Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Puppet Masters

Kurds, Arab forces recapture Syrian air base, backed by Russian airstrikes Yahoo News 2016-02-11 00:00:00 Kurdish and Arab forces backed by Russian air strikes captured a strategic air base and the adjacent town in northern Syria from rival anti-government factions, a monitoring group said Thursday. The Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) and Arab allies on Wednesday night expelled Islamist and other rebel fighters from Minnigh air base and the adjacent town, north of Syria's second city Aleppo, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. "The takeover of Minnigh air base and the adjacent town overnight was backed by at least 30 Russian air strikes," said Observatory director Rami Abdel Rahman. "There's some coordination between the Kurds and the Russians in Afrin region," he told AFP. The advance comes after days of fierce clashes that saw YPG forces advance east from the Kurdish stronghold of Afrin and take over a series of villages before reaching Minnigh. "With the defeat at Minnigh, Islamist fighters lost the only military airport they held in Aleppo province," Abdel Rahman said earlier. "Minnigh airport lies between two key roads that lead from Aleppo city to Azaz" to the north, giving Kurdish fighters a strategic launching pad for offensives against jihadists further east," he said. Government forces lost control of the Minnigh airport in August 2013, two years after the uprising in Syria first erupted. Rebel groups are facing a dual advance by both Kurdish forces coming from the west and regime troops -- backed by a barrage of Russian air strikes -- pressing an offensive north from Aleppo city. More than 500 people have been killed since the government began its Aleppo assault on February 1, the Observatory said Wednesday. YPG forces regularly clash with Islamist and jihadist fighters in northern Syria, but its most active front is further east against the Islamic State jihadist group. Arab rebel groups have accused Kurdish fighters of ethnically cleansing towns to carve out autonomous Kurdish territories, a claim the YPG has fiercely denied. More than 260,000 people have been killed and half the population displaced in Syria's complex, multi-front war over the past five years.

George Soros: A psychopath's psychopath Sam Gerrans RT 2016-02-13 19:46:00 According to Soros, Russia's strategy is to "avoid collapse by making the EU implode first - by exacerbating the migration crisis and stoking Islamophobia". On February 11, the Guardian ran an article by George Soros which had run a day earlier hereentitled "Putin is a bigger threat to Europe's existence than Isis." After a quick check of my vital signs, I confirmed that I was indeed awake and the article was real and in the Guardian not The Onion. Before I look at the tissue of untruths which make up the substance of Soros' article, a few general words about psychopaths are in order.

Comment: For more on the problem of psychopathy see : Ponerology 101: Lobaczewski and the origins of Political Ponerology

Saudi, UAE troops unlikely effective against ISIS in Syria, unless... FARS 2016-02-13 01:10:00 Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates may not have the capabilities to contribute significantly to the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), two U.S. intelligence chiefs testified Tuesday. "I do not assess that the Saudi ground forces would have ... the capacity to take this fight on," Vincent Stewart, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee, the Hill reported. "The Emiratis, very capable, acquitted themselves well in Yemen," Stewart added. "Whether they have the capacity to do both Yemen and something in Iraq-Syria is questionable for me,"Stewart said. "I think they're doing extremely well in Yemen, but their capacity to do more is pretty limited." Stewart and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Tuesday that while Saudi Arabia and the UAE's offers are welcome, questions linger over whether either country's troops would be effective. "I certainly appreciate and value the Saudi willingness to engage on the ground, I think that would be a challenge for them if they try to take that on," Clapper said. The Obama administration has long sought more help from coalition partners, particularly the Sunni Arab countries U.S. officials feel could better maintain stability after the defeat of ISIS. Ahead of this week's meeting in Brussels of defense ministers from the entire coalition fighting ISIS, Saudi Arabia and the UAE said they'd be willing to send ground troops to Syria. Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia made their offers contingent upon U.S. leadership. Clapper said he interpreted that condition as meaning the countries want the Pentagon's command and control capability. Stewart, however, said he saw that prerequisite as a request for more U.S. ground troops. "I think the idea is how do we get more U.S. skin in the game," Stewart said.

Comment: So, are things like they seem on the surface or is there a grand manipulation by the US at hand? The assessment (which may be legitimate) of Saudi and UAE ground troops' incapacity to 'do the job' may be the US creating an open door for its own ground campaign. Syria and Iraq...considerably bypassed in this assessment...will resist ground incursions into their territories, and, without permission of the governments, to do so will be a violation of International Law, surely to bring Russia to action and a line sadly crossed.

Russia is pounding ISIS, even according to U.S. propaganda ministry Moon of Alabama 2016-02-13 18:27:00 How a U.S. propaganda line dissolves into embarrassment. Pentagon spokesman Col. Steve Warren said at a briefing on Wednesday that at most, only 10% of Russian strikes are hitting the terrorist group ISIS (also known as the Islamic State, ISIL, and Daesh) in Syria. --- In a report posted Thursday on its website, the [Russian Ministry of Defense] noted that its jets flew 510 combat sorties and hit 1,888 "terrorist objects" in Syria. The previous week's report claimed 464 sorties that hit a total of 1,354 "terrorist objects." Daily reports from the U.S. military for the same period indicate a much lower level of activity: 16 targets struck in Syria. --- x * 16 = 1,888 * 0.1 x ~= 12

Comment: In other words, comparing 'successful' Russian airstrikes (according to the U.S.) to U.S. airstrikes (according to the U.S.), Russia is pounding ISIS 12 times harder than the U.S. In reality, that number is probably closer to 150 times harder. That's assuming the U.S. is even remotely successful in targeting ISIS.

Meet terrorist Haggai Segal and his deranged sons, Israel's journalists Ira Glunts Mondo Weiss 2016-02-11 17:57:00 עתידות: בעוד 30 שנה עמירם בן אוליאל עורך עיתון מכובד בישראל — Chaim Levinson (@chaimlevinson) January 3, 2016 Translation of the tweet above: Prediction: In 30 years Amiram Ben Uliel is a respected newspaper editor in Israel. Chaim Levinson is a reporter for the Israeli daily, Ha'aretz. His beat is the West Bank. Haggai Segal is a respected Israeli journalist. He is editor of the right-wing national religious newspaper, Makor Rishon. In 1984, Segal admitted to planting two bombs which were directed at two West Bank mayors. Segal, who was a West Bank settler in his 20s was convicted of causing grievous harm and belonging to a Jewish terrorist organization, which operated in the West Bank and Jerusalem. He received a five-year sentence, of which he served two. Amiram Ben Uliel, a young religious Israeli settler in his 20s, is currently in an Israeli prison, awaiting trial for throwing a bomb into a home in the West Bank village of Duma which killed three members of the family who lived there. It is alleged that he is part of a Jewish terrorist organization which operates in Israel, the West Bank and Jerusalem. I first became aware of Haggai Segal about eight months ago after noticing a sniping tweet (similar to the one above) that was sent about him by another Israeli journalist to the Twitter feed of his son, the well-known TV reporter, Amit Segal. About a month ago, my curiosity about the elder Segal led me to obtain a copy of his book about the Jewish Underground. I also followed him on Twitter until a response I sent, referring to his past crimes, led Segal to block me. When reading his twitter feed, which was not all that active, I was surprised that even journalists from so-called left-wing outlets, like Barak Ravid, treated him with great respect and affection. What follows is some of what I learned about Israel's terrorist journalist. In 1984 Haggai Segal was convicted of belonging to a terrorist organization, causing grievous harm, and possessing illegal firearms. Of the two bombs he planted, one blew off the foot of Karim Khalaf, the then mayor of Ramallah. A second, which was intended for the mayor of el Bireh, was discovered, but exploded when it was being deactivated, permanently blinding Suleiman Hirbawi, a Druze member of the Israeli Border Police. The Jewish Underground, as Segal's gang came to be known, was also responsible for blowing off both legs of the mayor of Nablus, Bassam Shakaa. They attacked the Islamic College in Hebron, randomly killing three students and injuring 33 others. The Underground devoted much effort to developing a plan and stockpiling weapons, some stolen from the army, in a plot to blow up the Dome of the Rock. They hoped that destroying the holy Muslim shrine would somehow inspire Israel to rebuild a Jewish Temple in its stead. These are just the crimes we know about this gang carrying out over the course of at least five years of operation.

Comment: See also: The Most Dangerous Cult in The World!

