Monday, May 21, 2018

Iran's President Rohani needs to meet with Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghanit.

The Taliban are using the Iranian border to strengthen and attack innocent Afghan districts. I would hope President Rohani would find a common and stabilized border with Afghanistan better policy than an unstable border potentially used for drug and arms smuggling.

I sincerely doubt the Iranian government wants to bring suffering to the people of Afghanistan by further violence by the Taliban.

PHOTO COURTESY: NPRMay 21, 2018

Taliban fighters (click here) closed in on another district in Afghanistan on Sunday as officials sought to reassure an increasingly angry public that security would improve.


On Sunday, the insurgents were besieging the governor’s compound in Ajrestan district in Ghazni, south of the capital Kabul, although officials said reinforcements had arrived and were relieving police defending the town.


The fighting in Ghazni, which has long had a heavy Taliban presence, follows several days of fighting in Farah province, on the other side of Afghanistan on the border with Iran where the insurgents came close to overrunning the provincial capital.


General John Nicholson, the top US commander in Afghanistan visited Farah on Saturday with the ministers of the interior and defense and the head of the NDS intelligence service.

“Farah did not fall and Farah will never fall,” he said, calling on the Taliban to accept President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of peace talks.

“We will stay with you until we bring this war to a peaceful conclusion,” he said.

He met local officials in the governor’s compound and heard a bitter litany of complaints about the failure of the government to protect the city and the province, where the Taliban control many areas....

Whenever Trump reaches a fever pitch, just tune into FOX News and find out what the mess is about.

Now, John Brennan is responsible for the loss of Crimea to Russia. Really? That is amazing. Supposedly, there was an FBI covert agent trying to find out if the Trump campaign was involved with foreign governments. Well, from the report in the Washington Post, it looks like the agent was right on. If the agent was talking to Papadopoulos, he or she was right on. I still come back to, other than FOX News trying to be relevant to the Mueller investigation, what is the issue?

Gossip to understand who this agent was? There is no reason to expose an FBI agent concerned for the country. Cheney did with Valerie Plame, because, the "W" White House was exposed by her husband, Joe Wilson (click here).

This is actually a mystery? Not. George Papadopoulos spoke with an Australian diplomate, Alexander Downer about issues involving foreign influence in the Trump campaign. Then the FBI, under Comey, began to wonder about Russia and it's influence. What is the issue?

...George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016...

There is no issue in regard to the FBI's investigation under Comey. If there was an agent assigned to the report from Australia, everyone was doing their job. Considering we know that Trump and Comey had serious discussions regarding Russian prostitutes I would say the FBI agent gathered whatever evidence was available to him/her and consolidated a report to the Director. What didn't show up in the report is what the Mueller investigation would disclose later, in that Trump's campaign had direct contact with Russian operatives. Comey didn't know that yet. It was exposed by the Mueller investigation from my understanding.

THERE IS NO THERE THERE, except for FOX and Trump attempting to drum up some kind of political drumbeat for their own purposes. While a paranoid president is worried about the facts, he does not have the right to expose an FBI agent.

May 18, 2018
By Robert Costa, Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger and Devlin Barrett

...In late summer, (click here) the professor met with Trump campaign co-chairman Sam Clovis for coffee in Northern Virginia, offering to provide foreign-policy expertise to the Trump effort. In September, he reached out to George Papadopoulos, an unpaid foreign-policy adviser for the campaign, inviting him to London to work on a research paper.

Many questions about the informant’s role in the Russia investigation remain unanswered. It is unclear how he first became involved in the case, the extent of the information he provided and the actions he took to obtain intelligence for the FBI. It is also unknown whether his July 2016 interaction with Page was brokered by the FBI or another intelligence agency.

The FBI commonly uses sources and informants to gather evidence and its regulations allow for use of informants even before a formal investigation has been opened. In many law enforcement investigations, the use of sources and informants precedes more invasive techniques such as electronic surveillance....

John Brennan in Ukraine:

The Ukrainian upheaval which started with the Maidan was Feb 18, 2014 – Feb 23, 2014. John Brennan better have been on his way to Ukraine after the events of Ukraine. The USA, Germany, Russia, and Ukraine were bound by a treaty that prevented interference by any of the parties in internal affairs of Ukraine.

Brennan had limited options to his efforts to gather evidence about interference by Russia. He could not start any initiative without evidence that the treaty was violated by any party.

