|
Post by nodstar on Feb 21, 2010 5:58:25 GMT 4
Japan 'has until November to stop whaling'[/size] 19 February 2010 | 06:47:36 PM | Source: AAP www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1197936/Japan--has-until-November-to-stop-whaling-whale_slaugher_2701_L_getty_953011421 Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has warned Japan to cease whaling or face international legal action (Getty Images) Kevin Rudd has threatened Japan with international legal action if it doesn't cease whaling, but the opposition has accused the Prime Minister of "dithering". Mr Rudd said on Friday that Australia was pursuing Japan through diplomatic channels,but had set a deadline for it to end whaling in the Southern Ocean. "If that fails, then we will initiate court action before the commencement of the whaling season in November 2010," he told the Seven Network. "But that's the bottom line and we're very clear to the Japanese, that's what we intend to do." Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said Mr Rudd's deadline was a tardy effort to honour its 2007 election promise to take Japan - Australia's second largest trading partner - to court over the whaling operations. "This was a commitment that he made at the last election - now he's put it off to the coming election," Mr Abbott told reporters on Friday. "If there is anything that illustrates more clearly that we have got a prime ditherer rather than a prime minister, it's this." The Australian Greens say Japan should be taken to the International Court of Justice during the current whaling season, not next one. "Thousands of whales have been slaughtered while Kevin Rudd has dithered over action," Greens leader Bob Brown said in a statement. Australia should seek an injunction to stop current whaling operations while the court determined the matter, he said. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he would discuss whaling and potential legal action with his Japanese counterpart Katsuya Okada when they meet in Perth on Sunday. However, he says the meeting will focus mainly on bilateral trade. "Japan is Australia's second-largest trading partner and export market and (its) third-largest source of foreign investment," Mr Smith said in a statement. "Despite the global financial crisis, Japanese investment into Australia continues to grow and supports many of our most important industries."
|
|
|
Post by nodstar on Feb 21, 2010 6:05:00 GMT 4
Japan outraged at Sea Shepherd activists[/size] 12 February 2010 | 05:12:50 PM | Source: AAP www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1193256/Japan-outraged-at-Sea-Shepherd-activistswhaling_ship_100212_L_aap_1773273405 Japanese authorities have lashed out at the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group after Japanese whaling crewmen were reportedly injured in a high-seas clash with the activists. (AAP) Japanese authorities have lashed out at the Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group after Japanese whaling crewmen were reportedly injured in a high-seas clash with the activists. Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research said three crew suffered face and eye injuries from butyric acid fired by anti-whaling protesters during their latest encounter with the Japanese whaling fleet in the Southern Ocean. The confrontation reportedly lasted several hours between two Sea Shepherd boats - the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker - and four Japanese vessels. Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR), said the injuries were not serious, but he warned the acid could cause temporary blindness. A crew member on the Steve Irwin, the Sea Shepherd flagship, said butyric acid was a "harmless" non-toxic liquid made from rancid butter. "You can handle it, and it's not corrosive," first mate Locky Maclean told The Associated Press. Mr Maclean said the Nisshin Maru, a whaling factory ship, started the five-hour altercation when it turned its water cannons on the activists' vessels. He said the ship's military acoustic device was also aimed directly at the Sea Shepherd's helicopter pilot. ICR said in a statement that the protesters targeted the Japanese ships Shonan Maru No 2 and Nisshin Maru, dragging wire ropes across their bows in a bid to tangle and disable their rudders and propellers. The crew of the Shonan Maru No 2 said they were targeted with a high-powered laser weapon, while smoke bombs and red dye projectiles were launched at the Nisshin Maru. The factory ship also exchanged close-range water cannon fire with the Sea Shepherd vessels. The injuries were the first sustained by Japanese whalers this year in confrontations with Sea Shepherd. The whalers and the activists have been involved in two collisions. Sea Shepherd's vessels came off worse on both occasions, with the Ady Gil later sinking and the Bob Barker sustaining hull damage. Japan's Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu told reporters on Friday he was "full of rage" at the protesters' latest actions. "I could not believe they did such a thing," he said. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said that the activists' actions were unforgivable. "Thank God it did not result in serious injuries, but it is extremely regrettable," he told reporters. Steve Irwin captain Paul Watson said the success of Sea Shepherd's methods were borne out in the fact that a week had passed in which no whale was killed by Japanese whalers. "Our goal now is to make it two weeks and then three weeks. We will not tolerate the death of a single whale," he said in a statement. "If they attempt to kill and transfer a whale to the Nisshin Maru there will be inevitable collisions, because we will neither move out of harm's way nor cease blocking the slipway. That I can promise." ;D
