In less than 14 years this Argentine glacier in Patagonia has retrested 2 full miles.

Upsala Glacier, Argentina

An interesting product of the calving of the rapidly retreating Upsala Glacier in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park.

Photo: Piero... 

...Remotely sensed data, (click here) including astronaut images, have recorded the position of the ice front over the years. A comparison of this October 2013 image with older data (January 2004 and January 2001, as well as October 2009) indicates that the ice front has moved backwards -- upstream -- about 3 kilometers (2 miles). This retreat is believed by scientists to indicate climate warming in this part of South America. The warming not only causes the ice mass to retreat, but also to thin. A study of 63 glaciers by Rignot et al has shown that this is a general trend in Patagonia....

Patagonia is about 4,359 miles from Antarctica.

 
 

Oh and about that sun flare business causing the Earth to warm.

It would seem as though Earth has not only an atmosphere and magnetic field, but, also a plasma field. The changes of the sun having that profound an effect on Earth's climate is zero to none.

Added by Unni Paul
March 8, 2014

Scientists at MIT and NASA (click here) have discovered that the Earth’s plasma shield along with its magnetosphere can wade off the harmful effects of a solar storm. For years scientists have known of its existence, but were unsure of what purpose it served. This was because the Earth’s magnetosphere was already known to protect the planet from any high energy solar activity. A process called ‘magnetic reconnection,’ occurs when the Earth’s magnetosphere comes into contact with the magnetic field of the sun. Solar storms and space weather in general has an important effect on many aspects of life on Earth....

A new class of clouds?

Asperatus formation, Canterbury, New Zealand (click here)

This one's so rare it doesn't even have official classification. "Undulatus asperatus" is its proposed designation, and if accepted as a new form by meteorologists, it'll be the first such addition since 1951. As of now, it's just another example of New Zealand having the coolest freakin' landscapes.

This is New Zealand. The country that is approximately 1000 miles away from the Antarctica coastline. New Zealands weather is effected by Antarctica. And now we have a warming planet with a melting South Pole and what appears in the sky? Some of the densest cloud formations ever witnessed by humans.
This is not normal, no matter how fascinating it is.

Where are water crystals found?

Frozen macro

The detail in this frozen droplet, seen hanging from a birdbath in the photographer's yard, is something special.

Photo: Family Ghost

If the climate has changed the quality and characteristics of the snow will change.

If water vapor is stretched to it's breaking point in the troposphere the crystals in the snow will change as well. Crystals are physics.

Snowflakes, Montreal

More of winter's "super stars."

Photo: Jackie Rueda 

...Montreal’s temperature history (click here) is very similar to that of Toronto. Temperatures have clearly warmed in recent decades, with average annual temperatures only recently beginning to consistently surpass those seen in the 1940s & 1950s.

So does that mean the weather seen today in Eastern Canada is similar to what it was like in the mid-20th century? Well, no. We’ve already determined that nighttime temperatures have increased more than daytime temperatures. But what about precipitation? More specifically, what about snowfall?

Montreal has the largest snow removal budget in the world, and anyone who has lived in Montreal for even one winter can quickly appreciate why. Last winter, Montreal broke its record for the largest one-day snowfall in the city’s recorded history: 45cm of snow in just one day.

However, when taking a look at the data, annual snowfall amounts have actually been dropping....

If the climate crisis is effecting ice structures I would expect it to have an effect on the ice corals of Lake Baikal.

Lake Baikal "ice corals"

The largest lake by volume in the world is surrounded by some of the most interesting ice formations on the planet.

Photo: BaikalNature

...People living (click here) along the lake have long kept track of the freezing and break-up. One of the best records comes from a monitoring station at Listvyanka, a village on the southeastern coast of the lake that’s about 70 kilometers (40 miles) southeast of Irkutsk. The Listvyanka station has kept uninterrupted records of ice formation and melting that date back to 1869.

Measurements from Listvyanka reveal some interesting trends related to the timing of ice break-up; most notably that it is occurring earlier now than in the past. In the 1870s, thawing began around May 10; today, it often begins in late April. One study by a Swiss researcher calculated that the thawing date had moved by half a day per decade between 1869 and 1999. However, the most rapid change (about 3 days earlier per decade) occurred between 1869 and 1920. Since 1920, the date of ice breakup has remained fairly constant at Listvynaka. Ice formation, however, has occurred later in the winter, so the overall ice cover doesn't last as long as it once did....

