Posts by Jaime Ortega-Simo:

Hamas distrust Al-Sisi

July 16th, 2014

 

 

The Daily Journalist.

 

The truce proposal designed in the offices in Cairo, foundered Tuesday, chocked by the internal situation in the Arab country that surged more than a year ago.

The Palestinian Islamist movement, a branch of the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, has lost faith in the solvency of mediation that Egypt exercised for decades. Sources of the group, which has governed since 2007 punished the Gaza Strip, and Tuesday regretted not having been consulted by Egyptian negotiators during the drafting of an initiative received by the Arab League and the United States, giving the green light for six hours Tel Aviv.

They also blamed his refusal for the lack of concessions mentioned in the draft with extreme lightness “once the security situation stabilizes” and ignored their demands to free the 56 prisoners released in 2011 exchange. Those recently arrested on the “siege” of Gaza to Egypt contributed to the closure of the Rafah crossing, destroying the smuggling tunnels. On Tuesday there was even considered the inner voices that Hamas planned giving an ultimatum to Israel and Egypt.

After these Rebuttals reality underlies a total distrust of the regime of former military leader Abdelfatah to Sisi, which meets Wednesday in Cairo with Palestinian President Abu Mazen. “The initiative has failed for the deep mistrust between Egypt and Hamas and that lacked enthusiasm, beyond serving the local placate opinion in respond to international pressure,” said Ghanem Nuseibeh, visiting professor of Kings College London.

Since the overthrow of the Islamist Mohamed Mursi, who sponsored the 2012 ceasefire – demonizing Hamas was shared with the Brotherhood. His name appears in conspiracy theories that marked the coup and the process by which judges Mursi concoct the “greatest conspiracy in the history of the country.” The courts banned in March movement activities on Egyptian soil and declared a “terrorist organization.” The media animosity has led some reporters to defend Egyptian Israeli operation and Palestinian lives cut short by lead.

With so much animosity, Hamas, has offered its last word on the proposed truce and has asked Turkey and Qatar to gain weight in the dialogue at the expense of Cairo. “Egypt needs to rebuild its regional influence. And at this moment, it seems that domestic policy is what determines  international operations,” says the expert.

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Tripoli airport under attack from militias

July 16th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.

Tripoli’s international airport is for the second consecutive night, the scene of fighting between militia groups who have bombed the facility, causing nearly a dozen deaths in the last hours.

At least two Army soldiers have been killed tonight, victim of the bombings that have also caused damage to the airfield and in 90% of aircraft located there, as confirmed by Ahmed Lamine, Libyan government spokesman. The situation is extremely worrying and the Executive is even raises “the possibility of bringing the country to strengthen international security forces.”

As a result of increased violence and tension at the airport in recent days, authorities have closed traffic and suspended all flights.

The victims this morning include seven people who were also killed on the eve, and 36  injured in the crossfire between militants from the town of Zintan, who control facilities, and Islamic fundamentalists.

Libya is on the brink of tension, since the fall of the regime of Moammar Gadhafi in a tense security situation that the transitional authorities have failed to solve and has been deteriorating in recent months to lead to a deep crisis. The result of this situation, the UN has withdrawn its staff in the country in a “temporary” and announced through their website that they will return “as soon as the security situation permits”

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Merkel and Obama first meeting after CIA scandal in Berlin

July 16th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.

U.S. President Barack Obama spoke today by telephone with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and proposed a bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Their first conversation since the expulsion last week of the head of the CIA in Berlin. “The president spoke today with German Chancellor Merkel on Ukraine, Iran and cooperation between the U.S. and Germany,” said in his Twitter account the deputy of national security and adviser to the White House, Ben Rhodes.

Soon after, the official spokesman Josh Earnest said U.S.  in a statement that Obama and Merkel “exchanged views” on cooperation in intelligence. “The president said it would maintain close communication on ways to enhance cooperation ,” Earnest said.

Relations between Washington and Berlin experiencing low moments after the German intelligence found this July a German spy accused of acting as a double agent for Washington.

In addition, federal prosecutors announced last week that it was investigating a person who works at the German Ministry of Defense  with the possibility that he had leaked information to U.S. intelligence services. Repeated cases of espionage led Germany to ask the head of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the U.S. embassy in Berlin to leave the country.

The White House has avoided comment on any of these two cases being linked to intelligence activities.

Measures against Russia

Moreover, the two leaders agreed on the conversation today that Russia “must take immediate steps to reduce tension in eastern Ukraine.” Merkel and Obama believe that Moscow should support a bilateral ceasefire, a roadmap for dialogue under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the establishment of a monitoring mechanism of the border between Russia and Ukraine by that entity.

Moreover, both agreed that the Kremlin should encourage pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine to release all hostages and stop the trafficking of heavy artillery, equipment and human resources flowing to the rebels. “The leaders agreed that so far neither the U.S. nor Germany have seen Russia or meet those aforementioned actions,” Earnest said.

They also chatted about the ongoing negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program between Iran and Group 5 +1 (U.S., China, Russia, France, the UK and Germany) and the progress made during the talks.

“They agreed that it is imperative that Iran take steps to assure the international community that its nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes,” Earnest said.

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Israel invades Gaza Strip

July 9th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.

At least 22 Palestinians were killed Tuesday morning in a massive military operation against the Gaza Strip by Israel. There are over a hundred injured. The military struck 150 targets from the air and from warships that block sea access to the Palestinian region. It is the largest military operation in the area ruled by the Islamist Hamas since late 2012. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his troops to “be prepared” for a possible ground invasion of Gaza, which would be the first since the end , 2008. The Israeli executive on Tuesday authorized the mobilization of 40,000 reservists.

Israel, who baptized the attack as Operation Margin Protector enters a new phase between the recent hostilities with Hamas. The offense is, according to the Army, “an answer” to the more than 160 rockets and mortar shells fired at Israel on Monday. The air raid sirens sounded in Jerusalem on Tuesday night, shortly before bouncing a loud explosion and a smaller one on southwest of the city.

Tel Aviv. A witness said that the air raid sirens interrupted the Peace Conference organized by the Daily Haaretz in the city. Alarms triggered in major Israeli cities suggest that Hamas was dusting off its powerful arsenal for this violent escalation. The Army requested that the population within a radius of up to 40 kilometers from the Gaza remain near bomb shelters.

The rocket attacks are the most dangerous for Israeli civilians. Yesterday Israel, started opening its doors in Jerusalem for people to access bomb shelters. According to military sources, the military attacked nearly 100 Palestinian rocket launchers. They also bombed military buildings and the infrastructure of Hamas, as well as the homes of several of his alleged militants.

Netanyahu asked the Army to “silk gloves until the problem is removed.” A military spokesman said the attacks had “reached” to various Islamist militants in their bombing. But, according to emergency services in the Gaza and hospital sources quoted by Reuters, the dead there are also seven children and 10 adult civilians.

The rest of the casualties are of Hamas or other militant Islamist groups including a local leader of the Islamic Jihad, who died on Tuesday night in an air raid on his home in which his parents were also killed with his two brothers. The armed wing of the organization announced a “widening of the attacks.” The Israeli army reported an attempted landing on the beach of Zikim, near Gaza, repelled by soldiers. Killed five militants and one Israeli was slightly injured. The skirmish allowed a spokesman for the military to speak of “attacks by land, sea and air.”

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, called “immediate cancellation of the attacks on Gaza.” The Israeli defense minister, Moshe Yaalon warned however that the military operation “will not end in a matter of days.” The Israeli military yesterday highlighted two brigades of infantry in the vicinity of the Strip. Netanyahu said he ordered “a long, continuous and powerful operation” in Gaza. He acknowledged that the transaction “could be of prolonged” time, yet undetermined. He argues that it is directed against Hamas and will serve to stop the rocket fire against its territory.

Only left Gaza on Monday 165 different caliber projectiles and scope. Islamists, meanwhile, threatened to bomb Tel Aviv and its vicinity with more powerful missiles provided by Iran, or militias in Syria.

Tensions grow Israel and the Palestinian border since June 12 when three young students of Jewish religion disappeared in the West Bank. The discovery of their bodies off a wave of consternation among the Israelis, who were buried on Tuesday in a mass ceremony. Hours later, they began a series of public disorder and attacks on Palestinian residents in Jerusalem, culminating that evening with the murder of a young man who, according to the Palestinian authorities, was burned alive. Israel arrested six Jewish right-wing for the crime. Immediately after the killing began massive Palestinian protested in Jerusalem.

