Fire Rat: Earth Season: 2b

27 Jly ~~ 31 Jly

Piracy. Rape and pillage. Looting. Mob rule and swarms of all kinds. The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism. The wealthy add to their wealth at the expense of the poor. Beware of disease and of accidents of every description.
The Fulfilment:
Burundi: Tutsi army troops kill 36 Hutus following a rebel attack on a coffee research station. Troops torch the surrounding fields as an object lesson. "Piracy. Rape and pillage. Looting. ... The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism."
S. Korea: Three days of torrential rains cause landslides and floods. Ninety people dead, mostly soldiers trapped in flimsy barracks on hillsides along the border. Accident?
Nicaragua: Hurricane Cesar kills three and leaves 10 000 homeless. Govt asks for int'l aid.
Iran: Army has now moved its heavy artillery a full 50km inside Iraq in pursuit of the Kurds.
Europa: Geneva: Sixty nations gather to wrap up details on the nuclear test ban treaty. China and India still objecting.
China: Govt explodes its last nuclear warhead test in a remote area. Nuclear test ban treaty goes into effect tomorrow (even though still not signed).
Colombia: Drug cartel barons worth about $12 billion and control 30% of the country's wealth, says a report released today. "The wealthy add to their wealth at the expense of the poor."
Israel: Militant settlers say PM Netanyahu intends to renew settlement expansion program in the occupied territories. "Piracy. Looting."
Canada: PEI: One of the largest marine salvage operations in history today as crews raise the "Irving Whale", a sunken barge laden with heavy oil and PCBs now leaking after 26yrs on bottom of the sea. Why can't they do this with that plane??
USA: Atlanta: Bomb threats have become the newest Olympic sport. Police have responded to fifty bomb threats since Saturday -- all pranks. "The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism."
Europa: G7 plus Russia approve a list of 25 practical measures to combat world terrorism, but squelch American demands for sanctions against terrorist states.
Europa: Govt unveils plans to block punitive American laws threatening their citizens with lawsuits for trading with Cuba.
Hong Kong: Police forcibly evict all residents of a neighbourhood known for fifty years as "Little Taiwan" -- all are veterans of the Kuomintang struggle of fifty years ago, plus their descendants. Likely an embarrassment to the govt, since the Communists will be coming soon. Site to be razed and bebuilt with apartment blocks. "Piracy. Rape and pillage. Looting. The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism. The welathy add to their wealth at the expense of the poor."
Indonesia: Police now arresting opposition activists of all kinds and stripes and questioning them about the weekend riots (as if *they* had anything to do with it -- apparently the police had no idea anyone would object to the shutting down of an opposition party). "The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism."
Sri Lanka: Govt troops advancing on the town of Kilinochchi as some 150000 civilians flee. "The strong abuse the weak and call it heroism. Mob rule and swarms of all kinds."

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