Crimea was going to fall to Russia's influence with a broken treaty. Putin was heavily involved in Crimea and often used the island as a political prop in a promise to his nationalist rant of the "Russian people."

So, John Brennan who is above reproach and an untarnished reputation, did his job. He went to Ukraine to learn what he could and understand if the treaty was violated or not. From that fact finding of John Brennan came the approach by President Obama and Chancellor Merkel to bring criticism of Russia for it's interference. What followed the interference by Russia, evidence the treaty was broken, were the sanctions. President Obama did his job. He was able to leverage sanctions for the illegal actions of Russia.

John Brennan did his job and he did it well. President Obama was right to carry out sanctions against Russia for a violated treaty that was to protect the lives of the people of Ukraine. 

April 16, 2014

...Ukraine (click here) is on the brink of civil war, Vladimir Putin has said, and he should know because the country is already in the midst of a covert intelligence war. Over the weekend, CIA director John Brennan travelled to Kiev, nobody knows exactly why, but some speculate that he intends to open US intelligence resources to Ukrainian leaders about real-time Russian military maneuvers. The US has, thus far, refrained from sharing such knowledge because Moscow is believed to have penetrated much of Ukraine’s communications systems – and Washington isn’t about to hand over its surveillance secrets to the Russians....

...So what kind of conversations did Brennan have during his visit? There’s no way of knowing for sure of course. But, according to my sources, and based on my experience of reporting on the Russian invasion of Georgia, the US-Ukraine information exchange would go a lot further than simply tracking numbers and motions of Russian tanks and soldiers. The operative term here is ‘non-lethal’ help – that remains Washington’s official position....

These deaths should have never occurred and would not have occurred if Russia had not broken the treaty by entering Crimea and annexing it. This is a violation of international agreements to protect smaller countries from those capable of large military operations. The sanctions are to bring an end to the violence and end the deaths taking place in Ukraine. Russia is the ONLY country actively involved in the civil war of Ukraine. Recently, NATO countries were able to help the current Ukraine government in providing military aid in the way of weapons. It is believed if there is a balance of power in the country, the civil war will be forced to abide by Minsk II (click here).

There is nothing inappropriate by the Obama intelligence agencies and Ukraine is finding stability as it can and the people are beginning to rebuild their country. They have great hope the country will someday be reunited in peace.

Ukraine death toll
Deaths by regions
RegionCasualtiesTime period
Luhansk region1,185 civilians and rebels killed1 May 2014 – 15 February 2015

Donetsk region4,572 civilians and rebels killed6 April 2014 – 31 December 2017

Luhansk region1,328 civilians and rebels killed6 April 2014 – 31 December 2017

There were no political ambitions when the Russian investigation began.

December 31, 2017

Washington — An Australian diplomat's (click here) tip appears to have helped persuade the FBI to investigate Russian meddling in the U.S. election and possible coordination with the Trump campaign, The New York Times reported Saturday.

Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016 that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the report said. Downer, a former foreign minister, is Australia's top diplomat in Britain....

So far the Mueller investigation has gone out of it's way to prevent conflict of interest. There have been at least two members of the Mueller team reassigned to different investigations because of an email exchange that supported Hillary Clinton. This is a non-issue.

This level of meddling in elections of The West is not new to the FBI. Just because this was occurring within an election does not mean there was no corruption. The FBI has offices in other countries, besides, the USA.

January 8, 2018
By Lucan Ahmad Way and Adam Case

Russian interference in the 2016 election (click here) has gotten an enormous amount of U.S. media attention. But Russia has been intervening in foreign elections for decades. Has it been effective?

We decided to find out. To assess the impact of Russian meddling, we put together and examined a data...

What doesn't make sense to me is why this is even a question with the president. If Donald Trump is actually interested in the best interest of the USA he would be applauding the FBI for it's ability to find facts that break USA laws. I don't say that naively. The FBI should be involved in securing the elections of this country. They should be involved at all levels.

The country is moving into a "fairness model" for elections by reassessing Gerrymandered districts in the US House. This is a citizens' movement that is finding interest by political parties. The fact political parties are involved is not corruption. The goals for citizens and organized political parties are the same; a return to fairness.

It is a known fact Russia was tampering with the 2016 elections. 

It is known.

It is known.

It is known.

What is the issue?