|
|
|
Post by nodstar on Feb 21, 2010 6:24:38 GMT 4
Noddy, As a chocolate lover I am happy to report that TimTams are now available in CANADA!!!!! www.timtamslam.ca/about_us.phpIt's a good thing. Love, AL Yippie!!! So glad for you. I finally got to pick up some from Target here in Nevada which has them produced by Pepperidge Farms/Tim Tams but we have only 3 flavors - chocolate creme, caramel, and dark chocolate. My daughter loved the chocolate hazelnut ones I brought back from Australia, but it will probably take another trip to OZ or an order from simply Australis that might send one package of it in a 6-pack. Love, cosmicstar Hey AL and Cosmicstar.... I'm so glad our Tim Tams are now available in Canada ... ;D I wonder if the price is reasonable ? They sell for around 3 dollars Oz currency here. Cosmicstar .. I'll stockpile some for you, should you decide to collect them personally ;D love to you all Nod
|
|
|
Post by cosmicstar on Feb 21, 2010 7:51:30 GMT 4
[/quote] Hey AL and Cosmicstar.... I'm so glad our Tim Tams are now available in Canada ... ;D I wonder if the price is reasonable ? They sell for around 3 dollars Oz currency here. Cosmicstar .. I'll stockpile some for you, should you decide to collect them personally ;D love to you all Nod [/quote] Hey Nod, Doing my best at visioning be back in OZ soon. TimTams are about $3.99 in the U.S. or ordering the original which come way of Washington state, you can get 6 packages for $25 but then you have the $10 or so in shipping. I did have a friend call me today that I hadn't heard from in 6 months and she is considering trying to make to OZ and NZ sometime March or April. I think she might end up taking a tour as she has even less time than Marc and I had for trying to plan something, but I can give her some pointers of places from what you shared and what we discovered along the way. She may get to be traveling for 3-4 weeks. Meantime, I am thinking blue waters, warm temps as we are getting some snow here on the valley floor. Good thing, son is arriving next Sat. to go snowboarding for a week. Love to ya and gimpigs, Cosmicstar
|
|
|
Post by emeraldsun on Feb 23, 2010 20:29:40 GMT 4
Prehistoric UFO and ET images found in remote cave in India [/size]February, 17 2010 Rajasthan Times A group of anthropologists working with hill tribes in a remote area of India have made a startling discovery: Intricate prehistoric cave paintings depicting aliens and UFO type craft. Prehistoric UFO and ET images found in remote cave in India The images were found in the Hoshangabad district of the state of Madhya Pradesh only 70 kilometers from the local administrative centre of Raisen. The caves are hidden deep within dense jungle. A clear image of what might be an alien or ET in a space suit can be seen in one cave painting along with a classical flying saucer shaped UFO that appears to be either beaming something down or beaming something up, in what might be an ancient UFO abduction scenario. A force-field or trail of some sort is seen at the rear of the UFO. Also visible is another object that might depict a wormhole, explaining how aliens were able to reach Earth. This image may lead UFO enthusiasts to conclude that the images might have been drawn with the involvement of aliens themselves. Local Archaeologist, Mr Wassim Khan, has personally seen the images. He claims that the objects and creatures seen in them are totally anomalous and out of character when compared to other, already discovered, examples of prehistoric cave art depicting ancient life in the area. As such he believes that they might suggest beings from other planets have been interacting with humans since prehistoric times: Adding weight to the 'ancient astronaut theory' which postulates that human civilization was established with the assistance of benevolent space-faring aliens. Picture and other articles at this link: www.archaeologydaily.com/news/201002173333/Prehistoric-UFO-and-ET-images-found-in-remote-cave-in-India.html
|
|
|
Post by emeraldsun on Feb 23, 2010 20:39:00 GMT 4
Hello All,
Lot's of snow in the Hill country of Texas...Two days ago I was fishing on the lake in 70 degree weather. So sun tanned and snowing!!!
Was just saying yesterday as I passed another "hill" being rendered flat for a wider road that, unlike aviation We are not taking notice of the weight and balance of our Home. If this were not accounted for in aviation we would never leave the ground.
We seem closer yet to Mary Summerain's teacher, No Eyes, predicition of unpredictable and sudden weather changes.