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Attack in Karachi’s airport diffuses negotiations in Pakistan

June 9th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.



After the release on May 31 of U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl almost five years in the hands of the Taliban. A new resolution opened the door of hope for a possible negotiation with the rebels to end the conflict in Afghanistan, Pakistan and therefore in return, the U.S. government would allow the release of five Taliban prisoners from Guantanamo’s detention center. Even so the swap was encouraging: the dialogue and agreement with the Taliban seemed finally possible.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has also decided since coming to power last year to sit at and negotiate with the insurgency. The second strength of the Pakistani National Assembly of Pakistan Justice Movement, the popular former cricketer Imran Khan, has come to defend the “holy war” of the Taliban.

Yesterday all these hopes were dashed with the brutal attack in Karachi’s airport on southern Pakistan, in which at least 30 people died. Voices against negotiating with the insurgents have multiplied throughout the country, and the popularity index of Sharif and Khan began to plummet.

“If a dozen insurgents can paralyze an international airport for hours, how many will thousands of them be able to achieve?” Many Pakistanis wondered on social networks. The local media also added fuel to the fire.

Terrorists accessed the airport by eleven pm, local time, with false identity documents, uniforms and airport security emblems. They wore vests with explosives and opened fire with machine guns and grenade launchers at a terminal used for VIP and cargo flights. Pakistani security forces failed to regain control of the airport five hours later. All flights were suspended or diverted, and passengers evacuated.

 

Objective: Destroy the aircraft

The insurgents aimed to destroy all aircraft parked at the airport, according to a report on the attack that Prime Minister Sharif received yesterday. Still, no plane was hit but a building that is used for loading was completely destroyed, according to Rizwan Akhtar, head of the Pakistani elite Ranger forces . “The terrorists were foreigners. Some seemed Uzbeks” he explained.

The known under the name Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. A spokesman, Shahidullah Shahid, justified it as revenge for the death of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, killed in November by a drone. He also said that the attack was planned before the peace talks with the Pakistani government began, but was not carried out precisely because of these conversations.

The negotiations failed weeks ago. The Government representative at the roundtable, Rustam Shah Mohmand, said yesterday that from now unto the talks be conducted according to “the terms of the Government.” The problem is that few want now Pakistan to start a dialogue. We prefer the rod over the hand.

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Obama gives Putin an ultimatum in the midst of EU’s breakdown

June 6th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.

 

President Barack Obama is hoping his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, takes the opportunity given by the G7 to “re-align with international law” because otherwise, the West will “trigger sanctions directed to Russia that will have more economic impact and  less harmful to the European Union. ”

Obama spoke of “several weeks” as the deadline for its position on Russia to redirect its politics and military strategy in eastern Ukraine’s territorial crisis. While admitting that Russia has “legitimate interests in Ukraine due to its neighborhood and its historic ties,” he reminded Putin that he must respect the country’s sovereignty.

Obama will speak tomorrow in Normandy with the Russian president, where he has confirmed will have the opportunity to talk “face to face” but for now there is no scheduled bilateral meeting on the official agenda between the two leaders.

The British prime minister, David Cameron, has advanced and advice Putin to require Russia to cooperate with Ukrainian President-elect Petro Poroshenko, and to use his influence to stop pro-Russian attacks in favor of independence.

The final declaration of the summit of the G7 condemns the “unacceptable” interference of the Russian Federation in the internal affairs of Ukraine and warns that it triggers new restrictive measures if Moscow does not meet the demand: “We demand to Russia to recognize the outcome of the elections, complete the withdrawal of its military troops on the border with Ukraine, stop sending arms to the pro-Russian activists and exert its influence between armed separatist groups to renounce violence.”

U.S. wants the UK to be part of the EU

The institutional debate on the new president of the European Commission has starred in the ‘parallel’ agenda of this summit, convened in Brussels rather than the Russian city of Sochi in response to the international crisis around Ukraine.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, leader of the group is opposing the candidate countries to the European People’s Party, the most voted in recent elections. Jean-Claude Juncker, appointed the new President of the Commission.

Faced with reports that suggest that Britain had threatened to leave the EU if Juncker is  finally elected, the UK ‘premier’ has said that the only thing that matters is that “the Commission and all European institutions are led by politicians who get the message of the elections and are willing to make changes in the EU. ”

“I have a strategy and know how what to do. I Want that Britain remains within the EU Member States to recover some of its powers,” said the British leader, who could be in a difficult political situation in his country if Juncker became the new president of the Commission. “In two of the largest countries in Europe, France and the United Kingdom, anti-European forces have won. We can ignore or get the message and act,” he recalled.

U.S. President also praised the impact of a possible departure from United Kingdom within the EU. “I cannot believe that the European project is going to do well without the United Kingdom in the same way that the UK is interested in having a seat in the place where important decisions on economic and policy developments are made,” he assured. It has also been shown in favor of UK to remain a “strong, united and effective” partner in reference to the possible secession of Scotland, but acknowledged that the decision “is for the citizens to choose.”

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“A Joke of an election”

June 1st, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.

 

Yasser Abu Hamed the cartoonist who drew in his website the supposed candidates , did not seem to have opted for none of the three real candidates for the presidential election. The selfless voter had chosen a joke instead. The same that illustrated the ballot going inside the box.

To Kamiran Shamdin , the regime had shown some mercy. Instead of amputating the five fingers of the voter, they let him have four . The index is reserved for what could be marked by ink when its cover .

The black humor of characters as the Syrian -Palestinian Abu Hamed or Shamdin reflects shows the peculiar electoral campaign that has turned the Syrian people – based opposition in irony and sarcasm against the presidential elections tomorrow that must ratify Bashar Asad to power again.

Front the regimes hype , opponents have turned their efforts on the internet where the two candidates who intend theoretically to challenge the current head of state have become the target of popular sarcasm .

A struggle without real contenders

Opponents point out that the parliamentary Maher Hajjar was the author of an article whose title was more explicit: ” Bashar or anyone else.” The same slogan that government forces have drawn on the walls of the cities that have been ravaged.

Hajjar and businessman Hassan Nouri were the only contestants who were allowed to attend these votes with another twenty candidates who filed their nomination.

Nuri , a businessman of 54 years , father of five,  lived a decade in Wisconsin , Lebanon and Switzerland , admitted in a conversation with ‘ The Sunday Times ‘ that a representative of the regime asked him ” in a very polite manner “A month to be submitted to the polls ago. “Nobody forced me ,” he said.

In another interview he gave yesterday to the Associated Press , the former also Minister of the parliamentary gushed toward the figure of Bashar – which he defined as ” a great leader ” – and its predecessor , fellow dictator Hafez al-Assad as another good option.

“I know I ‘m competing with a president who has ruled the country 14 years. Know that your dad was a great president, loved by many Syrians who led the country for 30 years. That means I have to deal with people who have won respect for society, ” he said.

It even had an impact on ‘ The Sunday Times ‘ that will keep Bashar Assad over the army if he wins the election because if he had been in charge of the State it would have reacted as an autocrat when e suppressed the popular revolt.

” The three [ candidates ] will agree to 100-100 in how to deal with the Syrian crisis from the political – military terms ,” he said . At the same time, he refused to dismiss his own candidacy . “I am a serious candidate for the presidency. I’m Not sleeping . I’m Working hard , day and night. Never retire me [ from the election ] ,” he said.

Yes, he admitted, ” most likely I will not win.” ” But Syria will win ,” he added

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The European union gets a strong Euro skeptic response

May 27th, 2014

 

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.



 

The EU Community policy was harshly hit by the Eurosceptic earthquake to become more hostile with the re-nationalization of some of the approaches discussed so far by those that support a European perspective . A total of 15 anti-EU parties from 13 countries have managed to enter the Parliament , which occupy 100 seats according to the official count which has not yet been completed. Fifteen forces that have led to their election promises programs such as the destruction of the euro, the lifting of border controls , the end of free movement and their respective countries of the European Union.

The analyzes that follow these European elections agree to minimize the effect of these parties within the European Parliament, and who will occupy only 13.1% of the 751 seats. But recognize that it will have a great influence on EU policy through the pressure to make the governments for their respective countries.

The cases of UK and France are the most symbolic breakthrough by two strong Eurosceptic forces that have become the most voted option for voters . The UK Independence Party ( Ukip ) obtained 23 seats and can create around the figure of their leader, Nigel Farage, a parliamentary group (Europe for Freedom and Democracy , EFD ) with a greater presence than in the previous legislature .

