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: History as Seen by Bloggers
"I would rather have questions that can't be answered than answers that can't be questioned" Richard Feynman
"The penalty good people pay for not being interested in politics is to be governed by people worse than themselves."
- Plato, Greek philosopher.
Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) are driven past the stand with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and other high ranking officials during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang April 15, 2017. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj *Francis Grice, National Interest:* *4 Frightening Ways North Korea's Nuclear Weapons May Actually Be Used* Four ways Pyongyang and its nuclear weapons could become even more dangerous to America. Kim Jong-un has been at it again: another intercontinental ballistic missile test and a further ve...more »
*Atlantic Operations* A Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet flies over the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the Atlantic Ocean, July 28, 2017. The Gerald R. Ford was conducting test and evaluation operations. Navy photo by Erik Hildebrandt
*BBC:** North Korea: UN backs fresh sanctions over missile tests* The United Nations Security Council has agreed on fresh sanctions against North Korea over its missile programme. A resolution banning North Korean exports and limiting investments in the country was passed unanimously. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said it was "the most stringent set of sanctions on any country in a generation". Pyongyang tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles in July, claiming it now had the ability to hit the US. However, experts doubt the capability of the missiles to hit th...more »
*-by Noah* If you watched Señor Trumpanzee’s completely unhinged speech on Pravda-TV, er, a, FOX “News” on Thursday night (Yeah, I know, why would you? Chances are you don’t drink at curb’s edge with the pigeons either), you saw something that would classify as brilliant theater if it was a scene in a remake of *The Madness Of King George* (Please see above clip), or, a spinoff of Woody Allen’s *Bananas* (see below). For the second time in two weeks (Last week was his heinous talk with the Boy Scouts of America), our severely mentally ill Grifter-In-Chief went to West Virginia, ...more »
*Washington Post*: *U.S. troops are on the ground in Yemen for offensive against al-Qaeda militants* A contingent of U.S. troops is involved in a Yemeni operation to push al-Qaeda militants from one of their key strongholds in central Yemen, the Pentagon said Friday. A small number of troops are there to help with “intelligence sharing,” Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis said, though he did not rule out that more U.S. forces could be committed to the operation in the coming weeks. The announcement comes a day after the United Arab Emirates said in a statement that its forces, al...more »
*USA Today:* *Saudi Arabia to allow women in bikinis at new beach resort* The ultra-conservative kingdom of Saudi Arabia has announced the construction of a luxury resort on the Red Sea where women will be allowed to wear bikinis instead of having to fully cover their bodies. Experts believe the ambitious move initiated by the new heir to the Saudi throne, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is another attempt to modernize the oil-dependent economy. Women face extreme restrictions under Saudi laws, including not being able to drive or travel without the permission of a male relative. Wome...more »
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (4:00 A.M.) – With the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) mechanized pincers pushing towards the provincial capital of Deir Ezzor from three axes connected to the government mainland, ISIS commanders seem to have realized that their assault on the city must be speed up, forcing them to intensify attacks on the SAA’s besieged eastern […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (3:00 A.M.) – On Saturday afternoon, the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) scored a major advance in the western outskirts of Al-Sukhnah when their forces liberated the imperative Tantour Mountain. Backed by Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Arab Army broke-through the Islamic State’s lines after a fierce battle that lasted for several hours on Saturday. […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:40 A.M.) – The Saudi regime forces continued their inhuman siege of the Qatif Province’s Awamiya District, Saturday, targeting the residents and infrastructure of this historical area. In one particular instance on Saturday, local activists reported and filmed the Saudi regime forces bombing a Shiite religious site in the ‘Awamiya District. The religious […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (2:15 A.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) kicked-off their Jobar assault with a bang on Saturday, seizing several points from the Islamist militants inside this Damascene suburb. Led by the 42nd Brigade of the 4th Mechanized Division, the Syrian Arab Army began the assault on Saturday morning when their forces bombarded Faylaq […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (1:45 A.M.) – Moments ago, a military source near Al-Sukhnah informed Al-Masdar News that at least 80 percent of the city is now under the control of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA). The source stated the Russian Air Force is hunting the retreating ISIL terrorists and bombing several terrorist installations nearby. In addition […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
The Lebanese newspaper, Al-Joumhuriya, reported on Saturday that the Lebanese army has been coordinating the upcoming battle against ISIL terrorists in Ras Baalbek outskirts with the Syrian military. The paper added that both sides’ representatives held several meetings for this purpose, noting that the battle has been delayed in order to intensify this process. Al-Joumhuriya […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (1:30 A.M.) – The Islamic State’s propaganda wing released a series of braggadocious photos on Saturday, showcasing its hardline religious penal code implemented on civilians living across the eastern province of Deir Ezzor. With Sharia fully implemented across all of ISIS-held Syria, Amaq Agency showed off images of lashing for premarital sex, a […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:30 A.M.) – A Tunisian parliamentary delegation began a nine day visit to the Syrian capital of Damascus, Friday, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported. The delegation met with some of the highest members of the Syrian government, including President Bashar Al-Assad. Among the delegation that was present in Damascus, Friday, were […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
Video of GjttaTmlA9g EIR editorial board's Will Wertz presents a top down strategic overview of the British oligarchy's desperate attempts to prevent their inevitable demise as the World Landbridge New Paradigm sweeps the globe, ending their geopolitical "Great Game."
