Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Saturday 1 August 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 31 Jul 2015 02:35 PM PDT
Artist’s rendition shows one possible appearance for the planet HD 219134b.
NASA astronomers have found another exoplanet outside the solar system. It’s larger than Earth and is 21 light-years from our planet.
The new planet has been dubbed HD 219134b, and can’t be seen directly even with telescopes, but the star the planet orbits is visible to the human eye in the Cassiopeia constellation, near the North Star, NASA said in a statement.
But the telescope sees the dimming of the star, and can calculate the planet’s size and other parameters based on it.
The planet weighs 4.5 times more than Earth, and has a fast three-day orbit around its star.
HD 219134b is also the closest example of a transiting planet, that is to say, a planet which crosses in front of its star and can be studied.
“Transiting exoplanets are worth their weight in gold because they can be extensively characterized. This exoplanet will be one of the most studied for decades to come,” said Michael Werner, the project scientist for the Spitzer mission at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California.
Transiting is rare because of the different planets’ orientation to Earth. The process consists of the planet’s orbit situated between its star and Earth, dimming the star’s light as a result.
This sky map shows the location of the star HD 219134 (circle), host to the nearest confirmed rocky planet found to date outside of our solar system.
An upside of HD 219134b is that it is relatively close to Earth, scientists say.
“Most of the known planets are hundreds of light-years away. This one is practically a next-door neighbor,” said Lars A. Buchhave, an astronomer and study co-author at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
The nearest planet that astronomers know about is GJ674b at 14.8 light-years away. However, there are no details about its composition.
HD 219134b is considered a rocky planet, and is a considered a “super-Earth” with proportions bigger than those of our planet.
This artist’s conception shows the silhouette of a rocky planet, dubbed HD 219134b, as it passes in front of its star.
“Thanks to NASA’s Kepler mission, we know super-Earths are ubiquitous in our galaxy, but we still know very little about them. Now we have a local specimen to study in greater detail,” said study co-author Michael Gillon of the University of Liege in Belgium, lead scientist for the Spitzer space telescope detection of the transit.
Three more planets in the same star system have been discovered by astronomers: two of them are near the star.
The latest discoveries come just over a week after the first Kepler-452b exoplanet was found: it’s also outside the solar system, 1,400 light years away, and may be able to sustain life.
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Posted: 31 Jul 2015 02:20 PM PDT



‘Obese’, ‘normal’, ‘mothering’, ‘fathering’, ‘senior citizens’, ‘homosexual’, ‘illegal alien’ also discouraged.
Using the words “American,” “obese,” “normal,” “mothering,” “fathering,” “homosexual,” “illegal alien,” and “senior citizens,” is offensive and should be discouraged, according to a “Bias-Free Language Guide” posted on the University of New Hampshire website.
The guide, first uncovered by Campus Reform, “is meant to invite inclusive excellence in [the] campus community.”
The word “American” is “problematic” according to the guide because it “assumes the U.S. is the only country inside [the continents of North and South America].”
Calling people “illegal aliens” is also politically incorrect, with the preferred term for undocumented immigrants being “person seeking asylum,” or “refugee,” while the word “foreigner” is discouraged and replaced with “international people.”
More banned words and phrases include;
– “Caucasian (replaced with “European-American individuals”);
– “Mothering” and “fathering” (replaced with “parenting” and “nurturing” so as to “avoid gendering a non-gendered activity”);
– “Homosexual” (replaced with “gay,” “lesbian,” “same gender loving”);
– “Obese” or “overweight” (replaced with “people of size”);
– Saying a person is “poor” (replaced with “person who lacks advantages that others have”);
– Saying the word “healthy” because it’s offensive to disabled people, who can’t be called disabled, they must be called a “person who is wheelchair mobile”).
“Terms also considered problematic include: “elders,” “senior citizen,” “overweight” (which the guide says is “arbitrary”), “speech impediment,” “dumb,” “sexual preference,” “manpower,” “freshmen,” “mailman,” and “chairman,” in addition to many others,” writes Peter Hasson.
The guide also rails against “ciscentrism,” which “includes the lack of gender-neutral restrooms, locker rooms, and residences” at the university.
To his credit, the president of the University of New Hampshire Mark Huddleston responded to the story by asserting that the guide was not official campus policy.
“I am troubled by many things in the language guide, especially the suggestion that the use of the term ‘American’ is misplaced or offensive,” he said. “The only UNH policy on speech is that it is free and unfettered on our campuses. It is ironic that what was probably a well-meaning effort to be ‘sensitive’ proves offensive to many people, myself included.”
Meanwhile, Republican State Senator Jeb Bradley has vowed to take the guide into consideration next time lawmakers decide how much money to give to the university.
