As the environmental nightmare that the ruptured BP oil well in the Gulf of Mexico has unleashed upon humanity becomes more apparent, there are some burning questions that we desperately need answered.  The truth is that it has now become exceedingly obvious that BP has been lying to us all along.  Researchers have doubled their previous estimate and now say that up to 1.7 million gallons a day may have been escaping into the Gulf of Mexico ever since this disaster began.  If this new figure is correct, that means that over 90 million gallons of oil have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico in the 53 days since the rig exploded.  To put that in perspective, that would be eight times the amount spilled during the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989.  The truth is that we are looking at the end of the world as we know it for those living along the Gulf of Mexico.  It is hard to even put into words how horrific this nightmare is.  But the sad thing is that there is still a lot about this oil spill that we do not know.

The following are 17 questions about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that we desperately need answers to....

#1) Why is the FAA shutting down the airspace above the Gulf of Mexico oil spill?  Do they not want anymore pictures taken of the area?

#2) What is BP doing so much to keep the press away from the oil spill?

#3) Should we be concerned that birds are flocking north by the thousands?

#4) If the smell of the oil on some beaches is alrady so strong that it burns your nostrils, then what in the world is this oil doing to our wildlife?

#5) When BP officials say things like "we discovered things that were broken in the sub-surface" and when they say that the damaged well was leaking "out to the side, into the formation", what does that mean?

#6) Is there evidence of multiple oil leaks possibly coming from other rigs?

#7) Has the Gulf of Mexico oil spill caused additional ruptures in the sea floor?

#8) Why are scientists finding concentrations of methane at up to 10,000 times normal background levels in Gulf waters?

#9) About a third of all rescued birds have died so far - but what is the death rate for the birds that have not been rescued?

#10) BP is being accused of trying to manipulate the search results on sites like Google and Yahoo.  So what is it that they are trying so desperately to hide?

#11) If "70% or 80%" of the protective booms are doing absolutely nothing at all, then what is going to stop the millions of gallons of oil in the Gulf from eventually reaching shore?

#12) If BP starts burning a large amount of the excess oil, won't that be really bad for the air?

#13) Houston attorney Tony Buzbee claims that he has new evidence which shows that Deepwater Horizon’s managers knew that the oil rig had major problems before its explosion on April 20th.  Does that mean that there is clear negligence involved here?

#14) If Kevin Costner's oil-cleanup machines work so well and could have kept the oil from getting to the shores of the Gulf coast, then why did BP wait for so long before purchasing some?

#15) Why are three states along the Gulf of Mexico preparing for a massive call up of thousands of National Guard members?

#16) If the primary dispersant that BP has been using, Corexit 9527, ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed, then why are they continuing to use it?

#17) Is there a serious risk that the entire Gulf of Mexico could become one gigantic dead zone if the oil is not completely stopped soon?

With each passing day, the environmental horror being caused by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill becomes more apparent.  Some of the most unique wildlife habitats in the world are being obliterated, entire species are being threatened with extinction and scientists are telling us that the Gulf of Mexico will never be the same again during any of our lifetimes.  This is not just another Exxon Valdez or Hurricane Katrina.  This is the end of an entire way of life for millions of people and for millions of birds, animals and fish.  It is impossible to even put a price tag on what we are all losing as a result of this spill.  BP will never make enough money to repay the damage that has been done already.  And yet the oil just keeps gushing into the Gulf of Mexico.  It is a nightmare that we can't wake up from and from which there is no escape. 

Each day the news just seems to get worse.  In fact, if you really dig into the news reports that are coming out about this spill it quickly becomes apparent that there is a whole lot more going on than we have been told.

The following are 9 horrific facts about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill that will blow your mind....

#1) According to an iReport on CNN, "significant amounts of oil" are floating ashore in the Florida Keys.

#2) Some workers are now finding dead dolphins rotting in the shore weeds along the Gulf coast.

#3) Scientists are telling us that the primary dispersant that BP has been using, Corexit 9527, ruptures red blood cells and causes fish to bleed.

#4) Professor Prosanta Chakrabarty of Louisiana State University says that she believes that "every fish and invertebrate contacting the oil is probably dying".

#5) There are new reports that fishermen all over the Gulf of Mexico are becoming seriously ill from breathing the toxic brew being created by this oil spill and BP's response to it.

#6) Transocean, the firm hired by BP to operate the Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, recently announced that it will distribute $1 billion in dividends to shareholders even as oil continues to pour into the Gulf of Mexico.

#7) Not only that, but Transocean also has announced that it will make a $270 million profit on the insurance policy for the damaged oil rig.

#8) Matt Simmons, an energy adviser to former president George W. Bush, recently went on national television and claimed that "there's another leak, much bigger, 5 to 6 miles away" from the leaking riser and blowout preventer which everyone has been watching on the underwater cameras.

#9) Unfortunately, this disaster is far from over.  In fact, some experts are now warning that the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico may continue gushing until December.
 

