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Magyarország Hungary
2017. IX. 20. Vona kitérő választ adott arra, hogy Orbán Viktort börtönbe zárná-e, ugyanakkor a Jobbikot a hazai és a nemzetközi zsidóság megbízható partnerének nevezte – nem mellesleg bárkivel összefogna a kormányváltás érdekében. Mindez a Szeretem Magyarországot Klub vitaestjén hangzott el, ami többek heves tiltakozása ellenére mégiscsak megvalósult.(Forrás: Mandiner)
September 19, 2017 Hungary is set to launch another state "national consultation" about US financier and philanthropist Soros six months before expected general elections. Last week a top official in the ruling Fidesz party, Kósa, said that this "Soros plan" includes Europe accepting a million migrants per year and the demolition of Hungary's anti-migrant border fences. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has regularly attacked the Hungarian-born Soros in the last year, calling him a "public enemy" for his alleged backing of uncontrolled mass immigration. Orbán told a recent closed party meeting immigration would be the main theme of the run-up to the next election, likely to be held in April. (Source: Yahoo)
2017. IX. 16-17. Kulturális Örökség Napjai. European Heritage Days. Aranykorok emlékezete. Rendezvények (Forrás: Örökségnapok): https://tinyurl.com/y8v2mvop
2017. IX. 15. Az ukrán parlament által elfogadott oktatási törvény súlyosan korlátozza a kárpátaljai magyarság anyanyelvi oktatásának lehetőségeit. Fontos, hogy az ilyen, és ehhez hasonló eseteknél egy nemzetként álljunk ki, és ítéljük el a történteket. A Fidelitas társszervezeteivel tüntetést szervez az ukrán nagykövetség elé . (Forrás: FaceBook)
2017. IX. 14. Közszereplő volt, tehát nem bírálhatatlan. Göncz nem csak az igazságtétel elkaszálásában volt bűnös (egykori 1956-os bajtársai emiatt fojtották bele okkal, megérdemelten a szót 1992. október 23-án az Országház előtt). Cinikusan és jogsértően, törvényes hatáskörét rendre túllépve, a nemzet egységének megjelenítése helyett következetesen pártpolitikai szerepet játszva akadályozta az akkori közmédia átalakítását, foggal-körömmel védelmezve a magyarellenes kommunista és balliberális média-brigantik pozícióit. Köztársasági elnökként hadsereg-főparancsnoki jogkörével is visszaélt, amikor a történelem-hamisítók által taxis-blokádnak hazudott 1990-es SZDSZ-es puccs-kísérlet idején jó előre deklarálta, hogy semmilyen körülmények között nem engedi bevetni a Magyar Honvédséget, a háromnapos agresszív felforgatást követően pedig sietve amnesztiában részesítette az államcsínykísérlet résztvevőit. Az SZDSZ-es szélhámos nem átallott balliberális demonstrációkon is megjelenni, nyíltan és arcátlanul letéve ezzel a garast az adott politikai tábor mellett. Mi több, külföldön sem szégyellt Magyarország ellen uszítani (La Stampa című olasz lap 1993. november 20.). /Forrás: Demokrata/
2017. IX. 13. Ki nézte meg a Facebook-oldalunkat? (Forrás: Híradó): https://tinyurl.com/ybf6d99o
2017. IX. 12. Gulyás, az Országgyűlés alelnöke szerint Göncz akkori köztársasági elnöknek és az Alkotmánybíróságnak negatív értelemben vett súlyos történelmi felelőssége, hogy az 1989-90-es rendszerváltás után nem léphetett hatályba az igazságtételi törvény. Az Országgyűlés 1991. november 4-én fogadta el az 1944. december 21. és 1990. május 2. között elkövetett és politikai okból nem üldözött súlyos bűncselekmények büntethetőségéről szóló, Zétényi-Takács néven is emlegetett törvényt, amely azonban nem lépett hatályba. Az első törvényhozási többség a kárpótlás, az életjáradékok terén is "egy igaz, helyes, de népszerűtlen" szerepet vállalt. Először az életüktől és szabadságuktól politikai okokból jogtalanul megfosztottak kárpótlása szóló 1992-es törvény volt az, amely kárpótlásra való alanyi jogosultságot biztosított az 1939 márciusa és 1989. október 23. között életüktől és szabadságuktól megfosztottaknak. A rendelkezés alapján több mint negyedmillió ember kapott kárpótlást: életvesztés jogcímén 1200-an, deportálás miatt 38 ezren, munkaszolgálat miatt 15 ezren, Szovjetunióbeli kényszermunka miatt 210 ezren. Ezt később kiegészítette a nemzeti gondozásról szóló törvény.
