Americans are hooked on brain-boosting apps. Your father or grandmother might buy programs like Lumosity in the hopes that its appealing marketing claims will be realized: Just a few minutes of puzzle solving each day will make you smarter, boost your memory, and stave off conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's. Altogether, consumers now spend $1 billion every year on brain games.
The problem with these programs: They're a load of hooey. For years, researchers have looked into brain games and found that they simply don't have the real-world benefits they purport to.
Now the federal government's starting to crack down. On Tuesday, the Federal Trade Commission announced that Lumos Labs, the developer of the "brain training" program Lumosity, will pay out $2 million to settle deceptive advertising charges. (Read the complaint here.)
Lumosity "preyed on consumers' fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease," said Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, in a statement. "But Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads."
There's little evidence that "brain games" actually workMany brain training programs broadly promise to work like this: Play their specially designed games for a few minutes several times per week and see amazing results, like better school and sport performance, better memory, and even improved recovery from illnesses such as stroke and traumatic brain injury.
The evidence tells another story, however. Take, for instance, this particularly telling study: Researchers at Florida State University assigned undergraduates to play either Lumosity or the video game Portal 2 for eight hours. At the end, the Portal 2 group outperformed the Lumosity group on cognitive tests. The Lumosity players, meanwhile, "showed no gains on any measure."
When independent researchers tried to replicate an early study that suggested Lumosity might actually boost memory and IQ, they failed to find any effect. The lackluster results square with a 2013 systematic review of the literature, which concluded that memory training programs have not been shown to make concrete improvements on memory, intelligence, or cognitive ability.
This is no secret to the neuroscience community. In 2014, a group of nearly 70 researchers spoke out against brain games: "To date, there is little evidence that playing brain games improves underlying broad cognitive abilities, or that it enables one to better navigate a complex realm of everyday life," they wrote.
Instead of buying a brain game this season, consider going for a walk. Unlike brain games, researchers have found evidence that regular exercise can lead to cognitive improvements. Those improvements are generally modest, to be clear '-- but that's better than the non-boost you get from a brain game. And it's free.
FTC Hits Lumosity With Fine for Deceptive Brain Health Ads | WIRED
You've probably seen or heard ads for the brain training app Lumosity boasting that its games were designed by neuroscientists and were scientifically proven to help stave off Alzheimer's as well as improve real-world cognitive performance. Well, you won't be seeing those ads anymore. Lumosity maker Lumo Labs are now banned from making such claims as the result of a multimillion-dollar settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, the agency said today.
Launched in 2007, Lumosity offers over 50 different games designed to improve cognitive skills such as attention and memory. You can play some of the games for free; Lumo Labs sells access to the full suite of games, which can be played either on the web or via mobile apps, for $5 to $15 per month. Although Lumosity wasn't the first to offer ''brain training'' games to the public, it became the most famous thanks in large part to an aggressive advertising campaign touting its effectiveness at everything from boosting grades to improving athletic performance. The problem is, according to the FTC, those claims aren't actually backed up by science.
The company failed to disclose that many of its testimonials were solicited as part of a contest that offered winners prizes such as iPads or a free trip to San Francisco.
The FTC's complaint alleges that Lumo Ads misled customers with false or deceptive advertising, and that the company had failed to disclose that many of its testimonials had been solicited as part of a contest that offered winners prizes such as iPads, lifetime subscriptions to Lumosity, or a free trip to San Francisco.
Lumo Labs and its employees and representatives are now banned from making claims that Lumosity and related products improve academic or athletic performance, stave off dementia or other cognitive disorders, or treat other conditions such as attention deficit disorder (ADHD) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) until the company can back those claims with ''competent and reliable scientific evidence.''
The order defines competent and reliable scientific evidence as clinical testing conducted by qualified researchers with adequate controls ''considered in light of the entire body of relevant and reliable scientific evidence.''
As part of the settlement, the FTC fined Lumo Labs $50 million but is suspending all but $2 million of that fine because the company probably couldn't pay. (Lumo Labs did not respond to WIRED's request for comment.) The company must also notify all current Lumo Labs subscribers of the FTC's order and provide them with a link to an easy way to unsubscribe from the service.
Go Back to Top. Skip To: Start of Article.Yelp dodged another legal bullet last week when a federal judge in San Francisco threw out the latest lawsuit against the company. This time around, shareholders claimed that Yelp had artificially inflated its share values by exaggerating the reliability of its reviews.
Judge Jon Tigar dismissed the case, saying that reasonable investors would understand that not all of Yelp's reviews are authentic, Reuters reports. In particular, the judge pointed to Yelp's admission that its screening technology is imperfect. Judge Tigar had already dismissed a previous version of the case in April.
Many small business owners have claimed that they've been plagued by negative reviews after declining to advertise on Yelp. The allegations have haunted Yelp for years, but so far, none of them has resulted in a successful lawsuit against the company. Yelp has always maintained that it does not manipulate reviews based on advertising relationships or any other financial arrangement, But the company used to allow advertisers to highlight a ''favorite review'' atop its listing, which could effectively push negative reviews further down the page.
A group of small businesses filed a suit against Yelp in 2010, claiming that the company's ad sales practices amounted to extortion. But an appeals court threw the case out last year, arguing that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that Yelp had fabricated negative reviews and that the company's strategy of allowing advertisers to re-prioritize reviews is ''hard bargaining'' but not extortion. Yelp stopped offering the ''favorite review'' option to advertisers after the lawsuit was filed.
The latest suit was prompted by a Wall Street Journal story published in April 2014 that revealed the Federal Trade Commission had received 2,046 complaints about Yelp. The FTC ultimately closed its investigation without taking any action, according to a company blog post last January. After the Wall Street Journal story ran, Yelp's stock dropped 18 percent.
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Oregon Oathers
You cannot be both militia and terrorist
Reaching 6 Million Black Americans Each Month, TheGrio.com is Now Independently Owned and Growing
In 2009, we launched theGrio in partnership with NBCUniversal, which allowed us to quickly grow our brand and audience. TheGrio is now a black-owned media property at scale, which allows us to appeal to our audience in a more trustworthy and authentic way
New York, NY (PRWEB)November 04, 2015
Original founders David A. Wilson and Dan Woolsey have seen traffic skyrocket since purchasing theGrio.com back from NBCUniversal. The website was originally launched in 2009 and sold to NBCUniversal in 2010. Wilson and Woolsey now serve as Executive Editor and Director of Operations, respectively. Now upon its return to being black-owned media, theGrio.com is dedicated to super-serving the needs of its progressive African-American and Millennial audience.
Switching back to independent status has dramatically increased theGrio.com's web traffic. As part of NBC News, theGrio.com attracted between 1.5M and 2.2M monthly unique users. The new, independently run theGrio.com now attracts between 4.5M and 7M monthly unique users.
Advertisers looking for a dynamic way to connect with the African-American community have a valuable tool in theGrio.com. A leading digital content site for urban news and entertainment, theGrio enjoys editorial partnerships with leading media brands. The site also enjoys a strong mobile presence with 57% of its visitors accessing the site via a mobile device. Furthermore, 64% of visitors have an advanced degree and an annual income over $50,000.
New CRO Todd Brown joins the team from Johnson Publishing where he headed up revenue strategy for Ebony and Jet. As Chief Revenue Officer and EVP of Johnson, he was also responsible for monetizing all assets from digital, social, mobile, print, and licensing. Brown brings over 33 years of knowledge, management, and relationships to TheGrio, and his participation will ensure that the site will successfully migrate from the entrepreneurial phase to professional management.
Brown recently noted, ''TheGrio is perfectly positioned to be the homepage for the AA audience on social, mobile and digital. We represent the most brand-friendly environment to connect with our coveted audience and through vetted storytelling, engage across news, politics, entertainment, health care, travel, sports, education, finance, and employment categories.''
Co-founder Wilson commented that theGrio.com is now uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the African-American community, stating, ''In 2009, we launched theGrio in partnership with NBCUniversal, which allowed us to quickly grow our brand and audience. TheGrio is now a black-owned media property at scale, which allows us to appeal to our audience in a more trustworthy and authentic way.''
About TheGrio.com:
TheGrio.com is a daily news and opinion platform dedicated to delivering news, stories and information to a progressive African-American audience in a range of categories including news, opinion, entertainment, sports, living, health and politics. TheGrio's media kit can be downloaded at http://thegrio.com/advertise
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Response to Oregon Militia Standoff Reveals Stark Double Standards
If you depend on the corporate media for your news, you may not have heard that 150 gun-toting militia are claiming U.S. government property for themselves. Social media users observing the media's response to the armed takeover of a federal building by right-wing militia over the weekend are pointing out obvious double standards in how the media is treating white, right-wing militia members compared to black protesters.
Since taking over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge building southeast of Burns, Oregon, militia members led by Ammon Bundy, son of notorious Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, have made their intent clear to turn the building into a refuge for so-called ''patriots'' who wish to ignore federal government laws and regulations.
The occupation began after a protest in Burns against the re-sentencing of Dwight and Steven Hammond, who are facing 5 years in prison over setting fire to over 100 acres of federal property between 2001 and 2006. The armed occupiers have threatened to fire upon law enforcement officers and federal officials who attempt to re-take the building, saying they aren't afraid to die for their cause.
The occupation has, at the time of this writing, gone largely unnoticed by the major media networks. While the burning of a CVS in predominantly-black Baltimore during the Freddie Gray protests received wall-to-wall coverage on almost all of the networks, and while nearly every media outlet in the country covered the burning of the QuikTrip store in Ferguson that was burned following the non-indictment of Darren Wilson for killing Mike Brown, the lack of coverage of an armed, white, right-wing mob forcefully taking over federal property seems like an afterthought to most of the corporate-owned TV networks.
Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill pointed out the obvious double-standard on Twitter. Other journalists took part, along with activists pointing out the careful language the media uses to differentiate between black and white people with guns.
The militia members have called on other ''patriots'' to join the occupation, and to bring weapons.
Tom Cahill is a writer for US Uncut based in the Pacific Northwest. He specializes in coverage of political, economic, and environmental news. You can contact Tom via email at tom.v.cahill@gmail.com.
The story could be the plot for a western-style soap opera.
The latest scene involved two ranchers being sentenced to five years in federal prison for inadvertantly burning about 140 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) rangeland in two separate fires. That is an area big enough to feed about three cow-calf pairs for a year in that neck of the woods.
''I call it 'as the sagebrush burns,''' said Erin Maupin, a former BLM range technician and watershed specialist and rancher in the area, of the long history involving the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), special interest groups and the cattle ranchers on the Steens Mountain of Oregon.
Dwight Hammond, 73 and son Steven Hamond, 46, admitted in a 2012 court case to lighting two different fires. Both fires started on Hammonds' private property.
The Harney County ranchers are paying the BLM $400,000 for the costs of fighting fires the BLM claims they set.
''The jury convicted both of the Hammonds of using fire to destroy federal property for a 2001 arson known as the Hardie-Hammond Fire, located in the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area,'' said a Department of Justice news release.
''The jury also convicted Steven Hammond of using fire to destroy federal property regarding a 2006 arson known as the Krumbo Butte Fire located in the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge and Steen Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Area. An August lightening storm started numerous fires and a burn ban was in effect while BLM firefighters fought those fires. Despite the ban, without permission or notification to BLM, Steven Hammond started several ''back fires'' in an attempt to save the ranch's winter feed. The fires burned onto public land and were seen by the BLM firefighters camped nearby. The firefighters took steps to ensure their safety and reported the arsons,'' continued the DOJ release.
The two men were sentenced to prison in 2012. Steven served eleven months and Dwight three.
The men were charged with nine counts, including conspiracy, using aerial surveillance of sites they intended to burn, and burned, attempting to destroy vehicles and other property with fire, and more. Dwight and Steve were found guilty of two counts '' the two fires they readily admitted to starting on their own property.
In order to draw the original court case to a close, the two men, in a plea deal, agreed that they would not appeal the 2012 sentence.
The Department of Justice news release said arson on federal land carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. Judge Michael Hogan, however, did not give the two men the minimum sentence called for under the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, saying it would have been ''grossly disproportionate'' to the crime. He added that a longer sentence would not meet any idea he has of justice and that he didn't believe congress intended that act to be applied in cases like the Hammond one. A longer sentence than the few months he gave them would ''shock his conscience'' he said.
The Department of Justice appealed for a full sentence.
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to a review of the case and District Chief Judge Ann Aiken went ahead with a full sentence '' five years in federal prison for both men, minus time already spent.
The fires
The first fire, in 2001, was a planned burn on Hammonds' own property to reduce juniper trees that have become invasive in that part of the country. That fire burned outside the Hammonds' private property line and took in 138 acres of unfenced BLM land before the Hammonds got it put out. No BLM firefighters were needed to help extinguish the fire and no fences were damaged.
''They called and got permission to light the fire,'' Dwight's wife, Susan, said, adding that was customary for ranchers conducting range management burns '' a common practice in the area.
''We usually called the interagency fire outfit '' a main dispatch '' to be sure someone wasn't in the way or that weather wouldn't be a problem.'' Susan said her son Steven was told that the BLM was conducting a burn of their own somewhere in the region the same day, and that they believed there would be no problem with the Hammonds going ahead with their planned fire. The court transcript includes a recording from that phone conversation.
In cross-examination of a prosecution witness, the court transcript also includes an admission from Mr. Ward, a range conservationist, that the 2001 fire improved the rangeland conditions on the BLM property.
Maupin, who resigned from the BLM in 1999, said that collaborative burns between private ranchers and the BLM had become popular in the late 1990s because local university extension researchers were recommending it as a means to manage invasive juniper that steal water from grass and other cover.
''Juniper encroachment had become an issue on the forefront and was starting to come to a head. We were trying to figure out how to deal with it on a large scale,'' said Maupin, whose family neighbored the Hammonds for a couple of years.
''In 1999, the BLM started to try to do large scale burn projects. We started to be successful on the Steens Mountain especially when we started to do it on a large watershed scale as opposed to trying to follow property lines.''
Because private and federal land is intermingled, collaborative burns were much more effective than individual burns that would cover a smaller area, Maupin said.
Maupin said prescribed burns to manage juniper were common in the late 1990s and early 2000s, best done late in the fall when the days are cooler.
Prescribed burns on federal land in their area have all but stopped due to pressure from special interest groups, Maupin said. As a result, wildfires now burn much hotter due to a ''ladder'' of material on the ground '' grass, brush and trees.
''The fires now burn really hot and they sterilize the ground. Then you have a weed patch that comes back.''
Maupin said planned burning in cooler weather like the Hammonds chose to do improves the quality of the forage, and makes for better sage grouse habitat by removing juniper trees that suck up water and house raptors '' a sage grouse predator.
Susan said the second fire, in 2006, was a backfire started by Steven to protect their property from lightning fires.
''There was fire all around them that was going to burn our house and all of our trees and everything. The opportunity to set a back-fire was there and it was very successful. It saved a bunch of land from burning,'' she remembers.
The BLM asserts that one acre of federal land was burned by the Hammonds' backfire and Susan says determining which fire burned which land is ''a joke'' because fire burned from every direction.
Neighbor Ruthie Danielson also remembers that evening and agrees. ''Lightning strikes were everywhere, fires were going off,'' she said.
Charges
The Hammonds were charged with nine counts in the original court case.
The BLM accused the Hammonds of several 2006 fires, including a large one known as the Granddad, which blazed about 46,000 acres.
According to the 2012 sentencing document, the jury found the men innocent or were deadlocked on all but two counts '' the two fires the men admitted to starting '' burning a total of about 140 acres.
Judge Hogen dismissed testimony from a disgruntled grandson who testified that the 2001 fire endangered his life and that of local hunters, saying the boy was very young and referencing a feud that may have influenced the testimony.
''Well, the damage was juniper trees and sagebrush, and there might have been a hundred dollars,'' he added.
More to the story?
During her tenure as a full time BLM employee from 1997-1999, Maupin recalls other fires accidentally spilling over onto BLM land, but only the Hammonds have been charged, arrested and sentenced, she said. Ranchers might be burning invasive species or maybe weeds in the ditch. ''They would call and the BLM would go and help put it out and it was not a big deal.''
On the flip side, Maupin remembers numerous times that BLM-lit fires jumped to private land. Neighbors lost significant numbers of cattle in more than one BLM fire that escaped intended containment lines and quickly swallowed up large amounts of private land. To her knowledge, no ranchers have been compensated for lost livestock or other loss of property such as fences.
Gary Miller, who ranches near Frenchglen, about 35 miles from the Hammonds' hometown, said that in 2012, the BLM lit numerous backfires that ended up burning his private land, BLM permit and killing about 65 cows.
A YouTube video named BLM Working at Burning Frenchglen-July 10, 2012 shows ''back burn'' fires allegedly lit by BLM personnel that are upwind of the main fire, including around Gary Miller's corrals. The fire that appeared ready to die down several times, eventually burned around 160,000 acres, Miller said.
Bill Wilber, a Harney County rancher, said five lightening strikes on July 13, 2014, merged to create a fire on Bartlett Mountain. The fire flew through his private ground, burned a BLM allotment and killed 39 cows and calves.
While the fire could have been contained and stopped, BLM restrictions prevent local firefighting efforts like building a fireline, so only after taking in 397,000 acres did the fire finally stop when it came up against a series of roads.
The issue isn't limited to Oregon. In 2013, two South Dakota prescribed burns started by the U.S. Forest Service--over the objections of area landowners-- blew out of control, burning thousands of acres of federal and private land. Ranchers that suffered property damage from the Pautre fire in Perkins County, South Dakota filed extensive tort claims in accordance with federal requirements, but will receive no compensation because USDA found the U.S. Forest Service not responsible for that fire.
Why the Hammonds?
''The story is like an onion, you just keep peeling back the layers,'' Maupin said.
In an effort to stave off what they feared was a pending Clinton/Babbitt monument designation in 2000, a group of ranchers on the scenic Steens Mountain worked with Oregon Representative Greg Walden, a Republican, to draft and enact the Steens Mountain Cooperative Management and Protection Act that would prevent such a deed. The ranchers agreed to work with special interest ''environmental'' groups like the aggressive Oregon Natural Desert Association and others to protect the higher-than 10,000-foot peak.
A number of ranchers at the top of the mountain traded their BLM permits and private property for land on the valley floor, allowing Congress to create a 170,000 acre wilderness in 2000, with almost 100,000 acres being ''cow-free.''
''The last holdouts on that cow-free wilderness are the Hammonds,'' said Maupin. Though some still have BLM grazing permits, the Hammonds are the last private landowners in the area.
''It's become more and more obvious over the years that the BLM and the wildlife refuge want that ranch. It would tie in with what they have,'' said Rusty Inglis, an area rancher and retired U.S. Forest Service employee.
The Hammonds also lost their ability to water cattle on one BLM permit when refuge personnel drained a watering hole that the Hammonds had always used.
Maupin said the government scientists and resource managers working ''on the ground'' supported the Hammonds' use of the water but that the high level bureaucrats backed special interest anti-grazing groups. ''There is a huge disconnect between employees on the ground and the decision-makers.'' She said that divide builds tension between ranchers and federal agencies.
In the Hammonds' plea agreement in the 2012 trial, the BLM obtained the first right of refusal should the family have to sell their private land, Maupin added.
The Maupins themselves had a small lease that also bordered the ''cow-free wilderness'' and the Oregon Natural Desert Association was ''relentless in their pursuit to have us off, in order to expand the cow-free wilderness,'' Maupin said. The group would criticize the ranchers' water usage, causing them to pipe water to their cattle, which in turn instigated more complaints from the group.
Eventually the Maupins sold their permit and moved.
But the Hammonds remained.
Steve and Dwight Hammond will turn themselves in for their prison sentences in early January, Susan said.
The family has sold cattle. Their BLM permit has not been renewed for two years, leaving them unable to use a large amount of intermingled private land.
The family is in the ''last challenge'' to re-obtain their grazing permit. ''I don't know what happens after that,'' Susan said. ''We have done everything according to their rules and regulations and there is no reason that they should not give us back our permit. We don't understand how a federal land management agency can 'take' personal private property (checkerboarded with BLM land) in this manner.
''We've been fighting it for five years. We don't want to destroy people as we are fighting it even if it is a BLM employee,'' she said, ''They live in our community and they have families. We respect that.'' The situation could get even more ugly but ''it's not going to be our fault,'' she said.
''The Hammond family is not arsonists. They are number one, top notch. They know their land management,'' said Inglis, who spent 34 years with the USFS and now ranches about 40 miles from the Hammonds and is unique in the area, operating strictly on private land.
Inglis, president of his county Farm Bureau and a member of the Oregon Cattlemen's Association said both groups are working to help gain media attention for the Hammond case. The state Farm Bureau group gathered signatures online for a petition to show widespread support for the family. ''Enough is enough,'' Inglis said. ''We are not in Nazi Germany. We are in the United States of America.''
The five-year prison sentence sets a worrisome precedent for area ranchers, Maupin said.
''Now the sky is the limit. It doesn't have to be fire, it can be trespass with cattle.''
Another precedent '' one for fire that burns beyond expectations '' should apply to everyone, including federal employees, Maupin points out.
The People
Maupin talked about the Hammonds helping her and her husband with ranch work like hauling cattle and lending portable panels, not expecting repayment. Wilber recalled them hauling 4-H calves to the fair for neighbors and Inglis said Dwight once offered to lend him money because he thought he needed help. ''Here's a guy with $400,000 in fines and legal bills I can't imagine, worrying about my welfare,'' said Inglis.
''I think that's the biggest point of all of this '' how can you prosecute people as terrorists when they aren't a terrorist?''
Property rights attorney Karen Budd-Falen from Cheyenne, Wyoming, agrees.
''What totally amazes me is what these guys did '' they burned 140 acres. If you compare that to the EPA spill in Colorado, it amazes me that nothing will happen to those EPA employees. You have cities down there with no drinking water. The Hammonds didn't do anything like that,'' Budd-Falen said.
''It's going to get worse before it gets better,'' said Maupin.
The BLM deferred all questions to the Department of Justice, who shared their official news release but did not respond to emailed questions as of print time.
War on Guns
As Obama Issues Executive Orders, Gun Stocks Explode
Stocks for two major gunmakers skyrocketed as President Obama unveiled a long-awaited series of executive orders intended to reduce gun violence.
Gunmaker Smith & Wesson's stock price closed at $25.86, higher than at any point in 2015. A year ago, on January 7th, 2015, it closed at just $9.93.
Sturm, Ruger & Co.'s price reached $65.54, the highest it has been since August 2015.
The increase in stock prices reflects the expectation that gun sales will surge again. Gun sales skyrocketed after the Sandy Hook massacre on fears the federal government would crack down on gun ownership.
The Interceptrecently reported that gun manufacturers and retailers, talking to investors, said they expect sales to rise after massacres. ''You can see after a tragedy, there's also a lot of buying,'' Jeff Buchanan, the chief financial officer of Smith & Wesson, told investors.
The FBI recorded a ''record number of firearms background checks'' in 2015 hitting a pace of roughly 44 checks a minute. The peak day for background checks was Black Friday, with 185,345 checks.
Smith & Wesson also raised its revenue and earnings guidance on Tuesday, announcing ''that the sell-through rate of its products at distribution has been stronger than originally anticipated,'' reducing distributor inventories even as the high number of background checks, ''an indicator of consumer purchases, reflected strong growth versus December 2014.''
Republican presidential candidates are among those stoking fears of gun control.
''Pretty soon you won't be able to get guns,'' warned GOP presidential frontrunner Donald Trump during an appearance on CNN this week. Ted Cruz, hot on Trump's heels in polling, engineered a list-building pitch on his website featuring a helmet-clad Obama coming for people's guns.
In reality, Obama's executive orders are fairly modest and lack anything remotely like the kind of sweeping gun bans that have been talked up by the political right.
''This is it, really?'' exclaimed NRA lobbyist Jennifer Baker to the New York Times. ''This is what they've been hyping for how long now? This is the proposal they've spent seven years putting together? They're not really doing anything.''
This week, thanks in part to a $15 million appropriation from Congress, the National Council for Behavioral Health launched a campaign aimed at training a million people in recognizing when someone, be it a stranger or a person they know, is experiencing a mental health or substance abuse emergency -- and then what to do about it. Think of it as CPR training for mental distress.
This initiative is important, and necessary, because when it comes to mental illness, helping is, unfortunately, not our natural response. Instead, according to the NCBH, most people shy away from or avoid someone experiencing a mental health emergency. They think whatever the person is going through is "personal," or that "it's a family matter." Often, they're afraid to intervene or get too close. And so they don't.
And yet it's hard to imagine this same sort of reaction in other health contexts: witnessing someone slip and fall while crossing a busy street, for instance, or seeing someone have a heart attack or faint in a bookstore and passing by without stopping to help or make sure he or she is okay.
"Family matter" or not, the same instinct to avoid the topic of mental illness in fact also prevents many families whose lives have been impacted by it from talking about it, as if it were shameful and not genetically unavoidable. Maybe it's a teenage daughter with an eating disorder or the suicide of a parent. The less we talk about mental illness, though, the more "other" it becomes. And the less we're able or willing to offer those in the midst of it. Our fear increases.
Certainly, the conversation surrounding gun control and mental illness, in which certain right-leaning politicians place the blame for incidents of gun violence on the mentally ill, has not helped encourage people to talk about their own mental illness or to lend a hand to those in emotional crisis. Donald Trump's recent "Meet the Press" declaration that gun violence is "....a mental illness problem.... You have people that are mentally ill and they're going to come through the cracks and they're going to do things that people will not even believe are possible" squarely, irresponsibly, placed nearly all the blame for gun violence on the mentally ill.
And yet, this argument is not only flawed -- it's been widely reported that the vast majority of gun violence is, in fact, committed by people who are not mentally ill -- but also part of the problem. No wonder people are afraid. What's more, stigmatizing mental illness in such a way -- making it something dangerous, something to fear -- will continue to isolate those suffering and prevent them from getting the help they need. A 2013 study out of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health confirmed this, saying that efforts to imply that all, or even most, incidents of gun violence are at the hands of the mentally ill only serves to increase the stigma directed towards those who suffer.
The NCBH's "Be 1 in a Million" campaign is aiming to lessen the stigma, for one thing, while also calling on citizens to step in where a lack of resources has left many without adequate attention or care. The campaign expands on the organization's Mental Health First Aid program that has already trained 500,000 people, including First Lady Michelle Obama, in learning to recognize and respond to the signs of mental distress, using tools that include assessment, listening, reassuring, encouraging, and supporting to intervene when someone who is actively suicidal, in the midst of a panic attack, or experiencing symptoms of PTSD. It aims to help people recognize signs of addiction or depression or disordered eating in others, and then how and when to encourage those suffering to get help. Most of all, it aims to help people overcome their fear of getting involved. These are steps that can and will save lives -- of the mentally ill, but also, likely, of many others.
As a NCBH rep told the Washington Post, "The truth of the matter is that you are more likely to encounter someone who is experiencing a behavioral health condition or crisis" than someone facing a physical emergency. It's true: Every year, one in four Americans will suffer from a mental illness or addiction. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the 10th leading cause of death in this country. And far too many people suffer in silence: Of the nearly 62 million Americans who suffer from mental illness in any given year, just over a third had been to see a mental health professional within the previous year.
The underreported side of the story is that there's much hope available to those who suffer. We know that, although often debilitating, mental illness needn't be a lifetime disability. Many, many people suffering from mental illness, including those who have experienced psychosis and hallucinations or who have lived through suicidal moments or even attempts, go on to live successful, productive lives. All we need to do is let them. Because it's not helping the mentally ill that we should fear. It's what happens if we don't.
Obama Wants to 'Remove the Stigma' of Mental Illness While Expanding the List of Former Patients Barred From Owning Guns - Hit & Run : Reason.com
White HouseAmong other things, the gun-related "executive actions" that President Obama is announcing today aim to "increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system." To put it another way, the president wants to encourage more people with mental problems to seek professional help while increasing the likelihood that doing so will result in the permanent loss of their Second Amendment rights. Those two goals may prove hard to reconcile.
The Obama administration is proposing "a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care," saying, "We must continue to remove the stigma around mental illness and its treatment'--and make sure that these individuals and their families know they are not alone." At the same time, it is reinforcing that stigma by assuming that people forced to undergo psychiatric treatment can never be trusted with a gun. Obama wants to beef up the federal government's list of "people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons." Those reasons include court-ordered psychiatric treatment, even when the justification is protecting a purportedly suicidal person from himself.
A federal appeals court cast doubt on the constitutionality of that policy in a 2014 case involving a 73-year-old man who was barred from buying a gun because he had been forced to undergo psychiatric treatment decades before after an emotionally devastating divorce. His daughters were concerned that he might be suicidal, and a court ruled that he posed a threat to himself. Since then, he has not experienced any more bouts of depression. A psychologist who evaluated him in 2012 found no evidence of mental illness and concluded that the 1985 incident "appeared to be a brief reactive depressive episode in response to his wife divorcing him." Yet under 18 USC 922(g)(4), that one incident barred him from ever owning a gun.
Obama also wants the government's database to include people who receive disability benefits from the Social Security Administration and are deemed "unable to manage those benefits because of their mental impairment." In practice, that could mean that any recipient assisted by a fiduciary (a.k.a. representative payee) would lose his Second Amendment rights, even though the fact that someone needs help with financial matters does not necessarily mean he is incapable of being a responsible gun owner. As with mental health treatment, such a policy could discourage SSDI recipients who need help from asking for it, since they could lose their guns as a result.
Critics of New York's SAFE Act, which requires mental health professionals to report anyone they deem "likely to engage in conduct that will cause serious harm to self or others," have raised similar concerns. "The threshold for reporting is so low," a Queens psychiatrist toldThe New York Times in 2014, "that it essentially advertises that psychiatrists are mandatory reporters for anybody who expresses any kind of dangerousness." In practice, since the county officials who review such reports have little incentive to second-guess them, clinicians have the power to disarm any patient they think might be a danger to himself or others, which is not exactly conducive to trust or candor.
Jacob Sullum is a senior editor at Reason magazine and a nationally syndicated columnist.
Live Updates: What the President is Doing to Keep Guns Out of the Wrong Hands | whitehouse.gov
Watch President Obama Share the Steps He's Taking to Reduce Gun Violence:''We know that we can't stop every act of violence. But what if we tried to stop even one?''
Columbine. Blacksburg. Newtown. Aurora. Tucson. Oak Creek. Charleston. San Bernardino.
Too many communities across the country are still suffering from the heartbreaking consequences of a gun in the wrong hands. In the past decade, more than 100,000 people have died as a result of gun violence. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place.
Sympathy is not enough to stop gun violence. Congress has repeatedly failed to take action, blocking commonsense reforms supported by the vast majority of the American people '' including gun owners themselves.
The President has a responsibility to do everything in his power to reduce gun violence. This week, he will.
#StopGunViolence: Key Moments from Today's Powerful Remarks
For every family who has had a loved one taken by a bullet from a gun, it's time to act to #StopGunViolence.
More than 30,000 Americans die from gun violence every year.
Here's more about what he's doing:
Gun Violence in America: By the Numbers
More than 4 millionNumber of American victims of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun in the last decade
More than 30,000Number of gun deaths in America each year
More than 20,000Number of children under 18 killed by firearms over the last decade
More than 20,000Number of Americans who commit suicide with a firearm each year
466Number of law enforcement officers shot and killed by felons over the last decade
3Number of days after which a gun dealer can sell a gun to an individual if a background check is not yet complete
Get the full breakdown of the numbers on gun violence in the U.S here.
The President's Actions to Reduce Gun ViolenceSo President Obama is taking executive action to reduce gun violence. Here's what his actions are designed to do:
Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checksThe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is making clear that it doesn't matter where you conduct your business'--from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you're in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.ATF is finalizing a rule to require background checks for people trying to buy some of the most dangerous weapons and other items through a trust, corporation, or other legal entity.Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch has sent a letter to States highlighting the importance of receiving complete criminal history records and criminal dispositions, information on persons disqualified because of a mental illness, and qualifying crimes of domestic violence.The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is overhauling the background check system to make it more effective and efficient. The envisioned improvements include processing background checks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and improving notification of local authorities when certain prohibited persons unlawfully attempt to buy a gun. The FBI will hire more than 230 additional examiners and other staff to help process these background checks.Make our communities safer from gun violenceThe Attorney General convened a call with U.S. Attorneys around the country to direct federal prosecutors to continue to focus on smart and effective enforcement of our gun laws.The President's FY2017 budget will include funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws.ATF has established an Internet Investigation Center to track illegal online firearms trafficking and is dedicating $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.ATF is finalizing a rule to ensure that dealers who ship firearms notify law enforcement if their guns are lost or stolen in transit.The Attorney General issued a memo encouraging every U.S. Attorney's Office to renew domestic violence outreach efforts.Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check systemThe Administration is proposing a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care.The Social Security Administration has indicated that it will begin the rulemaking process to include information in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm for mental health reasons.The Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing a rule to remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons.Shape the future of gun safety technologyThe President has directed the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technologyThe President has also directed the departments to review the availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis, and to explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety.Take an in-depth look at the President's latest actions here.
A Father's Call to Action: Mark Barden -- father of one of the young children killed at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012, introduced the President at today's events. He also shared an email message reflecting on the life of his son Daniel and the actions we can take to honor him:
We called him the custodian of all living things.
If an ant had crawled its way into our kitchen, he'd gently pick it up and carry it out outside to rejoin its family. If he saw a classmate sitting alone, he'd be the first to provide company and comfort. At 7 years old, he cared, he listened, and he loved more deeply than many adults I know.
On December 14, 2012, he was killed by a man with a gun. My son Daniel was one of the 26 lives taken from us at the hands of a mass shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Since that day, President Obama promised us that he would use every tool available to him to spare another family the overwhelming pain of losing a child in such a horrific way.
Today, he is taking additional steps to reduce gun violence.
Read his full message here.
A Moment from Today: President Barack Obama tears up as he delivers remarks to announce steps that the administration is taking to reduce gun violence, in the East Room of the White House, Jan. 5, 2016. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)
For more than 20 years, the Federal Government has worked to keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks. This critical effort in addressing gun violence has prevented more than two million prohibited firearms purchases from being completed. But tens of thousands of people are still injured or killed by firearms every year -- in many cases by guns that were sold legally but then stolen, misused, or discharged accidentally. Developing and promoting technology that would help prevent these tragedies is an urgent priority.
In 2013, I directed the Department of Justice to review the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies, such as devices requiring a scan of the owner's fingerprint before a gun can fire. In its report, the Department made clear that technological advancements in this area could help reduce accidental deaths and the use of stolen guns in criminal activities.
Millions of dollars have already been invested to support research into a broad range of concepts for improving gun safety. We must all do our part to continue to advance this research and encourage its practical application, and it is possible to do so in a way that makes the public safer and is consistent with the Second Amendment. The Federal Government has a unique opportunity to do so, as it is the single largest purchaser of firearms in the country. Therefore, by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby direct the following:
Section 1. Research and Development. The Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the Department of Homeland Security (departments) shall, to the extent practicable and permitted by law, conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology that would reduce the frequency of accidental discharge or unauthorized use of firearms, and improve the tracing of lost or stolen guns. Not later than 90 days after the date of this memorandum, the Secretary of Defense, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall prepare jointly a report outlining a research and development strategy designed to expedite the real-world deployment of such technology for use in practice.
Sec. 2. Department Consideration of New Technology. The departments shall, to the extent permitted by law, regularly (a) review the availability of the technology described in section 1, and (b) explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety. In connection with these efforts, the departments shall consult with other agencies that acquire firearms and take appropriate steps to consider whether including such technology in specifications for acquisition of firearms would be consistent with operational needs.
Sec. 3. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this memorandum shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
the authority granted by law to a department or agency, or the head thereof; orthe functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals. (b) This memorandum shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person.
Sec. 4. Publication. The Attorney General is hereby authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
BARACK OBAMA
Good bullet points ''Obama leans on tech in gun control action -- FCW
Obama leans on tech in gun control actionBy Mark RockwellJan 05, 2016President Barack Obama has issued executive actions that would improve federal background check databases and support technologies to make guns more secure.
President Barack Obama's effort to deliver what he called common-sense gun control with a series of executive actions features significant IT components.
Improvements to computerized background checks for gun buyers would close the gap in a two-tiered system in which "dangerous people [are] playing by a different set of rules," he said. Online sales or private sales at gun shows often skirt the established system, he added.
In Jan. 5 remarks in the East Room of the White House, Obama said the improvements would push the "outdated background check system into the 21st century."
The measures would strengthen and speed federal background database checks with the help of the U.S. Digital Service, tap new background database sources and support technologies to make guns more secure.
FBI has partnered with USDS to modernize its National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), housed at the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Services Division facility in Clarksburg, W.Va.
According to a White House statement, the goal is to process background checks within three days. Under the current system, gun dealers can complete a sale if a background check through NICS comes back clean or if the process takes more than three days to complete.
Improvements under the FBI and USDS collaboration include processing background checks from gun sellers 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which would improve response times and more quickly notify local authorities when a potential buyer's background check raises concerns. The FBI's website states that NICS is currently available 17 hours a day, seven days a week, except Christmas.
In addition, the White House directed the FBI to hire more than 230 additional examiners and other employees to help process the background reviews.
Obama also wants to add some key mental health data to the reviews. On Jan. 4, the Department of Health and Human Services modified the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act Privacy Rule to permit health care providers to disclose the identities of mentally ill patients to the FBI's NICS. The rule stipulates, however, that no diagnostic or other personally identifiable information on an individual would be included in the disclosure, except that he or she is subject to the "federal mental health prohibitor" that bars gun ownership.
To track illegal online firearms trafficking, the White House said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has established an Internet Investigations Center staffed by federal agents, legal experts and investigators. According to the White House, that team has already identified and prosecuted a number of traffickers who use the "dark net" to illegally buy and sell firearms.
ATF has also dedicated $4 million and additional personnel to augment its National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, the database that tracks ballistic evidence.
Republican lawmakers quickly denounced the executive actions and pledged to battle the measures in court and deny funding for them in the next appropriations cycle.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said the actions "purposely seek to blur legal lines and intimidate individuals from exercising their right to buy or sell a firearm." He added that criminals and people with mental illnesses "will not be deterred by speeches or presidential memos" from obtaining firearms.
Along with improvements to the databases and web enforcement efforts, the White House wants to take advantage of the federal government's position as the country's single largest gun buyer to promote the use and development of emerging gun safety technology.
Building on a 2013 directive to the Justice Department to review technological advances in firearm safety, the president has asked Justice, the Defense Department and the Department of Homeland Security to develop a strategy to expedite gun safety technology.
The three agencies have 90 days to develop a joint research and development strategy on real-world deployment and use of emerging technologies, including devices built into guns that can scan the user's fingerprints and only allow the owner to fire it, location apps for lost or stolen weapons and child guards.
"We have to boost gun safety technologies," Obama said. "If a child can't open a bottle of aspirin [because of safety caps], then they shouldn't be able to pull the trigger on a gun."
Justice, DOD and DHS were also directed to stay on top of new technological developments and consult with other agencies that buy firearms on how to incorporate those technologies into future acquisition specifications.
About the Author
Mark Rockwell is a staff writer covering acquisition, procurement and homeland security. Contact him at mrockwell@fcw.com or follow him on Twitter at @MRockwell4.
Shut Up Slave!
Fighting abuse to protect freedom of expression | Twitter Blogs
We believe that protection from abuse and harassment is a vital part of empowering people to freely express themselves on Twitter.
Today, as part of our continued efforts to combat abuse, we're updating the Twitter Rules to clarify what we consider to be abusive behaviour and hateful conduct. The updated language emphasizes that Twitter will not tolerate behavior intended to harass, intimidate, or use fear to silence another user's voice. As always, we embrace and encourage diverse opinions and beliefs ''but we will continue to take action on accounts that cross the line into abuse.
Over the past year, we've taken several steps to fight abuse in order to protect freedom of expression: We've empowered users with tools for blocking, muting, and reporting abusive behaviour, and evolved our policy to capture more types of abusive behaviour. We've also increased our investment in policy enforcement so that we can handle more reports with greater efficiency, and bolstered educational resources through a new Twitter Safety Centre.
One of the areas we've found to be effective in this multi-layered strategy of fighting abuse is creating mandatory actions for suspected abusive behavior, such as email and phone verification, and user deletion of Tweets for violations. These measures curb abusive behaviour by helping the community understand what is acceptable on our platform.
Keeping users safe requires a comprehensive and balanced approach where everyone plays a role. We will continue to build on these initiatives to empower our users and ensure that Twitter remains a platform for people to express themselves.
NJ High Schooler Called To The Principal's Office "For Being Anti-Israel" On Twitter: Gothamist
Administrators at a northern New Jersey high school are getting angry phone calls from Palestinian rights activists after a junior there says administrators accused her of bullying over tweets she made that were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause.Bethany Koval, 16, is prolific on Twitter, having dashed off more than 21,000 messages and gained nearly 4,000 followers since joining in February 2015. She got the attention of online activists including members of Anonymous this morning after tweeting about her trip to the principals office. The tweets include recordings of a man she says is her principal saying she could be formally charged with bullying, which under New Jersey's Anti-Bullying Bill of Rights Act (pdf) can lead to suspension or expulsion.
Koval grew up in the New Jersey suburb of Fair Lawn and attends Fair Lawn High School, where part of the mission statement reads, "We believe that the optimal environment is one in which students feel free to challenge themselves and have opportunities to take initiative, to articulate clearly and imaginatively, to be creative, and to learn from their inquiry and experience."
She said she became interested in politics over the last few years after realizing "I've been fed all kinds of kinds of propaganda and I started to question a lot of it." She said she joined Twitter because "I really wanted an outlet to express my views and find people who had similar views." Koval posted wide-ranging discussions of abortion rights, Hillary Clinton's record, and the Syrian civil wear. She said she has family in Israel and grew outraged about the country's treatment of Palestinians in 2014 after seeing video of civilians bombed in Gaza.
"I was just really hurt by what was going on, hurt by how much money the United States gives to Israel," she said. "I was so shocked because it seemed so undemocratic."
Koval tweeted about the bombings and the Israeli-Palestinian political situation over her winter break, and said that it's those tweets that caught the attention of a classmate who she describes as a former friend. In one, Koval described Hamas as "not extreme."
In another, she described Israel as a "terrorist force."
Koval thinks that the reaction might have come more swiftly had she not been on holiday break, but says word got back to her that the unidentified girl was unhappy with what she'd said. Online, she speculated about the kind of trouble that her online activity could get her in.
She also celebrated the classmate unfollowing her.
In another recording, the administrator seems to refer to this tweet, and possibly this one, perhaps the most directly confrontational.
Koval said she did message the girl's name to L_Chevere, a classmate, "but of course it didn't go farther. She didn't even know the girl."
This morning, she narrated the beginning of the fallout.
Koval said that upon arriving at school today, her teacher had received a memo and told her to report to the main office. There she says principal James Marcella showed her printouts of the tweets, and said, "Do you realize that what you put out electronically can also get you in trouble in school, or put you in some kind of problem?"
"I haven't put anything problematic out there," she says on the recording. "Maybe controversial."
"That's your interpretation," he replied. "There's a state law that might interpret it different."
Koval said she was let go, only to be called back and told to write a statement of the events. She said she told Marcella she wouldn't do it without a lawyer but that he told her they could only go on the other girl's account if she didn't write it then and there.
Koval said she has since been allowed to rescind this version of events and draw something up for tomorrow morning, when some sort of justice is supposed to meted out. Also, she said, concerned that she might have "filmed" the proceedings, Marcella told her the Department of Education could sue her if she had.
She said she thinks she's been targeted "because I'm not pro-Israel."
The response online was swift, prompting an #IStandWithBenny hashtag, and a deluge of calls and emails to the school from around the world. There was also reaction close to home. She said one boy at her school messaged her, "bitch let's fight son." When she got home this evening, she said the school called her mom and she overheard someone say the administration was getting calls from far and wide. Her mom walked into the other room for the rest of the call.
Koval said she is not especially concerned for her safety now that she is internet famous: "I'm just worried for my parents, really."
Her parents, who she describes as "apolitical" are now "REALLY mad."
Koval said that she did not intend to start this controversy. Rather, she said she did what was instinctive.
"I documented it because i was nervous. That's what I do," she said. "I didn't think it would get that bad either. I felt like I was really stripped of my rights."
At the moment she is frantically trying to get legal advice before tomorrow morning. And convince her followers to lay off the school.
Administrators at Fair Lawn High School did not immediately respond to calls and an email requesting comment.
F-Russia
Land Destroyer: Washington Quietly Lifts Sanctions on Russian Rockets
January 7, 2016 (Ulson Gunnar - NEO) - Washington, who leveled widespread sanctions against Russia in an increasingly tenuous bid to isolate and undermine the stability of Moscow, has found itself humiliated and backtracking as it lifts bans on Russia's RD-180 rocket engines.And even as Washington does so, the US media finds itself still painting Russia as a villain even as the US finds itself forced to buy rockets from a nation it claims invaded Crimea, is fostering a "hybrid war" in eastern Ukraine, and is bombing US-backed "rebels" in Syria. It is worth mentioning that Russia's RD-180 rocket engines, possessing unparalleled performance US firms have yet to match, will be used to launch payloads into Earth orbit for the US Department of Defense.
Popular Science in its article "Congress Moves to Lift Ban on Using Russian Rocket Engines" claims:
After Russia invaded Crimea, Congress swore off Russian rocket engines. But its ban on using these rockets to launch military payloads into space was perhaps a bit too hasty. A new bill approved by Congress has found a way to nullify the ban. United Launch Alliance (ULA), a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin that has long been the primary contractor for launching Defense Department payloads into space, relies on the Russian-made RD-180. ULA recently declined to bid on a launch contract due to its limited supply of rocket engines, and the Pentagon is not happy. Though ULA is developing a new engine, the BE-4 is years away from reaching the launch pad. This is, after all, rocket science that we're talking about.
While Russia did not in fact "invade Crimea," Popular Science is correct in pointing out that a ULA-made replacement for the Russian RD-180's is years from becoming a reality.Popular Science also hints toward another reason that might be behind the lift of sanctions on Russian rockets:
ULA has long had a monopoly on military payload launches. SpaceX recently got permission to use its Falcon 9 rocket to launch military payloads as well, right around the time ULA dropped out because of the ban. If the ban is lifted, it means ULA and SpaceX will take part in the first competition for a military launch since 2006--and that could translate into savings for the U.S. government.
Ironically, a desire by ULA (a joint venture between defense industry giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin) to maintain their monopoly and all the unwarranted power and wealth associated with it, has forced them to do business with one of the nations it and a collection of other special interests on Wall Street, in Washington and in London have been attempting to undermine, divide and destroy for decades.SpaceX seeks to disrupt and decentralize the aerospace industry, a direct threat to Boeing and Lockheed Martin both in short-term and long-term regards.
And it seems that both in short-term and long-term regards, the strategy of these special interests on Wall Street, in Washington and in London, is incoherent and self-defeating. As it attempts to isolate and undermine Moscow, it finds itself threatened by disruptive business models and innovators at home in America. To tamp down domestic competition, these interests have ended up rolling back sanctions against foreign competitors.
Impotent and incoherent, it appears that the US has managed to do more harm to itself than to Russia. While Russia is certainly suffering from sanctions, should it overcome them, it will come out stronger and more self-sufficient on the other side. For the US however, win or lose against Russia, it is clearly harming itself in the process.
For the global public looking on, flooded daily with news and op-eds about how much of a threat Russia is to global peace and stability, the fact that the US Department of Defense is still essentially buying rockets from Russia to put American satellites into orbit should serve as a reminder that nothing resembling actual principles, facts or honesty guides US foreign policy or how it is presented across US and European media.
If the US finds itself unable to justify continued sanctions against Russian rockets, rockets used in vital roles for maintaining US defense capabilities, how is the US continuing to justify other sanctions against Russia that remain in place? Are these sanctions in place simply because the businesses being hurt by them across the West lack the lobbying power of Boeing and Lockheed Martin? And are we expected to continue believing Russia is such a "threat" but still America's primary partner in launching defense satellites into space, not to mention American and European astronauts and supply missions to the International Space Station?
In fact, flip-flopping on Russian sanctions seems like it should indicate to various stakeholders in Washington and London's international order that it is looking less like an organized global enterprise, and more like a blind tropism seeking profits wherever it finds them, even if they are over the edge of a cliff. For these stakeholders, it may be time to consider divesting and/or diversifying into something truly looking with its eyes open toward the future and toward real progress.
Ulson Gunnar, a New York-based geopolitical analyst and writer especially for the online magazine ''New Eastern Outlook''.
Migrants
Open brief van Duitse schrijfster over aanrandingen in Keule... - De Standaard
Het hoofdstation in Keulen, waar de gebeurtenissen plaatsvonden.
In het hoofdstation van Keulen werden op oudejaar tientallen vrouwen het slachtoffer van diefstal en seksuele aanranding. Minstens 40 mannen van Arabische en Noord-Afrikaanse origine zouden in verschillende groepen hun slachtoffers hebben omsingeld, betast en bestolen. De politie kon er niet rap genoeg bij zijn, omdat ze door jonge mannen op het stationsplein met vuurwerkpijlen werden belaagd.
De Duitse schrijfster Katja Schneidt plaatste naar aanleiding van de bijzonder onfeestelijke gebeurtenissen een open brief aan haar regering op facebook. Het bericht wordt massaal opgepikt en gedeeld.
P-Magazine vertaalde haar kwade brief:
'Geachte Duitse Bondsregering,
Ik moet iets toegeven, jullie hebben schitterend werk verricht! Jullie pogingen om elke terechte kritiek over de houding van vluchtelingen onmiddellijk met het naziverwijt de kop in te drukken, heeft zijn vruchten afgeworpen.
We zijn ondertussen in Duitsland zo ver gekomen dat ontelbare vrouwen al een klacht ingediend hebben (35, maar volgens de politie ligt het feitelijke aantal veel hoger) over het feit dat ze op oudejaarsnacht door een horde wilde asielzoekers beledigd en op de zwaarst mogelijke manier seksueel lastig gevallen werden (ja, het waren asielzoekers, want de politie heeft bij controles de voorgeschreven asielformulieren onder ogen gehad). Slechts de regionale kranten schrijven hierover.
Ze hebben deze vrouwen bepoteld, hun vingers in alle lichaamsopeningen gestoken en soms ook de kleren van hun lichaam getrokken. Dit alles begeleid van 'ficki '' ficki' en 'Schlampen'-kreten. De politie kon deze vrouwen niet beschermen omdat ze door de razende asielzoekers met vuurwerk bekogeld werden. Een schande voor ons land!
Waar zijn nu de grootste media? Tv-nieuws? Nergens! Bild? Nergens! Waar is jullie in het Arabisch ondertitelde oproep aan de gewelddadige asielzoekers, waarin jullie duidelijk maken dat vrouwen in dit land geen vrij wild zijn? Waar is meneer Gabriel (SPD) die deze daden scherp veroordeelt en de zwaarste verwensingen uit? Niets! Geen woord!
Nee, we zijn intussen zover gekomen dat we zulke gebeurtenissen doodzwijgen, nationaliteit niet durven benoemen en stilletjes in onze hoofdkussens wenen omwille van de vele seksuele misdrijven door asielzoekers. Het gaat niet langer om enkele gevallen. Ik alleen al verzorg zeven vrouwen die gedurende de laatste zes maanden het slachtoffer zijn geworden van seksueel geweld door 'vluchtelingen'. Dat mag men echter niet zeggen. Dan is men namelijk een opruier! Een vreemdelingenhater! Een nazi!
Dat deze gebeurtenis doodzwijgen een verdere slag is in het gezicht van de slachtoffers, nemen we er goedkeurend bij. Zelfs ik heb nagedacht of ik wel over de verschrikkelijke gebeurtenissen in Keulen mag schrijven. Ja, ik mag dat! Ik strijd al zoveel jaren tegen huiselijk en seksueel geweld en als ik uitsluitend de gevallen waarbij een Duitser de dader is publiekelijk mag maken, dan ben ik inderdaad een racist.
Maar dat ben ik niet! Ik hou van iedereen, zolang zij maar met respect met hun medemensen omgaan. Mij kan het niet schelen of iemand moslim, christen of jood is. Ik beoordeel mensen naar hun daden, en niet volgens hun afkomst of geloof. Dat in vele moslimlanden een ander vrouwenbeeld heerst en emancipatie een woord uit een vreemde taal is, is niet mijn schuld. Dat er nu vele mensen naar ons land komen met een verouderd vrouwenbeeld, is evenmin mijn schuld.
Als ik echter geweld, dat door een aantal van deze mensen bedreven wordt, goed zou praten, dood zou zwijgen of zou verontschuldigen, dan ben ik w(C)l verantwoordelijk. Ik geef hen dan het idee dat ik het goedkeur dat zij vrouwen discrimineren, domineren en seksueel misbruiken. Dat zou fout zijn. Daarom ga ik niet zwijgen, want ik zou ook mijn mond niet houden als de daders Duitsers waren. Ieder die een beetje kan denken weet dat een groot gedeelte van de mensen die hierheen komen niet gewelddadig zijn. Maar bij een miljoen vluchtelingen is 10 procent die seksueel geweld plegen al genoeg om 100.000 vrouwen een slachtoffer van seksueel geweld te maken.
Ik zal ook niet stoppen de hier bescherming zoekende mannen duidelijk te maken dat ik van hen verwacht dat zij Duitse vrouwen niet als vrij wild beschouwen en dat ik evenzeer verwacht dat zij de integratie van hun vrouwen, zusters en dochters niet met verouderde waardepatronen verhinderen! Wie hier wil wonen, moet onze cultuur volledig respecteren, zonder discussie! Wij, Duitse vrouwen, willen niet 'ficki '' ficki' doen en we zijn ook geen 'Schlampen' (sletten) die erop wachten eens een grondige beurt te krijgen. Wij beslissen zelf wie ons waar aanraakt en dat moet zo blijven!
En nu, beste regering, verwacht ik dat jullie eindelijk jullie verantwoordelijkheid nemen en de daders duidelijk maken dat we genoeg Duitse verkrachters hebben. We zijn niet van plan om dit aantal nog te doen stijgen.'
Sehr geehrte Bundesregierung,eines muss man Ihnen lassen: Sie haben ganze Arbeit geleistet!Ihre Bem¼hungen, jegliche...
Posted by Katja Schneidt on Monday, January 4, 2016
Migrant crisis: Turkey police seize fake life jackets - BBC News
Image copyrightAFPImage caption Lifejackets left behind by refugees and migrants form a huge pile on the Greek island of Lesbos Police in Turkey say they have confiscated more than 1,000 fake life jackets made for migrants wanting to cross the Aegean Sea to Greece.
Officers raided a workshop in the port of Izmir, where they say they found life jackets stuffed with packaging rather than buoyancy aids.
The four workers making the jackets included two young Syrian girls.
On Tuesday, the bodies of 34 migrants were found along Turkey's coast. Many were wearing life jackets.
Several children were among the dead.
More than one million migrants crossed the Mediterranean in 2015 and the vast majority went from Turkey to Greece.
Many migrants buy life jackets to help them survive the dinghy journey. A properly made jacket costs up to a £100 ('¬130; $150), reports the BBC's James Reynolds in Istanbul.
But many migrants make do with cheaper, badly made ones, which cost just £10 and may offer no protection whatsoever, our correspondent says.
Izmir: Migrants' life jacket capital
The life jacket 'mountains' of Lesbos
Migration to Europe explained in graphics
Media captionFergal Keane reports from the Greek island of LesbosAccording to the UN, 3,771 people were listed as dead or missing in 2015.
In Wednesday's raid the authorities seized 1,263 life jackets that failed to correspond to safety standards, Turkey's Dogan news agency said. The workshop was in the centre of Izmir, a major hub for refugees and migrants.
Four people were found working in the workshop, including two young Syrian girls, the news agency said. It did not publish the girls' ages.
The confiscated life jackets have been sent to the local police for examination and an investigation has been launched.
It comes one day after the bodies of more than 30 migrants were washed up in Turkey. Their boats capsized in bad weather on the way to the Greek island of Lesbos, the authorities say.
Turkish media published harrowing images of the corpses, many still wearing life jackets that had apparently been of no use.
Migrants are continuing to arrive on the Greek islands every day, despite the wintry weather. Lesbos is by far the most popular destination for migrants leaving Turkey. More than 500,000 reached the island in 2015.
Late last year, Turkey reached a deal with the European Union to tighten its borders and reduce the numbers crossing to Greece in return for '¬3bn (£2.1bn) and political concessions.
A note on terminology: The BBC uses the term migrant to refer to all people on the move who have yet to complete the legal process of claiming asylum. This group includes people fleeing war-torn countries such as Syria, who are likely to be granted refugee status, as well as people who are seeking jobs and better lives, who governments are likely to rule are economic migrants.
NK
U.S. slams NK test, but doubts hydrogen bomb claim
If the cries of 'Je suis Charlie' were sincere, the western world would be convulsed with worry and anger about the Wallstr¶m affair. It has all the ingredients for a clash-of-civilisations confrontation.
A few weeks ago Margot Wallstr¶m, the Swedish foreign minister, denounced the subjugation of women in Saudi Arabia. As the theocratic kingdom prevents women from travelling, conducting official business or marrying without the permission of male guardians, and as girls can be forced into child marriages where they are effectively raped by old men, she was telling no more than the truth. Wallstr¶m went on to condemn the Saudi courts for ordering that Raif Badawi receive ten years in prison and 1,000 lashes for setting up a website that championed secularism and free speech. These were 'mediaeval methods', she said, and a 'cruel attempt to silence modern forms of expression'. And once again, who can argue with that?
The backlash followed the pattern set by Rushdie, the Danish cartoons and Hebdo. Saudi Arabia withdrew its ambassador and stopped issuing visas to Swedish businessmen. The United Arab Emirates joined it. The Organisation of Islamic Co-operation, which represents 56 Muslim-majority states, accused Sweden of failing to respect the world's 'rich and varied ethical standards' '-- standards so rich and varied, apparently, they include the flogging of bloggers and encouragement of paedophiles. Meanwhile, the Gulf Co-operation Council condemned her 'unaccept-able interference in the internal affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia', and I wouldn't bet against anti-Swedish riots following soon.
Yet there is no 'Wallstr¶m affair'. Outside Sweden, the western media has barely covered the story, and Sweden's EU allies have shown no inclination whatsoever to support her. A small Scandinavian nation faces sanctions, accusations of Islamophobia and maybe worse to come, and everyone stays silent. As so often, the scandal is that there isn't a scandal.
It is a sign of how upside-down modern politics has become that one assumes that a politician who defends freedom of speech and women's rights in the Arab world must be some kind of muscular liberal, or neocon, or perhaps a supporter of one of Scandinavia's new populist right-wing parties whose commitment to human rights is merely a cover for anti-Muslim hatred. But Margot Wallstr¶m is that modern rarity: a left-wing politician who goes where her principles take her.
She is foreign minister in Sweden's weak coalition of Social Democrats and Greens, and took office promising a feminist foreign policy. She recognised Palestine in October last year '-- and, no, the Arab League and Organisation of Islamic Co-operation and Gulf Co-operation Council did not condemn her 'unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of Israel'. I confess that her gesture struck me as counterproductive at the time. But after Benjamin Netanyahu ruled out a Palestinian state as he used every dirty trick he could think of to secure his re-election, she can claim with justice that history has vindicated her.
She moved on to the Saudi version of sharia law. Her criticism was not just rhetorical. She said that it was unethical for Sweden to continue with its military co-operation agreement with Saudi Arabia. In other words, she threatened Swedish arms companies' ability to make money. Saudi Arabia's denial of business visas to Swedes threatened to hurt other companies' profits too. You might think of Swedes as upright social democrats, who have never let worries of appearing tedious stand in the way of their righteousness. But that has never been wholly true, and is certainly not true when there is money at stake.
Sweden is the world's 12th largest arms exporter '-- quite an achievement for a country of just nine million people. Its exports to Saudi Arabia total $1.3 billion. Business leaders and civil servants are also aware that other Muslim-majority countries may follow Saudi Arabia's lead. During the 'cartoon crisis' '-- a phrase I still can't write without snorting with incredulity '-- Danish companies faced global attacks and the French supermarket chain Carrefour took Danish goods off the shelves to appease Muslim customers. A co-ordinated campaign by Muslim nations against Sweden is not a fanciful notion. There is talk that Sweden may lose its chance to gain a seat on the UN Security Council in 2017 because of Wallstr¶m.
To put it as mildly as I can, the Swedish establishment has gone wild. Thirty chief executives signed a letter saying that breaking the arms trade agreement 'would jeopardise Sweden's reputation as a trade and co-operation partner'. No less a figure than His Majesty King Carl XVI Gustaf himself hauled Wallstr¶m in at the weekend to tell her that he wanted a compromise. Saudi Arabia has successfully turned criticism of its brutal version of Islam into an attack on all Muslims, regardless of whether they are Wahhabis or not, and Wallstr¶m and her colleagues are clearly unnerved by accusations of Islamophobia. The signs are that she will fold under the pressure, particularly when the rest of liberal Europe shows no interest in supporting her.
Sins of omission are as telling as sins of commission. The Wallstr¶m non-affair tells us three things. It is easier to instruct small countries such as Sweden and Israel on what they can and cannot do than America, China or a Saudi Arabia that can call on global Muslim support when criticised. Second, a Europe that is getting older and poorer is starting to find that moral stands in foreign policy are luxuries it can no longer afford. Saudi Arabia has been confident throughout that Sweden needs its money more than it needs Swedish imports.
Finally, and most revealingly in my opinion, the non-affair shows us that the rights of women always come last. To be sure, there are Twitter storms about sexist men and media feeding frenzies whenever a public figure uses 'inappropriate language'. But when a politician tries to campaign for the rights of women suffering under a brutally misogynistic clerical culture she isn't cheered on but met with an embarrassed and hugely revealing silence.
War on Vape
U.K. Approves E-Cigarette Prescriptions To Help People Quit Smoking
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's drug regulators have given the go-ahead for a British American Tobacco electronic-cigarette vaping device to be sold as a quit smoking medicine, the first such product to be given a drug license in the UK.
The decision to license BAT's e-Voke product means it can now be prescribed on the state-funded National Health Service for patients trying to give up smoking.
"We want to ensure licensed nicotine containing products -- including e-cigarettes -- which make medicinal claims are available and meet appropriate standards of safety, quality and efficacy to help reduce the harms from smoking," the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement on Monday.
The statement said the e-Voke license was granted "recently", and a spokesman told Reuters it was issued "towards the end of last year".
Many experts think e-cigarettes, which heat nicotine-laced liquid into an inhalable vapor, are a lower-risk alternative to smoking, but since they are relatively new products, there is little long-term evidence on their safety.
Public Health England, the government's public health agency, has said it considers e-cigarettes to be at least 95 percent safer than tobacco cigarettes, which cause lung cancer and many other diseases and kill half of all those who use them.
BAT said in a statement on its website it is "currently evaluating plans to commercialise" e-Voke, which uses cartridges containing pharmaceutical grade nicotine.
More than 2 million adults use e-cigarettes in Britain, about a third of whom are ex-smokers and two-thirds current smokers, according to the charity Action on Smoking and Health.
Big tobacco firms, including BAT, Philip Morris International, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco Group, are jostling for position in the emerging vaping market, which is estimated at around $7 billion for 2015.
The MHRA said it would "continue to encourage companies to voluntarily submit medicines license applications for e-cigarettes and other nicotine containing products as medicines" and hoped to see more e-cigarettes and next generation nicotine delivery products submit applications in future.
(Reporting by Kate Kelland, editing by Louise Heavens)
Also on HuffPost:
Out There
Hillary Clinton: I will reveal truth about UFOs if I become America's next President - Mirror Online
Hillary Clinton has vowed to "get to the bottom" of UFOs if she becomes the next President of the United States.
And the Democratic presidential candidate believes we may already have been visited by extraterrestrials.
Responding to a question about UFOs from a journalist while campaigning in New Hampshire, she reportedly said: "Yes, I'm going to get to the bottom of it."
Clinton, who could become America's first female president if elected in November, also said she would send a "task force" into Area 51 - a top secret base in Nevada where UFO enthusiasts believe alien technology is being back-engineered.
John Podesta, her campaign chairman, has previously called for the release of all UFO files as the ''American people can handle the truth''.
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Last year he famously tweeted his biggest regret of 2014 was not securing the release of the UFO files before he retired.
He said: "Finally, my biggest failure of 2014: Once again not securing the #disclosure of the UFO files. #the truthisstilloutthere".
Read more:John Podesta: Outgoing Barack Obama adviser reveals regret over failure to disclose secret UFO files
Podesta was also her husband Bill Clinton's chief of staff when he was in the White House and a top advisor to President Barack Obama.
Hillary said: ''He has made me personally pledge we are going to get the information out. One way or another. Maybe we could have a task force go to Area 51."
Top secret: Groom Lake, also known as Area 51, is off limits to prying eyesLast year Bill Clinton told US chat show host Jimmy Kimmel he wouldn't be surprised if alien life visited Earth but said he hoped it "wouldn't be like Independence Day".
He also said he had looked into Area 51 but added: "There are no aliens there."
When asked about her husband's comments, Hillary said: "I think we may have been (visited already). We don't know for sure."
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In 1993, Clinton, when he was president, was approached by billionaire Laurance Rockefeller to release all UFO files to the public.
The Clintons even met with the philanthropist and financier, part of the American banking dynasty, at his ranch in Wyoming in August, 1995, as part of the so-called "Rockefeller Initiative".
Retired detective constable Gary Heseltine, who has been researching UFOs for 40 years and edits UFO Truth Magazine, said: "I am well aware of the Rockefeller initiative and that both the Clintons were heavily involved in it.
UFO detective: Gary Heseltine has welcomed Hillary Clinton's pledge
"It was inevitable that Hillary Clinton would be asked questions about her links to it and I am pleased that she has responded to them.
"She cannot run away from those links so she really has to embrace it in order to remain credible. It will be interesting to see how much of a political issue it will become in her presidential campaign."
CAIRO (AP) -- Egyptian authorities arrested three people who administer 23 Facebook pages, accusing them of using the networking website to incite against state institutions.The Interior Ministry on Saturday accused two men, both age 27, and a 25-year-old women of being members in the Muslim Brotherhood. Egypt outlawed the Brotherhood in 2013 after the military overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Morsi.Authorities have shown public concern over calls on social media to organize protests on Jan. 25 to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2011 uprising that removed longtime autocrat Hosni Mubarak. Social media, particularly Facebook and Twitter, played a large part in organizing the Jan. 25 uprising, and other protests since then.Last week, President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi warned against any such protests, saying they could result in chaos.On Monday, prosecutors ordered a 15-day detention for four activists from the April 6 movement, which helped engineer the 2011 uprising and was outlawed last year. The four were put under investigation on suspicion of protesting without a license and belonging to a banned organization.The arrests are taking place amid a crackdown on art spaces in downtown Cairo, an area popular among activists. Tahrir square, the epicenter of the 2011 uprising, is also located in downtown Cairo.Also on Monday, authorities raided the Townhouse Gallery, one of Egypt's most popular art venues, a day before they raided Dar Merit, a publishing house where left-leaning intellectuals sometimes meet.The officials shut down Townhouse Gallery, while two workers who were present at the time of the raid said they took a computer, a laptop, employees' notebooks, and CDs and forced the employees to show them movies that were on their computers. The officials prevented people from leaving the venue during the raid.In Dar Merit, officials detained a volunteer, Mohammed Zain, for about 12 hours, Dar Merit's manager and owner Mohammed Hashem said. Zain was questioned about the political orientation of books and seminars at Dar Merit and about Hashem's political views, Hashem said Wednesday.
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You can donate via Paypal (even without a paypal account) by sending to the james@jimstone.is mail box. thanks!When you donate, drop a backup confirmation in the message window to help avoid intercepts, thanks!All donations received are logged here in the full amount with no abbreviations for at least 3 days WITHOUT EXEPTION, IF YOU GET A CONFIRMATION E-MAIL FROM "ME" AND YOUR DONATION IS NOT ON THIS FRONT PAGE, I DID NOT RECEIVE IT BECAUSE I CANNOT SEND MAIL TO GIVE CONFIRMATION TO BEGIN WITH.Pedro sent 35 Euros via Paypal and the james@jimstone.is mail box, thanks!Janina sent $10 AUD via Paypal and the james@jimstone.is mail box, thanks!Peter sent $20 AUD via Paypal and the james@jimstone.is mail box, thanksJan 6 2016
RED ALERT: A NEW TAINTED MMR VACCINE HAS SUDDENLY CAUSED THOUSANDS OF BABIES IN BRAZIL TO BE BORN WITH FAR UNDERSIZED BRAINS IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS ALONE"when these facts are added to the fact that the Zika virus has never done anything prior but cause a mild cold, suddenly blaming it for thousands of shrunken baby brains is outright medical fraud.They are now fronting brain damage caused by a newly formulated MMR vaccine as a "Zika virus outbreak". Problem: The Zika virus, which has been known about for 70 years, has never done anything to babies while the mother was pregnant. Zika results in a mild cold and is all over the world now doing nothing to anyone with a mortality rate of ZERO. QUESTION: why did it suddenly blow the brains out of thousands of babies in ONE LOCATION - Brazil in the past two months alone when ZERO reported cases of this outcome have ever been recorded prior? ANSWER: Because a new MMR vaccine, which was spawned to destroy babies before they were born rather than after birth (due to the new awareness that autism is caused by intentionally destructive vaccines) was launched in Brazil in May of 2015. Gates&Cohorts now need a scapegoat to pin the damage on, and "ZIKA" sounded spooky enough.PERMALINKUPDATE: REFERENCES WHICH PROVE THE SHRUNKEN BRAINS ARE MMR VACCINE CAUSED AND NOT BECAUSE OF ANY ZIKA VIRUS ARE NOW SCREEN CAPTURED AND EMBEDDED BELOW THIS REPORT, (and there are plenty of other references that prove this if you go out an look for them.)MMR induced shrunken brains: The new autism.The new "Autism", titled "Microcephaly" has suddenly smashed it's way into delivery rooms overnight and destroyed more than 2,400 Brazilian newborn babies en utero in only the past 2 months with ZERO DESTROYED IN THE MONTHS PRIOR. The false reason is stated to be caused when a pregnant mother is bitten by the mosquito carried African zika virus, which recently "made it's debut" in Brazil in 2015. This is an obvious bold faced lie, because the pattern of symptoms does not match the virus which has been proven to have infected humans since 1954 and has never previously been associated with shrunken brains in newborn babies, nor does the geographic propagation pattern match the natural propagation pattern of a mosquito carried virus that would cause undersized brains in newborn babies if it really did exist.This "shrunken brain" issue in newborns was just suddenly in Brazil as if someone flipped a switch, and the only way that could really happen is via the sudden arrival of a new brain destroying MMR vaccine, which all pregnant Latin American women are strongly encouraged to get before week 22 of pregnancy. This sudden occurrence of shrunken brains perfectly matches the probable arrival of the real culprit - a tainted MMR vaccine, which if administered in May (when this virus supposedly arrived) would be causing precisely the shrunken newborn baby brain problems Brazilians are having now, right on schedule.
The claim is that a mosquito naturally carried this disease across almost all of South and Central America in only six months. This defies all logic because mosquitoes have a life cycle that is too long for immediate propagation and won't fly more than a mile from where they hatch, which would limit the movement of a totally new disease to a mile or so a month, not 30 miles a day. A continent wide outbreak of a totally new virus is not the same thing as an outbreak of malaria, which is already everywhere and only needs the correct conditions to bring it forward.
As standing proof of the impossibility any totally new host/carrier/host dependent disease could naturally propagate so rapidly, just look at how long it took the killer bee which needs no intermediate host to propagate through south and central America. It took the killer bee decades to do so and bees can fly miles in a day. And the killer bee was not host dependent, which in the case of the Zika virus, which is host dependent might permanently quarantine such a virus to a small area via demography alone. Additionally, if the zika virus spread so readily, it should have made it to Brazil from Africa during the first periods of air traffic 50 years ago, traveling to Brazil via infected passengers, who would then pass it along to the Brazilian mosquitoes. If it was as contagious as they claim, and it really did shrink baby brains, it should have been decades old news.
ADDITIONALLY, AND EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT SOME OF THE NEWS RELEASES RELATED TO THIS "DISEASE" WERE ORIGINALLY DATED WEEKS INTO THE FUTURE, WHICH MEANS SOMEONE IS DOING IT AND THE MEDIA RELEASE WAS PRE PLANNED, TO MAKE THE SPREAD OF THE DISEASE APPEAR TO SPAN MORE THAN A YEAR, WHEN IT HAS NOT.The first undersized brains from MMR vaccines and NOT this disease were first seen in Brazil IN NOVEMBER OF 2015. IF SO, I'd like an explanation for how this virus, which has NEVER been associated with small brains before suddenly caused more than 2,400 children in Brazil to be born with undersized brains SINCE NOVEMBER OF THIS YEAR and has now been pinned to RECENTLY BORN babies with undersized brains in far away Mexico, when according to the story it arrived in Mexico in November of 2015? THERE IS NO WAY IN * THIS DISEASE WENT FROM BRAZIL TO PERU TO MEXICO TO ALL ACROSS THE CARIBBEAN IN ONLY SIX MONTHS UNLESS SOMEONE DID IT BY INTENT, OR THERE IS NO ZIKA DISEASE AT ALL, AND IT IS ALL A VACCINE SCAM, SPREAD RAPIDLY VIA REFRIGERATED BOEING JUMBO JETS.Here is the wiki:"In May 2015, Brazil officially reported its first 16 cases of the illness.[9] According to the Brazilian Health Ministry, as of November 2015 there was no official count of the number of people infected with the virus in Brazil, the disease being not subject to compulsory notification. Even so, cases were reported in 14 States of the country. Mosquito-borne Zika virus is suspected to be the cause of 2,400 cases of microcephaly and 29 infant deaths in Brazil in 2015.[10]"interesting, when it has never been associated with that before!"The emergence of Zika virus in South America led to a rapid spread throughout South and Central America, reaching Mexico in November 2015"
My response: Yep, it is in Wikipedia, which anyone can write to, including those involved in this plot, and they can just make it all look normal. Yep, symbiotic host/carrier/host diseases just rip across continents to all corners in months, faster than a bush tribesman could travel! IT REALLY IS THAT WAY, Wikipedia said so!REALITY: This is a host/carrier/host disease which requires new mosquitos to be born before it can spread. This makes it absolutely impossible for it to rip across the entirety of Latin America, from Chile to Brazil to Mexico in only six months. It would take DECADES for that process to complete. But 20 Boeing jets could carry the real brain shrinking cause via vaccines to all corners of Latin America in only 12 hours, with the zika mosquito being a convenient scapegoat for the devastation that followed.Here is another wiki quote:"The first human cases were reported in Nigeria in 1954.[3] A few outbreaks have been reported in tropical Africa and in some areas in Southeast Asia.[4]By using phylogenetic analysis of Asian strains it was estimated that Zika virus had moved to Southeast Asia by 1945.[2] In 1977 - 1978 Zika virus infection was described as a cause of fever in Indonesia.[5]
The first major outbreak, with 185 confirmed cases, was reported in 2007 in the Yap Islands of the Federated States of Micronesia.[6] A total of 108 cases were confirmed by PCR or serology and 72 additional cases were suspected. The most common symptoms were rash, fever, arthralgia and conjunctivitis, and no deaths were reported. The mosquito Aedes hensilli, which was the predominant species identified in Yap during the outbreak, was probably the main vector of transmission. While the way of introduction of the virus on Yap Island remains uncertain, it is likely to have happened through introduction of infected mosquitoes or a viraemic human with a strain related to those in Southeast Asia.[2][6] This was also the first time Zika fever had been reported outside Africa and Asia.[7]"
My response: ALL OF THAT, AND IT WAS NEVER ASSOCIATED WITH SHRUNKEN BABY BRAINS UNTIL IT HIT BRAZIL, WHERE IT JUST SUDDENLY WHACKED THE BABY BRAINS OUT OF 2400 PREGNANT MOMS! See what I am getting at here? And if they change things, and say this disease has a history of shrinking baby brains, remember, up until now IT WAS NOT SO, so something else is causing the brain destroyed babies, it is not any "zika disease", something else is causing it and I guess they figured "zika" sounded spooky enough to blame it all on while they proceed to blow baby brains out with pre-natal pregnancy vaccinations. In many Latin American countries, women are strongly encouraged to get the MMR vaccine no more than 22 weeks into a pregnancy. Since the story line behind the Zika explanation is patent bullshit, another vector is being used, which leaves only the previously harmless MMR vaccine as the only available real "shrunken brain" transmission vector, BET ON IT.Additionally, they would never release such a disease with the mosquito as the carrier, because the tribe is everywhere, Kikedom has infiltrated all corners of the earth and they won't make themselves vulnerable to their own weapon. That means their weapon has to stay safely within needles and vials, to be separated out by marking "Ashkenazi" on the race card questionnaire handed out by every single hospital they will ever go to. Those who identify their race as "Asheknazi" will get a differently sourced vaccine.Ok so to sum this up:
1. Prior to 2015, the Zika virus was never associated with shrunken brains in newborn babies.
2. The propagation pattern is impossible, no mosquito borne disease that requires and intermediate host can get to all corners of a continent in only six months. Such a rapid propagation would require the disease to move 33 miles a day, day after day. Mosquitos do not breed, infect, lay eggs and hatch young to re-infect any faster than two weeks and won't fly more than half a mile during their lives, and if movement of people could spread it so fast, it would have happened decades ago. This disease might take six months to go 30 miles, not go 30 miles in a day!
3. The Zika virus has been known about since the 1950's, and requires a carrier host during it's life cycle. If it is so contagious it can rip across a continent via mosquitoes alone in only six months, which would require people flying around on airplanes to do, then it should have traveled across the ocean to Brazil as fast as an airplane can fly along with an infected host carrier from Africa, more than 50 years ago.
4. The autism / child vaccination link has now been so firmly drawn that the scammers need an entirely new venue before they get totally busted, and pre-birth vaccines have to be that venue. They need a safe way to do this and they are not going to get the job done by letting their weapon loose in the wild, where it can jump out of the bushes and nail them. They need a scapegoat for the intellectual damage they need to cause to maintain their future tyranny, and the zika virus is virtually assured to be their chosen scapegoat.
5. They claim this disease is ripping through the Caribbean island nations. QUESTION: HOW DOES A MOSQUITO BORNE ILLNESS, WHICH TOOK 50 YEARS TO JUMP FROM AFRICA TO LATIN AMERICA END UP PROPAGATING THROUGHOUT THE CARIBBEAN IN ONLY A FEW MONTHS, WHEN EACH LOCATION IN THE ENTIRE REGION IS, FROM A MOSQUITO'S STANDPOINT, EQUALLY SEPARATED BY OCEAN?
Good question, and I have the answer, CASE CLOSED:
I'll tell you what is going on here - VIRTUALLY ASSURED: Bill Gates or some other slime ball released a new vaccine in response to the autism uproar, which was to be administered to women while pregnant, to destroy the baby en utero so post-birth vaccines would not be blamed for damage they want to do to ALL children and are no longer completely getting away with. The zika virus has to be there to take the rap.HERE ARE THE CAPTURES THAT PROVE IT:
Here's a cute one!Common core wrote:We know why you only mention "rothschild" as the evil in this world, so your master's the rockefeller's WHO ARE DUTCH-TURK (german/austrian/hungarian)-CAUCASUS-ASIAN edomites, therefore correctly named "ROGGENFEDDLER", is not exposed, yet the whole sorcery and death it causes, surrounding the "medical" field is of these whores of the NWO, and is also who is behind the fake israel, the fbi, the cia, ETC!!. So not to worry we will make sure people know them very well, as we will you who lurks behind this filth, TURKedomite-ASIAN-boy!
My response: I am deeply sorry this web site is too complex for many people to read through entirely, but there are many many references to the Rockefellers here. I suggest you improve your reading skills so you can get through the thousands of pages on this web site and send accurate messages, OH, NO, I actually think that is a bit much to ask because it really is a lot, but please, before sending more of your numerous rants, make sure you check every page here before spewing, seriously, you are off with so much of what you send that this is the first time I bothered responding because other mails are simply too lengthy and poorly done to post.
Yeah, the Rockefellers are deeply rooted in the Federal Reserve scam, are almost entirely responsible for Feminism and the family courts that destroyed the United States, and are probably the main ones pushing the tainted vaccines on America, but they would get nowhere without the Rothchilds and are comparative evil altar boy accomplices to the high Satanic priest under the City of London.
Jan 5 2016
Kim Jong was saying a couple weeks ago that NK had the hydrogen bomb. No one believed it, and I was skeptical (but considering NK is part of the "axis of evil" I did not exactly dread it.)Well, it looks like the region is now more stable because NO ONE is going to attack Kim Jong if he tripped a 5.3 earthquake at his nuclear test site, and Kim Jong is not stupid enough to attack anyone in any meaningful way either.
The Hiroshima blast was good for approximately a 4.2 richter yield, (assuming it was buried, it actually did not register that high due to an airburst) which puts Kim Jong considerably higher, depending on geography and other factors. I honestly can't say I am sad, the last guy I'd ever be afraid of, nukes or not, is Kim Jong. I mean, even with a king sized nuke, what could he do other than take the U.S. navy out? Really, that is all he could ever do and from where he sits, that is good enough.
UPDATE: ALL THE NEWSPAPERS ARE QUOTING WIKIPEDIA RICHTER REFERENCE FOR THE SIZE OF THE BOMB, WHICH IS A HUGE MISTAKE. Wikipedia is, as usual, DEAD WRONG. I knew seismic yields for nuclear blasts were lower than the references given in Wikipedia, which means North Korea's bomb was approximately 10 times as large as stated by Wikipedia. NK's bomb was in fact in the 100 - 200 kiloton range, which means it really might have been a small hydrogen bomb, as NK claimed they had a couple weeks ago. Here is the proof:
This is the real deal, so I figured I'd post it in full, especially since it says exactly what I said - that this was all set up by the government and false truthers.From Christian Yingling:Ok ...Everybody... please gather around and listen to what I am about to say..Then either shut your mouth, or share this far and wide. If you have ANY faith in me as a leader you will heed what I am about to say. If not..I want nothing to do with you. simple as that.
The key to victory in any battle is the ability to remain calm in any given situation. What we are seeing right now is a whole bunch of people acting based solely on raw emotion. This is very bad and I'm about to explain exactly why. I am not letting my emotions make my decisions for me, but instead, looking at this from a calm, level headed, common sense approach.
What you are all witnessing right now right now in Oregon has the makings of a full on false flag event. And I will prove that to you to the absolute best of my ability. Should you choose to look at this from a logical perspective you will see I am 100% correct. Some of what I will tell you is speculation based on my own experience and experiences of others I have talked to throughout this ordeal, but most of what I am going to tell you is documented verifiable fact.
Back during the Bundy situation, Ryan Payne declared himself the unofficial "leader" of the militias present at the Bundy ranch. Nothing could have been further from the truth. In fact, none of the militias listened to him at all. The ONLY ones who listened to him were the Bundy's, Blaine Cooper, who Payne claimed was a "professional security consultant', who turned out to be nothing more than an ex con, and buddah bear (nice name) who he also claimed was a "professional security consultant", but was later discovered to be nothing more than a tattoo artist thug. The militias ignoring these three, is precisely why that situation didnt turn into a blood bath. (strangely enough all three are present at the refuge)
I and Scott Woods were asked on one occasion, by Payne to go and destroy BLM equipment in the middle of the night. We refused, stating that that's not why we were there. We were there solely to defend the family. That very same night he rushed off in a car with a loaded AR to START a violent altercation with LEOs who supposedly had pulled over members of the Armenian Militia off exit 10 near the ranch. This report was never vetted nor was it looked into before he rushed off. It is also well documented that Payne had tried to incite other militia members to start violent altercations with the authorities who were present there. all of which were refused by militia members..all for the same reason...we were NOT there to start a fight...but to DEFEND the family. When people refused, Payne, Cooper, and Buddah ostracized them and ran them off the ranch. This is why most militias left the ranch when they did. One other point worth mentioning was there were militia members present with long range 50 cal sniper rifles... but instead of positioning them on the hilltops surrounding the ranch, Payne had them stationed down in a valley where they were effectively useless...does that sound like the makings of a solid leader to you? And also Payne was always sure to make certain that there was ONE completely UNDEFENDED access point to the ranch.. I brought this up to him asking why he would leave our back door completely open and undefended... and he completely blew me off... What he was doing in fact, was leaving an access point open for authorities to bum rush the ranch if that's what they felt needed to be done. And I have the witnesses to prove it.
Now throughout the situation Payne made repeated threats to law enforcement on NATIONAL media. There's VIDEO of him doing this..its not hard to find. Yet oddly enough with all that evidence he was never charged with anything during or after the standoff. Does that seem ODD to anyone but me? (not if you're a paid provocateur) Now in this situation at the refuge, he has publicly stated to a reporter that he has snipers set up to kill any federal official who approaches the refuge. Yet still.. no charges are being filed against him. making threats like that, you'd think they'd swoop in and scoop him up... but noooo.. because they're giving patriots time to get there... Don't think for one second that with a couple of phone calls to the proper alphabet agencies, those shmucks wont be SORELY outnumbered. Tell you what... if you think LEO's don't take threats against them seriously... go find the nearest cop and walk up to him and tell him you plan to kill police officers and see what happens to you.. See how long it takes for you to end up in prison.. yet Payne roams free..as does Cooper. Better yet go ask Schuyler Barbeau what happens when you threaten a public official... oh wait...you can't... hes in prison... because of a facebook post. Funny how that works huh? Also... has anyone else noticed that until this situation popped up Payne was damned near SILENT on social media? Wonder why that is... Hell, Most of you don't even know who he is... He also claimed to be an Army Ranger, But when we had someone at the Ranger School check their records... they said NO Ryan Payne had EVER attended that school... whoda thunk it?
Myself and Scott begged the Bundys, after we left (via phone) to stop listening to Payne..that he was a plant. But they refused to listen. Payne wouldn't let ANYONE talk to the Bundy's with out him being present..or close by. The Bundy's are good God fearing Christians but they are TERRIBLY naive. They truly believe Payne is one of the good guys. Which is why they are at the refuge now. Do you honestly think for one second it was AMMON's idea to take that building? If you do... you're a fool. They're not that type of people. Ammon has been suckered into this standoff by Payne and Cooper. He truly went up there with the intention of helping the Hammonds, and when they were refused, The Bundy's were made to believe that taking a stand against the BLM was the answer.
Nothing could be further from the truth. Now Cliven is on his way there.. and the govt is finally going to get their revenge on the Bundy's and in doing so gain the access they need to their land. All the major players in the operation of that Ranch will soon be together at the wildlife refuge... thats no coincidence. I assure you.
Payne, Cooper, Pete Santili... All well trained provocateurs who are doing everything in their power to lure patriots to the ranch.. Case in point...Santili just released a video try to say that the FBI was TRYING to shut him down.. Dont you think if that were the case...with ALL of the resources the FBI has, they would just go ahead and do it...do you really think this shmuck is smart enough to outsmart the ENTIRE FBI? Think about it...
Let us continue on.. why the wild life refuge? how in the blue hell did they even know it existed if this wasn't PRE-PLANNED? And why were their trailers staged up there THURSDAY night if this was all "unplanned"? And if they wanted support so bad...why not let the Oregon 3%ers and militia in on this? I'll tell you why.. because they would have had no part in it and vehemently refused if they had known.... as was demonstrated by their response once they found out. SO..that being said.. why pick a place so remote.. I'll tell you why.. the same reason the Bundy ranch was picked.. it's remote... no civilian casualties. And if everyone out there is killed there's no witnesses allowing the govt to write the narrative of what happened afterwards..You can bet any reporters out there will be silenced should they actually get close enough to catch anything worth documenting unless of course they're willing to report what they're told to... the reason it failed at the Bundy ranch was because the community got so involved... NOT the case at the refuge.
Next.. why has a detachment of Delta Force been deployed to the area? (does anyone remember that Delta was ALSO at WACO?) 19 sets of orders were cut for operators to be at waco. Why in the Blue hell would they send Delta to squash a bunch of unorganized mostly unarmed protesters? I'll tell you why.. one of the things Delta specializes in is hostage rescue.. I.E. blow open a door rush in and shoot the bad guys but save the good guys.. I.E. embedded reporters from the national media who can later report the protesters fired first.
This is happening EXACTLY the same way WACO did... you know who else claimed, "We won't fire first but if attacked we'll fire back.."? David Koresh. Again well documented fact. This situation is going to turn out the exact same way. If these guys don't stand down now, while the sheriff is giving them an opportunity to, I promise you.. its going to turn out the exact same way. I'll bet my life on it.
Now lets look at poor John Ritzheimer. This guy is exhibiting all the classic signs of PTSD. It is my belief that he is not in on this plan but like the Bundy's... has been suckered into believing what he is doing is right. This poor bastard is still fighting the war in his head and Assholes like Payne and Cooper are feeding into his delusions that dying for this cause is what he needs to do. They are taking advantage of his big heart and his undying love for the country he fought for and twisting him into a suicidal maniac. Im sorry if that stings.. but I assure you its the cold hard truth. How could ANYONE in their right mind think that dying trying to fight the BLM of all things is going to "change the govt"? How ignorant do you have to be to think that fighting and dying out there is going to somehow make the BLM fold up shop and stop what they are doing. Sorry kids... the ONLY people who can stop the BLM are in DC.. and I assure you, as long as People like Harry Reid and the like are around... the BLM is not going anywhere.. no matter how much we fight them and run them off. We ran them off at the Bundy ranch...and how much did that slow them down..? we ran them off at the sugar pine mine... how much did that slow them down...? What makes anyone think this will be any different? Mind boggling I tell you.
Now to those of you who are buying into this whole "this will galvanize the movement line of crap".. What this is REALLY going to do is crush the patriot movement. They are going to hit these people with such force with such blinding speed and a level of violence of action that most patriots are going to turn and look at their own children and go there's no way in HELL I want that to happen to MY family... thus the reason there are women and Children being taken to the refuge. The govt has already shown at WACO and Ruby Ridge just how willing they are to kill American Children. Don't think for a second they wont do it here as well.
All the classic signs of a psyop. They plan to frighten the people into not even daring to ever take a stand against them again.
So what then of the militias? We'll still be here but will be forced into hiding.. those who aren't will be scooped up and charged as Domestic Terrorists. Do you for even ONE second really believe that this happening at the same time as Obama prepares to announce a whole new slew of gun restrictions is really a coincidence? Its not.. Not at all. What this is going to be used for is an EXCUSE to show why we need to disarm the American people for their own safety.. or put into place such SEVERE restrictions on owning firearms that we will NEVER be able to properly defend ourselves against a tyrannical govt. Hitler did it... Stalin did it... Mao did it... now Obama's doing it. History is repeating itself in front of our own eyes and we're too blinded by raw emotion to recognize it.
If everyone picked up and left that refuge tomorrow, what do you think Payne and Cooper would do? They're so die hard...think they'd stay and fight? I mean that's what they're saying... they're not leaving right? Prepared to die for the cause....right?.... My ASS ! Nope... they'll slink back into the shadows and wait for the next opportunity to bamboozle good patriots into signing their own death warrants. And of course... once again.. neither will be charged with anything. And good peoples lives will be risked for nothing.
We're being goaded into a fight here people...you NEED to see that. And every ONE of you who is advocating for this...Know this... if these people die... it will be YOUR fault. Not mine, nor will it be the fault of ANYONE in ANY unit I command. I simply wont allow it. THIS is the reason my troops follow me.. because I take the time to think these things through...to look at them from ALL directions... not based on sheer emotion as so many of you are doing now.
It was stated, dare I say, TAUGHT to me today by a close friend who is an ex special forces operator, that wars are not won by people taking rash actions such as the ones that have been taken here. Wars are won with proper planning. That shit hit me like a brick.. And I Will NEVER forget those words as that is the smartest thing I have heard throughout this entire ordeal.
1. Plan2. Equip3. Rehearse4. Execute
THAT'S how you win a battle. THAT'S how you minimize casualties.. THAT'S how you win a war. None of that was done here. Therefore, these guys are all as good as dead.. Why do you think the local sheriff there just said these guys need to leave WHILE THEY STILL CAN... Because he KNOWS whats going to happen to them! He's OFFERING them a way out and DAMNIT THEY NEED TO TAKE IT! The first thing I teach my guys is when they make unexpected contact with the enemy is, the proper response is to fall back, reset and take back the initiative. That's what we need to do here. Will it look like a loss in the eyes of the people? Absolutely. But hey, you all had better get used to the fact that we are not going to win every battle.. BUT... in the eyes of those who put this whole bullshit plan together... this will be a CRUSHING defeat...Even though it will never be made public knowledge. We have let the enemy pick the time and place of our fight...and that is about to prove to be a fatal mistake. Mark my words..
But we can still snatch victory out of this whole screwed up mess...if ONLY you will listen to me. How do we win then? Well I'll tell you...
We get those people out of there!!!!! Anyone and everyone who has contact with the people there needs to PLEAD with them to get the hell out of there... Then, we regroup, and WE pick the time and place of our fight...not the enemy. WE make THEM react.. WE pick ground that is most sensible for a proper defense, not a building in the middle of a field that has absolutely NO defensible positions as in the case of the refuge. Then we properly equip, plan, rehearse, and execute. If you want to win a war...that's how you have to do it. Most importantly.. we expose frauds like Cooper and Payne for who they truly are. and drum them out of the movement before they really get someone killed.
So that my take on this mess... listen to me if you want, ignore me at your own peril... either way it is of no consequence to me. I will not debate this issue, and NO ONE will change my mind about this... I have done too much research into this situation to allow ANY armchair commando to dictate my actions for me. This is the war you all wanted so badly... now either lead follow or get the fuck out of the way. End of story. (please note this post has been edited to provide more factual evidence to include mention of Delta at Waco.)
I don't care about it to be honest, it is all fake, but I have to say something, so here goes:Electronic triggers to "make sure the owner and no one else is shooting" will just be a way to shut guns off if people ever finally decide to do the right thing, and a "malfunction" of the biometric system that would make that type of gun possible could be faked with an EMP anyway. And I doubt any of the owners of probably over a billion guns in this country are going to submit to some half cocked method of making their existing guns compliant with such a system. Some estimates of the number of guns in America are as low as 300 million, I say FAT CHANCE, it is much much higher. There is no way they are all going to be modified, if I was in America right now I'd talk about three and hide five.
The tears were fake. It was all an act. He rubbed something into one eye right before he started "crying".
And what did Obama cry about? The proven false flag Sandy Hook, and totally debunked other false flags. I have no doubt Obama knows the people who do these false flags and is doing nothing but shedding festering rotten carcass tears. Yep, dripping carcass. He has no soul.
Anyway, I am tired of the topic already but must state that I am surprised he never mentioned Oregon. Quite surprised.
I guess people will stand back and watch Obama and his successors chip away at those who can own firearms . . . . those who will be denied because a doctor said so, those who will be denied because of certain SSI statutes, those who will be denied because they are the wrong veterans, those who will be denied because a family member said they should be denied, those who will be denied because somehow they landed on the no fly list . . . . . . you know, first they came for . . . . . and will Americans do nothing until there is a list for everyone and it is therefore too late to do anything at all?
The deer kill claims were never mentioned early on, are not part of the sentence, and happened at far too convenient a time to be believable. So I looked around for where that story came from, and believe I found it. Low and behold, as it turns out, Very close to the time of the Hammond ranch incident, an illegal deer killing happened on the other side of the country, and appeared in an article in the HAMMOND DAILY STAR. Coincidence? I think not, I really think this is where the hoax witness, who just suddenly stepped forward now with a stupid story, got that story from.Trolls be trolling, and all trolls are saying that "an illegal deer kill" is the real reason the Hammonds are going to jail. THIS IS A BOLD FACED LIE, no such deer kill has been presented by any legal authority as the reason why the Hammonds are being jailed, the entire case is FIRE RELATED ONLY.The trolls have really spun a ball of yarn with this one that is already proven to be misrepresented even if the deer kill was real, and the following capture clearly shows why I think it was in fact a troll dug fabrication. I strongly suspect that NO DEER KILL AT ALL happened at the Hammond ranch.
Keep in mind a VERY important thing with all of this: This entire Hammond Ranch incident is being used as a front for an armed protest and seizure of Federal property the Hammonds do not approve of, and it is all being done with PERFECT timing for Obama's new attempt at a gun grab. I firmly believe the Hammonds are being thrown in jail by the government to provide a precedent for a fake armed protest by the government to justify a massive gun grab BY THE GOVERNMENT. It all fits. Especially with the Hammonds openly stating they do not agree with the protest, it just fits.Required read: This is very eye opening information on the Hammond Ranch situation that has additional information completely different from what I posted above, this is a job very well done and I'd say a required read.Dubai fireIt appears two people who are actually in Dubai got through with regard to this topic. The building had sprinkler systems, but they were inoperative. The fire burned for 22 hours and portions of it made it well into the building, it did not just stay on the facade. This fire was put out only because half of the building stayed intact, which left a way for firefighters to get to the fire on all floors and put it out with fire hoses, just like I said had to be, but has now been confirmed. So this is good ammo to fire at the trolls, This fire did indeed burn in a way that sets a legitimate precedent for the WTC.Practically everyone has heard about the standoff in Oregon, where armed protestors took over a federal building to "protest the Hammond Ranch". But I have not heard anyone talking about what I think is really going on there.I think this is a staged op by the Federal government, and all the people who are "protesting" at this federal building are actors for the federal government, putting on a ruse to provide another avenue or excuse for gun control legislation.
The Hammonds, who have been nailed by the FED for having a controlled burn leave the controlled area have stated they did not want any sort of protest over the Federal government prosecuting them. The loss of control of the burn resulted in zero damage to surrounding property (other than removing brush that was a fire hazard) yet the Federal government is pursuing them for it (probably to fill a quota and/or seize land or whatever) over a decade after it happened.
The Federal government does controlled burns on a regular basis, and while doing so often loses control of the burns which have on many occurrences resulted in massive property damage and loss of life. The fact that they are prosecuting the Hammonds for the same thing they do, even though the Hammonds managed an out of control situation better than the Fed often does (resulting in zero property damage or loss of life), shows that the Fed operates in a state of hypocrisy in a way that threatens the government's legitimacy.
At any rate, the jist of it all is that the protests were not staged by the Hammonds, were not wanted by the Hammonds, and are most likely just a CIA operation staged for two purposes: 1. To distract the public away from the horrific behavior of the Federal government with regard to how they have clearly prosecuted people who should have been left alone, and 2. While doing this, to totally milk the situation for max sympathy towards the government despite the government being totally wrong, all the while they yet again stage a totally new flavor of false flag to justify gun control and an eventual gun ban.
If there is any sort of "waco" repeat with this, I'd be skeptical to believe it, they won't deliberately kill their own people and if anyone does die it will be sucker patsies who got dragged into yet another staged government scam. The fact this happened on Federal property in a Federally owned building should say it all.
DRUDGE HEADLINE "Charlie Hebdo 'feels alone' in its fight to poke fun at the world"I clicked through to the article, which is just a bunch of B.S. about the attacks, and how well financially Hedo did after the attacks, and then a staffer lamenting about how Charlie Hebdo was all alone in it's quest to poke fun at the world. TO THIS I SAY:Sometimes I feel alone in my fight to bring truth to the world, But I know it is just a feeling, and that others are fighting as hard as I am (whoever they may be). DEAR CHARLIE HEBDO: You are not alone in your quest to poke fun at the world. Anyone who can observe the obvious ought to be well aware of the fact that others are a hell of a lot better at it than you are!And yes, even Putin(tm) has declared that Russia "is not Charlie!" Even after the so-called shootings, Putin was not sympathetic to Charlie Hebdo in any more than a politically formal way, and after Charlie Hebdo posted disrespectful cartoons about the shoot down of the Russian jet, Russians are furious with Charlie Hebdo, with "I am not Charlie" peaking as the number one hashtag on Twitter and open hatred for the publication in Russian papers. Obviously I was never Charlie, and believe the "shootings" were nothing but a money making publicity stunt, and an attempt to bring Charlie Hebdo humor into the real world where the hatred it sparks could be real.
Update: I once again have this web site under my control.I have not even looked to see if this is happening elsewhere, but last night and this morning are crazy on the web.1. It all started with the internet in my area (and possibly a huge area) going down on both cellular and land providers.
2. As a result, I had to look around for a cyber cafe that was still up after the first one told me they were down also. Eventually I found one that had internet, but it used Windows 10. I decided to take a chance.
3. 3. When using Windows 10, Cpanel notified me that someone managed to hijack the session token and I could no longer administer the web site. It went in a vicious cycle where I could only keep the intruder off for about 45 seconds per password change.
4. I had to leave the server in a hacked state, because it got impossible to keep the intruder off, and that is the way it is now (I am going to fix this if I can today but am posting this first because for the first time I can at least type into this page)
5. The internet stayed down the rest of the night, it did not work when I got back home.
6. This morning, Linux Live and Firefox is having serious trouble and crashing, as if someone is trying to get control but there is an incompatibility problem with their efforts.
7. For the first time ever, (this morning) the administration window is giving errors and requiring double page loads, (one for me, and perhaps one for someone else? UPDATE: This was fixed completely with a password change done with Linux Live
I might be getting the upper hand with this now thanks to Linux Live, here is the Cpanel warning message that stated I was getting hacked while trying to use Windows 10. I doubt Gmail or Yahoo or any other place online would be polite enough to display such a warning - (Cpanel is much better than the usual with this)Take this as a warning about Windows 10 - You would be better off with a Commodore Vic 20 than with a quad core hacked by Windows 10, USE IT AT YOUR OWN RISK.I could not get more than a little way into these before the web went down and I had to start fighting hackers. Here is what I managed to put up last night before the fun started, (this continues below the mail window).Original post follows:
Now I know a simple tactic for securing that window, it will be secured again tonight. The problem is that there is a local stinger (which is as easy to set up as getting the correct privileged app installed on an Android phone in the house next door) and a Jewish couple moved in next door with two jobs, 1. to have this stinger set up and 2. to subvert and destroy a vibrant church community nearby. They have succeeded at both, the church is all but dead now and it only took them a year and a half to accomplish it. Bastards. My problems are actually less because I know what is going on and all they do is delete mails and steal, the site has survived.
The mail window can be assumed to be working now, I am going to re-secure it again after I post as many mails as I can format for this web site in about a half hour. The huge number of excellent mails surprised me, because the box has had almost nothing but trolled up orange peels in it for the past month and now I know people really are still hitting the site after what I saw in the mail box today. I was worried, not anymore!.Dropped in here with only text formatted for this web site, no comments.World trade centerThe World Trade Center buildings collapsed as a result of fires ignited by jet fuel!!??The above is absolutely and physically impossible. Thermodynamics 101.
Weakened steel does not fail explosively. It gradually loses strength along it's stress-strain curve and then only in the areas that attain the temperatures required to fail. Steel is an excellent heat conductor and will conduct heat away from the point of application. The materials "specific heat" will show you how much it has to absorb in order to get hot. This is measured in BTU's / mass. You can have flames as hot as you like but if there is not enough heat energy available to heat up the material you will do nothing.
An example of this is your stove at home. A gas range burns propane at 3254 F. An aluminum pan melts at 1220 F. This should make it impossible to cook on a gas range, as the pan wouldmelt or at least soften into putty, but it does not because heating materials is complex and actually pretty difficult. Heat goes away very fast and you have to continue to pour BTUs into it above the rate that it loses the heat. This is not easy.
I just made myself a omelet, the pan miraculously didn't melt.
There was not enough heat value in the jet fuel to come anywhere close to making the steelhot enough to fail. You will run out fuel long before that happens and the math is straight forward.
You simply take the tons of steel in question, the amount of BTU's it would take to make thesteel hot, including the concrete and the air and you just can't do it.
In fact it is so far from possible, the fires cannot be a factor, the temperature would not have even come close to the starting of the elastic region.
Anyone who repeats the jet fuel burns at xxx and steel loses yy% of it strength at xxx temp is an idiot or a liar or just cannot understand the physics involved here.
That this was an official explanation tells me that they are lying. When a suspect lies, ask any cop what that tells him.
as an aside, jet fuel burns at 1800 degrees all right IN A JET ENGINE. A jet engine forces air through a compressor to get enough volume and mass of O2 to support the combustion. You cannot get the fuel to burn at anywhere near that temp in open air, there is not enough mass air flow for an optimal stoichiometric ratio.
Even if you could, which you can't kerosene only yields 18,500 Btu/lb in perfect conditions.
In open air you'd be lucky to get 20% of that efficiency, but even at 100% efficiency there aren't enough BTU's to heat up the steel past about 700 degrees.
If you use a full fuel loading with zero gallons burned in the fireball and zero gallons sent down the elevator shaft to blow up the lobby you still only have enough fuel to to get the steelup to 500 degrees or so. That's with optimal heat transfer into the steel, best case conditions of delta-T and R values, with worst case delta-t for the heat LOSS from the steel. As material heat up they radiate and conduct heat AWAY at a rate governed by the temperature and ambient factors. So the hotter the steel gets the more heat it LOSES. This is why steel mills use crucibles to hold the steel as well as the heat.
The specific heat of steel is 240 btu/ton per degree > to raise the temp from ambient to 1800 degrees would require 432,000 btu/s ton at OPTIMAL efficiency. The concrete requires even more over 800,000 btu's.
The the air also has to heat up, and air being a poor conductor and all the humidity in the air, the specific heat of water is 8 times higher than steel and 5 times high than concrete.
It's a rather long equation but not really complex. Bottom line, not enough BTU to make thesteel hot enough to fail. Can't be done. Something else brought the buildings down. If they didn't fall immediately after the impacts there is now way the fires could have triggered it as the tensile and compressive strength of the steel did not change at all ( reference the stress-strain diagram for structural steel) after the fires did their work. It never exceeded it's maximum working stress, if it did, the top would have fallen over towards the point of maximum damage. It would have done this slowly as the stress progressed along to top of the curve to the point of maximum or ultimate strength. The metal would be very deformed at this point.
From the the origin to the point called proportional limit, the stress-strain curve is a straight line. This is called Hooke's Law that within the proportional limit, the stress is directly proportional to strain up to the elastic limit. That is the limit beyond which the material will no longer go back to its original shape when the load is removed, or it is the maximum stress that may be developed such that there is no permanent or residual deformation when the load is entirely removed.
The structural damage by the impact either failed the structure right away or the it brought it past the elastic limit. If it reached a certain point the curve here is actually longer that the portion from 0-the EL, the steel will start to deform plastically, that is bend like taffy. There was zero evidence of this.
The diagram for the temperatures tells us that the steel would have to attain a consistent temperature across the entire beam of way over 1500-1800 degrees, a point stress is not enough to induce failure, and there is no way to a localized temperature peak this high without the heat conducting to the rest of the beam. This is shown by the transfer equation is governed by the composition and shape of the beam, Shape is vital in that an I-beam or box had a high surface area to volume ratio, This means heat loss radiated away form the source of the heat is going to be very high, also humidity in the air will absorb the heat faster as water can take a lot of heat before raising it's temperature so initial heat transfer AWAY form the steel will be even higher.
If as they will say that the fireproofing was all blown away by the impact makes it even harder, as the steel can radiate more heat if it is uncovered.
We can also calculate the rate of heat transfer INTO the steel beams. It is a function of the differential temperature, the specific heat of the steel, the surface area of the expose material and the R value of the air or any remaining building materials between the flame and the steel, as well as the airflow ( mass flow rate of hot air).
Al these factors except R can be definitively identified. using the maximum value for R, you'd run out of fuel ( assuming 100% fuel loading on the plane with zero for elevator shaft and fireball) before you got a 700 degree T-rise anywhere.
But the Kean Commission weenies also state that vast amounts of fuel poured down the elevator shafts to account for the damage to the ground floor. So where that that leave us?
You'd be lucky to be able to do a marshmallow roast with what was left after the fireball anyway.
It doesn't work and there is no way to make it work. the official story is a sham and any one who believes it is an ignorant fool.
My brief response: All true fine and dandy, however, average people will be best convinced by the fire proof coating. Everything you say is SPOT ON.
MahdiDownunder wrote:Just thought I would respond to your rapture post regarding Muslims. You may find it interesting. All muslims around the world are waiting for Imam Mahdi to appear, the reason for this is that Imam Mahdi is the sign of Prophet Jesus returning. The sign of Imam Mahdi is the black flags and a small army, however the first black flags we will see will be an impostor (the ones we see today as ISIS), the second black flags that appear will be true and that will happen also when the anti-christ reveals himself - The battle will be between the jews led by the anti-christ and Imam Mahdi's small islamic army. Prophet Jesus will then descend from heaven upon two angels and lead the army and kill the anti-christ himself. He will reign over the world for 40 years where there will be peace and justice. During that time Gog and Magog will appear and kill everything in sight, however prophet Jesus will take the believers upon a mountain where they will be safe (this is the closest thing to a rapture like event that many christians believe).
