Millions of insects

A maelstrom of mayflies: Millions of insects create flying cacoons around cars as they rise from the River Danube in Hungary

• One of only a handful of times mayflies have swarmed there in 40 years 
• Efforts to clean up the river have helped the insects return to the area 
• Spectacle become unlikely tourist attraction with scores watching 

By BECKY EVANS

VThere were so many insects in the northern town of Tahitotfalu, about 18 miles from Budapest, that cyclists had to cover their faces and cars were barely visible, even with their headlights on. 

Blizzard: A car is barely visible as it travels through millions of swarming mayflies in Tahitotfalu, Hungary

In the spotlight: The headlights illuminate the millions of insects that hatched along the River Danube

Tourist attraction: Scores of people turned out to watch the rare night swarm

These rare insects are one of the only mayfly species to swarm at night. 

Like the more famous mayfly spectacle on the River Tisza, the swarming insects on the Danube have become an unlikely tourist attraction. 

 

More...

• Dew drops on a damselfly: Photographer captures super-sharp images of insects glistening in the morning sun
• Invasion of the flying ants: Billions of the insects have been taking to the skies after humid end to the summer

Scores of people crowded the pavements and bridges in the area to watch the intense swarm, 
known as Dunavirág. 

People watched from the roadside as the mayflies were attracted to the street lighting. 

The mayflies have returned to the Danube after efforts to clean the water in the past couple of years.

The insects hatched for the first time in four decades last year and experts say a reduction in nitrate and phosphate levels. 

Head down: Two people try to cover their faces as they ride through the millions of flying insects

Spectacle: Pavements give viewers a good vantage point as the insects are attracted to the light

Carpet: The ground is littered with the tiny white mayflies that only have a few hours of life in which to mate

It has been helped by the improvement to the sewage treatment plant in Vienna, further along the Danube.

The white-winged mayflies are about one centimetre in size and they have just a few hours to mate after hatching before they die. 

The morning following the Dunavirág sees the ground littered with the yellow abdomens of male mayflies - the rest having disappeared overnight. 

The swarm is not yet as famous as the River Tisza fly 'blooming season' that occurs from late spring to early summer each year. 

The river becomes infested with millions of mayflies taking to the air to frantically find a mate before they die.

Comeback: The mayflies have returned to the River Danube after efforts to clear up the water

Fragile: Modernised sewage systems in Vienna have been credited with helping clean up the river

“This Isn’t An Exercise”

No Negotiation: China and Russia Walk Out of UN Security Council Meeting: 

Mac Slavo August 28th, 2013 SHTFplan.com Comments (112) Read by 20,213 people

10.3K    128    10.6K

As Jerome Corsi warned earlier today, “this is one of the most serious moments that we’ve ever faced in world history.”
Events are happening quickly and as it stands, the United States, Britain and other western allies are preparing a missile strike on Syria.
Russia has been the most critical opponent of the possibility of mid east military action, but now China has also stepped in.

Russia and China have stepped up their warnings against military intervention in Syria, with Moscow saying any such action would have “catastrophic consequences” for the region.
BBC via Zero Hedge

And moments ago the Interfax new agency announced that China and Russia have left the negotiating table in response to a proposal for Britain’s David Cameron on pending intervention in Syria.

UN-SECURITY/COUNCIL-RUSSIA-CHINA DUBAI. Aug 28 (Interfax)
Russian and Chinese representatives have left the UN Security Council session that discussed the draft resolution on Syria proposed by Great Britain.

We could be days away from the start of a conflict the likes of which the world has never seen before.
The United States and Britain are pushing forward with plans to execute a “brief and limited” strike on Syrian targets, but all signs suggest it will turn into much more than that. In January of 2012 the United States positioned 100,000 soldiers off the coast of Iran, and just last weekend it was reported that hundreds of US soldiers and intelligence assets had moved into Syria ahead of the attack.
In response, Syria has warned it will immediately target Israel with Russian supplied advanced weaponry. Syria’s closest ally in the region, Iran, has echoed the threat and warned that it, too, will turn its military capabilities on Israel.
This is a game changer. Any response by Israel against Arab nations would turn the entire middle east against the U.S. led coalition.
According to a report from the LA Times, that’s exactly what Israel intends to do.

“We are not part of the civil war in Syria, but if we identify any attempt whatsoever to harm us, we will respond with great force,” Netanyahu said after huddling for a second consecutive day with key Cabinet members to discuss the possible ramifications of a U.S. strike against Syria.

