Rallies held in Greece against U.S. "imperialist military operations"

Source: Xinhua| 2020-01-12


Protestors shout slogans during a demonstration in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 11, 2020. Thousands of protesters marched in the center of Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Saturday, chanting slogans against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

ATHENS, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of protesters marched in the centre of Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Saturday, chanting slogans against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Greek national news agency AMNA reported.

"Get your hands off Tehran", screamed banners held by demonstrators outside the U.S. embassy in Athens.

The peaceful rallies were organized by leftist groups and the Movement United Against Racism and the Fascist Threat (KEERFA), which condemned the U.S. policy in the region and urged Athens not to get involved in any "imperialist military operations," according to their press releases.

Speaking to Xinhua during the Athens demonstration, Petros Constantinou, coordinator for the local KEERFA, said Greeks and migrants and refugees living in Greece are raising their voices against any more blood shedding, joining the anti-war movement across the world.

"We say no to Trump's war...The anti-war movement is here demanding peace, condemning the American imperialism," he added.


Grigoris Adamopoulos, another protestor, told Xinhua: "This is a region which has already paid a big price with blood shedding, with people as victims for the U.S. strategy, and the competition among big powers seeking to promote their interests in the area."

"We are here to condemn this attack and American policy. This policy is a threat also to our nation, our country, which is so close to the Middle East," he added.

Christina S. also condemned the "bullying" in international politics and expressed concern over the possible repercussions throughout the region and the world.

"We are here to resist the U.S. imperialist policy and their bullying, particularly in the Middle East. No more wars. Societies are progressing and we should learn from our mistakes. What is happening in a neighboring country affects us all. The value of human life is the same, beyond borders," she stressed.



Protestors take part in a demonstration in Athens, Greece, on Jan. 11, 2020. Thousands of protesters marched in the center of Athens and Thessaloniki in northern Greece on Saturday, chanting slogans against the U.S. airstrike in Iraq which killed Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani, Greek national news agency AMNA reported. (Xinhua/Marios Lolos)

CHINESE YEAR OF THE RAT

A citizen displays stamps of the Year of Rat in Macao, south China, on Jan. 5, 2020. The stamps marking the forthcoming Year of Rat on the lunar Chinese calendar were issued on Sunday in Macao. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)

Citizens queue to buy stamps of the Year of Rat in Macao, south China, on Jan. 5, 2020. The stamps marking the forthcoming Year of Rat on the lunar Chinese calendar were issued on Sunday in Macao. (Xinhua/Cheong Kam Ka)



James Cagney never actually said "You dirty rat," but a line in his 1932 film "Taxi!" probably came closest.

'Haiti is not hell on earth'

PHOTO ESSAY

IN DEPTH

Haiti struggles 10 years after catastrophic earthquake

A decade after an earthquake leveled buildings in Haiti in January 2010, many people in the country still struggle against poverty and corruption. But there is still some hope change is coming.

'Haiti is not hell on earth'

A country in ruins 1/10
On January 12, 2010, shortly before 5 p.m., a 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean island nation of Haiti. The destruction was catastrophic. In some areas, 90% of buildings collapsed. At least 200,000 people were killed and more than a million were made homeless. It caused $6.6 billion (€5.9 billion) worth of damage – more than the country's entire gross domestic product.

December 2019, Port-au-Prince: Two friends on the beach. 

Political scientist Bert Hoffmann said the ongoing crisis should not obscure the existence 

of "many family and local structures that are functioning" in Haiti. 

The Caribbean state is "not hell on earth," he said. 

"It's a very poor but generally peaceful country that has a great culture.

Thailand: Thousands protest against government with run

Thousands have joined the "Run Against Dictatorship" in the Thai capital, with some protesters showing the three-finger salute made popular by the Hunger Games dystopian trilogy.


A large protest against Thailand's military-backed government on Sunday saw thousands join the "Run Against Dictatorship" in Bangkok, with some runners also showing the three-finger salute made popular by the Hunger Games movies.

Protesters gathered at a public park for an anti-government run early on Sunday, with Thai billionaire and opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit leading the event.

