Asteroid Apocalypse -- Michio Kaku, The Daily Beast/Newsweek
The recent crash-down in Russia was a fleabite. The one in 2036 could destroy entire nations...
It was an amazing spectacle, a rapid succession of giant asteroids blazing across the sky. First, on February 15, Russia was hit with the biggest asteroid in 100 years. Barely a few hours later, an even bigger one made the closest approach to Earth ever recorded for an asteroid of its size. Then the residents of San Francisco, Cuba, and south Florida looked up and saw meteors streak across the sky, rattling their nerves.
It was a historic display of nature’s cosmic firepower, something I never expected to see in my lifetime. Mother Nature was showing Hollywood who’s boss.
The city of Chelyabinsk in Russia bore the brunt of the celestial fireworks. A piece of rock, about 50 feet across and weighing more than 7,000 tons, came crashing to Earth. Traveling at a blinding speed of over 40,000 miles per hour, it created a sonic boom and shock wave that shattered windows across the city: 1,200 people were injured, mainly by the flying pieces of glass, and 52 were hospitalized, 2 of them in serious condition. Chelyabinsk, once known as one of the most polluted places in the world due to its storage of nuclear waste, will now be known as “meteor city.”
My Comment: We have been bombarded by these meteorite strikes in the past .... and I suspect that we will in the future. I only hope that in the future we have the capability to prevent such catastrophes from hitting us.
Venezuelan sources refute reports Hugo Chavez died yesterday. (Photo by Venezuelan government)
Venezuela's Chavez Clings To Life, Vice President Says -- NBC
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is clinging to life, according to the country's vice president.
"The commander is fighting for his health, for his life," Nicolas Madura said on national TV Thursday.
The statement comes 10 days after Chavez returned to Venezuela from Cuba where he had received two months of treatment for his most recent bout with cancer. It was the clearest public indication to date of the severity of the president's condition.
Upon his return to his home country, Chavez was transported to a hospital in the nation's capital, Caracas.
Army artillerymen prepare an M119A2 105mm howitzer for operation after parachuting it to a drop zone during a mass-tactical airborne training exercise on Fort Bragg, N.C., Feb. 25, 2013. The artillerymen are assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division’s 3rd Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Michael J. MacLeod
WNU Editor: Another cool Picture Of the Day involves U.S. Defense Secretary Hagel showing up for work on his first day.
AR-15 rifle with a Stag lower receiver California legal (only with fixed 10-round magazine). Wikipedia
WNU Editor: Stag Arms produces AR-15s, one of the firearms at the center of the gun debate. Owner Mark Malkowski talks about gun legislation and the tragedy in Newtown. The link to the videois here.
Only 6% Rate News Media As Very Trustworthy -- Rasmussen Reports
Most voters still get their news from television and consider the news reported by the media generally trustworthy.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of Likely U.S. Voters say they get most of their news from TV, including 32% who get it from cable news networks and 24% who get it from traditional network news. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that another 25% use the Internet as their main source of news, while only 10% still rely on print newspapers. Seven percent (7%) get most of their news from radio. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Read more .... My Comment: Only 6% .... I though it was lower.
The McChrystal Way of War -- Gary Hart, National Interest
UNLIKE TOLSTOY’S families, uninteresting books are uninteresting in their own way; interesting books all operate on several levels. Retired U.S. Army general Stanley McChrystal’s My Share of the Task operates on three levels: first, the level of military memoir; second, as a detailed, even intimate, inside perspective on the concurrent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; and third, and perhaps most important historically, as an account of the U.S. military’s transition from traditional wars between nation-states to the unconventional and irregular insurgency warfare of the early twenty-first century.
More than one of the endorsers whose words appear on the book’s back cover compare My Share of the Task favorably to Ulysses Grant’s historic memoir. And, at least on the third level of this book, they are right in doing so. This is a scrupulous, though unvarnished, account of a military life as an heir to an army family, a West Point graduate in June 1976, and ultimately as a four-star general officer in command of the NATO-sponsored International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan beginning in June 2009. McChrystal’s impressive career spanned one of the most complex periods of U.S. military history and operates, intentionally or not, as a guide through that history. As he says in the book’s foreword: “The Army I knew as a child, the one I experienced as a young officer, and the one I left in 2010 were as different as the times they resided in.” Read more ....
