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United States
October 19, 2018 The National Security Agency is quietly beginning work on a new series of three communications contracts valued at $6.7 billion. The classified contracts - collectively called Greenway - were secretly awarded to telecommunications giant AT&T and defense contractors General Dynamics and ManTech International over the past year. (Source: NextGov): https://tinyurl.com/y8ug25ty
18 Oct 2018 President Trump suggested that someone was paying migrants in the caravan traveling to the United States from Honduras. “A lot of money has been passing through people to come up and try to get to the border by election day,” Trump said. The group of over 4,000 migrants is currently traveling through Guatemala. He was mocking Democrats for trying to influence the immigration issue. “They wanted that caravan, and there are those who say that caravan didn’t just happen,” Trump said. He told supporters the Mexican government would “hopefully” stop the caravan before it reached their own Southern border. If Mexico failed, he reassured the crowd, he would send the military to the Southern border. He ripped Democrats for favoring illegal immigration, accusing them of wanting to import more voters into the United States. (Source: Breitbart)
One of comments: "Arrest Soros and extradite him to Russia or Hungary."
October 17, 2018 An increasing number of births happen outside of marriage, signaling cultural and economic shifts that are here to stay. Forty percent of all births in the U.S. now occur outside of wedlock, up from 10 percent in 1970, according to an annual report by the United Nations Population Fund. The EU likely sees more births out of wedlock because many member countries have welfare systems that support gender-balanced child care. Public health care systems, paid paternal leave, early education programs and tax incentives give unwed parents support beyond what a partner can provide. The data show such births in the U.S. and EU are predominantly to unmarried couples living together rather than to single mothers. The data suggest that societal and religious norms about marriage, childbearing and women in the workforce have changed. The rise in births outside of marriage is closely correlated to delays in childbearing. The average age an American woman has her first child is now 27, up from 22 in 1970. As the marriage rate has fallen in the U.S. the number of adults in cohabiting relationships has steadily risen. This shift is most evident among those under age 35, who represent half of all cohabiting couples, however the rise in cohabitation is occurring across all age demographics. Cohabiting partners are having children before getting married. That’s a long-term trend across developing nations. Regardless of marital status, more couples are choosing not to have kids at all. The U.S. fertility rate hit a historic 30-year low last year. The rise in births outside of wedlock has actually mitigated the decline in fertility, which would be much steeper if women weren’t having children outside marriage. (Source: Bloomberg)
October 16, 2018 Rescue teams searched ravaged areas of Florida’s Panhandle for hundreds of people reported missing nearly a week after Hurricane Michael flattened communities in the region and killed at least 27. The death toll rise as phone service is restored and roads are cleared. Teams from the volunteer organization were searching for more than 1,135 people in Florida who lost contact with friends and family. (Source: Reuters)
October 12, 2018 Hurricane Michael packing 250km/h winds has all but rubbed a Florida beach town - Mexico Beach - off the map. /photos/ (Source: BBC)
October 12, 2018 Spygate represents the biggest political scandal in our nation’s history. A sitting administration actively colluded with a political campaign to affect the outcome of a U.S. presidential election. Government agencies were weaponized and a complicit media spread intelligence community leaks as facts. But a larger question remains: How long has the United States been subject to interference from the intelligence community and our political agencies? Was the 2016 presidential election a one-time aberration, or is this episode symptomatic of a larger pattern extending back decades? The intensity, scale, and coordination suggest something greater than overzealous actions taken during a single election. They represent a unified reaction of the establishment to a threat posed by a true outsider- a reaction that has come to be known as Spygate. The structure underlying Spygate - the creation of the false narrative that candidate Trump colluded with Russia, and the spying on his presidential campaign: CIA Director Brennan, with some assistance from