Armies are mobilizing, and that includes Russian troops, who are reportedly now being deployed in Syria to help Assad defend against “rebel forces,” which adds additional strength to the 160,000 Russian troops mobilized in the region earlier this summer. Furthermore, the Russian Navy deployed nearly its entire Pacific fleet to the Mediterranean in May.
Moreover, after a meeting with Saudi Arabia in which the Saudi head of intelligence directly threatened Vladimir Putin with terrorist attacks during the coming winter Olympic games in Russia if they didn’t let the U.S. move forward with their plans in Syria, President Putin has reportedly responded with the threat of a massive counter-strike against the Saudi Arabian monarchy.
This isn’t an exercise.
The writing is on the wall.
The militaries of the most powerful nations on Earth are preparing to engage.
If President Obama initiates a missile strike on Syria, however limited in scope, it could set the whole world ablaze.

“war order”

A grim “urgent action memorandum” issued today from theoffice of President Putin to the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is ordering a “massive military strike” against Saudi Arabia in the event that the West attacks Syria.

According to Kremlin sources familiar with this extraordinary “war order” Putin became “enraged” after his early August meeting with Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan who warned that if Russia did not accept the defeat of Syria, Saudi Arabia would unleash Chechen terrorists under their control to cause mass death and chaos during the Winter Olympicsscheduled to be held 7-23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia.

Lebanese newspaper As-Safir confirmed this amazing threat against Russia saying that Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord by stating: “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us.”

Prince Bandar went on to say that Chechens operating in Syria were a pressure tool that could be switched on an off.“These groups do not scare us. We use them in the face of the Syrian regime but they will have no role in Syria’s political future.”

London’s The Telegraph News Service further reported today that Saudi Arabia has secretly offered Russia a sweeping deal to control the global oil market and safeguard Russia’s gas contracts, if the Kremlin backs away from the Assad regime in Syria, an offer Putin replied to by saying “Our stance on Assad will never change. We believe that the Syrian regime is the best speaker on behalf of the Syrian people, and not those liver eaters” [Putin said referring to footage showing a Jihadist rebel eating the heart and liver of a Syrian soldier HERE], and which Prince Bandar in turn warned that there can be “no escape from the military option” if Russia declines the olive branch.

Critical to note, and as we had previously reported on in our 28 January 2013 report “Obama Plan For World War III Stuns Russia,” the Federal Security Services (FSB) confirmed the validity of the released hacked emails of the British based defence company, Britam Defence that stunningly warned the Obama regime was preparing to unleash a series of attacks against both Syria and Iran in a move Russian intelligence experts warned could very well cause World War III.

According to this FSB report, Britam Defence, one of the largest private mercenary forces in the world, was the target of a “massive hack” of its computer files by an “unknown state sponsored entity” this past January who then released a number of critical emails between its top two executives, founder Philip Doughty and his Business Development Director David Goulding.

The two most concerning emails between Doughty and Goulding, this report says, states that the Obama regime has approved a “false flag” attack in Syria using chemical weapons, and that Britam has been approved to participate in the West’s warn on Iran, and as we can read:

Email 1: Phil, We’ve got a new offer. It’s about Syria again. Qataris propose an attractive deal and swear that the idea is approved by Washington. We’ll have to deliver a CW (chemical weapon) to Homs (Syria), a Soviet origin g-shell from Libya similar to those that Assad should have. They want us to deploy our Ukrainian personnel that should speak Russian and make a video record. Frankly, I don’t think it’s a good idea but the sums proposed are enormous. Your opinion? Kind regards David

Email 2: Phil, Please see attached details of preparatory measures concerning the Iranian issue. Participation of Britam in the operation is confirmed by the Saudis.

With the events now spiraling out of control in Syria, and London’s Independent News Service now reporting that Prince Bandar is “pushing for war,” Russian foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich further warned the West today by stating, “Attempts to bypass the Security Council, once again to create artificial groundless excuses for a military intervention in the region are fraught with new suffering in Syria and catastrophic consequences for other countries of the Middle East and North Africa.”

Heedless of Russian warnings which have fallen on deaf ears, however, British Prime Minister David Cameron this morning recalled the British Parliament to vote on attacking Syria as the Obama regime abruptly cancelledtheir meeting with Russia scheduled for tomorrow on finding a path to peace for Syria, and the West begins its plans to attack the Syrian nation “within days.”