Israel's destruction of Hamas tunnels under Gaza, $250M since 2004 RT 2016-02-13 08:18:00 Israel has spent around one billion shekels ($250 million) on countering Hamas tunnel-building under the Israeli-Gaza border since 2004, according to an Israeli TV report. The money went toward things like developing technology for the discovery of the tunnels, as well as other "operational costs," the Times of Israel quoted Channel 2 as saying. IDF officials told the channel that locating and destroying the tunnels was a key priority for the Israeli forces. According to the IDF, a lot of the work has been carried out in secrecy. It has also been reported that the US will invest $120 million into Israel's tunnel-detection technologies, along with a further $120 million from Israel. Although the current report states that Israel worked to destroy the tunnels since 2004, it was not until 2005 that the IDF left the Gaza Strip and Israel relocated some 8,000 of its residents living there. Two years after that, the Palestinian movement Hamas took control of the Strip. Comment: The "relocation of 8000 residents" was due to more than tunnel entrances that met with residential destruction. Tunnels are only one facet of this forced Palestinian migration and "relocation" does not assume accommodations nor amenities of any kind. Tunnels are a pretext for piecemeal demolitions to extend a buffer zone for control over Gaza. It is despicable that the US is helping to fund these activities.

Comment: See also: Egypt floods Gaza tunnels on Tel Aviv's request

The morally bankrupt Clintons earned over $3.5 million in paid addresses to pro-Israel organizations Sarah Lazare, Max Blumenthal AlterNet 2016-02-13 16:14:00 Bill and Hillary Clinton are under increasing scrutiny from the mainstream press over paid speeches they have given to big banks in exchange for millions of dollars.According to CNN, the couple has earned a total of $153 million in lecture fees from companies and organizations affiliated with the financial industry. But the media has been conspicuously silent about the large sums the Clintons have raked in from paid addresses to pro-Israel organizations, including the Jewish National Fund (JNF), which directly participates in the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and Bedouin citizens of Israel. An evaluation of Hillary Clinton's public disclosures from 2001 to 2015 shows that she and Bill, and their daughter, Chelsea, have earned roughly $4 million in speaking fees from pro-Israel organizations, including JNF and organizations allied with the right-wing government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The vast majority of these documented payments—$3,599,999—have gone toward the Clintons' personal income, and up to $450,000 has been funneled into the Clinton Foundation.

Comment: The Clintons' drive for more money and power show their lack of conscience; they have no problems striking a Faustian bargain with Israel.

Hot for war: Turkey shells Kurdish targets in northern Syria RT 2016-02-13 16:46:00 Turkey's army has shelled Kurdish militia targets near the city of Azaz in northwest Syria, Reuters reports, citing a source in the Turkish government. "The Turkish Armed Forces fired shells at PYD positions in the Azaz area," the source said, referring to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Ankara views as a terrorist group. A Kurdish official confirmed to Reuters that the shelling targeted the Menagh air base, which is located south of Azaz in the Aleppo Governorate. According to the official, the base was captured by the Jaysh al-Thuwwar rebel group, which is an ally of the PYD and a member of the Syria Democratic Forces alliance.

Isn't that special: Carter says UK must renew Trident to keep 'special relationship' with US RT 2016-02-13 16:27:00 The UK has to renew its submarine-borne Trident nuclear weapons system if London wants to maintain its "special relationship" with Washington, US Defense Secretary Ash Carter said. It's the nuclear subs that allow Britain to "continue to play that outsized role on the global stage that it does because of its moral standing and its historical standing," Carter was cited as saying by the BBC. "It's important that the military power matches that standing and so we're very supportive of it," he said.

Comment: Carter sure makes the US seem like the ones pulling Britain's strings to influence policies.

President al-Assad interviewed by AFP on Syrian and regional developments AFP Sana 2016-02-13 15:46:00 President Bashar al-Assad gave the following interview to AFP News Agency on the developments in Syria and the region: Journalist: Mr. President, we would like to thank you for taking the time to answer our questions in these crucial moments in the history of Syria and the region.

Comment: These AFP reporters' questions were full of western propaganda. Assad replied in an intelligent manner completely opposite of the West's characterizations of him.

New World Order messenger boy Kissinger delivers a "plan" to Putin Ollie Richardson Fort Russ 2016-02-09 00:00:00 Henry Kissinger is one of the "bisons" of American politics. One of those who ruined the Soviet Union. It was he who put in a lot of effort to finally tear China away from the USSR and thus, weakening the latter. He is a patriot who put himself on the altar of victory in the "cold war". Even after retiring, he did not give up on the battle throughout his life. He continued to struggle with the remnants of the Soviet Empire. Four years ago, speaking about "the drums of war", which could already be heard, he said: "The coming war will be so severe that only one superpower can win, and that's us. That is why the EU is in such a hurry to form the superpower, because they know what is coming, and to survive, Europe will have to be one whole cohesive state. This urgency tells me that they know what to expect from us. Oh, how I dreamed of this delightful moment. From the ashes we shall build a new society, there will remain only one superpower, and it will be the global government that wins. Do not forget that the United States has the best weapon, which no other country has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right". (Henry Kissinger January 2012). On January 20th 2012, he arrived in Moscow to give Vladimir Putin an ultimatum and "friendly advice" not to run again for President of Russia. Because otherwise the U.S. will grind Russia into powder: "the third term of Vladimir Putin, this is a war that Russia will lose".

Kerry proclaims Syrian opposition will not surrender despite Assad army's advances Sputnik 2016-02-13 14:05:00 The war in Syria could be impossible to end while ruling President Bashar Assad remains in power, and the opposition is not going to surrender despite the government army's advances, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday. Kerry also welcomed the recent agreement on a cessation of hostilities in the war-torn country. "The Syrians who have rejected Assad have endured four years of shelling, barrel bombs, gas, Scud missiles, chemical attacks, torture, and they may be pushed back here or there, but they are not going to surrender. I don't believe there's anybody who believes they will," Kerry said at the Munich Security Conference. Comment: What a totally backwards statement.

Comment: Want to bet on that statement Kerry? Syria's Sunnis reject jihadism: The West supports sectarian divisions

Saudi Arabia deploys warplanes to Turkish air base for missions in Syria Sputnik 2016-02-13 13:08:00 Saudi Arabia is deploying warplanes to the Turkish Incirlik base to fight Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "They (Saudi officials) came, did a reconnaissance of the base. At the moment it is not clear how many planes will come," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Yeni Safak and Haberturk newspapers after taking part in the Munich Security Conference. The deployment is part of the US-led effort to defeat Daesh terrorist group, he added. Incirlik is a key hub for US-led coalition operations againstDaesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS).

Comment: Sure Foreign Minister, you and the Saudis want to see Daesh lose so badly, right? That's why you did nothing while Daesh dismantled Syria and brought it to you on a silver platter? That's why now, only after Russia started eradicating these thugs, you decided it's time invade a country that wants nothing to do with you? No, be honest - you are seeking to prop up your terrorist thugs before they are completely cut off in Syria. See: Race to Raqqa: A battle the Syrian Army must win

NATO Cold War 2.0: Turkish aggression given a free hand? Sputnik 2016-02-12 13:51:00 NATO's latest initiative - a buildup in Eastern Europe which officials have called "the most significant boost" to the alliance's military readiness "since the end of the Cold War," threatens to untie Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hands, Russian experts warn. Following a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance would significantly strengthen its eastern flank, and increase its presence in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas. The buildup, the official added, would include increased air and naval patrols, increased exercises, and "more boots on the ground with more exercises and troops," together amounting to "the most significant boost to our collective defense since the end of the Cold War." Commenting on the new NATO buildup for Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Retired Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, the president of the Academy of Geopolitical Affairs, said that NATO's expansion is entirely in line with Washington's national security strategy, which names Russia as the primary obstacle to the preservation of a unipolar world led by the United States. "We need to start from the national security strategy and military doctrine of the United States, adopted in 2015," Ivashov suggested. "There Washington set the vector for the actions of all of its satellites and allies, and declared that there would be no multipolar world. Banking on military power to consolidate the existing world order, [the strategy also] announced Russia to be the main enemy and a threat to the entire world." It is in accordance with this strategy that Washington's NATO allies are forced to act, the military analyst suggested.

