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Post by sesq on May 3, 2011 7:34:03 GMT 4
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." --Martin Luther King Jr. ---------------------- Love, AL Pretty words. I wonder who originally wrote them? Frank
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Post by sesq on May 4, 2011 5:06:39 GMT 4
It looks as though the quote should read like this: "I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy." -- Jessica Dovey "Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that." -- Martin Luther King, Jr.mashable.com/2011/05/03/altered-mlk-quote/Altered Martin Luther King, Jr. Quote Goes Viral After Osama Bin Laden’s Death by Brenna Ehrlich On Monday, a quote supposedly penned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was making its way across the web, warning U.S. citizens not to “return hate for hate” following Osama Bin Laden’s death. Now we’re learning that the quote is not quite accurate. For those of you whose Facebook friends didn’t share the quote, it goes something like this: “I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” The Atlantic wrote that the quote was, indeed, fabricated — saying: “It’s a bit too a propos. What ‘thousands’ would King have been talking about? In which enemy’s death was he supposed to be rejoicing?” The article then goes on to ask: “Someone made up a quote, attributed it to MLK, Jr., and disseminated it widely, all within 24 hours. Why? What do you get out of saying something pithy, and getting no credit for it?” That’s not exactly how it went down. A good portion of the quote is, in fact, real — it comes from King’s book Strength to Love (keep reading before and after the words in question — it’s a good read). Salon reported earlier that the quote came from magician Penn Jillette (yes, of Penn & Teller fame), who tweeted the quote around 20 hours ago. Upon receiving heat from followers about its validity, Jillette responded: “I checked a long quote from MLK’s ‘Strength to love’ 1963 that spoke to some of my feelings, then I cut and pasted an altered hunk. Sorry.” This morning however, the Detroit Free Press reported that the first sentence — the part referencing “thousands” supposedly comes from Twitter user Jessica Dovey, who tweeted this morning at Jillette: “I am the original author of the ‘MLK’ quote. Somewhere my words got mixed with his.” Jillette then retweeted her tweet containing the admission.Dovey also sent him the following screenshot: i.imgur.com/cqtjw.jpgAs you can see, Dovey apparently posted the quote on Facebook around 2:15 p.m. ET Monday (her Twitter profile says she lives in Pennsylvania), which means that she posted it before Jillette — if we can trust Twitter and Facebook timelines, which we really can’t. Consequently, we’ve reached out to Dovey and Jillette for comment. ---------------------------------- AL Dear Frank,
If I may borrow a bit from Dan as I like and appreciate how he presents his thoughts (please see Post #109 in Eagles Disobey and Chatter 7), I'd also consider taking my response to your question (Pretty words. I wonder who originally wrote them?) a step further.
I'd wish to add that from my perspective, within both of those quotes, the source (orign -- original author) is the soul -- a part of Gd. When things resonate with love (which comes in many packages), the transducer (brain) has functioned properly and...The message is received successfully (provided the receiving transducers are functioning properly as well as the heart (which I will consider calling the "mediator") being open to receive as well.
Love,
AL That's one of the things that I like about Dan's words on serious subjects: they are his own. Where they are not, he uses quotation marks, etc. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr._authorship_issues www.straightdope.com/columns/read/2449/was-martin-luther-king-jr-a-plagiaristsetanta.unl.edu/mlk/dn_column.htmlDan was able to do what he did in Libya, and save the women and children he and the rest of the team did, then still pray for the goodness in the souls which were present. I have heard him and the rest of Team 5 in conference with each other and even crying for the souls that were lost while holding to how they were needed to be taken to save others. "Countermovements" as put in the article usually have authors, I wonder who was the author of this one, and what could be the real underlying purpose? Was it just a moral statement or for an unstable or lost comrade? (with help from Dr. Stan) sesq
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Post by caspa on May 5, 2011 13:10:55 GMT 4
ADMINISTRATORS NOTE:
THE ADMINS OF THE GT WOULD LIKE TO INFORM THE MEMBERS THAT "NODDY'S HIDEAWAY" AND THE "EAGLES" SUBBOARD WILL REMAIN UNDER SEPARATE PASSWORD PROTECTION FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS. HOPEFULLY, AFTER THE NEXT FEW DAYS ELAPSES AND/OR WE LEARN MUCH MORE ABOUT THE "TECHNICAL ISSUES" WE HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCING, BOTH WILL BE REOPENED FOR THE MEMBERS OF THE GT.