emeraldsun
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Feb 25, 2010 7:56:11 GMT 4
Australia summons Israeli envoy over Dubai killingAlleged Australian passport holders Adam Korman (R), Nicole Sandra McCabe (C) and Bruce Joshua Daniel (L) The three 'Australians' were among 15 new suspects released by DubaiAustralia has summoned the Israeli ambassador to explain the use of Australian passports by three suspects in the killing of a senior Palestinian. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Canberra would "not be silent on the matter". Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas who helped supply arms to the Gaza Strip, was killed in Dubai in January. Police in Dubai earlier said they had identified 15 more suspects in the killing, taking the total to 26. They said the new suspects used British, French, Irish and - for the first time - Australian documents. Mr Rudd said Canberra would retaliate against any country found to be involved in forging its passports.He said that Australia would first try to establish the facts, but that this was not "a minor matter." Mahmoud al-Mabhouh Mr Mabhouh died in his hotel room in Dubai last month"It is not something you just push to one side. It is of the deepest concern," he added. The AFP news agency was reporting that Australia said the three passports appeared to have been "duplicated or altered".On Tuesday, Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni applauded the killing, which Dubai believes was organised by Israel's intelligence service, Mossad. Israel has been widely blamed for the murder, but has refused to confirm or deny any involvement. One of the founders of Hamas's military wing, the Izz al-Din Qassam Brigades, Mr Mabhouh was found dead in a hotel room in the Gulf emirate on 20 January. A post-mortem examination report said he had been electrocuted and then suffocated. Travel chartEarlier this month Dubai authorities released the names and passport photographs of 11 "agents with European passports" - six from the UK, three Irish, one French and one German.All four countries have since said the documents were fraudulent.On Wednesday, the police released a new list of suspects who allegedly offered "logistical support" in the months before the January killing. The police also produced a chart tracing the travel routes of both the new and old suspects before and after Mr Mabhouh's death. "The suspects gathered in Dubai and dispersed to various locations before pairing up again in different teams and heading off to other destinations," they said. The police said two of the Australian passport holders had allegedly travelled by boat to Iran during a reconnaissance mission last August. Investigators have also discovered that 14 of the suspects had used credit cards issued by MetaBank - a small bank based in the US state of Iowa - to book hotel rooms and pay for air travel. A MetaBank spokeswoman told the Associated Press news agency that the bank was trying to confirm the reports. New listThe six newly identified suspects who used UK passports were listed as Daniel Marc Schnur, Gabriella Barney, Roy Allan Cannon, Stephen Keith Drake, Mark Sklur and Philip Carr. Those on Irish passports were Ivy Brinton, Anna Shuana Clasby and Chester Halvey; on French passports David Bernard LaPierre, Melenie Heard and Eric Rassineux; and on Australian passports Bruce Joshua Daniel, Nicole Sandra Mccabe and Adam Korman, according to the statement. British officials said they were trying to contact the people whose names and passport details had been used. "We can confirm that six more UK passports have been identified," the Foreign Office in London said. "We will seek to make contact with these individuals and offer consular assistance as we have the previous individuals." "The foreign secretary and others have made clear we expect full Israeli co-operation," it added. The Dubai police statement said the investigation was ongoing and that they were "not ruling out the possibility" of more suspects. TRAVEL MOVEMENTS OF SUSPECTS
Police chart showing 26 suspects' routes into and out of Dubai in 2010 (500kb) www.thenational.ae/assets/pdf/AD53408224.PDF
Pictures of all 26 suspects news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/8517716.stm
[/color] news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8535728.stm.................. www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGktTws2bK0Congressman Paul speaks on the floor about assassinations of Americans by their own government
|
|
|
Post by nodstar on Feb 25, 2010 8:40:54 GMT 4
Hey Nina .. GREAT article ... This is not the first time this has happened .. the passport/identity theft by mossad, down in this end of the world .. The former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke also demanded similar explanations from the Isreali's after New Zealand passports were ummm 'co opted' by mossad .. Then there was the RAINBOW WARRIOR incident in Aukland New Zealand many years back, when mossad agents blew the greenpeace flagship up sunk it, with the loss of at least one life .. Questions should be asked and appropriately answered .. Peace Out Nod
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Feb 25, 2010 18:05:46 GMT 4
Hey Nina .. GREAT article ... This is not the first time this has happened .. the passport/identity theft by mossad, down in this end of the world .. The former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke also demanded similar explanations from the Isreali's after New Zealand passports were ummm 'co opted' by mossad .. Then there was the RAINBOW WARRIOR incident in Aukland New Zealand many years back, when mossad agents blew the greenpeace flagship up sunk it, with the loss of at least one life .. Questions should be asked and appropriately answered .. Peace Out Nod hiya Noddy, yes I remember the Rainbow Warrior. Sooooooooooooooo many questions to ask, where do we even begin? When is the rule of law going to kick in, is my very first question. When, when, when, when? I've been closely watching Israel's activities for a number of years now, as you know, and I'm just amazed by what's been going on and continues to go on and THEY GET AWAY WITH IT. I've been utterly....what's the word.....flabberghasted. These days I'm amazed when something IS done. That's how cynical I've become. And yet, there is hope. Hope springs eternal Of course, the Tao Te Ching says (in one translation, anyway) that "hope is as hollow as fear" but I hope anyway. Any glimmer of light gives me tremendous hope. And then I get horribly disappointed and then we try again and again and again. My favorite disappointment (like I said, there have been many) was back in 2004 the statement that the UN "will never abandon" the Palestinians. I shrieked when I read that and deep inside, I can still hear the echoes of that shriek reverberating..."never abandon them," indeed. No, instead nations just stand aside and