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Magyarország
15 11 26 Nem az iszlám állam, hanem nagyrészt Aszad elől menekülnek a szírek, mondja a Budapesten élő, ellenzéki érzelmű szír vállalkozó, Alatrash. (Forrás: Mandiner): http://mandiner.hu
5 11 25 Egyre több helyen olvasni arról, hogy a terroristák akár biológiai fegyvert is bevethetnek. A magyar szakszolgálatok állítják: felkészültek az ilyen helyzetekre. Mukics, az Országos Katasztrófavédelmi Főigazgatóság helyettes szóvivője elmondta: terrortámadás esetén a katasztrófavédelem eljárása hasonló ahhoz, mintha egy veszélyes ipari üzemben kerülne veszélyes anyag levegőbe. Magyarországon 20 mobillaboratórium áll rendelkezésre, ezek terepjárókra szerelt mobil laborok, amelyekkel azonnal a helyszínre lehet érkezni. A katasztrófavédelem egyből meg tudja állapítani, milyen anyag került a levegőbe, valamint azt is, hogy merre terjed, s mekkora az érintett terület. Nagy baj esetén – például egy rendkívül agresszív anyag esetén – a katasztrófavédelem a lakosság azonnali kimenekítése mellett dönt. A szennyezett terület mentesítését a katasztrófavédelem végzi közösen a honvédséggel. A katasztrófavédelem egy mentesítő sátrában akár 250 ember is mentesíthető egy óra alatt. (Forrás: YouTube/EchoTV): http://tinyurl.com/nvxz9xk
5 11 24 A katonai magánvállalatok a hadseregekkel szemben nem tartanak fenn állandó állományt. Ehelyett egy részletes nyilvántartásban számon tartják a jelentkezőket. Mindig egy adott megbízáshoz keresnek embert, aki a hadsereg parancselvű rendszerével szemben itt szabadon eldöntheti, hogy vállalja-e a munkát vagy sem. A bevándorlás-kérdés kapcsán a legnagyobb probléma, hogy Európa politikusai nincsenek egységben. Az egészet szervezi és pénzeli valaki: brutális logisztika van ennyi ember mozgatása mögött. Ha Magyarországon bármi történne, akkor a szakmai háttérrel rendelkező cégek gyorsan fel tudnának állni. Ha egy ilyen helyzetben megkeresnének minket és megkapnánk a megfelelő engedélyeket, természetesen rendelkezésre bocsátanánk a kapacitásainkat. De abban bízunk, hogy nekünk Európában nem kell dolgozni. (Forrás: 888): http://tinyurl.com/holjelp
Belgium
28 Nov 2015 A menacing letter from the group called ‘Christian state’ has been sent to the major Belgian mosque Attadamoune. It threatens all Muslims will be killed, and their businesses destroyed. The anonymous letter – printed out and full of spelling mistakes - said that “no mosque and none of your businesses will be safe” and threatened that “brothers [Muslims] will be slaughtered like pigs and crucified as our Lord converts their souls.” The document was found in the mosque’s mailbox by Habbachich, one of the local Muslim leaders and the president of Molenbeek’s mosque association. The letter uses similar terminology to that of the islamic state - he said. Last week, Belgian Prime Minister Michel said that the government may close “certain radical mosques” in the Molenbeek district over fears that it was the place where the Paris attacks were orchestrated. ( Source. RT): http://tinyurl.com/hthjzkd
11/25/2015 The chief rabbi of Brussels told an Israeli radio station that there is no future for Jews in Europe, The Jerusalem Post reports. Rabbi Gigi described the environment of fear in the Belgian capital Gigi noted that the Belgian Jewish population is at 50,000 (25,000 in Brussels/18,000 in Antwerp), noting there has been a migration of Jews to Israel “as well as emigration to Canada and the US. Rabbi Margolin, director of the European Jewish Association, said his organization “is determined to continue our work to ensure that the 3 million Jews who live on our continent can continue to command a safe home and to be able to freely and proudly identify themselves as Jews.” ( Source: DailyCaller): http://tinyurl.com/na3gres
Russia Oroszország
28 November 2015 President Putin signed a decree imposing a raft of punitive economic sanctions against Turkey, underlining the depth of the Kremlin's anger toward Ankara four days after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane. The decree, which entered into force immediately, said charter flights from Russia to Turkey would be banned, that tour firms would be told not to sell any holidays there, and that unspecified Turkish imports would be outlawed, and Turkish firms and nationals have their economic activities halted or curbed.Turkey mainly sells food, agricultural products and textiles to Moscow and is also one of the most popular holiday destinations for Russians. Peskov, Putin's spokesman, said he thought up to 200,000 Turkish citizens could be on Russian soil. (Source: CAYahoo): http://tinyurl.com/hauvu3c