Organizers said over 10,000 people registered to join the "Run Against Dictatorship," marking what appeared to be the biggest anti-government protest since the 2014 military coup, which saw the current Prime Minister and then-army chief Prayut Chan-ocha seize power.

"I want a government that takes care of the people and spends money on our well-being and the environment instead of buying tanks and submarines," one of the runners said.

Protesters chanted "Get out, Prayut" and "Long live democracy." Before running the 2.6-kilometer (1.6-mile) course, many of the protesters also flashed the three-finger salute inspired by the Hunger Games dystopian franchise.

Prayut managed to hold on to power after the 2019 election that the opposition believes was manipulated. The former junta leader is backed by the country's powerful military, and the government is often accused of wielding the country's draconian lese majeste laws as a weapon against political opponents.
Military leader Prayuth confirmed as Thai prime minister

The anti-military party Future Forward, headed by the opposition leader Thanathorn, is currently facing a threat of dissolution for allegedly attempting to overthrow the nation's constitutional monarchy. Thanathorn has been stripped of his lawmaker status and is facing various charges.

The 41-year-old billionaire, however, still enjoys a rock star status among his supporters.

"You can feel the anger of the people and their disappointment over the government," the billionaire told AFP news agency before the race. "I think this is the first step to general change in Thailand."

Run vs. Walk

Originally, the Sunday run was billed as a "Run to Oust the Uncle" in reference to Prayat's nickname, "Uncle Tu."

Pro-government activists staged a rival event to the Sunday run in a different Bangkok park, dubbing it "Walk to Support Uncle." While smaller, the walk still drew in thousands of mostly elderly Prayat supporters, reflecting a generational gap in Thai society.

"We love our country, we love a government which can provide security to our country," one of the participants told the AFP.

dj/stb (AFP, Reuters)

Thailand: Thousands rally against pro-military government

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in Bangkok to protest against the banning of a prominent opposition party that has challenged the government of former military ruler Prayuth Chan-ocha. (14.12.2019)

Thai parliament elects Prayuth Chan-ocha as prime minister

The vote keeps Prayuth Chan-ocha in power, five years after he ousted an elected government in a military coup. The opposition complained of voting irregularities in the March 24 elections. (05.06.2019)

Thai activists accused of defaming king 'disappear'

Rights groups have called on Thailand to explain the disappearance of three activists accused of insulting the monarchy. Separately, a man jailed under the country's lese-majeste laws has been freed in a royal pardon. (10.05.2019)

'Hunger Games'-like German film draws from Nazi-era novel

Hungarian writer Ödön von Horváth wrote his 1937 novel about how fascism was destroying the youth. The story has been given a modern twist for German cinema in an adaptation reminiscent of "Hunger Games." (31.08.2017)

UPDATE
Iran faces protests, international blowback after shooting down airliner

Anger in Iran and abroad is mounting after Tehran admitted to accidentally shooting down an Ukrainian airliner. Protesters in the country are demanding those responsible be held to account.


Iran's government is bracing for heightened domestic and international fallout after admitting on Saturday it accidently shot down a Ukrainian jetliner, killing all 176 people onboard.

The admission by Iran's Revolutionary Guard came days after the January 8 tragedy, raising questions as to why the government had dismissed Western accusations the doomed airliner had been targeted shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Iman Khomenei International Airport.

It also raises questions why Iran did not shut down the airport and airspace on Wednesday, when it was bracing for the US to retaliate for a ballistic missile attack on an Iraqi base housing American troops.

General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, the head of the Revolutionary Guard's aerospace force, said Saturday that the Ukrainian International Airlines plane was mistaken for a US cruise missile at a time the country's air defenses were on high alert.

Taking full responsibility for the "human error," he said that he had notified the armed forces on Wednesday immediately after he became aware the Boeing 737 was shot down, but that the military needed time to conduct an investigation.

Read more: Germany, world leaders react after Iran admits downing plane by 'mistake'

"The delay in releasing information was not aimed at hiding the issue but it is the routine drill that the General Staff should study the case first and all information was collected on Friday morning after studies and what had happened became clear then," he told reporters, according to state-run Fars news agency, in a bid to dispel speculation the armed forces deliberately sought to cover up their role.