Sorry if retaking the voter integrity of the USA back from corruption doesn't fit the president's plans. It is time the American citizens have peace of mind when entering the voting booth to cast their ballot. This mess has been going on since "W" and his introduction of computer voting machines. Today, those programs have been proven to be a problem and they are grossly outdated.

What is the problem?

The thought would not be complete, unless, I find it odd Trump can't get along with Australian leadership. Australia is one of our most trusted allies. It stood with us in Afghanistan and Iraq. There is no reason for Donald Trump not to get along with the leaders of Australia.

Trump's methods of conducting business is to have flamboyant words said about him and the expression of loyalty. I am sorry, but, that is idiot stuff. There is no need for expressed loyalty between long standing allies. And to think other leaders have to flatter him in public in order to win his graces is horse hockey. It is complete nonsense and it is intended to humiliate the other leadership.

To take it one step further, Donald Trump's leadership model is to exert retribution if he doesn't get his way. Whether anyone wants to say it or not, that is coersion. It is a crime. People are being intimidated and humiliated to bring about results from the people of the USA. These practices need to end. Retribution against ANYONE is a crime. It is intended to obtain power and/or favors. It is outrageous it has gone on this long.

Leadership in the Oval Office and the president's cabinet does not come with training wheels. These practices are illegal.

...Trump campaign adviser George Papadopoulos told the diplomat, Alexander Downer, during a meeting in London in May 2016 that Russia had thousands of emails that would embarrass Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, the report said. Downer, a former foreign minister, is Australia's top diplomat in Britain....

There it is. There was plenty of political content and it was all to benefit Trump. My guess is that George Papadopoulos got scared. Somewhere along the way, he realized there was a thumb on the scale of the 2016 elections to benefit Trump AND by that time the DNC was already realizing they were hacked. They didn't at the time until it was investigated. So, Mr. Papadopoulos simply realized he was in hot water and he wanted to find a way out. For all I know, he might have actually been scared for the country.

So, the writing was on the wall and there was no covert agenda by US Justice or the FBI. AG Lynch was following long established protocol when she spoke with James Comey about the issues with emails and the Anthony Weiner case. I might add, the DNC or Clinton camp never stated the investigation into a staffer's husband was politically motivated either.

What I found disheartening about Israel's reporting of the Gaza violence...

...was the fact Hamas activists, even though disarmed, were killed because of their identity. Hamas has proven itself to be a defender of the people of Gaza. They are considered terrorists. If they are unarmed, how are they, terrorists?

The label of Hamas should not give anyone the right to kill a person. Unarmed Palestinians protested on the Gaza border, that does not give Israel blanket permission to kill them because they are on some kind of "terrorist list."


May 18, 2018

PM Abbasi arrives in Istanbul.

Istanbul: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (click here) on Friday hosts Muslim leaders for an Istanbul summit to condemn Israel over the killing of Gaza protesters, seeking to bridge divisions with the Islamic world and issue a strong message.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi has also landed in the Turkish capital to attend the extraordinary summit of Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). Foreign Minister Khurram Dastgir and other senior officials are accompanying the prime minister.

Pakistan has called for an independent and transparent investigation of violence in Gaza. While condemning the human rights violations by the occupying Israeli force, PM Abbasi is likely to reiterate support of the people and Government of Pakistan for the establishment of a viable, independent and contiguous state of Palestine....

It isn't as though there are no other places in the world with extremist tensions, but, every measure for the safety of citizens and government alike are taken. The severe consequences of the Palestinians along the Gaza border is raising tensions in other countries as well, yet Israel makes to measure of such issues when acting against the Palestinians at the border of Gaza.

Human rights demand unarmed people protesting should not be killed because of their identity or reputation. If their voices are heard and considered important, it can end decades of hate and violence.

Protests are a form of outreach; it should never be ignored for the hope it carries. They were unarmed. Israel has to realize such deaths will reverberate internationally. It is irresponsible for such killing to take place.


May 18, 2018

Demonstrators hurl stones towards Indian police, during a protest against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the US embassy move to Jerusalem, in Srinagar, May 18, 2018.

Indian occupied Kashmir (click here) came to a virtual standstill on Saturday as separatist groups called for a shutdown to protest a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Muslim-majority region gripped by deadly new tensions and clashes with rival Pakistan.

Shops shut and streets in the main city, Srinagar, were empty except for police and paramilitary patrols as authorities imposed maximum security for Modi’s one-day visit.

