Egyik 19

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Magyarország
2017. III. 7. Mindenki a címe a közelmúltban Oscar-díjjal jutalmazott magyar rövidfilmnek. Egyetlen mondatba sűrítve, arról szól, hogy az emberek különbözők, sőt nem egyszerűen „csak” különbözők, hanem eltérő szellemi szinteken élnek, vagyis az emberi világban a képességek, készségek, tudások végtelen számú szinttel leírható szellemi hierarchiát alkotnak. De míg évezredeken át ezt természetesként fogadta el minden ember, a nyugati liberális demokrácia az elmúlt évszázad során kialakult rendszere az „egyenlőség” nevében tagadni igyekszik ezt. Ennek oka az, hogy a liberális demokrácia létberendezkedése automatikusan választójogot ad mindenkinek. Ám ez az „általános” választójog egyben arra a feltételezésre épül, hogy mindenki egyformán „kompetens” választópolgár, egyformán tökéletesen informált, tudásai, képességei, készségei egyformán kellően magas szintűek ahhoz, hogy a nagy „kórus” tagja lehessen, a film „nyelvén” szólva. Ha ez így lenne, akkor nem is volna szükség a „demokráciára”, hiszen, ha mindenki abszolút kompetens, akkor egyben tökéletesen tisztában is van a valóság minden, akár a legbonyolultabb összefüggésével is, és akkor minden vita nélkül mindenki mindenben egyetértene, így a „demokrácia” mint vitarendezési eljárásmód okafogyott, sőt értelmezhetetlen lenne. Ha esetleg mégsem így volna, mint ahogy valóban nincs is így, akkor hogyan lehetséges az, hogy az „egy személy egy szavazat” demokratikus alapelv szerint a közösség egymástól nagyon eltérő szellemi szinten álló tagjai mégis „egyenlő” módon hallathatják hangjukat a „kórusban”. Könnyű tehát belátni, hogy a liberális demokrácia itt feloldhatatlan csapdába kerül. Olyan feladatot kíván megoldani, amire valójában elvileg sem létezik megoldás, legfeljebb a megoldás valamilyen látszata. Az emberi különbözőség, a végtelen szellemi hierarchia legkülönbözőbb szintjein álló emberek egy „kórusba” szervezése, ahol mindenki „énekel”, olyan kihívás elé állítja a mindenkori „kórusvezetőket”, a „politikát”, amely kihívásnak az semmiképpen nem tudhat megfelelni. Így aztán többnyire az történik, ami a filmbeli konfliktushoz vezet. Ennek lényege, hogy mivel a világ a látványtechnikai „valóságra” épül, ezért úgy kell tennünk, mintha elhinnénk, hogy mindenki egyformán tökéletesen éneklő tagja lehetne a kórusnak, hisz a demokrácia szent dolog, senkit nem lehet megfosztani az egyenlő részvételtől. A gyengén éneklőket attól, hogy a kórus tagjai lehessenek, a jól éneklőket pedig attól, hogy – mivel úgyis csak az ő tökéletes hangjuk hallatszik, hisz a többiek csak tátognak – végre átélhessék a jogosan elvárt sikert, eljussanak a svédországi turnéra. (Egyébként így a gyengén éneklők is „jól járnak”, hisz a jól éneklőknek köszönhető sikerben, ha „passzívan” is, de ők is részesek lehetnek.) Ez a liberális demokrácia alaphazugsága, ami valójában automatikusan önmagát termeli újra nap mint nap. A filmben azonban egy váratlan fordulattal a kórus mindegyik tagja felmondja ezt a hamis és – kétségtelen, mind a jól, mind a gyengén éneklő kórustagok számára – megalázó (bár gyakorlatias szempontból nézve hasznos és látszólag sikeres) hamis alkut, és fellázad az alkut megtestesítő kórusvezető ellen.  A film alapfilozófiája mégiscsak a mai liberális demokráciát megalapozó „szabadság, egyenlőség, testvériség” hármas jelszó hamis mitológiáját próbálja piedesztálra emelni. (Forrás: MagyarHírlap)