Erdély
2017. IX. 19. A romániai nacionalista felhang és hangulatkeltés ellensúlyozásaként az RMDSZ "Ezer év Erdélyben, száz év Romániában" címmel programsorozatot indít az erdélyi magyar közösség identitásának és önbizalmának erősítésére, ami a többség számára is megmutatná, hogy a romániai magyarság értékalkotó közösségként mit tett le a román állam asztalára. (Forrás: MagyarIdők)
2017. IX. 19. Mentsük meg a marosvásárhelyi katolikus iskolát! Ezzel a petícióval azt szeretnénk elérni, hogy a román hatóságok szüntessenek meg minden, a marosvásárhelyi Római Katolikus Teológiai Líceum ellen hozott törvénytelen határozatot, és biztosítsák a további működéséhez szükséges törvényes kereteket. A marosvásárhelyi több száz éves Római Katolikus Teológiai Líceum (a továbbiakban RKTL) az egyetlen Maros megyei katolikus felekezeti oktatási intézmény, amelyet a kommunista kormány 1948-as erőszakosan bezárt s ez után sikerült 2015. szeptember 1-jén a Gyulafehérvári Római Katolikus Érsekség kezdeményezésére újraindítani. 2016 őszétől sorozatos, a törvényesség látszatát keltő támadások érték az iskolát, amely akciók az intézet működésének ellehetetlenítését célozták. Ezek közül néhány eset: 2016. november 4-én, az Országos Korrupcióellenes Ügyészség hatósági felügyelet alá helyezte az RKTL igazgatóját Dr. Tamásit. A vád azonban nem 'korrupció" volt, hanem az, hogy az iskolaalapítás állítólag 'törvénytelen'. 2016. november 4. és 2017. február 14. között az iskola élére nem neveztek ki új igazgatót. Így az RKTL diákjai ebben az időszakban nem kaphattak iskolalátogatási igazolást és tömegközlekedési eszközökre érvényes bérleteket, illetve a tanárok csak kétszer kaphattak fizetést, először 2016. december 15.-én, majd 2017. február 14.-én. A Maros Megyei Tanfelügyelőség 62-es (2017.01.26-i) és 63-as (2017.01.30-i) határozatai kimondták, hogy az RKTL diákjai a 2017-2018 tanévtől egyetlen romániai oktatási intézményhez sem fognak tartozni. A Maros Megyei Tanfelügyelőség 70-es határozata (2017.02.27) megtiltotta a beiratkozást az RKTL cikluskezdő osztályaiba a 2017-2018-as tanévre. ... Kérjük, hogy a felelős állami szervek azonnali hatállyal állítsák le az iskola elleni hajszát! Követeljük, hogy a gyerekek és szülők élhessenek a romániai és európai törvények által számukra biztosított alapvető állampolgári jogaikkal! A diákok érdeke az lenne, hogy zavartalanul megkezdhessék és folytathassák tanulmányaikat a marosvásárhelyi Római Katolikus Teológiai Líceumban! (Forrás: CitizenGo): http://tinyurl.com/yblgnunj
2017. IX. 16. Futballhuligánok. Szeptember 10.-én Kolozsváron a helyi Universitatea labdarúgócsapat szurkolóihoz tartozó román futballhuligánok behatoltak egy sporttelepre, ahol a rivális CFR 1907 focicsapat magyar szurkolói csoportja által szervezett nemzetközi amatőr labdarúgókupa zajlott. A kupán erdélyi, magyarországi és felvidéki magyar szurkolói csoportok csapatai vettek részt családjaikkal együtt. A támadókat a rendezők előbb kitessékelték a kibérelt sporttelepről, de azok később láncokkal és botokkal tértek vissza, és tömegverekedés tört ki. Mire a segélyhívó számon riasztott csendőrség a helyszínre ért, a magyar futballkupa résztvevői visszaverték a támadást, és a támadók elmenekültek. Egy hét múltán a rendőrség a honlapján közleményben tudatta, hogy a kolozsvári polgárok sok, a helyzetet tisztázó felvételt és információt bocsátottak a nyomozók rendelkezésére, ezért köszönetet mondott. Az előállítottak 19 és 35 év közötti kolozsvári, dési és tordai férfiak. A rendőrség azt is közölte: az esemény kapcsán még senki nem tett feljelentést. (Forrás: MTI)
Kárpátalja
2017. IX. 17 A második világháború után a Szovjetunióhoz csatolt Kárpátalján a magyar tannyelvű iskolai oktatás a legfontosabb szerepet játszotta abban, hogy a kárpátaljai magyarság a megpróbáltatások ellenére erős nemzeti közösségként élte túl a szovjet birodalmat. Az 1945-1946-os tanévben csaknem száz – 82 elemi és 16 hétosztályos – iskolában indult meg az oktatás magyarul 11 700 tanulóval, az egységes szovjet oktatási rendszer szabványai szerint. A magyar gimnáziumi (középiskolai) oktatást a megszálló szovjet hatóságok betiltották. Ugyancsak 1945-ben kezdte meg működését Ungváron az idén megszűnt magyar tankönyvszerkesztőség. Az 1951-1952-es tanévben a magyar iskolák között először haladta meg a hétosztályos iskolák (55) száma az elemiekét (46). A magyar tannyelvű tízosztályos középiskolai oktatás 1953-ban indult be négy magyarlakta településen, miután kárpátaljai magyar értelmiségiek Moszkvánál kérvényezték az anyanyelvű oktatás bővítését. A következő évben kilencre nőtt a középiskolák száma. A magyar iskolákban tanulók orosz nyelvtudásának alacsony színvonalára hivatkozva orosz és ukrán nyelvű osztályokat indítottak a legnagyobb magyar iskolákban (ezt a módszert Kárpátalján a két világháború között a csehszlovák hatóságok is alkalmazták színmagyar települések iskoláiban). Az 1966-1967-es tanévben a magyar tannyelvű iskolák egynegyedében voltak párhuzamos orosz és ukrán osztályok, nagyobbrészt a magyar többségű beregszászi járásban. A tendencia folytatódott, így 1989-re csak 50 tisztán magyar tannyelvű iskola maradt. 1963-ban az Ungvári Állami Egyetemen (UÁE) megnyílt a magyar filológiai tanszék, amely felkészült magyartanárokkal látta el az iskolákat, a kárpátaljai magyar értelmiségi képzés bázisintézményévé vált. A kárpátaljai magyar középiskolákból az 1960-as években kikerült végzősök egy része az UÁE-n kívül a szovjet nagyvárosok legjobb egyetemein tanult tovább. A magyar érettségizők többsége számára azonban leküzdhetetlen akadályt jelentett a kötelező orosz vagy ukrán írásbeli egyetemi felvételi vizsga. 