Martin Hot world news

 

(Thanks to Grok for 'melting' the logo!)

As it has been much too hot for walks (hence, no picture posts!) , I thought we'd do a 'hot story' post.

FoxNews

headline: Golf star has fiery exchange with analyst and former pro over golf etiquette

Apparently current senior golfer Padraig Harrington thinks that "once a golfer, always a golfer", and golf analyst (and former PGA star) Roger Maltbie still needs to abide by it.  Maltbie, in his job as analyst at the tournament du jour, stood watching Harrington looking for a lost ball- which, also apparently, is an unforgivable sin.  Harrington's caddie had to get between them before it hit too high a temp.  "I understand, but I have a job to do," Maltbie was heard to say- and it wasn't good enough.  Thankfully, a full-on bout between the 54 year old Harrington and the 74-year-old Maltbie wasn't in the offing.

BBC

Headline: Moment South Korean man sets Seoul metro carriage on fire

A 67- year old Korean man, back in may, sent subway riders scattering as he used liquid propellant to set a car full of passengers on fire.  The passengers fled, causing six injuries, but no one was burned.  And now a little bonus help for this story from:

The Hindustan Times

The Korean outlet reported that the man put the lives of over 160 passengers at risk to draw attention to his divorce settlement.

You couldn't have just rented an airplane to pull a sign?

Moscow Times

Headline: Major Fires in Siberia, Far East Mark Ominous Start to Russia’s 2025 Wildfire Season

Much like California, skimping on preparedness seems to be the watchword.  

Though most wildfires in Russia are caused by human activity — especially the widespread practice of burning dry grass in the hope of reducing the effects of wildfires on inhabited areas — snow drought and the unusually early arrival of spring this year further increase the risk of widespread forest fires, experts say. ..

“In theory, controlled burning can only be carried out under certain, rather strict conditions…In practice, there is not enough manpower and resources to carry out controlled burning on large areas while observing all the necessary safety measures,” forestry expert Alexei Yaroshenko explained in a post for the Zemlya Kasaetsa Kazhdogo environmental project...

In February, the ministry reported a 15% shortage of staff in the State Fire Management department caused primarily by low salaries in the sector. This means that in some Russian regions, one fire management specialist is responsible for overseeing an area as large as 60,000 hectares. 

FYI, that is roughly 7% of what the US spends a year in wildfire prevention...

Meanwhile, in a story we grazed last time...

Xinhua

Headline: Tech innovations fuel China's desertification fight

One of those innovations harkened to the past.  In the 1950's, they tried fighting desert spread by 'checkerboarding" bales of straw to beat erosion.  The 2025 'hi-tech' solution is to replace the bales with 'decommissioned' wind turbine blades, which being fiberglass, holds together against the elements better than organic barriers.  So at least when China tires of subsidizing clean energy, the whole thing won't go to waste...

CBC Canada

Headline: Village of Denare Beach, Opposition say Sask. government 'failed' northern community

Not that California or Russia has a monopoly on fire mismanagement.  Residents of this towen in Saskatchewan are complaining that while the neighboring province of Manitoba were protecting their people just 22 Km away, their province sat on its hands...

Both Manitoba and Saskatchewan declared provincial states of emergencies. But Jordan McPhail, NDP MLA for Cumberland, said the Village of Denare Beach wants to know why Premier Scott Moe didn't call in federal help for their community, unlike the Manitoba government, which called for military help immediately. 

That military help was used just 22 kilometres northeast of Denare Beach to Flin Flon, Man.

"I think Scott Moe and Tim McLeod [minister of corrections, policing and public safety] need to answer to the people as to how does this happen in Canada when you didn't even involve the Canadian government, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and Operation LENTUS, and the many things that the military could have brought to the front lines of these fires."

"There was no extra sprinkler gear for Denare Beach, or fire retardant drops or ground crews spraying fire retardant. None of that. Minimal extra fire trucks were deployed. So Denare Beach was left to burn," (resident Paul)Rossington said.

The SPSA has not provided a public update on the fires since earlier this week, and the provincial government did not respond to CBC's questions on Thursday.

In the meantime, residents have heard nothing from the province on cleanup, assistance, or even how to work out insurance.

France24

Headline: Europe swelters in summer's first heatwave as climate change intensifies

I'm not going to really share much on this article, since it is basically using the current summer heat wave to spread a 'chicken little' climate change agenda.  HOWever, I will share that despite being only 4% of the world's area and 5.5% of the world's population, the European Union has accounted for an estimated 20% of world carbon emissions for the last 275 years, so IF climate change is a thing, you reap what you sow.