After some time prophet Jesus will ask god to kill gog and magog for them and the believers are then able to return down from the mountain. Prophet Jesus will marry and eventually die a normal death, and then things will start to return to normal and there will be good and bad in the world, once evil starts to prevail again the beast will appear and will slay everyone apart from those that are marked as believers. Then there are some more signs before the final day of judgment but that is the jist of it my friend.
My response: I am not totally alert with the Muslim view of the appearance of the Mahdi, but what you wrote looks convincing enough to put up. Certainly ISIS is not it, and it is a definite - Muslims do indeed believe Jesus will return again and make things right. I'd prefer this happen sooner than later, I am really sick of trolls!
Edward wrote: Hi Jim,
When the 9/11 happened, I was stuck in Oregon fro a whole week before I could return home To Toronto, Canada. Working at the time, I pretty well believed what I saw and heard. It wasn't until I retired ten years later that my curiosity caught me thinking. I couldn't fathom a skyscraper, alas, two skyscrapers coming done like two clones because of being hit by big aircraft. Yes, all that smoke also raised many questions. To think that so much smoke did enough damage to buckle a skyscraper of that size seemed impossible. I dug further and concluded that what we've been hearing was totally impossible. Having an engineering background and using material and energy balances, whatever brought those towers down had to be in the order of a nuclear device. Going over original reports again, of which there are many still available, one has to be totally ignorant or stupid not to come to the same conclusion. Whoever did that one is also responsible for the current destruction of our planet through weather manipulations and spraying of toxic materials in the upper atmosphere on a daily basis all over the world. The question is WHO CAN STOP these evil people? Enjoy your forums and please keep up the great work,
Edward
Dubai fire I haven't made a study of the Dubai Hotel fire, but RT said that the OUTSIDE of the building was burning, and the inside was not. How is this possible? Who makes the exterior finish of a high rise out of combustible material? Someone said there were a bunch of 'cookers' outside the building....the kind one would make casual food from. But how would they sustain any sort of a fire? Do they not have a garden hose in Dubai? This whole fire makes no sense at all. It makes me wonder if there even IS a fire. (much like the Mexican Cat 5 hurricane)
My response: It is possible the outside of the building burned, but it is not possible that there is no damage inside. There will be massive repairs needed, the windows had to have all blown out and let the fire in. 18 hours is 18 hours, the Mex press said 18 hours so that is what it is. A facade will not burn for 18 hours, PERIOD and if you hear of shorter burn times I believe this will be done to conceal the fact that there is no way any coating on the outside of the building would keep such a huge span of floors on fire for that long.
IMPORTANT: Trolls are saying the sprinklers saved the day, but 18 hours say there were none and the fire department put this out simply because the fires were all on one side of the building, which allowed them to go floor to floor from the intact half of the building and put the fire out a floor at a time. Normally buildings in the Arab world have no sprinklers, as cute as the buildings may look, such safety features are usually not part of the plan. But trolls expect everyone to think everyone copies what America does ALL THE TIME. NEWS: They DO NOT.
I do not know what that building had in it in the way of sprinklers but I do know this: They were NOT REQUIRED to meet code.
THIS IS AN IMPORTANT CORRECTIONThank you, I did not have time to do this myself:Jim:
This sentence is wrong: " (they already assassinated Minister of Justice for something related to Israel)". It was an Argentinian Prosecutor that was murdered and Macri is set to reopen the case. This prosecutor was Jewish and was investigating the bombing of the Buenos Aires Synagogue, that was possibly a false flag to incriminate Iran, but I'm not sure. The entire issue is very, very fishy.
Note: Adrian Salbuchi is the top NWO ctitic in Argentina and main investigator-journalist, Happy New Year!
JB
My response: Thank you, I just could not get to that, I knew there was an error but just did not have the time to fix it. Thanks!
At this point, several Mexican internet providers crashed (including mine) and I had to find a cyber cafe that still worked. This meant being forced to use Windows 10. Fat chance the mail window is actually working then. IMPORTANT: From this new computer I never used before, Google Chrome still blocks me from administering this web site, so I had to use Internet Explorer also. HEADS UP ON CHROME, THAT IS A HOAX FAKE CONTROL MECHANISM AND NOT A BROWSER, DITCH IT EVEN IF IT APPEARS TO WORK FOR NOW BECAUSE IF IT TAKES OVER TOTALLY WE WILL DEFINITELY ALL BE DOOMED.UPDATE: THIS CYBER CAFE SESSION GOT HIJACKED WHILE USING WINDOWS 10, ANOTHER "ADMIN" IS NOW ON THIS SERVER.__________________________________________If I come across a way to do it, I am going to take an old brake rotor and throw it in a jet fuel fire with the same type of thermal coating the beams in the WTC had on them, along with a type K thermocouple embedded in the rotor with a live temperature readout, to see if under the most ideal conditions possible it can be brought to the claimed temperatures the MSM trolls are saying the beams in the WTC were brought to in the short time the WTC burned for. Somehow there has to be a way to do a real test of this and that is another pending project.Jan 2 2016This web site gets many times the reads as any forum thread, so I can slay their beasts from here.Many of you know by now that a tower in Dubai burned. American MSM is burying to what extent it burned. The Mexican press did not. The damage was massive, and the fire burned with intensity for a full 18 hours. And I got banned several places for saying it like it was, in contrast to the WTC.Obviously people are now comparing this to the WTC. Here is the ammo you need to kill the trolls, This is a main killing point I never heard covered by anyone, and it has now tripped bans in several places:The WTC did not have bare exposed metal beams. All beams, even those that were and were not covered in concrete as well as fireproofing, had 5/8 inch spray on fireproofing with an R value of 3. An R-value that high would prevent any piece of metal in the WTC from increasing in temperature by more than 25 degrees Celsius even if put directly in a perfect fire for the length of time the fires burned. This is due to the thermal mass of the beams, the heat of the flame, and how well an R value of 3 will block heat. R3 is better than most picnic coolers, which have a typical R-value of 2.5.
The big Achilles heel in the entire 911 ruse that everyone overlooked is that ALL supports in the entire building had fireproof thermal coating on them, and the larger beams had both a very thick thermal coating AND concrete blocking the heat. The large center beams most likely never even had a temperature rise of even 5 degrees in the short time between the jet impacts and the controlled demolition.You should not feed the trolls with the burning temperature of jet fuel and give them the foothold assumption that the beams actually reached that temperature, clearly, obviously, there is no conceivable way they did and it is far more rational to state that due to the fireproofing and the ability of the metal to conduct the heat away from the flames, NO piece of metal anywhere in the WTC got too hot to touch. And even if the fireproofing got scraped off a few of the beams, the beams missing it would not get sufficiently hot in that short of a time, and would have many many others nearby to take the load even if they did. Bash bash and bash the fact home that people were alive standing on the burning floors as well, there was clearly no inferno to begin with, only a smouldering smoky mess.
My mentioning the fact that the fire proofing alone makes the official story a certified ruse is triggering bans, they are deeply afraid of people knowing that, ARCHIVE AND POST!. If you mention this web site or quote text from here or you will get auto banned on most forums now so you have to say it your own way. But however you do it, from now on, don't mention the burning temperature of jet fuel, instead focus on how massive the beams were, and the fact that they had a thermal coating on them that would have prevented them from heating up in any meaningful way at all in such a short time.The jet fuel combustion temperature is their straw man, START RIPPING THE GUTS OUT OF THAT STRAW MAN by constantly referring an R-value of 3, the massiveness of the beams, and the short time the fires burned. Constantly quote "25 degrees Celsius max temperature rise with all factors considered" (in your own words, and circumvent the censor bots by saying 100 degrees, 50 degrees, the real number is approximately 25 degrees but you don't need it that good to make a point,) the key is to get around the censor bots and to stick in everyone's memory that due to the thermal coatings no actual metal could have ever even gotten too hot to touch in such a short time according to the official story.Other good attacks on trolls would be the craters in the basement well after it was all cleaned out, and the melted metal found in the basement. Relentlessly attack the trolls, asking them how jet fuel can melt steel, because all they can do is prove that under ideal combustion circumstances it might weaken it a little but they can't for a minute state it would ever melt. Drill Drill and DRILL HOME the huge pools of melted metal, and ask them how that happened when jet fuel can't do that, and then say, OBVIOUSLY THERE IS MUCH MORE TO THIS STORY THAN ARABS AND JETS, THE COMPLETELY MELTED POOLS OF STEEL PROVE IT. Please dear troll, explain the totally molten metal, all details please!It is actually not 2016 where I am sitting yet, but for much of the world it is, so I might as well change the date now.I have some slack time before the party, so I will throw a few quick things up.
The zika virus post and herbal cures will be put back up on top on the second major work day of the new year, because there will be a peak in traffic then and both of those need exposure. For now:Bruce wrote:As always, thanks for your courageous work on behalf of all of our freedoms.Regarding: "3. Because this image has no driver, it PROVES THEY MURDERED HASTINGS THIS WAY, IT IS BASICALLY CASE CLOSED."
...I disagree based on evidence which I go into in not much depth HERE
There is more and better info on the web confirming this. The car did not crash at speed. Hastings was in the driver's seat, unless they substituted another cadaver.
Keep up the good work, Bruce
My response: Michael Hastings death had many many anomalies, which led many people to conclude many things and sparked a lot of fights. I basically settled for low speed crash and someone torched the car where it sat and that it might not have even been Hasting's car. I never thought a bomb expelled the engine, and instead figured it was dropped as a prop where it was, and after dredging the videos deeply even found one where I'd bet $50 it was Hastings in the crowd watching the car burn.
In the story of Hastings, there is one COLD HARD FACT: We have all been lied to so much that you can be 100 percent proof positive that did not happen the way we were told it did, so in sorting out the lies people will come to different conclusions. There was not as good of an evidence path with Hastings as there was with the San Bernardino shooting, which was easy to sew up in a body bag because obvious definite provable mistakes were made in abundance. There is very little disagreement with San Bernardino simply because they botched it so bad and there was a lot of footage. Hastings will never be agreed on unanimously because there just is not enough definite proof of anything, other than that it is obvious a huge lie was told, wherever the facts may actually fall.
Herbal cures:Anonymous wrote:Medical cures - the western medicine makes one huge error (which you now seem to make too) thinking, that there is one ingredient doing the cure and others just a non-important balast, thinking that two cures with same main ingredient are equivalent... The real cures may depend on specific mixing, making a "tonic", thing that works on both sides (for ex. rising blood presure and meanwhile also lowering blood presure) and the body selects, what is more appropriate from the influences... Search somewhere a "tonicum" - in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbal_tonic they have just two short lines of text, whereas it is a very important term and topic in herbal medicine... Writing this, just so that you will not think, that you can select from an old recipe, what is "important" and what is a "balast", making precisely the same mistake, that western pharmaceuticals made, when "knowing better" but actually removing the propper original balance...
Because the pharmacy error may not be only in making the ingredients chemically instead of using real plants, but also MAY be in selecting only part of the recipe, what they _think_ is important, but removing other parts, that actually modulate the influence and perhaps soften it etc... Really better to consult your medicinemen, what can be removed from their recipes and what may not...
Otherwise good luck revealing the knowledge, and thank you very much for your work...
My response: All formulas will be posted in full to begin with, as I have so far with the first two, to avoid the problems you made note of. One thing I know for certain is that the big pharma cures are nothing but the shell with none of the details, and proof of this is the narrow therapeutic windows in practically all their copies of the real thing. If they nailed it correctly, all the therapeutic windows would be much wider. No doubt even single ingredient natural cures have many many side chemicals they are missing in the pharmaceutical versions. Let me explain what I am talking about with a different fake ingredient topic - food. If you take artificial vanilla and put it in ice cream, you end up with a very plain vanilla taste, because all the artificial vanilla flavor has is the main core flavor. But real vanilla has many many side flavors that make the core flavor far more wholesome, natural vanilla tastes much much better and much more real.
Even when it is a single plant sourced pharmaceutical variant of the real thing, it will be nothing but a fake vanilla version that will be missing all the side characteristics, which could, in the natural version greatly assist the curative/treatment powers. When you add to the fact that yes, with combined herbs it really does become a tonic with symbiotic chemistry going on, it is a guarantee that there is no way a pharmaceutical copy would ever totally nail it. This is why once you go into the medical system and start popping their crappy pills, you are usually trapped for life, because all the side buffering agents in the original are gone, and you have to then take 20 other pills to offset the adverse reactions to the first pill, which simply never happens if you do it right to begin with and go the natural route.
Ok, enough of the preaching, but rest assured - all complete formulas will be posted, and after they get posted I will go back and root out the main actors in each formula. This will be needed, because it might not be possible for people to ever assemble complete formulas with whatever they can get their hands on and it will really help them to know what they positively cannot do without.
Judgedredd wrote From judgedredd: In your cures you don't have the amounts or ratios of each herb to use in relation to the other herbs in the cure/treatment. Isn't this important?
My response: You can get a good idea of what the ratio of each ingredient is by just looking at the very clear pictures of the mix and looking at the pictures of the living plants below each picture of the herbal mix. This is why I am posting such clear pictures. These pictures expand if you click them, they are very clear. I have a lot to do with this, it is not a short term project and I will work out the details as far as precise ratios later.
THIS ONE IS IMPORTANT:Anonymous wrote:Israel has issued a severe threat to Brazil: If they do not accept Israeli Ambassador, there will be severe consequences: "Hotovely added that in the event of Brazil's refusal, there will be a crisis in relations between the two countries, and it is not worth going there. (RT)
That means we can expect their nuclear facility guarded by Israeli security company to go BOOM next or Prime Minister would be assassinated (they already assassinated Minister of Justice for something related to Israel)
MY RESPONSE: TIME FOR ME TO VISIT THE BRAZILIAN EMBASSY WITH THE FUKU REPORT.Debian founder deadGood morning Jim, came across this in my reading this morning, Debian Linux founder Ian Murdock dead at 42, seems suspicious. Wishing you Godspeed in the new year!http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/12/30/ian_murdock_debian_founder/
My response: This would happen if he planned to try to get a new version of Debian that was secure. Linux can be perfectly secure, but after Bill Gates worked with Novell with SUSE and Ubuntu took on Sudo as something useful, Adios to security! HA, SUDO was written 15 years ago as a test to see if Linux security could be destroyed, and now it is false fronted as a "necessity" and security haven!
I'll tell you what is secure: Learning Linux well enough to BE ROOT, not need a "windows easy" OS and NEVER have any session other than root open with the user owning everything at all times, and NO SUDO on the machine. Root has to give password permission for everything to be done, and if you can just say no, how much better can it be than that? But you really have to know Linux to operate that way . . . . . anyway my last (secure) install was that way, I managed to get rid of Sudo on Ubuntu Hardy Heron and re-write the necessary files to make it work my way and not anyone elses way, but that took a few days, I am lazy, changed machines, don't want to go through that again with a new version, plus I am rightfully paranoid on top of it all so my current machine has no hard drive and I just run live 100 percent of the time. This entire web site is administered by a live OS and nothing else, graphics, coding and all. Try sudoing live, when everything dies on reboot. My only problem is the local stinger . . . . .
Debian won't be dead because open source does not mean "free", it means anyone can keep building the OS, and no doubt that will keep happening. Question is, who will "anyone" be? Perhaps your worst enemy.
Anyway, gotta go . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!Dec 31 2015Mail once again censored almost completely, but what is news?A few people did get through, asking how much is in the medicinal cures posted farther down this page.Short answer: Enough to make a stiff 12 ounce tea. All of these cures are either boiled or soaked and then drank. There is something in medicine called a therapeutic window. This is the range between the minimum dose that will work, and the maximum dose you should sensibly give. All of the natural cures (for the most part) only have a minimum aspect to the therapeutic window, and it is virtually impossible to overdose. There will be a sensible level with all of these, and to error on the side of "definitely working" I will generally say get it to where the flavor is as much as you can stand and drink 12 ounces. Some of this stuff is downright yucky.All of the cures seem to have one main ingredient that actually does the curing, and additional side ingredients to treat symptoms. So eventually this will all be cataloged out to show what is the most important and what can be skipped.
The topic is a huge one, and will probably take well over a year to cover.
The Zika virus report will remain top posted because it is important, and it is New Years.Dec 30 2015
_________________________________________
23 Year old trucker destroys historic bridge because she did not know how many pounds six tons was!With common core math, calculating the number of pounds in six tons is a twelve thousand step process. No wonder why she made a failed judgment call!
Full story HEREMy opinion: The gas leak in California is not a storySome have compared it to the BP disaster in the gulf. What a joke! If it is, show me the millions of barrels of sludge flowing across the landscape! If the local utility company had not added the stink to the gas prior, no one would know there was a leak. If they want to take care of this leak, all they have to do is set it on fire until they plug it. Perhaps put up a burning man statue and sell tickets. Burning it off would be the best option for everyone.This is just one storage well for one utility company in one state. Whatever. Yep, it is a big one, so what? Some people have hopped on the global warming bandwagon, saying it is doom because methane is 25 times the greenhouse gas CO2 is. Ok, then what about water vapor, which is many times the greenhouse gas methane is? If the methane is doom, the ocean is doom, how much water evaporates from the ocean daily? Sure doom.
Maybe they have to evacuate nearby areas in an abundance of caution. This would not be so if they just torched off the gas. The gas is only 110,000 pounds per hour, as much available excitement that would be contained in two large gasoline trucks, and less than a single railcar. Just torch it off and stand back! And what would have happened to the area if the BP disaster happened there? There would have been an oil volcano coming out of the ground that would have made a fire river, probably all the way to the ocean. Similar disasters? NOT ON YOUR LIFE, someone needs a story.
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Remote controlled Germanwings Airbus A320 crash? All evidence points to this.SHUT UP OR DIE!Chavez | chiapas earthquake | CIA | Codex Alimentarius |Compartmentalization |contractors | web control |Corevpro | Al Rasheed bombed on purpose!|Rockefeller crack head intellect | Banker Bailout | supplemental benghazi | Bickering Jews |Nuclear Blackmail |The End of the California orange? Probably, Dams drained on purpose
Agenda 21 |BUSTED! |Hacked ECM's | stuxnet cartoon | Cells | cells addendum | CRR busted by Congress | Nibiru | How to deal with tyranny | Debka Psy Op |Deep Water Horizon |They are desperate! | SKP | Separate disinfo |Chinese invasion | Ecuador Snowden | Electronic Intefada | snowden 2 | civilization | Explosives in nuke plant!| Wag the Quake |Farganne snail | Fluoxitil | Fukushima Sabotage click here for updated PDF |NSA KEY | Kokesh CIA | Power grid tampering will end an era|Iranian consulate | gun control | Jenin comments | why I don't link corbett | Digital Stepping in the Aurora Borealis | Hastings| Zombie Apocalypse | 3 watt 3G | 50 plus mpg |Mike Phillips speaks | another antidepressant story | Aboud Church | Jenin bulldozed |antidepressants| Assange | Web site attack |Aurora| Russ Clarke explains 911 for the children |FED GETS THE MESSAGE | 70 MPG | Sandy Hook original coverage | "human" | Substation Attack |INTERCEPTED!! |The Real Iran | Iran bombed | Syria Nuked | FBI whistleblower | Jenin| Jewish Community| FAKE MANIFESTO!! | Masataka Shimizu |.Libraries destroyed | Links | Luciferian | Mails from Japan - the real perspective | The main core |Pornshackles | McCaffee SCAM | Mexico | Micro Nukes | Off the air | A Mexican speaks out | Letter to the Mossad | Fertilizer plant | Uri Avnery | New antidepressant mails | Gas explosion | NO EMT?|NSA Edward | NSA not God | Occupy L.A.!| Pizza shop video FAKE | Stories from Jenin | Executive Order bans tech. | Election stolen | PERPS!!| Persia | Bacteriophages| Photograph the CIA! | Predator Drone | NSA competition | Sydney riots | Syria psy op BUSTED!|PUPPY THROW - arent you proud?|Shaken Baby SCAM!|Meet Rachael Corrie (watch this to the end) | Radar anomaly | Railroaded!|Boston Whistleblower|rigged elections | Nuclear Rogue|Russia playing Snowden games | Sandy Bridge (old version) | Senator Wyden | Here's a good one!|Snowden is the litmus test | V4BL | Tainted Nightmare|Joe did not stack up.|Israel destroys records | Did the U.S. down Sukhoi Superjet? | Real good SHTF advice | Taxation without representation|The Hack | Tomato Freakout | I said this before Snowden! | Joe Vialls 1 | Joe Vialls 2 | Violence? | Meet Nick Vogt | 250 plus! | Mossad nailed! | Nailed again! | COME ON NOW! | Open letter to NSA|When all is lost40 percent! | Amish Allergies | Benghasi psyop fail | Spamhaus weponized | ConEdison thermite | Google Arrogance | No Hesitation | Indianapolis bombing| Mossad caught blowing up Mexican congress! | Oklahoma City | PressTV | Psyapocalypse | Russian comeback | Rockefeller narratives | Haarp and hurricane Sandy|Security tips 3,2,and1 | A shill screws up | Smart Meters, (tip4) | Springfield Bombing| Youtube rigging|Contractor earthquake testimony |
All the problems we face are secondary to what is really a primary biological problem. When the primary biological problem is addressed, the other problems will disappear. The primary problem is parasitic infestation, kill the parasites and problems caused by the parasites disappear. You do not extinguish a fire by collecting the smoke in bags . . .
EuroLand
European Commission to visit Amsterdam | News item | EU2016.nl
The European Commission is visiting Amsterdam to mark the start of the Dutch Presidency of the EU Council. On 7 January 2016 Prime Minister Mark Rutte will receive the members of the European Commission at the National Maritime Museum.
Amsterdam as meeting venueFrom 1 January to 1 July 2016, Amsterdam will be the venue for many of the meetings held during the Dutch EU Presidency. The main locations are the National Maritime Museum and the neighbouring historic naval dockyard, the Marine Etablissement Amsterdam (MEA). After the reception with Mr Rutte, the Commissioners will meet the members of the Dutch government. Later that morning Mr Rutte will meet with the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker in the Europe Building. In various sessions held at the same time, the other members of the government and of the European Commission will engage in talks on issues including employment and growth, climate change and counterterrorism.
Royal meetingIn the afternoon the European Commission will meet with His Royal Highness King Willem-Alexander and Her Majesty Queen Mxima at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam. The visit will end with a joint meeting between the European Commission and members of the Dutch Senate and the House of Representatives.
Dutch EU PresidencyIn 2016 the Netherlands will hold the Presidency for the 12th time. As EU Presidency holder,the Netherlands' guiding principles are a Union that focuses on the essentials, a Union that focuses on growth and jobs through innovation, and a Union that connects policy with citizens and civil society.
M won't be the only artificial intelligence on Facebook Messenger. Facebook has given some developers access to an unannounced Chat SDK that allows them to build interactive experiences and ''bots'' in Messenger for shopping, booking travel, and more, sources with direct knowledge of the SDK confirm.
The Chat SDK allows developers to create bots that users can send text messages to directly and that automatically respond with information, images, location services, product prices, Buy buttons, and more. The Chat SDK can also tap into Messenger built-in payments system to let users make purchases via bots.
Facebook hasn't publicized any of the documentation for the Chat SDK, which is currently being shared with developers through PDF documents. The project is in part led by Facebook Messenger's head of strategic partnerships Bryan Hurren. Facebook declined to comment.
[Update 1/6 10:25am PST: Assist appears to be one of the bots built on the Messenger Chat SDK. Its website's claims that it offer interactive bot functionality on Messenger. When I asked the company about whether it uses the Chat SDK, it's refused to say, writing back ''We are excited to be available on Facebook messenger. We cannot discuss the specifics of the integration.'']
While it's only in limited release right now, the Chat SDK could flourish into a more open platform beyond its early big-name partnership experiments like Uber.
We're just getting people used to the idea that you can message more than just people on Messenger.
'-- Seth Rosenberg, Facebook product managerAt first it might seem odd that Facebook would help developers build Messenger bots that might compete with its own hybrid human/AI assistant. But one of the big goals of M is to differentiate Messenger as a chat app with super powers, and make it what people want to use for everyday communication instead of SMS or other competitors.
By nurturing an ecosystem of chat bots, Facebook could get outside developers to enhance Messenger's value and make it more addictive. That way users stay in Facebook's family of apps, where they're more likely to be exposed to ways Facebook earns money and delivers connection.
The Messenger Chat SDK could get more developers the ability to build bots like Uber's.
The WeChat Of The WestThe concept of lightweight chat-based interfaces for commerce, news, and more was pioneered and popularized in Asia by apps like China's WeChat and Japan's Line. Rather than forcing people to download entire apps for each business or use case, they can simply send messages ''official accounts'' or chat bots inside the instant messaging app they already use all day. These allow you to make purchases with a WeChat-connected payment option, order a taxi, buy movie tickets, pay bills, and more.
These bots and official accounts make accessing added utility not only convenient for the user. Chat app platforms relieve businesses from having to build, popularize, and maintain whole mobile apps for multiple phone operating systems. With so many apps flooding the app stores, getting people to discover them and go through the hassle of installing an app can be tough for businesses. It's much more casual and less daunting for businesses to get users to simply message them.
The more useful features developers and businesses build into Messenger, the stickier it gets. It's a similar strategy to Slack, which formally launched its workplace chat app platform last month.
Facebook previewed customer service over Messenger at F8 last April
Previously Facebook has worked with specific partners to build bot-like integrations for Messenger, but they were rather controlled experiments with big names. We broke the news last year that Facebook would turn Messenger into a platform for full-scale apps like Giphy and PingTank For Messenger, which help users make rich media content to send friends.
But at the launch at Facebook's F8 conference, it also unveiled its Businesses On Messenger platform for allowing companies to offer real-time customer service via chat, plus receipts and ways to change orders. Its initial partnership with Everlane showed customers able to chat with someone to get their shipping address changed, and take care of all the confirmations in the chat thread rather than by email.
Since then, Facebook hasn't talked much about Businesses On Messenger, as focus shifted to the limited launch of then Facebook M assistant. Meanwhile, it built a way for users to get real-time World Series baseball updates from the MLB, and get price quotes on handywork and connect to contractors from Pro.com.
TechCrunch was tipped off about one more curious thing Facebook has done in Messenger. For some users, entering the @ symbol at the start of a message brings up a ''Command'' menu with just one option called ''Holiday Challenge''. It seems Facebook is testing in-line bots similar Telegram and Kik in addition to full-fledged bot accounts built through the SDK.
Useful = AddictiveLast month, Facebook finally showed off the real potential of bots on Messenger with its Uber integration. Tap the Transportation button or an address and select Uber, and you'll start a chat thread with the car service. An interactive panel in the chat lets you set your pickup point, destination, and payment option. You'll then get updates in the thread as the driver approaches, with options to view a map or call the driver.
Bots built with the Messenger Chat SDK will look and work similar to these screenshots. They'll be immediately messageable without having to Friend or Like them. The bots can react to taps on interactive buttons or keywords typed into the thread. Sockets technology will allow them to respond in real-time Rather than seeing M as a competitor to developers' apps, Facebook could use it to test and experiment with what people want and what's possible with bots on Messenger.
Chat As A PortalOn the web, keyword search was the core of the experience. But on mobile, it's become clear that chat is where people spend most of their time. That makes winning the messaging war both a requirement and an opportunity for Facebook.
To stay dominant on phones, it must make Messenger irresistibly useful, and the best way to do that is to augment its own product with bots from developers that offer convenience and utility for every niche use case. If Facebook controls messaging, it controls the portal to commerce and content as well as communication.
Suddenly it makes more sense that Mark Zuckerberg's 2016 challenge to himself is building an artificial intelligence assistant to run his house like Iron Man's Jarvis. ''I'll start teaching it to understand my voice to control everything in our home '-- music, lights, temperature and so on'' he wrote. He too is building a bot that responds to natural language.
Before the Uber integration launch, Facebook Product Manager Seth Rosenberg told TechCrunch ''We're just getting people used to the idea that you can message more than just people on Messenger.'' The Chat SDK could bring those people more to message.
The experience of our primary mobile screen being a bank of app icons that lead to independent destinations is dying. And that changes what we need to design and build.
How we experience content via connected devices '' laptops, phones, tablets, wearables '' is undergoing a dramatic change. The idea of an app as an independent destination is becoming less important, and the idea of an app as a publishing tool, with related notifications that contain content and actions, is becoming more important. This will change what we design, and change our product strategy.
No more screens full of app iconsThis is such a paradigm shift it requires plenty of explaining. Whilst it may not transpire exactly as I'm about to describe, there is no doubt what we have today '-- screens of apps '-- is going to dramatically change. Bear with me as I run through the context.
The idea of having a screen full of icons, representing independent apps, that need to be opened to experience them, is making less and less sense. The idea that these apps sit in the background, pushing content into a central experience, is making more and more sense. That central experience may be something that looks like a notification centre today, or something similar to Google Now, or something entirely new.
The primary design pattern here is cards. Critically it's not cards as a simple interaction design pattern for an apps content, but as containers for content that can come from any app. This distinction may appear subtle at first glance, but it's far from it. To understand it, and chart the trajectory, we need to quickly run through two things.
Designing systems not destinationsI covered this topic in detail in a previous post, so I'll quickly summarise here. Most of us building software are no longer designing destinations to drive people to. That was the dominant pattern for a version of the Internet that is disappearing fast. In a world of many different screens and devices, content needs to be broken down into atomic units so that it can work agnostic of the screen size or technology platform. For example, Facebook is not a website or an app. It is an eco-system of objects (people, photos, videos, comments, businesses, brands, etc.) that are aggregated in many different ways through people's newsfeeds, timelines and pages, and delivered to a range of devices, some of which haven't even been invented yet. So Facebook is not a set of webpages, or screens in an app. It's a system of objects, and relationships between them.
Recent changes to iOS and Android notificationsThings changed with iOS 8 and Android KitKat. Notifications used to be signposts to go to other places. A notification to tell you to open an app. To open a destination.
But that is changing fast. For a while now, you can take action directly in Android notifications. Sometimes that takes you to that action in the app itself, but sometimes you can do the action directly, meaning that you don't need to open the app at all.
iOS is following suit here and raising the bar. Interactive notifications. No need to open the app. The notification is the full experience.
The next version of Android takes this even further, breaking notifications into independent cards. You can see that cards stack below each other.
We've moved pretty quickly from notifications as signposts, to containers (cards) that include content, and actions on that content.
Next up: cards housing full product experiencesThe next iteration is obvious. Lots and lots of notification cards that enable full product experiences and independent workflows right inside the card. Comment on the Facebook post. Retweet the tweet. Buy the item on Amazon. Check in for the flight. Share the news story. Add the reminder to your to-do list. Book the restaurant. Swap the fantasy football player. Annotate the run you just finished. Pay the bill. And on and on.
Towards apps as servicesBreaking things right down into the individual atomic unit, including the content and actions. The atomic unit separate from the container of the app itself, so that it can show up anywhere, on any device. The atomic units are then reassembled based on context. Aggregated in a centralised stream. Or pushed to you on your watch.
The content may be reformatted to enable more natural user input, optimized for your situation. Des sent me a text based message, but I'm driving so my watch reads it out to me. I speak my reply to Siri/Google and Des receives it as a text based message, because he's in work at his desk. The actions available change. All this and more is just about to happen.
It may be very likely that the primary interface for interacting with apps will not be the app itself. The app is primarily a publishing tool. The number one way people use your app is through this notification layer, or aggregated card stream. Not by opening the app itself.
In a world where notifications are full experiences in and of themselves, the screen of app icons makes less and less sense. Apps as destinations makes less and less sense. Why open the Facebook app when you can get the content as a notification and take action '-- like something, comment on something '-- right there at the notification or OS level. I really believe screens of apps won't exist in a few years, other than buried deep in the device UI as a secondary navigation.
A concept design to make this concreteThis is such a fundamental shift that to highlight where it may go, I'll start with a rough system design for how one might interact with a connected device in this world.
'' Imagine a vertical stream of cards, individually personalised and ranked based on who and what you care about, your current context (location, availability, etc.) and your likelihood to care about things based on historical data when you were in a similar context.
'' The cards can come from any source that you care about or have given permission to.
'' This looks a lot like Google Now, but on steroids. You will have almost as many unique sources in your stream as you have apps on your phone.
'' This also looks a lot like your notifications centre on your phone, but rather than merely signposts to open apps, these cards are notifying you, presenting you with the content to decide what to do next, and with the ability to interact with the content right there and then. So a card from Facebook has all the actions you would have for that content if you viewed it in the Facebook app. Like, comment, share, save, etc. all inline, with no need to open the Facebook app. Cards from travel apps allow you to book, cards from commerce apps allow you to buy, the list is endless.
This is the beginning of the end for apps as destinations. Why open the app when you don't need to? Let's take this a step further.
Imagine that you can scroll horizontally, and that shows you more content from the same source. So on a Facebook post, that is effectively your newsfeed presented horizontally rather than vertically.
This would be the same for all sources, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, news apps, etc. And of course on all devices.
OK now let's go a step further again.
Imagine that a parent card can support a child card, so for example a Facebook card can support (embed) a card from the BBC. Indeed something similar already exists with Twitter.
This is also a little similar to the recently launched Apple Extensions, and is already happening in app development in China with Baidu and WeChat, where smaller apps are being bundled within bigger apps, only surfacing when some interaction in the UI invokes the smaller app. For example, in Baidu Maps you can find a hotel, check room availability, and make a booking, all inside the app.
But again the apparent subtlety masks something much more profound. Embedded cards (child cards) within cards (parent cards) also mean you don't need to install the app to experience the content from the child card. You just need the parent card app on your device. Again, this is already happening, Twitter cards currently support Stripe payments inside the card. You don't need the New York Times app to see their content on Twitter. But imagine this pattern was widespread. Suddenly app developers have a powerful discovery channel. And some businesses may be comfortable always appearing as a child card, without ever having an app at all.
One final step further. What if the cards came from other things? Like vending machines that you walk up to and pay through the card? Hotels you walk into and order your breakfast or pay for the wifi?
The ramifications for websites might also be huge. If a publishing company, for example the New York Times, can push content to cards, and those cards can be seen in many different third party places (with revenue sharing agreements) why bother having a website at all? It's just a huge overhead.
We will still open apps. SometimesIn this world, it feels dumb to open apps just to see what lies behind the red counter, or to have to switch between apps. Opening apps is still necessary and great for many contexts, especially composition of new content and dedicated deep workflows, and maybe changing preferences. But not for seeing what's new and interesting. A bank of app icons as a dominant design pattern feels old and inefficient now, and I think it'll disappear within a couple of years, correctly relegated behind a ''show me my apps'' action.
The system will learn, creating new competitorsAs people interact or don't interact with cards presented to them, the system will learn when to show more or less from a specific source (app). As content from different apps will be presented side by side, this changes who you might think you are competing with. Competition is between products that do the same job, not products that are in the same category. This is already the case today; when faced with multiple notifications on a phone screen, they all compete with each other for your attention.
Here at Intercom, we're big proponents of the Jobs To Be Done (JTBD) framework, which asks what Job people need to get done that your product fulfills. If you focus purely on the job, and not the industry, you realise airlines selling business class seats are competing with Skype for customers, as they address the same job: the need to have clear communication with colleagues.
Similarly, apps will realise they are competing on Jobs they may not have realised their product addresses. Twitter for example, may be competing much more with apps addressing the Job of 'entertain me while I have a short amount of free time' e.g. Games and News apps, than with other social products.
This intense competition means businesses will have to spend time designing great notifications/cards, because they will potentially be competing with cards from Facebook, or Amazon, or Google. The days of sending lots and lots of notifications to bring people back to an app are going away, with a much better focus on designing notifications that people engage with there and then, independent of opening the app.
Three critical questionsThere are many signs pointing towards a near future that looks something like this. But many questions remain '-- these are three that I have no answers for:
Will this happen at the app, notification, or OS level?One of the biggest challenges will be whether these experiences will occur:
at an app level (like an evolution of Google Now),at a notification level (an evolution of the Android or iOS notification centre),or at the root OS level (a redesigned iOS for example that removes the sea of app icons).Will this be one consolidated stream, or multiple streams?Maybe we will have a friends stream, a news stream, a work stream.
Will this be owned at a company level?Maybe there will be a Google version, an Apple version, etc. Or more open systems that are interoperable across platforms (like the web itself), the first of which (like Wildcard and Citia) are being built now, could come to dominate.
Towards better businesses and productsThis is just a sketch but at a conceptual level I think it's largely where we are headed. Large parts of this are built already; things like Google Now, Android notifications, iOS8 interactive notifications, iOS8 extensions, Twitter cards. Emerging platforms like Android Wear and Apple Watch are confirming these trends towards cards that work as notifications, content and actions.
There are also a multitude of user benefits:
This new paradigm matches much more closely with how real life works. We don't live our lives in silos, like the app silos that exist today. People start to forget about ''apps'' and just think about businesses and products and services. This is a great thing, the container for content should be invisible to users.
This new paradigm also solves a critical problem around volume of incoming content. Navigating to lots of apps is so inefficient. A new problem emerging is an overwhelming volume of notifications. Things will need to be ranked, which will make them more manageable. It's also a better experience, apps maximising their usefulness in a quick lightweight fashion rather than dominating your attention in a slow heavyweight app-oriented experience.
The constraint of an individual card also makes you think about the most important thing you could show, and only the most important actions relating to that. That constraint is very powerful.
For businesses, it also starts to solve the app discoverability problem. Rather than relying on App Store promotion, advertising, or new deep in app linking to get discovered, an apps content can appear as a card in our stream, particularly when embedded in a parent card. Indeed there may not be a child app, the content and actions in that child card may come from the web.
This paradigm shift also starts to ask questions of the bundle or unbundle dilemma (btw both are happening now, it's not just unbundling). Maybe in this world you can have your cake (unbundled simple focused one task experiences) and eat it too (bundled into a coherent individual stream). A deliberately designed eco system of cards where cards are simple, but can carry information and context from other cards you build.
5 key take awaysThese patterns reinforce two things we wrote about here on Inside Intercom early in their development. That cards are the future of the web, and designers need to design systems not destinations. Cards are happening. Systems are happening. Get fully up to speed on both of these things.Responsive design is a nice thing, but we're heading way beyond that. We're talking about designing content that may appear on an incomprehensible number of devices and in an incomprehensible number of situations. This will need new design principles, new ways of thinking about researching context. Push forward with this yourself, don't wait for it to happen.Designing the notifications, and the actions within them, will become an increasingly important part of product design. We will need to spend as much of our time on this aspect of the experience, as on the experiences within the app. Change how you think and work now, rather than when it is too late. Sketch systems, not screens.Think about who you might integrate with. Integrations as part of a product strategy are increasing, witness the explosion in available APIs, Webhooks and the emergence of services like Zapier and IFTTT. Integrations make things possible that you could never do alone. They give you access to new audiences. Make integrations part of your business plan, product strategy, and product design.I carry around both an iPhone and an Android phone. I often also have my iPad Mini. I wear a Nike Fuelband. I've tried Google Glass whenever I can (in private ;-)). When I can I'll buy an Apple Watch. We all need to dive headfirst into this, eyes open, trying to see what works and fails, trial and error.If you made it this far, thanks for reading. Whilst the trajectories seem clear, much is unknown, we'll all figure this out together. So please let us know your feedback, thoughts, ideas below, and we'll do our best to respond and keep the conversation moving forward.
Update: Read our follow up piece: It's not the end of apps.
There are many other people writing about these things and I'm indebted to them for sharing their thinking. Here are some key articles if you want to read more:
Thanks also to my colleagues at Intercom for contributing to this and making it much much better.
Like what you read here? Why not come and work with us? We're hiring for roles in Dublin and San Francisco.
Want to read our product management best practices? Download our free book, Intercom on Product Management. It's recommended by folks like Ryan Singer, Hunter Walk, and Dharmesh Shah.
Small Batch
FDA Finds Majority of Herbal Supplements at GNC, Walmart, Walgreens, And Target Don't Contain What They Claim '' Instead Cheap Fillers Like Wheat And Soy Powder - Healthy Food House
No echinacea or plant material was found in the supplementSaw Palmetto
Garlic and rice were found in the productSome samples contained small amounts of saw palmettoGinseng
No ginseng detectedInstead, rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrus were found in the supplementGingko Biloba
No gingko Biloba found in the dietary supplementInstead, the product included rice, dracaena, mustard, wheat and radishSt. John's Wort
No St. John's Wort foundDetected garlic, rice and cassavaGarlic
One sample showed small amounts of garlicThe product included rice, pine, palm, dracaena and wheatProducts By Walgreens, Finest Nutrition brand
Echinacea
No echinacea detectedThey found garlic, rice and daisySaw Palmetto
Ginseng
No ginseng foundDetected garlic and riceGingko Biloba
No gingko Biloba detectedRice was found in the productSt. John's Wort
No St. John's Wort foundDetected garlic, rice and dracaenaGarlic
No garlic foundDetected palm, dracaena, wheat and riceProducts by GNC, Herbal Plus brand:
Echinacea
No echinacea foundrice found in some samplesSaw Palmetto
One sample contained the clear presence of palmettoOther samples contained a variety of ingredients, including rice, asparagus, and primroseGinseng
No ginseng founddetected rice, dracaena, pine, wheat/grass and citrusGingko Biloba:
No gingko Biloba foundDid detect allium (garlic), rice, spruce and asparagusSt. John's Wort
No St. John's Wort founddetected allium (garlic), rice and dracaena (a tropical houseplant)Garlic
Products By Target, Up & Up brand
Echinacea
Most, but not all tests detected EchinaceaOne test identified rice in the contentSaw Palmetto
Most tests detected saw palmettoSome tests found no plant DNAValerian Root
No valerian root foundDetected asparagus, pea family, rice, wild carrot, allium, bean, and saw palmettoGingko Biloba
No gingko Biloba detectedFound garlic, rice and mung/French beanSt. John's Wort
No St. John's Wort foundFound garlic, rice and dracaena (houseplant)Garlic
Contained garlicOne test identified no DNAREAD More GNC, Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens accused of selling adulterated 'herbals'
Sources/References:livingtraditionally.comcomplete-health-and-happiness.comOther included sources linked in Living Traditionally's article: well.blogs.nytimes.com -- Original Article Source
Agenda 2030
France Declares All New Rooftops Must Be Topped With Plants Or Solar Panels | CSGlobe
A new law recently passed in France mandates that all new buildings that are built in commercial zones in France must be partially covered in either plants or solar panels.
Green roofs, as they are called, have an isolating effect which helps to reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building during the winter or cool it in the summer. They are capable of retaining rainwater and reducing problems with runoff, and also offer birds a place to call home in the urban jungle.
French environmental activists originally wanted to pass a law that would make the green roofs cover the entire surface of all new roofs.
However, partially covered roofs make for a great start, and are still a huge step in the right direction.
Some say the law that was passed is actually better, as it gives the business owners a chance to install solar panels to help provide the buildings with renewable energy, thereby leaving even less of a footprint.
Green roofs are already very popular in Germany and Australia, as well as Canada's city of Toronto! This by-law was adopted in 2009, by the city of Toronto which mandated green roofs on all new industrial and residential buildings.
See also: This Woman's Documentary Of Air Pollution Goes Viral In China, Gets Banned By The Government
Benefits of Green RoofsThere are so many benefits to green roofs. Here are just a few:
Adding natural beauty and major aesthetic improvement to buildings, which in turn increases the investment opportunity.Helping contribute to landfill diversion by prolonging the life of waterproofing membranes, using recycled materials, and prolonging the service of heating, ventilation, and HVAC systems through decreased use.Green roofs assist with storm water management because water is stored by the substrate, then taken up by plants, and thus returned to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation. They also retain rainwater and moderate the temperature of the water and act as natural filters for the water that does run off. They delay the time at which runoff occurs, which results in decreased stress on sewer systems during peak periods.The plants on green roofs do a great job of capturing airborne pollutants and other atmospheric deposition. They can also filter noxious gasses.They open up new areas for community gardens, commercial and recreational space in busy cities where this space is generally quite limited.France is definitely on the right track, but it should be a mandate that all new buildings being built in North America, and even worldwide, adopt this amazing idea to reap all of the potential benefits.
See also: Ideas on raising environmentally-conscious kids
CLIPS AND DOCS
VIDEO- Should Climate Deniers be Denied Guns? - YouTube
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t=!0;this.streamInfo&&(t=!1),this.streamInfo=e,t&&this.trigger(f.STREAMS),this.controller=C.call(this,e),k.call(this,this.controller,!0),W.call(this,this.controller.getState())}.bind(this)).fail(function(){this.trigger(f.NO_STREAMS)}.bind(this)),this._initAudioDefer.done(function(){this.trigger(f.CREATED)}.bind(this))),this._initAudioDefer},registerPlay:function(){var e=this.options.soundId,t=!1;return N.indexOf(e)===-1&&(N.push(e),setTimeout(function(){var t=N.indexOf(e);t>-1&&N.splice(t,1)},E),$.ajax({type:"POST",dataType:"json",statusCode:{429:$.noop},url:s.result(this.options.registerEndpoint)}),this._registerCounts++,this._registerPlays=!1,this.trigger(f.REGISTERED),t=!0),t},toggle:function(){this[this.isPaused()?"play":"pause"]()},play:function(e){var t=e&&e.seek!=null?e.seek:this.currentTime();e=s.extend({},e,{position:t}),this.trigger(f.PLAY,e),j.call(this,t)||M.call(this),this.initAudio().done(function(){this._isPlayActionQueued&&(this._storedPosition=null,this.trigger(f.PLAY_START,e),this.controller.play(t))}.bind(this)),F.call(this,!0)},pause:function(e){if(this.isPaused())return;e=s.extend({},e,{position:this.currentTime()}),this.trigger(f.PAUSE,e),this.controller&&this.controller.pause(),F.call(this,!1)},getListenTime:function(){return this.audioLogger?this.audioLogger.getListenTime():0},dispose:function(){this.audioLogger=null,this.audioPerfMonitor=null,this.off(),s.without(N,this.options.soundId),clearTimeout(this._bufferingTimeout),O.call(this),this.controller&&(this.controller.kill(),this.controller=null),delete this.controller,this.trigger(f.DESTROYED)},seek:function(e){if(!this.controller)return;if(e>=s.result(this.options.duration)){_.call(this);return}this.seekTimeEventHandler&&this.off(f.TIME,this.seekTimeEventHandler),this.seekTimeEventHandler=s.after(2,function(){I.call(this)}.bind(this)),this.on(f.TIME,this.seekTimeEventHandler),this.trigger(f.SEEK,{from:this.currentTime(),to:e});if(this.isPlaying()&&!j.call(this,e)){M.call(this),this.play({seek:e});return}this.controller.seek(e)},seekRelative:function(e){this.controller&&this.seek(this.currentTime()+e)},currentTime:function(){return this._storedPosition?this._storedPosition:this.controller?this.controller.getCurrentPosition():0},loadProgress:function(){var e=0;return this.controller&&(e=this.controller.getLoadedPosition()/this.controller.getDuration(),e=e>=.99?1:e),e},buffered:function(){return this.controller&&this.controller.getDuration()||0},isPaused:function(){return!this.isPlaying()},isBuffering:function(){return this._isBuffering},isPlaying:function(){return this._isPlayActionQueued||this._isPlaying},isLoading:function(){return!!this.controller&&this.controller.getState()===d.States.LOADING},toggleMute:function(e){r.toggleMute(e)},isMuted:function(){return r.isMuted()},setVolume:function(e){r.setVolume(e)},getVolume:function(){return r.getVolume()},logAudioPerformance:function(){},getAudioManagerStates:function(){return d.States},getId:function(){return this.options.resourceId||this.options.soundId}}),s.extend(r,{extend:s.inherits,getSettings:function(){return m},setSettings:function(e){s.extend(m,e)},setAudioManager:function(e){d=e,e&&(r.AudioManagerStates=e.States,this.toggleMute(m.muted),this.setVolume(m.volume))},toggleMute:function(e){m.muted=e===undefined?!m.muted:!!e,d&&d.setVolume(m.muted?0:1)},isMuted:function(){return m.muted},setVolume:function(e){m.volume=e===undefined?1:e,d&&d.setVolume(m.volume)},getVolume:function(){return m.volume},Extensions:l,Protocols:h,Events:f,BUFFER_DELAY:w,PLAY_REGISTRATION_TIMEOUT:E})}),t("scaudio")})}), define("vendor/i18n/lib/datetime",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function f(e,t){function f(t,n,r){if(t instanceof Date){r=r||Date.now();var i=r-t,s=i>0,o,a=null,f,l,c=e.relativeTime;n=n&&parseInt(n,10)||1e3,i=Math.abs(i);if(i0&&o.push(l.hour(u)),a>0&&o.push(l.min(a)),(f>0||a===0&&u===0)&&o.push(l.sec(f)),o.join(" ")):(u>0&&o.push(u),n&&n.minimal&&u===0&&a===0?o.push(""):o.push(a0?"0"+a:a),o.push(f23||r>59)return;if(i)if(i==="p"){if(n13)return}else if(i==="a")if(n===12)n=0;else if(n>12)return;return r||(r=0),[n,r]}function v(){var e=new Date(2009,0,1,6,0,0),t=new Date(2009,6,1,6,0,0),n;return n=e.getUTCHours()>t.getUTCHours()?e.getTimezoneOffset():t.getTimezoneOffset(),n}function m(e){if(e.offset==null)return{};var t=new Date,n,r;return g(t,e.resolution),n=+(new Date(+t+e.offset*a[e.resolution])),r=+(new Date(n+(e.duration-1)*a[e.resolution])),{from:n,to:r}}function g(e,t){switch(t){case"day":e.setUTCHours(0,0,0,0);break;case"hour":e.setUTCMinutes(0,0,0)}}function y(e){return("0"+e).substr(-2)}n.exports=f;var r=1e3,i=6e4,s=60*i,o=24*s,u={sec:1e3,min:60,hour:60,day:24,month:30,year:12},a={minute:i,hour:s,day:o}}), define("vendor/i18n/lib/number",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function r(e){return{round:i,format:function(t,n){if(t===""||t==null||isNaN(t)||Math.abs(t)===Infinity)return"";t=parseFloat(t);var r=n&&n.precision||0,s=e.delimiters;return r=Math.max(Math.min(r,20),0),t=i(t,r),(""+t).split(".").map(function(e,t){return t===0?e.replace(/(\d)(?=(\d{3})+(?!\d))/g,"$1"+s.thousands):e}).join(s.decimal)},zeroPad:function(e,t){if(e==null)return e;e+="";var n=t-e.length;return n>0&&(e=(new Array(n+1)).join("0")+e),e}}}function i(e,t){var n=Math.pow(10,t||0);return Math.round(e*n)/n}n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/en",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:",",decimal:"."},relativeTime:{justNow:"Just now",rightNow:"Right now",future:"in %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 second","%d seconds"]),min:i(["1 minute","%d minutes"]),hour:i(["1 hour","%d hours"]),day:i(["1 day","%d days"]),month:i(["1 month","%d months"]),year:i(["1 year","%d years"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"MMM DD, YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD, DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],monthsShort:["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],weekdays:["Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"],shortWeekdays:["Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat"],minWeekdays:["Su","Mo","Tu","We","Th","Fr","Sa"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%a %b %e %X %Y",date:"%m/%d/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Done",prevText:"Prev",nextText:"Next",currentText:"Today",weekHeader:"Wk",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/pt_BR",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"Agora a pouco",rightNow:"Agora a pouco",future:"em %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 segundo","%d segundos"]),min:i(["1 minuto","%d minutos"]),hour:i(["1 hora","%d horas"]),day:i(["1 dia","%d dias"]),month:i(["1 mªs","%d meses"]),year:i(["1 ano","%d anos"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"MMM DD, YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD, DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["Janeiro","Fevereiro","Mar§o","Abril","Maio","Junho","Julho","Agosto","Setembro","Outubro","Novembro","Dezembro"],monthsShort:["Jan","Fev","Mar","Abr","Mai","Jun","Jul","Ago","Set","Out","Nov","Dez"],weekdays:["Domingo","Segunda-Feira","Ter§a-Feira","Quarta-Feira","Quinta-Feira","Sexta-Feira","Sbado"],shortWeekdays:["Dom","Seg","Ter","Qua","Qui","Sex","Sb"],minWeekdays:["Dom","Seg","Ter","Qua","Qui","Sex","Sb"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, %e de %B de %Y. %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Fechar",prevText:"Anterior",nextText:"Pr"ximo",currentText:"Hoje",weekHeader:"Sm",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:0,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/fr",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"R(C)cemment",rightNow:"Maintenant",future:"dans %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 seconde","%d secondes"]),min:i(["1 minute","%d minutes"]),hour:i(["1 heure","%d heures"]),day:i(["1 jour","%d jours"]),month:i(["1 mois","%d mois"]),year:i(["1 an","%d ans"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"DD MMM YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["janvier","f(C)vrier","mars","avril","mai","juin","juillet","ao>>t","septembre","octobre","novembre","d(C)cembre"],monthsShort:["janv.","f(C)vr.","mars","avr.","mai","juin","juil.","ao>>t","sept.","oct.","nov.","d(C)c."],weekdays:["dimanche","lundi","mardi","mercredi","jeudi","vendredi","samedi"],shortWeekdays:["dim.","lun.","mar.","mer.","jeu.","ven.","sam."],minWeekdays:["Di","Lu","Ma","Me","Je","Ve","Sa"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, le %e %B %Y, %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Fermer",prevText:"Pr(C)c(C)dent",nextText:"Suivant",currentText:"Aujourd'hui",weekHeader:"Sem.",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e>1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/es",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"Ahora mismo",rightNow:"Ahora mismo",future:"dans %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 segundo","%d segundos"]),min:i(["1 minuto","%d minutos"]),hour:i(["1 hora","%d horas"]),day:i(["1 da","%d das"]),month:i(["1 mes","%d meses"]),year:i(["1 a±o","%d a±os"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"DD MMM YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD, DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["Enero","Febrero","Marzo","Abril","Mayo","Junio","Julio","Agosto","Septiembre","Octubre","Noviembre","Diciembre"],monthsShort:["Ene","Feb","Mar","Abr","May","Jun","Jul","Ago","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dic"],weekdays:["Domingo","Lunes","Martes","Mi(C)rcoles","Jueves","Viernes","Sbado"],shortWeekdays:["Dom.","Lun.","Mar.","Mi(C).","Jue.","Vie.","Sb."],minWeekdays:["Do","Lu","Ma","Mi","Ju","Vi","S"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, %e de %B de %Y, %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Cerrar",prevText:"Ant",nextText:"Sig",currentText:"Hoy",weekHeader:"Sm",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-en-gb.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"","Refresh the page to try again.":"","We can't find this page.":"","We can't find this sound.":"","We can't find this playlist.":"","We can't find this user.":"","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"","Connect with Facebook friends.":"","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"","Your profile":"","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit ourCreator Guide.':"","Your tracks.":"","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]",Messages:"Messages","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Go Pro","Search tracks":"Search tracks","Search playlists":"Search playlists","Search people":"Search people","Search groups":"Search groups","Search [[category]]":"Search [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Unsubscribed successfully","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.","[[username]]'s stream":"[[username]]'s stream","1 hour":["1 hour","%d hours"],"1 minute":["1 minute","%d minutes"],"1 second":["1 second","%d seconds"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.",Close:"Close","1 track":["1 track","%d tracks"],"1 play":["1 play","%d plays"],"1 follower":["1 follower","%d followers"],"Download on the App Store":"Download on the App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Get it on Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Get it at BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Available at Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Get it in the Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Listen on SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Listen on SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"Download our free app",Retry:"Retry","Terms of use":"Terms of use",Legal:"Legal","Privacy policy":"Privacy policy",Privacy:"Privacy","Cookies policy":"Cookies policy",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Company information",Imprint:"Imprint","People directory":"",Directory:"Directory","SoundCloud homepage":"SoundCloud homepage","Hear the world's sounds":"Hear the world's sounds","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Trending tracks on SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"","Our app works best on mobile":"",Like:["Like","Likes"],Cancel:"Cancel","Select your language":"Select your language","Language:":"Language:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"","Go to Messages":"Go to Messages","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"","Open or get the app":"","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"","Review your email subscriptions at":"Review your email subscriptions at","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Results for: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.","Play or pause track":"Play or pause track","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Become a SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.","Stats with more data.":"Stats with more data.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.","More upload time.":"More upload time.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"","More control.":"More control.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"",All:"All",Tracks:"Tracks",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"People","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"","Search SoundCloud":"Search SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Find people, tracks and playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"","Reposted by [[username]]":"Reposted by [[username]]","Now playing":"","Previous track":"Previous track","Next track":"Next track","1 Like":"","We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Track","Tracks"],"Show more tracks":"Show more tracks",Playlist:"","Show more playlists":"Show more playlists","Show more likes":"Show more likes","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Sign in to SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Download our free app"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-es.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Parece que algo no funciona bien.","Refresh the page to try again.":"Actualiza la pgina para intentarlo de nuevo.","We can't find this page.":"No se encuentra esta pgina.","We can't find this sound.":"No se encuentra esta pista.","We can't find this playlist.":"No se encuentra esta lista.","We can't find this user.":"No se encuentra este usuario.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Sube tu mºsica y audio para compartirlos con el mundo.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Solo se pueden subir sonidos en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para subir ms pistas.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Mºsica del momento en SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"Explorar solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Tambi(C)n puedes descargar nuestra aplicaci"n m"vil para descubrir audio y mºsica del momento en cualquier lugar. Y lo mejor es que podrs seguir escuchando todas las novedades desde la aplicaci"n.","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Conecta con tus amigos de Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"Solo puedes conectarte en navegadores de escritorio.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Quieres conectarte con tus amigos de Facebook o seguir a ms gente? Esta funci"n solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para encontrar a ms gente a la que seguir.","Your profile":"Tu perfil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gesti"n de tu cuenta solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obtener ms informaci"n sobre la optimizaci"n de tu perfil, visita nuestra Gua para creadores.',"Your tracks.":"Tus pistas.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gesti"n de tus pistas solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para editar, compartir y a±adir pistas a listas.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obtener ms informaci"n, visita la Gua para creadores.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Disfruta de esta pista en cualquier lugar y vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] de [[authorName]]",Messages:"Mensajes","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Disfruta de esta lista en cualquier lugar y vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] de [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Hazte Pro","Search tracks":"Buscar pistas","Search playlists":"Buscar listas","Search people":"Buscar gente","Search groups":"Buscar grupos","Search [[category]]":"Buscar [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Suscripci"n anulada correctamente","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"S(C) el primero en escuchar las nuevas publicaciones de [[username]] con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["1 hora","%d horas"],"1 minute":["1 minuto","%d minutos"],"1 second":["1 segundo","%d segundos"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n.",Close:"Cerrar","1 track":["1 pista","%d pistas"],"1 play":["1 reproducci"n","%d reproducciones"],"1 follower":["1 seguidor","%d seguidores"],"Download on the App Store":"Descargar en el App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Obtener en Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Obtener en BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponible en Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Obtener en Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Escuchar en SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Escuchar en SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"Descarga nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita",Retry:"Int(C)ntalo de nuevo","Terms of use":"Condiciones de uso",Legal:"Legal","Privacy policy":"Poltica de privacidad",Privacy:"Privacidad","Cookies policy":"Poltica de cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informaci"n de la empresa",Imprint:"SoundCloud Ltd.","People directory":"Directorio de gente",Directory:"Directorio","SoundCloud homepage":"Pgina de inicio de SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"Escucha las pistas del mundo","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Pistas del momento en SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Obt(C)n nuestra aplicaci"n para Android para guardar esta pista en tus Me gusta, crear listas y ms.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Obt(C)n nuestra aplicaci"n para iPhone para guardar esta pista en tus Me gusta, crear listas y ms.","Our app works best on mobile":"Nuestra aplicaci"n funciona mejor en dispositivos m"viles",Like:["Me gusta","Me gusta"],Cancel:"Cancelar","Select your language":"Selecciona tu idioma","Language:":"Idioma:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Los mensajes soloson compatibles en navegadores de escritorio","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"Puede que las pginas no se muestren correctamenteen navegadores para m"viles.","Go to Messages":"Ir a Mensajes","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"SoundCloud para m"vilessolo est disponible como aplicaci"n.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Descrgala o brela ahorapara usar SoundCloud entu dispositivo.","Open or get the app":"Hazte con la aplicaci"n o brela.","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Lamentamos que te marches.","Review your email subscriptions at":"Consulta tus suscripciones de correo en","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Resultados de: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"atrs","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"No quieres aparecer en los resultados? Visita la versi"n de esta pgina para escritorio para que no te incluyamos.","Play or pause track":"Reproducir o pausar la pista","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Psate a SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"Ms de 175 millones de personas escuchan SoundCloud cada mes. Obt(C)n las herramientas que necesitas para compartir tu mºsica y ampliar tu pºblico.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Solo es posible comprar un plan Pro desde un ordenador.","Stats with more data.":"Estadsticas con ms datos.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Las estadsticas de Pro presentan los datos que necesitas para planificar tus nuevos lanzamientos, conectar con tus seguidores ms fieles y desarrollar tu carrera.","More upload time.":"Ms tiempo de subida.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Dobla tu tiempo de subida con una suscripci"n Pro o adquiere almacenamiento ilimitado para tus pistas, lbumes, proyectos y trabajos anteriores con Pro Unlimited.","More control.":"Ms control.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Fija pistas y listas en la parte superior de tu perfil con Spotlight, y activa o desactiva los comentarios y las estadsticas pºblicas mediante el Modo silencioso. Con el nivel Pro, tendrs todo el control sobre tus pistas y tus listas.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Entra en [[[link]]] desde tu ordenador para pasarte hoy mismo a SoundCloud Pro.",All:"Todo",Tracks:"Pistas",Playlists:"Listas",People:"Gente","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"La bºsqueda no da resultados.","Search SoundCloud":"Buscar en SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Buscar gente, pistas y listas","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Has cambiado tu contrase±acorrectamente.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Republicado por [[username]]","Now playing":"Reproducci"n en curso","Previous track":"Pista anterior","Next track":"Pista siguiente","1 Like":["1 Me gusta","%d Me gusta"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"La pista no est disponible para dispositivos m"viles.",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Pista","Pistas"],"Show more tracks":"Mostrar ms pistas",Playlist:["Lista","Listas"],"Show more playlists":"Mostrar ms listas","Show more likes":"Mostrar otros me gusta","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Iniciar sesi"n en SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Descarga nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-fr.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Il semble y avoir un probl¨me","Refresh the page to try again.":"Actualisez la page pour r(C)essayer.","We can't find this page.":"Cette page est introuvable","We can't find this sound.":"Ce titre est introuvable.","We can't find this playlist.":"Cette playlist est introuvable.","We can't find this user.":"Cet utilisateur est introuvable.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"T(C)l(C)chargez vos pistes audio et musicales et partagez-les avec le monde entier.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Uploader est pris en charge sur les navigateurs d'ordinateur de bureau uniquement.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour uploader plus de titres.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Musique en vogue sur SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"La fonction d'exploration est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Vous pouvez (C)galement t(C)l(C)charger notre application mobile pour d(C)couvrir les tendances en mati¨re de musique et de titres audio pendant vos d(C)placements. L'avantage est que vous pouvez toujours (C)couter des titres en vogue avec l'application mobile","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Restez en contact avec vos amis Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"La fonction Connect est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Vous souhaitez rester en contact avec vos amis Facebook ou trouver de nouvelles personnes suivre ? Cette fonction est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour trouver d'autres personnes suivre.","Your profile":"Votre profil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gestion de votre compte est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':"Pour plus d'informations sur l'optimisation de votre profil, consultez notre Guide de l'auteur.","Your tracks.":"Vos titres.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gestion de vos titres est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour modifier, partager et ajouter des titres des playlists.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':"Pour plus d'informations, consultez notre Guide de l'auteur.","Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Emportez ce titre avec vous et vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application gratuite.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] par [[authorname]]",Messages:"Messages","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Prenez cette playlist avec vous et vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application gratuite.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] par [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Passer la version Pro","Search tracks":"Rechercher des titres","Search playlists":"Rechercher des playlists","Search people":"Rechercher des personnes","Search groups":"Rechercher des groupes","Search [[category]]":"Rechercher dans [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"D(C)sinscription r(C)ussie.","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Soyez le premier savoir ce que publie [[username]] avec notre application gratuite. ","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["%d heure","%d heures"],"1 minute":["%d minute","%d minutes"],"1 second":["%d seconde","%d secondes"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application.",Close:"Fermer","1 track":["%d titre","%d titres"],"1 play":["%d (C)coute","%d (C)coutes"],"1 follower":["%d abonn(C)","%d abonn(C)s"],"Download on the App Store":"T(C)l(C)charger dans l'App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Disponible sur Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Disponible sur BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponible sur Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Disponible sur le Firefox Marketplace ","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"couter sur SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"couter sur SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"T(C)l(C)charger notre application gratuite",Retry:"R(C)essayer","Terms of use":"Conditions d'utilisation",Legal:"Informations l(C)gales","Privacy policy":"Politique de confidentialit(C)",Privacy:"Confidentialit(C)","Cookies policy":"Politique d'utilisation des cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informations sur l'entreprise",Imprint:"A propos","People directory":"R(C)pertoire de personnes",Directory:"R(C)pertoire","SoundCloud homepage":"Page d'accueil de SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"D(C)couvrez les sons du monde","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Titres en vogue sur SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"T(C)l(C)chargez notre application Android pour enregistrer ce titre dans vos mentions J'aime, cr(C)er des playlists et bien plus encore.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"T(C)l(C)chargez notre application pour iPhone pour enregistrer ce titre dans vos mentions J'aime, cr(C)er des playlists et bien plus encore.","Our app works best on mobile":"D(C)couvrez notre application mobile pour une exp(C)rience optimale",Like:["Likes","Mes favoris"],Cancel:"Annuler","Select your language":"S(C)lectionnez votre langue","Language:":"Langue :","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Les messages sont uniquementpris en charge par les navigateurs d'ordinateurs de bureau.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"Les pages peuvent ne pas s'afficher correctementdans les navigateurs mobiles.","Go to Messages":"Acc(C)der aux Messages","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"SoundCloud pour mobile estuniquement disponible sous forme d'application.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Ouvrez ou t(C)l(C)chargez le fichier maintenantpour utiliser SoundCloud survotre appareil.","Open or get the app":"Lancez ou t(C)l(C)chargez l'application","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Nous sommes d(C)sol(C)s d'apprendre que vous nous quittez.","Review your email subscriptions at":"V(C)rifiez vos inscriptions par e-mail sur","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"R(C)sultats pour : [[generatedSummary]]",back:"retour","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"Vous ne voulez pas ªtre ajout(C)(e) ? Utilisez la version de bureau pour d(C)sactiver.","Play or pause track":"Lire un titre ou le mettre en pause","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Passez la version SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 millions de personnes (C)coutent de la musique sur SoundCloud chaque mois. Profitez des outils n(C)cessaires pour partager votre musique et (C)largir votre public. ","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"L'achat d'un abonnement Pro ne peut s'effectuer que depuis un ordinateur.","Stats with more data.":"Statistiques comportant d'autres donn(C)es","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Les statistiques Pro vous fournissent les donn(C)es n(C)cessaires pour planifier vos sorties, entrer en contact avec vos plus grands fans et construire votre carri¨re.","More upload time.":"Davantage de temps de t(C)l(C)chargement.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Multipliez votre temps de t(C)l(C)chargement par deux avec un abonnement Pro ou obtenez un espace de stockage illimit(C) pour vos titres, vos albums, vos projets et vos anciens enregistrements avec Pro Unlimited.","More control.":"Davantage de contr´le.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Placez des titres et des playlists dans la partie sup(C)rieure de votre profil avec les Titres pingl(C)s, activez ou d(C)sactivez les commentaires et les statistiques avec le Mode silencieux : en passant la version Pro, vous avez le contr´le de vos titres et de vos playlists.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Passez un abonnement SoundCloud Pro sur votre ordinateur d¨s aujourd'hui sur [[[link]]].",All:"Tous",Tracks:"Titres",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"Personnes","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"D(C)sol(C), aucun r(C)sultat ne correspond votre recherche.","Search SoundCloud":"Rechercher dans SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Trouver des personnes, des titres et des playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Vous avez bienmodifi(C) votre mot de passe.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Repost(C) par [[username]]","Now playing":"Lecture en cours","Previous track":"Titre pr(C)c(C)dent","Next track":"Titre suivant","1 Like":["1 J'aime","%d J'aime"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"D(C)sol(C), ce titre n'est pas disponible sur mobile.",Spotlight:"Titres (C)pingl(C)s",Track:["Titres","Titres"],"Show more tracks":"Afficher plus de titres",Playlist:["Playlist","Playlists"],"Show more playlists":"Afficher plus de playlists","Show more likes":"Afficher plus de mentions J'aime","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Se connecter SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"T(C)l(C)charger notre application gratuite"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-pt-br.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Parece que alguma coisa n£o est bem.","Refresh the page to try again.":"Atualize a pgina para tentar de novo.","We can't find this page.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar esta pgina.","We can't find this sound.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este som.","We can't find this playlist.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este playlist.","We can't find this user.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este usurio.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Fa§a upload das suas mºsicas e udios, e compartilhe-os com o mundo.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"O upload (C) suportado apenas em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no seu computador para enviar mais faixas.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Mºsica do momento na SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"A op§£o Explorar s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Outra op§£o (C) baixar nosso aplicativo m"vel para descobrir mºsicas e udios do momento enquanto vocª est se deslocando. Mas a boa notcia (C) que vocª ainda poder ouvir os sons em destaque no aplicativo m"vel.","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Conecte-se com os amigos do Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"A conex£o s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Est tentando se conectar com os amigos do Facebook ou encontrar novas pessoas para seguir? Esse recurso s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no computador para encontrar novas pessoas para seguir.","Your profile":"Seu perfil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"A gest£o de sua conta s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obter mais informa§µes sobre a otimiza§£o do seu perfil, visite nosso Guia do criador.',"Your tracks.":"Suas faixas.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"A gest£o de suas faixas s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no seu computador para editar, compartilhar e adicionar faixas s playlists.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obter mais informa§µes, visite o nosso Guia do criador.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Ou§a esta faixa aonde quer que v e aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app gratuito.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] de [[authorName]]",Messages:"Mensagens","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Escute esta playlist aonde quer que v e aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app gratuito.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] de [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Assinar Pr"","Search tracks":"Pesquisar faixas","Search playlists":"Pesquisar playlists","Search people":"Pesquisar pessoas","Search groups":"Pesquisar grupos","Search [[category]]":"Pesquisar [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Inscri§£o cancelada com sucesso","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Seja o primeiro a ouvir o que [[username]] publica com o nosso app gratuito.","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["1 hora","%d horas"],"1 minute":["1 minuto","%d minutos"],"1 second":["1 segundo","%d segundos"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app.",Close:"Fechar","1 track":["1 faixa","%d faixas"],"1 play":["1 reprodu§£o","%d reprodu§µes"],"1 follower":["1 seguidor","%d seguidores"],"Download on the App Store":"Baixar na AppStore","Get it on Google Play":"Baixar no Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Baixar no BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponvel na Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Baixar no Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Ou§a no app SoundCloud para iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Ou§a no app SoundCloud para Android","Download our free app":"Baixe nosso app gratuito",Retry:"Tentar novamente","Terms of use":"Termos de Uso",Legal:"Aviso legal","Privacy policy":"Poltica de Privacidade",Privacy:"Privacidade","Cookies policy":"Poltica de Cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informa§µes sobre a empresa",Imprint:"SoundCloud Ltd.","People directory":"Diret"rio de pessoas",Directory:"Diret"rio","SoundCloud homepage":"Pgina inicial da SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"Ou§a os sons do mundo","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Faixas mais tocadas na SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Baixe nosso aplicativo para Android para salvar esta faixa em suas curtidas, criar playlists e muito mais.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Baixe nosso aplicativo para iPhone para salvar esta faixa em suas curtidas, criar playlists e muito mais.","Our app works best on mobile":"Nosso aplicativo funciona melhor em aplicativos m"veis",Like:["Curtida","Curtidas"],Cancel:"Cancelar","Select your language":"Selecione o idioma","Language:":"Idioma:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"As mensagens s£o suportadas apenasem navegadores desktop.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"As pginas podem n£o ser exibidas corretamenteem navegadores m"veis.","Go to Messages":"Ir para Mensagens","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"A SoundCloud para dispositivos m"veis s"est disponvel como aplicativo.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Abra ou baixe agorapara usar a SoundCloud noseu dispositivo.","Open or get the app":"Abrir ou obter o aplicativo","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Que pena que vocª est indo embora.","Review your email subscriptions at":"Consulte suas assinaturas por email em","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Resultados para: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"voltar","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"N£o quer ser includo? Visite a vers£o para desktop desta pgina para cancelar.","Play or pause track":"Reproduzir ou pausar faixa","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Torne-se SoundCloud Pr"","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 milhµes de pessoas ouvem a SoundCloud todo mªs. Obtenha as ferramentas de que precisa para compartilhar sua mºsica e aumentar seu pºblico.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Os planos Pr" podem ser adquiridos somente em um computador.","Stats with more data.":"Estatsticas com mais dados.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"As estatsticas Pr" fornecem os dados que vocª precisa para planejar seus lan§amentos, conectar-se com seus maiores f£s e projetar sua carreira.","More upload time.":"Mais tempo de upload.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Dobre o tempo de upload com uma assinatura do plano Pr" ou obtenha armazenamento ilimitado para suas faixas, lbuns, projetos e catlogo com o plano Pr" Iilimitado.","More control.":"Mais controle.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Coloque as faixas e playlists no topo do teu perfil com o Spotlight, ative ou desative os comentrios e estatsticas pºblicas com o Modo Silencioso. Assinando o plano Pr", vocª se mant(C)m no controle de suas faixas e playlists.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Torne-se um SoundCloud Pro no seu computador hoje mesmo em [[[link]]].",All:"Tudo",Tracks:"Faixas",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"Pessoas","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"Lamentamos, n£o houve resultados para sua pesquisa.","Search SoundCloud":"Pesquisar na SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Encontre pessoas, faixas e playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Vocª trocousua senha com sucesso.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Republicada por [[username]]","Now playing":"Reproduzindo agora","Previous track":"Faixa anterior","Next track":"Pr"xima faixa","1 Like":["1 curtida","%d curtidas"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"Lamentamos, essa faixa n£o est disponvel para dispositivos m"veis.",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Faixa","Faixas"],"Show more tracks":"Mostrar mais faixas",Playlist:["Playlist","Playlists"],"Show more playlists":"Mostrar mais playlists","Show more likes":"Mostrar mais curtidas","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Fazer login na SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Fazer download de nosso aplicativo grtis"}), define("lib/helpers/dns-helper",["require","exports","module","lib/url"],function(e,t,n){var r=e("lib/url"),i=[],s=n.exports={lookup:function(e){var t=document.createDocumentFragment(),n;e=typeof e=="string"?[e]:e,e.length&&(e.forEach(function(e){n=r.parse(e).host;if(n&&i.indexOf(n)===-1){i.push(n);var s=document.createElement("link");s.rel="dns-prefetch",s.href="//"+n,t.appendChild(s)}}),t.childNodes.length&&document.head.appendChild(t))}}}), define("views/footer/footer.tmpl",["vendor/handlebars-runtime","views/app-buttons/app-buttons","views/locale-selector/locale-selector"],function(){return require("vendor/handlebars-runtime").template(function(e,t,n,r,i){function l(e,t){var r="",i;return r+='
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YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],monthsShort:["Jan","Feb","Mar","Apr","May","Jun","Jul","Aug","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dec"],weekdays:["Sunday","Monday","Tuesday","Wednesday","Thursday","Friday","Saturday"],shortWeekdays:["Sun","Mon","Tue","Wed","Thu","Fri","Sat"],minWeekdays:["Su","Mo","Tu","We","Th","Fr","Sa"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%a %b %e %X %Y",date:"%m/%d/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Done",prevText:"Prev",nextText:"Next",currentText:"Today",weekHeader:"Wk",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/pt_BR",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"Agora a pouco",rightNow:"Agora a pouco",future:"em %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 segundo","%d segundos"]),min:i(["1 minuto","%d minutos"]),hour:i(["1 hora","%d horas"]),day:i(["1 dia","%d dias"]),month:i(["1 mªs","%d meses"]),year:i(["1 ano","%d anos"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"MMM DD, YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD, DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["Janeiro","Fevereiro","Mar§o","Abril","Maio","Junho","Julho","Agosto","Setembro","Outubro","Novembro","Dezembro"],monthsShort:["Jan","Fev","Mar","Abr","Mai","Jun","Jul","Ago","Set","Out","Nov","Dez"],weekdays:["Domingo","Segunda-Feira","Ter§a-Feira","Quarta-Feira","Quinta-Feira","Sexta-Feira","Sbado"],shortWeekdays:["Dom","Seg","Ter","Qua","Qui","Sex","Sb"],minWeekdays:["Dom","Seg","Ter","Qua","Qui","Sex","Sb"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, %e de %B de %Y. %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Fechar",prevText:"Anterior",nextText:"Pr"ximo",currentText:"Hoje",weekHeader:"Sm",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:0,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/fr",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"R(C)cemment",rightNow:"Maintenant",future:"dans %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 seconde","%d secondes"]),min:i(["1 minute","%d minutes"]),hour:i(["1 heure","%d heures"]),day:i(["1 jour","%d jours"]),month:i(["1 mois","%d mois"]),year:i(["1 an","%d ans"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"DD MMM YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["janvier","f(C)vrier","mars","avril","mai","juin","juillet","ao>>t","septembre","octobre","novembre","d(C)cembre"],monthsShort:["janv.","f(C)vr.","mars","avr.","mai","juin","juil.","ao>>t","sept.","oct.","nov.","d(C)c."],weekdays:["dimanche","lundi","mardi","mercredi","jeudi","vendredi","samedi"],shortWeekdays:["dim.","lun.","mar.","mer.","jeu.","ven.","sam."],minWeekdays:["Di","Lu","Ma","Me","Je","Ve","Sa"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, le %e %B %Y, %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Fermer",prevText:"Pr(C)c(C)dent",nextText:"Suivant",currentText:"Aujourd'hui",weekHeader:"Sem.",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e>1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("vendor/i18n/locales/es",["require","exports","module"],function(e,t,n){function i(e,t){return function(t){return e[r.pluralForm(t)].replace(/%d/i,t)}}var r={delimiters:{thousands:".",decimal:","},relativeTime:{justNow:"Ahora mismo",rightNow:"Ahora mismo",future:"dans %s",past:"%s",sec:i(["1 segundo","%d segundos"]),min:i(["1 minuto","%d minutos"]),hour:i(["1 hora","%d horas"]),day:i(["1 da","%d das"]),month:i(["1 mes","%d meses"]),year:i(["1 a±o","%d a±os"])},dateFormats:{readable:"DD MMMM YYYY",readableTime:"DD MMMM YYYY HH:mm",readableAbbreviated:"DD MMM YYYY",readableWithWeekday:"DDDD, DD MMMM YYYY","default":"DD/MM/YYYY"},dates:{months:["Enero","Febrero","Marzo","Abril","Mayo","Junio","Julio","Agosto","Septiembre","Octubre","Noviembre","Diciembre"],monthsShort:["Ene","Feb","Mar","Abr","May","Jun","Jul","Ago","Sep","Oct","Nov","Dic"],weekdays:["Domingo","Lunes","Martes","Mi(C)rcoles","Jueves","Viernes","Sbado"],shortWeekdays:["Dom.","Lun.","Mar.","Mi(C).","Jue.","Vie.","Sb."],minWeekdays:["Do","Lu","Ma","Mi","Ju","Vi","S"]},d3:{grouping:[3],currency:["$",""],dateTime:"%A, %e de %B de %Y, %X",date:"%d/%m/%Y",time:"%H:%M:%S",periods:["AM","PM"]},datePicker:{closeText:"Cerrar",prevText:"Ant",nextText:"Sig",currentText:"Hoy",weekHeader:"Sm",dateFormat:"dd/mm/yy",firstDay:1,isRTL:!1,showMonthAfterYear:!1,yearSuffix:""},pluralForm:function(e){return e!==1?1:0}};n.exports=r}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-en-gb.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"","Refresh the page to try again.":"","We can't find this page.":"","We can't find this sound.":"","We can't find this playlist.":"","We can't find this user.":"","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"","Connect with Facebook friends.":"","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"","Your profile":"","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit ourCreator Guide.':"","Your tracks.":"","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]",Messages:"Messages","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Go Pro","Search tracks":"Search tracks","Search playlists":"Search playlists","Search people":"Search people","Search groups":"Search groups","Search [[category]]":"Search [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Unsubscribed successfully","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.","[[username]]'s stream":"[[username]]'s stream","1 hour":["1 hour","%d hours"],"1 minute":["1 minute","%d minutes"],"1 second":["1 second","%d seconds"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.",Close:"Close","1 track":["1 track","%d tracks"],"1 play":["1 play","%d plays"],"1 follower":["1 follower","%d followers"],"Download on the App Store":"Download on the App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Get it on Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Get it at BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Available at Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Get it in the Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Listen on SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Listen on SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"Download our free app",Retry:"Retry","Terms of use":"Terms of use",Legal:"Legal","Privacy policy":"Privacy policy",Privacy:"Privacy","Cookies policy":"Cookies policy",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Company information",Imprint:"Imprint","People directory":"",Directory:"Directory","SoundCloud homepage":"SoundCloud homepage","Hear the world's sounds":"Hear the world's sounds","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Trending tracks on SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"","Our app works best on mobile":"",Like:["Like","Likes"],Cancel:"Cancel","Select your language":"Select your language","Language:":"Language:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"","Go to Messages":"Go to Messages","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"","Open or get the app":"","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"","Review your email subscriptions at":"Review your email subscriptions at","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Results for: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.","Play or pause track":"Play or pause track","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Become a SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.","Stats with more data.":"Stats with more data.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.","More upload time.":"More upload time.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"","More control.":"More control.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"",All:"All",Tracks:"Tracks",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"People","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"","Search SoundCloud":"Search SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Find people, tracks and playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"","Reposted by [[username]]":"Reposted by [[username]]","Now playing":"","Previous track":"Previous track","Next track":"Next track","1 Like":"","We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Track","Tracks"],"Show more tracks":"Show more tracks",Playlist:"","Show more playlists":"Show more playlists","Show more likes":"Show more likes","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Sign in to SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Download our free app"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-es.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Parece que algo no funciona bien.","Refresh the page to try again.":"Actualiza la pgina para intentarlo de nuevo.","We can't find this page.":"No se encuentra esta pgina.","We can't find this sound.":"No se encuentra esta pista.","We can't find this playlist.":"No se encuentra esta lista.","We can't find this user.":"No se encuentra este usuario.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Sube tu mºsica y audio para compartirlos con el mundo.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Solo se pueden subir sonidos en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para subir ms pistas.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Mºsica del momento en SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"Explorar solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Tambi(C)n puedes descargar nuestra aplicaci"n m"vil para descubrir audio y mºsica del momento en cualquier lugar. Y lo mejor es que podrs seguir escuchando todas las novedades desde la aplicaci"n.","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Conecta con tus amigos de Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"Solo puedes conectarte en navegadores de escritorio.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Quieres conectarte con tus amigos de Facebook o seguir a ms gente? Esta funci"n solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para encontrar a ms gente a la que seguir.","Your profile":"Tu perfil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gesti"n de tu cuenta solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obtener ms informaci"n sobre la optimizaci"n de tu perfil, visita nuestra Gua para creadores.',"Your tracks.":"Tus pistas.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gesti"n de tus pistas solo est disponible en navegadores de escritorio.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"Vuelve cuando est(C)s en el ordenador para editar, compartir y a±adir pistas a listas.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obtener ms informaci"n, visita la Gua para creadores.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Disfruta de esta pista en cualquier lugar y vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] de [[authorName]]",Messages:"Mensajes","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Disfruta de esta lista en cualquier lugar y vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] de [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Hazte Pro","Search tracks":"Buscar pistas","Search playlists":"Buscar listas","Search people":"Buscar gente","Search groups":"Buscar grupos","Search [[category]]":"Buscar [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Suscripci"n anulada correctamente","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"S(C) el primero en escuchar las nuevas publicaciones de [[username]] con nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita.","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["1 hora","%d horas"],"1 minute":["1 minuto","%d minutos"],"1 second":["1 segundo","%d segundos"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Vive al mximo la experiencia SoundCloud con nuestra aplicaci"n.",Close:"Cerrar","1 track":["1 pista","%d pistas"],"1 play":["1 reproducci"n","%d reproducciones"],"1 follower":["1 seguidor","%d seguidores"],"Download on the App Store":"Descargar en el App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Obtener en Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Obtener en BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponible en Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Obtener en Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Escuchar en SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Escuchar en SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"Descarga nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita",Retry:"Int(C)ntalo de nuevo","Terms of use":"Condiciones de uso",Legal:"Legal","Privacy policy":"Poltica de privacidad",Privacy:"Privacidad","Cookies policy":"Poltica de cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informaci"n de la empresa",Imprint:"SoundCloud Ltd.","People directory":"Directorio de gente",Directory:"Directorio","SoundCloud homepage":"Pgina de inicio de SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"Escucha las pistas del mundo","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Pistas del momento en SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Obt(C)n nuestra aplicaci"n para Android para guardar esta pista en tus Me gusta, crear listas y ms.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Obt(C)n nuestra aplicaci"n para iPhone para guardar esta pista en tus Me gusta, crear listas y ms.","Our app works best on mobile":"Nuestra aplicaci"n funciona mejor en dispositivos m"viles",Like:["Me gusta","Me gusta"],Cancel:"Cancelar","Select your language":"Selecciona tu idioma","Language:":"Idioma:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Los mensajes soloson compatibles en navegadores de escritorio","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"Puede que las pginas no se muestren correctamenteen navegadores para m"viles.","Go to Messages":"Ir a Mensajes","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"SoundCloud para m"vilessolo est disponible como aplicaci"n.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Descrgala o brela ahorapara usar SoundCloud entu dispositivo.","Open or get the app":"Hazte con la aplicaci"n o brela.","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Lamentamos que te marches.","Review your email subscriptions at":"Consulta tus suscripciones de correo en","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Resultados de: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"atrs","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"No quieres aparecer en los resultados? Visita la versi"n de esta pgina para escritorio para que no te incluyamos.","Play or pause track":"Reproducir o pausar la pista","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Psate a SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"Ms de 175 millones de personas escuchan SoundCloud cada mes. Obt(C)n las herramientas que necesitas para compartir tu mºsica y ampliar tu pºblico.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Solo es posible comprar un plan Pro desde un ordenador.","Stats with more data.":"Estadsticas con ms datos.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Las estadsticas de Pro presentan los datos que necesitas para planificar tus nuevos lanzamientos, conectar con tus seguidores ms fieles y desarrollar tu carrera.","More upload time.":"Ms tiempo de subida.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Dobla tu tiempo de subida con una suscripci"n Pro o adquiere almacenamiento ilimitado para tus pistas, lbumes, proyectos y trabajos anteriores con Pro Unlimited.","More control.":"Ms control.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Fija pistas y listas en la parte superior de tu perfil con Spotlight, y activa o desactiva los comentarios y las estadsticas pºblicas mediante el Modo silencioso. Con el nivel Pro, tendrs todo el control sobre tus pistas y tus listas.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Entra en [[[link]]] desde tu ordenador para pasarte hoy mismo a SoundCloud Pro.",All:"Todo",Tracks:"Pistas",Playlists:"Listas",People:"Gente","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"La bºsqueda no da resultados.","Search SoundCloud":"Buscar en SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Buscar gente, pistas y listas","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Has cambiado tu contrase±acorrectamente.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Republicado por [[username]]","Now playing":"Reproducci"n en curso","Previous track":"Pista anterior","Next track":"Pista siguiente","1 Like":["1 Me gusta","%d Me gusta"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"La pista no est disponible para dispositivos m"viles.",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Pista","Pistas"],"Show more tracks":"Mostrar ms pistas",Playlist:["Lista","Listas"],"Show more playlists":"Mostrar ms listas","Show more likes":"Mostrar otros me gusta","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Iniciar sesi"n en SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Descarga nuestra aplicaci"n gratuita"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-fr.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Il semble y avoir un probl¨me","Refresh the page to try again.":"Actualisez la page pour r(C)essayer.","We can't find this page.":"Cette page est introuvable","We can't find this sound.":"Ce titre est introuvable.","We can't find this playlist.":"Cette playlist est introuvable.","We can't find this user.":"Cet utilisateur est introuvable.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"T(C)l(C)chargez vos pistes audio et musicales et partagez-les avec le monde entier.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"Uploader est pris en charge sur les navigateurs d'ordinateur de bureau uniquement.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour uploader plus de titres.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Musique en vogue sur SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"La fonction d'exploration est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Vous pouvez (C)galement t(C)l(C)charger notre application mobile pour d(C)couvrir les tendances en mati¨re de musique et de titres audio pendant vos d(C)placements. L'avantage est que vous pouvez toujours (C)couter des titres en vogue avec l'application mobile","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Restez en contact avec vos amis Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"La fonction Connect est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Vous souhaitez rester en contact avec vos amis Facebook ou trouver de nouvelles personnes suivre ? Cette fonction est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour trouver d'autres personnes suivre.","Your profile":"Votre profil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gestion de votre compte est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':"Pour plus d'informations sur l'optimisation de votre profil, consultez notre Guide de l'auteur.","Your tracks.":"Vos titres.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"La gestion de vos titres est uniquement disponible sur les navigateurs de bureau.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"R(C)essayez lorsque vous utiliserez votre ordinateur pour modifier, partager et ajouter des titres des playlists.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':"Pour plus d'informations, consultez notre Guide de l'auteur.","Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Emportez ce titre avec vous et vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application gratuite.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] par [[authorname]]",Messages:"Messages","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Prenez cette playlist avec vous et vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application gratuite.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] par [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Passer la version Pro","Search tracks":"Rechercher des titres","Search playlists":"Rechercher des playlists","Search people":"Rechercher des personnes","Search groups":"Rechercher des groupes","Search [[category]]":"Rechercher dans [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"D(C)sinscription r(C)ussie.","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Soyez le premier savoir ce que publie [[username]] avec notre application gratuite. ","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["%d heure","%d heures"],"1 minute":["%d minute","%d minutes"],"1 second":["%d seconde","%d secondes"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Vivez l'exp(C)rience SoundCloud pleinement avec notre application.",Close:"Fermer","1 track":["%d titre","%d titres"],"1 play":["%d (C)coute","%d (C)coutes"],"1 follower":["%d abonn(C)","%d abonn(C)s"],"Download on the App Store":"T(C)l(C)charger dans l'App Store","Get it on Google Play":"Disponible sur Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Disponible sur BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponible sur Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Disponible sur le Firefox Marketplace ","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"couter sur SoundCloud iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"couter sur SoundCloud Android","Download our free app":"T(C)l(C)charger notre application gratuite",Retry:"R(C)essayer","Terms of use":"Conditions d'utilisation",Legal:"Informations l(C)gales","Privacy policy":"Politique de confidentialit(C)",Privacy:"Confidentialit(C)","Cookies policy":"Politique d'utilisation des cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informations sur l'entreprise",Imprint:"A propos","People directory":"R(C)pertoire de personnes",Directory:"R(C)pertoire","SoundCloud homepage":"Page d'accueil de SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"D(C)couvrez les sons du monde","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Titres en vogue sur SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"T(C)l(C)chargez notre application Android pour enregistrer ce titre dans vos mentions J'aime, cr(C)er des playlists et bien plus encore.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"T(C)l(C)chargez notre application pour iPhone pour enregistrer ce titre dans vos mentions J'aime, cr(C)er des playlists et bien plus encore.","Our app works best on mobile":"D(C)couvrez notre application mobile pour une exp(C)rience optimale",Like:["Likes","Mes favoris"],Cancel:"Annuler","Select your language":"S(C)lectionnez votre langue","Language:":"Langue :","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"Les messages sont uniquementpris en charge par les navigateurs d'ordinateurs de bureau.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"Les pages peuvent ne pas s'afficher correctementdans les navigateurs mobiles.","Go to Messages":"Acc(C)der aux Messages","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"SoundCloud pour mobile estuniquement disponible sous forme d'application.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Ouvrez ou t(C)l(C)chargez le fichier maintenantpour utiliser SoundCloud survotre appareil.","Open or get the app":"Lancez ou t(C)l(C)chargez l'application","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Nous sommes d(C)sol(C)s d'apprendre que vous nous quittez.","Review your email subscriptions at":"V(C)rifiez vos inscriptions par e-mail sur","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"R(C)sultats pour : [[generatedSummary]]",back:"retour","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"Vous ne voulez pas ªtre ajout(C)(e) ? Utilisez la version de bureau pour d(C)sactiver.","Play or pause track":"Lire un titre ou le mettre en pause","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Passez la version SoundCloud Pro","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 millions de personnes (C)coutent de la musique sur SoundCloud chaque mois. Profitez des outils n(C)cessaires pour partager votre musique et (C)largir votre public. ","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"L'achat d'un abonnement Pro ne peut s'effectuer que depuis un ordinateur.","Stats with more data.":"Statistiques comportant d'autres donn(C)es","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"Les statistiques Pro vous fournissent les donn(C)es n(C)cessaires pour planifier vos sorties, entrer en contact avec vos plus grands fans et construire votre carri¨re.","More upload time.":"Davantage de temps de t(C)l(C)chargement.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Multipliez votre temps de t(C)l(C)chargement par deux avec un abonnement Pro ou obtenez un espace de stockage illimit(C) pour vos titres, vos albums, vos projets et vos anciens enregistrements avec Pro Unlimited.","More control.":"Davantage de contr´le.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Placez des titres et des playlists dans la partie sup(C)rieure de votre profil avec les Titres pingl(C)s, activez ou d(C)sactivez les commentaires et les statistiques avec le Mode silencieux : en passant la version Pro, vous avez le contr´le de vos titres et de vos playlists.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Passez un abonnement SoundCloud Pro sur votre ordinateur d¨s aujourd'hui sur [[[link]]].",All:"Tous",Tracks:"Titres",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"Personnes","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"D(C)sol(C), aucun r(C)sultat ne correspond votre recherche.","Search SoundCloud":"Rechercher dans SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Trouver des personnes, des titres et des playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Vous avez bienmodifi(C) votre mot de passe.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Repost(C) par [[username]]","Now playing":"Lecture en cours","Previous track":"Titre pr(C)c(C)dent","Next track":"Titre suivant","1 Like":["1 J'aime","%d J'aime"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"D(C)sol(C), ce titre n'est pas disponible sur mobile.",Spotlight:"Titres (C)pingl(C)s",Track:["Titres","Titres"],"Show more tracks":"Afficher plus de titres",Playlist:["Playlist","Playlists"],"Show more playlists":"Afficher plus de playlists","Show more likes":"Afficher plus de mentions J'aime","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Se connecter SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"T(C)l(C)charger notre application gratuite"}), define("shared/config/locales/locale-pt-br.json",[],{"Something doesn't sound right.":"Parece que alguma coisa n£o est bem.","Refresh the page to try again.":"Atualize a pgina para tentar de novo.","We can't find this page.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar esta pgina.","We can't find this sound.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este som.","We can't find this playlist.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este playlist.","We can't find this user.":"N£o foi possvel encontrar este usurio.","Upload your music and audio and share it with the world.":"Fa§a upload das suas mºsicas e udios, e compartilhe-os com o mundo.","Upload is only supported on desktop browsers.":"O upload (C) suportado apenas em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to upload more tracks.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no seu computador para enviar mais faixas.","Trending music on SoundCloud.":"Mºsica do momento na SoundCloud.","Explore is only available on desktop browsers.":"A op§£o Explorar s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Alternatively, download our mobile app to discover trending music and audio on the go. But the good news is you can still listen to trending sounds in the mobile app":"Outra op§£o (C) baixar nosso aplicativo m"vel para descobrir mºsicas e udios do momento enquanto vocª est se deslocando. Mas a boa notcia (C) que vocª ainda poder ouvir os sons em destaque no aplicativo m"vel.","Connect with Facebook friends.":"Conecte-se com os amigos do Facebook.","Connect is only available on desktop browsers.":"A conex£o s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Looking to connect with Facebook friends or find new people to follow? This feature is only available on desktop browsers.":"Est tentando se conectar com os amigos do Facebook ou encontrar novas pessoas para seguir? Esse recurso s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to find new people to follow.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no computador para encontrar novas pessoas para seguir.","Your profile":"Seu perfil","Managing your account is only available on desktop browsers.":"A gest£o de sua conta s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.",'For more information on optimizing your profile, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obter mais informa§µes sobre a otimiza§£o do seu perfil, visite nosso Guia do criador.',"Your tracks.":"Suas faixas.","Managing your tracks is only available on desktop browsers.":"A gest£o de suas faixas s" est disponvel em navegadores desktop.","Come back when you're at your computer to edit, share and add tracks to playlists.":"Retorne quando vocª estiver no seu computador para editar, compartilhar e adicionar faixas s playlists.",'For more information, visit our Creator Guide.':'Para obter mais informa§µes, visite o nosso Guia do criador.',"Take this track with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Ou§a esta faixa aonde quer que v e aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app gratuito.","[[soundTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[soundTitle]] de [[authorName]]",Messages:"Mensagens","Take this playlist with you and enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our free app.":"Escute esta playlist aonde quer que v e aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app gratuito.","[[playlistTitle]] by [[authorName]]":"[[playlistTitle]] de [[authorName]]","Go Pro":"Assinar Pr"","Search tracks":"Pesquisar faixas","Search playlists":"Pesquisar playlists","Search people":"Pesquisar pessoas","Search groups":"Pesquisar grupos","Search [[category]]":"Pesquisar [[category]]","Unsubscribed successfully":"Inscri§£o cancelada com sucesso","Be the first to hear what [[username]] posts next with our free app.":"Seja o primeiro a ouvir o que [[username]] publica com o nosso app gratuito.","[[username]]'s stream":"Stream de [[username]]","1 hour":["1 hora","%d horas"],"1 minute":["1 minuto","%d minutos"],"1 second":["1 segundo","%d segundos"],"Enjoy the full SoundCloud experience with our app.":"Aproveite a experiªncia completa da SoundCloud com o nosso app.",Close:"Fechar","1 track":["1 faixa","%d faixas"],"1 play":["1 reprodu§£o","%d reprodu§µes"],"1 follower":["1 seguidor","%d seguidores"],"Download on the App Store":"Baixar na AppStore","Get it on Google Play":"Baixar no Google Play","Get it at BlackBerry World":"Baixar no BlackBerry World","Available at Amazon":"Disponvel na Amazon","Get it in the Firefox Marketplace":"Baixar no Firefox Marketplace","Listen on SoundCloud iOS":"Ou§a no app SoundCloud para iOS","Listen on SoundCloud Android":"Ou§a no app SoundCloud para Android","Download our free app":"Baixe nosso app gratuito",Retry:"Tentar novamente","Terms of use":"Termos de Uso",Legal:"Aviso legal","Privacy policy":"Poltica de Privacidade",Privacy:"Privacidade","Cookies policy":"Poltica de Cookies",Cookies:"Cookies","Company information":"Informa§µes sobre a empresa",Imprint:"SoundCloud Ltd.","People directory":"Diret"rio de pessoas",Directory:"Diret"rio","SoundCloud homepage":"Pgina inicial da SoundCloud","Hear the world's sounds":"Ou§a os sons do mundo","Trending tracks on SoundCloud":"Faixas mais tocadas na SoundCloud","Get our Android app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Baixe nosso aplicativo para Android para salvar esta faixa em suas curtidas, criar playlists e muito mais.","Get our iPhone app to save this track to your likes, create playlists and more.":"Baixe nosso aplicativo para iPhone para salvar esta faixa em suas curtidas, criar playlists e muito mais.","Our app works best on mobile":"Nosso aplicativo funciona melhor em aplicativos m"veis",Like:["Curtida","Curtidas"],Cancel:"Cancelar","Select your language":"Selecione o idioma","Language:":"Idioma:","Messages are onlysupported on desktop browsers.":"As mensagens s£o suportadas apenasem navegadores desktop.","Pages might not display correctlyin mobile browsers.":"As pginas podem n£o ser exibidas corretamenteem navegadores m"veis.","Go to Messages":"Ir para Mensagens","SoundCloud for mobile isonly available as an app.":"A SoundCloud para dispositivos m"veis s"est disponvel como aplicativo.","Open or download nowto use SoundCloud onyour device.":"Abra ou baixe agorapara usar a SoundCloud noseu dispositivo.","Open or get the app":"Abrir ou obter o aplicativo","We're sorry to hear you're leaving.":"Que pena que vocª est indo embora.","Review your email subscriptions at":"Consulte suas assinaturas por email em","Results for: [[generatedSummary]]":"Resultados para: [[generatedSummary]]",back:"voltar","Don't want to be included? Visit the desktop version of this page to opt out.":"N£o quer ser includo? Visite a vers£o para desktop desta pgina para cancelar.","Play or pause track":"Reproduzir ou pausar faixa","Become a SoundCloud Pro":"Torne-se SoundCloud Pr"","175 million people listen on SoundCloud each month. Get the tools you need to share your music and grow your audience.":"175 milhµes de pessoas ouvem a SoundCloud todo mªs. Obtenha as ferramentas de que precisa para compartilhar sua mºsica e aumentar seu pºblico.","Pro plans can only be purchased from a computer.":"Os planos Pr" podem ser adquiridos somente em um computador.","Stats with more data.":"Estatsticas com mais dados.","Pro stats provide the data you need to plan your releases, connect with your biggest fans, and build your career.":"As estatsticas Pr" fornecem os dados que vocª precisa para planejar seus lan§amentos, conectar-se com seus maiores f£s e projetar sua carreira.","More upload time.":"Mais tempo de upload.","Double your upload time with a Pro subscription or get limitless storage for your tracks, albums, projects, and back catalog with Pro Unlimited.":"Dobre o tempo de upload com uma assinatura do plano Pr" ou obtenha armazenamento ilimitado para suas faixas, lbuns, projetos e catlogo com o plano Pr" Iilimitado.","More control.":"Mais controle.","Pin tracks and playlists to the top of your profile with Spotlight, turn commenting and public stats on or off with Quiet Mode. By going Pro, you're in control of your tracks and playlists.":"Coloque as faixas e playlists no topo do teu perfil com o Spotlight, ative ou desative os comentrios e estatsticas pºblicas com o Modo Silencioso. Assinando o plano Pr", vocª se mant(C)m no controle de suas faixas e playlists.","Become a SoundCloud Pro on your computer today at [[[link]]].":"Torne-se um SoundCloud Pro no seu computador hoje mesmo em [[[link]]].",All:"Tudo",Tracks:"Faixas",Playlists:"Playlists",People:"Pessoas","Sorry, nothing matches your search.":"Lamentamos, n£o houve resultados para sua pesquisa.","Search SoundCloud":"Pesquisar na SoundCloud","Find people, tracks and playlists":"Encontre pessoas, faixas e playlists","You have successfullychanged your password.":"Vocª trocousua senha com sucesso.","Reposted by [[username]]":"Republicada por [[username]]","Now playing":"Reproduzindo agora","Previous track":"Faixa anterior","Next track":"Pr"xima faixa","1 Like":["1 curtida","%d curtidas"],"We're sorry, that track isn't available on mobile.":"Lamentamos, essa faixa n£o est disponvel para dispositivos m"veis.",Spotlight:"Spotlight",Track:["Faixa","Faixas"],"Show more tracks":"Mostrar mais faixas",Playlist:["Playlist","Playlists"],"Show more playlists":"Mostrar mais playlists","Show more likes":"Mostrar mais curtidas","button::Sign in to SoundCloud":"Fazer login na SoundCloud","button::Download our free app":"Fazer download de nosso aplicativo grtis"}), define("lib/helpers/dns-helper",["require","exports","module","lib/url"],function(e,t,n){var r=e("lib/url"),i=[],s=n.exports={lookup:function(e){var t=document.createDocumentFragment(),n;e=typeof e=="string"?[e]:e,e.length&&(e.forEach(function(e){n=r.parse(e).host;if(n&&i.indexOf(n)===-1){i.push(n);var s=document.createElement("link");s.rel="dns-prefetch",s.href="//"+n,t.appendChild(s)}}),t.childNodes.length&&document.head.appendChild(t))}}}), define("views/footer/footer.tmpl",["vendor/handlebars-runtime","views/app-buttons/app-buttons","views/locale-selector/locale-selector"],function(){return require("vendor/handlebars-runtime").template(function(e,t,n,r,i){function l(e,t){var r="",i;return r+='
"All of a sudden these men around us began groping us. They touched our behinds and grabbed between our legs"
Scuffles have broken out between far-right activists and anti-fascist protesters in the German city of Cologne, with police attempting to keep them apart.
The right-wing groups have condemned the government's welcoming of refugees after the city's police chief told the media that people of Arab or North African origin were behind New Year's Eve attacks.
Almost 100 women have reported being robbed, assaulted and sexually molested, but the government has warned against putting foreigners and refugees under what they call ''blanket suspicion''.
Increasingly under pressure over immigration policies, even from within her own political fold, the German Chancellor has been attempting to answer her critics.
Today Angela Merkel said it was important to achieve a ''noticeable reduction in the flow of refugees''.
She said they had to work on the causes but also look at measures such as improved repatriation of rejected asylum seekers.
Protesters have been condemning violence against women after the New Year's Eve attacks, while police say three suspects have so far been identified.
One victim of the attack told reporters: ''All of a sudden these men around us began groping us.
''They touched our behinds and grabbed between our legs. They touched us everywhere. When I turned around one guy grabbed my bag and ripped it off me.''
Another victim said: ''They felt like they had power and could do anything with the women who were out in the street partying.
''They touched us everywhere. It was so horrible.''
As Angela Merkel expressed shock over the attacks, the Mayor of Cologne said there was no reason to believe the perpetrators were refugees.
VIDEO-Seeing The Price Of Oil Going Up Other Oil Rich Countries Join Saudi Arabia In Bashing Iran - YouTube
[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]
On the 4 January 2016 edition of CNN Newsroom, Deborah Feyerick touted how anonymous "critics" were likening Ammon Bundy's group that took over a wildlife refuge facility in Oregon to Islamist terrorists: "Everybody remembers Ruby Ridge...and the government certainly does not want something like that. But...critics are arguing that if this was another group...there are different hashtags out there now mocking this group, calling them 'Vanilla ISIS;' calling them 'Yeehadists'....if this were members of ISIS...who had taken over a facility, is it fair to say the response would, in fact, be very, very different?"
Correspondent Sara Sidner first cited such chatter on social media during her report on the armed protest: "They've been here for now two days '-- going into a third day '-- and that has a lot of folks talking on social media, as you might imagine. There's a lot of criticism '-- saying, well, if there were armed militia that took over, for example, another kind of government building, and they happen to be African-American; or they happen to be Muslims '-- that the response would be very different. We can't say that."
VIDEO-Joy Behar: I'd Vote for a Rapist as Long as They're Liberal | MRCTV
[See NewsBusters for more.] The View's Joy Behar on Tuesday insisted that, regardless of whether Bill Clinton raped a woman or Ted Kennedy drowned someone, she would vote for these liberal politicians. Behar and her fellow co-hosts were discussing how Clinton's past would impact his wife. She justified, ''Republicans have voted against the Violence Against Women Act. Now, that to me, is more important than anything that Bill Clinton did or didn't do because it's what she's going to vote for." This came after co-host Paula Faris reminded, ''Juanita Broaddrick, Kathleen Willey. They say that he either exposed himself to them, raped them or groped them. These are three accusations.'' Behar conceded, ''He is a dog. Let's face it.''
VIDEO-President Obama Remarks Gun Control Executive | Video | C-SPAN.org
January 5, 2016President Obama outlined his executive actions on guns, calling for what he said was a national ''sense of urgency'' to help'... read more
President Obama outlined his executive actions on guns, calling for what he said was a national ''sense of urgency'' to help reduce gun violence.'His actions included requiring all gun retailers to conduct background checks, strengthening existing gun laws, improving gun safety technology, and increasing investments to help the mentally ill.'President Obama was introduced by Mark Barden, whose son, Daniel, was one of the victims of the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.'The president became emotional when talking about the children who died then. close
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*This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.
People in this videoHosting OrganizationRelated VideoClips from This VideoView all clips from this video
[More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.]