Authorities cut mobile internet services in the region and ordered a curfew in parts of Srinagar....

On May 21st...

Stanislav Petrov awarded World Citizen Award for averting a potential nuclear war in 1983 after correctly guessing Russian early warning system at fault.

November 29, 2017
By Rajan Pokhrel

Kathmandu: A Sherpa climber (click here) who holds the Guinness World Record in Mt Everest climbing for 13 years is all set to lose his title after the Supreme Court invalidated the claims he made to the government authorities while obtaining a summit certificate.
A joint bench of Justices Cholendra Shumsher JB Rana and Dambar Bahadur Shahi yesterday issued a verdict to quash the government’s decision, saying Pemba Dorje Sherpa of Rolwaling, Dolakha, failed to produce substantial proof to authenticate his claim of climbing the world’s highest peak in eight hours and 10 minutes on 21 May, 2004....

On May 21, 1832, (click here) a group of delegates supporting President Andrew Jackson met in Baltimore to conduct the first official convention of the Democratic Party, setting some trends that lasted more than a century....

1927 Aviator Charles Lindbergh, in the Spirit of St. Louis, lands in Paris after the first solo air crossing of the Atlantic.

1932 First transatlantic solo flight by a woman, Amelia Earhart lands in Ireland.

Born in 1921 in Moscow, Russia, Andrei Sakharov, a nuclear physicist and Soviet dissident. He was renowned as the designer of the Soviet Union's Third Idea, a codename for Soviet development of thermonuclear weapons. He was an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975. He died of a heart attack on December 14, 1989 at the age of 68.

In 1944, actor Burgess Meredith, age 36 weds actress Paulette Goddard, age 33 at David O'Selznick's Beverly Hills home.

I am quite certain the Pakistani family did not expect their daughter to die of gun violence in the USA.

May 20, 2018

My sincerest sympathies (click here) to Sabika Sheikh's family and friends. I am sure she was marvelous. The void of her presence will always be there, it just is easier to bear with time. 

The United Nation's has a Small Arms Treaty. Those that signed it should recognize the danger of exporting guns to the USA and end that trade.

Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi (click here) on Sunday condoled with the bereaved family of Sabika Sheikh, a student who died in the school fire incident in Texas USA on May 18.

The premier along with Sindh Governor Muhammad Zubair visited the house of Sabika in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi and expressed his deep sorrow on the sad demise of the Pakistani student.

Abbasi called Sabika an intelligent student and said the whole nation is sad on her death. He prayed to God to give the family courage to bear the loss.

“Extremism was not an issue limited to a particular country or region,” the premier said, adding it is a global issue. He urged the international community to find out the real reasons behind the incident.

“We have to learn from each other’s experiences,” Abbasi stressed.

Sabika’s father said that Nawaz Sharif has specially sent the premier for condolence. We have a great respect for him and we are thankful to him. Uncle of Sabeeka Abdul Jalil Sheikh said that the family is thankful to the PM and the Governor of Sindh....

The Brits are looking for a Russian "sleeper cell" to bring to justice.

I doubt Americans want to live with this level of oppression. Maybe Trump really does have something to worry about in the methods of his beloved friend Vladimir Putin. Putin's methods are sometimes final. But, if Trump was this worried about trouble from Russia, why does he let them in the front door of the White House? They are probably living in the basement by now.

The Mueller investigation is vital to the USA's national security. I hope it is as thorough as it needs to be.

May 20, 2018
By Jim Edwards

Sergei Skripal left hospital (click here) last week after recovering from an assassination attempt.


One creepy prospect for the Skripals is that the would-be assassins may still be in the UK, as sleeper agents living undercover as normal people.


"An actual 'illegal' with an existing, years-long 'legend' would attract attention by going missing all of a sudden — i.e. friends, co-workers or neighbours might report a missing person to police," a Russia intelligence expert tells Business Insider.



Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal left hospital last week after recovering from an assassination attempt. Skripal and his daughter were poisoned with a nerve agent at his home in Salisbury in March by Russian spies, British counter-terror authorities have said.
One creepy prospect for the Skripals is that the would-be assassins may still be in the UK, living undercover as normal people, Russian espionage experts say. It's easy to smuggle people out of Britain. For those of us not in the espionage business, it seems surprising that the attackers would stay in the country rather than escape immediately.
But Russia probably left its agents in place for an extended period after the attack.