watch to see what happens to all those people. "We won't abandon them". This appears to be a huge psychology project that all the nations with power are in on. Experiment: What happens to a society when you cage a million and a half people and then bulldoze their homes, drop missiles and bombs on them, starve them, allow sewage to run raw in the streets, limit their access to water, murder their families, don't allow others in to see what's going on, harass or kill concerned people trying to stop the madness.....what happens to a society of people under these circumstances, especially when OVER HALF of them are CHILDREN? I'm not even getting into the twisted media aspects of what is reported and what isn't, so that for decades, people didn't even know this was happening. I was on Israel's side before I looked at the issue. I thought the Palestinians were crazed killers, just like media told me they were. Then my eyes were opened and I started to SEE. Gaza looks more and more like some massive Nazi-esque experiment and governments worldwide seem to be in on it. Oh but don't get me started We really weren't talking about Gaza, were we. And yet I feel compelled to continue... I really do see progress, there is hope. Once people are aware of the problem, we will deal with it. In my mind, this has always been an awareness issue, thus was spawned my own little media project. I used to claim that "once Americans know about this, they will be so horrified, they will make it stop." Because OUR TAXES PAY FOR THIS and Americans are good people, we would never financially support such a thing if we knew it was going on. Well, sorry to say that The Truth I've found is that people overall really don't care. People are zombies who just go to work, come home, watch t.v., go to sleep, get up and do it again. People don't have time to care about other people. That's been a disappointment to me too, and I've lost friends over it. I've had to learn to be not-so-picky about friends, or else I wouldn't have any Here's the link to "we'll never abandon them" which was a statement made after Operation Rainbow back in 2004. I hoped then that this horror would stop. ninathedog.livejournal.com/61556.htmlAnd I've been disappointed ever since. But I continue to hope, Tao Te Ching or no Tao Te Ching. I am human, after all, not aspiring to be a "Master", just....human. And I HOPE. Sending love your way down-under today!! Jen./Nina .......... 13 Success is as dangerous as failure. Hope is as hollow as fear. What does it mean that success is a dangerous as failure? Whether you go up the ladder or down it, you position is shaky. When you stand with your two feet on the ground, you will always keep your balance. What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear? Hope and fear are both phantoms that arise from thinking of the self. When we don't see the self as self, what do we have to fear? See the world as your self. Have faith in the way things are. Love the world as your self; then you can care for all things. Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu translation by Stephen Mitchellread online here: acc6.its.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~phalsall/texts/taote-v3.html
|
|
|
Post by nodstar on Feb 26, 2010 2:42:45 GMT 4
Mossad 'factory' churned out fake Australian passports[/SIZE] By Middle East correspondent Anne Barker Updated 57 minutes ago Adam Korman www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/02/26/2830764.htm?section=justinForged: The Australian passport in the name of Adam Korman allegedly used in the Dubai hit (AFP) A former Mossad officer has alleged the Israeli spy agency has its own "passport factory" to create or doctor passports for use in intelligence operations. Relations between Australia and Israel are under strain after three Australian passports were apparently used by suspects in the killing of top Hamas leader Mahmoud Al Mabhouh in Dubai last month. Dubai police say they are 99 per cent sure Mossad was behind the operation to smother Mabhouh with a pillow in his hotel room. Victor Ostrovsky, a case officer at Mossad for several years in the 1980s, says he has no doubt Australian passports have been forged or fraudulently used for similar operations in the past. "They need passports because you can't go around with an Israeli passport, not even a forged one, and get away or get involved with people from the Arab world," he said. "They'll shy away right away. So most of these [Mossad] operations are carried out on what's called false flag, which means you pretend to be of another country which is less belligerent to those countries that you're trying to recruit from. "If they can obtain blank passports, which they have in the past from Canada, from England, they do. If not, they just manufacture them." He says a company within Mossad headquarters is dedicated to forging passports. "They create various types of papers, every kind of ink. It's a very, very expensive research department," he said. He says the manufactured passports are almost identical to the originals. "If they create a passport at a top level for use of that nature ... I don't think anybody will be able to find the difference," he said. Mr Ostrovsky says fraudulent Australian passports have been used regularly. "Consider the fact that Australians speak English and it's an easy cover to take, very few people know very much about Australia," he said. "You can tell whatever stories you want. It doesn't take much of an accent to be an Australian or New Zealander, or an Englishman for that matter. And I know people had been under Australian cover not once [but] quite a few times. So why not use it?" He says Mossad chooses which passports to forge based on the cover agents need and the operation they are involved in. "At the time there were people that were asked ... 'If when you're here in Israel we may need for security purposes to use your passport, would you allow us to do that?'" he said. "And people would say 'yes'. There were shelves upon shelves of real passports just waiting to be used." Mr Ostrovsky says there is no chance any of the 26 suspects could really be Mossad agents. "No, absolutely not," he said. "Except for James Bond, who actually pronounces or announces his arrival at the scene by saying, 'I'm Bond, James Bond'. "Most people who work in the intelligence field don't present themselves by their real name." Israel has long rejected Mr Ostrovsky's claims and tried to stop his book from being published. This morning Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmour told ABC NewsRadio there was no proof of any link between Israel and Mabhouh's death. "No evidence was presented by the Dubai police that links Israel to the incident in Dubai," he said. "Since there is no evidence of that nature and since the Dubai police have so far not presented any ultimate evidence, we don't think that we should respond to anything."