As Syria itself has warned that should it be attacked by the West there will be “global chaos,” the Western peoples themselves have not been told of the fact that on 17 May 2013, Putin ordered Russian military forces to “immediately move” from Local War to Regional War operational status and to be “fully prepared” to expand to Large-Scale War should either the US or EU enter into the Syrian Civil War, a situation they are still in at this very hour.

With Putin’s previous order, and as we had reported on in our 17 May report “Russia Issues “All-Out War” Alert Over Syria,” and now combined with his new ordering of massive retaliatory strikes against Saudi Arabia, any attack on Syria is viewed by Russia as being an attack on itself.

And as we had previously explained in great detail, the fight over Syria, being led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar and their lap-dog Western allies, has but one single objective: To break Russia’s hold on the European Union natural gas market which a pipeline through Syria would accomplish, and as reported by London’s Financial Times News Service this past June:

“The tiny gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels.

The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investmentportfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition.

Qatar [also] has proposed a gas pipeline from the Gulf to Turkey in a sign the emirate is considering a further expansion of exports from the world’s biggest gasfield after it finishes an ambitious programme to more than double its capacity to produce liquefied natural gas (LNG).”

And in what is, perhaps, the most unimaginable cause to start World War III over Syria was noted by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich who said this past week: “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” he stressed. “In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet, in particular that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action.”

For the West to have so sloppily engineered yet another “false flag” attack to justify a war where they posted the videos of this so-called chemical weapons attack a full day before it was said to occur is the height of arrogance and disdain, but which their sleep-walking citizens, yet again, will fall for as they have done so many times in the past.

You can't park there!

 Motorist who crash-landed his Audi TT halfway up a HOUSE to be charged with drink driving

• Lewis Richardson was left fighting for his life after he rammed the car into the side of the house
• The 22-year-old had to be cut free while the mangled wreckage was left hanging for more than eight hours 

By TARA BRADY

A motorist who crash-landed his Audi TT half way up a house and survived has been charged with drink driving. 

Lewis Richardson of Pakefield, near Lowestoft, Suffolk, suffered horrific head injuries and was left fighting for his life after he rammed the red sports car into the side of the house in nearby Carlton Colville in March this year. 

Firefighters had to cut the 22-year-old free from the mangled wreckage which was left hanging off the ground for more than eight hours while emergency services, vehicle recovery teams and structural engineers worked frantically to make the scene safe.

Lucky to be alive: Lewis Richardson suffered horrific head injuries and was left fighting for his life after he rammed the red sports car into the side of this house

A BMW and an Audi parked on the driveway as well as a van inside the garage were also damaged.

Three people were asleep inside the house at the time but were miraculously unharmed despite the
severity of the crash. 

More...

• BREAKING NEWS: Body of boy, 12, is pulled from River Cam near Cambridge
• Policeman found guilty of assault following arrest by fellow officer for punching suspect in face after he spat in his mouth

Richardson was taken to James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston, near Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, where he was admitted in a critical condition. 

The University of East Anglia graduate was then transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, where he stayed for several weeks before being allowed home.

Wreckage: The mangled motor was left hanging off the ground for more than eight hours

Richardson will appear before Lowestoft Magistrates' Court in October where he is expected to be charged with drink-driving and careless driving.

A Suffolk Police spokeswoman said: 'A 22-year-old man from Lowestoft has been summonsed to appear before Lowestoft Magistrates' Court on October 29 in relation to a collision in Carlton Colville on March 24.

'He is due to be charged with drink-driving and careless driving.'

Weeks after the smash, Richardson's parents, Graham and Ann, wrote to the local newspaper to thank the emergency services that helped save their son's life. 

The grateful couple said: 'We would like to thank all the members of the emergency services who attended.

'We would also like to thank the A&E department at the James Paget University Hospital and Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge for saving our son's life.

'We are also grateful to everyone who prayed for him and who sent their good wishes to him and our family.'/DailyMail

My sensitive skin is my canvas

How one woman only has to touch her body to create intimate works of art

• Ariana Page Russell, 33, suffers from dermatographia which means when she rubs or scratches herself a red, swollen imprint is left on the spot
• To combat stigma, she started photographing the marks on her body 

By SADIE WHITELOCKS    

Ariana Page Russell, 34, based in Brooklyn, New York, suffers from dermatographia which means when she rubs or scratches herself a red, swollen imprint is left on the spot.

In a bid to combat stigma, she started photographing the marks on her body - to date her images have been exhibited at galleries across the U.S.