Gutted: When Harry Truman became president in 1945, he inherited a creaking White House that had not been seriously renovated since 1902, and structurally since it was rebuilt from a fire in 1817
This Old (White) House: Fascinating Black And White Photos Show The Truman-Era Reconstruction Of The White House After It Was Declared To Be In Danger Of Collapsing -- Daily Mail
Its history dates back to one of America’s founding fathers, when George Washington selected the location for the White House, and in the two centuries it’s been in existence, the People’s House has boarded every president save the Father of His Country.
But during the Great Depression and in the two world wars, the annual budget for repairing the White House was drastically cut and ideas of renovation pushed to the back burner, meaning that all but the most simple patch-ups were ignored.
During the Truman presidency, a near gut-renovation was deemed a necessity, after it was found that once-charming creaky wooden floors swayed when walked upon, the tubs were sinking into the floors below, and the building was in risk of collapsing.
FBI Jets For War On Terror Used For Top Officials' Personal, Business Travel -- Washington Examiner
Holder, Mueller, Mukasey used FBI's Gulfstream jets for business, personal travel even though Congress approved them for counterterrorism.
Two corporate-style jets that the FBI persuaded Congress to lease for fighting global terrorism have instead been used the majority of the time to ferry Attorney General Eric Holder, his predecessor in the Bush administration and FBI Director Robert Mueller on business and personal trips at an expense of millions of dollars to taxpayers, an investigation has found.
The bureau's state-the-art, sleek Gulfstream V jets logged 60 percent of their hours between 2007 and 2011 on "non-mission flights" that cost taxpayers $11.4 million, according to an investigation by the Government Accountability Office obtained by the Washington Guardian.
Report: Dennis Rodman And Kim Jong Eun Hung Out, ‘Laughed Together’ -- Washington Post
A few days into former American basketball star Dennis Rodman’s bizarre and apparently impromptu trip to North Korea, Chinese state media have reported that Rodman actually met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Eun.
The two reportedly sat next to one another during a (tied!) basketball game between North Korean players and visiting members of the Harlem Globetrotters. According to Xinhua, they “talked directly to each other and laughed” throughout the game and without an interpreter. So Kim definitely speaks English.
Rodman reportedly said, “Although relations between the two countries are regrettable, personally I am a friend of Marshal Kim Jong Un and the DPRK people.”
My Comment: I am truly surprised .... such a get-together is unprecedented .... the idea that Kim Jong Un would hang out with Dennis Rodman and speak English without a translator is something that I would never have predicted .... and I am doubly sure is also raising many an eyebrow in Washington.
Terrorist affiliates spread after decapitation of central organization.
Al Qaeda affiliates have spread throughout the Middle East and Africa, transforming al Qaeda into an increasingly dangerous global network, research analysts at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) said during a panel Wednesday.
“Al Qaeda is stronger at an operational level than it has been for many years” and the prospects of al Qaeda strengthening are more likely, AEI senior research analyst Katherine Zimmerman said.
Even though the United States successfully found and killed Osama bin Laden, the al Qaeda movement has spread to Yemen, North Africa, Syria, Somalia, and other areas in the Middle East.
Al Qaeda is “not defeated or on the verge of defeat,” Zimmerman said.
My Comment: Radical Islam is a seductive drug for those who are marginalized or filled with hate. And while most will not join up with an outfit like Al Qaeda .... enough still do.
President Barack Obama shakes hands with Sailors, Marines and other service members after delivering his remarks during a rally held on board Naval Air Station Jacksonville. (U.S. Navy photo by Chief Mass Communication Specialist Anthony C. Casullo/Released)
Obama's Dangerous Defense Experiment -- Howard P. “Buck” McKeon, L.A. Times
The United States has cut down the military so rapidly and so blindly, we're in danger of breaking the back of the force.
Mindful of the repeated rounds of cuts the military has already endured, Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, recently delivered a grim warning: "If you want [the military] to be doing what it's doing today, then we can't give you another dollar."
His worries reflect reductions that started in 2009 and have reached crippling levels, even in President Obama's proposals to avert sequestration. I take the general at his word, but I am concerned that the president does not.
My Comment: Even if one eliminates the U.S. defense budget in it's entirety .... the U.S. will still be running massive budget deficits. America's debt problem is huge, and while it may be politically expedient to focus on programs like cutting the military and increasing taxes on the top 5% .... the problem will still be there.
Boeing Touts Fighter Jet To Rival F-35 — At Half The Price -- CBC
Super Hornet less stealthy, but has lower sticker price and operational costs.
In a dogfight of defence contractors, the hunter can quickly become the hunted. It's happening now to the F-35.
