Low Tech Magazine
High Speed Trains are Killing the European Railway Network
According
to the International Union of Railways, the high speed train "plays a
key role in a stage of sustainable development and combating climate
change". As a regular long-distance train traveller in Europe, I have to
say that the opposite is true. High speed rail is destroying the most
valuable alternative to the airplane; the "low speed" rail network that
has been in service for decades.
10:34pm MDST
China Watch 20: Fortify PH Garrison?
A friend, Dr. Bong Mendoza of the UP Political Science Department, posted
yesterday in fb and tagged me with this note,
*I agree with Sen. Sonny Trillanes that we should fortify our garrisons on
the islands we actually hold or control in the West Philippine Sea
(sometimes known in China as the smaller South China Sea). **However, that
will take a lot of money and quite some time before we can build and deploy
minimum credible deterrence systems on these same real estate.*
I commented that I approve of that proposal. More military spending if
necessary -- but money should NOT come f... more »
13 Eco-Friendly Tips For Spring
[image: 13 Eco-Friendly Tips For Spring]
Spring has finally arrived!! After a long, cold winter, I'm ready for warm
weather, blue skies, and gardening.
This time of year is perfect for sprucing up our green routine. And with
these tips, you'll be well prepared for the warm months ahead!
Eco-Friendly Tips for Spring
1. Join a *CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture)* and try new fruits and
vegetables. Most CSAs offer recipes so experiment and discover new and
wonderful meals.
2. Clean your home from top to bottom using natural, Eco-friendly
cleansers. There are a t... more »
Why Everything Tastes Good, but Nothing Satisfies
*Frank Giokas* - Nothing external seems exciting as it once used to. Even
things that do inspire are more fleeting than ever before and seem to lose
their luster in so short a span.
The post Why Everything Tastes Good, but Nothing Satisfies appeared first
on Waking Times.
Long-Run Planning Watch: Finally somebody asks, "What is this 'long run' people keep harping about?"
*From Dilbert's CEO, the eternal question (more or less)*
*by Ken*
Probably the first thing you want to know is the context for the above
frame. How did the subject of the "long run" come up? Where exactly does a
CEO hear tell of such things?
The immediate answer lies in this past Monday's *Dilbert* strip. Note that
you can click on any of today's strips to enlarge -- and they should look
real nice! Okay, here goes:
*DILBERT by Scott Adams -- Monday, 3/16*
*IT ALL BEGAN LAST WEEK*
*And as you may have divined from the above, it all began with Wally. This
two-week story arc is ... more »
Musical Interlude: Adiemus, “Adiemus”
Adiemus, “Adiemus”
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aL8kZ-iVk90&html5=1
"A Look to the Heavens"
"A gorgeous spiral galaxy some 100 million light-years distant, NGC 1309
lies on the banks of the constellation of the River (Eridanus). NGC 1309
spans about 30,000 light-years, making it about one third the size of our
larger Milky Way galaxy. Bluish clusters of young stars and dust lanes are
seen to trace out NGC 1309's spiral arms as they wind around an older
yellowish star population at its core.
*Click image for larger size.*
Not just another pretty face-on spiral galaxy, observations of NGC 1309's
recent supernova and Cepheid variable stars contribute to the calibration
of the... more »
Free Download: Walt Whitman, "Leaves Of Grass"
*“Song of the Open Road” *
by Walt Whitman, “Leaves of Grass”
“Afoot and light-hearted, I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me, leading wherever I choose.
Henceforth I ask not good fortune- I myself am good fortune;
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Strong and content, I travel the open road.
The earth- that is sufficient;
I do not want the constellations any nearer;
I know they are very well where they are;
I know they suffice for those who belong to them.
(Still here I carry m... more »
Paulo Coelho, “Obsession Arrives And Says...”
*“Obsession Arrives And Says...”*
by Paulo Coelho
“Obsession arrives and says: ‘Your fate now belongs to me. I will make you
look for things that do not exist. From now on, your heart will know no
peace, because I will drive out enthusiasm and take its place. I will allow
fear to spread throughout the world, and you will always feel afraid, but
without knowing why. You don’t need to know, you just need to stay afraid.
Work harder, then you won’t have to think. Work harder than you need to, so
that you can stop living altogether.
Your Love, which was once a manifestation of the Divi... more »
Chet Raymo, “The Wind In The Willows”
* “The Wind In The Willows”*
by Chet Raymo
"Childhood has two seasons: the anticipation of summer and summer. Or so it
seems in memory. And memory is all that matters in the long run. Stickball
in the meadows. Messing about in drainage ditches. Long warm twilights on
green lawns, catching fireflies in our cupped hands. Camping out in the
back yard under the brilliant summer stars- Arcturus, Vega, Deneb, Altair-
lulling us into sleep made fitful by the day's unfinished projects,
tomorrow's beginnings.
And no days of summer sweeter than the last few weeks of August, with
school just... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Greenwood, California, USA. Thanks for stopping by.
"The Vanishing Days..."
“The sunset on which we gaze is a sunrise on the other side of the world, and
the vanishing
days can take from us nothing that may not be restored by some day yet
unborn.”
- E.C. Hall
“Anxiety! Why We're Anxious and the Secret to Getting Better”
*“Anxiety!*
* Why We're Anxious and the Secret to Getting Better”*
By Reid Wilson
“Anxiety and its next of kin, fear, are arguably the oldest, most basic
human emotions, bequeathed to us by a vast history of prehominid ancestors.
We owe our survival as Homo sapiens to these emotions, which were literally
built into our nervous systems as an evolutionary hedge against extinction.
Yet today, while still protecting us from genuine danger, they’ve morphed
into a multitude of extraneous and dysfunctional afflictions—panic
disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, phobias, and all-purpos... more »
"Equals..."
"I like pigs.
Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us.
Pigs treat us as equals."
- Sir Winston Churchill
“Happiness Lies In Wanting, Not Having”
*“Happiness Lies In Wanting, Not Having”*
by Jedidiah Becker
“After a time, you may find that having is not so pleasing a thing,
after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true.”
- Mr. Spock, “Star Trek”, "Amok Time"
"According to a research report, it turns out that money really can buy
happiness after all. Sort of. In 2013, the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR)
released the findings of a study indicating that society's most
materialistic consumers appear to get more happiness from wanting the
products of their desires than they actually get from owning them.
Moreover... more »
British Columbia and LNG, The Big Lie, Time For Plan B
*Written by Grant G*
"*What a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive*"
There is no better quote available to describe the con job Christy Clark
and the BC Liberals, along with the LNG industry foisted on the British
Columbia voters and public in general, every step of this story has been
riddled with false facts, over hyped hyperbole and plain old lies....
Damning report after damning report are glossed over by the BC Government,
red flags waving everywhere, stark dire warnings abound and still the
players continue to lie, to con to report rose coloured opinions a... more »
Alliance corporate charters, teacher organizing, and moral imperatives
First published on *solidaridad* on March 19, 2015
------------------------------
*"The shady nature of Alliance's real estate dealings, their dismal SAT
scores and CSU remediation rates, and their refusal to educate every child
are all compelling… [a]llowing these private entities to cherry pick
students and avoid educating the most vulnerable and needy students is
immoral. Taking a strong stand as a community against that kind of
discrimination sends a strong message to these corporate schools that we
demand equity for all our students." — Robert D. Skeels*
[image: Alliance cor... more »
20 of the World’s Weirdest Religious Beliefs
*Valerie Tarico* - If we could see our own culture from an outside vantage
point, as if we were travelers, the world might look a little different.
The post 20 of the World’s Weirdest Religious Beliefs appeared first on Waking
Times.
Cahsing Footnotes Again
When not bogged down in the Roswell Slides controversy, I sometimes engage
in what I think of as chasing footnotes. One of the purposes of a footnote
is to tell where the information originated so that the reader or others
interested can review that source for reliability, competence, and any
additional information that might be relevant. Too often I find that the
footnotes do none of that leaving us with questions about how good that
information might be.
Although I don’t mean to pick on Dick Hall and his *The**UFO Evidence*, I
find that sometimes the footnotes just don’t add much... more »
Rip-off News round-up. Our pick of the last week's media (Thu 19th March)
'Chronic
underfunding' of social care increases burden on NHS, say GPs
Nine out of 10 GPs believe deep cuts to social care under
the coalition have added to the growing overcrowding at both their own
surgeries and hospital A&E units. In a poll of 830 family doctors in
England, 92% did not think that enough social care is available to stop
patients ending up in emergency departments or to
The Republican Health Care Plan Emerges... Again
This week was my last cycle in a long, painful treatment for cancer using
chemotherapy. Medicare saved my life-- no ifs, ands or buts about it.