Raising awareness: Brooklyn-based artist Ariana Page Russell has told how uses her rare and 'embarrassing' skin condition to produce intimate works of art

She uses a blunt knitting needle to write text or create abstract patterns on her stomach, arms, legs and face. The designs, which are pain-free, last for about 30minutes before fading.

 

More...

• Touching photos reveal the 'magical' effect of therapy llamas on the chronically sick and disabled patients at health center
• Avocado, lime and garlic... in your BEER: Brewery launches guacamole-flavored ale that is 'subtle with a creamy finish'
• Rise of the home birth 'trend': Hip New Yorkers choosing to have babies outside the hospital soar by 74%

She once told ABC News: 'People think it's pretty weird. Either [they] think that it's beautiful, or that it's interesting or . . . kind of disgusting.'

Problem: Ms Russell suffers from dermatographia which means when she rubs or scratches herself a red, swollen imprint is left on the spot for up to 30 minutes

Novel idea: She uses a blunt knitting needle to write text or create abstract patterns on her stomach, arms, legs and face - she then photographs the results

Cause for concern: Although the marks look painful, they do not hurt and only produce a 'warm' sensation

The exact cause of dermatographia is not known and it is thought to affect around five per cent of the population.

'People think that it's beautiful, or that it's interesting or kind of disgusting'

There are not many treatment options available and typically people are given anti-histamines or steroids to help.

However, Ms Russell says she is not looking for a cure.

'To me my skin is a canvas . . .I think it's fun to be able to draw on myself, I like it.'

Mystery condition: The exact cause of dermatographia is not known and it is thought to affect around five per cent of the population, most commonly teenagers and young adults

Human writing pad: There are a few treatment options available but Ms Russell says she is not looking for a cure because it's 'fun to be able to draw on myself'

Growing up she said that she blushed easily and always had random bumps and swellings on her skin.

DERMATOGRAPHIA: WHAT IS IT?

• Dermatographia is a condition also known as skin writing. 
• When sufferers lightly scratch their skin swollen, red marks quickly appear and last for around 30 minutes
• The exact cause is not known and it is thought to affect around five per cent of the population
• Typically people are given anti-histamines or steroids to help combat the symptoms although most don't seek treatment

For years she thought it was normal and it was only in college, studying towards her master's degree in art at the University of Washington in Seattle, that she decided to seek medical help.

'I was getting really frustrated about the amount of teasing that was happening,' she recalled.

'It was mostly just my friends joking around but then people would always say "Your face is so red, are you ok?"'

After being diagnosed with dermatographia she decided to raise awareness through photography.

'I just thought there's something really powerful in that because I have no control over it, it just happens. 

'I wanted to capture that feeling of vulnerability and just that fleeting thing that happens in a flush.'

Warning signs: Growing up Ms Russell said that she blushed easily and always had random bumps and swellings on her skin - it wasn't until college that she visited a doctor

Pretty patterns: Ms Russell has also produced wallpaper and temporary tattoos inspired by her skin condition

She has since produced wallpaper, collage, video, and temporary tattoos inspired by her skin condition.

Last year she also launched a blog titled 'dermatographism' for other sufferers to share their own images and stories.

Concluding, she said: 'Skin in general I think is really fascinating, it's our largest organ... it keeps us alive.'/dailymail

Mystery of the ancient kingdom

Mystery of the ancient kingdom discovered in Nepal where thousands of caves are carved 155ft off the ground

• An estimated 10,000 of the caves have been found in the former Kingdom of Mustang in North, Central Nepal
• They have either been dug into the cliffside or tunnelled from above
• Caves are thousands of years old but who built them and why remains a mystery

By ANTHONY BOND

PUBLISHED: 16:36 GMT, 27 August 2013 | UPDATED: 18:06 GMT, 27 August 2013

 
 
 

1,706 shares

232

View
comments

Hidden within the Himalayas, 155ft from the ground, these man-made caves are one of the World's greatest archaeological mysteries.

Thousands of holes are carved into the fragile, sandy-coloured cliff in a gorge so large it dwarfs the Grand Canyon.

The astonishing number of caves, some dug into the cliffside, others tunnelled from above are thousands of years old but who built them and why remains a mystery.

Scroll down for video

Mystery: Thousands of man-made caves 155ft from the ground lie hidden within the Himilayas in a gorge so large it dwarfs the Grand Canyon

Bizarre: With dozens of holes carved into the fragile, sandy-coloured cliff face this unusual 'neighbourhood in the sky' looks like a giant sandcastle

Dangerous: Climber Cedar Wright explores the series of caves near the village of Tsele

It is also not known how people climbed into the caves which are dug into a cliff 155-foot above the valley floor.