This result leaves British Prime Minister David Cameron in a difficult situation. The message that voters sent through the polls is that the EU raises more problems than solutions , so the UK struggles to repatriate powers and subtract influence over other European alternatives . The UK has always being an awkward partner within the European Council , threatening to hold a referendum to decide whether to continue or not the club 28 and Cameron may be forced to further radicalize their struggle against the power of Brussels to ensure stability in domestic politics.

Increased anti-European vote

” The increase in anti-European vote is a clarion call for EU leaders : if not great reforms are started and powers returned , citizens may end up opting soon for an out of the European Union solution,” said Mats Persson, director Open Europe .

Something similar happens in France. His weakened president, François Hollande, has not only undermined seats to the European socialist family, but now with stiff opposition from the far-right Marine Le Pen, grown after the excellent results of these elections. His party, the National Front, has won the support of 25 % of voters ( 24 seats) and their approaches Europhobes condition with the way that France is negotiating with other countries in the European Council.

Along with Ukip and the National Front , the Danish People’s Party is the other group involved in the Eurosceptic movement and has proved the most voted in their country. This group will add four seats to the anti-European alliance that begins to take shape with the first talks between their leaders. In Hungary the radical Jobbik is the second option preferred by voters , with backing from 14 % to bring three other deputies. There are also four other countries where Euroscepticism has finished third : the Austrian Freedom Party ( 4 seats ), Dutch PVV of Geert Wilders (three seats) , true Finns ( two representatives ) and Golden Dawn Nazis in Greece , where they provide three other deputies.

In Italy , the surprise has been positive for the Europeans , as the ruling party of Matteo Renzi has surprised with a great result . However, this country contribute two Eurosceptic parties cut , although very different: the Northern League, far right , has five seats; while the left alternative Five Star Movement , Beppe Grillo, provide no less than 17 representatives.

The same is true in Germany, where there are two anti- EU forces have managed to sneak for the first time in the European Parliament , after the country eliminated the minimum threshold of 5 % of the vote. Alternative for Germany ( AfD ) won seven seats , while the pro-Nazi NPD party gets one . The list is completed in Poland, with three seats for the Congress of New Right ; Sweden, which contributes two seats with the Sweden Democrats ; and Belgium, where the Vlaams Belang MEP achieved

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Protesters demand Erdogan to resign after mining accident

May 15th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.



Thousands of Turks protested yesterday in the streets, in Soma, where the incident took place inside a coal mine.  Protestors took the street of major cities, shouting ” is not an accident , but murder .” Erdogan  the Turkish prime minister criticized the president of safety management for the disaster , which left at least 282 dead and dozens trapped.

People have finally gone tired of tireless days followed with miserable salaries and facilities of dubious quality. The context of the dramatic explosion Tuesday in a coal mine in the eastern district of Soma, with 274 dead, evokes the stories of Charles Dickens nineteenth century. “Some 204 miners were killed in a landslide in England in 1838 ,” recalled Prime Minister Erdogan during the Soma region- where hours slowly moved after the worst mining tragedy in the last 20 years . People are demanding resignation and claiming “These are normal things’, referring to the current tragedy , where dozens of miners have not yet been rescued.

After his words , the prime minister was booed so as to leave the place, and took refuge in a nearby supermarket .

The Labor Minister Faruk Çelik , however , denied later in the afternoon that the mine had children : ” The young man was 15 years old, and we have clarified he was 19. We are not aware of any illegal workers in the mine. ” . ” According to regulations, children under 17 cannot work in a mine ,” tells Kusku WORLD Pinar , with degree in Labor Economics and Industrial Relations.

Since privatization in 2005 , Soma Holding owns the site . Workers cited by the media network Donya explained that  with the change of ownership , the number of employees per shift went from 300 to 700 without changing electrical transformation systems. Local media initially said these factors as the cause of the accident. The Turkish government announced that , at the time of the explosion, 787 miners were working.

“10-days ago workers were concerned about the conditions inside the mine . Something did not work in the mine. ” These are the words of the family of one of the dead, on the conditions of the mine hidden with anonymity . The causes of slaughter are still unclear , but according to Radikal newspaper an engineer who also wanted his name to kept secret was mentioned saying , “is not normal” that the explosion of a transformer derived on such a tragedy.

Days tirelessly with miserable salaries and facilities of dubious quality

According to survivors , the blast caused a fire inside the mine . ” Either you are hiding something or facilities were made with poor quality material ,” concludes the Radikal professional . ” The facilities spend at least two reviews per year. They have their documents in order and it says the job was top notch , “said Alp Gürkan , president of Soma Holding, yesterday afternoon .

“What is true of inspections , and the mine is not particularly old , which makes me even  explain less what happened ,” laments Eliaçık . Özgür Özel , deputy of the Republican People’s Party (CHP ) , encouraged more public outrage by revealing that just 20 days before the mishap , Parliament had knocked a motion by all opposition groups to investigate safety conditions in the mine Soma.

Turkey is the third country in the world and first in Europe to have workplace accidents. So far this year, not counting the deceased in Soma, only 396 Turks were killed in their workplace . 17 of them were children , six of whom were under 14 . Rampant poverty in some corners of Turkey, especially in the southeast, force many families to their offspring to grant a salary for education.

A study by the University of Kirikkale shows that the mining sector is the most dangerous in the country, followed by metallurgy and construction. The number of accidents increased between 2004 and 2010 this year , to 14% of all accidents in the industry. And that despite the fact that the miners make up only 1.3% of the labor work state . Annually, an average of 80 miners in Turkey suffer accidents: one of 1,000 employees.

“The company did not know how many workers it had at the time of the explosion ”

The channel CNN Türk estimated that since 1941 , more than 3,000 miners lost their lives in the black bowels of the earth and about 100,000 have been injured. ” And what is worse , even hospital services in the region of Manisa , which is mining the area , were prepared for a critical tragedy.”  Said Kivanç Eliaçık , responsible for international relations of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK ) .

In an interview to Hürriyet , in 2012 , the mine owner , Alp Gürkan , boasted of having reduced extraction costs between 130 and $ 140 per ton of coal to $ 23.8 . ” The company did not even know how many miners were working at the time of the explosion ,” criticizes Kivanç Eliaçık , responsible for international relations of the Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions (DISK ) .

According to data of the Security Commission of the Turkish Parliament , many of the employees of the mine, the company recently privatized for Soma Holding did not charge over 13 euros a day. ” A salary is so far below normal salaries in the public mining,” mentioned Pinar Kusku . ” I suspect that what happened is a result of poor working conditions suffered by miners .”

Soma was sunk in tears. Some family members were protesting the lack of coordination among government teams in the work of identifying the dead. Some residents began to dig the first hole to bury their loved ones. At least two villagers were arrested , according to some violent images , by lashing out at the street against the chief of staff.

The tense situation was echoed in major cities . Police attacked with pepper gas and pressurized water to the protesters who gathered in Istanbul’s Istiklal Street and the Middle East Technical University in Ankara.

“It is an accident, a murder ,” was the predominant cry the squad , who recovered slogans complaining of Gezi and demanded the resignation of the authorities.

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Scott Greer, answers questions about the new health care reform

May 15th, 2014

Interview conducted by Jaime Ortega. 

 



Scott L. Greer, Ph.D., a political scientist, does research on the consequences for health policy and the welfare state of federalism, decentralization, and European integration.

 

1) Without Obama Care, how does the U.S. healthcare compare with other wealthy westernized countries?

1. Without Obamacare- the ACA- the United States stood out for generally middle-of-the-pack results, a bit better on some things, a bit better on some others. But it also stood out for astronomical costs and, of course, the uninsured. So we paid twice as much as comparable countries for the same quality, distributed worse. We also, contrary to myth, show no sign of offering the world’s best health care; even very rich people often go to Switzerland or Singapore rather than the US. Neither quality measures nor indirect measures such as technology intensiveness put us clearly first. And if you spend twice as much as somebody else and aren’t getting something at least a little bit better, you are being ripped off.

2) For many conservatives from the Tea Party and GOP, the Obama care health care program sounds to much like socialism. But is it fair to call Obama care, a socialist program?

2. Not remotely. We know what socialist-desgined health systems look like. They involve, typically, fully tax-financed and often publicly provided health care, and generally do well on access and efficiency if not customer satisfaction. The ACA is hardly socialist; it is rather a classically American construction in which we make sure that every interest group with Washington lobbies, even highly unpopular groups like health insurers, is afforded a role in policy. Otherwise, it would not have passed.

I’d also add that while the definition of socialism is pretty fuzzy, stretching as it does from some pretty right wing people in Eastern Europe to some people who are basically Communists, it basically never gets an intelligent definition in American politics. Socialism is basically just an insult in American political discourse, and should be regarded as such.

3) How will the FDA, Pharma, Medicare and Medicaid be affected by the new health-care reform?

3. Complex question. Short answers: the FDA is unaffected. Other legislation has given it enough to do. PhrMA (the lobby for big branded firms such as Pfizer) gets the terms of its basic deal in which the industry gives back a certain sum in taxes and in return is shielded from the kinds of price controls other countries use to control drug prices. Medicaid is expanded in states that agree to do so (under some quite radical Roberts Court jurispridence). Medicare is made slightly more efficient, notably by ceasing to subsidize the failed experiment called Medicare Advantage- though that is under counterattack by insurers who receive the subsidies and people who benefit from the subsidized policies. The ACA also closes the “donut hole” in Medicare Part D, which was a weird legacy of Bush-era budgeting. Each of these answers obscures a bunch of details.

4) Its seems fair to say that those who can afford private health care, that Obama Care is a disaster because it will result into a “waiting list”. But is it fair for those who cannot afford private Insurance premiums? Is Obama Care really more beneficial for some and not for others?

4. There is nothing directly in Obamacare to produce waiting lists. Expanding health insurance coverage without expanding the medical workforce suggests that there will be more difficulty getting an appointment, but that is likely confined to primary care. There is no reason to expect that the bulk of Americans- those with employer-provided insurance or Medicare- will experience a loss of access to care. They will continue to be the most lucrative patients for health care systems, and be treated as such.

5) Many mention the waiting list as something negative. Is this “waiting list” really that problematic, considering those who are sicker should be attended first, before those who are not? Is the waiting list a better option than paying private elevated premiums to get great health care?

5. Are waiting lists problematic? This is the kind of debate that people in other countries have all the time. Americans generally recoil from it (or, better, American politics rules it out- the survey evidence is ambiguous) and have no instruments through which to express our decisions anyway. We are no more capable of having a debate about rationing and priorities after the ACA than we were before. The reason is that we quite deliberately, as a polity, have chosen to avoid having the tools that would permit rationing on grounds other than finances- so tools like tough health technology assessment, price controls, and priority-setting for expensive treatments, which are common worldwide, are ruled out in the US context. The US, even post-ACA, generally rations health care by ability to pay rather than need.

6) How will Obama Care play with doctors pay rate? Will it possibly lower it?

6. There are two big ways doctors are paid that the federal government can affect. One is Medicare payment rates, which are separate from the ACA (and a mess in their own right). The other is efforts to reform the structure of payment by rewarding care rather than procedures thorough innovations such as Accountable Care Organizations. The effects of the latter are yet to be seen. Outside the ACA and Medicare law, the US health care system is also undergoing huge changes which we can crudely summarize as consolidation of providers into big systems and an increasing transformation of doctors from small businesses to employed shift workers accountable to managers for what they do. That is only partially because of federal policy- every sensible business wants to be a monopolist.

7) Will Obama Care improve or lower the health care system?

7. The ACA delivers one win: increased access, especially in states that expanded Medicaid. Right now there is a spirited effort to argue that health care doesn’t improve health, but it never seems to end in people giving up health insurance. It remains to be seen whether it will improve quality or efficiency, given that the price of passing legislation in the US system was removal of most of the policies that international experience shows to control costs.
…

Right now, there is a particular effect at work in which existing dysfunctions of the health care system are being blamed on Obamacare- whether by people who basically oppose it as too left-wing, or people who view it as too right-wing (around 15-18%). So, when prices go up, or it is difficult to get an appointment, or the local health system becomes a near-monopoly of a badly run “system” it is natural to blame it on the ACA. Establishing an actual link is harder, though; medical cost inflation,  access problems and a trend towards monopoly existed before the ACA but the politics, and blame, were different. That is why we saw decreasing employer insurance coverage, decreasing richness of benefits, and longer wait times every year for decades but only now have them as major political issues. The ACA changed the politics and the profile of who is happy and who is not happy.

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Unknown Civilization: Mouth Shoria megaliths

May 12th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.

A mysterious discovery was made a few months ago that could turn the theory of ancient engineering upside down.



An ancient “super-megalithic” site has been found in the Siberian Mountains on accident by Russian explorer Georgy Sidorov .  Found recently in Gornaya Shoria (Mount Shoria) in southern Siberia, this site consists of huge blocks of stone, which appear to be granite, with flat surfaces, right angles, and sharp corners.

Some of these gigantic granite stones are estimated to weigh more than 3,000 tons, and as you will see below, many of them were cut “with flat surfaces, right angles, and sharp corners”.





Here’s the story, as reported by archaeologist John Jensen via his personal blog andAcademia.edu:

“I subscribe to a couple of Russian Blogs and Websites that post various data and information without the typical hype and filters of Western Science, Academia and the Press, let alone the fringe and “Alien” woo-woo crowd interests. The following are photos of some Super Megaliths from Southern Siberia near the mountains of Gornaya Shoria.

The super megaliths were found and photographed for the first time by Georgy Sidorov on a recent expedition to the Southern Siberian mountains. The following images are from Valery Uvarov’s Russian website.

There is little commentary on Valery’s site, so the images are displayed here without much comments, other than my own limited observations.”

The following is an excerpt from a story on a Russian news source…

Some events that were happening during the autumn expedition could probably be called mystical. The compasses of the geologists behaved very strangely, for some unknown reason their arrows were deviating from the megaliths. What could this mean? All that was clear was that they came across an inexplicable phenomenon of the negative geomagnetic field. Could this be a remnant of ancient antigravity technologies?

Of course much more research needs to be done on this site.

Nobody knows who cut these stones or how old they are.

Jensen believes that they come from a time “well back into the mists of pre-history”…

These megaliths reach well back into the mists of pre-history, so far in fact, that conjecture about their ‘builders’, methods, purpose and meaning is pure speculation, and as such, I would hesitate to offer any observation at all, other than to say our pre-historical past is richer than we ever dreamed.





 











The discovery holds an important clue on ancient technology, as for many historians and archaeologist like in the case of  Randy Koppang , who holds the idea of mainstream ancient civilizations to remain clueless with recent discoveries found in Baalbeek (Lebanon), Giza (Egypt), Sacsayhuaman (Peru), Stonehenge (England), Puma Punku (Bolivia) and other pre-Sumerian civilizations.

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Eastern Ukraine votes against Kiev

May 12th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.



 

Donetsk and Lugansk voted Sunday on a referendum for Ukrainian sovereignty with an uncertain purpose . Nadia, a resident of the city center of Donetsk missed rge” Russian Empire ” did not need to await the outcome of the votes, when she hit the streets yesterday morning  to find out the results: on a long line in front of the school for her daughter. It was the picture of the day . The figures confirm that same euphoria . In some cities where the vote count began the pro-Russian referendum before, ” only 5% of the vote has been against the independence” of Ukraine, according to Alexei Chmilienko said , one of the pro-Russian leaders Lugansk.

The old worker pride Dongas – is the name given to the mining area covering much of both regions and even some Russian city takes a month – guarded by masked SMG . Despite the bad press that given to the separatist , pro-Russian citizens of these territories came out to vote driven by hopes of a better life and distrust of the Ukrainian government .

In some cases weighed hostility towards the “fascists” of Kiev and in nearly all the resentment by the use of the military against the population. Only half of voters polled by saying a WORLD desire to a union with Russia .

Vasili , 53, came in mid-morning to vote in the 96 School Donetsk . “They say that this referendum is illegal, but they are the rulers of Kiev who are not legitimate , they have taken power by crookedness ” . Could not say if I want a Russian or Ukrainian Donetsk . ” We just want to elect our own leaders , people who look for us and not for their own interests or those of Kiev” .

Even the subject of the referendum was clear. In printed in haste by the pro-Russian rebel ballots that contained the question : ” Do you agree with the independence of the People ‘s Republic of Donetsk ? ” and ” Do you agree with the independence of the People’s Republic of Lugansk ?”. There were only two options: ‘ yes’ or ‘no’.