He added that civil aviation authorities were not to blame for denying the plane had been shot down by air defenses because they were not informed by the military.


The crash site was cleared and scavangers combed through the wreckage in the days following the crash, raising concerns authorities were destroying evidence

Protests against the government

The accident challenges the Iranian government's narrative that it showed strength in threatening US forces in the region in response to a US drone strike in Baghdad killing Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, only to shoot down a jetliner filled with mostly Iranian citizens and dual nationals.

It also takes the wind out of the public anger at the US and nationalist sentiment the government had sought to capitalize on following Soleimani's death, with hundreds of thousands joining processions to honor the general. In another tragedy, dozens of people were killed in a stampede at his funeral.

Even as the military and government recognized the accident and offered apologies on Saturday, thousands of Iranians demanding that those responsible for the crash be held to account protested in the capital,Tehran, as well as Shiraz, Esfahan, Hamedan and Orumiyeh.

Unverified videos posted on Twitter showed protesters burning images of Soleimani and demanding Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini step down, while in others police dispersed demonstrators with tear gas. At one protest in front of Amir Kabir University in Tehran, Britain's ambassador was briefly arrested for inciting anti-government protester, Tasnim news agency reported.

Mehdi Karroubi, a leader of the 2009-10 Green Movement now living under house arrest, called on Khamenei to step down over his handling of the airliner shootdown.

In a statement posted online, the former parliamentary speaker and presidential candidate questioned when Khamenei was informed about the accident, and why there was a delay in notifying the public about the real reasons for the crash.

Watch video 00:29 Canadian Prime Minister: "Iran must take full responsibility"

US warns against crackdown

In his first public statement following Iran's admission, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo posted a video on Twitter of protesters in Tehran.

"The voice of the Iranian people is clear. They are fed up with the regime's lies, corruption, ineptitude, and brutality of the IRGC [Revolutionary Guard] under Khamenei's kleptocracy. We stand with the Iranian people who deserve a better future," he wrote.


The scale of Saturday's protests were difficult to measure, but they come less than two months after Iranian authorities brutally crushed large anti-government demonstrations, killing hundreds of people.

US President Donald Trump warned against Iranian authorities carrying out "another massacre of peaceful protesters."

"The world is watching," he wrote on Twitter.


cw/dr (AFP, AP, Reuters)

EPSTEIN'S PUSSY GALORE

Ghislaine Maxwell. Picture: AFP

Epstein pal Ghislaine Maxwell under ex-Special Forces guard: report

EPSTEIN'S PERSONAL PUSSY GALORE

Sarah Blake with Fox News, News Corp Australia Network

January 6, 2020 2:28am

British socialite and former Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly being guarded by former US Navy SEALs amid conflicting reports about where she’s hiding out.

Maxwell faces “credible death threats” and is being guarded by former US Navy SEALs in safe houses in the American Midwest, a source told The Daily Mail.

“There has been so much rubbish written about Ghislaine. The reality is she receives multiple, credible death threats on a daily basis. The hate mail is sometimes 2 [feet, 60cm] high,” the source said.

Ghislaine Maxwell with Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Supplied

“She is constantly moving. Her life is in danger. She is being guarded by the best of the very best and that includes former US Navy SEALs. She’s not under the protection of any government. She’s on her own.”

The report follows claims published in the New York Post, claiming that Maxwell is outside of the US and moving between countries including the United Kingdom and Israel.

For the record … Ghislaine Maxwell is reportedly under guard. Picture: AFP

“Ghislaine is protected. She and Jeffrey were assets of sorts for multiple foreign governments. They would trade information about the powerful people caught in his net — caught at Epstein’s house,” the source told the Post.

Rumours about Maxwell’s hideaways come after reports last month that the FBI is investigating Maxwell for her ties to Epstein.

The FBI is also reportedly interested in her friend Prince Andrew, who has been accused of having sex with an underage American woman, Virginia Roberts Guiffre.