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Feb 27, 2010 21:39:07 GMT 4
Europe wary following trail of Dubai killersBy Frank Jordans, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 27, 8:57 am ET APGENEVA – A killer — or killers — may be on the loose in Europe after a Hamas operative was slain last month in Dubai. European nations, however, seem to be in no rush to find him, her or them. The spotlight is falling on those countries where police say the alleged assassins' trails begin and end: Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Authorities there have either declined to say whether they are investigating, or told The Associated Press they have no reason to hunt down the 26 suspects implicated in the Jan. 19 killing of Mahmoud al-Mabhouh. European countries' reluctance to investigate may have something to do with the widely held belief that the killing of al-Mabhouh was carried out by a friendly intelligence agency — Israel's Mossad. The Jewish state has previously identified him as the point man for smuggling weapons to the Gaza Strip's Hamas rulers. Experts say arresting Israeli agents — or even digging up further evidence that Israel was involved — could be politically costly."I would guess that it's in the political interest of certain countries not to get proactive in this case," said Victor Mauer, deputy director of the Center for Security Studies at Zurich's Federal Institute of Technology. "Countries such as Germany have a special relationship with Israel because of their history and therefore wouldn't be interested in investigating," he said. Switzerland's federal prosecutor's office says it has "no evidence relating to this case that would justify opening an investigation," although Dubai police insist that eight of the suspects fled Dubai for Zurich. Dutch and Italian officials, too, said they aren't investigating the flight of six suspects to Amsterdam and Rome. All three countries say they haven't received an official request for help from Dubai yet, though authorities there have asked Interpol to circulate arrest warrants that the Arab emirate issued for 11 suspects charged with "coordinating and committing the murder." Dubai police did not respond to repeated requests by The Associated Press for comment on cooperation with European and other police agencies in the investigation. But Dubai Police Chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim was quoted by the Dubai-based Al Bayan newspaper Saturday as saying that an international security team has been created through diplomatic channels to aid in the cross-border hunt. No other details were given in the report. France, meanwhile, has said it is only probing the alleged use of three French passports in the crime. Two suspects landed in Paris on Jan. 20. Their trail ends there. Germany, too, is investigating the possibility that a forged or illegally obtained German passport was used. But prosecutors in the German city of Frankfurt, where four suspects returned, say they aren't investigating the killing itself and don't see any reason to, as most likely no crime was committed in Germany. Michael Boyle, a lecturer in strategic studies at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland, said European countries were "unlikely or unwilling to make it a serious political issue with Israel. It's going to raise up embarrassing questions and complicate their relationship with Israel," he said. Boyle said the focus on forged passports made sense, however. "I think there's a concern on the part of European governments that if this process of Israeli operatives using European passports were to continue, that would put European citizens at risk." Only Austria has gone further and investigated whether Austrian SIM cards were used. Interior Ministry spokesman Rudolf Gollia declined to provide details about the findings except to say there are no indications that there was a "command center" in Austria, as Dubai police have claimed. Boyle said there was "a certain degree of moral revulsion and disgust" among European countries "because this is a murder." But "there's an understanding that these sort of intelligence operations get conducted, but don't get caught with it and don't make it politically costly for us. I think that's the real story of the Dubai incident." ___
Associated Press Writers Deborah Seward in Paris, Vanessa Gera in Rome, Bruce Mutsvairo in Amsterdam, Juergen Baetz in Berlin, Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna and Brian Murphy in Dubai contributed to this report.news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100227/ap_on_re_eu/eu_switzerland_dubai_slaying
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Feb 28, 2010 19:18:54 GMT 4
UK police in Israel to probe use of fake passports BBC Page last updated at 00:57 GMT, Sunday, 28 February 2010 photo via above link: Top row, from left: The suspects named as James Leonard Clarke, Jonathan Louis Graham, Paul John Keeley. Bottom row, from left: Those named as Michael Lawrence Barney, Melvyn Adam Mildiner, Stephen Daniel Hodes Six British-Israelis had their passports cloned and new pictures insertedBritish police officers are in Israel to investigate the use of fake British passports by suspects in the killing of a Hamas leader in Dubai. They will interview six British-Israeli nationals whose identities were stolen by the suspected killers. The officers said the men were being treated as potential witnesses to a crime and not as suspects. It is widely believed Israel's secret service, Mossad, killed Mahmoud al-Mabouh in a Dubai hotel last month. Israel has declined to confirm or deny that it was responsible. 'New passports'Officers from the UK's Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca) are investigating the use of the fake British passports. INTERVIEWEES James Leonard Clarke Stephen Daniel Hodes Paul John Keeley Michael Lawrence Barney Jonathan Lewis Graham Melvyn Adam Mildiner It said the meetings with the six British-Israeli nationals were taking place with the full knowledge of the Israeli authorities. "We are arranging to speak to the six genuine passport holders who are resident in Israel as potential witnesses to a crime," a Soca spokesman said. "Those meetings will take place in the British embassy." Earlier this month, the Dubai authorities released the names and passport photographs of 11 members of the alleged hit squad. They had used European passports, including six UK passports bearing the names of British-Israelis. They are James Leonard Clarke, Stephen Daniel Hodes, Paul John Keeley, Michael Lawrence Barney, Jonathan Lewis Graham and Melvyn Adam Mildiner. They are to be given new passports by the British embassy. However, police in the Gulf state have now said they are seeking 26 "agents" in connection with the assassination of the Palestinian militant.Six alleged British suspects identified by Dubai police on 24 Feb Six of the new suspects used British passports They said 12 of the suspects had British passports, six had Irish passports, four had French, three had Australian and one had a German passport. The Soca spokesman said the agency anticipated similar meetings taking place with the second set of six passport holders. Soca has a network of 140 international law enforcement officers stationed in 40 countries around the world. The use of the European and Australian passports in the assassination has sparked a diplomatic row between those countries and Israel. One of the founders of Hamas's military wing, Mr Mabhouh was found dead in a hotel room on 20 January. A post-mortem examination report said he had been electrocuted and then suffocated. Reports said he was in Dubai to buy weapons for Hamas. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8541319.stm
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Feb 28, 2010 19:28:41 GMT 4
(this gets a big "Hm".)Liberalism, atheism, male sexual exclusivity linked to IQBy Elizabeth Landau, CNN February 26, 2010 5:03 p.m. EST(CNN) -- Political, religious and sexual behaviors may be reflections of intelligence, a new study finds. Evolutionary psychologist Satoshi Kanazawa at the the London School of Economics and Political Science correlated data on these behaviors with IQ from a large national U.S. sample and found that, on average, people who identified as liberal and atheist had higher IQs. This applied also to sexual exclusivity in men, but not in women. The findings will be published in the March 2010 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly. The IQ differences, while statistically significant, are not stunning -- on the order of 6 to 11 points -- and the data should not be used to stereotype or make assumptions about people, experts say. But they show how certain patterns of identifying with particular ideologies develop, and how some people's behaviors come to be. The reasoning is that sexual exclusivity in men, liberalism and atheism all go against what would be expected given humans' evolutionary past. In other words, none of these traits would have benefited our early human ancestors, but higher intelligence may be associated with them. "The adoption of some evolutionarily novel ideas makes some sense in terms of moving the species forward," said George Washington University leadership professor James Bailey, who was not involved in the study. "It also makes perfect sense that more intelligent people -- people with, sort of, more intellectual firepower -- are likely to be the ones to do that." Bailey also said that these preferences may stem from a desire to show superiority or elitism, which also has to do with IQ. In fact, aligning oneself with "unconventional" philosophies such as liberalism or atheism may be "ways to communicate to everyone that you're pretty smart," he said. The study looked at a large sample from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), which began with adolescents in grades 7-12 in the United States during the 1994-95 school year. The participants were interviewed as 18- to 28-year-olds from 2001 to 2002. The study also looked at the General Social Survey, another cross-national data collection source. Kanazawa did not find that higher or lower intelligence predicted sexual exclusivity in women. This makes sense, because having one partner has always been advantageous to women, even thousands of years ago, meaning exclusivity is not a "new" preference. For men, on the other hand, sexual exclusivity goes against the grain evolutionarily. With a goal of spreading genes, early men had multiple mates. Since women had to spend nine months being pregnant, and additional years caring for very young children, it made sense for them to want a steady mate to provide them resources. Religion, the current theory goes, did not help people survive or reproduce necessarily, but goes along the lines of helping people to be paranoid, Kanazawa said. Assuming that, for example, a noise in the distance is a signal of a threat helped early humans to prepare in case of danger. "It helps life to be paranoid, and because humans are paranoid, they become more religious, and they see the hands of God everywhere," Kanazawa said. Participants who said they were atheists had an average IQ of 103 in adolescence, while adults who said they were religious averaged 97, the study found. Atheism "allows someone to move forward and speculate on life without any concern for the dogmatic structure of a religion," Bailey said. "Historically, anything that's new and different can be seen as a threat in terms of the religious beliefs; almost all religious systems are about permanence," he noted. The study takes the American view of liberal vs. conservative. It defines "liberal" in terms of concern for genetically nonrelated people and support for private resources that help those people. It does not look at other factors that play into American political beliefs, such as abortion, gun control and gay rights. "Liberals are more likely to be concerned about total strangers; conservatives