 

Cut ties with Ukraine

Insurgent leaders now want to form a new independent state called Novorossia , that means, new Russia. And the statement rest on the foundation provided by this referendum to sever ties with Ukraine. Among the most militant separatist leaders was Valery Bolotov , Luhansk . Following the success of this referendum he refuses to ” presidential elections on the 25th ” in these territories.

This Sunday it was almost impossible to find people exiting polls to go to vote in those elections that Kiev promotes.

The rebels have tried in recent days to lower the extent of their own practice . ” A ‘yes’ does not mean that the Donetsk region is annexed to Russia, or that would otherwise remain in Ukraine, or become an independent state,” explained Roman Liaguin , head of the election commission of the self-proclaimed popular Republic of Donetsk . The ‘yes’ last night is only a way means that the people gives them the legitimacy to continue the process , where income in Russia remains a key option .

But the Ukrainian government has said that it is these separatist referendums , which are also ” organized by the Kremlin ” ,will have no legal effect on the territorial integrity of the country . This was stated the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Specially in Kiev Kharkov , where armed insurgents have managed to win and also have not agreed on the questions or voting ballot questionnaires. But will try again in Kharkov and Odessa and Nikolayev could join them .

 

No official census or observers

The truth is that there was an official census , and observers could not guarantee anything . Nor minimum participation was required, although organizers had claimed that the help exceeded 70 %. Kiev warned that ” the organizers of this criminal farce ” have knowingly violated the Constitution and laws of Ukraine ignoring calls by the Ukrainian authorities and the international community . But despite all the government defended a unitary national dialogue ” in which there is no room or terrorism threats , but the openness and unity of all people of good will to secure peace , stability and prosperity of Ukraine” . It seems the only way out after an injection of legitimacy that the insurgents have received this vote.

Moscow was a silent witness , although it remains a central actor in the crisis. United States released a satellite image that would show that Russia maintains a significant military presence on the border with Ukraine , which in practice is a threat to the integrity of Ukraine and support for the Eastern secessionist  country .

Voting did not stop the fighting at several points in this part of the country . The day began with shootouts between the Ukrainian pro-Russian forces and militias. One person died in Krasnoarmeysk (Donetsk) and several wounded in a village in the Ukrainian rebel region of Lugansk when people tried to keep out of the Ukrainian armored Army. In Slaviansk Ukrainian forces claimed to have dismantled three checkpoints roads that were in rebel hands

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Firm uses 3d printing to make synthetic tissues and organs

April 25th, 2014

 

By University of Oxford.

A University of Oxford spin-out, OxSyBio, will develop 3D printing techniques to produce tissue-like synthetic materials for wound healing and drug delivery. In the longer term the company aims to print synthetic tissues for organ repair or replacement.

Isis Innovation, the University’s research commercialization company, announced today that OxSyBio has raised £1 million from IP Group plc, the developer of intellectual property based businesses, subject to the achievement of milestones. The new company will refine and advance the 3D droplet printing technology devised by Professor Hagan Bayley’s group at Oxford University’s Department of Chemistry.

Professor Bayley’s group has developed a technique to print synthetic tissue-like materials from thousands of tiny water droplets each coated in a thin film mimicking a living cell’s external membrane, and studding these membranes with protein pores so they act like simplified cells. The group’s research was featured on the cover page of Science in April 2013.

Professor Hagan Bayley said: ‘We have been able to print networks of droplets through which electrical impulses can be transmitted in a manner similar to the way cells in the nervous system communicate: the signal moves rapidly and in a specific direction. We also aim to integrate printed tissue-like materials with living tissues, and to print materials that themselves contain living cells.

‘Our long-term goal is to develop a synthetic-tissue printer that a surgeon can use in the operating theatre. In ten years’ time, the use of pieces of synthetic tissue will be commonplace. The fabrication of complex synthetic organs is a more distant prospect.

‘I am delighted to be working with Isis and IP Group to accelerate the development of our new company, OxSyBio. Our goal is to establish ourselves at the frontline of regenerative medicine.’

 

Prototype droplet network printer built by Oxford scientists.



Photo: OU/G Villar

Tom Hockaday, managing director of Isis Innovation, said: ‘This is the type of technology where science fiction can become science fact and Isis is proud to have been involved in creating a company around Professor Bayley’s vision.’

Alan Aubrey, Chief Executive Officer of IP Group, said: ‘Synthetic biology and regenerative medicine will be central to the development of healthcare in the 21st century and IP Group is pleased to support OxSyBio as it seeks to develop products that will help to realise the potential of these exciting and growing areas.’

Video: shows a droplet network created by the team folding up into a hollow ball.

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Ukrainian prime minister says pro-Russia siege part of Kremlin’s script

April 8th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.



 

Ukrainian Special Forces  evicted the headquarters of the regional government in the city of Kharkiv , occupied Sunday by pro-Russian protesters,  according to Ukrainian Minister of interior, Arsen Avakov reported .

” 70 separatist have been arrested ” Avakov wrote in his Facebook page. The interior minister said the police operation was carried out ” without the use of firearms .”

Pro Russian Protesters seized government buildings in the eastern city of Kharkiv , Donetsk and Luhansk overnight on Sunday while demanding a referendum to join Russia , as recently seen in Crimea and Sevastopol . In fact, the pro-Russian protesters Monday unilaterally proclaimed independence of Donetsk .

Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry has demanded an immediate end to Kiev to counter any military preparations in southeastern Ukraine and the concentration of troops in the area , which in his view could lead to a civil war.

These forces are movements aimed at suppressing anti-government protests in Kiev in the area, mostly inhabited by citizens of Russian origin. ” We call for the immediate cessation of military preparations that could lead to an outbreak of civil war,” the ministry said in a statement.

This is the Russian answer to the complaint of Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk , and the president in office , Oleksander Turchinov , who claim that the protests are part of a script written by the Klemlin so that Moscow mimics the ‘ Crimea scenario ‘ .

” An anti Ukrainian plan is being implemented ( … ) according to which , foreign troops will cross the border and take the country ,” said Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk in public statement on his cabinet . ” We will not allow it,” he added.

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Obama calls Russia “regional power”

March 26th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.



This week waging the international policy battles Russia defied provoked the EU and the US, to increase economic sanctions that could end up hurting the Russian economy. The U.S. President  Barack Obama surrounded by some of the world leaders ,  dismissed Russia’s global strength and define it as a ” regional power ” ensuring  that concerns over ” nuclear threat” movements Moscow on its eastern borders  could impose heavier sanctions.

“Russia is a regional power that is threatening some of its regional neighbors ,” he said after setting United States as ” the world’s most powerful country.” In his view the deployment of Russian troops on the border “is more a sign of weakness than strength ” and said that while Moscow is entitled to mobilize his army anywhere within its territory , the movement looks like a “provocation ” in the eyes of the Allies and the world.

In any case Russia right now is not the number one threat to U.S. security . Yes it is nuclear – but the safety of this summit was held in The Hague , and the threat that these materials could fall into the wrong hands. “I’m much more concerned when it comes to the threat of a nuclear bomb in downtown Manhattan ” he said.

The U.S. leader is a member of the G7 which expelled Russia from the G8, and is more willing to change sectored economic sanctions on Russia. Today I talked about restrictions on trade , finance , energy and the arms industry . He acknowledged that ” these measures will have an impact on the global economy,” but in any case the consequences will be greater for Russia.

These measures will be activated only if Putin continues escalating tension and Russia violates Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity again. Not being a NATO ally , the country will have the financial and political support of the Allies, but not the military. The scenario of an armed conflict with Russia is only considered if any of the integrated NATO countries see their security compromised and activate Article 5 of the Washington Treaty , which states that an armed attack against a member state is considered as an attack on all.

‘ Diplomacy or sanctions ‘

” I will act in our defense against any threat ” said Obama of key military positions the United States and other NATO partners protect . Obama has stated that the allies are organizing ” more intensively to ensure that there are contingency plans and the necessary guarantees that will act to our own defense against any threat.”

“There is a choice to be made ,” said Obama at the closing press conference of the Nuclear Security Summit . The reference to the two paths you can take from Russia – ” diplomacy or sanctions ” – reflects the point at which the conflict is . U.S. and EU insist that Russia is proving ” more weakness than strength ” bullying their territorial neighbors.

In the presence of Russian troops on the border , Obama has admitted that Moscow “has the right” to keep its troops in any area if it is their territory. Of course, Russia’s strategy is ” bullying ” and the next move will “depend on how the international community unites .” The message coming out of this summit is aimed at Vladimir Putin that “this is not the way to solve problems in the twenty-first century.”