What else? ****** John Simpson is aghast again: He didn't link to precisely what he was aghast about so, naturally, I Googled, and I'm guessing he read about it in the *Guardian*. They published a piece about it some three days before JS's tweet, and they were aghast too. Weirdly, the *Guardian *didn't note that this "hate-filled" NRA video was posted three months ago. (It's been on YouTube since 10 April). When I read JS's tweet I (naturally?) assumed it was a piece threatening the *NY Times *with violence, what with the NRA being a gun lobby. What else could provoke such an ...more »
“Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, published over 100 years ago, predicted the phenomenon of gravitational lensing. And that's what gives these distant galaxies such a whimsical appearance, seen through the looking glass of X-ray and optical image data from the Chandra and Hubble space telescopes. *Click image for larger size.* Nicknamed the Cheshire Cat galaxy group, the group's two large elliptical galaxies are suggestively framed by arcs. The arcs are optical images of distant background galaxies lensed by the foreground group's total distribution of gravitational m...more »
"Uh-oh" is more than a momentary reaction to small problems. "Uh-oh" is an attitude - a perspective on the universe. It is a part of the equation that summarizes my view of the conditions of existence: *"Uh-oh" + "oh-wow" + "uh-oh" + "oh, God" = "ah-hah!"* - Robert Fulghum
*"Dust"* by Chet Raymo "In Chekhov's play "The Three Sisters" sister Masha refuses "to live and not know why the cranes fly, why children are born, why the stars are in the sky. Either you know and you're alive or its all nonsense, all dust in the wind." Why? Why? The striving to know is what frees us from the bonds of self, said Einstein. It's the striving, rather than our knowledge - which is always tentative and partial - that is important. I've been living with grandchildren for the past few weeks. They seem to me to spend an inordinate amount of time with smart phones, iPads, ...more »
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson speaks in Washington, U.S. on March 6, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo *JTA:* *Rex Tillerson: US wants Iran out of Syria* WASHINGTON (JTA) — A condition of U.S. cooperation with Russia in the Syria arena is the removal of Iranian forces from the country, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said. “The direct presence of Iranian military forces inside of Syria, they must leave and go home, whether those are Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces or whether those are paid militias, foreign fighters, that Iran has brought into Syria in this battl...more »
Prison is a horrible place. But there should be more criminals like Martin Shkreli put away to contemplate their crimes. I'm a big law-and-order guy and for his type of crime I'd throw away the key until I was sure the mental illness that is at the base of his anti-social behavior was 100% sure and that he was no longer a threat to society. Friday, as you know by now, he was found guilty of 2 fraud charges and one conspiracy charge for defrauding his hedge fund investors and a pharmaceutical company. He could be given as many as 45 years (a stretch) in prison, although someone just...more »
.@DLoesch has a message for the @nytimes: “We're coming for you.” One non-#fakenews story is not enough. #NRA #ClenchedFistofTruth pic.twitter.com/Hm1QkJi5Tp — NRATV (@NRATV) August 3, 2017 Courtesy of The Hill: *Conservative political pundit and National Rifle Association spokeswoman Dana Loesch took on The New York Times in a video posted by the NRA on Friday in which she says "we're coming for you." * *"We've had it with your constant protection of your Democrat overlords, your refusal to acknowledge any truth that upsets the fragile construct that you believe is real life," ...more »
brendanorrell@gmail.comatCENSORED NEWS - 4 hours ago
ONLY THE SHADOW KNOWS Posted on August 5, 2017 Please post and distribute. MNN. JULY 24, 2017. Breaking news from the White House, now called Alcatraz. “Me, my boys and my cronies are running the show now. I can appointed myself as a judge, and acquit myself by the the snap of my fingers of anything I please. I’m going to twitter a script of a big Broadway show about how wonderful I
"Here's a question every angry man and woman needs to consider: How long are you going to allow people you don't even like - people who are no longer in your life, maybe even people who aren't even alive anymore - to control your life? How long?" - Andy Stanley "That goes for old wounds, too, you know. I really wish we'd had the chance to talk before this," he says, cracking the window so the smoke can escape. "There's a Longfellow quote I have stuck on my bulletin board at the church office - 'There is no grief like the grief that does not speak' - and it's true. I've found that k...more »