Medicare has been better insurance than the platinum standard insurance
Warner Bros gave me as the president of one of their divisions-- not "as
good"-- BETTER. Medicare-- other than Part D, the Republican Party
prescription drug plan that is oriented towards their Big Pharma campaign
donors, not towards patients like the rest of Medicare-- is a wondrous and
blessed thing, something every American should be proud of and willing to
fight f... more »
Gloworm - Carry Me Home
How did this *not* make my top 100 90s dance tunes? I'm at a loss to
explain myself, so to remedy the omission five years after the event, here
it is. Hey, it beats blogging about Danny Alexander's alternative budget.
Friday Morning Ramble, now with added GST
*Several things that caught my eye this last while, and haven’t had a
chance to post about…*
[image: image]
“Too many local retailers focus on the GST issue when the underlying issue
is rather more troublesome. New Zealand simply is not large enough to be
able to achieve the economies of scale that foreign warehouses enjoy. Even
if GST could be applied on foreign imports, today, with zero hassle-cost
imposed, the foreign cost advantage is not likely to decline over time.”
*Online GST revisited* – Eric Crampton, OFFSETTING BEHAVIOUR
*GST Online* – NOT PC
“In the large scheme of... more »
Jeju Island Vigil Today at BIW
Our friends Hee Eun Park and Paco Michelson arrived in Bath, Maine today on
the train from Boston. After lunch in our kitchen, warmed by the wood
stove, we walked down to Bath Iron Works (BIW) for the 3:30 pm shift
change. We tried to hand out flyers to workers as they poured out of the
shipyard but only about half a dozen took one.
As usual we got several comments like "Get a job" and "It's only because of
the work we do here [building Navy destroyers] that you have a right to
protest." The fact is that if many of the workers had their way we'd not
be allowed to vigil at BI... more »
What Britain Wants: The One about Work
The third in *Panorama*'s *What Britain Wants *series looked at work in the
UK.
It was the most interesting so far, so I will summarise it. (You might want
to get the anti-depressants out, just in case).
It was presented by the BBC News Channel's Clive Myrie and began with the
story of how his own parents had emigrated from Jamaica to the UK in search
of work. His mum and dad had both found stable employment here. At the end
of the programme, however, Clive's mum said that if she'd been faced the
same choice now, given the present lack of job security in the UK, they
probably w... more »
What's going on in Mexico?
*"Pancho and Lefty", written by Townes Van Zandt *
*sung by Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan*
What is going on in Mexico? This is a question I've been asking for quite
a few years now...ever since the 2006 federal election was stolen from the
Mexican People by the International Regime changers/coup-masters at the
highest echelons of American political and corporate power. The fraud
associated with that election was so blatant that millions...*I mean
millions*...of Mexicans gathered and camped out in the central square of
Mexico City *for weeks*...in an effort to restore the rightful wi... more »
What Would You Do if a Man Came Up to You with This Proposal?
*Video -* Spoken word artist and poet, Jamie Dunmore walks up to total
strangers and presents them with an unusual proposal. See how different
people responds, especially the last man in the video.
The post What Would You Do if a Man Came Up to You with This Proposal?
appeared first on Waking Times.
March 19: More of the same...
Half of the front page is taken up with telling us our children have missed
13 days as snow days. Just that story goes on to the last page, enough fill
a full page in all. There's even a big picture of children playing in the
snow just to prove.....something.
Beside it is a big story in which the education minister says we need a
plan. But he doesn't know what.
First, let's cool the rhetoric. Angry parents should understand that it is
not the education system's job to babysit their children. Secondly, let's
realize we cannot "make up" lost school time. Contrary to the minister's
wo... more »
Drone Base Blocked by Books!
Peace activists block the front gates of Hancock Field Air Force Base
outside of Syracuse, New York in a most creative way. An absolutely
brilliant protest.
Hancock hosts the 174th Attack Wing of the NY Air National Guard – the MQ9
Reaper drone hub. Drones flying over Afghanistan are piloted from the base
since 2009. It is also a training center for drone pilots, sensor operators
and maintenance technicians
Today’s action at Hancock’s main gate is one chapter in the Upstate
Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the Wars’ five-year scrupulously
nonviolent campaign to expose the ... more »
Schumann Resonance now at 16.32 Hz (years ago it was around 7 Hz)
From: http://sosrff.tsu.ru/?page_id=7 *CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE*A reader
writes:
Ciao Bill!
Have you seen the Schumann Resonance lately?
It normally looks like this, scroll down to 5 Day Graph:
http://www.glcoherence.org/monitoring-system/earth-rhythms.html
Since Tuesday it has been looking like this:
http://sosrff.tsu.ru/?page_id=7
All of the charts are showing balancing of the electromagnetic field levels.
Plus it is at 16.32Hz!
Earth is resonating stronger and stronger, as are we!
So cool!
Cindy
The Poet: Robert Graves, “Warning to Children”
*“Warning to Children”*
by Robert Graves
“Children, if you dare to think
Of the greatness, rareness, muchness
Fewness of this precious only
Endless world in which you say
You live, you think of things like this:
Blocks of slate enclosing dappled
Red and green, enclosing tawny
Yellow nets, enclosing white
And black acres of dominoes,
Where a neat brown paper parcel
Tempts you to untie the string.
In the parcel a small island,
On the island a large tree,
On the tree a husky fruit.
Strip the husk and pare the rind off:
In the kernel you will see
Blocks of slate enclosed by dappled
Red and g... more »
"Great Britain - a nation of marvellous migrant mongrels!"
*Guardian *journalist and BBC presenter Adam Rutherford was back on
presenting duties for Radio 4's week science magazine programme *BBC Inside
Science*. He began by reporting on that fascinating study into the genetic
history of the British 'Caucasian' population which hit the headlines this
week.
It showed, as you are probably aware: (a) that Britons have barely moved
from where they has settled in around 600 AD over the course of 1,400
years; (b) that almost all 'Caucasian' Britons have a significant genetic
inheritance from the original inhabitants of these isles; (c) that al... more »
Supplemental: A day in the life of the nation’s corrections!
*THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015Saxophones and Casino Royale and edenic Lake Eden
oh my:* Our journalists are meticulous with their corrections as long as
there’s nothing at stake.
By way of contrast, if the public has been grossly misled in a major
embarrassing way, this fact may perhaps disappear.
How about a few examples in support of our first observation?
In this morning’s New York Times, the newspaper offers this correction
concerning a saxophone player:
*A Critic’s Notebook article on Wednesday about Kendrick Lamar’s new album,
“To Pimp a Butterfly,” using information from the l... more »
"How It Really Is!"
Living in Arizonastan myself, had to post this one, lol
True, too!
Greg Hunter, “Laurence Kotlikoff: Financial System Will Collapse, Just a Matter of When”
*“Laurence Kotlikoff: *
*Financial System Will Collapse, Just a Matter of When”*
By Greg Hunter’s USAWatchdog.com
“Renowned economist Laurence Kotlikoff recently testified at the U.S.
Senate about the runaway U.S. budget. How bad is it? Kotlikoff says, “I
told them the real (2014) deficit was *$5 trillion*, not the $500 billion
or $300 billion or whatever it was announced to be this year. Almost all
the liabilities of the government are being kept off the books by bogus
accounting. The government is 58% underfinanced. Social Security is 33%
underfinanced. So, the entire government e... more »
A BBC historian maligns Margaret Thatcher
(h/t Guest Who)
This section from Steven Glover's *Daily Mail *article about the Clarkson
Affair bears quoting in full:
On Tuesday night, BBC2 showed a programme called Suffragettes Forever [from
around the 49:30 mark] in which the historian Amanda Vickery suggested
Margaret Thatcher had let down the feminist cause.
In a reference to the 1982 Falklands War, she claimed Thatcher ‘did not
shrink from personally ordering the sinking of an [Argentinian] troop
carrier with the loss of over 300 lives’.
This was a reference to the Belgrano, a cruiser rather than a troop
carrier, which ... more »
Bitch Smoked Piss
Nancy Grace?
Its happening right now all over America
women are pissed off
and right now
one Senator
got a blast of what for
and in his goldern
moment the best he
could come up with
was Bitch Smoked Piss
if he had said it in French or
even Italian it might have been
clever
but in wife baeater shirt
Merica the sound
is stronger
than the gun
or reason
just cheer
when your team
shreds the constitution
and then
names Edward Snowden
an enemy of the state
Van Morrison like Beetwon
He just has it all under
great control
while he belts
out pitch perfect
tornades of aurel
with evey breath or
as Van would describe
exhale.
Belated ISA Recap: Norms in IR, Norm Violations in IR, Pop Culture in IR and Junior Scholar Panels
So I’m a wee bit late to the post-International Studies Association Annual
Conference blogging ritual, but better than never right? Let me begin with
a first-time experience for me at ISA that I truly enjoyed and highly
recommend: participation on a Junior Scholar Symposium Panel. If you’ve
never done this, here’s how it works: You […]
Race for the Bucks
For sheer tone-deaf chutzpah, Starbucks and its billionaire CEO Howard
Schultz deserve every single one of the vitriolic Tweets being hurled their
way over their latest phony marketing campaign. The ploy is to get the rich
white people who buy their overpriced coffee -- and the poor white people
who serve them their overpriced coffee -- to forget all about wealth
inequality and the class war, and have an awkward concern-trolling
conversation about black people instead.