During the summit the 53 participating countries have made new commitments to maintain nuclear safety. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte , highlighted the commitment of two thirds of the countries present to incorporate into their national law the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ) and allow independent monitor controls to the security of nuclear material.

Russia and China , however , have refused to sign this commitment , as well as Nigeria , India and Pakistan , which are not willing to a create global standards for nuclear safety , as the organization expected. In fact, Obama recalled that even before the threat of Russia, its main concern is still that of a nuclear attack on its own territory.

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The Ukraine ready to join the EU

March 22nd, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.



The heads of state and government of the European Union (EU ) signed today with the Prime Minister of Ukraine , Arseniy Yatseniuk , the next political chapters of the partnership agreement that the previous government was given in Kiev and whose rejection triggered protests in November

“The signing of the political part of the EU-Ukraine agreement symbolizes the importance we place on relationships to move forward,” said President of the European Council , Herman Van Rompuy.

This political support to Ukraine  gives the nation 1,000 million on financial aid from the European Commission ( EC) proposed Wednesday that consist of medium-term loans intended to help Ukraine out of the deep economic and financial crisis it suffers.

European leaders seek and send a signal to Moscow that announced this week that it formalized the incorporation Crimean port of Sevastopol to the Russian Federation .

The EU initially offered the partnership agreement to the Government of Viktor Yanukovich , who preferred to reject it and strengthen its relationship with Russia.

This move sparked protests from the pro-European opposition forces that eventually led to the fall of Yanukovych the President of Ukraine.

‘ To promote the gradual approximation ‘

The partnership agreement is intended to ” promote a gradual approach ” between the EU and Ukraine on common values ​​and special links to share and to encourage the participation of Ukraine in EU policies and programs and agencies.

It also provides an appropriate framework for political dialogue in all areas of mutual interest and serves to ” promote, preserve and strengthen peace and stability.”

It is also the starting point for establishing enhanced economic and business conditions that lead to the gradual integration of Ukraine into the EU internal market , including the establishment of a free trade area .

It will facilitate cooperation on justice , freedom and security in order to strengthen the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The signing of the pact is not linked to any specific date to complete the process of rapprochement between the EU and Ukraine , but a review is expected of it within five years or sooner if the parties agree.

Chapters signed today simply determine the political foundation of bilateral relations and create a number of agencies that will be responsible for monitoring the process of approximation of Ukraine to the EU.

It also includes a commitment to hold bilateral summits at the highest level at least once a year, as well as other ministerial meetings.

Mechanisms for cases in which the parties do not fulfill their obligations are also foreseen .

Ukraine is not resigned to the loss

Moreover, the interim president of Ukraine, Alexandr Turchinov , said Friday that his country is not resigned to accept the loss of Crimea, after Russian President Vladimir Putin , that today promulgated the incorporation of the peninsula in the Russian Federation .

” Ukraine will never be resigned to accept the occupation of their territory and will do everything possible for itx release ,” said Turchinov at a news conference with Secretary General Ban Ki -moon.

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Uknown civilizations: Nan Madol

March 19th, 2014

 

Research by Jaime Ortega.

 



One of the most fantastic and the real-life archaeological sites in the world is Nan Madol. Recently, around a wave of controversy and debate, particularly in connection with the publications to its origins.

Nan Madol — that’s 92 man-made island near the island of Ponape, in which the unknown builders have erected many stone buildings, among which are the palaces, temples, forts, ritual pools. It even has its own underground prison. Island for its canals, replacing streets, reminiscent of Venice. Nan Madol — an artificial archipelago, erected in the middle of the Pacific Ocean — is something amazing. So do not put nothing esoteric in the capital of Nan Madol the legendary continent of the Pacific, known as the “Pacifis” or by analogy with Atlantis — “Pacific Atlantis.”

In the problems of Nan Madol are key questions — Who, when and why erected island? What was his purpose? And how is it related to the history of modern Polynesia? Answers to these questions yet. And it is doubtful that in the near future a mystery of the island will be solved. We can only be satisfied with the theories and hypotheses.

Unfortunately, official science has not found time to somehow lift the veil of secrecy that hangs over the Nan Madol. I now turn to the myths and legends of the Polynesians and the works of unique and even curious figures, what are, for example Helena Blavatsky — founder of the so-called Theosophical Society and Macmillan Brown. The last, Nan Magol was the capital of the rulers of the Pacific continent. This mysterious continent, which, by the way, is called Pacifis and Lemuria extended: from north to south of the Hawaiian Islands to the Marianas. In the east, it was limited to Easter Island.

Extreme western region of esoteric attributed to the island of Fiji. And there is some sense. After all, Fiji also has stone buildings, its appearance similar sanctuaries Nan Magol. As a result of the flood caused believed Pacifis supporters, the fall of the celestial body, the continent sank into the depths of the ocean. Nan Magol, as well as Fiji, Hawaii and Easter Island later, with the lowering of the Pacific Ocean up to the surface.

As with any theory, this view of the mystery of Nan Magol has the right to exist, especially as scientific research proves otherwise. Indeed, the very existence theory Pacifis also lacked a factual evidence. Therefore, the controversy surrounding the Nan Madol will continue.

(N.Morgan) On our exploration of the strange and beautiful, I found an under water ruin called Nan Mandol,Micronesian. The mystery that surrounds this ruin was intriguing enough for me to want to know more. Some believe that aliens built this wonderous city. Again, I marvel at the ingenuity of the ancestors and their never ending en devour to improve their way of life. One of the greatest archeological mysteries in the world, the lost city of Nan Madol. Build on an ancient corals reef and covering more than 11 square miles, this ancient city is made up hundreds of artificial islets, intersected by numerous man made canals.

 

Even more curious, many of the city’s larger islands are connected by submerged tunnels. The mysterious Nan Madol is built entirely out of gigantic magnetized basalt crystals, some weighing as much as fifty tons. In fact, the entire city contains an estimated 250 million tons of the prismatic basalt rock. Native mythology suggests that the stones were magically flown through the air and placed in the city.

 





 



© Wikimedia/Hobe/Holger Behr
Rough map of Nan Madol in the Federated States of Micronesia.

According to the Weather Channel:

Off the shores of a tiny island in the middle of the vast Pacific Ocean are the ruins of an ancient civilization. The remains of Nan Madol are the only standing monument of a civilization built entirely over open water, on a coral reef.

The eerie abandoned stone structures are said to have inspired science-fiction writer H. P. Lovecraft to create a similar sunken city that was home to the monster Cthulhu, says Atlas Obscura.

In reality, Nan Madol was once home to the Saudeleur, who ruled the island of Pohnpei for more than a millennium, reported Smithsonian Magazine. The 92 artificial islands of Nan Madol are thought to have been constructed over the course of several centuries, and then eventually abandoned after 1,000 years of habitation.

Rufino Mauricio, Pohnpei’s only archaeologist, has dedicated his life to studying and preserving the ruins, which are built of 750,000 tons of black basaltic rock.

“We don’t know how they brought the columns here and we don’t know how they lifted them up to build the walls. Most Pohnpeians are content to believe they used magic to fly them,” Mauricio told Smithsonian.

He added that given the size of Pohnpei’s population at the time – fewer than 30,000 people – the construction of Nan Madol is an even larger and more remarkable effort than the Great Pyramids were for the ancient Egyptians.

 



(Image)



Impressive in their own right, these ruins represent the remains of megalithic architecture on an unparalleled scale in Micronesia.

Evidence of the earliest human activity dates back to the first or second century BC. The construction of artificial islets started probably about 8th and 9th century AD. However, the megalithic structures were built in period of 12th to 13th century, about the same time as the stone construction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, or Angkor Wat in Cambodia.

The complex of Nan Madol is constructed on a series of artificial islets in the shallow water next to the eastern shore of the Pohnpei island. The site encloses an area approximately 1.5 km long by 0.5 km wide and it contains nearly 100 artificial islets.



Nan Madol seems to have housed the ruling elite caste of Saudeleur dynasty. It was a political and ceremonial seat of power. As a means of control of their subjects Saudeleur dynasty had succeeded in uniting the clans of Pohnpei. The rulers forced local chieftains to leave their home villages and move to the city where their activities could be more closely observed.