15 11 (29 előtt) Az Orosz Nemzeti Védelmi Központ (NDCC) épülete (Forrás: pto): http://tinyurl.com/na78pl7
5 11 24 Speech of the Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lt.Gen. Rudskoy on Turkish Air Force's F-16 fighter attack on Russian Su-24M tactical bomber. (Source: YouTube): http://tinyurl.com/p6rhnqt
November 24, 2015 Russia will not tolerate crimes like the attack on the Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down by the Turkish Air Force in Syrian skies, President Putin said on Tuesday at a meeting with King of Jordan Abdullah II. "I understand each country has its own regional interests, and we have always respected that. But we shall never tolerate crimes like today's one," the president said. "Our pilots and jet posed no threat to the Turkish Republic. This is obvious. They were conducting an operation against isil," Putin said. He stressed the plane was flying above northern Lattakia where militants coming from Russia are concentrated. "The Russian bomber was shot down over Syria by an air-to-air surface fired from a Turkish F-16 plane when the bomber was at an altitude of 6,000 meters at a distance of 1 km from the Turkish bomber." Putin said. According to the president, Russia has long been aware of oil supplies to Turkey from Syria’s territories seized by terrorists, which provided tangible financial support for the extremists, adding that monetary support for the militant groups was large, indeed. Putin noted that Turkey’s contacts with NATO member states after the attack against the Russian aircraft look like an attempt to make the alliance serve terrorists. "We will certainly carefully analyse what has happened and today’s tragic event will have serious consequences to Russian-Turkish relations," he said. (Source: TASS): http://tinyurl.com/o9ryj36
Románia
15 11 24 Csángó vagyok (Forrás: JönAJani): http://tinyurl.com/oj8qjpx
Sweden
25 November 2015 Thugs hurling stones, cars set on fire and refugee children aged five escorted to school by police: Inside the once tranquil Swedish village at war with migrants housed in emergency centre. Locals and refugees have been fighting in Tärnsjö, 150km from Stockholm. Tensions so bad young migrant children are given a police escort to school. Two warring communities trade insults and throw rocks, leaving many scared to go out. 'We have highest tax rate in the county because we are paying for so many immigrants,' says local councillor. Snapshot of Sweden where 17 migrant centres burned down in two months. As many as one in five now support the far-right Swedish Democrat party. Record: The country is now seeing 10,000 people arrive a week, and has reinstated border checks to keep better control. But locals are starting to feel the burden, and there have been arson attacks across the country aimed at the properties where migrants are living. Last week, the government announced it was no longer able to house all of the people. (Source: DailyMail): http://tinyurl.com/q4jy62v
China
24 Nov 2015 The world’s biggest animal “cloning factory” is due to open in China, producing one million calves a year, sniffer dogs and even genetic copies of the family pet. (Source: The Telegraph): http://tinyurl.com/oc4bymf
India
November 29, 2015 COP21 Paris climate talks: India looms as obstacle to deal. India’s vulnerability to changes in the climate makes it all the more extraordinary that its government is seen as an obstacle to a successful deal, just as previous administrations were accused of obstructing world trade negotiations.Two weeks ago in Turkey, India blocked efforts by the G20 countries to prepare for an ambitious climate accord. John Kerry, US secretary of state, recently praised China but expressed concern about the “challenge” of India and its desire to burn more dirty coal for electricity. In 2012, its annual per capita carbon dioxide emissions were just 1.6 tonnes per person, compared with 16.4 tonnes per person for the US and 7.1 tonnes per person for China. By 2030 its