English: The Milky Way arch emerging from the Cerro Paranal, Chile, on the left, and sinking into the Antofagasta's night lights. The bright object in the center, above the Milky Way is Jupiter, somehow elongated due to the panoramic projection. The Magellanic Clouds are visible on the left side, and a plane has left a visible trace on the right, along the Vista enclosure. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: A diagram of our location in the Local Group of galaxies. Category:Astronomical diagrams (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Caldwell catalogue (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Variable Stars in a Distant Spiral Galaxy - GPN-2000-000940 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
A member of the Local Group of galaxies, irregular galaxy Sextans A is 4.3 million light-years distant. The bright Milky Way foreground stars appear yellowish in this view. Beyond them lie the stars of Sextans A with young blue star clusters clearly visible. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
English: The local group of galaxies surrounding the Milky Way (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Musical Interlude: Justin Hayward, “The Way of the World”
Justin Hayward, “The Way of the World” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1QUrpqOAXY
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Massive stars, abrasive winds, mountains of dust, and energetic light sculpt one of the largest and most picturesque regions of star formation in the Local Group of Galaxies. Known as N11, the region is visible on the upper right of many images of its home galaxy, the Milky Way neighbor known as the Large Magellanic Clouds (LMC). *Click image for larger size.* The above image was taken for scientific purposes by the Hubble Space Telescope and reprocessed for artistry by an amateur to win the Hubble's Hidden Treasures competition. Although the section imaged above is known as NGC 17...more »
The Islamic State Has Perfected The Use Of Multiple Massive Car Bomb Attacks To Overrun Cities
*Jeremy Bender, Business Insider*: *ISIS' favorite tactic for overrunning cities is brilliant, devastating, and insane* *Since ISIS exploded onto the scene in Iraq in June 2014, the group has managed to overrun cities garrisoned by contingents of the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) that were multiple times larger than the attacking militant forces. * *In May, ISIS seized control of Ramadi after months of battles against the ISF, Iraqi police, and members of Sunni tribes who opposed ISIS.* *Altogether, the ISF had assembled a force of about 2,000 soldiers in Ramadi who were fighting a... more »
The Poet: Rolf Jacobsen, "When They Sleep"
*"When They Sleep"* "All people are children when they sleep. There's no war in them then. They open their hands and breathe in that quiet rhythm heaven has given them. They pucker their lips like small children and open their hands halfway, soldiers and statesmen, servants and masters. The stars stand guard and a haze veils the sky, a few hours when no one will do anybody harm. If only we could speak to one another then when our hearts are half-open flowers. Words like golden bees would drift in. God, teach me the language of sleep." - Rolf Jacobsen, "The Roads Have Come to an End Now"
Chet Raymo, “Thinking Like A Tortoise”
*“Thinking Like A Tortoise”* by Chet Raymo “The average lifespan in a hunter-gatherer society is 32 years. If you think you'd like the simplicity and ecological integrity of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle, be sure to take your mobile phone and not wander too far away from a hospital. Culture, medical and biological science in particular, changed things dramatically. A century-and-a-half ago life expectancy at birth was 50 years, with child mortality being the most significant limiting factor. By the time I was born, life expectancy at birth was pushing 70 years, with the age-range 14-... more »
Prayers for Beau Biden. May he rest in peace...
*sad.* No father should have to endure such a tragic event. RIP Beau.
Report: US Anti-Missile Ground-Based Interceptors Have Serious Technical Flaws
An interceptor missile being hoisted at Fort Greely, Alaska. U.S. Army *L.A. Times*:* Serious flaws revealed in U.S. anti-missile nuclear defense against North Korea* *Two serious technical flaws have been identified in the ground-launched anti-missile interceptors that the United States would rely on to defend against a nuclear attack by North Korea.* *Pentagon officials were informed of the problems as recently as last summer but decided to postpone corrective action. They told federal auditors that acting immediately to fix the defects would interfere with the production of n... more »
Life On The Front Lines In Ukraine
*BBC:* *Ukraine's stubborn frontline civilians defy bombardment* *It was a perfect afternoon in early summer.* *Somebody had placed a garland of fresh flowers on the rusting wreckage of a tank. Men died here and were remembered. Although the fields were empty it was possible to imagine them filled with workers harvesting the sunflower crop.* *This was the lull, the space between bombardments when the land reminded us of its true purpose: not a battlefield but a place of abundance.* *I remarked to a colleague that the calm was our greatest enemy here. It lulled us into a false ... more »
"An Exquisite Balance..."
“It seems to me what is called for is an exquisite balance between two conflicting needs: the most skeptical scrutiny of all hypotheses that are served up to us and at the same time a great openness to new ideas… If you are only skeptical, then no new ideas make it through to you… On the other hand, if you are open to the point of gullibility and have not an ounce of skeptical sense in you, then you cannot distinguish the useful ideas from the worthless ones.” - Carl Sagan
The Secret of the Walking 82-ton Statues of Easter Island
*Film - *One of the greatest mysteries of the world are the statutes called Moai, which stand on Easter Island. The post The Secret of the Walking 82-ton Statues of Easter Island appeared first on Waking Times.
Diplomacy To Settle The Ukraine Crisis Is Failing
A woman with a boy looks at a tank as it drives through the settlement Khutor Chkalova on its way to the Russian military training ground ‘Kuzminsky’ on the Russians side of the border with Ukraine, May 26, 2015. REUTERS/Maria Tsvetkova *Lucian Kim, Reuters*: *Vladimir Putin is not planning annexation of Ukraine enclaves, but diplomacy is flailing* *Karl-Georg Wellmann, a representative in the German parliament, flew to Moscow Sunday night on a behind-the-scenes mission to help break the deadlock in eastern Ukraine. But when he landed at Sheremetyevo Airport, border officials deni... more »
We Want France Out of NATO
Polls show that the French are even more opposed to being in NATO today than they were in 2009, but mainstream politicians like Socialist President Francois Hollande show no inclination to re-evaluate France’s membership. It’s yet another issue where Hollande is perceived as failing to protect France’s national interests.
Has The Psychotic State Of Israel Used Tactical Nuclear Weapons In Yemen? You Decide!
To this day, most people in the gullible United States of America, and even right here in Canada, are still refusing to look at all of the evidence and instead still continue to believe that the criminal and psychotic state of Israel does not possess nuclear weapons... These fools are of course brainwashed by the Jew spew media that continues to promote the absolute LIE that the peaceful state of Iran and others in the middle east are the ones wanting nuclear weapons, and refuse to even look at the true elephant in the room, which is of course the psycho state of Israel with its est... more »
Somebody has to flack for the British Ministry of Defence at the embassy in Washington -- why shouldn't it be you?
*The British Embassy on Observatory Circle in Washington, DC -- does it look as if the neighborhood would have a lot of delis or other places to buy a breakfast bagel on the way to work and, say, a decent sandwich for lunch?* *by Ken* Wouldn't you know it would be our "In the Loop" pal Al Kamen coming up with word of this job opening posted by the British Embassy in Washington? The pay is nothing special, but the benefits are OK, and it looks like a pleasant enough place to work, though it doesn't look as if the neighborhood would have a lot of delis or other places to pick up a ... more »
Russian Fighter Jets Warn U.S. Destroyer To Not Approach Russian Waters
© Flickr/ CNE CNA C6F *Sputnik News:* *Russian Jets Force US Navy Destroyer Away From Territorial Waters* *Russian Navy jets forced a US Navy ship into the eastern Black Sea after it was noticed heading into Russia's territorial waters.* *Russian Navy Su-24 jets forced US Navy destroyer USS Ross to go into neutral waters in the Black Sea, a source in Crimea's security forces told RIA Novosti.* *The US Navy ship was noticed heading directly toward Russian waters after leaving the Romanian port of Costanta. The incident comes on the same day as fugitive Georgian ex-leader Mikheil... more »
Energy Econ 36, The Visayas grid and coal power plant in Negros
There was a report in interaksyon.com last April 6, 2015 on P15.5-billion coal-fired power plant in northern Negros proposed. For me, it is good news for the two Negros provinces and the Visayas grid. When that 150 MW coal plant starts operating a few years from now, it should help expand electricity supply for Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental provinces which currently are dependent on an old geothermal plant in southern Negros and coal plants from Cebu. In the May 2010 population census nationwide, Negros Occidental including Bacolod City has 2.9 million people while Negros... more »
"A Mad World..."
