Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Friday 25 April 2014

The European Union Times


Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:50 PM PDT

There have been 26 nuclear-scale asteroid explosions in the Earth’s atmosphere between 2001 and 2013, according to a new report. The most powerful of the impacts was dozens of times the magnitude of the atom bomb that devastated Hiroshima, Japan in 1945.
Most of the asteroid explosions occurred much too high in the atmosphere to do any damage on the ground, according to findings by the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. The group operates “a network of sensors that monitors Earth around the clock listening for the infrasound signature of nuclear detonations.”
The 26 incidents measured by the organization ranged from 1 to 600 kilotons of energy. The atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima by the United States, for example, contained 15 kilotons of energy, according to the B612 Foundation, which presented visualization of the findings at a press conference in Seattle on Tuesday.
The data show “that asteroid impacts are not rare — but actually 3-10 times more common than we previously thought,” said Ed Lu, co-founder and chief executive of the B612 Foundation.
None of these 26 potentially-catastrophic asteroids were picked up or noticed in advance by any space- or Earth-based observatory, the Guardian reported.
Experts attending Tuesday’s event pointed out how random perilous asteroids can be and what kind of threat they are to Earth.
“While most large asteroids with the potential to destroy an entire country or continent have been detected, less than 10,000 of the more than a million dangerous asteroids with the potential to destroy an entire major metropolitan area have been found by all existing space or terrestrially-operated observatories,” said Lu, who is also a former astronaut.
“Because we don’t know where or when the next major impact will occur, the only thing preventing a catastrophe from a ‘city-killer’ sized asteroid has been blind luck.”
The most damaging asteroid to explode over Earth in recent times occurred in 1908 above Tunguska, Siberia. The energy yield of that detonation fell between the equivalent of 5,000 and 15,000 tons of TNT. About 770 square miles (1,239 sq km) of remote forest area was razed by the eruption.
Asteroid impacts with more than 20 kilotons hit South Sulawesi, Indonesia in 2009, the Southern Ocean in 2004, and the Mediterranean Sea in 2002.

More recently, an astral body exploded in the sky over Chelyabinsk, Russia with the strength of 40 Hiroshima bombs, temporarily blinding and deafening hundreds of people below and causing extensive property damage.
The B612 Foundation plans to launch by 2018 the world’s first privately-funded deep space operation, the Sentinel Space Telescope Mission. The project aims create an extensive map of the solar system and to identify potentially threatening objects hurtling toward Earth yet still millions of miles away.
“Sentinel will detect and track more than 200,000 asteroids in just the first year of operation,” the B612 Foundation said in a statement.
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Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:40 PM PDT
Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan
Armenia has dismissed Turkey’s condolences over the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman troops during the First World War.
On Thursday, Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan did not acknowledge Ankara’s move and instead accused Turkey of showing “utter denial” in failing to recognize the massacre as genocide.
“The Armenian genocide… is alive as far as the successor of the Ottoman Turkey continues its policy of utter denial,” the Armenian president said, adding, “The denial of a crime constitutes the direct continuation of that very crime.”
“Only recognition and condemnation can prevent the repetition of such crimes in the future,” Sargsyan added.
In a rare expression of sympathy on the eve of the 99th anniversary of the mass killing of Armenians, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan issued an official statement on Wednesday which was translated into nine different languages, including Armenian.
Using an unprecedented conciliatory language in his statement, the Turkish premier called for dialogue between the two countries, and the formation of a commission to probe the incident.
Erdogan, however, reiterated a long-held Turkish position that the incident should be commemorated “without discriminating as to religion or ethnicity.”
Yerevan claims up to 1.5 million Armenians were systematically killed between 1915 and 1917, when the Ottoman Empire was falling apart.
Ankara categorically rejects the term genocide, saying 500,000 died in fighting and of starvation during World War I.
Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in a show of support for its regional ally Azerbaijan, which had a dispute with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
The region is internationally recognized as an Azeri territory but was seized by Armenia-backed separatists in the 1990s.
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Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:20 PM PDT

Critics of the newly proposed ‘Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014′ have slammed the bill as a “dangerous” threat to free speech, warning that the legislation would hand an obscure federal agency “chilling” powers to restrict the First Amendment.
Introduced earlier this week by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), the ‘Hate Crime Reporting Act of 2014′ (S.2219), along with its companion bill in the House, H.R. 3878, would task the National Telecommunications and Information Administration with filing reports on Internet, radio and television content that seeks “to advocate and encourage violent acts and the commission of crimes of hate”.
According to Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), chief sponsor of the House version, the bill will target “hateful activity on the Internet that occurs outside of the zone of First Amendment protection”. Apparently Jeffries is unaware of the fact that the First Amendment exists to protect unpopular speech and that free speech cannot be defined by arbitrary ‘zones’ decided on by politicians.
A Boston Herald editorial warns that the bill will encourage the federal agency to, “begin scouring the Internet, TV and radio for speech it finds threatening,” labeling the initiative a “frankly chilling proposition”.
“Prosecutors already have the authority to prosecute threats. And for the life of us we can’t fathom any further government limit on Internet postings or talk radio callers that could be structured to protect an American’s right to free expression,” states the editorial.
The legislation arrives four months after Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson’s comments about homosexuality, which were labeled “hate speech” by many on the left and sparked a national debate, ending in a victory for the First Amendment after Robertson’s suspension was lifted by TV network A&E.
Meanwhile, Civil liberties lawyer Harvey A. Silverglate told the Herald, “This proposed legislation is worse than merely silly. It is dangerous,” adding, “It is not up to Sen. Markey, nor to the federal government, to define for a free people what speech is, and is not, acceptable.”
Writer Pamela Geller goes even further, asserting that if passed the legislation “will finish the United States” and introduce de-facto “Islamic blasphemy laws” that will make criticizing Islam a hate crime.
One conservative website also notes how the bill was welcomed by Alex Nogales, President & CEO of the National Hispanic Media Coalition, prompting concerns that the legislation could lead to harsh criticism of illegal immigration also being categorized as a “hate crime”.
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Posted: 24 Apr 2014 01:16 PM PDT