The 5 January 2015 edition of CNN Newsroom gave a platform to left-wing commentator David Love, who asserted in a Monday column for theGrio.com that "if Black Lives Matter protesters were to take over a federal building armed to the teeth with firepower '-- and they certainly would not do this '-- they would wind up dead or in prison for life on terrorism charges." Love criticized the handling of an armed occupation of a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon: "It seems that this country has a double standard. I would say it's a color-coded system when it comes to defining terrorism."
VIDEO-CBS Goes All Out for Obama on Guns; Tears Offered 'Silence More Powerful Than Words' | MRCTV
See more in the cross-post on the NewsBusters blog.
24 hours after heralding President Obama revealing specifics on his executive actions concerning gun control, the CBS Evening News offered a full-court press for the President on Tuesday following the announcement that saw the President shed tears that anchor Scott Pelley deemed were ''more powerful than words'' as ''the most powerful man in the world'' took ''action to stop'' gun violence.
The newscast opened with the normal teases, but began without the program's theme music and instead audio of a silent White House as the President wept before Pelley interjected: ''With silence more powerful than words, the President mourns victims of gun violence and takes action to stop it.''
VIDEO-NBC's Today Set to Air Obama Infomercial Live From White House | MRCTV
More in the cross-post on the MRC's NewsBusters blog.
At the top of Wednesday's NBC Today, co-host Matt Lauer teased an ''exciting'' announcement about the morning show preparing to broadcast from a new location far from its New York studio. Fellow co-host Savannah Guthrie added: ''Yeah, the whole show is headed somewhere. We'll have more on that in a minute.''
At 7:30 ET Guthrie proclaimed: ''We promised a big announcement. Here it is. You see the White House there. Next Tuesday, in a morning show first, we are going to broadcast our entire show there. This is unprecedented.''
VIDEO-ABC Hypes Obama on Guns: 'America's Parent-in-Chief' | MRCTV
[See NewsBusters for more.] According to Nightline co-anchor Byron Pitts, Barack Obama is ''America's parent-in-chief'' when it comes to guns. The ABC journalist on Tuesday night hyped the President's White House speech: ''Camera clicks the only sound in the White House east room as the normally stoic President Obama openly wept and paused to compose himself.'' Pitts declared, ''It was a rare glimpse at America's parent-in-chief.''
VIDEO-Fox host: President Obama put a 'raw onion' in his podium so he could cry fake tears for kids killed by guns
BERLIN (Reuters) - About 90 women have reported being robbed, threatened or sexually molested at New Year celebrations outside Cologne's cathedral by young, mostly drunk, men, police said on Tuesday, in events they have described as 'a new dimension in crime'.
Cologne police chief Wolfgang Albers told a news conference officers described the men as looking as if they were from "the Arab or North African region" and mostly between 18 and 35 years old. "We have one complaint that represents a rape," he added.
Integration commissioner Aydan Ozoguz warned against putting foreigners and refugees, hundreds of thousands of whom have entered Germany largely from Middle Eastern war zones, under "blanket suspicion".
Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed shock over the attacks that police said occurred when about 1,000 men split into gangs as officers cleared a square to stop fireworks being thrown from the top of steps into the crowd below.
While politicians also urged people not to become wary of all refugees, the incident fueled calls from right-wing groups to stop letting in migrants.
Germany took in just over a million last year, far more than any other European country.
Cologne mayor Henriette Reker said it was "unbelievable and intolerable what happened on New Year's Eve" but there was no reason to believe those involved in the attacks were refugees.
Justice Minister Heiko Maas said Germany would not accept such attacks which he described as "a new scale of organized crime".
Around 150 people gathered in front of Cologne's cathedral on Tuesday evening to protest against violence against women. One of them held a sign saying: "Ms Merkel where are you? What do you say? This scares us!"
"TOUGH RESPONSE"
The right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), which has gained in polls in part at Merkel's expense thanks to a campaign against refugees, said she should close the border.
"Mrs Merkel, is Germany 'colorful and cosmopolitan' enough for you after the wave of crimes and sexual attacks?" tweeted AfD chief Frauke Petry.
Merkel told Reker in a phone call the attacks deserved a tough response.
"Everything must be done to investigate those responsible as quickly and completely as possible and punish them, regardless of where they are from," she said, according to her spokesman.
There are almost daily attacks on refugee shelters.
"Events like that in Cologne foster xenophobia," said Roland Schaefer, head of Germany's association of towns and localities.
After a crisis meeting, Cologne mayor Reker said new steps would be taken to avoid a repeat, including increasing police numbers at big events and installing more security cameras.
She stressed that women must feel safe at traditional carnival celebrations next month when the city closes down for five days of drunken street parades and parties.
Reker was stabbed in the neck and seriously hurt in October, just a day before she was elected mayor. Police said that attack appeared to be motivated by her support for refugees.
(Additional reporting by Joseph Nasr and Matthias Sobolewski in Berlin and Andreas Kranz in Cologne; Editing by Ruth Pitchford)
VIDEO-Montage: In 33-Minute Speech on Guns, Obama Refers to Himself 76 Times :: Grabien - The Multimedia Marketplace
While announcing his new executive actions on guns, President Obama spoke today about the pain of having to give speeches after mass shootings. He also spoke about meeting Gabby Giffords shortly after she was shot, and noted that she opened her eyes for the first time just an hour after his visit.
He spoke about his support for the Second Amendment, his background as a constitutional law professor, his critics, his frequent trouble locating his iPad, and perhaps most memorably, his anger when thinking about child victims of mass shootings.
If it's starting to sound like Obama made frequent mention of himself, that's because he did.
In total, we counted 76 references to himself during his 33-minute address.
Note that in arriving at this calculation, we included mentions of "we" when he was clearly including himself as part of the plural pronoun; the many uses of "we" in referring to America at large were not included. "Me," "myself," and "our" were also included.
Did we miscount? Feel free to let us know in the comments section.
[Note: We've also posted this montage to Facebook, if you'd like to share it there.]
Earlier:
Oct. 1st, 2015: In 12 Minute Speech to America About Mass Shooting, Obama Refers to Himself 28 Times
Jan. 27th, 2015: In India, Watch Obama Refer to Himself 118 Times in a 33-Minute Speech
Germany has been shocked by the apparently coordinated crime wave, in which Cologne police received more than 100 criminal complaints from women who said they had been sexually assaulted or robbed by gangs of men of Arab or North African appearance in the city center during New Year's Eve festivities. Cologne police would not elaborate Wednesday on the total number of crimes reported, as the figure continued to rise.
Police have said that about a quarter of the complaints related to sexual assaults, including a rape, and that they believed the assaults were probably intended to distract the victims, allowing attackers to steal mobile phones and other devices.
Three suspects had been identified and were being questioned, a police representative told CNN. Police were working through a large amount of cellphone footage from the evening to identify further suspects.
Similar attacks were reported in Hamburg on New Year's Eve, with 39 reported sexual assaults and 14 robberies, according to police in the city, while police in Stuttgart said two women had reported their phones were missing after they were assaulted by a group of men of Arab appearance during New Year's festivities there.
Read more: Reports of New Year's Eve sex assaults in Cologne fuel German migrant debate
Mayor's comments slammedThe crimes, which an outraged German Chancellor Angela Merkel labeled "disgusting" and Cologne's police chief described as offenses "of a totally new dimension," have sparked a firestorm in Germany.
The episode has prompted angry protests, fueled public debate about Germany's welcoming stance to migrants and unleashed a wave of anger at authorities and the media for their perceived reticence in addressing the crimes, out of a misplaced sense of political correctness.
Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker appeared to pour oil on the fire with her remarks at a news conference Tuesday, at which she addressed the New Year's crimes and discussed plans to issue guidelines for behavior during Cologne's famous Carnival next month, when hundreds of thousands of revelers are expected on the city's streets.
When asked how women could protect themselves, she suggested keeping "a certain distance of more than an arm's length" from unknown men.
She reiterated her advice at an appearance on German public service broadcaster ZDF's "Heute Journal" program Tuesday, when she said: "Women would also be smart not to go and embrace everyone that you meet and who seems to be nice. Such offers could be misunderstood, and that is something every woman and every girl should protect herself from."
'An arm's length'Her comments were met with derision on social media, with the hashtag #einearmlaenge ("an arm's length") circulating to mock her suggestion for appearing to place responsibility for the attacks on the victims.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas addresses the assaults in Cologne.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas was also critical of the comments, tweeting: "I don't think much of the how-to-behave tips for women such as #anarm'slength. It is not women who are responsible, but the perpetrators."
Reker later issued a statement in response to the criticism, saying that media coverage had given the impression that her prevention initiatives were limited to behavior tips for women, which was not the case.
She had also explained at the news conference Tuesday the need "to explain to people from other cultures that the jolly and frisky attitude during our Carnival is not a sign of sexual openness."
Broadcaster: 'It was our failure'German broadcaster ZDF also issued an apology Tuesday for failing to report on the attacks in a timely fashion on its "Heute Journal" show, after criticism that the media had neglected to adequately cover the incidents because of sensitivities concerning the alleged ethnic identities of the assailants.
In a statement, deputy editor Elmar Thevessen said the network had failed by not reporting on the attacks during the Monday evening broadcast.
"It was our failure that the news broadcast at 7 p.m. did not inform about the attacks on New Year's Eve," read the statement.
"The editorial department of 'Heute' decided to delay the report until today because of an emergency meeting to gain time for additional interviews. This, however, was a clear misjudgment."
'They touched us everywhere'German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere also criticized Cologne police for their handling of the incident Wednesday, saying in a news conference that police "cannot work that way."
Victims of the assaults in Cologne said this week that they feared being killed or raped by the attackers. One woman said she was too scared to go out alone after the ordeal.
"The men surrounded us and started to grab our behinds and touch our crotches," she said.
"They touched us everywhere. I wanted to take my friend and leave. I turned around, and in that moment, someone grabbed my bag."
Germany has taken the largest numbers of migrants from the influx that has created a crisis on Europe's borders, but many Germans have expressed opposition to the sudden arrival of so many, predominantly Muslim, migrants, questioning their ability to adapt to a European way of life.
Read more: Germany's anti-migrant protest: 'We don't want to be strangers in our own country'
Read more: Europe's migration crisis
CNN's Carol Jordan, Frederik Pleitgen, Atika Shubert and Claudia Otto contributed to this report.
Jihadology is a personal project of Aaron Y. Zelin and is not associated with The Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
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VIDEO-Remarks by Special Presidential Envoy to the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk Before the Daily Press Briefing
Brett McGurkSpecial Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition To Counter ISIL, Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL
MR KIRBY: Good afternoon, everybody. I have a special guest here to start the briefing today. In just a couple minutes, the Special Presidential Envoy to the Coalition to Counter ISIL Brett McGurk, someone you know '' you all know very, very well, is going to come up here and take the podium. He's going to give you an update on the counter-ISIL campaign for a few minutes, and then he'll be able to stick around as well to take a few questions, just a few. I'll be moderating those questions, so please look to me and I'll be calling on you. We won't have time to take too many, but we'll take a few, and then I'll get back up here and we'll do the rest of the daily briefing after Mr. McGurk leaves. With that, Brett.
MR MCGURK: Thanks, John. So thanks for seeing me today. I thought what I would do '' I was here a couple months ago or so, or six weeks ago, and gave an overview of kind of what we're trying to do, about eight or nine different points of pressure, and how what we call lines of effort kind of come together and what we do throughout the government to try to put pressure on ISIL. And what I thought I'd do is just give an update on where we are kind of as we look around the periphery of this phony self-proclaimed caliphate, and then finish a little bit with Ramadi and kind of the significant events that happened over the '' over the holiday.
This, of course, as I briefed in detail last time, this is ISIL core '' Iraq, Syria. That does not lessen the importance of the networks. We think of ISIL in terms of the core, the networks, and then the affiliates, their eight affiliates. And we're constantly trying to pressure all of these things at once, but you really have to focus on the core. I think as the President said, focused on the heart, which we're doing.
So I would just start '' I'll go around the horn kind of clockwise. It's in no particular order, but I think that's the easiest way to do it. The number one on the map '' and first, what this map indicates, and this is only in November so it's '' it would have been changed since then. But the green on the map represents territory that ISIL has lost over the last year to 18 months or so. In Iraq, it's about 40 percent of its territory. So you can see the kind of shrinkage, and that's going to, we think, increase over the coming months. It's already increased, actually, quite significantly just since this map was put out in November. The dark red represents areas that they have gained over the last 18 months, and so there are some areas of concern that we look at on the map, which we're focused on with our partners and in the coalition effort.
But let me start at the number one. This is the 98-kilometer strip of border with Turkey that we talk about quite a bit. If you see to the east of the Euphrates all that green, we've taken away that entire border from ISIL. They controlled the entire thing about a little over a year ago. If I was here around the time of Kobani, there's just a little teeny, teeny dot of green about five square blocks in the town of Kobani. Since then, obviously, a dramatically changed situation, and it's going to continue to change dramatically against ISIL's interests over the coming months.
On one, that 98-kilometer strip of border, it's not only what we're doing across the border in Syria, but most significantly and most significantly in this building, the diplomacy with Turkey and focused on the Turks and really closing up that 98-kilometer border. And since we were at the G20 with President Obama '' had a very good meeting with President Erdogan about this very issue '' we have seen the Turks take some significant steps in terms of setting up defensive perimeters, more patrols. Much harder for ISIL to get resources into this very critical area. We're continuing that engagement now. I think the Chairman Dunford, General Dunford is in Turkey this week. The Vice President will be heading out to Turkey later this month, and we have teams of experts, particularly from DHS, who are heading out to Turkey to talk about this very critical stretch of border. Because you take ISIL away from that border, it is a truly self-contained entity and a very different problem.
So that's a true kind of interagency effort. There's a military side. What we're doing '' that little splotch of dark red, we call that the Mari line. I talked about that last time. We think we've checked the western advance of ISIL and beginning to push a little bit to the east. I also mentioned last time how the Russian air campaign has made that a little more complicated, and that's something that we're continuing to deal with. But we are still, as my DOD colleagues can speak to, still flying in that area, still doing strikes almost every single day, and pressuring ISIL in that critical area.
Number two is kind of east of the Euphrates, a very different situation, but it's also the core ISIL '' core of its phony caliphate in Raqqa, its self-proclaimed capital. And what we're going to be doing over the coming weeks and months is just squeezing them and constricting them in this area and really isolating the core of Raqqa. Again, it's not only a military effort, though that gets most of the attention and rightfully so, but it's a dramatic fusion of all the information we bring across the government.
So I think my colleague, Amos Hochstein, was here to brief you a couple weeks ago to talk about a lot of what we're doing here. The number two on that map is over at Al-Hal, and that has moved a lot more green since this map was put out. And that's a coalition of Syrian Kurds and Arabs that have made pretty dramatic gains against ISIL in that area, taking about 500 square miles from them. And that was organized simultaneously and a lot of diplomatic kind of really shoe leather diplomacy from this building to work with the Iraqi Kurds and the Peshmerga and the Syrian Kurds to get this whole thing synchronized, and that all kicked off late last fall through the winter. Simultaneous operations on the Syrian side of the border at Al-Hal, moving a little bit more south, and then the Peshmerga retaking Shaddadi to cut that entire road from Raqqa to Mosul.
Similar, before I go to Iraq, operations that happened just over the '' over December cutting off '' you can't see it in this map, but if you go, like, right here is all green now '' taking the primary supply corridor of ISIL from this area here into Raqqa. The Tishreen dam is now no longer in their hands, so they have to go all the way around. It's one just one effort of how we're going to continue to isolate and constrict in Raqqa.
As we do that, and as I think I mentioned last time, and our friends in the intelligence community and also in this building constantly looking to see how they adapt. As they come under pressure, they do stupid things. We're able to see who they are and then our military colleagues are able to, with quite devastating effect, strike them in their heart in Raqqa. And the high-value targets we continue to strike in Raqqa. Just the day before Christmas, we killed an individual who you know was directly linked to the Paris attacks.
So that's all going to continue and that's a fused effort across the interagency from here, DOD, our intelligence community, Treasury, across the board.
Before I leave Syria, the last point that '' and Deir al-Zor and that Euphrates Valley that's kind of the heart of their economic infrastructure, and again, I think Amos spoke in some detail with this about you, but we know more about ISIL's economy now than we ever did before, and we're putting all of that information to very good effect. So I think you'll see over the coming weeks and months more news coming out on that area.
If I just go into Iraq very quickly around the horn, there's Sinjar, which is number four. Sinjar, of course, is where a lot of this burst onto the public consciousness with Mount Sinjar and the Yezidis. That's the heart of that area and our Peshmerga friends were able to retake Sinjar last month. So Sinjar is now a real humanitarian kind of coalition effort to try to get the resources in place to restore, reconstruct, and get people back into their homes in Sinjar. That is a huge, huge challenge, because one thing that ISIL does when they take over these areas, they booby-trap houses, they booby-trap public infrastructure, and before they leave they either make the area almost impossible to re-inhabit or they blow up buildings as they're leaving.
So Sinjar is now an enormous challenge. We'll be meeting as a coalition in early February '' I don't think this is '' but Secretary Kerry meeting with kind of key coalition members to talk about what we have to do now over the next three to four months, bringing the coalition together and the resources for the humanitarian and the stabilization challenges. So more to follow on that.
Mosul, which is just north of the number five '' Mosul '' people ask, ''When is Mosul going to begin?'' Mosul has kind of already started, but you've got to think of it of a rolling kind of campaign to isolate and squeeze, learn more about the information about what's happening there, but also a very heavy diplomatic-political effort to get the Iraqi Government in Baghdad working with the Kurdish Peshmerga and the Kurdish Regional Government to kind of work together to figure out how to do Mosul, because Mosul is very complicated. There's Shia, Sunni, Arab, Kurd; kind of everybody is there together, and we want to make sure everything is synchronized and working together, and that has now really started. We have a joint operations command center set up in Makhmur, and our diplomats and our ambassador in Baghdad is constantly shuttling between Baghdad and Erbil, and we've had very good cooperation with President Barzani in Erbil and with Prime Minister Abadi about planning Mosul.
When I was in Iraq last week, one of my critical meetings was with the new governor of Nineveh province, so we have a new governor in Nineveh province who's very actively engaged about planning and coordinating how to constrict and isolate Mosul. So more to follow on that, but it's really focused on isolating, constricting, getting this kind of coherence and cohesiveness together. And I think that '' you'll see that come together again over the coming months.
Going south in Tikrit, Tikrit now is kind of where everything comes together. We've learned an awful lot of lessons about Tikrit. ISIL, when they moved into Tikrit in the summer of 2014, totally depopulated the city. They committed mass atrocities, killing thousands of people, putting it up on YouTube. The retaking of Tikrit was incredibly challenging, just given some of the forces that were involved. And when it was eventually retaken, again, it was a situation where the population was almost entirely gone, the city was almost destroyed, and we had to work closely with the Iraqi Government and with the United Nations and with the local leaders in Salahuddin province. And what we did '' a very active 24/7 effort over a number of months, based out of Baghdad '' our embassy '' and also folks here at the State Department, to put together the plan about how we can begin to bring the population back to Tikrit. It looked like a very daunting task at the time, the kind of thing that looks impossible to do. But if you look at it now, according to the UN statistics, about 90 percent of the population has come back to Tikrit. Tikrit University, which was a headquarters of ISIL not too long ago, is reopening, and it's reopening thanks to funds donated by the coalition; about 16,000 students returning to the University of Tikrit, something that would have been unimaginable not too long ago.
We've learned a lot of lessons of Tikrit about how to do stabilization, about how to work with the central government in Baghdad and the local authorities to get people back safely. And those are lessons we're now building on.
So I'll finish just on Ramadi. Ramadi's significant because it was really the first significant test for the Iraqi Security Forces that we have helped reorganize and retrain as a coalition. When Ramadi fell in May, it was a real kind of shock to the Iraqis. Ramadi had been under threat when ISIL first moved into Ramadi on January 1, 2014 '' six months before Mosul, to kind of put this in perspective. It had been contested, constant fighting. And after a massive car bomb wave, when the forces left, it was something that was a real shock.
Prime Minister Abadi immediately engaged with us, engaged with the coalition, and said I'm going to put together a plan to retake Ramadi as soon as we can. We met at the White House within about 36 hours with President Obama and we said we're going to look to see what we do and we're going to help the Iraqis try to retake Ramadi. Again, at the time, it looked like quite a daunting challenge.
If you go back to that time and you look at the sequence of decisions that were made, the President made a critical decision on the recommendation of the Secretary of Defense and the chairman to deploy U.S. Special Forces to Taqaddum Air Base, not far from Ramadi, and they got out there very, very soon. And this is right between Fallujah and Ramadi, a really heroic mission those guys took on to advise and assist the Iraqi Security Forces, to reorganize, to think about what are they going to need, and then to begin to plan a counterattack on Ramadi. And I mean, those guys, you just can't speak enough about what they were able to do in terms of the influence they have and the capabilities that they can bring to bear.
Every single time now against ISIL that we have advised and assisted an Iraqi operation, or any operation against ISIL, ISIL has not only been defeated, they've been just totally routed. So we kind of have the combination of what works, and Ramadi was the most difficult test for this. I think Colonel Warren in Baghdad said it's the most difficult thing the Iraqis have done on their own as a military force really since 2003. That's true. And it was a real, so far '' and there's some ways to go '' but it's a success and it's a point that even when the Iraqis are taking casualties '' they've taken over 1,000 casualties in this counterattack '' they have continued to advance, they've continued to fight, and they've continued to liberate their territory.
Commensurate with the counterattack was a very active effort learning and building on the lessons of Tikrit to work with the Iraqi Government and to work with the local officials in Anbar province, with the tribes, with the governor to mobilize local forces, to hold areas, and to put together the stabilization plan.
So shortly after Ramadi fell, we met in Paris with Secretary Kerry and the main ministers of the coalition, with Prime Minister Abadi. And I have to admit, it was a kind of a dark cloud moment because Ramadi had just fallen. And Abadi told the ministers of the coalition, ''I want your help. I need to retake Ramadi. Here's how we're going to do it, but we need help. We need resources.'' And the coalition really responded.
I put out a letter for New Year's kind of to the coalition, which we put up just kind of listing about the number of coalition partners that stepped up at that critical moment, not only with military support but also with stabilization and reconstruction support.
And so what Abadi did at that critical time was delegated an awful lot of authority to the local leadership of Anbar province. We now have authorization for 10,000 tribal fighters in Anbar province. There is authorization for 24,000 police in Anbar province. The new Iraqi budget in 2016 has 20,000 new positions for the Iraqi army, which are very important. We think many of those will come from Anbar province as these areas are liberated.
So as the clearing went into Ramadi, we worked at the same time and in parallel with the stabilization and the hold and the resources to bring people back to their homes. Now, because Ramadi was fought over for almost two years, you can imagine that most of the city has been quite devastated in the fighting. Booby-trapped houses, I think the number of IEDs just since '' this is just a statistic to give you an indication '' since the 28th of December, so about a week ago, 2,316 IEDs were deactivated by a single IED unit that we helped advise and assist out of Habbaniyah base, which is near Taqaddum.
So that just gives you a sense of what has to be done here and how difficult this is, and the skills and the expertise that it takes to actually clear these areas. But the fact that we have a central government in Baghdad delegating authority to the leaders of Anbar province, we have a coalition supporting this effort, we've learned a lot of lessons from Tikrit '' and so we feel that a lot of the pieces are in place to begin to move to the stabilization phase, however recognizing just how difficult this is going to be.
As ISIL is defeated in areas, we see what they do. They come with waves of car bomb attacks and try to restore kind of some of their luster in the headlines. But unlike the days '' and I've been doing this a long time '' where they would come with 10 car bombs and then they would come with an infantry assault to retake territory, hold it, that's not really happening anymore. They're coming with a bunch of car bombs, many of which we're now stopping because of the military capabilities that our partners in DOD have provided to the Iraqis. But they're not then coming with the assault force. It's just '' it's not the kind of '' it's a much '' it's a degraded organization compared to what we've seen before. That said, there's a ways '' there's still a ways to go.
So I just wanted to give you an update on '' because I went last time about this simultaneous pressure campaign and what we're working to do, and I think the result to that '' I mean, we check it every single day '' but I'd like to come check in with you every couple months just to talk about different areas and what we're seeing, some things that are going well and then some things that, obviously, there will be setbacks along the way. None of this is going to be linear.
But overall, that's what we're trying to do. Ramadi was a key test. It'll remain a key test. I think it's still a big place. The entire city is not entirely cleared. The IED statistic I mentioned just gives you some indication of what we still need to do. And after Ramadi, there will be a number of follow-on steps because this thing is far from over. I was in the region last month '' in UAE and Jordan and Iraq '' talking about the kind of next steps in the campaign and what we need to do. And I think we have some coherence and some commonality of vision, but it'll remain a very challenging and very difficult fight.
So with that, I think I'll turn it over for any questions.
MR KIRBY: We'll start with you, Matt.
QUESTION: Thanks. I'm just curious if you have seen or are concerned about any complications from the Saudi-Iran flare-up causing any sectarian tensions; if you see any complications to the synchronization, as you called it, of the effort in Iraq.
MR MCGURK: Yeah, Matt, no '' thanks. It's a great question, and so far, we have not seen any impact on the overall ISIL campaign. As you know, I mean, Secretary Kerry here was on the phone almost all day yesterday. We are encouraging a de-escalation because anytime you have regional polarization, regional escalation, it obviously can cause difficulties and it opens up seams for extremists on all sides to take advantage of the situation. So there were reports yesterday of a couple mosques that were targeted. The governor of Iraq immediately responded to that.
So I would say so far, we have not seen that type of impact on the overall campaign, but obviously, it's something that we're concerned about and that's why the Secretary's been spending so much of his time on it.
MR KIRBY: Arshad.
QUESTION: Are Saudi aircraft taking part in strikes against ISIL targets?
MR MCGURK: I'd have to refer to DOD. I know the last time the Saudis took an airstrike against ISIL in Syria '' as you know, they've been heavily engaged in Yemen, but some of our other partners, the Jordanians and others, have been '' continue to strike ISIL targets in Syria.
QUESTION: Are you aware of one recently?
MR MCGURK: A Saudi strike against ISIL in Syria?
QUESTION: In Syria.
MR MCGURK: As I said, I think the Saudi '' they have their capabilities, their bandwidth is pretty stretched with Yemen. So I can't say when the last time they took a strike in Syria, but of all our partners, you have to look at how they're contributing in different ways. And the Jordanians, for example, just '' I think just took a number of airstrikes just last week.
MR KIRBY: Jim.
QUESTION: Sorry, the who?
MR MCGURK: The Jordanians.
QUESTION: Oh, the Jordanians.
MR KIRBY: Jim.
QUESTION: Brett, thanks very much. Looking at that map, when you look particularly at the Syrian border, it looks like you've cut off to really a small chokepoint the controlled area, just as you were saying. I wonder, has that translated into stopping '' effectively stopping the flow of fighters across that border? And are you seeing cooperation from the Turks, which I know has been ambivalent, as it's been described to me at times? Is that in much better shape, as it looks on the map? Because physically, it looks like you made that progress. I'm just curious if it translated to stopping that. And then I just have a quick follow-up, if you don't mind.
MR MCGURK: So Jim, I think as I mentioned in my opening, definitely seeing progress along that border on the Turkish side, and definitely seeing a willingness and readiness for the Turks to engage with us in terms of advice on what needs to be done. They have moved resources there. And I think this has been covered in the press, but they've moved resources there. It's much harder to get from the Turkish side of the border into Syria from that strip, all of which is very positive.
So now this month we're following up with them on a number of things '' not only what's happening on their side of the border, but also what we want to do together on the Syrian side of the border. And that's why the chairman is there this week. That's why the Vice President will be in town. And that's why we have a number of '' the Vice President going to Turkey, and a number of our kind of border security experts at the working level going to Turkey.
So I would just say yes, the cooperation's been good. Our information '' it's much harder to get '' for an ISIL fighter to get from Turkey into Syria now than it was some months ago. When you look at the data on this, those who kind of count this, there's often a lag in terms of the '' when they can take a number and what's happening today. All I can say is our sense and our indication is that the network overall is substantially degraded. We know that ISIL in its public statements has called on foreign fighters, ''maybe, hey, don't go into Syria; maybe go to Libya,'' which is another indication that Syria is now not as hospitable an environment as they might have '' as it might have been in the past.
So I think the trend line overall is moving in the right direction, but it's something we got to stay at every single day. Because as I've said before to you, this is a challenge like we've never seen before. The world has never seen something like this, upwards of 35,000 now foreign fighters from 100 countries all around the world supercharged by social media and Twitter and everything. It's something we've never seen before.
So as we try to '' when we think of the core, we want to make sure that if a foreign fighter gets into Syria or Iraq they can't get out, and we try to make sure that they can't get in. At the same time, we're working globally with all of these partners '' which is why we have a 65-member coalition '' on the criminal justice side, on the intelligence sharing side, just to try to make it harder for these guys to move around. But again, as we saw in Paris and elsewhere, that '' we have work to do.
QUESTION: Just a --
MR MCGURK: And our partners have work to do.
QUESTION: A brief follow on the 10,000 tribal fighters you mentioned in Anbar. Is Prime Minister Abadi playing nice with them, so to speak? Or is he '' the concerns expressed about his deference to Iran and therefore reluctance to play nicely with the Sunnis '' are you seeing that abating?
MR MCGURK: He's fully supported the tribal mobilization in Anbar province. When Secretary Carter was there a couple weeks ago, this was one of their key conversations. In fact, he upped the cap from 8,000 to 10,000, and that just comes into the kind of '' I think it's about 10,000 tribal fighters, 24,000 local police from Anbar. So you're talking an awful lot of people. So if a young Anbari wants to get in the fight, there are plenty of avenues to do that. And our two platforms '' one at Taqaddum Air Base and one at Al Asad, where we have been since this campaign really started, out in western '' the western Euphrates Valley.
We've been working closely with three tribes there in Haditha and these areas in which if you looked at '' I mean, if you looked at this map over time, you'd have a little bit of green in Haditha. And that has expanded. And had we not gone to Al Asad Air Base when this campaign kicked off in September of 2014, had we not engaged with those tribes at the time that we did, I think that entire area would've been gone. But by engaging with them, by giving them capabilities '' and they have gotten the full support of the Iraqi Government '' we were able to not only hold off these number of ISIL advances back in those days, but they're now not only holding the line, but beginning to conduct their own operations. So the tide out there '' and it's like the wild west out there; I've been out there a few times '' has shifted.
But to answer your question, in terms of Prime Minister Abadi, he's given full support to this program we have in Anbar.
MR KIRBY: We're just going to take two more. Justin.
QUESTION: Thanks. So if the negotiating parties are demonstrating that they can't work together to find a political solution in Syria, as we're seeing with Iran and Saudi Arabia, does that require you or are you working on a strategy that doesn't include a political solution in Syria? Is there a way to defeat ISIS without that?
MR MCGURK: I think what '' I mean, our special envoy in Syria is in Saudi Arabia now, working with a lot of the opposition groups to set the stage for these negotiations that have to take place, we hope later on this month. But I think even the Saudis recognize you have to have some sort of a political process to de-escalate the overall conflict. So I let the Saudis speak for themselves, but, I mean, what I've heard is they've said that nothing here should really stop the process that was launched in Vienna. And that's something that's not '' that's a real consensus of the international community now, enshrined in a UN Security Council resolution.
No question this is extremely difficult. That's something that we've said from day one. But you have to bring all the external actors to a table, and then the internal actors to a table. So we've gotten all the external actors together really for the first time since the civil war started, and now we're working to bring the internal actors together to a table later this month. So a lot of folks here in this building are working on that every day, and that remains the plan as enshrined in the Security Council resolution.
MR KIRBY: Said, I'm going to give you the last one today.
QUESTION: Thank you very much. Yes, sir, I'm a bit confused on the figure that you gave '' the numbers, the vacancies in the Iraqi army '' the 26,000 or something like this that it can absorb. Will these be special units like the Awakening Council, or are they '' will they be part of the Iraqi army? And will they coordinate with militias like al-Hashd al-Shaabi and so on?
MR MCGURK: So the 20,000 numbers '' in the new Iraqi budget, they opened up space for 20,000 new positions, and that's important because we want to bring more folks into the army. So again, if you are '' if you're from a town in the Euphrates Valley in Anbar province and you're 20 years old and you want to join to protect your community, we want to make sure that some of the deficiencies of the prior model, where it was a little bit more ad hoc, such as in the Awakening '' that it's embedded and enshrined in the state structures. So if you want to risk your life to defend your community from Daesh and others, you'll be taken care of by the state.
So there are three vehicles now to do that. There's the tribal mobilization program, and that is all enshrined in the Iraqi legal structure and the budget to make sure that people get paid '' something you work on every single day. There's the police, and there's a cap for 24,000 police in Anbar province, which is what it was before the crisis. And then there's now 20,000 new positions for the army in this new budget. We have the training facilities; we're training. It's going up almost about '' we're at about 18,000 now that we've trained. But it's a whole host '' it's the army, it's the CTS in terms of our training.
But just to be very clear on the numbers I'm talking about, focus on Anbar: 10,000 tribal fighters in Anbar, 24,000 police. And then there are the new number of recruits in the Iraqi army of 20,000. Now, the Iraqis have asked us to help them with this in terms of where the folks go, what units and things, and that's something that we're working with them all the time in terms of how to structure their overall security architecture, but that will take some time.
But in terms of defeating ISIL, you need the force to go in and do the clearing, and I think we've '' have had some success with that now. You need the force to do the holding, and that's the police and these tribal forces. And then you need the long-term, sustainable architecture, because we're learning a lot of the lessons from the past year. And the long-term, sustainable architecture is to make sure you have a more federal-based structure which is interwoven in the Iraqi constitution, in which the central government is delegating authority to the provinces, to the local leaders, so the people who are risking their lives to take '' protect their community are taken care of by the state. And that's the bargain that this new Iraqi Government has offered. And so far, if you look at Tikrit, if you look at what we're starting to see in Anbar, you can see how that can come together.
QUESTION: How concerned are you, though, that these sectarian tensions in the region '' not just between Saudi Arabia and Iran, but now all the Sunnis '' are going to bleed over into Iraq and the Shia and the Sunnis are not going to be able to work together, and Abadi will maybe hesitate to reach out to the Sunnis in deference to Iran?
MR MCGURK: So let me say '' answer it two ways: On the one hand, as someone who works this every day, very concerned whenever you see this kind of potential for a real polarization, because it enables extremists on both sides to take advantage of the situation, which is extremely dangerous and plays into the hands of groups like ISIL. So that's something, of course, that we're concerned about because our objective here is to support moderates on both sides of this kind of sectarian divide. So that's one, and that's why we're working very hard to try to de-escalate things.
On the other hand, try not to get into a too simplistic box of Sunni and Shia, because there's so many divisions within the two communities. I'm talking a lot here about Anbar province. It's about 100 percent Sunni but it's '' there are Salafi, there are secularists, there's Baathists, there's tribal divisions, there's like everything. There's so '' there are a whole array of different viewpoints. Among the Shia, you have in Iraq a great deal, a majority of the Shia see their marja as Grand Ayatollah Sistani, who has a totally different vision than the supreme leader in Tehran. Sistani believes in the separation of the state and the community and a more quietest tradition than Khamenei, and it's a totally different viewpoint. So trying to kind of not get into the box of all the Sunni and all the Shia because it's just not really accurate and not how this thing goes.
What we worry about when things get too polarized is that extremists on both sides try to take advantage of the situation. So no doubt in the immediate wake of something like this, I think you'll see more provocations from some of the extremists on both sides, and that's something that we try to tamp down. And a good example was in '' when there were reports yesterday that some mosques were attacked in Hilla, some Sunni mosques were attacked in Hilla, the Iraqi Government responded immediately.
So I would just say concerning '' yes, there's all sorts of things that concern us every single day. Whenever you see something like this for potential polarization, it's concerning. At the same time, we try to not put things into too simplistic a black and white box because that's not the reality. It's just so many divisions within each community, and trying to strengthen the cohesiveness of the moderates on both sides is something that we try to do every day. But I will not underestimate just how difficult it is, as you know, Elise.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Thanks, everybody.
QUESTION: Do have an updated version of that map? And if you do, can we get a copy? And if you don't, can we get a copy of this one?
QUESTION: Yeah, that would be great. In a JPEG or something like that?
MR MCGURK: I'll defer to these guys.
MR KIRBY: Yeah, we'll get you a copy. We will.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Thanks, everybody.
QUESTION: Thank you.
MR KIRBY: Thank you.
MR MCGURK: Thanks.
MR KIRBY: Thank you, Brett. Appreciate that.
VIDEO-Face it, Oregon building takeover is terrorism - CNN.com
Let's begin with what to call the Oregon anti-government protesters who have taken over a federal building. The men, heavily armed, urging others to come support their cause, and claiming somehow that, while peaceful, they will "defend" themselves whatever it takes, are -- by any definition -- domestic terrorists.
It does not matter that they insist they are peaceful or some sort of lawful militia; I can claim I'm 26 years old and a size 2 and that still doesn't make it true. This group of men is wielding terror, and the threat of violence, as if it were their constitutional right.
So, let's stop with the wrenching discussions of who they are.
They are dangerous, they are unforgiving, they are flouting federal law, they have a political purpose and they clearly are willing to use violence to get their way. Simply because they are not Muslim jihadists does not mean they are authorized to threaten or use violence to support their political cause.
To decipher their cause is difficult, but it appears they do not like the fact that one of their rancher kin is going to jail for arson because he didn't want to sell his land. Only the most ardent backers of their causes or those with an anti-federal government paranoia (or an anti-Obama one) are trying to slice and dice what the group is doing to make it seem somehow benign. It is not.
Don't take my word for it. Ammon Bundy, the 40-year-old son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, who is well-known for anti-government action, exposed his own sense that they were in an armed conflict when, after refusing to answer a CNN reporter's question about how many people were with bunkered down with him, he said he did not want to risk exposing "operational security." Operational security? We are not in Iraq.
What to doGiven that their aim amounts to domestic terrorism, any strategy to get them out of the building must, then, take into account a number of federal concerns and priorities.
Violence should be avoided at all costs. Do not turn these men into martyrs or heroes by excessive force or unnecessary violence. And, in the process of resolving the standoff, teach them (and others) a lesson or two.
How do the feds do that?
First, time is on their side. No question about that. In the absence of an imminent threat to children, bystanders or captives, the federal response should be akin to, "We got all day. And night. And another day. And are you getting hungry? Possibly thirsty? Bored? Are you wondering why you are here in the first place? We got all day. And another one after that."
Immediate action is unwarranted and unnecessary; Bundy's call to brethren to join him will be met with a fierce resistance by public safety officials who will not allow anyone else in and will arrest any of them for conspiracy to support a federal crime.
The situation is wholly different from the Waco siege in 1993, when a 51-day standoff at the Branch Davidian compound in Texas ended in tragedy after the FBI mounted an assault, fires set by the Branch Davidians broke out and 75 people perished. Much is still in dispute in that case, but federal authorities believed that children and captive civilians were in immediate risk of death.
Second, divide and conquer. With time, the opportunity to separate the group, offer carrots and sticks to some so they disarm and surrender, becomes available. Federal authorities can offer reduced sentences, even misdemeanor charges, against anyone barricaded who may not want to go to jail for a lot of years based on the call to arms of Bundy.
If a federal agent or public safety official is harmed or killed during any siege, the federal authorities should remind those inside that they will all be accomplices to first-degree murder. Over time, Bundy may find it difficult to keep his troops unified. Again, time is on the federal authorities' side.
Rule of law is paramountFinally, while the presence of federal troops might make the situation more tense than it already is, the Obama administration needs to make a statement with this organization and future domestic terrorists.
Various federal authorities are now in charge, but the administration should be ready to mobilize federal military support should they need it, if only for the long haul. And to make an important point that the rule of law is paramount in a civil, democratic society.
Local law enforcement officials, in such an isolated area of Oregon, are likely to know some of these men and could let their perspective be colored by their relationships, either to be too lenient or to want to vigorously uphold the law against such flagrant actions. There are risks if too much emotion is allowed to seep into the decision-making process.
A show of federal force -- even if just for show -- treats these men as they should be treated: domestic terrorists who are putting the whole community at risk.
Again, time is on the responders' side. Use it. Indeed, if Waco serves as a "what not to do" in such a situation, it is a reminder of how too aggressive a response can turn Bundy and his crew into martyrs.
It was the Waco siege that radicalized a different round of domestic terrorists, mainly those who planned the Oklahoma federal building bombing in 1995, two years to the day that Waco burned.
The Oregon men are domestic terrorists. But, let's not panic. We've got all the time in the world.
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VIDEO-Boyfriend of Roanoke reporter killed on TV talks about president's gun measures | News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KEPR
WASHINGTON (WJLA) '--President Obama couldn't hold back tears as he discussed some of the victims of gun violence during his announcement on executive actions to tighten gun control.
One of the people who joined the president for his speech at the White House Tuesday was Chris Hurst. Hurst is the boyfriend of Alison Parker, a reporter killed on television with a photographer in Roanoke, Va. during the summer of 2015.
"When the president invites you to come to the White House, you accept the invitation," said Hurst.
"It was emotional for all of us," he said, "one of the most poignant things he said was that it was a room full of stories."
"That's what we forget. Sometimes we try to reduce this issue down to numbers and statistics. But behind every statistic, there's a traumatic story."
VIDEO-Marine arrested in slaying of North Texas college student | www.statesman.com
A Marine stationed in Arizona was arrested Tuesday in the fatal shooting early on New Year's Day of a North Texas college student, authorities said.
The U.S. Marine Corps said in a statement that Cpl. Eric Johnson, 20, was taken into custody at the north gate of the Marine Corps air station in Yuma, Arizona. Police in Denton, Texas, said he was arrested on a murder warrant in the death of 20-year-old Sara Mutschlechner.
Mutschlechner, a student at the University of North Texas in Denton, 40 miles northwest of Dallas, was fatally shot in the head after an exchange of words between people in the vehicle she was driving and a group of five or six men in a sport utility vehicle, according to police.
"Apparently it was an amicable conversation to begin with that quickly went downhill and some derogatory statements were made toward the female occupants of that vehicle," said Officer Shane Kizer, a Denton police spokesman.
Mutschlechner was the designated driver after going to a New Year's Eve party that at least two people in the SUV had also attended, according to police. Kizer has said police aren't aware of any interaction between the groups at the party, which had about 60 people there. The arrest affidavit says occupants of Mutschlechner's vehicle said they'd stayed at the party for about 45 minutes.
The arrest warrant for Johnson said the two male occupants of Mutschlechner's vehicle told police that the SUV's occupants said they wanted to have sex with the two women in the vehicle.
The affidavit says that when one of the men in Mutschlechner's vehicle responded that he didn't appreciate the comments, the driver, later identified as Johnson, displayed a handgun and indicated he would shoot. Shots were fired as the vehicles crossed through an intersection.
Kizer has said that after Mutschlechner was struck by a bullet, her vehicle hit another vehicle and crashed into an electrical pole.
Johnson "was seen with a handgun in the vehicle right before the shots were fired," Kizer said. He said the other people in the SUV are considered "persons of interest and witnesses."
Thomas Smith, a U.S. Marshals Service official in Yuma, did not know whether Johnson had an attorney who could comment on his behalf. Authorities also do not yet know when Johnson might be returned to Texas.
The Marine Corps said Johnson is assigned to the Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron-1. Capt. Justin Smith, a spokesman for the Marine Air Ground Task Force Training Command in California, said Johnson joined the Marines in August 2013. He said Johnson is an administrative specialist and has never been deployed.
According to the arrest affidavit, Johnson was associated with an address in Fort Worth.
Kizer has said Mutschlechner was from Martindale, about 40 miles south of Austin.
Associated Press writer Paul Davenport in Phoenix contributed to this report.
VIDEO-Snowden, Assange and Manning statues unveiled in Berlin | euronews, world news
"The sculptures represent three contemporary heroes who have lost their freedom for the truth."
Taking a stand in Berlin's Alexanderplatz are whistleblowers Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden.
The life-size bronze statues were unveiled on Friday in front of members of the German Green Party as well as activists.
All three figures are considered heroes on the political left for leaking US intelligence documents.
The artist behind the work Italian sculptor Davide Dormino explains that he wanted to ''represent three contemporary heroes who have lost their freedom for the truth.'' He says that they act as a reminder of ''how important it is to know the truth and have the courage to know the truth.''
Entitled Anything to Say the sculpture encourages supporters to stand up for freedom of speech and information.
Wikileaks founder Julian Assange faces extradition to Sweden to face investigation into accusations of rape and sexual assault, but fears he will be extradited to the US to face questions over his role in leaking secret US documents. He has taken asylum in Ecuador's London Embassy. US soldier Chelsea Manning (born Bradley Manning) was convicted in 2013 on charges relating to the Espionage Act for leaking US intelligence and military documents to Wikileaks. She is currently serving a 35 year prison sentence. Edward Snowden is currently evading extradition to the US by taking asylum in Russia. He released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to journalists revealing the scale of the US government's global surveillance capabilities.
Their statues will have fewer restrictions on their movements with a scheduled world tour.
If you are in Berlin the sculptures can be found here at Die ¶kologische Kulturoase .
Taking a stand in Berlin's Alexanderplatz are whistleblowers Chelsea Manning, Julian Assange and Edward Snowden. Would you like to see them honoured in your city? Tell us in the comments
Posted by euronews on Monday, 4 May 2015
VIDEO-Matthew Boylan Exposes Himself as a Shill! | It's Time To Unite
The following story, pictures, and audio recording are from one of Matt Boylan's fans who generously allowed him to stay with her family for nearly a month before the following incident took place. They are often talking over one another, but I can testify that this is the only way to successfully have a ''conversation'' with Matt, otherwise you will be unable to complete a sentence before he interrupts and continues his diatribes. Also regarding Matt's constant crying of copyright infringement and lack of consent, he has used video/audio of me in his documentaries without even informing me let alone asking my permission. So two can play at that game Mr. Wizard. For much more condemning information about the leader of this leaderless movement, see the following IFERS thread: http://ifers.boards.net/threads/recen'...
Flat Earth Shill Wall of ShameSearching through Matt's older videos on his channel it's clear that such paranoid, aggressive, off-putting rants are part of his schtick and the ''flat Earth'' subject is more of an aside to his other performance pieces. His YouTube ''TheNASAChannel'' is far less concerned with exposing NASA or the truth of our flat Earth and more concerned with Matt painting on naked women's bodies, ranting about random subjects like Axe Cologne / hookers on tinder, and promoting his championship-status sexual prowess. There are also suspicious videos about Steven Hawking and one with Matt in what appears to be stage make-up claiming to have been intentionally hit by a car, driven by a plain-clothes police officer purposely trying to assassinate him.Read More
VIDEO-An Animated Neil deGrasse Tyson Gives an Eloquent Defense of Science in 272 Words, the Same Length as The Gettysburg Address Open Culture
Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, the most prominent public defender of science education and funding, frequently comes in for some good-natured ribbing for his genial pedantry, ascension to Carl Sagan's unofficial spokesmanship, and downgrading of the beloved Pluto from planet status. But he takes it all in stride. As another science communicator, Phil Plate the ''Bad Astronomer,'' has written, ''The man is brilliant, charming, a pillar of science education, and a glutton for punishment. But I think he secretly revels in it.'' If you follow Tyson's Twitter account and watch him engage with cranks, or if you've seen him in any of the hundreds of public debates and panels he attends, it seems he more than revels in it; he's totally in his element, so to speak, publicly modeling the mix of confidence, humility, and curiosity that drives science forward.
In the video above, Tyson dares to try and fill the shoes of another great communicator'--and no, I don't mean Ronald Reagan, but the president whose most famous speech Charles Sumner called ''a monumental act.'' And though Abraham Lincoln was not nearly as comfortable in front of an audience as Tyson is, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address set the bar for how to get a point across with the maximum amount of eloquence and minimum of redundancy and rambling. Can Tyson deliver the goods like Lincoln did with only 272 words to work with? Is the attempt to ''reply'' to the ''Gettysburg Address'' an act of hubris or the ultimate tribute? Decide for yourself as you listen to Tyson's April, 2015 acceptance speech at the National Academy of Science for the Public Welfare Medal, the Academy's ''most prestigious award.''
Tyson's speech has been enhanced with a dramatic animation and sound effects for a technological impact Lincoln never could have achieved, though by most accounts he didn't need it. Not a solemn occasion like Gettysburg, the awards ceremony nonetheless called for at least a little pomp, as well as some history. Tyson points out that ''during the bloody year of his Gettysburg Address, President Lincoln chartered the National Academy of Sciences.'' For more of that story, see the short video above, where you'll learn, among other things, that Lincoln was the first and only American president to hold a patent on a scientific invention.
via Bill Gates
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Josh Jones is a writer and musician based in Durham, NC. Follow him at @jdmagness
VIDEO-Militant in Islamic State video believed to be British bouncy castle salesman | Reuters
LONDON (Reuters) - The masked militant in an Islamic State video showing the killing of five men accused by the group of being Western spies is believed to be a Londoner known as Sid who once sold inflatable bouncy castles.
Siddhartha Dhar, who left Britain for Syria while on police bail after his arrest on suspicion of belonging to a banned group and encouraging terrorism, has been identified by media as the spokesman in the militant organization's latest film.
The video also features a young boy wearing a black bandanna around his head and army-style camouflage clothing, threatening in English to "kill the kaffir (unbelievers) over there".
Sunday Dare, a Londoner of Nigerian origin, identified the child as his four-year-old grandson Isa. Dare told British media his daughter, who grew up a devout Christian named Grace before converting to Islam and changing her name to Khadijah, had taken London-born Isa to Syria with her to join Islamic State.
The video revived memories of "Jihadi John", another British IS member who appeared in several videos in which hostages were murdered before he himself was believed to have been killed in an air strike late last year.
Dhar, who is also known as Abu Rumaysah, is one of Britain's most high-profile Islamists and an associate of Anjem Choudary, Britain's best-known Islamist preacher who is due to go on trial next week accused of terrorism offences.
A convert from Hinduism who lived in east London, Dhar regularly attended protests staged by the now banned organization al-Muhajiroun and had often spoken to the media in support of radical Islamic causes.
Since leaving Britain he gained further attention through online videos in which he exhorted life under Islamic State.
"OPPRESSIVE"
Khadijah Dare is also a keen propagandist for the group who has posted images of herself and her toddler son pointing rifles on social media.
Reported to have been radicalized online, Dare left London for Syria in 2012 with Isa, then a baby. Having made her way to territory controlled by Islamic State, she married a jihadi of Swedish origin known as Abu Bakr, now thought to be dead.
The couple appeared together in footage filmed in Syria in 2013, joking about which of them had the best AK47.
A trail of videos also offers some insight into Dhar's world view.
In one posted on his YouTube website, titled "The beauty of the Shariah and the Caliphate", he said: "I've grown up in the West, I've lived in the United Kingdom all my life, I've seen what a democracy has to offer and quite frankly it's quite oppressive."
His sister Konika told British media the man in the video sounded just like her brother, echoing the views of others who knew him well. However, neither she nor security experts said they could be certain it was him.
British intelligence officials are analyzing the film and a security source said they had not yet reached a conclusion as to the man's identity.
British officials say up to 800 Britons have traveled to Iraq and Syria, some to join Islamic State, and around half had returned home. About 70 were believed to have been killed.
In the 10-minute video released on Sunday, the masked man speaking with a clear British accent threatens British Prime Minister David Cameron before shooting one of the alleged spies in the head.
The footage was reminiscent of the gruesome beheadings shown in videos featuring Londoner Mohammed Emwazi, who gained worldwide notoriety as "Jihadi John".
Robb Leech, who got to know Dhar while making a documentary about his own stepbrother who was jailed for terrorism offences in 2013, said the militant in the video looked and sounded like Dhar. He said Dhar had never struck him as violent, and had always been friendly.
British newspapers said he used to sell children's inflatable bouncers, known as bouncy castles in Britain, and was a fan of Arsenal soccer club and the rock group Nirvana.
"The last time I saw him it was about two months before he left and joined so-called Islamic State and we were laughing. It was very good natured," Leech told BBC radio.
"To remember him like that and then see him supposedly in this video, I don't understand that," he said, adding that Dhar must have had some very significant experiences in Syria with Islamic State to make him capable of doing what he did.
"Because the guy who I knew was no more capable of it than you or I as far as I could tell."
In one video on his YouTube site, Dhar distances himself to some extent from the killing of U.S. and British citizens who were apparently beheaded by Jihadi John.
"I don't want to see another James Foley or Steven Sotloff or David Haines but unfortunately the way the West and the Europeans are going about things in terms of their policies with air strikes and intervening in the caliphate, sadly I can't see an end to this," Dhar said.
(Additional reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Philippa Fletcher)
VIDEO-Armed Men - Led By Bundy- Take Over Oregon Wildlife Refuge - YouTube
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VIDEO-Obama confident new gun measures are constitutionally sound | Reuters.com
ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) President Barack Obama said on Monday (January 4) he was confident his new executive actions to tighten U.S. gun rules were consistent with the constitutional right to bear arms and said the initiatives would be rolled out over the next several days. "We have a frequency of mass shootings that far exceeds other countries and frequency. And although it is my strong belief that for us to get our complete arms around the problem, Congress needs to act. What I asked my team to do is to see what more we could do to strengthen our enforcement and prevent guns from falling into the wrong hands," Obama told reporters following a meeting with Attorney General Loretta Lynch, FBI Director James Comey and acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco & Firearms, Thomas Brandon. "And the good news is is that these are not only recommendations that are well within my legal authority and the executive branch, but they're also ones that. The overwhelming majority of the American people including gun owners support and believe in," Obama said. Obama said the initiatives would be released over the next few days. "We'll be making sure that people have a very clear understanding of what can make a difference and what we can do. And although we have to be very clear that this is not going to solve every violent crime in this country; it's not going to prevent every mass shooting; it's not going to keep every gun out of the hands of criminals, it will potentially save lives and spare families the pain and the extraordinary loss that they've suffered as a consequence of a firearm being in the hands of the wrong people," Obama said. The president stressed that the initiatives were not aimed at lawful gun owners. "I'm also confident that the recommendations that are being made by my team here are ones that are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and people's lawful right to bear arms," he said. In a statement released before Obama's announcement, U.S. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan criticized any executive actions on gun control. "We all are pained by the recent atrocities in our country, but no change the president is reportedly considering would have prevented them. We have seen consistently that an underlying cause of these attacks has been mental illness, and we should look at ways to address this problem. We should also better enforce the laws we have on the books now to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals," the statement read.
ISIS has released a new video showing the execution of five British spies, and threatening David Cameron over the UK's campaign in Syria.
The video released by ISIS group's Raqqa-based media arm shows five men wearing orange jumpsuits and ''confessing'' to spying on behalf of the UK security services.
The video ends with a trailer for a further execution and has a young boy speaking in English, who talks about killing unbelievers.
VIDEO-Donald Trump TV AD Campaign AD Commercial 2016 ''-- - YouTube
Bellingcat werkt samen met de JIT-onderzoekers uit Nederland, Belgi, Maleisi, Oekra¯ne en Australi. Higgins en andere medewerkers hebben tijdens gesprekken informatie aan het JIT gegeven. Ook is Higgins twee keer als getuige gehoord: afgelopen zomer en in het najaar van 2014.
53ste Brigade
Het afgelopen jaar ontdekte Bellingcat welke eenheid de Russische Buk-raketinstallatie, die vlucht MH17 in 2014 neerhaalde, naar Oekra¯ne transporteerde: dat was het Tweede Bataljon van de 53ste Luchtafweerraketbrigade, afkomstig uit de omgeving van Koersk in Rusland. Het Bataljon bestond uit ongeveer honderd militairen, maar Bellingcat wist de groep betrokkenen terug te brengen tot pakweg twintig militairen.
Een van hen is Sergey M., de commandant van de 53e brigade. Vanwege zijn functie heeft hij "zeker een rol gespeeld bij het neerhalen van vlucht MH17, omdat zijn brigade het 'wapen' heeft geleverd", aldus Bellingcat.
Andere betrokkenen zijn Dmitry T., de commandant van het Tweede Bataljon, en negen luitenants die in 2014 binnen het bataljon de leiding hadden over Buk-luchtafweerraketsystemen. Ook zijn enkele "zeer ervaren militairen" in beeld die opgeleid waren om een Buk-raketinstallatie te bedienen.
BUK
Sinds vlucht MH17 neerstortte, doet Bellingcat onderzoek naar de oorzaak van de ramp. Zo toonde Bellingcat eerder aan dat separatisten in Oekra¯ne op 17 juli beschikten over een Buk-lanceerinstallatie. Die werd ongeveer drie uur voor het neerhalen van MH17 van de oplegger gelost in Snizjne en later gefilmd met (C)(C)n raket minder, rijdend door het door separatisten gecontroleerde Loehansk.
Raw
Putin: Russia To Become #1 Exporter of Non-GMO Foods
Putin is not a fan of Monsanto or bioengineered anything, which is why, in a new address to the Russian Parliament last Thursday, he proudly outlined his plan to make Russia the world's 'leading exporter' of non-GMO foods that are based on 'ecologically clean' production.
The Russian president harshly criticized food production in the United States, stating that Western food producers are no longer offering high quality, healthy, and ecologically clean food.
''We are not only able to feed ourselves taking into account our lands, water resources '' Russia is able to become the largest world supplier of healthy, ecologically clean and high-quality food which the Western producers have long lost, especially given the fact that demand for such products in the world market is steadily growing,'' Putin said in his address.
Reuters reports that it is likely Putin will use the country's affinity for organic and sustainable farming as a centerpiece in his economic strategy.
''Ten years ago, we imported almost half of the food from abroad, and were dependent on imports. Now Russia is among the exporters. Last year, Russian exports of agricultural products amounted to almost $20 billion '' a quarter more than the revenue from the sale of arms, or one-third the revenue coming from gas exports,'' he added.
In Putin's eyes, Russia is fully capable of supplying the domestic market with home-grown food by 2020.This declaration comes just months after the Kremlin decided to stop the production of GMO-containing foods, a triumph seen as a huge step forward in the international fight to expose and ruin Monsanto.
With this latest news, Russia has clearly established itself as a dominant force in the realm of organic farming.
NewsWires : euronews : the latest international news as video on demand
ADDISABABA (Reuters) '' The United States has stopped flying drones from southern Ethiopia in its campaign against militants in Somalia and Yemen, at the request of the Ethiopian government, officials said.
Washington spent millions of dollars in 2011 on upgrading an airfield in the town of Arba Minch, from where it launched Reaper drones that can carry Hellfire missiles and satellite-guided bombs.
The airfield is the only U.S. drone base acknowledged by the Ethiopian government to exist in the country.
On Tuesday, officials and U.S. diplomats confirmed the end of drone activities there.
''This was done upon request by the Ethiopian government,'' government spokesman Getachew Reda said.
''In the first place, this was a project with a limited timespan and both governments had long prepared themselves for this eventuality,'' he added without giving further details.
Reapers, known as ''hunter-killer'' drones, have a range of about 1,800 km (1,100 miles).
Ethiopia is one of Washington's key allies and is considered a bulwark against militant Islam in the region.
Ethiopian troops have been fighting al Qaeda-allied al Shabaab militants in Somalia since 2011 as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission.
''U.S. military personnel are no longer in Arba Minch,'' said David Kennedy, Public Affairs Officer at the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa.
''As we work with our African partners, our mutual needs change over time, and a determination was made that our use of the facilities in Arba Minch is no longer necessary,'' he told Reuters in an emailed response.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
euronews provides breaking news articles from Reuters as a service to its readers, but does not edit the articles it publishes.
A Ham's Guide to RFI, Ferrites, Baluns, and Audio Interfacing Revision 5a 5 Jun 2010 (C) Entire Contents Copyright 2007-10 The Audio Systems Group, Inc., except Appendices 2, 3, and 4, which are property of the cited authors, and product data, which is copyright by Fair-Rite Products. All Rights Reserved by Jim Brown K9YC Audio Systems Group, Inc. http://audiosystemsgroup.com The basis of this tutorial is a combination of my engineering education, 55 years in ham radio, my work as vice-chair of the AES Standards Committee working group on EMC, and extensive re-search on RFI in the pro audio world where I've made my living. That work is documented in tech-nical papers and tutorials that can be downloaded from the publications section of my website. Chapter 1 '' Some Fundamentals To solve interference problems, we must understand them. So we'll begin by describing the ways that RF interference is coupled into equipment and detected. There are several principal mecha-nisms at work. You should study this tutorial thoroughly to understand how these things work. Detection at Semiconductor Junctions Every semiconductor junction, whether part of a diode, transistor, or integrated circuit, is quite nonlinear, especially in the voltage region where it is be-ginning to conduct. In analog circuits, we prevent this non-linearity from causing distortion by properly biasing the circuitry, by using lots of negative feedback, and by preventing the signal from being large enough to cross into the cutoff region. Thanks to this non-linearity, every semiconductor junction functions as a square law detector, de-tecting any RF signal it sees. A good designer prevents detection by shielding the equipment and its wiring, by filtering input and output wiring, and even by bypassing the junction by a capacitor. Since virtually all detection that causes RFI follows square law, the strength of the signal detected by audio equipment, telephones, and other equipment will increase (or decrease) as the square of any increase (or decrease) in RF level at the detector. In other words, the strength of the detected RF changes by twice the number of dB that the RF signal changes. This means that if we manage to reduce the interfering RF signal by 6 dB, the detected audio will drop by 12 dB. This is a very use-ful thing '' it means that we may not need "an elephant gun" to solve many interference problems. Antenna Action The most fundamental cause of radio interference to other systems is the fact that the wiring for those systems, both inside and outside the box, are antennas. We may call them "patch cables" or "speaker cables" or "video cables" or "Ethernet cables," or printed circuit traces, but Mother Nature knows that they are antennas! And Mother Nature always wins the argument. When we transmit, some of the RF from our transmitter is picked up by those unintentional anten-nas, and RF current flows on them. What happens to that current determines whether there will be interference, and how severe it will be. We know that antennas work in both directions '' that is, they follow the principle of reciprocity '' so when RF trash from inside the box flows on those an-tennas, it is radiated as noise and we hear it on the ham bands. Fig 1 shows a simple antenna we've all used, probably with our first radio receiver. We con-nected a random wire to our receiver, and the antenna current flowed through the receiver to a "ground" that might have been a driven rod, but was more likely the safety ground of the AC power line (the third pin on the AC socket, known in North America as the "green wire"). Even if the radio was double insulated so that it didn't require the green wire connection, RF current still flowed through the stray capaci-tance of the power transformer to the power line and made the radio work. Fig 1 '' A simple random wire antenna RF picked up on the antennas we call loudspeaker wiring, video cables, the coax from the cable TV system or a rooftop TV antenna, flows through equipment to get to the AC power system safety ground. Hams understand that some antennas are more effective than others. An antenna that is
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 2 close to resonance will work better than one that is not. Long antennas tend to pick up more RF than short ones. Think about these fundamental principles when trying to diagnose which cables are bringing your RF into a given system (or radiating their trash into your receiving antenna). A path to "ground" or the power system is not always needed to produce antenna action. The whip antenna on our VHF and UHF handheld radios uses the radio, capacity-coupled to our hand that holds it, as a counterpoise (that is, to provide "the other half of the antenna"). All that is required for this to work is that the size of the counterpoise must be a significant fraction of a quarter wave (or larger) so that it can "sink" the antenna current. Common Mode and Differential Mode Signals A differential mode signal is one that exists be-tween the conductors of a cable. At any given point along the cable, current flowing on one con-ductor is precisely balanced by current flowing in the other direction on the other conductor. The intentional signals carried by cables are differential mode signals '' the audio or video signal in a home audio system, Ethernet signals on CAT5/6 cable, and the RF signal carried by the feedline connecting our antennas to our transceivers. A common mode signal is one that places equal voltage on all conductors '' that is, the voltage be-tween the two ends of the cable are different, but there is no voltage between the conductors. An-tenna action produces a common mode voltage and current along a cable. The antenna current induced on audio and video wiring is a common mode signal. That is, with "ideal" cable, there is no differential voltage between the signal conductors as a result of this antenna action. If the cable is shielded, nearly all of this current flows on the shield (and skin effect causes it to flow on the out-side of the shield). If the shield is ideal (that is, if the current is distributed with perfect uniformity around it), the field inside the shield will be zero, and thus none of this antenna current will flow inside the cable. Conversely, when a cable shield is carrying differential mode current, as in the case of coax, skin effect will cause that differential mode current to flow on the inside of the shield. The real world is not ideal, so most interfering signals will simultaneously exist in both common mode and differential mode, but in most real world conditions, one or the other mode dominates. Several cable defects (essentially manufacturing tolerances) certainly can and do convert this "common mode" antenna current to a differential signal (that is, a voltage between the signal con-ductors), but that is rarely the most powerful coupling mechanism. One common defect that af-fects both balanced and unbalanced cables is imperfect construction of cable shields. In even the best "real world" balanced twisted pair cables, there are imbalances in the capacitance between "red" and "black" conductors to the shield on the order of 5%. [B. Whitlock, JAES, June 1995] In balanced paired cables that use "foil/drain" shields, there is even more imbalance in the inductive coupling between each conductor and the shield. Noise (or RFI) coupled by this mechanism is called "shield-current-induced noise," or SCIN. [N. Muncy, JAES, June 1995] All three of these mechanisms convert shield current to a differential signal at system input and output terminals. If the cable is an unshielded pair (loudspeaker cable, for example), RF will be induced approxi-mately equally on both conductors (but, depending what the input circuit of the equipment looks like at RF, current flow into the equipment may not be equal on both conductors). This can also produce a differential voltage at the input (or output) terminals. Output Wiring is Important Too! It is well known, for example, that RF interference is often cou-pled into the output stage of audio equipment '' for example, the power amplifiers that feed loud-speakers or headphones. There is always feedback around that output stage, so RF present at the output will follow the feedback network to the input of a gain stage, where it will be detected and amplified. This problem is made much worse when parallel wire cable (zip cord) is used to feed the loudspeakers or headphones, and can usually be solved simply by replacing the zip cord with a twisted pair of POC (plain ordinary copper). [Pseudo-scientific advertising hype for exotic cables notwithstanding, it was shown nearly 30 years ago that #12 copper twisted pair (or #10 for very long runs) is a nearly ideal loudspeaker cable.] [R. A. Greiner, "Amplifier Loudspeaker Interfacing,'' JAES Vol 28 Nr 5, May 1980] As we will discuss later, the twisting of a pair greatly reduces the level of RF that the wiring couples to circuitry. Power Supply and Control Wiring can also act as antennas. When I bought the house I owned in
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 3 Chicago, I upgraded the electrical wiring and put all of it in steel conduit (EMT). This shielded the wiring, so that only the short power cords between equipment and the wall outlets could act as antennas. The house I recently bought in California is wired with no conduit, using unshielded parallel conductors. Thanks to its length, and the fact that it is not shielded, this wiring acts as an effective receiving antenna for the RF I am transmitting, and an effective transmitting antenna for the RF trash generated by computer equipment, power supplies for low voltage lighting fixtures, and even battery chargers. Current Returns to its Source Current flows in a complete circuit that includes the source of the current. The circuit will couple noise inductively, and also by antenna action. The cause of many RFI and noise problems, as well as the solution to them, lies in identifying and controlling these circuits. Always ask, "Where does the noise (or RFI) current flow?" Loop Area One of the most fundamental laws of electrical circuits is that the current that is mag-netically induced between two circuits is proportional to the loop area of each circuit. Making the loop area small also minimizes the extent to which the wiring can act as an antenna. When we use a closely coupled pair of conductors to form a transmission line, we are reducing the loop area, which reduces the total current induced in the loop by an interfering signal, and the total magnetic field produced by current in that loop. The transmission line, of course, has other useful proper-ties. More on this later on. The equipment designer can also use multilayer printed circuit techniques to place a "ground" (ref-erence) plane next to all signal wiring, turning each circuit trace into an unbalanced transmission line, where the return current is carried on the reference plane under wiring. A single reference plane makes a very large reduction in the ability of that circuit trace to receive interference; sand-wiching it between two such planes virtually eliminates it. These techniques, called microstrip (one plane), or stripline (the sandwich), are widely used by better designers. They reject noise coupling both inside and outside the equipment by drastically reducing the loop area of the current path (and have the additional benefit of making high speed data circuits behave better because they are transmission lines). Loaded Words That Cause Misunderstandings One of the most overused and misunderstood words in electronics is "ground" (or "earth" in British English). There are several important and common uses of the words. One meaning is an actual connection to mother earth. Some common earth connections include the steel structure of a building, a buried conductive water pipe, a con-crete encased grounding electrode (called a Ufer, after its inventor, Herbert Ufer), and, of course, one or more conductive rods driven into the earth. [Concrete mixes vary widely in their conductiv-ity '' most we are likely to encounter are highly conductive, but some are effective insulators.] The primary function of this earth connection is lightning protection. A second common use of the word "ground" (or "earth" in British English) is a third conductor that is part of the power system wiring that should never carry current (except in the case of a fault) but connects the conductive enclosures of equipment to a common point within the power system. This "green wire" or third pin in the outlet in North American power systems, is called the "equip-ment ground" (or "protective earth" in British English). The green wire is required to be connected to all exposed conductive parts of electrical equipment "that might be energized" in the event of equipment failure. The purpose of this connection is to provide a sufficiently robust current path that a fuse will blow or circuit breaker will trip in the event of equipment or wiring failure that causes the chassis to be "hot," thus protecting people from electrical shock and preventing fires. A third common use of the word "ground" (or "earth" in British English) is to describe "circuit com-mon" or "circuit reference" within equipment. Circuit common should nearly always be connected to the power supply reference, and to the shielding enclosure of the equipment. If the source of noise is within equipment, circuit common is reference for the noise voltage (and current), and it is the point to which that noise current wants to return. A fourth common use of the word "ground" is as the "return" for an unbalanced antenna like a ver-tical or long wire. In this application, the antenna needs some conductor to be a low impedance "sink" for the antenna current. The radials for an elevated or ground-mounted vertical antenna
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 4 serve this function. There is an excellent discussion of this in http://w2du.com/Chapter05.pdf Ground Wiring Some hams like to think of the earth as if it were somehow a "sink" into which all noise can be poured, never to bother us again. Indeed, you'll find lots of bad advice to solve RFI problems with "a better ground." In fact, nothing could be further from the truth. An earth connec-tion is rarely part of a solution to RF or noise problems. Rather, we need a better understanding of the four common meanings of ''ground,'' that ''ground'' is not a single point, and that connections between them change current paths. [There are exceptions to every "rule," and this no exception. See "Shunting Common Mode RF to Earth" later in this tutorial.] Consider a noise filter hanging between some piece of noisy equipment and the power line, with capacitors from the "hot" and "neutral" to "ground." What is that "ground?" It is circuit common and the shielding enclosure of the equipment, the green wire in the power cord, which is connected to the equipment ground in the power system, which goes to the breaker panel, which is in turn bonded to neutral and a real earth connection at the service entrance to our building (and, if we've done it right, there should be a bond between the power system ground and any grounds we've added for our radio equipment). In most systems, the green wire follows a rather long path '' typi-cally a quarter wave on 80 meters, and perhaps even on 160 meters. That current path is an an-tenna, and any RF current flowing on that conductor will radiate! In fact, the connection to earth may increase current flow. Like any other radiated RF signal, our receiving antennas will hear it. All of those "ground" connections must be present to have a safe installation, but it is the combination of the high series impedance of the filter's choke and the connection between the filter's "ground" and the shielding enclosure of the equipment (and it must be very short) that suppresses the noise. The earth connection provides lightning safety. This basic scientific fact has major implications in the design of filters intended to prevent noise coupling from noisy equipment to our ham stations. If we add a filter to wiring that enters or leaves a piece of noisy equipment, it is the shielding enclosure for that equipment to which any "ground" of our filter should return (and, of course, circuit common should also be connected to that shielding enclosure). All connections between the filter and the noisy equipment should be as short as possible (what my old EE professors liked to call "zero length" to emphasize the impor-tance of making them short). Why? First, to minimize the loop area, and thus the inductance. Second, to minimize antenna action. More about this when we discuss specific filter designs. Insufficient Input and Output Filtering As hams, we know that equipment needs good input and output filtering to prevent RF from coming in on input and output wiring. Beginning in the 1950's, hams operating the HF bands were deluged with TVI complaints because television manufacturers failed to include high pass filters in their sets. Likewise, audio equipment needs good low pass fil-tering to reject our signals. Many myopic designers of "high futility" audio gear (and even some professional gear) don't include low pass filters because they don't want to degrade the phase re-sponse of the audio path. While good phase response is certainly important, so is RF rejection. Good engineering can satisfy both needs without compromise. Ever since those early days, hams have always assumed that a good low pass filter will kill RFI in audio systems, and a good high pass filter will kill interference to FM and TV. Unfortunately, while good filtering is important, other mechanisms are far more important in most real world situations. Shield Resistance adds hum and buzz to unbalanced wiring (audio, video, and data (RS232). The "green wire" at every AC outlet is at a different potential, thanks to leakage current of equipment plugged into that outlet, as well as other leakage current flowing on the green wires. When that equipment is interconnected with unbalanced wiring, the difference in potential (60 Hz and its harmonics, plus noise) causes current flow on the shield, and the IR drop is added to the signal. A "beefy" shield (big copper) minimizes R '' that's why the best video cables use heavy copper shields! Audio transformers eliminate the hum/buzz by breaking the current path at DC and audio frequencies, but most hum and buzz in your ham station can be solved without a transformer '' simply power all interconnected gear from the same outlet, bond equipment all chassis' together, and use coax with beefy copper shields for audio. An unshielded transformer can make matters worse, coupling noise from a power transformer into its unshielded windings. See Chapter 8 for more.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 5 The Pin 1 Problem: The most common way that hum, buzz, and RF interference enters equipment is via a design defect first widely understood by the pro audio community thanks to the work of Neil Muncy, (ex-W3WJE). He named it "the pin 1 problem," because it is a mis-wiring of the shield of audio cables '' pin 1 in the XL connector commonly used for pro audio, but it is just as much a problem in un-balanced interfaces of all types, as shown in Fig 2. Fig 2 '' The Pin 1 Problem The proper connection for a cable shield to equipment is the shielding enclosure (chassis), but products with a "pin 1 problem" connect the shield to the circuit board instead. Nearly all con-sumer equipment, including even the most expensive "high futility" gear, is built with pin 1 prob-lems. Virtually all computer sound cards have pin 1 problems. So do most RS-232 interfaces and nearly all ham equipment '' indeed, almost all RFI problems we describe as "RF in the shack" have pin 1 problems as their root cause! Fig 2 illustrates both right and wrong connection of the shield. The trouble-free connection on the right goes straight to the shielding enclosure, so shield current flows harmlessly out the safety ground on the power cord. Any noise (or RF) on the cable shield stays "outside the box." The connection on the left, however, is a pin 1 problem. Current flowing on the shield bypasses the shielding enclosure and is forced onto the "ground bus" '' that is, "signal common." To get to the power system ground, noise current must follow that "ground bus" around the circuit board '' what Henry Ott calls "the invisible schematic hiding behind the ground symbol." The wires and cir-cuit traces that make up that invisible schematic have resistance and inductance by virtue of their length, and the IZ voltage drops across those R's and L's are coupled into each "gain stage" that connects to the ground bus! Once that happens, every semiconductor junction that "sees" the RF will detect it, and succeeding gain stages will amplify the detected RF. What if there is no "shielding enclosure?" Fig 3a and 3b shows how to avoid pin 1 problems with unshielded or partially shield equipment. (Of course, unshielded equipment has other potential problems, which we'll talk about later.) Fig 3a '' 120VAC power Fig 3b '' 12VDC power Why is equipment built with pin 1 problems? Two reasons. First, "fuzzy thinking" on the part of engineers, who have lost track of where noise current flows. Second, the construction techniques used in modern equipment, and the connectors built to support those techniques, make it more likely that pin 1 problems will happen. In "the old days," we mounted an RCA connector or phone jack by drilling a hole and screwing it down to the chassis. Today, those connectors come with solder tabs for mounting directly to a printed circuit board, which is then built, tested, and fitted into an enclosure. Screwing those connectors down to the enclosure increases cost significantly! And FIXING pin 1 problems in equipment having this kind of construction can be quite difficult. RFI and Pin 1 Problems There are three ways to cure RFI coupled by pin 1 problems. The first two
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 6 methods are obvious '' modify the equipment to eliminate the pin 1 problem, or rewire the con-nections so that the shield goes to the proper connection point, as shown in Figs 2, 3a, and 3b. Unfortunately, the way that most equipment is built usually makes both of these methods difficult or impossible to implement. The third method for curing RFI coupled by pin 1 problems is to eliminate or reduce the current. This is usually the best (the most practical, effective, and cost-effective). This is what we are doing when we use a ferrite choke on the wiring connected to a pin 1 problem, lift the shield at the re-ceiving end of a balanced audio audio cable, or bond all our equipment together with short fat wires! We'll study ferrites in Chapter 2, and bonding in Chapter 8. Shielding The wiring inside equipment can also act as an antenna if the designer allows it to do so. There are several ways to prevent this. The obvious one is to shield the equipment and bond (that is, make a solid electrical connection) that equipment shield to all cable shields entering that equipment. Note that while we call circuit common "ground," no connection to earth (or even cir-cuit common) is needed for shielding to be effective. (I have yet to see an aircraft trailing a ground wire, but the extensive instrumentation needed to operate and control it work just fine.) Twisted-Pair Cable is the single most important tool we can use to reduce RF pickup on an inter-connecting cable. In many circuits, twisting is far more important in rejecting noise and RF than a cable shield. Since this statement may seem counterintuitive, let's examine why it is true. A cable shield prevents electric field (capacitive) coupling, but it has little effect on magnetic fields (that is, inductive coupling). This is true at low frequencies because cable shields are not made of magnetic material. It is true at high frequencies because of imperfections in the shield that de-crease the uniformity of current flow on the shield. A transmission line does reject magnetic fields, but it does this by virtue of the mutual coupling between the conductors that causes the current and voltage induced in them by an external field to be equal and opposite, so they cancel at the input circuit to which the cable is connected. The de-gree of this equality depends on the coupling coefficient k, which is typically on the order of 0.7 for a closely spaced pair. An ideal coaxial cable, however, has a coupling coefficient of 1 above the cutoff frequency of the shield (see below). So, the shield of a coaxial cable is not a magnetic shield, it is an electric shield. Magnetic noise rejection is the result of mutual coupling between the center conductor and the shield, not because of shielding. Another important fact explains why coaxial cables don't reject magnetically coupled low frequency hum and buzz. Cables don't exhibit mutual coupling at frequencies where the resistance of the conductor is greater than its inductive reactance. The low frequency at which this transition occurs is called the shield cutoff frequency. For most cables, this is between about 1 kHz (coax with a "beefy" double copper braid shield") and 20 kHz (coax with a foil/drain shield). Twisting works to reject noise from the magnetic field because it causes the voltage induced in the two conductors to be more nearly equal. It also reduces electric field coupling in balanced circuits. In general, the "tighter" the twist, the more equal the induced voltage will be to the highest fre-quency. That's because any interfering field will vary with position based on the wavelength of the field. To understand this, consider any interfering source and a cable running past it. If the cable is not twisted, one conductor will be closer to the source, so more noise will be coupled to it than the other conductor. If the conductors are twisted, one conductor will be closer at one point along the cable, but one half twist further along the cable, the other conductor will be closer. The differ-ence in spacing between the conductors may not sound like it should cause much difference in level, but if we need 100 dB of cancellation, the two voltages must be equal within .0001%, a very small margin of error. Twisting is such a powerful mechanism for reducing noise coupling that telephone circuits have always used unshielded twisted pair. Likewise, very high speed Ethernet circuits are carried on tightly twisted pairs manufactured to close tolerances. To further reduce crosstalk from one pair to another, each pair in the cable is twisted at a slightly different rate. The author has demonstrated that sensitive microphone circuits connected with unshielded CAT6 cables are actually less suscep-tible to noise pickup than shielded balanced pairs, both at audio frequencies and at VHF/UHF!
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 7 This is true because the degradation in rejection due to imperfections in the cable tend to be greater than the relatively small benefit of the electric shield! CAT5/6 cables carrying Ethernet data do radiate RF trash, but most of that radiation is common mode '' that is, longitudinally along the cable '' because the line drivers on either (or both) ends of the cable have poor common mode isolation. But this is a defect in those line drivers, not in the cable! We'll address RFI filtering of Ethernet cables later on. RFI and Poorly Shielded Equipment There are few practical RFI fixes for poorly shielded equip-ment. The most obvious is to shield it, but this is usually either expensive or impractical if it wasn't built with good shielding. We could, for example, wrap it in aluminum foil, but to make that shield-ing effective, 1) we must bond the shields of all wiring that enters and leaves the equipment to that foil shield; and 2) any openings in the shield must be small as a fraction of the wavelength of the interfering signal; [It is quite difficult to watch a TV set, or adjust the controls of a stereo system, that is surrounded by aluminum foil!]; 3) Modify the defective product by adding filters (ferrite beads, bypass capacitors) to the junctions that are detecting the RF [you may have time for a sci-ence project like this, but I don't]; 4) use the bucket treatment. The Bucket Treatment: Find a bucket large enough to hold the defective equipment, and fill the bucket with water. Put the equipment in twice. Take it out once. Summary RF is coupled into equipment on wiring that acts as receiving antennas '' loudspeaker wiring, telephone wiring, audio interconnect wiring, antenna wiring, even wiring inside equipment that is poorly shielded. The pin 1 problem is a widespread design defect in computer gear, audio and video equipment, and even ham gear, and is a major cause of RFI. Imperfect construction of cables also converts RF to a differential mode signal. Once "inside the box," RF is detected by semiconductor junctions, and added to the signal where it is heard as interference. Most antenna action outside the box can be suppressed by suitable ferrite chokes that block the current. Chapter 2 '' Ferrites Ferrites can be a very effective tool for eliminating RF interference between systems. To use them effectively, we must understand them. Ferrites are ceramics consisting of various metal oxides formulated to have very high permeability. Iron, manganese, manganese zinc (MnZn), and nickel zinc (NiZn) are the most commonly used oxides. When a ferrite surrounds a conductor, the high permeability of the material provides a much easier path for magnetic flux set up by current flow in the conductor than if the wire were surrounded only by air. The short length of wire passing through the ferrite will thus see its self inductance ''magnified'' by the relative permeability of the ferrite. The ferrites used for suppression are soft ferrites '' that is, they are not permanent magnets. Fig 4 '' A toroidal ferrite choke Fig 5 '' Ferrites are made in many forms Permeability is the characteristic of a material that quantifies the ease with which it supports a magnetic field. Relative permeability is the ratio of the permeability of the material to the perme-ability of free space. The relative permeability of non-magnetic materials like air, copper, and alu-minum is 1, while magnetic materials have a permeability much greater than 1. Typical values (measured at power frequencies) for stainless steel, steel and mumetal are on the order of 500, 1,000 and 20,000 respectively. Various ferrites have values from the low tens to several thousand.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 8 Fig 6 '' Atypical ferrite mate-rial (Fair-Rite #61) Fig 7a '' Data sheet imped-ance Fig 7b '' Over-simplified equivalent circuit of a ferrite choke Fig 7c '' A better equivalent circuit of a ferrite choke Fig 8 '' A UHF material (Fair-Rite #61) Fig 9 '' Small cores of different lengths Fig 6 shows complex permeability µ'S and µ''S for a ferritematerial optimized for suppression at UHF. [For the engi-neers among us, µ = µ'S + j µ''S. Thus µ'S is the compo-nent of permeability defining ordinary inductance, andµ''S describes the loss component.] Product data sheets characterize ferrite chokes by graph-ing their series equivalent impedance, and chokes areusually analyzed as if their equivalent circuit had only aseries resistance and inductance, as shown in Fig 7a and7b. The actual equivalent circuit is closer to Fig 7c. We'lllearn more about it as we go along. Fig 8 is the manufacturer's data for a cylindrical bead of 5mm o.d. and 23 mm long, defined in terms of the seriesR and XL. Interestingly, XL goes off the graph above reso-nance, but it isn't zero. If you have the equipment tomeasure it accurately, you will see negative reactancecontributed by the capacitors in Fig 7c. Below resonance, the impedance of a wire passingthrough a ferrite cylinder is proportional to the length ofthe cylinder. Fig 9 shows the impedance of a family ofbeads that differ primarily in their length. There are alsosmall differences in their cross section, which is why theresonant frequency shifts slightly. Manufacturers vary the chemical composition (the mix)and the dimensions of ferrites to achieve the desired elec-trical performance characteristics. Fig 8 is data for asleeve made of a mix (#61) useful in suppressing RFIabove 200 MHz. The #43 mix used for the beads of Fig 9is optimized for suppression at VHF (30-300 MHz). Like all inductors, the impedance of a ferrite choke belowresonance is approximately proportional to the square ofthe number of turns passing through the core. Fig 10 ismeasured data for multi-turn chokes wound around thetoroid of Fig 4 (2.4" o.d x 1.4" i.d. x 0.5"). This ferrite isoptimized for the VHF range (30-300 MHz). Fig 12 showsdata for chokes wound around the same size toroid, butusing a material optimized for suppression above200MHz. The data of Fig 11 are for toroids of the samesize, but wound on a material optimized for use below 2MHz. We'll study the LD CD resonance first. A classic text (SoftFerrites, Properties and Applications, by E. C. Snelling,published in 1969), shows that there is a dimensionalresonance within the ferrite related to the velocity ofpropagation (VP) within the ferrite and standing wavesthat are set up in the cross-sectional dimensions of thecore. In general, for any given material, the smaller thecore, the higher will be the frequency of this resonance,and to a first approximation, the resonant frequency willdouble if the core dimension is halved. In Fig 7c, LD andCD account for this dimensional resonance, and RD forlosses within the ferrite. RD is mostly due to eddy current
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 9 (and some hysteresis) in the core. Now it's time to account for RC , LC, and CC. Note that there are two sets of resonances for the chokes wound around the #78 material (Fig 11), but only one set for the chokes of Fig 10 and 12. And for all three materials, the upper resonance starts just below 1 GHz for a single turn and moves down in frequency as the number of turns is increased. Fig 14, the reactance for the chokes of Fig 11, also shows both sets of resonances. That's why the equivalent circuit must include two parallel resonances! The difference between these materials that accounts for this behavior is their chemical composi-tion (called their mix). #78 is a MnZn ferrite, while #43 and #61 are NiZn ferrites. The velocity of propagation (VP) in NiZn ferrites is roughly two orders of magnitude higher than for MnZn, and, at those higher frequencies, there is too much loss to allow the standing waves that establish dimen-sional resonance to exist. Fig 10 '' Impedance of multi-turn chokes wound on the core of Fig 4 (Fair-Rite #43). (Measured data) Fig 12 '' Impedance of multi-turn choke on a core of the size/shape of Fig 4, on a material optimized for performance above 200 MHz (Fair-Rite #61). (Measured data) Fig 11 '' Impedance of multi-turn chokes on a core of the size/shape of Fig 4, but of a mate-rial optimized for performance below 2 MHz (Fair-Rite #78) (Measured Data) Fig 13 '' Chokes of Fig 10 with1-5 turns, measured to 1 GHz (Fair-Rite #43) (Meas-ured Data) Single Values For Permability We see that µ varies with frequency, and is complex, yet those who don't understand this often use a single number for µ. When a single number for µ is quoted, it is the value of µ at frequencies well below resonance, where losses are small and the graph of im-pedance is a straight line increasing linearly with frequency.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 10 Fig 14 '' Series reactive component of the chokes of Fig 11 (Measured Data) Fig 15 A multi-turn choke To understand what's happening, we'll return to our first orderequivalent circuit of a ferrite choke (Fig 15). LC, and RC, and CCare the inductance, resistance, (including the effect of the µ ofthe ferrite), and stray capacitance associated with the wire thatpasses through the ferrite. This resonance moves down in fre-quency with more turns because both L and C increase withmore turns. The dimensional resonance does not move, since itdepends only on the dimensions of the ferrite and its VP. What is the source of CC if there's no "coil," only a single wire passing through a cylinder? It's the capacitance from the wire at one end of the cylinder to the wire at the other end, with the ferrite acting as the dielectric. Yes, it's a very small capacitance, but you can see the resonance it causes on the data sheet. Let's talk briefly about series and parallel equivalent circuits. Many impedance analyzers express the impedance between their terminals as Z with a phase angle, and the series equivalent RS, and XS. They could just have easily expressed that same impedance using the parallel equivalent RP and XP BUT '' RP and XP will have values that are numerically different from RS and XS. There is also an important analytical ''mindset'' we need to adopt when thinking about how series and parallel cir-cuits behave. In a series circuit, the larger value of RS and XS has the greatest influence, while in a parallel circuit, the smaller value RP and XP is dominant. In other words, for RP to dominate, RP it must be small. Both expressions of the impedance are correct at any given frequency, but whether the series or parallel representation is most useful will depend on the physics of the device being measured and how that device fits in a circuit. We've just seen, for example, that a parallel equivalent circuit is a more realistic representation of a ferrite choke '' the values of RP, LP, and CP will come much closer to remaining constant as frequency changes than if we use the series equivalent. [RP, LP, and CP won't be precisely constant though, because the physical properties of all ferrites '' permeability, resistivity, and permittivity '' all vary with frequency.] Fig 16a '' Series element of divider is a par-allel resonance circuit Fig 16b '' Series element of divider is series equivalent circuit used for ferrite data sheet
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 11 But virtually all product data for ferrite chokes is presented as series equivalent RS and XS. Why? First, because it's easy to measure and understand, second, because we tend to forget there is stray capacitance, and third because ferrite chokes are most often used to reduce current in a se-ries circuit! Fig 16a and 16b are both useful representations of the voltage divider formed by a fer-rite choke and a small bypass capacitor across the device input. Which we use will depend on what we know about our ferrite. If we know RP, LP, and CP and they are constant over the fre-quency range of interest, Fig 16a may be more useful, because we can insert values in a circuit model and perhaps tweak the circuit. But if we have a graph of RS and XS vs. frequency, Fig 16b will give us a good answer faster. Because we will most often be dealing with RS and XS data, we will use the series circuit for our remaining examples. Another reason for using RS and XS is that the impedance of two or more ferrite chokes in series can be computed simply by adding their RS and XS components, just as with any other series impedances! When you look at the data sheet plots of RS, XL, and Z for a standard ferrite part, you are looking at the series equivalent parameters of their dominant resonance. For most MnZn materials, it is dimensional resonance, while, for most NiZn materials, it is the circuit resonance. Fig 17 '' The choke interacts with the cable Fig 17 shows how a choke might be used to reduce common mode current flow on a cable. Be-cause that cable is also an antenna, it will have some impedance of its own, depending on its length and the frequency of the interfering signal. If the antenna is shorter than a quarter-wave it will look like a capacitance, and can resonate with the inductance of the ferrite choke. When this happens, the current is limited only by the resistance of the circuit '' in this case, the loss compo-nent of the choke plus RR and RIN (the radiation resistance and the input resistance). The choke can also be capacitive, and the antenna can be inductive, as it would be if it were longer than a quarter-wavelength. Antenna theory tells us that these impedance relationships will repeat in increments of ½ wavelength. The last thing we want is to increase the RF current, and we would prefer to not have to worry about how long the antenna (mic cable) is. Thus we state three general rules about the use of ferrites as chokes. 1) More impedance is better. 2) All ferrite chokes should be designed to operate in the frequency range where their series equiva-lent resistance is large and their series equivalent reactance is small. 3) These conditions are satisfied at or near the choke's resonant frequency. We do this by selecting a suitable material, core size, and number of turns. These rules apply to both single turn and multi-turn chokes, and they apply to chokes (but not transformers) used for transmitting as well. New #31 Material is a Problem Solver The relatively new #31 material made by Fair-Rite Products is extremely useful, especially if some component of your problem is below 5 MHz. Measured data for the new material is displayed in Figs 18a and 18b. Compare it with Figs 19a and 19b, which are corresponding plots for the older #43 material. By comparison, #31 provides nearly 7 dB greater choking impedance at 2 MHz, and at least 3 dB more on 80 meters. At 10 MHz and above, the two materials are nearly equivalent, with #43 being about 1 dB better. If your goal is suppression or a feedline choke (a so-called current balun), the #31 material is the best all round performer to cover all HF bands, and is clearly the weapon of choice at 5 MHz and below. Be-tween 5 MHz and 20 MHz, #43 has a slight edge (about 1 dB), and above 20 MHz they're equiva-lent. We'll discuss baluns in detail in Chapter 6. The new #31 material is useful because it exhibits both of the resonances in our equivalent circuit '' that is, the dimensional resonance of the core, and the resonance of the choke with the lossy permeability of the core material. Below 10 MHz, these two resonances combine (in much the manner of a stagger-tuned IF) to provide significantly greater suppression bandwidth (roughly one octave, or one additional harmonically related ham band). The result is that a single choke on #31 can be made to provide very good suppression over about 8:1 frequency span, as compared to 4:1 for #43. As we will learn later, #31 also has somewhat better temperature characteristics at HF.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 12 Fig 18a '' Impedance of multi-turn chokes on a 2.4" o.d. toroidal core , but made of Fair-Rite's new#31 mix (Measured Data) Fig 19a '' Impedance of multi-turn chokes like those of Fig 16a, but on a Fair-Rite #43 core. (Measured data) Fig 18b '' Equivalent series resistance of the chokes of Fig 18a (Measured Data) Fig 19b '' Equivalent series resistance of the chokes of Fig 19a (Measured Data) A simple design problem Now let's do some engineering work using what we've learned so far. Suppose that we have an Ethernet router that is radiating trash as a common mode signal on the Ethernet cable that we're hearing on 30-10 meters (as it turns out, this is a very common problem). Figs 18 and 19 tells us that 9 turns of the Ethernet cable around a 2.4" o.d. toroid made of Fair-Rite #31 or #43 material will give us at least 2k ohms choking impedance between 10 MHz and 30 MHz. How much that choke reduces the radiated noise will depend on a lot of factors, including the common mode output impedance of the router, how long the Ethernet cable is (and thus its impedance), and the common mode input impedance of the Ethernet device on the other end. Fig 20 '' Ethernet circuit Fig 20 is a simplified equivalent circuit for our Ethernet problem. Note that it's drawn as if one de-vice is a transmitter and the other is a receiver, but any box that includes digital or RF circuitry is a potential generator of RF trash. The common mode input and output impedances of the Ethernet boxes are unknown, and they have at least some connection, maybe DC, maybe capacitive, to the green wire at the AC outlet. Without the choke, the impedance of the antenna circuit (the Ethernet cable and its return path) determines the current. So to achieve good suppression, we simply need the impedance of the choke to be much higher than the series combination of the antenna and the paths to "ground." But '' hold on a minute '' what's hiding behind that ground symbol?