emissions will still amount to only about 5 tonnes per person per year — half the level in China. The Modi government has also launched an ambitious programme to accelerate investment in renewable energy, particularly solar power, so that in 15 years more than a third of its installed electricity capacity will be based on solar energy, windmills and hydroelectric dams. India does not deny that its greenhouse gas emissions will increase dramatically in absolute terms — from 1.48bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually in 2005 to more than 7bn in 2030 — but says that is because of a growing population and the need to provide electricity to the 300m Indians who lack it today, and the requirement for new coal-fired power stations to supplement other sources of electricity. Half of India’s extra emissions are expected to come from coal. The sticking point is more likely to be India’s insistence that signatories reaffirm a pledge of $100bn a year in financial flows from rich countries to poor ones from 2020, to help with emissions reduction and climate change adaptation. India’s domestic cost of capital is high at around 13 per cent and according to the International Energy Agency the country needs to invest $140bn a year on everything from modernising electricity grids for handling fluctuating renewable energy supplies to improved technology for burning coal. India has failed to trumpet from the rooftops its relatively low present and future per capita emissions; and second, it may be too pessimistic about likely technological advances that would permit it to adopt more ambitious carbon emission targets. (Source: FinancialTimes): http://tinyurl.com/ov6swcw
November 26, 2015 At the climate talks in Paris next week, all eyes will be on Indian Prime Minister Modi. Developing nations are looking for him to champion their interests in winning funds to mitigate the worst effects of climate change. Richer countries including the U.S. are wary that India could end up scuttling any deal. For Modi, it’s an opportunity to claim his spot among the world’s top statesmen crafting a solution to one of the biggest risks facing humanity -- and he’s unlikely to pass that up. U.S. Secretary of State Kerry told the Financial Times earlier this month that India poses “a challenge" to the negotiations, particularly regarding its desire to continue burning low-grade, domestic coal that’s especially dirty. India’s Environment Minister Javadekar fired back, telling reporters in New Delhi that the statement was “unfair and untrue." He said the U.S. uses triple the amount of coal that India does despite finding shale gas. In September, Indian Power Minister Goyal said Western nations had “polluted the world for the last 150 years with cheap energy” and that India won’t pay for it. Rhetoric aside, India sees the two-week talks as one of the best chances to strike a deal before a presidential election that may bring a Republican to power in the U.S. “The other party waiting in the wings doesn’t believe in climate change," Javadekar told Bloomberg TV India this week, referring to the U.S. election. India’s size makes it essential to any meaningful deal. The country now has 1.3 billion people, and it’s set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country by 2022. It needs an enormous amount of infrastructure investment to raise the lowest living standards among the biggest emerging markets. That means abundant use of emissions-heavy steel, cement and aluminum. India became a leader among developing nations after China broke ranks last year by agreeing to peak in 2030. Instead, India has agreed to reduce the intensity of its fossil-fuel emissions: the amount of CO2 it releases per dollar of gross domestic product -- an approach that leaves plenty of wiggle room. India also irked many climate researchers by including “clean coal" -- an unproven technology -- as part of its target to get 40 percent of its electricity from non-fossil fuels by 2030. Currently, about 60 percent of India’s power comes from coal. By 2040, India will have the fastest-growing electricity demand among major economies and be the top driver of global coal demand, according to the International Energy Agency. Modi set to spearhead a solar alliance of 110 nations that aims to expand the use of solar in the tropics and bring power to non-electrified villages with the backing of rich countries. He just needs to blend his vision of development with his vision of climate protection. They do intersect. Modi has the potential for motivating the country. (Source: Bloomberg): http://tinyurl.com/gqh2kos