[image: undefined] The United States is preparing for all options to counter the growing threat from North Korea, including launching a “preventive war,” national security adviser H.R. McMaster said in an interview that aired Saturday on MSNBC. The comments come after North Korea carried out two tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles in the past month and after the president said he has been clear he will not tolerate North Korea's threats to attack the U.S. with nuclear weapons. The key excerpts (full transcript): *Hugh Hewitt*: Let me switch if I can to North Korea, which ...more »
*(Click on Image to Enlarge)* *Mauldin Economics*: *One Way Russia Can Retaliate Against US Sanctions* The US Congress has passed new sanctions targeting Russia’s energy companies. Among the other notable aspects of the sanctions is that they take some authority away from the US president (who used to be able to implement some measures but not others at his discretion) and give it to Congress. Recognizing that a vital sector in its economy has even less chance of relief than it once had, Russia has retaliated. It has reduced the number of diplomats it has in the US and has seized ...more »
*The Hill:* *Federal employees step up defiance of Trump* Government employees are growing increasingly willing to criticize or defy the White House and President Trump’s top appointees. A handful of current and former career staffers in the Interior Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have openly shredded their superiors within the last several weeks, continuing a trend that has developed throughout the government over the course of Trump’s tenure in the Oval Office. The growing opposition in the executive branch comes as the White House’s legislative agenda ha...more »
"What's the Significance of Life? Who Are We?" "When I consider the short duration of my life, swallowed up in the eternity before and after, the little space which I fill and even can see, engulfed in the infinite immensity of spaces of which I am ignorant and which know me not, I am frightened and am astonished at being here rather than there; for there is no reason why here rather than there, why now rather than then. Who has put me here? By whose order and direction have this place and time been allotted to me? 'The remembrance of a guest that tarries but a day.'” - Blaise Pasc...more »
*July 1936, that is! * *Mercury 101.3 Fahrenheit/38.5 C - not including the humidity As is always the case now- Cause that's how you present temperatures as hotter then they really are.* *Temps as high as 103 F or 39.5 C.* *In 1936. Before the industrial revolution. Before mass produced automobiles on the scale of our modern day. * *And only a fraction of the population * 150 Years Ago Toronto Sweltered- Today Temps are Below NormalGoing back even further 1930s – The Real Decade of Extreme Weather *If you’re looking for a decade of extreme weather – pick the 1930s, not the 2010s....more »
By Paul Homewood The National Grid is busy building a new 1000MW interconnector to France, due to open in 2020. But will France have any surplus power to sell us? Nicolas Hulot, France’s environment minister, announced last month that France could close “up to 17 nuclear reactors” by 2025, as France 24 reported […]
Geolocation of IS SVBIED attack on SDF forces in the Muktaltha district of Raqqa, #Syria, reportedly on 01-08-2017. https://t.co/HGgLoKtVsa pic.twitter.com/GcD8MkPyqY — Christiaan Triebert (@trbrtc) August 2, 2017 *Washington Post*: *What an ISIS suicide attack looks like from the air and the ground* An Islamic State suicide attack carried out earlier this week was captured by both a television camera crew and by the terrorist group’s drone in their de facto capital of Raqqa, offering dual perspectives on the bloody, urban combat that has become a hallmark of the conflicts in Syr...more »
I spent much of the day in Brunswick at the 13th annual Peace Fair put on by our local PeaceWorks group. My table is the one on the other side of the red 'Bring Our War $$$ Home' banner in the photo. Many different organizations in the community had tables in three different tents and there was wonderful music throughout much of the day. The fair was held on the Brunswick town green along the main street through town so lots of cars and people walking by saw the two banners I hung by our table. I was joined at my table (which was right next to the Maine Veterans for Peace table)...more »
brendanorrell@gmail.comatCENSORED NEWS - 7 hours ago