“Implying the word ‘American’ is not appropriate to use on campus is un-American to say the least,” he said. “Will UNH next propose to change our Live Free or Die motto to Live Free but Upset No-One?”
The University of New Hampshire is by no means the only educational institution that is attempting to encourage censorious codes of political correctness on campus that completely contradict the notion of universities being bastions of free speech.
Earlier this month we reported on how the University of Wisconsin (Stevens Point) was teaching faculty members that all manner of harmless behaviors and phrases were examples of “racial microaggressions.”
The examples included; Asking someone where they are from or where they were born, telling someone they speak good English, telling someone that you have several black friends, saying that you’re not a racist, and complimenting an Asian person by telling them they are very articulate.
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Posted: 31 Jul 2015 02:12 PM PDT

The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution that tackles smuggling of endangered wildlife.
The resolution was approved unanimously by the 193-member world body on Thursday.
Although the resolution is not legally binding, its universal support reflects growing global opposition to the escalating poaching and trafficking, especially in elephant tusks and rhinoceros horns.
Gabon and Germany sponsored the resolution, which was also supported by more than 70 countries.
“This is a historic step made by the international community,” Gabonese Foreign Minister Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet told reporters shortly after the resolution was passed.
“This phenomenon hampers investment, especially in areas where illicit activities are undertaken and as far as health is concerned it contributes to the spread of viruses,” he said, adding, “It represents a real threat to the stability of our state.”
The resolution encourages member states to “adopt effective measures to prevent and counter” wildlife trafficking.
It concerns both regions where wildlife and poachers roam such as in some African countries, and consumer countries such as those in Asia that prize ivory and rhinoceros horns.
The resolution also calls on countries to bolster legislation at the national level to prevent, investigate and prosecute the illegal trade, and make such trafficking a “serious crime.”
The vote coincided with global outrage over the killing of a beloved lion in the Southern African country of Zimbabwe. The incident happened earlier this week when an American hunter allegedly lured it from a national reserve outside regular hours and killed it.
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Posted: 31 Jul 2015 01:58 PM PDT

Nine American marines have been arrested in Vienna’s airport for carrying assault rifles and handguns on board a commercial airliner without proper clearance. They were on their way to Ukraine to take part in Exercise Saber Guardian that began July 20.
The incident took place on July 19, but was only reported to the media a fortnight later.
The servicemen, traveling from Alaska, reportedly had problems with a connecting flight at Vienna’s Schwechat Airport and had to leave the transit area to rebook, Austrian Defense Ministry spokesman Colonel Michael Bauer said. They were traveling on commercial flights.
While they were having their luggage scanned, airport security spotted M16 assault rifles and pistols in their travel bags. The servicemen had no permits allowing them to carry arms.
Austrian police arrested the marines, who were then expelled from the country along with their weapons on a return flight bound for Washington.
The incident took place accidentally, US European Command spokesperson David Westover told Sputnik.
“By unintentional oversight, the necessary clearances required for transiting Austria were not properly processed prior to their departure. The Austrian authorities were very helpful in resolving this issue,” spokesman said, adding that the marines have since returned to their home duty station in Alaska.
“US European Command and the US Embassy in Vienna are grateful for the support of the Austrian Government to coordinate the onward movement of nine US marines last week,” Westover said.
Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, told RT that the soldiers had not declared them on purpose.
The fact that the US State Department attempted to get permits retrospectively immediately after the incident indicates that “this is not how it is supposed to be done,” Kwiatkowski said.
A passenger on US domestic flights has to declare any weapons in his luggage, she pointed out, so the soldiers “probably did not declare [weapons] on purpose, thinking they could get away with it,” because they needed their weapons and could “get in trouble” if they arrived in Ukraine without arms, Kwiatkowski said.
She said that, alternatively, “they figured that they will be refused and would not be able to get there anyway.”
Kwiatkowski added: “Technically, this is a violation of not just the airline policy but international law.”
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said earlier in July that the international military exercises Saber Guardian/Rapid Trident-2015 the US soldiers were going to take part in began July 20 and were planned to last through July 31.
They are the biggest military war games to be held in Ukraine in 2015, with over 1,800 troops from 18 countries participating.
The drills are being held at the Yavoriv training center, Europe’s largest of its kind, in Ukraine’s Lvov Region, near the border with Poland.
Moscow has repeatedly warned NATO that the series of military drills in Ukraine could undermine the fragile peace agreement between Kiev and the rebels in the southeast of the country.
Despite Kiev’s efforts to provide its troops with US-made lethal weapons, Washington has denied the requests, instead providing Kiev with non-lethal supplies and armored vehicles.
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Posted: 31 Jul 2015 10:40 AM PDT

A new report circulating in the Kremlin today prepared by the Ministry of Defense (MoD) states that a joint counter-terror operation conducted by the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) and Austria’s Army Intelligence Office (HNA) was able to effectuate the arrest of a 9 member highly skilled US Marine assassination “hit team” at the Vienna International Airport, located in Schwechat, on 19 July.