Secret meeting: Ghislaine Maxwell, left, and Prince Andrew. Pictures:

Virginia Giuffre. Picture: BBC

Smiling through the tough times … Prince Andrew. Picture: AFP

Prince Andrew’s relationship with financier Epstein cost him sponsors, his royal duties and is now costing him his digs at Buckingham Palace.

The prince, who is eighth in line for the British crown, was reportedly forced to move his private office out of the palace.

Some reports claimed Maxwell would come out of hiding to defend Prince Andrew from accusations, but she has not.

This report originally appeared on Fox News and is reprinted here with permission.

Prince Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Picture: Getty

China mourns native paddlefish scientists say is now extinct

By YANAN WANG, Associated Press Jan. 10, 2020 

In this Nov. 11, 2016, photo provided by the Museum of Hydrobiological Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a Chinese paddlefish specimen made in 1990 is seen on display at the Museum of Hydrobiological Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Wuhan, China. The Chinese paddlefish's sharp, protruding snout made it one of the largest freshwater species in the world. Since scientists declared it extinct in a research paper published last week, Chinese internet users media outlets have been paying tribute to the hefty creature. (Museum of Hydrobiological Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences via AP)
Photo: AP

BEIJING (AP) — The Chinese paddlefish's sharp, protruding snout made it one of the largest freshwater species in the world. Since scientists declared it extinct in a research paper published last week, Chinese internet users and media outlets have been paying tribute to the hefty creature.

“It's farewell at first sight,” said China Youth Daily, noting that many were lamentably unfamiliar with the paddlefish before learning of its demise. Users shared similar sentiments on the Twitter-like Weibo platform.

So named for its distinctive shape, the Chinese paddlefish, or Chinese swordfish, had a lineage dating back at least 34 million years, scientists believe. It could grow as long as 7 meters (23 feet), but in the end, it couldn't survive the overfishing, habitat fragmentation and loss of biodiversity in its native Yangtze River, according to a research paper in the Science of The Total Environment, a peer-reviewed environmental science journal.

“As no individuals exist in captivity, and no living tissues are conserved for potential resurrection, the fish should be considered extinct,” the paper said, pointing to criteria for inclusion on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List.

The paper was authored by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, the University of Kent and the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic.

The paper said since the late 1970s Chinese paddlefish populations declined drastically. The decline corresponded with major dam construction in the Yangtze. During that time, the Gezhouba Dam was built on the main stream of the river, and the opening of the Three Gorges dam project followed in 2003 — the last year a live Chinese paddlefish was sighted.

A survey in 2017 and 2018 found 332 fish species in the Yangtze, but not a single specimen of Chinese paddlefish. The researchers estimate that the fish became extinct some time between 2005 and 2010.

“The extinction of the paddlefish is a huge loss and reflects the critical status of the Yangtze River ecosystem,” said Pan Wenjing, a forest and oceans manager for Greenpeace East Asia.

“The ecology of the Yangtze River is close to collapse due to human activity in past decades,” Pan said. “China has launched its campaign trying to recover the Yangtze River's environment, and some ambitious policies have been introduced, such as the 10-year ban on fishing activity.”

Users on Weibo expressed the wish that a Chinese paddlefish might still resurface in the river.

“Every time I see the news of another species going extinct, my heart starts to throb,” wrote one science blogger. “Humans should not live alone on this planet.”
___

This story has been updated to correct the name of the organization that maintains the Red List to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Judges from across Europe march to defend Polish peers
By VANESSA GERA, Associated Press Jan. 11, 2020 


1of2 Judges and lawyers from across Europe, many of them dressed in their judicial robes, march silently in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The rally was a show of solidarity with Polish judges, who are protesting a bill that would allow the government to fire judges whose rulings they don't like. The legislation has been denounced by the Photo: Czarek Sokolowski, AP

2of2 Demonstrators attend a protest by judges and lawyers from across Europe, many of them dressed in their judicial robes, in Warsaw, Poland, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The march was a show of solidarity with Polish judges, who are protesting a bill that would allow the government to fire judges whose rulings they don't like. The legislation has Photo: Czarek Sokolowski, AP

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Judges from across Europe, many of them dressed in their judicial robes, marched silently in Warsaw on Saturday in a show of solidarity with Polish peers who are protesting a bill that would allow the government to fire judges who issue rulings officials don't like.