“Where does one go from a world of insanity? Somewhere on the other side of despair.” - T.S. Eliot
Max Ehrmann, "A Prayer"
"A Prayer" "Let me do my work each day; and if the darkened hours of despair overcome me, may I not forget the strength that comforted me in the desolation of other times. May I still remember the bright hours that found me walking over the silent hills of my childhood, or dreaming on the margin of a quiet river, when a light glowed within me, and I promised my early God to have courage amid the tempests of the changing years. Spare me from bitterness and from the sharp passions of unguarded moments. May I not forget that poverty and riches are of the spirit. Though the world knows me...more »
May 30: ?????? What is news?
Think about that word.News. It doesn't mean sentimentality. It doesn't mean nostalgia. It doesn't mean reminiscence. Note the first three letters of it - NEW. It's about something very, very recent - like NOW. It's about information that we need to function as a society. Yes, in other sections you can have Ann Landers and comics. But these don't appear in news sections. And they certainly don't appear as a banner headline on A1. Except in the Irving press where Brent Mazerolle has a sentimental high school essay about the police killings of June 4. Continued on A11, it takes up a t... more »
Untitled
*The Use of the Muslim Brotherhood’s Frozen Fund* On May 25, 2015, the Almasry al-youm newspaper revealed that the Muslim Brotherhood leadership has adopted terrorism as a strategy to attack the Egyptian government in an effort to regain the political control they lost in 2013. Nevertheless, such a strategy is not a new policy. It has been part of their political ideology since its inception in 1928. Recently, some western writers began to confirm that terrorism is part of the Muslim Brotherhood’s political ideology. In an article published in The Foreign Affairs Journey in May 2... more »
"Your Radiation This Week, May 29, 2015"
*"Your Radiation This Week"* by Bob Nichols (San Francisco) May 29, 2015 – "Good Day, this is “Your Radiation This Week.” These are the recorded Radiation Highs that affected people this week around the United States and in your neighborhood. Let’s get right to it. *Listed in Counts per Minute, a Count is One Radioactive Decay Registered by the Instrument. Partial Counts are noted. Uncounted radiation would make the actual Count higher. *50 CPM is an alert level.* *RADIATION CPM* CITY STATE* 398 CPM Concord, NH Gamma and Beta Radiation Combined. 320 CPM Boston, MA Partial ... more »
Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Appointed Governor Of The Ukraine Region Of Odessa
*CNN*: *Ukraine gives former Georgian president citizenship, governor's job* *Kiev, Ukraine (CNN)Ukraine's leader has given former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili Ukrainian citizenship and appointed him governor of the country's southwestern Odessa province, in a move that may needle Russia's Vladimir Putin.* *Photographs posted on President Petro Poroshenko's official website showed the pair smiling as he welcomed Saakashvili to the role in Odessa on Saturday.* *Presidential spokesman Svyatoslav Tsegolko told CNN that Poroshenko had suggested that the Cabinet nominate Saa... more »
Hundreds will rally as oil spill fouls Santa Barbara 'marine protected areas'
Hundreds will rally as oil spill fouls Santa Barbara 'marine protected areas'by Dan Bacher Censored NewsAs the Santa Barbara Oil Spill fouls the controversial "marine protected areas" created under the privately-funded Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative, Californians Against Fracking announced they will march with local residents at the site of the tragic spill to call on
joseph mitchell, master writer of the master city
*My desire is to get the reader, well, first of all to read it. That story [“The Bottom of the Harbor”] was hard to write because I had to wonder how long can I keep developing it before the reader’s going to get tired of this. Here and there, as I think a fiction writer would, I put things that I know—even the remark the tugboat men make, that you could bottle this water and sell it for poison—that are going to keep the reader going. I can lure him or her into the story I want to tell. I can’t tell the story I want to tell until I’ve got you into the pasture and down where the she... more »
No cultish refusal here
As you may recall from the previous post... Nick Cohen, denouncing people like us for our "cultish refusal to allow one good word to be said about the corporation", must have missed *Is the BBC biased? *(I know. It's not exactly hard to miss us, is it?). We've praised good BBC programmes from the start. And, despite fleeting qualms about its "protected species" badger coverage (in the light of the must-discussed cull of badgers over TB in cattle), I'm happy to add my voice to the chorus on praise for this year's *Springwatch* on BBC Two. Part of the reason I was so quiet, blog-wi... more »
What is Geopolitics and Why Does It Matter?
*Video Title: What is Geopolitics and Why Does It Matter? Source: Foreign Policy Research Institute. Date Published: February 26, 2015. Description:* February 25, 2015 Stan and Arlene Ginsburg Family Foundation Lecture Series Ronald J. Granieri Executive Director, FPRI Center for the Study of America and the West To celebrate FPRI's 60th Anniversary, we have devoted this year’s Ginsburg Series to lectures on geopolitics and how it can be used to understand the greatest challenges facing the United States today. FPRI’s founder, Robert Strausz-Hupé, introduced the term, “geopolitics,... more »
This problem's a snap to solve -- just change the name of the joint to 'Big Valley 'Cretin' Science 'Museum' "
*Welcome to the Big Valley (Alberta) Creation Science Museum. Edgar Nernberg, the man who discovered five 60-million-year-old fish fossils, serves on the board of the "museum."* *"This can go down as one of the best examples ever of why it's downright impossible to convince someone who's 'opposed' to evolution that it's a basic fact: If you think the very tenets of science are misguided, pretty much any evidence presented to you can be written off as fabricated or misinterpreted."* *-- the* Washington Post*'s Rachel Feltman, in* "Whoops! A creationist museum supporter stumbled upon ... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials On The War Against The Islamic State -- May 30, 2015
Displaced people from the minority Yazidi sect flee violence from forces loyal to the Islamic State. (Reuters/Rodi Said) *Jesse Rosenfeld, The Nation*: *Massacre and Reprisal in a Shattered Iraq* *The refugee crisis is growing as civilians flee a war that is drawing ethnic and religious borders in blood.* *Erbil— Ali Ahmed Hassan, 31, sits on the floor of his one-room portable metal home in the sprawling Baharka refugee camp on the northern outskirts of Erbil, reflecting on the sectarian warfare that has forced him to flee with his family to the autonomous Kurdish region of Iraq. ... more »
The Islamic State Has A Better Intelligence Network Than The U.S. In Iraq And Syria
Photo from Islamic State Media’s twitter profile, 7/2/14 *VOA: Experts*:* IS Skilled at Gathering Intelligence, Adjusting Tactics * *While U.S. and coalition partners pluck intelligence on Islamic State extremists from the militants’ communications or movements and then bomb them from the air, the militant group is gathering its own intelligence from city streets and preparing the ground for its next battlefield moves.* *The result, according to experts, is that Washington is consistently lagging behind in its effort to destroy the Islamic State group.* *“We are about 60 to 90 days... more »
Iraq's War Against The Islamic State -- News Updates May 30, 2015
*VOA:* *Thousands Fleeing Ramadi Are Stuck at Baghdad Checkpoint * *GENEVA - The United Nations refugee agency reports thousands of Iraqis who have fled the bloody takeover of Ramadi by so-called Islamic State militants are stuck at checkpoints in Anbar province and barred from entering the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. The UNHCR is appealing to Iraqi authorities to ease restrictions.* *The U.N. refugee agency estimates 85,000 people have fled the latest escalation of violence by IS militants in Ramadi since May 15. It says the majority of this latest wave of displaced individuals remai...more »
Thought for a Sunday ...
[Hat tip Greg Davis & For the New Intellectuals] Content is copyright PC.BlogSpot.Com © Please contact author for permission to republish: (organon at ihug.co.nz)
Hilberg
*"In 1976, I went to a small town in Bavaria, Ludwigsburg, which has the headquarters for investigations of so-called National Socialist crimes, an office maintained by the provinces of the Federal Republic of Germany. About thirty prosecutors were housed in that particular building, and I went there to study court records, various affidavits, and other materials. But one afternoon, they said, “We’re having a party today, would you join us?” Why, yes. They said, “we have one bottle of wine for each person.” * *(laughter from the audience). * *And after a while I chanced to talk to... more »
"...towards the far-right..."