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 13 Fig 21 '' Ethernet circuit, including "ground" Fig 21, which includes the impedance of the path to "ground," makes it clear that there can be a lot of variables in this simple problem. Each of the X terms may be capacitive or inductive, and they will have different values at every frequency. Every wire in that series circuit will function as an an-tenna, radiating any noise current that it carries. Does that mean we must throw up our hands? Of course not. But it clearly shows why coming up with a number for how much suppression a given choke will yield is not a simple matter. Indeed, the best way to learn that for any given circuit is to wind a choke that provides the greatest impedance in a practical package and try it! Do we need chokes on both ends of that cable? The answer is, it depends. The Ethernet devices on each end of the line are both potential generators of RF trash (because they both include digital electronics). We also need to look at the length of the series circuit that includes the Ethernet ca-ble. If the cable is shorter than about Î>>/10 at the highest interfering frequency, a choke roughly near the center of the cable may be entirely sufficient. A cable that is electrically longer than Î>>/10 (or is radiating VHF trash) is far more likely to need chokes at both ends. And the chokes that work at VHF are very different from the toroidal chokes that work at HF. In the simple circuit above, the Ethernet transmitter can be seen to feed an unbalanced dipole, where the Ethernet cable is half of the dipole and a connection to "ground" via the power supply is the other! Fig 21 makes it clear that the current path is also a loop. We must never forget that our invisible "ground" circuit can be part of the antenna circuit, contributing both its length and radia-tion to the problem. And if the Ethernet device is a switch or hub that has multiple outputs, the Ethernet cables connected to each port become part of the equivalent circuit, and because each output includes a line driver, the cables connected to each output need suppression. The dc power supply for that Ethernet router may also be a source of noise, and there are two an-tennas connected to it '' the AC power line and the dc power cable going to the router. Are either or both of these cables likely to need treatment? To answer this question, let's look at their likely behavior as antennas. In a typical home, the AC power line is probably 30-50 ft long by the time it reaches the breaker panel that feeds it, which is long enough to be a pretty good antenna on 10-30 MHz, so my next choke would go on the power line side of that power supply. On the other hand, the cable between the power supply and the router is only 3 ft long, which means that it is unlikely to be a good antenna below 30 MHz. So if I hear any noise on 10 meters after I've put chokes on the Ethernet cable and the power line, I'll try a fairly small choke (7 turns around #31 or #43) on the dc power cable. Ethernet trash comes in (at least) two common forms '' multiple carriers of relatively constant am-plitude, but with some modulation (birdies), and broadband hash. The clocks are generated within the Ethernet hardware, so frequencies vary slightly from one Ethernet box to another. In almost any residential neighborhood, you'll hear clusters of Ethernet birdies around 10,107 kHz, 10,122 kHz, 14,030 kHz, 18,106 kHz, 18,120 kHz, 18,167 kHz, 21,052 kHz, 21,113 kHz, 21,174 kHz, 21,221 kHz, 21,282 kHz, 21,343 kHz, 24,878 kHz, 24,945 kHz, 28,016 kHz, 28,060 kHz, 28,120 kHz, 28,182 kHz, 28,244 kHz, 28,304 kHz, 28,366 kHz, 28,427 kHz, 50,044 kHz, 50,058 kHz, 50,105 kHz, 50,120 kHz, 50,148 kHz, 50,166 kHz. There are certainly more, but these are some I've found (nearly all of my operation is CW). In any cluster, some birdies will be louder than others, depending on the behavior of the Ethernet cables as antennas, the nastiness of the Ethernet boxes, and the proximity to your antennas. Be-
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 14 fore you begin cleaning up your own trash, identify which signals are yours by killing power to your own router, switch, or hub. This is important, because even after you've killed your own trash, you're likely to hear your neighbors (hopefully at much lower levels). If you don't know which are yours, you can end up chasing your tail. And you may not be able to completely kill your own '' most of these boxes are poorly shielded, so some trash can be radiated by internal wiring. Chapter 3 '' Back to the Basics Threshold Effect Looking again at the series circuit of Fig 21, let's say that for a particular antenna (Ethernet cable) working into a particular piece of gear, the series impedance at the frequency of the interference is 300 '.... If we are able reduce the RF current by 6 dB, (one half), the interference radiated by that cable will also drop by 6 dB in our ham receiver. To do that, a choke must add enough resistance to double the total impedance. In other words, we need to end up with 600 '.... But what if the antenna circuit is capacitive and our choke is inductive at that frequency? Some of the impedance we are adding will increase the current because it resonates with the antenna, so we may need to add more than 300 '... to hit 600 '...! How many times have you heard someone say, "ferrite beads don't work on this problem '' I added one and nothing happened." In fact, they were simply below the threshold impedance needed in that particular circuit! Once we've hit that threshold, adding more series impedance continues to reduce the current flow. RF current is re-duced by the ratio of the "before" and "after" values of the total series impedances. Since power is proportional to the square of the current, RF noise falls 6 dB per halving of the current flow. If the choke is suppressing the detection of RFI in other equipment (telephones, hi-fi systems, etc.), 6 dB less RF translates into a 12 dB reduction in detected RF (because all detection is square law). Threshold effect is the reason why adding a few clamp-on beads doesn't make a dent in RFI at HF'--you need turns to hit the threshold! Human Perception and Level Changes When a sound is not near the noise floor (or much louder than other sounds), 1 dB is approximately the smallest change in loudness that most people can hear, and a change of about 10 dB will be perceived as half (or twice) as loud. When a sound is close in loudness to other sounds, (room noise, or the band noise when we're trying to copy weak DX), a change of a few dB in one of those sounds may be heard as half (or twice) as loud. Chokes May Be Used in Series and their impedances will add algebraically (that is, taking the sign of the reactance into account). For many years, "current baluns" have been made of many ferrite cylinders at the end of piece of coax. This so-called balun is really a common mode choke, and its common mode impedance is simply the impedance of one cylinder multiplied by the number of cores. Baluns are addressed in detail in Chapter 6. Suppression at VHF Let's suppose that we have a problem with RFI on 2 meters. The most common way to provide suppression at VHF is with one or more clamp-on cores like those of Fig 8 or Fig 22. A good "rule of thumb" is that it usually takes at least 500-1,000 ohms to get far enough above the threshold to "make a dent" in RFI, and more is better. Using that guideline, three of these cores might be needed for a problem on 2 meters if there isn't already another choke in line. There's usually more than one way to skin a cat though '' Fig 23 shows that we might get close with 2 or 3 turns around our old standby #31 or #43 toroids, especially if we already have an HF choke in place to contrib-ute its impedance. Fig 22 '' A #31 Fair-Rite "clamp-on" ferrite, 1.5" long with an i.d. of 0.275"
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 15 Fig 23a '' Equivalent series resistance of multi-turn chokes on a Fair-Rite #43 2.4" o.d. toroidal core (Measured Data) Fig 24a '' Equivalent series reactance of multi-turn chokes like those of Fig 18, a Fair-Rite #31 core. (Measured data) Fig 23b '' Equivalent series resistance of multi-turn chokes on a Fair-Rite #31 2.4" o.d. toroidal core (Measured Data) Fig 24b '' Equivalent series reactance of chokes on #31 toroids of Fig 23b (Measured Data) Note: All of the data presented up to now applies to chokes wound with small diameter wire. Chokes wound with cable diameters larger than about 0.2" (RG58) have more stray capacitance, moving the resonance down to a greater extent than those wound with small wire. See Figs 41 '' 46 for data on some chokes wound with RG8 and RG8X. Using Different Chokes in Series All ferrite chokes along a cable do not need to be identical '' in-deed, in broadband suppression applications it may be necessary for them to be very different. But we must remember that the complex impedances of these chokes (that is, their resistive and inductive or capacitive elements of their series equivalent circuit) will add algebraically, so we must consider the magnitude and the sign of the reactive components of each choke. Again, the fundamental principle of using ferrite chokes for suppression comes into play '' resistance always helps us, but reactance may make things worse. When adding up the total impedance of multiple chokes, the safest approach is to count only the series equivalent resistance of each choke. For example, consider a cable wound 5 turns around a toroid to provide good suppression for the HF ham bands. Fig 23a and 23b show measured series resistance, while Figs 24a and 24b clearly show that the impedance of these chokes is capacitive above resonance, just as we would expect from Fig 15. Now, we add one or more of the clamp-ons shown in Fig 22. Between 30 and 100 MHz, the clamp-on is below resonance, so it looks like a lossy inductance. Thus, with both the VHF clamp-ons and the toroid in series on a cable, there will be some cancellation of their reac-tances in this range, but their resistive components will always add (improving the suppression). When using multiple chokes to cover different frequency ranges, always place the choke covering the highest frequency range nearest to the equipment being protected. The wire between the
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 16 equipment and that choke can still function as an antenna. Large Signal Performance Up to now, we've talked only about the "small signal" behavior of ferrites '' that is, the field produced by current in the ferrite material is too small to cause heating or non-linearity. We can define a linear device as one that has the same impedance for all values of ap-plied voltage and current. Like other magnetic materials, ferrites will saturate at some high level of current. In other words, the ferrite behaves linearly if the field within it is small, but becomes non-linear as it begins to saturate. DC Bias As a magnetic material approaches saturation its permeability decreases, approaching zero at saturation. Consider a ferrite surrounding a conductor carrying both signal and a DC cur-rent. The total field at any instant is the result of the instantaneous current, so if the DC current is large, it can move all or part of the signal into the non-linear region of the ferrite. The DC bias can also cause heating. Non-Linearity is generally a bad thing, because it causes distortion. That distortion will take the form of harmonics for a simple waveform (a constant sine wave of a single frequency) and both harmonics and intermodulation products for a complex waveform (a keyed sine wave, or transmit-ted audio). We'll talk more about this in our discussion of transmitting baluns and chokes. Non-Linearity as a Tool Non-linearity isn't always bad. Bob Kavanagh, VE3OSZ, showed how the inductance of a coil wound around a toroid could be varied by controlling DC bias applied to the coil. In this application, both the bias and the signal were sufficiently small that non-linearity was also small. ["Remote tuning of a low-frequency loop antenna," QEX May/June 2003] Fig 25 '' Impedance vs. Frequency and Temperature as a percentage of impedance at 25°C Temperature The permeability of ferrite materials varies as a function of both frequency and tem-perature, and different mixes behave very differently (Fig 25). Any RF current that produces a field in the ferrite will cause heating in the ferrite (and IR losses in the wire). If the current is small enough, the heat will be radiated and/or conducted as fast as it is produced. Larger currents, how-ever, can cause temperature to increase. At some high temperature (the Curie temperature), the ferrite will temporarily lose its magnetic properties (until it cools). The Curie temperature is differ-ent for each mix. In the #43 and #73 materials, this will in turn cause permeability to fall, which in turn allows more current, which produces more heating. In other words, thermal runaway can occur if the current is large enough and the core is small enough. The #31 material has somewhat better temperature characteristics, especially on the lower HF bands, where impedance actually increases with temperature up to about 100°C, but a rather low Curie temperature. Thermal runaway can still occur, but is a bit less likely. In general, it is impor-tant to use ferrites in a manner that 1) saturation is avoided, and 2) permeability does not signifi-cantly drop with temperature. We'll talk more about this in our discussion of transmitting chokes.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 17 Total Field A ferrite sees the instantaneous algebraic sum of the fields produced by the currents in all the conductors that it surrounds (or that are wound through it). If, for example, a ferrite sur-rounds two conductors carrying currents that are equal and opposite, (for example, "hot" and "re-turn" of a power circuit, loudspeaker line, or RF transmission line), the total field will be zero. When the currents are not equal and opposite, the ferrite sees the field resulting from that differ-ence (that is, the common mode current). This means that we can use relatively small ferrites to suppress small common mode currents on paired cables that are carrying large differential currents as long as the ferrite surrounds all the conductors. We'll show applications of this later on. Chapter 4 '' More Suppression Applications Mobile Operation Common mode noise on the DC power line can be suppressed by winding turns of both conductors around a ferrite core. But: if DC return current divides between the dedi-cated DC negative lead and the shield of the coax going to the antenna, the DC component of the flux in the ferrite core will not be zero, and if it is large enough, the choking impedance is reduced. Ferrite chokes can also be used on only the positive DC conductor to provide differential mode suppression. In a modern vehicle, we have two very different problems. When receiving, we are concerned with noise from the vehicle's electronics causing interference to our radio, but the DC current to the radio is small (typically 1-2A). When transmitting, we are concerned with our radio causing interference to the car's electronics, and in this condition, our 100 W radio is drawing 15-20A. In Chapter 3, we learned that DC current can cause some reduction in the impedance of a ferrite choke. The obvious question is, "How much is the impedance reduced?" Quantifying the Reduction in Impedance with DC Current The Fair-Rite catalog provides data for the H-field in Oersteds for 1 Ampere-Turn for many of their products. The applications section at the end of the catalog includes families of curves showing how the impedance of each material (mix) is reduced as a function of field strength and frequency. (Fig 26) A Design Example: Ten turns of the positive DC lead for a mobile transceiver is wound around our stan-dard #31 2.4" toroid, and the DC current for our mo-bile transceiver is 1A on receive. The catalog tells us that H is 0.09 oe for 1 Ampere Turn, so H = 0.9 oe in our 10-turn choke, which reduces impedance to 40% of the measured value at 10 MHz and 50% at 25 MHz. If we were to re-plot the data with H as con-stant and frequency on the horizontal axis, we could extrapolate impedance of about 32% at 5 MHz. Ap- Fig 26 '' Reduction of Impedance with DC Current (Bias) Fair-Rite #31 Mix plying these correction factors to the data of Fig 18a tells us that with 1A of bias, we could expect our 10 turn choke to look like about 1,100 '... at 5 MHz, 1,600 '... at 10 MHz, and 2,000 '... at 20 MHz. This is still a fairly reasonable choke, and should provide reasonable noise suppression for receiving. When transmitting, however, this choke will be severely saturated, reducing its imped-ance to about 250 ohms at 10 MHz. Thus, if we suspect transmitter RF coupling via the radio's power lead to the automotive electrical system, we would use a larger ferrite part '' one that has a much larger cross sectional area for flux, like the "big clamp-on" of Fig 38. A Home Entertainment System What if the problem is RFI to a home audio system from operation on 80-10 meters? The first thing we should do is look at the loudspeaker wiring, and if it is zip cord, replace it with twisted pair. If we still have interference, it's likely that common mode current on one (or more) of the cables is exciting a pin 1 problem. We need to determine which frequen-cies we're still hearing, decide which cables connected to that system are the best antennas at those frequencies, and add chokes to those cables. In the system of Fig 27, the cable between the CD player and the receiver is probably quite short, and if both units are plugged into the same outlet, the loop through the power system is likely to
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 18 be fairly short. Depending on how the system is set up, the video cable may be long or short. On the other hand, the coax coming from rooftop TV antenna of the CATV system (including the downlead for the CATV system) may be fairly long. Both are likely to be pretty decent receiving antennas. In this system, I would first try 8-10 turns of the coax around a #31 toroid, because it looks likely to be the most effective receiving antenna for my 3.5-30 MHz station. But don't rule out shorter cables for the higher bands '' the cable connecting the CD player was the culprit for 10M RFI in my own living room. Fig 27 '' A simple home A/V system CATV and Rooftop Antenna Downleads Tom Rauch, W8JI, has outlined an excellent (and very simple) strategy for lightning protection that also puts an effective band-aid on pin 1 problems when the interfering signal is on the HF bands and is being coupled by coax from a roof-mounted antenna or CATV system. Tom bonds the coax shield to the green wire of the power cord at the power outlet for the entertainment system, then extends it to the A/V system. This causes the pri-mary path to "ground" for shield current to bypass the home entertainment system and go straight to the power system "ground." The only problem with this approach is that you probably need to build some sort of simple connector box to implement it. Interference At VHF is always coupled either directly into unshielded equipment, or onto wiring that is very close to the equipment. Fair-Rite #43 or #31 materials are the best choice up to about 200 MHz. Above 200 MHz, Fair-Rite #61 material or Steward HF material are the weapons of choice. The resonance of a single turn through a #43 or #31 core is typically about 150 MHz ; 2 turns brings the resonance below 90 MHz and double the impedance at the resonant peak; 3 turns brings it below 60 MHz and double it again. Thus, the 0.3" and 0.5" i.d. cores make very good suppression chokes at 50 MHz (2-3 turns) and 144 MHz (single turn, multiple cores in series). Use Your Talkie as An Injection Probe to locate the susceptible components and wiring in a sys-tem that is experiencing VHF interference. A talkie that has a relatively sharp turn-on transient (for example, the Kenwood TH-F6A) when you key it works best. To use it, find a channel where you won't cause interference near the frequency where your radio is getting into the equipment, set the radio to transmit at full power, and key the PTT switch on and off continuously as you move it around the susceptible equipment and its wiring. Move the talkie's antenna at least a wavelength or two along each cable connected to the susceptible equipment '' it's normal to find one or two hot spots at quarter and half wave increments along the cable. If the interference is very strong, reduce transmit power to "zero in" on the susceptible points. When you find sensitive wiring, add one or more ferrite chokes as close to the equipment as practical. Wiring between the choke and the equipment will still function as an antenna. And remember threshold effect '' multiple chokes may be required to hit and exceed the threshold. Most RF Susceptibility is Frequency Dependent Equipment may be free of problems on some bands but have serious problems on others. This is not surprising '' we know that the unintentional antennas that couple interference work better or worse depending on their length, orientation,
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 19 proximity to our transmitting antennas, and many other factors. The coupling paths into equipment are often frequency-dependent, as are the paths inside the equipment that lead to the semiconduc-tor junctions where detection takes place. This means that your talkie may not be much help in probing equipment for RFI problems on the HF bands. Equipment Shielding If you've killed all the RF coming in on the cables and there's still a problem, chances are it's poor shielding of the equipment, and for that, you'll need the bucket. Nearly every powered loudspeaker I've ever seen has been a shielding and pin 1 nightmare. You can fix pin 1 with ferrites. Be sure to duck when you tell your neighbor you need to use the bucket. Advanced Troubleshooting '' Dummies Typical home entertainment systems have several blocks in the signal chain and interconnections between them. Several pieces of gear could be detecting the RF, and pin 1 problems are the most common mechanism. Pin 1 problems are excited by shield current, so if we try to isolate a problem to a piece of gear by disconnecting it, we may get false clues because we've interrupted the RF current path with the disconnection, not because we've found the problematic equipment. Bill Whitlock developed an innovative solution to this dilemma, in the form a cable adapter he calls a "dummy." The dummy is very simple, and easy to build. It can take two forms. One is a "barrel" adapter, with a male connector on one end and a female on the other. There is no connection be-tween the male and the female, except for the shield contact. The female connector has a 10K re-sistor between "hot" and "return," while the male has a low value resistor (270-470 ohms) between hot and return. If the connector is unbalanced, return is the shell. In a balanced connector, it's the other signal lead. If a barrel connector is not available, we can use the other practical form of a dummy '' a pair of male and female connectors with a cable connecting only their shields together and the resistors within each connector. To use the dummy, insert it at various points in the signal chain and note whether the interference is present or not. Since there is no signal connection between the two ends of the connector, any detected RF that you're hearing must be getting detected downstream of the dummy. If you then break the connection to the dummy and the hum, buzz, or RF goes away, you know that there is hum, buzz, or RF shield current at the point where you broke the connection. Dummies are espe-cially useful in chasing RFI on the HF bands where the talkie doesn't help. RFI to Telephone Systems Telephone wir-ing is an effective receiving antenna for the HF bands, and most consumer tele-phone products have poor immunity. Again, the path for antenna current is through the phone and its power supply to "ground." Phones often have both common mode and differential mode sus-ceptibility. Ferrite chokes can reduce the common mode coupling, but differential coupling calls for a capacitor with good RF characteristics across the telephone line. This capacitor shouldn't have too high a value '' if it does, it could degrade the au-dio response '' and the leads must be very short. Fig 28-Common Mode Chokes for Telephone Lines Remember that twisted pair wiring inherently rejects RF and noise coupling, and the better the quality of the twisted pair, the better the rejection. CAT5/6 cable works very well for telephone wiring '' it is plentiful, inexpensive, easy to work with, and has both a very high twist ratio and very good bandwidth. Replacing existing telephone wiring with twisted pair is a very good first step. Fig 28 shows measurements of some common mode chokes that are known to be effective in suppressing of RFI to telephones from HF transmitters. The thing that all of these filters have in common is very high common mode impedance. Filters AM-1 and RF-1 are sold by John Browne,
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 20 KI6KY http://www.ky-filters.com/ Filters RF-2 and RF-2 BC are K-Com filters. Pete Krieger, K8COM, the manufacturer of the K-Com filters, has closed his business and retired. Filters YC-1 and YC-2 are my own design, and will be most effective on 160M and 80M. YC-1 is 30 turns of the telephone cable wound on one 2.4-inch #31 toroid. YC-2 is 22 turns wound on two toroids. For 40M or 30M, start with one 12-turn choke and add a second in series if needed. The RFI-1 KY fil-ter should be effective on the HF bands. RFI to DSL Modems DSL modems utilize the RF spectrum between about 25 kHz and 2MHz. Be-gin by using CAT5 for as much as possible of the wiring that carries the DSL signal, especially wir-ing that is exposed to interfering transmit antennas (including any radial system). Next, add YC-1 or YC-2 filters to every cable connected to the DSL modem, including its power supply. In your station, use a coaxial transmitting choke having at least 5,000 '... choking impedance at the feed-point of every transmitting antenna. Make sure that your tower ground, power system ground, telephone system ground, CATV ground, and shack ground all have a low impedance bond to a single point that is then bonded to all earth electrodes. If interference persists, differential filtering may be required. Use a low-pass filter with the highest practical cutoff frequency, taking into consideration the ham bands on which you will transmit. For example, if you use 160M, design the filter for a cutoff around 1.5 MHz; if 80M or 40M is your lowest band, use 2.5 MHz, and 5 MHz if 40M is the lowest band. Paired audio cables, including telephone cables, are not 600 ohms '' their characteristic impedance is 80-100 ohms, so the filter should be designed for 90 ohm source and load impedances. A very nice filter design program, SVCFilter, is included on the CDROM that accompanies the ARRL Handbook. It can also be downloaded from. http://www.tonnesoftware.com/svcfilter.html Set it for a 90 ohm design im-pedance. Carefully study the filter response to see if there's any variation in the time response in the passband. If there is, use a different filter configuration '' more poles, a higher cutoff fre-quency, a different filter type '' that minimizes the variation. Doorbells, Smoke Alarms, etc. Coupling of RF into these products is often differential mode. When it is, a good RF capacitor across the terminals is usually an effective fix. 0.1 '' 0.47 µF will usually do the job. Be sure that the voltage rating of the capacitor is sufficient '' study product documentation to see what voltages are used. Most products like this use 12-24 volts for control. Don't rule out the possibility of replacing the wiring for these systems with good twisted pair cable '' if you can get at the wiring. Shielding is not usually important, but twisting is. In addition, foil/drain cable shields can actually cause RF interference in twisted pair cables '' see the tutorials about shield-current-induced noise (SCIN) at http://audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm Suppression "At the End of the Line" Some devices that receive interference have only one set of wires connected to them, counting the power supply, so there is no path for RF current through the device. An example might be a smoke detector that has built-in electronics but no power sup-ply '' instead, it obtains its power from the same cable that connects the sensor to a main unit. When the device is at the end of the line, there is no path for common mode current to flow through the device, so the interference is almost certain to be coupled in the differential mode (that is, between the terminals of the signal wiring or the power wiring). "End of the line" interfer-ence cannot be suppressed with a choke '' there is no RF current to suppress. Most 'end of the line" problems are solved by a capacitor across the line to short out the interfer-ence. The capacitor must not be so large that it weakens or distorts the waveform of the desired signal, but large enough to reduce the strength of the RF signal. In some cases, a low pass filter may be required. More than One Coupling Mechanism Most cases of interference are coupled by more than one mechanism. The total interference will be the algebraic sum (that is, considering both magnitude and phase) of all of the interference mechanisms that are at play in that particular system. Usually, but not always, one will be dominant, and when it is eliminated, interference from the others may still be heard. We may, for example, kill the common mode current with a choke and reduce the interference, but there may still be some differential mode interference present that needs a ca-pacitor across the signal line to kill it. There may be more than one common mode current path,
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 21 as in the examples of the Ethernet equipment and the home entertainment system. Twisted Pair Cable I can't say it enough '' zip cord is terrible for RFI, and twisted pair solves many problems. If you have RFI and the cable is anything but coax or a good twisted pair, try to replace the cable. This is true for virtually all systems '' anything from the sensor for a smoke detector to telephone wiring to big loudspeaker cables. Shielded cable rarely solves RFI problems, partly be-cause to do anything useful cable shielding must continuous with equipment shielding, and lots of equipment to which you would like to connect it is unshielded! Cylindrical vs. Snap-On Cores As you can see from the data (Appendix 1), cylindrical cores per-form much better in the lower HF spectrum than equivalent Snap-On cores, but only about 10% better at VHF. The Snap-On cores are also nearly double the cost. Their principle advantage is their ease of use '' you can fit them onto a lot more cables without taking the connector off. Fair-Rite Data for 1-3 Turns Since I first published my work about five years ago, Fair-Rite has up-dated their online catalog with impedance data for 1, 2, and 3 turns through many of their sup-pression components. To access it, click on a part number to see a detailed data sheet, then scroll down to the bottom and click on Impedance Curve. Estimating the Performance of Multi-Turn Chokes Without Measured Data Unfortunately, other manufacturers don't publish much data for multi-turn chokes, and even Fair-Rite data only goes up to three turns. Beyond that, the measured data that I have published is nearly the only publicly available data on multi-turn ferrite chokes! You can, however, begin with published data and use our data as the basis for "guestimating" how another part will behave with multiple turns. Suppress Differential Mode Interference in FM and TV Receiving Antennas with traditional high pass, low pass, bandpass, and bandstop filters. Tin Lee Electronics, near Toronto, makes a broad selection of filters. www.tinlee.com Install the filter upstream of the first electronic device that is being overloaded by the interference. In Chicago, I used a bandpass filter on the FM-only antenna and a high pass filter on the TV antenna (in addition to common mode chokes on both antennas). Also, remember that after the DTV conversion, there are almost no TV stations operating below Channel 7 (174 MHz), and most are on UHF channels, so a high pass filter that cuts off above 2M should be sufficient. Study http://www.fcc.gov/dtv/markets/ for your area. Chapter 5 '' Suppressing Interference To Your Ham Station In addition to the weak signals of the DX we're trying to work, our ham antennas are bombarded with RF trash from a plethora of electronic devices, electrical appliances, and other equipment, both within our own homes, and in the surrounding neighborhood. The noise may be conducted on the power line, and it may be radiated both by power wiring and by other antennas connected to the noise source. Common noise sources include computers and computer peripherals, com-puter network hardware, power supplies for equipment, battery chargers, AC-AC converters for low voltage lighting, electric fences, and motors. Power Line Filters Since the power line is often both a conductor and a radiator of noise, we need to know how to take it out of the picture effectively. Most noise sources couple both common mode and differential mode signals, so both need to be addressed. Fig 29a '' Commercial Line Filters, and a typical schematic
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 22 Commercial AC power line filters (Fig 29a) typically include both common mode and differential mode filtering. Like most products, line filters are built to a wide range of performance levels to fit needs and budgets. Like any passive network, line filters are directional, because their operation depends on both source impedance and load impedance (but thanks to the impedance relation-ships, they don't work equally well in both directions). For data and photos for more filters I found at a local surplus house, see http://audiosystemsgroup.com/PowerFilters.pdf . In the schematic of Fig 29a, the inductor is a common mode choke. C1 and C2 function as voltage dividers with the imbalance and leakage inductance of the choke to form a differential mode filter. C1 minimizes noise coupling from load to line, while C2 minimizes coupling from line to load. The two capacitors Cy form a common mode filter for noise coupled from the power line to the equipment. Cy must be small in value to satisfy electrical safety codes, which limit leakage current to about 5 mA '' 4.7 nF is typical. Typical values for C1 and C2 are 0.22 '' 0.47 µF. Specifications for most good commercial filters are available on line. Study them carefully when choosing a filter. Note that these data are for a 50 ohm source and load network (called a LISN) specified by the FCC. While the LISN make the filters relatively easy to measure, it is a somewhat fictional representation of the real world '' it is, in essence, the "mean" of data for typical power sys-tems. The common mode impedance of a typical power system branch circuit ranges from about 30 ohms to about 300 ohms at radio frequencies. Because filters work by forming voltage dividers, two elements of which are their source and load impedances, the performance of any filter can vary widely from its published specifications, and will be better if the source impedance (at radio frequencies) of the AC line is lower. Fig 29b '' Published Specifications for Some Small Power Line Filters Fig 18b suggests that the filter shown in Fig 30 should provide about 3k Ohms RS between 2 and 10 MHz, and tests with some noisy low voltage lighting equipment correlated well with this pre-diction. It is less effective at higher frequencies, because its stray capacitance places its resonant frequency in the 10-20 MHz range, thus tending to short out the loss component of the choke above that range. This could be addressed in several ways. First, the wire is larger than needed for most applications '' most AC line cords are built with #18 wire. Winding the choke with #18 wire would likely raise the resonant frequency a bit because the turns could be less "jammed together". Alternatively, a second choke with fewer turns could be added in series with the first one. Fig 18 and 19 suggest that 7 turns on #31 or #43 should work well. A Home-Brew Filter The "brute force" line filter of Fig 30 provides effective line filtering for the lower HF bands (10 MHz and below). The choke is wound with a twisted pair of #12 THHN stranded wire on a #31 2.4" o.d. core, so it can be safely used in a 20A circuit. As in the commercial filters, the capacitor forms a dif-ferential mode filter with the imbalance in the induc-tance of the choke, and should always be on the end of the filter opposite the noise source. Since only the "phase" (hot) and neutral conductors pass through the choke, the equipment ground conductor (green wire) must be carried around the filter (that is, from power source to load). The capacitor should be about 0.47 µF, Only Type X1, X2, Y1 and Y2 capacitors, which are spe-cifically tested to withstand the high voltage spikes that Fig 30 '' A line filter for 1-14 MHz
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 23 can occur on power wiring should be used. Choose this capacitor carefully '' if it fails, it could catch on fire! Using Line Filters A line filter should be always as close as possible to the source of the noise so that the loop area (and antenna length) of wiring carrying the noise current is minimized. The home I bought here in California came with several low voltage lighting fixtures, all of which use very compact, and very noisy, 120 VAC to 12VAC "electronic transformers" (switching power sup-plies) that fit in the ceiling backbox for the lighting fixture. I tried two approaches. Both work fairly well '' if you can fit the filters where you need them. Method #1 '' build the ferrite choke of Fig 30 and cram it into the backbox. This choke works electrically '' it completely eliminated noise from very nasty power supplies that was radiating into my 160/80 meter vertical only 30 feet away. Unfortunately, it doesn't fit inside the backbox, so I would need to shove it into the ceiling behind the backbox. Fire safety considerations suggested that I try another approach. Method #2 '' mount a suitably small line filter to the back side of the metal plate that mounts the nasty 120-12V "electronic transformer" to the backbox, and connect it in series with the AC line by the shortest practical leads. This works mechanically, and it works well enough electrically that while I hear a bit of noise on the vertical, I don't hear it on the high dipole at about 100 ft. Method #3 '' wind chokes around smaller toroidal cores and cram them into the backbox. I've done this with a different set of lighting fixtures, and it works a bit, but not well enough. There's significant noise reduction, but I still hear noise on high 20 meter antennas (I need about 10 dB more suppression), and on a Beverage that runs within about 50 ft of the noisy wiring (I need 12-18 dB more suppression). Which leads us to method #4. Method #4 '' use both the commercial filter and the smaller toroidal choke. Method #5 '' find and install a 12 power supply with good noise suppression. Method #6 '' replace the power supply with a real transformer. The main problem with this ap-proach is that a suitably rated transformer won't fit in the ceiling backbox. Wall Wart Power Supplies and Battery Chargers These products can be very nasty noise sources. Build either the commercial filter or the home brew choke into a steel electrical backbox, mount-ing multiple 2-gang outlets to the top of the box. Plug the noisy power supplies directly into the outlets. This minimizes the current path between the noise source and the filter. Long line cords plugged into these outlets may still need a toroidal choke (as close as practical to the equipment). And don't forget a multi-turn choke on the dc lead to the equipment. Ferrite Chokes On a Service Drop Radiation of common mode noise from a typical residential overhead 240V power service can be sup-pressed by adding ferrite cores to the twisted triplet as it enters the premises. In Fig 31, six "big clamp-ons" (Fig 38) provided some sup-pression of noise on 40 and 30 meters to the antenna that ran parallel and fairly close to the power drop. This technique can only be used when the ferrite surrounds all three current-carrying conductors (two phases and the neu-tral), not just one of them. Thus, the ferrite sees only the common mode current, not the load current. The other cable visible in the photo is a telephone line, and chokes were applied to it at the point where it entered the house. Fig 31 '' Chokes on a Power Line (the bare conduc-tor is the neutral, and is grounded) Try Killing Power to Your House Many RFI specialists, including Mike Martin, K3RFI, recommend this as a first step in finding the sources of RF noise that you're hearing in your ham station. Al-ways start by cleaning up your own house. In the process, you'll learn a lot of things to look for if
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 24 you have the need (and the opportunity) to eliminate noise in the homes of your neighbors. It's pretty easy to run a ham receiver from a 12V battery '' indeed, all the radio gear in my ham shack (with the exception of the power amps) runs from a big 12V battery that is float charged by a regu-lated power supply. You'll be surprised by how much noise goes away when you kill the power to your own house. Then, while listening to your receiver, turn one circuit at a time back on at a time and track down the noise sources on that circuit using a process of elimination. Chapter 6 '' Baluns So-called "baluns" are widely used in ham stations, but few hams understand how they work or what their real function is. Virtually all discussions of baluns begin by saying that a balun is used to connect balanced antennas to unbalanced transmission lines '' it's like jazz coming up the river from New Orleans. While both statements contain a grain of truth, there's a lot more to both sto-ries! This chapter is an attempt to fill that void. In an ideal radio system, the transmission line for our antenna would act as if the transmitter (or receiver) was physically located at the feedpoint of the antenna, with nothing in between. There would be no loss, and no interaction of the feedline with the antenna. We've gotten to this point with microwave systems '' indeed, all of the RF electronics for many of these systems can clamp onto the back of a dish and drive it directly. We're not there with HF (or even VHF) systems though, and not likely to get there, thanks to the power levels, wavelengths, and antenna types that are practical. So in the real world, we're stuck with transmission lines for most of our anten-nas. The primary function of most baluns, at least in our ham stations, is to minimize the interac-tion of our antennas with the transmission lines that connect them to our radios. So let's dive in and learn a bit more about how antennas, transmission lines, and baluns work. Balance We should begin by defining a balanced circuit. A balanced circuit is not defined by the equality of current or voltage on the two conductors. Rather, a balanced circuit is one in which the impedances of the two conductors to the reference plane are equal in both magnitude and phase. A balanced circuit functions as a Wheatstone bridge, rejecting noise by virtue of the balance of the impedances within that system. [There is an excellent analysis of this in Whitlock, JAES, June 1995, and also on the Jensen Transformer website.] Antennas and Balance We like to think of a center-fed dipole as a balanced antenna, and in an ideal world it would be. To achieve that, we would need to suspend it over perfectly flat and uni-formly conducting earth, between electrically symmetrical support structures. There could be no buildings below it, no wiring, no conductive objects around it that were not perfectly symmetrical with the antenna, and the feedline would need to be perfectly perpendicular to the antenna all the way to the transmitter. As hams, few of us are able to install anything approaching a balanced antenna. We must suspend them from metal towers, trees, or the side of building. Often the ground beneath them is not flat, there are power lines, telephone lines, and there is wiring in nearby buildings. The antenna has capacitive and inductive coupling to all conductive objects in its near field. Rarely will that coupling be symmetrical, and rarely will it be possible to quantify it. In short, even the best of our antennas are a compromise. An example of a ham antenna that might have met that criteria of a balanced antenna was a dipole I was able to hang between two identical towers on top of the EE building at the University of Cin-cinnati when I was a student and trustee of W8YX in the early 60's. I used the word "might" be-cause although the towers were mounted symmetrically on the building, one held a large beam antenna. There goes the balance! Even with ideal ladder line feeding our real world "sort of" balanced antenna, the antenna imbal-ances cause the currents in the two halves of the antenna to be unbalanced (that is, unequal), so the current on two sides of our balanced feedline are not equal. The imbalance between the two currents is a common mode current, and it causes radiation from the feedline! And because all antennas work in reverse, any current flowing on the feedline couples unequally to the two sides of the antenna. The difference between those currents is sent back down the feedline as a differ-ential signal to our receiver. That feedline current could be noise from our neighbor's battery
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 25 charger, or a station coming from a direction we thought our beam antenna was rejecting. Coaxial Feedlines and Balance A coaxial feedline can add to the imbalance that already exists in our real world antenna. Because it is the most obvious of the imbalances (although not necessarily the dominant one) it is the one that we pay the most attention to. The way we pay attention to it is by adding a lump at the feedpoint that the guy at the ham radio store tells us is a balun. It's all nicely glued into a weatherproof housing that we can't take apart without destroying it, and the data sheet tells us nothing more than how wonderful it is. So now we're back where we started, asking "What is a balun?" And while we're at it, perhaps we should ask how it works. Types of Baluns There are three fundamental types of baluns, and several variations within each type. The three types are very different electrically, and they interact differently with the imbal-ances of both the feedline and the antenna. Voltage Baluns A "voltage" balun is essentially a transformer, most often with a primary and one or more secondary windings on a ferrite core. The Ruthroff baluns described by the late Jerry Sevick, W2FMI, and Doug DeMaw, W1FB, and the W2AU balun sold by Unadilla, are transformers (that is, "voltage" baluns) that use ferrites as a core to carry the flux between windings. Transmission Line Balun A balun can also take the form of a half-wavelength of transmission line (Fig 32). In the most common configuration, the center conductor of a 50 ohm line is connected directly to one side of a 100 ohm antenna and also to a half-wavelength of the same line, which in turn drives the other half of the an-tenna. The two sides of the antenna are thus driven in parallel, but 180 degrees out of phase with each other (but only at the frequency for which the transformer (the extra length of line) is one-half wavelength. As we move away from that frequency, the phase shift will be a bit more or a bit less. The antenna still works, but the balance degrades a bit. Fig 32 '' A Half-Wave Balun Current Baluns First published by Guanella and pioneered by Sevick, Joe Riesert (W1JR), and Walt Maxwell (W2DU), current baluns are actually common mode chokes applied to a feedline. Cur-rent baluns see only the common mode field. When wound with coax, this is true because all of the magnetic field associated with common mode current is outside the line, while all of the field associated with the transport of power from the transmitter to the antenna is inside the coax. When wound with parallel wires, the core sees the sum of flux from currents of opposite polarity; the differential components cancel, leaving only the common mode flux (due to the imbalance in the system). Current baluns work by adding a high impedance in series with the common mode impedance of the line, thus reducing the common mode current to a very small value '' if no com-mon mode current is allowed to flow on the transmission line, the current on the left half of the antenna must be equal to the current on the right half of the antenna, simply because there is no other path for current. There are three fundamental types of current baluns. Solenoid Balun The coaxial line is wound into a coil at the antenna. The choking imped-ance is the inductance of the coil. Reisert describes several designs for solenoid baluns (see Appendix 4), and the ARRL Handbook includes several designs for solenoid baluns. Inductive Ferrite Choke Balun The line is wound around a toroidal ferrite core that has low loss at the frequency where the balun is used, so all (or nearly all) of the impedance is in-ductive. The line may be coax or it may be bifilar (parallel wires). Reisert's toroidal baluns are wound on a material like #61 that has low losses at HF (Fig 12, Fig 33). [Reisert also introduced the concept of a crossover winding style, whereby half of the choke was wound in one direction around the toroid, then crossed 180 degrees to the other side of the toroid and wound in the opposing direction. Sevick noted that he was unable to measure any ef-fect of this technique. My measurements confirm Sevick's results.] Lossy Ferrite Choke Balun Maxwell introduced the concept of passing a coaxial line
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 26 through a string of lossy ferrite cores to form a common mode choke, a design which has come to be known as the W2DU balun. Maxwell's design consists of 50 Fair-Rite 2673002402 beads, 0.19" long and just big enough to fit over RG-303 coax (Fig 34). One of his experimental models used 300 beads, and measured 4500 +j3800 ohms at 4 MHz. Notice that his choke is resonant at about 8.5 MHz because that is where his #73 beads are resonant. A W2DU balun will be most effective on 40M, 30M, and 20M. Fig 33 '' RS for chokes on 2.4" o.d. Fair-Rite #61 Fig 34 '' A W2DU Balun (Measured Data) Others have proposed variations of the W2DU balun without realizing the importance of resis-tance. Fig 35 is computed data for straight uncoiled "string of bead" choke baluns using 1.125" long #31 beads. As with all bead baluns, the impedance of a straight balun is approximately equal to the impedance of one bead multiplied by the number of beads in the string. The W0IYH balun uses 100 #43 beads, 0.562" long, 0.25" i.d. The resonance of these beads (and thus the balun) is around 150 MHz, so these baluns are strongly inductive on the HF bands! K3LR has measured them. His results suggest considerable stray capacitance, which in turn suggests either measure-ment error (stray capacitance is a common measurement error) or that his string of beads may be coiled (increasing stray C, lowering FRES, and improving performance). Fig 35 '' Equivalent Series Resistance of #31 Bead Baluns (Computed from Fair-Rite Data) Advantages of Current Baluns Maxwell seems to have been the first to realize that with a current balun, loss in the ferrite is not a bad thing if you have enough of it! (We'll discuss this in detail a little later). Maxwell, and Roy Lewallen (W7EL) showed that a current balun has some important advantages over a voltage balun, and that the advantages are so great that only current baluns should be used in most ham radio applications. [Walt Maxwell, "Some Aspects of the Balun Prob-lem," QST March 1983, http://w2du.com/r2ch21.pdf ] [Roy Lewallen, W7EL, "Baluns: What They Do and How They Do It," http://www.eznec.com/Amateur/Articles/Baluns.pdf ] The ARRL Antenna Compendium Vol 1] Let's look at those advantages. Because the core sees only the common mode flux, a much smaller ferrite core is needed to handle high power without saturation. If the common mode impedance is high enough, common mode current can be forced to
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 27 near zero, which in turn forces near ideal balance. Disadvantages of "String of Bead" Baluns The common mode (choking) impedance is the imped-ance of one bead multiplied by the number of beads. As a result, 1) We are stuck with the resonant frequency of the bead used in the string. If the bead is inductive, the choke will be inductive, and nearly all commonly available beads are induc-tive in the HF spectrum. The exception is Fair-Rite #73 (see Fig 34), and the largest cable that fits through the largest #73 bead is RG-303. 2) As Figs 34 and 35 show, it takes a very large number of beads to achieve even modest choking impedance. The usual compromise is using too few beads, which results in insuf-ficient choking impedance. The resulting common mode current can overheat the balun, often to the point of failure, and couple RX noise. 3) This is a very inefficient use of the ferrite material. Disadvantages of Voltage Baluns The ferrite core of a transformer balun (the Ruthroff "voltage balun") sees all of the transmitted power, so it is easily overheated and saturated by high power. Because voltage baluns are carrying the entire transmitted signal, they should not be allowed to saturate, because that would create both harmonic distortion and intermodulation distortion. You will be quite unpopular on the ham bands if you do either, and you will be quite likely to do so if you run high power through a voltage balun unless it is a very large one. This leads to the first two big negatives for voltage baluns '' they must be large to handle power, and they can generate both harmonics and splatter if they are overloaded. Related to these negatives are two important design constraints '' the cores of voltage baluns must have relatively low loss, and they need fairly high permeability to support the flux needed to carry the power. This limits them to a material like Fair-Rite #61 or #67. And yet another negative for voltage baluns '' any loss component in the ferrite core reduces the quality of the balance that the balun is providing, and real ferrites have losses. The result is that voltage baluns don't do a very good job of providing balance either! When used in a transformer (voltage) balun, or in a choke wound with parallel wire line, a core with high losses (#31, #43, #73, #77, #78) will convert much of the transmitter power into heat. The result are 1) high losses (that is, several dB of the transmitter output is lost in the balun); 2) balun performance may degrade due to heating; 3) the balun may overheat; 4) the balun (or the line) may fail due to overheating (that is, the line may melt and either deform or short, the ferrite may crack). Although voltage baluns are still sold and advocated in articles about ham building projects by au-thors who don't know any better, most authorities believe that they cause more problems than they solve, and should be avoided when there are other good options. This author strongly con-curs. There is a far better way to transform impedances using ferrite cores. See Impedance Trans-formation with Current Chokes later in this chapter. Lossy Toroidal Coaxial Chokes Winding multiple turns of a coaxial feedline through one or more lossy toroidal cores is simply another (and usually better) way to construct a W2DU balun. It is better because 1) it makes much more efficient use of the ferrite than a string of beads; and be-cause 2) it is easy to achieve much higher choking impedances in a very practical form and at rea-sonable cost than with any other form of balun; and because 3) a high level of performance can be obtained over a wide frequency range with a single part. Conceptually, lossy toroidal coaxial chokes are no different from W2DU's original design, they have all of the advantages of other cur-rent baluns, and they can provide much better performance over greater bandwidth. Disadvantages of the Reisert Toroidal Balun Because the design uses a low loss (high Q) material, the choke has a very high impedance only in the narrow range of frequencies to which it is tuned '' roughly one-half octave. Below that range it is inductive with very low loss, and above that range it is capacitive, with loss that increases with frequency. It takes a lot of turns around a lot of cores to achieve acceptable performance on the lower HF bands, and a given choke is likely to be a good performer on only one ham band. Significantly better performance over a much wider frequency
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 28 range can be achieved with lossy toroids. This has major implications when the objective is reduc-ing receive noise coupled from the transmission line to the antenna '' the lossy toroid choke is ca-pable of significantly more suppression and significantly greater bandwidth. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Solenoid Balun The principle advantage of solenoid chokes is their simplicity. Losses and dissipation are inconsequential. Solenoid baluns (coiled up coax) must be relatively large if they are to provide even relatively moderately high choking impedance (typically 500 '' 1,500 ohms), and are only practical on the upper HF bands. Using Common Mode Chokes As Baluns Maxwell taught us to use a common mode choke at the feedpoint of an antenna to minimize interaction of the feedline with the antenna '' that is, to de-couple the feedline from the antenna. This choke ("current balun") works by inserting a high com-mon mode impedance in series with the feedline, ideally as close to the feedpoint as possible. The obvious question is, how much impedance is enough? There are (at least) four criteria. Dissipation The choking impedance must be high enough to reduce common mode current to the level such that the choke cannot overheat and damage the core or the coax. Pattern Distortion We would like the choking impedance to be high enough so that feedline current does not distort the pattern of the antenna. Noise Coupling The choking impedance should be high enough that any noise current that may be received on the feedline behaving as an antenna cannot flow onto the intentional antenna. RFI Prevention The choking impedance should be high enough that the feedline does not radi-ate transmitter current near susceptible equipment in your home (or a neighbor's). How Much is Enough? Traditionally, "choke baluns" have been built around the assumption that a choking impedance on the order of 500 '... was enough. Maxwell considered 1,000 '... sufficient to eliminate pattern distortion, and considered his bead balun design sufficient to handle maximum legal power, although others have debated that assertion. In a self-published applications note, Chuck Counselman, W1HIS, suggested that a choking impedance of 5,000 '... as a more suitable target value to optimize noise suppression. My work and experience prove him correct. The Dissipation Question is one of the most important, yet can be tricky to get a good handle on. For a simple common mode choke in a pure 50 ohm system, it's simple '' worst case puts the full transmitter voltage across the choke under the condition of infinite imbalance, so the power is simply E2/R. For a 1.5kW CW or SSB transmitter, the PEP voltage is 275 volts, but heat is pro-duced by the average voltage, and the average voltage, even with heavy compression is at least 6dB less (one half, 138 volts). 275 volts (keydown) will burn 15 watts in a choke that is 5,000 ohms resistive, which is our design criteria. But once we start talking or sending CW, the average power drops by 6dB (one quarter) to less than 4 watts! Key-down modes like AM, FM, and RTTY will still burn 15 watts, but most transmitters and amplifiers must be de-rated by 2-3dB for key-down modes. If the duty cycle is 66% (continuous contest CQ'ing with few answers), we'd be hit-ting the choke with about 10 watts key-down and 2.5 watts for CW and SSB. The analysis above is for a 50 ohm system. What if the choke is on the output side of an antenna tuner (for example, up in the air at the feedpoint, or somewhere along the line) and the tuner is stepping up the impedance to match a higher impedance load? An impedance step-up of 4:1 dou-bles the voltage, which increases dissipation by 6dB, so our worst case CW or SSB dissipation is back to 10 watts. Increase the impedance to 400 ohms and CW/SSB dissipation rises to 14 watts. And all of this analysis is for an antenna that very badly unbalanced! Can a choke that provides 5,000 ohms choking impedance dissipate this much power? First, virtu-ally heating shows up primarily in the conductor(s), not in the core. Any choke wound according to our 5,000 ohm design criteria can handle 4 watts, even in an enclosure with no air circulation. 15 watts is no problem if the choke is exposed to air, and may work in an enclosure. 60 watts (keydown modes, full legal power) is likely to overheat a single core choke, but unlikely to cause problems with a big multi-core choke. It all depends on the choke we use. As we'll learn later on, we'll need 5 turns of RG8 through five 2.4" o.d. #31 toroids to achieve 5,000 ohms RS on 160, 80 meters, and 40 meters. We'll also learn about some bifilar chokes that can get us there.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 29 Seven turns of RG8 will easily fit without a connector, four turns with a connector, so these are very practical chokes! Temperature rise is further minimized by leaving cores exposed to air flow (Fig 36 and 37). And remember, this is an extreme worst case set of operating conditions! [All cores look alike '' the orange tape on these cores tells me these are mix #31.] Fig 36 '' Coaxial Chokes Wound to Minimize L and C Fig 37 '' A Bifilar Choke How Chokes Fail Common mode chokes subjected to high power fail when they are under-designed (that is, they have insufficient choking resistance), and when they are mistreated (that is, when they are in line with an antenna that is badly unbalanced and run at high power levels). Us-ing the analysis of Fig 36, it is easy to see how a choke that provides only 500 ohms choking im-pedance might easily overheat in this worst case condition. Weight: A 2.4" o.d. #31 toroid weighs about 4 oz, and we need less than 8 ft of coax for five turns, so a five core choke on RG8 will add just about 4 lb to the weight of the antenna. The "Big Clamp-On" in Fig 5, data in Fig 39, can also be used for coaxial chokes; it weighs 11 oz, and is equivalent to three or four toroids. Can we use smaller coax? Probably, especially if our antennas are always reasonably well behaved. The failures mostly come when they are not. W8JI reports that he often feeds high dipoles for 160 and 80 with RG6 to reduce weight, thus reducing sag and the strain on support lines, and that a good RG6 will handle full legal power. My "workhorse" 160/80/40 dipole, fed with 150 ft of RG59B that I bought from "The Wireman" several years ago, worked fine with the full output of my Titan amp, even with a mismatch on the line that ap-proached 2.5:1 during SSB contests. I've since replaced it with RG11 to reduce loss. Choking Impedance and Noise Suppression Once we've satisfied the dissipation criteria, the abil-ity of the common mode choke to suppress noise comes into play. The mechanism is simple. Any RF noise around your antenna will induce RF current on your feedline (and onto your antenna). When current flows on your antenna, you hear it in the receiver. The choke suppresses noise by adding a high resistance to common mode current between the feedline and your antenna, which in turn prevents it from showing up at the feedpoint and being sent back down the line to your re-ceiver. For good noise suppression, the series choking impedance should be as high as possible. Again, 5,000 ohms is a good target value, and more could be better. How Much Noise Reduction? Noise coupled from the feedline to the antenna will be reduced by 20 log (I2/I1)dB, where I2 and I1 are the common mode noise current with and without the choke. Once you've added enough choking impedance that the common mode current is dominated by that impedance, the noise reduction is 20 log (Z1/Z2)dB, where Z2 and Z1 are the common mode impedance with and without the choke. In other words, you get 6 dB of noise reduction for each halving of the current or doubling of the series impedance. This simple math explains why a 5K ohm choke is better than a 1K ohm choke! Choking Impedance and RFI Prevention Again, a higher value of choking impedance is better. If the choking impedance is high enough to satisfy dissipation requirements, it's likely to be enough to prevent RFI in your home. When should you use a "string of beads" choke, and when is a toroid choke better? The answer lies in factors like size, cost, and weight needed to achieve sufficient choking resistance. Both will work quite well '' if enough core material and turns are used to provide enough choking imped-
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 30 ance. A multi-turn choke on the right toroid is a far more efficient use of ferrite material, because impedance is multiplied by the square of the turns ratio, so a multi-turn toroidal choke is the clear winner below 30MHz. (See Table One in Chapter 7 for a cost and weight vs. benefits analysis.) When are "string of beads" chokes OK? Many rules are made to be broken. A few years ago, K3LR asked me if it was OK to form a W0IYH string of beads using clamp-ons on his 10M antennas, where the feedlines had been carefully phased for stacking, and modifying their length to add multi-turn chokes wasn't practical. Fig 35 shows that the answer is yes '' if enough beads are used to provide sufficient resistance that even if the feedline resonates with their inductance, the resis-tance still kills the common mode current. Fig 35 also shows that a relatively small "string of beads" can be quite effective on 6M and 2M. Fig 35 is computed for beads that are 0.562 inches long. Roughly half that number of 1.125-inch beads will provide equivalent performance. Temperature Characteristics At HF, especially below 25 MHz, the #31 material is a bit less sub-ject to thermal runaway than #43 and #73 materials. (See Fig 25 and the associated discussion.) Impedance Transformation with Current Chokes Very good impedance transformation can be achieved by wiring good common mode chokes in series-parallel configurations. Exam-ples are the high power "baluns" sold by DX En-gineering to match 200 ohm, 300 ohm, and 450 ohm line to 50 ohm coax. The chokes are wired in parallel on the low impedance side and in series on the high impedance side. Fig 38 shows a 4:1 version of this design. The primary design considerations are that 1) the common mode impedance of each choke must be large Fig 38 '' Current Choke (Guanella) Transformer enough that they do not short each other out or dissipate significant power; and 2) the common mode impedances of the chokes must reasonably matched each other. Two such chokes in se-ries/parallel provides a 4:1 impedance transformation, three chokes provides a 9:1 transformation. The high power baluns manufactured by DX Engineering are Guanella "current" baluns. You can easily wind your own for a fraction of the cost following my guidelines for coaxial chokes on #31 or #43 cores, or with bifilar windings on those cores using the measured data in Appendix One as a guide. Putting them in an box, however, is not so easy. There will be stray capacitance between the chokes, and between the chokes and a conductive enclosure. With a non-conductive enclosure, there can be capacitance to metal around the enclosure. This capacitance adds to what is already there, so it can detune the chokes, lowering their resonant frequencies, and it can de-grade system balance. In other words, building 1:4 and 1:9 chokes isn't as easy as it looks. Dissipation W8JI, designer of the DX Engineering baluns, notes that connecting either terminal (or even a center tap) of the high impedance side to ground can cause the entire transmitter voltage to appear across one of the chokes. Tom's analysis is solid to the extent that it describes "worst case" conditions, but it misses the fact that the so-called "grounds" are usually thousands of ohms apart. It also assumes key-down conditions. But he is entirely correct that if you're going to ground one high impedance terminal of a 4:1 or 9:1 choke balun at the balun, you'll need a very high value of choking impedance to avoid dissipation problems when transmitting key-down modes at 1.5kW. The same dissipation analysis we used for the simple common mode choke (page 28) applies to a choke that is part of a 1:4 current balun used according to its design criteria '' connecting a 50 ohm source and a 200 ohm load, and with neither conductor of the 200 ohm side grounded. Sevick analyzes this choke with no ground on the 200 ohm side, and assumes half of the output voltage is across each choke. W8JI assumes a zero-impedance grounded center-tap, which places the full transmitter voltage across one choke, but no voltage across the other. The real world is somewhere between these two simplistic analyses, and every system will be different. What if the choke is used at the output of an antenna tuner that steps up the impedance to match 400 ohms? That worst case math increases the voltage by 3dB, which increases the dissipation in the choke by 3dB, so we have 7.5 watts in the choke for CW or SSB, 30 watts for AM, RTTY, or FM. In a 9:1
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 31 choke, worst case dissipation in any one choke can be 3-6dB greater (that is, double or 4 times). In W8JI's worst case analysis of a 1:4 choke with one secondary terminal having a zero impedance short to the primary, he shows that one choke can have the full transmitter voltage while the other has either double the transmitter voltage or zero volts across it. Sevick's analysis places the trans-mitter voltage across each choke. Thus, in an unventilated enclosure, the worst case dissipation in the box is for 2X the transmitted voltage in one choke. The Biggest Clamp-On Fig 39 is data for coils wound through the "biggest Fair-Rite #31 clamp-on" in Fig 5. Measured data for 1-5 turns through this part and a somewhat smaller one are shown in Fig 39. The heavier lines are the biggest clamp-on (1" i.d.); the lighter lines are for a 0.75" i.d. part. While the smaller part provides a bit higher imped-ance at low frequencies, it is far less useful because it doesn't allow as many turns of most cables on which we would like to use it. This big clamp-on is quite useful in many applications where it isn't prac-tical to remove a large connector. Although we only measured small wire chokes up to five turns with this part, it can certainly be used with more than 5 turns of some cables. More turns moves the resonance even further down in frequency; it also increases the equivalent series resistance below res- Fig 39 '' The "Biggest #31 Clamp-On" (Fair-Rite 0431177081) onance, -and for up to about one-half octave above resonance. See Fig 45 for coaxial chokes using the "biggest clamp-on." Chokes Wound with Coax Up to this point, all of our measured data has been for small diameter wire wound around the core. The stray capacitance is a combination of the capacitance between the turns and the dielectric (the ferrite core) and the capacitance between the turns. The coaxial chokes of Fig 36 will have more stray capacitance than these smaller chokes or a bifilar choke like Fig 37), and they will have more inductance (by virtue of their greater length), but the loss compo-nent, mostly contributed by the ferrite, will be about the same as for the smaller chokes. Fig 40a '' Measuring Coaxial Chokes Fig 40b '' Equivalent circuit Fig 40a shows the test setup, and Fig 40b shows the equivalent circuit. Since the HP generator is designed to work into a 50 ohm termination and calibrated for that load, a 50 ohm "through" ter-mination was added at the output of the genera-tor. Without this termination, the generator volt-age would be about 6 dB greater. (and the elec- tronic attenuator might not work as well). The unknown impedance can then be computed from the voltage divider equation. For all values of unknown Z greater than 500 '..., the error is less than 10%, and less than 5% for unknowns greater than 1,000 '.... I measured the stray capacitance of this fixture as 0.4 pF at the terminals connected to the unknown impedance.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 32 This is a very useful measurement setup, and can achieve reasonable accuracy for rather high val-ues of impedance. K6MHE sent me a 13-turn choke he had wound on three #61 cores. I was able to measure an impedance greater than 150K ohms at resonance (15.5 MHz). The spectrum ana-lyzer could be replaced by an RF voltmeter or scope, in parallel with a suitable load resistor. How Much Stray Capacitance Is There? This is important, because it moves the resonance, and thus the frequency range over which the choke is effective, down quite a lot. To answer this ques-tion, I wound a lot of coax chokes (in the winding style of Fig 36) and measured them. Accurately measuring impedances in the range of 1K '' 10K at HF is not easy, especially with Network Analyz-ers and Antenna Analyzers that make reflection-based measurements. Because the unknown im-pedances being measured are so far from the center of Smith Chart, very small values of stray re-actance cause very large measurement errors. It is far more accurate to measure the unknown im-pedance (the choke) as the series arm of a voltage divider. I don't have access to a suitable Vector Network Analyzer (VNA), but I do own an HP 8657A RF generator and an HP 8590D Spectrum Analyzer. The 8590D includes a calibrated voltmeter that reads the voltage across a calibrated 50 ohm termination. Doing some math gives me the magnitude of the impedance. And since we al-ready know that the choke is essentially a parallel resonant circuit, we can learn most of what we need to know about it by studying its Q and the values of Z far above and below resonance. More Measurements: Fig 41 displays data obtained in this manner for RG8 chokes wound on stacks of #31 3.4" o.d. cores, in the style of Fig 36. Note that the resonant frequency falls both with more turns and with more cores in the stack. This is to be expected '' in addition to the resis-tive impedance we are looking for, each core also adds inductance and capacitance, both of which lower the resonant frequency. Our goal is 5K ohms over a broad frequency range (at least three ham bands). Fig 40 shows very good options for 1.8-14 MHz, but makes it clear that it isn't easy to get more than about 3K at 30 MHz in a single choke, and it will be difficult to wind a single choke that covers 14-30 MHz (for use on a multiband antenna). Note that the "burbles" around 20 MHz are measurement errors resulting from artifacts of the active attenuator in my HP 8657A, and not characteristic of the actual choke. Curve Fitting to Find R, L, and C values: Fig 42 is the impedance of a simple parallel resonant cir-cuit consisting of a 320 µH inductance, a 4 pF capacitance, and a 6,600 ohm resistance. Fig 42 is simply a plot (using Quattro Pro) of the equation for the impedance of a parallel resonant circuit consisting of those component values. The values were selected so that the curve closely ap-proximates the 5 turn choke wound on 7 cores in the vicinity of resonance '' the red curve in Fig 41. This circuit has a Q of 0..73 at resonance. Note that as we move away from resonance by more than about 2 octaves (a 4:1 frequency change), the calculated curve increasingly deviates from the measured data. This should come as no surprise, since the permeability and the permit-tivity of the ferrite material vary with frequency. Fig 41 '' Measured Impedance of RG8 Chokes wound on stacks of #31 2.4" toroids Fig 42 '' Impedance of a parallel resonant circuit of320 uh, 4 pF, and 6,600 ohms Note that for this particular choke, 4 pF is the total parallel capacitance around 4.5 MHz '' the ca-
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 33 pacitance between the coax and the ferrite, plus the capacitance between the turns of the coax that is close together within the cores, plus the capacitance between the turns of the coax that are widely spaced outside the ferrite cores, plus the 0.4 pF capacitance of our test fixture. How about the capacitance at 30 MHz? If we assume that the inductive reactance has dropped by a factor of about 8 and the capacitive reactance has increased by the same ratio, the capacitance at 30 MHz is approximately equal to 1/(2Ï f Z), or about 5.3 pF. Fig 43 '' Measured Impedance of RG8X Chokes wound on stacks of #31 2.4" toroids Fig 44 '' Impedance of a parallel resonant circuit of590 uh, 4.3 pF, and 7,800 ohms Fig 43 shows data for chokes wound using RG8X, and Fig 44 is a simple parallel resonant circuit that approximates a 7 turn choke wound around 5 cores (the magenta curve in Fig 42). The ca-pacitance value is a bit higher, and the Q is a bit lower. Applying the same techniques to the 4-turn 5-core RG8X choke of Fig 43 (the orange curve) yields circuit values of 56 uh, 1.3pF, 4,400 ohms, and a Q of 0.67. How good are these circuit values? Certainly they are a first approximation, based on an approxi-mate equivalent circuit. I would trust them to about 25% '' there easily might be enough stray L and C in the test setup to contribute that much error. And remember, L, R, and C contributed by the ferrites all vary because the complex permeability and the permittivity of the ferrites vary with frequency. So the answer to our question, "How much capacitance is there?" is, "typically between about 1 pF for a small choke and about 7 pF for a larger one with a lot of turns." The other part of the answer is, we can control that capacitance and keep it small enough that our chokes work by paying reasonable attention to winding style. Fig 45 '' Variation of chokes with winding style, coax outer jacket material Fig 46 '' Measured Impedance of Chokes wound on the "Big #31 Clamp-on" Your Mileage Will Vary Fig 45 shows the variation in impedance that can occur based on the de-tails of how the choke is wound, and on the jacket material. The magenta curve is for a choke
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 34 whose turns are tightly bunched together both inside and outside the toroids. Both the stray ca-pacitance and the inductance of the coax are maximized (for a given number of turns and winding diameter). The other three curves are for chokes whose turns are intentionally spread wide apart outside the toroids. One of them uses somewhat larger diameter turns and a different type of RG8X. Capacitance is a function of spacing, geometry, and the dielectric material. The diameter of the shield, as well as the thickness and permittivity of the jacket material all can cause variations in the capacitance. In all of the measurements, I saw the greatest unintentional variation from one to another with chokes having a lot of turns of RG8X, and the least with those wound using RG8. Tolerances in the Ferrites Fair-Rite #31 cores are considered suppression components, and be-cause in the world of suppression, more impedance is considered better, their performance speci-fications are typical minimum values of impedance over a range of frequency. That's fine for our purposes, but don't expect exact agreement from one part or batch to another. Chokes and Modeling A wire can be added to an NEC model for a dipole (or other antenna) to analyze the contribution of common mode current on the coax shield to antenna performance '' simply connect a wire from one side of the feedpoint to ground. Beginning with version 4 of W7EL's excellent EZNEC+, we can add a network, including a parallel RLC network, to any of the wires in the model. Use the values of R, L, and C that are determined empirically (see Figs 41 and 43, and the associated discussion). We might also add a nearby feedline that we suspect might need an "egg insulator" choke, and study the results with and without the choke. The Biggest Clamp-On Fig 46 is measured data for various coaxial chokes wound through the "biggest #31 clamp-on" of Fig 5 and Fig 39. This is a very useful and versatile part, because it can easily be applied to ca-bles without removing a large connector, or without disconnecting them from an existing system. Chokes in Series As we learned earlier, the impedances of multiple chokes in series will add, taking the reactances of each choke into account. That is, if one choke looks inductive and resistive at a given frequency and the other choke looks resistive and capacitive, the resistances will add, but the capacitance and inductance will cancel (at least partially). Fig 47 '' Impedance of Chokes in Series Fig 47 is measured data for three combinations that are potentially useful for multiband antennas. Bifilar Ferrite Chokes can be as effective as coaxial chokes in blocking common mode current, and a good small choke can handle 1.5kW. To prevent excessive dissi-pation in the choke, the bifilar winding must have very good symmetry and the 5,000 '... impedance guideline must be observed. Effect of Wire Insulation Fig 48 shows that the wire insulation shifts the resonant frequency. The increased overall diameter also reduces the maximum number of turns that can be wound on any given core. Sixteen turns appears to be the prac-tical limit for #14 THHN without overlap-ping turns. Fig 48 '' Some Useful Bifilar Chokes
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 35 Bifilar Chokes and Transmission Loss A bifilar choke wound around a toroid forms a short trans-mission line whose impedance may be different from that of the line into which it is inserted. Thus, a bifilar choke can introduces some mismatch. A tightly spaced enameled #14 bifilar wind-ing is very close to 50 ohms. Tightly spaced #14 THHN windings are close to 100 ohms. Not in-cluding mismatch, copper loss in a bifilar choke is quite small '' for #14 wire, less than 0.01 dB at 3.5 MHz and 0.03dB at 28 MHz. Any additional loss due to mismatch is unlikely to exceed 0.2dB, and will be distributed over the entire length of the line. Coaxial Chokes and Transmission Loss Coaxial chokes do not introduce any mismatch, so the loss of a coaxial choke is simply the loss for the additional length of coax required to wind it. At 2 ft/turn, chokes wound following Cookbook guidelines should add no more than about 0.05 dB loss if wound with low loss RG8; and no more than about 0.15 dB if wound with a low loss RG8X. A Common-Mode Choke as an "Egg Insulator" Have you ever noticed the egg insulators in the guy wires for an AM broadcast tower? Their function is to prevent the guy wires from interacting with the antenna. The egg insulators break the guy lines into small enough pieces that each is a small fraction of a wavelength at the operating frequency. Often, one or more feedlines in a typical ham station may interact with another antenna. The result of this interaction is unpredictable at best; there's a good chance that the result will degrade antenna performance. Seasoned antenna engi-neers know that any near-resonant object within several wavelengths of an antenna can interact with it. We also know that most interaction is multiplied by the cosine of the angle between the wires. This means that interaction is likely to be greater for wires that run in parallel with each other, and far less likely if they are at 90 degrees to each other. Here's an example from my own station. A few years ago, I installed a top-loaded vertical (with a good radial system) that was working quite well on 80 and 160 meters. A month or two later, I added a fan dipole for 20, 15, and 10 meters at about 100 ft. Most of the 150 ft-long feedline for the fan is vertical, rising about 90 ft from the vertical antenna, and it runs right past the vertical's feedpoint to get to the shack. I noticed that the vertical wasn't working at all on 80, and wasn't working nearly as well as it originally did on 160. On a hunch, I added a common mode choke at the transmitter end of the feedline for the fan dipole and the 80/160 vertical started working again! Chapter 7 '' K9YC's Choke Cookbook Armed with the measured data in Figs 41-47, I have updated my guidelines for chokes wound with coax. All of these chokes should be wound to minimize their stray capacitance and inductance, by using the smallest diameter turns that don't degrade the coax due to excessive bending, and by maintaining as much separation between turns as practical outside the stack of cores. See Fig 36. Transmitting Chokes These criteria provide superior suppression of receive noise and excellent freedom from pattern distortion. They are conservatively rated for full legal transmitter power into antennas that are reasonably well balanced. These chokes are 2-8 times better than the best com-mercial chokes. If receive noise is not part of your criteria, and if you're not running maximum le-gal power, fewer cores may be used. Most recommendations are for the minimum number of cores that achieve the 5,000 ohm criteria. Where practical, I've included options for 4 turns of RG8 in 2.4" o.d. cores (so they can be wound without removing the connector). Counting Turns: The number of turns is the number of times the coax passes through the cores. For chokes wound in the style of Fig 36, this is one more than the number of turns external to the cores. For example, a five turn coax choke would have only four turns outside the toroids. The chokes in Fig 36, looking from left to right, have four, five, and seven turns. 160 and 80 Meters: With RG8 or RG11, use 7 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 toroidal cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 7 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 toroidal cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 8 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 36 80, 40 Meters: With RG8 or RG11, use 6 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 toroidal cores, or 5 turns through 7 #31 cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 8 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On or 7 turns through four 2.4" o.d. #31 toroidal cores. 30 Meters: With RG8 or RG11, use 5 turns though five 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores. With RG6, RG8X, or RG59, use 8 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On or 6 turns through four 2.4" o.d. #31 or $43 toroidal cores, or 5 turns through 5 cores. 20 Meters Monoband: With RG8 or RG11, use 5 turns through four 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores, or 4 turns through 6 or 7 cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 5 or 6 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On, or 8 turns through two 2.4" o.d. #31 or#43 toroidal cores or 7 turns through 3 cores. 15 Meters Monoband: With RG8 or RG11, use 4 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores, or 4 turns through six cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 5 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On, or 4 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 toroidal cores. 10 Meters Monoband: With RG8 or RG11, use 3 turns through seven 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores, or 4 turns through 5 cores. With RG-6, RG-8X, and RG-59, use 5 turns through a Big #31 Clamp-On, or 4 turns through five 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores. For a traditional W2DU "string of beads" choke, use 20 of the 1.125" long cylinders listed in Appendix One. Multiband Antennas for 20-10 Meters, 30-10 Meters, and 40-10 Meters: With RG8 or RG11, use two chokes in series, one with four turns on 5 cores and the other with three turns on 5 cores. Multiband Antennas for 20-10 Meters: With RG6, RG8X, or RG59, use 5 turns through a Big #31 clamp-on or 4 turns through six 2.4" o.d. #31 or #43 toroidal cores. To use the Big Clamp-Ons with RG8 or RG11, use three 3-turn chokes in series, each with a single clamp-on. Wind only these clamp-on chokes with their turns tightly coupled. For a traditional W2DU "string of beads" choke, use 40 of the 1.125" long cylinders listed in Appendix One. 6 Meters: With RG8X, use six 2-turn chokes wound on the RG8 cylinders or clamp-ons in Appendix 1. With RG8 or RG8X, use 3 turns through 7 cores, two 3-turn chokes, each wound on a Big #31 clamp-on, or a string of at least a dozen of the clamp-ons or cylinders in Appendix 1. Coax Chokes for 100 watts or less: Use RG58 and follow the winding guidelines for bifilar chokes. Compact Chokes for 1kW: Use RG303 and follow the winding guidelines for bifilar chokes. Chokes in Enclosures Placing any choke in a close-fitting, conductive enclosure is likely to in-crease the stray capacitance and lower its resonant frequency. These guidelines are for chokes that are not in conductive enclosures. Enclosures inhibit air flow, so may get warm with high power.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 37 Bifilar Chokes Use #14 THHN (house wire) for up to 1.5kW; #16 is sufficient for up to 800 watts. Use the winding guidelines below for 2.4-inch o.d. toroidal cores. Allow 2.5 inches per turn plus 5 inches for connections at each end. Use tape or ty-wraps to form the two conductors into parallel wires. Cut off any excess after winding. Frequency Range Bifilar Choke (See Fig 37, Fig 48) 1.8 '' 5 MHz 16 bifilar turns of #14 THHN on one #31 core 3.5 '' 10 MHz 14 bifilar turns of #14 THHN on one #31 core 10-30 MHz 12 bifilar turns of #14 THHN on one #31 or #43 core Important Note: Do not cut corners winding bifilar chokes if you will be running high power. The primary cause of choke failure is insufficient choking impedance. General Suppression Chokes (not on transmitting lines): Use the graphs of measured data to tell you the number of turns needed on a single core for 5K ohms equivalent series resistance at the frequency of the interference. Receiving Antennas benefit significantly from the addition of a common mode choke to isolate the antenna from its feedline. Both ends of the RG6 feedline to each of my Beverages takes 8 turns through one of the Big Clamp-Ons. "Egg Insulators:" Use chokes as "egg insulators" on a feedline that is longer than about Î>>/4 at the frequency of an antenna that it could interfere with. Use the chokes recommended for the fre-quency of the antenna that you suspect might be interfered with. Use enough chokes that the longest piece of un-choked line is less than about Î>>/4. Chokes are most important on lines that are approximately in parallel with the antenna in question. Example: A feedline is running where it might be interfering with an 80 meter vertical. Try to break it down into pieces that are no longer than 80/4 meters (about 67 ft). Table One summarizes cost and weight considerations for various chokes and construction meth-ods. Traditional "string of beads" chokes are more expensive and heavier for equivalent perform-ance. Cost and weight includes for the added length of coax for the choke. Weight can also be re-duced by using specialized coax like RG303, rated for high temperature and high voltage. Costs assume group purchase in large quantities by a ham club. Table One '' Weight and Cost of Ferrite Parts and Complete Chokes Ferrite Part, Chokes Weight (oz) Cost Notes 1" Long RG8 Cylinder 2 $1.50 For "string of beads" chokes 1" Long RG8X Cylinder .55 $0.90 For "string of beads" chokes 2.4" o.d. #31 Toroid 4 $3.50 Big Clamp-On 11.5 $12 RG8 per turn 2.1 $1 40 RG8 Beads 80 $120 Multiband 20-10 40 RG8X Beads 22 $36 Multiband 20-10 Choke - 5 turns RG8 5 cores 30 $24 20M, 15M Choke - 7 turns RG8 5 cores 36 $26 160M '' 40M Choke - 7 turns RG8X, Big clamp 15 $15 160 '' 40M Choke '' 7 turns RG8X 5 cores 24 $24 160 '' 40M Bifilar choke '' 14 turns #12 6 $5 160 '' 30M The Big Clamp-Ons appear to be expensive but they're not '' one is roughly equivalent to three or toroids! They are wonderful for portable and Field Day operations, because you can easily apply them to coax without taking the connector off. There is another advantage '' chokes for 160-40 meters using the Clamp-On weigh about a half pound less than one using toroidal cores.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 38 Shunting Common Mode RF to Earth Earth connections are almost never a solution to RFI prob-lems, but there is one important exception. We know that RF induced by antenna action on cables entering or leaving equipment is coupled into the equipment by pin 1 problems, and by poor com-mon mode filtering on balanced circuits. We can attack this kind of RFI by diverting that current away from the victim equipment. We do this by giving it connection to the shielding enclosure of the interference source, or to the shielding enclosure of the victim equipment, or to the earth. This technique can be used to suppress RF picked up on the coax feeding Beverage antennas. Drive two ground rods at the feedpoint, one to terminate the Beverage and the other several feet away. Make a coax jumper cable long enough to reach between the Beverage and the second ground rod with enough turns for that 8-turn choke. Connect the coax shield both at the Beverage and at the second ground stake. Add a second 5,000 ohm choke on the shack side of the stake. To use this technique on telephone lines, which are balanced, you'll need equal value capacitors from each side of the line to the ground rod. Use only enough capacitance to shunt the RF '' the caps are in series across the line, and too much capacitance will kill or degrade a DSL signal. You'll also need the chokes. Chapter 8 '' Solving Problems in the Shack K9YC's Serial Cable Most rig control (Kenwood, Yaseu, and Elecraft) uses only a straight-through connection of the Receive Data (RD), Transmit Data (TD), and signal return lines (pins 2, 3, and 5 in a DB9). In addition, popular contesting software can be set up to use the DTR line (pin 4) to send CW and CTS (pin 7) for PTT. The K9YC serial cable uses CAT5 (or CAT6/7) cable. One pair is used for RD, one for TD, one for DTR, and one for CTS. The solid color of each pair goes to the signal pin, the striped color of each pair goes to the shell of the DB9. Using twisted pair greatly improves RF rejection, using multiple conductors for signal return minimizes IR drop coupling of hum, buzz, and noise, and using the DB9 shell puts a band-aid on pin 1 problems in the equip-ment on either end. There are several possible ways to implement the keying and PTT interface. You can, for example, put all four lines in a single CAT5/6/7 cable, with a breakout at the radio. This usually results in an interface that is tied to a particular radio. You can also make a generic cable that carries only the RD and TD signals, then add a DB9 female-male "barrel" at the computer that carries through RD and TD while breaking out DTR and CTS for keying and PTT to short lengths of small coax with a copper braid shield. I've done both of these, and they both work fine. Plain, ordinary, unshielded CAT5/6/7 works fine for the vast majority of ham shacks. If you are running high power at 20 MHz or above to an antenna that is closer than about 10-20 ft from the serial cable, shielded twisted pair cable may be needed. You could use shielded CAT5/6/7 (if you can find it), but good balanced audio cable with a braid shield works well too (for example, Belden 1901A, 1902A, etc.). In this application, use one pair per circuit, but connect the signal returns for each pair to pin 5 at each end, and use the shell of the DB9 for the shield(s). I developed the K9YC Serial Cable to solve an extreme "RF in the shack" condition at my old QTH in Chicago. The fact that it worked there proved how "bulletproof" a solution it can be. To work 160 and 80 on my very small city lot, I tied together both sides of the twinlead feeding my 80/40 dipole and loaded it against a "ground" system that consisted of a wrought iron fence and a few short radials. The feedline (in this case, a radiating part of the antenna) ran within 2 ft of the serial cable. With the original Elecraft serial cable (parallel wires, shielded) the computer line driver locked up at just over 10 watts; with the unshielded K9YC cable, I could run that antenna at legal power on any band below 15 meters! On 15 meters and above, I needed the shielded version to hit full power. [I didn't use this improvised antenna above 80 meters '' it wasn't at all effective on the higher bands. I loaded it that way only to test the effectiveness of the serial interface.] Why was shielding needed on the higher bands but not needed on the lower bands? Simple. The antenna was at a current maxima in the shack and the wiring was so close that it was in the near field (less than Î>>/6), so coupling was primarily magnetic. On the highest bands, the wiring was at greater spacing as a fraction of a wavelength, so the electric field was beginning to be significant.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 39 As we learned earlier, cable shields provide only electric field shielding, while twisting pairs strongly rejects magnetic fields. See Chapter 1 for a discussion of these fundamentals, and Chapter 9 for an introductory discussion of fields. Unbalanced Audio Interfaces Because virtually all ham gear and all computer and/or audio equip-ment we connect to our ham gear is unbalanced, we're stuck with unbalanced wiring. In our dis-cussion of the fundamentals, we learned that shield resistance couples power-related hum, buzz, and noise into unbalanced wiring as a result of IR drop on the shield. We also learned that nearly all of this gear has pin 1 problems. And we learned that at power and audio frequencies, the IR drop is minimized by four simple measures, and that their beneficial effects are additive. Minimize the resistance by using cables with a beefy copper braid shield. Avoid hi-fi patch cables, which tend to have flimsy, high resistance shields. (-6 dB/halving of resistance) Minimize the resistance by keeping the cables as short as practical. (This has the added benefit of minimizing the behavior of the cable as an antenna, which in turn minimizes RF coupled by a pin 1 problem where the cable terminates). (-6 dB per halving of length) Minimize the hum/buzz/noise voltage that causes the current by plugging all of the inter-connected equipment into the same AC outlet, or if that is not possible, into outlets with a very short connection between their green wires (adjacent outlets). When using different outlets, bond the backboxes together with short lengths of heavy copper braid. (This also minimizes hum/buzz coupled by pin 1 problems). Bond the enclosures of interconnected equipment together with short lengths of heavy copper braid. This diverts most of the hum/buzz current that would otherwise flow on the cable shield to the lower resistance braid. You don't need to buy braid '' simply strip the outer jacket from a junk length of RG8 or RG11 that has a heavy copper braid shield. The braid of a good transmitting coax like Belden 8213, 8214, 8237 is equivalent to #10 cop-per, which is nearly 30 dB better than the flimsy shields typical of most hi-fi cables. Audio Transformers One common solution to the hum/buzz part of the problem is to add audio transformers to each interconnection, thus breaking the path for low frequency current. Simple audio transformers block audio frequency current, but the capacitance between their windings lets RF couple across the transformer as it if weren't there. To block RF, the transformer must include dual Faraday shields. [A Faraday shield is a conductor placed between windings; when that con-ductor is grounded, it shorts RF to ground rather than coupling it between windings.] A cheap transformer can cause more problems than it solves. Most power supplies in our ham shacks include large power transformers that produce strong audio frequency magnetic fields around them. Transformers must be surrounded by mu-metal to shield them from these magnetic fields '' otherwise, strong 60 Hz hum (50 Hz in some countries) will be coupled into them! Transformers built with both of these shields aren't cheap. Good ones are made by Jensen Trans-formers, http://www.jensentransformers.com and Lundahl Transformers, http://www.lundahl.se The good news is that you don't need a transformer (or an expensive USB or fiber inter-face) if you follow my guidelines for Unbalanced Audio Interfaces and use the K9YC Serial Cable for rig control! You only need one of these boxes if you need the SO2R switching, interfacing, and control they provide. Feeding Computer Audio To Your Radio If you want to know why this works, study the preceding material and Appendix 5 on Audio Levels. Do all of the following: Plug all of the interconnected equipment into the same power outlet or to outlets in the same backbox, and bond together all of the interconnected equipment with heavy copper braid, as described above. Make up a cable that connects one channel of your sound card output to the audio input of your radio. Pay careful attention to the guidelines above for Unbalanced Audio Interfaces.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 40 If the radio input is at mic level, add a simple resistive voltage divider inside the connector that plugs into the radio. Use a 4.7K resistor in series with the audio, and connect a 470 ohm resistor between the mic input and mic ground. If you're using a line level or "patch" input to the radio, make the series resistor 1K. This prevents the computer from overload-ing the radio's input stage and causing distortion. Carry the shield connections straight through from computer to ham rig. Look for a setting in the control software for your sound card that sets Playback levels for your sound card. On a Windows PC, the setup screen can be accessed by clicking on the speaker icon on the taskbar, then selecting Options, and then Playback. You should see a screen with volume controls for various computer signals that can be sent out of the sound card on the 1/8-inch jack. RTTY, PSK, and SSB messages are adjusted by the WAV output. Adjust these Playback controls so that the maximum output level on peaks is about 6 dB below the maximum output level of the sound card. This prevents distortion from being created in the sound card. One good way to do this is to send RTTY or PSK tones from the computer (using a program like MMTTY or DM780) and view them on a scope. Slowly in-crease the level until you just begin to see clipping, then back off the level to get half the voltage. Adjust the mic gain in the radio for good modulation levels. Feeding Receive Audio To Your Computer Some computer sound cards can be set for either a mic level or line level input, while others have only a mono mic input. All of the outputs of a modern ham transceiver are line level outputs, but some are affected by the front panel audio gain control and some are not. Do all of the following: Plug all of the interconnected equipment into the same power outlet or to outlets in the same backbox, and bond together all of the interconnected equipment with heavy copper braid, as described above. Choose an output of your radio that is not affected by the front panel volume control. Out-puts designed for the connection of RTTY, packet, phone patches, or other external gear usually fit this requirement. Make up a cable that connects this output to the input of your sound card. Pay careful at-tention to the guidelines above for Unbalanced Audio Interfaces. Look for a setting in the control software for your sound card that turns off the mic preamp in the sound card. On a Windows PC, the setup screen can be accessed by clicking on the speaker icon on the taskbar, then selecting Options, and then Recording. You should see a screen with volume controls for various inputs to the sound card. Somewhere on that Re-cording screen (or maybe buried in a sub-menu) should be a way to turn off the mic pre-amp. On my IBM Thinkpads, I must remove the "check mark" next to "Mic Boost." Tune in a station so that you have normal audio coming out of the radio into your head-phones or speaker. Adjust the input fader of the sound card so that the level indicator (if there is one) peaks about 6 dB below maximum. If there is no level indicator, adjust the input level to the maximum it will go without audible distortion. Wired or Wireless Ethernet? There are several parts to the answer to this question, all ending with, "it depends." My advice is to try wireless networking, and use it for as much of your system as you can make work reliably. Wireless Ethernet systems operate in the 2.4 GHz band and above. I've never heard of the 2.4 GHz link causing or receiving ham interference, and the likelihood is thin, except pos-sibly on the 2.4 GHz band itself. I've seen systems work for 1,000 ft, but conductive (or absorbing) obstacles can make the RF link unreliable at 50 ft or less. Some newer models of Wireless Access units built to FCC Rules that permit higher power and detachable gain antennas can provide greater range and/or improved reliability.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 41 While the Ethernet circuitry in a wireless router can be just as strong a source of RF noise as any other Ethernet box, a wireless system will usually generate the least HF and VHF trash in our antennas because it reduces the number and length of data cables that can ra-diate. Be prepared to use chokes to suppress any noise radiated by cables connecting the wireless router to the cable or DSL modem, and also for inadequately shielded internal wir-ing that radiates trash. Some older computers, operating systems, and hardware may not operate (or operate re-liably) with a wireless connection. Wireless connections can also be slower, and operating system conflicts can be difficult to solve. DIN Connectors It is hard to find good quality DIN connectors to mate with interface and control jacks on the back of ham rigs. Nearly all DIN connectors sold in the ham marketplace are junk. These junk connectors have two serious defects that makes them useless; 1) the plastic melts when you try to solder to them; 2) you can't solder to them '' the metal used for the pins is an al-loy that doesn't take solder! These junk connectors are cheap, selling for around a buck, but they're worthless. Real DIN connectors are still made by Switchcraft and Tuchel, and sold by reli-able electronics vendors like Newark and Allied. They cost a lot more ($5-$7 each, depending on the number of pins), but they work! GM types have a two-piece metal shell held together with a plastic barrel. BL types have a nickel diecast handle and a heavy duty cable clamp. Acceptable low cost DIN connectors The YCCC team that put together the K1XM SO2R box found a source for low cost DIN connectors made by Kobiconn. The 8-pin 270° male plug is Mouser Part number 171-0278. They bought 166 of them at 52cents each. These connectors solder well '' their only shortcoming is that the two pieces of their "clamshell" don't mate very well, so I wouldn't want to use them in an application where they needed to be plugged and unplugged fairly often, but they're fine if you plug them in and leave them alone. "Phono" Connectors and 1/8-inch Audio Connectors I know of only two good quality manufactur-ers of these connectors '' Switchcraft and Neutrik. These Neutrik and Switchcraft parts are sold mostly by pro audio vendors; one of the best Full Compass Systems of Madison, WI. These Neu-trik connectors are good quality, inexpensive (about $1), and work well for ham audio intercon-nects. Their only shortcoming is that their contacts and strain relief clamps are too small for larger cables '' for that, you need the much more expensive Switchcraft parts (about $3), which are also more robust. Cable for Audio Interconnects Miniature coax is an excellent choice for unbalanced interconnec-tions. Impedance doesn't matter in this application. For balanced connections, use braid-shielded twisted pair. Belden 1901A and Gepco XB401 are the best of this type that I know of. Cable Mount Male DIN Connectors Used with Ham Gear Configuration Switchcraft Part Nr Some Common Uses 4 pins at 210° 09BL4M, 09GM4M FT1000MP RTTY FSK 5 pins at 180° 05BL5M, 05GM5M FT1000MP Packet 5 pins at 240° 12BL5M, 12GM5MX 6 pins at 240° 12BL8M, 15GM6MX TS850 Acc 1 7 pins at 270° 15GM7MX TS850 Remote, ICOM Pwr Amp, Yaesu DVS 8 pins at 262° 20BL8M, 20GM8M Yaesu Band Data 8 pins at 270° 15BL8MX, 15GM8MX Cable-Mount 1/8-in and Phono Connectors Description Switchcraft Part Nr Neutrik Part Nr 3-ckt male 1/8-in plug 35HDNN NYS231BG 2-ckt male 1/8-in plug NYS226BG 3-ckt female 1/8-in jack NYS240BG Phono male plug 3502 NYS352 Phono female jack 3503
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 42 RF Feedback Virtually all RF feedback (also called "RF in the shack") has a pin 1 problem as the root cause. (See Figs 2, and 3 in Chapter One, and the associated discussion.) A few years ago, I acquired an FT1000MP and got reports of RF feedback running 1.5kW on 75M and 15M SSB. The 15M transmitting antenna was a dipole (with a DXE "string of beads" balun) 150 ft from the shack! I identified the cause as a pin 1 problem at the mic jack, using the simple test outlined below. Testing for RF Pin 1 Problems: Set up a tunable RF generator for 100% 1 kHz (or 400 Hz) AM and maximum output (1 volt into 50 ohms is enough). Connect the center conductor of the coax from the generator to the shield connection point at the radio, and connect the generator coax shield to the chassis of the radio. Set the radio to transmit SSB at very low power, and not at a frequency where you have RF feedback. Listen to your signal on another radio while you tune the generator over the frequency range where you have RF feedback. If you hear the 1 kHz (or 400 Hz) modula-tion, you have a pin 1 problem on that shield connection. Repeat this test for every connector on the radio that has (or could have) a cable plugged into it. For each connector that you are testing, temporarily remove the cable connected to it while you are testing it. This test can be used to test any audio and video input and output connectors for RF pin 1 prob-lems, not only the audio interfaces of ham transceivers. With video equipment, the 1 kHz modula-tion may show up as horizontal bars in the video, or as 1 kHz (or 400 Hz) in the audio, or both. See http://audiosystemsgroup.com/AESPaperNYPin1-ASGWeb.pdf for more on RF pin 1 testing. RF feedback can also be caused by audio interfaces like those used for SO2R contesting, and to interface computers to radios for RTTY, PSK31, and other digital modes. If you don't find a prob-lem in your transceiver (or if you find and fix it but still have RF feedback), be sure to test any of these interfaces that you might be using (and the computer sound cards) for pin 1 problems. Solving RF Feedback Caused by Pin 1 Problems RF feedback is caused by poor RF rejection in one or more pieces of gear in your ham station. In earlier chapters, we learned that RFI caused by pin 1 problems can be solved in two ways: Rewire the connector so that the shield goes to the chassis, not the circuit board Block the current with a ferrite choke Rather than rebuild the radio, I killed the RF feedback in my FT1000MP by winding 7 turns of the mic cable around a #31 2.4" o.d. toroid. Chapter 9 '' A Short Tutorial on Fields Fields Electrical systems produce three kinds of fields '' electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic. An electric field is what is present in the relatively non-conducting space between two charged ob-jects (for example, between the plates of a capacitor). A static magnetic field exists around a permanent magnet. Static (DC) and time-varying (AC) mag-netic fields surround a wire that is carrying current. Contrary to what you high school physics teacher may have told you, a field produced by an electric current is a magnetic field, not an elec-tromagnetic field. An electromagnetic field is the combination of a time-varying electric field and a magnetic field of the same frequency at right angles to each other and 90 degrees out of phase with each other. Wave Impedance '' Near Field and Far Field The wave impedance of a field defines the relationship between the energy in the two fields. Wave impedance determines how well shielding will work (and what kind of shielding will work). (see Ott for an excellent discussion of wave impedance and shielding effectiveness.) In the Far Field of a signal source (including a transmitting antenna): the wave impedance is the impedance of free space '' 377 ohms the energy contained by the two time-varying fields is equal, and is traded back and forth between the two fields at the frequency of the signal The field will move through free space at the speed of light '' that is, it is a radio wave In the near field of any source, either the electric field or the magnetic field will dominate (that is,
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 43 contain most of the energy), depending on how the field is produced. Most "baseband" sources (motors, transformers, power wiring) and many antennas are magnetic sources; a few RF sources may be electric sources. The wave impedance is very low in the near field of a magnetic source, and very high in the near field of an electric source. The transition between near field and far field is a gradual one. For sources that are small as a frac-tion of a wavelength, the transition begins at Î>>/6 from the source. For larger sources (like a line source), the transition will be at a much greater distance. In the far field, the power in the field falls off as the square of the distance. In the near field, the dominant field falls off much more rap-idly until the two fields are equal. [One huge error in the application of FCC Part 15 Rules to BPL is that the rules are designed around the physics of a point source, but BPL systems are, in effect, a line source, so field strength falls off far more slowly. The improper application of the Rules allows interference levels to be tens of dB stronger than the authors of the Part 15 Rules intended.] The wave impedance becomes important when we are attempting to deal with interference in the near field of the source. We can state two generalities. Virtually all electronic equipment is in the very near field of any power-related sources that are strong enough to cause interference, and nearly all those sources are magnetic sources. Most electronic equipment in the far field of most radio sources. An important exception to these generalities occurs when an antenna is much closer than usual to susceptible equipment. Î>>/6 is about 84 ft on 160 meters, 44 ft on 80 meters, 22 ft on 40 meters, etc. The near field of a 160 or 80 meter antenna on an urban or suburban lot is likely include the living space of the ham and one or two neighbors; in a condo or apartment, a 40 or 20 meter ver-tical antenna may have consumer electronics within its near field. These are only "rule of thumb" guidelines '' our antennas are not simple point sources, so the transition distance will not be so simply defined. An understanding of near field and far field behavior simply contributes to our un-derstanding of how noise and RFI couple into systems, and which suppression methods are most likely to be effective in any given situation. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks are due Ron Steinberg (K9IKZ), whose AEA analyzer was on loan to me for two years, giv-ing me the capability to begin poking around this puzzle, to Dr. Leo Irakliotis (KC9GLI) for finding the rare Snelling text (in the third basement of the University of Chicago library) that was the key to understanding ferrites; to someone on a ham radio email list who pointed me to the Snelling text; and to Fair-Rite Products Corp, for providing every sample I requested and publishing exten-sive technical data on their products. Henry Ott, WA2IRQ, Dean Straw, N6BV, and Garry Shapiro, NI6T, reviewed various versions of the manuscript. The most important contributions to this work were made by a researcher who has done, and continues to do when he has time, the excellent measurements presented herein. He has chosen to remain anonymous. The ham radio commu-nity owes him quite a lot. Kevin Rowett, K6TD, assisted with measurements of coaxial chokes. POSTSCRIPT It is impossible to overemphasize the importance of sharing what we learn. The initial impetus for my work was a series of anecdotal reports of RF interference on an email reflector for engineers and technicians working in pro audio that not only got me interested, but also gave me clues about possible causes. A year or two later, I made contact with the aforementioned anonymous re-searcher when both of us shared our work on an email reflector about 8 years ago. As a result of having published earlier versions of the document you are reading, and of making numerous presentations to ham clubs, I was contacted by engineers from the CIA, who I subse-quently hosted in my shack and briefed on my work. Recently, the leader of that group sent me a pdf of an unclassified report prepared by a Department of Defense engineer in 1966 on the topic of using ferrite common mode chokes to isolate antennas from their feed lines. Among the key conclusions were 1) common mode isolation of the antenna from the line is highly desirable; 2)
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 44 5,000 ohms of common mode choking impedance is a suitable design goal; 3) the simplified equivalent circuit of a ferrite choke is a parallel resonant circuit; 4) the accuracy of the equivalent circuit can be improved upon at low frequencies by adding resistance in series with the inductor; 5) the low Q parallel resonant circuit near resonance is a good way to provide that choking imped-ance; 6) inductance and stray capacitance can be used to control the resonances, by varying the material, the number of windings, and the winding style; 7) increased conductor diameter in-creases stray capacitance; and 8) three chokes in series, each tuned to a different part of the fre-quency spectrum, can satisfy the 5,000 ohm design goal from 2-30 MHz. For all practical purposes, there are only three important differences between the 1966 work and my own are 1) the properties of the specific ferrite materials available in 1966 and 2002 2) the author of the 1966 report seems not to have recognized the behavior of the ferrite core as a dielectric (and the resulting contribution to stray capacitance), or of the fundamental resonant property of a single turn choke with the capacitance associated with that dielec-tric; 3) I published my work widely, first as peer-reviewed research papers to the Audio Engineer-ing Society, and later on my website to both the audio and ham radio communities as a whole. I've seen no evidence that the DoD report was ever circulated outside the Defense community. As a result, even though it was excellent, that 1966 DoD report appears to have disappeared into oblivion, while my work is finding its way into the ARRL Handbook. Since I first published this document three years ago, nearly 1 million copies have been downloads from my website, and I've received many useful questions and comments that have allowed me to learn more, find mistakes, filled gaps in my thinking, and given me more ideas to investigate. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Brown got interested in music and radio as a teenager, falling in love with jazz and Bach, and qualifying for his Novice license (WN8FNI) before his 14th birthday. Three years later he obtained Amateur Extra Class and First Class Radiotelephone licenses, and entered the Electrical Engineering program at the University of Cincinnati. He received the BSEE in 1964 and has worked in broad-casting and professional audio since 1960. Since 1985, his consulting practice has specialized in the design of sound systems for worship, performance, and sports facilities. More recently, his fo-cus has expanded to include research and consulting on EMC. Jim is a Fellow of the Audio Engineering Society (AES), and a member of the Acoustical Society of America, the Society of Broadcast Engineers, and the Society of Motion Picture and Television En-gineers. He has presented invited papers and workshops to all of those societies, and to the IEEE EMC Symposium. He is a member of the AES Technical Committee on Acoustics and Sound Rein-forcement, and the AES Standards Committee's Working Groups on Microphones, Intelligibility, Acoustic and Sound Source Modeling, Digital Audio Transmission, and Audio Interconnection. He is Vice-Chair of the AES Standards Committee Working Group on EMC and Chair of the AES Tech-nical Committee on EMC. After 42 years in Chicago, he relocated in 2006 to Santa Cruz, where he is active on the ham bands as K9YC, and recently served a term as Vice-President of the Northern California Contest Club. BIBLIOGRAPHY Henry Ott, "Electromagnetic Compatibility Engineering," Wiley, New York, 2009 Henry Ott, "Noise Reduction Techniques in Electronic Systems," Second Edition, Wiley, New York, 1988 Clayton Paul, "Introduction to Electromagnetic Compatibility," Wiley, New York, 1992 The Audio Systems Group, Inc. website includes numerous tutorials and applications notes on RF interfer-ence, and a tutorial on AC power systems. http://audiosystemsgroup.com/publish.htm Neil Muncy, "Noise Susceptibility in Analog and Digital Signal Processing Systems," J. Audio Engineering Soci-
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 45 ety, vol 43, No 6, pp 435-453, 1995, June Bill Whitlock, "Balanced Lines in Audio Systems: Fact, Fiction, and Transformers," J. Audio Engineering Society, vol 43, No 6, pp 454-464, 1995, June Fair-Rite Products Catalog, http://www.fair-rite.com This 200-page catalog (online as a pdf) is a wealth of product data and applications guidance on practical ferrites. This company is a class act. The vast majority of ferrite parts available at retail in North America are made by Fair-Rite. Chuck Counselman, W1HIS, Common Mode Chokes Self published 2006 E. C. Snelling, Soft Ferrites, Properties and Applications, Chemical Rubber Publishing, 1969 This, like all of Snelling's books, is geared toward non-suppression applications of ferrites. Lots of math and physics. All are long out of print. E. C. Snelling and A. D. Giles, Ferrites for Inductors and Transformers, Research Studies Press, 1983 Even more math and physics. E. C. Snelling, Soft Ferrites, Properties and Applications, Second Edition, Butterworth-Heinemann, 1989 I've never seen this book, but I'd love to. Jerry Sevick, W2FMI, Transmission Line Transformers, Fourth Edition, Noble Publishing, Atlanta 2001 Jerry Sevick, W2FMI, Building and Using Baluns and Ununs, CQ Communications, 1994 Doug DeMaw, W1FB, Ferromagnetic Core Design and Applications Handbook, Prentice Hall, 1996
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 46 Appendix 1 '' Ferrites Useful to Hams For Suppression and Chokes Notes: 1) Use of these ferrites below 100 MHz requires multiple turns, multiple cores, or both. Study the text and the data. 2) #61 material can be used for transformers that must handle power. A single 2661803802 core can easily handle 100 watts with suitable windings. All other listed materials are rec-ommended only for suppression, choking applications, and small signal transformers. 3) The excellent Fair-Rite catalog can be downloaded as a pdf from http://www.fair-rite.com Costs are based on quotes during 2006. Manufacturer's Published Data Cylinder for RG8X, RG6 043117828 Clamp-On For RG8X, RG6 Cylinder for RG8 0431164181 Clamp-On for RG8 Dimensions (inches) Approx Cost Fair-Rite Part Nr Form o.d. i.d. Length Mix 250 pc 1,000 pc Freq Range (MHz) 2631803802 Toroid 2.4 1.4 0.5 #31 < >Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 47 Measured HF Data for Chokes on 2.4" o.d., 1.4" i.d. Toroids Note: All of these data apply to chokes wound with small diameter wire. Chokes wound with cable diameters larger than about 0.2" (RG58) have more stray capacitance, moving the resonance down to a greater extent than those wound with small wire. See Figs 40 '' 45 for data on some larger chokes. #31 Impedance #31 Equivalent Series Resistance #43 Impedance #43 Equivalent Series Resistance #77 Impedance #77 Equivalent Series Resistance
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 48 #61 Impedance #61 Equivalent Series Resistance #31 Impedance VHF #31 Equivalent Series Resistance VHF #43 Impedance VHF #43 Equivalent Series Resistance VHF #61 Impedance VHF #61 Equivalent Series Resistance VHF
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 49 Measured HF Data for #31 "Biggest Clamp-On" Impedance Equivalent Series Resistance Buying Ferrites Sadly, nearly all vendors selling ferrites in the ham marketplace are selling the wrong parts, and at obscenely high markups (4-5X typical). There are much better ways to buy. All of the ferrite parts described in this tutorial are made by Fair-Rite, a great company based in upstate New York. Fair-Rite has an excellent website with an extensive on-line catalog and a list of distributors. If you are willing to buy in quantity, you can do business with these distributors and buy at much lower cost. Established industrial electronics distributors like Newark, Allied, Lodestone Pacific, and Kreiger Components have all provided good service and competitive pricing on Fair-Rite parts. Don't bother these companies with onesy-twosey orders '' all you'll do is make them angry. Consider 20 pieces a minimum order, and combine orders with other hams for quantity discounts. Ferrites are brittle and easily broken in shipping if not carefully packed. To minimize breakage, try to buy in box quantities that are packed by Fair-Rite. Better yet, join or organize a group purchase with a ham club that includes lots of active HF opera-tors, DX chasers, and contesters. These guys are most likely to have RFI problems, and to be push-ing to optimize their stations to pull weak signals out of the noise. If you're active on HF or 6M, you can use a lot ferrites '' taming RFI to home entertainment systems, and minimizing the noise you hear in your radio from noisy equipment in your home and the homes of your neighbors. Des-ignate a club member who has worked in industry buying electronic parts to do the business with the distributor(s), and another member to collect the money and distribute the parts once they ar-rive. Expect to pay sales tax and shipping. How Many Ferrite Parts Should You Buy? Use the table below to estimate how many ferrite parts you can use over a period of several years. Number of HF antennas (include receive antennas) If you run 100 watts or less, multiply by 10 If you use a 400-600 watt amp, multiply by 20 If you use a 700-1,500 watt amp, multiply by 30 If you chase DX or work contests, multiply again by 2 If you operate 6 meters with 100 watts add 10 If you operate 6 meters with 500 watts add 20 If your antennas are close to your living space or your neighbors (like on a city or suburban lot), multiply again by 1.5 Multiply the largest number above by 2/3 and buy this quantity of #31 2.4'' tor-oids (Fair-Rite #2631803802) Buy one #31 ''biggest clamp-on'' (Fair-Rite #0431177081) for every three toroids Buy one #31 RG8-size clamp-on (Fair-Rite #0431164181) for every two toroids
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 50 Appendix 2 '' W8JI on Baluns > I also read W2FMI's book and I would have to agree that something isn't right about the W2DU > type Balun. I experienced heating and a rise in SWR when using a KW and an under 2:1 SWR but > not flat. It would heat up and the standing wave would rise over 2:1. This is not to say that all >bead baluns are bad. I had heard good things about the Force 12 version. Perhaps it uses a >different ferrite material. Walt's balun is based on good engineering for choking, but if you look at it closely there is no headroom for power. I suspect Walt never caught that because he mostly runs low power. There are certainly many cases where his balun would work OK, but 73 material or ANY material with high loss tangent is the wrong material for QRO or for use where the core is involved in handling any high flux density. >I built several of the W1JR type of Baluns and have had no problem with heating. I have had a >problem finding an inexpensive enclosure. I have tried using 3" PVC caps and plugs and have >about $5 in the enclosure. However, I created another problem. Weight of the enclosure and the >core/coax with connectors is a bit much for a dipole. An inverted V or mounting on a beam is not > a problem. There is no need for the criss-crossed winding style, a single layer solenoid winding measures nearly the same. Some articles and books tell you any stray C across the balun reduces choking, but the opposite actually happens. You just have to be careful and not use such a large winding that the self-resonant frequency of the balun is lower than 1/2 of the highest operating frequency. The cheapest balun for a given impedance and power rating is still an air-wound coil of coax on a PVC drainpipe. > I have also had excellent success with a coil of coax. When ur lighting every florescent tube within a block at 2 AM while on 80m with a flat SWR. This will cure it. If you use multiple turns through a core, the impedance goes up by the square of the turns in-crease. If you stick them through a string of beads, the increase in impedance is linear with length and has almost nothing to do with bead thickness. An air wound choke is somewhere between unity ratio and squared impedance as turns are increased, depending on mutual coupling between turns. A string of 43 material beads 36 inches long has the same common mode impedance as a stack of 43 cores 1 inch tall with 6 turns of coax. The string of beads will handle more power, because it has more surface area exposed directly to cooling air no matter how thick the beads are (beyond a certain limit). The more stress the balun has, the lower the µi of the core you should use. At the feedpoint with high power, a low-µi low-loss-tangent core is generally best, like air or a 61 material. This is espe-cially true if the feedline parallels the antenna, or if the element is off balance, or if the element impedance is high. In a coaxial line connected the normal way near the shack (like in the second chokes K3LR uses), a string of 73 material beads would almost certainly be acceptable no matter what the power level. The feedline should be grounded to the tower or another ground as soon as possible after the balun, only on the side of the balun closest to the shack if possible. I use air chokes, or 61 material cores at transmitting antennas. I use 73 or 75 material cores for receiving and in-the-shack or "down the cable a distance" isolation. 73, Tom W8JI [K9YC Note: This email exchange occurred before the introduction of Fair-Rite's #31 material. Tom now uses #31 in a number of applications. As to W2DU's chokes and power handling '' the 50-bead choke is under-designed for high power work because its impedance is too low. Walt's larger choke with 100-300 beads would have solved that problem, but it was the cheaper one that be-came popular. See discussion of these issues in Chapter 6. ]
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 51 Appendix 3 '' John Petrich W7FU on Baluns Subject: C-31XR Balun ..Author:John Petrich 13-Jan-2001 Hi Greg, Yes, I am familiar with the W1JR balun and have used it in some applications. It was good 30 years ago, it is still good today. The only reason that it is not as popular as it once was, is that the bead baluns are easier to construct and harder to goof up on. There may be a small advantage in terms of bandwidth for the bead baluns. In some applications, bandwidth is very important. In other ap-plications, bandwidth is really not important at all. I know what you mean about unrecognized balun heating. So many baluns are located up at the antenna feedpoint and the heating is only discovered after the balun has failed. Antennas can be properly constructed yet it is of major importance to pair the balun, the antenna and the band of operation correctly to avoid balun heating and unwanted feedline radiation. Feedline radiation isn't always a problem. Wanted feedline radiation can make for a useful antenna i.e. G5RV. Balun heating is the result of common mode currents flowing on the outside of the coax shield. These currents are then dissipated in the real component of the complex common mode imped-ance characteristic for that balun. There is no other source for heating for the ferrite beads. This heating problem occurs just the same way and for the same reason with all ferrite baluns, whether they are constructed with ferrite toroids or ferrite beads. The phenomenon is the same. It is inter-esting, if you carefully examine an overheating bead balun, the beads closest to the high imped-ance connections are the warmest. The beads closest to the low impedance connections are the coolest. It is as if each little bead functions as an individual little attenuator element. The entire stack of ferrites does not act like a resistor. The power from the common mode current is not dis-sipated uniformly as it would along a purely resistive element. There are two independent factors that contribute to common mode current flow and the resultant risk of balun heating: 1) INSUFFICIENT COMMON MODE IMPEDANCE TO CHOKE OFF COMMON MODE CURRENT FLOW: Anytime, repeat "anytime", one of these 800 ohm common mode impedance bead baluns is connected across a high impedance load, such as a 80 meter doublet excited on 40 meters, there is the risk of severe balun overheating. The same goes for trying to operate a old style triban-der on 17 or 24 meters with a ferrite balun. Low power operation won't heat the balun, BUT, the common mode current is still flowing, and the system could be operating at a disadvantage. This limitation from the balun's common mode impedance in a high impedance environment is BY FAR THE MOST SIGNIFICANT FACTOR that contributes to bead balun overheating. High power makes the heating problem easier to recognize. Low power doesn't cause as much heating but the system may not be functioning in an ideal manner. But, "everything works." A better solution for a balun in a high impedance enviroment is to use one of those coiled coax or "Badger", baluns. This particular style of balun is capable of exhibiting extremely high common mode impedance values if properly constructed and tested for the frequency of use. Just like an old antenna tuner of years gone by. 2) FERRITE MIX: Yes, ferrite mix can make a difference, but don't get overly excited on this one. Any importance that ferrite mix has on balun heating is not because one mix is "better" than an-other, or one mix is "worse" than another. The reason that ferrite mix can contribute to balun over-heating problems is because of #1 above- Insufficient Common Mode Impedance. The Force-12 balun, I'm guessing, acts like a string of #43 mix ferrite beads. The Maxwell, W2DU, bead balun uses a string of #77 mix ferrite beads. The Force -12 balun has a good peak common mode im-pedance from 40 meters to 10 meters. The Maxwell bead balun has a useful peak common mode impedance from 160 through 15 meters. There is substantial overlap for both and both are good. The Maxwell balun might not have enough common mode impedance on 10 meters and overheat in some 10 meter applications. The Force 12 balun might not have enough common mode imped-ance for a 160 meter installation and overheat in some applications on that band. I haven't actually tested each balun side by side in the antenna situations I have referred to but I am extrapolating from their common mode impedance curves.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 52 The key to reducing balun overheating probably lies with pairing up the antenna (and it's feed point impedance), and band of operation, with a balun having sufficient common mode impedance to choke off common mode current flow. The standard of comparison between "current mode" baluns is their measured common mode impedance at the frequency of use. Some "current mode" baluns have low common mode impedance compared to other baluns. I have only tested the Force-12 and Maxwell baluns and they exhibit common mode impedances of about 800 ohms. Unfortunately, the various manufacturers never publish the common mode impedance characteris-tics of their baluns. I think that it is very very very hard to get common mode impedance values greater than 800 to 1000 ohms using low Q type #43 and #77 ferrites. Maybe I don't know enough, so take that statement with a grain of salt. One can get relatively high common mode im-pedance by coiling coax on a higher Q #61 ferrite toroid. The air coiled coax, "Badger, balun or an old fashioned antenna tuner will give the highest common mode impedance values that I know of. Let me know your thoughts, Greg. John Petrich, W7HQJ [now W7FU ]
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 53 Appendix 4 '' Joe Reisert on Baluns Re: Topband: 160 Meter BALUNS From: Joe Reisert Mon, 22 Dec 2003 Hi Tom, A follow up to my prior EMail on a solenoid baluns. Regardless of whether 50 feet of RG8X wound on a solenoid (tube) is proper to use a balun or not, I'll leave that up to you and W8JI to decide. I guess you some would describe this type of balun as a choke. Now, here is some more theoretical information and measurements etc. that maybe of interest to some for the engineering types on this reflector. This maybe helpful to design similar types of so-lenoid baluns at other frequency bands. 50 feet of RG8X coax is a good starting point for a 160 meter solenoid (choke) balun for many rea-sons. If you close wind the coax on a 4.5" OD (I mistakenly said 4" in my prior EMail) standard white PVC tube, you obtain an impedance of about 650 Ohms (as measured on an HP Network analyzer). This means that you are above the 500 Ohms (and well above 250 Ohms) impedance that most experts feel is adequate for a balun impedance. At 80 meters, the same solenoid balun will have a measured impedance of about 1300 Ohms. However, depending on how tight you make the turns, a resonance will be noted somewhere be-tween 12 and 15 MHz. Hence, 50 feet of coax is probably only good for 160 through 30 meters. Use less turns if only for higher bands (see below). It looks like a 4 or 5:1 ratio of lowest frequency to highest useable frequency is a good rule of thumb. To carry on further, 50 feet of RG8X will amount to approximately 38 turns on a 4.5" OD former and the winding will be approximately 9.25" long. If you plug these numbers is into most standard equations to calculate inductance, you will calculate an inductance of approximately 60 micro Henries. Using the standard formula for reactance: Xl = 2 pi FL, yields about the same impedance as measured above. Pretty nifty to get such agreement! So, you can see that don't need fancy measuring gear to make a solenoid balun for any band. Just decide on how high an impedance you want (but not too high-see below) and make sure that you don't put on too many turns so reso-nances will occur above rather than in band! Some may ask if RG58 is OK for a solenoid balun. Sure it is but for lower power than RG8X. Since it is slightly smaller in diameter, 50 feet h a slightly higher impedance. Since the power handling ability of coax goes down as frequency increases, it maybe safer to use Teflon (RTM) type coax such as RG303 if you are running high power, especially at 80 meters and above. RG8 will also be OK but it is larger in diameter so more coax will be required. You can make your own calculations on this one. I wouldn't recommend foam RG8 coax as it may deform on such a small diameter. However, if you use a larger diameter tube, that will work with RG8 and since the diameter is lar-ger, the impedance will increase accordingly. Use the standard inductance equations. I made a solenoid balun with 25 feet of RG303 teflon (RTM), about 20 turns on a 4.5" tube, and the first measured resonance was about 24 MHz. This balun would be great, even at high power, for 80 through 15 meters. Again, about a 5:1 frequency range. Some purists will say to space the turns, for example, by the diameter of the coax. This maybe less of a problem for flash over if lightning hits. I'll leave that up to you to decide. However, using the info above, this would calculate (using standard inductor equations) to about 33 micro Henries of inductance for space windings (and an impedance of only 375 Ohms), well below that normally suggested for a 160 meter balun. Hence, more coax or a larger diameter tube is required. Finally, what about laying the balun on the ground. I'd recommend against that simply because that at least may lower the self resonance frequency. This is the old story that you shouldn't place objects near (1-3 diameters away) an inductor (which is what a solenoid balun is on the outside shield). I hope this info is of interest and help. There will always be the disagreements over whether to use ferrite beads, ferrite toroids or solenoid baluns. No one size fits all! However, for those interested
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 54 in designing their your own solenoid type baluns, I've hopefully given some info on how to "roll your own." Happy holidays and best of DX in 2004. 73, Joe, W1JR
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 55 Appendix 5 ''Grounding and Lightning Protection Grounding for lightning protection is another one of those widely misunderstood topics. This au-thor is not an expert on lightning protection, so the following discussion should be taken only as a starting point for lightning protection, not a final recommendation. What Lightning Is Lightning is the discharge of an electrical charge (that is, a potential difference) that builds up between some region of space and some other region of space. Air acts as an insu-lator, but breaks down (that is, arcs over) at some high voltage. The arc-over is a huge current pulse with a high rise time and short duration. Spectrum and Waveshape Any short duration pulse consists of an infinite number of harmonics, the relative strength of which is determined by the rise time of the pulse and the impedance of the current path. It is a major mistake to think of lightning as DC. Yes, there's a DC component, but IEEE data shows that most of the energy in a lightning strike is in the MF spectrum (300 kHz-3 MHz). So when designing a ground system for lightning protection, we need to think AM Broad-cast '' according to IEEE data, on average, the energy in lightning has a VERY broad peak around 1 MHz (so broad that there's lots of energy at 2-4x that frequency and at 0.2x that frequency). Common Bonding The single most important element of a lightning protection system is the bonding together of the reference planes (that is, circuit common) for every element of the system. A bond can be defined as a low impedance connection that is mechanically and electrically robust. At frequencies above a few hundred Hz, the impedance of virtually any conductor is dominated by inductance, not resistance. Bonding conductors should be "beefy" so that they don't melt, and as short as possible (so that they have low inductance). Earth As a Reference Plane The earth is an important reference plane. We can think of earth as a plane of infinite size, but whose conductivity varies widely, depending on the chemistry and geol-ogy of the soil (or rock) and its moisture content, from fairly good to very poor. Conductivity can vary significantly between points that are very close together for a variety of reasons, both natural (the presence of rocks, streams, earth stratification) and manmade (excavation, land filling, build-ing structure, buried pipes). Lightning Protection The most fundamental elements of lightning protection are: A low impedance path for lightning to our reference plane (earth) that does not include our house or ham station Common bonding of our equipment so that, in the event of a lightning strike, the potential difference between equipment is minimized Protection devices on power, signal, and control wiring that is connected to our equipment Earth Electrodes An earth electrode is an electrical connection to the soil, whether intentional or unintentional. A ground rod is an example of an intentional connection '' what the NEC calls a "made" electrode. Any building or installation is likely to have many unintentional connections to earth '' building steel, conductive cold water pipe, conductive gas pipe. We can reduce the imped-ance to earth of an electrode by increasing the surface area in contact with the soil, but at lightning frequencies (radio), the major component of the impedance our ground system is the wire between the electrode and our equipment! UFER Electrodes Concrete can be a good electrical conductor or good insulator, depending on its formulation. Most concrete used in construction is a fairly good conductor. A Ufer (named for its inventor) is an electrical conductor encased in conductive concrete to form a made electrode. Structural steel on a concrete foundation acts as a Ufer, including a ham radio tower sitting on concrete that is electrically conductive. Ground Electrodes in Difficult Soil Ground electrodes don't necessarily need to be vertical rods '' if rocky soil makes vertical rods difficult, consider multiple shorter rods, or burying wires or conduc-tive plates horizontally. The main reason for going deep below the surface is to get to in contact with moist (low resistivity) soil.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 56 Bonding Earth Electrodes All earth electrodes that lightning might view as associated with our house or ham station should have an effective low impedance bond between them. The imped-ance to earth of a ground system will be the parallel combination of all earth electrodes (ground rods, building steel, tower footing, cold water, radials), plus the inductance of the wire connecting them. The capacitance between a big radial field and the earth can be a significant component of lowering that impedance in the 300 kHz '' 3 MHz region where the energy of lightning is concen-trated. Star Bonding is designed to provide a low impedance path for lightning current to earth that does not include the building, the electrical system, or equipment within the building. It also provides a single path to earth for lightning current induced in building wiring, and minimizes the potential difference between equipment within the building in the case of a strike. In a star-bonded system: All the earth electrodes are bonded together All equipment and systems within a building are bonded together A single connection is made between the earth electrode system and the building systems (the center of the star) All external wiring is bonded to the center of the star '' the power system neutral, shunt mode lightning protection devices, cable TV entry, the shields of antenna wiring, the base of a tower, etc. Power System Bonding In North America, building codes generally require that an electrical instal-lation conform to the National Electrical Code (NEC). A few cities (including Chicago, Los Angeles) have their own codes that are generally similar to NEC. These codes apply to premises systems '' that is, buildings and facilities connected to mains power. They do not apply to systems that are strictly portable '' for example, a motor generator in a vehicle, and they do not apply to power dis-tribution systems outside buildings (that is, the power company's wiring). They do apply to a port-able generator or solar system that is connected to premises wiring. Some industrial systems, such as those running heavy equipment are exempt from some of these requirements. See http://audiosystemsgroup.com/SurgeXPowerGround.pdf In general, North American building codes require: that all earth electrodes shall be bonded together that a bond shall be made from the earth electrode system to a single point on the power system. In a residential system, the point of connection must be to the neutral bus at the service entrance that one conductor of the power system (the neutral) be bonded to earth. NEC refers to the neutral as "the grounded conductor" that a third wire, called the equipment ground, or "green wire" (protective earth or PE in the UK) is carried to every mains power outlet, and via the power cord to exposed metal in all connected equipment The sole function of the equipment ground is to blow a fuse or circuit breaker in the case of a fault (failure of equipment or wiring), thus protecting personnel from electrical shock and preventing fires. An equipment ground should never intentionally carry current (that is, serve as a return for load current). That is the function of the neutral. The bonding requirements of these standard building codes are based on solid engineering. They have been formulated and refined over the years by some of the best engineering minds on the planet, including many who are very aware of the RF implications of the requirements. There is no conflict between these grounding and bonding requirements and excellent perform-ance of radio transmitting or receiving systems. Those who advocate separate, unconnected grounds for power and radio systems are simply wrong.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 57 SURGE SUPPRESSION Surge Suppression devices are designed to prevent damage to equipment caused by lightning flowing into equipment. There two fundamental types '' shunt mode, and series mode. Shunt mode suppressors conduct the lighting current, hopefully diverting it away from the pro-tected equipment (and often onto the equipment ground conductor). Gas discharge tubes and metal oxide varistors (MOV's) are the most commonly used shunt mode suppression devices. At low voltages, they look like an open circuit, but conduct when the voltage exceeds a certain threshold. Series mode suppressors block the lightning current by adding a high reactive impedance (an in-ductor) in series with the lightning current. The energy in the lightning strike is stored in an induc-tor, then discharged slowly (and thus harmlessly) back into the power line. http://www.surgex.com Disadvantages of Shunt Mode Suppressors There are three very strong negatives. When a shunt mode suppressor conducts a lightning strike to the equipment ground, the IR drop in the "green wire" raises the potential between the equipment ground at the "pro-tected" outlet and other "grounds." Consider two pieces of gear plugged into different out-lets, with signal wiring between them. One of them has a shunt mode suppressor, the other does not. Or perhaps they both have suppressors, but they see different lightning currents and have different lengths of green wire to "earth." In either situation, the differ-ence in potential between the two equipment grounds can be thousands of volts for the in-stant of the strike, and one or both of those pieces of equipment is likely to experience a destructive failure. Shunt mode suppressors degrade and/or eventually fail, as they absorb some finite amount of energy. They may fail shorted or open. It is not practical to test for a degraded or "failed open" condition. As a result, it easy for a shunt mode device to have failed and offer little or no protection, but you don't know it! Shunt mode suppressors will conduct non-destructive noise spikes to the equipment ground, and the resulting noise current can radiate and be picked up on antenna systems. Advantages of Shunt Mode Suppressors Shunt suppressors are much cheaper than series mode suppressors. They are the only practical method for protecting signal circuits and for protecting an entire building (that is, a "whole house" suppressor" at the service entrance). Advantages of Series Mode Suppressors Series mode suppressors reliably protect equipment on branch circuits without causing destructive failures on equipment on other circuits. Disadvantages of Series Mode Suppressors They are larger and more expensive than shunt mode suppressors, and it is not practical to build series mode suppressors with capacities larger than about 30A. Recommended Surge Suppression Strategy Install a "whole house" suppressor at the service entrance as your first line of defense against light-ning coming in on the power line, and other power line faults. Use series mode suppressors on branch circuits (that is, between the breaker panel and equip-ment) to control lightning induced on branch circuit wiring. Never use shunt mode suppressors (MOVs) on branch circuits. Use shunt mode devices only in parallel with the RF inputs of sensitive equipment (antenna inputs, inputs of telephone equipment, computer network equipment, etc.) When shunt mode devices are on balanced wiring (telco, ethernet, etc.), do not return them to the green wire; use the star ground as their return.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 58 Appendix 6 '' Audio for Ham Radio Input and Output Levels One of the most important parts of audio interconnection is getting the levels right. It's easy to do it right '' as long as you know that you need to do it. Output Levels The maximum output level of most computer sound cards is on the order of 1 volt RMS (corresponding roughly to digital clip). The output stage can usually produce enough current to drive most headphones to reasonable listening level. Most output stages will begin produce significant distortion about 6 dB below their maximum output level. For this reason, it is very im-portant to stay below this level on digital modes like PSK31. The maximum output level of most radios is also on the order of 1 volt RMS at clip level. Most will drive an 8 ohm loudspeaker. Input Levels There are (at least) five common types of inputs, and each operates at a different level. Balanced mic level inputs typically operate between 1 mV and 100 mV rms, and may clip at 1 V rms. Unbalanced mic inputs typically work between about 10 mV and 250 mV, but may clip at levels as low as 250-500 mV rms. Balanced line inputs typically clip at about 10V rms. Input and Output Impedances Contrary to popular belief, 600 ohm inputs and outputs haven't been used in pro audio in almost 40 years. Modern output stages have a low output impedance '' typically 100 ohms or less for pro products, and 350 ohms or less for consumer products. Mod-ern input stages have a high impedance '' typically 1K for pro mic input, 10K for a pro line input, 50K for a consumer line input. In other words, modern equipment operates on the basis of volt-age matching, not power matching. Line level output stages are designed to provide voltage, not current, and input stages are designed to not draw current. The performance of a line level or mic level output degrades when it is connected to an input stage that "loads" it '' that is, a low impedance input that draws current. Degradation comes in the form of reduced output level and increased distortion at higher output levels. Sadly, the designers of some ham gear haven't gotten the word, and still load their input stages with low value resistors. The Elecraft K2, for example, must be modified to work with a professional mic. Loudspeaker Outputs There are two primary differences between a line output and a loudspeaker output of most ham rigs. A loudspeaker output is fed by a power amplifier that is designed to deliver current into an 8 ohm load. A line level output is fed by a simple stage that provides about the same volt-age, but it is not designed to deliver current. A line level output is usually not affected by a front panel volume control. Matching Levels An audio signal chain will have optimum sound quality and least noise pickup when its signal levels are matched. A simple way to describe correct level matching is to say that the gains are adjusted so that every stage in the signal chain is operating just below the level where distortion begins to rise drastically. For most analog stages, this is the "clip" level, where the tops of a sine wave would be clipped. For digital stages, it is 0 dB FS (0 dB re: full scale, where the A/D and D/A converters "run out of bits.") We don't want the signal to actually hit the clip level, but we want it to be about the same number of dB below clip (3-6 dB is a good range) at every point in the signal chain. Matching levels does three things for us. It assures that distortion produced in the electronics will be minimal. It minimizes the contribution of each gain stage to the noise level. It minimizes the contribution of noise on interconnect wiring. Speech Intelligibility The primary goal of most ham radio transmissions is communication. We are often working with less power, or an inferior antenna system, or in the presence of noise, over very long distances, or very difficult propagation. To get the most from our stations, we need to optimize their intelligibility. The major factors that contribute to intelligibility are: Frequency content Nearly all intelligibility in speech is contained between 400 Hz and 5
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 59 kHz, with the range between about 1 kHz and 3 kHz being most critical. Lower frequency sounds provide more pleasing sound (" body") and higher frequencies more "presence." To get the most "talk power," we want to concentrate our transmit power in the 500 '' 3,000 Hz range, without wasting transmit power on the lower frequencies, and without allowing the higher frequencies to create (or receive) splatter from adjacent channels. Equalization is used to optimize the frequency content of the transmitted audio. We use low pass filters to reduce the strength of low frequency sound that eats transmitter power but doesn't contribute to intelligibility. We also use some response boost around 3 kHz to maximize clarity. Signal to noise ratio Speech intelligibility is degraded by noise. We can minimize the noise by minimizing the receive bandwidth (but not so much that we lose audio frequencies be-tween 500 Hz and 3 kHz). Dynamic processing Human speech naturally has peaks and valleys of loudness. The loud-est peaks can't be allowed to exceed our permitted transmitter power (or FM deviation), but we don't want the valleys to fall into the noise. That's where dynamic processing comes in '' we use peak limiters and compressors just before the modulator in our radio to reduce the strength of peaks, then turn of the level on the entire voice signal so that the peaks just hit the maximum permitted output (or FM deviation). The difference between a peak limiter and a compressor is primarily their time constants '' that is, compressors act relatively slowing to smooth out the difference between the loud and soft parts of speech, while peak limiters act very quickly to catch short term transients that would overmodulate the transmitter. To sound good, dynamics processing must be done artfully '' if the peaks are reduced too sharply, or excessively, the audio can be distorted and sound unnatural. In the transmit audio chain, the audio should first be equalized to achieve the desired frequency content (that is the balance between highs, mids, and lows), and then passed through the dynamics processing. Time distortion and echoes Anyone who works with sound systems in churches or audito-riums knows that sound that bounces around a room and arrives at our ears as reverbera-tion or an echo degrades speech intelligibility. Echoes and time smear can also occur when a signal is propagated to us over multiple paths at the same time. It can be really tough to copy a signal that is reaching you by both a long path and a short path '' one will be offset in time from the other, and you'll hear an echo. The combination of good dynamics processing and careful shaping of the frequency response can make a 10-15 dB difference in "talk power." 10 dB is equivalent to multiplying your transmitter power by a factor of 10x; 15 dB is equivalent to 32x! Response shaping typically contributes 3-6 dB of that improvement, dynamics processing is good for 6-10 dB. Microphones come in four basic types. Dynamic microphones have a diaphragm attached to a voice coil that moves within the field of a permanent magnet. Condenser (and electret condenser) microphones have a conductive diaphragm forms one plate of a capacitor. Most mics commonly used with telephones,, consumer equipment, and ham gear are electrets. Before electrets, carbon mics were widely used in telephones, and crystal mics were used with low cost consumer equip-ment. Directional Patterns An omnidirectional mic picks up sound equally in all directions. A directional mic favors (usually) one direction (cardioid) or two directions (bi-directional, also called "figure-of-8"). Most performance mics are cardioids. Cardioids work by canceling the sound from a front and rear opening for sounds coming from directions other than the front. Hypercardioid and su-percardioid mics have a slightly narrower pattern than a cardioid, thanks to combining front and rear entry ports at a different ratio. Noise-cancelling mics are designed to be used very close to the mouth and reject background noise. They use two capsules that are combined out of polarity to cancel sound more than an inch or two from the mic. Noise canceling mics are very subject to sibilance and breath noise, so they
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 60 don't sound very good, and should generally be used only when the background noise is so loud that communications would be difficult without them (aircraft cockpits, etc.). They are a poor choice for most ham radio applications. Electret Mics Many modern microphones, and virtually all miniature microphones, have electret condenser capsules. They come in two basic forms. What these forms have in common is a VERY high-Z electret capsule (tens of megohms) with a FET follower to get it down to about 10K. The most common form of professional electret mics adds a gain stage with a balanced output to drive a professional sound mixer. Phantom Power Professional condenser mics get their power from the balanced line in what the old telco guys would call simplex '' that is, V+ equally on the signal pair, V- on the shield. This is called phantom power. Several common voltages are in use, with 48 volts through a matched pair 6.8K ohms to both sides of line being the most common. The mic has an on-board voltage regula-tor, and most mics actually work between 9 and 20 volts. There is also a nearly obsolete standard that put power in series, called T-power. It was popular with film folks for a while. The second form of electret mic is designed to be used with unbalanced inputs, like those that are part of wireless mic transmitters. The capsule with the FET follower has unbalanced wiring to pig-tail leads, which are then soldered to the appropriate connector. Electret mics of this form can drive a ham rig directly, but need a small dc voltage from the transmitter to bias the FET (with a suitable series resistor). The mic connectors on most ham transceivers has DC available, but you'll need to add the resistor. Shure, Audio-Technica, AKG, and Sony all make miniature electret mics like this for use with wireless mics that will work well with ham transmitters; only Shure and Crown have "headworn" versions. Be sure to buy an omni-directional version though '' the direc-tional mics all have proximity effect, so they don't work well at all for communications use. Proximity Effect Virtually all popular "vocal" microphones are directional mics, and nearly all of them exhibit proximity effect '' the "boosting" of low frequencies for a sound source very close to the mic. The exception is the family of "variable-D" microphones made by Electro-Voice '' the RE16, RE18, RE20, and RE27 (also the discontinued RE10, RE11, RE18, and 666). AKG and Shure used to make variable-D mics, and you may find them used. They are the AKG D202, D222, and D224, and the Shure SM53, SM54. If you're going to use a pro mic with your ham rig, it ought to be either one of these mics or one of the miniature omnidirectional electrets. I mostly use an RE16 for HF SSB. The advantage of the variable-D mic over the omni is that it rejects noise in your shack (like the fan in your power amp). Fig A6-1a SSB TX and RX Response Fig A6-1b '' Shure 450 Communications Mic Frequency Response of SSB Fig A6-1a is the response of typical 2.7 kHz crystal filters used to generate and receive SSB. The red curve is the response of the TX filter alone; the red curve is the cascaded response of the TX filter and the filter in the receiver. In addition, an international stan-dard calls for limiting bandwidth to 2kHz, and many SSB rigs have a built-in 2kHz rolloff. The fre-quency spectrum between about 1kHz and 3kHz is critical to good speech intelligibility, so the severe rolloff of Fig A6-1a tends to make speech somewhat muffled and indistinct. The rolloff can be compensated by boosting (pre-emphasizing) the response in the 2-4 kHz region. Virtually all popular "communications" microphones are built with this boost, so they sound fine. The Shure 450 (Fig A6-1b) and the various Heil mics are examples.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 61 Using Professional Low Impedance Mics With Your Ham Gear Most pro mics, built with relatively flat (that is, accurate) response, sound muddy and dull when connected to many ham transceivers. Use a twisted pair cable that has a braid shield to connect the mic to your ham gear. This cable needs a 3-pin female XLR on the mic end and a suitable ham mic connector (usually 8-pins) on the other. The twisted pair goes to pins 2 and 3 of the XLR, and the shield goes to pin 1. The wire from pin 2 of the mic goes to the mic input of your radio. The wire from pin 3 to the "audio ground" of your radio. Wire the cable shield to the chassis of your radio (hopefully the mic con-nector is bonded to the chassis, but don't count on it '' in many radios, it is not!) If your ham gear is rolled off per the standard and doesn't have its own "equalization" to fix it (some radios do), you can add a simple RC equalization network to match the "flat" re-sponse of the pro mic to the rolled off response of the ham gear. The network consists of a ca-pacitance in series with the wire from pin 2 to the input of the ham gear. Chose the capacitor so that its reactance is equal to the input resis-tance of the ham gear at 3 kHz, using the equa-tion C = 1 / 2Ï F X. For example, if the input resistance of the mic input stage is 1 K, use C of Fig A6-1c Response With Series Cap about 0.027 uF (27 nF). If your audio is still a bit dull, make the capacitance value even smaller. If the audio is too thin, make the capacitance a bit larger. The Elecraft K3 has a built-in equalizer that can easily be set to provide the needed compensation. Inexpensive Electret Mics work very well with almost any ham rig. Plantronics, first known for their excellent miniature "star-set" operator headsets, now makes a wide variety of miniature headworn earsets and headsets for use with computers and cell phones. Very good ones sell for about $25; all it takes to use them with your ham rig is to connect them to your radio, adding a suitable bias resistor between the V+ terminal and the audio terminal (see below). You don't need a "gold plated" mic sold by the rock and roll ham '' a $25 Plantronics can give you very good and very competitive audio at a fraction of the cost! There are three wires in the Plantronics cable, plus the shield. The shield goes to the chassis. Blue is common for the mic and earphone, and goes to common on the mic jack. One wire is the ear-phone, and goes to the audio out on the mic jack. The other wire is the mic, and goes to the mic input. To figure out which wire is which, stick the eaphone in your ear and listen as you probe for it with an ohmeter. When you hear the click, you've got the earphone. On the headsets I have, white is the mic, red is the earphone, blue is common. You also need a bias resistor between the mic wire and +DC on the mic jack to provide bias for the mic capsule. As I recall, I used something like 5K-10K, but I don't remember and I don't re-member it being critical. See your radio's manual for connector pinout '' Kenwood, Icom, TenTec, and Yaesu all wire their mic jacks VERY differently. Laptop Mic Inputs vary widely, and those who have studied them extensively say there are no real standards. Fig A6-2a is the most common configuration. Fig A6-2b is another. The tip of the 1/8-inch connector is the mic input, with the connector shell as the return. The ring of the connector is +5VDC through a 3.3K resistor (measured on my IBM Thinkpad). Connect a dynamic mic be-tween tip and sleeve. This works perfectly on my IBM T22, but MY IBM T41 uses a somewhat dif-ferent input circuit that is noisy and unstable with this simple connection. I tamed it by adding 0.22 µF between tip and ring. An electret ham mic may work with audio to tip and power to ring. Or you may need to add resistance in series with the ring. Or you may need the capacitor. Or both. Plantronics headsets work great with my IBM T-series laptops with the mic going between tip and sleeve of the TRS mic jack and a 36K resistor between tip and ring.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 62 Fig A6-2a Conceptual Laptop Mic Input #1 Fig A6-2b Conceptual Laptop Mic Input #2 The Yamaha CM500 Headset is just about ideal for ham radio. The headphones are quite com-fortable, even for long periods in a contest, they sound very good, and they have fairly good iso-lation from room sounds. The mic sounds great too (a lot better than the Heil mics I've heard), and it's response is nearly ideal for ham radio. Not only that, it's a bargain, at about $45 from good discount vendors of semi-pro audio prod-ucts. All it needs is bias for its electret capsule and a bit of low frequency rolloff to minimize breath pops. With my K3, I set the two lowest octave bands of the TX equalizer to full cut. For rigs that lack an equalizer, simply add a small capacitor in series with the mic input to the rig. Fig A6-3 Yamaha CM500 Headset The CM500 plugs straight into the rear panel mic and headphone jacks on the K3, and to the mic and headphone jacks of most computers. For other rigs you will need a simple adapter to mate the CM500's 1/8-inch 3-circuit plug with the rig's mic connector. Wire a 3-circuit 1/8-inch jack with the tip going to the rig's mic input, and connect a 5.6K'... resistor between the tip and +8VDC on the rig mic connector. Neither the resistor value nor the voltage is critical '' anything from about 5V to 12V and from about 3.9K'... to about 6.8K'... will work. For lower voltages, use a lower resis-tor value, for higher voltages a higher resistor value. If you're going to add a small capacitor to roll off the low end, place it in series between the two connectors, but with the 5.6K resistor connect-ing to the microphone side of the capacitor. See Chapter 8 for part numbers and internet sources for good quality 1/8-inch plugs and jacks. Impedance of Loudspeakers and Headphones The impedance of a transducer describes the rela-tionship between voltage and current, just as with any other passive element. These transducers move air, so they require some power to operate. Headphones move much less air than loud-speakers, so needs much less power. A transducer can take that power with a little voltage and a lot of current (low impedance) a lot of voltage and a little current (high impedance), or anywhere in between. Fig A6-4 '' A typical small loudspeaker. The lower curve is impedance, upper curve is voltage sensitivity
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 63 The impedance of a dynamic transducer (loudspeaker, headphones, dynamic mics) is not constant '' it varies widely with frequency. The variations are the result of mechanical resonances in the transducer and its enclosure. Fig A6-4 is the impedance of a typical loudspeaker. Headphone im-pedance varies in a similar way, but manufacturers rarely publish graphs of their impedance. By international standard, the impedance of a transducer is defined as the minimum impedance within the audio spectrum. For most full-range transducers, the minimum impedance point is be-tween 200 Hz and 1 kHz. Most loudspeakers have an impedance between 4 and 16 ohms; head-phones are typically 50 '' 1,000 ohms. Loudspeakers and Dynamic Mics are exactly the same in principal '' a diaphragm mechanically mounted to a coil, moving in the gap of a magnet. The loudspeaker is optimized to produce sound, the mic to detect it. Good audio technicians know that loudspeakers and dynamic mic both work in reverse. That is, if you momentarily connect ohmmeter probes or a battery to a dynamic mic, you'll hear the diaphragm click, and if you connect a loudspeaker to a mic preamp, you'll hear sound from the room that the loudspeaker is in. Many school intercoms work this way '' the speaker at the front of the classroom can be rigged to let the principal listen in! Loudspeaker and Headphone Sensitivity This is a measure of how much power is needed to achieve a given sound pressure level. Because the impedance of real loudspeakers and head-phones varies so widely with frequency, sensitivity (and the frequency response) is generally de-fined at a constant voltage that produces 1 watt at the low impedance point. The zero dB refer-ence for sound pressure level is a very soft sound. Small loudspeakers suitable for use in a ham shack typically have sensitivity of 75 '' 85 dB at one meter for one watt, but a more sensitive one (85-95 dB) could help cut through road noise when operating mobile, especially if the speaker out-put amplifier is on the anemic side. Power Amplifier Output Impedance Loudspeakers are driven by power amplifiers that have very low output impedances, typically a few tenths (or even hundredths) of an ohm. The combination of the power amplifier's output impedance and the loudspeaker form a simple voltage divider. The output impedance must be small for two reasons: 1) so that power is not wasted; and 2) so that the variable impedance of the loudspeaker does not modify the frequency response of the system. Headphone Outputs are typically driven by small power amplifiers, or through series resistors from the same power amplifier that drives the loudspeaker. Why are the resistors needed? Most headphones use three circuit (stereo) plugs, but some use 2-circuit plugs. When we plug stereo headphones into the radio, we want to hear audio in both ears, so both tip and ring must be driven. The resistors are there to prevent the power amplifier from seeing a short circuit when a 2-circuit (mono) phone plug is plugged into the headphone jack. Effect of the Resistors The resistors, in effect, raise the output impedance at the headphone jack. The resistors will do two things to the sound quality. 1) They will reduce the overall loudness; and 2) they will modify the frequency response. Both of these effects will be small if the impedance of the headphones is high (3x the resistor value), and greater if the impedance of the headphones is low (equal to or smaller than the resistor value). Headphone Acoustic Types Closed Ear headphones block room sounds, while Open Air head-phones let sound from the room come through. In the Ear headphones are miniature transducers that fit in the ear. In the Ear Headphones Professional quality In the Ear headphones can provide excellent isolation from room noise, thanks to the acoustic seal formed between the earbud and the ear canal. Better models come with several pairs of "ear buds" to fit different size ears. The ultimate in isolation and comfort is achieved by having custom earmolds fitted by an audiologist. I'm quite satisfied with the stock earmolds that come standard with the Shure and Etymotic Research models listed below. Noise Cancelling Headphones work by picking up room sound from a microphones on the out-side of each earphone, amplifying them, adding it to the electrical signal to each ear so that it is heard out of polarity with the acoustic leakage around the headphone's seal. To cancel, the two signals must be precisely equal in amplitude, precisely in phase, but also out of polarity at the ears. The amplitude and phase match is much easier to achieve at lower frequencies, where the physical
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 64 spacing between the noise sense mic and the earphone is the smallest fraction of a wavelength, and difficult where the spacing becomes a significant fraction of a wavelength, and thus contrib-utes phase shift. To some extent, this can be compensated by a digital delay network within the electronics, but that adds both cost and battery drain. RECOMMENDED HEADPHONES FOR HAM RADIO APPLICATIONS Nearly any good quality hi-fi or professional headset will have very good sound quality for ham radio applications. In order of importance, my criteria are: Physical comfort Noise isolation Compact size to fit in a briefcase Impedance around 100 ohms is a good compromise between voltage sensitivity and less interaction with the series protection resistors. Lower impedance may provide more sound level with some products that use lower value series resistors. AKG, Audio Technica, and Sony all make a wide range of very good Open Air headphones. The Sony MDR7506's are quite comfortable. Shure and Etymotic Research, both based near Chicago, make excellent In the Ear headphones. I like the Shure E3, E4, and E5 models, and the Etymotic Research ER4. I haven't used the lower cost ER6's, but would expect them to be very nice. I find these in-ear headphones to be quite comfort-able for long-haul contest operation. The Shure E1's are too big and clunky to be comfortable. I consider In the Ear headphones a far better solution for ham radio than noise canceling head-phones for three reasons. First, the recommended In the Ear headphones provide much better iso-lation from room sound than noise canceling models. Second, I've seen several complaints of RFI in some noise canceling headphones. Third, In the Ear headphones are passive, so they are sim-pler and less likely to fail. The earphones that are part of the Yamaha CM500 headset (see Fig A6-3) are an excellent choice for ham radio.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 65 Appendix 7 '' Measuring Impedance With Antenna Analyzers Antenna analyzers are a very useful tool, but to use them effectively (and get accurate results), we must understand their limitations. 1) Most antenna analyzers operate either as SWR analyzers or reflection analyzers, and meas-ure relative to some specified characteristic impedance (usually 50 ohms, but some ana-lyzers can be set for 75 ohms). They are most accurate when the SWR is low (that is, when the unknown impedance is near that characteristic impedance), and become increas-ingly inaccurate when the SWR is high. 2) There is a definite upper limit on the magnitude of the impedance that can be measured. For the MFJ259B, it is 500 ohms. For the AEA CIA-HF, it is 1,000 ohms. Some newer ana-lyzers can measure up to 2,000 ohms. 3) In general, antenna analyzers cannot resolve phase angles within 5 degrees of 0 degrees and 90 degrees. 4) In general, antenna analyzers do not know the sign of the phase angle (that is, they don't know whether the unknown impedance is capacitive or inductive). 5) In general, antenna analyzers have a fairly low input impedance. Typical values are 10K ohms in parallel with 12 pF. This further reduces the maximum impedance that can be measured (unless it is known and subtracted from the measured result). Using an AEA CIA-HF Antenna Analyzer Using HP 8753C with HP85046A S-Parameter Test Set and HP85052D Calibration Kit To appreciate the limitation of the AEA's 12 pF input capacitance, let's begin by computing its reac-tance. At 25 MHz, 12 pF is only 530 ohms; at 10 MHz, it's 1,327 ohms; and at 2 MHz it is 6,600 ohms. It's clear that if we're trying to measure an impedance of 1,000 ohms or more above about 4 MHz, the 12 pF input capacitance will cause major errors. To appreciate how large these errors can be, consider the two data sets above for coils wound around a Fair-Rite #61 2.4" i.d. toroid. For example, compare the data for the 6 turn coil. The AEA data shows resonance at about 12 MHz and suggests an impedance at resonance of about 1.5K. The more accurate HP system shows the resonance at 30 MHz, with Z = 4,000 ohms; at 12 MHz, the impedance is actually about 600 ohms and is strongly inductive. Thus, the stray capacitance of the analyzer (about 12 pF) is resonating with the coil to move the resonance down by a factor of nearly 3:1. The actual impedance of the choke is thus much higher than the AEA shows at 30 MHz, and much lower at 12 MHz. In other words, the antenna analyzer has completely mis-characterized the coil. So the obvious question is, how (and under what conditions) can we use an antenna analyzer to characterize ferrite parts? As a starting point, I'll offer the following guidelines.