Russia probably has more "sleeper" agents living as ordinary British people in the UK right now that during the Cold war, according to Victor Madeira, a senior fellow at The Institute for Statecraft, who testified to Parliament about Russian covert interference in Britain. Russia's "illegals" program places agents in Western countries where they live apparently normal lives for years, all the while quietly collecting influential contacts....
Morning Papers

The Rooster

"Okeydoke"

So, Trump is back peddling about all the tariffs and measures with China to bring American jobs back.

Is that really a surprise?

President Trump has no direction to his administration. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin is setting foreign policy. Was there another session of musical chairs?

Trump is dumping his responsibilities to the closest available scapegoat. The scapegoat is usually the Democrats and President Obama. He throws a temper tantrum when there is real work to do to carry out his campaign promises in hopes it impacts the country's politics. That is not a president interested in the country.

May 21, 2018

By Eileen Sullivan

Washington — President Trump defended (click here) his administration’s approach to trade in a series of tweets on Monday following a three-day negotiation session that ended with little clarity.

In his first Twitter post of the day, Mr. Trump questioned why Democrats and the previous administration did not “do something about Trade with China.”...


Donald Trump cannot fire the President of China, so he let's Wall Street be the excuse maker for his ? policies? According to Mnuchin, Trump can't concentrate on foreign negotiations to end a nuclear threat in the Pacific while deciding on tariff policies to protect and return American jobs.

Wall Street had this great rally when Trump took office. Wall Street is currently spending that rally. When that rally is gone or somewhat depleted in profit taking, Wall Street gets nervous. Wall Street is nervous and Mnuchin doesn't want to look like a fool that provided a fist full of cash in January 2017. Wall Street is not smart. They are greedy and they rely on the government to fill it's cash coffers. It is a bubble and bust Wall Street again. It will fail and probably, just like "W" in the last year of office. 

Trump has no resolve for the US economy except to reach beyond rational policy and do as demanded by the people that will produce his jobs that he promised the American people. At the top of that Wall Street list are the Koch brothers, too. The Kochs have a huge interest in China and they haven't got a clue as to how to run their businesses with tariffs in the balance. The private family businesses and Wall Street are freaking. Next, Trump will come out with decisions to sign NFTA, TPP and TiPP. No Iran nuclear signature on a completely clear assessment by the IAEA; but; for Wall Street anything. Giving up the Iran Deal is Trump's politics, can't violate that simply because Iran is in compliance.

Trump is a really weak president that allows the poisoning of people so companies can repopulate their profits and provide jobs that will ultimately result in cancers and deaths. The jobs Trump and his minions are placing back on the job market will ultimately kill people. GOT THAT! The jobs in China Trump is promoting are linked to profitability of his family, company or friends. Why does Trump have a low unemployment rate, because, he doesn't care about the well being of the people. 

Some time ago there were studies that came out saying Caucasian men in their 50s were dying prematurely in the USA. What if they are so demoralized by their own lives, they know they will die before their wives? What if their deaths in their 50s are okay with them. What if it is part of their culture? Why is it cancer research is okay with Republican spending?

I talked to them. They know they live life wide open; smoking, drinking and in and out of jail and in and out of marriages and paying for many children's support. They don't care, that is part of being a man. Their lives are what they are and they will work jobs they know will kill them prematurely. Those are the jobs Trump's administration is bringing back to the USA job market. Jobs that were eliminated decades ago because THEY KILL and they not only kill the employees but, the community's mortality issues increase because of adverse emissions. THAT IS THE TRUMP LEGACY AND ECONOMY. Bring back the dead.

And what Wall Street do? What do the Koch Brothers do? They rack in the cash hand over fist. Deaths? The companies do provide health insurance, right? Because as a country we cannot afford to treat every American for cancer.

In Flint, Michigan the Governor and his legislature decided a new definition of Emergency Manager was necessary. This EM was allowed to dissolve democracy and bring the balance sheet of the city's treasury to zero and/or profitability. Without any government oversight and disregarding any given by the Obama EPA, Governor Snyder's ruthless EM ended the era of clear water for Flint, Michigan and dosed the entire city with lead.

I suppose what the Governor and his EM didn't know about the Flint River water was better than actually having a conscience. And, no one will tell me Snyder, a Michigander, didn't know the toxic content of the Flint River which received all kinds of industrial discharge.