As if you needed another reason to boycott Starbucks.
But, if you still insist on patronizing this franchise for y... more »
Rejuvenate. Renew. Reboot. Spring is here!
Welcome Spring
It arrives tomorrow in the Northern Hemisphere. The turtles are returning
to give birth on Caribbean beaches they were born a long time ago. The
earth is giving birth, again. It was challenging at times to fully
appreciate that underneath the sea of snow, the earth was fertile and
teeming with life. But the earth is a teacher and a healer and when you
surrender to her wisdom and pay attention, life does taste sweeter.
Tomorrow's Spring Equinox arrives in a rare cosmic event with a Supermoon +
Solar eclipse. The earth will be bathed in powerful healing energy. Use
t... more »
"How to wear your hijab"
The BBC has been running a School Report today. RD at *Biased BBC *noticed
one of the articles based on it:
Roland Deschain
March 19, 2015 at 1:53 pm
Fashion advice from the Beeb.
In photos: How to wear your hijab
I await “How to wear your burqa” with interest.
And that's not the only such BBC piece today. There's also a video report
entitled School Report: How the hijab can be a fashion statement.
That piece was so much of a plug for the hijab (a Muslim headscarf, m'lud)
that it outraged at least one BBC viewer - someone called Samira Ahmed.
A BBC Schools report about hijabs with n... more »
Lenny Foster to speak in New York on Leonard Peltier and prisoners rights
With
a lifetime of experience from AIM and Wounded Knee, to battling for
prisoners rights, Lenny Foster will speak in New York
By Brenda Norrell
Censored News
Photo: Lenny Foster with Cuny Dog at Peltier Tribunal by Brenda Norrell
NEW YORK -- Lenny Foster, Diné activist, AIM member and advocate of
freedom for Leonard Peltier, will speak in New York in April.
Lenny Foster, Diné, director of
Sleepwalkers, Boiling Frogs and the Activated Awake
*Zen Gardner* - There’s really no standing still once you begin to answer
the call.
The post Sleepwalkers, Boiling Frogs and the Activated Awake appeared first
on Waking Times.
The Internet is Magic
Never let anyone say
bullshit
cause thats what war is all
about
a time two citizen's
free of LEO
might just
do some bad
stuff
what these
two mental stiffs
fail to realise
is that petty crime is dead
every inch you step
out of line
guarANTEES
some people
living in overtime
and I must say like
Ed Grimley how
well you present yourself
In History as we know it
there are no tides
just patterns
repeated over
and over
as if no one
in control
could separator
Gods world
from our own
and I just
want to take this
time to bow down
and genuflect and
do all the funky shit
you and your kind
will be shi... more »
Bibi Wins Israeli Election, But At What Price?
*Bibi making it obvious (source)*
*by Gaius Publius*
Many of us have been following the Israeli election story, but the gist has
involved the relationship between Sheldon Adelson, Bibi Netanyahu and the
American (and largely Democratic) Jewish "Diaspora." About Adelson and
Israel, Howie wrote:
*Is Sheldon Adelson's Long-Term Goal To Poison The Special Relationship
Between Israel And Democrats?*
... Last weekend, Israeli writer and peace activist Uri Avery tried
explaining the Adelsons' outsized-- and highly destructive-- role in
Israeli politics and, particularly, in the career... more »
15 of the Healthiest Foods on the Planet
*Meme - *To improve your health, it is important not only to eat a balanced
diet with a variety of vegetables, nuts and fruits, but also include
several servings of these healthiest foods each day.
The post 15 of the Healthiest Foods on the Planet appeared first on Waking
Times.
Skype Academic Interviews – What (Not) to Do
Hi all! File this post under “unsolicited advice from a newbie DGS.” Here
are my tips on how to not crash-and-burn on a Skype interview: Take a
professional picture and make sure your Skype handle is professional – this
might be the perfect time to set up an alternative, work-related Skype
account. DON’T have a mood […]
The Eight Most Damaging Ingredients to Watch for on Food Labels
*Dr. Mercola* - Processed foods are loaded with preservatives, artificial
colors, and artificial flavorings, which is one of the reasons that I
recommend avoiding them.
The post The Eight Most Damaging Ingredients to Watch for on Food Labels
appeared first on Waking Times.
I got worse than a Neecab in my air
Because if I have a handy
you may call it
a cell phone
when your walking around
the neighbourhood
you re being betrayed at
home
by sinister forces
accountable mostly to Jesus
in particular
and just plain
old forces of ignorance
who read a loot
and thought
aloot
and banged heads
and illustrations
until the piths
was right
to tell the people
what GOD
thinks when I surrender
my brain to a
omnipresent extra dimensional
creature who now
should start to explain
where the hell have you
been
we have been fucking up for
nearly 2000 years
and its getting worse
every day
personally
I blame God
s... more »
Bill Whittle and Trifecta: Hillary's Contempt...
*for us.*
Two videos that explain the what and the why.
Worth your time.
It's all I can handle today.
Thank you for your understanding.
University of Delaware defends Legates against witch hunt
Three weeks ago I mentioned a witch hunt started by a hardcore Arizona
communist named Raúl Grijalva – who is now a Congressman because the
Democrats apparently consider similar individuals cool – which was inspired
by some previous attacks against Willie Soon, a well-known climate skeptic
from Harvard-Smithsonian.
David Legates from University of Delaware is another skeptic who has also
co-authored numerous papers – some of which were sent to me by Willie – and
because of his proximity to Willie, Legates was quoted as the #1 witch
after Willie by Grijalva's letter that demanded to ... more »
The Economy: “These Billionaires Are Dumping US Stocks… Should You?”
*“These Billionaires Are Dumping US Stocks… Should You?”*
by Bill Bonner
Gualfin (“End of the Road”), Argentina - “Fátima, our new 10-year-old
English-language student, is a stranger to modern economics… as well as to
vernacular English. “What do you think of central bank policies?” we asked.
“What’s a central bank?” “It’s the bank that provides money to the other
banks.” “Where do they get the money?” “They create it out of nothing.”
“Oh.” “Would you like some money from the central bank?” “I guess so.”
Fátima must be aiming for a career on Wall Street.
*Let the Good Times Roll: *... more »
Ukraine to Launch Massive Privatisation Program- Let the Plunder Begin!
*Ukraine to Launch Massive Privatisation Program- Let the Plunder Begin!*
*This year, the Ukraine will begin the process of a huge round of
privatisation of it’s state companies.*
*The country*, which is currently receiving money in the form of a bailout
from the IMF,* has 3,300 state owned enterprises.*
* The first instalment of the current IMF loan has just come through, and
the country has to give promises of privatisation in exchange.*
*The largest of these by far, is state gas company Naftogaz, who employ
over 170,000 people.*
Oligarchs and banksters love oil companies... ... more »
UK Troops Start Training Mission in Ukraine
*My, oh my, how busy the western nations are meddling in Ukraine*
LONDON: British troops have begun a training mission in Ukraine, helping
government forces fighting pro-Russian separatists, the Ministry of Defence
in London said on Thursday.
The BBC reported that* 35 personnel are in the southern city of Mykolaiv*
as part of a two-month mission, although the ministry spokeswoman declined
to confirm the details.
"*The first elements of the training package began in March... We have got
troops out there training,"* she told AFP, adding: "The numbers will vary
depending on the schedul... more »
Guests at the Kremlin Demonstrate Diminishing EU Dimwittedness?
*Today begins a bit of catch up on the situation surrounding Ukraine &
Russia- *
*Lots of goodies to read. All linked at the bottom! *
* Diminishing support for EU backing of Sanctions*
(Bloomberg) -- For evidence of the European Union’s diminishing appetite
for sanctions against Russia, look no further than Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin
guestbook.
*Cyprus* President Nicos Anastasiades visited the Russian leader in
February, granting the Russian navy access to Cypriot ports;
March brought* Italian *Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, labeled a “privileged
partner” by Putin;
*Greek* Prime Minister... more »
China -ASEAN 3: Trade and Investment Relations
During the Philippine Economic Society (PES) 52nd conference last November
14, 2014, held at Intercon Hotel in Makati City, among the panel sessions
was on "Economic Trade Integration."
One paper was *An Analysis of the Evolving ASEAN-China Trade Linkages* presented
by Kevin Chua, (Shandong University, China), Ronald U Mendoza and Monica
Melchor (Asian Institute of Management, Makati, PH).
The authors were asking if China and ASEAN are strategic partners or
competitors, because while there is growing bilateral trade between the
two, they are also competing in the exports of major... more »
The Moral Collapse of Education Reform
In 1954 the U. S. Supreme Court declared 9-0 that separate schools based on
race are inherently unequal. That decision launched the American Civil
Rights Movement, and it provided a moral and legal foundation for civil
rights gains among women, the disabled, English language learners, and the
LGBT communities.
