Chinese Pollution Off The Charts

Before and during

Just how bad is the pollution in China right now? Hundreds have been sent to the hospitals with respiratory distress. Thirty-three cities have hazardous air advisories in place.

According to readings, from the US Embassy in Beijing, air quality particulate pollution readings have reached up into the seven hundreds. The normal scale maxes out at five hundred. Literally meaning that pollution levels are off the chart.

Above, the picture you see shows Beijing on a regular day, sometime in 2012, to the left. On the right you see the same angle taken during this last week.

Below are two photos released by NASA. They show the same region of China, but on two different days. In the top picture we see a view, from space, of January 3, while the bottom shows January 14. According to NASA the particulate pollution readings was three hundred and forty-one, when the second picture was taken.

Jan 3, 2013

Jan 14, 2013

France Increasing Troops Numbers in Mali as Rebels Promise Death to All French Troops

French forces continue to arrive in Mali, as they fight to keep the Malian capital from falling to Al Qaeda supported rebels.

France has announced it will increase it's troop numbers to twenty-five hundred soldiers, by the end of the week.

Rebel forces are promising to make France regret the intervention.

Oumar Ould Hamaha, a commander of the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa released a statement, on Tuesday.

He said that, "every French soldier that comes into our territory should make sure to prepare his will beforehand, because he will not leave alive."

France is not alone in supporting Mali, the UK is providing transport planes and the US is providing intelligence and drones.

Nigeria has promised to send nine hundred soldiers, on Wednesday.

Other African and European Union countries have pledged support and troops, though none have a timetable yet.

83 Killed in University of Aleppo Explosions

At least eighty-three people were killed and over one hundred and sixty were injured when two blasts went off at a university in Syria, on Tuesday.

The explosions struck during the first day of exams at the University of Aleppo.

Both the government and rebel forces blamed each other for the attack.

However, the university is well within a loyalist area.

Tuesday has been one of the bloodiest days in the civil war, with two hundred and eighteen confirmed dead, on it alone.

Over sixty thousand people have been killed in the twenty-two month long conflict.

Pakistan Claims Soldier Killed by Indian Gun Fire

Pakistan claims that another of their soldiers was killed, by gunfire from India, Tuesday night.

This incident would mark the fourth time, in just over a week, that the two countries have exchanged deadly gunfire, along the Kashmir line of control.

In each incident, the two have blamed each other, or denied involvement.

Last Sunday, a Pakistani soldier was killed when Pakistan said they repulsed an Indian attack.

Then on last Tuesday, two Indian troops were killed and their bodies mutilated, in what the country claimed was a Pakistani incursion.

Another Pakistani soldier was killed, on Thursday, along the Kashmir border.

The series of events, between the two, have started worries that peace talks will be derailed.

India and Pakistan are at odds over the Kashmir area, which the two have split, and previously fought over.

Snyder to Direct Non-Trilogy Star Wars Film

Many are familiar with Zack Snyder as the director for 300 and The Watchmen, and he is also bringing the new Superman film, Man of Steel.

Well we've learned that he's working on a huge new project.

A source at Lucasfilms tells us why Snyder so quickly said he wouldn't do Star Wars Episode VII.

It seems Snyder is running a completely different little project for Disney and Lucasfilms.

Snyder is going to be the director for an entirely separate Star Wars film, yes one not based on the trilogies.

He will be loosely remaking Akira Kurosawa's 1954 classic Seven Samurai, which was already remade in 1960 as The Magnificent Seven.

It's unclear exactly when it will be set, but it's supposed to be sometime after Episode VI.

This version does not have a name yet, but it will only rekindle all the discussions, amongst Star Wars fans, who now have at least four movies to look forward to.

Expect for it to be released in late 2014.

Berlin Bank Robbed via 100 Foot Tunnel

Firefighters were called to the Berliner Volksbank in Berling, Germany, Monday morning.

They were called after a guard noticed smoke coming from the safety deposit room.

Once the fire was put out, it was found that the bank had been robbed.

A tunnel, of more than one hundred feet, had been dug from a nearby underground parking garage, under the floor of the deposit room.

According to authorities the tunnel was very professionally made, including ceiling supports, and must have taken months to dig.

The thieves apparently set the fire as they made their escape.

Berlin police are working to find any evidence of who was behind the robbery.

5 Douglas County Schools Closed by Frozen Pipes

Five schools in Douglas County, Colorado were closed on Monday.

They are Cherry Valley Elementary School, Franktown Elementary School, Legend High School, Sedalia Elementary School, and Sierra Middle School.

All five had pipes freeze over night.

In some of the schools the pipes broke, causing flooding.

Douglas County School District hopes to have all five open, for Tuesday, but that is still tentative.

China Drowning in Smog

For some exercise must continue no matter what

For the past four straight days Chinese citizens have been advised to stay home and not open their windows.

The cause is smog, as thick as a London fog.

Thirty-three cities are currently listed as having "hazardous air".

Hospitals have been filling with cases of respiratory distress.

Stores have sold out of breathing masks.

Pollution is so bad that it literally is becoming a national emergency for China.

Malian Rebels Flank French and National Forces

Rebel forces in Mali went around national and French troops, on Monday.

In doing so they took the key town of Diabaly, in an hard fought battle with national forces.

French troops joined the war, on Friday, and had forced the rebels main push back.

However this flanking maneuver puts the Al Qaeda supported rebels closer yet to the capital of Bamako, a goal which France has pledged to keep from happening.

It also shows that the war will not be won, simply by the French showing up.

Five hundred and fifty French troops are already on the ground, and fighters and helicopters are being used to strike the rebels, from the air.

On Sunday, Britain and the US had announced they would immediately begin supporting France's efforts, the US with drones and intelligence, and the UK with transport planes.

Other European Union and African countries have pledged help, but they have not said when.

Burkina Faso, which lies to the south of Mali, set up military roadblocks along it's border to keep rebel forces out, while Mauritania, to the west, called up all troops as it went on high alert.

President George H W Bush Released From Hospital

Former President George H. W. Bush was released from the hospital.

In a public statement he said: "I am deeply grateful for the wonderful doctors and nurses at The Methodist Hospital who took such good care of me. Let me add just how touched we were by the many get well messages we received from our friends and fellow Americans. Your prayers and good wishes helped more than you know, and as I head home my only concern is that I will not be able to thank each of you for your kind words."

On November 7, the former President was admitted to Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas, due to bronchitis.

He was released, on November 19, only to be readmitted, November 23, when his cough flared back up.

According to a spokesman, he had several setbacks, including a high fever, which required a move to the ICU, on December 23.



After a stay there through New Years he was allowed back to regular care.

At eighty-eight he is the oldest living former President of the United States.