Director of National Intelligence Clapper, gathered foreign intelligence and fed it throughout our domestic Intelligence Community. The FBI became the handler of Brennan’s intelligence and engaged in the more practical elements of surveillance. The Department of Justice facilitated investigations by the FBI and legal maneuverings, while providing a crucial shield of nondisclosure. The Department of State became a mechanism of information dissemination and leaks. Mrs. Clinton’s presidential campaign and the Democratic National Committee provided funding, support, and media collusion. Obama administration officials were complicit, and engaged in unmasking, intelligence gathering and dissemination. The media was the most corrosive element in many respects. None of these events could have transpired without their willing participation. Stories were pushed, facts were ignored, and narratives were promoted. Brennan became the point man in the operation to stop a potential Trump presidency. Brennan took unofficial foreign intelligence compiled by contacts, colleagues, and associates - primarily from the UK, but also from other Five Eyes members, such as Australia. Individuals in official positions in UK intelligence, such as Hannigan head of the UK Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ, Britain’s equivalent of the National Security Agency) played a role. In the summer of 2016, Hannigan traveled to Washington to meet with Brennan regarding alleged communications between the Trump campaign and Moscow. On Jan. 23, 2017 - three days after Trump’s inauguration - Hannigan abruptly announced his retirement. Western intelligence assets were used to initiate and establish connections, particularly in the cases of Papadopoulos and Page. Ultimately, Brennan formed an inter-agency task force comprising an estimated six agencies and/or government departments. The FBI, Treasury, and DOJ handled the domestic inquiry into Trump and possible Russia connections. The CIA, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the National Security Agency (NSA) handled foreign and intelligence aspects. Brennan also employed the use of reverse targeting, which relates to the targeting of a foreign individual with the intent of capturing data on a U.S. citizen. Repeated transfers of foreign intelligence from the CIA director pushed the FBI toward the establishment of a formal counterintelligence investigation. Once the FBI began its counterintelligence investigation on July 31, 2016, Brennan shifted his focus. Through a series of meetings in August and September 2016, Brennan informed the congressional Gang of Eight regarding intelligence and information he had gathered. The first report, the “Joint Statement from the Department Of Homeland Security and Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Election Security,” was released on Oct. 7, 2016. The second report, “GRIZZLY STEPPE —Russian Malicious Cyber Activity,” was released on Dec. 29, 2016. The third report, “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent U.S. Elections” - also known as the Intelligence Community Assessment (ICA) - was released on Jan. 6, 2017. This final report was used to continue pushing the Russia-collusion narrative following the election of President Trump. The “insurance policy faction was led by FBI Deputy Director McCabe and comprised other notable names such as FBI agent Trzok, FBI lawyer Page, and FBI general counsel Baker. The FBI established the counterintelligence investigation into alleged Russia collusion with the Trump campaign on July 31, 2016. On March 20, 2017, he disclosed the existence of the FBI investigation during congressional testimony. Following Comey’s firing on May 9, 2017, the FBI’s investigation was transferred to special counsel Mueller. The FBI’s formal involvement with the Steele dossier began on July 5, 2016, when Gaeta, an FBI agent and assistant legal attaché at the US Embassy in Rome, was dispatched to visit former MI6 spy Steele in London. Gaeta would return from this meeting with a copy of Steele’s first memo. This memo was given to Nuland at the State Department, who passed it along to the FBI. Gaeta, who also headed the FBI’s Eurasian Organized Crime unit, had known Steele since at least 2010. There was no “dossier” until it was fully compiled in December 2016. The FBI’s interest in the dossier suddenly accelerated in late August 2016. The reason for the FBI’s renewed interest had to do with an adviser to the Trump campaign - Page - who had been in contact with Halper, a CIA and FBI source, since July 2016. Strzok, a senior FBI agent, was the deputy assistant director of FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. Page, an FBI lawyer, served as special counsel to FBI Deputy Director McCabe. Strzok