Understanding and Solving RF Interference Problems Page 66 Stray Capacitance To minimize the er-ror caused by stray capacitance, wind just enough turns around the ferrite part in question to achieve a resonant peak whose impedance is one third or less of the reactance that the input capacitance of the analyzer has at the frequency of the resonance. At frequencies well be-low the measured resonance, the im-pedance of a single turn through the fer-rite part is approximately equal to the measured impedance divided by the square of the number of turns. Now, use the guidelines of chapter xxx to es-timate the resonant frequency of the fer-rite part for a single turn. Fig A7-2 Useful Measurement Range of Antenna Analyzer The fact that the analyzer loses accuracy for values of impedance widely displaced from the characteristic impedance for which it was designed, leads to another rule of thumb for 50 ohm analyzers: use just enough turns around the ferrite part to keep the data within the range of 10 '' 250 ohms. Figure A7-2 illustrates these guidelines graphically. The dashed lines show the guidelines based on Z between 1/5 and 5x ZO of 50 ohms. The solid black line shows the guideline for keeping the resonant peak less than one third the reactance of the stray capacitance. Correcting For Input Impedance Better accuracy at high frequencies can be achieved by express-ing the measured impedance as RP and XP, taking the reciprocal of RP to yield input conductance, then subtracting the input conductance and capacitance from the measured data. To perform this computation, the sign of the reactance must also be known. The resulting measurement will still be subject to the errors associated with measuring impedance well away from 50 ohms. A Better Way to Measure Chokes The test setup shown in Fig 40 (page 31) is a very good way to measure chokes. You need a decent RF signal generator and a way to measure RF voltage accu-rately over the frequency range of interest. If you are lucky enough to have access to a Vector Network Analyzer, you can get good data by connecting the choke between input and output measuring S21. This is the VNA equivalent of the method described in Fig 40. Antenna Analyzers, Vector Network Analyzers, Impedance Analyzers, and Chokes All of these ana-lyzers are designed to measure impedances that are relatively close to the characteristic imped-ance of a 50 or 75 ohms (within a 10:1 or 1:10 ratio). The common mode chokes we're trying to measure typically have parallel equivalent resistance of 1,000 '' 5,000 ohms and equivalent parallel capacitance of 1 '' 7 pF. A choke optimized for use on 14 '' 30 MHz may have parallel capacitance as low as 1-2 pF. To measure these chokes to 10% accuracy, an analyzer (or its test fixture) must have an input impedance of at least 10X the parallel equivalent resistance of the choke and 1/10 the parallel equivalent capacitance of the choke. The AIM 4170 is a nice analyzer, and provide very good performance relative to its cost. It cannot, however, accurately measure the impedance of these chokes above about 5 MHz, simply because its input capacitance is too large relative to the capacitance of the chokes. I've worked very hard to get good data for these chokes using the TenTec VNA. The best I can do is to get good data up to about 7 MHz, and then only if I use it to measure S21 of the unknown as a series element. Above that frequency, the software is not capable of accurately "calibrating out" the test fixture to yield magnitude data that matches the HP test rig. I suspect it may be possible to get good complex data for chokes with an HP VNA measuring S21. Kevin, K6TD, and I have done some work with this, but haven't been able to get the data out of his analyzer in a form that allows us to adequately test its validity, and my primary collaborator has been too buried in work to get at it. We're still working on it as we have time.
The owner of CNN and TNT wants to transform commercial breaks into 3-minute-long native ads | Business Insider
Turner Broadcasting '-- which owns TV networks including CNN, TNT, and Cartoon Network '-- has a plan to transform its commercial breaks to make them more like its programming.
At the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas this week, Turner is showcasing its ''Native Plus'' product, which will see it replace some commercial breaks that tend to showcase anywhere between five and 10 different 30-second ads a with 2-to-3-minute-long ''native'' ad for a single advertiser.
Turner will work with the advertiser to create the longer-form content, which it says will be more ''powerful and impactful to the viewer.'' The thinking, presumably, is that a longer ad will give the advertiser more space to convey their key messages and that the elongated slot will provide standout compared to traditional commercial breaks.
The advertiser can also choose to use their existing digital marketing content, extending it to a TV audience '-- a role-reversal from recent years when marketers used to be criticised for simply uploading their TV ads to YouTube and Facebook and hoping they would appeal to a digital audience.
In a press release, Turner says: ''Turner Native Plus will extend storytelling into the commercial pod by developing the right environment for the client, increasing exposure to the brand, and as a result, driving higher ROI [return on investment.]''
AdAge reports that Intel will be one of the first brands to trial Native Plus.
US primetime TV ratings declined 10% year on year, according to Nielsen's monthly live viewership data for December. However, as analysts at Nomura Securities pointed out in a recent research note, Turner was one of the bright spots of the industry in December.
CNN reported a 119% year-on-year ratings increase in primetime, while Cartoon Network recorded primetime viewership growth in nine of the last 10 months. The increases helped offset ongoing ratings declines at TBS and TNT, meaning aggregate primetime ratings were up 2% year-on-year.
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VW Stock: Here's Why Shares of Volkswagen AG Are Going Crazy This Morning
VW Stock Under PressureThe government of the United States is suingVolkswagen AG (ADR)(OTC:VLKAY). Indeed, VW stock fell almost seven percent since the start of the week after the Justice Department filed an official complaint with the court in Detroit over the company's violations of theClean Air Act. As it stands, VW could face a fine of up to $20.0 billion over the emissions scandal, which has come to be known as ''Dieselgate.'' (Source: ''BREAKING: EPA and DOJ sue Volkswagen over emissions cheating scandal in diesel vehicles,''New York Daily News, January 4, 2016.)
The lawsuit against Volkswagen, while not sufficiently large to bring VW stock to its proverbial knees (Volkswagen stock has a market cap of some $80.0 billion), does open an unpleasant chapter in U.S.-German relations, at least those of the economic variety. Bloomberg has confirmed that the U.S. Department of Justice has actually filed a suit to initiate a lawsuit against Volkswagen in Detroit. (Source: ''Volkswagen Faces Billions of Dollars in Penalties From U.S. Suit,'' Bloomberg, January 4, 2016.)
VW stock will face pressure, as Attorney General John Cruden, head of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources unit, has filed the lawsuit in the Eastern District of Michigan and then moved to Northern California, where Volkswagen is already facing a class-action lawsuit. Volkswagen stock will come under increasing pressure as the German automotive group goes on trial on suspicion of having rigged millions of vehicles in the U.S. and around the world.
VW Stock Under Pressure Following Emission TestsVW allegedly rigged the cars such that, under laboratory conditions, the engines produced lower emissions than would have been noted on the road. According to reports fromThomson Financial, the complaint, filed by the Justice Department on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), claims that almost 600,000 vehicles with two- and three-liter diesel engines were equipped with so-called ''defeat devices'' that rig emission control systems in order to perform below EPA standards and deliver better dynamic performance.
In fact, the German group has sold and imported used vehicles whose design diverged from what the EPA and the California Air Resources Board expected. According to theClean Air Act, a carmaker needs to inform regulators about the use of any auxiliary emissions control device in order for this to be considered legal. This is essentially what Volkswagen is accused of not doing and why VW stock is at risk of further losses.
The Justice Department holds auto manufacturers that make mistakes in certifying their cars and emission control systems guilty of violating public trust, endangering public health, and cheating competitors.
Cynthia Giles, from the EPA, explained that the lawsuit is an important step toward protecting public health by ensuring Volkswagen is held responsible for any illegal actions causing concerning pollution. (Source: ''BREAKING: EPA and DOJ sue Volkswagen over emissions cheating scandal in diesel vehicles,''New York Daily News, January 4, 2016.)
According to Giles, talks with VW have failed to produce an acceptable solution until now and these discussions will continue in parallel with the legal process, which will keep VW stock under pressure.
Nevertheless, VW stock could benefit from a plan to introduce 20 new electric and hybrid plug-in models by 2020 as part of a strategy that the company hopes might partly improve its image in the United States, avoiding the worst. (Source: ''VW teases electric concept for CES,'' Autoblog, December 11, 2015.)
CAD to USD: This Could Hammer the Canadian Dollar
Target Corp: The #1 Reason to Be Bullish on This Dividend Stock
4chan 'beta uprising' spreads countless threats of more school massacres
The 4chan imageboard at the center of at least one FBI investigation relating to the Oregon college massacre has come completely unhinged under a spate of media scrutiny.
The head-first descent into madness began Monday afternoon, after the Federal Bureau of Investigation warned Philadelphia-area universities of a threat made on /r9k/, a unique 4chan imageboard formally called ROBOT9001, which uses a script to block text and image reposts. These schools included Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Drexel University.
4chan
The thread above is part of what /r9k/ is calling a ''beta uprising'' or ''beta rebellion.'' Both terms have lingered in the dark corners of the Internet for years. Both of them refer to males, known as ''betas,'' who have been passed over by females because of their looks. (A more nuanced explanation of this phenomenon can be found on Reddit's r/outoftheloop community.)Beta uprising posts generally involve threats of violence, the targets of which often include females and ''alpha'' males. James Holmes, the 27-year-old who murdered 24 people at a Colorado movie theater in 2012, said the massacre was part of a beta uprising. The latest strain on /r9k/ often includes threats of more school shootings.
On Thursday, /r9k/ captured the world's attention after it tried to pin the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, to one of its users called Eggman
As is often the case with pranks that start on 4chan (here, here, and here are some of its notable attempts), this latest ''beta uprising'' has been half baked and juvenile.
The following images are from /r9k/ threads made Monday evening. They show anonymous users continuing to make threats against schools.
4chan
4chan
4chan
The ''beta uprising'' spilled over onto Twitter where some students expressed fear for their lives.
Twitter
Twitter
One student fed up with ''beta uprising'' was a Twitter user named gianna, who called out 4chan for its fear mongering and nonsense. Gianna also tweeted a grainy video she had found featuring the Pepe the Frog meme and what appears to be a bed full of firearms.Twitter
4chan's /r9k/ was not pleased with gianna. They responded to her tweets with violent and porngraphic remixes of Pepe.Twitter
These /r9k/ users also dug up old photos of gianna posted on Twitter, printed them out, and masturbated on top of them (the following photos have been censored).4chan
The harassment resulted in gianna deleting her Twitter account.Twitter
The Daily Dot has reached out to 4chan for a comment regarding /r9k/'s actions.Photo via Christopher Sessums/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
What Happened In The Hammond Sentencing In Oregon? A Lawsplainer | Popehat
Much ink has been spilled amount United States v. Hammond, the federal criminal prosecution cited by militia members as one of the motivations for taking over a federal facility in Oregon. The increased sentence imposed on the Hammonds has been cited as a sign of government abuse. But the sentencing itself is not remarkable.
In 2001 Steven and Dwight Hammond set a fire on their property that spread to public land. In August of 2006 they set a back burn near the boundary of their land to respond to a lightning-kindled fire; that fire burned a small amount of public land. The federal government charged the Hammonds with various crimes, including Title 18, United States Code, section 844(f)(1):
(f)(1) Whoever maliciously damages or destroys, or attempts to damage or destroy, by means of fire or an explosive, any building, vehicle, or other personal or real property in whole or in part owned or possessed by, or leased to, the United States, or any department or agency thereof, or any institution or organization receiving Federal financial assistance, shall be imprisoned for not less than 5 years and not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or both.
The Ninth Circuit summarized part of the trial evidence as follows:
Although the Hammonds claimed that the fire was designed to burn off invasive species on their property, a teenage relative of theirs testified that Steven had instructed him to drop lit matches on the ground so as to ''light up the whole country on fire.'' And the teenager did just that.
A jury convicted the Hammonds of the Section 844 charge, acquitted them on other charges, and failed to reach a verdict on additional charges. While the jury continued to deliberate on the remaining charges, the Hammonds and the government reached a deal: the Hammonds would not appeal the verdict and the government would recommend that the Hammonds could stay out on bail pending sentencing and that the government would recommend that their Section 844 sentences be served concurrently '-- that is, that though the Hammonds were convicted of multiple counts of Section 844, each carrying a mandatory minimum five-year sentence, the government would recommend that those five-year terms not "stack," but result in just one five-year sentence.
At sentencing, the United States District Judge on the case refused to impose the five-year mandatory-minimum sentences required by Section 844, ruling that to do so would violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. The court instead imposed sentences of twelve months and a day on the father1 and three months on the son.
The government appealed the sentence, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed and sent the case back, instructing the trial court to impose the statutory mandatory minimum sentence. The Court found '-- rather convincingly, given the precedent '-- that a five-year sentence for arson does not violate the Eighth Amendment:
Given the seriousness of arson, a five-year sentence is not grossly disproportionate to the offense. The Supreme Court has upheld far tougher sentences for less serious or, at the very least, comparable offenses. See Lockyer v. Andrade,538 U.S. 63 (2003) (upholding a sentence of fifty years to life under California's three-strikes law for stealing ninevideotapes); Ewing v. California, 538 U.S. 11 (2003) (upholding a sentence of twenty-five years to life under California's three-strikes law for the theft of three golf clubs); Hutto v. Davis, 454 U.S. 370 (1982) (per curiam) (upholding a forty-year sentence for possession of nine ounces of marijuana with the intent to distribute); Rummel v. Estelle, 445 U.S. 263 (1980) (upholding a life sentence under Texas's recidivist statute for obtaining $120.75 by false pretenses). And we and other courts have done the same. See, e.g., United States v. Tolliver, 730 F.3d 1216, 1230''32 (10th Cir. 2013) (upholding a 430-month sentence for using arson in the commission of a felony); United States v. Major, 676 F.3d 803, 812 (9th Cir. 2012) (upholding a 750-year sentence for offenses under 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 280; United States v. Meiners, 485 F.3d 1211, 1212''13 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (upholding a fifteen-year sentence for advertising child pornography); United States v. Uphoff, 232 F.3d 624, 625''26 (8th Cir. 2000) (upholding a five-year sentence for arson of a building).
So the district court resentenced the Hammonds. The government asked for the five-year mandatory minimum but kept its deal to recommend concurrent sentences (rather than stacking two counts of Section 844 to form a ten-year sentence), and the court agreed and imposed that sentence. The Hammonds will necessarily serve 85% of that sentence, less the time they've already served.
Was the five-year sentence cruel and unusual?
It's arguable whether the five-year sentence is colloquially cruel and unusual, or whether the law should treat it as a violation of the Eighth Amendment. But there's no serious argument that the sentence is cruel and unusual under existing Eighth Amendment precedent. The Supreme Court and lower courts have upheld far harsher sentences for far less serious conduct. The Eighth Amendment still has vigor when applied to the death penalty and some conditions of imprisonment, but under modern jurisprudence it does not place any significant limit on the length of imprisonment that may be imposed for convictions. That may not be what the law should be, but it's what the law is, and has been for some time.
Was the mandatory minimum sentence unusual, or unusually imposed?
The Hammond case provided a straightforward application of a statutory mandatory minimum sentence. If you accept the premise of the jury's verdict '-- that the jury found that the Hammonds maliciously burned government land '-- then the case does not stand out. Longer mandatory minimums are routinely imposed for less culpable conduct. That doesn't make it right; it just makes it banal.
Was it unusual for the government to appeal the sentence, or for the Hammonds to be returned to jail after serving the original sentence?
Absent a waiver, both the government and the defense have the right to appeal a sentence. Federal prosecutors generally must seek approval from "main Justice" '-- the Department of Justice in Washington D.C. '-- before appealing a ruling. That's so the feds don't make what they see as "bad law" by appealing "bad cases," and so the feds' legal stance remains relatively consistent across circuits.
Back in the 1980s and 1990s, before the Supreme Court ruled that the United States Sentencing Guidelines must be treated as recommendations and not as mandates, the government routinely appealed sentences when they concluded that the judge had mis-applied the Guidelines in the defendant's favor. Now that the appellate standard is "reasonableness" of the sentence, the government appeals on that basis less often, but still does so. The United States has always routinely appealed sentences when a district judge has refused to impose a mandatory minimum sentence. Traditionally the Department of Justice has jealously guarded the mandatory nature of mandatory minimum sentences, appealing judicial defiance of them even in otherwise unappealing cases.
It's therefore not unusual at all that the government appealed the Hammonds' sentence.
Nor is the Hammonds' return to prison unprecedented. If the trial court imposes a short sentence and the appellate court overturns that ruling and requires a longer sentence, that's the result. The alternative would be that trial judges could avoid appellate review of sentences by making them short enough that defendants would be done with them by the time the appellate court could review them. That might be appealing to defense lawyers, defendants, and judges who believe in the primacy of trial court discretion, but it's not the law.
The U.S. v. Hammond appeal, reversal, and resentencing are not remarkable in the context of federal criminal law. Maybe they should be, but they aren't. Any suggestion that the proceedings represent a departure from the norm are incorrect.
That's not meant as an endorsement of the result. It's meant to question why this particular exercise of federal criminal authority strikes people as so outrageous, when in fact (as we often discuss here) it's routine.
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Donald Trump's first TV ad shows migrants 'at the southern border,' but they're actually in Morocco | PolitiFact
A Trump television ad shows Mexicans swarming over "our southern border."
'-- Donald Trump on Monday, January 4th, 2016 in a television ad
We took a closer look at the footage from a new Donald Trump ad.
In a new television ad -- his campaign's first -- Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump shows footage of dozens of people swarming over a border fence. But the footage isn't as it seems.
About halfway through the ad, a narrator says of Trump, "He'll stop illegal immigration by building a wall on our southern border that Mexico will pay for." Video footage shows dozens of people streaming across the border, as if they were ants fleeing an anthill.
The clear suggestion is that the footage is of the "southern border" between the United States and Mexico. But it's not -- it's 5,000 miles away, in a small Spanish enclave on the mainland of Morocco.
PolitiFact was able to trace the footage back to the Italian television network RepubblicaTV. On May 3, 2014, the network posted footage of migrants crossing the border into Melilla, one of two enclaves on the Moroccan coast that are held by Spain. Migrants who cross the border there are essentially entering territory held by a European Union nation, even though they are still on the African continent. (It can also be seen posted by a YouTube user here.)
The RepubblicaTV video is time-stamped May 1, 2014. According to the description posted by the network (and using Google Translate) the video was released by the Interior Ministry in Madrid, showing an "onslaught of hundreds of migrants to the wall that separates the Spanish enclave of Melilla from Morocco. About 800 tried to cross the border on May 1st. Those who failed to escape the control of the Civil Guard were hanging on the barriers for six hours before being rejected."
The 2014 RepubblicaTV video resurfaced a year later, in a July 2015 YouTube post titled, "1,000s of immigrants try to cross the border at once." It makes no reference to the location.
By the time the footage made it into Trump's ad, both RepubblicaTV's logo and the 2014 time stamp were no longer visible.
Regardless of Trump's imagery, the Pew Research Center noted last month that "for the first time since the 1940s, more immigrants from Mexico are leaving the U.S. than coming into the country. The shift is due to several reasons, including slow economic recovery after the Great Recession that may have made the U.S. less attractive, as well as stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, particularly at the border."
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks said she did not know the source of the video included in the ad and that she doesn't speak for the video production company.
Our ruling
Trump's television ad purports to show Mexicans swarming over "our southern border." However, the footage used to support this point actually shows African migrants streaming over a border fence between Morocco and the Spanish enclave of Melilla, more than 5,000 miles away. We rate the claim Pants on Fire.
After the FactAdded on Jan. 4, 2016, 4:14 p.m.
After we published our fact-check, the Trump campaign released a statement to the media:
"The use of this footage was intentional and selected to demonstrate the severe impact of an open border and the very real threat Americans face if we do not immediately build a wall and stop illegal immigration. The biased mainstream media doesn't understand, but Americans who want to protect their jobs and families do."
NBC News reported that Trump campaign manager put it more colorfully: "Asked about the video, Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski told NBC News, 'No sh-- it's not the Mexican border, but that's what our country is going to look like. This was 1,000 percent on purpose.' "
The ad makes no such clarification, and we believe that most viewers -- in the context of the ad and Trump's past statements -- would conclude that it shows the U.S.-Mexico border, not a border in Africa. Our rating of Pants on Fire stands.
A Thorough Fisking Of Obama's Executive Orders On Gun Control | Dana Loesch Radio
Over the past decade in America, more than 100,000 people have been killed as a result of gun violence'--and millions more have been the victim of assaults, robberies, and other crimes involving a gun. Many of these crimes were committed by people who never should have been able to purchase a gun in the first place.
And yet the CDC says firearms are is "an important crime deterrent," if you want to put stock in a government entity for an obvious answer. The benefits of firearms vastly outweigh the abuses of them by criminals:
The Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council released the results of their research through the CDC last month. Researchers compiled data from previous studies in order to guide future research on gun violence, noting that ''almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year.''
More from the White House:
And too many children are killed or injured by firearms every year, often by accident.
I look forward to the President's executive orders on pools, cars, and bikes. I've covered previously:
Cars, pools, bicycles, and other unintentional injuries are the top killers of children.
The leading causes of injury-related death among children ages 14 and under are motor vehicle crashes, suffocation, drowning and fires and/or burns.
More:
Over 1,400 children were killed by cars, almost 260 of those deaths were young pedestrians. Bicycle and space heater accidents take many times more children's lives than guns. Over 90 drowned in bathtubs. The most recent yearly data available indicates that over 30 children under age 5 drowned in five-gallon plastic water buckets.
Furthermore, vastly more children are killed by fire and water than accidentally by firearms.
Back to the White House:
The vast majority of Americans'--including the vast majority of gun owners'--believe we must take sensible steps to address these horrible tragedies.
Who are these people? I get the progressive obsession to speak for every group, but this doesn't speak for gun owners. This claim is also wrong. From Truth Revolt:
According to a CNN poll conducted last month, nearly 60% do not want the types of gun control laws Obama is asking for. In fact since 2013, a majority have felt this way.
Back to the White House once again:
... the President continues to call on Congress to pass the kind of commonsense gun safety reforms supported by a majority of the American people.
What reforms? And why is common sense one word? The "expanded background checks" the President calls for already exist in California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, the states which most recently endured tragedies. Why didn't those "commonsense" laws reduce anything?
Here comes the line items:
1. Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) is making clear that it doesn't matter where you conduct your business'--from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you're in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
"If you're in the business of selling firearms ..." this is already a law and federally regulated. So Obama wants to pass this law again? Or make everyone a FFL thereby creating a defacto registry, something I've previously asked? This is the biggest takeaway.
White House again:
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is overhauling the background check system to make it more effective and efficient. The envisioned improvements include processing background checks 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and improving notification of local authorities when certain prohibited persons unlawfully attempt to buy a gun. The FBI will hire more than 230 additional examiners and other staff to help process these background checks.
The background check system is already flawed and the administration plans to expand it further. John Lott has done some excellent work on the faulty background check system:
If someone is flagged by the NICS system, it is because it appears that they didn't put down something in their background that disqualified them from buying a gun. Yet, an initial denial does not mean that the individual is actually disqualified from owning a gun. Take the numbers for 2009, the latest year with data available. There were 71,010 initial denials. Of those, only 4,681, or 6.6 percent, were referred to the BATF field offices for further investigation. As a report on these denials by the U.S. Department of Justice indicates, ''The remaining denials (66,329 '' 93%) did not meet referral guidelines or were overturned after review by Brady Operations or after the FBI received additional information.'' The last two of these three categories are clearly false positives. The first might involve false positives, but it is possible that the disqualifying offenses are too old (though there are some prosecutions that involve misdemeanor violations that are four decades old so that isn't too obvious). To put it differently, the initial review didn't find that these individuals had a record that prevented them from buying a gun. (Numbers for 2010 are available here.)
Still that isn't the end of the story. Of these 4,681 referrals, over 51 percent, or 2,390 cases, involve ''delayed denials,'' cases where a check hasn't even been completed. Of the rest, 2,291 covered cases where initial reviews indicated that the person should have been denied buying a gun. But the government admits that upon further review another 572 of these referrals were found ''not [to be] a prohibited person,'' leaving about 4,154 cases. That implies an initial false positive rate of roughly 94.2%. And it still doesn't mean that the government hasn't made a mistake on the remaining cases. In some cases for example, a person's criminal record was supposed to be expunged, and it had not been?
Of the cases referred to the BATF field offices there were still a number of false positives. A 2004 sample found out that about 21 percent of these cases were found to be false positives (the percentage is slightly higher if a weighted sample is used).
Furthermore, how do you "improve notifications?" We're talking about improving the consistency with which people do their jobs. It wasn't a lack of manpower that enabled thug Dylann Roof to purchase a firearm and mow down black church-goers. It was a simple FBI error:
According to Comey, on April 13, two days after Roof tried to purchase a gun, a background check examiner ran his criminal history, which brought up a felony drug charge and wrongly listed the arresting agency as Lexington County Sheriff's Office.
Whether or not Roof could even purchase a firearm is moot as he was charged with felony drug possession and in South Carolina, a charge, not even a conviction, is enough to render one a prohibited possessor. Roof couldn't carry much less purchase. But then again, criminals don't follow laws.
Back to the WH:
2. Make our communities safer from gun violence.
The Attorney General convened a call with U.S. Attorneys around the country to direct federal prosecutors to continue to focus on smart and effective enforcement of our gun laws.
The President's FY2017 budget will include funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce our gun laws.
ATF has established an Internet Investigation Center to track illegal online firearms trafficking and is dedicating $4 million and additional personnel to enhance the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network.
ATF is finalizing a rule to ensure that dealers who ship firearms notify law enforcement if their guns are lost or stolen in transit.
It's weird to me that an administration that sold guns to terrorists south of the border proposes more manpower to enforce gun laws. Are these "200 new ATF agents" going to Chicago? St. Louis? DC? NYC? Are they going to any of the areas that serve as the biggest drivers to gun homicide rates to ensure repeat offenders and gang bangers don't obtain illegally procured firearms?
3. Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system.
[...]
The Department of Health and Human Services is finalizing a rule to remove unnecessary legal barriers preventing States from reporting relevant information about people prohibited from possessing a gun for specific mental health reasons.
By "legal barriers" they mean the due process proclaimed as a natural right in our Constitution. We have a legal process in place by which to adjudicate someone mentally unfit for Second Amendment eligibility. The problem is, we don't follow it. I've covered this extensively:
Let's use the case of Jared Loughner as an example. Loughner was suspended from Pima Community College for his behavior, for his outbursts in class; his behavior scared teachers and students alike. From the WSJ:
"Students and faculty at Pima Community College feared for their safety as Jared Lee Loughner's increasingly erratic behavior led to a series of encounters with campus police in the eight months before he was suspended from school last fall, police reports show. After he was accused of shooting 19 people last Saturday, school officials described his behavior while at Pima as odd and disruptive. But police reports show in chilling detail that the behavior frightened students and teachers. In February, a rattled student told school officials she feared he had a knife, after Mr. Loughner upset his Advanced Poetry Writing class by making comments such as, "why don't we just strap bombs to babies." In May, an instructor was so worried about physical violence on Mr. Loughner's part that she requested'--and received'--a police guard outside her class. By June, a dean told the police that students in Mr. Loughner's math class were "afraid of any repercussions that could exist from Loughner being unstable in his actions." The school finally suspended Mr. Loughner in late September, after police officers who removed him from a biology class told the school they believed he had mental health problems. Loughner was not allowed back at school without a mental health clearance."
[...]
A dean at Pima Community College spoke with police about Loughner. Even after Loughner'sfive separate run-ins with college police (pdfs), police saw no reason to act.
"The police told Ms. Houston they would check Mr. Loughner's history and if there was cause for concern, they would talk to him. After looking into Mr. Loughner's background and finding some "prior drug involvement but no warrants," the police decided not to take any action. "For now, this report documents the faculty's concerns but does not in my opinion justify making contact with Loughner by police," wrote Officer D. Simmons.
As it turned out, Pima Community College didn't follow its own guidelines for dealing with such a matter as Loughner:
"Combined with earlier documents obtained by KGUN9 News, the evidence shows that PCC did not strictly adhere to its own internal guidelines in its handling of Loughner. In a public records request filed with PCC on February 22, 9 On Your Side asked to see any documents setting out guidelines or procedures for contacting mental health authorities about a student."
[...]
... the college failed to follow its own protocol, plus failed to follow through after identifying Loughner as such a threat as to be barred from campus. I'd for like Andrew Cuomo to explain how passing stricter gun laws would have forced Pima Community College to act? As it relates to Loughner purchasing a firearm:
"There is no known record that a court had ever declared Loughner mentally unfit or that he had ever been committed to a mental institution. But even if that had been the case, there's no guarantee that Loughner's name would have appeared in the national database.Some states have been slow to report names that belong in the ''do not sell'' list, even after Congress passed a law in 2007 aimed at punishing states with inadequate compliance records and providing incentives to states with good reporting records."
You can read the above excerpted in its entirety here.
More of my coverage:
On April 16, 2007, mentally disturbed Seung-Hui Cho shot and killed 32 people and wounded 17 others at Virginia Tech. He had a lifelong history of mental illness, recorded as far back as his early childhood. Two years before the massacre he was in trouble for stalking female students and was removed from a class by a professor who found him "menacing." In December of 2005 the New River Valley Community Services Board declared that he was mentally ill and "in need of hospitalization." Somehow it was recommended that he receive treatment as an outpatient and he was released but was court-ordered to follow all medical recommendations and continue to seek outpatient treatment. Though the New River Valley Community Services Board was required by the court to monitor him and Cho was ordered to continue treatment, neither party was compliant. Cho never received the court-ordered treatment needed, the board never followed up, and he was never summoned back to court.
Again, for laws to work, people must follow them and those implementing them must do it properly. It's not a money issue.
Next on the WH's list:
4. Shape the future of gun safety technology.
The President has directed the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology.
The President has also directed the departments to review the availability of smart gun technology on a regular basis, and to explore potential ways to further its use and development to more broadly improve gun safety.
Gun owners by and large roll their eyes at smart gun tech because it's completely errant, unsafe, unpredictable, and frankly a silly choice for defense. Here is one test where the heralded first choice for smart guns failed miserably. Sorry, but if I'm defending myself against a rapist in a parking garage, I don't think he's going to wait for my wristband to take 20 seconds to pair with my gun (that's if it does so successfully, whereas tests of Armatix iP1 struggled to do even this, to say nothing of the difficulties with the trigger). Read the full review. Additionally, smart gun advocates are championing pricing poor people out of their Second Amendment rights. Smart gun tech is as faulty as it is expensive and if the free market supported firearms with bulky tech that made usage impossible we wouldn't need the President executive ordering federal funds to pay for additional research to again prove the obvious. I suppose in keeping with progressive narrative building I have to ask why they are so against allowing poor people in high crime, urban areas to exercise their Second Amendment right? The poor would be the hardest hit.
Now to fact-check the White House's other claims:
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the background check system has prevented more than 2 million guns from getting into the wrong hands.
False. See above on background checks. This figure includes false positives and denials as one figure, which is misleading.
Clarify that it doesn't matter where you conduct your business'--from a store, at gun shows, or over the Internet: If you're in the business of selling firearms, you must get a license and conduct background checks.
Clearly the person who compiled this isn't familiar with firearm law. You can't order a gun on the Internet and have it shipped to your house all Amazon Prime-like. If you purchase online you must go to an FFL and the transaction is only completed after you pass your background check in the store. I've purchased several guns this way.
There is no such thing as a "loophole." Everything is regulated. I've written at length on this:
Background checks already exist for purchases made online. Newsflash to Manchin: When you purchase guns online they aren't shipped to your house like an Amazon delivery. They must be shipped to a FFL where you then go, fill out a 4473, get your background check, and if cleared you can take it home. Period. This law already exists. You cannot carry a firearm, much less purchase one, if you are a prohibited possessor be it at a store, gun show, or Internet. Period. It's already regulated. More from me previously:
What "loophole?" If you are classified by the ATF as a dealer you must have a federal firearms license. Background checks are mandatory. You can't order a gun off of the Internet and have it shipped to your home; it must go through an FFL. No FFL is going to jeopardize their hard-won license for a criminal sale. You may not purchase a firearm from across state lines as dealers are barred via the Gun Control Act of 1968 from selling or transferring firearms sans FLL across state lines.
You may purchase a firearm from an occasional seller, not a dealer (differences matter) in your state of residence if you are legally allowed to own a firearm (no domestic violence record, no felonies, no drug use, et al.) -- meaning you are not a prohibited possessor or even suspected of being a prohibited possessor. If you are a prohibited possessor and you buy a gun regardless you're breaking the law and will be charged with a crime. If a person knowingly sells a prohibited possessor a firearm they are breaking the law and will be charged with a crime. If they claim cluelessness they still may be charged depending on the results of the investigation. That's not a loophole, that's a criminal act. If your driver's license is suspended due to a DUI and yet you continue to drive, that's not a loophole in the law, it is a criminal act. What anti-Second Amendment advocates mean when they use the rhetorical scam term "loophole" is that they want the federal government to treat every single American as a federal firearms dealer, meaning they would have to establish a national, quasi-registry (current law prevents the federal government from compiling a registry based off of the NICS information) to make it work and make your husband doubly-answerable to the ATF if he legally buys your son his first hunting rifle.
There is nothing in the President's executive orders that would have prevented the tragedies we saw this year anor is there anything included in these proposals that isn't already federally regulated.
I asked on Twitter earlier this evening:
A question apropos of these orders.
****
All of this and more are covered and cited in my book, Hands Off My Gun, available here.
Lumosity to Pay $2 Million to Settle FTC Deceptive Advertising Charges for Its ''Brain Training'' Program | Federal Trade Commission
The creators and marketers of the Lumosity ''brain training'' program have agreed to settle Federal Trade Commission charges alleging that they deceived consumers with unfounded claims that Lumosity games can help users perform better at work and in school, and reduce or delay cognitive impairment associated with age and other serious health conditions.
As part of the settlement, Lumos Labs, the company behind Lumosity, will pay $2 million in redress and will notify subscribers of the FTC action and provide them with an easy way to cancel their auto-renewal to avoid future billing.
''Lumosity preyed on consumers' fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease,'' said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. ''But Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads.''
According to the FTC's complaint, the Lumosity program consists of 40 games purportedly designed to target and train specific areas of the brain. The company advertised that training on these games for 10 to 15 minutes three or four times a week could help users achieve their ''full potential in every aspect of life.'' The company sold both online and mobile app subscriptions, with options ranging from monthly ($14.95) to lifetime ($299.95) memberships.
Lumosity has been widely promoted though TV and radio advertisements on networks including CNN, Fox News, the History Channel, National Public Radio, Pandora, Sirius XM, and Spotify. The defendants also marketed through emails, blog posts, social media, and on their website, Lumosity.com, and used Google AdWords to drive traffic to their website, purchasing hundreds of keywords related to memory, cognition, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, according to the complaint.
The FTC alleges that the defendants claimed training with Lumosity would 1) improve performance on everyday tasks, in school, at work, and in athletics; 2) delay age-related cognitive decline and protect against mild cognitive impairment, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease; and 3) reduce cognitive impairment associated with health conditions, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, ADHD, the side effects of chemotherapy, and Turner syndrome, and that scientific studies proved these benefits.
The complaint also charges the defendants with failing to disclose that some consumer testimonials featured on the website had been solicited through contests that promised significant prizes, including a free iPad, a lifetime Lumosity subscription, and a round-trip to San Francisco.
The proposed stipulated federal court order requires the company and the individual defendants, co-founder and former CEO Kunal Sarkar and co-founder and former Chief Scientific Officer Michael Scanlon, to have competent and reliable scientific evidence before making future claims about any benefits for real-world performance, age-related decline, or other health conditions.
The order also imposes a $50 million judgment against Lumos Labs, which will be suspended due to its financial condition after the company pays $2 million to the Commission. The order requires the company to notify subscribers who signed up for an auto-renewal plan between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2014 about the FTC action and to provide a means to cancel their subscription.
The Commission vote authorizing the filing of the complaint and proposed stipulated order was 4-0, with Commissioner Julie Brill issuing a separate concurring statement. The FTC filed the complaint and proposed order in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division.
The FTC is a member of the National Prevention Council, which provides coordination and leadership at the federal level regarding prevention, wellness, and health promotion practices. This case advances the National Prevention Council's goal of increasing the number of Americans who are healthy at every stage of life. This case is part of the FTC's ongoing efforts to protect consumers from misleading health advertising.
NOTE: The Commission authorizes the filing of a complaint when it has ''reason to believe'' that the law has been or is being violated, and it appears to the Commission that a proceeding is in the public interest. A stipulated order has the force of law when signed by the district court judge.
The Federal Trade Commission works to promote competition, and protect and educate consumers. You can learn more about how competition benefits consumers or file an antitrust complaint. Like the FTC on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, read our blogs and subscribe to press releases for the latest FTC news and resources.
Brain Training App 'Lumosity' to Pay $2 Million to Settle Deceptive Advertising Charges - Mac Rumors
Lumos Labs, the company behind the Lumosity app that promises to "challenge your brain" using a daily training program of cognitive games, will pay out $2 million to settle deceptive advertising charges brought against it by the United States Federal Trade Commission.According to the FTC, Lumos Labs deceived consumers by telling them the games in Lumosity would help them perform better at work, get better scores on standardized tests, and stave off the decline of cognitive impairment related to age or disease. It also claimed its games could help with conditions like dementia and Alzheimer's disease, as well as improving cognitive impairment associated with conditions like stroke, traumatic brain injury, PTSD, ADHD, chemotherapy, and more.
"Lumosity preyed on consumers' fears about age-related cognitive decline, suggesting their games could stave off memory loss, dementia, and even Alzheimer's disease," said Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "But Lumosity simply did not have the science to back up its ads."
Available in the iOS App Store, Lumosity offers a selection of more than 50 cognitive games it claims were developed by scientists and game designers to train the brain. While a basic membership to access a limited number of games is free, a membership costs from $6.70 to $11.95 per month or up to $299.95 for a lifetime pass.Lumosity TV, Internet, radio, and social media advertisements suggested customers could play the games for 10 to 15 minutes three or four times per week to achieve "full potential in every aspect of life," and falsely claimed its health related benefits were backed by scientific studies.
Lumos Labs is facing a $50 million judgement, but the FTC has agreed to suspend the full amount due to Lumos Labs' financial position. Instead, the company will pay $2 million and will agree not to make future health and performance claims without "competent and reliable scientific evidence." Lumos Labs is also ordered to notify subscribers about the FTC action and provide them with a way to cancel their subscriptions.
Lumosity is just one of many "brain training" apps available in the App Store. Elevate, another highly popular brain training app that's been highlighted by Apple, claims its app will help improve "critical cognitive skills" to "boost productivity," but it shies away from making the deceptive health-related claims that got Lumosity in hot water.
Tags: FTC, Lumosity, Lumos Labs
New gun control rule: Some mentally ill patients can be reported by doctor to FBI - POLITICO
The rule, published Jan. 4, was one of a series of steps that President Barack Obama had called for in January 2013 in the wake of the Newtown, Connecticut, shootings. | AP Photo
By David Pittman
01/04/16 06:05 PM EST
Updated 01/04/16 08:21 PM EST
Delivering on its promise to deliver "common sense" gun control, the Obama administration on Monday finalized a rule that enables health care providers to report the names of mentally ill patients to an FBI firearms background check system.
The action was one of a series of steps that President Barack Obama had called for in January 2013 in the wake of the Newtown, Conn., shootings to curb gun violence, but the rule was not published until today.
Story Continued Below
While the 1993 Brady law prohibits gun ownership by individuals who have been involuntarily committed, found incompetent to stand trial or otherwise deemed by a court to be a danger to themselves or others, federal health care privacy rules prohibited doctors and other providers from sharing information without the consent of their patients.
Under the rule, which takes effect next month, for the first time health providers can disclose the information to the background check system without legal repercussions.
''The disclosure is restricted to limited demographic and certain other information needed for NICS purposes,'' the rule states. Disclosure of diagnostic or clinical information is prohibited.
Paul Gionfriddo, chief executive of the mental health rights advocate Mental Health America, said he believes the White House strikes the right balance between the need to have this information shared with the FBI's background check system and protecting individuals' privacy.
Current law allows HIPAA exclusions for law enforcement purposes, but it's a broad exclusion.
''That could be a barn door opened quite wide if an administration really wanted to open it, and they didn't,'' Gionfriddo said. ''The administration has taken great pain to try to clarify that there is very limited information that would be reported only within a very limited group.''
Since the Newtown shootings, the number of mental health records submitted to the FBI system has tripled to more than 3 million records, according to an analysis by Everytown for Gun Safety, a group promoting an end to gun violence. The FBI system resulted in more than 6,000 denials of firearm purchases because of mental health criteria.
Malheur County targeted for gold, uranium mines | OregonLive.com
ONTARIO -- Sprawling Malheur County could soon be in the spotlight as a mining hub -- or a battleground of uranium and gold mining interests vs. environmentalists trying to protect its lonesome sagebrush landscape.Australian-owned Oregon Energy LLC hopes to mine 18 million pounds of yellowcake uranium from the southeastern Oregon high desert 10 miles west of McDermitt near the Oregon-Nevada boundary. The go-ahead to mine the so-called Aurora uranium deposit could bring up to 250 construction jobs to the county, followed by 150 mining jobs.
Meanwhile, Calico Resources USA Corp., a subsidiary of a Vancouver, B.C., company, may seek permits this month to chemically extract microscopic gold from a high desert butte south of Vale called Grassy Mountain, a project likely to create another 100 jobs.
Mining history
Gold: Mining once was a major part of Oregon's economy and the most sought-after mineral was gold. Since its discovery in Oregon in the mid-1800s, miners have wrested an estimated 5.5 million ounces of gold from the state's streams and underground "hardrock" mines. At today's prices, that gold would bring about $1,616 per ounce. Half to two-thirds was found in northeastern Oregon. Baker County and Josephine County have had the most active claims.
Uranium: Uranium was first discovered in Oregon in the 1930s and a small amount was mined on Bear Creek Butte, 40 miles southeast of Bend, in 1960. The White King and Lucky Lass mines near Lakeview came later and there are known deposits of uranium in Baker, Clackamas, Crook, Curry, Harney, Jackson, Lake, Malheur, Polk and Union counties.
The proposals will be the first real test of the 1991 chemical processing mining law passed by the Legislature in response to a debate over mining's future in Oregon, said environmentalist Larry Tuttle. The law ushered in tough new bonding requirements to weed out marginal operators and guarantee environmental cleanup.Approval of the Grassy Mountain project could trigger a deluge of new chemical mining in Malheur County. Up to a dozen gold deposits similar to Grassy Mountain dot the high desert between the Snake River town of Huntington and Jordan Valley.
The county, sparsely populated with only 31,313 people, could use new jobs, said County Commissioner Dan Joyce. Its unemployment rate in November was 10.3 percent, compared with 9.1 percent for Oregon and 8.6 percent for the nation.
Mining companies have passed up the county in the past because of Oregon's environmentally conscious reputation, Joyce said. But this time, the sluggish local and state economies, higher mineral prices and technological advances in mining and cleanup could open a door to mining, he said.
"I'm thinking people are a lot hungrier now than they were," Joyce said.
Uranium mine plan
Oregon Energy's proposal calls for extracting ore from a mile-long, 600-foot wide, 250-foot deep open pit 10 miles west of McDermitt and 3 miles north of the Oregon-Nevada border. The mine, adjoining the former Bretz Mercury Mine, a contaminated open-pit site from the 1960s, would cost $200 million to develop and uranium extraction could continue for up to 20 years, said Oregon Energy President Lachlan Reynolds.
Plans call for the ore to be crushed and mixed with an acid solution in enclosed vats to leach out the uranium, he said. The acid would bond with the uranium and when dry become a sand-like powder called uranium oxide concentrate, or yellowcake. Yellowcake would bring $52 per pound and could fuel nuclear reactors or be processed into weapons.
Tuttle, spokesman for the Portland-based Center for Environmental Equity, foresees environmental problems.
The likelihood of sulfuric acid being used in processing the ore means it could remain in the mine tailings after milling, he said. The snag is that sulfuric acid tends to continuously leach out heavy metals that occur naturally in waste rock and tailings, contaminating ground water.
"Just because you are through with the processing, years later you still have the issue with that interaction," he said.
But probably the biggest environmental hurdle for the Aurora mine would be the release of mercury, Tuttle said. "The whole Owyhee Reservoir has been affected by naturally occurring background mercury," and uranium mining could release more, he said.
Gold mine proposal
Environmental considerations first thrust Grassy Mountain into the consciousness of Oregonians in the late 1980s and early '90s when Newmont Gold Co. proposed introducing Nevada-style open-pit cyanide heap-leach gold mining there.
Low gold prices ultimately prompted Newmont to write off its $33.8 million investment and abandon plans to mine Grassy Mountain in 1995, but only after the site came to symbolize the conflict between economic development and environmental activism in eastern Oregon.
Calico Resources would take a dramatically different approach, said Andrew Bentz of Ontario, spokesman for Calico. The company proposes to sink an 850-foot underground shaft or tunnel to remove 1,000 tons of ore per day from Grassy Mountain, he said.
The operation expects to remove at least 425,000 ounces of gold from the mountain. The company's investment and exploration costs probably will total $100 million before mining begins, said Calico project manager Andy Gaudielle.
Mineral-bearing rock would be milled for microscopic gold in a closed chemical process that wouldn't include the bird-attracting open settling ponds of diluted cyanide that worried Newmont's opponents, said Bentz, a retired Malheur County sheriff.
Mining and reclamation of Grassy Mountain would take about 12 years, unless new gold discoveries are made, he said.
Bentz believes Calico won't face the level of environmental opposition that attended Newmont's proposal.
Reynolds, the Oregon Energy chief, said mining companies no longer can operate in ways that caused the environmental problems of the past. Improvements in mining technology result in more efficient and environmentally responsible operations, he said."We will have to post substantial financial bonds to ensure that there is full reclamation of the site to an approved plan when mining ends," Reynolds said.
Only 5 percent of the nation's domestic-use uranium is produced within U.S. borders, although the United States takes more than 20 percent of its electricity from nuclear power plants, Reynolds said.
The most likely buyer of Aurora uranium would be a U.S. electricity utility, he said. He estimated the mine could become the source of up to 30 percent of uranium produced in the U.S.
What's next
Public hearings will be held after the companies apply for permits to begin mining, said state geologist Vicki McConnell of Portland.
Sixty-one acres of Grassy Mountain is patented, private mining land, but substantial portions of both sites are on federal land administered by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Both sites are remnant volcanic regions where geothermal and hydrothermal activity has pulled heavy metals and other substances close to the surface, McConnell said.
Calico hopes to begin taking gold from Grassy Mountain in five years, but the regulatory pathway is likely to be longer for the Aurora mine because uranium is involved.
In addition to the Oregon Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council, the U.S. Department of Energy and the federal Environmental Protection Agency must review the uranium mine.
BLM permits will be required for tailing piles and the use of desert roads for both the uranium and gold mining.
Oregon has a process in place to allow mining to proceed if resources can be extracted profitably and in a way that's environmentally safe, McConnell said.
Whether that's the case here has yet to be determined, she said. "Geologically, we know there is gold in Grassy Mountain and we know there is uranium in the McDermitt area," she said.
-- Richard Cockle
Turner Seeks To Become One Big Native Ad Platform | Media - Advertising Age
Turner is looking to turn its TV networks into one big platform for native advertising.
Conan O'Brien Credit: TBSThe cable programmer, whose channels include TBS, TNT, CNN and Cartoon Network, among others, is introducing a new native advertising unit at the Consumer Electronics Show this week with the goal of reimagining commercial breaks.
Turner will work with marketers to replace traditional commercials with pods that tell a brand story, said Dan Riess, head of content partnerships at Turner.
"The idea is to turn Turner into a giant native ad platform," Mr. Riess said.
Instead of five to ten 30-second spots during a program, for example, Turner will air long-form branded content that's two to three minutes long, he said.
The company will produce content for marketers, as well as bring clients' existing long-form content, which is often digital-based, to TV. It will then utilize its targeting capabilities to find the right placement for the content across the entire portfolio.
Intel will be one of the first brands to utilize Native Plus in 2016.
Turner has already been experimenting with branded content on CNN. Subaru partnered with CNN's branded content studio, Courageous, last month to create pieces of content for "CNN Heroes." The vignettes, which were about two to three minutes long, told short "CNN Heroes" stories. The content was introduced during the show, was the only piece of content in the commercial break, and led right back into the programming.
"This is less interruptive for consumers and more powerful for brands," Mr. Riess said.
Native Plus will live within Turner's new Ignite division that will focus on both content and data solutions. Ignite will be led by Mr. Riess and Michael Strober, head of content strategy and ad innovation.
The goal for Ignite is to bring content back into conversations involving data. As buying audiences becomes a bigger piece of marketers' TV strategy, the focus is typically on finding target consumers and less on the programming.
"While other companies separate their data and content teams, we believe it's vital to bring them together, allowing advertisers to reimagine the possibilities of advertising in one conversation," said Donna Speciale, president-ad sales, Turner.
"We don't see data and content as separate entities," Mr. Riess added. "You need both of them to make it work. This year we are bringing content into the data conversation. None of the data matters if the content isn't amazing."
Also at CES, Turner will demonstrate its real-time social analytics and promotion product for the first time. The company has been quietly testing Launchpad since October in an effort to help marketers better monetize social conversations.
With Launchpad, Turner claims it is able to identify tribes of like-minded viewers and then see what topics they care about and share. With this information Turner then makes branded content that resonates with the audience a marketer is trying to reach.
New Year's celebrations in the western German city of Cologne escalated into chaos with a series of sexual assaults, including a rape, being blamed on an uncontrolled crowd of intoxicated men of ''Arab or North African'' origin.
The mass attack on women that happened ''in the middle of the city'' around Cologne Central Station on New Year's Eve was ''an intolerable situation,'' Chief of Police Wolfgang Albers told reporters.
So far the authorities in Cologne have received 60 complaints. The crowd of around 1,000 men attacked people in the city center in what Albers described as a ''crime of a whole new dimension.''
According to report up to 1,000 heavily intoxicated men of ''Arab or North African'' origin flooded the city's famous square between its central train station and Gothic cathedral. Aged between 15 and 35, the crowd began throwing firecrackers and shooting fireworks as the new year arrived.
While the festivities were happening to the sound of of cheers, some men began sexually assaulting women and pick-pocketing feasters. Some 60 criminal complaints have so far been officially filed, including at least one allegation of rape.
Authorities expect more victims to come forward in the next few days. Local media meanwhile reported that at least 80 people fell victim to the gangs, 35 of whom were subjected to sexual assaults. One of the victims, named only as Katja L, told Der Express about her ordeal with the crowd of men who assaulted her buttocks and breasts.
''I was groped everywhere. It was a nightmare. Although we shouted and beat them, the guys did not stop. I was desperate and think I was touched around 100 times in the 200 meters,'' she said. ''Fortunately I wore a jacket and trousers. A skirt would probably have been torn away from me.''
To quell the New Year's disturbance in Cologne, the police deployed more than 200 officers, involving 143 local policemen in addition to 70 federal officers, The Local reported. On Sunday, police arrested five men at the station who had been accused of threatening and robbing females.
Read more
New Year's attacks has sparked a strong wave of criticism of German handling of the migrant open-door policy introduced by Chancellor Angela Merkel in September that resulted in over a million of refugees intake in Germany.
To address the migrant threat, Cologne's Mayor Henriette Reker called in a crisis meeting for Tuesday, to deal with crimes she called ''monstrous.''
''We cannot tolerate this development of lawlessness,'' Reker told the Kolner Stadt-Anzeiger newspaper.
The state interior minister for North Rhine-Westphalia, said that swift action is needed to stop such crimes from reoccurring.
''We will not accept that groups of North African men gather expressly for the purpose of debasing women by sexually assaulting them,'' Ralf Jager said in an interview with the local 'Express' newspaper.
Meanwhile the leader of the North Rhine-Westphalia branch of Germany's main police union, Arnold Plickert, called the New Year's assaults ''a massive attack on basic rights.''
''Any refugees who have a problem integrating into our open society and respecting the rights of other people'' must be dealt with using the ''full force of the law,'' Plickert told German press agency DPA.
German MP Steffan Bilger from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union used the Cologne event to urge the government to change its refugee policy.
''It can't go on like this,'' he tweeted. ''Urgently needed: reduction of influx, secure borders, intensifying of deportations and meaningful justice.''
Last Wednesday the Saechsische Zeitung daily reported, citing unpublished official figures, that in 2015 Germany had accommodated nearly 1.1 million refugees, five times more than in 2014.
DDoSing a regulator: A how-to manual from Facebook's Free Basics - TOI Blogs
''Facebook is executing a well crafted DDoS on the State'' ''@creativewolf
On December 10, something unprecedented happened that many Indians are yet to realize the significance of: a $300 billion global corporation started 'DDoS-ing' an independent Indian regulator.
The corporation was Facebook and the regulator was India's apex telecom regulator, TRAI.
''What's DDoS?'' you ask?
A DDoS, or Distributed Denial of Service, is a particularly malicious type of cyber attack that can bring down the best of websites by flooding it with an overwhelming amount of unexpected and unrequested traffic from a large number of computers distributed around the world.
To the victim website, each individual DDoS request appears to be legitimate and coming from different PCs and servers. But collectively, once these requests reach hundreds of thousands or millions in number, the victim site gets so overwhelmed that it shuts down or becomes unreachable to its intended users.
Interestingly, the actual ''attackers'' in a DDoS attack are largely unaware of their involvement, as most of their PCs and servers are part of 'botnets', having been compromised through computer viruses.
Facebook's 'DDoS' kicked off on 10th, exactly a day after TRAI published a crucial 9-page document on its website titled ''Consultation Paper on Differential Pricing for Data Services''. The paper was in continuation to an earlier one in April on ''Over The Top Services'' which led over one million Indians to email TRAI their responses. The contentious thread between both papers was ''Net Neutrality'' '' the simple, transparent and fair set of principles atop which the Internet was built: all traffic will be treated equally by ISPs and there shall be no discrimination for or against a website or service.
After 8 pages of fairly elaborate, balanced and nuanced explanations of ''differential pricing'' '' the practice of ISPs discriminating between traffic passing through their networks and charging variable rates from consumers '' TRAI requested comments from stakeholders on four questions.
Written responses were to be emailed to a senior officer's email address before the deadline of December 30.
We do not know why, but within 24 hours Facebook, a powerful corporation with expensive and experienced legal & regulatory teams in every major country '' including India '' decided to ignore the TRAI paper and instead launch the regulatory version of a DDoS attack.
The first signs of Facebook's strategy became apparent on 10th December as unwitting users across India started seeing an alert pop up in their notifications: ''Act Now to Save Free Basics in India''.
The Free Basics DDoS had started.
Those who clicked the alert were taken to a specially designed page where Facebook, using emotion-laden, fear-inducing messaging like ''Without your support, it could be banned in a matter of weeks''; ''Unless you take action now, India could lose access to free basic Internet services'' and ''A small, vocal group of critics are lobbying to have Free Basics banned on the basis of net neutrality'', asked them to register their support for Free Basics send TRAI a pre-drafted email.
Free Basics is Facebook's global zero rating platform, earlier called ''Internet.Org'', through which it makes available its own services plus a small number of third party sites for ''free'' by signing deals with individual ISPs and telcos. In India Free Basics was only available on Reliance Communications mobile network, though that has subsequently been ordered to be shut down by TRAI.
Zero rating is a clear violation of Net Neutrality and India's Department of Telecom had clearly called for a ban on them till India formulated its Net Neutrality laws.
Meanwhile, many Facebook users complained on Twitter that merely scrolling through Facebook's Free Basics page on their phones caused Facebook to record their support, and then message that ''support'' to their friends in turn, thus rapidly spreading the Free Basics campaign across social circles. One user even said Facebook sent him a notification that his deceased uncle had supported Free Basics and so he should too.
A social network was using its own platform to get its users to support its own corporate initiative. But that isn't the story.
Here's the thing '' nowhere in Facebook's messaging was there a single mention of any of the four questions asked by TRAI. Worse, there wasn't even a mention of the phrase ''Differential Pricing'', the title of TRAI's paper.
So every response that Facebook recorded and sent to TRAI was not remotely a response that TRAI was expecting. That such an experienced and powerful corporation chose to wilfully disregard a regulator's due process was astounding.
Over the next few days Facebook started expanding this campaign of deliberate disinformation to other media '' SMSes, roadside hoardings, 2-page advertisements in every major newspaper almost every day, WhatsApp promotions, online video ads and radio. The messaging kept evolving, becoming progressively vague, misleading and emotional.
''Support a connected India''
''Support Ganesh''
An SMS sent to mobile users in Tamil Nadu said, in Tamil, ''Free Basics provides all basic Internet services for free'' asking them to give a missed call to a number to register their support.
Notwithstanding the dishonesty in that statement '' because Free Basics does NOT provide ALL basic Internet services (you cannot access Google, Twitter, Flipkart, Zomato and practically the entire Internet except Facebook and a handful of other sites that have signed up) '' Facebook was now sending responses to TRAI from people's mobile numbers with content that only it had access to.
''A connected India means 65 million new jobs''
''Support Rahul''
With over 130 million users in India alone and given the emotional ''Save India'' pitch of its messaging, it was natural Facebook would get a lot of responses. In a few days it claimed to have sent 3.2 million emails to TRAI.
The current count stands apparently at 5.5 million.
Meanwhile news reports came of even users in the US and Canada being shown Facebook's Free Basics messaging, and asked to email TRAI. How a US or Canadian user would qualify as a ''stakeholder'' to comment on India's Internet regulation process we do not know, but when pointed out, Facebook casually ascribed it to an ''error''.
But what has all of this got to do with a DDoS attack?
Remember, a DDoS attack is one in which the perpetrators use a large number of unwitting PCs and servers to launch an attack on a site, so as to prevent the latter from serving its legitimate users and performing its stated function.
What Facebook had carefully and deliberately crafted in India was a method to overwhelm TRAI with a distributed set of responses that didn't have anything to do with its consultation paper or questions.
But why would they do that?
The real answers only Facebook can give, but we can surmise.
Perhaps because Facebook is aware of the true support for Net Neutrality among Indians, including citizens, entrepreneurs, startups, trade bodies and even political parties. Save The Internet, the volunteer-driven group that had rallied over one million Indians to write to TRAI in support of Net Neutrality in April, is currently running a follow up campaign on the latest consultation paper. By drowning TRAI's email inbox with millions of individual emails that do not have anything to say on ''Differential Pricing'', Facebook is running the regulatory version of a DDoS.
Facebook knows that TRAI will not have the technical knowhow or manpower to sift through millions of responses in order to find the ones that actually have answers to its questions. The Free Basics is designed to dump truckloads of hay on TRAI so that real responses turn into proverbial needles.
But wait, isn't STI also getting people to email TRAI? How is that okay?
Yes, you're right '' the STI too is running a campaign that on the surface seems similar to Facebook's. But unlike Facebook's deliberate campaign of obfuscation and misinformation, the STI is helping Indians understand the full paper and answer each of the four questions in as informed a manner as possible.
This is a serious matter. Because what we have here a social platform that is supposed to be ''neutral'', openly misrepresenting the issues TRAI is trying to formulate policies on and flooding it with non-responses in the possible hope that real responses can be suppressed.
This form of behavior is unprecedented in India's regulatory history. Even Microsoft at the height of its power and facing the prospect of central and state governments switching to open source, did not directly exhort individual Windows or Office users to lobby on its behalf. If Facebook's DDoS attempts go unchecked, why will a Google or Microsoft not want to leverage its Android/Search or Windows/Office users to hijack public policy agendas at scale?
DDoS-ing a website is a criminal activity in most countries, including India. DDoS-ing a regulator should be no less.
DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.
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4 January 2016 (Charlie Hebdo)Correcting ignorant anglophone criticism of Charlie Hebdo.
4 January 2016 (A chance to defeat plutocrats)The 2016 presidential election gives the US a chance to defeat the vicious cycle of plutocracy.
We need to stop being nice to plutocrats. They are trying to impoverish everyone else. They deserve to be crushed.
4 January 2016 (Anti-state militia occupies Oregon building)An anti-state militia has occupied a building at a wildlife refuge in Oregon as a protest.
Setting fire to your grass, with the aim of burning only your grass, may be good or bad, but it is not ethically comparable to setting fire to a building.
On the other hand, occupying a government building with guns is not ethically comparable to a peaceful sit-in.
4 January 2016 (Prison for defaming a food)Michael Mcfeat, expat working at a mine in Kyrgyzstan, faces years in prison for defaming a local food delicacy.
It is impossible to defame Kyrgyzstan's human rights record, which is worse even than Thailand's.
Even "free" countries in Europe are not free of the practice of criminalizing insults.
4 January 2016 (Russian censorship)Russian censorship almost killed a series of detective stories for children.
4 January 2016 (Nonviolent dissident executed)Salafi Arabia's execution of a Shi'ite leader of peaceful protests has aroused threats of violence from Iran.
I hope that we won't let issues of international rivalries bury the really issue here: a repressive regime has murdered a nonviolent dissident. Iran has done likewise. We don't have to choose a side between them. We can demand they both respect dissent.
4 January 2016 (Record-breaking floods)Record-breaking floods have hit many US states. They are especially unusual because of happening in winter, which is not when floods typically occur. This suggests that global heating was part of the cause, which suggests that worse floods are coming.
4 January 2016 (UK flood defenses)The UK government cut spending on flood defenses, knowing that this would double the vulnerability over time.
What use is there in provoking rising seas and unusual heavy rains but then preventing them from actually flooding people's homes?
4 January 2016 (Wolves)Poland saved the wolves, but the right-wing government probably wants to wipe them out, as happens also in the US.
The article gives a clear explanation of why the absence of wolves causes big problems with other ecosystems. (But it might make sense to have more hunting of wild boars, whose meat is in demand from European gourmets.)
4 January 2016 (Facebook and Guber cults)Facebook and Guber can be seen as cults, with the ability to mobilize millions of members to condemn any regulations that protect people from those businesses.
4 January 2016 (In independent press in Rwanda)President Kagame rigs the elections in Rwanda, even including a prearranged small fraction of votes for opposition, and there is no independent press to report on it.
3 January 2016 (Urgent: Endorsement for president)US citizens: call on MoveOn to ask its supporters which Democrat to endorse for president.
3 January 2016 (Urgent: Repeal Hyde amendment)US citizens: call for repeal of the Hyde amendment '-- allow US government to fund abortions.
3 January 2016 (Urgent: File charges against killers)US citizens: call on the Justice Department to file charges against Tamir Rice's killers.
3 January 2016 (Deaths in US wars since 2001)A study estimates that the US's wars since 2001 have killed over a million people.
3 January 2016 (HK publishing company employee missing)Yet another employee of a Hong Kong publishing company has apparently been disappeared by China.
3 January 2016 (Personalized ads at stores)People who have more money than work really love getting personalized ads as they pass the door of a store.
3 January 2016 (Plans to impose seed monopolies)The Gates Foundation and USAID are planning together how to impose commercial seeds monopolies in Africa.
3 January 2016 (Leader of peaceful protest executed)Salafi Arabia executed the leader of a peaceful protest movement.
3 January 2016 (No need to continue security theater)New Years Eve demonstrated that, yet again, Islamist terrorists are such a small threat to Americans that we need not worry about them, and that we don't need to continue security theater.
But we have plenty of feckless fantasy terrorists; the FBI keeps generating them. The latest one has been mentally ill and easily manipulated all his life.
3 January 2016 (ACLU suing Catholic hospital)The ACLU is suing a Catholic hospital to demand permission to give Rebecca Chamorro a tubal ligation as part of her expected birth by cesarean section.
Creeping control of medicine by religion has gone so far that there are no hospitals near her which would do it.
She could get the tubal ligation separately, but that means an added risk to her health.
If a church insists on limiting medicine, it should not be allowed to operate hospitals.
3 January 2016 (Trump in terror group recruiting video)Al-Shabaab, the Islamist terror group in Somalia, has made a recruiting video featuring Donald Trump.
Trump is not responsible for their decision to do this. He is responsible for stirring up sectarian hatred of the sort that helps every sort of fanatic.
3 January 2016 (No charges against Tamir Rice's killers)Protesters are picketing the home of the prosecutor whose underwhelming efforts led to no charges against Tamir Rice's killers.
2 January 2016 (Juniper Networks back door)The secret back door in Juniper Networks firewalls took advantage of a weakness introduced intentionally by the NSA in an encryption standard.
Thus, the argument that "If we let the NSA break it, others will take it" is not mere theory. (People usually state this as, "The bad guys will use it too", but I reject the presumption that the NSA is always a good guy.)
Since the weakness has been publicly known for years, this fact does not prove that the NSA introduced this particular back door. That might have done by various attackers. It's also possible that the back door was inserted by Juniper Networks, or by some of its staff, perhaps in collaboration with the NSA.
Juniper Networks has fixed only part of the known problem. Because the software is proprietary, users are compelled to wait and see if Juniper Networks inserts the presumed one-line fix for the rest of the problem.
If it were free software, these users would be free to insert this change on their own.
2 January 2016 (Privatizing play for children)The next step in privatization of all aspects of life is privatizing play for children. The promotion campaign says that parents who don't pay the high fees for this are short-changing their children.
I am sure the idea that children should never be left unsupervised contributes to this tendency.
2 January 2016 (China's new "snooper's charter")China's new "snooper's charter" does not include the power to demand a backdoor. It stops at demanding companies decrypt messages on demand.
Even this may be impossible if it covers messages encrypted by the users with their own software.
2 January 2016 (Earthquakes in Oklahoma)Injection of oil and gas well wastewater is causing a lot of earthquakes in Oklahoma, and some of them are strong enough to do real damage.
2 January 2016 (Book banned by Israeli schools)Israeli schools have banned a book about a mixed-ethnicity couple.
2 January 2016 (Britons gone to fight for the Peshmerga)Reportedly 100 Britons have gone to fight for the Peshmerga against PISSI.
2 January 2016 (Use of artificial ocean reefs backfires)Artificial ocean reefs, made of used tires, were intended to provide shelters for marine life. They backfired: the metal clips that held them together have rusted, loosing the tires to drift across the sea bottom, destroying life there.
2 January 2016 (Copyright as a system of censorship)Copyright started in England as a system of censorship, and through the end of 2015 it was used in Germany to prohibit publication of Hitler's hate tract, Mein Kampf.
The world would be better off if nobody had ever thought of Hitler's form of hatred, but we can't get rid of it through censorship.
2 January 2016 (Unjust extension of copyright)Unjust extension of copyright in the US has denied us the use of many books and works published in 1959. Here's a list of some.
We should shorten copyright to last 10 years, for old works and new works.
2 January 2016 (Students' privacy)Some states have strict laws about students' privacy, which schools violate by handing students' data to Google. Schools try to defeat these laws by designating Google as a "school official".
One part of the solution is that schools should not accumulate so much data about their students. Personal data, once collected, will be misused.
2 January 2016 (US Planning New Iran Sanctions)US Planning New Iran Sanctions over Ballistic Missile Programme.
2 January 2016 (Facebook's grab for internet control)Comparing Facebook's grab for internet control with Monsanto's control over seeds.
The article gets confused in one point by the incoherent term "intellectual property". The sense of understanding that you get from that term represents a false understanding.
2 January 2016 (Prematurely born fetuses)Due to advances in medicine, it is possible to save a fraction of fetuses born prematurely after as little as 22 weeks.
A 22-week fetus, whether inside of a womb or outside, is not a human being. It is only a potential future human being.
If you give birth to one, you can try to keep it alive until it becomes a human being. But unless we were in a space colony with an urgent need to increase the population, I will not drop anything to help you, and I don't think it's a good use of our tax money. There is a superfluity of babies that are born without such extraordinary efforts '-- and there are millions of real, existing, human beings that already exist and need help. I think real existing human beings should have priority over potential future human beings.
Writers have envisioned artificial wombs in which a zygote can develop into a fetus and eventually into a human being. Perhaps some day we will build them. That won't create an obligation to use them for every zygote.
2 January 2016 ("American Exceptionalism")"American Exceptionalism" allows Americans to believe that the US is so fundamentally morally right that it is still in the right no matter what evils it commits.
1 January 2016 (Urgent: Tamir Rice)Everyone: call for a new grand jury to consider charges against the killers of Tamir Rice.
1 January 2016 (Bush forces' role in creating PISSI)Vincent Emanuele, formerly of the Bush forces in Iraq, reports on how he and his fellow occupier created hatred that manifests in PISSI.
The Bush forces were parts of the US military that were used by Bush to carry out his private war. They signed up to serve their country, but they ended up serving evil instead.
1 January 2016 (TPP's rules about trade secrets)The TPP's rules about trade secrets would require inventors and competitors to treat them as secrets, even after they have leaked.
This reminds me of how the Obama regime treats the Snowden revelations, ordering government employees not to look at them.
1 January 2016 (Thai military holds civilian prisoners)Thailand's military is holding people accused of various crimes in a military base, where they are often kept shackled and blindfolded.
This treatment of prisoners is not quite as bad as the US has done in Guantanamo, but the wrong is broader in the sense that anyone in Thailand could be treated this way. but the wrong is broader in the sense that anyone in Thailand could be treated this way.
1 January 2016 (China blocks foreign press)China almost completely blocks foreign press from Tibet and Xinjiang.
1 January 2016 (UK spying)Tech Companies [will] Face Criminal Charges If They Notify Users of UK Government Spying.
The US committed a similar injustice with Ladar Levison.
1 January 2016 (Poland's public broadcasting)Poland's right-wing governing party is moving to impose direct political control of public broadcasting.
Berlusconi did something similar.
1 January 2016 (FBI)The FBI has protected us from another fantasy terrorist.
1 January 2016 (Marco Rubio)Marco Rubio doesn't mind how the US government snoops on all of us, but he condemns US snooping on Israeli officials.
1 January 2016 (Boston thugs)Boston thugs have aggressively investigated political dissent groups for many years.
This continued with Occupy Boston.
1 January 2016 (Terrorism)Trying to spot terrorists through supposed "behavioral indicators" of terrorists has never had a success, and the evidence that they are useless keeps increasing.
1 January 2016 (California's aquifers)El Ni±o rains will not suffice to refill California's depleted aquifers.
1 January 2016 (Killer thugs)The responsibility of prosecuting killer thugs in the US typically falls on their colleagues, the local prosecutors. No wonder it is so hard to do this.
Thugs accused of killing, or making false accusations, should be prosecuted by others.
1 January 2016 (Ahmed Rajib Haider)Students have been convicted in Bangladesh of killing secular blogger Ahmed Rajib Haider.
I disapprove of the death penalty on principle, but aside from that I welcome this ruling.
1 January 2016 (Facebook)When India's government launched an inquiry about Facebook's drastically unneutral internet access scheme (gratis access to the poor, limited to a specific set of sites), Facebook started a DDOS campaign asking its useds to send nonresponsive answers.
Worse, Facebook's proprietary apps made useds' computers send expressions of support for this campaign, even when the useds did not want to.
Never trust these cr'...apps. They are as dangerous as any other proprietary software.
1 January 2016 (Avoiding taxes)Super-rich Americans avoid millions of dollars in taxes through dodges such as moving money through tax heavens.
1 January 2016 (Plutocracy)How plutocracy took over America, starting with the fiscal power of private banks.
31 December 2015 (Capitalism)Capitalism in America: Giving Crazy a Bad Name While Subverting Democracy.
31 December 2015 (Pete Hoekstra)Former congresscritter Pete Hoekstra supported NSA surveillance consistently while in office. He was shocked to discover recently that the NSA listened to him.
31 December 2015 (Obama's policies)Obama's policies encourage replacement of coal with fracked gas, but some US cities have policies to head toward renewable energy instead.
31 December 2015 (UK's cameras)The UK's parliament was never consulted about setting up cameras to track all car travel.
31 December 2015 (Brussels)Scandal in Brussels! Some soldiers and some thugs had a sex party in the office, while they were sleeping there because transport was shut down.
Why this constitutes a problem or a wrong is not clear to me. It did not hurt anyone.
31 December 2015 (Taliban)Afghan journalists suspect that the attempts on their life come from a Taliban-supporting "fifth column" inside the Afghan government.
31 December 2015 (Global heating)The question is not, "How likely are we to limit global heating to 1.5C," but rather, " How much damage will it cause if we don't?"
31 December 2015 (El Ni±o)Hunger Threatens Millions as El Ni±o Causes Drought And Floods.
El Ni±o events have occurred for a long time, but this one comes on top of the effects of 1C of global heating.
California seals are starving because sardines have had to head for colder water.
31 December 2015 (Putin's attacks)About 1/3 of the casualties of Putin's air attacks in Syria are civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
31 December 2015 (OpenJDK)Google is shifting Android to use OpenJDK rather than its own Java implementation which used a reimplementation of Java based on the proprietary header files of the proprietary Java implementation.
This concrete result is good for the free software community, but the idea that a compatible implementation of an interface spec might infringe the copyright on header files is very very dangerous. Fortunately, the appeals court that made this decision hears copyright cases only in very rare circumstances.
The FSF urged the Supreme Court not to consider the appeal because we feared it might sustain the appeal court's ruling, which would extend this bad decision to the whole US.
31 December 2015 (Marijuana)Roughly half the jobs in the US require urine tests to detect use of marijuana. This policy never made any sense, and it is even more absurd in states which have legalized marijuana.
31 December 2015 (Censorship in universities)2015's notorious censorship attempts in universities.
A school-sponsored sports team is not a person. I think it is legitimate for the school to exercize control over what ateam does, which would be wrong if directed towards an individual student.
31 December 2015 (Google's snooping)As usual, campaigns to limit Google's snooping on students through their schools demand an inadequate remedy.
If the school makes an account in a student's name on a company's server, or stores any unencrypted information there about the student's activity, that is already a violation of the student's privacy.
Parents must go beyond asking "Please sir, may my child have some more privacy" and organize to put an end to these snooping activities.
In addition, Google services nearly all require the user to run nonfree software (written in Javascript).
31 December 2015 (Pentagon)The Pentagon is deliberately obstructing the release of prisoners from Guantanamo with a campaign of persistent non-cooperation.
31 December 2015 (Afghanistan)The US commander in Afghanistan says that the US will needs more troops to continue propping up the Afghan government.
The choice, as I expected, is to keep propping it up ad infinitem or let it fall.
31 December 2015 (Thomas Podgoretsky)The UK's Minister for Cruel Deportation wants to deport Thomas Podgoretsky because he made the mistake of visiting the US, having a stroke and heart attacks there, and staying there until he was well enough to go home to the UK.
31 December 2015 (Tamir Rice)The excuses offered to the grand jury for the shooting of Tamir Rice beg questions that were apparently ignored '-- for instance, why didn't they stay a little further away and take a second to understand the situation.
31 December 2015 (Chronicle of Woe)A Chronicle of Woe: US Policing Culture From Iraq and Vietnam to Jon Burge's Chicago.
31 December 2015 (Flawed terrorism)Is Flawed Terrorism Research Driving Flawed Counterterrorism Policies?
31 December 2015 (US thugs)US thugs shot and killed at least 28 people this year who were holding pellet guns or BB guns.
I wonder what fraction of them were black. I suspect thugs are more likely to take a pellet gun for a real gun when it is held by a black.
31 December 2015 (Hossein Derakhshan)In 2008, Hossein Derakhshan's blog was so influential that Iran imprisoned for it. Released in 2014, he encountered an Internet in which Facebook and Instagram discourage people from looking at any other web sites. Real discussion has been replaced by trivia videos.
31 December 2015 (Squatters in London)In London, squatters occupied the former mint site to protest against homelessness.
31 December 2015 (Syria)A six-month truce between Assad and rebels is holding in parts of Syria.
31 December 2015 (Ramadi)Between US air strikes and PISSI's explosive booby traps, Ramadi is now mostly a ruin.
That's better than what it was a month ago, a stronghold of barbarity. I expect that the civilian survivors will say so. Helping them get their voice out, to show young Muslims what a monster PISSI is, will help them resist radicalization.
31 December 2015 (Success and failure)Evidence that the key to success is dealing in a useful way with failure.
31 December 2015 (UK's budget cuts)The UK's budget cuts have come back as tremendous damage.
31 December 2015 (US and immigration)The US government is concealing parts of its contracts with companies that imprison immigration violators, specifically the parts that show how these contracts financiall pressure the government to imprison more of them.
31 December 2015 (DMCA)Prohibiting farmers from repairing tractors is not a side effect of the DMCA. It is part of the core goal.
31 December 2015 (Encryption)Americans must not stand for officials' advocating China-style attacks on our encryption systems.
Encryption alone can't protect us from all the sorts of digital surveillance that are being set up in the US. Encryption won't stop systems from recognizing your license plate or your face. Encryption won't enable you to pay anonymously with a credit card, or carry a portable phone and not be tracked.
31 December 2015 (Global heating and tornado)It appears that global heating is increasing tornado damage in the US.
31 December 2015 (Zuckerberg)Facebook's Zuckerberg: If You Oppose Our International Power Grab, You're An Enemy Of The Poor.
I have long challenged campaigns that prioritize people's internet access over their freedom.
31 December 2015 (Methan leak)An enormous methane leak from an old gas well in California will take months to shut off.
31 December 2015 (Erdogan)I Revealed the Truth about President Erdogan And Syria. For That, He Had Me Jailed.
31 December 2015 (Obama)Obama's program to help homeowners faced with foreclosure did not function well, and now SCROTUS have abolished it.
31 December 2015 (Global heating)UK governments have repeatedly refused to confront the way global heating effects put Britain in danger.
31 December 2015 (Tamir Rice)The thug that killed Tamir Rice will not be prosecuted.
Prosecutors often intentionally throw the fight in the grand jury. We need a special mechanism for bringing charges against thugs that shoot people, or make falls accusations.
31 December 2015 (Urgent: Protect victims of forced labor)Everyone: urge your government to sign the treaty to protect victims of forced labor.
More information about the treaty.
If you don't run the Javascript code, you won't see anything in your browser to show that you signed, but in my case it did in fact work; you should get a confirmation email.
31 December 2015 (Japan apologizes to Korean women)Japan has apologized to the Korean women that it forced into prostitution during World War II.
The Japanese army did that in other places, too, including what is now Indonesia. After the war, many of these women never went home because they felt ashamed '-- in effect internalizing the blame that (according to their culture) their families would have imposed on them.
31 December 2015 (Internet of Things + DMCA)Combining the Internet of Things with the DMCA creates the Internet without Good Choices.
31 December 2015 (The TPP)The TPP is harmful even if evaluated based on the "free trade" ideology.
Of course, that ideology is a mistake because it reduces the effective power of democracy and increases the effective power of businesses. Existing "free trade" treaties are part of the reason that the US has become a plutocracy. This is why I advocate cancelling them.
Part of the article uses the incoherent term "intellectual property". It is always a mistake, without exception, to group together copyrights and patents as if they were a single issue. And that term includes several other laws as well. If you think they are similar than you don't understand what they really do.
31 December 2015 (The TSA)No Social Security number? No passport. Why? Are TSA Actions Subject to Judicial Review?
31 December 2015 (Polio vaccination in Pakistan and Afghanistan)Polio vaccination is advancing again in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Extremist groups have stopped opposing vaccination, and new infections have gone way down.
31 December 2015 (Seizure of property by thugs)The US has stopped offering local thug departments the chance to seize people's property and split it with the Federal government. Ironically, this is due to budget cuts imposed by SCROTUS.
31 December 2015 (Blockade of Yemen)Taiz, in Yemen, is suffering from a siege imposed by the Houthis, within the general blockade of Yemen imposed by Salafi (*) Arabia and the US.
The US is supporting this blockade (and the bombing and invasion) to suck up to some private interests, since nothing about the intervention serves any national interest.
* Officially "Saudi Arabia", but its global support for the repressive and cruel Salafist form of Islam (which helped inspire al Qa'ida and PISSI) is the most important characteristic of that country.
31 December 2015 (Wind energy)Wind energy is becoming the most efficient investment in power generation.
Now think of how much faster we would progress towards curbing global heating if fossil fuels did not enjoy their present subsidies.
31 December 2015 (Sequestering carbon in the soil)Agriculture may be able to sequester carbon in the soil.
31 December 2015 (Israel's "transparency" law)Israel's "transparency" law requires human rights NGO to disclose their funding, but right-wing NGOs have been given exemptions.
The transparency requirement, per se, is not unjust, but it is being applied selectively to oppose human rights.
31 December 2015 (More Ethiopian journalists arrested)Ethiopia has arrested more journalists and is threatening bloggers.
31 December 2015 (El Ni±o + human-caused climate mayhem)Flooding in Britain, record US temperatures and Australian wildfires result from El Ni±o on top of human-caused climate mayhem.
31 December 2015 (Iraqi army recapturing Ramadi)The Iraqi army is slowly recapturing Ramadi. Most of the PISSI fighters have fled, leaving a rear guard which seems to intend to slow the army's advance.
The Iraqi army is not defeating PISSI's full strength. Nonetheless, the loss of Ramadi may weaken PISSI somewhat.
31 December 2015 (Bernie Sanders)Bernie Sanders: "I can win the backing of Donald Trump supporters."
Trump (and others before him) have distracted them into blaming weak scapegoats. Sanders will show them who they should really be angry at: the plutocrats.
31 December 2015 (Deadly US ground beef)Ground beef in the US, if it isn't "organic grass-fed beef", is quite likely to harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria that kill people.
The organic grass-fed beef will cost more, but that won't bother you unless you eat too much beef (alas, many Americans do).
31 December 2015 (US airports kicking homeless people out)US airports are kicking homeless people into the cold.
31 December 2015 (China adopts encryption back door law)China has adopted a law requiring services to hand over encryption back doors.
This power seems to exist already in the US; it's what forced Ladar Levison to shut down Lavabit.
31 December 2015 (How Peabody Energy exploits poverty)How Peabody Energy exploits poverty to excuse burning coal.
Coal is not going to make poor people better off, beyond a decade or two. The brunt of climate mayhem will fail mainly on the poor '-- hundreds of millions of them.
31 December 2015 (China adopts law against domestic violence)China has adopted a law against domestic violence.
Chinese society before the revolution was very very sexist.
30 December 2015 (Urgent: Democratic Party debates)US citizens: call on the Democratic Party to schedule more debates and make them more visible.
30 December 2015 (Urgent: Reject measures to "protect" us)US citizens: call on Congress to reject measures to "protect" us at the expense of our human rights.
30 December 2015 (Twitter deletes journalist's tweets)Twitter deleted a journalist's tweets because a bank asked for this.
30 December 2015 (Juniper Networks back doors)Evidence that points to NSA involvement in putting the back door in Juniper Networks products.
30 December 2015 (Taliban in Helmand)The Taliban have taken over most districts in Helmand; Sangin is one of the few still being contested. They may hope to make it their headquarters.
30 December 2015 (System of bail in the US)The system of bail in the US pressures poor people to plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit '-- or else it puts them in debt.
30 December 2015 (Cocaine in "legitimate" capital markets)"Legitimate" capital markets are thoroughly hooked on cocaine; in laundering drug money, London is more important than the Cayman Islands.
30 December 2015 (War on sites that facilitate sharing)The copyright industry's war on sites that facilitate sharing causes harm to users even when not entirely successful.
Please do not use our enemies' smear term, "piracy", to refer to sharing.
30 December 2015 (MPAA Funds Pro-Copyright Scholars)MPAA Funds Pro-Copyright Scholars to Influence Politics.
30 December 2015 (Recognition technology)Advances in recognition technology threaten to enable tracking people easily by cameras through recognizing their faces or irises.