Now six decades hence, the U. S. has a Secretary of Education admits to having
a "Rosa Parks moment" while watching the Hollywood documentary, *Waiting
for Superman,* which celebrates the virtues of black children schooled in
segregated total compliance testing camps run by wh... more »
Right Sector Canada?
*Shouldn't surprise any Canadians that Right Sector is begging for money in
Canada.*
*Canada's government simply loves tyranny and fascism. And neo nazis.*
* Looks like they didn't get any money, thankfully. *
*h/t Original Paul for this one!*
*Thanks original Paul, better late then not at all?*
Right Sector (Canada) is Not For Profit Organization. The main purposes of
Right Sector is the relief of poverty by providing people in need with free
clothes, the advancement of education, and other charitable purposes that
benefit community.
Yah, sure! The main purpose of Right Sector is to... more »
HANDS UP, DON’T REPORT: Eyewitnesses fearful of telling the truth!
*THURSDAY, MARCH 19, 2015Part 4—A deeply embarrassing story:* Last Friday,
the Washington Post’s Gene Robinson made a lofty pronouncement.
In the process, he separated himself from his colleague, Jonathan Capehart.
In his column, Robinson said he doesn’t plan to “relitigate” the shooting
of Michael Brown. Because he’s discussing important topics, we’ll provide a
chunk of what he said:
ROBINSON (3/13/15): *Feelings are running high after the tumult in
Ferguson, Mo., which still hasn't ended.* Early Thursday morning, after it
was announced that the Ferguson police chief had resigne... more »
The Group Is All
Source Jon Rappoport
*“A single thought simultaneously held by several people isn’t some
miracle. The course of history is a process of liberation from that
circumstance, and the emerging miracle was one individual thinking his own
thoughts. That was the great change. And now people want to reverse it.
They want to go back. They want to call it evolution.”* (The Underground,
Jon Rappoport)
More and more, education is entraining children to think of themselves as
part of a group.
This is one basic way to cut off the consciousness of being an individual
and what it really mean... more »
Trouble is in Store......
Round Table on Defining a new security architecture for Europe that brings
Russia in from the cold in Brussels on March 2.
John J. Mearsheimer is an American professor of political science at the
University of Chicago. He is an international relations theorist.
Also see this article where *Former German Chancellor [Helmut Schmidt] Asks
for More Understanding for Russia. *Russia’s main concern isn‘t Ukraine
Schmidt says.
"Putin directs his attention particularly to China," said former Chancellor
Schmidt in an interview with Bild. "The West must be more appreciative of
this."
Hashd Al-Shaabi’s Threat To Iraq’s Established Shiite Religious Parties
While Iraq’s Hashd al-Shaabi, also known as Popular Mobilization Units
(PMUs) are leading the charge in the operation to retake Tikrit and central
Salahaddin, the country’s Shiite religious parties are thinking about their
long term impact upon politics. Two of the pre-existing militias that have
joined the Hashd the Badr Organization and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq already had
political wings that won seats in parliament. They have been joined by a
wide range of other groups some of which were formed to fight in Syria by
Iran and others that are brand new having been created in response to G... more »
Conservatives Want To Cut Social Security Benefits-- Progressives Want To Expand Them
The video above, from a Democratic congressional conference introducing an
expansion of Social Security, includes statements by two Maryland
congressmembers who are running for the Senate: one, Donna Edwards, who you
expect to see at this kind of announcement, and one, Chris Van Hollen, who
was forced into coming because of earlier support for the Simpson-Bowles
proposals that would have cut Social Security benefits.
Van Hollen's support for cutting Social Security-- while Donna Edwards
fought tooth and nail against Simpson-Bowles-- has become an issue in the
Maryland Senate race... more »
Editor's Note
I am traveling all day today. Blogging will return late tonight.
All Fingers Are Pointing At The Chechen Government In Ordering The Murder Of Russian Politician Boris Nemtsov
President Putin meets with Chechnya's leader, Ramzan Kadyrov, at the
Kremlin, December 4, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA
*Georgy Bovt, Moscow Times*: *Rumors Swirl in Moscow, But Kremlin Is Silent*
*More than two weeks have passed since the murder of Boris Nemtsov, and
investigators have already managed to report the initial results of their
work. They have arrested five people: 28-year-old Zaur Dadayev, the former
deputy commander of the Chechen Interior Ministry's Sever battalion that
serves as Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's "personal guard," 32-year-old
truck driver Shagid ... more »
‘We Are Trained To Misinform’ – Ex Pharma Sales Rep Admits Deception
*Jeff Roberts* - In her tell all book, Gwen writes about her years as a
pharmaceutical sales rep, exposing the dirty secrets of the industry that
often go un-talked about
The post ‘We Are Trained To Misinform’ – Ex Pharma Sales Rep Admits
Deception appeared first on Waking Times.
Historic Roid Rage
If you can not focus your attention span
on the future watch history
At five two with heels
Napoleon challenged Himalayan sized empires
but he failed because
his grip on power was
fed by constant victory
used to disguise
a hell of a mess
in the kitchen
Armchair quarterbacks
spend way too much time on football
because its a stupid sport
for stupid people
just like golf
Lets spend all those resources
and inspiring Gothic music
on real battles
that will define
life in our time
America the essential nation
for humankind
spends three or four billion
on lies
to elect the next president
and... more »
My Review of Galileo's Middle Finger
In this week's *Nature*, I have a review of *Galileo's Middle Finger:
Heretics, Activists, and the **Search for Justice in Science*, by Alice
Dreger, a medical historian who has spent much of the past decade studying
controversies in science. My review can be found here and here in PDF.
The book is engaging and eye-opening. It chronicles series of issues,
mainly related to the science of sexuality and gender, in which activists,
a category which also includes academics, engage in professional and
personal attacks of scholars whose work that they find to be inconvenient,
unhelpful ... more »
A Close Encounter or a Visitation?
*A Close Encounter or a Visitation?*
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to cite the work of *Juan José
(J.J.) Benítez* with regard to the Fuentecén robot, information taken from
what I consider to be one of the finest and best-written ufology books in
Spanish, *La Quinta Columna* (The Fifth Column), published by Barcelona’s
Editorial Planeta in 1990, just as interest in the
UFO/extraterrestrial/paranormal field was rekindling worldwide. Aside from
presenting fascinating follow-ups on events that made the pages of Spain’s
regional press (some of them even making it to the hall... more »
Dieudonne- A Skit with English subtitles & The Cusp of Year 8
The video is from gallier!
gallier and many others may not realize this tidbit, but, on Tuesday I
began my 8th year of PFYT.
It's been a huge learning curve, for sure. And gallier has been commenting
here for almost the entire time :) Some others who have been here from the
beginning are slozo, buffy and james @ winter patriot and John, yes, John
too.Paintings Art Etc. Wait a minute Aferrismoon ! Hope I am not leaving
anyone out? Thanks for sticking with me all these, more then I had ever
expected, years :-)
Not to exclude newer reader/contributors of course! Nothing I love more
... more »
Boost Your Twitter Visibility with TwitShot
For a social network that is all about saying it fast and saying it short,
Twitter has evolved a lot over the years. While text-based tweets are still
the norm, the big push now on Twitter is to include images in tweets. That
way when you're scrolling down your feed, the tweets with images grab your
attention, encouraging you to read the tweet.
According to a recent Twitter blog post, tweets with images see a 35%
increase in retweets. This makes tweets with images more effective than
mentioning other users, adding hashtags or even videos, at least when it
comes to increasing the n... more »
$2.2 Billion Down the Crapper
This from an internal audit of Canada's aid program to Afghanistan.
The internal government audit of what has been the largest aid program in
Canadian history concluded the $2.2 billion we spent yielded very mixed
results, many of them disappointing in the extreme.
Yes there were some notable achievements, particular in education and
health services, but nothing like the long-term impact Ottawa hoped would
come from this huge infusion of aid, one that diverted hundreds of millions
of dollars away from assistance projects in other very poor countries.
I wrote about Afghanistan's educ... more »
The seemingly simple condition....
On 3/18/15, at 5:57 PM, HeatherAnnTucciJarraf . wrote:
The Cosmic Architects and Designers were all present, admiring their
brilliant design and machinations of all the Cosmos. It was done.
One smiled with an Inner-Knowing that unsettled the others. One
questioned, "*Who will play the bad guy roles?"*
The Architects and Designers all looked in expectant silence of each other,
as each became Aware that they really did not want to play these darkest
roles... for a reason they could not identify.
Each Architect and Designer looked amongst each other, still not able to
identify t... more »
The problem with transparency
Imagine if your every move and every thought
expressed was open season for the press leak/plant
this is bill C51
what human except Jason Kenny could
be pure enough to survive.