I started to write a long post about today's Dateline London and its ridiculously biased discussion of David Cameron, the EU and UKIP (EU=good, UKIP=bad)... ...but I think it's best just to give you this one quote from presenter Gavin Esler (re the forthcoming EU referendum): *But what you might see is, broadly, the centre-left and the centre-right coalescing on a 'yes' vote and others towards the left and towards the far-right will say 'no*'... And, yes, he really did say "toward the far-right" to describe people (presumably many Tories as well as UKIP) who will say 'no' in that... more »
Their appreciation knows no bounds
Here, we are adding beans around the edges of the corn block. A few days ago we added pumpkin seeds down the middle. The corn is planted a little thickly for this but I am always expecting high mortality and then when everything lives, I can't bear to thin. Not right away, anyway. The ground is scraped in the appropriate spot for small sprouted weeds, then indented by the end of the bean pipe. The bean is then fished out of the seed bag and sent down the pipe to fall into the hole. Soil is then scratched over the bean with the end of the pipe. It sometimes happens that one encount... more »
Video Shows Turkish Intelligence Shipping Arms to Syria
*Reuters*: *Video purports to show Turkish intelligence shipping arms to Syria* *A Turkish newspaper published video footage on Friday which it said showed security forces discovering weapons parts being sent to Syria on trucks belonging to the MIT state intelligence agency.* *The footage shows gendarmerie and police officers opening crates on the back of the trucks which contain what newspaper Cumhuriyet described as weapons and ammunition. Cumhuriyet said the video was from Jan. 19, 2014 but did not say how it had obtained the footage.* *Reuters reported last week that witnesse... more »
The Global Warming FRAUD: This Shows Proof That The Antarctic Ice Shelf Is Absolutely NOT "Melting" As The Liars Behind The Global Warming Fraud Constantly Scream
I am truly sick of all the Global Warming clowns by now.... Even now as I type this report, somewhere on one of the Jew spew media outlets, some "reporters" are pushing forward the complete and utter bullshit lies that the Arctic and Antarctic ice shelves are "melting" and we must adhere to new Global Warming guidelines (Carbon taxation) to stop the planet from warming and to stop this "melting"..... I on the other hand see through the sick game of "Global Warming" and see that it is nothing more than a scam to get people frightened into supporting the notion that they must gladly ... more »
Propaganda in the Carbon-Based Energy Complex
In my recent research I've been exploring the institutional ownership and market operations of the carbon and nuclear energy complexes. Our entire civilization is predicated upon them. Yet, they encode profound structural contradictions into their social institutions, threatening future human existence. There is no doubt in my mind that too many eco-systems across the planet are experiencing critical tipping points from the routine effluents and destructive capacities of carbon-and-nuclear-based technologies. Read about the anthropocene and ecological tipping points. As sociologis... more »
Assclowns of the Week #100
After a long hiatus from this once regular feature, yours truly had originally intended to wait for a truly momentous occasion for the 100th ACOTW. But after the week the GOP (hereafter referred to as Chuck's Toddlers) just had, how could your prehistoric porcine resist? Especially when the ring on the seedy side of the tracks is piled high with jester's caps? And, while several of the GOP presidential hopefuls are on the list, several others who don't have POTUS pretensions made the grade in this anniversary edition, such as Gordon "Chaps" Klingenschmitt (6), who some... more »
Small C Capitalsim by Russell C.J. Duffy
Common sense has been hi-jacked by coin counters. The human spirit is being crushed by excel spread sheet experts. Artisans have been usurped by administrators. Businesses debased by bookkeepers. Accountants and auditors adulate at the altar of commercial avarice. Being big is best but being biggest is better. Communism collapsed under the constraints of central control. It was a system that ran against human nature. It made no allowance for ambition; it paid scant regard to individuals championing collectivism over character. Capitalism constantly crashes concerning is itself less w... more »
action bronson, hate speech, and protest: rape culture vs. freedom of speech
As part of the NXNE concert series in Toronto, rapper Action Bronson was slated to perform a free concert in Dundas Square. Bronson is apparently known for lyrics and videos that degrade women and glorify rape. He has also bragged about assaulting a trans woman. Many people felt that this performer was inappropriate for a headliner act and a free event in the heart of Toronto. A petition was circulated calling for NXNE to cancel the Dundas Square show. Eventually they did. Their statement says they will try re-book Action Bronson as a ticketed event in a different venue. That seems... more »
Saudi Arabia detonates nuclear bombs in Yemen
*Nuclear Bomb detonation in Yemen* This is the way WWIII starts. "Tactical" neutron bombs detonated in Yemen by Saudi Arabia. Don't worry, they're just little bombs...and, most importantly, they're "tactical". Watch for this word to be used as a buzzword whenever civilians are bombed by these smaller nukes...as they are currently being bombed in Yemen. Where did the bombs come from? Some say *US*rael and some say Pak*US*tan. You see, the military establishment has to test out these new weapons on live populations. Yemen is a good choice...a small poor country with a subsisten... more »
Does Martin O'Malley Possess An Ounce Of Political Authenticity?
O'Malley gave a nice speech this morning, a progressive one crafted for the ears of progressive Democratic primary voters, a cohort he and Hillary and perhaps others will have speech writers and pollsters and consultants try to please with various messaging techniques. It's different from Bernie Sanders. When O'Malley asks the dramatic, poignant, burning question-- "Tell me how it is, that not a single Wall Street CEO was convicted of a crime related to the 2008 economic meltdown. Not. A. Single One."-- a cynic might respond by holding up a mirror for O'Malley and the professional... more »
Confiscation of Driver's License by Pasay Traffic Enforcers
After my wallet was stolen by bus thieves 2 Wednesdays ago along with my driver's licence (DL) there, I got a new DL last Friday. By Saturday morning, May 23, while driving at Roxas Blvd and turning right towards SM MOA, that new DL was confiscated by a Pasay traffic enforcer for a heinous crime of .... not wearing my seatbelt. Below left, the OVR he issued. Notice that he even signed the space for the motorist, he was probably rushing to get a "quota" of apprehensions for the day. The receipt for P250 when I got back my DL yesterday. I tweeted MMDA and Pasay Public Informatio... more »
As Syria Burns The Country's 'Elites' Continue To Enjoy Life
*Vocativ*: *Syria’s Elites Find Time For Fun As Country Burns* *The ruling minority sect has tried to shield itself from the death and violence other Syrians have been enduring for years.* *From their Instagram feeds they appear to be just like other young people enjoying the summer time: backflipping into water, chilling at a pool bar, basking in a sundrenched meadow. But the photos belong to a group of Syrians who have maintained their privileged lives, despite the war ravaging their country.* *They’re Alawites, the country’s minority sect and its elite. Syrian President Bash... more »
Bari wants a FIFA Spring
*Dateline London*'s most regular guest was back on the show today. Abdel Bari Atwan, eyes a-bulging, did his usual party tricks - including forcing in a smear against Israel. It's Bari's 6th appearance on the show this year. When he railed against Sett Blatter, saying that Mr Blatter reminded him of an Arab dictator and calling for "a FIFA Spring" against him, my view of the FIFA caudillo experienced at 180 degree turn. What would a "FIFA Spring" bring about? Well, if the Arab Spring's anything to go by, the next FIFA election would be won by the Muslim Brotherhood and the 20... more »
Another one for the collection
It boggles me that people expect #FIFA to act as anything other than a ruthless, capitalist multinational.. — Steph Hegarty (@stephhegarty) May 29, 2015
Impartiality
Here's proper impartiality for you: two pieces from *Standpoint *magazine - one bashing the BBC, the other bashing people who bash the BBC: *Time For A Leaner BBC To Pay Its Way*, by Stephen Glover *Predictable Pot-Shots At Auntie*, by Nick Cohen Here's a sample from each of them: *Stephen Glover* If the Tories can reasonably consider themselves hard done by during the election, UKIP is entitled to think it was taken to the cleaners by the Corporation. Despite Ofcom’s decree that it should be treated as a “major party” on the same basis as Conservatives, Labour and Lib Dems, it wa... more »
Civil War In Syria -- News Updates May 30, 2015
*Al Jazeera*: *Syria barrel bomb attacks 'kill scores' in Aleppo* *At least 75 people reported killed after government forces carry out raids in Aleppo province, monitoring group says.* *A series of barrel bombs dropped by Syria's government has killed at least 75 people and wounded dozens others in Aleppo province, according to medical sources and a monitoring group.* *The deaths occurred in two separate incidents on Saturday when helicopters dropped explosives-filled barrels, which are deemed illegal under international law.* *One barrel bomb hit the rebel-held Shaar neighbo... more »
Silence of matter rules out realist "interpretations"
*Empirical evidence directly implies that uniqueness of perceptions has to be subjective, not due to some objective mechanisms* Four years ago, I discussed the problems of the Ghirardi-Rimini-Weber (GRW 1986, paper) "interpretation" or modification of quantum mechanics. In my opinion, it's the most well-defined realist "interpretation" of quantum mechanics out there. It's also the reason why the proof that it contradicts the empirical evidence may be done most rigorously. Here, I want to review those arguments of mine and also rephrase those arguments in terms of "subjectivity or ob... more »
U.S. Approves SunOpta System for Detecting Genetically Modified Crops
*Lets hope this is better self-policing than the banks do... I am quite familiar with the logistic supply chain thoroughness of companies like Cargill, Pillsbury and other agriculture commodity companies in Minnesota, yet the supply chain is only as good as its weakest link. I worked for 3 years in supply chain software systems and have many friends in these companies. -AK* http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/16/business/us-approves-sunopta-system-for-detecting-genetically-modified-crops.html *U.S. Approves SunOpta System for Detecting Genetically Modified Crops* By STEPHANIE STROMMAY... more »
A cautionary tale
Here's a cautionary tale for bloggers about BBC bias... I was all set to 'gotcha' Darragh MacIntyre - the *Panorama *journalist behind this week's BBC One investigation into allegations of official British collusion with loyalist terrorist attacks in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. After all, Darragh was the guy behind that attempted hatchet job on Nigel Farage last year. As I wrote at the time: Such a trawl [through the *Panorama* archive] reveals that most of Darragh MacIntyre's *Panorama *reports have been about 'tax dodging', though there's also one in his portfolio ... more »
How do we know?