The judges visiting the Polish capital descended the steps of the Supreme Court to applause and chants of “Thank you!” from a large crowd. Their show of support came amid a four-year struggle to protect judicial independence under Poland's populist government.


The European judges, joined by many Polish judges, lawyers and other citizens, marched from the high court to the parliament, some carrying Polish and European Union flags. City hall estimated that 15,000 people took part.

An organizer of the event read out a list of the countries represented, including Germany, Denmark, Italy and Croatia. Applause was strongest at the mention of Hungary and Turkey, where judicial independence has been curtailed in recent years.

“We have been in a difficult situation for more than four years,” Supreme Court judge Michał Laskowski told The Associated Press at the start of the march. “We are not alone. We can see that today. This is very, very important for us. I am really moved by this.”

The legislation giving the right-wing government new powers to fire or fine judges was passed by the lower house of parliament before Christmas and will be debated in the Senate next week. The EU and the United Nations have raised objections to the measure.

Opponents have characterized the legislation as the most dangerous blow to Poland's democratic foundations since the ruling Law and Justice party came to power in 2015. They said if the law is enacted, it would end the separation of powers in the country.

They also fear it would add to Poland’s marginalization in the EU and possibly even lead to its eventual departure from the bloc because the bill would give the authorities the power to also punish judges for rulings that are faithful to EU law.

Among those marching Saturday was a Turkish judge who said he lost his job in a purge of thousands of judges following a 2016 coup attempt. Yavuz Aydin, who has received asylum in the EU, said “the rule of law is worth fighting for -- in a peaceful way, in a silent way, in a democratic way.”

“You don’t understand how important it is until you lose it. We understood, but it’s too late,” Aydin said. “I hope Polish people understand this before it’s too late.”

The Law and Justice government has taken control of Poland's Constitutional Tribunal, the public prosecution system and a body that appoints judges in the last four years. An EU court blocked measures that would have given it control of the Supreme Court.

The government argues that it seeks to bring order to a dysfunctional judicial system dominated by what it describes as a “caste” of privileged and sometimes corrupt judges. It says it also is trying to purge former communist judges from the judiciary.

Irish Supreme Court judge John MacMenamin, representing the chief justice of his country and the Association of Judges of Ireland, said the Polish government’s justification is not convincing.

“A lot of time has passed since Poland became free again. I do not think there is a great deal of validity in that argument,” he said. “If judges are not independent, they are not judges.”

He said he came to Warsaw because judicial independence “is so fundamental to the protection of the rule of law and also to the protection of the integrity of the European Union,” stressing that it was EU membership that helped Ireland, once a poor country, become one of the world's richest.

Many Polish judges have continued to assert their independence, issuing decisions that in some cases have gone against the interests of the ruling authorities.

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UNLIKE OTHER PROTESTERS THE JUDGES DID NOT FACE THESE GUYS 

UPDATED 
Magnitude 5.9 shock again rocks quake-stunned Puerto Rico

By DANICA COTO, Associated Press Jan. 11, 2020 

1of10A municipal building is damaged after a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The morning quake caused further damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.Photo: Carlos Giusti, AP

 

2of10People wait in line to eat in an empty lot where they are living and sleeping amid a series of earthquakes, including a 5.9 magnitude quake this morning in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The morning quake caused further damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.Photo: Carlos Giusti, AP

3of10A large rock sits in a resident's backyard after it fell during a magnitude 5.9 earthquake in Guanica, Puerto Rico, Saturday, Jan. 11, 2020. The morning quake caused further damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.Photo: Carlos Giusti, AP

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A magnitude 5.9 quake shook Puerto Rico on Saturday, causing millions of dollars of damage along the island’s southern coast, where previous recent quakes have toppled homes and schools.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 8:54 a.m. (1254 GMT) quake hit 8 miles (13 kilometers) southeast of Guanica at a shallow depth of 3 miles (5 kilometers). It was followed by several aftershocks, including a magnitude 5.2 temblor less than two minutes later.