Iraq
Nov 30, 2015 Yazidi women tell of rape and enslavement at hands of isis. More than 3,000 women and girls were taken captive when isis attacked ancestral Yazidi villages around northwestern Iraq's Sinjar Mountain in August 2014. Nearly half-a-million people have been displaced since, according to the Kurdistan Regional Government's Yazidi Affairs Directorate. Today, community leaders say around 2,000 women and girls are still being bought and sold in isis-controlled areas. The young become sex slaves and older women are beaten and used as house slaves, according to survivors and accounts from isis militants. isis has published documents justifying the enslavement of Yazidis as spoils of war. In rare cases, the government of semi-autonomous Kurdistan will pay for the release of women or girls. However, most of the captive women are reliant on a small network of underground activists, or sympathetic guards or even other wives to smuggle them out. More than 1,000 Yazidi women and girls have escaped isis control, but the battle isn't over once they get back. The Jiyan Foundation for Human Rights runs a small clinic in the Kurdish city of Duhok where Yazidi women can receive medical care and psychological treatment. In conservative Yazidi culture, rape victims often are stigmatized and shunned by their families and communities — even despite an edict from the religion's highest authority last year ordering families and communities to embrace former isis captives. (Source: NBCNews): http://tinyurl.com/hv74q88
Israel
November 29, 2015 Israel suspends co-operation with EU on peace process in retaliation for the bloc’s decision to begin labelling some goods made in Jewish settlements on Israeli-occupied lands. The move has angered Israel’s rightwing government and prompted it to compare product labelling to Nazi-era boycotts of Jewish businesses. (Source: FinancialTimes): http://tinyurl.com/pbdv9ko
Syria
24 November 2015 The Russian warplane is shot down by Turkey after allegedly violating its airspace, with both pilots on board believed to be dead. (Source: SkyNews): http://tinyurl.com/nrfjhc8
5 11 23 Debris of buildings are seen after Russian airstrikes at Bayirbucak Turkmen region in Latakia, Syria on November 22, 2015. ... (video) (Source: AnadoluAgency): http://tinyurl.com/nwpl7yc
November 23, 2015 White House Gave isis 45 minute warning before bombing oil tankers Why did it take 15 months for the U.S. to target the islamic state's oil infrastructure? “Get out of your trucks now, and run away from them. Warning: air strikes are coming. Oil trucks will be destroyed. Get away from your oil trucks immediately. Do not risk your life,” the leaflet reads. Meanwhile isis gets 45 minutes of warning. While it took the U.S. fifteen months to even begin targeting isis’ oil refineries and tankers, air strikes by Moscow destroyed more than 1,000 tankers in a period of just five days. In comparison, Col. Warren said that the U.S. had taken out only 116 tanker trucks, the “first strike” to target ISIS’ lucrative black market oil business, which funds over 50 per cent of the terror group’s activities. U.S. air strikes targeting isi oil assets are so rare that PBS was caught using footage of Russian fighter jets bombing an oil storage facility in Syria and passing it off as evidence of the U.S. targeting the islamic state’s oil infrastructure. U.S. military pilots have also confirmed that they were ordered not to drop 75 per cent of their ordnance on ISIS targets because they could not get clearance from their superiors. Earlier this year a document emerged confirming that the Pentagon foresaw the rise of isis and that western support for Al-Qaeda groups and other anti-Assad rebels in Syria would lead to the emergence of a “Salafist Principality” that would help to “isolate” Assad. Zero Hedge, adding, “The US didn’t want to cut off islamic state’s funding, because without money, the group couldn’t fight Assad.” isis is receiving support from state sponsors of terror like Turkey and Saudi Arabia. $800,000,000 worth of isis oil has been sold in Turkey, a supposed U.S. ally. isis trucks are routinely allowed to cross back and forth between the islamic state stronghold of Raqqa and Turkey, while the NATO country facilitates black market oil sales on behalf of the terror group. As Ahmed documents, a large cache of intelligence recovered from a raid on an isis safehouse this summer confirms that “direct dealings between Turkish officials and ranking isis members was now ‘undeniable.’ (Source: InfoWars): http://tinyurl.com/nhv5oto