In her review of my 2012 IO article on identity and security in democracy, Charli asked a very important question: how do we know other states are democracies? I think this question, writ more broadly, is something IR scholars overlook to a detrimental degree. Perhaps because of the objectivist ontology that underlies much of IR […]
Borders, Oil and Power and a bit of Israel-bashing
BBC World service Newshour Extra. The BBC’s Owen Bennett Jones hosted a discussion called “Borders, Oil and Power in the Middle East.” Newshour extra. The blurb: The map of the Middle East, established after World War One almost 100 years ago, is crumbling. Islamic State militants now control large parts of Iraq and Syria including the border region that divides the two countries, and their territorial ambitions have not ended there. Is Islamic State permanently re-drawing the map, or can the traditional regional powers retain their dominance? What are the consequences for the peo... more »
U.S. And Iran Meet To Discuss A Nuclear Deal One Month Before The Deadline
*VOA*: *US, Iran Meet One Month Before Nuclear Deal Deadline* *The top U.S. and Iranian diplomats are meeting in Switzerland in an attempt to hammer out a historic nuclear deal that could give international inspectors access to Iran's military sites and scientists.* *U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif Saturday in a bid to overcome the remaining obstacles to a final nuclear agreement, a month ahead of a June 30 deadline for a deal between Tehran and world powers.* *The meeting in Geneva is the first substantive talks since Iran and t... more »
Big Brother Depo$es
The obscene multibillion-dollar profits of the Security State Complex are in danger of being ever so slightly curtailed should the Patriot Act be allowed to deservedly fade into the sunset this weekend. And thus have the greedy and the powerful panicked. Thus have the greedy and powerful duly authorized their current front man in the White House to shamelessly terrorize the crap out of the people who elected him to act on behalf of the greedy and powerful. The only thing we have to fear, according to Barack Obama, are the invisible bogeymen ("terrorists") who plot in the dark to ki... more »
Untitled
*Saints' Rob Ryan gets defensive ~Gary Eswtick, Sun Herald* *Rob Ryan accepts Drew Brees' #DropAndGiveMe10 nomination, challenges Andy Cohen* *It's Time For the Drew Brees and Saints "Haters" to Shut Up ~Barry Hirstius, Fansided* *Louisiana Inspector General issues power puff scolding of Jindal for presidential campaign letter on state web page ~Louisiana Voice*
Musings On Iraq In The News
My article on why Ramadi fell was reprinted by Iraq’s Al Mada. I was quoted in "The U.S. Ignored Ramadi, Now It's Bombing the Hell Out of It" by Robert Beckhusen in the War is Boring blog, which was later republished in Real Clear Defense.
Supplemental: Nicholas Kristof, hard and soft!
*SATURDAY, MAY 30, 2015The role of big money in politics:* Last Thursday, Nicholas Kristof discussed the role of big money in our politics. His column made much more sense than Ruth Marcus’ recent nervous breakdown on the same general subject. That said, we were struck by the places where Kristof was hard, and by the places where he seemed soft. In accord with Hard Pundit Law, Kristof began his discussion of big money with You Know Who and her husband. Here’s how the column started: KRISTOF (5/28/15): *I’ve admired the Clintons’ foundation for years for its fine work on AIDS and g... more »
Sheikha, rattle and roll
Alan at *Biased BBC*'s post about the BBC's reporting of a speech by Qatar's Queen Mum, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned (who may or may not like corgis but is unlikely to be fond of gin), calls attention to the fact that the BBC thought her Oxford University speech denouncing "Muslim-ophobia" newsworthy. As far as I can see, only the *Guardian *(among the UK media) also considered it newsworthy. So it may *not* have been newsworthy after all. [I would have found a look at Qatar's increasing role within British universities more newsworthy]. Both the BBC and the *Guardian* gi... more »
Yemen War News Updates -- May 30, 2015
*Al Arabiya*: *Saudi-led strikes pound Yemen capital* *Saudi-led coalition warplanes pounded Houthi positions across Sanaa overnight, only hours after the U.N. envoy to Yemen arrived in the militia-held capital, residents said Saturday.* *Among the air strike targets was a house of deposed president Ali Abdullah Saleh in his home town of Sanhan, south of the capital.* *The latest air raids also hit the militia-held air force headquarters in Sanaa, arms depots in Sanhan, as well as the Dailami air base, also in the capital, witnesses told Agence France-Presse.* *Other raids target... more »
By employing deductive reasoning, it can be deduced that Switzerland is in fact home to the CIA
Truther.org "PEACE BY REVELATION" EST. 2007 March 31, 2015 Download & Forward PDF *AUTHOR’S NOTE**:* The following information was first published on December 21, 2014 in “Greenland Theory: Apocalypse Now” (2014), a book and website by David Chase Taylor. Due to its shocking revelations, especially in respect to the CIA in Switzerland, it’s naturally being censored on an international level. Consequently, it is imperative to share this information in order to bring the country of Switzerland and its murderous CIA to justice for centuries of war crimes against humanity. *SWITZERLAN...more »
Reports of HPV Vaccine Injuries Outside the U.S. Continue to Mount – Victims Speak Outf
*Health Impact News* May 30, 2015 While most countries around the world are now starting to question the safety of the HPV vaccine, with reports of injuries and auto-immune diseases pouring in, the U.S. continues to censor any negative information regarding the HPV vaccine, and instead is continuing to promote the Merck HPV Gardasil vaccine as safe. Therefore, much of the news we are reporting is from outside the U.S. HPV vaccine survivors in the Czech Republicby SaneVax.org Three different women in the Czech Republic have similar experiences after deciding to protect themselves fr... more »
Who's Driving the Rohingya into the Sea?
*May 30, 2015* (Tony Cartalucci - NEO) - As the plight of the Rohingya, driven from Myanmar into the sea, gains increasing international attention, the same familiar voices across the West have begun climbing upon their soapboxes and pointing fingers at each and every nation refusing to accept them upon their shores. What is not mentioned, conveniently, is who drove them into the sea to begin with. *Who Are the Rohingya? * The Rohingya are a predominately Muslim people living in Myanmar's southwest state of Rakhine - and have lived there for generations. Many may be indigenous to M... more »
Talking to Islamic State
This viewer comment - Every second of airtime given to these ISIS terrorists is a gift to them. If their intention is to strike terror in people's hearts, then the press is helping them all the way. *Andy Wood* - was the starting point for Steve Hewlett's interview with the BBC's World Affairs Editor John Simpson on this week's *Newswatch*. As it was such an interesting interview, I thought I'd transcribe it for posterity. It touches on such important subjects. ***** *Steve Hewlett*: John, thanks very much for coming. Are you, do you think, and the media more generally, really... more »
Look out, the World Service is coming!