I GOT YOU BABE Posted on August 5, 2017 Please post & distribute. MNN. AUG. 5, 2017. onkwe-hon-weh, the true original people of the earth, are set in stone. Our true nature never changes. We are created to be part of the natural world. Sanity comes from the way the original true people of great turtle island think. Many are seduced by money and power. Those who commit treason will
If you are a mainstream journalist with a mainstream gig, racism can kill your career. Or, to be a stickler for accuracy, certain *kinds* of racism. You carve a living out of attacking Muslims and you're probably okay. You have to limit your racism to matters of culture to prosper because showing your discomfiture with non-white skin tones, or trading in crude racial stereotypes is beyond the horizon of racist plausible deniability. I mention this because the case of Kevin Myers, formerly of the *Sunday Times*, did cross that line. And he, at least for the purpose o...more »
Courtesy of HuffPo: *Eric Bolling, a longtime Fox News host, sent an unsolicited photo of male genitalia via text message to at least two colleagues at Fox Business and one colleague at Fox News, a dozen sources told HuffPost. * *Recipients of the photo confirmed its contents to HuffPost, which is not revealing their identities. The women, who are Bolling’s current and former Fox colleagues, concluded the message was from him because they recognized his number from previous work-related and informal interactions. The messages were sent several years ago, on separate occasions. * ...more »
*Newsweek*: *Trump's War On ISIS 'Dramatically Accelerated' Coalition Gains in Iraq And Syria* The U.S.-led coalition and its allies have wrestled almost a third of territory from the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) because of changes implemented by President Trump and his administration, a senior U.S. official said on Friday. Brett McGurk, the special presidential envoy for the global coalition to defeat ISIS, in a briefing with reporters said that Trump’s strategy in the battle against the jihadist group in Iraq and Syria had “dramatically accelerated” progress in the campa...more »
*Francis Grice* *Security, Asia* [image: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un meets scientists and technicians in the field of researches into nuclear weapons in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang March 9, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA.] Four ways Pyongyang and its nuclear weapons could become even more dangerous to America. Kim Jong-un has been at it again: another intercontinental ballistic missile test and a further verbal threat against the United States. Yet, despite all of North Korea’s technical developments and rhetorical bluster, ...more »
'The USA women's football team were convincingly beaten by a team of adolescents in a embarrassing defeat for the world champions. They were roundly outplayed, losing 5-2 against FC Dallas Under-15s academy side who took full advantage of their big day. The players did not appear to allow the display to subdue their spirits and posed with the opposition for photos after the game. Jillian Ellis' team were preparing for an international friendly but the humbling by a group of youngsters did not seem to affect their performance on a bigger stage. The USA ran out 4-0 victors against...more »
*DW*: *China, India struggle to put a lid on their border row involving Bhutan* *The continuing standoff between India and China along their shared border has cast a dark shadow on their bilateral relationship. It has also stoked nationalism on both sides, making it tough to resolve the issue.* Beijing is intensifying its warnings to Indian troops to get out of a contested region high in the Himalayas where China, India and Bhutan meet. Chinese defense ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said late Thursday that Chinese armed forces had shown "utmost goodwill" and a "high level of re...more »
I went to the movies for general amusement and to pass the time and the only thing that I hadn't seen that was in the general realm of LL films was Atomic Blonde. Here's another trailer. Think of John Wick's ex-wife...or something along that line. Which is to say that the film was made from a graphic novel and it's far more film noir than it is anything close to a documentary. Sort of a female James Bond on steroids. And if you expect me to be hyper critical, I'm not. I didn't look at my watch once during the movie, which is a positive rating all on its own. It was entertaining ...more »
Here's one for the Chinese and the Indians at the moment (and it's nothing to do with food): The ending is best!!! pic.twitter.com/ry068WlGY3 — Nature is Amazing (@AMAZlNGNATURE) August 5, 2017 And while they're busy sorting that out (with John Simpson's help?), here's a new open thread. Thanks, as ever, for your comments and support.