Who has more fun than people
and often they do and say things
that are not perfect
The point of transparency should not
be a litmus test on thought and word
its all about the money.
The ebb and flow of money is
the heart of productive transparency
all the rest is just bad gotcha
Intelligent people will
quickly identify empty words
but wasting money
is a resource crime
on constrained planet
Jason Kenny seems ... more »
Untitled
*America is often said to be a land of second chances*
Just not for 7-year-olds. At least, not when they’re in the public school
system.
Back in 2013, a boy then in second grade in Anne Arundel, Maryland, was
suspended for two days for what was deemed a “gun-related” offense. It was
also a Pop Tart-related offense.
No, he didn’t shoot a Pop Tart; he bit his Pop Tart into the shape of a
gun. There’s a dispute as to whether he then pointed the high-calorie
weapon at the ceiling or at other students. Either way, unless the
strawberry filing was piping hot (it wasn’t), there wasn’t ... more »
A Game Of Inches
The upcoming election, Geoffrey Rafe Hall writes, will be about nasty,
brutish and small things. That's because Stephen Harper has nothing else to
run on:
Lacking evidence of either sound fiscal management *or* a healthy economy —
and certainly having nothing to offer on the ‘change’ front — Stephen
Harper is confronted with the problem of campaigning on not much at all.
The PM’s answer to that problem so far has been to deliver more of the same
— more fear, more legislation that ‘gets tough on crime’ – but these tired
old tactics won’t, on their own, mobilize support beyond the ... more »
Untitled
*A few laughs about the recent Warmist propaganda film*
(*Judith Curry has a wide-ranging demolition of the movie*)
@RogerPielkeJr tweeted: "*Merchants of Doubt* in a nutshell: How a 90
yr-old man and a few dead friends fool the stupid American public. End of
civilization results."
Jim Lakely adds:
Just in case anyone was wondering, Merchants of Doubt supposedly opened
Friday at the Bethesda Row Cinema. You can hardly get a more sympathetic
audience than Bethesda, Maryland. The film is no longer in the theater. See
here
Merchants of Doubt also premiered March 6 at the Lincoln ... more »
Exclusive: Boustead Confirms NSM for the Future Gowind class LCS of the Royal Malaysian Navy
[image: Gowind-class FS]On day 2 of the Langkawi International Maritime &
Aerospace exhibition, LIMA 2015, currently held in Malaysia, Navy
Recognition met with Anuar Murad, Director of the Defence & Security
Division at Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation Berhad (BHIC).
During our interview, Mr Anuar gave us the latest update on the program and
confirmed Malaysia's intend to procure Kongsberg's Naval Strike Missile
(NSM) for its future frigates.
“We are now approaching the end of basic design phase two. We have
integrated the systems and equipment into the main whole warship des... more »
Bohemian Rhapsody tackled by Sketch She - A vaguely Rule 5 post
Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody becomes Sketch She's Bohemian Carsody
To answer to your two questions:
1) yes, I think so
2) black ones, I think
Don't come over all innocent, you know what I mean.
Untitled
*10 Years Later: Fighting Blight in New Orleans after Federal Flood ~Deepak
Saini, WGNO*
*Jindal goes bat guano crazy by entertaining Goldman Sachs, Citigroup
proposals to sell LA. State Lottery for quick cash ~Louisiana Record*
*Despite rosy report, BP still cleaning up oil ~WWLTV*
*University of New Orleans Holds Drive to Divest from PA ~Cynthia Blank,
Arutz Sheva*
*Decade after St. Joseph’s Day incident, relations between police and Mardi
Gras Indians much improved ~Katy Reckdahl, N.O. Advocate *
*A Once-Guarded Tradition Spills Open In New Orleans' Streets ~Eve Troeh,
WWNO*
Economic News , Data and Views ( March 19 , 2015 ) - France limits cash transactions to 1000 euros .... As European Summit opens , Greece situation will be in focus - even if relegated to sideline discussions ( tweets from John Ward , Loukia Gfytopoulou , Greek Analyst , Yannis Kouts , Nic Malkoutzis , Holger , ZH , RanSquawk and more for your consideration ) ..... Euro , Bund , ECB in focus ( yes , there is non greek news in Europe ) .....
Tweets.....
*fred walton* @fredwalton216 2m
2 minutes ago
Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis: Cash Dinosaur: France Limits Cash
Transactions to €1,000, Puts Rest.http://po.st/l95fZy via @*po_st*
*Loukia Gyftopoulou* @loukia_g · 1h1 hour ago
How likely are capital controls in Greece? - via @OpenEurope http://
openeurope.org.uk/blog/how-likely-are-capital-controls-in-greece/ …
*Loukia Gyftopoulou* @loukia_g · 11h11 hours ago
Poll by @MARCpolls for @ALPHA_TV In an in/out of euro referendum 61.2%
would vote to stay, 32.5% to leave #Greece
*Loukia Gyftopoulou* @loukia_g ·... more »
U.K. Home Secretary: Edward Snowden Has Damaged Intelligence Agencies Across The World Including MI5 And MI6
Photograph: The Guardian
*Daily Mail:* *Snowden leaks 'put spies at risk': May says traitor has
damaged intelligence agencies across the world including MI5 and MI6 *
** Theresa May says Edward Snowden leaks have hit MI5 and MI6 resources*
** Home Secretary launches scathing attack on harm caused by the fugitive*
** He stole 1.7m files from America's National Security Agency and GCHQ *
*Leaks by the US traitor Edward Snowden have ‘damaged’ intelligence
agencies across the world and drained vital resources from MI5, MI6 and
GCHQ, Theresa May warned last night.*
*The Home Secretary ... more »
China Admits That It Conducts Cyber Warfare
© Edgar Su/Reuters
*Shane Harris, Daily Beast:* *China Reveals Its Cyberwar Secrets*
*In an extraordinary official document, Beijing admits it has special units
to wage cyberwar—and a lot of them. Is anybody safe?*
*A high-level Chinese military organization has for the first time formally
acknowledged that the country’s military and its intelligence community
have specialized units for waging war on computer networks.*
*China’s hacking exploits, particularly those aimed at stealing trade
secrets from U.S. companies, have been well known for years, and a source
of constant tension... more »
Russia to upgrade ten strategic bombers Tu-95MS in 2015-2016
[image: Tu-95MS Bear]Russia in 2015-2016 will upgrade at least ten
strategic bombers Tu-95MS, the press-service of the United
Aircraft-building Corporation told TASS on Tuesday.
"Last year the Russian Air Force received eight upgraded Tu-95MS bombers,
and at least ten more will re-enter duty in 2015-2016," the UAC
press-service quotes the chief of the flight test and tune-up base at
Zhukovsky, Alexander Kosarev, as saying.
The Zhukovsky upgrade base (an affiliate of Tupolev) replaces
radio-electronic equipment and improves the parameters of the navigation
complex and landing system... more »
Polish PM: Putin uses Iskanders to influence EU's decisions
[image: Iskander-E]Moscow steps up military activity to pressure EU leaders
ahead of the summit scheduled for March 19-20.
Sanctions against Russia will be discussed at the meeting, Agence France
Presse quotes Polish PM Ewa Kopacz as saying, Ukrainska Pravda reports.
“Russia is making these kinds of gestures on the eve of the next EU summit
on March 19-20 to gain a degree of influence on the decisions of the
European Council regarding sanctions,” she said. “We've found heightened
activity in the Baltic Sea and in Baltic airspace but there is no reason
yet to sound the alarm.”
Read ... more »
India to receive first upgraded Mirage fighters from France this month
[image: Mirage 2000]India will get its first upgraded Mirage 2000 later
this month from France under a Rs 10,000 crore deal.
French defence major Dassault Aviation, the original manufacturer of the
fighter jet, will hand over two upgraded aircraft to India on March 25 at
the Istres Dassault Aviation Flight Test Center.
India had in 2011 signed an upgrade programme worth over Rs 10,000 crore
with Dassault Aviation for upgrading the fleet of its Mirage 2000 aircraft
totalling 51.
Read more
NATO Fighter Jets Intercept Russian Planes Over Baltic Sea, Latvia Says
[image: Su-27 Flanker and Eurofighter Typhoon]A NATO patrol intercepted
Russian fighter jets over the Baltic Sea, Lithuanian authorities said on
Wednesday, as Moscow marks the anniversary of its takeover of Crimea with
one of its largest military drills in years.
The group of eight Su-27 and Su-34 fighter jets and three Russian military
transports was intercepted over international waters on Tuesday, a
Lithuanian Ministry of Defense spokeswoman said.
"These were first Russian fighters intercepted by NATO's Baltic air police
this year," Viktorija Cieminyte said, adding that the Russi... more »
Inconvenient facts about the Israeli elections that you won't find reported on the institutionally anti Israel BBC
This New York Observer article is well worth a read. It analyses why
Benjamin Netanyahu won the election despite Barack Hussein Obama's best
efforts and that of much of the world's media.