2017. III. 3.  Óvatosan néztem meg az új Oscar-díjas kisfilmet, a Mindenkit. Az ember sosem tudhatja. Attól tartottam, hogy vagy egy rettenetesen mély szenvedés lesz a nácik poklában, vagy egy rémisztő magyar rémuralom látlelete… Saul fia után az utóbbinak volt nagyobb a valószínűsége. És be is jött. Saul fia után a Kodály-módszert fasiszta terrorral alkalmazó tanárnő fellázadt kórusa is diadalt aratott. Mindenki azt lát bele ebbe a 25 perces kisfilmbe, amit akar. Lehet nézni úgy, hogy egy jópofa geg a csattanó: a koncerten némán tátog az ország legjobb kórusa… Na hiszen, milyen ország lehet az! Hahaha! Lehet nézni a 68-as generáció szemüvegén keresztül, amikor is a konzervatív tanári terror ellen lázadó gyerekek a szabadság szellemét idézik meg: mennyivel szebben énekelnek, ha nincs vezetőjük! Ugye. És lehet nézni politikailag korrekt szemmel, hogy hát a tanárnő egy despota. Tömeget akar a kórusába (de mi a fenének? minden iskolába rengeteg gyerek jár, nem lehetett volna még válogatni?), és könyörtelenül hajtja őket a minőség felé. Ami nyilvánvalóan maga a fasizmus. Aki ugyanis vezényszóra szépen énekel – ezt az Oscar-díjas Mephisto óta tudjuk – az náci. Ettől csak úgy menekülhet meg, ha megtagadja a tanárát. Jelen sorok írójának szép és emlékezetes élménye van kisgyermek korának karénekléséből. Nem nagy élmény, de annál szebb. Úgy történt, hogy az általános iskola első osztályának első napjaiban tanítás után e sorok íróját is meginvitálta a tanár néni az iskolai kórusba. Az első próba után a tanárnő – miként az Oscar-díjas kisfilm főszereplőjét – az önök krónikását is magához szólította, és ezt mondta neki: „Andris, neked nem kell többet karénekre jönni.” És tényleg nem kellett. Így hát míg a többiek, szegények küszködtek a „tarajos kukurikúval”, e sorok szerzője vidáman mehetett játszani. (Forrás: Demokrata)

2017. III. A Gyes/gyed kalkulátorral kiszámolhatja, hogy mennyi gyes, gyed illetve terhességi gyermekágyi segély jár Önnek. Az adatok tájékoztató jellegűek. (Forrás: Profession): http://tinyurl.com/jkvdsr5

Partium
A Katolikus Egyház a globális háttérhatalom eszközévé vált?  "A  Második Vatikáni Zsinat lényegéről (interjú-részlet)" (Forrás: BorbélyImreBlog): http://tinyurl.com/jul4x5w

Deutschland
22 Februar 2017  Rothschild, Soros und Rockefeller: Teilnehmerliste Münchener Sicherheitskonferenz (Die Nachrichtenquelle: MachtSteuertWissen): http://tinyurl.com/j85bfgd

Nagy-Britannia
2017. III. 4. Az idén 200 éve született Aranyt, A walesi bárdok szerzőjét posztumusz díszpolgárrá avatták Montgomeryben. A BBC is megemlékezett Arany születésének 200. évfordulójáról, felhívva a figyelmet, hogy A walesi bárdok-ban megörökített történetet az ötszáz poéta lemészárlásáról Arany révén többen ismerik Magyarországon, mint Walesben. A cikk szerzője feleleveníti, hogy a rendszerellenes költemény az 1848-49-es forradalom leverése után hatalomra került zsarnok rendszer ellen szólt: a költő nem volt hajlandó versben dicsőíteni Ferenc József császárt, ahogyan A walesi bárdok főhősei sem zengtek dicső éneket a Walest 1277-ben leigázó I. Edward angol királynak. (Forrás: Főtér)

Románia
2017. III. 7. Borbély, a Neptun-ügy egyik főszereplője, aki ellen 2012-ben az Országos Korrupcióellenes Ügyosztály vizsgálatot kezdeményezett befolyással való üzérkedés és hamis vagyonnyilatkozat-tétel miatt, Grindeanu miniszterelnök munkatörzsének tagja lett. 2004 és 2007 között a Popescu-Tăriceanu-kabinet közmunkával és területfejlesztéssel megbízott tárca nélküli minisztere volt.  2009 decemberében – miután az RMDSZ kivált az ellenzéki egységből és megállapodott a Demokrata Liberális Párttal – megkapta a környezetvédelmi és erdészeti miniszteri tárcát a második Boc-kormányban, melyet a 2012 februárjában újonnan megalakuló Ungureanu-kormányban is megtarthatott. A Képviselőházban a külpolitikáért felelős bizottságot vezette.  Borbély elmondta: „Az RMDSZ és a kormánypártok közötti parlamenti együttműködés nem befolyásolta a miniszterelnök döntését”. Hozzátette, a fenntartható fejlődéssel foglalkozik majd. (Forrás: IthonMa)

Russia  
2 Mar 2017  Putin's forces are carrying out a gruelling Cold War exercise in freezing Arctic conditions as Russia moves to bolster its military presence in the region. A 2,000 kilometre convoy of snow trucks and impenetrable tanks was seen thundering over the frozen Laptev Sea as it travelled to a new state-of-the-art military base.Units will test out new equipment and specialised uniforms that can stand -30C conditions after travelling from the bleak Arctic port of Tiksi to the island of Kotelny. (Source: Mirror)