BEIRUT, LEBANON (12:30 A.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) is cruising through Al-Sukhnah, liberating building block after building block in this strategic desert city. At approximately 12:05 A.M. (Damascus Time), a military source informed Al-Masdar News that the Syrian Arab Army liberated more than half of Al-Sukhnah, forcing the Islamic State to retreat to […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (9:40 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army kept up the momentum in the southeastern countryside of Al-Raqqa tonight, liberating at least a half dozen villages that were under the control of the Islamic State (ISIL). Led by their Tiger Forces, the Syrian Arab Army attacked the last remaining villages under the Islamic State’s […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (8:50 P.M.) – Turkey sent at least a dozen armored vehicles to Free Syrian Army (FSA) military police in northern Syria this week, strengthening their Euphrates Shield units near the front-lines with the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The recent delivery of these weapons comes on the same week that Turkish Prime Minister, […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:30 P.M.) – People were seen rummaging through the rubble of a Saudi-led airstrike, in Saada, on Friday. The strike reportedly killed nine members of the same family, at least three women and six children, local officials reported. The Red Crescent were also on scene to help with the wounded and transport them to […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (7:55 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has been attempting to advance on the strategic T-2 Pumping Station in the eastern countryside of the Homs Governorate recently, pushing from two different axes in order to break-through the enemy lines. Units from the Syrian Army’s 5th Corps have been attacking the Humaymah area […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
brendanorrell@gmail.comatCENSORED NEWS - 8 hours ago
Hi friends, Our friend Robert Free is making a plea for financial help for his granddaughter Neemah Cobell to become a lawyer. Many of you will remember Robert from Wounded Knee in 1973, or Alcatraz, where his Tipi stood during the movement. Many of you met Robert in Venezuela, when he spearheaded the supply of heating oil from Venezuela to Native Americans. Others of you might
“Gentlemen! I too have been a close observer of the doings of the Bank of the United States. I have had men watching you for a long time, and am convinced that you have used the funds of the bank to speculate in the breadstuffs of the country. When you won, you divided the profits amongst you, and when you lost, you charged it to the bank. You tell me that if I take the deposits from the bank and annul its charter I shall ruin ten thousand families. That may be true, gentlemen, but that is your sin! Should I let you go on, you will ruin fifty thousand families, and that would be my...more »
"Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power, we gain freedom from personal responsibility for what we do and are forced to do - the seduction of it - but we lose the dignity of being real men and women. Power corrupts; attracts the worst and corrupts the best. Refuse to participate in evil; insist on taking part in what is healthy, generous, and responsible. Stand up, speak out, and when necessary fight back. Get down off the fence and lend a hand, grab a-hold, be a citizen - no...more »
While it is clear that Russia and China seek de-escalation in both North and South Korea. The intentions of the United States appear to be far more worrying. The post BREAKING: UN Security Council votes unanimously in favour sanctions on North Korea appeared first on The Duran.
A northern Manitoba boy is being hailed as a hero after he crawled into a tiny, dirty culvert to rescue three pups Wednesday afternoon. Cathie Mieyette of Spirit of Hope Rescue said Gabe Moose, 9, of South Indian Lake was playing outside when he heard crying. "He didn't know where it came from, so he did a little investigating to go to where the sounds were coming from and the cries, the cries were getting louder," she said. "And when he got there, he got to a culvert. And as you can see in the picture, the opening's pretty little. "And so he looked in and he couldn't see anything,...more »
Jews voted overwhelmingly for Hillary against Trump last year, but *immigrant* Jews, especially from Russia, voted for Trump. Emma Lazarus was born in 1849 to a family of Jewish immigrants from Germany, although she is known for her writings about Russian Jewish immigrants who fled the pogroms that followed the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in 1881. And, of course, she's even better known for her 1883 sonnet, "The New Colossus," which was placed on a bronze plaque in the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty 1903. *Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,With conq...more »
*CBS*: *Trump defends national security adviser H.R. McMaster amid calls for his firing* President Trump is standing up for his national security adviser, H.R. McMaster, calling him a "good man" amid calls for his ouster by conservatives. In a statement to CBS News on Friday, the president said, "General McMaster and I are working very well together. He is a good man and very pro-Israel. I am grateful for the work he continues to do serving our country." Mr. Trump first issued the statement to the New York Times in a story reporting that critics on the right were angered by McMas...more »