There is no easy solution to this problem, but since it threatens oppression that can make democracy ineffective, it justifies the cost of a difficult solution.
30 December 2015 (Guantanamo)Obama blames Congress for slowing the release of prisoners from Guantanamo, but he and his staff are primarily responsible for the delay.
"Guantanamo" has come to stand for "imprisonment without trial", but they are not the same. Obama talks about "closing Guantanamo prison" but his method of doing so is to move imprisonment without trial to the US mainland. That would make it even more unjust. We could hope that the Supreme Court would consider it more clearly unacceptable '-- but what if it did the opposite?
The US must end its imprisonment without trial. Every prisoner in Guantanamo deserves to get a real, fair trial or be freed.
30 December 2015 (California's diminishing rainfall)California confronts the question of how to manage its diminishing rainfall.
Global heating will make the US midwest hotter and interfere with rain.
The real solution, the efficient solution, is to cut back on CO2 emissions so that the climate won't get more screwed.
30 December 2015 (TSA scanner policy)A lawsuit seeks to make the TSA change its policy of requiring some passengers to go through a scanner.
30 December 2015 (Game cr'...apps)Modern gratis game cr'...apps collect a wide range of data about their users and their users' friends and associates. Even nastier, they do it through ad networks that merge the data collected by various cr'...apps and sites made by different companies.
They use this data to manipulate people to buy things, and hunt for "whales" who can be led to spend a lot of money. They also use a back door to manipulate the game play for specific players.
While the article describes gratis games, games that cost money can use the same tactics.
All this reinforces the point that proprietary software is software for suckers.
30 December 2015 (Warm December)The unusually warm December is making some people concerned about their flowering perennials, some of which are blooming now instead of waiting for spring.
However, what concerns me more is that this warm December will not be so unusual at the end of the century.
30 December 2015 (Listening machines)Beware the Listening Machines.
30 December 2015 (Taking risks during childhood)"Should I let my child take more risks?" Probably yes, up to a point. However, you might consider transporting your child by car to be too dangerous and beyond the limit.
29 December 2015 (Transportation in the US)Most of the US has been restructured around automobiles. As people get older, eventually they can't drive any more, so they become stuck at home.
29 December 2015 (European Patent Office)The European Patent Office hired a surveillance company to snoop on its critics.
29 December 2015 (Corporatization of American Red Cross)The American Red Cross spent millions in Haiti to provide shelter and built just six houses with that money.
This seems to relate to its overall corporatization.
29 December 2015 (US supported creation of Salafist state)In 2013, the US supported the creation of some sort of Salafist "Islamic state" in Syria and Iraq as a way to weaken Assad.
29 December 2015 (Juniper Networks back door)Was it the NSA that put the back door in Juniper Networks firewalls?
It has been trying to attack antivirus software.
29 December 2015 (Fingerprints required for cell phone)Bangladesh demands fingerprints from everyone that has a cell phone.
That would convince me not to visit Bangladesh, if I carried a cell phone.
29 December 2015 (Fluoridation of water)There is no conclusive evidence about whether fluoridation of water supply reduces tooth decay, though there is suggestive evidence that it does.
29 December 2015 (People's movements tracked in Hyde Park)The UK government tracked people's movements in Hyde Park through their mobile phones.
This particular project did not record their names, but that would have been easy to do.
29 December 2015 (Syrian Islamist fighters in Damascus)2000 Syrian Islamist fighters and Assad's forces have made a deal whereby the Islamists will evacuate an area near Damascus, leaving their heavy weapons.
29 December 2015 (Medical uses of marijuana)Ten important medical uses of marijuana.
27 December 2015 (Social isolation)American society pushes people into social isolation, and 1/4 of American adults have no one they can confide in. For old people, loneliness is often fatal.
27 December 2015 (Work-related diseases)Work-related diseases kill 50,000 Americans a year. That's more than are killed by guns, and terrorism is a pinprick by comparison.
Meanwhile, we could do a lot to reduce work-related diseases without limiting anyone's human rights.
27 December 2015 (Endangered species)The US Fish and Wildlife Service has become more active in considering endangered species and establishing protection for them. The case backlog is decreasing.
Measures like the Endangered Species Act are adequate for dealing with local threats in a world that is stable overall. Of course, many countries don't have an Endangered Species Act and many governments are not able to really enforce such laws. But even if they did, that won't be enough in the future. Climate mayhem will swamp these local protection efforts, much as rising oceans will swamp sea walls.
27 December 2015 (Mosquito-borne virus spreading)A mosquito-borne virus in Brazil is spreading, and its spread can be measured by the thousands of babies born with microcephaly.
Global heating effects are indirectly responsible for the spread of the mosquitos that transmit the virus.
27 December 2015 (USAF proposed killing civilians in 1959)In 1959, a US Air Force proposal for how to target nuclear weapons on the Soviet Union treated killing of civilians as a goal.
26 December 2015 (Urgent: Investigate death of Sandra Bland)US citizens: call on Attorney General Lynch to investigate death of Sandra Bland.
26 December 2015 (Urgent: Oregon's national forests)US citizens: Tell Congress not to sell off or cut down Oregon's national forests.
26 December 2015 (Sanders)Polls show Sanders doing considerably better against Trump than Clinton would do.
26 December 2015 (Back Lives Matter protest)A Black Lives Matter protest at the Mall of America was not entirely blocked by the mall management armed with court orders.
Nonetheless, the difficulties they faced show that replacing real public space with pseudo-public space inside malls is dangerous to democracy. People should have the right to protest inside malls.
26 December 2015 (Guber)Seattle has arranged to give Guber drivers a chance to unionize.
This can help the drivers get more pay, but it won't do anything to reduce the surveillance that passengers are subject to, or save them from the requirement to run nonfree software.
26 December 2015 (The range of ideas that fit into Islam)It takes a rather large book to describe the range of ideas that fit into Islam '-- except in the opinion of Salafis.
26 December 2015 (French citizenship)French President Hollande is getting strong criticism for plans to take away citizenship from people who were born citizens of France.
His other plans, such as the permanent state of emergency, seen even worse.
26 December 2015 (Gmail psychological profiles)Google's Gmail and other connected services create psychological profiles of every user '-- and all the people they communicate with by email. A slowly progressing lawsuit claims that this violates California law.
You can opt out of this by changing to some other mail service, running your own mail server, and/or encrypting the text of your emails with the GNU Privacy Guard.
26 December 2015 (US-Korea "free trade" agreement)The US-Korea "free trade" agreement, if evaluated in the conventional terms of exports and imports, has been a big loss for US exports and US employment.
This is on top of the harm that the treaty does to both countries by undermining democracy.
26 December 2015 (School voucher system in Sweden)In 1992, Sweden adopted a school voucher system. Since then the Swedish educational system has become more unequal, and less effective overall.
26 December 2015 (French journalists in China)China seems to plan to expel a French journalist whose articles in France have criticized the regime.
26 December 2015 (The Battle Over Sangin)The Battle Over Sangin Should Teach the West Some Vital Military Lessons. And political lessons, too, about "attempting cultural change on a management consultant timeline."
I still think the US might have achieved a good outcome in Afghanistan if it had refrained from attacking and destroying Iraq.
26 December 2015 (Judaist fanatics)Judaist fanatics in Israel had themselves filmed celebrating the murder of an Arab toddler.
Judaist, Christianist or Islamist, they are all enemies of human rights. The worst of them are killers, but the rest are still bad.
26 December 2015 (India rejects Facebook's power grab)India has blocked Facebook's plan to extend internet service without network neutrality.
Access to the internet can be good or bad, depending on whether the internet respects your freedom. If people make the error of assuming that it is good unconditionally, that can lead them to mistake Facebook's power grab for a real gift.
26 December 2015 (Hunger and homelessness in the US)22 US cities reported high levels of hunger and homelessness for the year Sep '14 '-- Aug '15.
26 December 2015 (Poverty in the US permanently stunts IQ)In the US, poverty permanently stunts childrens' IQ, but not in other developed countries.
It is not clear why the US gets different results.
25 December 2015 (Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in ground beef)Ground beef generally has bacteria all through it, and some of them can make people sick. Consumer Reports found that US ground beef, unless it is from 'grass-fed organic beef', often contains antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
25 December 2015 (British Muslims blocked from entering US)It appears the US is blocking many British Muslims from entering the US, often in arbitrary last-minute ways that cause unnecessary trouble and expense.
Blocking 10 family members from traveling because of an objection to their one relative is especially nasty, and gratuitous.
Because there is no way to find out in advance if you will be blocked in this way, British Muslims in general are afraid to buy tickets to the US.
It seems to me that the US should offer a way to ask, before buying tickets, "Will you allow me to fly there?" If the US responds that you can go, and blocks you later, it should compensate you for the costs of your flight and other preparations.
And it is unconscionable to block 11 people because of objections about one.
25 December 2015 (Australia's anti-renewable-energy policies)Australia is slowly shifting away from the anti-renewable-energy policies that Abbott set up.
25 December 2015 (Russia dropping cluster bombs on Syria)Amnesty International says Russia is dropping cluster bombs on Syrian cities, even on areas of no military significance.
25 December 2015 (Illegal spying on activists in Ecuador)Leaked documents say that Ecuador's intelligence agency illegally spied on activists who campaigned against oil extraction in the Amazon.
25 December 2015 (Christmas in officially Muslim countries)Some officially Muslim countries have demonstrated their intolerance of non-Muslims by banning visible celebration of Christmas.
Will they ban Grav-Mass, too?
25 December 2015 (The "no fly list")The "no fly list" punishes people by surprise, and people are put in the list based on "predictive judgments" which can be based on nothing but noise.
25 December 2015 (Raid in Sangin)Afghan army reinforcements may kick the Taliban out of Sangin.
If the Taliban melt away when confronted by a relief force, that will not constitute a victory for the Afghan government. Rather, it will mean that the Taliban are following through after a large, successful raid, in accord with standard guerrilla tactics.
To turn this raid into a victory, the Afghan army would need to surround Sangin and kill the Taliban fighters caught in the trap. I don't think they will try it.
25 December 2015 (Shot dead by Georgia thugs)44% of the people shot dead by Georgia thugs (since 2010) were either unarmed or shot in the back. That's just the beginning of it.
25 December 2015 (Prison for throwing stones at car)Israel sentenced Palestinian teenagers to 15 years in prison after they confessed under pressure to throwing stones at a car.
The car was driven by a family that lives in an Israeli colony in Palestinian territory. One of the children in the car died from the attack. The killing was a serious crime, but there is no credible evidence about who did it.
25 December 2015 (Israel violates international law)Israel violates international law by taking Palestinian prisoners out of Palestine. Here's why that violation is important.
25 December 2015 (Israel on foreign funding)To the Israeli right-wing, foreign funding for Breaking the Silence is an outrage; foreign funding for extending colonies in Palestine is just fine.
After Israel arrested Jews who killed Palestinians, fanatical colonists attacked another Palestinian family. Fortunately not fatally this time.
25 December 2015 (Palestinian Christians)Palestinian Christians suffer from the occupation like Palestinian Muslims, but find it easier to move elsewhere.
25 December 2015 (Mennonites on occupation of Palestine)Mennonites who visited Palestine defend the need for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel's occupation of Palestine.
24 December 2015 (Urgent: Tesoro-Savage oil export terminal)US citizens: oppose building the Tesoro-Savage oil export terminal in Washington State.
24 December 2015 (Urgent: toy factories in China)Everyone: call on major toy branding companies to improve wages and working conditions in their factories in China.
24 December 2015 (Urgent: drone registration site)Does it work to use the US government drone registration site with LibreJS enabled to block nonfree Javascript code? Please email your answer to rms on the site gnu.org.
24 December 2015 (Urgent: stand with Nagpur)Everyone: Stand with the people of Nagpur and tell the World Bank to stop pushing privatization of water.
24 December 2015 (Charging more for products)Companies tend to charge more for their products aimed at women or girls than for comparable products aimed at men or boys.
Why should scooters be meant specifically for one sex? There is no good reason for that. That too is a marketing ploy. Give a girl a blue scooter, and fight against creeping genderization of everything, while also saving money.
24 December 2015 (Adelson buys your newspaper)What If Sheldon Adelson Buys Your Newspaper? Write About Him, Then Leave.
24 December 2015 (Obama's support for "moderate" Syrian resistance)The US military thought Obama's support for "moderate" Syrian resistance was only helping Jihadis, so it began feeding intelligence indirectly to Assad to help him fight those rebels.
24 December 2015 (Physical search instead of body scanning)The TSA may stop some passengers from requesting a physical search instead of body scanning.
I don't object to the millimeter-wave scanners now in use, but I still consider this change dangerous. What if they move to another machine that is potentially dangerous, as the x-ray scanners were?
24 December 2015 (Colonies in Palestine)Israel's ambassador to the US has gone out of his way to send holiday gifts made by colonies in Palestine.
24 December 2015 (Bogus opinion polls)Thailand's dictators don't have elections, but they have bogus opinion polls.
24 December 2015 (Wearing makeup to appear Asian (or black))Is it wrong for Caucasian actors to wear makeup to appear Asian (or black)?
The article presents an incoherent mixture of perceived insult, lack of Asian role models on TV, and loss of work for Asian actors. Any or all of those issues might be valid, but they are all different, and mixing them up produces only confusion.
If it is a matter of work discrimination, how about making up nonwhite actors up to appear Caucasian? All actors' race would cease to matter.
If it is a matter of visible role models on TV, that's a matter of appearance only. Why does it matter what the actor's real skin color or appearance is, beneath the makeup?
If you feel insulted, please explain why an actor's makeup constitutes a statement about Asians, because I don't see that.
24 December 2015 (Poland's Christianist extremist government)Poland's Christianist extremist government is undermining the Supreme Court, apparently to facilitate a total ban on abortions.
I support ending subsidies for IVF; the world has an excess of human babies and it makes no sense at all to spend public funds on making more.
Once babies are born, we must make sure they get good food, medical care, education, and a good home with parents that are not stressed about a lack of money.
Naturally, the right-wing government plans to cut that. Christianist extremist don't care about real babies.
24 December 2015 (The atmosphere as public trust)Officially designating the atmosphere as a public trust might help get some countries to act against global heating.
24 December 2015 (Exxon's global heating research)Exxon shared its global heating research with other major oil companies as far back as 1980.
They have all been knowingly working to make sure the US government does not avoid disaster.
24 December 2015 (Loss of manufacturing jobs)The loss of manufacturing jobs in the US is not inevitable. It is the result of political choices.
24 December 2015 (Spending public assistance)The US and various states are prohibiting poor people from spending public assistance on various expensive habits that they can't afford anyway.
The motive might be to fool the public into believing that welfare recipients really have money for luxury foods such as lobster, on ocean cruises, or even on tattoos.
If you can barely afford food at all, you will do without those things anyway.
24 December 2015 (ARM and IBM teamed up)ARM and IBM have teamed up to make devices that monitor and surveil their users.
24 December 2015 (Libya's new unified government)The UN is moving towards authorizing Libya's new unified government to invite Western help to fight PISSI.
An intervention in support of Libyan ground troops has a reasonable chance of success.
24 December 2015 (Israel considering Putin-style law)Israel is considering a Putin-style law to restrict human-rights NGOs that receive support from European governments. The President of Israel was called a traitor for meeting with the New Israel Fund.
24 December 2015 (Fall of Sangin)The fall of Sangin demonstrates the futility of NATO's trying to hold it.
Once the Taliban started to resurge, the US and NATO never had a plausible plan for defeating the Taliban, since the Afghan government has never generated enough loyalty to do so. The only question is how long to prop it up.
24 December 2015 (Geneva conventions)Increasingly, wars involve bombing cities full of civilians, as countries ignore the Geneva conventions.
24 December 2015 (Tax loophole)A tax loophole encourages US companies to increase pay to their CEOs.
23 December 2015 (New web error code)A new Web error code has been established for legally imposed censorship.
23 December 2015 (Menstruating women treated as "unclean")In rural India, the menstruating women are still treated as "unclean". They are banished to rude huts outside the village. Girls miss school.
23 December 2015 (Boko Haram violence)Boko Haram Violence Keeping a Million Children Out of School, Says UNICEF.
23 December 2015 (Racist inspired by Trump)A racist inspired by Trump built a pipe bomb to attack Muslims with.
23 December 2015 (Antibiotic resistance)Humanity has not acted to slow antibiotic resistance; now it is "almost too late" to avoid losing the most important current antibiotics.
The responsibility is the plutocratic state, which obeys agribusiness and disregards the general good.
23 December 2015 (Unjust tech)Can Laws Keep Up with Tech World?
It should be noted that Amazon, Guber and WhatsApp (proprietary software) are inherently unjust.
23 December 2015 (US thugs claim there is a "war on police")US thugs continue to claim that there is a "war on police", violence against thugs continues to be rare. Marauding thugs remain the bigger threat.
Thugs kill a lot more Americans than terrorists do; but they do lesser forms of violence more often than killings.
23 December 2015 (US wages war against lots of Muslims)In response to occasional crimes by a few Muslims, the US wages actual war against lots of Muslims.
I should point out that the guns used by Malik and his spouse were not lawfully purchased in the form he had them, and a stricter system of gun control could have made them difficult for him to get.
Because the US is waging actual war, its innocent victims greatly outnumber the victims of Muslim terrorists in the US. Americans are much more likely to be killed by thugs than by terrorists.
Christianist terrorism against US abortion facilities is a more serious threat because it is concentrated against a few. If you are an abortion doctor, that danger is large.
23 December 2015 (Urgent: Don't legitimize Israeli colonies)US citizens: call on Congress to reject a resolution to legitimize Israeli colonies in Palestine.
23 December 2015 (DNC reenables Sanders' access to voter data)The Democratic National Committee reenabled Sanders' access to voter data; the Sanders campaign did the requested investigation and took appropriate action.
23 December 2015 (Exaggerated idea of level of danger)Lumping together crowd killing sprees with the more common multiple shootings in families and gangs gives the public an exaggerated idea of the level of danger from the former.
If shootings cause around 110,000 casualties in the year in the US, that shows guns are a serious problem, but the sensational killing sprees are a small part of it.
23 December 2015 (Violent domestic relationships)Violent domestic relationships don't make sense in rational terms. The victims are so traumatized that they blame themselves for the other person's violence.
23 December 2015 (Wild bees declining)Wild bees are declining in US agricultural areas.
23 December 2015 (Dealing with terrorist videos)A Proposal for Dealing with Terrorist Videos on the Internet.
23 December 2015 (Racial disparity in arrests)Study Documents Extreme Racial Disparity in Arrests for Low-Level Offenses [in a US city].
23 December 2015 (Clinton endorses FBI's take on encryption)Clinton has endorsed the FBI's take on encryption.
I had already decided not to vote for her if she wins the nomination. I hope you will join me. But let's try to prevent that issue from arising. Please support the Sanders campaign.
23 December 2015 (Force-feeding immigration prisoners)A US court ruled that the US can force-feed immigration prisoners on hunger strike.
This is a violation of their human rights. A sane person has a right to commit suicide and a right to fast to death.
Now that the prisoners have been denied the right to hunger strike, I expect that some will commit quick suicide as a protest.
23 December 2015 (Playing into hands of terrorists)Treating every rumor or threat of terrorism as serious is an effect of fear and it plays into the hands of terrorists.
23 December 2015 (Muslim students US schools bullied)Muslim students in US schools, even young ones, face frequent bullying that can go as far as physical attacks.
Violent attacks against Muslims are increasing.
23 December 2015 (Sudanese editors face death penalty)Sudanese Editors Face Death Penalty for 'Inciting an Arab Spring'.
In Sudan, only Winter is allowed.
23 December 2015 (Ill treatment of homeless people)Many people and governments treat homeless people like vermin. Laws that shove them into obscure corners help others ignore how badly they are being treated.
Ultimately this is done to please store owners (who want them out of the way) and rich (who don't want to pay taxes to give them homes).
The same rich people are responsible for the policies that make people homeless.
23 December 2015 (Prison)Could prison be replaced with a different correctional system?
23 December 2015 (Spain's parliament divided)Spain's parliament is divided; it is not clear who will govern.
23 December 2015 (Chicago thug may have made false accusation)A video suggests a Chicago thug may have made a false accusation about Alfontish Cockerham to excuse shooting him dead.
22 December 2015 (Urgent: Reveal donors to Columbia's CGEP)Everyone: call on Columbia University to reveal all the donors to Center on Global Energy Policy, since they seem to include Exxon.
22 December 2015 (Urgent: Free Waleed Abu al-Khair)US citizens: Call on Salafi Arabia to free human rights lawyer Waleed Abu al-Khair.
22 December 2015 (Urgent: Track and publish weapons sales)US citizens: call on Congress to resume tracking and publishing world weapons sales.
22 December 2015 (Facebook "real name" policy)Facebook relaxed its "real name" policy, but only for people who are being harassed for certain specific reasons.
This relieves a very specific acute problem, but does not enable ordinary people to use Facebook without being tracked.
21 December 2015 (How government tracks cell phones)How the Government Surveils Cellphones: A Primer.
This doesn't include the possibility of using the universal back door to turn the phone into a full-time listening device.
And there is also extracting data through WiFi.
21 December 2015 (UK immigration bill)The UK is planning a law that will make victims of trafficking afraid to speak up.
21 December 2015 (Undercover thug attacks protester)Montreal protester Katie Nelson recognized an undercover thug when he took off his mask '-- he was pretending to be a protester '-- because he was one of the thugs she was already suing for a previous attack on her. So he attacked her again. She is now in the hospital and preparing another lawsuit.
21 December 2015 (Right-wing billionaire-owned newspaper)Right-wing billionaire Sheldon Adelson appears to have bought the Las Vegas Review-Journal just to set its reporters to trying to dig up dirt on judges who didn't bow down to his wealth.
More information.
21 December 2015 (UK's anti-sharing thugs)The UK's anti-sharing thugs have come down on people who noncommercially distributed karaoke recordings because they are not commercially available, and using a sleazy trick of language to equate this with commercial redistribution.
21 December 2015 (US alliance with Salafi Arabia)Yemen's civil war, in which the US-backed intervention by Salafi Arabia has made millions homeless and uses cluster bombs, shows that the US alliance with Salafi Arabia is a disaster.
21 December 2015 (Extremist views of Syrian rebel fighters)Most Syrian rebel fighters hold extremist views similar to PISSI, even though they are enemies of PISSI.
This shows that defeating PISSI won't eliminate Salafi oppression from Syria. (There may be no way to do that, in the short term.) However, those groups might not want to attack outside Syria; it might be possible to make peace with them.
It will be hard to make peace in a way that includes them and the secular Kurds.
21 December 2015 (Punishing old people for falling)A UK local government, squeezed for funds, is planning to charge old people every time they need someone to pick them up after falling.
21 December 2015 ("Smart" watches can tell what you're typing)Malicious code in a "smart" watch can tell what you are typing by measuring your arm motion.
Anything called "smart", unless all the software is free, is an attack on your freedom and privacy.
21 December 2015 (Mandatory minimum sentences)Mandatory minimum sentences are a recent aberration in US history; we could get rid of most of them.
21 December 2015 (Dow still leaking pollution in Bhopal)Dow continues to disregard criminal court charges in India and refuses to remediate the pollution that still leaks from its factory in Bhopal.
I wonder if DuPont has property in India that could be seized if it merges with Dow. Perhaps a lien could be put on it now, to stop DuPont from selling it before the merger.
21 December 2015 (Meeting Paris conference goals)The Paris conference didn't pay much attention to meat production, but to meet the goal requires a big reduction.
21 December 2015 (Urgent: Abortion clinics)US citizens: call on the Department of Justice to investigate violence against abortion clinics as terrorism.
21 December 2015 (Urgent: Oppose Florida fracking bill)Citizens of Florida: oppose the state bill to impose fracking everywhere in the state.
21 December 2015 (Urgent: Cancel Corinthian College loans)US citizens: call on the Department of Education to cancel all loans to students of Corinthian Colleges.
21 December 2015 (Victory against PISSI)If we fight PISSI, what would we want victory to look like?
21 December 2015 (Suicide and depression in the UK)The UK's relentless pressure to declare disabled people capable of working has led to around 600 suicides and over 700,000 prescriptions for antidepressants.
21 December 2015 (Censorship of history)Cecil Rhodes Was a Racist, But You Can't Readily Expunge Him from History.
21 December 2015 (Ending the civil war in Syria)The UN has set up a conference of relevant powers to try to end the civil war in Syria.
Has anyone proposed a solution to protect human rights for all the ethnic groups and sects?
21 December 2015 (US drone registration system)The US drone registration system will make drone owners' names and addresses visible to the public.
21 December 2015 (US's limits on visa waiver program)Ambassadors from EU countries warn of retaliation for the US's limits on the visa waiver program.
Some have suggested that Europe would retaliate by imposing the same restriction on Americans, blocking Iranian-Americans etc. That would be a foolish way to retaliate, since the Americans who support the recent restriction would be glad to see Iranian-Americans punished. As retaliation, it would be ineffective.
My suggestion is that Europe should require visas for Americans whose names begin with "R", or perhaps "Ry". That might be a small fraction comparable to the fraction of Europeans affected by the new US restrictions.
Another idea: require visas of Americans related to Republican congresscritters.
21 December 2015 (Arrest of Shkreli)Did government officials tip off reporters to film the arrest of Shkreli?
Shkreli is a greedy bastard and we ought to make it illegal to act as he did with Daraprim. (His arrest was about a different matter.) However, for the issue raised here, he's just one example among many, and the questions posed apply to everyone.
21 December 2015 (Surveillance of people in cars in London)Thugs will collect photos in real time of everyone riding in cars in London.
When the state knows where everyone goes, and who talks with whom, democracy cannot survive. That doesn't bother the UK government, which is applying Republican-style techniques to effectively eliminate democracy in the UK.
21 December 2015 (FBI demands personal information for drones)The FBI demands a credit card number to register a drone, as well as other personal information.
This puts the drone owners at risk.
21 December 2015 (PAT-RIOT Act "national security letters")We now know how broad and sweeping the PAT-RIOT Act "national security letters" are; and functionaries can demand them arbitrarily.
21 December 2015 (Santa Claus confirms NSA attack)Santa Claus Confirms NSA Attack on Naughty-Or-Nice Database.
21 December 2015 (DNC's data company)The Democratic National Committee's data company has repeatedly failed to keep each candidate's data secret from other candidates. One Sanders staffer accessed some of Clinton's data, and the campaign fired him for this.
The DNC took the excuse to deny the Sanders campaign all access to its own voter information data base.
The Sanders campaign has sued the DNC for this.
21 December 2015 (Escalation of the War on Sharing)In an escalation of the War on Sharing, a US ISP was fined millions for not disconnecting users that repeatedly did file sharing.
Sharing should be legal.
21 December 2015 (Tent cities in the US)Tent cities in the US are the result of laws that force homeless people out of downtown areas.
21 December 2015 (Pete Seeger's FBI file)Pete Seeger's FBI File Reveals How the Folk Legend First Became a Target of the Feds.
21 December 2015 (Germany can open investigation in US torture)Why Germany Can and Should Open an Investigation into US Torture.
20 December 2015 (30% of Republicans want to bomb Agrabah)30% of Republicans want to bomb Agrabah (a fictional medieval Arab country).
Only around 20% of Democrats want to bomb Agrabah.
20 December 2015 (Al Jazeera blocks access to an article)Al Jazeera deleted and blocked access to an article it had published, which criticized Salafi Arabia's disrespect for human rights.
Here is the article.
20 December 2015 (Loss of monkeys and birds)Loss of Monkeys And Birds in Tropical Forests Driving Up Carbon Emissions.
The problem is that hardwood trees need those animals to disperse their seeds.
20 December 2015 (Foreign policy "advice" from a company)A company gives foreign policy "advice" to candidates such as Clinton, Rubio and Cruz, led and funded by companies in the military-industrial complex.
The company says this is not lobbying, but that's what it adds up to.
It looks like Sanders is not interested in their "advice".
20 December 2015 (Martin Shkreli resigns after arrest)Martin Shkreli, whose company Turing Pharmaceuticals raised the price of Dataprim and blocked companies from making generic drugs, has resigned after being arrested on charges of fraud in his previous company.
I wonder whether the new management will reduce the price. But either way his practices of blocking other companies from making generic equivalents should be made illegal.
20 December 2015 (Complaints filed against thugs)The Los Angeles Thug Department investigated over 1300 claims of bias in 2012-2014, and judged not one of them valid.
Either LA thugs are remarkably free of bias, far beyond what humans would be capable of, or they are protecting each other.
A study of complaints filed against Chicago thugs found that 10% of the thugs got 30% of the complaints.
These thugs can influence the behavior of other thugs, so it is important to get rid of them.
Most thugs don't beat up or kill without justification, but nearly all of them will protect other thugs that do so. That's why they generally deserve the name of "thug". Those few who refuse to protect the violent thugs are the ones who merit the title of "police officer".
20 December 2015 (Municipal broadband)SCROTUS, working to help pricey US ISPs, are pressuring the FCC to give up on defending municipal broadband in the US.
SCROTUS = Sleazy Congressional Republicans Of The United States.
20 December 2015 (Girls rescued from FGM in Kenya)Kenyan [thugs] Rescue Hundreds of Girls Due to Undergo FGM.
When I call them "thugs", that doesn't mean everything the thugs do is bad. It means that occasionally one of them kills someone unjustly and the rest then try to protect that one.
20 December 2015 (Nuclear industry waste in Subarnarekha river)India's nuclear industry dumps waste into the Subarnarekha river, making its water unsafe to drink.
20 December 2015 (Don't binge on news about a tragedy)Recommendation: don't binge on news about a tragedy.
20 December 2015 (Gun control)The San Bernardino shooters used large magazines that are illegal to sell in California.
It's not hard to buy them in some other state, perhaps Arizona or Nevada, and bring them illegally to California. However, if they were illegal in the whole US, it would really be hard to get them.
The guns were also modified illegally so they could fire faster.
Those intending to commit murder will not be deterred by fear of punishment for doing these modifications, but the law could require designs that make this more difficult to do.
20 December 2015 (Plain cigarette pack law survives attack)Australia's plain paper cigarette pack law survived an attack through a "trade treaty".
This is good news, but many good laws and policies have been destroyed by these business-supremacy treaties, most recently US country-of-origin meat labelling.
We should get rid of all such treaties.
20 December 2015 (Congress's budget bill)Congress's budget bill includes tax breaks for some big businesses.
20 December 2015 (Global heating damaging lakes)Global heating is damaging lakes around the world.
20 December 2015 (Charter schools forced into Philadelphia)Pennsylvania has passed a law to force charter schools into Philadelphia.
Charter schools do not, in general, provide a better education but they are great for profiteering at public expense.
20 December 2015 (Investigation of UK thug who shot a man)A thug in the UK is being investigated for shooting a man; some say the victim was sleeping in his car.
As usual, thugs are organizing to demand an end to the investigation.
19 December 2015 (Urgent: Free human rights defender)US citizens: call on Obama and Congress to press for release of human rights defender Waleed Abu al-Khair, imprisoned by Salafi Arabia.
The country's official name is "Saudi Arabia", but that disguises its nasty nature.
19 December 2015 (Snooping cameras with "Facewatch")"Facewatch" connects snooping cameras in stores to a blacklist of faces.
We need to abolish this system; I believe it should be illegal for anyone to operate cameras in this way, including the state, except following a court order to put a camera in a certain place for a certain period.
19 December 2015 (Urgent: Disconnect from corrupting funding)Everyone: Call on George Mason University to disconnect from the Koch brothers' corrupting funding.
19 December 2015 (Urgent: Clean energy tax incentives)US citizens: call on your congresscritter to renew clean energy tax incentives.
19 December 2015 (China's president wants help with censorship)The President of China wants countries to organize to censor the internet.
19 December 2015 (UK's "bedroom tax")The UK's "bedroom tax", a cut in benefits for disabled or unemployed living in apartments judged to have an extra room, has pressured lots of people to skimp on food, but few have moved to smaller apartments.
That's partly because few smaller apartments are available in the areas where these people live. Also, some disabled people couldn't move to an apartment without room for the relatives that take care of them.
The right-wing government won't mind this outcome. The policy was meant as an excuse to squeeze the weak, and it has succeeded at that.
19 December 2015 (Increasing prosecutions in Thailand)As the Thai king gets older and less able, the military is trying to prop up the royal family's image by prosecuting more people.
19 December 2015 (Press ignores Bernie Sanders)Bernie Sanders Is More Popular Than Trump, But the Press Ignores Him.
19 December 2015 (Thugs attack peaceful protesters)Thugs inexplicably attacked peaceful protesters who were responding to the mistrial of a thug involved in Freddie Gray's death.
19 December 2015 (CWA endorses Sanders)The Communications Workers of America endorsed Sanders for president.
19 December 2015 (When thugs are suspected of crimes)When thugs are suspected of crimes, they get better treatment than everyone else.
19 December 2015 (Global heating screwing up agriculture)Global heating has changed the seasons in Haiti, screwing up agriculture.
19 December 2015 (Brazil blocks access to WhatsApp)A court in Brazil blocked all access to WhatsApp for 48 hours.
WhatsApp requires running a nonfree program, which is a foolish thing to do; you are making a mistake if you use it. It also involves a server that will snoop on you for Big Brother. Still, it is wrong for Brazil to forbid connections to that server.
19 December 2015 (Hottest year ever recorded)Forecast: 2016 will be the hottest year ever recorded, beating the previous record from 2015.
19 December 2015 (Christian extremists' war on women)How far do Christianist extremists take their war on women when nobody stops them?
19 December 2015 (Salafi Arabia to execute protester)Salafi Arabia is planning to execute protester Abdullah al-Zaher, who was 15 years old at the time, after torturing him into confessing to various crimes.
18 December 2015 (Why MIT must support student hackers)Star Simpson tells MIT why it must provide support for students who make harmless technological hacks and are treated to witch hunts by panicking ignorant fools.
18 December 2015 (UK's supposed CO2 reduction pledge)The UK is implementing its supposed CO2 reduction pledge by reducing subsidies for solar power. Just not reducing them as much as was initially proposed.
In 6 months they will make another reduction.
18 December 2015 (Burundi)Burundi On 'Very Cusp' of Civil Conflict, Warns UN Human Rights Chief.
18 December 2015 (Overstating efficiency of light bulbs)Lightbulb manufacturers have found an excuse to overstate the efficiency of their bulbs.
18 December 2015 ("Terrorist" postings or messages)Senate proposes to require communications companies to report "terrorist" postings or messages (not merely actual threats) threaten human rights, and companies would have a lot of trouble doing so.
I fear also that only companies that mistreat their users in other ways will make enough money to be able to hire people to carry this out.
18 December 2015 (Extreme overprotection of children)Americans in general have an extreme overprotective attitude towards allowing children even to play in the front yard. Most Americans think children under 10 are too young.
This is the effect of massive publicity about dangers that are very rare.
I suspect this overprotection will tend to make children feel smothered as well as making them timid.
The requirement to supervise children without a break, and the need to bring them everywhere they are to go, imposes tremendous stress and expense on parents. When I was 7 years old, I walked home from school, used my keys to go in, and amused myself till my mother got home from work. She did not have to pay for "child care" '-- I knew how to read and play without adult help.
I support Sanders's proposal to tax the rich more to fund day care. But we can eliminate a substantial fraction of the expense by teaching parents that children don't need to stay in day care for so many years.
18 December 2015 (Republicans organizing for Sanders)Some Republicans, fed up with plutocracy, are organizing for Sanders.
Interviews with some of them.
Sanders talks about his support among Republicans.
18 December 2015 (Ukraine bans Communist Party)Ukraine has infringed political rights by banning the Communist Party and even the word "communist".
18 December 2015 (UK leaves big tax evaders alone)The UK is cracking down on people that evade small amounts of taxes while leaving the big tax evaders alone.
However, the tax dodging that governments choose to permit is even bigger.
Under plutocratist governments, the purpose of taxes is to serve the rich and crush the rest.
18 December 2015 (Congresscritters work for Google)Google funded some congressional campaigns, and the congresscritters elected performed for Google by supporting Google against an EU legal investigation about abuse of its market position.
18 December 2015 (Avoiding global heating disaster)We are making a mistake, relying on some mysterious "progress" to save Earth from global heating disaster.
Avoiding heating disaster requires a mobilization comparable to what would be made for a large war.
18 December 2015 (Congress surrenders to the WTO)Congress used the budget bill as an excuse to surrender to the WTO: it voted to eliminated country-of-origin meat labeling.
Don't pretend that Congress would have the courage to defy the TPP.
17 December 2015 (NSA's register of Americans' phone calls)Senator Cruz suggested that the NSA's register of Americans' phone calls may actually have increased under the misnamed "USA Freedom Act".
Apparently he was not supposed to let us know this.
17 December 2015 (Tories rigging electoral system)The Tories are rigging the UK's political and electoral system to eliminate the possibility of resistance.
17 December 2015 (Prosecution for coat hanger abortion)Tennessee's prosecution of a woman for a coat hanger abortion is the armored unit at the point of the war on women.
17 December 2015 (iThings)"Is my iPhone listening to me?" An iPhone seems to have heard a user's conversation about where person was going, and added it to the user's profile for some Apple service.
The iPhone, like any other mobile phone, tells Big Brother where you are. Your private destination will be known to the phone network (and Big Brother) when you get there. Meanwhile, just about all mobile phones can be made to listen to all the conversation around them, and send it to whoever did this. This is why I call them "Stalin's dream". Either of these is so vicious that I refuse to carry one.
However, that snooping doesn't send data to Apple. The possible listening feature reported here would enable Apple, also, to listen to conversations around the device.
The iThings are full of nonfree software; Apple controls the software, and the users don't. You can never rationally trust a nonfree program. Whether or not they have a functionality that listens for Apple, the device is full of malware.
A listening functionality would be the sort of thing you must expect, whether or not it is present now.
17 December 2015 (Australian equivalent of SWAT)The Australian equivalent of a SWAT team terrified 13-year-old April Clarke after they woke her by pointing a bright light and a gun at her.
17 December 2015 (Sharif Mobley still alive)Sharif Mobley is apparently still alive, and has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for (reportedly) shooting a prison guard.
17 December 2015 (Congress trying legalize export of crude)The US Congress is trying to boost global heating by legalizing export of crude oil.
17 December 2015 ("Reform" for corporate criminals)The Koch brothers sponsor "criminal justice reform" for corporate criminals.
17 December 2015 (FTC fails to block mergers)The Federal Trade Commission could block mergers, but Obama's director of the Bureau of Competition hardly ever tries.
This is one thing President Sanders could fix on his own.
17 December 2015 (Republicans propose war crimes)Republicans propose war crimes as a response to PISSI.
You almost might as well join PISSI, if you're going to do that.
17 December 2015 (Stand against sexist insults)Let's stand together against sexist insults on social media.
I am against limiting freedom of speech, but there is a lot we can do without going that far.
17 December 2015 ("Moderate Syrian forces")The idea of recruiting support from "moderate Syrian forces" is based on oversimplification and confusion.
17 December 2015 (Record High Arctic Temperatures)Record High Arctic Temperatures in 2015 Having 'Profound Effects' on Region.
17 December 2015 (Bernie Sanders beating all Republicans)The subtle way some oppose Bernie Sanders is by trying to convince us that he can't win '-- contrary to the polls that show him beating all the Republicans.
If you would rather have Sanders as president than Clinton, you should campaign now for Sanders. The worst that can happen is that Clinton wins the nomination anyway.
17 December 2015 (Secret trial and gag order)The UK convicted Wang Yam of murder in a secret trial, and has now forbidden him to take the case to the European Court of Justice. He is also gagged.
17 December 2015 (Baltimore thugs preparing for repression)Baltimore's thugs are preparing for repression when verdicts are announced in the trial of the thugs involved in killing Freddie Gray.
17 December 2015 (Renewable energy roadmaps)We have roadmaps for providing the world's power needs with renewable energy; don't heed the naysayers.
17 December 2015 (Urgent: Trump's campaign)US citizens: call on Republican leaders to say they won't support Trump's campaign if he wins the Republican nomination.
17 December 2015 (Urgent: military force against PISSI)US citizens: call on Congress to vote on an authorization for using military force against PISSI.
17 December 2015 (Thug that killed Darrius Stewart)Witnesses say that the thug that killed Darrius Stewart misrepresented the circumstances of firing the fatal shot; Stewart was moving away, not threatening the thug.
If the rest of the thug's story is correct, the thug had just had a need to defend himself. People cannot digest new information in a fraction of a second. Perhaps he had no time to consciously digest the fact that Stewart had started to flee, before firing the second shot.
17 December 2015 (Foam for extinguishing oil fires)Foam for extinguishing oil fires contains toxic chemicals; in some towns these have contaminated the drinking water and cause cancer.
17 December 2015 (Questioning assumption that Qur'an has to be obeyed)Some Muslims are questioning the assumption that the Qur'an has to be obeyed.
17 December 2015 (Prisoners of Assad's forces)Human Rights Watch says 7000 prisoners of Assad's forces were executed or died after torture.
17 December 2015 (Different interpretation of Islam)Sudan plans to execute 25 people for following a different interpretation of Islam.
Shari'a law is an offense against human rights; any state that adopts it is doing an injustice.
17 December 2015 (UK general election)A Tory claimed that Obama sent help so that the Tory party would win the UK general election.
Obama is a moderate Republican (they used to exist) in the Democratic Party. That's why I never voted for him.
17 December 2015 (American Red Cross)The American Red Cross picked up new management from AT&T, which has "rationalized" the organization with disastrous results.
17 December 2015 (Comcast hit with $26M penalty)Comcast Hit With $26M Penalty For Dumping Hazardous Waste AND Revealing Personal Customer Info.
17 December 2015 (Rate of death sentences)The death penalty remains legal in many US states, but the rate of death sentences has fallen by almost a factor of 10 since the 1990s.
17 December 2015 (Threat to privacy)Sites that ask people to give data about their friends are a fiendish threat to privacy.
17 December 2015 (Hoax bomb threats)Los Angeles and New York City both got hoax bomb threats. Los Angeles sent all the children home that day, whereas New York figured out it was a hoax.
Do real bombers ever give advance warning? Aren't these threats invariably hoaxes?
17 December 2015 (Jews that attacked Palestinians)For once, Israel has treated Jews that attacked Palestinians as real criminals.
17 December 2015 (Lexmark workers in Mexico)Lexmark has fired the leaders of a union in Mexico; the workers are on strike demanding a raise of 35 cents an hour.
17 December 2015 (Abortions at home)Between 100,000 and 250,000 Texas women have done abortions at home, nearly always with drugs.
17 December 2015 (Bangladesh banned Twitter)Bangladesh has banned Twitter, as well as many other digital communications media.
17 December 2015 (Iranian missile test)The UN concluded an Iranian missile test violated the nuclear agreement.
17 December 2015 (State-imposed bankruptcy government)State-imposed bankruptcy government in Flint, Michigan, switched to taking municipal water from the polluted Flint River as a measure to save money, and refused to acknowledge that it was contaminated with lead. The new mayor of Flint has declared an emergency and residents are going to sue the state.
The city has moved back to another source of water, but this is too late for all the young children of Flint.
17 December 2015 ("Real name" policy)Facebook relaxed its "real name" policy, but only for people who are being harassed for certain specific reasons.
This relieves a very specific acute problem, but does not enable ordinary people to use Facebook without being tracked.
16 December 2015 (Very urgent: Reject budget bill riders)US citizens: phone your congresscritter to vote against the budget authorization bill if it has any riders that change policies. Whether the changes are for big oil, for snooping, against Planned Parenthood or against meat labeling, reject them!
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
16 December 2015 (Coat hanger abortions)Women in some US states have been forced back to using coat hangers.
16 December 2015 (Investigation of Brazilian politicians)Major Brazilian politicians are being investigated for corruption.
16 December 2015 (Poland's new right-wing gov't)Poland's newly elected right-wing government is trying to seize extra power by replacing the supreme court.
16 December 2015 (Danger of accidental nuclear war)William Perry, Bill Clinton's secretary of defense, warns of a new nuclear arms race and the danger of accidental nuclear war.
16 December 2015 (T-Mobile violating Net Neutrality)T-Mobile in the US seems to be clearly violating Net Neutrality rules.
16 December 2015 (Life in prison for attempting abortion)A woman in Tennessee faces life in prison for trying to give herself a late term abortion.
I wonder why she did not get an early, safe abortion? Has Tennessee taken measures to make this so inconvenient that she gave up on it?
16 December 2015 (DuPont-Dow merger)The DuPont-Dow merger would create another seed sales giant, like Monsanto.
16 December 2015 (Journalists jailed in Egypt)Egypt Jails Record Number of Journalists (23 as of December 1).
16 December 2015 (Recording thugs)Spanish journalists will ask the European Court of Human Rights to overturn the law that prohibits photos and videos of thugs, [del: even ] especially when they are at their worst.
16 December 2015 (Decline of Britain's butterfly species)3/4 of Britain's butterfly species have declined, some very much, in the last 40 years. This indicates that many other insect species, less beloved by humans, have probably declined too '-- adding up to an ecological calamity.
16 December 2015 (School tells boy to cover up shirt)A school in California told a boy to cover up his Star Wars t-shirt because it showed a fictional character holding a gun.
It may be a reasonable policy to exclude symbols of violence from the classroom, not because someone else was shot, but rather to avoid promoting militarism. It could also be a wise policy to prohibit shirts with commercial advertising, which this was.
Note that they did not punish the boy. US schools punish students for absurd reasons, even get them jailed, and that is a very harmful practice; but it did not happen in this case.
16 December 2015 (Ted Cruz's global heating denialism)Ted Cruz bases his global heating denialism on simple, clear lies. Then he attacks the complex solution of regulation, ignoring the market-based simple solution, a carbon tax.
16 December 2015 (Muslim scholar defends freedom of speech)A Muslim scholar defends the freedom of speech of a Christian preacher who is being prosecuted '-- in the UK '-- for saying Islam is "Satanic".
Islam has bad aspects, like Christianity and other major religions, but I would not apply the term "Satanic" to it. Nonetheless, I defend other people's right to do that.
16 December 2015 (Algorithms derived from "big data")Algorithms derived from "big data" can come to implement racial discrimination because the data reflect the results of discrimination.
The article takes a foolish, naive attitude to companies that collect data about people, in effect believing their claims that they use it only to "serve you better", and neglecting the danger that it becomes available to others such as crackers and Big Brother. But even though they ignore the principal injustices of collecting data about you, their point about another injustice in the use of the data is important.
16 December 2015 (Mexican newspapers)Drug trafficking gangs order Mexican newspapers what to say about drug issues.
16 December 2015 ("Sarcastic" statement a crime in Thailand)In Thailand, even a "sarcastic" statement about the king's dog is a crime.
Don't go to Thailand unless you have an urgent mission for some very good cause.
16 December 2015 (The Paris commitments)Claim No Easy Victories. Paris Was a Failure, But a Climate Justice Movement Is Rising.
Is it rising faster than the temperature?
If the world takes them seriously, the Paris commitments could shrink the fossil fuel industry and avoid global disaster.
But the fossil fuel industry is still strong and still working to stop governments from carrying out those commitments properly.
16 December 2015 ("Criminal insult" charge)An MP in Zimbabwe faces charges of "criminal insult" against strongman Mugabe's wife.
16 December 2015 (DRM in "smart" lightbulbs)Now DRM is in "smart" lightbulbs!
If a product is "smart", and you didn't build it, it is cleverly serving its manufacturer against you.
16 December 2015 (DEA database of phone calls)The DEA reported to a judge that it has erased its massive database of phone calls made within the US.
However, when phone companies keep these records for the DEA, that is almost as bad.
16 December 2015 (Planted drugs)Some Alabama thugs planted drugs on a thousand black men to put them in prison. They were motivated by racism.
16 December 2015 (Fact-checking)Republicans have learned to make fact-checking useless: when their claims are shown to be false, they repeat the claims and accuse the media of a cover-up.
Dubya and his men did this in regard to Saddam Hussein's nonexistent weapons of mass distruction, and they convinced a lot of Americans.
I am surprised by the idea that CNN is "liberal." I have no TV, but from everything I have heard, CNN is rather right-wing.
16 December 2015 (Still Illegal)Obama's Speech Reminded Americans That the War with [PISSI] Is Still Illegal.
16 December 2015 (Designed to be addictive)If you "can't put down" a mobile device, that's because it was designed to be addictive.
16 December 2015 (Emissions tax)Sanders has endorsed a carbon emissions tax.
This is the way to let the market decide just how and where to reduce emissions.
16 December 2015 (Antisocialist opposition)The antisocialist opposition won the election in Venezuela.
People were very unhappy with the shortages, which were caused by foolish government policies; for instance, subsidies for the prices of certain foods, which encouraged people to smuggle them into Colombia, and currency exchange controls.
I fear that the antisocialists will eliminate the programs that Chavez set up for education and medical care. Subsidizing food for the poor is necessary, and the problems come from the system that the socialists set upl but I expect the antisocialists to end the subsidies so as to make life hard for the non-rich.
16 December 2015 (Food supply)Humans' food supply is dangerously biologically concentrated: three-quarters of our food comes from 12 species of plants and five of animals, What's more, the number of different varieties of the plant species is decreasing.
16 December 2015 (Question what they are told)The UK says that children who question what they are told, or criticize government policy, are terrorist suspects.
16 December 2015 (Left destitute)Many prisoners in the US are left destitute when they get out of prison because the state sues them for just about everything they have got, or even more.
If this happened to me, I'd withdraw the money as cash and toss it onto a street, just to spite the state.
16 December 2015 (Pointing a gun)A thug has been convicted of a felony for pointing a gun at a man's head. The man had done nothing to warrant attention; the thug was showing off how much power he had.
16 December 2015 (Five San Francisco thugs)Five San Francisco thugs shot Mario Woods dead. They said he had a knife and wouldn't drop it '-- though he made no move to attack them. Maybe he did have one.
If I were in that situation, I might be in real danger, even if I were holding a gun '-- since I have no training, skill or experience in such a confrontation. However if five thugs with pointed guns think they are in danger from a man with a knife at his side, they must be incompetent.
16 December 2015 (Richest 20 Americans)The richest 20 Americans own more than half the population. To spread the wealth, vote for progressives.
16 December 2015 (Constitutional convention)Right-wing groups are 7 states away from triggering a constitutional convention that could rewrite the US Constitution in unpredictable ways.
16 December 2015 (Sabotage efforts)The TPP would sabotage efforts to curb global heating in several ways.
This is a natural consequence of the way it was drawn up. For each area of business, the US government asked the companies in that area what they wanted. The fossil fuel companies asked for policies that will help them.
Fundamentally, control of greenhouse gas emissions is good for the people, so it's what democracy will do if it works right. The TPP is a business-supremacy treaty with some secondary support for unregulated trade. What these treaties do is weaken democracy and give business more power.
16 December 2015 (Contraceptive prescriptions)The states of Washington and California will allow most women to get contraceptive prescriptions from pharmacists, without seeing a doctor first.
16 December 2015 (Urgent: Investigate Exxon)US citizens: call on the attorney general to investigate Exxon.
15 December 2015 (Tunisia represses homosexuals)Tunisia, despite being more or less democratic, represses homosexuals.
15 December 2015 (Canadian mining companies)Canadian mining companies operating in Latin America often trash the environment and the rights of local inhabitants.
15 December 2015 (Inaction of US Fish and Wildlife Service)The US Fish and Wildlife Service takes action extremely rarely to protect endangered species. Out of 88,000 proposed projects, the F&WS approved all of them, and took action in just two cases.
15 December 2015 (Municipal broadband networks)Marco Rubio is trying to serve the large US ISPs by banning municipal broadband networks.
15 December 2015 (Foreign intervention in Yemen)The foreign intervention in Yemen, led by Salafi Arabia (*) and backed by the US, suffered a setback: commanders of the ground troops were killed by Houthis.
* I refer to Saudi Arabia this way to highlight how it spreads an extreme and cruel version of Islam around the world.
15 December 2015 (Shrimp peeled by slaves)Shrimp exported from Thailand to major multinational front companies are often peeled by slaves.
15 December 2015 (India to continue burning lots of coal)India will make the Paris agreement futile by continuing to burn lots of coal.
The UK will do likewise if the Tories continue their fossil-fool policies.
15 December 2015 (Urgent: Clear labels on GMO foods)US citizens: phone your senators at 1-877-796-1949 to demand clear, transparent labels on GMO food '-- not QR codes.
15 December 2015 (Urgent: Stop big pharma's tax dodging)US citizens: tell Congress to stop big pharma's tax dodging.
15 December 2015 (Democratic Syrian local councils)Some Syrian rebels have set up democratic local councils: dictatorship and theocracy are not the only options.
15 December 2015 (The Paris deal)One advance in the Paris deal: emissions of armies are now counted.
15 December 2015 (Operation Ceasefire)An effective method of reducing gun violence by gangs is no longer in use in the US because nobody will pay for it.
15 December 2015 (Global heating deniers lose battle)"The Paris agreement signals that deniers have lost the climate wars."
Their agents in many governments and institutions are still sabotaging real progress, but they have lost the battle for society's overall direction. It was inevitable that would happen once the effects of global heating became sufficiently visible. Thus, what they intended was a delaying action.
Did they succeed enough to cause the slow destruction of human civilization and Earth's biosphere? Time will tell.
15 December 2015 (The NRA)Inside the NRA: the Officials Keeping Gun Control Laws Off the US Agenda.
Some of their lobbying is done through disguised relationships.
14 December 2015 (Urgent: discrimination in car loans)US citizens: call on GM to oppose plans to legalize discrimination in car loans.
14 December 2015 (License-plate recognition cameras)Free software turns mobile devices into license-plate recognition cameras.
I've proposed that it should be illegal for anyone to set up a license-plate recognition camera pointing at a public place except with a specific court order.
14 December 2015 (Encryption back doors to catch terrorists)Accusing governments of lying when they say that they want encryption back doors to catch terrorists.
14 December 2015 ("Energy U-turn")The UK needs to make an "energy U-turn" to satisfy its Paris commitments.
14 December 2015 ("Saving" Greece)European banksters, rather than show Greeks the full extent of what they demand for "saving" Greece, are imposing it a step at a time. But Greeks are threatening to protest and bring down the government.
14 December 2015 (Syriac Christian women)Syriac Christian Women Take Up Kalashnikovs to Fight PISSI.
Bravo!
14 December 2015 (Climate deal: the pistol has fired)Climate Deal: the Pistol Has Fired, So Why aren't We Running?
14 December 2015 (Nigeria proposing to censor internet)Nigeria is proposing to censor internet communication, making it a crime to post "false information". That tends to mean information that the state doesn't like.
14 December 2015 (Legacy of death)US Nuclear Weapons Complex Leaves 'Legacy of Death on American Soil'.
14 December 2015 (Torture of Shaker Aamer)Shaker Aamer rebukes extremists and terrorists, telling them to leave the UK if they don't love it.
He's not alone.
Aamer accuses Tony B'liar and other UK officials of knowing about his torture, during which UK agents were present.
14 December 2015 (Keep on laughing at Trump)Don't Ban Donald Trump. Just Keep on Laughing at Him.
14 December 2015 (Local councils in Salafi Arabia)17 women have been elected to local councils in Salafi Arabia, overcoming the tremendous handicaps imposed by that country's sexist laws.
However, these councils do not even theoretically offer women a path to changing the laws that oppress them.
Islamic law is fundamentally opposed to human rights, and deserves to be considered a gross injustice.
14 December 2015 (Less disposable income)British companies make more money than 15 years ago, and workers have less disposable income than 15 years ago.
This is dooH niboR at work.
14 December 2015 (Charter schools in the US)Charter schools in the US provide an avenue for private owners get public money for their private businesses.
I suppose that's why so many local and state policies to encourage charter schools were set up: due to pressure from the businesses that intended to enrich themselves.
Since charter schools do not in general provide a better education (this supposed benefit was the ostensible reason for them), we should phase them out. Creating them was a mistake, and those policies were a mistake.
14 December 2015 (Raqqa and Mosul are prisons)People living in Raqqa and Mosul say they are now simply prisons.
Can't they find any guns, any knives, any suicide bombs with which to kill the PISSI militants?
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Repudiate bigotry)US citizens: repudiate Trump's bigotry.
13 December 2015 (Sweden will finally question Assange)Sweden will finally question Assange about the sex charges against him.
Assange and Ecuador both said years ago that they would let Swedish officials question him in the embassy. Swedish prosecutors have dragged their feet in a way that confirms that they are not really interested in justice on these charges, rather using them as an excuse.
The acts that Assange is accused of doing are not "rape" as the term is normally used. Swedish law is more strict than in most countries.
13 December 2015 (Altered history of fiscal crisis)Clinton uses an altered history of the fiscal crisis to excuse her opposition to the reforms that are really necessary, such as restoring the Glass-Steagall act.
I read previously that Bill Clinton had no real choice about the repeal of Glass-Steagall, because it was passed with a veto-proof majority. But this does not excuse anyone from the duty to fight to bring it back.
13 December 2015 (Chat program)A new chat program tries to provide privacy about who is talking with whom.
I'm not an encryption expert, and I can't judge whether it provides good security.
13 December 2015 (Inequality)Inequality Is Now Killing [people in] Middle America.
13 December 2015 (TPP)How the TPP Will Affect You and Your Digital Rights (if it goes into effect).
13 December 2015 (Syria)After some rebels evacuated al-Waer, in Homs, others have made a cease fire with Assad's rule.
13 December 2015 (Poland)Poles held a large protest against the recently elected right-wing government which seems to be trying to twist the constitution.
13 December 2015 (1.5C of global heating)With 1.5C of global heating, the Seychelles may still exist. 2C of global heating will probably inundate the flat coastal parts of the islands.
They would still have the mountainous inland areas, but couldn't grow any food there.
13 December 2015 (Cell-site simulators)Government, Can You Hear Me Now? Cell-site Simulators Aren't Secret Anymore.
13 December 2015 (Bernie Sanders)A number of interesting points about Bernie Sanders.
If Clinton wins the Democratic nomination, I won't vote for her. She's a plutocratist, part of the problem rather than the solution. If we keep voting for the lesser plutocratist, our government will get more and more plutocratist. I will vote Green.
I support Sanders because he's not just a lesser evil. He's good.
13 December 2015 (Climate)"Until governments undertake to keep fossil fuels in the ground, they will continue to undermine agreement they have just made."
13 December 2015 (Atheists in Lincoln)Atheists in Lincoln, Nebraska, booked all the exhibition space in the state capitol building so that no sectarian exhibit can be presented about Christmas.
It is not right to promote a religion in a state capitol building. It is also not right to censor any view by cornering the market on places to present it, but the atheists didn't do that. There must be plenty of places in Lincoln, outside the capitol, where manger displays for Christmas can be set up '-- churches, for instance.
13 December 2015 (Paris climate deal)The main points of the deal agreed in Paris.
Paris climate agreement 'may signal end of fossil fuel era', according to optimists.
This agreement could very well start a process leading towards truly curbing global heating. I fear we can't afford to lose that time in getting started. The agreement will still raise global temperatures 3 to 4 degrees centigrade. The problem is, it involves "no action, just promises". When a country adopts a long-term emissions target without policies that will realize it, it may never adopt suitable policies. By the time the target is not met, it is too late.
13 December 2015 (France's "states of emergency")France's constitution may be changed to support long-term repressive "states of emergency".
13 December 2015 (Unhappiness)Some research suggests that unhappiness does not predispose people to illness.
There are distinct questions here:
Factual: does being unhappy tend to cause other sorts of harm to you?Moral: is unhappiness something unfortunate that happens to you, or is it wrong on your part?The research suggests that the answer to (1) is no. That's fortunate, for unhappy people. But whatever the answer to (1) is, it does not mean that being unhappy is blameworthy. If there is no ethical, reliable way to decide to be happy, then your unhappiness is no more your fault than an injury or a birth defect.
13 December 2015 (H-1B visas)Senator Cruz is proposing to block companies from using H1B visas to bring foreign workers to the US temporarily for training.
It is a good cause, but his solution operates by closing off H-1B visas except for very highly paid jobs. I think the solution should more directly address the problem.
I propose that any company or division hiring H-1B workers should be forbidden to eliminate any US jobs for the next two years, unless it has suffered a big drop in gross sales, or to move any work out of the US or to a subcontractor during that time. Fines for violations should be very high.
Also, workers who are told to train their successors (and then be fired) should refuse to train them, or quit immediately. Resisting oppression calls for some guts.
13 December 2015 (Spying companies)Making tech companies spy on their users for the state is unamerican, and useless too.
An issue not mentioned here is, which criterion is used to define terrorism? Do attacks on abortion clinics count? They ought to, but so far the US government is not treating them as terrorism.
13 December 2015 (Moral Failure of Computer Scientists)The Moral Failure of Computer Scientists: an interview with Phillip Rogaway.
Perhaps we need a Bulletin of the Information Scientists.
13 December 2015 (PISSI)PISSI seduces naive youths by offering a cause and a community to people who feel that no one takes them seriously.
13 December 2015 (New system for work)It would be good to change legally required pension schemes so that they are not connected with any particular employer.
The article's picture of the "future of work" shows distortions. "An algorithm matches you with a gig that optimizes your income opportunity"? Not likely. Rather, it will optimize the income of the company that runs it, as it accumulates data about you that it will sell to someone.
Will you be able to decide when to work? Maybe in theory, but in practice you'll find out at 08:00 that you have to work for 4 hours from 11:00 to 15:00 or go without.
13 December 2015 (Reliable gene editing)Now that reliable gene editing has been developed, it will certainly be used to eliminate hereditary diseases. To deny people this remedy would be too cruel.
I don't think it is bad in principle to make enhancements using this technology. However, designing an enhanced human that doesn't already exist is not as straightforward as replacing a defective gene with its normal counterpart. Until a number of people with a certain supposed enhancement grow up, we won't know whether the change is an enhancement or an impediment.
13 December 2015 (CO2 emissions)The carbon emissions commitments of some countries are so weak that their emissions will keep increasing. What should we do about this?
Since this is about avoiding global disaster, the response implicitly proposed in the article (Just give up) is stupid. What we really need to do is make those countries reduce emissions.
Given the hundreds of millions of deaths this disaster is likely to cause globally, emitting too much carbon is an act of war. It would be justified to bomb coal-burning power plants to stop their emissions, if nothing less can do the job.
13 December 2015 (Artificial gene drives)Artificial gene drives make it possible to modify entire wild populations of organisms that reproduce sexually and don't take long to mature. For instance, we could modify wild mosquitoes so that they can't carry malaria. We could wipe out populations of invasive species, such as zebra mussels or asian carp in the US.
Because it is possible to remove the drive later, if any of the drive-harboring asian carp got back to Asia where these fish normally live, we could easily eliminate the drive to protect the species in the range where it belongs.
13 December 2015 (Images generator site taken down)A web site that generated images in the style of handwritten signs used in the London subway ("Underground") was taken down at the request of the subway. The subway said the site was being used to generate racist signs and presented this as legal grounds for censorship. Racist messages are nasty, but it's wrong to shut down a medium of communication just because some people used it communicate nasty messages. The UK does not respect freedom of speech enough, but I hope that this demand was not legally enforceable there.
I would have refused all along to use a web site to generate parody signs, because doing such a job using someone else's service is SaaSS (Service as a Software Substitute).
Any digital service automatically gives the service operator power over its users. This service's operator demonstrated that power when he shut it down, thus stopping people from making any more signs no matter what the messages. In addition, users could not freely alter any aspects of how the service worked, except those for which it offered explicit settings. The service controlled that too.
The right way to make these sign images, or do any computing job that involves you alone, is with a free program you run in your own computer. That way, the program's author does not subsequently have power over the users once they get copies.
If the developer had released a free program to do this, he would not have been able to "shut it down" on demand.
13 December 2015 (Addiction to video)Young children are getting addicted to video to the point that they don't experience much real social interaction.
13 December 2015 (Growth of racist hate groups in the US)Trump's bigotry is encouraging the growth of racist hate groups in the US.
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Oppose restriction of web linking)Everyone: call on the EU not to restrict web linking.
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Pardon Jeffrey Sterling)US citizens: call on Obama to pardon Jeffrey Sterling.
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Stop forced marriages)Everyone: call on Burkina Faso to save girls from being forced into marriage.
13 December 2015 (Destroying the Great Barrier Reef)Australia's planet-roaster "environment minister", whose mission is to trash the environment, demanded to be allowed to speak after a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef, which will be destroyed by CO2 emissions along with all the other coral reefs.
It's not just the heat, it's the acidity.
13 December 2015 (Chicago Mayor's support for killer thugs)Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual hopes to get away with having supported killer thugs by giving an "apology" without admitting he did anything wrong.
Emanuel is directly responsible, and he should resign.
After he is gone, Chicago could have a chance to elect someone who would be mayor during the daytime. Emanuel is just a night-mayor.
13 December 2015 (Pakistan's fighting against Taliban)Pakistan's fighting against the Taliban has pushed many foreign jihadis into Afghanistan.
While this may be difficult for Afghanistan, at least it is a sign of progress.
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Oppose arms sale to Salafi Arabia)US citizens: Reps and Senators, oppose sale of arms to Salafi Arabia.
13 December 2015 (Urgent: Include Syrian Kurds in negotiations)Everyone: call for including the Syrian Kurds in multilateral negotiations about Syria's future.
13 December 2015 (Injustice of the "no-fly list")Rejection of a bill to block gun purchases by people on the "no-fly list" has called attention to the injustice of that list.
That list is punishment without trial, and if that's not bad enough, it is punishment secretly sprung on people after they have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars on nonrefundable tickets they can't use. No one lawfully present or resident in the US should be blocked from riding in US airline flights except as punishment for a crime.
As for people not lawfully present or resident in the US, the government has the option of denying them entry, which is both more effective and more legitimate than the no-fly list.
Blocking people from buying guns is more legitimate than blocking people from flying, so it is ok to do that based on weaker criteria. However, there are limits to what this can achieve. Blocking a small list of people will not stop attacks by undetectable small teams. But perhaps nothing can stop that.
13 December 2015 (Microbeads banned from soap)The US House of Representatives passed a bill to ban microbeads from soap and toothpaste.
Microbeads are harmful to marine life, and sewage treatment does not stop them from getting into waterways.
13 December 2015 (Chicago thugs)Chicago thugs who shot Ronald Johnson dead say he was carrying a pistol. His mother says the pistol was planted on him after he was shot.
DA Alvarez, following her general tendency, is protecting the thugs.
Neither of them merits our unreserved trust. The thugs could be lying to excuse their actions. The mother could be saying what she wishes were true. But the fact that witnesses report that thugs told them what to say suggests that the thugs are lying.
12 December 2015 (Killings by thugs and tax cuts)Relating killings by US thugs to US tax cuts.
12 December 2015 (Cory Doctorow)Cory Doctorow: don't think of trying to work for the NSA so as to limit its wrongs. Great heroes have tried and failed.
12 December 2015 (Low price of oil)The low price of oil is making most oil extraction projects unprofitable to invest in. It the price stays low, it will limit the oil extracted to the fraction which is cheap to extract.
That's good, but the low price also reduces the incentive to invest in renewable energy and increased efficiency. And it tends to encourage investment in burning oil in the future (though that may take years).
Increased tax on oil, or a carbon tax, would give us the best of both worlds: the extraction projects would still be unprofitable, while renewables and efficiency increases would be encouraged.
12 December 2015 (US stopped a hunger strike)Demonstrating cruelty, the US government stopped a hunger strike in an immigration prison by threatening to force-feed the prisoners.
Remember that most of these prisoners have not been charged with a crime, let alone convicted. The US keeps them in prison as preparation for possibly deporting them. It may be legitimate to deport them, but that is no excuse for force-feeding them.
12 December 2015 (DuPont and Dow Merger)The DuPont and Dow Chemical Merger: Bad Deal for People and the Planet.
The merger of two large companies that operate in the same areas reduces competition in all the areas they both operate in. Splitting that company according to area of operation does nothing to increase competition in any one of the areas. Thus, the overall effect is to reduce competition.
12 December 2015 (Pinochet's man)One of General Pinochet's men phoned a talk show to confess to murdering dissidents under orders.
I guess his conscience insisted on this. He said that he would have been killed if he refused.
12 December 2015 (Turkey)On the politics and irrationality of Western responses to Syria: "So Why Did Turkey Shoot Down That Russian Plane?"
12 December 2015 (Oklahoma thug)Oklahoma thug convicted of raping 12 women after intimidating them with is power to threaten them.
12 December 2015 (Airlines and global heating)If Airlines Care About [global heating] They Should Make Everyone Travel Economy.
12 December 2015 (Egypt's censorship)Egypt's censorship is being applied repressively to all media.
12 December 2015 (UK praises China)The UK is sucking up to China so hard that it praised China on Human Rights Day.
12 December 2015 (Decline of US middle class)Figures demonstrate the decline of the US middle class.
12 December 2015 (US meat production)US meat production has decreased since 2009, but use of antibiotics in farms has increased by almost 1/4.
We're going to pay with our lives for this folly.
12 December 2015 (Third Runway)Never Mind a Third Runway '-- What Heathrow Needs Is Managed Decline.
12 December 2015 (1.5C as maximum target)1.5C of heating as a maximum target is a lot safer for everyone than 2C.
The farther heating goes, the more chance of triggering some positive feedback which would shove it far above 2C.
12 December 2015 (Ohio thug)An Ohio thug has been indicted for two different killings.
12 December 2015 (Cuban dissidents)Cuban Dissidents Say 100 Detained in Human Rights Day Protest Crackdown.
12 December 2015 (Raif Badawi on hunger strike)Jailed Saudi Blogger Raif Badawi on Hunger Strike.
12 December 2015 (US plans to punish Europeans)The US plans to punish Europeans with connections to Iran because of a murder carried out by by Pakistanis inspired by Salafi Arabia. However, neither Pakistan nor Salafi Arabia are affected by this bill.
I suggest that the European Union retaliate by requiring visas from Americans whose family name starts with R. Paul Ryan, for instance. The absurdity of this response will show the absurdity of what the US is doing.
12 December 2015 (Fight against PISSI)The US announces "progress" in fighting PISSI, but the supposed progress may not mean anything.
The US tends to label any "military-age males" killed by air strikes as enemy fighters, but that's definitely an exaggeration. If air strikes in Ramadi killed 350 military-age males, we have no idea how many were fighting for PISSI and how many were civilians.
The caution of the army attacking Ramadi is likely to result in fewer casualties to soldiers, but could cause more casualties to civilians in Ramadi, which would build support for PISSI.
As for a few leaders killed, such a group can always replace them as long as more people are volunteering.
12 December 2015 (Malaria)People have made great progress against malaria using insecticide-treated mosquito nets, but mosquitos are developing resistance to the insecticides.
If we step up the effort, we could cut off malaria transmission in some areas.
12 December 2015 (Thailand)Thai Man Arrested for Facebook 'like' of Doctored Royal Photo. He supported a campaign that criticized Thai corruption.
After a Thai investigator fled to Australia fearing for his life, Thailand looks to charge him with "defamation" for saying so.
Thailand's repressive government does not care that he said it in Australia.
To visit Thailand is an act of folly -- stay away!
12 December 2015 (Volkswagen)Volkswagen explains that the "defeat devices" that faked emissions levels for tests came from a system that had a tendency to do this.
12 December 2015 (Overprotectiveness)A small step against overprotectiveness: the US "no child left alone" law has been amended to say that it does not criminalize parents for allowing a child to walk to school.
12 December 2015 (Discussion of Islamic terrorism)Western discussion of Islamic terrorists studiously avoids mentioning how Salafi Arabia and Qatar promote their ideology and fund their attacks.
12 December 2015 (US teachers)Some US teachers are leading their students to treat Muslim students as terrorists.
I think it would be useful for non-Islamist Muslims to invent a term to describe themselves, so that they can say in a positive way what they stand for, without using a negation. Then, when someone asks them, "Are you an Islamist", they can say, "No, I'm an XYZ, and proud of it."
12 December 2015 (Give away expired food)France is passing a law to require supermarkets to give away "expired" food.
12 December 2015 (Sanders on Trump)Sanders presents the positive response to Trump's randomly scattered hatred.
12 December 2015 (Mental health care)Mental health care is unavailable to half the Americans that need it. Perhaps as a result, they are more likely to get killed by thugs.
12 December 2015 (Global heating)Global heating threatens to inundate Tangier Island in the Chesapeake Bay, turning it first into a marsh, then later into open water.
Only 500 people live their now, but it's not the only place in the US that is going to be under water.
Spending money to protect each vulnerable place is stupid. We should spend it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and thus protect them all at once.
12 December 2015 (Syria)Without Syrians at the Front And Centre of Talks, There Can Be No Lasting Peace.
12 December 2015 (ACLU)ACLU: FBI Director Completely Ignores Anti-Abortion, Right-Wing Terror, Focuses Exclusively on Muslims.
12 December 2015 (UK tax on renewable energy)The UK's government isn't satisfied with eliminating subsidies for wind and solar energy. Now it plans to tax them heavily.
12 December 2015 (China)China has cancelled the punishments applied to children who were born in violation of the one-child-per-family law.
I supported limiting families to one child, but it was wrong to punish the children. They are not responsible for who decided to have them.
12 December 2015 (California thug)A woman raped by a California thug, under the guise of a "cavity search", had the courage to report it and sue.
12 December 2015 (France will not ban Tor)The Prime Minister of France says France will not ban public WiFi or use of Tor.
It is not clear how broad the requirement for companies to break their client's encryption will be.
12 December 2015 (Dow and DuPont)Dow and DuPont want to merge.
Large companies should never be allowed to merge. Let's hope that today's weakened antitrust laws provide a basis to block it.
12 December 2015 (Elections in Venezuela)The Venezuelan right wing has repeatedly accused Chavez of stealing elections. We see now that the elections in Venezuela are honest.
However, I fear that the antisocialists, now in power, will change that. Republicans in the US have perfected several methods of rigging elections that they could follow.
12 December 2015 (China)China has arrested many labor activists in Canton (Guangdong).
12 December 2015 (Ivory smuggling)Japan's failure to act against ivory smuggling is impeding efforts to protect elephants.
12 December 2015 (Human Trafficking Investigator)Thailand's Most Senior Human Trafficking Investigator to Seek Political Asylum in Australia.
The investigations lead to people high up in the army and the thugs.
12 December 2015 (South Korea)South Korea is becoming repressive: a union leader who sought refuge in a Buddhist temple has been arrested.
12 December 2015 (Feminism)Now that feminism has revived, it can do a lot of good, but also threatens censorship.
I support feminism except when it starts to attack freedom of speech. Calling someone a "slut" is nasty, and foolish as well: it presumes a prudish sexist idea of good and bad sexual conduct. Let's rebuke anyone who calls anyone a "slut" '-- we could call then "Taliban" '-- but people have a right to say nasty, prudish, sexist things.
No matter how nasty a statement is, censorship is nastier.
12 December 2015 (dooH niboR)UK right-wing policies of dooH niboR are spreading hunger.
12 December 2015 (Homs)Syrian rebels evacuated the city of Homs, under cease fire.
12 December 2015 (Antibiotics to animals)Many countries feed more antibiotics to healthy animals than the humans use. This provokes antibiotic resistance in the bacteria that inhabit the animals,which spreads to bacteria that can infect humans.
12 December 2015 ("Reconciled" CISA)The "reconciled" version of CISA contains all the worst snooping provisions approved by the House and Senate.
12 December 2015 (US competition law)Anheuser-Busch is taking advantage of a gap in US competition law to push small competitors out of supermarkets.
This shows one more way that US competition law needs to be strengthened. It should also prohibit the sort o contracts that Microsoft pushed on PC manufacturers, by which they agree to pay for a Windows license even when they sell a computer without Windows.
12 December 2015 (Thailand's censorship)Under Thailand's tyranny, any criticism of repression can be twistedly labeled as "insulting the monarchy" which makes it a target of repression.
12 December 2015 (Vicious ideas)You can't stop vicious ideas, whether those of Trump or those of PISSI, by banning them.
12 December 2015 (Alaska permafrost)One quarter of Alaska permafrost could melt by 2100 '-- US Geological Survey.
Since this would release a lot of methane, we'd be truly cooked.
12 December 2015 (FBI director)The FBI director has returned to demanding an end to encryption that really works.
Imagine if someone like Trump becomes president and starts using the US spy apparatus to find and imprison scapegoats.
12 December 2015 (Louvre)Activists protested at the Louvre against its acceptance of sponsorship from an oil company.
Isn't it cute how the oil company sums up plutocratic rule: "In recent years, the relationship between business and society has changed."
Protests like this are very important for turning fossil fuel companies into the pariahs they deserve to be. Having dealings with those companies should make a person or organization the object of general scorn. This is necessary because it will reduce their plutocratic power to block necessary action to avoid disaster.
12 December 2015 (CISA)Librarians and privacy advocates oppose CISA together.
12 December 2015 (Ramie Abounaja)Ramie Abounaja displayed a Palestinian flag from his dorm window, so George Washington University sent a thug to make him take it down, then made some unclear disciplinary accusation against him.
It is formally prohibited to hang flags from a window, but students that hang other flags never get bothered.
12 December 2015 (War in Ukraine)The war in Ukraine has quieted down since August; the cease-fire has held. It is no longer serves Putin's purposes to heat it up.
A total of 9,000 deaths are estimated.
12 December 2015 (Senate's torture report)While Obama's officials refuse to read the Senate's torture report, Republicans are trying to destroy all copies, so as to cover up US crimes.
12 December 2015 (Germany pays fascists)Germany is still paying pensions to those still living of 37,000 Spaniards who fought for Hitler.
12 December 2015 (Encryption)"Everything you need to know about encryption: Hint, you're already using it."
This article exhibits a blind spot that is common in writing about the issue: namely, it is unwilling to consider that the US government's official use of a back door might be for evil.
I'm not willing to maintain that blind spot. What if we have President Trump, or someone like him?
12 December 2015 (Scapegoat the Internet)Trump and Clinton are both scapegoating the internet.
12 December 2015 (American housing)Community land trusts and public housing can make life better for people that privately owned housing.
12 December 2015 (Diesel generators)The UK is promoting diesel generators over renewable generators.
12 December 2015 (Afghan army)The Afghan army is having trouble winning support from the people because it kills too many civilians.
12 December 2015 (Visa restrictions)The US is on track to make it inconvenient for Europeans to enter the US if they have visited Iraq, Syria, Iran or Sudan.
This will hit Europeans who participated in humanitarian, diplomatic and business activities in those countries. Yet another US attack against Medecins Sans Fronti¨res.
Ironically, it will also hurt any Europeans that worked for the US mercenary companies such as Blackwater (or whatever it's called today).
12 December 2015 (US thugs)The FBI will start counting people killed by thugs in the US.
12 December 2015 (Sanders about fossil fuels)Sanders states how he will achieve big cuts in US fossil fuel emissions, as well as banning some of the most dangerous or polluting forms of fossil fuel extraction.
12 December 2015 (Sanders)Sanders told reporters not to neglect US poverty and injustice out of obsession with how to deal with PISSI.
12 December 2015 (Global heating disaster)Humanity must invest 7 trillion dollars a year to avoid global heating disaster.
That is 20 times what we invested in this in 2014.
Fortunately, we can get most of that 7 trillion by taking it from investment in fossil fuel use.
12 December 2015 (Trump)A danger from Trump is that he makes serious bigots seem within the range of normal views.
12 December 2015 (Gun control)Gun killings in the US today are running at half the rate of 20 years ago. Americans need not feel terrified of being shot.
Although the total death rate from shooting is going down, the death rate from multiple shooting incidents is rising. Common sense gun control measures can't make multiple shooting impossible, but could reduce how often they happen.
Also, prohibiting large magazines nationwide would eventually make them scarce. That would reduce, in many cases, the number that a shooter can succeed in killing.
12 December 2015 (Philip Coleman)Philip Coleman was lying on a cot in jail when Chicago thugs came into his sell and repeatedly tased him. Coleman died shortly after.
12 December 2015 (Global heating)Global heating denialists for hire, by the hour, to write reports to support planet-roasters.
12 December 2015 (Cease-fire in Syria)There may be a real prospect of a cease-fire in Syria among the sides other than PISSI.
12 December 2015 (Windows 10)Microsoft is attacking computers that run Windows 7 and 8, switching on a flag that says whether to "upgrade" to Windows 10 when users have turned it off.
This, by the way, reaffirms the presence of a universal back door in Windows 7 and 8.
12 December 2015 (Oil Fuels War)Oil Fuels War and Terrorists Like [PISSI]. The Climate Movement Can Bring Peace.
12 December 2015 (TPP)Clinton: will you take actions to oppose the TPP?
12 December 2015 (PISSI)Foreign recruits continue flowing to PISSI.
It is very important to cut off the flow, since PISSI's training turns many somewhat-confused people into expert soldiers. But the only way to do it is to close the border with Turkey. Erdogan won't do it, so it has to be done by ground troops on the Syrian side.
12 December 2015 (Paris climate conference)Saudi Arabia is trying to poison the Paris climate conference.
China and India are also blocking a strong agreement.
12 December 2015 (Disabled people)The UK is planning to cut the support for disabled people, supposedly to give them an incentive to do the work that they can't do.
11 December 2015 (Urgent: Endorse a president)US citizens: tell Democracy For America who you suggest it should endorse for president. (I chose Sanders.)
11 December 2015 (Human rights violations in Rio)Rio Olympics Linked to Widespread Human Rights Violations, Report Reveals.
When the games start, other forms of harshness are likely to start, including chasing away street vendors so certain elect businesses can get the spectators' business. Meanwhile, there may well be new systems of surveillance and new harsh laws that will be permanent.
The city of Boston wisely killed Boston's bid to hold Olympic games.
11 December 2015 (Planned highways and railroads in Africa)Planned highways and railroads in Africa could destroy the currently roadless ecosystems they run through.
11 December 2015 (Demand for ivory in China falling)Demand for ivory in China is falling, which bodes well for elephants.
The question is whether this is due to a change in attitudes or only to China's current economic slump.
11 December 2015 (Legalizing MDMA)MDMA (Ecstasy) is already quite safe, but legalizing it would make it even safer.
11 December 2015 (Forcible return of exiled Chinese dissidents)Several countries are forcibly handing exiled Chinese dissidents to China. They include Thailand, and even Vietnam, which is not generally friendly with China.
11 December 2015 (Canadian oil exports)Even without the cancelled Keystone XL pipeline, Canadian oil exports via the US have almost doubled since a year ago.
11 December 2015 (How Trump attracts support)Much like PISSI with its beheading videos, Trump attracts support by proposing shocking actions.
His reaction is what PISSI hopes to provoke. So is the success of bigots in French elections.
11 December 2015 (Zuism)Iceland has its own counterpart to Pastafarianism: Zuism worships ancient Sumerian gods, and will give its members a refund of their mandatory tax surcharge to support churches.
11 December 2015 (Australian islands being flooded)As Australia pushes for more coal export, some Australian islands are gradually being flooded, and changing weather is killing their crops.
11 December 2015 (Enforcement of Geneva Conventions)Proposing a mechanism to enforce compliance with the Geneva Conventions.
11 December 2015 (PISSI's loss of profitability)A commentator suggests that PISSI's loss of profitability might make the groups that support it split apart.
11 December 2015 (Trump cites unscientific poll)Trump Cites Unscientific Poll From Fringe Group in Call for Banning Muslim Immigration.
11 December 2015 (Liberate scientific knowledge)Calling on the public to liberate scientific knowledge through forbidden sharing of the articles and books that embody it.
11 December 2015 (Tortured in Egypt, imprisoned in Australia)Mubarak's thugs tortured Sayed Abdellatif into confessions that appear to be false, but Australia uses them as an excuse to imprison him.
11 December 2015 (England hit hard with floods)Global heating is hitting England hard with great floods that would have been extremely rare in the past.
The government continues going all-out to make this worse.
11 December 2015 (The Paris conference)10 criteria for judging whether the agreement from the Paris conference will do what needs to be done.
11 December 2015 (Finland considers universal basic income)Finland is considering a universal basic income.
11 December 2015 (Disagreeing with Putin)A "liberal" Russian TV channel which disagrees with Putin is being examined for "extremism".
11 December 2015 (1.5C limit for global heating)The US, China, Canada and the EU are supporting a 1.5C limit for global heating.
It is necessary to make India accept this target. Flooding other countries is an act of war; perhaps the US and China should convey to Modi that they will preemptively bomb India's coal-burning power plants to stop India from flooding cities such as New York, Washington, Miami, Nanjing and Shanghai.
Of course, this would be hypocritical if the US and China don't do their share to prevent the flooding.
10 December 2015 (Global heating denial)Fossil fuel companies continue funding denialism. Fortunately, one of their events in Paris was a risible failure.
I fear the companies that are "sponsoring" the Paris climate negotiations are having a lot more influence.
10 December 2015 (Renewable energy plan for Africa)A large renewable energy plan could lead Africa away from fossil fuels.
This could make life better for many people in Africa, but if we don't make India drop its plans for burning coal, people may not be able to live there at all.
10 December 2015 (The WTO)The WTO will try to fine the US a billion dollars unless it abolishes country-of-origin meat labels.
Let's abolish the WTO instead. The WTO's purpose is to undermine democracy in all the countries that have signed it, transferring power from the legislature to multinational businesses.
The plutocratists try to distract us from this effect by comparing exports and imports, which slips in the assumption that the interests of Americans are nothing but a matter of total economic consumption.
Even aside from questions of whether the economy is sustainable, economic growth in all countries doesn't help most people if it is achieved in a way that benefits the rich at the expense of the non-rich. To prevent that, we need to make laws that assure the wealth is spread around and that businesses don't hurt the public. These laws are precisely what "free trade" treaties attack. They also make it hard to maintain unions.
Don't let the plutocratists distract you from the real issue at stake. And please organize now to defeat the TPP!
10 December 2015 (Global greenhouse emissions)Global greenhouse emissions fell in 2015, but they are still so high that disaster will result; and the decrease may not last.
10 December 2015 (UK rightwing gov't plans for universities)The UK's rightwing government plans to reduce universities to the status of training institutions for the "labor market".
09 December 2015 (New Spanish Pun)El jaguar muerde
08 December 2015 (Urgent: Make oil and gas extractors pay)US citizens: Support the BLM's proposed rule to make oil and gas extractors pay for all they extract.
08 December 2015 (Urgent: Emanuel and Alvarez's resignation)Everyone: call on Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and prosecutor Anita Alvarez to resign.
08 December 2015 (Urgent: Day in court for torture victims)US citizens: call on the attorney general to let victims of US torture have their day in court.
07 December 2015 (More government snooping)Clinton, like the Republicans, wants more government snooping. She wants to pressure companies into bypassing encryption.
Her bogus premise is that we should keep increasing snooping until it identifies in advance all attacks by small groups. But no amount of surveillance is enough to do that, so she will always have an excuse to demand more surveillance.
Vote for Sanders for president.
07 December 2015 (Hypothetical crimes)The UK spy agency argues it should be allowed to spy on people with hardly any limits, and attack their computers, just because the hypothetical crimes are really bad.
Note the similarity between the argument in favor of massive surveillance and the argument in favor of torture: that it "just might someday" make it possible to prevent a crime. But neither massive surveillance nor torture really does this.
07 December 2015 (Malaysia approves security law)Malaysia Approves Security Law Amid Warning It Could Lead to Dictatorship.
France is following the same path; I fear for France.
07 December 2015 (Greenhouse gases emitted by airplanes)Crackpot theories about "chemtrails" are distracting people from the dangerous greenhouse gases emitted by airplanes.
Here's a conspiracy theory. Maybe the "chemtrails" idiocy was funded by the Heatland Institute (*) through ALEC.
* It calls itself the "Heartland Institute", but since its goal is to make the Earth hotter, "Heatland" fits it better.
07 December 2015 (Disobeying terms of service)A US appeals court endorsed a narrow interpretation of the CFAA: disobeying terms of service is not a crime.
This might have saved Aaron Swartz from being hounded to death.
7 December 2015 (Muslims)Muslims in London have started a campaign against fanaticism, telling a fanatic who attacked someone in a train that he is not a real Muslim.
7 December 2015 (Surveillance technology)Advancing surveillance technology threatens to make it impossible to do anything that the state does not follow.
7 December 2015 (War on PISSI)The US and France may attack PISSI in Libya, where it is expanding and is viewed by most of the public as merely an occupying army.
However, we should take care not to consider its expansion in Libya as a sign of weakness in Syria and Iraq.
Many have lost wars by underestimating the enemy.
7 December 2015 (UK Government)The UK government is eager to bomb someone, saying it must try to protect Britons from terrorism even if that is ineffective or backfires. Meanwhile, it rejects the effective measures to protect the British people from the larger threat of global heating.
7 December 2015 (Arable Land)Earth Has Lost a Third of Arable Land in Past 40 Years, Scientists Say.
We're riding the Earth too hard, and we can't keep it up for long.
7 December 2015 (Religions)Christianist terrorists, like Islamist terrorists, believe that their religion authorizes any sort of crimes.
7 December 2015 (Canadian thugs)The Canadian national thugs want to access personal data without warrants.
7 December 2015 (Elon Musk)Elon Musk condemns the 5 trillion dollars a year in damage that the fossil fuel industry is not being forced to pay for.
7 December 2015 (Nuclear power)James Hansen and some other scientists say nuclear power is needed to end carbon emissions.
I respect James Hansen, but I think he is mistaken. To develop nuclear power at the rate he proposes would require ignoring safety. He is talking about hypothetical advanced reactors that could only work many years from now, and certainly won't be available soon.
This amount of nuclear power would be so expensive that it would be cheaper to build an excess of renewable energy, plus power storage capacity.
7 December 2015 (SCROTUS)Another SCROTUS budget bill rider would allow increased consolidation in US television.
SCROTUS = Sleazy Congressional Republicans Of The United States.
7 December 2015 (Janet Alder)After Janet Alder's brother was killed by UK thugs, she started campaigning for justice, and thugs started snooping on her life looking for some way to throw dirt on her.
If it is impossible to convict the thugs in charge of this operation, the law must be changed so that next time a conviction is obtained.
7 December 2015 (Businesses' lies)Businesses surround us with little lies that no one expects us to take seriously. This can devalue truth in general.
7 December 2015 (Sanders' tax plan)Sanders' tax plan for multinational companies would raise all the money the US needs for its infrastructure.
I hope he will put a lot of the revenue into renewable energy.
7 December 2015 (Damage of global heating)Multinational oil companies face an investigation for complicity in causing the damage of global heating.
7 December 2015 (Drone attack whistleblowers)The US mainstream media ignore the drone attack whistleblowers.
7 December 2015 (Faking violence)When someone was stabbed during an art event in Miami, witnesses thought the attack was theater, part if the performance.
Faking violence as a hoax or "art" can indirectly hurt people by confusing society about how to react. It should not be illegal, but it is wise to disapprove of it.
7 December 2015 (Laquan McDonald)The official statements of several thugs about the murder of Laquan McDonald were lies '-- and the video proves it.
Is it a crime to report falsely?
7 December 2015 (Banning for no-fly listed people)Democrats proposed a law to ban people on the no-fly list from buying guns, and SCROTUS blocked it as a denial of due process.
The no-fly list is already punishment without due process. Being stopped from flying is more of a punishment than being stopped from buying a gun, and this is why the no-fly list must be abolished, or else redesigned so that people are only placed in it by a court's judgment.
At that point, it could also be applied to purchase of guns.
7 December 2015 (NSA snooping)The NSA still has the power to snoop massively on Americans, never limited as the Constitution calls for.
We have evidence from France and the US that this power doesn't prevent terrorist attacks anyway.
7 December 2015 (US parents)US parents would rather their children see violence than sex.
7 December 2015 (Indian energy plans)Modi talks about boosting solar power in India, but he still plans to double coal extraction.
To some extent, the new coal mines in India will replace coal imports. However, continuing to burn so much coal will bring disaster regardless of where it is mined.
7 December 2015 (Hello Barbie)A week with Hello Barbie: it constantly tells you what good friends you are, then asks you for personal information.
Seems designed to manipulate children into giving personal data.
7 December 2015 (Active Investigations)Why 'Active Investigations' Don't Justify Keeping Police Video Secret.
7 December 2015 (Global heating)By 2050, global heating will disrupt food production in every region of the world. This will add to the harm done by population increase.
7 December 2015 (Clinton Super PAC Donor)Clinton Super PAC Donor is Former Goldman Exec and Foreclosure Crisis Profiteer.
Clearly he expects her not to clamp down on the power of the banksters.
7 December 2015 (TPP)The TPP would prohibit laws requiring certain products come with source code, which is needed for their security and for users' right to repair.
7 December 2015 (Censorship in Thailand)The tyranny of Thailand is demonstrated by repeated censorship of New York Times articles that can hardly be said to actually criticize the Thai monarchy.
7 December 2015 (Terrorism)Many Americans are too quick to assume a killing is terrorism when the killer is a Muslim, but drag their feet against acknowledging Christianist terrorism.
I use the term "Christianist" for Christians that want to impose laws that come from their religion, by analogy with "Islamist". Only a fraction of Christianists and Islamists are violent, but all are enemies of human rights.
7 December 2015 (Brazil women)Brazil has advised women not to get pregnant now, because a virus once in a rare while causes microcephaly.
It ought to be possible to abort the very few fetuses that develop microencephaly, but I suppose Brazil doesn't respect women's rights that much.
On the other hand, a substantial reduction in births would be quite useful too.
7 December 2015 (MSF clinic bombed)US-supported Salafi Arabia bombed an MSF clinic in Yemen.
7 December 2015 (Kazakhstan)Kazakhstan, which is a total tyranny, is ordering all internet users to install back doors in their computers.
This goes only a little beyond how the UK plans to attack all internet users.
7 December 2015 (Burundi)The tyrant of Burundi demands that everyone join his party; those who don't are beaten. Those who try to flee are killed if caught.
7 December 2015 (Moral Character of Cryptographic Work)The Moral Character of Cryptographic Work.
Encryption alone cannot protect our privacy from all the systems of snooping that have been set up in today's "free" countries '-- only partly from some. We need to redesign systems so that they do not accumulate data about people other than court-designated suspects.
7 December 2015 (Population growth)Human population growth continues to threaten humanity, as it is on a collision course with the food shortages that global heating does and will cause.
If we don't want people to remain poor, we must make fewer of them.
7 December 2015 (CO2)We must go beyond "zero carbon emissions" and actively reduce the CO2 level in Earth's atmosphere.
The urgency is in the first step. Once that is done, reducing the CO2 level may prevent the subsequent inundation of some of the cities that are threatened.
7 December 2015 (Maria Hasankolli)Maria Hasankolli overslept and her 8-year-old child walked to school. She faces ten years in prison for this unconscious act.
When I was 8 years old, I walked to school every day. So did everyone else in my school. But that was in Manhattan. Perhaps these nasty fools think that Connecticut is a more dangerous place than Manhattan.
7 December 2015 (Trade In Services Agreement)The secret negotiations for the Trade In Services Agreement propose to prohibit subsidies, or any sort of preferences, for renewable energy.
This is typical of how "trade treaties" betray the people: subordinating everything that really matters to business interests.
This is based on the leaked text of one chapter.
6 December 2015 (Thugs deleted footage to cover up murder)Thugs deleted part of the Burger King store's security video recording in order to cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald.
6 December 2015 (Court case over Facebook data storage in the US)A European court case demands that Facebook cease sending Europeans' data to the US.
6 December 2015 (Corporations exempting themselves from tax)Around the world corporations are exempting themselves from taxation, forcing too much tax burden onto individuals, especially the non-rich.
In the past, countries have been weakened because too much property ended up in the hands of untaxable churches. Churches or corporations, it's the same phenomenon.
6 December 2015 (On trial for handing out jury pamphlet)Prosecutors stretch laws and ignore the constitution to attack people that distribute information from the Fully Informed Jury Association about the purpose of juries.
When someone is on trial for handing out a pamphlet, I wonder whether the pamphlet must be entered in evidence for the jury to examine.
6 December 2015 (Westerners who fight PISSI prosecuted)Westerners who fight along with the Kurds in Syria and Iraq, against PISSI, are often prosecuted just like those that fight for PISSI.
6 December 2015 (Urgent: reject spending bills with Republican riders)US citizens: phone the White House at (202) 456-1111 and leave a message for President Obama, calling for rejecting spending bills with nasty Republican riders.
Whether they are tax breaks for companies, or attacks on Planned Parenthood, or attacks on the environment, or attacks on food labeling requirements, or anything else, Obama should reject them one and all.
6 December 2015 (SCROTUS preparing tax breaks for businesses)While SCROTUS continue to cut spending that helps people, they are preparing big tax breaks for businesses.
6 December 2015 (Thirty meter telescope cancelled)The thirty meter telescope, which would have been by far the largest telescope in the northern hemisphere, has been cancelled because some of the ground it would be built on is considered "sacred". Faith has, apparently, triumphed over knowledge.
Can any other place can be found to build this telescope?
Another telescope, even larger, is planned for Chile, where it will be able to observe the southern skies '-- but parts of the northern skies will be outside its range.
6 December 2015 (Zuckerberg helps himself)Zuckerberg "donated" most of his assets '-- to a new corporation he owns. And he calls that "charity".
6 December 2015 (Trudeau only good compared to predecessor)New Canadian PM Trudeau looks great on global heating, but only because he is compared with the over planet-roaster Harper.
6 December 2015 (Chicago Mayor in murder coverup)Chicago Mayor Emanuel seems to have tried to cover up the murder of Laquan McDonald in order to get the black vote for reelection as mayor.
I gave to Chuy Garcia's campaign. I hope he wins next time.
6 December 2015 (UK decides to bomb PISSI)The UK decided to bomb PISSI in Syria, a gesture that will have negligible military effect.
I'm not necessarily opposed to gestures, but gestures are not a valid reason to kill people.
6 December 2015 (James Hansen calls for increasing fee on emissions)James Hansen calls for a predictably increasing fee on carbon emissions.
6 December 2015 (Sanders' proposal for affordable college)How Bernie Sanders proposes to make college affordable for masses of Americans, as we did before.
The other candidates are too much in cahoots with the rich.
6 December 2015 (US extremists trying to cut off women from contraception)US Christianist extremists are trying to cut off American women from contraceptives, but pretend this isn't so.
6 December 2015 (Urgent: please donate to the Free Software Foundation)Everyone: please donate to the Free Software Foundation.
6 December 2015 (SCROTUS threatens with government shutdown)SCROTUS are planning to threaten a government shutdown to abolish some of the laws that regulate banksters.
SCROTUS stands for Sleazy Congressional Republicans Of The United States.
6 December 2015 (Demanding resignation of Chicago Mayor)Demanding the resignation of Chicago Mayor Emmanual.
6 December 2015 (Climate negotiators hope physics will make concessions)The climate negotiators in Paris hope that nature (physics) will make concessions, if they show good intentions.
6 December 2015 (Safe zone for PISSI)Turkey wants to set up a "safe zone" in Northern Turkey '-- safe for PISSI, that is. Thus, the Kurds are opposed to it.
6 December 2015 (Prosecution of US torturers)Human Rights Watch demands prosecution of US torturers.
6 December 2015 (Prison for 3D printer files)A state in of Australia will imprison people for having 3D printer files for making a gun.
It is legitimate to prohibit making guns, but any law that makes it a crime to have a copy of some published work is tyranny. It subjects innocent people to great danger from anyone that wants to get them in trouble.
6 December 2015 (Trump exploits the internet)Trump exploits the internet with speeches that are a series of clickbait. They don't need to be coherent to succeed.
I occasionally use Google search, but Google never knows who I am. If you do the same, then your Google search is the same as mine; Google can't tell us apart.
6 December 2015 (South Korea repressing labor protesters)The President of South Korea is repressing labor protesters and tried to associate them with hypothetical terrorists.
6 December 2015 (Myths about Rosa Parks)Rosa Parks, whose arrest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, was a mature lifelong activist who had plenty of experience.
6 December 2015 (Airstrikes don't change much)People in Raqqa say that airstrikes alone don't change much. Aside from Russian airstrikes, which often hit civilians.
6 December 2015 (ALEC organizing sabotage of climate plans)ALEC, funded by fossil fuel businesses, is trying to organize Republican-controlled US states to actively sabotage US plans to avoid global heating disaster.
6 December 2015 (UK Tories adapting Republican gerrymandering)The UK Tories are adapting Republican techniques of voter suppression and gerrymandering to make the UK government nondemocratic.
6 December 2015 (Truth shines through North Korean propaganda movie)A Russian director, authorized to make a deceptive North Korean propaganda movie, found a clever way to show some of the truth.
6 December 2015 (UK cuts mean no parks, libraries, museums)Right-wing cuts in the UK mean no parks, no public libraries, no museums, no place for young people to do anything but get in trouble.
6 December 2015 (Paying to keep forests standing)Rich Countries Should Pay to Keep Tropical Forests Standing.
Avoiding global disaster will be well worth the price, but there are two issues that we must resolve:
Making sure the money spent really preserves the forests.Making the rich and the multinationals pay a fair share of tax, so they can't shrug the cost of this onto the non-rich.Paying a price to preserve forests is one thing; assigning them a value in money is another. It is a mistake to see the issue in the narrow economic terms such as "ecosystem services" and "buying them". That encourages people to treat them as fungible.
6 December 2015 (Richest 10% produce half of emissions)The World's Richest 10% Produce Half of Global Carbon Emissions.
The US must do a lot more to switch to renewable energy. This calls for spending money, perhaps instead of some weapons.
6 December 2015 (Egyptian journalist charged for talk about rebels)Another Egyptian journalist has been charged with "spreading false news" for giving a talk about the Islamist rebels in the Sinai.
6 December 2015 (China to cut emissions from electricity)China states the plan to make huge cuts in CO2 emissions from electricity by 2020.
This would be a real step forward, but don't forget the emissions from transport, home heating, factories, and agriculture.
6 December 2015 (Struggle to protect marine species)The slow struggle to establish protection of marine species threatened by overfishing takes place in the shadow of the CO2 threat to wipe out entire ecosystems and families.
6 December 2015 (US troops in Syria likely to make things worse)Sending independently operating US combat troops to fight in Syria invites making things worse.
6 December 2015 (A Turkish Gollum)Repression in Turkey has reached the point where a state employee has been fired for comparing ErdoÄan's face to that of Gollum.
When ErdoÄan doesn't understand is that he is the one bringing Turkey into disrepute.
6 December 2015 (Putin expelling Turkish citizens)Putin is expelling Turkish citizens from Russia in the harshest possible way, clearly meant as a gesture to prove what a bully he can be.
The reasons stated for this action include bullshit, plus an accusation that is probably true: that Turkey is protecting PISSI's oil export trade.
Both Turkey and Russia must be lying about what happened in the downing of the Russian jet.
6 December 2015 (Loan companies force spyware on borrowers)Loan companies, in Africa and the US, make would-be borrowers submit to total surveillance by installing spyware in their phones.
I think we need laws to prohibit companies from requiring or even asking customers (including borrowers) to run any nonfree software.
A "smart" phone is a computer. If your computer runs nonfree software, it is someone else's tool to mistreat you. There are smartphones that can run the free operating system Replicant in the main or "application" processor, but all mobile phones have nonfree software, at least in the radio communication processor.
6 December 2015 (Fined for refusing fingerprinting)An arrested protester in Paris has been fined for refusing to be fingerprinted.
Bravo!
However, I do not approve of throwing bottles or cans at the thugs. This plays into the hands of repressors.
05 December 2015 (Schoolchildren's personal data)Many schoolchildren in the US are being told by their schools to use mobile computers with proprietary software, and the machines typically give the children's personal data to some company (often Google or Apple).
If a school makes an account in a student's name with a company, it has already violated that student's privacy. If the account does not have the student's name or other personal details, sending it unencrypted information about the student's school work violates that student's privacy.
These mobile computers always run nonfree software. Parents shouldn't allow their young children to be given nonfree software by anyone.
I was surprised that the EFF legitimizes the term "the cloud", which is meant to cloud people's thinking about letting companies have their data and do things with it. There is no cloud, only computers belonging to various companies. The term "cloud" is intended to encourage people not to ask, "Which company is getting which data, what does it do with that data, and which country's jurisdiction is it under?" Please, EFF, stop encouraging this cloudy thinking.
05 December 2015 (Salafi Arabia's expensive PR campaign)Salafi Arabia's expensive PR campaign has close ties to the Clinton campaign.
05 December 2015 (The hard way to curb global heating)Billionaires' investments in centralized, subsidized and profitable energy long-shots are the hard way to curb global heating.
05 December 2015 (Investigation of insider trading)Republicans in Congress are trying to sabotage an investigation against some of them for insider stock trading.
05 December 2015 (Imprisoned in Guantanamo by mistake)After 13 years the US has admitted it put Mustafa al-Aziz al-Shamiri in Guantanamo prison by mistake, but still won't let him go.
05 December 2015 (Claims made by Tamir Rice's killer)Tamir Rice's killer was allowed to testify to his own grand jury. He made claims that can't fit the timeline shown by the video.
05 December 2015 (How to fight PISSI)Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn applies practical sense to the question of how to fight PISSI.
05 December 2015 (Obama plans to use US troops against PISSI)Obama plans to station US troops in Iraq to attack PISSI independently.
While I think the aim of attacking PISSI is legitimate, using US troops to do it is asking for trouble. Do they speak Arabic?
05 December 2015 (Chicago thug chief fired)Chicago's thug chief has been fired for helping to protect a thug from punishment for murdering Laquan McDonald.
05 December 2015 ("Male" and "female" brain features)Features in a human brain, which may have a form that is typically "male" or one that is typically "female", can change with experiences, sometimes in 15 minutes.
This suggests that the reason it is most common for the feature to have a certain form in males or in females is that males and females tend to have certain kinds of life experiences.
05 December 2015 (Tobacco company bribery)A global tobacco company bribed officials and politicians in various African companies to undermine laws intended to reduce smoking.
Big Tobacco Targets the Young in Poor Countries '-- with Deadly Consequences.
05 December 2015 (Chicago DA protects thugs from prosecution)It is no surprise that Chicago DA Alvarez prosecuted Laquan McDonald's killer only when compelled to. She shows a pattern of going to any length to protect thugs from prosecution, even prosecuting victims for complaining.
She also defends false convictions, even harassing law students who are working pro bono to investigate them, on the principle that the system should never admit a mistake.
05 December 2015 (Murder of Union organizers in Honduras)Union organizers in Honduras face murder, in which employers may be involved. The government, set up by the US-backed coup, is firmly on the side of the businesses.
05 December 2015 (Poor Americans)Poor Americans are not lazy. They work harder (on the average) than people who have more money.
05 December 2015 (Former head of DIA says US reacted stupidly)General Flynn, former head of the Defense Intelligence Agency, admitted that the US reacted stupidly in response to the September 2001 attacks.
05 December 2015 (Protest for climate defense in Paris)Ten thousand protested peacefully for climate defense in Paris, forming a human chain in defiance of the state's ban.
I love the way Naomi Klein says what's what.
After that, thousands of people formed a protest march.
Unfortunately, the black bloc turned that into a riot.
We need public defiance '-- with discipline.
05 December 2015 (Teacher and staff sit-in at CUNY)Teachers and staff at the City University of New York have held a sit-in and are moving towards a strike.
05 December 2015 (Assad's forces bomb MSF hospital)Assad's forces bombed an MSF hospital, and bombed again a few minutes later to kill medics aiding the victims.
05 December 2015 (India's ban on The Satanic Verses)A minister in power when India banned The Satanic Verses says the ban was a mistake '-- but the book remains banned.
05 December 2015 (Bombing PISSI not enough)Bombing [PISSI] Is Not Enough '-- We'll Need to Talk to Them Too.
If we can have a peaceful relationship with a state as cruel and barbaric as Salafi Arabia, in principle we can do the same with PISSI.
05 December 2015 (Distrust of thugs)People More Likely to Report Suspected Violent Extremists 'If They Trust Police'.
05 December 2015 (Climate refugees)Global heating is already sending climate refugees fleeing to Dhaka from rural Bangladesh.
4 December 2015 (Planned parenthood)Planned Parenthood employees receive death threats constantly.
4 December 2015 (Uruguay)Uruguay gets over 50% of its energy from renewables.
4 December 2015 (Public shootings)For gun manufacturers, public shootings are good for business.
4 December 2015 (Discrimination against women)At least 155 countries still have laws that discriminate against women.
04 December 2015 (Fish disappearing from Cambodia's Tonle Sap)Fish are disappearing from Cambodia's giant lake Tonle Sap. 1/3 of the protein eaten by Cambodians comes from those fish.
04 December 2015 (Dow's new dual pesticide)The EPA should carry out independent tests of the effects of Dow's new dual pesticide, not accept Dow's own experiments.