An Official World Health Organization press release contains an ominous warning about the potential for a deadly "reassortment" in which the H1N1 swine flu virus combines with the H5N1 bird flu virus to produce a completely new strain. According to the press release, a reassortment of that nature could potentially produce a flu virus that is as devastating to human life as the H5N1 bird flu and that is as highly contagious as the H1N1 swine flu. Considering the fact that the H5N1 bird flu virus has killed over half of the humans that have caught it, such a development could literally bring about the end of the world as we know it. In fact, one of the top flu experts in the world says that if such a reassortment happens, he will immediately retire and lock himself in a containment lab.

Who is that expert?

His name is Yi Guan, one of the top virologists at Hong Kong University.  Back in 2003 he helped isolate the SARS virus.  In a stunning interview with Science Insider, Yi Guan described exactly what he would do if such a recombination takes place.... 

Q: Is it surprising how quickly H1N1 adapted?

Y.G.: All viruses, after interspecies transmission, will evolve fast. But why this H1N1 could become successful at efficient human-to-human transmission is still unknown. We have a knowledge gap about how influenza A viruses build up their pandemicity in humans. As swine H1N1 has being circulating in pigs since 1918, it has accumulated [many] differences from human H1N1 virus. So, for human beings, it looks like a novel subtype, as most human individuals lack immunity to this swine-like H1N1. This is one of the most important conditions for pandemic emergence. Whether the novel virus will develop into a more virulent strain—just like the Spanish flu did in the fall of 1918 to kill more people—we still don't have any idea.

Q: It depends on further mutations?

Y.G.: It depends on mutations and whether the virus further reassorts with other viruses—like H5N1. That could be a super nightmare for the whole world.

Q: You’re talking about the Armageddon virus?

Y.G.: The chance is very, very low that these two viruses will mix together, but we cannot rule out the possibility. Now, H5N1 is in more than 60 countries. It’s a panzootic, present everywhere except North America.

Q: If the nightmare comes true?

Y.G.: If that happens, I will retire immediately and lock myself in the P3 lab. H5N1 kills half the people it infects. Even if you inject yourself with a vaccine, it may be too late. Maybe in just a couple hours it takes your life.

Not only that, but Zhong Nanshan, the director of the Guangzhou Institute of Respiratory Diseases in China's southern Guangdong province stated during an interview with Reuters television that China is a likely location for such a reassortment to take place....

"China, as you know, is different from other countries. Inside China, H5N1 has been existing for some time, so if there is really a reassortment between H1N1 and H5N1, it will be a disaster."

So just what is a reassortment?  Well, it is what occurs when the genes from two or more different types of flu mix in a host animal and form a completely new strain of the flu that is unfamiliar to humans.

Up until now the H5N1 bird flu has proven to be incredibly deadly but it has been very difficult for humans to catch.  However, the concern is that a reassortment could produce a flu virus that is as deadly to humans as H5N1 but that is as easy to spread as H1N1.

If that happens, tens of millions could die.

The only safe thing to do would be to lock yourself in your home.

So why has the World Health Organization published a press release about this?

Why now?

What in the world is happening in Ukraine?  A mystery plague that is directly attacking the respiratory systems of its victims, filling the lungs with blood before ultimately disintegrating them is causing panic not only in Ukraine but across central Europe.  Some health experts in the region believe that parainfluenza is the cause of this outbreak.  Others believe that a virus similar to the 1918 Spanish flu is on the loose.  Still others fear that the H1N1 swine flu has mutated and become more virulent.  Whatever is causing the mystery plague in Ukraine, the reality is that unprecedented numbers of people are getting sick and being hospitalized.

These are the latest official numbers out of Ukraine: 1,347,538 have reported catching the illness, 73,373 have been hospitalized and 282 are dead.  However, there are unconfirmed reports that the number of dead is significantly higher than that.  Meanwhile, the World Health Organization is being extremely evasive about the situation in Ukraine.  Many observers are baffled as to why the WHO is continuing to refuse to release the sequences from the samples taken from patients in Ukraine well over a week ago.

At the same time, there has been a substantial spike in flu cases in other nearby European nations such as Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Bulgaria. Also, a very serious increase in flu cases is being reported in Norway, India and Canada.  The most frightening thing is that in many of those nations there are reports that the flu is disintegrating the lungs of patients just like it is doing in Ukraine.

So just what in the world is happening in Ukraine?

Well, some Ukrainian health officials are convinced that parainfluenza is involved.

Ukrainian Professor Viktor Bachinsky recently expressed his opinion on this matter this way.....

"The virus, which causes death, is very aggressive, it does not strike the trachea, but immediately gets into the lungs and causes heavy swelling and solid hemorrhage. Mixed types of parainfluenza and influenza A/N1N1 lead to this state. This is a very toxic strain, which has not yet answered to the treatment of the Ministry of Health."

Wikipedia's description of parainfluenza certainly does sound quite a bit like what is going on in Ukraine..... 