1973-ban Fodó, a Kárpátaljai Magyar Kulturális Szövetség (KMKSZ) későbbi alapító elnöke által indított aláírásgyűjtés hatására Moszkva engedélyezte a magyar nyelvű felvételizést az UÁE-n. Már ebben az évben a magyar iskolák mintegy 130 végzőse jutott be különböző szakokra, a felsőoktatási intézmény számukra egyéves kötelező felzárkóztató orosz nyelvi kurzust indított. Megerősödött a magyar értelmiség. Nagyrészt ennek köszönhető, hogy Ukrajnában 1989-ben a kárpátaljai magyarság hozta létre másodikként, a határon túli magyar közösségek közül elsőként független politikai érdekvédelmi szervezetét, a KMKSZ-t. A Szovjetunió utolsó éveiben növekedésnek indult a kárpátaljai magyar iskolák száma, és 1991-re elérte a 88-at. A függetlenné vált Ukrajna tovább működtette a megörökölt szovjet oktatási rendszert, amelynek nemzeti szellemű átállítása közel tíz évig tartott, a rendszeres tankönyvkiadás is csak 2000-től indult meg. A magyar iskolákban a legnagyobb, máig megoldatlan problémát az ukrán nyelv oktatása jelentette. Tizenöt évig nem volt sem tanterv, sem tankönyvek az ukrán tanításához, nem álltak rendelkezésre – és kellő számban ma sincsenek – képzett tanárok. A jelenleg működő mintegy száz magyar tannyelvű iskolában több mint 16 ezer diák tanul. 1993-ban elindult a Nagyberegi Református Líceum, amit további öt egyházi líceum – három református, egy-egy római és görögkatolikus – középiskola alapítása követett. Ezek a magyar oktatás zászlóshajói, végzőseik több mint 90 százaléka folytatja tanulmányait ukrajnai és magyarországi felsőoktatási intézményekben. A kárpátaljai magyarság történetének egyik legnagyobb vívmánya, hogy 1994-ben Beregszászon megalakult a ma II. Rákóczi Ferenc Kárpátaljai Magyar Főiskolának nevezett, nem állami felsőoktatási intézmény, amely mostanra a kárpátaljai magyar szellemi, tudományos és művelődési élet fellegvára lett. Ezzel teljessé, az óvodától a felsőoktatásig terjedővé vált a kárpátaljai magyar nyelvű oktatás rendszere. Ezt sodorta most végveszélybe az új ukrán oktatási törvény. Az ukrán parlament által szeptember 5-én elfogadott módosított oktatási törvény kimondja, hogy a kisebbségi nyelven történő oktatás csakis az óvodákban és az általános iskola alsó tagozataiban lesz lehetséges a jövőben. A törvénynek az oktatás nyelvéről szóló 7. cikkelye kimondja: Ukrajnában az oktatás nyelve az államnyelv. A a rendelkezés az érintett nemzeti kisebbségek szervezetei szerint sérti Ukrajna alkotmányát, több hatályos törvényét, nemzetközi egyezményekben és megállapodásokban vállalt kötelezettségeit. A törvény éles vitát váltott ki belföldön, de az Ukrajnával szomszédos Magyarország, Románia és Lengyelország is tiltakozott a nemzetiségek anyanyelven történő oktatásának tervezett visszaszorítása ellen. (Forrás: MTI)
France
17 Sep 2017 French police have issued a confidential note based on an analysis of “jihadist propaganda,” warning of possible lone-wolf attacks causing trains to derail and even food poisoning, Le Parisien newspaper reported yesterday, citing the document. (Source: RT): http://tinyurl.com/ybskj5bh
Great Britain
15 September 2017 At around 8.20am an explosion on a London Underground train at Parsons Green that sent a "fireball" through a packed carriage is being treated by police as a terrorist incident. Witnesses reported seeing several people hurt and "covered in blood" after a "flash and a bang" on the District Line Tube in west London.(Source: TheTelegraph)
Russia Oroszország
18th September 2017 Siberian tribesman slaughter reindeer and drink their blood to stay alive in the Arctic tundra in the Yamal-Nenets region where temperatures drop as low as -45°C. The Nenets migrate more than 1,000 miles on hand-made, wooden sledges every year; they live in reindeer-hide tepees, dress in reindeer fur clothes and eat raw reindeer meat. Leading a nomadic existence on the Arctic tundra for thousands of years, there are still 10,000 members of the Nenets tribe who command a reindeer flock of approximately 300,000. If you want water, you dig a three-foot hole in some ice. There’s just so little daylight. The sun must only appear for a few hours each day and then you’re in darkness again. (Source: TheSun)
09.15. 17 Zapad 2017 is pretend war whose propaganda value is all too real. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, an international body that monitors the military balance of power on the continent, requires that countries either limit their war games to no more than 13,000 troops - or invite foreign officials to observe the training. Moscow invited NATO observers, but limited them to viewing only a small part of the exercise. In the end, the Western alliance sent just two officials. Wary of Moscow's intentions, Ukraine mobilized troops along its border with Russia. Sweden hosted its own major war game to coincide with Zapad 2017. The United States sent 600 paratroopers to the NATO Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia—in advance of the Russian-Belarusian war game. The Belarusian air force practiced operating MiG-29, Yak-130, and Su-25 warplanes from a highway. The Russian navy sortied 50 warships from ports on Russia's northern coast toward Russia's maritime border with Norway. The flotilla included the nuclear-powered battlecruiser Pyotr Velikiy—one of the world's largest warships at 827 feet long plus several submarines. As the main war game began on Sept. 14, Russian paratroops practiced launching Orlan-10 drones. Russian S-300 air-defense missile launchers maneuvered to simulated launch positions. Russian air force and navy Su-27, Su-30 and Su-35 fighters flew mock air patrols. As for Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia's sole aircraft carrier - the vessel is in a shipyard for repairs following its disastrous first-ever deployment to Syria, in the summer of 2017. During the brief deployment, two of the carrier's 15 fighter planes crashed while trying to land. The United States and its NATO allies together possess no fewer than 14 aircraft carriers operating hundreds of planes. So while the scale and proximity of the Zapad 2017 war game startles nearby countries, the major absences from the exercise undercut the threat the Russian mobilization seems to pose. (Source: TheDailyBeast): https://tinyurl.com/y7b5b5dr