04 December 2015 (Licenses to carry concealed guns)Michigan has made it easier for possibly dangerous people to get licenses to carry concealed guns.
Gun nuts say they are opposed to the government's "taking their guns away." But this shows that their goal is not a matter of keeping guns, but rather expanding the possession and use of guns.
(There may be some guns that ought to be taken away from everyone.)
04 December 2015 (Uncertainty about climate change)Greater uncertainty about climate change means bigger risks and more reason to act.
If we don't want to take a foolish bet, with civilization at stake, we must work hard enough to make survival almost certain.
Paris Climate Talks: Vulnerable Countries Demand 1.5C Warming Limit.
We all need this, because we can't measure the distance to the cliff '-- all we know is that we are heading towards it.
04 December 2015 (Ways to counter PISSI)A list of possible ways to counter PISSI.
Only the gullible thought that killing Osama bin Laden was going to achieve anything. (And the US should have captured him and put him on trial, since it was in a position to do so.)
04 December 2015 (Poverty means lower life expectancy)In the UK, poverty means a lower life expectancy. Up to 16 years less.
04 December 2015 (Shkreli would not lower drug price)Shkreli, the drug gouger who said he would lower the price, did not really mean it. Just before Thanksgiving he announced he would not lower it.
The asshole is to blame for his own actions, but we should not allow him to get away with them. Specifically, we should not allow him to take measures to block manufacture of equivalent generics.
04 December 2015 (Public policy journalism in the US)Public policy journalism in the US is now available only to insiders and businesses willing to pay high subscription fees.
04 December 2015 (Today's Republicans)Today's Republicans make Dubya look good on one specific issue: he refused to stir up public hatred towards Muslims in general. However, this virtue was the exception to many other forms of cruelty and injustice towards American Muslims.
04 December 2015 (Blackberry will cease operations in Pakistan)Blackberry, in an act of unusual courage, will cease operations in Pakistan rather than betray all its customers.
The UK wants to make such companies secretly betray all their customers.
04 December 2015 (US cooperation with Kurds)US soldiers are fighting in Iraq in close cooperation with Kurds.
I don't see any danger in this. They are fighting on battlefields against enemy soldiers, and few civilians will be killed. This is not the sort of situation where the danger of intervention lies.
04 December 2015 (President of the Maldives)The elected president of the Maldives, Mohammed Nasheed, cannot contribute to saving humanity from global heating disaster. He is in prison, overthrown by tyrants that work in cahoots with the fossil fuel industry.
I have to wonder whether fossil fuel magnates arranged the coup to remove an inconvenient hero of humanity.
04 December 2015 (Kidnapped and burned to death)Israelis who kidnapped a Palestinian and burned him to death have been convicted of murder.
It is good that Israel can still do justice for some cases of violence against Palestinians. How sad that so many are ignored.
04 December 2015 (Likely to be killed by a thug)US thugs have killed 1000 people so far, this year.
An American is much more likely to be killed by a thug than by a terrorist.
04 December 2015 (Christianist terrorist attack)The latest Christianist terrorist attack murdered two people who were visiting the Planned Parenthood clinic.
Anti-abortion Christianist terrorism in the US has got much worse since the deceptive attack videos that were aimed at Planned Parenthood.
04 December 2015 (New Atheists)Some of the New Atheists have become supporters of right-wing Christianist policies.
I am disappointed with them.
For the most part, in the West, Christianity is willing to coexist with non-Christians. But Christianism, as a political movement, is dangerous. There are plenty of Christian fanatics who are prepared to lie to stir up terrorism against abortion providers.
04 December 2015 (Spin failure in Paris)People are already trying to spin failure in Paris as the start of a "long road" to curbing global heating in the future.
If only we had that much time to do the job! Slowness now will make doom come faster and harder. This article seems to reach for self-delusion to avoid despair.
04 December 2015 (EU participation in "peace process")Now that the EU has stopped Israel from passing off products of colonies in Palestine as "Made in Israel", Netanyahu has retaliated by cancelling EU participation in the "peace process".
The joke is that the "peace process" involving the EU is pure theater, just like the one that the US tried to broker. Netanyahu used them to pretend he wanted peace. Now he has "canceled" the remaining one, pretending that that makes a real difference and that it is a real punishment for the EU. Who knows, he may fool a few dumb klucks.
Netanyahu is pretending to have sabotaged a real peace process as an act of blackmail. If he had really done that, it would be despicable of him '-- but since it was a sham anyway, he hasn't really done anything. Somehow he claims that his pretense puts the EU in the wrong.
All this would be risible if the occupation and its effects were not so tragic.
The sham "peace process" shielded Netanyahu effectively from pressure for peace, while he made sure it would never get anywhere. Its demise is one shield stripped away.
04 December 2015 (NSA's legal authority)The NSA's legal authority to collect everyone's phone call records in the US has just expired.
Will the NSA really stop?
I don't think phone companies should be allowed to keep records of all of everyone's phone calls, either.
04 December 2015 (Kurdish human rights defender assassinated)A prominent Kurdish human rights defender was assassinated while talking to the press.
We don't know whether the Turkish state was responsible for the Elci's assassination, but we know it was responsible for his completely indefensible prosecution. The Turkish state has often engaged in violence, even fatal, against opposition political groups; this has gone on for decades.
Erdogan's party seems to have got PISSI to help out with a couple of handy bombings of Kurdish rallies. That doesn't prove it arranged the assassination, but I doubt it would have scrupled to do so.
04 December 2015 (ALEC and global heating disaster)ALEC, with the support of Ben Carson, continues to sabotage attempts to avoid global heating disaster.
ALEC has lost over a hundred sponsors, but it still gets plenty of money from the Koch brothers.
04 December 2015 (Protest messages in Paris)People are looking for clever ways to express protest messages in Paris.
I suggest the way that the civil rights movement used: walk with a sign, chanting, and dare the authorities to interfere.
04 December 2015 (TPP and TTIP)The TPP and TTIP, ostensibly meant to "liberalize trade" but designed mainly to give business more power, can sabotage efforts to avoid global heating disaster.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: Electronic Communications Privacy Act)US citizens: phone your representatives and senators to support full reform of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, requiring a search warrant in all cases.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: don't let Republicans put riders in a spending bill)US citizens: phone your senators and say, don't let Republicans put riders in a spending bill to do nasty things such as exclude Syrian refugees, or attack Planned Parenthood, or cancel network neutrality.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: support diplomacy in Syria)In the US: call on the TV show Face the Nation to have some guests that support diplomacy in Syria.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: investigate attacks on abortion providers as terrorism)US citizens: call on the Department of Justice to investigate attacks on abortion providers as terrorism.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: denying global heating)Everyone: call on the Philippes to start soon their investigation into companies suspected of dishonestly denying global heating.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: stop terrorist suspects from buying guns)US citizens: call on Senator McConnell to support a law to stop identified terrorist suspects from buying guns.
02 December 2015 (Saddam did not have weapons of mass destruction)Dubya and B'liar ignored an expert report saying that Saddam Hussein did not have weapons of mass destruction.
This does not surprise me. After so much effort to manufacture a lie, why would they have cared about the truth?
02 December 2015 ("Prosperous" cities expensive to live)Many "prosperous" cities are so expensive to live in that ordinary workers can only rent 8-hour shifts in a bed.
02 December 2015 (Fight PISSI directly)Some Republican senators want to send US troops to fight PISSI directly.
They are right that defeating PISSI requires ground troops, but Westerners that don't speak Arabic won't be able to do it. Many will hate the civilians, call them by ethnic slurs, and dehumanize them. They will have frequent misunderstandings with civilians they can't talk with, often fatally. The civilians will consider PISSI the lesser evil.
How do I know? Because we saw this happen in Iraq just 10 years ago, and this is what PISSI came out of.
For Turkish troops to fight PISSI is a pipedream, since they'd have to mutiny first. Erdogan has been protecting PISSI's communications. He wants to attack the Kurds, and PISSI has proved helpful in this.
Troops from Salafi Arabia might fight PISSI, but they would spread Salafism which is the basis of PISSI's ideology. Troops from Egypt might do the job.
02 December 2015 (The power of repeated lie)Trump demonstrates the power of the repeated lie, as his supporters too claim they saw the nonexistent TV broadcasts.
This wasn't the first time. Dubya succeeded in convincing many Americans that Saddam Hussein had had weapons of mass destruction in 2003, even though US inspectors after the conquest said he didn't.
02 December 2015 ("Endanger the public order")The French state has given itself the power to abolish any organization that does things that "might" prove useful to others that "endanger the public order" (for instance, criminals or protests). Organizations that promote encryption, or provide a place for people to meet and talk without being listed to, might be banned.
In addition, may be made a crime simply to look at a web site that the state calls "terrorist".
A state like this, systematically crushing freedom, does more harm over the long term than the terrorists it claims to be protecting people from '-- unless repression also fuels the terrorists, which is possible.
02 December 2015 (Clinton wants more war)Clinton wants more war against PISSI, never mind strategy.
She is also against fixing the problems in the US medical system which exist because of the compromises Obama made to insurance companies.
02 December 2015 (Pushing a cashless society)Why The Powers That Be Are Pushing A Cashless Society.
This is partly speculative, and I am not sure it is true, but it might be true.
02 December 2015 (Global heating denialism)Global heating denialism has seeped into several public school textbooks in California.
We must suspect this reflects the influence of some rich denialist, such as Exxon or a Koch brother or the Heatland Institute.
02 December 2015 (Multinational digital companies)Multinational digital companies screw the rest of us out of millions of dollars in taxes. In the US, this adds up to $130 billion a year.
This is why America can no longer do things right: the wealthy in America have stopped providing funds for what America needs to do.
To the extent that international agreements about taxation get in the way of fixing this problem, states must defy the agreements and fix the problem anyway. But that requires voting out the politicians who would rather say they can't do this than dare to try.
A progressive tax on a business's gross income could help fix this.
02 December 2015 (Right-wing rhetoric)Right-wing rhetoric calling for killing abortion doctors translates repeatedly into murderous attacks.
The term "pro-choice" represents a weak decision not to defend abortion itself. The issue here is not "choice", it is the right to get an abortion when you want one.
02 December 2015 (Labour Party against bombing Syria)The UK Labour Party is turning against bombing Syria.
The question is not whether to consider PISSI an enemy, but rather what to do about that. Is it wise or ethical to drop bombs on people as an act symbolic participation, without a strategy to win, in a way that is likely to strengthen the enemy by killing lots of civilians which would aid PISSI's recruiting as well as being an injustice in itself?
Cameron responds to these questions with "but the symbol is so important!" and "I have a rabbit in my hat".
The problems presented by the Raqqa exiles are so complex that there may not be way to avoid all of them. However, ignoring them is a recipe for doing harm and losing.
02 December 2015 (French banned from marching)The French, banned from marching to demand defense of Earth's climate, are making a pile of shoes to symbolize the march they would have done.
It would be more effective to defy the ban and march anyway.
A substantial climate protest in Paris was taken over by "black bloc" people that wanted to fight with the thugs.
I can't disagree with what they said, but it was a stupid choice of tactics. A nonviolent confrontation, maintaining the moral high ground, would have put the state in the wrong, but this senseless violence gave the state a victory.
In past protests, the "black bloc" was infiltrated by state provocateurs. Perhaps that occurred this time too.
02 December 2015 (Nuclear safety regulations)Companies designing "advanced" nuclear reactors want safety regulations taken out of their way.
Then nothing would stop them from making us guinea pigs for their radioactive experiments, just when the nuclear power is becoming pointless because of the tremendously superior efficiency of renewable energy.
02 December 2015 (Flaws of Alcoholics Anonymous)Confronting the flaws of Alcoholics Anonymous '-- not limited to insisting people surrender to a "higher power" even though they know there isn't one.
02 December 2015 (Bottom-fishing and dredging)Modern bottom-fishing and dredging equipment destroys precious sunken ships, as well as the life on the bottom.
02 December 2015 (Future of work)Predicting that work will become more precarious, lower paid, and involve intrusive surveillance, for those who can find work at all.
I don't use computer systems that want me to talk to them, except when I'm talking to a company's computer by phone. In that case, I expect the company to know and remember what I say. But when it comes to my own activities, the server company that would translate the speech to text has no right to know, let alone remember, what I say.
I will also refuse to use a "fitness tracker" that reports to anyone other than me.
02 December 2015 (Thugs' avoidable feeling of "danger")How thugs created an avoidable feeling of "danger" in dealing with Tamir Rice.
02 December 2015 (Women's rights defenders murdered)Women's rights defenders murdered for their activism in 2015.
02 December 2015 (Arundhati Roy meeting Edward Snowden)Arundhati Roy reports on meeting Edward Snowden, and ideas about refugees.
The recent actions of the French government and recent statements of Republican political candidates show how right Snowden is.
02 December 2015 (Conversing through digital devices)Conversing mainly through digital devices may have to do with the decline in ability to empathize seen in young Americans.
02 December 2015 (Shooting at Colorado Planned Parenthood)A man shot people at Planned Parenthood in Colorado because he had been stirred up by deceptive attack videos.
He's also identifying fetuses with babies, which is a common irrationality among those that want to ban abortion.
The main terrorist threat in the US comes from fanatics like those, who call themselves "pro-life" but they mean "life for fetuses '-- not for real human beings."
02 December 2015 (US social decay)The common theme in US social decay: redesigning various systems to privilege the rich and push the rest down.
02 December 2015 (Unhealthful food)Poverty, in today's social system, forces parents to feed their children unhealthful food. Healthful food costs too much, requires time and skill to cook that these parents don't have.
It may not even be on sale in many urban areas where the stores are geared towards those that don't cook.
To touch on the unrelated topic of the last section of the article, I see nothing wrong with protesting a speaker by theatrically walking out of the talk. As long as the protest doesn't compel everyone to participate, those who want to hear the speaker can do so.
02 December 2015 (Anatomy of the Deep State)Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State. The US government is deadlocked, but the president and the executive spy and war agencies are allowed to do almost anything with no checks.
02 December 2015 (Western response to PISSI)Uri Avnery: the western response to PISSI is feckless and absurd because politicians don't think straight about the problem. Meanwhile, Netanyahu is working to confuse them.
02 December 2015 (Prostitution in Morocco)Many Arab countries have banned a film presenting prostitution in Morocco, and the people who made the film are receiving death threats.
02 December 2015 (Fasting on Thanksgiving)Fasting on Thanksgiving in solidarity with the hunger-striking prisoners of Guantanamo.
02 December 2015 (Extraction of ground water)California has failed to limit farmers' extraction of ground water. They are pumping so much that the land is sinking up to 2 inches a month in some places.
The unequal sinking is destroying infrastructure.
If normal rainfall returns for a few years, these farms may turn into lakes. But they will dry out again, more or less forever, in a few decades.
02 December 2015 (Future global heating)The foretaste of future global heating did not discourage large climate marches in Australia and New Zealand.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: Call for arresting Trump)US citizens: call for arresting Trump for inciting violence.
02 December 2015 (Urgent: Press Turkey to free journalists)US citizens: call on Obama and Congress to press Turkey to free the journalists prosecuted for reporting on arms smuggling to Syria.
02 December 2015 (Banning anonymity)The idea of preventing terrorist attacks by collecting more data and banning anonymity is inherently impossible. It can oppress dissidents very well, and crush protests, but can't distinguish a small group of terrorists from any small group of friends.
02 December 2015 (New Zealand bows to business)The bow-to-business government of New Zealand sabotaged efforts to reduce obesity, because they might interfere with the profits of fat-food establishments. (That seems a more accurate term than "fast food").
The excuse these bow-to-business politicians use is, "If it is possible for heroic people to resist, there is no need to help the rest." I've seen people use the same excuse to justify letting companies lure and pressure people into being surveilled.
02 December 2015 (Thugs want to prosecute for mockery)Australian thugs illegally searched for mocking statements made by Rhys Liam Halvey to his friends. They wanted to prosecute him for mockery.
The thugs withdrew the case against Halvey when a judge threatened to expose their illegal methods of searching for what Halvey had said.
That doesn't seem like enough of a punishment for them.
But supposing they had not used those illegal methods, supposing they had been able to find Halvey's mocking statements in a legal way, wouldn't Halvey have the right to mock them?
Doesn't Australia have any vestige of freedom of speech?
02 December 2015 (Deforestation in Brazil)Deforestation in Brazil has increased 16%.
02 December 2015 (Australia imprisons refugees without telling why)Australia imprisons refugees for years without telling them why.
02 December 2015 (Bombing PISSI in cities can backfire)Bombing PISSI in the cities it holds can backfire.
02 December 2015 (EU bowing to Turkish blackmail)The EU, desperate for Turkish help in reducing migration of Syrian refugees, is at the point of bowing to Turkish blackmail.
Providing money to support the Syrian refugees in Turkey is both wise and ethical, but aside from that, this is a terrible mistake. Turkey keeps open PISSI's lifeline for money, arms and foreign recruits. To defeat PISSI requires, one way or another, a confrontation with Turkey.
02 December 2015 (Pamplona calls for murder investigation)The city of Pamplona calls for an investigation into Franco's murders.
02 December 2015 (The election in Burma)The election in Burma was not free for the Rohingya minority, whose candidates were banned.
02 December 2015 (Proprietary software in drones)The US may require proprietary software in every drone, to implement surveillance and a back door.
The article says the location of every drone will be sent to "the cloud", meaning "don't ask who will store this data or for how long." I think it's not a good idea to fly a drone in a cloud.
Avoiding drone collisions is important, but it can be done using local communication which doesn't track them all. Keep in mind that it won't be hard to disconnect this system entirely. Criminals will easily be able to overcome the system; it won't be able to directly stop them from doing anything. Its total surveillance and back door will fall on non-criminals, who would cooperate willingly with a less nasty system that would achieve the same goal.
02 December 2015 (Repressive state of emergency in France)The state of emergency in France has become repressive.
People have been arbitrarily placed in house arrest, blocked from working, for no apparent reason. This includes the leader of a charitable organization that helps Muslim prisoners.
But repression is not limited to Muslims. Many people suspected of planning climate protests have been raided and arrested too.
These repressive actions have nothing to do with the officially stated goal of preventing more terrorist attacks. The French thugs know full well that these climate defenders are not terrorists. Their goal is to crush anyone who would dare to disobey '-- because, to a tyranny, disobedience is worse than terrorism. Terrorism offers tyranny an excuse, but disobedience can make tyranny weaker.
The harm done to France by this attack on liberty will dwarf that of the terrorist attacks '-- only to be dwarfed in turn by the global heating disaster that this repression is helping to increase.
02 December 2015 (Cameron's Drive to Bomb Syria)Cameron's Drive to Bomb Syria Is Macho, Foolish And Must Be Stopped.
J¼rgen Todenh¶fer: I Know [PISSI] Fighters. Western Bombs Falling on Raqqa Will Fill Them with Joy.
The proposed response has one problem. We can't "help" Turkey seal the border through which PISSI, because Turkey secretly supports and arms PISSI. The border would have to be sealed despite Turkey's interference.
02 December 2015 (Attempts to block freedom of communication)Western attempts to block freedom of communication on the internet are providing cover to China in doing the same thing.
02 December 2015 (UK data retention plans)UK data retention plans are based on outdated ideas of what is technically feasible or not.
02 December 2015 (Having multiple lovers)Famous men who have many lovers are called "prodigious" while women who do likewise are sneered at.
I can't tell from this information whether Ms Murdoch was promiscuous; that's not the same as having multiple lovers.
02 December 2015 (Salafi Arabia)Salafi Arabia executes terrorists and peaceful dissidents '-- to those religious fanatics, the difference is insignificant.
02 December 2015 (Effect of global heating on birds)Global heating is systematically pushing birds away from the equator, or up mountains.
Those that run out of somewhere to go will become extinct.
01 December 2015 (Urgent: Reject special prejudice)US citizens: call on Senators to reject laws that would impose special prejudice against Syrian refugees.
01 December 2015 (Urgent: Condemn racism)Everyone: call on Republican candidates to condemn racism in their supporters and in other candidates.
01 December 2015 (Turkey torturing Syrian refugees)Turkey is torturing Syrian refugees into "voluntarily" leaving.
01 December 2015 (Venezuelan candidate assassinated )An opposition candidate in Venezuela was assassinated in a rally.
I don't know whether the socialist party is responsible for the killing, but it has arrested and blocked a number of opposition candidates in the past. Their current leaders do not have the stature of Chavez, and they don't seem to know how to correct policies that have bad consequences.
01 December 2015 (Pissing on train station wall in Germany)A train station in Germany proposes to discourage pissing on a wall by making streams of liquid bounce back.
I sympathize with those who want to discourage pissing on these walls, but I have to wonder why so many people piss there. Does the train station have toilets? If so, why don't homeless people use them? Is there some obstacle?
A person in Germany confirmed that pay toilets are the usual in Germany, and that's why people piss on walls. Instead of spending lots of money on piss-reflecting surfaces, they should spend it on giving people a proper place to use the toilet.
01 December 2015 (Making cities porous)How to make cities, neighborhoods and buildings porous rather that monofunctional and controlling.
01 December 2015 (Attacks on Israelis by Palestinians)This year, Palestinians have frequently attacked Israelis. Many of the attacks have occurred at a crossroads in Palestine where Israelis travel between the (illegal) colonies in Palestine and Israel.
Those colonies are the root of the current violence. They are not a mere provocation, but a tremendous injustice. They were established as a scheme to take Palestinians' land and water and drive Palestinians to flee. Netanyahu has used them to make sure peace negotiations would be a sham.
The US should demand that Israel tear down those colonies, and should put its money behind it. Aid to Israel should be proportional to the decrease in size of the colonies, until they are gone.
01 December 2015 (The TTIP)A central goal of the TTIP is to export massive amounts of tar sands oil from Canada to Europe, with disastrous effects world-wide.
The TTIP is a business-supremacy deregulation treaty, and it would abolish the regulations that currently ban import of tar sands oil because it is so toxic.
Business-friendly politicians will find no end of opportunities to betray the public in the name of "growth" (for the rich) and other goals that are not important enough to justify the harm they will do.
Americans, vote for Bernie Sanders for president. He will kill the TTIP.
01 December 2015 (UK prosecuting people who went to fight PISSI)While the UK bombs PISSI, it continues to prosecute people who have gone to fight PISSI alongside the Kurds.
01 December 2015 (Replanting mangrove forests)Replanting mangrove forests may reduce the coastal damage caused by El Ni±o.
01 December 2015 (Protesters block entrance to Heathrow)Protesters against airport expansion blocked an entrance to Heathrow airport, and spoke about the need to curb flying in general to put brakes on global heating.
01 December 2015 (Suicide advisor resigns as doctor)Suicide advisor Philip Nitschke resigned as a doctor so he can continue giving suicide advice to people who want to die.
01 December 2015 (Journalists face "espionage" charges)Turkish journalists are facing charges of "espionage" and "divulging state secrets" for publishing that Turkey armed Islamists in Syria.
Calling this a "state secret" implies the report is true. However, it an act of tyranny to prosecute them, whether the statement is true or not.
01 December 2015 ("Nation building")The US used to be able to build anything and do a pretty good job. Nowadays, when it tries "nation building", it gets everything wrong. But the corruption extends to the US too.
The reason the US could build anything in the 50s and 60s is due to the high tax rate placed on rich people and businesses under that Republical socialist, President Eisenhower.
01 December 2015 (Co-responsibility for terrorism)A UK politician dares to blame B'liar for provoking terrorism with an unjust war.
Terrorism is wrong, and the terrorists are always responsible for that wrong; however, when the terrorism was provoked by an even larger wrong such as launching a war based on lies, those who did that are co-responsible for the terrorism as well.
01 December 2015 (Carbon emissions from Unilever)Unilever says it will become "carbon positive" in regard to its direct energy use by 2030.
This does not mean, however, that its products would be carbon positive. Its suppliers and its shipping may account for the majority of their emissions footprint.
01 December 2015 (Wearable thermometer)A new thermometer allows parents, and probably various businesses too, to monitor a child's body temperature all the time.
01 December 2015 (Peace)You Won't Win a War Against [PISSI] If You Don't Know What the Peace Looks Like.
I disagree with one point. PISSI is an army; there is no good in underestimating the enemy. But that is not crucial to the article's point, which I think is valid.
01 December 2015 (Wasting your money)Beware, if you choose what to buy based on a symbol of what sort of person you like to think you are! You are being manipulated by subtle psychology into wasting your money. And it could be a lot of your money.
There is one situation where buying a product to communicate a symbolic message to others is rational and wise: to support a worthy cause.
1 December 2015 (Strong marijuana)Very strong marijuana can cause serious harm to long-term users,but prohibition makes it hard to get milder forms.
1 December 2015 (Whaling)Japan Under Fire Over Decision to Resume Whaling.
1 December 2015 (Microsoft)Microsoft Once Again Disregards People's Settings and Abuses Them, Again Pretends It's Just an Accident.
1 December 2015 (Paris Attacks)Paris Attacks Plot Was Hatched in Plain Sight.
1 December 2015 (The human brain)Every human's brain is a mosaic of male and female characteristics.
1 December 2015 ('War' on Terrorism)Why a 'War' on Terrorism Will Generate Yet More Terrorism.
30 November 2015 (Very urgent: No prize for Netanyahu)US citizens: phone the White House and urge Obama not to give Netanyahu any military consolation prize for failing to block the nuclear peace deal with Iran. Israel carries out collective punishment and continues expanding colonies in Palestine.
30 November 2015 (US media system)The business-dominated, concentrated US media system is not the only possible system.
Many other countries have a lot of newspapers, and even though some are dominated by right-wing thought, they have exceptions too.
US "public" media are also business-dominated, because many programs depend on funding from business or from business owners such as the Kochs. This too is not inevitable; it developed in the 1990s. Now a Koch is on the WGBH-TV board, in a position to limit coverage of global heating so as to protect the effectiveness of the Kochs' paid denialism.
30 November 2015 (Hype and exaggeration about terrorism)It's proper for news media to cover terrorism, but they don't need to hype and exaggerate in a way that plays into terrorists' hands by traumatizing the public.
30 November 2015 (EPA cancels approval of toxic pesticide)The EPA has cancelled its approval of the latest toxic pesticide, which certain GMOs were designed to operate with.
30 November 2015 (Sanders on US immigration policy)Sanders says he will fix the cruelties of US immigration policy.
30 November 2015 (Gaps in report about attack on MSF)MSF says that the Pentagon's report about the attack on the MSF hospital in Kunduz has suspicious gaps, while showing procedures that amount to negligence.
I pointed out some instances of negligence.
30 November 2015 (Prison for letting child play outside)A mother in Sacramento is threatened with six months in prison for letting her child play outside the house.
The point that the child is in far more danger riding in a car with a parent is especially cogent. American society is tied up in knots by obsession with some rare and unlikely dangers, such as child-snatching and terrorism.
30 November 2015 (Statistics for "sex trafficker" arrests)US statistics for arrests of "sex traffickers" are grossly inflated: most of them are sex workers and customers. Some pimps that aren't traffickers are also included.
30 November 2015 (Banning strong encryption)Don't fall into the trap of agreeing that banning strong encryption would be justified if terrorists or criminals ever use it.
30 November 2015 (Turkey's downing of Russian plane)On the significance of Turkey's downing a Russian plane.
The article doesn't mention it has been standard Russian practice for the past few years to probe many countries' borders persistently. In a way, that's asking for a violent response. However, that changes things only slightly.
30 November 2015 (Climate meeting in France excludes public)By banning the public parts of the climate meeting, France decided that the people hardest hit by global heating should not be heard.
Bravo for the Swedish government official who wasn't totally distracted from impending global disaster by a crime that killed 130 people. The danger of climate mayhem, perhaps 100 million killed by 2030, and far more afterward, dwarfs that of terrorism.
Indeed, the terrorism is a part of the effect of global heating's climate mayhem, which created the impetus for the Syrian civil war, which in turn led to PISSI.
I urge those in Paris to defy the French state and march anyway.
30 November 2015 (Fertilizer polluting lake in Wisconsin)The cultivation of cranberries in Wisconsin pours fertilizer into the nearby lake. This pollution kills the fish and makes the lake water unsafe.
Would diverting the waste into a holding pond solve the problem? Would the pond have to grow each year, or could it be used to separate the fertilizer and apply it again?
30 November 2015 (UK has no strategy for defeating PISSI)The UK government is determined to bomb PISSI in Syria as a symbolic gesture of commitment '-- never mind that there is no strategy for actually defeating PISSI.
Britons are planning protests against this bombing.
A proper campaign to defeat PISSI militarily would probably include air attacks as well as artillery and infantry. I would support the bombing of PISSI fighters. However, bombing with no strategy and few militarily justified targets will achieve nothing and tend to kill civilians.
30 November 2015 (Snooping with Hello Barbie)Crackers can take over a Hello Barbie to listen to the kids in the room. They can listen all the time.
It's a lot like a portable phone.
This is what you must expect from devices with proprietary software and a network connection. It's the Internet of Snooping Things, Telemarketers, Cheaters, and worse.
30 November 2015 (Sweden's fossil fuel challenge)Sweden Is Challenging the World to Go Fossil Fuel-Free.
30 November 2015 (Bushfires in Australia)As Australia suffers "horrific" bushfires, will the Australian government agree to greenhouse gas measures to limit how much worse they will get?
30 November 2015 (The "dying cat" rhetorical switch)The "dying cat" rhetorical switch '-- blocking consideration of an important, uncomfortable issue by bringing out a very emotional issue and arguing about which is more important.
29 November 2015 (Urgent: Israeli colonies in Palestine)US citizens: oppose the plan to make the Export-Import Bank support building more Israeli colonies in Palestine.
29 November 2015 (Urgent: rebuke Governor Baker)Massachusetts citizens: rebuke Governor Baker for saying he wants to exclude Syrian refugees from Massachusetts.
29 November 2015 (Urgent: preserve network neutrality)US citizens: phone congressional leaders to preserve network neutrality.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
29 November 2015 (Urgent: unauthorized poetry in Saudi Arabia)Everyone: call on Saudi Arabia not to behead a poet for unauthorized poetry.
29 November 2015 (Brazilian bloggers shot dead)Two Brazilian bloggers have been shot dead, apparently for criticizing local politicians.
29 November 2015 (Ebola overwhelmed World Health Organization)Ebola Overwhelmed the World Health Organisation: It Must Never Happen Again.
29 November 2015 (Trump's latest bullying)Trump's latest bullying: mocking a reporter for a visible disability.
However, Trump's bullying goes far beyond mockery. He incited his supporters to physically attack a Black Lives Matter protester who came to his campaign rally.
He should be arrested and charged for this, and I hope soon to post a link to a petition to that effect. If he loses the Republican nomination, and chooses to run independently, he should start the Childish Bullies Party.
29 November 2015 (Impunity of thugs in Chicago)Measuring impunity for thugs in Chicago: only 4% of complaints made against them are upheld by the thug department.
60% of the complaints were made by blacks, but only 25% of the complaints upheld were made by blacks.
29 November 2015 (Australia's government proposes Reagenomics)Australia's government proposes to apply Reaganomics by reducing tax rates '-- for businesses only. Benefits of this are supposes to trickle down to the people.
29 November 2015 (Murder of Laquan McDonald)Call on officials that tried to minimize the murder of Laquan McDonald to resign, and call for a special prosecutor.
29 November 2015 (ISIS That Has Made It)"Saudi Arabia, an ISIS That Has Made It".
29 November 2015 (Blocked roads into Crimea)Interviews with people in Ukraine, near the Crimean border, where they have blocked the roads leading into Crimea, which puts pressure on Putin.
29 November 2015 (Caterpillar back doors)Caterpillar vehicles have remote shut-off back doors.
29 November 2015 (Thugs prosecution delayed for 400 days)The only reason the Chicago thug that killed Laquan McDonald is getting prosecuted is that a court ordered release of the video showing the killing. The prosecutor delayed the release, and the prosecution, for 400 days.
I don't think we can trust that prosecutor to make a sincere attempt to win a conviction.
29 November 2015 (Global heating denialist organizations)A textual study found evidence that global heating denialist organizations were working together.
29 November 2015 ("Criminal justice reform")The push for "criminal justice reform" ran into trouble because liberals want to reduce prosecution of individuals, while the Koch brothers only want to reduce prosecution of corporations.
29 November 2015 (Pervasive anxiety about security)Pervasive anxiety about security helps right-wing politicians make budget cuts that make everyone's lives insecure.
These budget cuts are likely to kill a lot more people than terrorists, even if you consider only the suicides.
29 November 2015 (Cruise missile fired at ceramics factory)Salafi Arabia fired a UK-made cruise missile at a ceramics factory, for no apparent military reason.
29 November 2015 (Shelling MSF hospital in Kunduz)The US Army says that the crew of the plane shelling the MSF hospital in Kunduz thought they were in a different place attacking a different building. Their inability to recognize the error was due to several systems that were nonfunctional or even missing.
Do the rules say that the crew was supposed to continue the mission despite such problems? If so, the US is asking for such mistakes, and must be considered responsible due to negligence.
29 November 2015 (Protest next to Guantanamo prison)Americans will protest next to the Guantanamo prison, across the border in Cuba.
Cuba does not respect human rights either, but as a patriotic American I am most pained by these crimes when they are committed by my own country.
29 November 2015 (Thug that killed Laquan McDonald)The thug that killed Laquan McDonald could easily have remained at a greater distance where McDonald could not possibly have hurt him. If he felt "threatened", his own incompetence was to blame.
Will the thugs who erased the video be prosecuted for obstruction of justice? That is called for.
29 November 2015 (Punishing people who express ideas)France is trying to kill ideas by punishing people who express them.
Here in the US, it is possible to speak honestly about the holocaust. There is plenty of evidence proving that it occurred. See, for instance, the book Hitler's Willing Executioners, by Daniel Goldhagen, and Story of a Secret State, by Jan Karski.
However, no honest statements about that question are possible in a country such as France, that imposes censorship on the subject.
France also bans free discussion of the question of the genocide of the Armenians.
29 November 2015 (Shots at Black Lives Matter protesters)Racist terrorists fired shots at Black Lives Matter protesters. The protesters were in a camp, doing nothing noteworthy to anyone, but most of them were engaged in protesting while black.
Thugs were present and did nothing to catch the shooters. Because the shooters were whites?
(I will post about Trump later.)
A particularly vicious thug refused to call an ambulance for the wounded protesters, then claimed that being shot by white supremacists was what the protesters wanted.
Perhaps the thug was projecting '-- he was the one who wanted the protesters to be shot.
Then other thugs came and sprayed the wounded protesters (and those trying to care for them) with mace.
29 November 2015 (Persistent drought in Somaliland)In Somaliland, global heating has brought a persistent drought. The people cannot survive there.
They deserve help, but if Somaliland can no longer sustain its population, the requisite help includes contraception. Under such circumstances, each birth causes a death.
29 November 2015 (Uzbekistan's tyrant)Uzbekistan's tyrant seems to seek to kill a dissident living in Sweden. Not having killer drones to send there, he sends human assassins.
29 November 2015 (banned sales of bottled water)A university banned sales of bottled water, and found that consumption of bottles increased '-- people bought soda and juice instead.
A hefty deposit on each plastic bottle might be effective for reducing bottles while not making an incentive to choose something other than water.
29 November 2015 (Two-faced Exxon)Two-faced Exxon: the Misinformation Campaign Against Its Own Scientists.
29 November 2015 (Mine waste dams)Brazil's standards for mine waste dams are inadequate; several such dams have burst, and the mine waste is a lot more harmful than water from a reservoir.
29 November 2015 (Organs available by default in Wales)Wales will assume by default that any dead body's organs are available for use to save living people.
29 November 2015 (Fanatics beat teenager to death)Christian fanatics in New York beat a teenager to death because he wanted to leave their church.
Saudi Arabia says it will do the same thing to a poet who said he wanted to leave their church.
Saudi Arabia's form of Islam, Salafism, is poison. PISSI is its most extreme form, but it's a threat to human rights in any form.
I will try out referring to that country as Salafi Arabia.
29 November 2015 (Towns for Jews where Bedouin now live)Israel plans to build towns for Jews where Bedouin now live.
These Bedouin are Israeli citizens but they don't have equal rights.
29 November 2015 (Sponsors of Paris climate conference)Major sponsors of the coming Paris climate conference have big investments in fossil fuel, even in coal.
If this conference does not reach an adequate agreement, some countries that will be devastated by climate mayhem might launch last-ditch military attacks at the fossil fuel facilities that are trying to kill them.
29 November 2015 (Merger between Pfizer and Allergan)A merger between Pfizer and Allergan would reduce competition, increase drug prices especially in the US, and help Pfizer taxes.
The US should make it quite difficult for major companies to merge, and it should tax both domestic and foreign companies (when operating in the US) more.
29 November 2015 (Cuts in welfare)The UK government has investigated how cuts in welfare will hurt poor families, and is keeping the conclusions secret.
29 November 2015 (Eating less meat)Eating Less Meat Isn't Just Good for You, It Could Save the Planet.
29 November 2015 (Human Rights)The UK says it will start applying human rights concerns in its foreign policy '-- but not to Salafi Arabia of course.
29 November 2015 (Bypassing censorship)Tor gives people in Bangladesh a way to bypass tight censorship.
Many supposedly "free" countries censor the internet, including France and the UK.
29 November 2015 (Clean energy future)The Clean Energy Future: a roadmap for moving the US to renewable energy and expanding jobs.
29 November 2015 (Urgent: Human-readable GMO labels)US citizens: phone Senator Stabenow's office to oppose the plan to put GMO labels into non-human-readable QR codes.
29 November 2015 (Surveillance of voters)Surveillance of voters enables campaigns to say different things to different groups of people, and effectively cover up the difference.
29 November 2015 (Solar storm could destroy electrical grids)A powerful solar storm, like one that happened in 1859, could destroy electrical grids world-wide. It could take ten years to rebuild.
Preparing to reduce the damage is part of the government's job. To do its job, it needs to collect more taxes '-- from those that are paying too little.
29 November 2015 (Pakistan's Electronic Crime Bill)The Sorry Tale of the PECB, Pakistan's Terrible Electronic Crime Bill.
29 November 2015 (Quiet electric cars)The US may require quiet electric cars to make sounds to warn pedestrians and cyclists.
29 November 2015 (Global heating)Fossil Fuel Companies Risk Wasting $2tn of Investors' Money, Study Says.
Developing Countries Will Need $270bn More to Adapt to [2C of] Climate Change.
29 November 2015 (Chicago thug charged for murder)A Chicago thug has been charged for murdering Laquan McDonald.
McDonald was perhaps carrying a knife when the thugs confronted him, but he never tried to attack them. A group of 8 thugs with guns should not have had to kill him preemptively in case he might, just might, try to attack them with a knife. They could have waited for such an attack to start before they shot.
Prosecution of killer thugs in the US is on the rise, but what we really need, to change the situation, is to change the way thugs are trained to kill at the first suspicion (especially if the person has a skin color that tends to inspire suspicion).
29 November 2015 (UK's "fit for work" tests)The UK's "fit for work" tests have normalised the suffering of sick and disabled people.
I think this is a goal of the Tories, not merely a byproduct of spending cuts. Tories believe poor people are morally inferior and suffering is what they deserve.
29 November 2015 (Primates on endangered species list)More Than Half of the World's Primates on Endangered Species List.
29 November 2015 (Attack on US water supply)Polluters are using the bill to exclude Syrian refugees as an opportunity to attack US water supply.
29 November 2015 (Refugees in EU countries)Sweden has taken all the refugees it can cope with, and now refuses to accept more.
EU countries are diverting foreign aid to pay for the refugees they have admitted.
29 November 2015 (Mistaken accounting)Economists have claimed that advancing technology enables more production with less in the way of material inputs. But this was just a mirage produced by mistaken accounting.
29 November 2015 (Alberta's green economy plan)Alberta's green economy plan sounds great, but it protects tar sands extraction for too long.
29 November 2015 (Colorado Shooter)Our Culture And Laws Enabled the Colorado Shooter, Whatever His Motive.
28 November 2015 (Urgent: Condemn proposed repression)US citizens: Condemn Trump's proposed repression of US Muslims.
28 November 2015 (Urgent: Congressional Review Act)US citizens: Thank or criticize your senators for their votes on the Congressional Review Act.
28 November 2015 (MIT Cozies Up to Fossil Fuels)Rejecting Campus Consensus, MIT Cozies Up to Fossil Fuels.
28 November 2015 (Global heating denial)The denialists who claimed they had found a "hiatus" in global heating applied criteria that were rather loose.
28 November 2015 (Downed Russian fighter plane near Turkey)Turkish planes shot down a Russian fighter plane near the Turkey-Syria border.
Turkey and Russia have been enemies for centuries. They are also at odds in regard to Syria. Erdoğan quietly supports and protects PISSI, while Putin supports Assad and may now actually want to fight PISSI due to the bombed airliner. To have Russian planes operating near the Turkish border is going to be a danger spot.
Russian troops are fighting a Turkic minority in Northern Syria.
28 November 2015 (Decline of butterfly numbers)Neonicotinoid pesticides are associated with decline of butterfly numbers.
28 November 2015 (Trump wants to torture)Trump wants to torture suspected terrorists for sheer sadism.
28 November 2015 (Texas thugs charged with homicide)Texas thugs have been arrested and charged with negligent homicide for squeezing a prisoner by the neck and then pepper-spraying him. He died shortly thereafter.
28 November 2015 (Proposed US regulations for drones)The proposed US regulations for drones are a disaster.
28 November 2015 (Municipal use of fossil fuel energy)Various cities are pledging to stop municipal use of fossil fuel energy by 2050.
These pledges may stimulate the climate defense movement, but in practice the time scale is too long for them to make much difference. What matters is to get rid of most fossil fuel use sooner rather than later.
28 November 2015 (Vatican corruption)The Committee to Protect Journalists says the Vatican should drop charges against two journalists who investigated Vatican corruption.
The Vatican should focus on eradicating the corruption, and thank those who helped shed light on it.
28 November 2015 (Snooping)To stop terrorist attacks, the state doesn't need to snoop on everyone. It's enough to watch those that are already known and suspected.
Many tech companies are allying to oppose state demands for back doors.
Most of these companies don't deserve your trust, for other reasons. You must not rely, for your privacy, on proprietary software.
28 November 2015 (Austeria)Welcome to Austeria '-- a Nation Robbing Its Poor to Pay for the Next Big Crash.
28 November 2015 (Black lives matter)Why responding to "black lives matter" with "all lives matter" is a statement of racism.
Responding with "all lives matter" misrepresents the position of the anti-racists, pretending that their slogan "black lives matter" means "only black lives matter". But they don't say, or mean, "only".
Properly understood, "black lives matter" is not racist at all. It is a compact way of saying that "black lives matter just as much". It is a rebuke to the covert, racist "black lives don't matter" movement, which few overtly endorse but many act to support.
28 November 2015 (The lockdown of Brussels)The lockdown of Brussels is starting to chafe.
It's an overreaction which serves PISSI's purposes.
28 November 2015 (Censorship in Poland)Poland's new right-wing government is starting to censor the theater.
28 November 2015 (Climate mayhem in Somaliland)In Somaliland, [climate mayhem] Is Now a Life-Or-Death Challenge.
28 November 2015 (Thugs having sex pretending not to be thugs)If it is just to imprison a woman for having sex pretending to be a man, why not imprison an undercover thug that has sex pretending not to be a thug?
28 November 2015 (Alberta to tax carbon emissions)Alberta will impose a tax on carbon emissions. The article does not make it clear whether this covers fuel burned in Alberta or fuel extracted in Alberta.
27 November 2015 (Urgent: Buy Nothing Day)Everyone: celebrate Buy Nothing Day today.
26 November 2015 (New Pun)Medieval ICs
25 November 2015 (Urgent: Close "revolving door")Everyone: call on Goldman Sachs to close the "revolving door" that carries its employees into US government service.
25 November 2015 (Urgent: Tighten laws for buying guns)US citizens: call for tightening laws for buying guns so that terrorist suspects can't buy them.
25 November 2015 (Urgent: Stop torture in Tibet)Everyone: call on China to stop torture in Tibet.
25 November 2015 (Urgent: No more mass surveillance)US citizens: call on Obama: no more mass surveillance.
See also http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/opinion/mass-surveillance-isnt-the-answer-to-fighting-terrorism.html.
25 November 2015 (Australia's greenhouse gas emissions)Using technicalities, Australia will claim it has met its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; never mind that they are actually increasing.
25 November 2015 (Fungibility and the Loss of Demandingness)The View from Hell: Fungibility and the Loss of Demandingness.
I don't know how to summarize this one, so I could only quote its title. It is a fascinating idea.
25 November 2015 (Pharmaceutical ads)The American Medical Association has called for a ban on direct advertising of pharmaceuticals.
25 November 2015 (Let's Not Get It Wrong This Time)Let's Not Get It Wrong This Time: The Terrorists Won After 9/11 Because We Chose to Invade Iraq, Shred Our Constitution.
25 November 2015 (Torture of prisoners in Bahrain)Bahrain makes a practice of torturing prisoners. The UK looks the other way. So does the US.
25 November 2015 (Human Ponzi Scheme)Human Ponzi Scheme of Population Growth Can't Go On For Ever.
25 November 2015 (Trump and Carson advocate torture)Trump and Carson explicitly advocate torture.
They are appealing to the worst side of Americans by saying that since PISSI is evil, we should be evil too.
Obama opened the path to this by failing to prosecute Dubya and his henchmen for their torture. As a result, Trump and Carson expect they can get away with this crime.
25 November 2015 (Barbaric cruelty)Analyzing the situational factors that led to a form of Islamism that incorporates barbaric cruelty.
There seems to be an aspect of human nature that includes dehumanizing enemies. What is unusual about PISSI is that it dehumanizes nearly everyone.
25 November 2015 (Home robot sends what you say to Amazon)The home robot that listens to you, and sends everything you say to an Amazon server.
Don't fool yourself by calling it "the cloud".
25 November 2015 (NSA bulk collection of emails)The NSA "shut down" its bulk collection of emails, but only because it had found another way to get them.
25 November 2015 (Arab "allies")Arab "allies" against PISSI are not doing much to fight PISSI.
25 November 2015 (Easiest method of economic sabotage)The easiest method of economic sabotage is to phone and say you put a bomb on an airplane.
There have been real bombs on airplanes, but was there ever been a case where a bomb threat call was made for a flight that had a real bomb?
25 November 2015 (Weeding robot)A fast weeding robot could reduce farm work and herbicide usage.
I think this sort of efficiency improvement is a good thing provided that those who become unemployed can share in the resulting bounty.
In the past, automation handled only a limited range of work, so many new jobs were created and unemployment did not result. But now we are likely to automate away all the jobs most people can get.
25 November 2015 (Thieving thugs)In 2014, US thugs took more money and property from the public than burglars took.
25 November 2015 (Unionizing in Juarez, Mexico)Factory workers in Juarez, Mexico, are trying to start unions.
The aim of "free trade" treaties is to enable manufactures to create the lousy working conditions of Juarez. They do this by threatening to move production elsewhere unless workers lie down and take it.
This is why we must abolish the "free trade" treaties. We must pin down production to some country (whichever one it may be), so that workers in each country have the chance to campaign for better wages and working conditions.
25 November 2015 (Urgent: Pressure to fight PISSI)US citizens: call for pressure on Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to start really fighting PISSI.
In the case of Turkey, this is really pressure to stop supporting PISSI.
25 November 2015 (Restoring power to the people)Ralph Nader: Candidates for public office, especially at the state and national levels, are never asked this central question of politics: "Since the people are sovereign under our Constitution, how do you specifically propose to restore power to the people in their various roles as voters, taxpayers, workers and consumers?"
Sanders spontaneously presents his answer to at least part of this question.
25 November 2015 ("Biodegradable" plastics)"Biodegradable" plastics may not biodegrade in the ocean '-- and the label might encourage littering.
25 November 2015 (Foreign policy experience)Clinton's foreign policy experience provides plenty of reasons not to vote for her.
Clinton's vote for attacking Iraq was a bad decision, but it was not a "mistake". It reflects her bad general positions. I won't vote for Clinton, any more than I would vote for the Republican candidates.
While Sanders is not my ideal candidate in regard to foreign policy, he is superior to everyone else in the race.
25 November 2015 (WTO forbids "dolphin-safe" labels on tuna cans)The WTO decided that protecting dolphins by allowing tuna cans to carry a "dolphin-safe" label is a forbidden "obstacle to trade".
This stems from the wrong fundamental values of the WTO, which place business profit above everything important.
The TPP would further strengthen the power of businesses to attack measures to protect the environment. We need to abolish all the existing business-supremacy treaties, but we are still on the defensive. First we need to block the TPP, the TTIP, and the TISA.
If you have not done so, I urge you to contact your elected officials to call for rejection of the TPP. We must not put democracy in a trance.
25 November 2015 (UK's housing problem)The UK's housing problem comes from allowing the rich to make homes into investments. Even some conservatives see this.
The conservatives' proposed solution is unnecessarily nationalist. Increasing taxes on large houses and apartments, especially those that are no one's primary residence, would do the same job without discriminating against anyone. That would also encourage foreigners to sell the real estate investments they have already bought.
25 November 2015 (Talking to bank over internet unsafe)In the UK, talking to your bank over the internet is unsafe, because if someone steals your password and uses it to take your money, the bank holds you responsible.
Does anyone know whether the situation is the same in the US?
25 November 2015 (Confronting PISSI)Confronting PISSI does not call for revenge, or destructive gestures, or cruelty. It calls for a strategy.
Anxiety to Defeat [PISSI] Must Not Dictate the West's Military Strategy.
25 November 2015 (Traditions of oppression)Acceptance of other ethnic groups and their religions must never include acceptance of their traditions of oppression.
I agree with the author about this issue, but I think he is making a mistake by claiming that "progressive liberals" take the other side. Some do, but I call myself "progressive" and "liberal", and I don't.
25 November 2015 (UK thug infiltration of dissident groups)The UK thugs (except the department in London) refuse to commit to stop infiltrating dissident groups and pretending to love female members.
25 November 2015 (PISSI manipulation)Since PISSI's strategic goal is to make Muslims and non-Muslims hate each other, we must refuse to be manipulated into doing so.
25 November 2015 (Effects of global heating)Around the world, the effects of global heating are hurting people.
25 November 2015 (Libert(C), galit(C), Fraternit(C))Paris Attacks: Security and Surveillance Cast a Dark Shadow over France's Love of "Libert(C)" and "Fraternit(C)".
I've been using those two words in France to rebuke the state for decades now.
25 November 2015 (Convention on Children's Rights)The US is the only country that has not ratified the UN Convention on Children's Rights.
25 November 2015 (Medical records privacy law)The US medical records privacy law doesn't apply to many kinds of medical data including the data collected by exercise trackers.
This is a problem because of exercise trackers that contain proprietary software and are designed to send the user's personal data to a company site. Such products are essentially unethical, and people should not be surprised when the proprietary software turns out to be malware.
The US medical records privacy law (HIPAA) is totally inadequate when it comes to government access to your records.
25 November 2015 (Fanatics in Mississippi)Christian fanatics in Mississippi fired a teacher for allowing a student to demonstrate, with a cucumber, the correct way to put on a condom.
The Christian fanatics want to keep teenagers ignorant of this so that they will get pregnant, and then the fanatics can claim that proves they should not have had sex.
Do you think I am exaggerating? All that is literally true.
25 November 2015 (Pfizer tax rate)Pfizer misleads about the tax rate it pays by not mentioning most of its income.
25 November 2015 (Texas state textbooks)Texas officials refused to allow academics to check state textbooks for falsehoods. Miseducating children is their goal.
25 November 2015 (Tracking)Trump wants to track all Muslims in the US but opposes tracking all guns.
25 November 2015 (Urgent: Sentencing Reform Act)US citizens: ask your congresscritter to support the Sentencing Reform Act.
25 November 2015 (Hostility towards Muslims)General hostility towards Muslims is spreading in the UK, whereas in the US Trump called for making all Muslims carry special ID cards.
This is just what PISSI hoped to achieve.
25 November 2015 ("Right to be forgotten")The EU is considering a directive to extend the current "right to be forgotten", which is currently a right for person P to demand that some pages be removed from searches for the name P, so that it would cover comments that others post which say things about P.
This would turn it it into a system of censorship.
25 November 2015 (Local back doors in mobile devices)Baseless Calls to Expand Surveillance Fit Familiar, Cynical Pattern.
A law has been proposed to require a local back door in all mobile devices.
Once the back door was leaked, anyone who stole your device would be able to decrypt its disk.
When citizens can't keep secrets from the state, democracy is in danger.
25 November 2015 (Fighting PISSI)The UN Security Council called for all countries to fight PISSI.
I am in favor of fighting PISSI, but not in stupid ways.
25 November 2015 (Saudi court sentences poet to death)Saudi Court Sentences Poet to Death for Renouncing Islam.
25 November 2015 (CNN "suspends" correspondent for opinion)CNN "suspended" a correspondent for expressing the wrong opinion off the air.
25 November 2015 (The practice of "swatting")Congress is considering a law to make it a serious crime to send a SWAT team to someone's house by making a false report.
I don't think this will put an end to the practice of "swatting". It is too easy to make these false reports. Meanwhile, the practice is made easier by thug departments that use SWAT teams too readily. The lower the bar for sending the SWAT team to raid your house, the less someone needs to do to get them to send it.
25 November 2015 (Surveillance using stringrays)A US court has imposed strict limits on surveillance using stingrays (cell tower simulators).
I expect that the Supreme Court will eventually decide the question.
Even if stingrays were banned, or did not exist, the government could get their location records from the phone company. For me, that is too intrusive already.
25 November 2015 (The "gray zone" of mutual tolerance)The "gray zone" of mutual tolerance that PISSI wants to eliminate is what we should defend.
25 November 2015 (Civilian casualties)The Pentagon admitted, in very bureaucratic language, that perhaps some civilians were killed in one of its air attacks against PISSI.
It is impossible to fight a war and totally avoid civilian casualties. This attack was aimed at soldiers and hit some civilians that were near them. I don't think it was a war crime.
But I can't believe that only two attacks in Syria have killed civilians. No army can be that close to perfect. Thus, I suspect the US is still covering up civilian casualties. In addition, the standoffish and bureaucratic language of the Pentagon's statement is likely to offend the very people it is trying to mollify.
PISSI kills civilians brutally and shamelessly. In regard to violence in Syria and Iraq, the US is ethically far above PISSI. That's not sufficient. The US should be frank about civilian casualties. The US must properly respect civilians' lives.
However, the comparison between the US and PISSI is pertinent in a different way. Civilians under PISSI's rule will make that comparison when choosing sides. If we want them to regard PISSI as occupiers, we need to think about how they will judge us and PISSI.
24 November 2015 (Urgent: Defeat anti-environment riders)US citizens: Call on Congress to defeat anti-environment riders in spending bills.
24 November 2015 (Urgent: No more Goldman Sachs insiders)US citizens: demand no more Goldman Sachs insiders in the Federal Reserve management.
24 November 2015 (Islamist fanatics attack hotel in Mali)Islamist fanatics attack a hotel in Mali and took hostages, killing some.
24 November 2015 (Murder of human rights activists in Colombia)Over 700 human rights activists have been murdered in Colombia in the past 20 years.
24 November 2015 (Deforestation in the Amazon)Deforestation in the Amazon threatens extinction for thousands of tree species that live only there.
Global heating is likely to wipe out large parts of the Amazon rainforest, through drought and fire.
24 November 2015 (Syrian free software leader Bassel Khartabil)Rumors say that imprisoned Syrian free software leader Bassel Khartabil is going to be executed by Assad's men.
Unfortunately there is no better source of information about whether this is true. Syrian thugs are even more secretive about their killings than US thugs.
24 November 2015 (US thugs frequently steal)US thugs only occasionally hit, kick or kill people, but they are very frequently stealing under the cover of law.
24 November 2015 (Ultrasonic surveillance audio)TV commercials now include ultrasonic surveillance audio, meant to be detected by malware in any nearby mobile device.
The main wrong here is in the malware, which should be prohibited. However, television regulators should prohibit the inclusion of these sounds in broadcasts.
The hypothetical example in China is silly, because it is easy for Big Brother to determine that several cell phones are in the same place, just through the normal tracking that is done. This tracking, and the remotely-enabled capability to listen on all conversations in the room, are why I call those phones "Stalin's dream", and the main reason why I refuse to carry one.
24 November 2015 (Bill to reduce corporate tax)Senator Warren blasted Congress's bill to reduce taxes for multinational corporations.
The low taxes on businesses and rich people are the cause of all the US's fiscal problems.
24 November 2015 (French gov't attack on human rights)La Quadrature du Net describes the French government's blitzkrieg against human rights.
Amnesty International criticizes it too.
24 November 2015 (Republican candidates' apps)Certain Republican candidates distribute apps that collect lots of personal data, even the user's contact list.
These apps are proprietary software, so they are software for suckers. They run on proprietary platforms that are also software for suckers. For that reason alone, it's foolish to run them, and wrong to develop them. I won't reject a candidate for having such apps, because I know they are following the usual standards of Americans. But I hope you will learn to reject nonfree apps and nonfree platforms.
24 November 2015 (Methane-charged undersea permafrost)Methane-charged undersea permafrost is becoming active in the Arctic Ocean.
This suggests we are approaching the point where lots of methane will be released, causing global heating positive feedback.
24 November 2015 (UK thug department apologizes)A UK thug department has apologized for the undercover thugs that infiltrated various dissident groups by forming long-term relationships with women in the groups.
The thug department has not admitted encouraging the thugs to form such relationships, but that could hardly be false when so many did it.
24 November 2015 (Protests against racism)Protests against racism have spread to many US universities.
There are many things that universities can do to reduce racism, but one demand they should reject is to punish the expression of racist views.
When students demand the university "suspend" Professor Swain, they advocate conduct comparable to that which Professor Salaita received.
I agree more or less with Professor Salaita's controversial statements. I mostly disagree with Professor Swain's controversial statements (*). But whether you or I agree with someone's views is beside the point. We must respect people's rights to express views whether we agree or disagree, and that includes professors.
* I think that Islam is dangerous in some situations, and the same applies to Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and even occasionally Buddhism. Or rather, the bad aspects of human nature can find in religion a field to express themselves.
24 November 2015 (Antibiotic resistance)What we must do to confront antibiotic resistance.
24 November 2015 (Adapting the Marseillaise)Adapting the Marseillaise to the greatest threat to civilization.
23 November 2015 (Urgent: Join climate defense rallies)Join a climate defense rally near you, or start one.
23 November 2015 (Urgent: Curb global heating)Everyone: call on world leaders to take strong action to curb global heating.
23 November 2015 (Asylum for threatened cultural treasures)France will offer asylum to cultural treasures threatened by fanatics.
23 November 2015 (Bahrain refuses to prosecute thugs)Bahrain Refuses to Prosecute Police Who Tortured Journalist.
23 November 2015 (Pulling CO2 out of the atmosphere)Technologies being developed today might be able to pull large amounts of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
23 November 2015 (Heat stress and deaths of farm workers)Heat stress could be responsible for the death of many farm workers in Central America.
Global heating is going to make people less productive in most of the world.
23 November 2015 (Water damage due to global heating)Our 1C of global heating has quadrupled weather damage to historic properties in the UK.
23 November 2015 (Massive incarceration in the US)Massive incarceration in the US goes beyond the war on drugs.
The topic is too big, and I know too little about it, for me to have an overall opinion. All I can say is that we need to eliminate private prisons, and that we should release most convicts that have become so old that they are not likely to commit crimes again.
23 November 2015 (Thugs tase man to death)Thugs killed Linwood Lambert by tasing him 20 times, then lied about the circumstances.
They could have just left him alone, since they did not think he had done anything wrong.
23 November 2015 (Evidence of corruption in unions and NGOs)Suggestive evidence that unions and NGOs, such as the League of Conservation Voters, have endorsed Clinton even though Clinton doesn't support their cause as well as Sanders. Maybe they have been corrupted.
23 November 2015 (What Elsevier considers "stealing")Elsevier Says Downloading And Content-Mining Licensed Copies Of Research Papers 'Could Be Considered' Stealing.
This isn't the last straw. Elsevier's last straw was years ago. I urge academics to refuse to review papers for any Elsevier journal except when there is a specific overriding moral imperative to do so.
23 November 2015 (US ISPs undermining net neutrality)US ISPs are undermining network neutrality by giving special deals to certain sites and then charging more for access to everywhere else.
23 November 2015 (Detroit thug convicted)A Detroit thug has been convicted of attacking Floyd Dent. The thug punched Dent 16 times in the head, for no evident reason.
23 November 2015 (Minneapolis thugs beat up protesters)Thugs in Minneapolis beat up two women who were protesting the killing of Jamar Clark.
23 November 2015 (US attack drone controllers)US attack drone controllers have developed a callousness towards killing civilians, even children.
23 November 2015 (Trump wants special ID cards)Trump wants to require Muslims to carry special ID cards.
It is unamerican to require people to carry ID cards. Why not make them wear armbands with a star and crescent?
23 November 2015 (French intelligence knew Paris attackers)French intelligence knew several of the Paris attackers. If the goal was to prevent these attacks, total surveillance of everyone was irrelevant.
23 November 2015 (Repression in Morocco)Morocco uses unjust pretexts to repress journalists and human rights defenders.
23 November 2015 (FBI entrapment)The FBI entrapped Eric McDavid into a fantastic bombing scheme, then lied to convict him and concealed evidence to support the lie.
When he asked for an explanation for the illegal concealment of evidence, the US responded by threatening to jail him again.
This is what the FBI means when it says it "protects" us.
23 November 2015 (Sale of genetically modified salmon)The FDA has approved sale of genetically modified salmon.
I expect that these salmon are safe to eat, because there is nothing that would tend to make them dangerous. However, the defenses against contaminating wild salmon genetically are not enough. The company wants to get to market now, not in several years after developing more levels of defense. Thus, the company will always tend to take insufficient precautions.
23 November 2015 (Livestock population)The livestock population is increasing faster than the human population and is a big environmental threat.
The statements in the article about limiting human population growth are self-contradictory. It says, "When there is almost nothing to be done, there is no requirement to act," but then shows that the world could reduce human population growth quite a bit. I am glad I have contributed to this goal by having no children myself, and I recommend you think about it too.
23 November 2015 (France attacking itself)France passed an "emergency" law permitting the state to impose house arrest on anyone with no judicial review, and examine any computer without a warrant.
Poor France, attacking itself at a level that mere terrorists cannot reach.
23 November 2015 (UK gov't keeps global heating advancing)The UK government is going all-out to keep global heating advancing.
23 November 2015 (Rallies for climate protection)Rallies for climate protection are planned around the world instead of the banned march in Paris.
Activists should defy the ban and march in Paris anyway. There are too many lives at stake here to let the government's minor short-term concerns get in the way.
22 November 2015 (Urgent: Regulate oil well emissions)US citizens: call on the EPA to regulate methane emissions from old and new oil wells.
22 November 2015 (Doctors in UK's NHS to strike)Doctors in the UK's National Health Service have voted to strike, as the government's program of spreading poverty and stress targets them.
22 November 2015 (Stateless in the Dominican Republic)The Dominican Republic arbitrarily deprived of citizenship four generations of people born in that country if they are of Haitian ancestry. Many of them are not Haitian citizens, and if they can get into Haiti it is only because that failed state can't control its borders.
22 November 2015 (The craving for revenge)You Needn't Crave Revenge After Attacks like Those in Paris. I Didn't After 9/11.
What I crave is to defend against the follow-on attack which targets our freedom.
22 November 2015 (Renewable energy in tropical countries)Many tropical countries are investing heavily in renewable energy.
22 November 2015 (Male-female sex-change)Germaine Greer had to struggle to be allowed to speak in a UK university. She says that a male-female sex-change operation doesn't produce a real woman, and many condemn her views.
I think Greer is right in a narrow sense, but perhaps wrong at a deeper level.
What is the difference between a typical man and a typical woman? It's actually many miscellaneous differences. Changing one of them in a man won't produce a woman. Changing several of them might result in a close-enough woman.
Not all men are alike, and not all women either. Perhaps the man that wants to be a transsexual starts out woman-like on some of those points.
22 November 2015 (Curfews)Various countries are shutting down city streets and parks at night. This narrows the life of the city and narrows human rights.
Other cities are promoting walking on the streets.
22 November 2015 (Housing crisis in Europe)Europe is suffering from a lasting housing crisis.
This is part of the reason I have not encouraged European countries to take in lots of refugees. They have not got enough housing or enough jobs for their current population. If they don't adopt policies to create a lot more housing and jobs, the refugees will have to compete with the poor for too little.
22 November 2015 (DA wants back door in mobile devices)The Paris attackers did not use encryption, it seems.
Meanwhile, a district attorney wants to require back door in all operating systems for mobile devices.
Doesn't he know that all mobile phones already have them?
Just as in 2001, the next target is our freedom!
22 November 2015 (CMU's Tor-cracking investigation)CMU says that the FBI didn't pay for its Tor-cracking investigation, but refuses to answer any more questions.
Maybe it was paid for by some other US agency rather than the FBI.
22 November 2015 (Myth of genetic determinism)Our culture is erecting a myth of genetic determinism.
Note that it is clearer to make a clear distinction between a cell's genetic sequence and its epigenetic tagging. They are both found in DNA, but they are quite different.
22 November 2015 (Emails with embedded URLs)If you allow emails to embed URLs, you're asking to be mistreated.
I normally look at an email via the ASCII text in it. On the occasions that I look at HTML, I render it with lynx, which ignores anything embedded. None of these tracking methods work on me, and if you use this method, they won't work on you either.
22 November 2015 (Conservatives attracted by subjection of women)Conservative westerners are attracted by Islamists' subjection of women.
22 November 2015 (Urgent: Investigate climate fraud)US citizens: call on the SEC to investigate Exxon's climate fraud.
22 November 2015 (Antibiotic-resistant bacteria)Many bacteria are developing resistance to the last line of antibiotics we have left.
This was caused by feeding the antibiotics to pigs.
All sorts of surgery will become quite dangerous if we don't develop new antibiotics '-- and stop farms from ruining them!
22 November 2015 (Workers protest Clinton's failure)Walmart workers protested Clinton's failure to endorse a raise in the minimum wage.
22 November 2015 (Shoot-to-kill Won't Make Us Safe)Shoot-to-kill Won't Make Us Safe from Terror '-- Just Sorry.
22 November 2015 (Prepare for peace)French Pirate Party: If you want peace, prepare for peace.
22 November 2015 (US to sell more weapons to Saudi Arabia)The US will sell repressive, Islamist Saudi Arabia over a billion dollars more in weapons.
Human Rights Watch calls on the US to stop selling bombs to Saudi Arabia because it is dropping them on Yemen and killing lots of civilians.
Saudi Arabia, a US "ally", seems to have helped start the Islamist armed revolt in Syria, aided by US "ally" Turkey.
Meanwhile, Saudi money has been behind the spread of Wahhabism, the extremist and oppressive form of Islam that has been pushing out the more humane forms of Islam.
22 November 2015 (Iran dismantling nuclear program)Iran Starts Dismantling Nuclear Programme, Says UN Watchdog.
22 November 2015 (Neonicotinoids)Neonicotinoids found to impede pollination by bumblebees.
22 November 2015 (Warning from former US drone operators)Former US drone operators warn that US drone attacks are important recruiting forces for PISSI and terrorists.
22 November 2015 (UK climate and energy policy)Is UK Climate And Energy Policy Hypocritical or Just Incompetent?
22 November 2015 (Islamists)It's a mistake to say that the US (or France) is at war with "radical Islam". Even most radicals don't want to attack western countries.
Islamists are not necessarily violent enemies of anyone, but their views make them political enemies of human rights.
22 November 2015 (Extremist parties in Israels gov't)Extremist parties that call for demolishing the al-Aqsa mosque are now included in Israel's government. It is not wild imagination to suppose they might actually do it.
Building the "third temple" is part of what US Christian nuts think is necessary to bring about their prophesied apocalypse. I suspect that some of them are spending millions to help those parties.
22 November 2015 (Jailed Palestinian minors)Israel jails Palestinian minors as young as 8 in painful conditions and arbitrarily hampers them from talking with their families.
I expect that most of these minors are teenagers, but some really are children.
22 November 2015 (Harassment faced by Palestinians)Palestinians living in part of Hebron face additional harassment designed to drive them to abandon their homes.
Israeli troops forced international human rights activists out of the apartment they had rented in Hebron.
These activists serve as witnesses to how Israelis officially and unofficially treat Palestinians, which makes their presence inconvenient. In practice, the state supports the repeated pogroms carried out by Israeli fanatics.
22 November 2015 (Collective punishment)Demolishing a family home because one person in it committed (or is accused of) a crime is an unjust collective punishment.
Israel says it will carry out unjust collective punishment on any family, but in practice it's only done to Palestinians. And it already has inspired relatives to respond with violence.
21 November 2015 (Urgent: Release videos of killer thugs)Everyone: demand the release of the videos showing the killing of Jamar Clark.
21 November 2015 (Urgent: Diplomacy to end Syrian civil war)US citizens: support Kerry's efforts for diplomacy to end the Syrian civil war and target PISSI.
21 November 2015 (Urgent: Network neutrality)US citizens: phone your senators against riders in a spending bill to eliminate network neutrality.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
21 November 2015 (Neonicotinoid pesticide approval cancelled)A US appeals court cancelled the approval of neonicotinoid pesticide sulfoxaflor, saying that the EPA must first properly test its effects on bees.
21 November 2015 (Spain wants to arrest Israeli officials)Spain wants to arrest 9 Israeli officials and ex-officials responsible for the deadly attack on the Mavi Marmara.
21 November 2015 (Reducing our combustion of oil)The Norwegian oil company Statoil has given up on drilling in the Chukchi Sea.
The US government postponed a sale of oil leases in US public land.
These are victories, but we will need lots more of them. We must reduce our combustion of oil, reduce it to zero in not too much time, to avoid climate mayhem.
21 November 2015 (PISSI wants war)PISSI wants a war between all Muslims and all non-Muslims. How we can avoid falling into PISSI's trap.
21 November 2015 (Declining wages in the US)The US has made substantial progress towards the goal of equal pay for equal work, because of the fall in the income of men.
21 November 2015 (Turkey keeps PISSI's supply lines open)Turkey could cut off PISSI's supply lines, but Erdoğan threatened war against the Kurds just to keep those lines open.
21 November 2015 (Borqa bans)Several African countries have banned borqas to prevent hiding bombs under them.
21 November 2015 (Reduced funding for coal)The OECD countries agreed to reduce funding for coal power in other countries, but Japan blocked eliminating this funding.
This may do some good, but it is not the sort of vigorous action that could save civilization from global disaster. To risk civilization's survival for a comparatively small short-term goal, such as improving access to electricity in some poor countries, is foolhardy. It won't help the people of those countries to get electricity in the next decade, then wiped out in 70 years.
Besides, solar power is much better for providing electricity to dispersed rural populations.
I have to suspect that Japan's representatives were working for the coal interests and what they said was just an excuse.
21 November 2015 (Global heating)2C of global heating is probably too much, except under unlikely assumptions.
21 November 2015 (Killing people by remote control)What it is like to be a US drone pilot and kill hundreds of people by remote control.
21 November 2015 (France bans rallies for climate defense)France has banned rallies during the climate conference.
This decision is short-termist folly. Rallies for climate defense are necessary for public safety. Terrorists could at worst kill a few hundred people in a rally. Global heating is likely to kill hundreds of millions of people, though over a longer time.
I urge activists to march anyway and dare the state to stop them.
21 November 2015 (Attackers were European citizens)It appears the Paris attackers were all European citizens '-- most have been identified, and they included no refugees or visitors.
21 November 2015 (Refugees)To Turn On Refugees Because Of Paris Is Weak And Absurd.
21 November 2015 (Victims of PISSI's attack)In France, the victims of PISSI's attack include Muslims.
In Syria and Iraq, most of PISSI's victims are Muslims. Ordinary Muslims and PISSI are natural enemies.
21 November 2015 (France making the same mistakes as the US)Will France now commit the same errors and wrongs that the US did after the September 2011 attacks? It has already started to.
21 November 2015 (Whales killed in marine sanctuary)An Australian court found a Japanese whaling company guilty of killing whales in an Australian marine sanctuary.
It may not be easy to make the company pay the fine.
21 November 2015 (Secret interpretation of CISA)A secret interpretation may make CISA even worse than its wording appears. The ACLU is suing to find out.
21 November 2015 (Boko Haram still setting off bombs)Boko Haram is still setting off bombs in cities and causing hundreds of casualties.
21 November 2015 (High levels of CO2 impede good thinking)High levels of CO2 in the air impede good thinking.
Global heating is not likely to raise the general world CO2 level enough for this to happen. But it can already happen inside a building in a city, and with global heating, the problem inside buildings in cities will get worse.
21 November 2015 (Protests in Washington)Protests in Washington are aimed at the US Trade Representative, the office that promotes antidemocratic treaties such as the TPP.
21 November 2015 (Harming children's academic success)Parents that make unreasonable academic demands on their children tend to harm their academic success.
20 November 2015 (Another reason to vote for Sanders)Another reason to vote for Bernie Sanders for president: Clinton wants more war.
Haven't we learned how stupid this is?
Whereas Sanders recognizes that climate mayhem is a bigger danger than today's terrorists.
20 November 2015 (Curtailing Liberty Provokes Terrorism)Curtailing Liberty Provokes Terrorism.
20 November 2015 (Science museums and planet roasters)Several important science museums have stopped accepting funds from planet roasters.
20 November 2015 (PISSI)Does [PISSI] Direct Attacks or Inspire Them -- And Why That Matters
20 November 2015 (CIA and NSA try to smear Snowden)The CIA and NSA have not found anyone trying to start a terrorist attack in the US.
But they pretend they have, in order to smear Snowden.
20 November 2015 (Bombing PISSI)Countries are joining the bombing campaign against PISSI, not because more planes would achieve a military objective, but as a symbol.
We Accept That Russian Bombs Can Provoke a Terror Backlash. Ours Can Too.
I am not a pacifist. Effective military action may be justified even despite blowback. But effective military action tends to be concentrated on enemies, so it causes less blowback. Reflexive, ill-calculated military action "because we must bomb something" will tend to be self-defeating.
PISSI hopes to provoke Western reactions that would create a war between the West and all Muslims. Some politicians are eager to fall into this trap.
19 November 2015 (Employment)Global developments in employment.
19 November 2015 (Greenhouse gas footprints)When a company tried to reduce the greenhouse gas footprints of its products, that turned out to be a big challenge.
We need a carbon emissions tax so that the market will factor in your greenhouse gas footprint.
19 November 2015 (Just what terrorists hoped to achieve)The assassinations at Charlie Hebdo have elevated hostility towards Muslims in France '-- just what terrorists hoped to achieve.
19 November 2015 (Climate defense march in France)France may block a large climate defense march in the name of safety.
Global heating is a far bigger danger than PISSI. If we can't overcome the plutocrats and make states take adequate action to curb global heating, we might as well be dead.
19 November 2015 (Russian airliner destroyed by terrorist bomb)It is now ascertained that a terrorist bomb destroyed a Russian airliner over the Sinai, killing 224 people.
19 November 2015 (Fossil fuel divestment sit-in at Stanford)Stanford Students Begin 'Indefinite' Sit-in over Fossil Fuel Divestment.
19 November 2015 (Activists charged with "rebellion")The dictator of Angola has charged activists with "rebellion" for a book reading event. The book was about nonviolent resistance.
19 November 2015 (Urgent: Postal banking)US citizens: call on the postmaster of the USPS to implement postal banking.
19 November 2015 (Total surveillance)Total surveillance is giving France so much data that the real terrorists can hide in the plain sight of the national panopticon.
19 November 2015 (Mine waste in Brazil)The ecological damage from the mine waste in Brazil could last decades and when it reaches the ocean, it will threaten ecologically vital areas.
19 November 2015 (Tasers)It is not clear that tasers reduce either killings or injuries from the actions of thugs.
19 November 2015 (Attacking PISSI)France is sending an aircraft carrier to increase the number of planes it can use to bomb PISSI.
There are some fishy things here. Why use an aircraft carrier rather than sending additional planes to the land base in Jordan? Operating planes from a carrier must be more expensive than operating them from the ground.
And what's the use of more planes if it is hard to find good targets to attack?
On the other hand, the US seems to have found an important vulnerable point: the trucks PISSI uses for smuggling oil.
If PISSI is indeed a gang that raid and loots to propagate itself to loot again, then it can be forced into collapse if it can't get loot and can't sell oil.
Capturing PISSI's territory near the Turkish border is strategically crucial. However, trying to do this with Western troops would backfire terribly.
18 November 2015 (Urgent: Oppose war on drugs)Citizens of Massachusetts: Oppose a bill to ramp up the war on drugs.
18 November 2015 (Witnesses see thugs shoot handcuffed man)Protesters blocked a highway after thugs in Minneapolis shot a black man dead. Witnesses say he was in handcuffs, but the thugs say he wasn't. Who do you believe?
18 November 2015 (Repressive Wahhabism)Accusing Saudi Arabia of poisoning the Muslim world with repressive Wahhabism.
18 November 2015 (PISSI)PISSI, the pirates of the desert.
Cole's point that it is impossible to "contain" PISSI can be literally correct, but not in the way he asserts. It may be that a stable situation in which PISSI exists for a long time under containment is impossible; if so, that suggests that containing PISSI would lead to its collapse, as it could no longer do profitable raids.
18 November 2015 (UK faces ecological derangement)The UK faces ecological derangement all over, as a result of the 1C of global heating we have already caused.
18 November 2015 (Coal)Coal is not an effective way to extend access to energy, even ignoring that it could cause ecological disaster.
Just eliminating coal combustion isn't enough to avoid the disaster; it's just the first step.
18 November 2015 (FBI-CMU "research" on Tor)The Tor Project says that the FBI-CMU "research" to identify Tor users was a fishing expedition, aimed at finding anyone they could accuse of anything.
18 November 2015 (Chinese companies bottling glacier water)Chinese companies are hurrying to bottle water from Himalayan glaciers before global heating melts them.
Ok, that is a slight exaggeration.
18 November 2015 (Collective punishment)Israeli troops carried out a collective punishment, demolishing a house in a refugee camp; local Palestinians threw stones at them, so the Israeli troops shot and killed some of them.
Collective punishment is always an injustice. In my estimation, the culpability in this incident falls entirely on the Israeli troops. They cannot claim the justification of self-defense for shooting if they were on a mission of wrong.
18 November 2015 (PISSI's hate for civilization)[PISSI] Hates Middle Eastern Civilisation Too.
18 November 2015 (Governments of the World Agree)Lauren's Blog Redux: "Governments of the World Agree: Encryption Must Die!"
18 November 2015 (Using attacks as excuse to skip debate)UK anti-privacy activists seek to use the Paris attacks as an excuse to skip debate about new mass surveillance powers.
Each terrorist attack, anywhere in the world, provides an excuse for Big Brother to say we should surrender more freedom so he can "protect" us. Aside from the danger of tyranny, which exceeds that of terrorists, it's not even clear that increased surveillance would achieve its goal.
There is no limit to how many people a tyrannical state can kill, torture, or imprison. We need a state, for the many essential things that states can do, but we must make sure it remains under our control, and we can't do that if it knows everywhere we go and everyone we talk with.
Prohibiting expression of opinions, "advocating" this or that, is a form of tyranny. When "extremism" is prohibited, will plutocrats declare rejection of plutocracy "extreme"? We be prosecuted for advocating a return to democracy?
18 November 2015 (Cease-fire between Assad and his enemies)The US and Russia have agreed to ask the UN to broker a cease-fire between Assad and his enemies.
18 November 2015 (The inequality created by the Tory gov't)Britain's previous Tory prime minister rebukes the current Tory government for the inequality it has created.
18 November 2015 (US history of keeping Haiti down)More about the Haitian election and how it relates to the US history of keeping Haiti down.
18 November 2015 (Massive surveillance)Raising consciousness about massive surveillance: do you dare call a number that's possibly on an NSA suspicion list?
Reading stallman.org might do the same thing.
18 November 2015 (Businesses pretend to have feelings)Businesses pretend to have human feelings '... to exploit grief.
The Facebook feature praised in the article is also a way of manipulating users: after any sort of disaster, they are under pressure to be used by Facebook because not doing so would suggest they were among the casualties.
18 November 2015 (Warning against violence)A former hostage of PISSI warns against the mistake of playing into its hands with ill-calculated violence.
18 November 2015 (Reduced elephant poaching)Kenya has succeeded in driving elephant poaching way down.
18 November 2015 (Saudi-US coalition)The Saudi-US coalition is bombing the cultural history of Yemen to bits.
18 November 2015 (Attempt to block research)Republicans are trying to block students from doing research on the effect of Republican abortion-harassment laws.
16 November 2015 (Call it PISSI)Why it is important not to call PISSI by the names it gives itself.
It's the same reason we shouldn't call sharing "piracy", or call the prohibition of sharing "protection".
16 November 2015 (Software to recognize microexpressions)Software has been developed to recognize human microexpressions. Most people (maybe all) will be unable to hide their feelings from these.
This may be good in some circumstances, and bad in others. Even if everyone has access to this, it will tend to reinforce the power of those with more power already.
16 November 2015 (Campus thugs)Why Campus Cops Are So Dangerous.
16 November 2015 (Prison for spraying children with watergun)New Mexico has sentenced a man to 18 years in prison for spraying children with a watergun containing water mixed with his semen.
People should not do this, mainly because if they have some disease, there is a small chance they could transmit it this way. But if he didn't have a disease, I can't see that it did them any harm, or why they should be called "victims". This was not really "sexual contact".
16 November 2015 (Kurdish journalist imprisoned by Australia)Kurdish journalist Behrouz Bouchani fled Iran because he was going to be imprisoned for his work. Now he is imprisoned by Australia for being a refugee.
16 November 2015 (Americans' medical coverage)Many Americans' medical coverage has such a high deductible that they still can't afford medical care.
These insurance plans may be worth their price, because in the event of hospitalization or a major illness they might save the people far more than $3000. But these people are in such a desperate situation that they can't afford to make rational investments.
16 November 2015 (Haitians protesting rigged election)Haitians are protesting massively against the rigged presidential election.
16 November 2015 (Winter snowpacks shrinking)Global heating is making winter snowpacks shrink; declining water supply will affect two billion people.
16 November 2015 (NATO's responsibility for torture)The ICC seems to be investigating NATO's responsibility for torture in Afghanistan.
16 November 2015 (Portland bans new fossil fuel infrastructure)Portland, Oregon, has banned all new fossil fuel infrastructure.
The whole world ought to do this.
16 November 2015 (Toxic mine waste in Rio Doce)As toxic mine waste slowly flows downstream in the Rio Doce, it poisons water and kills fish.
Some towns are emptying as people in them have no water. What I wonder is, how long will it take before the river water is safe again? Will it be weeks, or decades?
Talking of "slow-motion environmental catastrophe", the whole world is facing an even slower one.
16 November 2015 (Tor "research" at CMU)Tor Says Feds Paid Carnegie Mellon $1M to Help Unmask Users.
Comp sci "research" aimed at sabotaging Tor reflects an ethical blind spot.
16 November 2015 (Chances of experiencing abuse from thugs)When black Americans deal with a thug, their chance of experiencing abuse from the thug is twice that of white Americans.
16 November 2015 (Progress against massive state surveillance)ACLU: Thanks to Snowden, we are making slow progress against massive state surveillance.
16 November 2015 (Corrupt and phony armies built by the US)The Afghan army and Iraqi army and Syrian rebel army that the US spent millions to build turned out to be as corrupt and phony as the construction projects it paid for.
16 November 2015 (Smoking at home)The US government is considering a ban on smoking in public housing.
Tobacco is death, and I implore tobacco smokers to quit; but it is wrong to ban people from smoking in their homes.
16 November 2015 (Prison for pretending to be male)Gayle Newland has been sentenced to 8 years in prison for having sex with a woman while pretending to be male.
This verdict seems totally absurd to me. What next? Will people be sentenced to prison for having sex while pretending to be rich? While pretending to be blonde?
16 November 2015 (Supporting Israel while condemning occupation)Most British Jews strongly support Israel, and condemn Israel's occupation policies and refusal to make peace.
16 November 2015 (Vote-rigging in Haiti)Accusations of vote-rigging in Haiti with UN complicity.
16 November 2015 (Professor fired for political views settles lawsuit)Professor Salaita, fired by the University of Illinois for his political views, sued; the university has now paid him a large amount of money, but he still does not have a job there. He comments that the injustices that motivated his controversial tweets have not been corrected.
16 November 2015 (Fraudulent foreclosure of home)A Texan family won $5 million in damages for the fraudulent foreclosure of their home '-- one home among 6 million that US banksters stole.
Too bad the Obama regime was on the side of the fraudsters.
16 November 2015 (Black Lives Matter tweets)The State of Oregon systematically investigated everyone that tweeted in support of Black Lives Matter.
16 November 2015 (Fungus wiping out bats in the US)A fungus spreading steadily across the US is wiping out bats.
The absence of bats will have grave ecological consequences. If some bats survive, it it will take a century for the bat populations to recover.
16 November 2015 (Ali al-Nimr being denied medical care)Ali al-Nimr, sentenced to death for a peaceful protest, is being denied medical care in prison.
Please sign the petition for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
16 November 2015 (Walmart workers fasting a protest)Walmart workers are fasting as a protest against wages that don't pay them enough to afford lunch.
16 November 2015 (TSA agents look for drugs in luggage)The US government admits that TSA agents actively look for drugs in luggage.
They are supposed to search a bag if an x-ray scan shows something that looks like drugs.
15 November 2015 (Urgent: colonies are not part of Israel)US citizens: Thank Obama for standing up for the EU's requirement not to label products of Israeli colonies as "Made in Israel" and for recognizing that these colonies are not part of Israel.
15 November 2015 (Urgent: shun television news)I urge everyone to shun television news for the next few days. There were terrorist attacks yesterday in Paris, and footage is likely to be shown.
Repeatedly watching footage of terrorist attacks can traumatize. I know someone in California who became afraid to go outdoors in 2001, after repeatedly watching pictures of the September 2001 attacks.
Whatever you want to know about the attacks, you can find in text.
15 November 2015 (Urgent: stop suppressing research)US citizens: tell the Department of Agriculture to stop suppressing scientific research.
15 November 2015 (Urgent: free imprisoned protesters)Everyone: call on the government of Burma to free imprisoned protesters.
15 November 2015 (Anti-racist activists and free speech defenders)Anti-racist activists and free speech defenders must reconcile to support a free society.
15 November 2015 (Mormon "mass resignation")Mormons plan a "mass resignation" to protest the Mormon Church's policy demanding children renounce their same-sex parents.
15 November 2015 (Award for avoiding lethal force)The LA thugs' union has condemned an award for avoiding lethal force.
This award is meant for police officers whose job is to "serve and protect". Thugs think they should get awards for killing citizens.
15 November 2015 (FSF's LibrePlanet event)The FSF's LibrePlanet event, which will be held in March, is looking for people to propose sessions.
15 November 2015 (Jihadi John and court of law)Jeremy Corbin: it would have been far better for us all if Jihadi John had been held to account in a court of law.
I agree. Killing someone proves he was vulnerable. Convicting him in a fair trial proves he did wrong.
I do not think killing him was wrong under the circumstances; there was no feasible way to arrest him. Corbyn did not say it was wrong to kill Jihadi John, but his political enemies are pretending that he did.
By contrast, the US could have arrested and tried Osama bin Laden, so it should have done so rather than kill him.
15 November 2015 (Inaudible sounds from ads)Some web advertisements play inaudible sounds to be picked up by proprietary malware running on other nearby computers so as to determine that they are nearby.
It is unlikely free software will do this, but malware introduced by an attack could do it.
I conclude that access to a microphone needs to be controlled like access to a camera. Applications should need special authorization to use the microphone.
15 November 2015 (Divestment from fossil fuels)Piketty calls for divestment from fossil fuels before the Paris climate conference.
15 November 2015 (Laws of war)We must follow the laws of war even against enemies that reject them completely.
15 November 2015 (Mosquitoes in November)Global heating means mosquitoes in November in New York City.
15 November 2015 (Torture by crucifixion)A prisoner facing execution in Egypt reports on torture by crucifixion.
He was convicted along with around 500 other people, clearly a joke of a trial.
15 November 2015 (Assistance to the homeless)Some parts of the US have set up funds to provide various small assistance to the homeless.
The trust funds established by the New Jersey law are good, but the stamp tax (as the colonists called it) is a regressive way to fund it. It would be better to tax the rich for this.
Some places go further and provide housing to all homeless people.
15 November 2015 (Giving money to stop refugees)Giving Money to Eritrea and Sudan to Stop Refugees is Almost Satire. The corrupt repression of those countries is what drives the people to flee.
15 November 2015 (Destruction of natural environment)Businesses that destroy the natural environment often use slaves to do it.
15 November 2015 (PISSI expelled from Sinjar)Some of the inhabitants of Sinjar are returning to the city, from which PISSI has been expelled.
15 November 2015 (Burma's National League for Democracy )The National League for Democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi's party, has won a majority in Burma even counting the seats that the military gets.
15 November 2015 (Church faces investigation)The Catholic Church in Australia made a statement opposing same-sex marriage, and faces a criminal investigation, because "offensive" statements are a crime in Australia.
I probably disagree with a lot of things the Church said, but I support its right to say them.
15 November 2015 (Binding climate agreement)France reproached Kerry for trying to abandon the goal of a binding climate agreement before the Paris conference even starts.
If the US doesn't want one, it can surely make sure there isn't one, or that it doesn't count for anything.
15 November 2015 (End to student debt)Students in the US protested in many cities demanding an end to student debt.
15 November 2015 (Background checks for gun buying)States with more background checks for gun buying have fewer mass shootings.
15 November 2015 (Greenland megaglacier)Greenland's Zachariae Isstrom megaglacier has started breaking up, a process likely to raise sea level half a meter over just three decades. Nothing we can do (short of engineering considerable global cooling) can stop this.
Another neighboring megaglacier could do likewise as global heating continues, which would cause another half meter of sea level rise.
Every glacier that feeds into an ocean is likely to have similar points of no return, that we will reach at some point.
15 November 2015 (Hindu Taliban)Anish Kapoor: India Is Being Ruled by a Hindu Taliban.
15 November 2015 (Don't trusk bankers)Society must not learn to trust bankers!
15 November 2015 (UK's Environment Agency)The UK's Environment Agency has become feckless and fails to enforce pollution laws.
I suppose this is Tory policy.
15 November 2015 (Austerity suicides in the UK)Austerity seems to have caused around 1000 suicides in the UK.
Many had despaired from being forced to apply uselessly for jobs they correctly thought they could not get.
15 November 2015 (Corrupt dealings of Scott Walker)More corrupt dealings of Scott Walker come out.
15 November 2015 (World Health Organization criticized the TPP)The World Health Organization has criticized the TPP.
15 November 2015 (Medicins sans Frontieres' report)M(C)dicins sans Fronti¨res' report on the attack on its hospital shows that the US air attack concentrated on the main building where operations were then being done.
There could hardly be any armed Taliban lurking in the building unseen. Anyway, unarmed MSF guards maintained full control of the grounds. The US excuse '-- which would be insufficient if it were true '-- cannot be true.
15 November 2015 (UK curbing "extremism")The UK wants to curb "extremism" by censoring it.
All the UK government has is a censor, so all publications look like'...
15 November 2015 (Battle against Texas pipeline)After White House Rejects Keystone XL, Battle Against Larger Texas Pipeline Intensifies.
15 November 2015 (PISSI's violence helps Erdogan)Although Erdoğan says PISSI is an enemy, PISSI's violence in Turkey seems directed to help him. And PISSI seems to be able to attack its enemies in Turkey.
15 November 2015 (NSA massive data collection)A court decision is a symbolic condemnation of NSA massive data collection.
It might help against other NSA data collection in the future.
15 November 2015 (Urgent: EPA's CO2 emission limit plan)US citizens: write to your senators to urge them to leave the EPA's CO2 emission limit plan alone.
15 November 2015 (Burst dam in Brazil)A dam burst in Brazil, releasing mine waste that washed away houses and killed people.
The toxic wastes might kill people in the long term, but I have no idea how many.
The US doesn't have adequate regulations for mine waste dams either.
15 November 2015 (Confidentiality agreements)Many large US companies now impose confidentiality agreements to bar employees from revealing wrongdoing to the US government.
The SEC is taking action against this.
15 November 2015 (Toxic PCBs in the SF Bay)Monsanto Accused of Knowingly Polluting SF Bay with Toxic PCBs.
15 November 2015 (Torture in China)Amnesty International says that China still regularly tortures prisoners: especially human rights activists and Falun Gong believers, as well as officials accused of corruption.
The Chinese government resists efforts to try to stop torture, and so does the US government.
We Americans can't do much to stop torture in China, but we ought to be able to stop it in the US.
14 November 2015 (Spying by German intelligence)German intelligence spied on the FBI, the French foreign minister, and UNICEF.
14 November 2015 (India's planned fossil fuel increase)India's planned fossil fuel increase will break the world's carbon budget.
This suggests the world should make a deal in which India reduces fossil fuel use, and other countries pay for renewable energy development in India.
14 November 2015 (Social media stars)For social media stars, paid by companies that want to connect with their fans, not only their clothing but even their relationships may be designed to get more fans to sell.
14 November 2015 (Mistreatment in juvenile prison)Experience cleaning up a juvenile prison, in which the prisoners and the guards faced sexual harassment and the prisoners were treated horribly.
Mistreatment was not rare, it was the usual case.
14 November 2015 (Personal data in remote storage)Microsoft offers European users services that keep their data in a European computer run by a European trustee company, so that the US government has no jurisdiction over them.
This is a sensible solution for that one specific problem. It does not alter the point that it's unwise to entrust your personal data to any remote storage.
It also does not make Microsoft's proprietary software acceptable, or excuse its malicious functionalities.
14 November 2015 (Global heating hitting Tibet)Global heating is hitting Tibet: glaciers and permafrost are melting visibly.
14 November 2015 (43 years in solitary)Albert Woodfox has spent 43 years in solitary, and will be kept there further until his surrealistic retrial, to stop him from organizing other prisoners.
14 November 2015 (Burma's election)The National League for Democracy has done very well in Burma's election, and looks set to win a majority in parliament even despite the 25% of seats set aside for the military.
14 November 2015 (Privatization)"Public-private partnerships" are touted as an easy way to get infrastructure built, but they are a form of privatization which drains the treasury later.
We simply must tax the rich more.
14 November 2015 (Comcast admitted data caps unrelated to network congestion)Comcast admitted internally that its data caps have nothing to do with network congestion.
They are not traffic-shaping, but market-shaping. Comcast is taking advantage of the lack of competition in the US network market.
Wireless networks are too close to a monopoly to be allowed to set their own rules. They should be regulated as utilities.
14 November 2015 (UK snooping bill is last debate before mass gagging)The UK's snooping bill is "the last policy discussion about surveillance before the mass gagging."
If this bill passes, no debate will be allowed; the entire subject will be secret.
14 November 2015 (FAA can't properly inspect US airlines)Major US airlines have offshored heavy maintenance to facilities that the FAA can't properly inspect, and in practice does not try. Maintenance workers in the US report serious flaws.
There is no reason to allow US-flag airlines to do maintenance outside the US except in emergencies.
14 November 2015 (Ban on prohibiting customers from giving honest reviews)The Senate is considering a bill to ban companies from using contracts to prohibit customers from saying anything bad about the company.
That would be good. Will the bill ban attempts to use copyright to do this?
Will it ban imposing arbitration on customers?
14 November 2015 (SCROTUS trying to legalize car loan discrimination)SCROTUS are trying to legalize a kind of racial discrimination in car loans.
14 November 2015 (Large companies monopolise US H-1B visas)Large outsourcing companies have figured out how to use the US H-1B visa program to bring foreign teams to the US, so there are no visas available for other businesses.
14 November 2015 (USDA meat inspection)An undercover video shows that the USDA's new, "more efficient" meat inspection is almost no inspection at all.
14 November 2015 (Cancellation of citizenship without trial)Australia's exile bill would still permit cancellation of citizenship without a trial.
14 November 2015 (General strike planned in Greece)A general strike against austerity is planned in Greece.
14 November 2015 (Australia to deport resident of 50 out of 51 years)Australia plans to deport Ian Whiteman, who has lived in Australia since he was one year old, to a country he hardly knows.
This because of a crime that caused no damage but is considered "serious".
Deportation of criminals is justified, sometimes, but not in a cruel and mindless fashion. A person whose only family ties are in Australia, and who could easily have become a citizen, should not be deported if not likely to be a repeat criminal or if some other country is not "home".
Stopping his parents from visiting him is cruel also.
Several people will be deported to New Zealand because of membership in an arbitrarily banned motorcycle club.
14 November 2015 (Face recognition in Walmart)Walmart tried using face recognition to compare everyone in the store to a list of faces of known shoplifters.
If this works, and it is extended a few small steps, I see a danger that anyone who has ever shoplifted will never be able to buy groceries again '-- in any store. This could be a choice between a death sentence and life imprisonment.
For the most part I don't see a problem in having Walmart (or some other store '-- I refuse to buy from Walmart, after all) scan my face and not keep records of it. What I object to is if someone scans my face on the street and keeps track of where I go. Especially if this is done by the state.
14 November 2015 (Paris climate conference set up to fail)The Paris climate conference has been set up to fail, just as Copenhagen was, with governments making efforts to spin failure as success.
14 November 2015 (PEN calls on US to stop prosecuting whistleblowers)PEN calls on the US government to stop prosecuting whistleblowers under the Espionage Act.
14 November 2015 (Anti-racism campaigns in US universities)Campaigns against racism are spreading to other US universities.
"Mizzou" seems to be an affectionate nickname referring to the University of Missouri, used by people who work or study there. Since I have no relationship with that school, for me to use that nickname would mean pretending to an intimacy I don't have. Thus, I call the school by its official name.
14 November 2015 (No legal obstacles to ending Guantanamo)There are no legal obstacles stopping Obama from ending the indefinite imprisonment of Guantanamo, if he wanted to.
14 November 2015 (Raising minimum wage accompanied by decreased unemployment)Raising the minimum wage is often accompanied by decreased unemployment.
14 November 2015 (14-year-olds charged over sex video)Two 14-year-olds in New York State face felony charges for making a video in which one of them has sex with someone else. Other students they sent the video to are being punished as well.
Provided the other star was involved voluntarily (information not available), then I think it is wrong to punish any of them.
It is even more clearly wrong to punish students for receiving a message containing the video. And parents that examine their children's phones to see if they have been sent sexts are held by this twisted law to have committed the same "felony".
Any law making it a crime to possess a copy of some text, photo or video is injustice, pure and simple.
14 November 2015 (UK increasing subsidy of fossil fuels)The UK is giving increased subsidies to fossil fuels.
So this is why they have to make so many families homeless and hungry.
14 November 2015 (Urgent: make election day a national holiday)US citizens: call for making election day a national holiday.
14 November 2015 (Urgent: support goal of zero nuclear weapons)US citizens: call on presidential candidates to support the goal of global zero nuclear weapons.
14 November 2015 (UK Snooper's Charter would endanger security researchers )The Snooper's Charter would endanger computer security researchers in the UK.
There might be one way around this. If you publish info about the back door you found, encrypted, on a foreign site, and send the key to another foreign site that will publish the information in several months no matter what you subsequently say or do, you might then be safe discussing the matter with some foreign colleagues with a view to publishing it in a better way with better checking.
Of course, it's nuts to make security researchers go through these steps to protect themselves from state repression.
14 November 2015 (Making pointless apps or solving real problems)Never Mind Pointless Apps '-- Our Best Minds Should Be Solving Real Problems.
This is not to mention that those apps are usually nonfree software, and often malware as well.
14 November 2015 (Modern slavery found in any industry)Modern slavery can be found in any industry.
Employers want immigrants to undercut wages for everyone else. Sometimes the immigrants are entirely willing. Sometimes they are threatened, exploited, or imprisoned. Either way, the overall result is that business owners around the world get more money, and workers get less.
14 November 2015 (UK journalists imprisoned in Indonesia)Two British journalists imprisoned in Indonesia say that naval officers paid close attention to their case, while the UK's supposed help was incompetent.
Even though they had money to pay for some privileges in prison, they could not avoid the dirty food, and they could not get medicine when they got sick.
14 November 2015 (Forced confession of Timothy Johnson)Timothy Johnson was convicted of murder based on a false confession, then exonerated as there was no real evidence against him. He says that the thugs dangled him off the side of a bridge to get him to confess.
They also laid false charges against his parents to put pressure on him.
14 November 2015 (Beheading of Afghan Shi'ites)Someone, presumably supporters of PISSI, murdered some Afghan Shi'ites by beheading them.
In response, crowds tried to storm the presidential palace, crying "Death to [President] Ghani, death to the Taliban."
I don't see why they want the former; but if Afghans remain fired up to fight the Taliban, they may have what it takes to defeat the Taliban.
14 November 2015 (Hack reveals illegal surveillance of prisoners)A company that handles prisoners' phone calls, including with their lawyers, records them all. Even when prisoners talk with their lawyers. Someone just got these recordings and leaked them.
Leaking them en mass was wrong, but not as wrong about what this company (Insecurus?) did.
14 November 2015 (Vandana Shiva on 'fail-anthropy')The West's 'Fail-Anthropy'.
14 November 2015 (Colorado single-payer health care initiative)Colorado is considering a ballot initiative for single-payer health care.
I am concerned that this is not a large enough step to work. Many low-paid workers have been forced to be "independent contractors", and I think many of them can't afford to contribute 10% of their pay for medical care.
I don't see how health care for the unemployed would be covered, and I don't see anything to push gouging prices down. Perhaps the scheme has measures for this which are not mentioned in the article. If not, I think it won't work.
14 November 2015 (UK's hidden family homelessness)In the UK, ever more families are becoming homeless (even though the adults are working), and put into cramped shelters.
In the US, homeless families don't get shelters.
14 November 2015 (Republicans debate how to prevent wage increases)Republican candidates debated why and how to stop American workers from getting a wage.
Trump effectively admitted that globalization driven by business interests imposes poverty on most people. This globalization is not a natural phenomenon; it was imposed by those business interests through bad laws and worse "free trade" treaties. So let's get rid of those laws and treaty.
It is true that wages, and benefits, encourage employers to replace workers with machines. We can reduce this problem by funding Social Security and unemployment benefits from taxes that are independent of employment '-- taxes that businesses will have to pay even if they replace all workers with machines.
However, we must also block the forms of automation that would put many people out of work, until we establish a universal basic income so that people don't need employment.
14 November 2015 (2050 future history)On the Verge of the Great Unraveling.
14 November 2015 (Saudi Arabia releases 74 year old)Saudi Arabia compassionately released 74-year-old Karl Andree, who had been sentenced to 350 lashes for possession of drugs (specifically, wine).
The US has stopped repressing people for carrying wine, but you can get imprisoned for having other drugs.
14 November 2015 (NYC solitary confinement and pepper spray)New York City's replacement for solitary confinement turns out to be more or less solitary confinement with pepper spray.
13 November 2015 (American applies for asylum in Canada)Kyle Lydell Canty has applied for asylum in Canada because of racism in the US.
13 November 2015 (Modi's Hindu-nationalist government)Modi's Hindu-nationalist government presides over repeated lynchings and attacks the pluralist basis of the Indian state.
13 November 2015 (Legal Battles to Protect The Environment)Legal Battles to Protect The Environment 'Easier to Fight in China Than the UK'.
13 November 2015 (Labels for products made in Israel's colonies)The EU has adopted requirements that products made in Israel's colonies in Palestine must be labeled specially, not as "Made in Israel".
Of course, the purpose of this labelling is discrimination '-- like all such required labelling. The discrimination in this case is not against Israel, but against its violations of international law by setting up colonies in Palestine and settling Israelis in them. This labelling will help people practice a narrow boycott against those colonies, much narrower than the boycott of nearly all Israeli institutions that Palestinians have called for.
I support the boycott of products of those colonies ("settlements").
13 November 2015 (Angolan dictatorship)The independent Angolan dictatorship has picked up the practices of the former Portuguese dictatorship that ruled Angola as a colony.
13 November 2015 (Captive orcas)A writer describes how seeing a captive orca made him ashamed.
This article is packed with idiocy, such as the misused cliche "playing god", which is irrational even in its usual meaning.
However, I agree with its basic point that it is cruel to cage orcas.
13 November 2015 (Senate's CIA torture report)The US government has ordered executive branch agencies not to read the copies of the CIA torture report that the Senate sent them.
This is based on a bizarre and twisted legal excuse, so it's clear that the goal is to stand up for torturers and torture.
13 November 2015 (Effects of Tories' spending cuts)The Tories choose not to see or believe the effects of their spending cuts.
13 November 2015 (Sale of endangered lizards as pets)The sale of exotic, endangered lizards as expensive pets could wipe out those species.
13 November 2015 (The 1965-66 massacre in Indonesia)Survivors of the 1965-66 massacre in Indonesia continue trying to open investigation into those events, and continue to face censorship.
13 November 2015 (Australia's funding of coal)Australia may block an OECD deal to stop funding coal.
13 November 2015 (US upgrading some nuclear bombs)The US is upgrading some nuclear bombs to make them more "usable".
That is going in the wrong direction.
12 November 2015 (The resistance at University of Missouri)The University of Missouri had started attacking women's rights and was mistreating all its students. Resistance was widespread, and the black football players were joined in resistance by a large fraction of the campus.
12 November 2015 (Unlawful killings by Israeli forces)Amnesty: Israeli Forces in Occupied Palestinian Territories Must End Pattern of Unlawful Killings.
Some of these Palestinians had attacked Israelis. Others hadn't done anything wrong.
Amnesty's point is that even when they had attacked someone with a knife, that doesn't call for shooting them when it was possible to arrest them, let alone for killing them by denying them medical care.
12 November 2015 (Drug traffickers and palm-oil planters)In Honduras, drug traffickers and palm-oil planters are working together to take land from indigenous people and deforest it.
12 November 2015 (Imprisonment without trial in the US)Congress blocked Obama's plan to "close" the Guantanamo prison by moving imprisonment without trial to the US itself.
Obama's plan might perhaps be a scheme to end imprisonment without trial by supposing that the Supreme Court would grant them habias corpus. If so, it would be great provided it works '-- but with our current authoritarian Supreme Court, I would not count on that.
12 November 2015 (Maldive state of emergency)The Maldive "president" has cancelled the state of emergency.
12 November 2015 (Australia's privatized refugee prison)Australia imprisoned Iranian refugee Fazel Chegeni in the privatized Christmas Island prison, apparently forever. He died trying to escape, and the other prisoners responded by rioting and destroying parts of their prison.
Thugs moved in and regained control, but it's not clear that's a good thing.
12 November 2015 (The UK's Snooper's Charter)The UK's Snooper's Charter imposes a gagging requirement on everyone ordered to snoop on people. This is "the last policy discussion about surveillance before the mass gagging."
"Note that this section is absolute: it does not have exceptions, for example in relation to the public interest: such as the ability to discuss the benefit or downsides of part interception activities; no exception for talking about this to MPs, or other democratic representatives; or even to exculpate anyone who otherwise would be wrongfully found guilty."
12 November 2015 (US thugs trained to shoot without thinking)US thug departments train thugs in how to shoot, but not in how to resolve a crisis without shooting. And the training says to shoot fast, without taking time to think. No wonder that's what they do.
Then the Supreme Court upholds an extreme level of immunity for them, so they are almost certain to get away with killings.
12 November 2015 (Prejudice against sex workers)Moroccan actress Loubna Abidar played a sex worker in a film which Morocco banned. Then she was attacked by a mob on the street, and hospitals would not admit her. She fled the country.
I blame these events on the prejudice against sex workers. The film made prejudiced Moroccans uncomfortable by showing that sex workers exist there, so they took it out on her.
Many other laws reflect this prejudice, which I have never understood.
12 November 2015 (Portuguese celebrate)Portuguese celebrate because an anti-austerity coalition is going to take power.
12 November 2015 (Saudi bombing accusation)The ICRC accused Saudi Arabia (backed by the US) of intentionally targeting hospitals in Yemen.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: Israel-Palestine conflict)US citizens: ask congresscritters to sign the Ellison-Yarmuth-Dingell letter calling for a political resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: FDA nomination)US citizens: phone your senators to oppose Obama's nomination of Robert Califf to head the Food and Drug Administration.
He is too much in bed with the pharma companies to regulate them properly, and we must suspect he wouldn't want to try.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: don't move Guantanamo to the US)US citizens: Phone your congresscritter and say, don't move Guantanamo prison to the US. Each prisoner should be tried in a civilian US court, or freed.
The Capitol Switchboard numbers are 202-224-3121, 888-818-6641 and 888-355-3588.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: support the SAVE Benefits Act)US citizens: call on members of Congress to support the SAVE Benefits Act.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: methane pollution)US citizens: call on the EPA to take strong action against methane pollution.