However it was this passage that most deserves wider readership:
'The election had other implications. The "Apartheid state" saw a 29%
increase in the number of Arabs elected to the Knesset (Israel's
parliament). Most of this increase came from Arabs elected within Jewish
parties and not Arab parties. For the second time in a row, the number of
women members of the Knesset increased. Israel has a h... more »
Don't let them do it again
Don't let them do it again: https://youtu.be/q_DJ64bPBOw
Why would you trust Ed Balls and Ed Miliband again?
India successfully test launches Astra missile from Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter
[image: Astra missile launch]India has successfully test launched an Astra
missile from a Sukhoi Su-30MKI fighter jet, the head of the Satish Dhawan
Space Center told TASS Thursday.
The last test of the Astra missile was conducted at sea on May 4, 2014 and
was successfull as well.
The 3.8 meter long missile is the smallest in its class. It can be launched
from different altitudes and can hit targets at a distance of up to 110
kilometers if launched from the altitude of 15 kilometers.
Read more
China's first female fighter pilots claim their half of sky
[image: Four female pilots of China's Bayi Aerobatic Team]Flying one of the
world's most lethal warplanes makes Yu Xu, Tao Jiali, Sheng Yifei and He
Xiaoli different from others their age.
The four women in their late 20s－China's first female fighter jet
pilots－have launched an "aerobatic charm offensive" on tens of thousands of
visitors at a major air show in Malaysia, the first such performance by
Chinese female pilots outside China.
"This is our first time flying out of our territorial sky and performing at
an international air show, which means a lot to us," Yu said after taking... more »
Saab offers solutions for RI’s defense ambitions
[image: Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C]Saab AB recently invited the Indonesian
media to visit a number of cities in Sweden to see what the Swedish defense
giant could offer to Indonesia, especially in terms of modernizing the
Indonesian Air Force as well as other related defense capabilities.
In Gothenburg, Saab introduced its Erieye airborne early warning (AEW)
system and radar manufacturing facilities.
The Erieye AEW is based on active electronically scanned array (AESA)
technology, which boasts a multi-tasking capability.
Read more
The Rise And Fall Of China's Top General
General Xu Caihou of the People's Liberation Army of China and U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates at the Pentagon (2009). U.S. Department of Defense.
*Bo Zhiyue, The Diplomat*: *The Rise and Fall of Xu Caihou, China's Corrupt
General*
*How Xu Caihou rose from nothing to the pinnacles of CCP power — and then
lost everything.*
*Julius Caesar isn’t the only person who should “beware the ides of
March.” March 15 also spelled doomsday for Xu Caihou, the former Central
Military Commission vice chairman and Politburo member who was disgraced as
the highest ranking officer in the People... more »
Russia's Militarization Of The Arctic Continues
*(Click on Image to Enlarge) *
The Heritage Foundation
*Jeremy Bender, Business Insider*: *This map shows the massive scale of
Russia's planned fortification of the Arctic*
*The Arctic ice is slowly melting, and Russia is positioning itself to take
advantage of new shipping routes along with natural resources available
beneath the Arctic seabed.*
*In order to capitalize on a changing Arctic, Russia is undertaking a major
military upgrade of its northern coast and outlying Arctic archipelagos.
These bases — which include search-and-rescue stations, military ports and
airstrips, and... more »
Thales Delivers AMASCOS Mission Systems To RMAF
[image: AMASCOS mission system]Thales has delivered the first of two
further AMASCOS mission systems to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF).
In a statement today, Thales said the AMASCOS was to support the conversion
of four RMAF's Beech 200 aircraft to a highly-capable maritime surveillance
platform, due to enter service next year.
It said the AMASCOS delivered an effective maritime surveillance, airborne
maritime patrol and ground surveillance capability.
Read more
Britain’s Bahrain Naval Base Facing Legal Challenge: Typhoon Fighter Deal Under Threat
[image: Eurofighter Typhoon]Britain’s strategic naval base in Bahrain is
courting trouble after a human rights activist announced his plan to
challenge the legality of the base, as it allegedly contravenes U.K’s own
stated guidelines of honouring the human rights situation in overseas
projects during the investment phase.
The rights activist from Bahrain has accused Britain of "sacrificing human
rights at the altar of trade and military deals", by ignoring the human
rights violations committed by the Bahrain government.
In December 2014, Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond officiall... more »
Russia and China may work together on nuclear-powered destroyer
Russia is very likely to start construction on the world's third
nuclear-powered destroyer with the assistance of China, according to the
Sputnik News based in Moscow.
Admiral Igor Kasatonov, retired deputy commander of the Russian Navy, said
the construction of the 10,000-ton Leader-class guided-missile destroyer
would begin in 2017.
Vasily Kashin, a military expert from the Center for Analysis of Strategies
and Technologies based in Moscow, said the project provides a new
opportunity for China and Russia to deepen defense cooperation.
Read more
BrahMos Missile to Enter Service in Indian Air Forces in 2016
[image: Air launched BrahMos]The Indian Air Forces plans to adopt the new
BrahMos cruise missile, which can be launched from aircraft, in 2016,
Sudhir Mishra, managing director for Russian-Indian joint venture Brahmos
Aerospace Ltd, told RIA Novosti.
In February, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over a license to
BrahMos to use the upgraded Su-30MKI aircraft for testing the missile.
"According to the schedule, the missile is expected to enter service in
2016. A further 10 tests will be conducted by the end of the year. In May,
a test flight with the launching system for th... more »
Norway Arctic exercise 'a provocation': Russia
[image: HNoMS Thor Heyerdahl (F 314)]Russia has criticised Norway’s ongoing
military exercise on the two countries’ northern borders as a deliberate
provocation used as a cover for gathering intelligence about its Arctic
neighbour.
Between March 9 and March 18, Norway’s Armed Forces are carrying out their
"Joint Viking" exercise, involving 5,000 troops in Finnmark county.
In response, Russia on Monday ordered 45,000 Russian troops as well as war
planes and submarines to begin exercises, in a huge show of military force.
Read more
Airbus Says Military Demand to Grow Amid Asia Tensions
[image: Airbus A400M]Airbus Group NV expects to see growing demand for
military aircraft in Asia amid simmering tensions in the South China Sea
and other areas.
The Asian market for defense and space-related business could grow to about
$50 billion a year within the next five years, from $45 billion now, said
Christian Scherer, executive vice president for marketing and sales at
Airbus Defense & Space, the planemaker’s defense unit.
About 43 percent of the current market is for aircraft, he said.
Read more
Sweden Orders New Submarines
[image: A26 class SSK]Sweden is to buy two new submarines from constructors
Saab Kockums. The A26 subs are to be delivered by 2022 and will cost up to
SEK 8.2 billion ($945 million).
"This is the biggest single decision when it comes to economic investments
that we will make during this parliament. The decision, to be formally made
by the cabinet on Thursday, is to ensure Swedish submarine capability past
2030", stated Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist.
"These are the next generation of submarine. These submarines will be very
hi-tech", he added.
Read more
Navy's Next Generational Nuclear Submarine Fund Has No Money
[image: Successor class SSBN]The Navy and Congress have yet to find money
for a newly created account designed to pay for the services' fleet of
next-generation nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines slated to begin
service in 2031 – the Ohio Replacement Program.
The special fund is a product of the concern from lawmakers and admirals
that the cost of the Ohio Replacement program would bankrupt the rest of
the Navy's shipbuilding budget.
As a result, the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act established the
National Sea-Based Deterrence Fund – a special account created specifi... more »
Taiwan rejects proposal to buy submarines from Russia
[image: Hai Lung (Zwaardvis) class SSK]Taiwan's Ministry of National
Defense rejected Wednesday the idea of purchasing submarines from Russia
put forward in a local media's opinion article, saying that it has
absolutely no plans to do so.
Taiwan still wants the US to sell it submarines and will also continue to
proceed with an indigenous submarine program while awaiting a clear
response from Washington to Taiwan's request, the ministry said in a
statement. "We also welcome any democratic country to cooperate with us in
pushing for the local submarine program," it added.
The ministr... more »
Russia's new 4th generation Lada submarine to nullify USA's naval power
[image: Project 677 (Lada) class SSK]The new Russian submarine, Lada, will
end the era of USA's reign at sea. Washington will lose the main instrument
of "power projection" to remote regions and may finally lose its global
geopolitical role as well.
Anti-Russian militaristic hysteria has been snowballing in the West lately.
Having noticed the revival of the traditionalist, imperial Russia that the
deceitful Western Sodom has been humiliating and insulting for decades, the
"free" European and American media filled their reports and pages with
alarmist headlines about Moscow's "milit... more »
Residents fume as HMAS Canberra blocks their view, keeps them awake and now there’s another one on the way
[image: HMAS Canberra]This is the wall of grey which residents of
Wolloomooloo and Potts Point now wake up to — that’s if they’ve managed to
get to sleep.