Comment: Whether Erdogan's hands become untied is not the big question. The US/NATO alliance is systematically dismantling the Middle East. Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests, and uninvited military interference has become the norm. The result is a deterioration of political, military, societal and financial stability...with or without the likes of Erdogan. Does anybody truly want a unipolar world run by the USA?

Kiev crazies still unwilling to implement Minsk agreements - Europe finally losing patience with them Sputnik 2016-02-13 11:14:00 Paris and Berlin are seriously concerned about Kiev's unwillingness to adhere to the Minsk peace agreements on eastern Ukraine, according to the French newspaper Le Monde. Kiev has failed to take steps to implement the Minsk peace agreements on eastern Ukraine, which continues to alarm Paris and Berlin. The countries' leaders remain doubtful regarding the implementation of the accords, the French newspaper Le Monde said, citing a senior French official. According to the newspaper, this skepticism stems from the behavior of Ukrainian politicians, who had earlier played the role of "good students." Le Monde quoted the official as saying that the situation remains the EU's main concern, and "in the short term there is no reason for optimism in the matter."

Comment: So people in the West are finally admitting that it is not Russia disregarding the Minsk agreements, but Kiev. Looks like Paris and Berlin are beginning to regret throwing in their lot with the US empire and its pro-Nazi puppets currently playing "government" in Kiev. To say that the current Ukrainian government is an 'unreliable partner' is a profound understatement, and all logic says that Europe would do well to disassociate from these mad men and instead form closer relations with Russia. Will they see which way the wind is blowing?

Society's Child

Teen loses an arm in botched Craigslist robbery Cristopher Brito, Rick Boone and Myles Miller Pix11 2016-02-12 21:45:00 A robbery victim, who decided to take the law into his own hands by mowing down an armed teen thief, severing his right arm, is now in handcuffs himself, police said. Police arrested the robbery victim, Philip Pierre, 39, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn, and charged him with attempted murder. The alleged teen thief, Zachary Sam, 17, also of Canarsie, Brooklyn, was charged with robbery and criminal possession of a weapon in the Craigslist robbery gone wrong. Both were charged on Friday. Police sources say the teenager connected with Pierre on Craigslist on Friday. Pierre was selling a pair of Air Jordan sneakers. They met about 1 p.m. near Avenue M and East 84th Street in Canarsie, where Sam got into Pierre's Honda Pilot SUV and pulled out a gun, a police source said. The teen allegedly stole the Jordan Retro 8 sneakers and walked away.

Comment: The driver's life was no longer in danger once the teen left the vehicle. Running him over was an act of retribution.

Snyder invites himself to speak before Congress, releases 20,000 emails concerning Flint water crisis RT 2016-02-13 03:04:00 Michigan Governor Rick Snyder (R) invited himself to speak before the House Oversight Committee concerning the Flint water crisis amidst the release of over 20,000 emails from various state agencies involved in the failure to prevent lead contamination. A Thursday phone call to congressional committee chairman Representative Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) led to Governor Snyder being confirmed on Friday for a future hearing. He will sit alongside US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy, though no date has yet been set. "The people of Flint have suffered because they were failed by all levels of government, and so it is understandable that there are questions at all levels of government," Snyder said in a press release. He also expressed the intention to help other cities facing similar risks of water poisoning.

Comment: See also: Activist called to court for Flint water crisis Facebook post; 'threatening behavior' cited The crisis in Flint is about more than water

NYPD cop convicted for killing unarmed father of two as he walked home Andrew Emett The Free Thought Project 2016-02-12 19:13:00 After fatally shooting an unarmed innocent man in a dimly lit stairwell, NYPD Officer Peter Liang was convicted of manslaughter and official misconduct after killing the man for no reason and making no attempt to help the dying father of two young girls. Instead of administering CPR or requesting an ambulance, Liang bickered with his partner and whined about possibly losing his job. On November 20, 2014, NYPD officers Peter Liang and Shaun Landau were conducting patrols on the upper floors of the Louis H. Pink housing project in Brooklyn even though Deputy Inspector Miguel Iglesias had ordered them not to conduct vertical patrols inside the building. Liang initially reported opening the door to the stairwell with the same hand holding his Glock .9mm pistol. Instead of opening the door with his right hand, which held his flashlight, Liang claimed he accidentally fired a shot that ricocheted off the wall and into Akai Gurley's chest. "They didn't identify themselves," recalled Gurley's girlfriend, Melissa Butler. "No nothing. They didn't give no explanation. They just pulled a gun and shot him in the chest." Standing on the floor below them, Gurley staggered down to the fifth floor where he collapsed. Melissa Butler ran to an apartment to ask for help and called 911. As the operator instructed Butler to administer first aid until the paramedics arrived, Liang and Landau remained in the stairwell texting their union rep instead of immediately calling in the shooting or requesting an ambulance. "It was an accident," Liang whimpered to his partner. "I'm gonna get fired." Gurley was transported to Brookdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officers Liang and Landau were taken to a separate hospital for treatment of tinnitus. Liang was placed on administrative duty following the incident. "There was absolutely no threat to him, his partner or any resident," stated Assistant District Attorney Mark Fliedner. "He mishandled his weapon, and as a result Akai Gurley is dead."

Comment: The NYPD obviously engages in rampant misconduct and brutality. Up to this point, it has been allowed. We hope this cop ends up being sentenced for murdering an innocent man, but we aren't holding our breath. See also: Undercover NYPD cop kills bystander after shooting at suspect holding fake gun American Police State: Two bystanders shot and wounded by NYPD officers who opened fire onmentally disturbed suspect in crowded Times Square NYPD officer charged with 40 counts of sexually abusing teenage girl NYPD brutally beat man, pin him to floor during arrest; angry crowd gathers in protest Horrifying: Woman held in psyche ward and drugged for 8 days because NYPD didn't believe she owned BMW NYPD beat autistic teen in front of home without cause NYPD cops busted again for planting evidence and inventing informants Five cases demonstrative of NYPD brutality without repercussions

Oh, the irony! UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt launches doctors' morale review... while imposing deeply unpopular contracts RT 2016-02-12 17:20:00 Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been ridiculed for announcing a government review into the morale of junior doctors on the same day he said a new, deeply unpopular contract would be forced upon them. Hunt told the House of Commons the review will look at doctors' quality of life and well-being, including inflexibility around annual leave, separation from family members and lack of notice about hospital placements a long way from home. The health secretary said he discovered "deep - seated issues relating to junior doctors' morale" during negotiations with doctors' union the British Medical Association (BMA). Twitter users were quick to mock Hunt, who appears to be unaware of the irony of his statements. So NOW Jeremy Hunt orders enquiry into Doctor's morale.Three words Jeremy:1. Stable door2. Horse3. Bolted pic.twitter.com/EozTdBBp1X — Dr Jez Phillips (@drjezphillips) February 12, 2016

Comment: Grinding down the people: UK Govt to impose contract on junior doctors

America's sick "love affair" with nuclear & radioactive weapons Ulson Gunnar journal-neo.org 2016-02-12 18:19:00 The United States would have the world believe that it is in mortal danger should nations like Iran or North Korea obtain operationally effective nuclear weapons. We are told that there is a grave risk of these weapons being used against another nation and that the US (with the support of the "international community") must confront these government, and if possible undermine and overthrow them. Why? Since a nation has already used nuclear weapons against another state, ironically enough that nation being the United States itself, we already know the devastating effects of nuclear weapons. Besides the immense, indiscriminate initial blast, nuclear weapons also produce a persistent radioactive threat amid the fallout afterwards.

Stay put! The government does not want you taking to the hills in face of disaster Aaron Dykes Truthstream Media 2016-02-13 18:22:00 If there is a major crisis - from an economic collapse, to a terror attack, natural disaster or mass civil unrest - your first thought may be to escape the city and retreat to the safety of your hideaway shelter in the countryside. But that's exactly what the collectivist government DOESN'T want you to do. Instead, they want you to line up and join the masses at overcrowded FEMA camps and public shelters... and hope for the best. Propaganda films during the atomic age were heavy on the scare tactics, but this one made clear that self-reliance and prepper-minded individuals are going too far against society - and should be regarded as "deserters" and "treasonous" if they don't stay put in their cities, follow orders and show up for their job.