Turkey
November 29, 2015 Turkey has begun a defacto blockade of Russian naval vessels, preventing transit through the Dardanelles and the Strait of Bosphorus, between the Black Sea and Mediterranean. According to the AIS tracking system for the movement of maritime vessels, only Turkish vessels are moving along the Bosphorus, and in the Dardanelles there is no movement of any shipping at all. At the same time, both from the Black Sea, and from the Mediterranean Sea, there is a small cluster of ships under the Russian flag, just sitting and waiting. In addition, shipping inside the Black Sea from Novorossiisk and Sevastopol in the direction of the Bosphorus, no Russian vessels are moving. This indirectly confirms the a CNN statement that Turkey may have blocked the movement of Russian ships on the Dardanelles and the Strait of Bosporus. The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits :it is a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus Straitsand the Dardanelles and regulates the transit of naval warships. The Convention gives Turkey full control over the Straits and guarantees the free passage of civilian vessels in peacetime. It restricts the passage of naval ships not belonging to Black Sea states. The terms of the convention have been the source of controversy over the years, most notably concerning the Soviet Union‘s military access to the Mediterranean Sea. Signed on 20 July 1936 at the Montreux Palace in Switzerland, it permitted Turkey to remilitarise the Straits. It went into effect on 9 November 1936 and was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on 11 December 1936. It is still in force today, with some amendments.The Convention consists of 29 Articles, four annexes and one protocol. Articles 2–7 consider the passage of merchant ships. Articles 8–22 consider the passage of war vessels. The key principle of freedom of passage and navigation is stated in articles 1 and 2. Article 1 provides that “The High Contracting Parties recognize and affirm the principle of freedom of passage and navigation by sea in the Straits”. Article 2 states that “In time of peace, merchant vessels shall enjoy complete freedom of passage and navigation in the Straits, by day and by night, under any flag with any kind of cargo.” The International Straits Commission was abolished, authorizing the full resumption of Turkish military control over the Straits and the refortification of the Dardanelles. Turkey was authorized to close the Straits to all foreign warships in wartime or when it was threatened by aggression; additionally, it was authorized to refuse transit from merchant ships belonging to countries at war with Turkey.a massive and terrifyingly dangerous development. Blockading Russia and preventing its Black Sea fleet from traveling to the rest of the world, or back to its home port, is something that will not sit well with the Russians. Earlier today, Russian President Putin ordered the deployment of 150,000 Russian troops and equipment into Syria, but then also ordered the deployment of 7,000 additional Russian Troops, tanks, rocket launchers and artillery, to the Russian Border of Turkey at Armenia, with orders to be “fully combat ready.” It is important to note two things: 1) Turkey is a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as is the United States and most of Europe, And; 2) Turkey took the first shot at Russia when they intentionally shot down a Russian jet last week. As a NATO member, Turkey can invoke Article 5 of the NATO Treaty which requires all NATO members to come to its defense if Turkey is “attacked.” So if Russia decides to fight back against Turkey downing its military jet, the Turks might call NATO and claim they’ve been “attacked” thereby calling-up NATO forces to go to war against