Spanyolország
2017. III. 5. Nagyjából tízmillióra becsülik az EU keleti feléből a nyugati felébe átvándorolt polgárok számát, amelyből mintegy négymillió Romániából kelt útra. A nagy munkanélküliséggel küzdő mediterrán államok is különösebb gond nélkül tudtak befogadni két és fél millió román állampolgárt. A román munkavállalók szempontjából szerencsétlenül alakult, hogy a román útlevéllel érkező cigányság magát romának nevezi, így gyakorlatilag a spanyol közvélemény szemében a kettő összemosódik. Európa talán leginkább integrált és elfogadott cigány közössége a spanyol, így a frissen érkezettek problémái a spanyol cigány szervezeteket is megosztották. Spanyolország nem vett részt a második világháborúban, és lakosságát, hatóságait nem osztották meg a rasszista ideológiával kapcsolatos belső viták, vádak, így rendfenntartó szervei sem éreznek indíttatást, hogy tevékenységük során mást is figyelembe vegyenek, mint magát a cselekményt, amit büntetniük kell. Vagyis mindez ideig a bevándorlókkal kapcsolatos rendészeti tevékenység (illetve annak elnéző, esetleg kivételező volta) nem váltotta ki az egyébként szinte teljesen előítéletektől mentes és befogadó érzelmű spanyol lakosság nemtetszését. A jelentős számú román munkavállaló nagy százalékban fizikai munkát végez, és bizonyos területeken (takarító, kertépítő, szobafestő, kőműves, karbantartó, szerelő, targoncás stb.) széles körben elismerik szakértelmét, munkaerkölcsét. A Spanyolországban élő, hivatalosan csaknem egymillió román érdekvédelmét Románia sűrű konzuli hálózattal, kulturális intézettel és jelentős diplomáciai aktivitással igyekszik ellátni. Az országban élő románok szülőföld szerinti összetétele ismeretlen, de pusztán a román hivatalos népszámlálási adatokra támaszkodva mintegy hatvanezer magyar származású román állampolgár él Spanyolországban. Időről-időre megható ünnepség keretében veszik át madridi nagykövetségünkön és barcelonai főkonzulátusunkon a kérvényezett magyar állampolgárságot a Romániából érkezők. A legtöbben érzelmi okokra hivatkoztak, de mintegy öt százalékuk azt is megemlítette, hogy így könnyebben mozog a schengeni zónában, illetve úgy gondolja, magyar útlevéllel kevésbé kell diszkriminációtól tartania. Továbbra is jellemző, hogy jól képzett szakembereket szívesen foglalkoztat Nyugat-Európa, így Spanyolország is. A Brexit átrendezi a munkaerőpiacot is, a brit elszívóhatás jelentősen csökkenni fog. Ha állandósul a helyzet – leszorítja a munkabéreket a szakképzettséget nem igénylő területeken, így azok már nem lesznek annyira magasak a kelet-európai bérekhez képest, vagyis csökken majd a szívóhatás. Egyes régi EU-tagországok a külföldi munkavállalók szociális juttatásait szeretnék megnyirbálni. Az országoknak azzal is számolniuk kell, hogy a külföldön családot alapított elvándorolt polgáraik, amikor majd megszületnek a gyermekeik, növekvő számban fogják kihívni magukhoz szüleiket. Ugyanis olcsóbb a szülővel együtt lakva biztosítani a gyerekfelügyeletet, mint a drága bölcsődében, óvodában. Ebben az esetben a kelet-európai nyugdíjat sem a kifizető országban fogják elkölteni, aminek a gazdasági következményeit még senki sem jósolta meg. (Mellesleg, ha a szülő kiköltözik, akkor kinek és miért utalnának haza a bérükből?) Az új tagállamokból a (képzett) munkaerő elvándorlása sokak szerint felér egy belső gyarmatosítással, hiszen a térség termelő kapacitásainak nagy része nyugati kezekben van, és az alacsonyan tartott keleti bérekkel extraprofit jelenik meg, amit legtöbbször kivonnak. A Keleten alacsony bérekért dolgozni nem akaró, képzettebb dolgozóknak Nyugat a saját országaiban biztosít munkát. Ezzel könnyedén eléri, hogy a szegényebb államok pénzén kitanított értékes munkavállaló a tanulmányainak költségét vissza nem fizetve gazdasági hasznot a nyugati országokban hajtson, demográfiailag is a nyugati részt erősítse. Előfordulhat, hogy a keleti rész magára marad: legképzettebb dolgozói elhagyják, területén szinte csak kitermelő és összeszerelő tevékenység folyhat és lakossága is elöregszik. A belső nyugalom és a pénzszivattyú fenntartása pedig egyre korruptabb kormányokat, belső együttműködőket igényel. Egy láthatóan fenntarthatatlan rendszer önkizsákmányolásra épülő fenntartása pedig, ha meg is hosszabbítja a vergődést, a véget annál fájdalmasabbá teszi. Az országok küzdenek a hanyatlás ellen. A távoli kultúrák migránsainak özönvízszerű bezúdulása Európába viszont olyan intő jel, amiből tanulnunk kell. Mindenki érzi: közös dolgaink sürgős és igazságos rendezése nélkül a 20. század szörnyűségei más formában talán, de már a küszöbünkön állnak. (Forrás: ErdélyiNapló)

Európai Bizottság
2017. III. 6. Az Európai Bizottság jóváhagyta a magyarországi Paks II atomerőmű megépítésére irányuló beruházást. (Forrás: EuropeanCommission): http://tinyurl.com/h49ygt3