Iran's President Hassan Rouhani meets with North Korea's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong Nam in 2013. *CNBC:* *North Korea's 'No. 2' official on 10-day visit to Iran that may signal wider military ties* * Iran's official IRNA news agency reported Kim Yong Nam, head of North Korea's parliament, arrived Thursday for the weekend inauguration of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. * But given he is expected to stay 10 days, the trip is being seen as a front for Pyongyang to perhaps increase military cooperation with Tehran and to boost the hard currency for Kim Jong Un's regime. * "Th...more »
*BBC: **Iran nuclear deal: Rouhani warns US against 'political suicide'* Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned US President Donald Trump he risks political suicide if he scraps the nuclear deal with Tehran. At his swearing-in ceremony, Mr Rouhani said Iran would continue to abide by the terms of the deal as long as the other signatories do the same. The White House says Iran is complying with the deal but Mr Trump says Iran is violating its spirit. Last month the US state department announced new sanctions on the country. The US says the sanctions relate to Iran's missile pr...more »
I swear this dude always looks guilty.This was buried in a long piece by CNN on Thursday: *In the summer of 2016, US intelligence agencies noticed a spate of curious contacts between Trump campaign associates and suspected Russian intelligence, according to current and former US officials briefed on the investigation. James Comey, in his Senate testimony, said the FBI opened an investigation into Trump campaign-Russia connections in July 2016. * *The strands of the two investigations began to merge. In the months that followed, investigators turned up intercepted communications app...more »
August 5, 2017 Update to Climate Law post Media are reporting on the State Department letter informing the UN that the US will be withdrawing from the Paris Accord. Some climatists are encouraged that the three-year waiting period is acknowledged and that the next president could return to the fold. Others are disappointed that the […]
Ok, my post title is over the top, exaggerating the certainty of my finding. And the moldy bread was the scariest image of spoiling food I could find. But I was provoked by the media awash with alarmist headlines: Elevated Carbon Dioxide Levels Rob Crops Of Nutrients Increasing CO2 threatens human nutrition In an earlier […]
Latin American herald Tribune: *Venezuela’s Constituent Assembly to Meet for First Session Saturday* CARACAS – Former Venezuelan foreign minister Delcy Rodriguez, who was chosen to preside over the National Constituent Assembly, a controversial body expected to rewrite the Caribbean nation’s 1998 constitution and reorganize the country’s government, scheduled its first session for Saturday. Delcy Rodriguez gave the order for all public institutions to be notified of the swearing-in of the assembly’s 554 members, who were elected last weekend in a process boycotted by the oppositi...more »
*WNU Editor: *There is a lot of truth to this. In my 20s, 30s, and 40s .... I would wake up at 5:00 AM .... do my work-out at 5:30 AM. Ready to start my day at 7:30 AM. Crash into bed by 9:30 PM. I had energy to do multiple things, and I was always in great shape and health. Now .... I crash at 1:00 AM, up at 8:00 AM .... and my energy level is not what it use to be. At least I am eating healthy .... most of the time. But this is changing ... and the reason why is because of the GF .... who so happens to be an Army brat. She is up at 5:00 AM .... a busy worker bee until she crashes...more »
[image: fired]A recent study found that nearly 1/4 of the police officers who are fired, are later rehired, and only half of those cases have been disclosed to the public.
[image: undefined] Media reports claim President Donald Trump let loose on his generals behind closed doors, blasting them royally for their startling failures in Afghanistan, America’s longest war. The president has many faults and is a lousy judge of character. But he was absolutely right to read the riot act to the military brass for daring to ask for a very large troop and budget increase for the stalemated Afghan War that has cost $1 trillion to date. Of course, the unfortunate generals are not really to blame. They have been forced by the last three presidents to fight a poin...more »
The mastermind. A picture purportedly showing al-Qaeda’s Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, supposed mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. Red Cross *Salman Al-Ansari, The Hill:* *How the 9/11 mastermind found safe harbor in Qatar?* In my opinion, Khalid Shaikh Mohammad (KSM), the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attacks, used Qatar as a hub that launched a thousand terrors. It is from Doha that KSM worked and lived, planning and plotting future terrorist acts. Qatar served as an important nexus for KSM. KSM travelled to the Philippines in 1994 to ...more »
TEPCO is installing a new roof cover over Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3. You can see it in this screenshot taken yesterday behind the large white vent tower (it looks like a gray egg right now): You can read about the new roof over unit 3 here: CHIKAKO KAWAHARA (August 2, 2017) Hydrogen blast reactor’s new roof in progress at Fukushima. The Asahi Shimbun, http://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/AJ201708020046.html You can read about the amount of hot fuel at unit 3 here: Majia's Blog How Much Fuel Was in Fukushima Daiichi Unit 3 http://majiasblog.blogspot.com/2017/07/how-much-fuel-was-in-f...more »