"Thanks for all your comments this week", said Steve Hewlett at the end of this week's *Newswatch*. That was a bit ironic given that there's only been one viewer's comment in the entire programme - far fewer than usual. The critical comments from viewers are one of the features which makes *Newswatch* work watching - alongside Samira Ahmed's interviews. Both occasionally have a bit of bite to them. It would be a shame if the programme was neutered and turned into another *Feedback.* Today's edition certainly had more of a *Feedback* feel to it than usual. Though it featured an i... more »
"I'm not sure people can have much confidence in the editorial judgement of @andrewpolitics and @BBCLookEast"
(h/t commenters at *Biased BBC*) There's a lively Twitter debate going on over the question of free speech following the mob attack on Douglas Carswell MP the other day. A local BBC news programme chose to do its 'BBC impartiality' thing and invite on someone from the baying mob: On look east (East edition) at 2230 the other side of the story. We speak to one of the protestors who confronted @DouglasCarswell — Andrew Sinclair (@andrewpolitics) May 28, 2015 Here's a flavour of the response: @andrewpolitics You cant be serious? Other side of the story? Abuse and threaten an MP li...more »
For whom the Belz toll
Theresa May’s plans to crack down on extremism, combined with the faith school dilemma, which has been intensified by the Trojan Horse revelations, have produced another example of the consequence mentioned in an earlier post. *“Jews are the victims of collateral damage every time anyone has the temerity to criticise something “Muslim”. ‘The Muslims’ are spoiling things for everybody else.”* It’s not that anyone in their right mind would approve of a religious ban on women driving, be it in Saudi Arabia or London. However the prominence the BBC gave to the story about the Bel... more »
US Tried A Stuxnet Cyber Attack On North Korea Five Years Ago
*Reuters:** Exclusive: U.S. tried Stuxnet-style campaign against North Korea but failed - sources* *The United States tried to deploy a version of the Stuxnet computer virus to attack North Korea's nuclear weapons program five years ago but ultimately failed, according to people familiar with the covert campaign.* *The operation began in tandem with the now-famous Stuxnet attack that sabotaged Iran's nuclear program in 2009 and 2010 by destroying a thousand or more centrifuges that were enriching uranium. Reuters and others have reported that the Iran attack was a joint effort by ... more »
Are Grassroots Democrats About To Give Untrustworthy New Dem Ami Bera The Ole Heave-Ho?
Yes, Ami, you can only fool Democratic voters for so long before they turn on you CA-07, composed primarily of the suburbs west of Sacramento, from Elk Grove, Rosemont, Arden-Arcade and Rancho Cordova up to Folsom and Citrus Heights, is a classic swing district with an even PVI. In 2008 Obama beat McCain 52-46% there and in 2008 he beat Romney 51-47%. Last year New Dem incumbent Ami Bera went to sleep on Election Night thinking he had lost to Republican Doug Ose 76,133 (50.2%) to 75,603 (49.8%) in the most expensive House race of the cycle ($19.6 million spent!). After a recanvass, B... more »
U.S. Defense Secretary: China's Island-Building Erodes Security
*Reuters*: *U.S. says China's island-building erodes security; Beijing angered * *U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Saturday that China's island-building in the South China Sea was undermining security in the Asia-Pacific, drawing a scathing response from the foreign ministry in Beijing.* *Carter, speaking to top defense officials from the Asia-Pacific at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, acknowledged that several countries had created outposts in the region's disputed islands, but he said the scope of China's activity created uncertainty about its future pla... more »
MENA Report ( May 30 , 2015 ) - Iraq - Syria Regional War Updates ...... Libya in focus...... Yemen Proxy War Updates.....Saudis suffering blowback .......Iran nuclear Talks in focus...... ISIS information - Turkey caught arming ISIS ?
Links..... *As Losses Grow, US Officials Push New Iraq 'Surge'* *Video Shows Turkish Govt Arming ISIS* *US Downplays Threat as ISIS Bombs Saudi Mosque* *ISIS Militants in Libya 'Seize Sirte Airport'* Truck Bombs: ISIS's 'Air Force' Iraq Bombs, Clashes Leave 22 Dead Military Retreats as Rebels Continue Syria Offensive Turkish Daily Accuses Govt of Sending Arms to Syria Rebels Fighters Battle Houthis in Yemen's Southern City of Aden Tweets.... *RT* @RT_com 2m 2 minutes ago Nuclear Saudi Arabia: Rising ambitions of the House of Saud (OP-EDGE) http://on.rt.com/6s489l ... more »
U.S. Patriot Act Set To Expire This Sunday
*Reuters*:* Obama says 'handful of senators' blocking surveillance reforms* *U.S. President Barack Obama warned on Friday that surveillance powers used to prevent attacks on Americans could lapse at midnight on Sunday unless "a handful of senators" stop standing in the way of reform legislation.* *Obama said he had told Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other senators that he expects them to act swiftly on a bill passed by the House of Representatives that would renew certain powers and reform the bulk collection of telephone data.* *WNU Editor*: This is a bitt... more »
State Changes Test Score Numbers for Students to Mollify Parents
If you have a highly unpopular Common Core testing system, such as the one in Tennessee, that is guaranteed to produce widespread failure among students and their teachers, what do you do when the scores come out just before the end of school? Simple. You let the test vendor produce a phony "quick" score that looks like students are proficient, and you send those scores to schools and homes so that they can be used to figure into final student grades. In doing so, state officials and testing companies hope that parents will put away their pitchforks and torches, and go on vacation.... more »
Multi-Dimensional Beings With Reflections in the Spirit World
*Julie Henderson* - We are multi-dimensional beings with mirrors in the spirit world. The post Multi-Dimensional Beings With Reflections in the Spirit World appeared first on Waking Times.
Resisting US Bases & Military Empire
- I am at the airport in Portland, Maine waiting for my flight to DC. This evening several of us from Veterans for Peace (VFP) will meet with one of the mayors from Okinawa to discuss their growing opposition to US base expansion plans. Then on Sunday afternoon we'll meet with the new governor of Okinawa, Takashi Onaga, and we will present him with the VFP letter of solidarity and opposition to US bases on their island. Following that there will be a large dinner where we will further socialize with one another. - The Okinawa Perfectural Government has ... more »
Psychoactive Plants in the Bible
*Kevin Loftis* - Jesus used a number of psychoactive plants to heal and convert his followers. The post Psychoactive Plants in the Bible appeared first on Waking Times.
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*Here’s the Data to Prove School Choice Is Working* Private school choice initiatives have become increasingly common across the United States. Far from being rare and untested, private school choice policies are an integral part of the fabric of American education policy. In the United States today, 56 different school choice policies exist in 28 states plus the District of Columbia, and the number of choice policies has approximately doubled every four years from 2000 to 2012. The District of Columbia Opportunity Scholarship Program remains the nation’s only federally sponsored ... more »
Action Alert: Stop The "Vaccinate All Children Act"
By anh-usa on May 19, 2015 Tell Your Representative NOT to Co-sponsor the Vaccinate All Children Act! Share with Friends in [image: Email][image: Facebook][image: Twitter] Earlier this month, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-FL) introduced HR 2232, the Vaccinate All Children Act of 2015. The bill would amend the Public Health Service Act by requiring states seeking federal grants to prove that each student enrolled in public elementary and secondary schools has been vaccinated following the recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. So far, the bill has no c... more »
A Proposal to Modify Plants Gives G.M.O. Debate New Life
A rice farmer in Indonesia. In Southeast Asia, millions of farmers use flood-resistant rice produced through crossbreeding, a process researchers seek to speed up with a technique they call "rewilding." Credit John Seaton Callahan/Getty Images *A Proposal to Modify Plants Gives G.M.O. Debate New Life * By GINA KOLATA MAY 28, 2015 What’s in a name? A lot, if the name is genetically modified organism, or G.M.O., which many people are dead set against. But what if scientists used the precise techniques of today’s molecular biology to give back to plants genes that had long ago bee... more »
FIFA Political football .... wrap up? Or, just end of first half?