Science's Pirate Bay: Researcher "illegally" shares millions of science papers free online to spread knowledge Fiona MacDonald Science Alert 2016-02-13 14:55:00 Welcome to the Pirate Bay of science. A researcher in Russia has made more than 48 million journal articles - almost every single peer-reviewed paper every published - freely available online. And she's now refusing to shut the site down, despite a court injunction and a lawsuit from Elsevier, one of the world's biggest publishers. For those of you who aren't already using it, the site in question is Sci-Hub, and it's sort of like a Pirate Bay of the science world. It was established in 2011 by neuroscientist Alexandra Elbakyan, who was frustrated that she couldn't afford to access the articles needed for her research, and it's since gone viral, with hundreds of thousands of papers being downloaded daily. But at the end of last year, the site was ordered to be taken down by a New York district court - a ruling that Elbakyan has decided to fight, triggering a debate over who really owns science.  "Payment of $32 is just insane when you need to skim or read tens or hundreds of these papers to do research. I obtained these papers by pirating them," Elbakyan told Torrent Freak last year."Everyone should have access to knowledge regardless of their income or affiliation. And that's absolutely legal."

Comment: Kudos to Ms.Elbakyan for holding up the true spirit of scientific research! Some additional links related to the above story: http://bigthink.com/neurobonkers/a-pirate-bay-for-science https://torrentfreak.com/sci-hub-tears-down-academias-illegal-copyright-paywalls-150627/ http://sci-hub.io/ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/apr/24/harvard-university-journal-publishers-prices http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v426/n6964/full/426217a.html https://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/apr/09/frustrated-blogpost-boycott-scientific-journals https://gowers.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/elsevier-my-part-in-its-downfall/ http://thecostofknowledge.com/ http://oad.simmons.edu/oadwiki/Journal_declarations_of_independence

Tepco admits Fukushima clean-up could take up to 40 years to complete Joseph Jankowski Activist Post 2016-02-11 00:00:00 The clean up of Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which suffered catastrophic damage after an earthquake and tsunami in 2011, may take up to 40 years to complete. Tokyo Power Electric Company (TEPCO), the utility company that runs the now damaged plant, has been a victim of harsh scrutiny over the clean-up process due to ridiculous stunts like using adhesive tape to perform repairs and the flow of reports detailing the dumping of radioactive waste water into the ocean. According to TEPCO official, Akira Ono, the decommission process has been painfully slow but is moving forward. "If I may put this in terms of mountain climbing, we've just passed the first station on a mountain of 10 stations," said Akira Ono, who heads the Fukushima plant.

Comment: Fukushima disaster just keeps getting uglier and uglier

Criminal gangs using 'pop-up' brothels to exploit young trafficked refugees RT 2016-02-12 12:56:00 Criminal syndicates have set up "pop-up brothels" across North West England and are trafficking young refugees to the region to exploit as illegal sex workers, it has emerged. Human traffickers are using guest houses and hotels in Barrow and around the South Lakes as ramshackle brothels that offer access to prostitutes over the course of weekend stays, local police say. Reports have surfaced of temporary brothels in the market town of Kendal near the Lake District. Police have also shut down three call houses in hotels in Barrow. The crime gangs reportedly block-book accommodation for weekends in picturesque parts of Cumbria and bring sex workers from Liverpool or Manchester. They then advertise online, and the prostitutes are visited by multiple men over several days. Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Nick Coughlan of Cumbria Police says the majority of the women involved are victims of sex trafficking. "What we often find is there will be a booking made online through a reputable website," he told the Guardian. "They will then turn up and pay with cash rather than credit or debit cards, which are traceable. They won't arrive as a gang - often the men will come in on their own at first. "If it's a pop-up brothel, then two or three girls will be brought up, sometimes by men, sometimes by older women." One lady in Barrow said she was surprised when she discovered prostitutes were making use of her guest house. The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, told the North-West Evening Mail that she carefully examined CCTV footage at her property and uncovered images of local men paying regular visits to the prostitutes. Women forced to work as sex slaves in pop-up brothels in Barrow and across the South Lakes via @NWEMlive https://t.co/Rn64UzQoPt — HumanTraffickingFdn (@HumanTraffFdn) February 12, 2016

Comment: What a sickening exploitation of a despairing situation created by a global psychopathic system where human beings are treated no better than cattle.

Syria's Sunnis reject jihadism: The West supports sectarian divisions Alexander Mercouris Russia Insider 2016-02-13 13:43:00 Since the start of the Russian military intervention in Syria, two arguments have been made by its critics. The first is that the Russian military intervention will ultimately fail because Russia is backing the side that is certain eventually to lose. The argument is that the Syrian government - which Russia is supporting - is a minority sectarian Alawite regime, which is heavily outnumbered by Syria's Sunni majority, who oppose it and who will in time overwhelm it. The second is that by destroying the "moderate" opposition Russia is leaving Syria's Sunnis with no option other than to turn to the Islamic State. The argument goes that the Alawite sectarian nature of the Syrian government and its supposed brutality towards the Sunnis means the Sunnis will never accept it. If left with no other choice the Sunnis will look to the Islamic State to protect them from it.

Liberating Aleppo: Journalists describe a city terrorized by 'rebels', looted by Turkey, & ignored by the media Sputnik 2016-02-13 13:20:00 The Syrian Army offensive to liberate the city of Aleppo and its surrounding province continues; RT Syria correspondent Murad Gazdiev returned home to share his impressions about the situation on the ground there, the city's history before the war, and its fate since the ill-fated Arab Spring uprisings of 2011. "Before the civil war began," Gazdiev recalled, "Aleppo was Syria's largest city [population 2.3 million]. It is really something of a mixing pot; you had all sorts living together there - Assyrians, Kurds, Arabs, Armenians, Turks, all living together peacefully." Before the war, the city's ancient splendor and cultural diversity made it a source "of hundreds of thousands of tourists; there was also business, industry, finance, jobs - it was a bustling metropolis. And then of course, the civil war began..."

Comment: Further reading: How the "Arab Spring" went from spontaneous uprising to orchestrated slaughter

Fighting the globalists through decentralization Joachim Hagopian Sott.net 2016-02-13 00:00:00 The world's in a heap of dung right now. Few but the most oblivious amongst us would dare disagree. But observers who look beyond the feeble, destabilizing machinations of such geopolitics chessboard pawns as Obama, Hillary, Kerry and the neocon players at the helm of US Empire folly, recognize that all this diabolically created chaos and destruction tearing our planet apart are mere consequences of following the Western ruling elite's marching orders. A handful of prominent banking families for over three centuries aka the Rothschilds joined over a century ago by the nouveau riche Standard Oil Rockefellers and other longtime central banking cabal families like English and Dutch royalty have all tightly controlled modern civilization under their twisted thumb at every brutal turn. To this very day they've singlehandedly plotted, bankrolled, initiated and waged every major war, caused every major economic crash, bled the earth near dry of precious natural resources driven perniciously by fossil fuel addiction, owned all Fortune 500 transnational corporations and hijacked and controlled virtually every national government. With complete impunity their nonstop planetary raping and plundering of this ravaged earth precariously teeters humanity today on the brink of total self-annihilation. Their crumbling, Ponzi-schemed, debt-based, house of cards economy is about ready to self-implode and collapse, plunging the global economy into unprecedented turmoil and violent convulsions the likes of which none of us alive have ever witnessed before. This sad and tragic, very bleak world forecast is the shared consensus of not only many so called leading economists and financial experts, at least the honest ones apart from the scripted MSM propagandist liars, but also the vast majority of evidence-based geopolitical and military analysts as well. But before going out and immediately throwing yourself under the nearest oncoming bus, it may not be too late to invest some lifesaving time and money in implementing a rudimentary survival plan for you and your family to utilize before that oncoming bus called the grim reaper enforces the "won't get out of this world alive" rule. A daily food and water supply for long-term sustenance may be the first item on any would-be prepper's to-do list. Stock up on canned goods, beans and rice and everyday staples. This all-important strategic plan may be individualized to fit your needs at the family level or even better be expanded to include your neighborhood-community. Since safety in numbers comes straight out of any sports, military or survivalist playbook, the latter plan together with your individual family plan is the best, most ideal option. Comment: Indeed. See SOTT's recommendations for this: Are you prepping your diet?