They say the 27,800 tonne HMAS Canberra has obliterated their views of the
harbour, spewed oil fumes into their homes and kept them awake with the
groan of engines and generators since it arrived to fanfare in November.
“It’s just so depressing ... it’s all those things and they’re constant,”
said one resident, Catherine Regan.
Read more
#WhiteGenocide
*Fight White Genocide*
*Rise up against the destruction of the your race! Get active on March
21st, 2015.*
*Produced by Kyle Hunt of Renegade Broadcasting*
Netanyahu Soundly Defeats Chief Rival in Israeli Elections
What was all that about? Never has so much attention been focused on what
is essentially a local election that will be done again in three or four
years. Worse, Obama spent serious political capital in a misguided attempt
to affect the outcome and to ungraciously attempt to stop an address to
congress. It could not be handled worse and the outcome if he affected it
at all was a resounding rebuke.
The confrontation with Iran and North Korea is continuing and must end
badly. The inevitable solution will be the application of tactical nukes
judiciously applied to... more »
Protein Shown to Slow Progress of Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis
[image: Brain plaques (seen in blue) and other debris are normally swept
away by cells called micr...]
We are slowly pulling together a clear understanding of what is
happening. This will surely lead to effective therapies as well as earlier
detection as well.
It is still going to take some time, but i think that ten years is possible.
It was not so long ago that we did not even know plaques existed, or if we
did, they were not linked to the problems.
.*.*
*Protein shown to slow progress of Alzheimer’s and multiple sclerosis*
*By Nick Lavars*
*March 2, 2015*
*Brain plaques... more »
China Is Not the World’s Largest Economy
The really bad news about China has not been recognized yet. Recently it
was discovered that one small community in China was quoting a financial
figure for gross turnover to the central government that was approximately
seven to eight times greater than what was measurable. The immediate
inference is that the real GDP is at least three quarters less than
published mostly reflecting the runaway expansion since 2008 in the
building sector.
China feels like a Ponzi preparing to nastily contract. The current team
has trimmed those growth figures and accepted some fiscal discipline... more »
Unlearn Almost Every ‘Spiritual’ Thing You Know
Without question, the present framework of spiritual information is an
intellectual construct responding to spiritual inputs. It is hardly going
to get it all right in terms of our language tools and must be thought of
as a work in progress. After all, i have worked years without seeing any
of all this.
What we have learned though is extremely important.
1 The spirit is physical, formed from dark matter and photonic energy
in the natural form of Mobius strips able to store number. The information
content of an individual spirit is many orders of magnitude greater than i... more »
A Photogallery Of Vladimir Putin
Reuters
*Business Insider:* *18 photos that show Vladimir Putin doesn't mess around*
*On Monday, the world's most powerful person reappeared after mysteriously
disappearing for 10 days. *
*Without a definitive explanation from the Kremlin, Russian President
Vladimir Putin welcomed President Almazbek Atambayev of Kyrgyzstan amid
swirling rumors.*
*Putin rarely goes unnoticed after a year during which Russia annexed the
multi-ethnic peninsula Crimea, engineered a civil war in Ukraine, and
signed off on the world's largest construction project.*
*WNU Editor:* I always roll my eyes w... more »
Kerry Compares Climate-Change Advocacy to Gandhi, Churchill, Mandela, King, Lincoln
*PJ Media*: *Kerry Compares Climate-Change Advocacy to Gandhi, Churchill,
Mandela, King, Lincoln*
*Speaking to the Atlantic Council at a climate change forum today,
Secretary of State John Kerry compared climate-change advocacy to President
Lincoln, Winston Churchill, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Martin
Luther King, Jr.*
*“For decades now, the science has been screaming at us, warning us, trying
to compel us to act,” Kerry said in the lengthy address.*
*WNU Editor:* The transcript to his speech *is here* ....
.*... So I through my life have believed that you can take certa... more »
The U.S. Secret Service Wants To Build A Second White House
*New York Times:* *Secret Service Wants a Fake White House to Help Protect
the Real One*
*WASHINGTON — Stung by accusations that it cannot adequately protect the
White House, the Secret Service wants to spend $8 million to build another
White House in Beltsville, Md.In prepared testimony before the House
Appropriations Committee, Joseph P. Clancy, the director of the Secret
Service, on Tuesday will urge lawmakers to give him money to build a
detailed replica of the White House to aid in training officers and agents
to protect the real thing. Beltsville, about 20 miles from the r... more »
AEC 4: Malaysia's MITI Presentation
Two days ago, South East Asia Network for Development (SEANET) and the
ASEAN People's Forum (APF) held a forum about the ASEAN Economic Community
in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. SEANET is a new regional free market think tank
based in Kuala Lumpur, and one of the projects of IDEAS. This is one of two
papers presented.
Ours is a huge region -- in population, GDP size, trade, investments and
tourism. Even the 28-nations European Union would be envious of its
population size and low or young average age.
It is fascinating how a region with a huge discrepancy in wealth among
members can ... more »
(Empire Going Down or Just Trying To Scare US - Sign of the End?) An Awakening Minority Now Realize Democrats and Republicans Are Nothing but Brands Appealing to Liberals or Conservatives, But Representing the Ruling Party and Beholden to Wall Street, the Military Industrial Complex, Mega-Corporations, and Not the American People
Celebrate Einstein's birthday (which was this past Saturday) by reading his
classic piece on why he was a socialist. [Monthly Review / Albert Einstein]
Other interesting news items that may change the world you live in (if
you're paying attention anymore): Jeb Bush Wants To Eliminate Minimum Wage:
'Leave It To The Private Sector' Scott Walker's Convicted Chief of Staff
Going To Jail After
A Drone's View Of A Deactivated Russian Missile Defense Facility
*RT*: *Deactivated Russian missile defense facility caught on drone camera
(VIDEO)*
*Abandoned and still futuristic, with a touch of a Mars colony in its looks
– this is how a deactivated radar component that used to be a part of
Moscow’s anti-missile shield appeared on drone footage, shot exclusively by
RT’s Ruptly video agency.*
*The A-135 anti-ballistic missile system was deployed around Moscow in
1995 to counter enemy missiles targeting the cities and its surrounding
areas. *
Don't "Keep it in the Ground"
Alex Epstein from the Center for Industrial Progress writes in his latest
newsletter about a co-campaign launched this week by *The Guardian* and
350.org in support of divestment in oil.
[The campaign was launched] with an article and petition urging us to "keep
it [fossil fuels] in the ground" by taking our money out of the industry.
Rather than making the case against fossil fuels, they (as so many today
do) take their evil for granted, casually agreeing with those who "see
divestment from fossil fuels in much the same light as earlier campaigners
saw the push to pull money out... more »
The War Against The Islamic State War Is Definitely Good Business For The Arms Trade
*Bloomberg*: *Islamic State War Boosts Biggest Private African Arms Maker*
*(Bloomberg) -- Islamic State’s expansion is causing instability from Basra
to Beirut. It’s also boosting business for Ivor Ichikowitz, the founder of
Africa’s biggest privately owned arms company.*
*Ichikowitz’s Paramount Group, which sells products ranging from naval
patrol vessels to refitted Mirage fighter jets, last month won an order to
sell 50 armored vehicles worth more than $1 million each to Jordan. He
expects more business to follow with Middle Eastern governments looking to
bolster their defens... more »
U.S. Played A Key Role In The Botched Counter-Terrorism Raid That Resulted In 44 Philippine Policemen Being Killed
*Washington Post: Manila:* *U.S. had key role in deadly counterterrorism
raid in Philippines*
*U.S. counterterrorism personnel played a hidden but key role in a bungled
commando operation in the Philippines that resulted in dozens of deaths and
a political scandal, according to a government investigation released
Tuesday in Manila.*
*At least six Americans were present at a Philippine command post during
the ill-fated January raid and supplied Philippine forces with surveillance
data collected by U.S. aircraft, the investigation found. One of the
Americans went so far as to order... more »
You don't have to be a mayor to take advantage of the fabulous new Mayoral Excuse Machine
*Tell the truth now -- you want in on the Mayoral Excuse Machine, don't
you? You'll find it here.*
*by Ken*
In the time that our Mayor Bill has been mayor of the Big Apple, people
have said a lot of things about him, not to mention to him, but one thing I
don't think has been heard a lot is: "He's right on time, Hizzoner!" He
would not put anyone in mind of the hat-shop master referenced by the
gleefully sprung-from-work hatter Mr. Cox in F. C. Burnand and Arthur
Sullivan's *Cox and Box* (featuring one of the all-time great rhyme
sequences -- "bus-i-ness," "is in his," and "phiz i... more »
"A Look to the Heavens"
“The striking spiral galaxy M104 is famous for its nearly edge-on profile
featuring a broad ring of obscuring dust lanes. Seen in silhouette against
an extensive bulge of stars, the swath of cosmic dust lends a broad brimmed
hat-like appearance to the galaxy suggesting the more popular moniker, The
Sombrero Galaxy.