*2018 World Football Championship Games in Russia* Just browsing through the Internet reaction to the vote in Zurich yesterday to re-elect Sepp Blatter President of FIFA I note there has been more or less an ominous silence from the usual sources. The pro Blatter forces are commenting on this win: And let's look at the Western media claim that the Blatter's win in the election "demonstrated the huge divisions at the congress". The result of the vote was 133 votes to 73. i.e. Blatter got almost 65%, an almost 2/3 majority, yet this is touted by the scurrilous Western media as "huge... more »
Wave of medical police state refugees to flee California if SB 277 signed into law... Gov. Brown to declare war on children... no child safe
Wednesday, May 20, 2015 by Mike Adams California will be the origin of America's first wave of *medical police state refugees* fleeing medical tyranny if Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 277 into law. SB 277 is California's pharma-funded vaccine assault on all parents and children. It would eliminate all personal belief exemptions and force nearly all children in California to be forcibly injected with vaccines that are knowingly manufactured with neurotoxic substances such as mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde and MSG. If he signs the law, Gov. Brown will be declaring medical genocide ag... more »
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*Ann Coulter "gets" radiation hormesis* Greenies love to pump up the radiation scare as a lever to attack nuclear power and nuclear deterrence but it's been known since before WWII that ionizing radiation can have health benefits *When It Comes to Global Warming, the News Media Only See What They Want* by John Ziegler “The global warming debate is over!” That has been a common battle cry from the political left and the news media for years now. As a conservative who is inherently skeptical of any media-driven “conventional wisdom” (mostly because they almost always turn out... more »
He Will Long Be Forgotten
http://www.thestar.com/ Peter Mackay's departure has generated a lot of commentary. Michael Harris writes that another brick has fallen out of the wall: Fortress Harper has just seen another huge breach blown in the castle walls. Peter MacKay, the last of the former Progressive Conservatives serving at the time of the Canadian Alliance/PC merger, is walking away from the Harper government just months before the biggest battle of the party’s life. And, in case you've forgotten, his exit mirrored Stephen Harper's: Oddly enough, Stephen H... more »
Peter MacKay - Nothing
I have to say, I despise Andrew Coyne's Cro-magnon economic delusions. I think they're highly dangerous and self-evidently absurd. But I'm convinced that Coyne is a genuine defender of parliamentary democracy. I believe that if an NDP government were to be formed and began to implement policies half-way as left-wing as I'd like, that while he'd rant and rave and make predictions of doom that would fail, he would never consider advocating a coup. He would accept the outcome of the situation and rally behind a right-wing party to win back power fairly. Because of all the excellent c... more »
Musical Interlude: Liquid Mind, "My Orchid Spirit (Extragalactic)"
Liquid Mind, "My Orchid Spirit (Extragalactic)" - https://www.youtube.com/
Music to Honor the Body and Heal from Within
*Video - *Allow the body to relax and heal from within with this meditation, balancing and tuning music. You can even listen to it as you surf our site! The post Music to Honor the Body and Heal from Within appeared first on Waking Times.
Economic News , Data and Views ( May 30 , 2015 ) Broader Europe in Focus ( Spain - Anti - Podemos Rally Flops - Just 200 People Turn Out , PSOE To Search High & Wide For Its PM Candidate , Refugee Related Items ) ..... Broader Europe Splash ( Real GDY & Real M-1 Chart , Unemployment Stunner , Blatter Item , Summers Trashes Growth Oriented Austerity , Poland Update , German Bonds Rebound ) ..... Greece Updates ( Creditor Talks , Bank Status Internal and External Political Items , Economic Items , Refugees , Odds& Ends )
Tweets..... Broader Europe.... *Edward Hugh* @Edward_hugh 1h 1 hour ago Spain's economic recovery - glass half full or half empty? https:// storify.com/Edwardhugh/spain-s-economic-recovery … Spain's Economic Recovery (with images, tweets) · Edwardhugh Glass Half Full Or Glass Half Empty? View on web *Edward Hugh* @Edward_hugh 2h 2 hours ago Spain's tourism sector continues to grow, but not as rapidly as previously. [image: Embedded image permalink] *Edward Hugh* @Edward_hugh 2h 2 hours ago Euro devaluation helping Spanish exports which hit record in March (+12.5% y... more »
You Could Be Putin-ized
Freedom of expression and democratic debate is considered by many as noble causes – even as rights. However, public discourse in the West – particularly the US – is neither free nor democratic when it comes to Russia. Why is this the case and is it dangerous? CrossTalking with James Carden and James Carafano.
Our Real Future of Integration with China: China warns Kinmen not to compete with Macao
*Another glorious day of cycling in the mountains near my home.* Fortunately I have the text of the article, which I quote from... the key point is this: China’s top official on Taiwan affairs has warned that Beijing will sever valuable transport and other ties with Taiwan’s outlying island county of Kinmen if it moves to develop an integrated resort. Taiwan Affairs Office director Zhang Zhijun issued the extraordinary threat on Sunday as he toured Kinmen after talks with his Taiwanese counterpart, Mainland Affairs Council minister Andrew Hsia. Kinmen business leaders cited Zhang ... more »
MdCN Naval Cruise Missile 1st Launch from a FREMM
The French Navy (Marine Nationale) has released a video showing the first launch of an MdCN (Missile de Croisière Navale) Naval Cruise Missile from a FREMM Frigate. On May 19, frigate Aquitaine (head of the class and first unit in the multi-mission frigate program FREMM) successfully fired its first naval cruise missile on the firing ranges of the DGA missile testing centre off Levant Island. This event marked the first time a European surface ship has fired a cruise missile. Read more
Indonesia conducts first test firing of Exocet from Bung Tomo corvette
The Indonesian Navy (Tentera Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut, or TNI-AL) has fired an Exocet anti-ship missile from a Bung Tomo-class corvette for the first time. The test, in which a MM40 Block 2 version of the missile was fired from first-of-class KRI Bung Tomo (357), was conducted on 28 May in the Java Sea and witnessed by senior navy leaders, including TNI-AL chief of staff Vice Admiral Ade Supandi. A source close to the TNI-AL told IHS Jane's that the missile was fired at the lead Kupang-class 43 m landing craft utility (LCU) ship, KRI Kupang (582), which was decommissione... more »
THAAD is 'excellent deterrent' against N. Korean threats: McCain
[image: THAAD launcher]U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) said Saturday the possible deployment of the U.S. advanced missile defense system on Korean soil should be considered as threats by North Korea have grown. "The THAAD system is a very effective and excellent deterrent. I think it is something that has to be considered in light of recent information about the advanced step North Korea has made," McCain said in a press conference in Singapore on the sidelines of the Asia Security Summit, also known as the Shangri-La Dialogue. Washington has expressed its willingness to deploy a Te... more »
US Navy achieves initial operating capability on Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2
[image: Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2]The U.S. Navy has achieved initial operational capability (IOC) with the Rolling Airframe Missile Block 2 produced by Raytheon Company. RAM Block 2 is a significant performance upgrade that features enhanced kinematics, an evolved radio frequency receiver, and an improved control system. "RAM Block 2 provides the accuracy and lethality our sailors need to combat growing regional threats," said Captain Craig Bowden, Major Program Manager for Rolling Airframe Missile, U.S. Navy Integrated Warfare Systems 3B program office. "IOC signals that the... more »
Netherlands sends attrition replacement Apache to Mali
[image: AH-64D to Mali]The Royal Netherlands Air Force on 27 May sent a single AH-64D Apache attack helicopter to Mali to replace the one that crashed on 17 March, killing both crewmembers on board. The Dutch defence ministry said the Apache was loaded aboard a NATO C-17 Globemaster III cargo aircraft at Gilze-Rijen Air Base. Once the helicopter arrives in Mali, it will bring up the Dutch contingent’s helicopter strength to the required numbers. The Netherlands has been involved in the U.N. mission in Mali since last year. Read more
HMS Ocean conducts first-time operations of Wildcat helicopter
[image: AW159 Wildcat]The UK Royal Navy's latest helicopter, the Wildcat, has landed on the navy's commando carrier HMS Ocean for the first time during Exercise Joint Warrior in the North Sea. The attack helicopter was commissioned last year at Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset, and began its operational deployment at sea this year. The new helicopters are scheduled to replace the Lynx helicopter. The Wildcat features a variety of upgrades and improvements compared to its predecessor. Read more
Can China's aircraft radar systems compete?