An estimated 10,000 of these mysterious human-built caves have been found in the former Kingdom of Mustang in North, Central Nepal. Those who have seen the mysterious caves say the effect of them on the cliff face makes it look like a giant sandcastle.

Adventure photographer, Cory Richards joined climber Pete Athans, archaeologist Mark Aldenderfer and a team of explorers to unearth the hidden relics of the ancient and remote caves.

More...

• The Good, the Bad and the Dusty! Eerie pictures show former film sets used in famous westerns now lying abandoned and ruined in Spanish desert

Mr Richards said: 'I was in Nepal working in this village called Forte, where Pete [Athans] and I were teaching a group of Sherpas climbing techniques, safe climbing techniques so they could climb Everest.

'And Pete asked me if I would be interested in this project in Mustang.

Mystery caves in Nepal which are carved 155ft off the ground

Odd: The astonishing number of caves, some dug into the cliffside, others tunnelled from above, are thousands of years old but who built them and why remains a mystery. A scientist scales a fragile rock face to reach the 800-year-old caves, right, while the team hike below some of the entrances, left

Adventure: Climbers and scientists follow a trail above the Kali Gandaki River

High up: Climber Pete Athans looks inside a cave found near Chuksang. It is not known how people climbed into the caves which are dug into a cliff 155foot above the valley floor

'He started telling me about this place where we were going. The words he was using conjured these images of a place I couldn't really imagine.

'Quite honestly when I got there it was even bigger and more grand than anything I ever could ever have imagined.

'We're talking about somewhere that reminds us of the Grand Canyon, the desert south west but then has this incredible history to it. You see these caves carved into the rock and now they're completely inaccessible.

'As we started getting deeper into it, I started to see the magic of what we were approaching, the culture in practice, a 12th century village underneath the caves they used to live in, caves that are now forgotten.

'We started asking questions about how did people get into them?

Impressive: This image shows eroded murals on the walls of the Ritseling Cave in Upper Mustang. The astonishing number of caves are thousands of years old

Discovery: A scientist enters a maze of rooms in a looted cave near Chuksang, left, while another member of the team hoists himself up at a Mustang cave entrance, right

Exploration: Members of the team do a preliminary survey of a cave

'I started wondering how do I light up people's imagination to make them think what it would have looked like thousands of years ago, that was my final challenge, how do I give people that imagination.

'One of the ways we did that was lighting up the caves, going them into them a night, spending the night in caves, using lights to light them up and strobes.

'Trying to give people the feeling this is a very ancient place, this is a place that has so many stories to tell us so much more than we can even really imagine in our lifetime.'

Climbing into the sky caves was no easy feat, the rock was unstable and posed a real danger to the team of explorers.

In fact climbing into the caves was so dangerous, Mr Richards lost his footing, fell and broke his back. On another assignment to Mustang the following year, videographer Lincoln Else was hit by a falling rock, fracturing his skull.

He said: 'This was real exploration. It's dangerous it's loose rock it's scary. Everything is loose, everything around you feels like it's crumbling. You feel like when you're climbing everything is going to collapse.'

'One of the things I think we forget when we're talking about adventure, science and exploration is it gets dangerous at times one of the reasons its so exciting is because there are consequences and big consequences.

'On my first trip there I was trying to climb in and a foothold broke and I fell about 12-20 feet, I landed on my butt and I broke my back.

'It was an eye-opener because yes it this was really exciting, really engaging, I want to tell this big story but I just broke my back, maybe this isn't as important as I thought.

'The next year we came back to try again. I took this shot and my friend Lincoln Else was filming right next to me.

'Next thing I heard was Pete's wife scream, she said "oh my god, oh my god" Lincoln was lying on the ground with blood pouring from his head and convulsing.

'A rock had fallen from above, hit him and given him a 21cm skull fracture, it completely depressed his skull.

'Again it was a point of realisation that yes what you are doing is very important but it's also very dangerous and when you talk about adventure there are sides to it that are unpleasant.

'Lincoln made a full recovery, I thought for certain I think we all thought at the point that Lincoln was going to die.

'Essentially at the end of the experience, what was illuminated to me the marriage of science and exploration and culture is the ultimate in how we bring the world to everyone.

'We have to make it exciting, digestible but we also have to give the knowledge of what's out there to everyone else.'

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2403094/Mystery-ancient-caves-Nepal.html#ixzz2dDkmzd6T
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook