The Toronto Air Show, a poignant reminder of what an invasion sounds like

Every year the sounds of military jet engines breaking the sound barrier while flying over the city of Toronto serve as advertising that the Toronto Air Show is once again upon us.

As Toronto's oldest annual air show, it isn't going to disappear any time soon. The base tickets bring in thousands of people, but they also offer VIP tickets which have staggering prices of upward to $1519 per ticket, and include a lot of interesting perks...

But, here is the thing... We live in Canada.

The Royal Canadian Air Force isn't exactly brimming with brand new technology or lots of planes.

As of 2013 the RCAF only has 258 manned aircraft. Only a fraction of what we would need if we were ever in a major war.

The RCAF also only has 14,500 regular soldiers and 2,600 reserves. Peanuts compared to many other countries.

But the most crippling problem is that Canada doesn't even build its own warplanes any more. They are all built in the USA. We are completely dependent upon United States factories to be building our planes.

Imagine a scenario for example in which an enemy of NATO bombs and destroys all of the American factories... and back in Canada we cannot get parts to repair our planes because the American factories have all been destroyed.

But if we built our own planes here in Canada we would instead have some military and economic benefits...

#1. Building our own planes in Canada means more jobs for Canadians.

#2. Building our own planes and replacement parts in Canada means we are more independent, and are responsible for protecting our own chain of supply.

#3. Having the designs for building our own planes, if anything happens to the factories we can simply have other factories build the parts according to the specifications.

#4. If a major war ever broke out, Canada would have the ability to build its own planes to meet the demand required for new planes so we can keep on fighting on the land, on the sea, and in the air.

#5. Money spent on building those planes would stay in Canada, as opposed to being outsourced to Americans and shipping the money south of the border.

At present much of Canada's warplanes are actually just large transport vehicles and helicopters. They range from tactical transport vehicles like the CC-130H Hercules, to the CH-124 Sea King helicopters (which take a ridiculous number of hours to repair and maintain for every hour they are in the air).

Much of Canada's air force are antiquated planes that have been used since the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

For example the CF-18 Hornet fighter jets that you might see zooming over Toronto during the Toronto Air Show, they have been protecting the skies over Canada since 1982.

That is 34 years of service. Over a third of a century.

Back in 2010 the incompetent Stephen Harper announced that he was going to purchase 65 new Lockheed Martin F-35...

The resulting scandal wasted hundreds of millions of Canadian dollars and all Canada got to show for it was a wooden mockup of what the plane should look like. The Harper government ultimately never bought the planes, instead they promised to buy them, but never signed the paperwork or contracts for $16 billion, and instead wasted hundreds of millions on empty promises.

Below is a photograph of a fake wooden F-35 purchased by the Harper government. It looks nice. But it doesn't fly and is absolutely useless. Just like Stephen Harper.

Fake Wooden F35

Anyway, let us get right back on topic...

Canada is basically ripe for invasion. Our air force is a joke. An "air farce" if you will.

Someday, possibly sooner than we hope, enemy jets will be flying over Canada and we will realize that we are so weakly defended it is laughable. (We might have a lot of guns per capita, but military training isn't common place in Canada so many Canadians wouldn't even know how to load a rifle, let alone clean it.)

Investing in Canada's military doesn't have to be a huge expense. But we should be spending perhaps 5% of our total annual budget improving Canada's chances. 5% doesn't seem like much, but it would make a difference. It would allow us to upgrade our out of date hardware and invest in new technology.

It would also allow us to be building new planes, drones, helicopters and transport vehicles here in Canada.

And while we are at it, we could invest in more submarines and aircraft carriers. (For those wondering, "battleships" are obsolete and have been ever since aircraft carriers became available.)

Canada's reserves could also be dramatically improved. The 2,600 air force reserves mentioned above is a pittance. We should have 8 times that, at least.

Investing in Canada's military hardware may seem like a waste of money when we are currently at peace, but if don't invest in it on a regular basis our old obsolete equipment will be useless when the day comes that we are at war and we are wondering how we are still using old tech from 1960s that nobody knows how to repair.

And that investment will create jobs for Canadians, on the provision that we realize the opportunity to build and maintain our own equipment here in Canada, instead of begging for scraps from the Americans.

This way in the future when we hear warplanes passing over breaking the sound barrier, we can be a little more confident those are our planes protecting Canada and not some invasion force which has overwhelmed Canada's defenses.

India launches missile capable of reaching Europe

India has successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable missile that can reach Eastern Europe and Beijing, placing India amongst other nations that can deploy nuclear weapons at such a great distance.

Countries like Russia, the USA, Britain, Israel, Iran, North Korea and China.

Footage showed the rocket with a range of more than 5,000 km blasting through clouds from an island off India’s east coast. The rocket reached its target in the Indian Ocean.

The defence minister said the test was “immaculate.”

The launch, which was announced and flagged well in advance, has attracted none of the negative criticism from the West faced by hermit state North Korea for a failed bid to send up a similar rocket last week.

Years ago North Korea tested a rocket that splashed down near Hawaii, proving they have the technology to launch nukes at Hawaii or Alaska from mainland North Korea. The North Koreans have been trying to repeat that success on a further target.

George Clooney arrested for protesting against Sudanese dictator

By Suzanne MacNevin - March 16th 2012.

POLITICS - Actor/philanthropist George Clooney was arrested today outside Sudan’s embassy in Washington for protesting against the Sudanese dictator / mass murderer President Omar al-Bashir.

Omar al-Bashir is currently engaged in ethnic cleansing in South Kordofan in eastern Sudan, in and around the Nuba mountains.

For George Clooney it is basically its the equivalent of protesting against Hitler and then being arrested for it. For the people living in the Nuba mountains it is genocide.

President Barack Obama recently visited the affected region, but the USA has yet to take any diplomatic action on the topic of Sudan's genocide.

Who is Joseph Kony?

POLITICS - In the next two months you are likely going to hear the name of Joseph Kony... but you won't know who he is.

Now is your chance to learn.

If you've never heard of Joseph Kony (but maybe you've heard of the LRA) before today you are not alone.

Jason Russell's web-based film "Kony 2012" is calling for international action to stop the Ugandan war criminal Joseph Kony is pure digital activism and quite simply brilliant. The video is being spread at an exponential rate due to bloggers, journalists and activists who are putting their name on a list of millions seeking to publicize and make it clear the objective of stopping the war criminal Joseph Kony should be given priority.

Who is Joseph Kony?

If you didn't watch the video above and still don't know. Joseph Kony is a warlord from northern Uganda who for 3 decades has been abducting thousands of children, turning them into child soldiers and feeding his own power struggle. He takes children and turns them into mercenaries, butchers and rapists.

So much so that Joseph Kony is one of the most wanted war criminals in the world. The top of the list depending on which list you are looking at.

Joseph Kony and 4 of his lieutenants were all indicted by the International Criminal Court in July 2005... One is rumoured to be dead and one is known to be dead, but Kony and his other 2 lieutenants have all evaded capture and have yet to be brought to justice.

LINKS

Facebook Group: Invisible Children

Barack Obama's Letter addressing Joseph Kony and the LRA

PDF on Conditions in LRA controlled region of North Uganda

US Committee on Foreign Affairs Vs Joseph Kony

CIA World Factbook: Uganda

North Korea threatens to attack South Korea

POLITICS - The hermit republic of North Korea is threatening to attack South Korea, worried about live fire military drills its South Korean neighbours are doing in a disputed region of the sea near the border between the two enemies.

Earlier today South Korea has begun live-fire military drills from front-line islands, ignoring North Korea's threat to attack. The drills today are in an area near the Koreas' disputed sea border. It is the same region that was the target of a North Korean artillery attack in 2010 that killed four South Koreans.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff say residents on those islands were asked to go to underground shelters before the drills started.

No North Korean action has been reported, but they have raised their alert level.

Yesterday a North Korean officer in Pyongyang warned that North Koreans are always ready to “dedicate their blood to defend their inviolable territory.”

Meanwhile in the USA...

President Obama and the Obama Administration is looking for an excuse to have a war overseas. (Because every president needs a war to ensure their 2nd term.) A war with North Korea would solve that need.

But North Korea isn't the first country in their sights. Iran is also on the list.

Tehran, the capitol of Iran, has put finishing touches on the installation of thousands of new-generation centrifuges in their underground nuclear facility. These are machines that can produce enriched uranium faster and more efficiently than the old centrifuges.

Iran is expanding its uranium enrichment at a fortified underground bunker in the village of Fordo in an effort to see how quickly it can make nuclear warheads, senior American diplomats say on condition of anonymity.

The senior diplomats say that Iran would have little reason to prepare the better centrifuges unless it planned to operate them.

The new centrifuges at Fordo appears to reflect Iran’s determination to forge ahead with nuclear weapons activity despite international sanctions and the latest threats from Israel. Israel is very worried that any nuclear weapons could be used against the Jewish state, and the USA, an ally of Israel, is likewise concerned.

The new centrifuges are already are enriching to 20% — a level that can be boosted quickly to weapons-grade quality.

Iran’s much older enrichment site in the city of Natanz is producing uranium at 3.4%, a level used to power reactors. While that could be turned into weapons-grade uranium it would take longer to turn low grade Uranium into weapons grade, whereas high grade Uranium would take less time.

The CIA believes that Iran already has a small supply of weapons grade material, but has yet to test its nuclear weapon capabilities because such a test would be an announcement to the world that Iran is ready for nuclear war with Israel (which Iran has been denying for years). The CIA believe that Iran has been enriching uranium to 90% or more levels.

International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are scheduled to visit Tehran next Sunday. Iran has been stonewalling outsiders concerning its nuclear weapons program for 3 years. Iranian officials deny they have nuclear weapons or any intention to use them and claim that the USA and Israel are just creating bogus intelligence in an attempt to start a war and complete an oil pipeline that would traverse through Iraq and Afghanistan to the border of China via the Wakhjir Pass.

Iranian nuclear scientist assassinated, CIA likely culprit

POLITICS - An Iranian university professor working at Iran's largest nuclear facility was killed by a car bomb in Tehran yesterday (Wednesday January 11th). He is the third Iranian scientist assassinated in a string of deaths designed to undermine Iran’s nuclear program. CIA operatives are the most likely culprits.

The operatives were two men on a motorcycle who attached a magnetic bomb to Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan’s car outside the campus of Allameh Tabatabai University. The bomb later killed him and his driver. A passerby was also wounded and remains in hospital.

Roshan, 32, a chemistry expert and the director of the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in the Isfahan province worked for Iran’s nuclear agency. Since January 2010 there has been a handful of attacks against Iran's scientific community, suggesting a CIA or possibly NATO operation to halt Iran’s atomic program.

The United States, Britain and Israel are pressuring Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and have been sending increasing number of operatives to Iran to undermine its government and Iran's nuclear weapons program.

Low levels of uranium enrichment can be used as nuclear fuel, at higher levels it can be used as material for a nuclear warhead. All it takes then is an accurate missile and a "critical mass" of fissionable material.

All the pressure and assassinations has forced Iran to move its operations underground. Iranian officials said earlier this week that they are expanding some operations to an underground site south of Tehran where they are enriching high grade uranium usable for weapons.

Iran claims its program is intended for energy and medical research, specifically the production of medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients. But this would not explain their need for enriching high grade fissionable material.

After yesterday's attack Iran’s parliament shouted “Death to Israel” and “Death to America”.

“Iran’s enemies should know they cannot prevent Iran’s progress by carrying out such terrorist acts,” said First Vice-President Mohammad Reza Rahimi. He and other Iranian politicians are accusing the USA of operating a terrorist organization inside Iran.

The CIA, MI6 and Mossad (Israel Intelligence Agency) have denied (or declined to comment on) the accusations of assassinations and terrorism.

On Tuesday Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz hinted that this year would be a “critical year” for Iran, saying “things which take place in an unnatural manner.”

“Many bad things have been happening to Iran in the recent period,” said Mickey Segal, the former director of Mossad’s Iranian intelligence department. “Iran is in a situation where pressure on it is mounting, and the latest assassination joins the pressure that the Iranian regime is facing.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the CIA “had absolutely nothing to do” with Roshan’s death and denied any American involvement in the killing.

A similar bomb to Wednesday’s exploded on January 12th, 2010 killing Tehran University physics professor Masoud Ali Mohammadi. He was killed just as he was about to leave for work.

In November 2010, twin bomb attacks in different parts of Tehran killed nuclear scientist Majid Shahriari and wounded scientist Fereidoun Abbasi.

In July 2011, motorcycle-riding gunmen killed university student Darioush Rezaeinejad, who is alleged to have been working in a team to make nuclear weapons.

In November 2011, 17 people, including Major General Hasan Moghaddam, a very prominent figure in Iran’s nuclear program, died in an explosion at an ammunition dump near Tehran.

America pulls out of Iraq in the middle of the night

POLITICS - The last 500 American soldiers rolled out of Iraq across the border into neighbouring Kuwait under the cover of darkness on Sunday December 18th. The convoy was done in secret during the night for fear of attacks from the rival factions of Sunni and Shiite Iraqis who have been caught in a civil war since the fall of Saddam Hussein 9 years ago.

The five-hour drive by the American convoy marked the end of a bitterly divisive war that left Iraq shattered and struggling to recover.

“My heart goes out to the Iraqis,” says Warrant Officer John Jewell. “The innocent always pay the bill.”

It was a stark contrast to the high-octane start of the war, which began before dawn March 20th 2003 with an airstrike in southern Baghdad, the opening shot in the infamous “shock and awe” bombardment meant to terrorize the Iraqis into submission.

Saddam and his regime fell within weeks, and Saddam Hussein was later captured by the Americans and executed by his Shiite enemies in 2006. But Saddam’s death only fueled the rivalry between Shiite and Sunni factions.

The Iraqi civil war devastated the country, and its legacy includes tens of thousands of widows and orphans, a people deeply divided between loyalty to church and state and an infrastructure that remains largely in ruins.

Since Barack Obama got into power violence has dropped suddenly and Iraqi security forces have improved dramatically. The sectarian violence remains and likely will never disappear as long as religious radicals continue killing each other.

The same day, even as American troops were leaving, the Sunni political bloc said it was suspending its participation in parliament to protest the monopoly on government posts by Shiite allies of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqis celebrated the exit of what they call their American occupiers. Some said that were grateful for the USA ousting Saddam, but complain that the war went on too long. A majority of Americans would agree, according to opinion polls.

Iraq’s military chief of staff, Lt.-Gen. Babaker Zebari (a Shiite) said Sunday that his troops were up to the task of uprooting Sunni militant groups. Sunni militants continue to carry out bombing and shooting against police, soldiers and civilians, and Shiite militias have been founded for the express purpose of exterminating Sunni militants.

Note: Sunni Muslims are the moderate ones, typically wearing mustaches instead of beards, and allowing women to drive, become doctors, etc. Saddam Hussein however went too far in his brutal repression of the Kurds and Shiites.

Captain Mark Askew was among the last soldiers to leave Iraq, said the future of Iraq is unknown. “It depends on what Iraq does after we leave,” he said. “I don’t expect them to turn into South Korea or Japan overnight.”

Libyan rebels capture Tripoli

POLITICS - Libyan rebels claimed control of the Libyan capital on Monday (today) after advancing quickly on Tripoli. The capture of the capitol heralds the fall of Moammar Gadhafi's nearly 42-year regime. Scattered battles erupted across the city, and Gadhafi whereabouts remain unknown.

The international community has repeatedly called on Gadhafi to step down. Colleagues warned Gadhafi wouldn't go easily. Two of Gadhafi's sons were captured on Sunday.

The Western Alliance is now moving ahead with postwar planning as ecstatic Tripoli residents celebrated in the Green Square, the symbolic heart of the Gadhafi regime.

The Western alliance promised to maintain its air campaign until all pro-Gadhafi forces surrender or return to barracks. NATO warplanes have hit over 40 targets in and around Tripoli since Saturday — the highest number on a single geographic location since the bombing started over five months ago, say officials.

The rebels capture of Tripoli in an hours-long blitz strike shows Gadhafi's forces are weakening and will likely face desertions soon since many of his fighters are hired mercenaries.

The rebels — mainly civilian volunteers who took up arms and had little military training — are big on zeal but short on organization and discipline, but their stunning success in Tripoli shows a high level of planning, co-ordination and discipline. They've gone from an unorganized rabble to an experienced fighting force in less than 6 months.

In London England, British Prime Minister David Cameron said frozen Libyan assets would soon be released to help the country's rebels establish order, saying Gadhafi's regime was “falling apart and in full retreat.”

Rebel spokesman Mohammed Abdel-Rahman in Tripoli, warned of pockets of resistance and said as long as Gadhafi remains on the run the “danger is still there.”

Today at Gadhafi's longtime command centre (Bab al-Aziziya) pro-Gadhafi government tanks emerged from the complex and opened fire at rebels trying to get in. The fighting continues.

31 American Special Forces killed when helicopter shot down

POLITICS - On Saturday Afghan warlords shot down a US military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy SEALs unit that killed Osama bin Laden, as well as seven Afghan commandos. It was the deadliest single day loss for American forces in the decade-old war.

The much lauded, tight-knit SEAL Team 6 took the hit hard. It was also a heavy setback for the U.S.-led coalition as it begins to withdraw thousands of combat troops fighting what has become an increasingly costly and unpopular war.

None of the 22 SEAL personnel killed in the crash were part of the team that killed Osama bin Laden in a May raid in Pakistan, but they belonged to the same SEAL unit.

Special operations forces, including the SEALs and others, have been at the forefront in the recent strategy of killing key insurgent leaders in targeted raids. The operation has been jokingly called "Hydra" because every time one leader's head is chopped off, another grows back. (In Greek myth the 5-headed Hydra would regrow its heads when they were chopped off.)

[Hydra is also a fictional terrorist organization in the comicbook Marvel Universe.]

Explosive missile warheads stolen from Romanian train

POLITICS - 64 missile warheads have been stolen from a Romanian train. The train was transporting military equipment to Bulgaria. Prosecutors said today they are investigating the theft.

Spokesman Marius Militaru says the explosive warheads are not dangerous on their own, only when attached to a missile... or when disassembled to get the explosives out. In other words, the warheads are very dangerous in the wrong hands.

Officials today did not respond to inquiries regarding how much explosives the warheads contained. (We can guess its enough to level a large building.)

Railway workers on Saturday noticed the seals on a carriage door were broken, and it was not properly closed when the train reached Giurgiu, a Danube port that borders Bulgaria.

Tohan Zarnesti, the Romanian company that was shipping the warheads, produces artillery ammunition, ground to ground missiles, air to ground missiles and warheads for 122mm missiles.

It can now be assumed that the 64 explosive warheads are now in the hands of terrorists or people intending to sell them to terrorists.

FYI, its not that hard to make a missile. True, it is technically "rocket science", but the basics of how to make a missile can be learned from YouTube videos. Or even a guidebook on how to make your own fireworks.







Seriously, its far too easy.

Spokesman Marius Militaru was lying through his teeth when he said the warheads aren't dangerous. They're designed to explode on impact. You could drop them out of a plane or a helicopter on to the target (or leave them on railway tracks to be hit) and still have the same explosive damage.

Who will replace Osama Bin Laden?

POLITICS - For decades during the Cold War the Soviet Union was the devil incarnate. Inflated the threat to unbelievable levels and it was only after the fact we learned most of it was just mythology and paranoia.

During the early 1990s Iraq and Saddam Hussein became the new focus.

Following September 11th terrorism and Osama Bin Laden...

But now that both Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden are dead, who will we make the new devil? Who is the new enemy that needs to be vanquished?

Possible Baddies include:

Muammar Gaddafi / Libya

Kim Jong Il / North Korea

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad / Iran

Of course there is also the conspiracy theorists who believe Osama Bin Laden isn't really dead. There was no photos or video of Osama Bin Laden's dead body, he was buried at sea, and no proof he actually died. There were fake photos made by members of the media, but that hardly counts. People aren't going to believe it until they actually see photos and/or video of Osama Bin Laden dead.

The same thing happened with JFK and Che Guevara. Photos of their dead bodies had to be released before people could really believe it was true.

And back to the devil idea... Does the United States really need to find a villain overseas? Certainly they could villainify someone in their own backyard and improve their own country for once instead of stirring up trouble overseas.

OSAMA BIN LADEN IS DEAD

POLITICS - Osama Bin Laden was killed last night by a helicopter raid in the town of Abbottabad, Pakistan. The raid on Osama Bin Laden's fortress in western Pakistan was a daring attack vs a small army of bodyguards. President Barack Obama made the announcement last night.

Note: The lead up to and the final assault is sure to become a feature film.

Osama Bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda, was shot in the head while fighting back against the helicopter assault force. One of Osama Bin Laden's sons died with him.

Osama Bin Laden was living in a house in the town of Abbottabad that was “custom built to hide someone of significance” according to US intelligence officials.

Abbottabad is approx. 100 kilometres from the Pakistani capital Islamabad, far from the remote mountain caves along the Pakistan-Afghanistan tribal border where it was believed he was hiding.

Instead Osama Bin Laden was living in a million dollar mansion just a stone's throw from the Kakul Military Academy, an army run institution where top military officers train.

Osama Bin Laden has been in hiding ever since September 11th 2001, accused of plotting the terrorism attacks of that terrible day.

The 5-year-old compound Osama Bin Laden was hiding in was guarded by 12 to 18 feet high walls, barbed wire, burned its own trash so people wouldn't snoop through garbage, had no phone or internet connections to the outside, internal walls and two separate security gates. It was practically a prison already.

The building was 8 times larger than other homes in the area and stuck out like a sore thumb. Its amazing people didn't question who actually lived there, and with the military academy so close it seems odd. It was really a matter of time before someone in US intelligence noticed the strange building during visits to the nearby academy.

As it turns out it was a Pakistani informant who told the USA where to find Osama Bin Laden. The informant told the CIA about a courier who worked for both Khaled Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi, both high ranking Al Qaeda members. The CIA then tracked the courier to the compound, which kick started an investigation into who might be living there.

The helicopter raid started being planned weeks ago...

On March 14th President Obama held the first of a series of 5 high security meetings to plan the operation. The last meeting was Friday at 8:20 a.m.

Following the meeting Obama traveled to Alabama to witness the damage from the recent tornadoes.

Many critics and conspiracy theorists have long believed that Pakistan might be hiding Osama Bin Laden within their border. The proximity to their highest ranking military academy suggests possible collusion with the Pakistani military.

The team of helicopter pilots and the assault crew are already being hailed as heroes. No Americans died during the assault.

Osama Bin Laden's body was recovered during the assault and American forces are now debating what to do with it. Like JFK and Che Guevara it will likely have to be shown publicly before people will believe he is dead.

2012? Pfff! You're probably doomed.

RELIGION - Before we get into this topic we feel it is important to point that anyone who believes the world is going to end in 2012 is committing blasphemy. The Mayan calendar is not a Christian source and believing in non-Christian ideals is automatically heresy and blasphemy.

Therefore, if you do believe that the world will end in 2012 (regardless of whether it happens or not) you are just dooming yourself.

If you don't know what this fuss about 2012 is, here it is in a nutshell: The ancient Mayans have a cyclical calendar, and when converted the Mayan calendar ends on December 21st 2012, the Winter Solstice. The calendar then starts over again. However some religious fanatics have interpreted this to mean that the Apocalypse, End of Days, the events of Revelations, etc. will happen either on that day or in the lead up to that day. Its blasphemy to borrow ideas from non-Christian beliefs, but whatever. That won't stop heathens and idiots.

However lets pretend for a moment that these 2012 Apocalyptical Nutjobs actually have it right. Lets pretend that the events of the book of Revelations will actually play out...

Chances are likely, if such events did come to pass, you would be doomed anyway.

And the reasoning is simple: According to the book of Revelations only 12,000 people from the 12 tribes of Israel will be saved during the 'rapture'. (The rapture is a prophesized event in which all the good saintly people are sucked up to heaven and spared the destruction of the apocalypse.)

So if you do the math that is only 144,000 people who will be saved, out of the world's population of the almost 7.28 billion (7,278,527,603) people that will be on the earth by December 21st 2012. Only 1 out of every 50,545 people will be saved. Less than 0.002%.

Soooo... mathematically speaking you're probably doomed. Lets face it, as nice a person as you may like to think you are, you're probably not that nice are you? And even you are nice, are you a descendant of one of the 12 tribes of Israel?

The only question remains is how you will die: Conquest, War, Famine and Death. Will you die trying to conquer another nation? While fighing a hopeless war, starve to death from food shortages or die from pestilence, disease or something else?

We should also note that wanting the Apocalypse to happen and thinking you are somehow morally supeior than other people are both cardinal sins (namely wrath and pride).

Russian Airport attacked by Terrorists, 31+ killed

POLITICS - A suitcase full of explosives was carried into Moscow’s busiest airport today by a suicide bomber. The explosion killed 31 to 35 people and wounded almost 170. Exact numbers have not been released yet.

Domodedovo Airport's international arrivals terminal was engulfed in smoke, and body parts scattered as shrapnel, screws and ball bearings inside the suitcase went off with the deadly impact of shards from a giant grenade. Hundreds of international visitors to Russia were in the area at the time of the explosion.

President Dmitry Medvedev immediately ordered beefed up security at Moscow’s two other commercial airports and also bus and train terminals. He cancelled a trip to Switzerland, where he had hoped to promote Russia as a profitable investment haven free from violence.

Its evident that Russia is not as safe as he would like. The suicide bomber has yet to be identified. They believe to have found his severed/charred head.

The explosion, which occurred at 4:32 p.m. (1342GMT), could be the result of Chechen militants who have claimed responsibility for previous terror attacks in Moscow. A Chechen double suicide bombing on the subway in March 2010 killed 40 and wounded over 100 people.

Questions are now being asked as to whether Russia should host the 2014 Winter Olympics. FIFA this past weekend announced that Russia will host the 2018 World Cup for Football (Soccer).

Terrorist attacks have been growing in Russia in recent years. In 2004, Chechen suicide bombers managed to sneak past Domodedovo Airport security and killed 90 people when they blew up two planes.

Chechnya has been fighting for independence for over a decade now. The republic wants to throw off Russian rule and form their own government, free of Russian influence. Two disastrous wars between Russia and the republic’s separatists have not quelled their desire for independence.

Its not certain if any Canadians or Americans were injured in today attack. Two British people are among the dead.

A Domodedovo Airport spokesperson said 35 people were killed. Emegency services say it was 31 people confirmed. The discrepancy has not been explained.

Amateur video taken after the attack has been posted on YouTube and shows piles of bodies on the airport floor and more bodies scattered around.



Built in 1964, Domodedovo is located 42 km (26 miles) southeast of Moscow and is the largest of the three major airports in the region, serving 22 million passengers / year. It is considered to Russia's most high tech airport, but its lax security procedures are often questioned.

Christmas Eve Treason

POLITICS/RELIGION - Almost a hundred years ago, on December 24th 1914, troops on both sides of enemy lines committed treason by having an unofficial truce.

In modern society religion, ideology and nationalistic pride have become the primary sources of clashes between civilizations. But a hundred years ago religion was actually a source of unity.

Thus it was that on December 24th 1914, following the opening of World War I and Christian churches on both sides of enemy lines supporting the national stance of ethnic and/or religious superiority (basically saying 'God is on our side'), that the doomed soldiers who were sent to the front set aside their weapons and ignored orders.

Such an event hasn't happened again since then. The act of treason that occurred then would never happen today. Soldiers who did would be subject to summary execution (ie. shot on the spot for treason).

Thus it was that only 5 months into the conflict (and not knowing how long it would last) the first Christmas of World War I was not a slaughter-fest of artillery, machine gun and poison gas weaponry...

It was Christmas in the Trenches and the morale was low. Rats, disease, filth, the screams of wounded soldiers in the distance, the ominous presence of the enemy. It could have been a potential massacre. To boost morale the German Kaiser Wilhelm ordered 100,000 Christmas trees and millions of candles sent to the front.

It started with German troops on the opposite side of No Man's Land singing "Stille Nacht" (Silent Night). British, French, Scottish and Canadian troops joined in and in various spots along the 600 mile stretch of trenches the unusual event happened: The Christmas Truce of 1914.

It should be noted that MOST of the soldiers did not leave their posts. Instead they stood there dumbfounded, suspecting it was all a trick. But quite a few did leave their posts and surprisingly they were not given any serious punishment for it. (There were punishments later handed out, but none of them were severe.)

Those who did set down their weapons and wandered out on to No Man's Land which was quiet for the evening. They gathered up the corpses of the fallen, and what followed was a celebration of photographs from home, chocolate, cigarettes, beer, wine, schnapps and according to several reports, soccer games.

Fraternization with the enemy / treason is severely punishable, including the possibility of summary execution by a commanding officer. But there were too many troops that did it. An officer who shot his own men on Christmas Eve would have had a revolt on his hands.

A French film, “Joyeux Noel”, later tells the story of how this all happened and is adapted from the stories and letters from the soldiers who lived through the event. Letters from the actual event are actually quite valuable now. A remake of the film in 2005 makes it out to be to the Scottish who started it.



Now more religious people might say that the treasonous Christmas Eve of 1914 was the spirit of Christmas alive in the souls of those men... but religious historians are quick to point out Jesus was actually born in March and the festival of Christmas was moved to December 25th by the Roman Emperor Constantine to coincide with the Roman festival of Saturnalia. Prior to that gift giving was not part of Christmas, but a Saturnalia tradition.

Likewise Yule logs and Christmas trees are also pagan traditions. And Saint Nicholas (aka Santa Claus) was actually a 4th century Greek (270 - 343 AD) who would secretly give gifts to people all year round, usually in the form of coins. Saint Nicholas is the patron saint of sailors, merchants, archers, thieves, children and students.

Since then the story of Saint Nicholas has been warped and twisted so many times that it is now more of a pagan tradition than anything else.

Thus one could argue it was the common humanity that the soldiers in the trenches felt on December 24th 1914. They were tired of war and were really only there because their country had asked them to...

But there is one story about Saint Nicholas which does pertain to war and death. Its depicted in the painting shown here, Saint Nicholas Saves Three Innocents from Death. Saint Nicholas preached the values of compassion for your fellow man and helping out those in need.

Thus humanity and compassion was probably what moved the troops in 1914. Sadly it was short lived.

South Korea vows revenge

By Charles Moffat - December 2010.

POLITICS - If a war comes between North and South Korea it will be because neither side was willing to stop tit-for-tatting back and forth.

President Lee Myung-bak’s choice for a new defence minister says South Korean jets will bomb the North if the North stages another attack like last week’s deadly artillery barrage. This would mean an incursion into North Korea, and a declaration of open war.

North Korea meanwhile has already promised more artillery barrages if South Korea and the USA conducts military drills near the North Korean border.

As a person who used to live in South Korea the question of whether the two Koreas will go to war is near and dear to me. South Korea is like a 2nd home to me. If a war happened I would be tempted to sign up and help teach Canadian troops how to speak Korean, an useful skill for troops to have when taking prisoners and recognizing which Koreans are the enemy and the ally.

President Lee’s government is under intense criticism that its response to North Korea’s November 23rd attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong was too weak and that they should be doing more to make it clear attacks on South Korea will not go unanswered. Especially since SK' spy chief dismissed information that the North was planning an attack on Yeonpyeong since August.

Thus the announcement that any new attacks will incur air-strikes and provoke a war is sending the message that South Korea is ready for war if the North doesn't back off. Kim Kwan-jin, the defence minister nominee, says South Korea will use all its combat capabilities to retaliate.

As nominee Kim Kwan-jin is guaranteed the post. The hearing before South Korea’s National Assembly is just a formality.

Kim also said North Korea is unable to conduct a full-scale war because of its weak economy, but this is just rhetoric on his part. North Korea's primary military ability isn't in normal weapons, its in sheer numbers of soldiers (military service is mandatory in North Korea), nuclear missiles and trickery, as much as it can muster. A war between the two Koreas will be full of Northern soldiers posing as Southern soldiers... which is why their ability to know English and their knowledge of western pop culture will be tested. (ie. by asking them to sing an Elvis song, name characters from Star Trek, or quote lines from The Good, the Bad & the Ugly.)

According to South Korean intelligence North Korea has boosted its rocket and missile capabilities for hitting Seoul. They now have 5,200 missiles aimed at Seoul. The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff will not confirm the report.

The International Criminal Court said today it has opened a preliminary investigation into possible war crimes by North Korea resulting from its recent clashes with South Korea and attacks on civilians.

South Korean and US forces in the region remain on high alert.

MEANWHILE...

Sarah Palin is drawing heavy criticism around the world after declaring that the United States has to stand with “our North Korean allies.” during a radio talk show.



Sarah Palin’s gaffe was made last Wednesday during an interview on Glenn Beck’s syndicated radio show in which she mentioned her desire to run for president in 2012.

The Times of India says Sarah Palin “did it again.”

London’s Daily Mail says Sarah Palin “may want to brush up on her geography.”

Of course, if a war with North Korea happens in the next 2 years and Barack Obama is the sitting president during a nuclear war, Sarah Palin will have very little chance of unseating the president during a time of crisis. War has a tendency to bolster support for the sitting president.

ie. Like how Bill Clinton bombed Iraq in December 1998 and his approval ratings soared; Or how September 11th happened and George W. Bush's approval rating soared, despite being most useless president in U.S. history during the 1st 8 months and completely incompetent during the remainder of his presidency.

North Korea attacks South Korean island of Yeonpyeong

By Charles Moffat - November 2010.

POLITICS - The island of Yeonpyeong is on the South Korean side of the border, but that didn't stop North Korea from attacking it with an artillery barrage that killed two soldiers and wounded 20 people. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak called the attack "an invasion" of South Korea.

If that is an invasion, what do we call North Korea's other actions from the past year and a half? They have test-detonated nuclear weapons, launched long range missiles across the Pacific Ocean towards the USA and torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan, killing 46 sailors.

The increasingly belligerent North Korea seems to be bent on war and many analysts believe nuclear war with North Korea is now inevitable. The only question remains is who will strike first, and where.

The Yeonpyeong Attack on November 23rd

The tiny island is home to a military base and a local residential population of farmers and fishermen. Both North and South Korea have a string of military bases near the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) that is the border between the two nations.

North Korea claims South Korea fired first, something South Korea denies, but its not impossible they did indeed fire first because tensions on the Peninsula are the highest they've been in the 57 years since the 1st Korean War ended in 1953. What is known is that North Korea fired approx. 200 large artillery shells at the island. At the time South Korea was conducting a military drill in the region, but the firing was not [supposed to be] directed at North Korea.

The first sign of trouble was when on the morning of November 23rd, at 8:20 AM local time, North Korea sent a wire message warning South Korea not to conduct drills close to the border.

At 10 AM South Korea began conducting their military drill.

Hours later, at 2:34 PM local time, North Korea began shelling the town of Yeonpyeong and destroying anything it hit. A few of the artillery shells (like the one in the photo above) did not explode. North Korea stopped firing at 2:55, but resumed firing at 3:12 and doesn't stop until 3:41.

Since then many of the residents of the island have been evacuated, leaving only the military presence on the island and clean up crews sorting through the rubble. South Korea is now trying to determine when residents can return to their homes.



The 2nd Korean War?

For months now the USA and South Korea (and a few others) have been conducting military exercises in preparation for what they believe will be a combined invasion and nuclear attack from North Korea. The North is becoming desperate and the leadership from their frail and ill leader Kim Jong Il (and the handover of power to his 27 year old son Kim Jong-Un) is fraught with danger for the rest of the world.

#1. Kim Jong Il might decide to go out in a blaze of glory (or because of his illness, might allow his generals more control).

#2. His son Kim Jong-Un is a mere 27 years old, far too young to have his own arsenal of nuclear weapons. He was chosen to replace his father because his older brothers were considered to be too friendly towards foreigners and the military leadership wanted someone who absolutely hated the USA.

The more time North Korea has, the more nuclear missiles they will build. They've already determined they have enough missile power to reach Hawaii or Alaska from North Korea. Launching from a submarine or ship off the coast of the USA would drop the distance significantly.

For South Korea, Japan, China and the USA the issue is very complicated and dangerous.

South Korea is the hated rivals/family... there are many in South Korea who want a peaceful solution with North Korea and reunification.

Japan however is the hated enemies from centuries of conflict.

China is an ally, but one which has increasingly lost interest in North Korea in favour of its economic ally the USA, and thus could become a potential target if they are seen to be betraying North Korea to the USA and the South.

The USA is the hated and feared enemy, the one North Korea hates the most for a combination of racial, religious and ideological reasons.

Analysts say there is two ways this war could pan out...

#1. North Korea launches a sudden blitzkrieg invasion of South Korea, its military abandoning North Korea entirely and fighting guerrilla style in South Korea, combined with a volley of nuclear missiles directed at Seoul, Pusan, Tokyo, various military bases and American cities. The USA has missile interceptor ships currently standing by in the region, but the city of Seoul is mere a mere 30 km from the DMZ.

#2. A tit-for-tat war until South Korea/USA decides to launch a pre-emptive strike to try and remove North Korea's nuclear arsenal, a task most analysts see as impossible because they would not be able to remove all of North Korea's missiles at the same time.

Regardless, the end result would be a full scale nuclear war, something which hasn't happened yet and the whole world would be watching to see how the USA / Barack Obama handles such a problem.

According to an American scientist who visited North Korea's facilities on November 12th in a "disarmament for food aid" deal North Korea has thousands of centrifuges for enriching uranium. Their nuclear arsenal could already be in the hundreds. The facility was described as modern and very new, suggesting it is not the first but one of several such facilities.

Stanford University scientist Siegfried Hecker told U.S. officials he was “stunned” by the “sophistication” of the facility which was operated by “an ultra-modern control room.”

This game of brinkmanship however is difficult to estimate how it will unfold. Who will blink first? Who will get an itchy trigger finger?

South Korea’s population is very vulnerable to attacks from the North, over 50% of the South's population lives within 80 km of the DMZ.

We've been warning for years now that North Korea is deliberately escalating the threat they pose. The younger generation in the North is hungry for war and think it is a solution to their problems... worse, they actually think they can win.

Nobody wins in a war.

See Also
North Korea reacting to war games
North Korea's heir apparent
North Korean timeline towards Inevitable War
North Korea launches missile
North and South Korea on verge of open war

Afghan girls disguised to attend school

POLITICS - Zahira Sarwar is an Afghan-Canadian working at GTZ in Afghanistan. While there she recently conducted an interview with a girl who disguised herself as a boy and went to school in a village where the Taliban was in control. The video below has English subtitles.

Zahira Sarwar says "there is a common misconception that with the arrival of Foreign troops in Afghanistan and the introduction of democracy women's rights have improved. But as you will see in this video the Afghan government and foreign troops are only focussing on certain provinces and cities thereby leaving other regions of the country still in the hands of the Taliban. Consequently, women and young girls' lives are still affected by this."



The areas the military are interested in are the Al-Qaeda strongholds along the border of Pakistan and protecting the Trans-Arabia Oil Pipeline which goes through the Wakhjir Pass and the part of Afghanistan known as Wakhan Corridor which goes to the Chinese border. The oil pipeline to China is an important part of the USA's economic strategy for the region.

Why is Remembrance Day not a Holiday?

CANADA - National Post writer Matt Gurney says Remembrance Day should not be a National Holiday in Canada because... well, you read it:

"Ontario Progressive Conservative MPP Lisa MacLeod has put forward a private member’s bill calling for Ontario to make Remembrance Day, November the 11th, a statutory holiday. More specifically, she would like the February holiday of “Family Day” dropped and replaced by the Nov. 11 date (swapping a holiday, rather than carving out a new one, would avoid the headache of inconveniencing businesses and disrupting school schedules, which must offer a certain number of class days per academic year). MacLeod’s heart is clearly in the right place, and every option to honour and support Canadian veterans is worth considering. But in this case, there are better ways to serve those who have served us all. Nov. 11 should not be made a holiday.

For all Canadians who enjoy the freedoms and safety secured for us by the sacrifice of over 100,000 lives and the suffering of millions more who served and lived, Remembrance Day is a rare opportunity for a united, collective thank you. At most work places and in all schools, at 11 a.m., work pauses and people can reflect. It provides an opportunity for organized displays, the reading of poems, the recounting of veterans’ tales of courage and pain, and most importantly, the solemn education of the youngest Canadians in the facts of war and how much our prosperous and free society has truly cost. For one day a year, for only a few minutes at a time, we take the steps needed to ensure that for at least one more year, the sacrifices made on our behalf will not be forgotten.

Making Nov. 11 a day off would not only make it harder for Canadians to share this time of contemplation and sobriety, but would also fundamentally change the meaning of the day. Even the best-intentioned Canadian, one fully mindful and respectful of the costs of war, would soon have to fight the urge to look forward to Remembrance Day. A day off with the kids, a chance to sleep in or take the dog for a long walk, are things rightly relished, and it would be wrong to deliberately associate Nov. 11 with relaxation and pleasure. If Remembrance Day were to become a holiday, it would virtually guarantee that millions of Ontarians would at some point in their lives think, “Wow, things have been rough at the office lately, but thank God Remembrance Day is coming up. I could really use the chance to relax!” Perhaps some would feel guilt at that passing thought, but before long, and particularly amidst the youngest Ontarians, such sentiments would become the meaning of Remembrance Day. Perhaps they’d know in the back of their minds that it had once meant more, but only in the abstract. The meaning of the day, something that we have maintained for 91 years, would be forever lost.

For those reasons, Ms. MacLeod should be thanked for her well-intentioned idea, which should then be voted down. Remembrance Day is a sad time for many Canadians, including a whole new generation of Afghan war veterans and the loved ones our fallen have left behind. Let’s never turn the day we set aside to honour their maximum efforts in the face of incredible horror and deprivation into a chance to relax amongst all the comforts of home.

National Post
mgurney@nationalpost.com"

Now it is our opinion that Matt Gurney is a moron and has it all backwards. He has it stuck in his head that "At most work places and in all schools, at 11 a.m., work pauses and people can reflect."

He is so wrong it isn't funny. I have NEVER, EVER had a pause during the workday on November 11th. And its a rare workplace that actually follows this routine. Does your workplace stop and pause on November 11th? Doubtful.

And even if you do stop for 30 seconds or a minute, most people probably don't even think about veterans or dead soldiers who gave their lives for Canada. They're too stressed from being at work in the first place.

Now schools, we can understand that. They have to stop and pause because Remembrance Day is practically part of the school curriculum.

Furthermore how will this hurt the education of young Canadians? The teachings of Remembrance Day will simply be moved to November 10th (or the Friday previous if Remembrance Day is on a Monday). Thus students end up getting a reminder about Remembrance Day for TWO days of the school week.

Matt Gurney simply hasn't thought all this through. It should be obvious to him, but he works for the National Post (a Conservative rag) so it really isn't a surprise when one of their writers is dumb as a brick.

The meaning of Remembrance Day would not be lost on Canada's youth and adults. It would be reinforced by allowing Canadians real time to reflect on the meaning of the day instead of just working through it and forgetting all about it.

See Also
Should Remembrance Day be a National Holiday?
Help make Remembrance Day a National Holiday!

Currency War on the Horizon

POLITICS - What the heck is a currency war you are probably asking?

Well, essentially its when countries like China deliberately deflate their currency in an effort to boost their exports. In China's case their currency is pegged to the US dollar at a rate so low it means Chinese products are the cheapest in the world, and not just because China is so good at mass production. ANY country can do mass production, but its the question of whether they can outbid the competition in low prices that effects whether all their products actually get sold.

In reality the Chinese Yuan is estimated to be worth 2 to 3 times what it is currently trading at. Thus products from China cost about 50% to 66% cheaper than products made in the USA based on their currency alone.

In the United States manufacturing is dying. Factories are being closed and moved overseas, to places like China where the workers are cheap. It is so ridiculously bad that it is the biggest fundamental reason for the recent Great Recession. Ignore the bankers, ignore all the failed mortgages... the real reason the US economy collapsed is because of loss of manufacturing jobs and people could no longer afford those huge mortgages.

In response to the failing economy George W. Bush bailed out the banks with $700 billion USD (which ironically he borrowed from China).

When Barack Obama got into power in January 2009 in tried to stimulate the economy and create jobs by ordering public works projects, new roads, etc.

But both of these measures have been nothing more than bandaid solutions. They haven't solved the problem of America's manufacturing crisis and the economic cost of the high American dollar Vs the cheap Chinese Yuan.

The United States needs to pressure China to revalue its Yuan to a much higher value, so that the two countries are on stable and equal footing. However whenever China is pressured to revalue the Yuan they only do so gradually. Very gradually, because they don't want to hurt their exports and their own economy.

Which means the ONLY SOLUTION left is to raise trade tariffs with China and similar countries. An end to free trade with Asia.

In theory the USA could also print more money (a concept Germany used after World War I to disastrous effect). The U.S. Federal Reserve earlier this week announced plans to expand the basic money supply by $600 billion over the next eight months. They won't want to keep doing that too much, the effects could be destroy the US economy even more and cause massive inflation.

Which only reinforces the concept that either China needs to start raising the value of the Yuan, or the USA needs to raise tariffs against Chinese products (and other countries which are undercutting prices by not allowing their currencies to float on the free market).

The question now is: Now Barack Obama have the balls to fight back against China's unfair currency policies? Or does China effectively own the USA and the war is already lost and over?