Russia. It bears remembering, however, that Turkey shot first. Why did the Turks shoot? Because Turkey has been allowing the terrorist group isis to sell the oil it has stolen from countries it is conquering. The oil is transported from the wells in countries where isis has seized power, is taken by truck to Turkey, and is then sold at cheap prices on the black market. This black market selling results in over 1 Million dollars per day flowing into isis to keep it equipped and supplied for its ongoing terrorist activities. It would be shocking if NATO were to defend Turkey under such circumstances because by its actions, Turkey is providing material support to the terrorist group isis. For NATO to defend that would make all of us accomplices to terrorism. (Source: InfoWars): http://tinyurl.com/qfabo5a
November 26, 2015 A court ordered two prominent opposition journalists jailed pending trial over charges of willingly aiding an armed group and of espionage for revealing state secrets for their reports on alleged arms smuggling to Syria. The court in Istanbul ruled that Cumhuriyet newspaper's editor-in-chief Dundar, and the paper's Ankara representative, Gul, be taken into custody. In May, the Cumhuriyet paper published what it said were images of Turkish trucks carrying ammunition to Syrian militants. The images reportedly date back to January 2014, when local authorities searched Syria-bound trucks, touching off a standoff with Turkish intelligence officials. Some officials later suggested the trucks were carrying arms or ammunition destined to Turkmen kinsmen in Syria. Gul told reporters that he and Dundar are accused of helping the moderate Islamic movement led by U.S.-based cleric Gulen, a former Erdogan ally who has turned into his No. 1 foe. Government officials accuse Gulen's supporters of stopping the trucks as part of an alleged plot to bring down the government. The government has branded the movement a "terror organization" although it is not known to have been engaged in any acts of violence. (Source: AP): http://tinyurl.com/pf5qxq4
5 11 26 Ettől még nem lett Erdogan azonnal jófiú. A közel-keleti iszlám bezzegdemokrácia megteremtőjeként indult Erdogannak már évek óta borzasztóan rossz az imázsa nyugaton. Ezen pedig nem változtat az a kényszerű NATO-kiállás, amire az orosz gép lelövése kapcsán került sor. Hosszú ugyanis a „bűnlajstrom”: Amerika-szövetséges kurdok bombázása, hézagos sajtószabadság, fura elnöki rendszer. A mérleg másik serpenyőjén viszont ott van a menekültkérdés, a stratégiai földrajzi fekvés Szíria szempontjából – mondta el Egeresi, Törökország-kutató. Még ha egy török-orosz háború nincs is kitörőben, az oroszoknak is van légvédelmük a szír határon, így bármikor viszonozhatják a törökök „gesztusát”. A Nemzeti Közszolgálati Egyetem (NKE) szakértője röviden vázolta a török államfő helyzetét: Erdogan a 2003-as hatalomra kerülése utáni években elég jó, européer imázst alakított ki, pártja, az Igazság és Fejlődés Pártja (AKP) pedig afféle muszlim-konzervatív formációként jelent meg. Az arab tavasz által pozícióba kerülő majdani vezetők számára a Nyugat a török modellt tűzte ki példának. Voltak ugyan kritikus hangok a médiában, de főleg csak a sajtószabadság kapcsán; aztán a 2013-as Gezi parkbéli tüntetések, amelyeket erővel oszlatott fel Ankara, gyökeres fordulatot hoztak. Most Nyugat láthatóan elfogadta a török érvelést, miszerint a légtérsértő orosz gépet jogosan lőtték le, de nem Erdogan személye, hanem a szövetséges Törökország mellett sorakoztak fel. Ki a főellenség? Más kérdés például az Amerika-szövetséges kurd csoportok helyzete, amelyeket Ankara – Aszad szír elnök és az iszlám állam mellett – szintén megszórt bombákkal. Ilyenkor – ahogy Egeresi mondta – Erdoganék a törökországi kurdok egy részének támogatását élvező, Észak-Irakban táborokkal rendelkező Kurdisztáni Munkáspártra (PKK) mutogatnak. A PKK magát forradalmi pártként határozza meg, a világ többi része – beleértve az EU-t és az USA-t is – viszont terrorszervezetként tartja nyilván. Szövetségesük, a Demokratikus Unió Pártja (PYD) szerzett hatalmat Észak-Szíriában, ezt pedig már komoly fenyegetésként értékelik Ankarában. A kurdok száma és területi elhelyezkedése a Közel-Keleten (ahol számuk kb 32 millió fő. Térkép: http://tinyurl.com/ngoj7r5 A labda most az oroszok térfelén pattog – húzta