The world's largest defence contractor, Lockheed Martin, is trying to convince wavering U.S. allies — including Canada — to stick with its high-tech, high-priced and unproven F-35 stealth fighter. But the F-35 is way behind schedule, way over budget and, now, it's grounded by a mysterious crack in a turbine fan.
After years of technical problems, it's a tempting target for Lockheed Martin's rivals.
It's no surprise, then, that the No. 2 defence contractor, Boeing, smells blood.
.... The cost of transitioning our pilots and mechanics from our existing F-18 fleet to the Super Hornet is minimal considering the transition to an entirely new aircraft like the F-35. Furthermore, I suspect there are a lot of parts we have for our existing F-18 fleet that would be applicable to the new Super Hornet," said GGaudreau.
Kudos to the CBC for doing this story .... and the above video is a must see.
Pentagon Reviewing Pratt Recommendation To Resume F-35 Flights -- Reuters
(Reuters) - The Pentagon said on Thursday it was reviewing a recommendation by Pratt & Whitney to resume flights and ground operations of the F-35 fighter jet after a week-long grounding prompted by a cracked engine blade, but no decision has yet been made.
Spokeswoman Kyra Hawn said officials from the U.S. Air Force, Navy and the Pentagon's F-35 program office were reviewing data from a comprehensive engineering investigation conducted by Pratt about the cracked blade discovered on a test plane in Florida on February 19.
Pratt spokesman Matthew Bates confirmed that the F-35 Joint Program Office was assessing the company's recommendation to resume flights but declined to offer further comment.
Pratt, a unit of United Technologies Corp, supplies the engine for the single-engine, single-seat fighter plane, which is built by Lockheed Martin Corp.
While America Slept -- Kishore Mahbubani, Foreign Policy
How the United States botched China's rise.
Since the dawn of geopolitics, there has always been tension between the world's greatest power and the world's greatest emerging power. No great power likes to cede its No. 1 spot. One of the few times the top power ceded its position to the No. 2 power peacefully was when Great Britain allowed the United States to surge ahead in the late 19th century. Many books have been written on why this transition happened peacefully. But the basic reason seems cultural: One Anglo-Saxon power was giving way to another.
Today, the situation is different. The No. 1 power is the United States, the standard-bearer of the West. The No. 2 power rapidly catching up is China, an Asian power. If China passes America in the next decade or two, it will be the first time in two centuries that a non-Western power has emerged as No. 1. (According to economic historian Angus Maddison's calculations, China was the world's No. 1 economy until 1890.)
My Comment: As one who has been to China many times (including living there in 1988 and for a short time in 1989) .... I have a certain perspective that makes it easy for me to say that this commentary is on the money. This is my must read for today.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the cardinal chamberlain, or camerlengo, will officially be in charge of Vatican affairs until a new pope is elected. Alessandro Bianchi / Reuters file
Without A Pope, Who's Running The Catholic Church? -- M. Alex Johnson, NBC
With Benedict XVI's abdication taking effect Thursday, the Roman Catholic Church has no pope until the conclave of cardinals settles on a new one. Like many other procedures of the church, the rules for running the institution during this period are ancient and little-known. Here are answers to questions you might have about exactly what happens when the papacy changes hands: Who's in charge now? When a monarch leaves, the period before the new king or queen takes over is called an interregnum. In the Roman Catholic Church, it's called a sede vacante (or "empty seat"). The Cardinal Chamberlain, or Camerlengo — currently Vatican Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone — is in charge of running the church, working with three cardinal assistants who are chosen at random and are replaced every three days.
Now called 'emeritus pope,' Benedict makes room for a new Catholic leader
"Thank you and goodnight," Pope Benedict XVI told crowds gathered outside his new home in the Italian countryside Wednesday, as he became the first pontiff to retire in almost six centuries.
Benedict's time as head of the Catholic Church came to an end at 2 p.m. ET today. At the Vatican, Benedict said his final goodbyes before a helicopter took him to Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome.
The end of Benedict's time as pope prompts an array of traditions: the corps of Swiss guards assigned to him will step aside, his papal ring will be destroyed and soon a conclave of cardinals from around the world will gather at the Vatican to select a new leader for the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.
For his part, Benedict says he will live at Castel Gandolfo as "a pilgrim."
US To Send Rations, Medical Supplies To Syrian Rebels But Not Weapons -- NBC News
ROME — In a policy shift, the United States on Thursday announced plans to send military rations and medical supplies directly to Syrian opposition fighters, but fell short of providing weapons and ammunition that the rebels had been asking for.