Europe
March 10, 2017  Hundreds of ships are sailing into European waters after suspicious manoeuvres near terrorist hot spots, prompting fears that they are smuggling people and weapons with impunity. An investigation by The Times has uncovered how cargo ships and other large vessels routinely switch off GPS tracking so that they can disappear, falsify their identification or veer off their usual course. Figures compiled by Windward, a maritime data and analytics company, revealed that in January and February 40 ships entered Europe from Libya, close to where islamic state is operating, after “going dark” by ceasing transmission of their location. Twenty vessels travelled through Syrian or Lebanese waters and made dubious stops for up to six hours before reaching the Continent. More than 300 vessels entered European seas with invalid shipping registration, including 50 that came to British waters. Organised crime groups have long exploited vulnerabilities in ocean security to move drugs, weapons and people. There are now fears that terrorist groups, including islamic state and al-Qaeda, are doing the same. According to Windward there were more than 300 vessels that entered Europe with an invalid International Maritime Organisation number. Francis, seconded from the National Crime Agency to be head of the maritime analysis and operations centre in Lisbon, a partnership between Britain and six other EU states, has used the analysis of AIS data and other tools to seize more than 500 tonnes of drugs from more than 140 vessels since 2007. More than 2.2 million ships called in to the EU’s 28 main ports in 2015. Vessels in international waters can be intercepted by states. Once a ship is inside territorial waters, the country concerned is responsible although a nation can act on behalf of others who provide intelligence. (Source: TheTimes)

Dél-Afrika
2017. II. 25.  Erőszak tört ki főként Pretoria környékén néhány nappal azután, hogy egy kis, új ellenzéki párt, a “Dél-Afrika az Első” elnöke, Khumalo megígérte, hogy kiűzi Dél-Afrikából az összes idegent és az ország határait 48 óra alatt lezárja, mihelyt elnöknek választják Jelenleg akár 3 millió zimbabwei migráns is élhet Dél-Afrikában. (Forrás: LovasIstvánBlog)

China
March 10, 2017  China’s military is developing powerful lasers, electromagnetic railguns and high-power microwave weapons for use in a future “light war” involving space-based attacks on satellites. High-tech arsenal including electromagnetic railguns and microwave weapons aims to neutralize web of satellites that give US its main strategic edge. Beijing’s push to produce so-called directed-energy weapons aims to neutralize America’s key strategic advantage: the web of intelligence, communication and navigation satellites enabling military strikes of unparalleled precision expeditionary warfare far from US shores. The idea of a space-based laser gun was disclosed in the journal Chinese Optics in December 2013 by three researchers, Gao Ming-hui, Zeng Yu-quang and Wang Zhi-hong. All work for the Changchun Institute for Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics – the leading center for laser weapons technology. The article also reveals that in 2005, the Chinese conducted a test of a ground-based laser weapon that was used to “blind” an orbiting satellite, using a 50-100 kilowatt capacity mounted laser gun in Xinjiang province. “The target was a low orbit satellite with a tilt distance of 600 kilometers. The diameter of the telescope firing the laser beam is 0.6 meters wide. The accuracy of [acquisition, tracking and pointing is less than 5 [microradians].” The researchers propose building a 5-ton chemical laser that will be stationed in low-earth orbit as a combat platform capable of destroying satellites in orbit. According to the article, an anti-satellite attack in space would employ a ground-based radar to identify a target satellite, a special camera to provide precision targeting and a deployable membrane telescope that would focus the laser beam on the target satellite. Funding by the Chinese military, the satellite-killing laser could be deployed by 2023. China has been working on developing laser weapons since the 1960s, and the People’s Liberation Army in 2015 published the book Light War that gives a central role to fighting a future war using lasers. The Pentagon in the past developed an airborne laser for use in missile defenses and railguns are expected to be deployed in the early 2020s. High-powered compact laser guns are slated for the 2030s. (Source: AsiaTimes)

March 3, 2017 Increase in human infections with avian Influenza A(H7N9) virus during the fifth epidemic - China, October 2016 – February 2017. During March 2013 – February 24, 2017, annual epidemics of avian influenza A(H7N9) in China resulted in 1,258 avian influenza A(H7N9) virus infections in humans being reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the National Health and Family Planning Commission of China and other regional sources. During the first four epidemics, 88% of patients developed pneumonia, 68% were admitted to an intensive care unit, and 41% died. ( (Source: CentersforDiseaseControlandPrevention): http://tinyurl.com/zauhton

Iraq
5 Mar 2017  isis Baghdadi is nowhere to be seen. Military sources suspect the cowardly warlord is now holed up again in isis’s stronghold of Raqqa, in Syria. Britain’s SAS and the US Delta Force are trying to pinpoint the Iraqi-born's bolthole so they can kill him. Spy drones fitted with powerful cameras are flying over Raqqa searching for any sign of Baghdadi, who is believed to be cowering underground. Communications “chatter” is caught by US and UK teams in spy planes using a voice recognition computer to “cleanse” the data and identify speakers. More than 500 US-led special forces are attacking islamic state positions on the outskirts of Raqqa – as isis’s remaining Iraqi base of West Mosul comes under heavy attack and is beginning to fall. The terror group has dropped bombs from drones down on to civilians in the city and is suspected of launching chemical weapons. Once Mosul falls in the coming weeks, it means Baghdadi’s claimed caliphate will no long exist as intended as the Iraqi part will not be under isis control. (Source: Mirror)