are likely to be concerned with people they associate with," he said. Given that human ancestors had a keen interest in the survival of their offspring and nearest kin, the conservative approach -- looking out for the people around you first -- fits with the evolutionary picture more than liberalism, Kanazawa said. "It's unnatural for humans to be concerned about total strangers." he said. The study found that young adults who said they were "very conservative" had an average adolescent IQ of 95, whereas those who said they were "very liberal" averaged 106. It also makes sense that "conservatism" as a worldview of keeping things stable would be a safer approach than venturing toward the unfamiliar, Bailey said. Neither Bailey nor Kanazawa identify themselves as liberal; Bailey is conservative and Kanazawa is "a strong libertarian." Vegetarianism, while not strongly associated with IQ in this study, has been shown to be related to intelligence in previous research, Kanazawa said. This also fits into Bailey's idea that unconventional preferences appeal to people with higher intelligence, and can also be a means of showing superiority. None of this means that the human species is evolving toward a future where these traits are the default, Kanazawa said. "More intelligent people don't have more children, so moving away from the trajectory is not going to happen," he said. www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/26/liberals.atheists.sex.intelligence/
|
|
|
Post by emeraldsun on Feb 28, 2010 22:52:50 GMT 4
A new Wings Report......enjoy
More excitement is on the way. There is a restructuring of the cosmos about to occur. Just as the earth moved into a new space in the cosmos a few months ago, it is now time for other celestial bodies to move into very new energetic spaces as well. Thus, there will be a restructuring of the cosmos. This enormous mass movement will create a massive wave of energy, or rather, a cosmic tsunami. This massive wave of energy, or wave of light, will then wash over the earth. Being that we are now in much higher vibrating energy than we were only a few months ago, the wave then, will be comprised of higher vibrating energy, or light…and this light will then envelope all of the cosmos.
The Haiti earthquake signaled a massive heart opening for the planet. It was the precursor for the energy of the new earth…the heart energy. In this way, it jump-started the creation of our new reality. The massive earthquake that occurred in Chile yesterday was for very different reasons. And it will not be the last earth movement on the planet, as there will be more.
The Chile earthquake was a precursor for the wave of light. This earthquake and others are preparing the palette for the wave of light to enter. The earth is formulating a new “bed,” or restructuring itself so that she can better receive the new light that is soon to arrive.
When this wave of light arrives, it will wash over anything and everything, seeping into every nook and cranny, washing away any density or darkness that lies in its path. This is all part of the process for creating the new reality. In Creating the New Reality/Finding Your True and Authentic Space (the newest Emerging Earth Angels e-book just released), part of this process is explained in greater detail in regard to moving out our personal energy and overtaking the prior Earth blueprint. This preparation period we are now experiencing, along with the new wave of light, are phases that are necessary in assisting us with moving out our own personal energy in order to create the new planet earth.
What is occurring now, is that we are ready for this stage. We have anchored into the earth in weeks past, creating a release of any old and denser energy deep within the earth. This occurred so that the light could take its place, and so the true and rightful stewards of the earth would now be in their true and rightful positions for the arrival of our very new reailty.
After we anchored fully into the earth, we began to push our energy outward. In times past, before we separated from the old world, darker energies were pushing out and taking over. Thus, many of us were pushed out as far as we could go, with seemingly nowhere left to reside. With the advent of a very new earth, things are now reversed. We began with an overlay of Earth One, so then, much of the old was still in place. Now, we (the light) are pushing out-ward and taking over the old earth reality.
In this way, we began to bump into a lot of old energy causing friction, frustration, anger, and tightness, with seeming nowhere to go without hitting an energetic ceiling. At the same time, we are still experiencing the up and down roller coaster scenario with one great energy day/days, alternating with other not so great energy days. The fog can seem to lift seemingly out of nowhere, and then we can find ourselves back in quicksand after no time at all. We are literally creating one piece at a time. In this way, we create just enough to sustain us, use it up, and must then create more. In time, as we formulate more and more of the new reality, this will change. But know as well, that we are holding a lot more of the new energy ourselves, and in this way, our positive thoughts and visions can keep us in better spaces longer than ever before.
As the new wave of light began its preparation period, we were energetically removed from the scenario we had experienced up until then. This meant that we were suddenly held in safe spaces or rather removed from being affected by anything due to occur on the planet that might be disruptive. So then, during this time (roughly beginning around the middle of February), all that awesome energy that had been pouring in through our crown chakras halted. This created feelings of emptiness, hollowness, depression, a big dis-connect and separation, and also, a period of waking up pre-dawn for awhile with an inability to get back to sleep.
So where the heck are we now in this strange science fiction movie?
We are still being “sequestered” until the more massive changes and re-structuring are complete. I am told by higher level beings that there are “protocols” in place for events such as massive natural disasters, and being sequestered in protective spaces is one of those protocols. In addition, the new wave of light will wash away much, so that there will then be “room” to expand out-ward much more easily. So for a while now, we have been in a big airplane, circling the planet, without being able to land. Or perhaps still sitting on the bus with all our suitcases, waiting eagerly get off and unpack, but still unable to get out of our seats quite yet.
When the wave of light arrives, much will change. Things will fall into place much more easily, we will be elevated to a new higher level way of living and being, and we will be much more connected to the rest of the cosmos. Yes, the connections will be nothing short of profound. Higher level beings who come from this wave of light, arrived in my home last night to explain this process and to say hello to the earth and her inhabitants, as these higher level connections will be so much easier now. Being “one” will take on a very real meaning, as so much will now come together. These higher level beings also wanted to say, “Welcome to a very new reality of new ways of living and being. We are so very glad that you are here in this very new and different space.”
Connections, connections, connections. The e-book Creating the New Reality talks a lot about how we are so very connected to everything when we reach the higher realms, as this way of living and being came into my space in full force and in some very interesting ways in recent months. It is an experience and reality that I can only say is like no other. It cannot be explained in words and feels absolutely awesome and truly amazing. The love and gratitude for everything we are connected to (as we become very aware of this reality of “connections” when we begin living in it), becomes a norm and way of being, arriving like a warm tonic surrounding every living thing on the planet.
As this process of restructuring continues, we will feel things beginning to fall into place in a very new and different way. So then, the earth herself is re-structuring at very deep levels, and this process will continue for a while. And know as well, that there are higher beings of light holding the earth in their loving arms, while they monitor and assist with these earth changes that are occurring now and in times to come. The earth will be “molded” into a new shape, and it will be a shape that will be perfect in all ways for receiving and embodying the wave of light that is on its way. (I’m sorry, but I do not have a specific time-line for its arrival. But like all things that fit together in perfect and divine ways, it will simply arrive when it will. All we need do is enjoy each step of the process while being in the moment of each of these divine and miraculous steps that are unfolding for us now.)
Yes, a very new “bed” is being prepared for us now, so that we may begin a very new life in a very new reality of our own making.
With much love and gratitude,
Karen
link here:http://www.emergingearthangels.com/2010/wings2.28.2010.html
|
|
|
Post by ninathedog on Mar 2, 2010 18:25:12 GMT 4
German court overturns law on phone, e-mail dataBy Melissa Eddy And Verena Schmitt-roschmann, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 21 mins agoBERLIN – Germany's highest court on Tuesday overturned a law that let anti-terror authorities retain data on telephone calls and e-mails, saying it posed a "grave intrusion" to personal privacy rights and must be revised. The court ruling was the latest to sharply criticize a major initiative by Chancellor Angela Merkel's government and one of the strongest steps yet defending citizen rights from post-Sept. 11 terror-fighting measures. The ruling comes amid a European-wide attempt to set limits on the digital sphere, that includes disputes with Google Inc. over photographing citizens for its Street View maps. The Karlsruhe-based Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the law violated Germans' constitutional right to private correspondence and failed to balance privacy rights against the need to provide security. It did not, however, rule out data retention in principle. The law had ordered that all data — except content — from phone calls and e-mail exchanges be retained for six months for possible use by criminal authorities, who could probe who contacted whom, from where and for how long. "The disputed instructions neither provided a sufficient level of data security, nor sufficiently limited the possible uses of the data," the court said, adding that "such retention represents an especially grave intrusion." The court said because citizens did not notice the data was being retained it caused "a vague and threatening sense of being watched."Nearly 35,000 Germans had appealed to the court to overturn the law, which stems from a 2006 European Union anti-terrorism directive requiring telecommunications companies to retain phone data and Internet logs for a minimum of six months in case they are needed for criminal investigations. Civil rights groups had fiercely opposed the law, arguing that even excluding the content of phone calls and e-mails could allow authorities too deep a view into their personal sphere. "Massive amounts of data about German citizens who pose no threat and are not suspects is being retained," Germany's commissioner for data security issues, Peter Schaar, told ARD television. Security experts argued the information is crucial to being able to trace crimes involving heavy use of the Internet, including tracking terror networks and child pornography rings. While the court upheld the EU directive as necessary to fight terror, it took issue with how the German law had interpreted it and ordered further restrictions on access to the data. Changes ordered by the court included granting access to the data only by court order and only in the event of "concrete and imminent danger." The court further insisted the information be stored in the private sector so it was not concentrated in one spot. Germans, in particular, are sensitive to privacy issues, based on their experiences under the Nazis as well as the former East Germany's Communist dictatorships, where information on individuals was collected and abused by the state. news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100302/ap_on_hi_te/eu_germany_data_retention
|
|