[image: Su-30Mk2 Flanker]Recently a photograph of a Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighter carrying a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) pod has been circulating online, which gives the fighter-bomber greater long-range reconnaissance capabilities, according to Sina's military news web portal. Many new generation battlefield and airspace surveillance aircraft are now being equipped with SAR pods, as they give them day and night all-weather air detection capabilities. Some of the more popular SAR pods include the Israeli EL/M-2060P and the French Raphael Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR). The US... more »
China Unveils New Long-Range Drone
[image: Divine Eagle China UAV]China has unveiled a new twin-fuselage drone that analysts say will give the People’s Liberation Army long-range surveillance and strike capabilities. The Shen Diao, or Divine Eagle, remotely piloted aircraft is being developed by China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation and appears from Chinese Internet photos made public recently to be larger than the U.S Air Force’s Global Hawk long-range surveillance drone. Rep. J. Randy Forbes, (R., Va.) a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said Chinese support for systems such as the Shen Diao drone is p... more »
Chinese weaponry said to be on artificial island
[image: Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands]China’s land reclamation in the South China Sea is out of step with international rules, and turning underwater land into airfields won’t expand its sovereignty, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told an international security conference Saturday, stepping up America’s condemnation of the communist giant as Beijing officials sat in the audience. Carter told the room full of Asia-Pacific leaders and experts that the U.S. opposes “any further militarization” of the disputed lands. His remarks were immediately slammed as “groundless and not const... more »
India to Test Barak 8 Missile Jointly Developed With Israel
About six years after Israel signed a $1.1 billion deal to upgrade the Barak 8 surface-to-air missile system with India, India was gearing up to conduct its own test-fire of the projectile, Indian NDTV reported on Friday. If successful, the test would pave the way for the Barak 8 system to become a fully operational and incorporated defense system in the Indian navy. Defense sources in India told NDTV that the country’s navy would test the missile during the upcoming monsoon season so that “operational challenge is created.” Read more
Report: Maintenance of overseas-ported ships growing problem for Navy
[image: USS George Washington (CVN 73) in Yokosuka]Reports of incidents of degraded or out-of-service equipment on U.S. Navy ships have doubled over the past five years, with the condition of many overseas-homeported ships deteriorating faster than U.S.-based ones. Maintenance for some overseas ships has been repeatedly delayed, leading to degraded condition, according to a report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office. The Navy, however, has not come up with a long-term plan to deal with needed maintenance, even as it has come to rely more on homeporting vessels o... more »
Taiwan military says it fully identified passing French frigates
[image: FS Dixmunde (L9015)]Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense said Friday it had been closely monitoring two French military vessels that passed near Taiwan earlier this month, and there was no truth to a local media report that it had failed to identify the ships. The ministry said one of the vessels was a Mistral-class amphibious assault ship that passed east of Taiwan on May 6, while the other was a La Fayette-class frigate that sailed through the Taiwan Strait the following day. In a statement, the defense ministry said it was on top of the situation as the two French vesse... more »
‘Fundamental Change In Direction’ For F-35; Kendall Floats Plan To Buy 450 Planes
[image: F-35B Lightning II]As I watched the seemingly endless string of F-35Bs take off from the deck of the USS Wasp earlier this week, I was struck by how routine it all seemed. During eight days of flying, the F-35Bs flew 108 sorties, racking up 85.5 hours, deputy Marine Commandant for aviation, Lt. Gen. Jon Davis, told us on the phone this morning, conceding it was “a low number of hours, really, because the jets were light-loaded…” Low hours, maybe, but that’s the first time these planes were put through their paces in anything like regular military circumstances. Routine is n... more »
North Korea Covers Up Russian Sub’s Fatal Collision in Its Waters
North Korea concealed a collision between a Russian submarine and one of its own patrol ships as well as fishing boats that occurred nearly a year ago in coastal waters off the northeastern port city Cheongjin, resulting in 19 deaths, sources inside the country said. The accident occurred when a Russian submarine in the East Sea of Korea (Sea of Japan) quickly surfaced to disentangle itself from an abandoned fishing net and collided with and overturned several fishing boats and a North Korean naval vessel, sources from North Hamgyong province where Cheongjin is located recently told... more »
Navy to soon get latest Sonar systems for anti-sub warfare
[image: INS Kamorta]India will get six low frequency Active Towed Array Sonar (ACTAS) systems, that will be fitted on the Kamorta-class submarines, later this year from Germany. The system, which can detect enemy submarines, will give a fillip to India's anti-submarine warfare capabilities. India had late last year signed a contract for the towed array sonar with German firm Atlas Elektronik. Read more
Nimrod axe 'causes Trident risk'
[image: Scrapped Nimrod]The UK's lack of submarine-hunting planes following the decision to axe the Nimrod fleet has given opportunities for "intruders" which could "prejudice the security and effectiveness" of Trident, they said. In a letter to the Daily Telegraph, the five retired senior officers wrote: "The need to reintroduce Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) into the British frontline is now widely recognised. "With so few naval escorts available, this will be vital if future aircraft carriers are not to be put severely at risk. Read more
A minor assault on Czech petitioners by Muslim students
Thankfully, most of the Czech written media have reported on a relatively minor incident involving Arab students that took place in the historical city of Olomouc – which I visited twice in recent years – yesterday. This is the Upper Square (the Lower Square is nearby) with its city hall and their Astronomical Clock (not quite as pretty as the clock in Prague but still interesting). Meters away from the city hall, a group of members of "We Don't Want Islam In Czechia" NGO was collecting signatures on their petition against the EU refugee quotas. During the last 2 weeks, the number... more »
China Watch 21, Is a War Between US and China "Inevitable"?
"War is inevitable" between the US and China. That is one headline used by a China government-owned newspaper, which was used and quoted by other national and foreign media. This exclusive report by the CNN has fanned such story. I do not believe such probability of course. It is s vintage 1960s headline that persists until today. US vs Russia, East vs West Europe, North vs. South Korea, China mainland vs. Taiwan, etc. The more alarmism and panic created over the SCS/WPS territorial disputes, the easier for the public to say "Yes to more borrowings, more taxes to buy multi-bil... more »
"Believe..."
“Time takes it all, whether you want it to or not.” – Stephen King "These then are my last words to you: Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact." - William James
'Crying Earth Rise Up' now available on DVD
prairie dust films & owe akupresent CRYINGEARTH RISE UPnow available on dvd http://cryingearthriseup.bigcartel.com Prairie Dust Films and Owe Aku are pleased to announce that Crying Earth Rise Up is now available on DVD, BluRay and Digital Download on our website (www.cryingearthriseup.com). We also offer a downloadable screening toolkit, educational resources and
Protect Oak Flat Native Youth Concert May 30 2015
OAK FLAT, Ariz. -- On Saturday May 30, 2015 to Sunday May 31, 2015 The Apache Stronghold will host a two day camp and conference to discuss the future actions and protection of sacred Oak Flat, Arizona entitled “Protect Sacred Oak Flat Conference & Apache Stronghold Spiritual Gathering.” Saturdays Protect Oak Flat events will begin at 11 a.m. with traditional Apache Songs and will then be lead
Migrant Trail Walk Completes Sonoran Desert Journey
12th Annual Migrant Trail Walk Arrives in Tucson 60 Participants Complete the Final Day of a 75- mile Journey through the Sonoran Desert Press Conference: Sunday, May 31, 2015 at 11:30 AM Kennedy Park, Ramada #3, Tucson, Arizona TUCSON, Ariz. -- On Sunday, May 31st, the twelfth annual Migrant Trail, a 75- mile walk from Sásabe, Sonora will arrive in Tucson, Arizona. The event will
Musical Interlude: Ray Charles, "Imagine"
Ray Charles, "Imagine" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExHsrh0hH-w
"A Look to the Heavens"
“Connecting the Pipe Nebula to the colorful region near bright star Antares is a dark cloud dubbed the Dark River, flowing from the picture's left edge. Murky looking, the Dark River's appearance is caused by dust obscuring background starlight, although the dark nebula contains mostly hydrogen and molecular gas. *Click image for larger size.* Surrounded by dust, Antares, a red supergiant star, creates an unusual bright yellowish reflection nebula. Above it, bright blue double star Rho Ophiuchi is embedded in one of the more typical bluish reflection nebulae, while red emission neb... more »
"One Summer Night..."