Japan
March 6, 2017  Japan moves to highest alert level after North Korea fires missiles (Source: Bloomberg)

North Korea
March 7, 2017  Nuclear-armed North Korea said its missile launches were training for a strike on US bases in Japan, as global condemnation of the regime swelled. Three of the four missiles fired yesterday came down provocatively close to US ally Japan, in waters that are part of its exclusive economic zone, representing a challenge to US President Trump. (Source: Yahoo)

Ottoman Empire
March 10, 2017  The Palestine issue that cost Sultan Abdülhamid II the Ottoman throne. In the late 1800s, the Zionist movement called for a Jewish state to be established in Palestine. Sultan Abdülhamid II took a series of precautions to reverse the plan. In 1871, long before the Zionists took action, the Ottomans declared 80 percent of Palestine as state property. However, when the sultan was dethroned and the Young Turks took charge, the movement was able to spread in the region. In 1900, Sultan Abdülhamid II restricted Jews' stay in Palestinian territory to 30 days. He further prohibited the acquisition of territories to foreign Jews in the Ottoman Empire, including Palestine. Budapest native Herzl, the leader of the Zionist movement, requested an audience with Sultan Abdülhamid II. When this request was declined, he delivered his offer to the sultan through his close friend, Polish Newlinsky, in May, 1901. They offered to pay the Ottomans' foreign debts and to provide propaganda for the Ottoman Sultan in Europe in exchange for opening Palestinian lands to Jewish settlement and transferring governance to the Jewish people. The sultan declined this offer with the famous saying: "I won't sell anything, not even an inch of this territory because this country does not belong to me but to all Ottomans." Herzl repeated his offer once again the following year, but the answer was the same. The Young Turks who dethroned Sultan Abdülhamid II in 1909 exiled the sultan to Thessaloniki and imprisoned him in the house of a Jewish banker called Allatini. All territories owned by the sultan were nationalized and Jews were allowed to settle in Palestine. There were many Jews, Freemasons and Sabataists among the Young Turks.Thessaloniki deputy Carasso was the most powerful person of his time and also the organizer of Jewish migration to Palestine. The group made a deal with then British Foreign Minister Balfour in 1917. With the Balfour Declaration, the British Empire gave the green light to a Jewish state on Palestinian lands. Kemal was defeated in Syria, Palestine was occupied by the British in 1918. Following the British occupation, the Jewish settlement in Palestine increased. Now, the Jews were also able to purchase lands. By 1947, more than half of the population in Palestine was Jewish and a significant part of the territory belonged to them. The next step was independence. Some Jewish gang forced the British to evacuate the area. The decision that came out from a referendum was to establish a Jewish state and the U.N. confirmed this in 1948. The Ankara government was among the first to accept the decision. A large number of Arabs there decided to immigrate and lived under hard conditions at shelters. Their land was left to Jews. The allied Arab armies were defeated against Israel in 1948, 1967 and 1973. Russians were on the side of Arabs and a number of Arab states became satellite states to Russia.  (Source: DailySabah)

South Korea
10 March, 2017  Is a Korean missile crisis ahead? Why should Americans on the DMZ be among the first to die in a second Korean War? To back up Defense Secretary “Mad Dog” Mattis’ warning last month, that the U.S. “remains steadfast in its commitment” to its allies, President Trump is sending B-1 and B-52 bombers to Korea. Some 300,000 South Korean and 15,000 U.S. troops have begun their annual Foal Eagle joint war exercises that run through April. Why, a quarter of a century after the Cold War, do we still have 28,000 troops in Korea? Not only does South Korea have twice the population of the North, but an economy 40 times as large and access to U.S. weapons far superior to any in the North. New tests by North Korea of missiles or atom bombs for an ICBM could bring U.S. strikes on its nuclear facilities and missile sites, igniting an attack on the South. For China, this crisis, whether it leads to war, a U.S. buildup in the South, or a U.S. withdrawal from Korea, is problematic. However, should U.S. forces withdraw from the South, Seoul might build her own nuclear arsenal, followed by Japan. For Tokyo could not live with two Koreas possessing nukes, while she had none. This could leave China contained by nuclear neighbors: to the north, Russia, to the south, India, to the east, South Korea and Japan. And America offshore. What this crisis reveals is that China has as great an interest in restraining North Korea as do we. While we will provide the arms for friends and allies to fight in their own defense in any future wars, henceforth, they will provide the troops. (Source: WND)