2017. IX. 11. Konyasenkov tábornagy, az orosz honvédelmi minisztérium szóvivője kijelentette: „Meg vagyunk döbbenve azon a nyilatkozaton, amelyet von der Leyen asszony német szövetségi védelmi miniszter tett, nyilvánosan kereskedve olyan alaptalan számokkal, amelyek szerint állítólag 100 000 orosz katona vesz részt a Zapad 2017-en és fenyegeti Európát”. Hozzátette: „A német fél időben kapta meg az információt, és rendelkezik a Zapad 2017 gyakorlaton résztvevő orosz csapatok koncepciójáról, védelmi jellegéről és valós számáról”. A Zapad hadgyakorlaton 12 700 katona, 70 repülőgép és csaknem 700 szárazföldi jármű vesz részt, szögezte le. (Forrás: MagyarIdők)
Ukrajna
2017. IX. 12. Az ukrán UNIAN hírügynökség angol nyelvű szolgálata rövid hírben fejezte ki örömét afölött, hogy a kijevi amerikai nagykövetség gratulált az ukrán kormánynak az új oktatási törvény elfogadásáért. A jelentés idézi az amerikai nagykövetség twitter-üzenetét, amely így hangzik: „Gratuláció Ukrajnának, hogy előre megy az oktatási reformmal – a befektetés az ifjúságba a jövő kulcsa”. (Forrás: MagyarIdők)
Európai Unió
2017. IX. 13. Ki kell használni a mostani lendületet egy erősebb, egységesebb és demokratikusabb unió létrehozására - jelentette ki Juncker, az Európai Bizottság elnöke Strasbourgban, évértékelő beszédében. Kétsebességes Európai Unió ellen érvelt, az élelmiszerek eltérő minőségére hívta fel a figyelmet, a határvédelmet fontosnak és közös ügynek tüntette fel, illetve a gazdasági bevándorlók visszaküldésének felgyorsításáról beszélt. Arról is beszélt, hogy közös valutaalapot, valamint gazdasági és pénzügyminiszteri posztot kellene létrehozni a belső piac megerősítése, az integráció mélyítése érdekében. Arra fogja kérni a tagállami vezetőket, hogy hagyják jóvá a szabadkereskedelmi tárgyalások megkezdését Ausztráliával és Új-Zélanddal, és ezen egyeztetéseket a bizottság mandátumának végéig, 2019-ig le szeretné zárni. Mint mondta, cél az is, hogy Mexikóval és a dél-amerikai közös piac, a Mercosur országaival még idén megállapodásra jussanak. Javasolta, hogy az egyenlőség jegyében hozzanak létre új felügyeleti hatóságot a kiküldött munkavállalók jogainak garantálására, Romániát és Bulgáriát pedig vegyék fel a schengeni térségbe. Az illegális bevándorlást meg kell fékezni, szabályozott mederbe kell terelni a migrációt. Állítása szerint a bizottság hamarosan új javaslatokkal fog előállni a gazdasági bevándorlók visszaküldésének felgyorsítására, de javítani kell a menekültek helyzetét a líbiai táborokban, és nagyobb szolidaritást kell vállalni Afrikával. Megemlítette: a tagállamok mindig kötelesek végrehajtani az Európai Bíróság jogerős ítéleteit, az alapjogok csorbulásával jár, amennyiben ez nem így történik. (Forrás: AlfaHír)
India
19 Sep 2017 An IndiGo flight from Mangalore to Dubai was delayed today. A cellphone bomb was found hidden in passenger luggage by X-ray machine at Mangalore Airport in India. A 26-year-old man, Mohammed, travelling to Dubai had been arrested. There have been recent media reports suggesting Daesh interest in attacking targets in India. There may be an increased threat to places visited by British nationals. (Source: Mirror)
Iraq
18/9/2017 Russian energy firm Rosneft and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have agreed to extend a pipeline to export natural gas from the Kurdistan Region to Turkey. The investments would amount to more than $1 billion. The pipeline is expected to be capable of carrying 30 billion cubic-meters of gas from the Kurdistan Region. The export of Kurdistan natural gas from the pipeline will start in 2020 with construction commencing in 2019. KRG MNR Minister Hawrami and Rosneft CEO Sechin signed an energy agreement in June. KRG Prime Minister Barzani and deputy PM Talabani were also present in Saint Petersburg, Russia, for the agreement. At the time the deals do not need the approval of the Kurdish parliament since the Oil and Gas Council has been given authority under law to sign such agreements with energy companies. The Council, which includes the Kurdish prime ministry, the Ministry of the Economy, and the Ministry of Natural Resources, was established by a law passed by the Kurdish parliament. The deals are a continuation and strengthening of one signed between the MNR and Rosneft in February, a contract on purchase and sale of crude for 2017-2019. (Source: Rudaw)
Israel
September 18, 2017 U.S. and Israeli officers broke ground in Israel for a permanent U.S. Army base that will house dozens of U.S. soldiers, operating under the American flag, and charged with the mission of defending against rocket and missile attack. The American base, officers in Israel say, will be an independent facility co-located at the Israel Defense Forces Air Defense School in southern Israel, near the desert capital of Beersheba. Once completed, the base will house U.S. operational systems to identify and intercept a spectrum of aerial threats. Maj. Gen. Gronski, deputy commanding general of the Army National Guard in U.S. Army Europe, led the U.S. delegation participating in Sept. 18 ceremonies. The U.S. military has operated an independent facility for nearly a decade in the same general area of Israel’s Negev desert. That facility - which is operated only by Americans without an Israeli presence - houses the U.S. AN/TPY-2, an X-Band radar that is integrated with Israeli search and track radars to augment early warning in the event of ballistic missile attack from Iran. (Source: DefenseNews): https://tinyurl.com/ycus7c9d
North Korea