was in charge of the investigation into Mrs. Clinton’s use of a private email server for government business. He helped FBI Director Comey draft the statement exonerating Clinton and was personally responsible for changing specific wording within that statement that reduced Clinton’s legal liability. Strzok changed the words “grossly negligent,” which could be a criminal offense, to “extremely careless.” Strzok also personally led the FBI’s counterintelligence investigation into the alleged Trump–Russia collusion and signed the documents that opened the investigation on July 31, 2016. He was one of the FBI agents who interviewed Trump’s national security adviser, Gen. Flynn. Strzok would be fired from the FBI in August 2018. Both Strzok and Page engaged in strategic leaking to the press. Page did so at the direction of McCabe, who directly authorized Page to share information with Wall Street Journal reporter Barrett. The Department of Justice, which comprises 60 agencies, was transformed during the Obama years. The department is forbidden by federal law from hiring employees based on political affiliation. However, a series of investigative articles by PJ Media published during Holder’s tenure as attorney general revealed an unsettling pattern of ideological conformity among new hires at the DOJ: Only lawyers from the progressive left were hired. The DOJ’s job in Spygate was to facilitate the legal side of surveillance while providing a protective layer of cover for all those involved. The DOJ also became an active element acting against members of the Trump campaign. Flynn ultimately pleaded guilty to a process crime: lying to the FBI. Laufman, deputy assistant attorney general in charge of counterintelligence at the DOJ’s National Security Division, played a key role in both the Clinton email server and Russia hacking investigations. Ohr, associate deputy attorney general and FBI agent Strzok met at least five times during 2016 and 2017. Ohr met with the FBI at least 12 times between late November 2016 and May 2017 for a series of interviews. On April 26, 2017, Rosenstein found himself appointed as the new deputy attorney general. Attorney General Sessions had recused himself from the ongoing Russia investigation a little less than two months earlier, on March 2, 2017. On May 9, 2017, Rosenstein wrote a memorandum recommending that Comey be fired. The subject of the memo was “Restoring Public Confidence in the FBI.” Comey was fired that day. McCabe was now the acting director of the FBI and was immediately under consideration for the permanent position. On the same day Comey was fired, McCabe would lie during an interview with agents from the FBI’s Inspection Division (INSD) regarding apparent leaks that were used in an Oct. 30, 2016 Wall Street Journal article. On the morning of May 16, 2017, Rosenstein reportedly suggested to McCabe that he secretly record President Trump. On May 17, 2017, the day after President Trump’s meeting with Mueller - and the day after Rosenstein’s encounters with McCabe - Rosenstein appointed Mueller as special counsel. The May 17 appointment of Mueller in effect shifted control of the Russia investigation from the FBI and McCabe to Mueller. Any expansion of Mueller’s investigation required authorization from Rosenstein. On Aug. 2, 2017, Wray was named as the new FBI director. McCabe was finally completely neutralized. On March 16, 2018, McCabe was fired for lying under oath at least three different times. The State Department, with its many contacts within foreign governments, became a conduit for the flow of information. Nuland, the assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs gave approval for FBI agent Gaeta to travel to London to obtain the memo from Steele. The memo may have passed directly from her to FBI leadership. Secretary of State Kerry was also given a copy. Nuland was in charge of the U.S. response to Putin’s annexation of Crimea and covert invasion of eastern Ukraine. Winer, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for international law enforcement and former special envoy for Libya also received a separate dossier, very similar to Steele’s, from long-time Clinton confidant Blumenthal. This “second dossier” had been compiled by another longtime Clinton operative, former journalist Shearer, and echoed claims made in the Steele dossier. Steele went on to share this second dossier with the FBI, which may have used it to corroborate his dossier. The entire Clinton campaign willfully promoted the narrative of Russia–Trump collusion despite the uncomfortable fact that they were the ones who had engaged the services of Fusion GPS and Steele through their law firm Coie. Palmieri, the communications director for the Clinton campaign, in tandem with Sullivan, the