*Click image for larger size.* "One summer night, out on a flat headland, all but surrounded by the waters of the bay, the horizons were remote and distant rims on the edge of space. Millions of stars blazed in darkness, and on the far shore a few lights burned in cottages. Otherwise there was no reminder of human life. My companion and I were alone with the stars: the misty river of the Milky Way flowing across the sky, the patterns of the constellations standing out bright and clear, a blazing planet low on the horizon. It occurred to me that if this were a sight that could be s... more »
Chet Raymo, "Probing The Soul”
*"Probing The Soul”* by Chet Raymo “More than three centuries ago, Pascal said: "Man considering himself is the great prodigy of nature. For he cannot conceive what his body is, even less what his spirit is, and least of all how body can be united with spirit." Pascal lived at the dawn of the scientific era, but his words still ring true. We have sent spacecraft to the planets. We have listened to signals from the dawn of time. We have unraveled the mystery of starlight. We can even conceive what the body is. But the deeper human mystery remains: What is the spirit, and how is it u... more »
"Tell Yourself..."
“Life will break you. Nobody can protect you from that, and living alone won’t either, for solitude will also break you with its yearning. You have to love. You have to feel. It is the reason you are here on earth. You are here to risk your heart. You are here to be swallowed up. And when it happens that you are broken, or betrayed, or left, or hurt, or death brushes near, let yourself sit by an apple tree and listen to the apples falling all around you in heaps, wasting their sweetness. Tell yourself you tasted as many as you could.” - Louise Erdrich
The Latest in the Data Fraud Scandal
This blog mostly focuses on IR, but this story has implications for all doing social science, as the accuser at the center of the conversation asserts quite clearly. So, I am posting the latest and most thorough account of how this played out thus far here. There are many questions to ask, but the one […]
Now that Denny Hastert's secret is blown, does "Individual A" have to pay back the $1.7 million in payoff money?
*Denny Hastert is reportedly telling friends, "I am a victim too." And so he is, after the original facts. The feds seem to have weighed his victimhood against his young victim's.* *by Ken* In time we'll presumably find out more about the moment when former House Speaker Denny Hastert realized he'd made a giant booboo. No, not the sexual misbehavior with a high school wrestler he coached -- though there's that, of course. But there doesn't seem to have been any moment when Denny suddenly realized he'd done something that could sink him in deep doodoo. No, I'm thinking of the momen... more »
May 29: Why , oh, why?
The big news from our editors who feel the pulse of the world and of our reporters is that a city smoking ban is getting a mixed reaction from bar owners. And a new sporting goods store opened for hundreds who had been standing in the parking lot for hours waiting for this blessed day. there's a big photo of them. One man, we are told, had driven 3 hours, and waited in the parking lot for 24 hours. Heck. All Jesus got was a few wise wise guys who showed up late. There is a story at the bottom of the page. But it's a very short one, and with no photo, It's about how the provincial ... more »
Live Turbulent Times Show TONIGHT At 8PM CDT (9PM EDT) On Blogtalk Radio
I am back.... It was a much needed break.... Yes, so much has been happening for this week, and again it always seems that all hell breaks loose the moment I take any type of short vacation.... There is so much to talk about, but before I get back into doing some articles, Whitewraithe and I decided to do a LIVE Turbulent Times show tonight on Blogtalk radio.... The subject of tonight's show will again be current events for at least the first hour, and then we will touch on the frauds of our medical system including Vaccines and the lies associated with Cancer and Cancer "treatment... more »
How Much Influence does Big Pharma have on Vaccine Safety Research?
*Video - *Here's an interesting discussion about the conflict of interest with supposedly 'independent' sources that back the US Government's assertion that vaccines and autism are not related. The post How Much Influence does Big Pharma have on Vaccine Safety Research? appeared first on Waking Times.
Editor's Note
Have to take care of guests tonight. Blogging will return tomorrow morning. Sighhh .... its been a long week.
The Daily "Near You?"
Miles City, Montana, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
"Alive in Joy: Dispelling Drama"
*"Alive in Joy: Dispelling Drama"* by Madisyn Taylor, The DailyOM "Some people are so used to creating drama that a peaceful existence seems uncomfortable for them. There are scores of people in the world who seem to be magnets for calamity. They live their lives jumping from one difficult to the next, surrounded by unstable individuals. Some believe themselves victims of fate and decry a universe they regard as malevolent. Others view their chaotic circumstances as just punishments for some failing within. Yet, in truth, neither group has been fated or consigned to suffer. They ar... more »
Commentaries, Analysis, And Editorials -- May 29, 2015
*Ivan Nechepurenko, Moscow Times:* *Putin Classifying Troop Losses Proves They're in Ukraine – Analysts* *Legal amendments introduced Thursday that classify as state secrets any losses sustained during peacetime special operations are further confirmation of Russia's direct involvement in the Ukraine conflict, legal and military experts told The Moscow Times.* *The amendments, signed by President Vladimir Putin, make "information disclosing the loss of personnel … during special operations in peacetime" a classified state secret.* *Putin has repeatedly denied any involvement of R...more »
Tonight's Movie Is 'Ronin' (1998)
From *Wikipedia*: *Ronin is a 1998 American spy thriller action film directed by John Frankenheimer and starring Robert De Niro, Jean Reno, Natascha McElhone, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Bean, and Jonathan Pryce. Written by J.D. Zeik and David Mamet, the film centers on a team of hired operatives trying to steal a mysterious and heavily-guarded case while navigating a maze of shifting loyalties and alliances. The film is noted for its car chases through Nice and Paris.*
The Poet: Eugene O'Neill, "Free"
* "Free"* by Eugene O'Neill "Weary am I of the tumult, sick of the staring crowd, Pining for wild sea places where the soul may think aloud. Fled is the glamour of cities, dead as the ghost of a dream, While I pine anew for the tint of blue on the breast of the old Gulf Stream. I have had my dance with Folly, nor do I shirk the blame; I have sipped the so-called Wine of Life and paid the price of shame; But I know that I shall find surcease, the rest my spirit craves, Where the rainbows play in the flying spray, 'Mid the keen salt kiss of the waves. Then it's ho! for the plunging deck o... more »
Paulo Coelho, “Dreams and Obsessions”
*“Dreams and Obsessions”* by Paulo Coelho “Your theory about every person could reach everything in life is really optimistic. But if the person tried once and was despaired and disappointed what is he going to do?” - Antoine Rigal, Lyon, France “There is sometimes a bit of confusion in regards to a passage in my book "The Alchemist": “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” Some people sometimes want things that in the end won’t truly help them. Life is strange: the happier people can be, the unhappier they are. I have some friends that... more »
"How It Really Is"
Remember basic mathematics, folks... Any number multiplied by zero is still, well, zero...
Former GOP Speaker Denny Hastert Was No Petty Criminal-- He Was A One-Man Major Crime Wave
John Laesch was one of the sharpest, most fearless and most dedicated congressional candidates Blue America ever got behind. John ran against powerful, unassailable Speaker of the House Denny Hastert in 2006 and again in 2008 (although Hastert was forced to resign from Congress as the campaign season started heating up). Noam Chomsky and Studs Terkel joined Blue America in the endorsement. Although Laesch won the primary against an Establishment Democrat (and with 66% of the vote!), Hastert won the general election 114,385 (60%) to 77.065 (40%), the DCCC giving Hastert a free pass ... more »
"Stupidity..."
“Stupidity is the deliberate cultivation of ignorance” - William Gaddis "I know my own nation best. That's why I despise it the most. And I know and love my own people, too, the swine. I'm a patriot. A dangerous man." - Edward Abbey
Untitled
*Marigny group sues city to stop CZO enforcement ~Richard A. Webster* * Meet the 2015 Emerging Chefs Challenge Finalists ~Gambit*
All of Donbass is Family to Us
*Delivering aid to eastern Ukraine which has had the hell kicked out of them for the past year by the US-NATO backed Kiev junta....* By Yevdokiya Sheremetyeva (littlehirosima) Translated from Russian by J.Hawk I caught myself thinking that I'm not reporting about even half of those whom we are helping. These days we're mainly doing targeted aid. Earlier we were done in only a few days--we delivered most of the food to communal cafeterias and bomb shelters of Pervomaysk. Now, in addition to the old system which is still in place, we are painstakingly assembling lists of the most n... more »
Could The Islamic State Win?
*John McLaughlin, Washington Post*: *How the Islamic State could win* *Let’s think the unthinkable: Could the Islamic State win?* *I say “unthinkable” because, discouraged as everyone has become, most commentary stops short of imagining what an Islamic State victory in the Middle East would look like. The common conviction is that the group is so evil it simply must be defeated — it will just take time.* *But let’s test that proposition and think for a minute about what it would take for the group to win. What would success look like for the Islamic State? Essentially, it would amo... more »
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