Syria
March 9, 2017  The two rounds of ceasefire talks in Kazakhstan were attended by a diplomat from the US Department of State  -  more as observer than active participant  - while discussions in Geneva were skipped completely by Secretary of State Tillerson. Since Tillerson took office he has kept mum about Syria. Attending Geneva on his behalf was Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Ratney, who left early. Meantime, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gatilov was prominent throughout the negotiations. Syrian affairs are now being handled directly by officers in the Pentagon, rather than State Department officials. Days after the US vehicles rumbled into Syria, a meeting was held in the southern Turkish province of Anatalya with the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dunford, his Russian counterpart Gerasimov, and the Turkish Army Chief-of-Staff Akar. They were discussing joint combat in Syria as a contingent from the US Rangers were taking up their positions in Manbij, under the watchful eye of the Russian Air Force. Last week, another important move took place when US officers at the CIA-led Military Operation Room in southern Turkey met with moderate Syrian rebels, giving them two weeks to unite or lose any future US military aid. The ultimatum, which was music to the ears of the Russians, was delivered to powerful groups like the Sham Legion  -  composed of former members of the Muslim Brotherhood and active in the Aleppo countryside  -  and al-Nasr, which operates in the countryside around the central city of Hama. What the final patchwork map of spheres of influence will look like? The Turks could be holding the three border cities of Bab, Jarablus and Azaz. The Kurds get their share east of the Euphrates River in places like Malkieh, Ayn, Hassakeh and Qamishly. Turkey’s President Erdogan had dreamt of a large buffer zone of approximately 5,000 square kilometers that includes Manbij and Raqqa, hoping that this would end the Kurdish threat on his border and provide sufficient space to relocate the 2.3 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey since 2011. Neither Raqqa nor Zour will be part of the Turkish enclave, but neither will they be given to the Kurds. It is the Americans who are edging forward in the race to Raqqa, very much in line with the Russians. (Source: AsiaNews)

9 March, 2017  President Trump has ordered a “couple hundred” U.S. Marines to Syria to set up “an outpost from which they can fire artillery guns in support of the fight to oust the islamic state from the northern Syrian city of Raqqa,” The Marines are part of an artillery battalion armed with M777 howitzers that fire 155mm rounds. The new guys come from Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 4th Marines, and they will reportedly “man the guns and deliver fire support for U.S.-backed local forces who are preparing an assault on the city. The Marines’ arrival follows the recent emergence of the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment, whose troops “appeared in the Syrian city of Manbij over the weekend in Strykers  - heavily armed, eight-wheel armored vehicles. They are there to discourage Syrian or Turkish troops from making any moves that could shift the focus away from an assault on islamic state militants.That scenario in Manbij has forced the U.S. to protect their Kurdish and Arab allies against a threatened assault by other U.S. allies in a Turkish-backed force. Russian troops have arrived to Manbij “under a separate deal that was negotiated without the input of the United States. Turkish officials are still trying to figure out their next step, now that Russia, Syria, the U.S. and the SDF appear to be cooperating against Turkish interests in Manbij, at least temporarily. Turkey’s army attacked Syrian troops west of Manbij, killing eight and wounding dozens more. isis has lost access to its former oil facilities. isis is believed to have some 15,000 fighters remaining across Iraq and Syria, with “about half” in or near Mosul and Raqqa. (Source: DefenseOne)
http://tinyurl.com/zudavzn

United States
March 9, 2015 The U.S. military is sending an additional 2,500 ground combat troops to a staging base in Kuwait from which they could be called upon to back up coalition forces battling the islamic state in Iraq and Syria. The deployment will include elements of the 82nd Airborne Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is based at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. About 1,700 soldiers from the same unit are overseas now, spread between Iraq and Kuwait. Today, there are about 6,000 American troops spread between Iraq and Syria, where this week Marine Corps artillery crews established a fire base from which U.S. forces intend to attack isis targets in and around Raqqa. Additionally, a team of Army Rangers was dispatched to the city of Mabij to prevent Turkish troops and Syrian Kurdish militias - both key U.S. allies in the counter-isis mission - from fighting one another. Meanwhile, Russian military elements, in support of troops loyal to Syrian President Assad, also are present on the city's outskirts. Conventional U.S. forces would be required stabilize the region once isis fighters are flushed from Raqqa, the group's self-proclaimed capital. The Pentagon earlier this month submitted plans to the White House for speeding efforts to defeat isis, one of President Trump's first orders upon assuming office. Those plans are said to include operations in a number of countries, not only Iraq and Syria. (Source: ArmyTimes): http://tinyurl.com/zj6njn3

9 March, 2017  Altering the dopamine level in the brain could change what choices we make. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is known to play a role in how our brains derives pleasure from activities such as gambling and sex, as well as addiction. These gratifying activities, and addictive drugs, increase the level of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is produced in several parts of the brain, including in the hypothalamus. Now researchers from Salk Institute of Biological Sciences in San Diego have found that the chemical could also shape our decisions. They discovered that dopamine governs snap choices so precisely that measuring the brain chemical level right before a decision is made allows researchers to accurately predict the outcome. The scientists also found that changing the dopamine level of a mouse is enough to alter what decision it will make. Their discovery could help people who have problems controlling their movements, including those suffering from Parkinson's disease and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). (Source: DailyMail)