Huge fire and explosions rock high-rise in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana RT 2016-02-13 01:16:00 An 88-story tower still under construction in Kazakhstan's capital, Astana, was engulfed in a massive blaze early on Saturday. Amateur footage showed the high-rise, dubbed Abu Dhabi Plaza, lit up like an enormous torch. The fire started on the 25th floor early on Saturday morning. Some 120 people were evacuated from the scene, but no deaths or injuries have been reported, the Emergency Situations Ministry's official representative Ruslan Imankulov told RIA Novosti. The fire was localized some four hours after emergency crew were dispatched. Diesel heat generators actually caused the spectacular blaze, according to Imankulov. An earlier theory blaming a gas cylinder explosion was not confirmed. Dozens of firefighters in nearly 20 vehicles have rushed to the scene. Several firefighting units are battling the blaze, struggling to get the fire under control, and at least 60 first responders have been deployed, RIA Novosti reported.

Comment: A couple of days ago a lightning strike sparked a huge explosion at steelworks in Port Talbot, Wales; while in New Jersey a massive warehouse fire burned out of control for nearly 20 hours. See also: SOTT Exclusive: More mysterious high-rise building explosions - is there a 'cosmic' source of ignition?

Another shoe containing human foot washes up in Pacific Northwest coast; 16 feet since 2007 RT 2016-02-13 00:04:00 Nearly a week ago, a severed foot inside a shoe was found on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada, making a total of at least 16 such grisly discoveries along the Pacific Northwest shoreline since 2007. The latest was found by a family walking along the beach at Vancouver Island, according to CBC. Charlotte Stephens said her husband came across the foot, the 13th washed up in British Columbia, during a stroll along Botanical Beach. "He picked it up and brought it out on to the beach, and we had a look at it for about five minutes and we thought, it almost looks like there is an actual foot bone in it," she said. The British Columbia Coroners Service said the foot belonged to a human and law enforcement is trying to determine its source. Regional coroner Matt Brown said that the brand of shoe on the foot had not been available until about March of 2013. "So I think it's fair to say we are looking for someone gone missing from March 2013 and December 2015," he said. The severed foot is the 16th to be discovered on the shores of British Columbia or Washington state since 2007, according to the Washington Post, which cited various reports of such encounters. Most of them have been right feet, it has been reported, while all shoes were some kind of running or hiking footwear. While the ultimate explanation is unknown - theories range from organized crime, human trafficking or other foul play, to suicides or a plane crash - some experts say the severed feet are the result of the bodies being under water for long periods of time, in which case extremities will fall off first.

Israel STILL keeping detained Palestinian kids in outdoor cages in winter: Rights group American Herald Tribune 2016-01-08 22:35:00 Following a November 2015 report by the Independent, in which it quoted NGO rights organization the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) that at least 600 Palestinian children have been arrested in Jerusalem alone in the first half of 2015 and that roughly 40% were sexually abused, a new January 2016 report was also issued by the Independent, this time saying that the Israeli government is torturing children and keeping them in outdoor cages during winter time. The Independent cited a report published by The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI) saying that "children accused of minor crimes were subject to public caging, threats and acts of sexual violence and military trials without representation." Upon a visit by Israel's Public Defender's Office (PDO) lawyers, shocking details of happenings in the detention facility was uncovered. "During our visit, held during a fierce storm that hit the state, attorneys met detainees who described to them a shocking picture: in the middle of the night dozens of detainees were transferred to the external iron cages built outside the IPS transition facility in Ramla," the PDO described the scene on its website. "It turns out that this procedure, under which prisoners waited outside in cages, lasted for several months, and was verified by other officials."

Comment: Israel's barbarity has been reported before and supposedly stopped. 'Children in cages': Human rights group accuses Israel of torture This latest report shows caging children is still practiced. Israel has long been known for its horrendous treatment of Palestinian children, but has never been called to account for it. Sexual abuse against Palestinian child detainees reported Israel subjecting Palestinian children to 'spiral of injustice' United Nations report slams Israel over child prostitution epidemic again

Secret History

Gruesome inventions used in torture, execution, war and medicine Daily Mail, UK 2016-02-13 19:40:00 From brutal torture devices to bizarre medical treatments, these terrifying contraptions reveal a darker side to innovation. They show how inventors throughout history have put their skills and intellects to use in horrifying ways, creating contraptions that have caused unimaginable suffering. The feature, first published in How It Works magazine, highlights some heinous inventions used in torture, war and medicine. In the past, a punishment much worse than a long prison sentence awaited criminals. From boiling people alive to sawing them in half, execution methods were often developed to be as cruel as possible and these gruesome events were usually carried out in public to deter others from following in the footsteps of the accused. Even if people weren't sentenced to death, there were plenty of ghastly implements that could be used to torture them. Typically used to extract a confession or information about accomplices, torture was popular in medieval times, with the screams of victims echoing from castle dungeons across Europe. War has also inspired a wide selection of horrific innovations. While guns and bombs were designed to kill instantly, chemical weapons could draw out death for several agonising days - thankfully, this form of warfare is now prohibited. We are also lucky that some medical devices from history are no longer used. Despite being designed with good intentions, many medieval procedures were truly stomach-churning, making a trip to the doctor quite the ordeal. Cruel Methods Of Execution One of the most brutal methods of execution ever created took the form of a hollow bull statue.Invented in ancient Greece by Perillus, a bronze worker in Athens, it was given as a gift to a cruel tyrant named Phalaris of Agrigentum.As well as roasting criminals alive, the device also doubled as a musical instrument, converting the victim's desperate cries into what Perillus described as 'the tenderest, most pathetic, most melodious of bellowings'.

Science & Technology

Think big! Meet the Robin Hood of science Simon Oxenham Big Think 2016-02-12 17:29:00 The tale of how one researcher has made nearly every scientific paper ever published available for free to anyone, anywhere in the world. On the evening of November 9th, 1989, the Cold War came to a dramatic end with the fall of the Berlin Wall. Four years ago another wall began to crumble, a wall that arguably has as much impact on the world as the wall that divided East and West Germany. The wall in question is the network of paywalls that cuts off tens of thousands of students and researchers around the world, at institutions that can't afford expensive journal subscriptions, from accessing scientific research. On September 5th, 2011, Alexandra Elbakyan, a researcher from Kazakhstan, created Sci-Hub, a website that bypasses journal paywalls, illegally providing access to nearly every scientific paper ever published immediately to anyone who wants it. The website works in two stages, firstly by attempting to download a copy from the LibGen database of pirated content, which opened its doors to academic papers in 2012 and now contains over 48 million scientific papers. The ingenious part of the system is that if LibGen does not already have a copy of the paper, Sci-hub bypasses the journal paywall in real time by using access keys donated by academics lucky enough to study at institutions with an adequate range of subscriptions. This allows Sci-Hub to route the user straight to the paper through publishers such as JSTOR, Springer, Sage, and Elsevier.After delivering the paper to the user within seconds, Sci-Hub donates a copy of the paper to LibGen for good measure, where it will be stored forever, accessible by everyone and anyone. This was a game changer. Before September 2011, there was no way for people to freely access paywalled research en masse; researchers like Elbakyan were out in the cold. Sci-Hub is the first website to offer this service and now makes the process as simple as the click of a single button. As the number of papers in the LibGen database expands, the frequency with which Sci-Hub has to dip into publishers' repositories falls and consequently the risk of Sci-Hub triggering its alarm bells becomes ever smaller. Elbakyan explains, "We have already downloaded most paywalled articles to the library ... we have almost everything!" This may well be no exaggeration. Elsevier, one of the most prolific and controversial scientific publishers in the world, recently alleged in court that Sci-Hub is currently harvesting Elsevier content at a rate of thousands of papers per day. Elbakyan puts the number of papers downloaded from various publishers through Sci-Hub in the range of hundreds of thousands per day, delivered to a running total of over 19 million visitors.

City dwellers might want to open a window: Walls of our homes act as traps for human bacteria Lauran Neergaard Phys.org 2016-02-12 00:00:00 Whether it's a jungle hut or a high-rise apartment, your home is covered in bacteria, and new research from the Amazon suggests city dwellers might want to open a window. Scientists traveled from remote villages in Peru to a large Brazilian city to begin tracking the effects of urbanization on the diversity of bacteria in people's homes. It's a small first step in a larger quest—understanding how different environmental bugs help shape what's called our microbiome, the trillions of bacteria that share our bodies and play a critical role in our health. "Very little is known about the microbes of the built environment," microbiologist Maria Gloria Dominguez-Bello of New York University, who led the pilot study, said at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Her team found that as people living in the Amazon rainforest become more urbanized, the kinds of bacteria in their homes change from the bugs mostly found in nature to those that typically live on people, she reported Friday.