Friday, 14 September 2017 North Korea proves it can hit Guam with fresh missile launch over Japan; Tokyo on nuclear alert as Kim fires missile 2,300 miles – 200 miles further than needed to hit US territory. Test missile landed 1,240 miles off the island of Hokkaido, just before 7am local time. It flew some 2,300 miles. The missile flew over the northern island of Hokkaido, where thousands were awoken by air-raid sirens for the second time in just three weeks, and landed some 1,240 miles off the cape of Erimo. It flew 2300 miles for about 19 minutes. Residents on Hokkaido were awoken by sirens and loudspeakers calling out: 'Missile launch! Missile launch! A missile appears to have been launched from North Korea. Take cover in a building or underground,' causing widespread panic.In an immediate response to launch, South Korea said its military fired a Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile into the sea during a live-fire military drill on the east coast. In a statement released by the North Korean news agency KCNA Thursday, a spokesman for the regime said: 'The army and people of the DPRK are unanimously demanding that the Yankees, chief culprit in cooking up the 'sanctions resolution', be beaten to death as a stick is fit for a rabid dog. And: 'The four islands of the archipelago should be sunken into the sea by the nuclear bomb of Juche. Japan is no longer needed to exist near us.' The United Nations Security Council sanctions imposed on Monday are the strongest so far, banning the North's textile trade and imposing restrictions on shipments of oil products, among a series of other measures. How North Korea developed its nuclear program.... (Source: DailyMail): http://tinyurl.com/yc4xnvds
Barbuda
Sept 14, 2017 For first time in 300 years, there’s not a single living person on the island of Barbuda. An estimated 95% of Barbuda’s structures are damaged, and the entire island of around 1,800 people has been evacuated. Initial estimates suggest that Barbuda will need about $200 million to recover. / Photos/ (Source: USAToday) http://tinyurl.com/y7t4wk9a
Caribbean
September 19, 2017 After a direct hit on the small Lesser Antilles island of Dominica on monday night, followed by a brief weakening, Hurricane Maria reintensified to Category 5 strength with winds of 160 mph on yesterday morning. Maria will likely be a catastrophic Category 5 or high-end Category 4 storm when it hits the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico today morning. Maria developed a tiny “pinhole” eye during its rapid intensification burst on Monday, with a diameter of 8 nautical miles. Hurricanes that develop pinhole eyes often intensify into some of the strongest storms we observe, since they concentrate their wind energy around a narrow ring surrounding the tiny eye. (Source: Wunderground)
Sep 18, 2017 Category 4 Hurricane Maria takes aim at Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands. Puerto Rico has not been hit by a Category 4 or 5 hurricane since 1928. (Source: NBCNews)
Sep 12th 2017 Anarchy in the Caribbean: escaped prisoners and hundreds of looters armed with guns and knives terrorise hurricane-hit islands as police from Britain and France are flown in to restore order. (photos) /Source: DailyMail/: http://tinyurl.com/y9j55hny
Mexico
September 19, 2017 At least 224 killed as powerful 7.1 earthquake strikes central Mexico, collapsing homes and bridges across hundreds of miles, sending thousands more fleeing into the streets screaming in a country still reeling from a deadly temblor that struck less than two weeks ago. The epicenter was about 80 miles southeast of Mexico City in the state of Puebla. 44 buildings were severely damaged in the capital alone. Most people were at work or at school when the earthquake hit. Building standards have improved since the 1985 quake, but there are many old buildings in the city, which were among the worst-hit. The federal government declared a state of disaster in Mexico City and dispatched 3,428 troops to affected areas there and in nearby states. Mexico sits in one of the world’s most seismically active areas, as the floor of the Pacific Ocean south of the country is sliding underneath the North American plate. Mexico City is prone to major damage in earthquakes because it was built on an old lake bed, which amplifies the shaking. As night fell on Mexico City, entire neighborhoods were plunged into darkness. Authorities begged residents in less affected areas to donate flashlights and lanterns so rescuers could keep working though the night. (Source: LosAngelesTimes)
United States
September 20, 2017 Nearly two dozen small earthquakes have rattled Mount Rainier over the past week. The first of the 23 quakes struck on Sept. 11 near the volcano’s summit. The largest of the quakes registered magnitude 1.6. Most volcanic quake swarms originate in the hydrothermal plumbing system, related to slight changes in temperature or groundwater pressure that cause cracking of the rocks. (Source: SeattleTimes)
20 September 2017 US Army reveals video of 'Athena' laser weapon shooting down five drones. Lockheed Martin has released new footage from tests with its laser weapon system. In the tests conducted last month at New Mexico’s White Sands Missile Range, the prototype weapon successfully shot down five unmanned Outlaw aircraft. 'Athena' is a ground-based laser system that can be mounted atop vehicles. Lockheed Martin's laser is a beam combined fiber laser, meaning it brings together individual lasers, generated through fiber optics, to generate a single, intense laser beam. This allows for a scalable laser system that can be made more powerful by adding more fiber laser subunits. Athena uses Lockheed Martin’s company's 30-kW Accelerated Laser Demonstration Initiative (ALADIN). It’s powered by a compact Rolls-Royce turbo generator. /video/ (Source: DailyMail)