senior policy adviser to the campaign, took the lead in briefing the press on the Trump–Russia collusion story. Chalupa, a Ukrainian-American operative was consulting for the Democratic National Committee. Chalupa met with top officials in the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington in an effort to expose ties between Trump, Manafort, and Russia. Chalupa began investigating Manafort in 2014. Manafort would later be indicted for Foreign Agents Registration Act violations that occurred during the Obama administration. On Jan. 5, 2017. Obama held an undisclosed White House meeting to discuss the dossier with national security adviser Rice, FBI Director Comey, and Yates. The following day, Brennan, Clapper, and Comey attached a written summary of the Steele dossier to the classified briefing they gave Obama. Comey then met with President-elect Trump to inform him of the dossier. Both the Trump–Comey meeting and the existence of the dossier were leaked to CNN. DNI Clapper personally leaked Comey’s meeting with Trump to CNN. Media: false narratives have been all-too-willingly promoted and facts ignored. Fusion GPS personally made a series of payments to several as-of-yet-unnamed reporters. The majority of the mainstream media has represented positions of the DNC and the Clinton campaign. Traditionally, the intelligence community leaked to The Washington Post while the DOJ leaked to sources within The New York Times. The leaking became so widespread, even this tradition was broken. The Steele dossier was fed into U.S. channels through several different sources. One such source was Sir Wood, the former British ambassador to Russia, who had been briefed about the dossier by Steele. Wood later relayed information regarding the dossier to Sen. McCain. McCain had personally passed on the dossier to then-FBI Director Comey. Simpson, co-founder of Fusion GPS company which was hired by the Clinton campaign and the DNC–through law firm Perkins Coie to produce the dossier on Trump. After failing to obtain a spy warrant on the Trump campaign using Papadopoulos, the FBI set its sights on campaign volunteer Page. Private contractors, employed by the FBI, were given full access to the NSA database. Once in the contractors’ possession, the data couldn’t be traced. (Source: TheEpochTimes)
Atlanti Tanács
2018. X. 18. Mitchell külügyi államtitkár: A voltaképpeni Közép-Európában a fenyegetést egy bizonyos szintű politikai és gazdasági behatolás jelenti, amely idővel a nemzeti függetlenség gyengüléséhez és a NATO szétforgácsolódásához vezethet. Mindent meg kell tennünk annak érdekében, hogy ne kerüljenek Amerika versenytársainak a befolyása alá. Az Egyesült Államoknak a közelmúlthoz képest sokkal nagyobb mértékben kell az amerikai üzleti tevékenység előmozdítására úgy tekintenie, mint ami elválaszthatatlanul összekapcsolódik nemzetünk jövőbeni erejével és külföldi befolyásával. Elvárjuk mindazoktól, akiket segítünk, hogy ne pártolják riválisainkat. A nyugat-európai országok nem növelhetik tovább Oroszországtól való energiafüggőségüket, amellyel szemben Amerika védelmét élvezik. Nem gazdagodhatnak meg annak az Iránnak a révén, amely éppen Európát fenyegető ballisztikus rakétákat készít. Nem elfogadható, hogy az Egyesült Államok közép-európai szövetségesei olyan projekteket támogassanak, mint a Török Áramlat II, és baráti atomenergia-ügyleteket kössenek, amelyek ugyanazzal az Oroszországgal szemben teszik sebezhetőbbé a régiót, amellyel szemben ezek az államok védelmet kerestek a NATO-nál. Amerika legközelebbi közép-európai szövetségesei közül sokan korrupcióval átszőtt állami vállalat-hálózatokat működtetnek, amelyeknek köszönhetően Kína és Oroszország javára lejt a pálya. Ez egyenlőtlen esélyeket teremt az amerikai vállalatok szempontjából. elsősorban azok számára fogunk támogatást, erőforrásokat és segélyt biztosítani, akik a barátaink. Felszólítjuk szövetségeseinket, hogy kövessék a példánkat, és erősítsék meg jogszabályaikat, hogy azok lehetővé tegyék a külföldi befektetések fokozott nemzetbiztonsági átvilágítását. A jövő évben lesz a kommunizmus bukásának az évfordulója Európában. Közel 30 évvel ezelőtt történt, hogy Közép-Európa népei – amelyek közül soknál a függetlenség ősi hagyomány – lerázták magukról a kommunista zsarnokság jármát. Olyan rabnemzetek, mint Lengyelország vagy Magyarország utat mutattak a szabadság, a szabadságjogok, és a szabad piacok jövője felé. Pár évvel később pedig az erőszakkal a Szovjetunióba beolvasztott nemzetek is – a balti államok, Ukrajna, Grúzia és Moldova – kivívták függetlenségüket. Ezek a nemzetek elsősorban és mindenekelőtt saját erőfeszítéseiknek köszönhetően nyerték el a szabadságot. Ma új verseny folyik a világon a hatalomért. Amint az a nemzetbiztonsági stratégiában körvonalazásra