No injuries or deaths were reported, officials said.

Saturday's quake occurred four days after a 6.4 magnitude quake in the same area and amid a spate of more than 1,200 mostly small quakes over the past 15 days, all at shallow depths.

Gov. Wanda Vazquez estimated damage from Tuesday's earthquake at $110 million, with a total of 559 structures affected. She said her administration was immediately releasing $2 million to six of the most affected municipalities.

Vázquez is seeking a major disaster declaration from the U.S. government, which would free up more federal funds.

As a result of Saturday's quake, Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority said outages were reported across much of southern Puerto Rico and crews were assessing possible damage at power plants. Officials said they also were going back to reassess all structures previously inspected, given the strength of Saturday's quake.

Deputy Mayor Elizabeth Ocasio in the southern coastal city of Ponce told The Associated Press that officials closed the city’s downtown area and two other nearby areas because of weakened infrastructure.

“One building completely collapsed,” she said. “There is a lot of historic infrastructure in Ponce."

Bárbara Cruz, a prosecutor who was in Ponce when the new quake hit, said concrete debris hit the sidewalk as buildings continued to crumble.

“Everyone is out on the street,” she said.

More landslides and damaged homes were reported, along with severe cracks on a bridge in the southwest coastal town of Guanica, where Aurea Santiago, a 57-year-old resident, said she saw big boulders falling on a nearby road.

“We have been through a lot, but what's important is that we are alive, and people are helping us,” she said.

The quake, which initially had been calculated at magnitude 6.0, was the strongest shake since Tuesday's magnitude 6.4 quake — the most potent to hit the island in a century. That temblor killed one person, injured nine others and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and several schools and businesses in the island’s southwest region.

More than 4,000 people have been staying in shelters, many fearful of returning to their homes, and others unable to because of extensive damage.

The director of Puerto Rico's Electric Power Authority, ordered the temporary closure of the company's largest plant, which crews had been inspecting for damage caused by earlier quakes.

The ground in southwest Puerto Rico has been shaking since Dec. 28, with more than 1,280 earthquakes, of which more than 100 were felt and more than 70 were of magnitude 3.5 or greater.

NASA reported Friday that the quakes had moved the land in parts of southern Puerto Rico as much as 5.5 inches (14 centimeters), based on satellite images before and after the temblors.

Víctor Huérfano, director of Puerto Rico’s Seismic Network, told the AP that he expects still more aftershocks as a result of the latest large one.

“It’s going to re-energize an unstable situation,” he said, adding that seismologists are studying which faults were activated. “It’s a complex zone.”

Puerto Rico earthquake aftershocks again rattle coastline as residents deal with disaster after disaster

A string of powerful earthquakes and aftershocks originating in the south of the island continue to stun and rattle residents in early January. (Adriana Usero/The Washington Post)
By Arelis R. Hernández and Cristina Corujo
Jan. 11, 2020

GUÁNICA, Puerto Rico — Puerto Rico has not stopped shaking since a 6.4-magnitude earthquake on Tuesday forced thousands of families to sleep outside, jeopardized the territory's weak power infrastructure and frayed the nerves of residents who have endured more than two years of catastrophe after catastrophe.

Unceasing seismic activity on a fault just off the southern coast has pushed damage estimates to $110 million, and municipal authorities are weighing evacuation orders for residents in pueblos such as Guánica, where another 6-magnitude aftershock Saturday rocked the region and threatened to topple anything that hasn’t already collapsed.

Gov. Wanda Vázquez Garced said Saturday that she had signed a request for a “major disaster declaration” that requires approval from the White House, a move that would release more resources for the power grid, building inspectors and individual assistance. The island is still waiting on more than $18 billion in federal funding after Hurricane Maria devastated much of the island in 2017.