*Veronika Bondarenko, Business Insider*: *'A full-blown trade war' — how Russia reported on the sanctions bill recently signed by Trump* By the time President Donald Trump signed a bill slapping Russia with a new set of sanctions Wednesday, Russian columnists were already writing on why doing so would be a very bad idea. The law, which had overwhelming approval in Congress, targets those who attempt to "undermine US cybersecurity," invest into Russia's energy-export pipelines, or make "significant" transactions with Russian defense or intelligence agencies. It additionally puts ne...more »
Vice President Mike Pence appears to be cementing his status as President Trump’s heir apparent, promoting himself as the conduit between Republican donors and the administration. Credit Eric Thayer for The New York Times *New York Times:** Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow* WASHINGTON — Senators Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse have already been to Iowa this year, Gov. John Kasich is eyeing a return visit to New Hampshire, and Mike Pence’s schedule is so full of political events that Republicans joke that he is acting more like a second-term vice preside...more »
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (7:30 P.M.) – A huge explosion could be heard in the western countryside of Aleppo on Friday as a military base belonging to Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham (Syrian Al-Qaeda branch) was targeted in what proved to be a car bomb attack. The suicide bombing took place in the Rif Muhandseen Al-Than area, not far […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:45 P.M.) – The Islamic State’s (ISIL) reign of terror in Al-Sukhnah is near its end, as the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) swarms the city from several axes. According to a soldier from the 5th Corps, the Syrian Army has entered Al-Sukhnah from three different axes, forcing the Islamic State militants to retreat […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:25 P.M.) – Another Assyrian mayor in northwest Iraq has been removed from office by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Al-Sura News Agency reported this morning. Basim Bello was ousted from his position as mayor of Tel Keppe this weekend by Bashar Al-Keke, the leader of the Nineveh Provincial Council, which is an […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:10 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has successfully surrounded the Islamic State (ISIL) stronghold of Al-Sukhnah from several different axes, a military source reported moments ago. According to the source, the Syrian Arab Army has surrounded Al-Sukhnah from its western, southwestern, southern, and southeastern axes. The Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Corps […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
DAMASCUS, SYRIA (6:10 P.M.) – The US-led coalition continues to strike ISIS-held areas across Syria and Iraq, not only looking to propel its allies on the ground but also aiming at systematically eliminating the Islamic State leadership. On July 24, a US airstrike killed the jihadist war chief Abd Al-Ghafur near the border city of […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (5:50 P.M.) – The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) launched a big assault around the Islamic State’s stronghold of Al-Sukhnah, Saturday, targeting the terrorist group’s positions at Tantour Mountain. Backed by heavy artillery and Russian airstrikes, the Syrian Arab Army’s 5th Corps stormed Tantour Mountain, where they were met with heavy resistance from the […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
(IRNA) Hassan Rouhani has been sworn in as Iran’s president for another four-year term in an official ceremony held at the Iranian parliament in Tehran on Saturday evening. The 68-year-old cleric kissed the Qur’an and took the oath of office before Majlis (parliament) lawmakers, foreign dignitaries and senior Iranian politicians. The inauguration ceremony was aired […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:45 P.M.) – The Islamic State emir of Al-Sukhnah has been reportedly killed by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) during an intense battle near the city today Mu’awiya Al-Hadirmi Al-Zabarjandi was the identified Islamic State emir that was killed by the Syrian military during today’s clashes in the Al-Sukhnah area. Al-Zabarjandi has been […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
BEIRUT, LEBANON (4:40 P.M.) – The battle for the Syrian-Lebanese border is just days away, as the Lebanese Army and Hezbollah make their final preparations to expel the Islamic State (ISIL) from the region. With the Lebanese Army attacking Ras Ba’albak and Hezbollah attacking from Jaroud Qarah, the Islamic State will be flanked from all […] Source: AMN - Al-Masdar News | المصدر نيوز
*Victoria Harbour in the 1800's * *Cover from book of Navigation Charts* Hi Folks. Here we are moored in Maple Bay which is just north up the coast from Port Sidney and Victoria. The Marina here is in a lovely little bay that has seen enormous growth since we used to anchor here back in the 80's and it was virtually deserted. Now it has hundreds of slips and a thousand or so boats tied up. We are on "I" slip. Unfortunately, as I was told by the receptionist, the Wifi only goes to the "H" slip. Some invisible barbed wire fence separates us from connectivity on our boat. I am ...more »
A rumor that Starbucks refused free product to Marines serving in Iraq, saying the company didn't support the war or anyone taking part in it, is both old and false.