került, a nagyhatalmak közötti versenyhez való visszatérés korunk meghatározó geopolitikai ténye. E versenyre való módszeres felkészülés az Egyesült Államok külpolitikájának központi feladata. A felkészülés otthon kezdődik a hosszú távú amerikai gazdasági hatalom alapjainak újraépítésével, a gyártás és honvédelem ipari bázisának a megerősítésével, a honvédelembe való újbóli beruházással, az Egyesült Államok nukleáris arzenáljának modernizációjával, valamint az ipari beszállítói lánc hiányosságainak a kiküszöbölésével. Külföldön ez a terhek kiegyensúlyozását jelenti a szövetségesekkel, valamint a stratégiai valóságot már nem tükröző nemzetközi intézmények újrakalibrálását. A mai geopolitikai versengés különösen élesen érezhető Közép- és Kelet-Európában. A Baltikumtól a Adriáig, a Balkán-félszigeten és a Kaukázusban Amerika riválisai kiterjesztik politikai, katonai és kereskedelmi befolyásukat. Grúzia és Ukrajna invázióját követően Oroszország ismét katonai tényezőnek számít ebben a régióban. A határaitól távolabb eső Közép-Európa országaiban Oroszország manipulatív energia taktikája, a korrupció és a propaganda segítségével belülről igyekszik gyengíteni a nyugati nemzeteket, és aláásni az Egyesült Államokkal való szövetségüket. A történelem folyamán először Kína is fontos szereplővé vált Közép- és Kelet-Európában. Peking az „adósság-diplomácia” eszközével halmozza fel az infrastrukturális beruházásokat, és koncessziókat erőltet rá a kisebb nemzetekre. Ezek a taktikák hasonlóak ahhoz, amelyeket Kína nemzetközi szinten alkalmaz, ugyanis Peking tisztességtelen kereskedelmi gyakorlatot folytat, a szellemi tulajdon lopását, a gazdasági kémkedést és a dömpinget is beleértve. 2017-ben Kína közvetlen külföldi beruházásai Európában 42 milliárd dollárt tettek ki, összes beruházásainak az értéke pedig 318 milliárd dollár volt. Az ország az elmúlt években 360 európai vállalat irányítását szerezte meg, és jelenleg Európa teljes kikötői kapacitásának csaknem tizede áll kínai tulajdonban vagy kínai ellenőrzés alatt. Nyugaton sokan megfeledkeztek a nemzetállam és a nemzeti szuverenitás alapvető fontosságáról, mint a természetjog mellett az egyik legfontosabb forrásról, amelyből a politikai legitimáció végső soron ered. A nemzetközi intézmények egyre inkább öncélúnak tűnnek, és egyre kevésbé töltik be az eredeti feladatukat, hogy releváns szereplőként biztonságot vigyenek az általuk kiszolgált állampolgárok életébe. Mindeközben megváltoztak körülöttünk a stratégiai realitások, amelyekre a II. világháborút követő években ezek az intézmények felépültek. Figyelmünket a legsürgetőbb feladatra összpontosítsuk, nevezetesen a Nyugat megerősítésére, hogy meg tudjon birkózni versenytársaink növekvő befolyásával. Ez a feladat Európa messzi határainál kezdődik, a függetlenségük fenntartásáért küzdő államok támogatásával. Ahhoz, hogy megnyerjük a befolyásért folytatott versenyt, nagyobb tétekkel kell beszállnunk a kereskedelmi versenybe is. Kína és Oroszország számára a kereskedelem előmozdítása a diplomácia szerves részét képezi. Kína „Egy Övezet, Egy Út” kezdeményezése hosszú távú befolyás szerzésére törekszik infrastruktúra vásárlása révén, gyakran a kínai állam pénzügyi támogatásával. A Trump-kormányzat átszervezi az Overseas Private Investment Corporation-t (Tengerentúli Magánbefektetési Vállalat, OPIC) oly módon, hogy annak meglegyen a felhatalmazása és az erőforrásai ahhoz, hogy az országoknak a kínai finanszírozás helyett életképes magán-szektorbeli alternatívákat kínáljon. A Kongresszussal együttműködve megkétszerezzük az OPIC meglévő portfolió-kapacitását (29 milliárd dollárról 60 milliárdra), ami lehetővé teszi, hogy Amerika birokra keljen fő riválisaival az olyan sebezhető régiókban, mint Közép- és Kelet-Európa. Ezzel párhuzamosan megerősítjük az amerikai közdiplomáciát Közép-Európában. Rendezvényekből, tájékoztatásból és Közép- és Kelet-Európába és Németországba irányuló fokozott ifjúsági cserékből álló programot indítunk, hogy emlékeztessük barátainkat a Nyugatot egyesítő közös történelmünkre és közös eszmékre. Ma az olyan határállamok, mint Ukrajna, Grúzia, sőt Fehéroroszország nemzeti szuverenitása és területi integritása vet legbiztosabb gátat Oroszország új imperializmusának, Európa nemzetállamai pedig a gazdasági növekedés példaképei, ők határozzák meg Európa és annak intézményeinek jövőjét. Elképzelhetetlen a gondolat, hogy egy Oroszországhoz vagy Kínához hasonló nagy önkényuralmi rendszer őszinte bajnokává válhatna a valódi nemzeti függetlenségnek. Mindkét állam önkényuralmi geopolitikai hagyományok alapján működik, ami ellentétes a nemzetek függetlenségével. Közép-európai szövetségeseink nem táplálhatnak olyan illúziókat, hogy ezek a hatalmak a barátaik volnának. A Nyugatnak vissza kell követelnie magának a nemzetállam támogatásának