Sept 19, 2017 Authorities confiscated nearly 195 pounds of fentanyl in a pair of busts that included one sting that netted 32 million lethal doses. The sheer volume of fentanyl pouring into the city is shocking. It's not only killing a record number of people in New York City, but the city is used as a hub of regional distribution for a lethal substance that is taking thousands of lives throughout the Northeast. (Source. NBCNewYork)
September 17, 2017 On Aug. 14, Trump authorized United States Trade Representative Lighthizer to investigate state-backed theft by China of intellectual property from American technology and defense companies. The White House estimates intellectual property theft costs the U.S. economy $600 billion per year. That probe will reportedly focus on Beijing’s practice of forcing U.S. companies that seek market access in China to partner with local firms to hand over of proprietary technological secrets, which is deemed unfair. (Source: DefenseNews)
September 17, 2017 No, we cannot shoot down North Korea’s missiles. Reporters routinely use words like “shield” and “dome” to describe our supposed capability, giving us a false sense of security. Officials make the matter worse with exaggerated, if carefully constructed, claims. “The United States military can defend against a limited North Korea attack on Seoul, Japan and the United States,” said Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Dunford at the annual Aspen Security Forum in July. Is this true? It depends what you mean by the word “limited.” If North Korea cooperated and shot their new intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-14, at the United States with adequate warning so that we could prepare, and if the warhead looked pretty much like we expect it to look, and if they only shot one, and if they did not try to spoof the defense with decoys that looked like the warhead, or block the defense with low-power jammers, or hide the warhead in a cloud of chaff, or blind the defense by attacking the vulnerable radars, then, maybe this is true. The United States might have a 50-50 chance of hitting such a missile. If we had time to fire four or five interceptors, then the odds could go up. But North Korea is unlikely to cooperate. It will do everything possible to suppress the defenses. Yet, we have spent $40 billion on the GMD system and over $320 billion on scores of missile defense systems over the past few decades. You have to wonder exactly what these tests are for: give the troops the protection they need or give the contractors the next program payment? North Korea’s ballistic missile threat is real. We need to know if our missile defenses are for real. (Source: DefenseOne): https://tinyurl.com/ybttotch
Sep 15, 2017 Apple revealed their newest phone. FaceID, is a tool that would use facial recognition to identify individuals and unlock their phones for use. Apple could use FaceID to track consumer patterns at its stores or develop and sell data to others. For the first time, a company will have a facial recognition system with millions of profiles, and the hardware to scan and identify faces throughout the world. This could make Apple the target for a new mass surveillance order. (Source: ZeroHedge):http://tinyurl.com/y9tuucq7
September 13, 2017 U.S. will not issue some visas in four nations in deportation crackdown. Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone are the nations which are not taking back their citizens the United States wants to deport. As of July, the 12 nations deemed “recalcitrant” were China, Cuba, Vietnam, Laos, Iran, Cambodia, Burma, Morocco, Hong Kong, South Sudan, Guinea and Eritrea. (Source: Reuters)
9/12/17 Sperm count decline is the canary in the coal mine. A 2013 study of American college students found that men who exercised more than 15 hours a week had sperm counts 73 percent higher than men who exercised less than five hours a week. And men who watched 20 or more hours of TV a week had much lower sperm counts than those who watched little to no TV. Stress is also a risk factor, as is alcohol use. The average sperm count in 1940 was about 113 million per milliliter of semen worldwide, by 1990 it had fallen to 66 million. A sperm cell is built for one thing: motion. Its torpedo-like head is a nugget of DNA containing the 23 chromosomes the male partner contributes to his future child, connected to a long tail or flagellum that propels the sperm to the egg, all running on the cellular rocket fuel of fructose, which is in the semen. Reproduction may be the most important function of any species. Something is very wrong with men. Women are bombarded with countless fertility diets, special fertility-boosting yoga practices and all the fertility apps they can fit on their phone. They are the targets of a fertility industry expected to be valued at more than $21 billion globally by 2020. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fixates on women, tracking infertility in the U.S. by tallying the number of supposedly infertile women.But according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, the male partner is either the sole or contributing cause in about 40 percent of cases of infertility. Past infections, medical conditions, hormonal imbalances and more can all cause what is known as male factor infertility. Men even have their own version of a biological clock. Beginning around their mid-30s, male fertility gradually degrades, and while most men produce sperm to their dying day, those past 40 who help conceive have a greater risk of passing on genetic abnormalities to their children, including autism. Published in late July, a study concluded that sperm concentration had fallen by 52 percent among men in Western countries between 1973 and 2011. Four decades ago, the average Western man had a sperm concentration of 99 million per milliliter. By 2011, that had fallen to 47.1 million. Sperm concentrations below 40 million per milliliter are considered below normal and can impair fertility. Fertility rates - the number of live births per woman - have drastically declined in the same countries with falling sperm counts. That includes the U.S., where fertility rates hit a record low this year. Women need to average roughly 2.1 children - enough to replace themselves and their partner, to keep a country’s population stable through birth alone. The U.S. is at 1.8 and dependent on continued immigration to keep the population growing. Fertility rates were above the replacement level until the 2007 recession, then they plunged and they’re still falling. Nearly one in six couples in the U.S. is trying to get pregnant but can’t do so over the course of a year of unprotected sex. Obesity, inactivity, smoking - your basic poor modern lifestyle choices - can dramatically reduce sperm counts, as can exposure to some environmental toxins. Low sperm counts may presage a premature death, even among men in the prime of their lives who might seem otherwise healthy. The chemical makeup of the vagina is actively hostile to sperm, which can only survive because semen contains alkaline substances that offset the acidic environment. Some scientists have theorized that electromagnetic fields from devices like cellphones could degrade semen quality, leading to weak and immobile sperm. Even heat can play a role. Age also matters. In the Boston area women under the age of 30 with a male partner between 40 and 42 were significantly less likely to give birth than those whose male partner was between 30 and 35. A growing band of researchers have come to suspect the influence of toxins in the environment - specifically, endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in compounds like bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates. (Source: Newsweek)
September 11, 2017 As of 4:00 a.m. EDT today, the center of Hurricane Irma is about 90 miles south of Gainesville, Florida, 25 miles northeast of Tampa, Florida, and 50 miles southwest of Orlando, Florida. Hurricane Irma officially made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane at Cudjoe Key in the lower Florida Keys at 9:10 a.m. EDT yesterday. Preparations for the storm should not end in Florida as the Southeast will be next in line to face Irma's wrath. (Source: AccuWeather)
United Nations
Sep. 19, 2017 In U.N. speech, Trump defines his foreign policy doctrine as sovereignty for major powers, driving home his belief that countries, not international institutions like the U.N., will and should determine the fate of the world by pursuing their own best interests. The speech offered the most fleshed-out definition yet of the Trump doctrine, a style of big-power nationalism that the president and his advisors have also labeled “principled realism” and “America first.” The speech featured a denunciation of Obama’s nuclear accord with Iran and a repeated emphasis on the need for the U.S. to consider its own citizens before those of other nations. Trump downplayed the idea that the U.S. should intervene to spread democratic systems worldwide. "We do expect all nations to uphold these two core sovereign duties: to respect the interests of their own people and the rights of every other sovereign nation” - Trump said. He thanked both Moscow and Beijing for help with sanctions against North Korea and avoided any criticism of either by name, making only oblique references to instability in Ukraine and the South China Sea. He directly and at length denounced North Korea, Iran and Venezuela and offered shorter criticism of Cuba. Trump spoke of an America that would not only act primarily in its own interest, but would also encourage others to do the same. “As president of the United States, I will always put America first,” he said. “Just like you, as the leaders of your countries, will always and should always put your countries first.” That remark drew scattered applause in an audience split between internationalists and leaders of countries who have sought for decades to avoid U.S. scrutiny of their domestic and foreign behavior. (Source: LosAngelesTimes)
Globalization
September 20, 2017 By 2100 the world may have tipped into “unknown territory.” Mathematics predicts a sixth mass extinction. By 2100, oceans may hold enough carbon to launch mass extermination of species in future millennia. Rothman, professor of geophysics in the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences and co-director of MIT’s Lorenz Center, has analyzed significant changes in the carbon cycle over the last 540 million years, including the five mass extinction events. He has identified “thresholds of catastrophe” in the carbon cycle that, if exceeded, would lead to an unstable environment, and ultimately, mass extinction. The size or magnitude of the change will determine the likelihood of an extinction event. Sixth extinction will depend on whether a critical amount of carbon is added to the oceans. That amount, he calculates, is about 310 gigatons, which he estimates to be roughly equivalent to the amount of carbon that human activities will have added to the world’s oceans by the year 2100. (Source: MassachussetsInstituteofTechnology)
Sept. 19, 2017 Concern about growing global antibiotic resistance has come to a head: The World Health Organization is now warning that the world is running out of antibiotics. There aren’t enough truly new antibiotics being developed, especially for the most concerning antibiotic-resistant infections. Overuse or incorrect use of antibiotics are key contributing factors, as is antibiotic use in animals that are then consumed by humans. Of 51 new products in development for antibiotic-resistant infections the WHO believes that only eight are innovative and add value to current options and current efforts could result in only about 10 new approvals in the next five years. Another problem is limited involvement by drugmakers, in large part because antibiotics just aren’t very profitable.