Most of the islets served as residential area, however some of them served special purpose, such as food preparation, coconut oil production or canoe construction. Madol Powe, the mortuary sector, contains 58 islets in the northeastern area of Nan Madol. The centerpiece of the whole complex is the royal mortuary at the islet of Nandauwas, with its 7.5m high walls surrounding the central tomb enclosure.

The population of Nan Madol was probably more than 1000 at a time when whole population of Pohnpei barely reached 25,000. There are no sources of fresh water or possibilities to grow food on Nan Madol so all supplies had to be brought in from the mainland. The population of the city probably included a large number of commoner servants.

Nan Madol is the biggest center of the culture which left numerous other megalithic structures scattered on neighboring shores and on main island of Pohnpei; it all can be found in the area of about 18 square kilometers.



According to local legend, the stones used in the construction of Nan Madol have been flown to the location by means of black magic. Archeologists have located several possible quarry sites on the main island, however the exact method of transportation of construction material is still not determined.

Lovecraft used the story of the ruins as the basis for his R’lyeh, a fictional sunken city and home to Cthulhu, appearing in the short story “Call of Cthulhu”, as described as: “The nightmare corpse-city of R’lyeh … was built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. There lay great Cthulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy vaults . . . until the end.”

The real island of Pohnpei is also mentioned in the story.

Nan Madol had been abandoned by the time the first Europeans arrived, early in the 19th century, most likely declining at the time of the fall of the Saudeleur Dynasty in about 1450. Some have claimed that the ruins are the lost islands of Lemuria, although there is no scientific backing for this claim (or, for that matter, for the existence of Lemuria at all).

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Putin veto’s the EU resolution against Crimea

March 16th, 2014

 

 

By Jaime Ortega.



 

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and Russia have agreed on a truce until next March 21. Under the agreement, the Russian armed forces will not take any action against the Ukrainian Crimea facilities during this period.

Russia yesterday again showed signs of challenging the West ,  in its new role as an advocate for self-determination for ex Soviet nations. Moscow exercised its right to veto the draft resolution of the Security Council of the United Nations which sought to declare the referendum to be held today in Crimea “invalid” to join the Russian Federation. Moscow was alone in a query that will not be recognized by the U.S. or the EU. The growing military tension on the border of the peninsula with the mainland in Ukraine have escalated as of today, and Russian troops await orders from the Kremlin in Crimea.

The draft of the UN declared that the referendum on Crimea ” cannot have validity and serve as a basis to alter in any way the status ” of the Russian-speaking peninsula, and called on ” all states and international organizations to not recognize any impairment with the status of Crimea from this referendum .

” Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin said that Russia has advocated from the outset on the grounds that the referendum does not violate international law , so ” the veto is not a surprise.” China and Russia usual ally in this forum, this time opted for abstention .

Taking positions by soldiers in Crimea deployed from Moscow threatens to provoke an armed clash , especially after the cast of Russian troops that raided the Kherson region , located south of the mainland and outside Ukraine and Crimea. Kiev demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Ukrainian territory.

“Ukraine reserves the right to take all necessary measures to repel this aggression from Russian measures,” said the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. According to Ukrainian media  yesterday , helicopters landed with 40 Marines of Russian armed forces. This was detected by border guards who are stationed in that area of ​​the region bordering Kherson with Crimea. According to local media, these troops then added three armored vehicles and six helicopters, which landed 60 soldiers .

Spokesmen for the Russian forces claimed that its sole purpose was to defend distribution of a gas facility from possible terrorist acts. The Ukrainian Defense Ministry previously pointed out that his forces had repelled an attack by Russian troops in the region.

Prime Minister of Ukraine, Arseniy Yatseniuk announced that the “political section” of the association agreement between Ukraine and the European Union signed on 21 March is still active. The EU part of the agreement that aborted the previous Ukrainian President Victor Yanukovich, can still be revived . The economic part of the partnership agreement is still pending ratification also pending the future of Crimea clarification. With little hope the Ukrainian parliament voted to dissolve the People’s Assembly of Crimea, regional legislature.

 

While in Russia , Thousands of people took to the streets of Moscow to join marches in support and opposition to the Russian intervention in the Ukrainian region of Crimea. The latest polls show that the majority of Russians still considered this Ukrainian peninsula as part of Russia, but the protest has led against the invasion Putin plans outside its borders . About 30,000 people attended the march, chanting slogans such as ” No to war ” or ” For a Russia without Putin and Ukraine .” The concentration was riddled with Russian and Ukrainian flags, and included the participation of the founder of Pussy Riot .

The demonstration of support for the intervention attracted some 15,000 attendees . In the same slogans and chanted slogans as “Crimea, we are with you ! “, “Russia does not abandon his people! ” or “Ukraine and Russia , Unite against fascism.” Many activists carrying flags of the Soviet Union in a march ended with a ceremony at the Revolution Square in the Russian capital , near the Kremlin , where some speakers incited back to the present the figure of the Ukrainian nationalist leader of the Second World War Stepan Bandera, filonazi considered in broad sectors as a legend within and outside Russia.

The bloody riots last month in Kiev , which these days have spread to other Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine are constantly cited in the Crimea and in Russia as a prologue of disorders that can be primed with the Russians throughout the former USSR.

Two people died in the night from Friday to Saturday and five were wounded as  registered in the city of Kharkov , Ukraine in the northeast , where the shooting apparently involved pro-Russian activists having pro-Ukranian resentment . For Moscow these violations are proof that Kiev is losing control of these territories in the east where pro-Russian organizations  who are struggling to open . But the acting president of Ukraine, Aleksander Turchinov , blamed the “agents of the Kremlin” for these violent episodes that occurred during the last week in the eastern cities of the country. Kiev has repeatedly warned of the danger of a Russian invasion as the country would follow the occupation of the Crimea .

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Unknown Civilizations: Sacsayhuaman

March 14th, 2014

 

Sacsayhuaman

 



Sacsayhuamán (also known as Saksaq Waman) is a walled complex near the old city of Cusco. Some believe the walls were a form of fortification, while others believe it was only used to form the head of the Puma that Sacsayhuamán along with Cuzco form when seen from above.

The megalithic structure at Sacsayhuaman in Peru has equaled those tolerances with huge multi-sided blocks which are all completely irregular in a kind of three dimensional jigsaw puzzle.



The best-known zone of Saksaywaman includes its great plaza and its adjacent three massive terrace walls. The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in prehispanic America and display a precision of fitting that is unmatched in the Americas.

Sacsayhuaman is said by many Archaeologist to surpass the Incas, by as much as  7 millennium. Some estimate the ruins to be as 10.000 BC. The Incas, took strategic advantage of the site, something seen with Rome constructing over the Balbeek temple around 9th BCE.

In addition, the Inca claimed to have finished just twenty years before the Spaniards arrived, and only about thirty-five years before the empire fell, yet the Spaniards did not described the fortress as being new or even near new, but looked like it had existed for a very long time, and frequently asked the Inca they conquered who built it—which the Inca often claimed for their own. However, the engineering accomplishments of Sacsayhuaman tell a different story.

Take for an example the fantastic construction of huge stones weighing hundreds of tons so perfectly cut and fitted, modern man cannot understand how it was accomplished with the types of tools known to the ancients. When the Inca later occupied this site, they tried to repair a few of the damaged walls, where a some anciently set big stones have fallen over the years, probably from earthquakes in the past. Their efforts show a lack of ability to come close to the original, magnificent work that is often attributed to them.