A lesbian friend of mine was as excited by the Amy McGrath video as I was-- no, more excited than I was. It's an inspiring video-- one of the best I've seen all season... on a par with Randy Bryce's introductory video. We covered it, enthusiasically, on Wednesday. I even got a friend I visited in the hospital to watch it so he would get a feel-good boost of the right kind of patriotism. But my friend warned me that as inspiring as the short clip is-- and as sexy as she finds Amy-- there was something missing. Unlike Randy Bryce, Amy isn't offering much more than her inspirational...more »
Stop WWIII Video of Mm0zJ945r1U Last week, the United States Congress passed sanctions against Russia, Iran and North Korea, either as witting British agents, or just plain stupid ones, severely limiting President Trump from fulfilling his campaign promise to repair relations with Russia and China. Were President Trump allowed to move forward in repairing relations with Russia and China, the world can change rapidly, as demonstrated last month when Trump fulfilled one of his most important campaign promises to end regime change warfare. "Donald Trump just kept his most important pro...more »
[image: undefined] The Trump Administration’s continued struggle to get on the same page with one another on foreign policy messages continued today, as Vice President Mike Pence, touring Eastern Europe, issued statements praising the new Russia sanctions bill signed earlier this week. The bill was passed by vast majorities in both the House and Senate, and signed by President Trump, though the president has since slammed the bill as the reason for worsening US-Russia relations, which he termed to be at “an all-time and very dangerous low.” Pence, however, seemingly couldn’t have b...more »
[image: undefined] The Trump Administration’s continued struggle to get on the same page with one another on foreign policy messages continued today, as Vice President Mike Pence, touring Eastern Europe, issued statements praising the new Russia sanctions bill signed earlier this week. The bill was passed by vast majorities in both the House and Senate, and signed by President Trump, though the president has since slammed the bill as the reason for worsening US-Russia relations, which he termed to be at “an all-time and very dangerous low.” Pence, however, seemingly couldn’t have b...more »
[image: undefined] The Trump Administration’s continued struggle to get on the same page with one another on foreign policy messages continued today, as Vice President Mike Pence, touring Eastern Europe, issued statements praising the new Russia sanctions bill signed earlier this week. The bill was passed by vast majorities in both the House and Senate, and signed by President Trump, though the president has since slammed the bill as the reason for worsening US-Russia relations, which he termed to be at “an all-time and very dangerous low.” Pence, however, seemingly couldn’t have b...more »
[image: undefined] The Trump Administration’s continued struggle to get on the same page with one another on foreign policy messages continued today, as Vice President Mike Pence, touring Eastern Europe, issued statements praising the new Russia sanctions bill signed earlier this week. The bill was passed by vast majorities in both the House and Senate, and signed by President Trump, though the president has since slammed the bill as the reason for worsening US-Russia relations, which he termed to be at “an all-time and very dangerous low.” Pence, however, seemingly couldn’t have b...more »
Courtesy of The Independent: *Attorney General Jeff Sessions says that the Department of Justice (DoJ) is reviewing policies for subpoenaing reporters during investigations of federal intelligence leaks, an indicator that the US government may consider more aggressive tactics to try and force journalists to identify their sources. * *"One of the things we are doing is reviewing the policies affecting media subpoenas," Mr Sessions said, announcing his administration's crackdown on leaks during a press conference. "We respect the important role that the press plays, and we will gi...more »
As it's becoming nigh on impossible to find the time to watch the BBC let alone blog about it, here are some very random thoughts on things that have managed to cross my increasingly wonky radar over the past few days.... ****** The *Daily Fail* (or *Daily Heil*, to taste) has quite a story today about the goings-on at the BBC Asian Network. I don't know whether to laugh or cry about it, so I'll do neither. Due to an "accident" a private group conversation on supposedly privacy-guaranteeing WattsApp between a small number of BBC producers, DJs and presenters (somehow) ended up ...more »
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I've been 'around' for a few years now, pursuing the shifting goal of a sharable home-made surfers resource site focused on ease of use and variety of mostly adult ( whoa : I didn't say prurient ) content.
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