Comment: Lack of adequate ventilation also increases the toxicity of the products in our homes: Hidden Toxins in the Home and Workplace Indoor air pollution impacts the function of our brains

Rare supernova 'impostor' found in nearby galaxy James Urton University of Washington 2016-02-12 22:32:00 Breanna Binder, a University of Washington postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy and lecturer in the School of STEM at UW Bothell, spends her days pondering X-rays. As she and her colleagues report in a new paper published Feb. 12 in the Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, they recently solved a mystery involving X-rays — a case of X-rays present when they shouldn't have been. This mystery's unusual main character — a star that is pretending to be a supernova — illustrates the importance of being in the right place at the right time. Such was the case in May 2010 when an amateur South African astronomer pointed his telescope toward NGC300, a nearby galaxy. He discovered what appeared to be a supernova — a massive star ending its life in a blaze of glory. "Most supernovae are visible for a short time and then — over a matter of weeks — fade from view," said Binder. After a star explodes as a supernova, it usually leaves behind either a black hole or what's called a neutron star — the collapsed, high-density core of the former star. Neither should be visible to Earth after a few weeks. But this supernova — SN 2010da — still was. "SN 2010da is what we call a 'supernova impostor' — something initially thought to be a supernova based on a bright emission of light, but later to be shown as a massive star that for some reason is showing this enormous flare of activity," said Binder. Many supernova impostors appear to be massive stars in a binary system — two stars in orbit of one another. Stellar astrophysicists think that the impostor's occasional flare-ups might be due to perturbations from its neighbor. For SN 2010da, the story appeared to be over until September 2010 — four months after it was confirmed as an impostor — when Binder pointed NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory toward NGC300 and found something unexpected. "There was just this massive amount of X-rays coming from SN 2010da, which you should not see coming from a supernova impostor," she said.

New form of frozen water discovered? Eureka Alert 2016-02-12 22:21:00 Amid the season known for transforming Nebraska into an outdoor ice rink, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln-led research team has predicted a new molecular form of the slippery stuff that even Mother Nature has never borne. The proposed ice, which the researchers describe in a Feb. 12, 2016 study in the journal Science Advances, would be about 25 percent less dense than a record-low form synthesized by a European team in 2014. If the ice can be synthesized, it would become the 18th known crystalline form of water -- and the first discovered in the United States since before World War II. "We performed a lot of calculations (focused on) whether this is not just a low-density ice, but perhaps the lowest-density ice to date," said Xiao Cheng Zeng, an Ameritas University Professor of chemistry who co-authored the study. "A lot of people are interested in predicting a new ice structure beyond the state of the art." This newest finding represents the latest in a long line of ice-related research from Zeng, who previously discovered a two-dimensional "Nebraska Ice" that contracts rather than expands when frozen under certain conditions. Zeng's newest study, which was co-led by Dalian University of Technology's Jijun Zhao, used a computational algorithm and molecular simulation to determine the ranges of extreme pressure and temperature under which water would freeze into the predicted configuration. That configuration takes the form of a clathrate -- essentially a series of water molecules that form an interlocking cage-like structure.

Earth Changes

Researchers estimate 150,000 Adelie penguins have died after being landlocked by colossal iceberg in Antarctica William Watkins International Business Times 2016-02-13 12:57:00 An estimated 150,000 Adelie penguins living in Antarctica have died after a huge iceberg the size of Luxemburg became lodged near their colony. The grounding of the colossal iceberg in Cape Denison in Commonwealth Bay left the colony effectively landlocked. This meant the mid-sized penguins, that range from 46cm-71 cm (18in-28in), had to trek 60km to the sea to feed on their favoured krill. Their habitat used to sit on the edge of a large expanse of open water but in 2010 a massive iceberg measuring 2,900km sq became lodged in the bay, rendering the colony of Penguins landlocked. In the last five years the colony was dwindled in size, as the perilous journey has claimed the lives of 150,000 of the penguins, according to research carried out by the Climate Change Research Centre at Australia's University of New South Wales. And scientists warned that the colony is set to disappear in just 20 years unless the sea ice breaks up or the iceberg, named B09B, becomes dislodged. Researchers in an article in Antarctic Science said: "The arrival of iceberg B09B in Commonwealth Bay, East Antarctica, and subsequent fast ice expansion has dramatically increased the distance Adélie penguins breeding at Cape Denison must travel in search of food. "The Cape Denison population could be extirpated within 20 years unless B09B relocates or the now perennial fast ice within the bay breaks out. This has provided a natural experiment to investigate the impact of iceberg stranding events and sea ice expansion along the East Antarctic coast." But all is not lost, a study of another colony of Adelie penguins located just 8km from the coast of Commonwealth Bay is thriving, the researchers said. And new findings from other studies suggest that between the last ice age through to 1,000 years ago, some species of penguins have benefited from climate warming and retreating ice.

Dead whale calf found off Samaná, Dominican Republic was 'stillborn' Dominican Today 2016-02-13 19:13:00 A whale calf was found dead Friday in the waters of the Cabo Samaná Natural Monument, where according to the Environment Ministry was apparently stillborn. In a statement, Environment said a preliminary report on the dead whale's condition showed that people weren't involved. Moreover, the 4.35-meter long calf didn't show visible signs of entanglement or bruises. "The calf was found dead floating on the water next to the monument of Talanquera, as confirmed by the provincial director and rangers from that district," the statement said. "Apparently, this whale was a few hours old since it still had the umbilical cord. It's normal during the humpback whales visitation season," said marine biologist Omar Reynoso, quoted byelcaribe.com.do.

5.1 magnitude earthquake rattles Oklahoma; third largest in state's history PAIGHTEN HARKINS Tulsa World 2016-02-13 11:32:00 The third largest earthquake in recorded state history rocked parts of western Oklahoma on Saturday morning near the site of other large, recent temblors. The quake registered a 5.1 magnitude and was recorded northwest of Fairview just after 11 a.m., according to preliminary estimates from the U.S. Geological Survey. A 3.9 aftershock followed the earthquake, according to the USGS. At 5.1, the temblor will be the state's third largest earthquake, according to Oklahoma Geological Survey data. The state's largest earthquake is a 5.6 recorded out of Prague in 2011. Saturday's quake surpassed a 4.8 recorded on Jan. 6 as this year's largest earthquake. Both the 4.8 and Saturday's 5.1 were centered near Fairview, according to USGS data.

Comment: Hundreds more earthquakes shake Oklahoma in 2015 setting new state record

Around 500 manatees crowd into a Florida spring to stay warm Charlotte Krol and AP Daily Telegraph 2016-02-13 18:19:00 Like most sensible creatures, manatees, the sea cows that live in the waters around the US state of Florida, seek warmth when it's cold. On Thursday morning, roughly 500 of the gentle, aquatic giants crowded into the Three Sisters Springs as temperatures along Florida's Gulf Coast dipped below 10 degrees Celsius.  The springs have been periodically closed to swimmers because of the large concentration of the endangered animals. But that hasn't stopped visitors from flocking to the boardwalk to gawk at the behemoths, which can weigh up to 590kgs. Manatees are very susceptible to cold weather. They can suffer hypothermia and cold stress and will eventually die if they are in water below 20 degrees Celsius.

Floods hit Dominican Republic and Haiti following 8 inches of rain in 24 hours Alessandro Masoero Floodlist 2016-02-13 16:36:00 Heavy rain affected the northern part of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola between 09 and 11 February 2016, resulting in flooding in parts of both Dominican Republic and Haiti. Dominican Republic After a long period of intense drought, Puerto Plata Province on the northern coast of Dominican Republic saw 216 mm of rain in 24 hours in Puerto Plata station, between 10 and 11 February 2016. According to local media, the San Marcos River and the Camú River overflowed, causing flooding in the municipalities of Puerto Plata, Montellano and Villa Isabela. Several houses are reported to be affected by local inundations in La Sabana, Las Cruces de Martín Alonso, Tasajera, Estrecho Abajo, El Estrecho, Ranchito de los Vargas communities. The country's Operational Centre for Emergencies (Centro de Operaciones de Emergencias - COE)declared, on 11 February, an alert for possible flash-floods and landslides in the Puerto Plata, Montecristi, Dajabon, Santiago Rodríguez and Valverde Provinces. As many as 15,000 people were evacuated after severe floods struck in the Dominican Republic in February 2015.