03/08/2017  Less than one percent of WikiLeaks’ CIA files were released in yesterday’s document dump, the anti-secrecy organization claimed. WikiLeaks says it obtained the CIA files after the agency “lost control” of the documents after they began circulating among a 5,000-person network of former U.S. government hackers and contractors, one of whom WikiLeaks claims is the one who leaked the documents. The document dump could have a more significant impact than the Snowden leaks in 2013. (Source: DailyCaller)

March 7, 2017  Hackers within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) have developed malware which can turn Samsung Smart TVs into listening devices, leaked documents published by WikiLeaks reveal. The malware, coined “Weeping Angel” – released as part of WikiLeaks’ “Vault 7” data dump – appears to have been created during a 2014 joint workshop with Britain’s equivalent spy agency MI5. The attack, which seems to require physical access to the TV and an infected USB drive, enables a “Fake-Off mode” that allows the microphone to be accessed remotely even after the TV has been seemingly turned off. The malware also suppresses the TV’s LED lights, removing any suspicion that the device is still active. Weeping Angel can also reportedly extract usernames, passwords and Wi-Fi keys – allowing access to the target’s network and other connected devices. The capabilities it boasts cannot currently capture video, according to the leaked docs. Weeping Angel may be neutralized over internet if the target updates their TV’s firmware since the malware is designed specifically for versions below 1118.  Security researchers have long warned about vulnerabilities with not only Samsung TVs but with IoT (Internet of Things) devices in general. In a 2012 Wired article, entitled, “CIA chief: We’ll spy on you through your dishwasher,” then-CIA Director Petraeus heralded emerging technologies in relation to espionage. Samsung has admitted in its own terms of service that a user’s personal conversations can be recorded and transmitted to third parties through the use of Voice Recognition – creating a larger attack surface for the private data. (Source:  http://tinyurl.com/zoe5ywh

7 March 2017  The US intelligence agencies are facing fresh embarrassment after WikiLeaks published what it described as the biggest ever leak of confidential documents from the CIA detailing the tools it uses to break into phones, communication apps and other electronic devices. The 8,761 documents published by WikiLeaks focus mainly on techniques for hacking and surveillance. The new documents appear to be from the CIA’s 200-strong Center for Cyber Intelligence and were all relatively recent, running from 2013 to 2016. The Center for Cyber Intelligence, based at the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, has a second covert base in the US consulate in Frankfurt which covers Europe, the Middle East and Africa. WikiLeaks shared the information in advance with Der Spiegel in Germany and La Repubblica in Italy. A document dealing with Samsung televisions carries the CIA logo and is described as secret. It adds “USA/UK”. It says: “Accomplishments during joint workshop with MI5/BTSS (British Security Service) (week of June 16, 2014).” Another CIA attack system called Fine Dining provides 24 decoy applications for CIA spies to use. To witnesses, the spy appears to be running a programme showing videos, presenting slides, playing a computer game, or even running a fake virus scanner. But while the decoy application is on the screen, the system is automatically infected and ransacked. (Source: TheGuardian): http://tinyurl.com/zg6ocpa

4 March 2017  Obama administration denies Towergate. Trump has accused Obama of wire tapping his phones at Trump Tower on Twitter. The president tweeted that Obama had been spying on him in October. He claims the phones in Trump Tower were 'tapped' before his election victory. McCarthyism, which the president used in his first tweet, is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence. (Source: DailyMail): http://tinyurl.com/grjlh8b

4th March 2017  President Trump claims his building flagship building Trump Tower in Manhattan was bugged during the US election (Source: TheSun)

2 March 2017  MS-13 gang members kidnapped two teenage girls for weeks. MS-13 is the brutal, machete-wielding gang that became the first organization to be declared an international criminal group. It was founded by immigrants fleeing El Salvador's civil war more than two decades ago. The gang's founders took lessons learned from that brutal conflict to the streets of Los Angeles. With as many as 10,000 members in 46 states, the gang has expanded far beyond its initial roots. Members are accused of major crimes including murder, kidnapping, prostitution, drug smuggling and human trafficking. The group's violence  -  using a machete to hack a victim to death or shooting someone in the head in broad daylight, for instance  -  surprised authorities and even rival gangs. The gang, which is allied with several of Mexico's warring drug cartels, has a strong presence in Southern California, Washington and Northern Virginia, all areas with substantial Salvadoran populations. 13 members of the same gang were arrested in New York for allegedly killing three high school students. (Source: Mail)

1 March 2017  Obama's close confidante Jarrett has moved into his new DC home, which is now the nerve center for their plan to mastermind the insurgency against President Trump. Obama's goal is to oust Trump from the presidency either by forcing his resignation or through his impeachment. 'He's coming. And he's ready to roll.' former Attorney General Holder said about the former president's reentry into the political scene. (Source: DailyMail)

1st March 2017  Hacked robots could attack humans, burgle people’s homes and kill their pets, experts warn. OActive's Cerrudo wrote: "A hacked robot operating inside a home might spy on a family via the robot’s microphones and cameras. An attacker could also use a robot’s mobility to cause physical damage in the house. They "could start fires in a kitchen" or "poison family members and pets by mixing toxic substances in with food or drinks". Robots integrated with home automation systems could unlock and open doors and deactivate home alarms. (Source: TheSun)