"The simple fact is (Syrian President Bashar) Assad cannot shoot his way out of this," Secretary of State John Kerry said after his first meeting with Syrian opposition leaders in Rome. "For more than a year the U.S. and our partners who have gathered here in Rome have called on Assad to heed the voice of the Syrian people and halt his war machine. Instead what we have seen is his brutality increase."
Bangladesh Islamist's Death Sentence Sparks Deadly Riots -- Reuters
(Reuters) - A Bangladeshi Islamist party leader was sentenced to death on Thursday over abuses carried out during the country's independence war, triggering riots that killed at least 30 people.
Delwar Hossain Sayedee, 73, vice-president of the Jamaat-e-Islami party, was found guilty by Bangladesh's war crimes tribunal of mass killing, rape, arson, looting and forcing minority Hindus to convert to Islam during the 1971 war of separation from Pakistan, lawyers and tribunal officials said.
After he was convicted and sentenced, police clashed with activists from Sayedee's party and violence raged in more than a dozen areas around the country, police, witnesses and media reports said.
At least three policemen were among the dead and around 300 were wounded, they added.
Bradley Manning Pleads Guilty To 10 Charges But Denies 'Aiding The Enemy' -- The Guardian
Soldier admits guilt in lesser crimes that carry up to 20 years in prison while denying most serious charges against him
Bradley Manning has pleaded guilty to having been the source of the massive WikiLeaks dump of US state secrets, though he has denied the most serious charge against him that he "aided the enemy" that could see him languishing in military prison for the rest of his life.
Through his lawyer, David Coombs, the soldier pleaded guilty to 10 lesser charges that included possessing and wilfully communicating to an unauthorised person all the main elements of the WikiLeaks disclosure. That covered the so-called "collateral murder" video of an Apache helicopter attack in Iraq; some US diplomatic cables including one of the early WikiLeaks publications the Reykjavik cable; portions of the Iraq and Afghanistan warlogs, some of the files on detainees in Guantanamo; and two intelligence memos. Read more ....
Hagel, In First Day On Job, Warns Of Challenges Cuts Pose For The Military -- New York Times
WASHINGTON — After surviving a long and bruising Senate confirmation battle, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel started his first day at the Pentagon on Wednesday morning by warning that looming cuts in military spending were one of the biggest challenges facing the Defense Department, but that the United States must continue to “engage with the world.”
Mr. Hagel did not speak at length about the budget, but the cuts, he said, are coming. “We need to deal with this reality,” he told an audience in the Pentagon auditorium.
Hours after being sworn in as the 24th defense secretary, Mr. Hagel struck a folksy tone in the roomful of both military and civilian Defense Department employees, with some of the military’s top brass populating the front rows. Read more ....
More News On Chuck Hagels' First Day As U.S. Secretary Of Defense
Venezuelan sources refute reports Hugo Chavez died yesterday. (Photo by Venezuelan government)
Rumours Swirl As Chavez Stays Out Of Sight -- The Age
CARACAS: With President Hugo Chavez still out of sight, the Venezuelan government has denied any rift with the army as it led a rally in Caracas to mark the anniversary of a popular but deadly revolt.
Thousands of people clad in red rallied in the capital on Wednesday, many wearing shirts bearing the image of the leftist leader, and others holding signs reading "I am Chavez" as they marked the massacre of hundreds of people in 1989.
The rally came as Twitter lit up with speculation - none of it confirmed - that Mr Chavez had died. Thursday's rally was the first in Caracas since Mr Chavez, 58, checked into a military hospital in the capital nine days ago after spending two months in Cuba, where he underwent his fourth round of cancer surgery in 18 months.
China Claims Most Cyber-Attacks On Its Military Websites Have US Origin -- The Guardian
Beijing says defence ministry and another site subjected to 1.7m attacks last year, two-thirds of which came from within America
Two Chinese military websites were subject to about 144,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds of which came from the US, China's defence ministry has said.
Earlier this month a US computer security company said a Chinese military unit was probably behind a series of hacking attacks mostly targeting America, triggering a war of words between Washington and Beijing. China denied the allegations and said it was the victim.
Thailand, Insurgents Sign First Ever Agreement To Start Peace Talks -- Christian Science Monitor
Violence has occurred nearly every day in Thailand's three southernmost provinces since the insurgency erupted in 2004.
Thailand's government signed a breakthrough deal with Muslim insurgents for the first time ever Thursday, agreeing to hold talks to ease nearly a decade of violence in the country's southern provinces that has killed more than 5,000 people.