That is the ruthlessness citizens of the USA are dealing with; disease once under control is alive again, miscarriages because of in utero birth defects reduces a city's population and children are now known to be permanently handicapped due to lead's effect on the brain and nervous system. An entire town in Michigan was not only dosed with lead causing catastophic health problems; it was ignored and allowed to fester for an entire year, before a pediatrician finding heartache after heartache finally came forward to break the silence. What if the silence wasn't broken? What would Flint look like today. 

And the Emergency Manager? The law was rescinded with a vote in an election where Snyder was given a second term. The people didn't mind if Snyder was helping the Michigan economy, they simply didn't want him killing people and maiming them and causing miscarriages. What does Snyder do, once re-elected? He institutes the law all over again. The law that has caused such pain and suffering in Flint, Michigan is instituted all over again. The very same ruthlessness is being witnessed by Scott Pruitt and the USA EPA while he spends the American people's money with abandon for his own creature comforts.

When Donald Trump was elected it was the hope of those that voted for him that he would make the Caucasian man dying in their 50s, grow old. They believed Donald Trump would correct the course of wayward policies in DC that were established by "The Deep State." They believed in Republican rhetoric that if an employer was unfairly burdened by taxes it prevented new jobs from being created. They believed in the Trickle Down theory no matter how completely wayward that was. They believed God would finally shine in them and they would have a better quality of life, rather than squalor where custody of their children hung in the balance due to profound poverty.

Donald Trump speaks the rhetoric and FOX news injects it deeper. There is no magic to end the American suffering. Trump's strategies for jobs and wealth are written by a man Mnuchin that sat in the legislative chambers to state, "I know what I am doing, so vote for the tax reform bill."

Trump has no policies and the country is in free fall. That may be exactly what he wants, too.

There is no peace in Pakistan.

It overflows into Afghanistan and it is primarily because of the nukes. Pakistan is known to have a nuclear capacity and it is a target for terrorists. It's nuclear capacity also makes Pakistan a target for other nuclear nations. No matter how one looks at the nuclear capacity of a country, it is more of a headache than not.


May 17, 2018
By Muhammad Zafar

Colonel Sohail Abid (click here) embraced martyrdom during an operation in Balochistan on May 16, 2018, in which a high-value target of banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and two other terrorists were killed.

Quetta: Security forces on Thursday (click here) killed the Balochistan chief of proscribed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi during an intelligence-based operation in the Killi Almas area of Balochistan, said a statement from the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

A Pakistan Army officer, Colonel Sohail Abid, was martyred during the operation and four other soldiers were injured during the security operation.

The operation was conducted on intelligence obtained from a high-value terrorist arrested earlier by security forces. Intelligence pointed to the presence of the LeJ chief and presence of suicide bombers at the terrorist hideout....

"Good Night, Moon"

The waxing crescent

6.3 days old

38.6 percent lit

I have gotten weary of people that play with the nature of Earth. So, let's begin to defend the idea there actually was a real beginning to the universe and Milky Way Galaxy. I think Paul Sutter is able to put it in words that all should be able to understand. The underlying FACT to his description is the speed of light. The speed of light is a law of nature. It is measurable and consistent.

The Earth is 4.543 billion (with a b) years old. It is not 8000 or so years old. Earth is ancient and the speed of light is a reliable method of proving it. 

April 22, 2018
By Paul Sutter

...Because light takes time to travel (click here) from one place to another, we don't see stars and galaxies as they are now, but as they were thousands, millions or billions of years ago. That means that looking deeper into the universe is also looking deeper into the past. We see a lot of quasars in the distant cosmos, which means these objects were very common billions of years ago. But there are hardly any quasars in our local, up-to-date neighborhood. And they’re common enough in the far-away (that is, young) universe that we should see a lot more in our vicinity.


The simple conclusion: The universe was different in its past than it is today....

...We live in an expanding universe. On average, galaxies are getting farther away from all other galaxies. Sure, some small local collisions happen from leftover gravitational interactions, like how the Milky Way is going to collide with Andromeda in a few billion years. But at large scales, this simple, expansionary relationship holds true. This is what astronomer Edwin Hubble discovered in the early 20th century, soon after finding that "galaxies" were actually a thing....

The picture to the right above is an artists depiction of the Milky Way Galaxy. Not the universe, just one galaxy in the universe.