Costa Rica: Frost covers Irazú volcano in the middle of summer Ruta Alterna 2016-02-13 15:33:00 This is how the Irazu Volcano National Park looks right now.

Comment: Frost in tropical Costa Rica in the middle of its summer? Nothing to see here folks, keep believing in global warming! Alternatively, you can have a look at these articles: Global Cooling is Here! Evidence for Predicting Global Cooling for the Next Three Decades Global warming? - Still no warming for 17 years 9 months Science Scandal of the Century

Sinkhole drains pond at golf course in The Villages, Florida Meta Minton Villages-News 2016-02-11 13:53:00 A sinkhole has drained a retention pond at Pimlico Executive Golf Course. Sam Wartinbee of District Property Management confirmed Thursday morning that a sinkhole, about eight feet across, caused the pond to drain. He said that work to fill in the sinkhole will be taking place but did not offer an immediate timeline. Birds were making the most of the situation, feasting on fish left at the bottom of the pond.

Series of earthquakes reported under Mount Rainier, Washington Kipp Robertson, kiro7.com 2016-02-12 13:36:00 A series of earthquakes were recorded under Mount Rainier Thursday morning. The Pacific Northwest Seismic Network reports a "little swarm of quakes" shook under the mountain for about 20 minutes. Yesterday morning, there was a little swarm of quakes under #MountRainier for 20 mins or so. https://t.co/IfDLt2iZye pic.twitter.com/vrxQgLLuwp — PNSN (@PNSN1) February 12, 2016 Don't read into the quakes too much. Earthquakes like that are fairly common, according to John Vidale of the Seismic Network. They don't signify much, he says. "Those swarms probably appear several times a year," he added. The stronger shaking occurred at 3:41 a.m. when a 1.45-magnitude quake was recorded.

Fire in the Sky

Strange light, loud boom in Queensland could have been meteorite Crystal Jones and Emma Reid News Mail 2016-02-10 12:04:00 People from across Queensland have taken to social media to describe what they say was a bright light accompanied by a boom sound. "Was rumbling for a good five minutes before I went outside," said Bundaberg's Jamie-lee Doorey. "Was walking back from shed, heard something from the sky as I looked up something seemed to have exploded, sparks went in three different directions. "I've seen plenty shooting stars, this was not one, or it was huge. The rumbling continued for a couple of minutes, nothing since." Margie Ryan, also from Bundaberg, said she was left puzzled by the sighting. "Was inside. Saw bright flash outside. About one minute later, heard a loud bang like a clap of thunder which shook the house a bit," she said. "Checked the BoM, no storm, clear sky, so posted on Facebook." Gladstone's Rory Henricks said he thought he saw a plane in the sky "shooting fireworks out of its rear". He said at 9.20pm on Tuesday, he was riding from town to Calliope and about halfway saw the object for a second. "Nothing, then several circular firework explosions in a line behind it, then nothing again," he said. "I flipped my visor up to have a look around, I saw some pilot lights but lost track of it. Was moving really fast and appeared to have jet engines under each wing. "I'm pretty cynical but if it wasn't a UFO it seems like someone was trying to appear like one." Charlene Kelly Maree said she heard people had seen the object in Gladstone, while Carissa Less Hansen said she witnessed it. "Saw it in Maryborough, Queensland, but didn't hear the noise," she said. Dell Holdings said she saw a flash but thought it was lightening. "It woke me from my sleep, no noise," she said.

Health & Wellness

Oklahoma man's tests negates smart meter safety claims Catherine J. Frompovich Activist Post 2016-02-13 18:36:00 All around the USA, Canada, the EU and other countries, utility companies are employing "no-option enforcements," along with threats of disconnecting and interruption of utility services, for refusing retrofitting safe analog meters for electric, natural gas and water utilities with EMF-RF-microwave-emitting, health-damaging (Non-thermal adverse health effects) AMI Smart Meters. [1] Utility companies' lobbyists and public relations campaigns regarding AMI Smart Meters apparently cite safety statistics and information that say, "cell phones are astronomically bad and Smart Meters are next to nothing," as found in the PSO of Oklahoma trifold brochure explaining Smart Meters. One determined Owasso, Oklahoma, resident, Mr. Joe Esposito, took it upon himself to perform a test to challenge PSO's trifold brochure statistics regarding AMI Smart Meter safety, after listening to Dr. Dietrick Klinghardt, MD, [2] discussing health concerns from Smart Meter EMF-RF exposure.

The effectiveness of Homeopathy: Warts and all Larry Malerba, DO Greenmedinfo.com 2016-01-26 18:00:00 If homeopathy proves one thing, it's that no illness is local. Not even a wart. Let's begin with a few case histories that illustrate this concept and highlight the effectiveness of homeopathic treatment for warts. Case #1: I recall a case from early in my career as a homeopathic physician. A mother brought her young son to me for treatment of his warts. It was immediately apparent that the child was out of sorts. He was quite irritable and the mother acknowledged that this was nothing unusual. It was his typical ornery demeanor. I remember being unable to get a look at him because he refused to look at me. He averted his gaze and covered his face with his hands each time I tried to make eye contact. I asked the mother if he was sensitive to being touched. She confirmed that he disliked being touched and would often recoil when approached. With this information in hand, I prescribed a homeopathic remedy calledAntimonium crudum, which is a sulfide compound made from antimony, an element on the periodic table (Sb: Atomic number 51).

Sodium benzoate may preserve your food but not your life S. D. Wells Natural News 2016-02-12 18:02:00 You've seen the words a hundred times, but your brain may not have registered them, although your wallet did. It's often listed near the middle of the ingredients list on jars, cans and packaged foods, with one of the following phrases: "As a preservative," or "to preserve freshness." It's sodium benzoate, and it has the ability to not only stave off mold, bacteria, fungus and yeast in foods, but also to deprive human cells of oxygen, all while it breaks down the immune system and causes blood cancer. Synthesized in a laboratory using chemicals, the sodium benzoate listed on a food product label is not the same thing as benzoic acid, which is found naturally in low levels in many fruits. Derived from a reaction of combining benzoic acid with sodium hydroxide, sodium benzoate is actually the sodium salt of benzoic acid, and is a known carcinogenic additive, that gets transported to the liver, where it begins inflicting its damage first. At the cellular level, sodium benzoate deprives mitochondria of oxygen, sometimes completely shutting down the "power station" of your cells. It's programmed cell death, and when cells are deprived of oxygen, they cannot fight off infection, and that includes the infection known as cancer - the mutation and uncontrolled division of cells. Plus, when sodium benzoate is combined with vitamin C or E, benzene is formed, which is also a known carcinogen that causes leukemia.

Black swan events: Scientists have no idea how GMO proteins interact Jonathan Benson Natural News 2016-02-12 17:46:00 A basic premise of the official biotechnology narrative is that genetically-modified (GM) food crops contain genes that affect only specific proteins in isolation, and that the rest of the organism functions as normal and is substantially equivalent to its natural counterpart. But this is hardly the case, as the genetic blueprints of individual organisms are vastly complex and operate from a basis of interconnectedness rather than specificity, as is claimed by the biotech industry. An extensive, four-year research effort pioneered by the United States National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) proved this back in 2007, demonstrating that individual genes function much like the individual load-bearing beams in a house or other structure. Each one relies on all the others to hold the building up and keep it from collapsing - or in the case of organisms, to keep them functioning as they should.

Comment: These scientists are treating the world like one gigantic laboratory and the full ramifications of their hellish experiments remain to seen. Non-GMO Shopping Guide Top 10 Ways to Avoid GMOs

FDA wants to jail Amish man for selling herbal remedies Erin Elizabeth Healthnutnews.com 2016-02-11 17:22:00 Sam Girod, an Amish farmer from Kentucky, has been running his small business selling natural salves made from herbs such as chickweed (which seem to help relieve many skin conditions, including allergic rashes, psoriasis, poison oak and even skin cancers) for 15 years. He has no criminal record, is 56 years old and the father to 12 children and yet the FDA wants to put him in jail- for up to 48 years. Yet another story that I couldn't make up... A simple search on Amazon (I did this myself) will bring up pages of products using chickweed and may of those products contain testimonials from users about its benefits, even how it cured their skin cancer. BUT, the cancer industry is a profit machine and the FDA has been cracking down on people and businesses who use language to suggest cancer can be cured naturally. About 12 years ago, the FDA did just that with Sam- they went after him for stating that his salve for effective for skin cancer, so he removed "skin cancer" from the label and anything else it was on. He renamed his salve, "Chickweed Healing Salve".