THE PUBLIC SECTIONS OF THE GT ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR MEMBER'S POSTING, AND SESQ HAS BEEN GIVEN SPECIAL ORDERS TO MAKE SURE THAT THE "HUMANITARIAN" THREAD, RUN BY "NINATHEDOG" WILL REMAIN OPEN FOR CONSTANT UPDATES. THE ETM's, INCLUDING D AND M, FEEL THAT THE THREAD IS A "CRITICAL FOUNDATION" TO THE GT, SO SESQ AND HIS TEAM HAVE BEEN GIVEN BROAD ORDERS BY "D" TO DEFEND THE THREAD AND ACOOUNT SHOULD "TECHNICAL ISSUES" OF THE KIND WE ARE SEEING COME NEAR THEM.
THE GT REMAINS IN OPERATION, WITH ALL MEMBER'S ACCOUNT CONTENTS SAFEGUARDED. IF ANYTHING EVEN NEARS THE FENCELINES OF SUCH LOCATIONS, OUR NETWORKING SYSTEM FIRST PROTECTS THE LOCATIONS, THEN LOCKS THEM OFF. THIS LOCK OFF PROCEDURE, KEEPING THE ACCOUNTS SAFE, AND PROTECTING ALL OF US, IS REPORTED TO ME AS THE LIKELY REASON BEHIND THE LOCKOFFS. WE WILL HAVE MUCH MORE TO SAY ABOUT THE ONGOING EVENTS IN THE FUTURE: PROBABLY ON THE FRONT PAGE OF EAGLES DISOBEY.
WE ARE WORKING TO BRING ALL INFORMATION TO CLARITY AND APOLOGIZE FOR THE TEMPORARY CLOSURE OF THE 2 LOCATIONS. WITHIN THE LAST HOUR, THE NUMBER OF CYBERSECURITY PERSONS WATCHING THE GT AND EAGLES DISOBEY HAS RISEN FROM 4 TO 17. DIAGNOSTICS, CYBER-RESPONSES AND APPROPRIATE OTHER REAL-WORLD ACTIONS ARE UNDERWAY OR BEING PREPARED AT THIS HOUR.
FRANCES M.G. ORTIZ, SoF CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, EAGLES DISOBEY
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Post by ninathedog on May 6, 2011 7:27:57 GMT 4
Intense interest surrounds dog who may have participated in bin Laden raidBy Liz Goodwin Thu May 5, 11:12 am ETAmericans are fascinated by the anonymous U.S. Navy SEALs who daringly raided Osama bin Laden's Abbottabad, Pakistan compound this week, but one canine commando is attracting especially fervent interest. According to the New York Times and the British tabloid The Sun, a military dog (not pictured) was strapped onto one of the assault team members as he was lowered out of a Black Hawk helicopter and began the operation that killed the notorious terrorist on Monday. But who is this canine hero? Sadly, we know very little, and the Pentagon hasn't confirmed that a dog was even on the mission, much less release information about the canine's name or breed. "Little is known about what may be the nation's most courageous dog," the Times' Gardner Harris writes. He speculates that the dog was most likely a German shepherd or a Belgian Malinois, since those are the breeds most often found in the military's 2,700-strong military dog program. (A new breed, however, is becoming popular with the troops. Labrador retrievers have begun to "wander off-leash 100 yards or more in front of patrols to ensure the safety of the route.") The Pentagon and White House are keeping tight-lipped about the details of the operation, but that, of course, hasn't prevented commentators from speculating on the dog's role based on the functions of other war dogs in combat. "It's possible that the commandos brought a specialized search dog, which would have been sent in ahead of the humans to find explosives or people hidden inside the building," Slate's Brian Palmer writes. Or the dog could have been a "combat tracker"--canines who are specially trained to sniff out individuals and then follow their trail. Saddam Hussein was found in a hole under a hut--the assault team could have decided that they needed a good tracking dog in case bin Laden had a similar idea. Dogs are increasingly important in America's combat operations abroad, and some have been outfitted with special (and adorable) "doggles" to protect their eyes, oxygen masks to protect their lungs as they parachute out with soldiers at high altitudes, and even waterproof vests that contain infrared cameras that transmit video back to servicemen watching a monitor yards behind them. Check out Foreign Policy's beautiful photo essay on military dogs here. Luckily for this courageous and anonymous furry creature, there is some precedent for war dogs receiving military honors. The Navy awarded a Silver Star in 2009 to a dog named Remco who gave his life charging "an insurgent's hide-out in Afghanistan," Harris writes. According to Foreign Policy, another dog named Eli fiercely guarded his Marine, Private First Class Carlton Rusk, after he was shot by Taliban sniper fire in Afghanistan. Rusk's bomb-sniffing dog would not even let fellow Marines approach the wounded Rusk, who did not survive the attack. Eli now lives with Rusk's family. The dog's role was not mentioned in any of the public White House press briefings on bin Laden's death. Pentagon spokeswoman Elizabeth Robbins wrote in an e-mail to The Lookout in response to our question about the dog that the Pentagon has "no additional operational details, or comments on operational details, to make at this time." news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110505/ts_yblog_thelookout/intense-interest-surrounds-dog-who-helped-capture-bin-laden
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Post by ninathedog on May 6, 2011 20:23:40 GMT 4
Japan PM orders halt at Hamaoka nuclear plant6 May 2011 Last updated at 08:01 ET BBC.comFile image of the Hamaoka plant in Shizuoka prefecture Scientists said the chances of a powerful quake striking the Hamaoka region was highJapan's prime minister has told a power company to halt operations at another nuclear plant due to fears an earthquake could trigger a new crisis. Naoto Kan said three reactors at Hamaoka plant should be suspended until new safety measures were put in place.Experts said the chances of a powerful quake hitting the area were high. Engineers are still working to stabilise the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, which was hit by the devastating earthquake and tsunami on 11 March. Cooling systems at the six-reactor plant were knocked out, causing fuel rods to overheat. There were subsequently explosions at the four reactors operating at the time of the earthquake. Engineers are pumping water into the reactors to cool them as they work to restore the damaged cooling systems. A 20km (12 mile) mandatory evacuation zone has been put in place around the plant because of concern about radiation levels - forcing some 80,000 residents to leave their homes. 'Quake expected' Addressing a news conference on Friday, Mr Kan said the five-reactor Hamaoka plant, operated by the Chubu Electric Power Company, had been ordered to suspend two running reactors and a third shut for a regular inspection.The Hamaoka plant, which lies 200km (120 miles) south of Tokyo, is in Shizuoka prefecture - an area which seismologists say is overdue for an earthquake. "The relevant authorities, including the science ministry, have shown that the possibility of a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hitting the area of the Hamaoka plant within the next 30 years is 87%," Mr Kan said. "This is a decision made for the safety of the people when I consider the special conditions of the Hamaoka plant." Mr Kan said the government would work to prevent power supply problems arising from the decision. He said safety measures, including the construction of sea walls, would need to be implemented at the plant before operations resumed.Ventilation workScepticism over the use of nuclear energy in resource-poor Japan has risen as engineers struggle to bring the situation at Fukushima Daiichi under control. Its operator, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (T e p c o) has warned that it could take up to nine months to achieve a cold shutdown at the plant. Earlier on Friday, it released images of the interior of the crippled building containing reactor No 1. T e p c o handout of a worker operating inside the No 1 reactor building at the Fukushima power plant (5 May) Engineers worked in small teams on 10-minute shifts to limit their exposure to the radiation The photos were taken on Thursday after workers were allowed in for the first time to install a ventilation system. The men worked in small teams on 10-minute shifts to limit their exposure to the contaminated atmosphere while they installed the ventilation system and filters. T e p c o says it will take about three days to vent the contaminated air, filter it, and return purified air to the building. The radiation levels inside the reactor buildings must be lowered before new cooling systems can be installed. In the meantime, extra water is being pumped in to reactor No 1 as part of a new cooling strategy, approved by Japan's nuclear safety agency. T e p c o said it expected the additional water to cool and decrease pressure in the containment vessel. The firm said it planned to complete construction of the new cooling system for reactor No 1 in late May or early June, local media reported. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-13306358....... source: www.stop-hamaoka.com/english/english.htmlsource: www.i-love-china.net/maps-of-japan/
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Post by ninathedog on May 15, 2011 3:06:09 GMT 4
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Post by sesq on May 15, 2011 6:25:31 GMT 4
Oh, great! ;D He can join Fulford and they can both have their "tinglers" together! ;D sesq (If anyone DOESN'T ;D know what I am talking about. He claimed he had a parasite added to his spine. D looked at the pix and within seconds of the inspection of the alleged photo ID'ed a MUDPUPPY! ;D When asked for ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL, Fulford went to great lengths to explain that the material was LOST. ;D)
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Post by dan on May 15, 2011 6:47:53 GMT 4
Oh, great! ;D He can join Fulford and they can both have their "tinglers" together! ;D sesq (If anyone DOESN'T ;D know what I am talking about. He claimed he had a parasite added to his spine. D looked at the pix and within seconds of the inspection of the alleged photo ID'ed a MUDPUPPY! ;D When asked for ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL, Fulford went to great lengths to explain that the material was LOST. ;D) The one doing the interview is Alfred Webre, one who is being actively promoted by Bill and Kerry, and for no wonder here...they promote Fulford's idiocy and request for members of the United States Military to commit TREASON. He has been a regular speaker at their conferences. His own wiki page links him over to "Laura Magdalene Eisenhower." She is deeply involved with Bill's and Kerry's offshoot catastrophe or futurist cult (depending on the month), and who claims she exposed a Mars Colony. ;D
With all this information, they never subsumed the reality behind something called the PACIFIC RING OF FIRE.
Some people will prostitute themselves for almost any reason.
Dan
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Post by marci on May 15, 2011 6:51:55 GMT 4
Oh, great! ;D He can join Fulford and they can both have their "tinglers" together! ;D sesq (If anyone DOESN'T ;D know what I am talking about. He claimed he had a parasite added to his spine. D looked at the pix and within seconds of the inspection of the alleged photo ID'ed a MUDPUPPY! ;D When asked for ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL, Fulford went to great lengths to explain that the material was LOST. ;D) Let's go have dinner, honey. ;D (Not toward any GT member.) We can't fix STUPID. There's not a pill they could take, there's not a class they could go to. STUPID IS FOREVER. ;D M
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Post by dan on May 15, 2011 7:10:35 GMT 4
Oh, great! ;D He can join Fulford and they can both have their "tinglers" together! ;D sesq (If anyone DOESN'T ;D know what I am talking about. He claimed he had a parasite added to his spine. D looked at the pix and within seconds of the inspection of the alleged photo ID'ed a MUDPUPPY! ;D When asked for ACTUAL BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL, Fulford went to great lengths to explain that the material was LOST. ;D) Let's go have dinner, honey. ;D (Not toward any GT member.) We can't fix STUPID. There's not a pill they could take, there's not a class they could go to. STUPID IS FOREVER. ;D M Dinner it is! (Sorry...still laughing. You mean we control THE VERY PRESSURES BETWEEN TECTONIC PLATES? ;D I mean: we have some Power...but...GOOD LORD! ;D
Those with some schooling are doing their best to B.S. people of less schooling, to pick their pockets. I have learned that many we have interacted with, understand LITTLE of the natural world, while they make pronouncements fit for prophets.
They link the words PROPHET and PROFIT. Dinner! (I have some ideas to link this kind of thing into our plans as well. Boy-oh-boy is Tier 2 going to be a hard pill to swallow for some! ;D)
Dan
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Post by Eagles Disobey on May 31, 2011 22:59:00 GMT 4
OFFICIAL EAGLES DISOBEY INFORMATION:
Dr. Dan sends his apologies to those he would like to be writing with in emails and PM's, and he promises he will clear time after he "gets the job done." He says: "Seizures and war. ...I will write as soon as I can. Love you. "
EAGLES DISOBEY!
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Post by Eagles Disobey on May 31, 2011 23:07:48 GMT 4
IT APPEARS THAT THE RISE OF FREEDOM IS NOT BEING SILENCED!news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110531/wl_nm/us_syria_1Syria's Assad issues general amnesty: state TV – 2 hrs 46 mins ago BEIRUT (Reuters) – Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, facing a wave of protests against his 11-year rule, issued a decree on Tuesday granting a general amnesty, state television said. It said the amnesty covered all members of political movements including the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood. (Editing by Maria Golovnina) www.nypost.com/p/news/international/syria_assad_announces_general_amnesty_3yZZwtsN6rcYGFFqbTLdLO?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=Syria's Assad announces general amnesty but opposition says 'too little, too late'AFP / NEWSCORE DAMASCUS, Syria -- Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Tuesday decreed a general amnesty for members of the banned Muslim Brotherhood and for political prisoners, but the opposition swiftly dismissed the measure as "too little, too late." "President Assad has by decree issued an amnesty on all (political) crimes committed before May 31, 2011," the official SANA news agency reported. "The amnesty applies to all political prisoners as well as to the Muslim Brotherhood." The announcement, which comes after two months of deadly anti-regime protests, was shrugged off by Syrian opposition activists gathered in Turkey to discuss democratic change and voice support for the revolt. "This measure is insufficient: we demanded this amnesty several years ago, but it's late in coming," said Abdel Razak Eid, an activist from the "Damascus Declaration," a reformist group launched in 2005 to demand democratic change. "The people want the fall of the regime and all those who have committed crimes brought to account. Blood will not have been spilled in vain," he said. The release of political prisoners has been a central demand of protesters who, inspired by uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, have been staging almost daily demonstrations against Assad's autocratic government since March 15. More than 1,100 civilians have been killed and at least 10,000 arrested in a brutal crackdown by the regime on the protests, human rights organizations say. The announcement of the amnesty came soon after a senior official in Syria's ruling Baath party reportedly said that a committee for national dialogue in the troubled country would be set up within 48 hours. Al-Watan daily, which is close to the government, quoted party number two Mohammed Said Bkhetan as telling a Baath party meeting that the committee's members would be wide-ranging. "The committee for dialogue is composed of all political currents, and people from political and economic life and society in general will take part," it quoted him as saying. "The mechanisms of the dialogue will be announced within 48 hours." The opposition has previously dismissed calls for dialogue, saying it can take place only when the violence ends, political prisoners are freed and reforms adopted. The authorities initially responded to the revolt by offering some concessions, including lifting the state of emergency in place for nearly five decades, but coupled this with a fierce crackdown. news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110531/wl_mideast_afp/syriapoliticsunresttalks_20110531152818Syria party announces dialogue committee– Tue May 31, 11:28 am ET DAMASCUS (AFP) – A senior official in Syria's ruling Baath party said on Tuesday that a committee for national dialogue in the troubled country would be set up within 48 hours, the daily Al-Watan reported. The newspaper, which is close to the government, quoted party number two Mohammed Said Bkhetan as telling a Baath party meeting that the committee's members would be wide-ranging. "The committee for dialogue is composed of all political currents, and people from political and economic life and society in general will take part," it quoted him as saying. "The mechanisms of the dialogue will be announced within 48 hours," he said. More than 1,100 civilians have been killed and at least 10,000 arrested since protests against President Bashar al-Assad's autocratic government erupted in mid-March, human rights organisations say. Bkhetan said the number of people protesting in Syria was no more than 100,000, out of an overall population of around 22 million. "It's the same people demonstrating every time. They protest at night, shouting 'Allahu akbar' (God is greatest) as well as every Friday, but we must bring a swift end to this as we are under enormous pressure," he added. The government insists the unrest is the work of "armed terrorist gangs" backed by Islamists and foreign agitators. It initially responded to the revolt by offering some concessions, including lifting the state of emergency in place for nearly five decades, but coupled this with a fierce crackdown. Al-Watan reported that Bkhetan also ruled out abrogating Clause 8 of Syria's constitution, which states that the Baath party is the sole leader of the state and society. "Any constitutional amendment is the competence of the council of the people" or parliament, in which the Baath party has more than half the number of deputies, he said. "We have told the opposition that they can abolish this clause if they gain power and we become the opposition," he said. The third parliamentary election since Assad succeeded his father Hafez in July 2000 is due soon in Syria.
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Post by Eagles Disobey on May 31, 2011 23:10:36 GMT 4
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/31/501364/main20067452.shtmlMay 31, 2011 Libya rebels launch satellite TV station(AP) BENGHAZI, Libya - Libya's rebels have launched their first homegrown satellite TV station, trying to counter the regime's powerful media machine, which churns out Moammar Qaddafi's message, depicts the opposition as terrorists and drums up patriotic fervor by beaming images of burning buildings hit by NATO strikes. Libya Alhurra, or "Free Libya," began broadcasting Monday night, a major step in the rebels' attempts to get its message to the Libyan public, whose main source of information on the crisis roiling their country has been Qaddafi's TV and radio. Thousands of Libyans waving flags gathered in a public square in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi to watch the first broadcasts on a large screen, celebrating a newfound freedom from 40 years of media oppression. "This is freedom. I hope this shows the true color of Libyan people and their real faith in a new, free Libya," station co-founder Zuhair Albarasi told The Associated Press from the square, which has become a rallying point for the revolt against Qaddafi. The channel was born out of an Internet video streaming site launched by Albarasi and fellow Libyan businessman Mohammed al-Nabbous, who since the uprising began in mid-February searched for a way to show it to the world and to the Libyans themselves. They started toting video cameras to protests, jerry-rigged a home satellite system and turned to the Web. The danger of their effort was quickly made clear: Al-Nabbous, 27, was killed in Benghazi on March 19, shot under the right eye by a sniper as he filmed rebels armed with rocket launchers preparing to confront Qaddafi's tanks as they approached the city. Benghazi was saved that day by the first international air strikes. Still, their site continued, streaming video and audio reports direct from the battle front, including audio of fighters and the sounds of whizzing bullets and whooshes of rocket launchers. It also hosts a chat room that draws Libyans inside and outside the country as well as sympathetic foreigners, in English and Arabic. But in a country where Internet access has been sharply curtailed for much of the population, the channel — hosted on Livestream — remains limited in its reach. That made it vital to reach satellite TV, which reaches an estimated 90 percent of the Libyan public. The Gulf nation of Qatar, which has been at the forefront of Arab nations assisting the rebels, hosts a pro-rebel Libyan station out of its capital, Doha. But Albarasi and his colleagues in Benghazi were determined to launch one from their nation's soil.
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Post by Eagles Disobey on May 31, 2011 23:14:06 GMT 4
www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/05/30/501364/main20067375.shtml?tag=mncol;lst;2May 30, 2011 South African president: Qaddafi ready for truceJacob Zuma says Qaddafi is ready to accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities (AP) TRIPOLI, Libya -- Muammar Qaddafi is ready for a truce to stop the fighting in his country, visiting South African president said Monday after meeting the Libyan ruler, but he listed familiar Qaddafi conditions that have scuttled previous cease-fire efforts. The South African president, Jacob Zuma, said Qaddafi is ready to accept an African Union initiative for a cease-fire that would stop all hostilities, including NATO airstrikes in support of rebel forces. "He is ready to implement the road map," Zuma said. Zuma said Qaddafi insists that "all Libyan be given a chance tp talk among themselves" to determine the country's future. He did not say Qaddafi is ready to step down, which is the central demand of the rebels. He was speaking to reporters from South African and Libyan TV, which broadcast his remarks late Monday. Complete coverage: Anger in the Arab world In April, Zuma led a delegation of the African Union to Tripoli with an African Union proposal for a truce. Qaddafi said he would accept the truce but quickly ignored it and resumed his attacks, while the rebels rejected the cease-fire out of hand because it did not include Qaddafi's exit from power. Since then many cease-fire efforts have failed for similar reasons. For decades Qaddafi has identified Libya as an African as much as an Arab nation. He disbursed millions of dollars in aid to African nations and built himself up as a leader of the continent. Zuma was greeted with all the requisite fanfare by Qaddafi's beleaguered regime. Dozens of Qaddafi supporters, bused in for the welcoming, waved green Libyan flags and chanted slogans denouncing the NATO bombing campaign against Libyan government targets. NATO temporarily lifted its no-fly zone over Libya to allow Zuma's South African air force plane to land at the main military air base next to Tripoli. In Rome Monday, an indication that Qaddafi's regime is losing support came from eight top Libyan army officers, including five generals, who defected from Qaddafi's military. They appealed to their fellow officers to join the revolt. Several senior officials, including at least three Cabinet ministers, have abandoned Qaddafi during the uprising that began in February. Even so, he clings tenaciously to power, and the military units still loyal to him are far superior to the forces available to the rebels. One of the officers, Gen. Melud Massoud Halasa, estimated that Qaddafi's military forces are now "only 20 percent as effective" as what they were before the revolt broke out in mid-February, and that "not more than 10" generals remain loyal to Qaddafi. Gen. On Ali On read an appeal to fellow army officers and top police and security officials "in the name of the martyrs who have fallen in the defense of freedom to have the courage" to abandon the regime. The general, wearing street clothes like his fellow defectors, denounced both "genocide" and "violence against women in various Libyan cities." An anti-government activist based in Tripoli said that dozens of residents angrily chanted against Qaddafi's rule in a rare demonstration in the Libyan capital on Monday. His claims could not be confirmed because of restrictions placed on reporters in Tripoli. The activist sent reporters a YouTube video showing the men chanting, "There is only one God and Moammar (Qaddafi) is his enemy." The timing and authenticity of the video could not be independently confirmed. The Zuma visit came during relentless NATO bombing runs on Tripoli and other parts of the country, aimed at weakening Qaddafi's military and giving the outgunned rebels a chance in their battle against the longtime ruler. Though relations between Qaddafi and the African Union have been strained, Zuma has joined other African leaders in accusing NATO of overstepping its U.N. mandate to protect Libyan civilians and calling for an end to the airstrikes. Zuma's meeting with Qaddafi at his Bab al-Aziziyah compound was attended by only two other people, according to a Libyan official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not at liberty to discuss the talks.
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Post by nodstar on Jun 15, 2011 11:38:20 GMT 4
Scientists predict rare 'hibernation' of sunspots[/size] news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110614/ts_afp/usspacesunby Kerry Sheridan – Tue Jun 14, 5:38 pm ET WASHINGTON (AFP) – For years, scientists have been predicting the Sun would by around 2012 move into solar maximum, a period of intense flares and sunspot activity, but lately a curious calm has suggested quite the opposite. According to three studies released in the United States on Tuesday, experts believe the familiar sunspot cycle may be shutting down and heading toward a pattern of inactivity unseen since the 17th century. The signs include a missing jet stream, fading spots, and slower activity near the poles, said experts from the National Solar Observatory and Air Force Research Laboratory. "This is highly unusual and unexpected," said Frank Hill, associate director of the NSO's Solar Synoptic Network, as the findings of the three studies were presented at the annual meeting of the American Astronomical Society's Solar Physics Division in Las Cruces, New Mexico. "But the fact that three completely different views of the Sun point in the same direction is a powerful indicator that the sunspot cycle may be going into hibernation." Solar activity tends to rise and fall every 11 years or so. The solar maximum and solar minimum each mark about half the interval of the magnetic pole reversal on the Sun, which happens every 22 years. Hill said the current cycle, number 24, "may be the last normal one for some time and the next one, cycle 25, may not happen for some time. "This is important because the solar cycle causes space weather which affects modern technology and may contribute to climate change," he told reporters. Experts are now probing whether this period of inactivity could be a second Maunder Minimum, which was a 70-year period when hardly any sunspots were observed between 1645-1715, a period known as the "Little Ice Age." "If we are right, this could be the last solar maximum we'll see for a few decades. That would affect everything from space exploration to Earth's climate," said Hill. Solar flares and eruptions can send highly charged particles hurtling toward Earth and interfere with satellite communications, GPS systems and even airline controls. Geomagnetic forces have been known to occasionally garble the world's modern gadgetry, and warnings were issued as recently as last week when a moderate solar flare sent a coronal mass ejection in the Earth's direction. The temperature change associated with any reduction in sunspot activity would likely be minimal and may not be enough to offset the impact of greenhouse gases on global warming, according to scientists who have published recent papers on the topic. "Recent solar 11-year cycles are associated empirically with changes in global surface temperature of 0.1 Celsius," said Judith Lean, a solar physicist with the US Naval Research Laboratory. If the cycle were to stop or slow down, the small fluctuation in temperature would do the same, eliminating the slightly cooler effect of a solar minimum compared to the warmer solar maximum. The phenomenon was witnessed during the descending phase of the last solar cycle. This "cancelled part of the greenhouse gas warming of the period 2000-2008, causing the net global surface temperature to remain approximately flat -- and leading to the big debate of why the Earth hadn't (been) warming in the past decade," Lean, who was not involved in the three studies presented, said in an email to AFP. A study in the March 2010 issue of Geophysical Research Letters explored what effect an extended solar minimum might have, and found no more than a 0.3 Celsius dip by 2100 compared to normal solar fluctuations. "A new Maunder-type solar activity minimum cannot offset the global warming caused by human greenhouse gas emissions," wrote authors Georg Feulner and Stefan Rahmstorf, noting that forecasts by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have found a range of 3.7 Celsius to 4.5 Celsius rise by this century's end compared to the latter half of the 20th century. "Moreover, any offset of global warming due to a grand minimum of solar activity would be merely a temporary effect, since the distinct solar minima during the last millennium typically lasted for only several decades or a century at most."
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