In addition, when the Spanish arrived, they used Inca labor to build on top of some of the ancient walls and structures. However, after two earthquakes, all the Inca had built came tumbling down while all the older pre-Inca walls and structures remained standing beneath the new, destroyed Inca work. Just look at the numerous examples below of excellent pre-Inca work, so precise and exact in fit and interlocking structure that modern engineers are amazed, and compare it to the few Inca repairs that are obvious of far lesser quality and knowledge. The difference is astounding:

 



Top Left: note the small rocks the Inca used to try and repair where a much larger stone had fallen; Right: Another place where the Inca used small rocks along the top course of the wall where some boulders tumbled down anciently; Bottom: An example of Inca stonework known to  have been built during Inca times. Note the different between the repairs and this latter haphazard stacking of rocks with the giant, carved and perfectly fitted stonework of an earlier time

 

Note the different abilities shown in these two examples of ancient stonework. Left: More recent Inca work; Right: Older stonework of Sacsayhuaman

 

 



Note the difference between these two lintel doorways. Left: An older doorway using large, carved blocks; Right: A more recent Inca doorway using small, non-carved, loosely fitting lintel and rocks

 



Left: Note the Inca repairs on the wall seen above the llama’s  head; Right: More obvious Inca repairs showing their lack of ability to cut and fit stonework—they used small stones with which they could work, even tough the missing larger stones were available for use

 



Top Left: Top level of the three walls at Sacsayhuaman. Note the clump of stones in the center right where the Inca tried to repair the top wall; Top Right: More obvious Inca repair work; Bottom: Pre-Inca work—note the detail of fitting a small triangular rock in the center, which was beyond Inca capability

 



The lower wall. Note 1) the top stones that were torn down by the early Spanish to build their own churches and houses—they stopped lower down because they simply could not dislodge them; 2) the fortress overlooked the valley below (Cuzco)

 



Left: Note the perfectly rounded carving of all three stones of varying sizes, and especially the vertical cut and matching line to the right of the bottom stone so the middle stone overlapped for a stronger joint. In none of the repairs made by the Inca before the Spanish arrived was any such engineering capability shown; Right: Note the planning, even if an enemy could breach the lower wall, to get to the next level they had to pass through this single opening, that had an upward approach and steps, slowing progress, and having to pass the defenders on two levels above them

 



When it is said the Inca worked on Sacsayhuaman before the Spanish arrived, it should be noted that their work is very obvious, using small rocks, most unfitted, to fill in the missing huge stones that were once in place. Inca work was far inferior to that of the original builders



Even in small walls, care was taken to carve rounded corners, interlock stones, and even angle small stones to smooth off the top and make sure everything fit. Inca small stonework was simply a  haphazard stacking of stones as shown in the above images

(See the next post, “The Inca: Occupiers or Creators – Part V,” for a real look at the Inca as they were, not as historians want us to believe they were)

The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco. The longest of three walls is about 400 meters. They are about 6 meters tall. The estimated volume of stone is over 6,000 cubic meters. Estimates for the weight of the largest Andesite block vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes.

According to Graham Hancock, archaeologist, one of those stones is 29 feet high and weighs more than 360 tons; the equivalent of 500 passenger automobiles. That stone is not even at the base of the wall. Yet, the quarry from which the granite blocks were cut was more than 10 miles away.

Sacsayhuaman in Quechua the language means “Satisfied Falcon” 

Although it is commonly referred to as a ‘fortress‘, the early chroniclers were unanimous in their opinion that it had a reputation as a Royal House of the Sun:

* Garcilaso de la Vega, who sates in his “Comentarios Reales” (“Royal Comments”) that people from Cusco knew, from ancient times, that this architectonic complex was actually a Royal House of the Sun. In chapter VI of his Seventh Book he says: “…an Inca with royal blood left the fortress as a messenger of the Sun…he left the fortress and not the Temple of the Sun, because it was said that he was a messenger of war not of peace, that the fortress was the House of the Sun”.

* Pedro Cieza de León, Spanish chronicler of the conquest times, states in his book “El Señorío de los Incas” (“The Incan Dominion”) that the Royal House of the Sun was located to the north of the city of Cusco, within a collado.”

* Martín de Murúa, also a Spanish chronicler, states that Sacsayhuamán “…was, at first, the House of the Sun, and nowadays it is only a witness of its ruin”.

 

Some of the stones show indentations which may have served a purpose in the construction process.

  

Although a substantial part of the walls has been removed over the ages (as much as 3m along their lengths according to archaeologists), what remains does so because it was too large to move.

Like all Inca stonework there is still mystery surrounding how they were constructed. Thanks to an as yet unexplained precision in stone-cutting, the structure is built in such a way that a single piece of paper will not fit between two stones. It is believed that Sacsayhuaman shared the same stone works seen in places like Puma Punku, and Giza. They have detected “thermo-heat” as if he rocks were dissolved by an acid or even cut with diamond drilling.

This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the limestone blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward (ubiquitous in Inca architecture), is thought to increase the ruins’ incredible durability–devastating earthquakes in Cuzco have left it undamaged.

The site remains a mystery which is making Archaeologist to reconsider the age of the site, and set it to a much older age, showing that the America pre-Inca and Mayan civilizations could be up to 5.000 BCE, older than the Mesopotamian civilization.

Archaeologist have also suggested that the ruins show human kind has developed high levels of civilization way before the evolutionary agenda, which disestablishes the notion of nomad tribes wondering the earth surpass the age of known civilizations.

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War games in the Crimean border

March 14th, 2014

 

By Jaime Ortega.



Once again Crimea felt the Russian army running across the border three days before the referendum that can deliver the peninsula to the Russians. On Wednesday the Russian government had denied any military buildup along the neighboring country. But finally yesterday the Russian Defense Ministry acknowledged new military operations in several regions bordering the Ukrainian border. These ‘ war games ‘ employed Russian armored and airborne troops in the regions of Belgorod , Kursk and Rostov were defined by Russians as intensive training of artillery units, helicopters and at least 10,000 soldiers.

The new Russian drill comes after NATO announced its own fighter deployment in countries bordering Ukraine to the west. Also the Ukrainian army has mobilized maneuvers in various parts of the country, although the Kiev government has ruled out military intervention in Crimea, where  unmarked troops have taken several Ukrainian bases and have besieged others. The mysterious soldiers are Russians, but Moscow has refused to recognize and has even warned that it reserves the right to resort to the use of military force in Crimea if the ethnic Russian population in the peninsula is threatened.

The announcement confirms what the Russians Ukrainians  leadership fears. The first suspicions came through photographs showing columns of military vehicles in a border town called Lopan , less than an hour’s drive from the Ukrainian city of Kharkov . According to these sources , about 1,500 paratroopers have jumped the Russian Ivanovo military base in Rostov . The maneuvers will last two weeks, according to the Defense Ministry explained on its website , which stands at more than 8,500 soldiers involved .

According to the Ukrainians, the Russians have accumulated 80,000 men on the border with Ukraine in recent weeks . Since late last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered exercises at a large-scale military near the border with Ukraine.

Although the Crimea reigns defensiveness to the next steps of the new government in Kiev, which to date has compromised is military control of Ukrainians on the peninsula , where the Russians do not stop winning positions. Yesterday the commander of a Ukrainian core surrounded by the Russian military did a desperate call to his superiors to give him instructions to shoot. As reported by AFP ,  Yuliy Mamchur , is commanding the airbase on Belbek , who issued a desperate call in a videotaped speech that was broadcast on Ukrainian television: ” To avoid armed confrontations , I ask you to tell us what possible  measurement can we take if their families are threatened , “he said before warning that” if you do not take a decision according to our armed forces condition, including opening fire if necessary . ”

Mamchur  mentioned that Ukrainian forces “cannot resist long before Russian troops outnumber them, better armed and better trained , but we are ready to fulfill our duty to the end ” . During the last days of the Russian strategy ” they have become more demanding .”

Defense Minister Igor Tenyukh spoke by phone with this military to ensure that it had taken ” urgent action ” to support its base, but did not specify what they were.

To reinforce this resistance the Ukrainian parliament yesterday approved the creation of the National Guard, a new militarized police force. The new force , formed with dependent Interior Ministry troops , ” will defend the Ukrainian people from internal and external aggression ” as the Acting President of Ukraine said . According to government sources , some 50,000 Ukrainians and citizens have been willing to join the ranks of the Guard, whose training camps begin work tomorrow Friday.

In all, some 20,000 Ukrainians will soon be the ” special reserve of the National Guard ” and fulfill the tasks of ” safeguarding peace and stability in the country ,” wrote the Interior Minister Arsen Avakov on his Facebook page . To Kiev the creation of the National Guard of Ukraine is a very important step for the country ” in response to attempts from outside to destabilize the situation ,” according to the minister of interior .

Tension grew throughout the day and evening as Ukrainians accused Russian forces to have shot one of their reconnaissance aircrafts when flying near the isthmus connecting the peninsula with the Ukraine mainland . This area has been installed  with outposts in recent days and has seen soldiers digging trenches to stop an eventual advancement of Ukrainian troops in the center and west of the country , who are more loyal to Kiev than Russia.  Although the Ukrainian army has begun maneuvers in various parts of the country , the Ukrainian government has publicly ruled out military intervention in the peninsula. Ukrainian military reported that is the second incident of this type and in this case the shots came from a Russian position in Armiansk . The Ukrainian aircraft was unarmed .

Meanwhile in Donetsk and Kiev  a protester was stabbed to death by supporters of Moscow during protests in this pro-Russian stronghold .

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