According to this report, the SVR has had this US Marine “hit team” under surveillance for years after its role in the assassinations of Christian and other religious leaders in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria were first discovered.
Dubbed as the “Jesus Killers” by the SVR for their specialization in targeting Christians, this report continues, this “hit team” is a part of United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command (MARSOC) attached to the Alaska Command (AC) based at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, and under the direct command of the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM)…which had assumed oversight of the Alaskan Command on 29 October 2014.
Two months prior to NORTHCOM taking over the Alaskan Command, this report notes, MARSOC, on 6 August 2014, re-designated the specific unit this captured US Marine “hit team” belonged to as now being Marine Raiders…in reference to the elite units established by them during World War II to conduct special amphibious light infantry warfare, particularly in landing in rubber boats and operating behind the lines.
Most insidious about these Marine Raiders, this report states, is their strong affiliation with German Nazi symbols, which includes their unit patch containing the “death’s head skull” so beloved by Hitler’s most loyal and devoted forces.
MoD analysts in this report further note that although the “official” Marine Raider designation patch does not contain the “death’s head skull”, substituting it for a dagger, it is allowed to be worn unofficially, and as reported by the US Marine Corp News Service:
“Regardless of philosophy and lineage, however, MARSOC’s Raiders will continue to sport the vintage skull patch, albeit in an unauthorized capacity. Though not formally approved for uniform use, MARSOC troops have made a habit of donning the patch during deployments.
“That insignia is a source of pride and has been a source of pride,” said Maj. Ed Norris, the commanding officers of 3rd Marine Raider Support Battalion. “It is something that Marines have identified with T-shirts, with hats, really just to honor the Marines that have gone before us. And now to officially have that is an honor.”
And not just a “source of pride” do these Marine Raider “Jesus Killers” have with the Nazis “death’s head skull”, this report continues, but also with the runic “SS” insignia of the dreaded Schutzstaffel (secret police) that were used from the 1920s to 1945 on Schutzstaffel flags, uniforms and other items as symbols of various aspects of Nazi ideology and Germanic mysticism…and which this exact “hit team” posed with, in 2010, when they were deployed to Afghanistan.
To how exactly these 9 Marine Raider assassins were captured, MoD experts in this report state, came about when on 19 July, SVR “assests” notified Austria’s HNA that this “hit team” had boarded Austrian Airlines flight OS-7202 to Vienna where they would then transfer to Austrian Airlines flight OS-7171 with their final destination being Kiev, Ukraine.
The SVR then provided to the HNA “complete photographic/video/audio” evidence that these Marine Raiders were allowed by German airline Lufthansa (the owners of Austrian Airlines), in direct contravention of all European Union and International laws, to board their flight while in the possession of weapons, ammunition and explosives.
Upon Austrian Airlines flight OS-7202 arriving in Vienna, this report continues, HNA agents ordered this 9-member Marine Raider “hit team” to a secure area where they were then asked to indentify the “luggage” containing their weapons, ammunition and explosives.
When the “leader-commander” of this “hit team” refused to answer any questions being asked by the HNA, MoD experts in this report state, they were then all arrested by the HNA and their dangerous contraband was confiscated.
Once arrested, this report says, these Marine Raiders were allowed to call the US Embassy whereupon a “negotiated settlement” was reached whereupon this “hit team”, and their weapons, were expelled from Austria and put on the next available flight to Washington D.C.
As to why this Marine Raider “hit team” was being covertly sent to Ukraine in the first place by the Obama regime, SVR intelligence analysts in this report state (and based upon “other intelligence” shared with the SVR by the HNA), was to unite them with their neo-Nazi Right Sector allies who are currently destabilizing Ukraine and are threatening to bring down the West’s puppet installed government whose troops are now reported to be completely demoralized.
As these Marine Raider “Jesus Killers” have so aptly proved from their previous missions, this report grimly notes, the targeting of religious leaders (especially Christians) in the Obama regime controlled conflict zones around the world leads to mass chaos which in turn leads to failed states…which in this case the US desperately wants Ukraine to become so that they can introduce NATO troops up to the Federations borders.
And with this past week seeing the brutal murder of an Orthodox priest and nun, this report concludes, these Marine Raider “Jesus Killers” mission to accomplish the destruction of Ukraine through sectarian violence appears to already be underway.
To if the American people are even aware of these neo-Nazi Marine Raider “Jesus Killers” being arrested it is not known…other than to state that this incident shows, one again, why the United States was one of only 3 nations in the world (the other two being Canada and Ukraine) who defeated the United Nations resolution against Nazism and Holocaust denial last November.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 09:38