March 1, 2017  President Trump pledged a "renewal of the American spirit", as he tempered his most inflammatory rhetoric while fleshing out his nationalist agenda during a landmark speech to Congress.  He criticized threats against Jewish community centers and condemned the seemingly racially-motivated killing of an Indian immigrant. He again promised a hard line on illegal immigration. "By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone," he said. He proposed introducing an Australian-style merit-based system to reduce the flow of unskilled workers. Discussing trade, Trump even enlisted the help of American icon Lincoln, echoing what the first Republican president described as "protective policy." Trump softened his criticism of NATO partners and vowed to work with allies in the Muslim world. Trump was embracing family-friendly policies like paid parental leave. He promised to provide "massive" tax relief for the American middle class and to repeal his predecessor's landmark Obamacare health reform. He outlined plans for rebuilding America's creaking infrastructure and for high-stakes tax and healthcare reform. Trump wants to hike defense spending by $54 billion, offsetting with cuts in foreign assistance and other non-military spending. On all these issues Trump offered little detail about how to meet his promises worsening the country's nearly $20 trillion national debt. (Source: Yahoo)  Jason's comment: "It was an awesome, powerful and very presidential speech. Watch and see the dishonest way it is reported."

Globalization
7 March 2017  Vault 7: CIA hacking tools revealed. The series is the largest intelligence publication in history. CIA malware targets iPhone, Android, smart TVs, Windows, OSx, Linux, routers. The first full part of the series, "Year Zero", comprises 8,761 documents and files from an isolated, high-security network situated inside the CIA's Center for Cyber Intelligence in Langley, Virgina. It follows an introductory disclosure last month of CIA targeting French political parties and candidates in the lead up to the 2012 presidential election. As of October 2014 the CIA was also looking at infecting the vehicle control systems used by modern cars and trucks. The purpose of such control is not specified, but it would permit the CIA to engage in nearly undetectable assassinations. By the end of 2016, the CIA's hacking division, which formally falls under the agency's Center for Cyber Intelligence (CCI), had over 5000 registered users and had produced more than a thousand hacking systems, trojans, viruses, and other "weaponized" malware. A number of intelligence community members not yet publicly named have been arrested or subject to federal criminal investigations in separate incidents. Most visibly, on February 8, 2017 a U.S. federal grand jury indicted Martin III with 20 counts of mishandling classified information. The Department of Justice alleged that it seized some 50,000 gigabytes of information from Martin III that he had obtained from classified programs at NSA and CIA, including the source code for numerous hacking tools. Once a single cyber 'weapon' is 'loose' it can spread around the world in seconds, to be used by peer states, cyber mafia and teenage hackers alike. U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt is a covert CIA hacker base for its hackers covering Europe, the Middle East and Africa. CIA hackers developed successful attacks against most well known anti-virus programs. These are documented in AV defeats, Personal Security Products, Detecting and defeating PSPs and PSP/Debugger/RE Avoidance. (Source: WikiLeaks): http://tinyurl.com/h5utuze

March 3, 2017  Al-Qaeda put Bannon on the cover of their official newspaper. Bannon graced the cover (above the fold!) of the most recent al-Qaeda-linked Al Masra newspaper. The piece focused on Bannon's views of Islam, saying he believes that “the forces of Islam cannot be stopped by peaceful means.” The paper cited a conversation Bannon had with a Danish journalist in May 2016. It also claimed that Bannon believes that the struggle is really between Christianity and Islam, not just Islam and the West. And it suggested that Bannon has “lost confidence in secular Europe, and sees Muslim immigrants as partially responsible for the retreat of traditional Christian values.” Bannon has spoken publicly about these beliefs. In 2014, he gave a speech to the Vatican via Skype in which he said, “We’re now, I believe, at the beginning stages of global war against Islamic fascism.” On other occasions, he's suggested that the “Judeo-Christian West” is at war with “expansionist Islamic ideology.” On his radio show in 2015, he called for a complete halt to allowing Muslim immigrants into the United States. (Source: TheWashingtonPost)

Space
March 6, 2017  The first images from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper, a new instrument onboard the recently launched GOES-16 satellite, which orbits 22,300 miles above the Earth, launched in November 2016. were released. (GOES stands for geostationary operational environmental satellite.) The instrument is transmitting data never before available to forecasters, helps meteorologists increase lead times for severe storm warnings. The first lightning detector in a geostationary orbit, the instrument takes a whopping 500 images a second and continually looks for lightning flashes in the Western Hemisphere, so forecasters know when a storm is intensifying and becoming more dangerous. It takes photos not only of the lightning bolts that hit the Earth but also the bolts that go between or within clouds. When combined with radar and other satellite data, this data should help forecasters anticipate heavy rain and issue flood and flash flood warnings sooner. In dry areas, especially in the Western U.S., information from the instrument will help forecasters, and ultimately firefighters, identify areas prone to wildfires sparked by lightning. (Source: AP)

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