The incubation period of all four serotypes is 1 to 7 days. In immunosuppressed people, such as transplant patients, parainfluenza virus infections can cause severe pneumonia, which is often fatal.

So is a combination of parainfluenza and H1N1 swine flu causing this outbreak in Ukraine?  Or could it be something even worse?

Could 1918 Spanish flu be involved?

Recombinomics recently posted a translation of an official announcement by the Ukraine Ministry of Health that graphically described exactly what is happening to the victims of this flu in Ukraine.  Pay particular attention to how their lungs are being absolutely destroyed by this flu virus.....

The symptoms are observed at different stages of disease - a fever with a temperature over 38 C, cough, respiratory disorders. When cough was characterized by negligible allocation phlegm or dry unproductive cough with blotches of blood. All the patients come to hospital on average by 3-7 days of onset, were in serious condition. Period of time from onset to death averaged from 4 to 7 days. In all patients during a hospital for signs of respiratory insufficiency of various degrees, which quickly rose and manifested accelerated respiration rate, shortness of breath and effectiveness of independent breathing. X-ray studies were performed on 1-2 day hospitalization. Most patients experienced a double-headed particles of lower lung lesion, followed by a trend towards total destruction.

This sounds chillingly similar to how people died from the 1918 Spanish flu.  That flu pandemic claimed the lives of between 50 and 100 million people across the globe.  When you read the following description of the 1918 Spanish flu from Wikipedia, ask yourself if it does not sound incredibly similar to what they are experiencing over in Ukraine right now.....

"One of the most striking of the complications was hemorrhage from mucous membranes, especially from the nose, stomach, and intestine. Bleeding from the ears and petechial hemorrhages in the skin also occurred."

In addition, check out how Wikipedia describes the horrific deaths that were caused by the 1918 Spanish flu.....

The majority of deaths were from bacterial pneumonia, a secondary infection caused by influenza, but the virus also killed people directly, causing massive hemorrhages and edema in the lung.

Meanwhile, the WHO continues to insist that the mystery plague in Ukraine is simply the regular H1N1 swine flu that is found everywhere else in the world and that there is not much to worry about.  But if there is nothing to worry about, then why will they not release the sequences from the samples taken from patients in Ukraine?

But now there are fears that this is not just Ukraine's problem any longer.  Disturbing new reports about the flu are coming in from all over the globe.....

-35 patients with "swine flu-like symptoms" have died in the last 45 days at just one hospital in India, and not a single one of them tested positive for the H1N1 swine flu.

-The "flu" is spreading at an incredible pace in northern and central Europe.  It is being reported that almost 17 percent of the entire population of Norway has now contracted the flu.

-A sudden spike in H1N1 deaths over the past week in Canada is raising concerns that something has changed.  Most notably, there has just been a massive surge of swine flu deaths in Ontario, Canada.  In fact, over the past few days 24 residents of Ontario died from the "flu" in just a 72 hour period.

-Russian Chief Public Health Official Gennady Onishchenko recently announced to the public that most areas of Russia are on the verge of a major flu epidemic.

-It is also being reported that there are nearly a quarter of a million people seriously ill with the flu in Belarus, and there are rumors that patients there are dying the same kind of brutal deaths that we are seeing in Ukraine.

-Serbia's health ministry has now officially proclaimed an H1N1 swine flu epidemic in that country, as flu panic causes a surge of garlic sales at Belgrade's produce markets.

-Also, a national swine flu pandemic has been declared by the Health Ministry in Bulgaria. Symptoms of the "flu" there include temperatures of over 40 degrees Celsius, severe pain in the bones and muscles, coughing, and the quick development of pneumonia.

While world health authorities continue to be evasive on the cause of the mystery Ukraine plague, one major U.K. news source is calling the Ukraine flu a "plague worse than swine flu".

That same U.K. news source quotes a spokesman for the World Health Organisation as saying this: "We do not have a time scale for the results of the tests in London, although some preliminary results have been obtained. I cannot tell you what they are".

He cannot tell us what the results are?

People are dropping dead and he "cannot" tell us what the results are.

Something does not smell right, that is for sure.

Meanwhile, one doctor in Western Ukraine was quoted as saying the following about the mystery plague: "We have carried out post mortems on two victims and found their lungs are as black as charcoal.  They look like they have been burned. It’s terrifying."

Lungs as black as charcoal?

Lungs that look like they have been burned?

Only a really serious virus can do that.

Perhaps the WHO does not want to "panic the public", but the truth is that we deserve some answers.

Something is viciously attacking the lungs of people in Ukraine and turning them them "as black as charcoal".  When a doctor is willing to say that the situation there is "terrifying", we all need to sit up and take notice.

Up to this point, the WHO has been unbelievably negligent for not disclosing what they have discovered about the mystery plague in Ukraine, and the western media has been incredibly negligent for mostly ignoring this story.  Let us just hope that this is not the beginning of a real worldwide pandemic.