a hagyományát, és keményebben kell dolgoznia azért, hogy a nemzetközi szervezetek a nemzetek demokratikus akaratát tükrözzék, ellenkező esetben ezek az intézmények elvesztik a befolyásukat és a jelentőségüket. Amerika elvárja, hogy az államok tartsák tiszteletben a szomszédaik jogait. Elutasítjuk Oroszországnak a szomszédos Ukrajnával szembeni területi agresszióját, és elutasítjuk Kína azon ragadozó magatartását, amelynek keretében eladósítani igyekszik Közép- és Kelet-Európa államait. Ezek az önkényuralmi rendszerek nem akarnak valódi kapcsolatot – még kevésbé szövetséget – teremteni az igazán független kisebb államokkal. Az ő céljuk függőségi helyzet kialakítása. A NATO-szövetségesek számára üzenetünk egyértelmű. Amerika elkötelezettsége sziklaszilárd az ötös cikkely iránt. Mi Ukrajna és Grúzia mellett állunk, amit a rendelkezésükre bocsátott segítség és fegyverek is bizonyítanak. (Forrás: USEmbassy)
Globalization
16 Oct. 2018 A blacklist of 21 countries whose so-called “golden passport” schemes threaten international efforts to combat tax evasion has been published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Three European countries – Malta, Monaco and Cyprus – are among those nations flagged as operating high-risk schemes that sell either residency or citizenship in the report released. Transparency International and Global Witness, in a joint report published last week, described how the EU had gained nearly 100,000 new residents and 6,000 new citizens in the past decade through poorly managed arrangements that were “shrouded in secrecy”. Also on the OECD blacklist are a handful of Caribbean nations that pioneered the modern-day methods for the marketing of citizenship. These include Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis, which has sold 16,000 passports since relaunching its programme in 2006. The final names on the list are Bahrain, Colombia, Malaysia, Mauritius, Montserrat, Panama, Qatar, Seychelles, Turks and Caicos Islands, United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu. (Source: TheGuardian)
October 12, 2018 Internet users will face difficulties in accessing web pages or making transactions for the next 48 hours. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is preparing for maintenance work of domain servers and related network infrastructure. ICANN is planning to change cryptographic key during this maintenance work, which will result in downtime in internet activity across the globe. The planned maintenance set to be undertaken by ICANN will help protect the Domain Name System (DNS), which acts as internet’s very own address book. (source: bgr.in)
October 12, 2018 Facebook says hackers saw personal info of 14 million people through a security flaw that the company first disclosed last month. The exposed data included relationship status, birth date, hometown, education and the 15 most recent searches. (Source: NBCNews)
Venus
15 October 2018 An idea behind NASA's new mission is not to land people on the inhospitable surface, but to use the dense atmosphere as a base for exploration. A manned mission could place two astronauts above the Venusian surface for 30-days after a 110-day trip to Earth's nearest neighbor. Between altitudes of 50km and 60km, the pressure and temperature can be compared to regions of the Earth's lower atmosphere. The atmospheric pressure in the Venusian atmosphere at 55km is about half that of the pressure at sea level on Earth. The atmosphere above this altitude is also dense enough to protect astronauts from ionising radiation from space. The conceptual airship would float around the planet, being blown by the wind. The Venusian atmosphere is comprised of 97% carbon dioxide, about 3% nitrogen and trace amounts of other gases. It famously contains a sprinkling of sulphuric acid which forms dense clouds and is a major contributor to its visible brightness when viewed from Earth. / photo, video/ (Source: DailyMail)
Space
16 October 2018 A strange flash of radio waves detected in space has been traced to a galaxy called ESO 601-G036, 120 million light years from our planet, unusually nearby in astronomical terms. Dubbed FRB 171020, it was picked out from a haul of similar signals detected by experts last week. Australian researchers at Swinburne University of Technology announced that they had discovered a record breaking 19 powerful bursts of radio waves emanating from deep space on October 10. Some speculate they could be anything from stars colliding to messages created by technological advanced alien civilisations. Fast radio bursts generate an intense blast of energy - enough that it's almost equivalent to the amount released by the Sun over the course of 80 years. (Source: DailyMail)
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