The agreement was announced in Malaysia's largest city, Kuala Lumpur, between Thai authorities and the militant National Revolution Front, also known by its Malay-language initials, BRN. It is seen as a positive step, but is unlikely to immediately end the conflict because several other shadowy guerrilla movements also fighting in southern Thailand have yet to agree to talks.
A geometry teacher at Habibia School in Kabul reads from the Koran during a break between classes. Students interested in learning more about Islam than what is taught in their religion classes. During the Taliban regime, Islam was one of the only subjects taught in school, but now the new Afghan government offers a broader education. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/BENJAMIN KRAIN
Missed Opportunity in Afghanistan: We Forgot to Pay the Preachers -- Mujib Mashal, Time
The assailants first came for Mullah Mohamed Hatif two years ago. It was a snowy winter night and he was making his way home after leading the evening prayer at his mosque. Two men, their faces covered, clubbed him in between his shoulders. He fell face down on the snow. They took his book ofsermons with thirty years of notes on its margins.
Hatif’s back hurt for 15 days, but undeterred, he continued to preach the kind of sermons many in his home district of Kohistan, in northeastern Afghanistan, believes made him a target. “Don’t blow up the bridge, the road,” the 63-year old would tell his congregation of roughly 800, his voice echoing in the village through the two sky-blue loudspeakers mounted on top of the one-story building. “Study chemistry, study biology, study English because we have huge mines that are untapped yet we can barely produce a plastic jug.” With a degree in education in 1960s, Hatif has taught science and literature in local high schools for nearly four decades. “I haven’t taken my hand off the chalk all these years,” he says proudly. He became a preacher by pursuing part-time religious studies for nearly 20 years.
ExpressNews anchor and Syed Muhammad Akbar Agha pictured during the interview. PHOTO: EXPRESS
Exclusive Interview: A Peek Into The Afghan Taliban Mind -- Express Tribune
KABUL:
Nine years ago he was sentenced to 16 years in jail for kidnapping three United Nations workers in Afghanistan. However, he was pardoned by President Hamid Karzai in 2009 and subsequently released. Today, he lives in a mansion in an upscale neighbourhood of the Afghan capital. Meet Syed Muhammad Akbar Agha, a former leader of the ultraorthodox Taliban militia.
Born in the birthplace of the Taliban movement, Akbar Agha is a cousin of Mullah Muhammad Syed Tayyab Agha, former chief of staff of elusive Taliban supremo Mullah Omar and currently the chief peace negotiator of the militia. In 2004, Akbar Agha formed the breakaway Taliban faction of Jaishul Muslemeen which carried out frequent attacks on Nato supplies.
He believes the US military wants talks with their boots on the Taliban’s neck. “Peace negotiations can begin only if all international troops pull out of Afghanistan,” he told ExpressNews anchor Munizae Jahangir in an exclusive interview. He added that enforcement of the Taliban’s hard-line version of Islamic shariah was “not negotiable”. Akbar Agha frequently churns out statements for the media on behalf of the Taliban militia.
My Comment: A revealing interview .... in short .... if this is the mindset of the Taliban (and I believe that it is) .... the Taliban have zero interest to pursue any form of peace talks. Their only interest is for NATO forces to leave .... and that's it. The Taliban 'negotiating team' in Doha have also expressed the same position .... and as to participating in peace talks with the Kabul government, these Taliban representatives have made it very clear that they prefer to do this.
U.S. Army 1st Lt. Robert Wolfe, right, escorts Jim Otwell, left, a U.S. Agency for International Development field program officer, to the Directorate of Education in Farah City, Afghanistan, Feb. 26, 2013. Wolfe, a platoon leader, is assigned to Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah. The team met with the provincial education director and visited Aboonaser-Farahi High School, Farah City's oldest high school. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. j.g. Matthew Stroup
Afghan Police Officer Drugs 17 Colleagues Before Calling His Taliban Masters To Come And Help Shoot Them Dead -- Daily Mail
* Atrocity took place in a remote outpost in the eastern province of Ghazi * Latest in a spate of 'green-on-blue' attacks involving Afghan security forces * Suicide bomber targets bus of soldiers in capital Kabul * Nato forced to backtrack on claims that Taliban attacks are falling
An Afghan police officer drugged 17 of his colleagues at a remote outpost before calling Taliban insurgents who arrived and helped him shoot them all dead.
The shocking incident, the latest in a series of so-called 'insider', or green-on-blue, attacks involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban, took place in the eastern province of Ghazni.
The lightly trained Afghan Local Police, a village-level force backed by U.S. troops and overseen by the Ministry of the Interior, is tasked with helping bring security to remote areas.