alá Egeresi –, és eddig elsősorban gazdasági retorziókat helyeztek kilátásba, katonairól szó sincs. Törökország gázellátása ötven-hatvan százalékban Moszkvától függ – ami nem mellesleg Putyinéknak is nagy üzlet –, ezért a nyílt háborút mindkét fél kerülni fogja. Medvegyev ugyanakkor három kártyát is felvillantott: jelesül a Török Áramlat, a Roszatom kivitelezésével tervezett akkuyui atomerőmű 2022-es üzembe helyezésének, illetve az Oroszországban befektető török cégek helyzetének kérdéseit. Moszkva mindhárom területen fájdalmasan ráléphet Erdoganék tyúkszemére. A török elnök most a szövetséges szerepében jelenik meg a nyugati médiában,és ha tovább eszkalálódik a helyzet, Törökország pedig a kisebb érdekkonfliktusok ellenére továbbra is nagyjából nyugati szövetségeseivel együtt lép fel, akkor az tényleg javíthatja majd Erdogan imázsát – de a jófiú imázsától még messze van. (Forrás: MNO): http://tinyurl.com/ngoj7r5
24 November 2015 Turkey downs ÍTurkish jet: Turkey's letter to the UN (Source. AlJazeera): http://tinyurl.com/p5dodfq
New Zealand
Nov 30, 2015 Anti-ageing drug could let you live to 120 in good health (Source: NZHerald): http://tinyurl.com/zzd786v
United States
November 29, 2015 The rise of liberal intolerance in America. There is no doubt that racial prejudice is alive and well but quashing free speech is no answer. In the space of a few years gay marriage has been accepted, marijuana has been legalised, America has twice elected its first black president. Today’s mantra is to create “safe spaces”. Campus libraries put “trigger warnings” on works of fiction: students are warned off Ovid’s Metamorphoses because it depicts rape, Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice (anti-semitism), Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby (misogyny) and Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (patriarchy). The term “microaggression” — giving unconscious verbal offence to marginalised groups — has entered everyday vocabulary. I have lost count of the conversations I have had with faculty heads who admit to censoring their language for fear of giving offence. Their jobs are sometimes at stake. The goal is to eliminate prejudice from the mind. Yet it can have the perverse effect of heightening awareness of race. There is a boom on America’s campuses — and beyond — of what one critic has dubbed the “race therapy complex”. University faculties are bulging with multicultural guidance counsellors, diversity officers and those whose task it is to provide training in racial etiquette. Their job is to detect racial insensitivity. Naturally, some find it where it does not exist. The more such positions are created, the greater the vested interests behind it. As Upton Sinclair said: “It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” What does this mean for the future? Forget about universities. The future has already graduated. Anyone with ambition in US public life has long since learnt the value of self-censorship. A word out of context can ruin your chances of being confirmed by the US Senate. Risk-taking is penalised. Blandness is key to career advancement. Little wonder large swaths of the American public have lost faith in their leaders’ integrity. When a politician speaks, the effect is too often chloroformic. The vacuum that spontaneity once occupied is wide open for others to fill. Next time you wonder why a demagogue like Trump is doing so well, ask why there is such high return to his plain spokenness. Could it be because it is being rooted out of public life?(Source: FinancialTimes): http://tinyurl.com/gkqk9aw
November 28, 2015 See the invisible wireless signals around you with this augmented reality app (Source: The Verge): http://tinyurl.com/nsutmq7