Russia holds military drills near the Ukrainian border as a response to Kiev’s using armed forces against pro-Russian protestors and NATO’s recent European exercises.
Russia’s military drills came on Thursday after President Vladimir Putin accused Kiev of using armed forces against protesters in Ukraine’s eastern regions.
Earlier on Thursday Ukrainian troops entered the eastern city of Slavyansk, killing at least five of pro-Russian protesters.
Meanwhile, Putin has warned Ukraine there would be consequences for decision makers following their use of force against pro-Russian protesters.
Over the past weeks, Russia has repeatedly warned Ukraine against using military action against pro-Russian protesters.
Pro-Russian activists have taken control of government buildings in more than ten cities in the eastern parts of the country. They have been demanding local referendums on independence.
On April 17, Ukraine’s interim government together with the United States, Russia and the European Union reached an agreement in the Swiss city of Geneva, calling for all sides to ease the ongoing crisis in eastern Ukraine, where anti-Kiev protesters keep occupying state buildings in several towns and cities.
Tensions between Western powers and Moscow heightened after Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and became part of Russia following a referendum on March 16, in which almost 97 percent of the participants voted for rejoining the Russian Federation, with a turnout of over 83 percent.
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Posted: 24 Apr 2014 01:03 PM PDT

Five anti-government protesters have reportedly been killed and one injured in the eastern Ukrainian town of Slavyansk after Kiev authorities sent tanks and armored vehicles against the local population.
“During the antiterrorist operation, three checkpoints erected by illegal military groups have been destroyed in the northeastern part of Slavyansk,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said, adding: “At least five terrorists have been killed. One policeman was injured.”
Witnesses report on Twitter Slavyansk self-defense forces are now burning tires to hamper the entrance of infantry vehicles from Kiev into the city.
According to Rossiya 24 TV channel, self-defense forces have repelled the attack of the Kiev gunmen at the key checkpoint 3 km north of Slavyansk. At least three infantry vehicles had to retreat.
Police has announced the beginning of the crackdown via loudspeakers and a special vehicle is currently patrolling the streets warning local people about the crackdown.
The local citizens in the city are preparing for the Kiev crackdown. The majority of shops, kindergartens and schools have been closed in the city. Only the shops selling bread and water remain open.
“Fighting the outskirts of Slavyansk started at about 12pm Moscow time (08:00 GMT),” one of the leaders of the self-defense forces, Miroslav Rudenko, told Interfax, “We are checking reports of one dead and one injured. There are shootings at a number of checkpoints at some of Slavyansk exit-roads.”
Rudenko said it was impossible to reach self-defense leaders in Slavyansk by phone, suspecting that mobile phone connection could have been switched off.
Rossiya 24 TV channel reported there was a slow offensive by Ukrainian troops on Slavyansk.
“Now armored vehicles and special forces are just 10km away from the town,” said Rossiya 24 correspondent currently on the ground.
According to locals, at least eight armored infantry vehicles passed the village of Hrestische, near Slavyansk, on Thursday morning, reports Gazeta.ru.
At least three snipers from Ukrainian army are now at the barricades, the residents also told Gazeta.ru, adding that when one of the journalists tried to approach the barricades, the snipers opened fire.
Meanwhile, two columns of armored vehicles are heading towards Slavyansk. The first column is now 6km from the city, while the second is 3 to 4km, Mayor of Slavyansk Vyacheslav Ponomarev told Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Meanwhile, the armored infantry vehicles are currently heading towards the town of Izyum in the Kharkov Region, not far from Slavyansk.
Anti-government protesters are still controlling the checkpoints on the outskirts of Slavyansk.
Ukrainian military Mil Mi-24 and Mi-8 helicopters have been detected in the city of Artyomovsk near Slavyansk.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Kiev’s crackdown on anti-government protesters “a very serious crime.”
“If the Kiev regime started military actions against the country’s population, this is without doubt a very serious crime,” Putin said.
He maintains that the current situation in eastern Ukraine is another proof that Russia was right when it supported the Crimeans when they decided to have a referendum.
Meanwhile, Russian OSCE (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) envoy Andrey Kelin proposed sending immediately the observers to Slavyansk, calling the city and near-by regions “hotspots.”
He criticized Kiev’s ‘anti-terrorist’ operation, launched against anti-government protesters in the city as “serious violation of the Geneva agreements.”
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 20:10