The wilderness of Siberia has just gotten a lot more mysterious. Helicopter pilots flying over the Yamal Peninsula have discovered a giant crater-like hole in the Siberian tundra. The hole is reportedly large enough to fit "several" of the very helicopters that discovered it. The hole, estimated to be 150 to 250 feet across, appears to have been made by some sort of blast, and is thought to be around two years old. It's also about 30 miles from one of the Yamal Peninsula's largest natural gas fields. The Yamal Peninsula is Russia's main production area for gas.

The Russian internet is ablaze with speculation about the origin of the giant hole, from a UFO drilling experiment, to a massive meteor impact.

But one of the more plausible explanations for the giant hole comes from Anna Kurchatova, from the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre in Russia. She told The Siberian Times that the crater was likely formed by a water-salt and gas mixture that caused an underground explosion.

That gas that she is referring to is methane.

Read more here.

-Thom

Free excerpt, read book for free at Truthout, buy the book!

The Daily Stack

Hour One: What Does a 10 ft Sea Rise Look Like?
- Professor Ben Kirtman, University of Miami

Article: "Miami will be swallowed as sea levels rise, but the climate change deniers who run it look the other way" by Robin McKie.

Article: "What Does 10 Feet of Sea Level Rise Look Like?" by Ben Strauss.

Article: "Interactive Map Shows How Hot Your City Will Be in 2100" by Miriam Wasser.

Article: "Ten Scientists Want A Meeting With Florida’s Governor To Explain Climate Change" by Jeff Spross.

Article: "Climate scientist to Scott: meeting staff is fine, we'd like to meet with you" by Mary Ellen Klas.

Article: "Ukraine airliner 'crash' updates" by BBC.

Article: "Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria" by Wikipedia.

Event: July 17-20, Detroit, MI: "Netroots Nation 2014".

Site: Detroit Water Brigade.

Video: Detroit Water - A Movement Grows.

The good: Mayor Adam O’Neal: "This GOP Mayor Is Marching 273 Miles To Demand Medicaid Expansion" by Tara Culp-Ressler.

The bad: Adam Kwasman: "AZ Lawmaker Mistakes Bus of YMCA Campers for Migrant Kids" by Evan McMurry.

The very, very ugly: Bob Frey: "Minnesota GOPer: Fossil Record Proves Humans Lived Alongside Dinosaurs" by Brian Tashman.

Article: "Swedish court upholds arrest warrant for Assange" by Johan Ahlander.

Article: "Why Growing Numbers of Pot Smokers Eat Mango Before Lighting Up" by Clarissa A. León.

Article: "D.C. Reduces Pot Penalties to $25 Fine Thursday" by Steven Nelson.

Article: "Little Ice Age" by Wikipedia.

Hour Two: international crisis
- John Bradshaw, National Security Network

Article: "McCain: ‘Hell to pay’ if plane shot down" by Jonathan Topaz.

Article: "Obama Likely to Seek Additional Time for Nuclear Negotiations With Iran" by David E. Sanger.

Book: Manufactured Crisis: The Untold Story of the Iran Nuclear Scare by Gareth Porter.

Article: "Should a Criminal Record Make You Jobless and Homeless?" by Kenneth Quinnell.

Movie: "Zeitgeist".

Article: "What happened when Palestinian children were killed in front of a hotel full of journalists" by Adam Taylor.

Article: "Gerrymandering" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Elbridge Gerry" by Wikipedia.

Book: The American Revolution of 1800: How Jefferson Rescued Democracy from Tyranny and Faction - and What This Means Today by Dan Sisson with Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Agriculture industry seeks to create right to farm" by David A. Lieb.

Talk Radio News Segment:
- Bob Ney

Site: "Goats for the old Goat".

Site: Governor Free Don Siegelman.

Book: "Sideswiped: Lessons Learned Courtesy of the Hit Men of Capitol Hill" by Robert Ney.

Article: "TRNS News Notes-7/17" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "TRNS News Notes- 7/16" by Victoria Jones.

Article: "WH: Putin, Obama Discussed Downed Malaysian Plane" by Nicholas Salazar.

Article: "Brics nations to create $100bn development bank" by Katy Watson.

Article: "Malaysia Airliner Reportedly Shot Down, All Aboard Dead" by James Cullum.

Article: "Boehner Uncertain Congress Will OK Border Plan By August" by Keely Sullivan.

Article: "Israel Initiates Ground Assault On Gaza Strip" by Nicholas Salazar.

Article: "Janet Yellen rejects move to set up formula for Federal Reserve" by Martin Crutsinger.

Article: "Lawmakers, experts clash on Boehner's Obama lawsuit" by Lauren French.

Hour Three: Welcome to the new bubble
- Professor Stephanie Kelton, University of Missouri at Kansas City / New Economic Perspectives

Article: "The Rich Get Even Richer" by Steven Rattner, March 25, 2012.

Article: "Capitalism’s Deeper Problem" by Richard D. Wolff.

Law: "Boland Amendment", 1982 - 1984 by Wikipedia.

Article: "FAA Issued Guidance On Potential Hazards Over Ukraine Airspace" by TRNS .

Article: "water footprint calculator" by National Geographic.

Article: "How much water does it take to make 1 gallon of gasoline?" by Ironnica.

Site: Great March for Climate Action.

Article: "Mathias Rust" by Wikipedia.

Article: "Korean Air Lines Flight 007" by Wikipedia.

Article: "The Reform Act 1832" (UK).

Article: "NC House approves bill regulating drones".

Article: "Pig Virus Continues To Spread, Raising Fears Of Pricier Bacon" by Amy Mayer.

Article: "Drones, Drones, Everywhere a Drone: Is North Carolina Ready for Unmanned Aircraft Systems?" by Liz Woolery.

Case: "Marbury v. Madison", 1803 (judicial review).

Case: "Santa Clara County vs. Southern Pacific Railroad", 1886.

Case: "Dred Scott v. Sandford", 1857.

Article: "Constitution of the United States", article 3 section 2. "... the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make..."

Article: "Federalist 78: The Judiciary Department" by Alexander Hamilton.

Law: "The National Labor Relations Act (The Wagner Act)", 1935.

Law: "Taft-Hartley Labor Act", 1947.

Site: Working America (AFL-CIO).

Video: Pulling back the curtain on anti-marijuana reformers - Chris Hayes.

Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders will be here talking about all the important issues of the week and he'll be taking your calls too...

Plus, Professor L. Randall Wray drops in to talk about how banksters are stealing homes......

And, it's "Anything Goes on Townhall Friday"...you choose the topics and we'll talk...

The Thom Hartmann Program... your media support group for we the people.

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...