12 November 2015 (Urgent: reject the TPP)US citizens: call on Congress to reject the TPP.
12 November 2015 (Forced medication)A mental health bill now in the US Congress would lead to forced medication.
12 November 2015 (Thugs' unofficial slowdown strike)When thugs say they are deterred from doing their job by the danger citizens' videos will reveal their unjust violence, it amounts to threatening an unofficial slowdown strike to demand restored impunity.
12 November 2015 (UK Snooper's Charter)Where the UK Snooper's Charter is leading.
12 November 2015 (Facebook app scanning photos)Facebook's app has started scanning photos people take with their phones.
The article says "camera", but that word is misleading; cameras do not have a Facebook app installed in them. This applies only to phones and tablets.
I suspect the face recognition is done by sending the photos to a Facebook server. If so, the server could do other things with those photos. It could save them and send them to Big Brother. From now on, when people want to snap me with a mobile, I will verify it does not have a Facebook app installed before I say yes.
12 November 2015 (House Anti-Science Committee)House Anti-Science Committee Attempts to Suppress Climate Change Studies.
One way to fight back is by replacing the weak term that the denialists chose, "climate change", with something stronger such as "global heating" or "climate mayhem".
12 November 2015 (Linking as violation of copyright)The EU is considering a law to declare linking to a page a violation of copyright.
It is too bad that the article uses the enemy's propaganda word, "protection", to refer to copyright.
12 November 2015 (UK's attack on end-to-end encryption)The UK's attack on end-to-end encryption is serious, and its denials are clearly lies. It wants to force computer manufacturers and sellers to sabotage users' computers on demand to make their data decryptable.
However, encryption done in proprietary software can't be trusted anyway. Whether or not a state can force the company to sabotage it, the company might do so on its own initiative at any time. You can't rationally trust nonfree programs: they do computing for suckers.
When the author says "the services you and I use", apparently assuming that you and he use software you and he can't rationally trust, he says he's a sucker and he assumes you are too.
12 November 2015 (Blood shed for oil)Nigeria Must Own Up to the Blood Shed for Oil.
The officials responsible for the murder of Ogoni environmental activists 20 years ago have not been punished or even censured, and some remain in positions of power today.
12 November 2015 (European Court of Human Rights)The European Court of Human Rights ruled against freedom of speech by endorsing censorship of opinions and even views about history. Evidently it doesn't fully support human rights. Respecting freedom of speech means respecting the right to state views we oppose.
Antisemitism is prejudice against a group of people which (in the usual interpretation) includes me. I disapprove of it, but I respect people's right to state that opinion or any other.
When a state mandates a specific position on a factual question, that makes it impossible to discuss that question frankly in that country.
12 November 2015 (Hossam Bahgat freed)Egyptian journalist Hossam Bahgat has been freed.
The article does not indicate whether the charges, publishing something that displeased the state, have been dropped.
12 November 2015 (Jail for sexting)Teenagers are threatened by laws that could jail them for sexting or inviting others to sext them.
I think it is unkind to pressure someone to sext, and I would not do that, even though pressuring is not equivalent to forcing. However, it is simply wrong to punish adolescents for sexting, or anything else sexual that they willingly do. Sex is the normal preoccupation of adolescents.
12 November 2015 (Leprosy in India)Although leprosy is curable, people in India whose bodies show harm done by the disease face various sorts of discrimination and cruelty.
I am shocked by the point about "grounds for divorce". Does India still require people present "grounds" if they want a divorce? If so, the change that's needed here is to eliminate that requirement.
12 November 2015 (Dual citizens convicted of terrorism)Australia will take citizenship away from dual citizens convicted of terrorism crimes.
At least it is limited to those actually convicted. The previous proposal would have allowed officials to do this without a trial.
12 November 2015 (Unauthorized immigrant children)A US appeals court overturned Obama's executive order against deporting certain unauthorized immigrant children.
I don't want a large amount of immigration to the US, but people who were brought as children and have spend many years in the US should be allowed to become citizens.
The right-wing concern about "anchor babies" is due to a fear that is not based on facts.
12 November 2015 (Rightwingers Push 'Moral' Coal)Rightwingers Push 'Moral' Coal Only After They Doomed a Truly Moral Alternative.
The fossil fuel magnates pay lots smart but selfish people to say all sorts of bogus things in favor of using fossil fuels. We will see through them all, but will we do it soon enough to prevent disaster?
12 November 2015 (Violent thug received light sentence)The thug whose gratuitous violence seems to have caused the death of Matthew Ajibade has received a light sentence including 15 weekends in jail.
Still, if every violent thug were sentenced this way, it might be enough to deter their violence.
12 November 2015 (250,000 euro fine for Facebook)A Belgian court will fine Facebook 250,000 euros per day unless it stops tracking people that don't have Facebook accounts.
The issue is that Facebook sends some visitors cookies. It is not clear that the court realizes that Facebook also tracks people who merely see a "Like" button.
12 November 2015 (Suing the World Bank)Indian fishermen and farmers are suing the World Bank for investing in a giant coal-fired power plant where they live. The World Bank says it can't be sued in US courts.
Investing in burning coal is planet-roasting behavior. Young people, who may well be killed by climate mayhem, have grounds to use force to block the activities that threaten their lives.
12 November 2015 (EU directive to limit trade in wildlife and toxic waste)The UK has killed an EU directive to limit trade in wildlife and toxic waste.
12 November 2015 (Netanyahu never supported a Palestinian state)Netanyahu Has Never Actually Supported a Palestinian State, Despite What He Told Obama.
12 November 2015 (Saudi Arabia emptied its aquifer)Saudi Arabia emptied its aquifer for agriculture; now all its wells are dry and it has no more agriculture. California is following the same path.
12 November 2015 (Fraternity Sues Rolling Stone)UVA Fraternity Sues Rolling Stone for $25m over Retracted Rape Article.
12 November 2015 (Speed eviction of families)Europe's banksters demand Greece speed eviction of families that can't pay their mortgages, or its creditors won't get the next next batch aid.
It's a mistake to call these payments "aid", if that means aid for Greece.
12 November 2015 (Sex crimes common among US thugs)Sex crimes are common among thugs in the US.
12 November 2015 (Door to KGB building set on fire)A Russian performance artist set fire to the door of the building used by what was formerly called the KGB, to point out that it's still there and still dangerous.
The author understates the danger from UK spy organizations. What they threaten to do, when they violate privacy, is imprison journalists' sources and thus endanger democracy. Even if they don't torture people like Russian and US spy organizations, that is still a terrible threat. Besides, the UK spy organizations didhand over people to Qadhafi for torture.
12 November 2015 (The Divisive Manipulator Who Charmed the World)Narendra Modi: the Divisive Manipulator Who Charmed the World.
12 November 2015 (Employees of HK publisher disappear)Four employees of a Hong Kong publisher have disappeared, separately. This is apparently the work of Chinese agents, perhaps with the help of Thailand.
12 November 2015 (UK's surveillance bill)The UK's surveillance bill would give the state the power to order companies to sabotage end-to-end encryption facilities that they provide to users.
This is one more reason why you shouldn't trust a nonfree program for encryption, on top of many other reasons. Basically, nonfree programs cannot deserve your trust; they do computing for suckers.
12 November 2015 (Wasted development aid money)Development aid money is mostly wasted since only a tiny fraction goes to the local organizations that actually do work.
12 November 2015 (Politicians' excuse for inequality and surveillance)Blaming inequality and massive surveillance on digital technology is a handy excuse for politicians that want to increase inequality and surveillance.
12 November 2015 (Pollution in Ogoniland)Pollution in Ogoniland is just as bad now as it was 20 years ago when Nigeria executed protest leaders.
10 November 2015 (Burmese constitution rigged)The National League for Democracy won the election for parliament in Burma, but the constitution has been rigged so as to limit its political power.
10 November 2015 (Protecting US teens from radicalization)Suggesting a way to protect US teens from radicalization that won't backfire.
10 November 2015 (1C of global heating reached)Global heating has reached 1C, and is still accelerating.
10 November 2015 (Poor people's children disposable to plutocrats)For plutocratist politicians, poor people's children are disposable: just blame all the consequences of poverty on their parents.
10 November 2015 (Urgent: Keep fossil fuel in the ground)US citizens: call on Obama to keep fossil fuels in the ground.
10 November 2015 (Obama offers to meet Netanyahu)Obama offered Netanyahu a meeting, and used it to show he will do nothing to pressure Netanyahu to end the perpetual occupation of Palestine.
Netanyahu will continue the occupation until he faces enough pressure to make him change. If I were president of the US, I would tell Netanyahu that Israel will get US aid for one purpose only: building replacements in Israel for the colonies in Palestine, and demolishing those colonies.
10 November 2015 (Enslaved migrants on palm oil plantations)"Palm oil: why do we care more about orangutans than migrant workers?"
It's simple. An individual migrant worker has more rights than an individual orangutan; but orangutans are an endangered species while humans are reproducing like weeds.
However, that question is purely theoretical; there is no practical reason to compare the two, because it's easiest to protect them both. Anything we do to prevent the enslavement of migrant workers on palm oil plantations will protect the orangutans, by discouraging the spread of palm oil plantations.
10 November 2015 (Thais accused of "insulting" royals dead)Two Thais accused of criticizing the royal family have died in prison.
Merely accusing them of this "crime" is an injustice.
10 November 2015 (Corrupt US state legislators)Corruption is common in US state legislators.
10 November 2015 (Storm and drought in Europe)Storm And Drought: What Europe Has to Fear from [global heating].
10 November 2015 (NSA's use of operating system bugs)The NSA reports most of the bugs it finds in operating systems, but only after a delay while it uses them to attack computers.
10 November 2015 (Journalist charged with publishing news)Hossam Bahgat, Egyptian journalist and human rights activist, has been charged with "publishing false news".
"False news", in Egypt, means anything that doesn't come from the state.
10 November 2015 (Yemeni children's game called airstrike)Yemen: 'The children have a game called airstrike in which they fall to the ground'.
How long before they start playing "suicide bomber"?
10 November 2015 (Rejection of Keystone XL)Obama reportedly decided 2 years ago to reject Keystone XL, but waited for a "politically opportune time" to announce it.
Curbing global heating is a battle against time. If he had rejected Keystone XL earlier, the rejection would have boosted our side sooner.
10 November 2015 (French Pun)Trocadero.
10 November 2015 (Urgent: Oppose building oil terminals)US citizens: oppose building oil terminals in Washington State.
I used this as my text.
The Keystone XL pipeline has been cancelled. Please don't allow it to be replaced with oil trains to Washington State. We need to keep the tar sands oil in the ground, to avoid toxic spills and disastrous global heating. Oil trains will also cause fires repeatedly.
10 November 2015 (Urgent: Defeat the TPP)US citizens: call on Congress to defeat the TPP.
In the text of the letter, I replaced "Trans-Pacific Partnership" with "TPP", and added "This is a partnership of corporations to attack democracy, with some secondary and unimportant effects on trade."
10 November 2015 (SCROTUS delaying appointment of ambassadors)SCROTUS are delaying the appointment of 32 US ambassadors, as a harassment technique.
10 November 2015 (Safety for pedestrians in Mexico)Mexican real-life "superhero" Peat"nito campaigns for safety for pedestrians.
10 November 2015 (The Crotch Brother fights spread of solar power)A deceptive campaign in Florida to check the spread of home solar power just got a boost from a secret donor.
Since we don't know who the donor is, we can make up a fictional name for him without lying. We could call him "John Doe", or "The Crotch Brother".
10 November 2015 (Football players on strike)Black football players at the University of Missouri have gone on strike demanding the resignation of the university president, who has not done much against racism on campus.
They are powerful because they bring in a lot of money to the school, and they are trying to use this to do some good. Bravo for them, but I think it is a shame that many Americans are obsessed with the artificial struggle of football and thus distracted from the real struggle against the plutocrats.
The strike is getting support from others on campus, and the president has resigned.
10 November 2015 (Haiti's presidential election)One of Haiti's presidential candidates, who came in second in the first round of voting, says the election was rigged by Martelly.
10 November 2015 (UK surveillance bill)The UK's surveillance bill threatens investigative journalism by putting sources in danger.
Here's a case in point.
Another bill would attack journalism on another front, by hampering freedom of information access.
10 November 2015 (Dubya)Donald Trump dares to point out that Dubya left the US wide open to the September 2001 terrorist attacks, even cancelling precautions that Clinton had set up.
This was more widely acknowledged 10 years ago than it is now.
I will not take as certain that Dubya didn't do any worse things in regard to the attack. His official investigation of the attacks was weakened and then corrupted.
I support the demand for a new investigation.
09 November 2015 (Urgent: close gun sale loopholes)US citizens: call on Obama to use executive orders to close some gun sale loopholes.
09 November 2015 (Urgent: end subsidies for fossil fuels)Everyone: demonstrate on Nov 14 to end subsidies for fossil fuels.
09 November 2015 (Urgent: don't include fracking in climate "solution")US citizens: call on officials not to include fracking in any climate "solution".
09 November 2015 (Urgent: ending gerrymandering)US citizens: stand for ending gerrymandering.
09 November 2015 (UK's housing crisis)The UK's housing crisis could be solved if the disused buildings were made available to live in. Instead, Tory policy is to put squatters in jail.
09 November 2015 (McCarthyism in the UK)The UK's plans to chase "extremists" out of positions of influence remind me of McCarthyism.
09 November 2015 (Journalists in Zimbabwe arrested)Journalists in Zimbabwe were arrested for accusing officials of corruption (participating in hunting of elephants).
09 November 2015 (Local social relationships)When globalization destroys local social relationships, it sparks local rivalries; these can attract to previously unimportant religious or ethnic differences and turn into hatred and violence.
09 November 2015 (Web services deny users' rights)A project sets out to summarize how various web services deny users' rights through their terms and conditions.
I doubt that competition will be effective for eliminating nasty conditions. The overall level of competition in this field is too low.
I think we need laws to limit what conditions essential digital services can impose. And rather than judging violations themselves, they should have to go to court in order to cut off service to anyone.
09 November 2015 (Censorship in Bali)The writers festival in Bali was forced to cancel sessions about the 1965 massacre, but people discussed it anyway, and condemned the censorship.
09 November 2015 ("Special" violent intelligence operations)Australia's secrecy about "special" violent intelligence operations extends to the point of refusing to say whether there have been any.
If an Australian agent on one of these operations kills your child, you will need to escape from Australia before you can safely say so.
09 November 2015 (EU's proposed trade secrets directive)The EU's proposed trade secrets directive bows down to business at the expense of journalism, workers, and public safety.
Trade secrecy is harmful to the public interest, and one of the supposed purposes of the patent system is to discourage trade secrecy.
How about discouraging it by not adopting laws to facilitate it?
09 November 2015 (Privacy of reading on the internet)The UK's threat to the privacy of reading on the internet is extremely dangerous.
So is the surveillance exercised by snooping web sites. We must put an end to all of it.
09 November 2015 (Thugs face murder charges)The thugs that killed 6-year-old Jeremy Mardis face charges of second-degree murder.
They should be prosecuted also for their false accusations.
09 November 2015 (Sell out to fracking)Denmark's government wanted to sell out to fracking, but the people organized and blocked it.
09 November 2015 (Democratic Socialism)Many famous Americans do or did support Democratic Socialism.
09 November 2015 (Unions reducing inequality)Unions are very effective at reducing inequality and preventing dooH niboR laws, according to an IMF study.
09 November 2015 (Proposed oil export terminals)The summary of public comments about the proposed oil export terminals in Washington State mysteriously omits some comments that indicated dangers.
09 November 2015 (Shot dead while lying wounded)Mahdi Mohammad Ramadan al-Mohtasib was shot dead by an Israeli soldier as he lay on the ground, already shot and wounded.
09 November 2015 (Bedouin village of al-Araqib)Israeli bulldozers have knocked down the Bedouin village of al-Araqib 90 times in just 5 years.
Each time, the villagers return and rebuild.
09 November 2015 (The 'Ferguson Effect')The 'Ferguson Effect' Is Just a Ploy to Reduce Scrutiny of the Police.
09 November 2015 (Myths about the "Free market")Six myths about the "free market".
The market system is a useful tool, but if all you have is a market system, everything starts to look like it's for sale.
09 November 2015 (Secret imprisoning by Assad)Amnesty accuses Assad's regime of secretly imprisoning 60,000 people. Some were tortured.
Their relatives can't get any information about them, except underground.
09 November 2015 (Restrain spies with total access)You can't trust judges to effectively restrain spies equipped with total access.
The experience with the FISA court shows this is true in the US as well.
09 November 2015 ("Voluntary self-regulation")As states bind themselves by treaty not to regulate businesses, they are left with no tools except to ask them to "voluntarily self-regulate". And this method usually fails, because businesses don't really carry out the self-regulation.
"Governments are liberating global corporations from the rule of law and leaving them to rip the world apart."
09 November 2015 (Snooping agencies' contacts for complaints)US snooping agencies were ordered to set up contacts for complaints, but they have ignored the order for 17 years.
09 November 2015 (Curb global heating)Canadians are already campaigning to press the new prime minister to take real action to curb global heating.
I wish they would replace the term "climate change", imposed by Dubya's officials because it downplays the danger, with one that does justice to the importance of the issue.
09 November 2015 (Impunity of thugs)The impunity of thugs in the US goes to absurd lengths: a thug who shot a tased man who was lying on the ground face down was acquitted because she said she was afraid of him.
Even if he had had pulled a gun, and shot, he was not likely to hit her under those circumstances.
Next time, a thug will say, "Yes, he was sitting on the ground with his hands in the air, but I was afraid he would think deadly thoughts and kill me with telepathy." And get acquitted.
US thugs kill so many people because they have been taught to kill whenever they see even a shadow of a shade of a threat. We have to change that training and that attitude. There are other countries that teach a different approach.
9 November 2015 (EU low-tax deals)Several EU countries want to keep their sleazy low-tax deals with multinational companies secret from investigating MEPs.
9 November 2015 (Websites leaks Data)Nine Out of Ten of the Internet's Top Websites Are Leaking Your Data. To data brokers, that is.
I follow the recommendations at the end of the article.
9 November 2015 (Guantanamo)Obama wants to "close Guantanamo prison" by transferring imprisonment without trial to Colorado.
This would normalize imprisonment without trial, which is bad; however, it might also make it easier for these prisoners to get the benefit of the US constitution in the courts.
The US must try or release each of these prisoners.
9 November 2015 (New libre journal)The whole staff of the Elsevier's paywalled journal Lingua have quit to start a new libre journal.
9 November 2015 (Facebook bans Tsu)Facebook found another social network to be a source of spam links, so it banned all mention of that site's name anywhere.
9 November 2015 (Private prisons)A perverse law requires the US government to keep at least 34,000 possibly-unauthorized immigrants in prison at any time, regardless of whether there is any good reason to do so.
The motive for this law seems to be to assure the profits of private prisons.
Hundreds of prisoners in one of these private prisons are on hunger strike. The prison company says there is no hunger strike, but the leaders of the supposedly nonexistent strike are being punished with solitary confinement, persistent cold, isolation from their families, etc.
These prisoners have not been convicted of a crime, and some will win appeals and be granted US residency. Although the prison executives' motive for punishing them for not eating is obvious, they have no grounds to do so.
9 November 2015 (President of Haiti)Who Will the U.S. Declare President of Haiti This Time?
9 November 2015 (Bullies)A teacher in Kansas showed a film in class to open students' eyes to what it feels like to be bullied for homosexuality has faced bullying from right-wing parents, but has decided not to resign.
Bravo! Resigning would endorse the bullies' position.
9 November 2015 (UK government)The UK government plans to prohibit renting out a bedroom smaller than 6.5 square meters.
This will make the housing shortage a little worse, though not as much as the other bad things that it is doing. Rather than subdivide a bedroom, several people will sleep in the same bed, medieval style.
The government's responsibility is to make enough space for people to live in available at a decent price. As long as it fails to do this, people will suffer one way or another.
9 November 2015 (Death rates increased)For 15 years, death rates among middle-aged white men in the US have increased: this now adds up to half a million additional deaths.
The natural explanation is that dooH niboR policies made their lives collapse.
It should be noted that blacks still have it even worse.
9 November 2015 (US middle class)US retailers recognize that most Americans can't afford to buy much.
9 November 2015 (US economy)The US economy is rigged in many ways to redistribute wealth to the rich.
Let's pass laws to take it back from them.
9 November 2015 (MSF hospital bombed)One day before the US bombed the MSF hospital in Kunduz, a US official asked if any Taliban were "holed up" there. The MSF said that the only Taliban there were disarmed patients being treated.
The MSF in Kunduz called their US army contact about the attack, but the attack continued for 45 more minutes.
MSF reminds the US that wounded patients in a hospital are not legitimate military targets.
9 November 2015 (Credit cards)US officials continue trying to shut down or pressure organizations by intimidating credit card companies.
The article makes a mistake when it refers to "johns who engage in trafficking". When prostitutes are trafficked, pimps are typically involved in the crime, but johns probably not.
9 November 2015 (Violence escalation in Hebron)Israeli soldiers shot and killed an old Palestinian woman who was driving a car in Hebron. This seems to have provoked retaliation on various occasions.
9 November 2015 (Turkey and Syrian rebels)Seymour Hersh reported in 2014 that the sarin attack in Syria, attributed to Assad's army, was actually a false-flag attack carried out by Turkey in connection with al-Nusra (al-Qa'ida).
He also said that the US had armed Syrian rebels in cooperation with Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar since 2012, exporting arms from Libya by way of the Benghazi consulate. The US stopped this after the Benghazi consulate was attacked, but the other three countries continued.
8 November 2015 (Interview with Chomsky)An interview with Noam Chomsky.
8 November 2015 (FBI claims to have given up on demanding back doors)The FBI says it has given up on demanding back doors in encryption software.
That doesn't mean it won't try again next year.
8 November 2015 (Danger of increasing rubber production)Increasing rubber production could lead to massive deforestation and extinction of many species.
8 November 2015 (Ben Carson's crazy religion)Ben Carson's religion is more crazy than fundamentalist.
8 November 2015 (Arundhati Roy on murder of secularists in India)Arundhati Roy says she was not shocked by murder of secularists in India, because that's what she expected of this government.
8 November 2015 (Opponents of new constitution in Nepal stage import blockade)Opponents of Nepal's new constitution are trying to force it to change the constitution by blockading imports from India.
8 November 2015 (Could Assad become Schr¶inger's Dictator?)Could Assad become Schr¶dinger's dictator, politically alive and politically dead at the same time?
8 November 2015 (St. Louis lawsuit targets fine system)Lawsuit Targets Rapacious City Fine System in St. Louis Community.
8 November 2015 (Israeli videos of violence against Palestinians)Israelis revel in videos in which real soldiers or thugs, egged on by rabid mobs, really shoot harmless Palestinians.
Arabs in Israel know that anyone can murder them with impunity. All of Israel is Ferguson for them.
8 November 2015 (TPP allows banks to sue for compensation)The TPP will allow banks to sue for "compensation" for any regulations they don't like, including possible reinstatement of the Glass Seagall Act.
8 November 2015 (US policies drive people to suicide)Cruel US policies are driving many middle-aged white males to commit suicide.
Sad to say, the relatives of these men probably won't associate the effect with the right-wing cause.
The article speculates that blacks are better able to cope with poverty; they may be psychologically or socially ready for it.
8 November 2015 (Carson lied in autobiography)Ben Carson admitted lying in his autobiography about being offered a scholarship to West Point.
Such lies have ruined many a career, but right-wing crazies are often immune.
8 November 2015 (Sanders and Warren propose to close tax loophole)Senators Sanders and Warren proposed a bill that would close a tax loophole for hedge funds and give the money to retired people, disabled people, and veterans.
Some of the added tax money would go into the Social Security trust fund.
8 November 2015 (Summary of TPP injustices)One page summarizes many specific injustices and damage of the TPP.
This is in addition to the general injustice of allowing companies to sue governments for reducing their profits.
8 November 2015 (Experiment finds secular children more altruistic and judgmental)A psychological experiment found that children from secular families are more altruistic and more harsh in judging other people than children from Christian and Muslim families.
Since many psychological studies turn out to be irreproducible results, I would not treat this as thoroughly established based on one study.
8 November 2015 (Obama rejects Keystone XL pipeline)Obama has rejected the Keystone XL pipeline.
Although he ultimately made the right decision, the fact that he took years to make it means that this is not greatly to his credit.
Obama now has a bigger climate decision to make, in the Paris climate summit, and so far he is not pushing very hard to avoid disaster.
The Keystone XL Pipeline Defeat Is One Goal in the Game, And We're Way Behind.
8 November 2015 (UN predicts millions of climate refugees)The UN predicts millions of climate refugees.
8 November 2015 (UK threatened to act against Muslim Brotherhood)The UK took action against the Muslim Brotherhood under pressure from a threat by the UAE to cut arms purchases.
8 November 2015 (Urgent: boycott, divestment and sanctions against Saudi Arabia)US citizens: call for boycott, divestment and sanctions against Saudi Arabia.
8 November 2015 (Illegal oil palms on burned forest lands)Palm oil palms have already been illegally planted on recently burned Indonesian forest areas.
If complicated supply chains make it hard to stop this, then the supply chains must be simplified, whether the companies want this or not. Since the CO2 emissions from these fires threaten all civilization, force is certainly justified.
8 November 2015 (Google location history and law enforcement)Now that Google has made location tracking a feature, the state can subpoena a person's location history going back years.
Communicating with a service from your own computer using a mobile device, and not going through Tor, is for suckers.
8 November 2015 (EU snooping borders)Injustices in the EU's proposal for snooping borders.
8 November 2015 (India orders Greenpeace India to shut down)India has ordered Greenpeace India to shut down.
8 November 2015 (Emission target pledges only half of what is needed)The carbon pledges of the world's countries are only half what's probably needed to remain under 2C of heating.
8 November 2015 (No Israel-Palestine peace deal while Obama in office)Obama has acknowledged that there is no prospect of a peace deal between Israel and Palestine while Obama remains in office.
The reason for this is that Obama has no intention of doing what is required for a peace deal: putting pressure on the Israeli government. Netanyahu is against peace, and will reject it as long as the US lets him get away with that.
8 November 2015 (Only renewable electricity in Lower Austria)Lower Austria, one of the states in Austria, now uses only renewable electricity.
This does not mean it has eliminated greenhouse gas emissions. It still burns fossil fuel for other purposes, and that must be reduced next.
8 November 2015 (Netanyahu spokesman calls Iran deal 'antisemitism')Netanyahu's new spokesman called the Iran nuclear deal "antisemitism."
This is part of Israel's persistent dishonest campaign of labeling anything but blanket support for Israeli policy as "antisemitism".
8 November 2015 (Nuclear energy too slow to develop)Nuclear energy is too slow to develop to play a substantial role in avoiding global heating disaster. It is so expensive that it sucks money away from the efficient renewable energy that we should be building as fast as possible.
8 November 2015 (Exxon investigated by New York State)New York State is investigating Exxon's climate lies.
8 November 2015 (VW admits to deception about fuel consumption)Volkswagen admits understating the fuel consumption of some car models.
8 November 2015 (Thugs lies after shooting self)Another US thug shot himself (not fatally) and then claimed someone else had shot him.
Perhaps this is the true "Ferguson effect": encouraging thugs to lie even more than before.
8 November 2015 (Incompetence of Theater of Security Agency)The Theater of Security Agency is pitifully incompetent at finding weapons and explosives.
8 November 2015 (Consequences of Iraq war)Analyzing the consequences of Bush's conquest of Iraq.
8 November 2015 (Turkish editors charged for edgy headline)Two Turkish editors published an edgy headline and are charged with starting a rebellion.
This insane exaggeration reminds me of how Aaron Swartz was treated in the US.
Bogus charges resulting from exaggeration are wrong in any country.
8 November 2015 (Urgent: prevent Grand Canyon shopping mall)US citizens: oppose the plan to build a big shopping mall next to the Grand Canyon.
8 November 2015 (Seattle democracy vouchers)Seattle's innovative public campaign funding system lets each voter dispose of $100 to municipal campaigns.
Also in Seattle, children are suing the state for not limiting CO2 emissions.
There's a significant chance that global heating, by 2070, will cause catastrophe, and kill them.
8 November 2015 (Keeping ex cons out of public housing)Obama has slightly softened the policies that usually keep ex cons out of public housing.
A century ago, ex cons could get most kinds of work, and were not excluded from most places to live. This helped them go straight.
8 November 2015 (Letting kids play on the beach)Vacationing parents face charges for leaving their children on the beach, from which they would walk back to the campground along a footpath.
8 November 2015 (Pentagon pays for patriotism)The Pentagon pays professional sports to promote a militarist version of "patriotism".
If patriotism is love of one's country, then the core of patriotism is campaigning to make that country deserve to be loved.
07 November 2015 (Urgent: Peace negotiations for Syria)US citizens: call on congress to support peace negotiations for Syria and support compromise rather than continued war.
07 November 2015 (Urgent: Investigate Exxon's lies)US citizens: call for an investigation with a view to prosecuting Exxon for lying about the danger of global heating.
07 November 2015 (President Bush 1 bored without war)President Bush 1 felt bored with his job once he didn't have a war to make it exciting.
07 November 2015 (UK ministers uninformed about digital snooping)Nick Clegg, former UK deputy prime minister, says that very few ministers were informed about massive digital snooping.
07 November 2015 (False "intelligence" about WMDs)The US government funded the Iraqi National Congress which generated false "intelligence" that reported Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction.
This gave the Bush regime raw material for its distorted intelligence reports, which we now know were used to provide "reasons" for a war that Bush had already decided to launch (but pretended he had not).
07 November 2015 (Afghan gov't makes deal with corrupt banker)The Afghan government made a business deal with a banker that is in prison for corruption.
07 November 2015 (UK to kill renewable energy products)The UK's planet-roasting government plans to kill off community-scale renewable energy products.
07 November 2015 (Text of the TPP)Obama has published the text of the TPP, and it would give foreign companies the power to demand relaxation of food inspection, even to demand approval of GMOs and demand that they not be labeled.
It's literally a treaty to allow Treacherous Plutocratic Poison.
It provides handouts to fossil fuel companies. For instance, they could sue states and cities that ban fracking.
It criminalizes whistleblowers that reveal a company's criminal "trade secrets", such as for instance that cigarette companies knew that their products caused cancer and that Exxon knew its products caused global heating.
This in addition to prohibiting breaking digital handcuffs
It's too bad that article adopts enemy propaganda terms such as "protection", "Digital Rights Management", and weak terms such as "digital locks".
Sanders points out that companies could demand "compensation" for increases in the minimum wage.
Here are many other bad things that have just been discovered in the text.
This should be no surprise. The TPP was designed to be a corporate supremacy treaty, mislabeled as a "trade agreement", and that's what was designed.
07 November 2015 (Investigation of drug companies sabotaged)A SCROTUS has sabotaged a congressional investigation into drug companies that greatly increase prices.
07 November 2015 (Cheney wanted to use nuclear weapons)Cheney wanted to use nuclear weapons against Iraq and Iran.
07 November 2015 (Arrogance of US thugs)US thugs have organized pressure campaigns against prominent people that criticize them even a little.
They are arrogant as well as dishonest.
07 November 2015 (Restoring the Voting Rights Act)Another variation on restoring the Voting Rights Act has been proposed.
Most Republican officials are in favor of voter suppression. They want power, and regard democracy as an obstacle. They appointed people to the Supreme Court that would overturn crucial parts of the Voting Rights Act, and having won that victory over poor and minority US citizens, they are not going to give it up.
07 November 2015 (Restrictions on Palestinians in Hebron)"It Will Become a Prison": Palestinians of Hebron Required to "Register" in Preparation for Severe New Restrictions.
This is in the name of "protecting" a group of Israeli fanatics that insisted on living in the middle of an Arab town, and got the government's support to keep them there at any cost (to Palestinians).
Meanwhile, Israel closed a Palestinian radio station in Hebron, accusing it of "incitement" to violence.
The Israeli actions that support keeping those fanatics in Hebron do more to incite Palestinian violence than any radio station could.
A former Israeli soldier, who was stationed in Hebron, says more or less the same thing.
The Israeli's use of a colony in Hebron as the base for continued ethnic cleansing of the surrounding neighborhood of Hebron is a microcosm of the policy of the occupation as a whole.
Israel continues authorizing additional extensions of its colonies in Palestine.
07 November 2015 (New Pun)New pun: "Argonne Street"
06 November 2015 (Wikipedia editing)A supporter of Deepak Chopra criticizes Wikipedia's practice in editing the page about him.
Chopra's metaphysical statements are unsupported by what is actually known in quantum physics. They are extraordinary claims, and would require extraordinary proofs. Proofs would entail a systematic series of experiments that Chopra hasn't reported doing. This is pseudoscience, and it is good that Wikipedia makes this clear.
It is also true that patients may die from using "alternative medicine" instead of scientific medicine '-- Steve Jobs is perhaps the most famous example of this, though we are arguably better off without him '-- and it is Wikipedia's responsibility to point this out.
However, some of the practices described in the article do seem wrong to me. Two clear examples are those about the Yoga section and the bibliography. That's why I am posting this note.
Real scientists sometimes propose strange metaphysical hypotheses, but they recognize that these are speculative and don't present them as certain truths.
I am disappointed that the article refers to Wikipedia as "open source", thus misrepresenting the meaning of "free" in "free encyclopedia".
06 November 2015 (Urgent: No Trump on SNL)Everyone: call on NBC not to have Donald Trump host Saturday Night Live.
6 November 2015 (Science of the Seance)Science of the Seance: Why Speaking to Spirits is Talking to Yourself.
It seems unjust to convict Anna Stubblefield of sexual assault, since she believed she had been given positive consent.
6 November 2015 (Australia's face database)Australia's face database lends itself to creeping tyranny, and there is nothing to block the creep.
6 November 2015 (Ravil Mingazov)A Guantanamo prisoner, Ravil Mingazov, wants to join his family in England. A US court found there was no evidence to justify holding him in prison.
6 November 2015 (Thugs using tasers)Many US thug departments are sloppy about using tasers, and every so often this kills someone '-- usually someone who was unarmed and no danger to anyone.
6 November 2015 (Blacks excluded from juries)US prosecutors systematically exclude blacks from juries using various forms of deceit.
6 November 2015 (Censorship in Lebanon)Censorship of criticism of religion afflicts Lebanon too.
6 November 2015 (US Special Forces)A US special forces team in Afghanistan seems to have tortured dozens of prisoners and killed 17 of them.
6 November 2015 (UK's snooping bill)The UK's snooping bill offers "protections" with loopholes so big that they are hardly meaningful.
The bill is deceptive, presenting so-called safeguards that are not what they appear to be.
6 November 2015 (Curbing global heating)A tax on flying could raise a lot of money for dealing with global heating.
But we would be fools to spend it on "adapting" when we could instead spend it on curbing the problem itself.
Curbing global heating is a very profitable investment. The US should go in a lot more.
6 November 2015 (Global heating warning)Scientists warned President Johnson about global heating in 1965.
6 November 2015 (Corals)A research project is trying to breed corals that can cope with heat and acidity.
If the project is successful, it might preserve a few of the hundreds of species of corals. It's better than nothing, but it would be far better to curb our CO2 emissions.
6 November 2015 (Sculpture in honor of Ken Saro-Wiwa)A sculpture in honor of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed by a military dictatorship 20 years ago, was seized by the Nigerian government on account of its political message.
6 November 2015 (High rents)San Francisco voters rejected an initiative to limit how many days per month a room can be rented out.
I am not sure this would have helped the problem of high rents at all, but at best it would have done a tiny bit.
What San Francisco needs is lots and lots of housing construction. But the home owners don't want that.
6 November 2015 (Automated jobs)Bank of America says that half the jobs in the US might be automated in the next 20 years.
Plutocratist rulers will use this as an opportunity to cut wages for the remaining jobs, and will shuffle the surplus humans around until they die.
6 November 2015 (Louisiana thugs)Louisiana thugs shot at driver Chris Few, and killed him and his son.
The are obfuscating the situation by saying that maybe Few had a gun and shot his own son, but this seems to be pure fabrication.
The thugs have admitted that Few was not shooting at them (he didn't have a gun). They claimed Few was backing up his car towards them, but the evidence shows that was false too.
6 November 2015 (Fingerprints in EU)The EU is proposing to take the fingerprints of visitors to the EU.
I think that would mean a lot of countries I would never visit again.
6 November 2015 (Federal war on marijuana)Sanders has introduced legislation to end the federal war on marijuana, leaving the decision about its legality clearly to the states.
6 November 2015 (Thug)The thug who attacked and paralyzed Sureshbhai Patel, an old man who was simply walking next to his son's house, has had a deadlocked jury for the second time.
This indicates that some aspect of the system needs to be changed.
6 November 2015 (Corporate tax dodging)The EU must stop member states from competing to offer businesses the biggest opportunities for tax dodging.
6 November 2015 (Murdoch)Murdoch has fired hundreds of employees of the "National Geographic" magazine, which he bought from the National Geographic Society. This suggests that all the worst fears about what he would do it are true.
6 November 2015 (VolksWagen)VW says that some of its cars emit more CO2 in real use than in tests.
6 November 2015 (Burma)The Rohingya minority in Burma have been blocked from voting and from running for office.
6 November 2015 (Keystone XL pipeline)The US rejected TransCanada's request to delay consideration of the Keystone XL pipeline. This means that Obama can make the decision, if he does not delay it instead.
6 November 2015 (Marijuana legal in Mexico)Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that growing and smoking marijuana are legal.
6 November 2015 (PISSI)PISSI may have brought down a Russian airliner with a bomb smuggled on board.
It may have been difficult, but if they did it, it was not impossible.
6 November 2015 (Clinton)Clinton distorts Sanders' words as an excuse to call him racist and sexist.
6 November 2015 (Maldives)To prevent an opposition rally, the Maldives government has declared a "state of emergency".
The leader of the opposition is the legitimately elected president, who was removed in a coup.
6 November 2015 (al-Sisi)Egyptians protested al-Sisi in London, since he has crushed all dissent in Egypt.
5 November 2015 (US thug suicide)A US thug committed suicide, making it look like murder, because he was about to be caught stealing from charity.
Other thugs tried to use this to condemn Black Lives Matter.
5 November 2015 (Sanders)Sanders has proposed a bill to close off fossil fuel extraction from US public lands.
5 November 2015 (Fracking)The UK has cancelled its push to impose fracking in "Sites of Special Scientific Interest".
That's good, but fracking elsewhere can poison the water for people and farms.
5 November 2015 (Vatican)Corruption and peculation are rife in the Vatican.
5 November 2015 (Koch brother)A Koch brother admits that he expects something in return for his campaign contributions. In fact, he gets plenty for them.
5 November 2015 (Iran's religion)Iran admits sentencing two poets to around 10 years in prison for "insulting religion".
If you want to see a worse insult against Iran's religion, their sentence is one.
If their appeals are not successful, it may be time for an international poetry campaign to insult Iran's religion for its censorship.
5 November 2015 (Indonesia)British journalists were sentenced to short prison terms for making a documentary in Indonesia that the Indonesian government didn't like. Their local employees might be jailed for years.
In the name of avoiding inconveniences, public protests in Jakarta have been limited to unusual "free speech zones" and required to keep quiet.
Shame on Indonesia for this censorship.
5 November 2015 (Renewable energy)Renewable energy not only helps avoid disaster, it also helps spread the wealth.
5 November 2015 (Nauru)Australia says it is unhappy about the multiple human rights violations of Nauru.
If Australia were serious about this, it could easily make Nauru change its policies. I suspect that Australia has encouraged these policies so as to cover up the treatment meted out to the refugees Australia sends to Nauru.
5 November 2015 (Ohio and marijuana)Ohio voters defeated a corrupt proposal to legalize marijuana, perhaps because they didn't like the corrupt aspect.
5 November 2015 (Beer brewing)Traditional beer brewing has ceased to function in Belgium because of global heating.
5 November 2015 (PM of Romania)The prime minister of Romania has resigned because of protests against corruption.
5 November 2015 (Chinese coal consumption)China appears to be underreporting coal consumption by as much as 17%.
5 November 2015 (Australia's government)Australia's right-wing government is no longer led by a suppository, but it still plans increased dooH niboR. Now it plans a big increase in VAT (a kind of sales tax), which will put the burden mainly on the poor.
What's really called for is an increase in income tax for high earners, or the progressive income tax on businesses that I've proposed.
5 November 2015 (University education)Students protested today in London demanding a return to gratis university education.
5 November 2015 (Taliban)The Taliban have an assassination program for journalists.
5 November 2015 (Encryption)The UK plans to ban companies from offering encryption they can't break.
If big companies surrender to this, other countries will make the same demand.
The UK's new attack on privacy, spelled out.
5 November 2015 (Food waste)Conservative food use-by dates tend to generate food waste.
I would not blame the supermarkets so much. They will face public criticism when goods don't last to their "use by" dates.
It is no use urging people to learn and remember rules about how long food lasts. The fraction of people who regularly cook is much less nowadays, and those who don't do this won't be motivated to learn them. We will inevitably depend on what the supermarket says.
5 November 2015 (US thugs)When US thugs rape, the victims hardly ever report it. They believe, and I suspect they are right, that the other thugs will defend the rapists.
5 November 2015 (Monsanto)The EPA concluded that glyphosate is not an endocrine disruptor, but the evidence was provided by Monsanto, which means we can't rely on it.
5 November 2015 (Lead generators)People who do Google searches for "need money fast" see ads for companies called "lead generators" that put them on a list of potential suckers.
If you do a Google search in a way that doesn't hide who and where you are, including use of Tor, not specifying any account, and blocking cookies, you do seem to be a sucker.
5 November 2015 (Israeli "settler")A fanatical Israeli "settler" set fire to Palestinians' olive trees while a team from Rabbis for Human Rights was trying to protect them by serving as witnesses. Official firefighters did not arrive soon, so the president of Rabbis for Human Rights tried to put the fire out himself. The fanatic did not like this and tried to stab him.
The thugs took their time arriving, making sure the fanatic could get away, and then called the Rabbis presence a "provocation" against the fanatics.
I have to wonder if the firemen stayed away because coming to put out this fire would have been considered a "provocation".
5 November 2015 (Arabs in Jerusalem)Israel has been slowly cutting off the non-central parts of Jerusalem where Arabs live, and those Arabs themselves. Recently it became clear that this is aimed at the goal of cutting them all off.
5 November 2015 (Israel)East Jerusalem has one hospital, so wounded Palestinian protesters all go there. Israel has recently been raiding the hospital and harassing the doctors, even shooting tear gas inside the hospital.
They could kill patients that way.
5 November 2015 (Qadhafi)Qadhafi's forces did not massacre civilians in the Libyan rebel cities they recaptured.
When Clinton warned there would be a massacre in Benghazi, this claim had no support from intelligence.
The intervention was, it seems, intended simply to remove Qadhafi from power. Although for a time it appeared to lead towards democracy, it led to chaotic violence that spread beyond Libya.
I've decided to spell the name "Qadhafi" because that follows the standard transliteration of Arabic. "Gaddafi" is more common, but not correct.
5 November 2015 (Liberal media)Right-wing US politicians invented the "liberal media" claim in the 1950s. In fact, the US mass media were predominantly right-wing then, before, and since.
5 November 2015 ("Death to America")Ayatollah Khamenei says that the slogan "Death to America" refers to US policies and arrogance, not the the American nation.
This makes a big difference. If Iran declares a wish for genocide against Americans, we would have to consider Iran an enemy. But when it condemns only how the US government treats and has treated Iran (and possibly some other countries), Americans can easily recognize valid points in that criticism. This provides a basis for patriotic Americans to push for the changes in the US needed for reconciliation with Iran.
The remaining cause of friction between the US and Iran has to do with the Iranian regime's oppression of Iranians. Progressive Americans really care about these injustices. US plutocrats probably don't. If the US were to support Iran totally, that would be wrong, just as it is wrong for the US to support Saudi Arabia and Egypt today.
When Khamanei dies, there may be an opportunity for diplomats to lead both countries to correct their wrongs.
5 November 2015 (China moves to clean energy)Christiana Figueres, the UN's head climate official, says that China is trying very hard to move to clean energy, while the US is dragging its feet.
In China, the state is a plutocrat. In the US, private plutocrats control the state. As a result, China is capable of making an investment for long-term good, while the US is blocked by the plutocrats.
5 November 2015 (Domestic violence)The UK government is treating help for women facing domestic violence as it is treating renewable energy.
4 November 2015 (Jewish-Arab peace)Calling for a Jewish-Arab peace and justice party in Israel.
4 November 2015 (Birth control education)Non-extremist imams in Afghanistan teach the use of birth control.
04 November 2015 (Banned book in Ukrainian library)Russia says it arrested the director of the Ukrainian library because it had a banned book. The deputy director says that the banned book in question was not theirs; that Russian thugs planted it to frame them.
We don't need to ask which one is telling the truth, because the Russian state is wrong either way. It is wrong to ban books.
04 November 2015 (Selling "smart guns" in the US)Companies that try to sell "smart guns" (with access control) in the US have faced violent threats.
The access control in these guns is not DRM, because it is under the control of the gun owner.
04 November 2015 (Replacing the FISA court)Chelsea Manning calls for replacing the FISA court with courts that will make it their mission to resist unreasonable searches.
Limiting access to digital dossiers is not sufficient to protect whistleblowers from being identified. We need to redesign digital systems so that they don't collect digital dossiers, except about court-designated targets.
04 November 2015 (Detroit thug prosecuted)A thug from near Detroit shows how much violence a thug can get away with in the US. Finally he is being prosecuted.
04 November 2015 (UK transfers spending from poor people)As UK transfers its spending from poor people to nuclear power plants, more people are homeless. In once city, volunteers have organized to give them breakfast.
That will work for a while, but as the Tories continue cutting further, many of those now giving will join the hungry or the homeless.
As Aneurin Bevan said, the Tories are lower than vermin.
04 November 2015 (Apples censored Chaos Congress app)Apple censored an app to display videos presented at the Chaos Communications Congress because it did not censor presenters as Apple demands.
Apple's censorship is wrong, now as always, and designing computers as platforms for censorship should be illegal.
However, it is also wrong to make proprietary apps for the iThing. The Chaos Computer Club should do its streaming on the World Wide Web using a freedom-respecting video format.
04 November 2015 (TransCanada and Keystone XL)TransCanada has tried to delay its application to build the Keystone XL pipeline, hoping to defer the decision to the next president.
Perhaps it is betting the next president will be bought. Or perhaps it's no longer profitable. Obama may still be able to veto it if he wishes.
I often referred to Keystone XL as the "planet-roaster pipeline", because it would enable the export of a decisively dangerous amount of tar sends oil.
This does not mean that avoiding the Keystone XL will make us safe. We need to leave 80% of the world's known fossil fuels in the ground, just to keep global heating to under 2C. There are many fossil fuel projects that could roast our planet, many chances to fail.
In the real World Series, humanity vs plutocrats, humanity is losing. We need to win nearly every game from here on.
04 November 2015 ("Cloud passports")Australia's latest horrible idea: passports that are only data in a server.
They call them "cloud passports", using the standard buzzword. There is no "cloud" '-- only other people's computers.
The passport data would be stored in some computer, but whose? And how will that computer be run?
Storing passports as data in some server will eliminate the problem that tens of thousand of passports are lost or stolen (mostly lost) individually, and introduce the problem that millions could be stolen at once digitally.
I suspect this will also involve a lot more biometric data than now.
04 November 2015 (Imprisonment for criticizing chief minister)An Indian singer faces possible life imprisonment for criticizing the chief minister of Tamil Nadu state.
The chief minister, in India, is the equivalent of a governor in the US.
I don't agree with the singer's position in favor of banning alcohol. I have no idea whether the chief minister profits from sales of alcohol. It is not clear whether the singer accused the chief minister personally, or the state government, of getting profits from alcohol.
What is important is that saying such things must not be a crime.
04 November 2015 (Drink less soda)Soda companies fund "health" organizations to corrupt them so that they won't take action to lead people to drink less soda. They also promote campaigns for people to exercise more, so as to deny space to campaigns to drink less soda.
Soda with sugar leads to obesity, but soda with sugar substitutes is not innocuous; they tend to confuse the brain.
04 November 2015 (Urgent: Close loophole)US citizens: call for closing the carried interest loophole.
04 November 2015 (Retreat of ice in Western Antarctica)Researchers say that ice in Western Antarctica is irreversibly retreating '-- there is no way to prevent it from raising sea level by 3 meters, though that will take centuries.
04 November 2015 (US foreign policy)In many countries, the US practices a foreign policy that is wicked (and absurd too).
04 November 2015 (Inequality)Why Every Environmentalist Should Care about Inequality.
03 November 2015 (French Pun)New pun: Le climat d'Alger.
03 November 2015 (Urgent: Prosecution of Exxon)US citizens: call for prosecution of Exxon for fraudulently denying global heating.
03 November 2015 (Urgent: Discharge petition for gun-control)US citizens: call on Pelosi to file a discharge petition for a gun-control bill.
This discharge petition is a step towards reducing the number of discharges of guns.
03 November 2015 (LA thug sentenced to prison)An LA thug has been sentenced to prison because he let his deputies beat up a man who came to visit his brother in jail.
The rule that visitors can't bring portable phones may be legitimate, but there is no reason to beat them up if they have one. Anyway, doesn't each prisoner have a cell phone?
03 November 2015 (Pentagon spending)Pentagon Spent $43m on 'World's Most Expensive Gas Station' in Afghanistan.
03 November 2015 (The Migrant Crisis)There's No Perfect Answer to the Migrant Crisis. We need to change foreign policies that have destabilized so many countries and driven millions to flee.
03 November 2015 (Replacements for chlorofluorocarbons)The replacements for ozone-destroying chlorofluorocarbons turn out to be powerful greenhouse gases; we need to switch again.
03 November 2015 (Conviction based on secret evidence)Wang Yam was convicted of murder in the UK by a secret court. Why is the evidence secret? That's a secret too.
Wang Yam is now trying to appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, but the government has arbitrarily vetoed this.
03 November 2015 (Discussion of sex-work trafficking in Wisconsin)A discussion of sex-work trafficking in Wisconsin has been totally confused, because it is based on blindly labeling work by teenagers as "trafficking", and equating their customers to pimps.
Thus, when the article talks of "rescuing" minors from sex work, we can't tell how many have indeed been rescued from pimps, and how many saw their customers arrested and felt compelled to pretend to be grateful.
No good can come from willful blindness about this difference.
Minors that do sex work are called "trafficked" even if they do it by choice and have the option to stop at any time. No wonder that, according to the article, many of the minors that are "rescued" from "trafficking" choose freely to go back to it. Maybe they chose it freely the first time, too.
The article acknowledges that they do this because their other options are very bad. That's where they could use some help. But the state of Wisconsin won't give them that.
I wonder how much of their problems are due to Wisconsin's Governor Walker and his attacks on aid to the disadvantaged, as well as political ethics requirements and campaign finance laws.
His policies are just the thing to force poor people into some sort of underground economy.
03 November 2015 (The Antarctic ice sheet)The Antarctic ice sheet is gaining thickness inland due to increased precipitation there.
This doesn't alter the observed rise in sea level, so it means the increase is coming from some other unknown source.
03 November 2015 ("Sequester" imposed as "compromise")SCROTUS and Obama imposed the "sequester" as a "compromise" to cut the US budget in all areas. Now they have a new "compromise" that expands the war budget, while threatening Social Security and Medicare.
Selling oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, when the low price suggests buying it instead, is sabotage of the treasury. "Buy high, sell low" is stupid, except when (as here) it is worse than stupid. Ultimately, plutocratist politicians betray the country to their paymasters.
SCROTUS stands for Sleazy Congressional Republicans Of The United States.
03 November 2015 (Buddhist extremists in Burma)In Burma, Buddhist extremists attack women's rights, sex education, and any discussion about sex.
The Buddha would advise those monks to question their attachment to those prejudices.
I expect there is a word in Burmese for "vagina", but it was omitted from the dictionary because it is considered too rude.
03 November 2015 (Mandatory fun)Mandatory, organized fun as part of a job is a form of manipulation.
Japanese companies pushed this to extreme lengths. Someone I know, who had no tolerance for alcohol and had to avoid it, had no choice but to work for a government lab, because all companies would require him to get drunk as part of "leisure" activities.
03 November 2015 (Renewable energy investment cut)The suppository of all carbon emissions, Tony Abbott, succeeded in cutting renewable energy investment in Australia by almost 1/3.
03 November 2015 (Global heating)Even 2C of global heating will do great harm. Drastic action is needed to avoid climate mayhem, and it doesn't look like leaders are prepared to do it.
It isn't certain that 2C of heating is possible. It might be that once warming goes beyond 1.5C (or 1.75, or 1.25, or some such amount), a positive feedback will kick in and push the heating up to 2.5C (or 3C, or 4C, or 5C, or some such amount). We are playing with fire, and the only certainty is that we must stop.
03 November 2015 (Ukraine's Russia-supported rebels)Ukraine's Russia-supported rebels are unhappy now that Putin is dialing down that war.
03 November 2015 (Election rigging in Haiti)Haitian President Martelli is using government vehicles painted with Red Cross markings to carry false ballots to rig the election.
03 November 2015 (Global heating and the Pacific Islands)Pacific Islands Make Last-Ditch Plea to World Before Paris Climate Change Talks.
They will be inundated, and their people have no recognized right to go anywhere else.
03 November 2015 (Turkey's election)Erdoğan's party won the election in Turkey. His war and his repression of the press have paid off, leading Turkey towards tyranny.
Monitors say that Turkey's election was unfair.
03 November 2015 (Money from Haiti's supposedly empty treasury)Haiti's US-imposed president Martelli unilaterally gave each minister a golden parachute of $46,000, although the treasury is supposed to be empty.
03 November 2015 (School thug's violent attack on teenager)The whole dirty story about the school thug's violent attack on the orphaned teenager because she would not give her phone to the teacher.
The teacher, the principal, and then the thug, were all defending the principle of total obedience.
03 November 2015 (Wolf-whistles and compliments)The clash of two world-views about wolf-whistles and compliments.
In the posted highlights of the hours of video made by a woman walking in New York City, some men were very pushy and wouldn't take no for an answer. That's clearly harassment. Even some brief remarks were harsh in their attitude. It is unkind to treat someone that way.
However, there is no need to consider kind complements as harassment. This is not a subjective question. You can get offended when someone says "hello", but that doesn't mean we consider your offense justified.
03 November 2015 (Billionaires suppress criticism)Billionaires including the Koch brothers suppress criticism by donating money to universities, museums, public TV, etc.
The Gates Foundation has done something similar in the field of US education.
For a university to do what Florida State University did, and let donors choose their professors, is a despicable surrender. It would be well for students there to picket the economics department ever year for this.
02 November 2015 (New Pun)New pun: "Trinidadian"
2 November 2015 (Marijuana)Ohio proposes to legalize selling marijuana, only for certain specific companies that have invested in advance.
2 November 2015 (Anti-Knowledge)The 'anti-Knowledge' of the elites in Washington goes unchallenged by the established press.
2 November 2015 (Racial profiling)Standardized tests can have the effect of racial profiling.
The English Regent's Exam tests for a real skill, and the people who fail that test really lack that skill. Is that important? That depends on what they are going to do.
I speak French well enough to give speeches, have useful meetings with public officials, and write articles for publication (though they require editing by others). But I could not pass the French equivalent of the English Regent's Exam, because there are many French words and idiomatic expressions I don't know, and many references I would not catch.
Would my failure on that hypothetical test be significant? Is my command of French adequate or not? That depends on what activity I am going to do. For understanding le Canard enchain(C), I am hopelessly incompetent; for championing free software in French, I seem reasonably capable.
Likewise, whether someone's failure on the English Regent's Exam is a real shortcoming depends on what you want that person to do. If it is to have sophisticated conversations in English the way an educated native speaker can, it is a real shortcoming and you should look for someone else. For college study in a field other than English, the failure at that exam may not matter.
2 November 2015 (SXSW)SXSW cancelled panels about online harassment, giving way to online harassment. In response to criticism, it has brought them back, and added more.
Gamergate Didn't Fade Into Obscurity. We Just Stopped Noticing Its Existence.
It is cowardly to cancel an event because of threats '-- especially online threats, which are generally nothing but bombast.
2 November 2015 (UK's ash trees)A fungus is going to kill 90% of the UK's ash trees. Should genetic modification be used to make ash trees that can survive the fungus?
It seems plausible to me. These trees won't be fed to people, and pesticide won't be used on them; that eliminates two of the main issues. Furthermore, since the wild type is being wiped out anyway, there is no need to be concerned that it will be contaminated by the inserted gene.
2 November 2015 (Female Bosses)Hurrah for Female Bosses, But Let's Not Forget Their Cleaners.
I would go further. What matters about the people corporate boardrooms is not their gender, but that they have too much power and get too much money. The poorly-paid female employees, and male employees too, deserve a higher wage.
2 November 2015 (Phone call metadata)The state can learn a lot about you from your phone call metadata.
2 November 2015 (Spying Systems)6 Spooky Ways Local Law Enforcement Is Watching You.
I think we must prohibit several of these systems.
2 November 2015 (UN Climate Summit)Upcoming UN Climate Summit Can't Overlook China's Support of Global Coal Power.
2 November 2015 (Thugs)When US officials prosecute thugs, thugs organize retaliation, in the form of private and even official noncooperation, as well as frame-ups.
This is why they all deserve the name of "thugs". Anyone in Albuquerque who claims the honorable title of "police officer" should validate that claim by publicly denouncing these retaliation campaigns and affirming that thugs shouldn't get away with murder.
2 November 2015 (Wall Street banks)Moving your money out of the big Wall Street banks can be 20 times as effective as it appears.
2 November 2015 (Library of Congress)The Library of Congress approved several specific three-year exemptions to the DMCA's prohibition on breaking DRM (digital restrictions management).
However, since the exemptions do not allow distributing the means to actually do so, they may in some cases be impossible to take advantage of.
The campaigns for these exemptions are a harmful distraction which saps energy from what we really need: to repeal what the DMCA says about DRM. It should be a crime to make systems with DRM.
The article uses the ill-advised term "digital locks" to refer to digital restrictions mechanisms. See the explanation of why that term is a bad analogy, and please join me in not using it.
2 November 2015 (Corporations United)The Corporations United (*) decision allows companies to tell their employees how to vote, and one big investor is trying to do this through all the companies he invests in.
This shows why we need a constitutional amendment that denies across the board that corporations are entitled to human rights '-- not just in regard to campaign spending.
* The front group used the misleading term "Citizens United"; there is no reason for us to join it in misleading people about what it represented.
2 November 2015 (Republicans)Republicans in several state legislatures have passed laws to pre-empt cities from regulating areas such as minimum wage and fracking; and they remove local voter initiatives from the ballot, so that the city cannot challenge the validity of the state's pre-emption.
2 November 2015 (NSA)A German investigation has determined that the NSA spied pervasively on the German government.
2 November 2015 (Intellectual Freedom in UK)Intellectual freedom in in the UK is threatened by the right-wing state and by left-wing students.
2 November 2015 (Somalia)Now that the Somali pirates have been suppressed, illegal foreign fishing boats have returned to the area.
2 November 2015 (Shaker Aamer)Shaker Aamer suffers from PTSD and will need years of treatment.
01 November 2015 (Urgent: no tax break for BP)US citizens: insist that BP get no tax break from its damage payments.
01 November 2015 (Urgent: the People's Climate Test)US citizens: call on Obama to adopt the People's Climate Test.
01 November 2015 (Urgent: rules for labeling meat)US citizens: call on the Senate to maintain the rules for labeling meat by country of origin.
01 November 2015 (Forest fires make people sick)Indonesia's forest fires, a scheme for deforestation, have made half a million people sick in the region.
01 November 2015 (Publishers and writers attacked in Bangladesh.)Four more secularist publishers and writers have been attacked in Bangladesh.
01 November 2015 (A limit on standardized tests)Obama said he has become disenchanted with standardized tests, and proposes a limit on them '-- but not a real reduction.
The issue is not how many hours students spend taking the tests, but how much their studies are shaped around the tests, and how the tests are used. Bigger policy changes are needed.
01 November 2015 (Black Lives Matter protests)The FBI director admits he has no objective basis for claiming that Black Lives Matter protests caused a recent increase in crime. But he will blame them anyway.
He also blames the fact that people can use videos to demonstrate the crimes that thugs commit. His argument is that anything that makes thugs hesitate to beat people up and lie about it constitutes an impediment to their work.
01 November 2015 (Forest fires threaten Orangutans)Indonesia's Forest Fires Threaten a Third of World's Wild Orangutans.
01 November 2015 ("Sanctions" against the unemployed)The UK refused to investigate whether "sanctions" against the unemployed are achieving any of their supposed purposes.
01 November 2015 (Throw stones and we hit you with gas)Israeli troops told Palestinians: "Throw stones and we will hit you with gas until you all die '-- the youth, the children, the old people'...You will all die. We will not leave any of you alive."
Palestinians are already being killed regularly by tear gas.
01 November 2015 (State court elections)Money Flooding State Court Elections Threatens the Promise of Equal Justice.
01 November 2015 (US options in Syria)How presidential candidates stand on the US options in Syria, which all have major drawbacks.
The article has one section entitled "'Safe zones' and special forces", but the section discusses only the safe zones, not special forces.
01 November 2015 (Borrowing money to get an abortion)Women in Ireland and Northern Ireland have to borrow money so they can travel to England to get an abortion.
The way to end the stigma placed in Ireland on abortion is for women to talk about their abortions unapologetically. It is imperative for women in Ireland to stop acting ashamed.
01 November 2015 (Doing business with Al-Sisi)Al-Sisi offers Britain the sort of tyrant that Britain is accustomed to doing business with.
"I got 643 days of torture [in Egypt]. My tormentor gets Cameron's red carpet."
01 November 2015 (Tap water not safe)Parts of the US no longer have tap water that is safe to drink.
01 November 2015 (Thugs' persecution)Lesbians occasionally bear, like blacks, the brunt of thugs' persecution.
01 November 2015 (Transparency and privacy)Transparency for the State, Privacy for the Rest of Us.
01 November 2015 (Diets and weight loss)Diets generally do not achieve much weight loss.
Low-fat diets are the least effective, but perhaps that is because low-fat food products have added sugar.
01 November 2015 (Ending the death penalty)Sanders calls for ending the death penalty, legalizing marijuana, reducing incarceration, and helping ex-cons get back into society.
01 November 2015 (Repression in US public schools)The thug's vicious attack on a sitting high school girl is the extreme example of a systematic repression imposed in US public schools generally. Any student can be punished or suspended for minor or even fantasy "wrongs", but black students generally face worse treatment.
Suspension from school is extremely frequent: high schools suspend, each year, almost as many students as they graduate. Smaller punishments are probably far more frequent.
This system resembles a training program for living in an occupied country, and students could understand it as such. The thugs in the schools are soldiers in the occupying army, and the school officials are the local collaborators, quislings (that's why they order quizzes).
The teachers are mostly sincere, trying to provide what education they can under the occupation which they cannot defy, but that is easier said than done.
The goal is to make trouble for the occupation without letting the soldiers figure out who did it or how.
01 November 2015 (US to assist Syrian Kurds)Obama is sending a contingent of US special forces to assist the Syrian Kurds.
This seems like a good idea to me. A limited amount of help for the Kurds could make a big difference for them in fighting PISSI, while avoiding the harm that a large US intervention force would do.
If the Kurds can cut off PISSI from the Turkish border, it would crimp PISSI's funds (obtained by selling oil) and recruitment (foreign recruits come through Turkey).
Obama should ask Congress for approval of the US intervention against PISSI. I expect he would easily get approval. The point is to maintain the system of checks and balances.
01 November 2015 (Suspected of setting fire to churches)A black man is suspected of setting fire to churches near Ferguson.
01 November 2015 (Netanyahu's realm of lunacy)Uri Avnery says: in blaming the holocaust on a factional Palestinian leader, Netanyahu went beyond the realm of dishonesty and manipulation, into the realm of lunacy.
01 November 2015 (Pregnant refugee Abyan)Australia will give pregnant refugee Abyan another chance to get an abortion.
01 November 2015 (US foreign policy lies)Even Sanders goes along with official US foreign policy lies some of the time.
Chavez won elections honestly, but his successor, Maduro, represses the opposition increasingly as it grows in strength.
Sanders doesn't do everything right, but he's a lot better even on foreign policy issues than the other candidates.
01 November 2015 (Extremism is a form of patriarchy)Sara Khan tries to convince British Muslim girls to reject extremism because it is a form of patriarchy.
I strongly dislike religious extremism, in any religion, even in the Church of Emacs. However, people have a right to profess those views, and it is wrong to prohibit them. The UK government has trashed so many human rights already that I expect the worst.
01 November 2015 (Neonicotinoids harm bees)A scientific review finds that experiments demonstrate that neonicotinoids harm bees, but it is not yet proved that they are responsible for colony collapse.
Since bees are crucial to agriculture, and to the survival of many species of plants, we can't afford to risk it.
01 November 2015 (Recording of browsing history)The UK government is about to demand ISPs record everyone's browsing history.
01 November 2015 (New St Louis stadium)An NFL team wants to drain St Louis of millions for a new stadium; a movement of citizens opposes the fans.
NFL teams are businesses. It's too bad so many Americans direct their loyalty at businesses.
01 November 2015 (Indian "climate of intolerance")Major Indian historians have condemned the "climate of intolerance" that encourages violence and censorship of dissent from Hindu nationalist ideology and myths.
01 November 2015 (Market-dominated university system)UK students will protest to oppose the adoption of a US-style market-dominated university system.
01 November 2015 (Shaker Aamer returned to Britain)Shaker Aamer has been released from Guantanamo and has returned to Britain.
Rebellious officials in the Pentagon delayed his release for 5 years by refusing to let him go back to the UK.
He is going to sue the British government for complicity in his imprisonment and torture.
He certainly deserves compensation, but if the UK government settles the case to avoid exposure of its wrongs, that will not do justice.
01 November 2015 ("Unarmed civilian protection")"Unarmed civilian protection" persuades armed groups in South Sudan to refrain from violence, at least some of the time.
01 November 2015 (Assad fired missiles at a market)Assad's forces fired missiles at a market and killed at least 40 people. I would expect most of them were civilians.
01 November 2015 (Indonesia is burning)Indonesia Is Burning. So Why Is the World Looking Away?
01 November 2015 (Urgent: Replace CNN commentator)Everyone: call on CNN to replace commentator Harry Houck, who never saw a violent thug he didn't like.
01 November 2015 (Criminalizing criticism)Criminalizing criticism of officials threatens democracy in Malaysia.
Democracy in Malaysia was never very strong, which makes it even more vulnerable now.
01 November 2015 (Large forest fire in the Amazon)A large forest fire is burning in the Amazon "rainforest", and has been burning for two months. This suggests o me that there is not as much rain as there normally used to be.
Large parts of Brazil have suffered from an unprecedented drought.
Global heating could play some role in this, but the cutting down of much of the forests are responsible for both.
01 November 2015 (Current carbon pledges)The UN says that current carbon pledges will probably keep global heating to under 3C.
That is still taking too big a risk. Even the 2C target is somewhat arbitrary, since we don't know it will avoid disaster (or positive-feedback tipping points that would push warming further).
In addition, without an enforcement mechanism, we can't be confident all the countries will carry out their unilateral pledges.
01 November 2015 (Internet censorship in US universities)Various organizations demand internet censorship in US universities to eliminate racist statements and insults.
I find some of those statements disgusting '-- others are merely foolish '-- but censorship is far more disgusting.
The scariest thing is that this sort of censorship has already become deeply implanted in many otherwise free countries. And in some of them, such as France and the UK, it is spreading to other kinds of censorship.
01 November 2015 (Jailed for talking to children)Pennsylvania has jailed a man for telling children on the street that he was on the way to a cabin in the woods.
A paranoid US parent, who has probably heard exaggerated stories about the nearly nonexistent "stranger danger", reported this as suspicious.
Perhaps thugs regarded the man as dangerous because he is autistic and could not rebut the suspicion.
01 November 2015 (Haiti's election)Haiti's "president" Martelly is trying to impose a successor by rigging the election.
The US imposed Martelly through blatant contempt for the Haitian electoral system.
01 November 2015 (Guber for piecework "journalists")Following Guber, a new service matches up PR companies with piecework "journalists" that will take pay to write their press releases into "news articles".
I call it "Guber" because it pays drivers peanuts, but there are many reasons why we should refuse ever to use Guber.
01 November 2015 (Censorship on the rise)Censorship on Rise as Global Internet Freedom Continues Downward Spiral.
01 November 2015 (Gulf of Maine too warm for cod)The Gulf of Maine is now too warm for cod to live there.
This area of the sea used to be a major cod fishery, though they were mostly wiped out by overfishing a few decades ago. Massachusetts must now replace the Sacred Cod with Sacred Car.
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Is there a federal CIO playbook for a militia takeover?By Mark RockwellJan 04, 2016On Jan. 2, armed members of several anti-government militia groups took over the headquarters building at the Fish and Wildlife Service's Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in windswept rural eastern Oregon. Some of the invaders -- it's unclear how many there are -- vowed to stay at the site indefinitely to protest the pending incarceration of Oregon ranchers Dwight and Steven Hammond, who have been convicted of setting fires that wound up burning federal land.
Although the event poses risks to the facility, it's not something you'd find covered in typical IT contingency and continuity-of-operations strategies, one former federal CIO said.
Most agencies have plans to get crippled IT operations up and running after big events such as natural disasters, and although the invasion and occupation of a small office might not be in the plans, it should be, said one federal CIO who spoke with FCW on background.
Another former federal CIO called the occupation "an outlandish scenario" that agencies might not anticipate, adding that the potential danger to IT operations at any federal facility obviously depends on how much IT is physically present.
The current federal CIO said no IT contingency playbook can identify all possible scenarios, but there should be a process for handling the unexpected. Agencies need to know who is responsible for physical security and when to involve law enforcement in the response to an event.
In addition, the federal CIO said disaster response and continuity-of-operations planning should include periodic tests of what would happen if a specific facility goes out.
"Encourage the mantra of 'semper Gumby': Have plans and adapt them to fit your circumstances," he said.
With the advent of cloud services, the number of servers has been reduced and IT assets are no longer located at regional offices, which could help in emergency or disaster situations, he said. Services offered via the cloud can be turned off remotely. "That's a riskier proposition with on-premises IT facilities," he added.
The Malheur refuge is hardly a hotbed of IT, and data security does not appear to be an issue. In spring, summer and autumn, the refuge is a destination for bird watchers who flock to see migratory species such as sandhill cranes and rare shorebirds. Winter is the off-season for the facility.
When asked about IT operations at the facility, Fish and Wildlife Service officials declined to comment and instead directed FCW to the refuge's website, which has said the occupation by an "unknown number of armed individuals" at the facility is ongoing. The site stressed that the refuge's primary concern was employee safety and confirmed that no federal employees were present when the facility was taken over.
About the Author
Mark Rockwell is a staff writer covering acquisition, procurement and homeland security. Contact him at mrockwell@fcw.com or follow him on Twitter at @MRockwell4.
Putin labels the US a security threat to Russia for the first time - Quartz
US-Russian relations reached a new low after Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a document that puts the United States on a list of threats to the country's national security for the first time.
Putin signed the document, titled ''About the Strategy of National Security of Russian Federation,'' on New Year's Eve, Reuters reports. It replaces one signed by then-president Dmitri Medvedev in 2009, which did not mention the US.
According to Reuters' somewhat disjointed translation, the document says Russia's policies, both at home and abroad, caused ''counteraction from the USA and its allies, which are striving to retain their dominance in global affairs.'' This will likely put ''political, economical, military and informational pressure'' on Russia. The document blames the US and the European Union for the conflict in Ukraine, where they have supported an ''anti-constitutional coup d'etat'' and caused a deep divide in Ukrainian society.
But it did not mention Syria, where Russia is engaged in military action supporting president Assad while the US and its allies attack ISIL.
US secretary of state John Kerry was in Moscow in December to discuss Syria and Ukraine; he and Putin had found some ''common ground'' on the situation in the Middle East, Kerry said.
According to state-run agency TASS, the strategy document outlines all the forces lined up against Russia, including ''foreign and international nongovernmental organizations, financial and economic structures, as well as individuals aimed at violating the unity and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, destabilization of the domestic political and social situation, including inspiration of colored revolutions, destruction of the traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.''
US Repeals Meat Labeling Law After Trade Rulings Against It
WASHINGTON (AP) '-- It's now harder to find out where your beef or pork was born, raised and slaughtered.
After more than a decade of wrangling, Congress repealed a labeling law last month that required retailers to include the animal's country of origin on packages of red meat. It's a major victory for the meat industry, which had fought the law in Congress and the courts since the early 2000s.
Lawmakers said they had no choice but to get rid of the labels after the World Trade Organization repeatedly ruled against them. The WTO recently authorized Canada and Mexico, which had challenged the law, to begin more than $1 billion in economic retaliation against the United States.
"U.S. exporters can now breathe a sigh of relief," said Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee. The longtime opponent of the labels helped add the repeal to a massive year-end spending bill. After the law was passed, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the government immediately would stop requiring the labels.
Consumer groups say the repeal is a disappointment just as consumers are asking for more information on their food packages. Advocates say the labels help people make more informed buying decisions and encourage purchases of American meat.
Before repeal, the labels told shoppers that a particular cut of meat was "born in Canada, raised and slaughtered in the United States" or "born, raised and slaughtered in the United States." Congress first required the labels in 2002 amid fears of mad cow disease from imported cattle. The labels weren't on most packages until 2009, though, due to delays pushed by the meat industry.
Repeal became inevitable once the United States lost all its WTO appeals and the retaliation became a possibility. But the consumer groups criticized Congress for repealing the law for ground meat and pork in addition to the fresh cuts of meat that were the subject of WTO concerns.
The bill was "a holiday gift to the meatpacking industry from Congress," complained the advocacy group Food and Water Watch. Meatpackers who buy Mexican cattle were some of the law's most aggressive opponents.
The repeal also was a big defeat for lawmakers from northern border states where U.S. ranchers directly compete with Canadian ranchers. Those lawmakers insisted on including the labeling in the 2002 and 2008 farm bills and this year fought to replace it with a voluntary program once the WTO rulings came down. But after years of success, this time they were not able to find enough support.
Roger Johnson of the National Farmers Union, which has heavy membership in those states, said the group was "furious" about the repeal.
"Packers will be able to once again deliberately deceive consumers," Johnson said.
Still, there was some good news for food labeling advocates in the spending bill. Despite an aggressive push by the food industry, lawmakers decided not to add language that would have blocked mandatory labeling of genetically modified ingredients. Also, a provision by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, would require labeling of genetically modified salmon recently approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
The issue is expected to come up again in 2016, with Vermont set to require labeling on genetically modified food this summer.
The day the spending bill passed, Vilsack said he would try to help Congress come up with a middle ground on labeling of engineered foods "in a way that doesn't create significant market disruption, while at the same time recognizing consumers' need to know and right to know basic information."
___
Follow Mary Clare Jalonick on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mcjalonick
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
3 Sunni-Led States Join Saudi Arabia's Diplomatic Feud Against Iran - The New York Times
PhotoA demonstration in Tehran on Monday against Saudi Arabia, after the kingdom cut ties with Iran.Credit Atta Kenare/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty ImagesTEHRAN '-- Three Sunni-led countries joined Saudi Arabia on Monday in severing or downgrading diplomatic ties with Iran, worsening a geopolitical conflict with sectarian dimensions in one of the world's most volatile regions.
The diplomatic protests from the three countries '-- Bahrain, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates '-- came as Iran accused Saudi Arabia of using an attack on the Saudi Embassy in Tehran two days earlier as a pretext for diverting attention from its problems.
Iranian protesters ransacked and set fire to the embassy on Saturday, along with the Saudi Consulate in Iran's second-largest city, Mashhad, after the Saudis executed a Shiite cleric who had criticized the Sunni kingdom's treatment of its Shiite minority. The Shiite cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, was among 47 people who were executed.
The United Nations secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, spoke by phone on Monday with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran, condemning both execution as well as the attack on the embassy. Mr. Ban '-- who has repeatedly urged the two countries to cooperate on regional conflicts, especially on Syria '-- called the break in Saudi-Iranian relations ''deeply worrying.''
Continue reading the main story2015: The Road to Iran-Saudi RuptureThe cutting of ties comes just weeks after a groundbreaking series of talks that brought rival powers to the table to discuss a road map for peace in Syria. In New York in December, the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers sat directly across from each other for several hours at a high-level meeting led by the United States and Russia.
Direct talks among the warring parties in Syria, overseen by a United Nations mediator, Staffan de Mistura, are scheduled to start on Jan. 25 in Geneva. There is still no clarity on who would represent either the Syrian government or the various opposition groups fighting it.
Mr. de Mistura said on Monday that he was en route to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and that he then planned to visit Tehran in an attempt to defuse the tensions, which could set back the diplomatic effort to reach a resolution to the five-year-old civil war in Syria.
''This Saudi-Iranian sudden and acute crisis is a very worrisome development, and we must at all costs avoid that it produces a chain of violent consequences in the region,'' Mr. de Mistura said in an email.
The announcements on Monday by the three allies of Saudi Arabia added to the fraught atmosphere in the region.
Relations between Shiite Iran and Bahrain, a Shiite-majority island nation ruled by a Sunni monarchy, were already poor, with Bahrain having accused Iran of meddling in its internal affairs by backing various Shiite opposition groups since the start of the Arab Spring in 2011.
In October, after accusing Iran of shipping weapons to the island, Bahrain recalled its ambassador in Tehran and expelled the Iranian charg(C) d'affaires in its capital, Manama.
Continue reading the main storyVideoSaudi Arabia Cuts Relations with IranAfter protests in Iran over the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia, Saudi officials on Monday announced that they have cut all diplomatic ties with Iran.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date January 4, 2016.Photo by Ahmed Farwan/Agence France-Presse '-- Getty Images.Watch in Times Video >>In a statement on Monday, Bahrain said the attack on the embassy and consulate in Iran occurred ''without the slightest regard for values, the law or morality'' and ''confirms a determination to spread devastation and destruction, and provoke unrest and strife in the region by providing protection and support for terrorists and extremists and the smuggling of weapons and explosives for use by its affiliated terrorist cells.''
Sudan on Monday expelled the Iranian ambassador in Khartoum, its capital, to protest the attack on the embassy, the Iranian news agency Fars reported.
The United Arab Emirates, which had already formally protested the embassy attack, on Monday downgraded its ties by recalling its ambassador to Tehran and ordering a reduction in the number of Iranian diplomats stationed in the country.
''This exceptional step has been taken in the light of Iran's continuous interference in the internal affairs of Gulf and Arab states, which has reached unprecedented levels,'' the United Arab Emirates' Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
For its part, Iran, which has arrested dozens of protesters suspected of involvement in the assault on the embassy and consulate, said that Saudi Arabia was using the episode to distract attention from problems at home.
''Saudi Arabia, gripped by crises inside and outside its territories, follows the policy of increasing regional tensions,'' a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hossein Jaberi-Ansari, said at a weekly news briefing on Monday, in remarks that were broadcast live by the state-run news channel Irinn.
Another official, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, the deputy foreign minister, accused Saudi Arabia of making ''strategic blunders,'' saying it had contributed to the rise of terrorism in the region and ''conspired to bring oil prices down.''
PhotoA still from the Saudi channel Al Ikhbariya TV on Monday showing members of the Saudi diplomatic mission in Tehran, who were forced to leave, being greeted by Saudi officials upon their arrival in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates.Credit Al-Ikhbaryia TV, via Agence France-Presse '-- Getty ImagesMr. Abdollahian told the semiofficial news agency Fars that the execution of Sheikh Nimr was the latest such blunder.
The United Nations, the United States and the European Union have condemned the executions, which the Saudis carried out against people it said were guilty of terrorism-related charges.
Iran's vice president, Eshaq Jahangiri, said that cutting ties with Tehran was Saudi Arabia's ''loss,'' the semiofficial news agency Tasnim reported.
''Iran is a great country in the region and should be treated with respect,'' Mr. Jahangiri was quoted as saying. ''When Iran treats you with self-restraint, you must learn, and put experienced executives in charge.''
''Saudis are advised to stop acting in a disruptive, hasty, illogical and emotional manner as well as works, because they are the ones who will face losses in cutting ties with Iran,'' Mr. Jahangiri added.
While condemning the move by Saudi Arabia, officials in Iran reiterated comments on Sunday from its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, that the attacks were not productive.
''We do not achieve anything by attacking embassies and setting them ablaze,'' a hard-line prayer leader, Ahmad Khatami, told the Iranian Student News Agency on Monday. ''We condemn the crimes of al-Saud, but we don't consider attacking the Saudi Embassy or Consulate an appropriate act,'' he said, referring to the House of Saud, Saudi Arabia's ruling family.
Continue reading the main storyVideoIran Protests Execution of SheikhProtesters gathered in Tehran on Sunday to denounce Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an outspoken Shiite cleric.
By REUTERS on Publish Date January 3, 2016.Photo by Vahid Salemi/Associated Press.Watch in Times Video >>Russia '-- a tactical ally of Iran, which, like Russia, supports the embattled government of Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad '-- offered on Monday to mediate the escalating conflict.
''Moscow is seriously concerned about the additional worsening of the situation in the Middle East with the participation of the biggest regional states: Saudi Arabia and Iran,'' the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website. ''Russia traditionally maintains friendly relations with both. We urge Tehran and Riyadh, and other Persian Gulf states, to show restraint.''
The statement added: ''We are sure that the emerging difficulties in interstate relations can and must be overcome by dialogue via negotiations. Russia, from its side, will be ready to render the needed assistance to such efforts.''
Germany, which through the European Union has an important voice in Middle East affairs, urged Iran and Saudi Arabia to de-escalate the tensions. A government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, told reporters in Berlin on Monday that ''relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran are of fundamental importance for solving the crises in Syria and Yemen, and for the stability of the entire region.''
As the diplomatic wrangling worsened in the Middle East, there were reports of sporadic violence stemming from the execution of Sheikh Nimr.
The official Saudi Press Agency reported early on Monday that a man had been killed and a child wounded in the village of Awamiya, where the family of Sheikh Nimr is holding three days of mourning at a mosque. The authorities offered no details on whom they suspected in the attack.
Sheikh Nimr was an outspoken critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni monarchy but had denied ever calling for violence. His execution on Saturday prompted outrage among Shiites across the region.
The sheikh's brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, has told The Associated Press that Saudi officials informed his family that the cleric had been buried in an undisclosed cemetery, a development that could lead to further protests.
Thomas Erdbrink reported from Tehran, and Somini Sengupta from the United Nations. Sewell Chan contributed reporting from London, Kareem Fahim from Cairo, Ben Hubbard from Baghdad, and Ivan Nechepurenko from Moscow.
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Full Story on What's Going on In Oregon '' Militia Take Over Malheur National Wildlife Refuge In Protest to Hammond Family Persecution'... | The Last Refuge
Many people will awaken today to the news of approximately 100 to 150 armed militia taking control of a closed Wildlife Park Headquarters, and not know the full back-story '' so here it is:
The short summary is: in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers (''Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,) who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven Bundy family and approximately 100/150 (and growing) armed militia (former U.S. service members) have taken control of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in the wildlife reserve. They are prepared to stay there indefinitely.
Here's the long version: including history, details, links, video(s) and explanations:
Hammond Family
HISTORY: (aa) The Harney Basin (where the Hammond ranch is established) was settled in the 1870's. The valley was settled by multiple ranchers and was known to have run over 300,000 head of cattle. These ranchers developed a state of the art irrigated system to water the meadows, and it soon became a favorite stopping place for migrating birds on their annual trek north.
(ab) In 1908 President Theodor Roosevelt, in a political scheme, create an ''Indian reservation'' around the Malheur, Mud & Harney Lakes and declared it ''as a preserve and breeding ground for native birds''. Later this ''Indian reservation'' (without Indians) became the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge.
(a) In 1964 the Hammonds' purchased their ranch in the Harney Basin. The purchase included approximately 6000 acres of private property, 4 grazing rights on public land, a small ranch house and 3 water rights. The ranch is around 53 miles South of Burns, Oregon.
(a1) By the 1970's nearly all the ranches adjacent to the Blitzen Valley were purchased by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and added to the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers over 187,000 acres, stretches over 45 miles long and 37 miles wide. The expansion of the refuge grew and surrounds to the Hammond's ranch. Approached many times by the FWS, the Hammonds refused to sell. Other ranchers also choose not to sell.
(a2) During the 1970's the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), took a different approach to get the ranchers to sell. Ranchers were told: ''grazing was detrimental to wildlife and must be reduced''; 32 out of 53 permits were revoked and many ranchers were forced to leave. Grazing fees were raised significantly for those who were allowed to remain. Refuge personnel took over the irrigation system claiming it as their own.
(a3) By 1980 a conflict was well on its way over water allocations on the adjacent privately owned Silvies Plain. The FWS wanted to acquire the ranch lands on the Silvies Plain to add to their already vast holdings. Refuge personnel intentionally diverted the water bypassing the vast meadow lands, directing the water into the rising Malheur Lakes. Within a few short years the surface area of the lakes doubled. Thirty-one ranches on the Silvies plains were flooded. Homes, corrals, barns and graze-land were washed a way and destroyed. The ranchers who once fought to keep the FWS from taking their land, now broke and destroyed, begged the FWS to acquire their useless ranches. In 1989 the waters began to recede; now the once thriving privately owned Silvies plains are a proud part of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge claimed by the FWS.
(a4) By the 1990's the Hammonds were one of the very few ranchers who still owned private property adjacent to the refuge. Susie Hammond in an effort to make sense of what was going on began compiling facts about the refuge. In a hidden public record she found a study done by the FWS in 1975. The study showed the ''no use'' policies of the FWS on the refuge were causing the wildlife to leave the refuge and move to private property. The study showed the private property adjacent to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge produced four times more ducks and geese than the refuge. The study also showed the migrating birds were 13 times more likely to land on private property than on the refuge. When Susie brought this to the attention of the FWS and refuge personnel, her and her family became the subjects of a long train of abuses and corruptions.
(b) In the early 1990's the Hammonds filed on a livestock water source and obtained a deed for the water right from the State of Oregon. When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) found out the Hammonds obtained new water rights near the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge, they were agitated and became belligerent and vindictive toward the Hammonds. The US Fish and Wildlife Service challenged the Hammonds right to the water in an Oregon State Circuit Court. The court found the Hammonds legally obtained rights to the water in accordance to State law and therefore the use of the water belongs to the Hammonds.*
(c) In August 1994 the BLM & FWS illegally began building a fence around the Hammonds water source. Owning the water rights, and knowing that their cattle relied on that water source daily, the Hammonds tried to stop the building of the fence. The BLM & FWS called the Harney County Sheriff department and had Dwight Hammond (Father) arrested and charged with ''disturbing and interfering with'' federal officials or federal contractors (two counts, each a felony). Dwight spent one night in the Deschutes County Jail in Bend, and a second night behind bars in Portland. He was then hauled before a federal magistrate and released without bail. A hearing on the charges was postponed and the federal judge never set another date.
(d) The FWS also began restricting access to upper pieces of the Hammond's private property. In order to get to the upper part of the Hammond's ranch they had to go on a road that went through the Malhuer Wildlife Refuge. The FWS began barricading the road and threatening the Hammonds if they drove through it. The Hammonds removed the barricades and gates and continued to use their right of access. The road was proven later to be owned by the County of Harney. This further enraged the BLM & FWS.
(e) Shortly after the road & water disputes, the BLM & FWS arbitrarily revoked the Hammond's upper grazing permit without any given cause, court proceeding or court ruling. As a traditional ''fence out state'' Oregon requires no obligation on the part of an owner to keep his or her livestock within a fence or to maintain control over the movement of the livestock. The Hammonds still intended to use their private property for grazing. However, they were informed a federal judge ruled, in a federal court, the federal government did not have to observe the Oregon fence out law. ''Those laws are for the people, not for them''.
(f) The Hammonds were forced to either build and maintain miles of fences or be restricted from the use of their private property. Cutting their ranch in almost half, they could not afford to fence the land, so the cattle were removed.
(g) The Hammonds experienced many years of financial hardship due to the ranch being diminished. The Hammonds had to sell their ranch and home in order to purchase another property that had enough grass to feed their cattle. This property included two grazing rights on public land. Those were also arbitrarily revoked later.
(h) The owner of the Hammond's original ranch passed away from a heart attack and the Hammonds made a trade for the ranch back.
(i) In the early fall of 2001, Steven Hammond (Son) called the fire department, informing them that he was going to be performing a routine prescribed burn on their ranch. Later that day he started a prescribed fire on their private property. The fire went onto public land and burned 127 acres of grass. The Hammonds put the fire out themselves. There was no communication about the burn from the federal government to the Hammonds at that time. Prescribed fires are a common method that Native Americans and ranchers have used in the area to increase the health & productivity of the land for many centuries.
(j) In 2006 a massive lightning storm started multiple fires that joined together inflaming the countryside. To prevent the fire from destroying their winter range and possibly their home, Steven Hammond (Son) started a backfire on their private property. The backfire was successful in putting out the lightning fires that had covered thousands of acres within a short period of time. The backfire saved much of the range and vegetation needed to feed the cattle through the winter. Steven's mother, Susan Hammond said: ''The backfire worked perfectly, it put out the fire, saved the range and possibly our home''.
(j1) The next day federal agents went to the Harney County Sheriff's office and filled a police report making accusation against Dwight and Steven Hammond for starting the backfire. A few days after the backfire a Range-Con from the Burns District BLM office asked Steven if he would meet him in town (Frenchglen) for coffee. Steven accepted. When leaving he was arrested by the Harney County Sheriff Dave Glerup and BLM Ranger Orr. Sheriff Glerup then ordered him to go to the ranch and bring back his father. Both Dwight and Steven were booked and on multiple Oregon State charges. The Harney County District Attorney reviewed the accusation, evidence and charges, and determined the accusations against Dwight & Steven Hammond did not warrant prosecution and dropped all the charges.
(k) In 2011, 5 years after the police report was taken, the U.S. Attorney Office accused Dwight and Steven Hammond of completely different charges; they accused them of being ''Terrorists'' under the Federal Anti terrorism Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996. This act carries a minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum sentence of death. Dwight & Steven's mug shots were all over the news the next week posing them as ''Arsonists''. Susan Hammond (Wife & Mother) said: ''I would walk down the street or go in a store, people I had known for years would take extreme measures to avoid me''.
(l) Shortly after the sentencing, Capital Press ran a story about the Hammonds. A person who identified as Greg Allum posted three comments on the article, calling the ranchers ''clowns'' who endangered firefighters and other people in the area while burning valuable range land. Greg Allum, a retired BLM heavy equipment operator, soon called Capital Press to complain he had not made those comments and requested they be taken down from the website. Capital Press removed the comments. A search of the Internet Protocol address associated with the comments revealed the origin as the BLM's office in Denver, Colorado. Allum said, he is friends with the Hammonds and he was alerted to the comments by neighbors who knew he wouldn't have written them. ''I feel bad for them. They lost a lot and they're going to lose more,'' Allum said of the ranchers. ''They're not terrorists''. ''There's this hatred in the BLM for them, and I don't get it,'' the retired BLM employee said. Jody Weil, deputy state director for communications at BLM's Oregon office, indicated to reporters that if one of their agents falsified the comments, they would keep it private and not inform the public.
(m) In September 2006, Dwight & Susan Hammond's home was raided. The agents informed the Hammonds they were looking for evidence that would connect them to the fires. The Hammonds later found out a boot print and a tire tracks were found near one of the many fires. No matching boots or tires were found in the Hammonds home or on their property. Susan Hammond (Wife) later said; '' I have never felt so violated in my life. We are ranchers not criminals''. Steven Hammond openly maintains his testimony that he started the backfire to save the winter grass from being destroyed and the backfire ended up working so well it put out the fire altogether.
(n) During the trial proceedings, Federal Court Judge Michael Hogan did not allow time for certain testimonies and evidence into the trail which would exonerate the Hammonds. Federal prosecuting attorney, Frank Papagni, was given full access for six days. He had ample time to use any evidence or testimony that strengthened the demonization of the Hammonds. The Hammonds attorney was only allowed 1 day. Many of the facts about the fires, land and why the Hammonds acted the way they did was not allowed into the proceedings and was not heard by the jury. Example: Judge Hogan did not allow time for the jury to hear or review certified scientific findings the fires improved the health and productivity of the land. Or, that the Hammonds had been subject to vindictive behavior by multiple federal agencies for years.
(o) Federal attorneys, Frank Papagni, hunted down a witness who was not mentally capable to be credible. Dusty Hammond (grandson and nephew) testified that Steven told him to start a fire. He was 13-years-old at the time, and 24-years-old when he testified (11 years later). At 24 Dusty had been suffering with mental problems for many years. He had estranged his family including his mother. Judge Hogan noted that Dusty's memories as a 13-year-old boy were not clear or credible. However, Judge Hogan allowed the prosecution to continually use Dusty's testimony. When speaking to the Hammonds about this testimony, they understood Dusty was manipulated and expressed nothing but love for their troubled grandson.
(p) Judge Michael Hogan & Frank Papagni tampered with the jury many times throughout the proceedings, including during the selection process. Hogan & Papagni only allowed people on the jury who did not understand the customs and culture of the ranchers or how land is used and cared for in the Diamond Valley. All of the jurors had to drive back and forth to Pendleton every day. Some drove more than two hours each way. By day 8 they were exhausted and expressed desires to be home.
On the final day, Judge Hogan kept pushing them to make a verdict. [Several times during deliberation, Judge Hogan pushed them to make a decision.] Judge Hogan also would not allow the jury to hear what punishment could be imposed upon an individual convicted as a terrorist under the 1996 act. The jury, not understanding the customs and cultures of the area and influenced by the prosecutors for six straight days, very exhausted, pushed for a verdict by the judge, unaware of the ramification of convicting someone as a terrorist, gave a verdict and went home.
(q) June 22, 2012, Dwight and Steven were found guilty of starting both the 2001 and the 2006 fires by the jury. However, the federal courts convicted them both as ''Terrorists'' under the 1996 Anti terrorism Act. Judge Hogan sentenced Dwight (Father) to 3 months in prison and Steven (son) to 12 months in federal prison. Both were also stipulated to pay $400,000 to the BLM. Judge Hogan overruling the minimum terrorist sentence, commented if the full five years were required it would be a violation of the 8th amendment (cruel and unusual punishment). The day of the sentencing Judge Hogan retired as a federal judge. In his honor the staff served chocolate cake in the courtroom.
(r) On January 4, 2013, Dwight and Steven reported to prison. They fulfilled their sentences, (Dwight 3 months, Steven 12 months). Dwight was released in March 2013 and Steven, January 2014.
(s) Sometime in June 2014, Rhonda Karges, Field Manager for the BLM, and her husband Chad Karges, Refuge Manager for the Malheur Wildlife Refuge (which surrounds the Hammond ranch), along with attorney Frank Papagni exemplified further vindictive behavior by filing an appeal with the 9th District Federal Court seeking Dwight's and Steven's return to federal prison for the entire 5 years.*
(t) In October 2015, the 9th District Court ''re-sentenced'' Dwight and Steven, requiring them to return to prison for several more years. Steven (46) has a wife and 3 children. Dwight (74) will leave Susan (74) to be alone after 55 years of marriage. If he survives, he will be 79 when he is released.
(u) During the court preceding the Hammonds were forced to grant the BLM first right of refusal; if the Hammonds ever sold their ranch they would have to sell it to the BLM.
(v) Dwight and Steven are ordered to report to federal prison again on January 4th, 2016 to begin their re-sentencing. Both their wives will have to manage the ranch for several years without them.
To date the Hammonds have paid $200,000 to the BLM, and the remainder $200,000 must be paid before the end of year (2015). If the Hammonds cannot pay the fines to the BLM, they will be forced to sell the ranch to the BLM or face further prosecution. (more citations here)
Hammond Family
Now you can watch this video where Ammon Bundy responds to why he and his brothers are involved. (This was recorded two days ago on Jan 1st):After a protest rally supporting the Hammond family yesterday, a pre-planned group, including the Bundy Brothers, left a peaceful protest at the Harney County Sheriff's Office and went to the closed (for holiday) Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they have seized and occupied the refuge headquarters.
Statement from Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward:''After the peaceful rally was completed today, a group of outside militants drove to the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, where they seized and occupied the refuge headquarters. A collective effort from multiple agencies is currently working on a solution. For the time being please stay away from that area. More information will be provided as it becomes available. Please maintain a peaceful and united front and allow us to work through this situation.'' (link)
Ammon Bundy and others broke off from other militiamen after peaceful parade. Among them is Ryan Payne, who helped the Bundys in Nevada.
'-- Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) January 3, 2016
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge Headquarters
(Via Oregon Live) ['...] The Bundy family of Nevada joined with hard-core militiamen Saturday to take over the headquarters of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, vowing to occupy the remote federal outpost 50 miles southeast of Burns for years.
The occupation came shortly after an estimated 300 marchers '-- militia and local citizens both '-- paraded through Burns to protest the prosecution of two Harney County ranchers, Dwight Hammond Jr. and Steven Hammond, who are to report to prison on Monday.
Among the occupiers is Ammon Bundy, son of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, and two of his brothers. Militia members at the refuge claimed they had as many as 100 supporters with them. The refuge, federal property managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was closed and unoccupied for the holiday weekend.
In phone interviews from inside the occupied building Saturday night, Ammon Bundy and his brother, Ryan Bundy, said they are not looking to hurt anyone. But they would not rule out violence if police tried to remove them, they said.
''The facility has been the tool to do all the tyranny that has been placed upon the Hammonds,'' Ammon Bundy said.
''We're planning on staying here for years, absolutely,'' he added. ''This is not a decision we've made at the last minute.'' (more)
Ammon Bundy said in Facebook video they have taken over refuge to use as militia base for years. Called patriots from U.S. to come.
'-- Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) January 3, 2016
Bundy & Co. have picked isolated place to make stand '' a refuge way out in the desert where it will get -10 or so tonight.
'-- Les Zaitz (@LesZaitz) January 3, 2016
Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is located roughly south of the town of Burns, Oregon. The refuge area is roughly T shaped with the southernmost base at Frenchglen, the left top at Malheur Lake and the right top at Harney Lake.
A letter dated January 1st outlines the position of the Bundy brothers, as well as the 150+ in the Militia as it relates to the Hammond family:With great concern and love and much consideration from prayer, I come to you Harney County Sheriff of Oregon David M. Ward, rancher Steven Dwight Hammond, and rancher Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr.,
I, Cliven D. Bundy, have been involved for several weeks in the background striving to understand and comprehend your dilemmas in Harney County, Oregon. I understand the grass that was burned on each side of the fence was grazing rights that had been created through beneficial use, one side of the fence being private property and the other side of the fence being private property rights. The fires that were set were for a good purpose and had good results.
The United States Justice Department has NO jurisdiction or authority within the State of Oregon, County of Harney over this type of ranch management. These lands are not under U.S. treaties or commerce, they are not article 4 territories, and Congress does not have unlimited power. These lands have been admitted into statehood and are part of the great State of Oregon and the citizens of Harney County enjoy the fullness of the protections of the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Constitution limits United States government.
It is my suggestion, Steven Hammond, that you go and check yourself into Harney County jail asking for protective custody. It is my suggestion, Dwight Hammond, that you go and check yourself into Harney County jail asking for protective custody. It is my suggestion, Harney County Sheriff David Ward, accept these two ranchers into your jail, notify the United States Solicitor in Washington DC that you have these two ranchers in Harney County jail, that they will remain there indefinitely under your protective custody and the protection of We the People of Harney County and We the People of the United States of America.
I suggest an Evidentiary Hearing or a Grand Jury be formed by We the People.
I feel that this action is immediately important, that it should be taken place before 10:00 am Saturday, January 2, 2016. I will hold these suggestions private until that time then I will release this letter to those having state and county jurisdiction and to the media.
Cliven D. Bundy (LINK)
References:
'... Full Facts On Hammond Case HERE
'... BEST Local Reporter Twitter Feed HERE
'... Oregon Live Article HERE
'... Bundy Ranch Facebook HERE
'... Bundy Ranch Website HERE
'... Malhuer National Wildlife Refuge '' Resource HERE
What if the Oregon Protesters Were Black or Muslim? Debate Ensues - The New York Times
PhotoAn Arizona cattle rancher, LaVoy Finicum, led members of the media through the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge near Burns, Ore.Credit Jim Urquhart/ReutersThe Oregon protest at a federal wildlife refuge has reignited an already intense debate on social media about policing, race and terrorism.
On Saturday, an armed group of antigovernment protesters occupied a remote federal wildlife refuge in Oregon and warned that they would not leave without a fight. The authorities have held back from attempting to stop the protest.
On social media, that led quickly to questions about a double standard, particularly from liberals and the left, who asked: What if the armed men were Muslim or black? They predicted the authorities would have been more forceful.
Many or all of the protesters appear to be white. It was unclear what religion they are, but least one has made reference to a prominent (and antigovernment) Mormon figure.
Continue reading the main storySome wondered why the news media and the authorities were not calling the takeover a form of terrorism. People used the hashtags #YallQaeda, #YeeHawd, and #VanillaISIS to challenge a widely held perception that terrorism applies only to crimes carried about by minorities and non-Christians.
Continue reading the main storyThe leader of the armed group in Oregon is Ammon Bundy, the son of Cliven Bundy, a rancher in Nevada who in 2014 engaged in an armed standoff with federal officials, gaining the support of leaders in the conservative movement, then losing it after declaring that black Americans would be better off as slaves.
Still, many conservatives on Twitter criticized the debate, and said it was a step too far to call the men terrorists, and pushed back against memes that perpetuated stereotypes about white people.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main storyOthers objected to the criticism of the lack of force used by the authorities by drawing comparisons to past deadly standoffs between the federal authorities and armed groups that harbor antigovernment sentiments.
''Worth recalling lessons of Waco and Ruby Ridge before suggesting FBI should simply go to war with Oregon militiamen,'' an observer wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
Continue reading the main storyWhat We Know About the Standoff in OregonIn February 1993, a gun battle erupted in Waco, Tex., between federal authorities and members of a religious sect called the Branch Davidians. The fighting resulted in the deaths of four federal agents and half a dozen members of the sect. That was followed by a 51-day standoff and another confrontation that left dozens more people dead. All told, at least 82 Branch Davidians died. A third of those killed were children.
A year earlier, a confrontation in northern Idaho between the authorities and Randall Weaver, a white separatist, led to the fatal shooting of his wife and son. A federal marshal was also killed during the conflict, which came after an 11-day standoff. In 1995, the government awarded $3.1 million to Mr. Weaver.
VideoArmed Group Holding On in OregonAmmon Bundy, the leader of a group of armed anti-government activists that seized buildings on a national wildlife refuge in eastern Oregon, said he is prepared to use force if the government does.
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS on Publish Date January 4, 2016.Photo by Les Zaitz/The Oregonian, via Associated Press.Watch in Times Video >>Correction: January 4, 2016An earlier version of this article misstated the year of Cliven Bundy's armed standoff with federal officials in Nevada. It was 2014, not last year. The article also misstated the number of Branch Davidians who died in a 51-day standoff in Waco, Tex., in 1993. All told, at least 82 members of the sect died.
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15 striking findings from 2015 | Pew Research Center
Every year, we look back at our research to select the most memorable facts that illustrate important trends shaping our world. At Pew Research Center, the topics we analyze range from the specific subjects of video gaming and family caregivers to broader areas like political attitudes, global climate change and religious affiliation.
It's a hard task to select just 15, but here are some of our most striking findings of 2015:
1Just19% of Americans say they can trust the federal government always or most of the time. That's among the lowest levels in over 50 years. The long-term erosion of public trust is mirrored by a steep decline in the belief that the government is run for the benefit of all Americans.
2The American middle class is shrinking. After more than four decades of serving as the nation's economic majority, the U.S. middle class is now matched in size by those in the economic tiers above and below it. A separate analysis also finds that globally, the middle class is more promise than reality. (See where you fit in the U.S. and worldwide with our interactive calculators.)
3For the first time since the 1940s, more immigrants from Mexico are leaving the U.S. than coming into the country. The shift is due to several reasons, including slow economic recovery after the Great Recession that may have made the U.S. less attractive, as well as stricter enforcement of U.S. immigration laws, particularly at the border.
4There's a substantial rise in the share of Americans who say the country needs to continue making changes to give blacks equal rights with whites. In July 2015, six-in-ten (59%) Americans said changes are needed, up from 46% in March 2014. These findings come in a year where racial tensions were high in much of the country, from protests over police shootings to student strikes at universities. Our poll also shows that a racial divide in public opinion persists: Blacks are much more likely than whites to say changes are needed.
5Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers in sheer numbers to become the largest U.S. generation. There are an estimated 75.3 Millennials (ages 18 to 34) compared with 74.9 million Baby Boomers. This racially diverse, economically stressed and politically liberal group is also taking over American jobs: Millennial workers this year grew to outnumber Gen X workers, making them the largest share of the U.S. labor force.
6For news about politics and government, social media may be for the Millennial generation what local TV is for the Baby Boomer generation. Six-in-ten (61%) online Millennials say they get political news on Facebook in a given week, a much larger percentage than any other source for news. That's a stark contrast to internet-using Baby Boomers, for whom local TV tops the list. These trends also reflect a major shift taking place in the news world, as social networking sites increasingly become an integral part of Americans' news experience.
7ForAmerican teens, it's not just a Facebook and Instagram world. While these two social media sites are the most popular, a majority (71%) of teens say they use more than one of the seven social networking sites we asked about. Much of this frenzy is facilitated by mobile devices: Nearly three-quarters of U.S. teens have access to a smartphone.
8People in countries with significant Muslim populations express overwhelmingly negative views of ISIS, according to our spring survey in 11 countries. Recent attacks in Paris, Beirut and Baghdad linked to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have once again brought terrorism and Islamic extremism to the forefront of international relations. Majorities in most of the 11 countries express unfavorable views of ISIS, but the exception is Pakistan, where a majority offer no opinion.
9Islam will grow faster than any other major religion in the world over the next four decades, according to our religious projections. The number of Muslims will grow more than twice as fast as the overall world population between 2010 and 2050, and, in the second half of this century, will likely surpass Christians as the world's largest religious group. Driving these changes are simple demographics: Muslims have more children than members of other religions, and they're also relatively younger.
10Christians are declining as a share of the U.S. population, while the number of U.S. adults who do not identify with any organized religion is growing. While the U.S. remains home to more Christians than any other country, the percentage of Americans identifying as Christian dropped from 78% in 2007 to 71% in 2014. By contrast, religious ''nones,'' driven in large part by Millennials, have surged seven percentage points in that time span to make up 23% of U.S. adults last year.
11Nearly 59 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. in the past fifty years, after the passage of a landmark 1965 bill that rewrote U.S. immigration policy. Today, a near-record 14% of the country's population is foreign-born compared with just 5% in 1965, and that share is expected to rise to 18% by 2065. New settlers today also look very different from the predominately European immigrants of the 19th and 20th centuries: Among immigrants who have arrived since 1965, half (51%) are from Latin America and one-quarter are from Asia.
12Multiracial Americans account for 6.9% of adults, and they are growing at a rate three times as fast as the population as a whole. For much of the nation's history, America has discussed race in the singular form. But with the rise of interracial couples, combined with a more accepting society, the language of race is changing. More than half of multiracial Americans are proud of their background and feel more open to other cultures. But a majority (55%) also say they have been subjected to slurs or jokes because of their racial background.
13Scientists and the American public are often far apart when it comes to views about science-related issues. Members of the science community, for example, are much more likely to say genetically modified foods and foods grown with pesticides are safe to eat, and that climate change is mostly due to human activity, according to our recent survey of U.S.-based members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
14A global median of 54% consider climate change a very serious problem, according to our survey of 40 nations. But there are regional differences on views of climate change, with people from Latin America and Africa expressing more concern than others. Before delegates from 195 nations approved a landmark climate accord in Paris this year to limit carbon emissions, our spring survey found a median of 78% supporting such a deal.
15Reporters for niche outlets now fill more seats in the Senate press gallery than do journalists who work for daily newspapers. The face of the Washington press corps has changed markedly in recent years, transformed by this increase in the number of journalists working for ''niche'' publications and digital startups.
Topics: Federal Government, Generations and Age, Immigration, Immigration Trends, Income, Mexico, Middle Class, Muslims and Islam, News Audience Trends and Attitudes, News Media Trends, News Sources, Population Projections, Race and Ethnicity, Religious Affiliation, Science and Innovation, Social Media, Terrorism, Trust in Government
