netherlands. “We are just thinking about how to survive for the next few months. The treasury is empty but we have to somehow survive.” The Ukraine crisis overshadowed Mr. Obama’s scheduled four-day trip, a centerpiece of which was a summit meeting on Monday on nuclear security with 52 other world leaders. The two-day talks are the third such meeting since Mr. Obama took office and a central part of his promise in 2009 to seek a future unthreatened by nuclear weapons. The discussions this week were aimed at how to secure or destroy dangerous stockpiles of nuclear material that could be used to build bombs if they are stolen by terrorists. Beforehand, Mr. Obama met with President Xi Jinping of China. Mr. Obama told reporters that the two would discuss climate change, the situation in Ukraine and efforts to stop North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. He also said that he planned to raise with Mr. Xi issues that have added to tensions between China and the United States in recent years. Mr. Obama said the two leaders would use the meeting to “work through frictions that exist in our relations around issues like human rights, in dealing with maritime issues in the South China Sea and the Pacific region, in a way that is constructive and hopefully will lead to resolutions.”
He added that he intended to talk about economic issues and trade in the hopes of making sure that “we are both abiding by the rules that allow for us to create jobs and prosperity in both of our countries.” Speaking with an English translator, Mr. Xi told Mr. Obama that there was “greater space where China and the United States are cooperating” and thanked Mr. Obama for expressing sympathy over the missing Malaysia Airlines jet, which had 154 passengers from China or Taiwan on board, and for American help in the search for the plane. He also said that he wants to pursue what he called a “major power relationship” with the United States, something that Mr. Obama had suggested in a recent letter to Mr. Xi.On Wednesday, Mr. Obama will leave the Netherlands for a daylong summit meeting with European Union leaders in Brussels and to discuss the situation in Russia with the Secretary General of NATO. While in Brussels, Mr. Obama will deliver a speech that aides said would be heavily influenced by Mr. Putin’s recent actions and the threat they pose to Europe. Mr. Obama will fly to Rome on Thursday for a meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican. Aides said the president was eager to discuss the pope’s “commitment to address issues like income inequality,” a subject that Mr. Obama has sought to highlight as an election-year issue at home. But veteran observers of the Vatican said the pope might use the opportunity to discuss other issues as well, including abortion, religious liberty and contraception. The final scheduled stop on Mr. Obama’s trip is a visit to Saudi Arabia. THE HAGUE, Netherlands — President Barack Obama and leaders of the biggest Western economies on Monday agreed to move their next summit out of Russia, in a yet another bid to punish President Vladimir Putin for annexing part of Ukraine. The G-7 countries will now meet in Brussels rather than attend the planned G-8 summit in Sochi. The announcement, which came after an emergency meeting on the sidelines of a nuclear security summit, had been expected since Russia sent troops into Crimea three weeks ago. The leaders are trying to isolate Russia politically and economically, but the suspension also aimed to bruise Putin’s ago. He cares about Russia’s prestige and standing on the world stage, administration officials said, so his exclusion from the group should sting.
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