Watch the devastation caused by the earthquakes in Puerto Rico

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=PUERTO+RICO

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/search?q=EARTHQUAKES

Rare salt formations appear along the Great Salt Lake
By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, Associated Press Jan. 10, 2020 

In this undated photo provided by the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, are rare salt formations that are being are being documented for the first time along the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about Photo: AP

In this undated photo provided by the Utah Division of Parks and Recreation, are rare salt formations that are being are being documented for the first time along the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about Photo: AP

In this undated photo provided by the Utah Geological Survey, are rare salt formations that are being are being documented for the first time along the shores of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about salt structures Photo: AP


SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Rare salt formations have been documented for the first time on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, and they could yield insights about salt structures found on Mars before they disappear for good.

They’re showing up now in part because water levels at the largest natural lake west of the Mississippi have been lowered by drought and water diversion, exposing more shoreline. It’s a story that’s playing out throughout the American West as a growing population puts more demand on scarce water resources.

Along the high-salinity waters Great Salt Lake, the expanded shoreline means there are more places where water can bubble up to the surface from warm, sulfate-rich springs. When it hits the cold air, a mineral called Glauber’s salt, or mirabilite, separates out.

“It has to be exposed to just the right conditions,” said park ranger Allison Thompson, who first saw them in October.

The tiny crystals have built up over the last several months, eventually creating flat terraces stacked atop one another like the travertine rimstone and dam terraces at Yellowstone’s Mammoth Hot Springs.

From far away, the mounds can blend into the snowy landscape along the flat blue of the lake edged by distant mountains. From above, though, the cascading terraces are like an enormous piece of lace laid over the sandy earth. An up-close look reveals long, spire-like crystals clustered jaggedly together like something out of science fiction.

There are now four mounds at the Great Salt Lake beach, growing up to 3 feet (1 meter) tall and several yards wide.

Mirabilite mounds are seen more often in places such as the Antarctic, bolstered by the constantly cold temperatures. There are also indications of similar structures on Mars, so study of the mounds in Utah could offer clues on how to examine salts found there.

Salt deposits on Mars could hold clues about whether groundwater or even life was ever supported on the red planet, said Robert Zubrin, president of the Mars Society, a nonprofit group that runs a station simulating the planet in the Utah desert that isn't involved with studying the Great Salt Lake mounds.

“What would that look like? What would be the right detection instrument or technique?” he said.

Mirabilite mounds are especially interesting because they're created by water bubbling up from underground, so they can provide clues about what's beneath the surface without expensive drilling, said Richard Socki. He studied mirabilite mounds in the Antarctic when he was a NASA geochemist in the mid-2000s.

“The mounds are bringing things up from below, that’s the beauty of those mounds,” he said.

But researchers don’t have long to study the Great Salt Lake formations: As winter turns to spring, warming temperatures mean the salt won’t continue to precipitate out of the water and the mounds will disintegrate into a fine dust.

“That powder will eventually get blown away or dissolve into the lake,” said Elliot Jagniecki, a geologist with the Utah Geological Survey. Park rangers will be conducting guided tours to the mounds in Utah this weekend.

The mounds are expected to be gone by February, and eventually melting snow will send runoff into the lake, raising lake levels and likely swallowing up the sites.

That’s part of normal fluctuations with the seasons and drought cycles, but overall the lake isn’t covering as much ground as it once did, said Kevin Perry, professor of University of Utah who has studied stretches of dry lake bed. Much of that is due to water being diverted away from rivers that feed the lake for agriculture and other uses before it reaches the lake, he said.

Other water bodies in the West have faced similar pressures, including California’s Owens Lake. It dried up as water was diverted to Los Angeles over the last century, leaving wind-blown dust that polluted the air before a recent anti-dust project brought some water back.

While the Great Salt Lake is now recovering from a drought cycle, the long-term trend has been a slow loss of about a ½ foot (15 centimeters) per decade, Perry said.

There can be a perception that water flowing to the Great Salt Lake is wasted because it’s too salty to support much life beyond brine shrimp, but Perry said that’s wrong. Brine shrimp are a $1.3 billion industry in Utah, and the wetlands around the lake are a welcome haven for migrating birds.

“People have this viewpoint that every drop of water that makes it into the lake is unusable,” he said. “They are missing the point that the lake and its ecosystem has needs, and those needs are not being met.”

---30---