by Sheri Divers [courtesy of Blog for America]

Climate change disaster is upon us, warns UN

A record number of floods, droughts and storms around the world this year amount to a climate change "mega disaster", the United Nation's emergency relief coordinator, Sir John Holmes, has warned.

Sir John, a British diplomat who is also known as the UN's under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, said dire predictions about the impact of global warming on humanity were already coming true.

"We are seeing the effects of climate change. Any year can be a freak but the pattern looks pretty clear to be honest. That's why we're trying ... to say, of course you've got to deal with mitigation of emissions, but this is here and now, this is with us already," he said.

Byrd warns of "chest pounding” on Iran

Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.) took to the Senate floor on Thursday to decry recent provocations against Iran, warning his colleagues against “sleep-walking” into another military conflict.

Last week, the Senate passed a non-binding amendment to the defense authorization bill that designated a portion of the Iranian Armed Forces as a “terrorist organization.”