*Click image for larger size.*
Hubble Space Telescope and ground-based Subaru data have been reprocessed
with amateur color image data to create this sharp view of the well-known
galaxy. The processing results in a natural color appearance and preserves
details often lost... more »
"A Moment With Nature"
"The leaves streamed down, trembling in the sun. They were not green, only
a few, scattered through the torrent, stood out in single drops of green so
bright and pure that it hurt the eyes; the rest were not a color, but a
light, the substance of fire on metal, living sparks without edges. And it
looked as if the forest were a spread of light boiling slowly to produce
this color, the green rising in small bubbles, the condensed essence of
spring. The trees met, blending over the road and the spots of sun on the
ground moved with the shifting of the branches, like a conscious caress."... more »
The Poet: W.H. Auden, "September 1, 1939"
"Defenseless
under the night
Our world in stupor lies;
Yet, dotted everywhere,
Ironic points of light
Flash out
wherever the Just
Exchange their messages:
May I, composed like them
Of Eros and of dust,
Beleaguered by the same
Negation and despair,
Show an affirming flame."
-W.H. Auden, "September 1, 1939"
"The Friend"
"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to
us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice,
solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our
wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in
a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief
and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and
face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."
— Henri J.M. Nouwen, "The Road to Daybreak"
"Compassion and Enabling"
"Compassion and Enabling"
by admin
"Sometimes there is a very blurry line between feeling and expressing
compassion, and enabling someone. Showing compassion is giving someone
space and understanding so they can work through their predicament whilst
remaining at a healthy emotional distance. This healthy emotional distance
can be hard to judge in close knit relationships such as marriage and
families. For should one fall over the edge of compassion and into the
field of pity, neither party will benefit. Pity serves no one in relation
to creating the desired changes within relations... more »
The Daily "Near You?"
Compiègne, Picardie, France. Thanks for stopping by.
Chet Raymo, “Finding It Where You Are”
*“Finding It Where You Are”*
by Chet Raymo
“Yes, I've been to Walden. Been there several times, in fact. With
students. We sat on the earth at the site of the cabin and read from the
book. And the wind stirred the pines, and the hickories, and the oaks, and
rippled the pond that shone like silver in the early morning sun. And then,
to honor the spirit of the man we came to visit, we sat silently, as if on
the stoop of his cabin with friends, knowing that any words, even his own,
intruded on the haunting beauty of the place itself.
Walden Pond
Mary Oliver has a poem called "Going To... more »
Corporations Lobbying Government Reap 76,000% Return on Investment
Nick Bernabe
Forget the penny stocks, amateurs, the greatest investment you can make in
America is bribing the government to give you political favors.
According to research conducted by The Sunshine Foundation, an organization
focused on corporate and government accountability,
After examining million records, including data on campaign contributions,
lobbying expenditures, federal budget allocations and spending, we found
that, on average, for every dollar spent on influencing politics, the
nation’s most politically active corporations received $760 from the
government. The $4.... more »
NATO Intercepts Russian Jets Over The Baltic Sea
A Sukhoi Su-25 jet fighter flies during a drill in Russia's southern
Stavropol region. Four similar jets were intercepted by NATO jets on March
17, 2015. Reuters/Eduard Korniyenko
*IBTimes*: *Russian Military Jets Intercepted By NATO Near Latvia Over
Baltic Sea*
*Seven Russian aircraft were intercepted by the NATO Baltic Air Policing
mission while flying in international airspace near Latvia, the country’s
National Armed Forces said on Twitter Wednesday. Typhoon fighters from the
Spanish and Italian air forces were scrambled on Tuesday to intercept the
Russian aircraft, which inc... more »
In Rapid City, hate crimes are only 'disorderly conduct'
In
Rapid City, the good old boy system protects those who commit hate
crimes
Photos by Jean Roach, Lakota
Censored News
RAPID CITY, South Dakota -- Today in Rapid City, Trace O'Connell did not
appear in court, but his lawyer entered a plea of not guilty. O'Connell
was charged only with disorderly conduct after throwing beer on Lakota
students, and verbally abusing them with
Hello Biometrics: Windows 10 to Add Facial Recognition, Iris Scans and Fingerprint Reader
Source Nicholas West
After several years of consumer complaints, Microsoft Windows 10 has been
getting a lot of attention as of late for many upgrades slated for their
new version of the popular operating system.
However, it appears that one feature being added to supposedly
consumer-friendly applications is a suite of biometrics called Windows
Hello and Windows Passport.
It's all a part of the move toward a full-fledged Smart World where YOU
become the password in a matrix of online and real-world activity.
Naturally, the fear of identity theft and cyber crime of all stripes ... more »
It's Official: Government Terrorists Hate Us For Our Free Speech
*1984: France Will Counter Terrorist Attacks on Free Speech by… Attacking
Free Speech? *
Melissa Melton
George Orwell wasn’t psychic; he was a time traveler, and we’re permanently
falling down the rabbit hole of 1984.
If you live in France, your right to visit certain websites has just been
terminated by the almighty government.
Why? Because terrorism.
According to a report by Glenn Greenwald, “What’s Scarier: Terrorism, or
Governments Blocking Websites in Its Name?” the French Interior Ministry
has now ordered that five websites be blocked by the government because
they have o... more »
No, John Kerry Doesn't Want To Negotiate With Assad
Brandon Turbeville
The recent hysteria surrounding John Kerry’s remarks regarding the
necessity of negotiating with Bashar al-Assad has provoked both criticism
and praise from a number of very different quarters. Unfortunately,
however, the opinions of those up in either arms or exaltation are largely
the result of misreporting, war psychosis, and simply reading headlines
instead of articles.
While the chorus of the usual suspects of Neo-Con rightwing warmongers and
Humanitarian Bomber/R2P leftists erupted in anger at the very thought of
the United States inching away from total ... more »
Christina Aguilera Praises Unschooler Musician "There's No Teaching What You Do"
Sawyer Fredericks - Source Eric Blair
Producers of NBC's *The Voice* present him as a "shy farm boy," but
15-year-old Sawyer Fredericks' unique folk sound may be aided by something
else. He is unschooled.
Sawyer's father runs the Facebook page The Unschool Dad described as "A
radical unschooling dad of 5 sharing our journey!"
Although the show never mentions this fact, Christina Aquilera, a judge on
the show, made a comment following Fredericks' successful performance in
the second round of the show that sort of proves the point of unschooling.
After performing a Creedence Clea... more »
Education is a System of Indoctrination of the Young
*Video - *Noam Chomsky offers his opinion of the education system, how it
encourages conformity and discourages independent thought.
The post Education is a System of Indoctrination of the Young appeared
first on Waking Times.
Ukraine Crisis News Updates -- March 18, 2015
*Bloomberg:* *Ukraine Backs New Status in Rebel East as Troop Deaths Mount*
*(Bloomberg) -- Ukraine approved a special status for separatist-held
regions as part of the latest efforts toward peace in the nation’s east,
where three soldiers died in some of the worst violence since last month’s
truce.*
*The parliament in Kiev, the capital, also appealed Tuesday to the United
Nations and the European Union to send peacekeepers to the Donbas, which is
partly controlled by pro-Russian insurgents after 11 months of fighting.
Russia expanded military drills in its south and sent bombers... more »
Federal Reserve Statement and subsequent "reactions " unleashes Market " KRAKEN " - March 18 , 2015 .... Currencies , Equities , Bonds , Commodities - all caught up in Algomania !
Tweets......
*zerohedge* @zerohedge · 4h4 hours ago
Before and After
[image: Embedded image permalink]
*zerohedge* @zerohedge · 5h5 hours ago
"Flexible" Fed Loses "Patience"; Cuts Growth, Inflation Forecasts (Again)
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-03-1
8/flexible-fed-loses-patience-cuts-growth-inflation-forecasts-again …
*zerohedge*
"Flexible" Fed Loses "Patience"; Cuts Growth, Inflation Forecasts...
Evan as The
View on web
*zerohedge* @zerohedge · 5h5 hours ago
FOMC redline
[image: Embedded image permalink]
*zerohedge* @zerohedge · 5h5 hours ago
FOMC... more »
U.K. Home Secretary: Edward Snowden Has Damaged Intelligence Agencies Across The World Including MI5 And MI6
Photograph: The Guardian
*Daily Mail:* *Snowden leaks 'put spies at risk': May says traitor has
damaged intelligence agencies across the world including MI5 and MI6 *
** Theresa May says Edward Snowden leaks have hit MI5 and MI6 resources*
** Home Secretary launches scathing attack on harm caused by the fugitive*
** He stole 1.7m files from America's National Security Agency and GCHQ *
*Leaks by the US traitor Edward Snowden have ‘damaged’ intelligence
agencies across the world and drained vital resources from MI5, MI6 and
GCHQ, Theresa May warned last night.*
*The Home Secretary ... more »
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