Nov 27, 2015 Ranchland owners speak out on death tolls. People going missing on ranch land. “Paying the Price,” we reported how a Honduran woman went missing on private ranch land in Brooks County. Human rights activist Canales said the woman is one of hundreds who die in the brush. He said the biggest obstacle to finding remains of missing people is getting access to do searches on private property. Landowners are speaking out about being associated with the number of people dying. The count of bodies found this year in Brooks County so far is 41. Somehow the U.S. is blamed for their deaths, or ranchers are blamed for their deaths, or others are blamed for their deaths. When they know when they come into the country illegally, they’re taking this chance - Kibbe, the director of the South Texas Property Rights Association said. The main issue Kibbe said is people in the country illegally are fleeing from their homelands. She said human rights activists should change their focus from the ranches to Central America. I think if they want to help these people, they need to go down and help them in their countries - Kibbe said. The South Texas Property Rights Association is calling on congress to secure the border, enforce current laws, reform immigration laws and create a guest worker program. (Source: KRGV): http://tinyurl.com/pk55jah See also: Brooks County, Texas (Source: Wikipedia): http://tinyurl.com/jbjlo8v
November 24, 2015 Just in time for the holidays, the State Department issued a global travel alert to U.S. citizens warning of the increased likelihood of terror attacks by legions of terrorists — including the murderous islamic state. The terse warning, posted on the State Department website, said American travelers should use “particular caution” in the coming weeks and through Feb. 24. (Source: DailyNews): . http://tinyurl.com/ode8rt6
22 Nov 2015 Gangs of New York: Sicilian mafia offers Big Apple protection from 'psychopathic' isis. The notorious crime syndicate say they want to do their bit to protect locals. Gambino, the son of a key figure in the Gambino mob organization, says the mafia is in a much better position than security bodies, such as the FBI or Homeland Security, to give New Yorkers the protection they need. “They often act too late, or fail to see a complete picture of what's happening due to a lack of ‘human intelligence,’” he said in an interview with NBC News. "The world is dangerous today, but people living in New York neighborhoods with Sicilian connections should feel safe," he said. "We make sure our friends and families are protected from extremists and terrorists, especially the brutal, psychopathic organization that calls itself the Islamic State,” He says that Islamic State (formerly isis/isil) fear the Sicilian mafia, and this has been one of the main reasons why they have not tried to set up any underground cells in Sicily. (Source: RT): http://tinyurl.com/qewy2vf
Globalization
27 November 2015 Tradable refugee-admission quotas (TRAQs), the Syrian crisis and the new European agenda on migration (Source: JournalofEuropeanLaborStudies): http://tinyurl.com/j27vy6h
Space
Nov 28, 2015 Did scientists just pick up the first intelligent radio waves from a distant alien planet? The "fast radio bursts" included one "double signal" never heard before and have left astronomers buzzing with excitement over the possibility of it being a message with alien origins. Only 11 of the unidentified transient radio pulses have been recorded before around the world. Regarding the data from the Parkes radio telescope in New South Wales, Australia, Petroff from Swinburne University, in Melbourne, one of the team who discovered the signals, believes the origin could be more remarkable than anything recorded before. The discovery is being compared in significance to the recording of the "Wow signal" - a strong narrowband radio wave found by Jerry Ehman in 1977. That radio burst, picked up by the Big Ear radio telescope of The Ohio State University in the United States, bore all the expected hallmarks of non-terrestrial origin but has not been detected since. The source remains a total mystery. Seemingly similar readings which excited astronomers earlier this year called perytons at the time were later found to be coming from microwave ovens on Earth being prematurely opened in the canteens of observatories where observations were being taken. The double burst FRB (called 121002) had a "clear two-component profile". They say each component is similar to the known population of single component FRBs and are separated by 2.4 milliseconds. They added: “Many of the proposed models to explain FRBs use a single high energy event involving compact objects (such as neutron star mergers) and therefore cannot easily explain a two-component FRB.” (Source: Express): http://tinyurl.com/q3u38yu
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