(Source: MarketWatch): http://tinyurl.com/yab63fjf
09. 11. 17. His star is on the rise. Laden’s son is poised to unify terrorists worldwide. He isn’t just being prepared for a leadership role in his father’s organization. He’s now the figure best placed to reunify the global jihadi movement. His mother, Sabar, is a child psychologist from the respected Hindi family of Saudi Arabia. He was seven years old when the regime of Bashir finally caved to international pressure and expelled al-Qaeda from Sudan. In Afghanistan, Hamza emerged as one of bin Laden’s favorite sons. In the fall of 2001, with support for the United States at an all-time high, Iran suddenly became the one place in the Muslim world where America’s writ could be counted upon not to run. Inside Iran, Adl, a wily Egyptian ex-soldier who had been a pivotal figure in al-Qaeda since its inception, oversaw a secret network of safe houses. In the beginning, it seemed as if al-Qaeda had found at least temporary sanctuary. But with many senior al-Qaeda members in custody, Iran possessed huge leverage over bin Laden’s organization. By 2010, al-Qaeda had acquired a bargaining chip of its own in the shape of a captive Iranian diplomat sold to them as a hostage by Pakistani tribal elements. With the Haqqani Network acting as go-between, a prisoner swap was arranged. In August 2010, at the beginning of Ramadan, Hamza was released along with his mother, wife, and children. Two of his older brothers, Uthman and Mohammed, soon followed along with their own families. All those released made their way to Waziristan, where a sizable al-Qaeda contingent lived under the protection of various Pakistani militant groups. Hamza may have avoided death or capture in Abbottabad by weeks or even days. His brother Khalid was not so lucky; he died wielding an assault weapon in a futile attempt to defend his father against the superior numbers, tactics, and technology of the U.S. Navy SEALs. Hamza’s mother, Khairia, was taken into Pakistani custody in the early hours of May 2, 2011. As the islamic state continues to crumble, many of its adherents will be looking for new banners under which to fight. Hamza’s ascendancy comes at a moment when al-Qaeda affiliates are growing in resources and influence across the Islamic world. Many factors suggest that Hamza could be a highly effective leader by his family pedigree, his dynastic marriage, his longstanding jihadi fervor and obvious charisma, and his closeness to al-Qaeda’s most senior operatives. (Source: TheDailyBeast)
Space
20 September 2017 Space weather events of 4-10 September 2017. This interval was one of the most flare-productive periods of now-waning solar cycle 24. Solar active regions (AR) 2673 and 2674 both matured to complex magnetic configurations as they transited the disk. AR2673 transformed from a simple sunspot on 2 September to a complex region with order-of-magnitude growth on 4 September, rapidly reaching beta-gamma-delta configuration. In subsequent days the region issued three X-class flares and multiple partial halo ejecta. There have been a number of media reports that HF radio blackouts caused by the X-flares disrupted emergency communications vital to recovery efforts following Hurricane Irma. Combined, the two active regions produced more than a dozen M-class flares. As a parting shot AR2673 produced: 1) an X-9 level flare; 2) an associated moderate solar energetic particle event; and 3) a ground level event, as it arrived at the solar west limb on 10 September. The early arrival of the coronal mass ejection associated with the 6 September X-9 flare produced severe geomagnetic storming on 7 and 8 September. The full set of events was bracketed by high speed streams that produced their own minor-to-moderate geomagnetic storming. (Source: AdvancingEarthandSpaceScience)
13 September 2017 'Shape-shifting' bacteria spotted on International Space Station. The experiment could provide evidence of how bacteria develop resistance to drugs used to treat infected astronauts in space. Bacterial cells treated with a common antibiotic have been spotted changing shape to survive while aboard the International Space Station .In comparison to a control group on Earth, the space bacteria showed a 13-fold increase in cell numbers and a 73% reduction in cell column size. Because the bacterial cell surface decreased in space, the rate of molecule-cell interaction was also decreased. The paper is published in Frontiers in Microbiology. The bacterial cell envelope - the cell wall and outer membrane - thickened in space, protecting the E coli from the antibiotic. In space the bacteria also tended to form in clumps. Some of the bacterial cells were also spotted producing membrane vesicles, small capsules that form outside of the cell walls and act as messengers for cells to communicate with each other. When these cells reach a critical mass they can synchronise to begin the infection process. (Source: SkyNews)
September 13 2017 Shostak, director of the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, has famously predicted that we'll hear from ET within the next two decades. The Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligences research group is dedicated to designing and sending messages intended for extraterrestrial recipients. Many SETI astronomers' group which includes scientists like Hawking think it's a bad idea, with a huge existential risk. By 2018, METI International hopes to begin sending messages into space. Over the last 50 years, a number of solutions to this problem have been proposed, ranging from full-fledged mathematical languages to rudimentary chatbots, music, or pictograms. For our first messages, we are emphasizing the essentials of math and physics - Vacoch, president of METI Internationa said. Finally there's the question of what the message should say. Here too, history has seen a wide variety of answers. At this point, we've sent a Doritos commercial, the molecular formula for alcohol (accompanied with "Cheers!" of course), and a bunch of Craigslist classified ads to other solar systems, as well as more scientifically rigorous messages in which we've attempted to teach an alien recipient about math, science, and life on Earth. Vakoch said METI International will be targeting nearby stars, especially those known to have planets in the habitable zones. (Source: CNet)
September 15, 2017 Cassini entered Saturn's atmosphere with its thrusters firing to maintain stability, as it sent back a unique final set of science observations. Loss of contact with the Cassini spacecraft occurred at 4:55 a.m. PDT (7:55 a.m. EDT), with the signal received by NASA's Deep Space Network antenna complex in Canberra, Australia. "From designing the trajectory seven years ago, to navigating through the 22 nail-biting plunges between Saturn and its rings, this is a crack shot group of scientists and engineers that scripted a fitting end to a great mission" - said Maize, Cassini project manager at JPL. Cassini launched in 1997 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and arrived at Saturn in 2004. NASA extended its mission twice – first for two years, and then for seven more. The second mission extension provided dozens of flybys of the planet's icy moons, using the spacecraft's remaining rocket propellant along the way. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, ESA (European Space Agency) and the Italian Space Agency. (Source: Saturn /NASA): https://tinyurl.com/ycgvpybf
Sep 12, 2017 It demonstrates the need for continual vigilance even during Solar Minimum. On Sept. 10th, departing sunspot AR2673 erupted on the sun's western limb which is magnetically well-connected to Earth, and produced a powerful X8-class solar flare. Magnetic fields spiraling back from the blast site led directly to our planet, funneling these energetic protons Earthward. Almost two days later protons are still streaming past our planet, causing a moderately strong (S2-class) solar radiation storm. There was a "ground level event (GLE), only about one thousandth as strong as the event of 23 Feb 1956, which is the largest measured. Neutron monitors in the Arctic, Antarctic, and several other high latitude locations detected a surge of particles reaching all the way down to Earth's surface. Passengers flying on high-latitude routes at 40,000 feet could have absorbed an extra 10 microSieverts of radiation. During the first hour of the GLE, the dose rate inside the aircraft during such a flight would have approximately doubled. Since measurements began around 1942 there have now been 73 events detected by ground level radiation monitors. (Source: SpaceWeather)
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