Comment: Why Selling Natural Products is Such a Dangerous Business FDA Raids Herbal Distributor Over Cancer Remedies Thanks to the FDA you can say goodbye to medical Curcumin Alternative medicine crackdown: FDA pushing to regulate Homeopathy out of existence

Sleep and the circadian rhythm of life Peter Paul Parker Natural Blaze 2016-02-12 00:00:00 Not being able to fall asleep when you need to can be a frustrating experience. This is a spiralling problem as the more you become frustrated, the more you may become anxious, therefore your condition will be even more detrimental to falling asleep. There are many reasons for this. The human body is the most complex system we know of in the physical universe. As Eastern philosophies meet Western science, we can begin to understand the problems we are encountering and begin to heal them holistically. To fully understand the body we need to look at the three aspects of the body: the physical body, the energy body and the spiritual body, or consciousness. These three bodies are connected and are all important to well being and being able to sleep properly. The Chinese realised the importance of the energy body when they discovered the meridian lines across the body and the Indians realised this with the Chakra system. The Circadian rhythm - The rhythm of life Circadian rhythms are our natural rhythms which are physical, mental and behavioral. These rhythms follow a 24-hour cycle, approximately, responding to light and darkness in the environment. Research now shows that virtually all living organisms go through these cycles. The study of these rhythms is known as chronobiology.

Comment: For more information on the importance of quality sleep and techniques to overcome insomnia, see: The Health and Wellness Show - The Importance of Sleep Conquer insomnia for good Insomnia? How to fall asleep Are you a sleep deprived zombie?

Exposure to Monsanto's RoundUp linked to numerous health problems Alexis Baden-Mayer EcoWatch 2016-01-23 20:47:00 Monsanto invented the herbicide glyphosate and brought it to market under the trade name Roundup in 1974, after DDT was banned. But it wasn't until the late 1990s that the use of Roundup surged, thanks to Monsanto's ingenious marketing strategy. The strategy? Genetically engineer seeds to grow food crops that could tolerate high doses of Roundup. With the introduction of these new GE seeds, farmers could now easily control weeds on their corn, soy, cotton, canola, sugar beets and alfalfa crops—crops that thrived while the weeds around them were wiped out by Roundup. Eager to sell more of its flagship herbicide, Monsanto also encouraged farmers to use Roundup as a dessicant, to dry out all of their crops so they could harvest them faster. So Roundup is now routinely sprayed directly on a host of non-GMO crops, including wheat, barley, oats, canola, flax, peas, lentils, soybeans, dry beans and sugar cane.

Comment: It is obvious that the active ingredient in RoundUp, Glyphosate, is inflicting human miseryon a slow yet steady scale. While industry and government agencies studiously ignore that Monsanto's glyphosate is carcinogenic. Monsanto continues to deny, obscure and belittle the carcinogenicity of their evil product! Additional health problems attributed to the exposure of Roundup is not included in the list above, but should be noted because this evil product also messes with DNA: Monsanto's Roundup is Causing DNA Damage Research: Roundup Diluted by 450-Fold is Still Toxic to DNA Study shows: Lethality of Roundup 'weedkiller' extends beyond plants to humans

Science of the Spirit

Fungi funeral; Infinity mushroom 'death suit' provides eco-friendly alternative to caskets & cremation RT 2016-02-13 06:39:00 If you are looking for a radical new way to dispose of your body after death, look no further than mushrooms, says TED Fellow artist Jae Rhim Lee. Coming on the market this year, her "death suit" will allow bodies to decompose in an environmentally-friendly manner. The "death suit," which is actually a pyjamas-like suit containing colonies of specially selected fungi, offers an alternative option to burial or cremation and is also available for pets.

Comment: Affordable and environmentally friendly. A win-win solution for a natural burial.

8 overlooked survival skills that kept the Native Americans alive in a once thriving culture Off The Grid News 2015-11-25 09:30:00 I have a lot of respect for Native Americans — those who populated this land before the first European white man set foot on these shores. History rarely mentions it, but countless thousands of those Indians were killed by disease and carried in the boats of those early traders. But before that, the American Indian had a thriving culture, in tune with nature and appreciative of the beauty around them. Of all the cultures referred to as "primitive" by supposedly civilized society, this is the culture we know the most about. Yet at the same time, we know very little about them. Sadly, history and Hollywood has not treated the Native Americans fairly, portraying them as a barbaric culture, mostly responsible for attacking white settlers and committing atrocities on them.

Comment: Today we live in a disposable society where nothing is sacred, not the water we drink, nor the air we breathe. We have trashed our Mother Earth for too long and now she is responding. Time to bring on the comets.

Johns Hopkins study finds: Our brain sabotages all efforts at breaking bad habits rt 2016-02-13 16:32:00 It hardly comes as a surprise that we're our own worst enemies, but new research appears to conclusively prove that our brain is the biggest saboteur of success, and leads to self-deception on a grand scale. The culprit? Dopamine. As some may know, dopamine is the chemical that gives us pleasure whenever we receive a reward. So what if you promised yourself to start getting up earlier, or eating dinner at preset times? According to new research from Johns Hopkins University, none of this really matters, because the memory of something much sweeter always lingers in the brain. "We don't realize our past experience biases our attention to certain things," Professor Susan M. Courtney at the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences said.

Comment: Why waste time and energy thinking about 'a pharmaceutical way to address this chemical imbalance'?There are many alternative options for dealing with chemical imbalance and stimulating dopamine naturally: Healthy ways to increase your brain's dopamine levels Cognitive Training Can Alter the Biochemistry of the Brain Stimulating the vagus nerve: Memories are made of this The Neurobiology of Grace Under Pressure: 7 habits that stimulate your vagus nerve and keep you calm, cool, and collected New study: Rhodiola Rosea herb protects against viral infections Also known as arctic root or golden root, Rhodiola Rosea has already been clinically shown to stimulate serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine activity, and support healthy neurotransmitter balance, but human trials have now shown the the herb protects against viral infection. Listen to the Health & Wellness Show - Willpower

Giving is better: Helping others uniquely benefits mental and physical health Eurekalert 2016-02-11 00:00:00 Social support has well-known benefits for physical and mental health. But giving support -- rather than receiving it -- may have unique positive effects on key brain areas involved in stress and reward responses, suggests a study in Psychosomatic Medicine: Journal of Biobehavioral Medicine, the official journal of the American Psychosomatic Society. The journal is published by Wolters Kluwer. "These results add to an emerging literature suggesting that support giving is an overlooked contributor to how social support can benefit health," according to the report. The lead researchers were Tristen Inagaki, PhD, of University Pittsburgh and Naomi Eisenberger, PhD, of University of California, Los Angeles.

Comment: The power of kindness Helping others can alleviate your own pain and depression Helping others dampens the effects of everyday stress

High Strangeness

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Don't Panic! Lighten Up!

Nigerian astronaut lost in space needs $3m to get home Anorak 2016-02-06 21:03:00 The Anorak Inbox features this plea: Nigerian Astronaut is lost in space needs $3Million to come home Subject: Nigerian Astronaut Wants To Come Home Dr. Bakare Tunde Astronautics Project Manager National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) Plot 555 Misau Street PMB 437 Garki, Abuja, FCT NIGERIA Dear Mr. Sir, REQUEST FOR ASSISTANCE-STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL I am Dr. Bakare Tunde, the cousin of Nigerian Astronaut, Air Force Major Abacha Tunde. He was the first African in space when he made a secret flight to the Salyut 6 space station in 1979. He was on a later Soviet spaceflight, Soyuz T-16Z to the secret Soviet military space station Salyut 8T in 1989. He was stranded there in 1990 when the Soviet Union was dissolved. His other Soviet crew members returned to earth on the Soyuz T-16Z, but his place was taken up by return cargo. There have been occasional Progrez supply flights to keep him going since that time. He is in good humor, but wants to come home.