March 16, 2014
0800 gmt
North Pole Forecasted Temperatures by The Weather Channel

The Polar Vortex is still traveling off center. The center of course was the north pole. Now the temperature distribution proves an unsupported vortex.

Unsupported? 

What would support a frigid cold air mass? Frigid cold temperatures, right?

What is the temperature of the water in the Arctic Circle these day? Enough to maintain a cover of ice? Obviously not. The scientists that consistently measure the Arctic Ocean ice cover record far less ice extent. Where is a Polar Vortex going to get it's frigid air if the Arctic Ocean is melting and there is no ice to support it's temperatures?

One last question for this entry. If the Arctic Ocean ice has melted and no longer supports the Polar Vortex to maintain it's center of circulation, what then will return it to normal?

Where is there such drastic differences in temperature immediately?

March 17, 2014
0145 GMT
Current Temperatures over USA by The Weather Channel

Washington State 45 degrees Fahrenheit. Four hundred miles south to Oregon it is 64 degrees Fahrenheit.

North Dakota is 38 degrees. Five hundred mines north west in Montana it is 57 degrees.

The temperature in Tennessee is 37 degrees Fahrenheit. Two hundred and fifty-nine miles south it is 65 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Who is it a car traveling a fairly short distance can be experiencing very cold temperature one minute and warm temperatures the next?

Where is Earth's water vapor? It has moved to higher altitudes. The surface of Earth remains absent of atmospheric water vapor. 

Marisa Lagos
Updated 2:45 pm, Sunday, March 16, 2014 

...But if the bone-dry conditions (click here) persist, it won't be. So the agency, which serves 2.4 million Bay Area water customers, is making contingency plans to increase its drinking supply by using two existing reservoirs just northwest of its Yosemite crown jewel that the city hasn't tapped for drinking water since 1988....

Water has a fairly short range of temperature to change states. Frozen to liquid to vapor. It is the lack of water that allows such rapid changes in temperature over a very short distance. There is nothing in the air to mitigate the temperature change.

Where exactly is the polar vortex now?

By Kukil Bora

on August 24 2013 2:49 PM

Although the ice cover at the North Pole has rebounded from last year’s record-breaking low with this year’s summer low also not likely to break any new record, NASA said sea ice in the Arctic still continues to retreat and melt at rates that are in line with a sustained downward trend, which has been observed over the last several decades.

“Even if this year ends up being the sixth- or seventh-lowest extent, what matters is that the 10 lowest extents recorded have happened during the last 10 years,” Walt Meier, a glaciologist with NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., said in a statement. “The long-term trend is strongly downward.”...

Snowflakes, will they always stay the same in their shape and composition?

People have been photographing snowflakes since the 1880s, when Vermonter Wilson Alwyn Bentley used his primitive camera to capture their symmetry and uniqueness.

Wilson Alwyn Bentley (click here) was born February 9th, 1865, on a farm in Jericho, Vermont. His mother was a former teacher, and home schooled his brother and him. His father taught him how to farm. A farm boy's life is close to nature, which well-suited Bentley because he loved nature and the weather. He was very curious, especially about snow. For his 15th birthday, his mother gave him a microscope. Looking at snow crystals through his microscope, Bentley was amazed at their beauty, complexity, and variety. He tried to make detailed drawings of magnified snow crystals, but the snow melted before he could finish. Frustrated but determined to capture the exquisite geometrical intricacies of snow crystals, he decided to try photography. 

His primary collection were more or less components of the whole (Classified in Mangono and Lee classification scheme). (click here) 

His secondary collection were composites of the parts (click here)


Bentley produced both positive and negative snow crystal images. This slide, which holds 3 images of the same snow crystal, illustrate the aesthetic differences between a positive and a negative snow crystal image.

Lenticular cloud, Mt. Fuji, Japan

Altocumulus lenticularis is one of the more obviously 'bizarre' cloud types -- they don't occur too frequently, so when you see one, you take notice. They often form above or near mountains, as moist air flows rapidly over a rise in elevation. Mt. Fuji makes a pretty sweet base for this one. 

Where is the cloud? Is it all over the sky? The cloud is over top of the snow. Would the cloud from without the snow on Mt. Fuji? No, it would not. The blanket cloud forms because water vapor became cold and condensed. It became sold and condensed because of the temperature difference in the air where the snow exists and where it does not.

Hold on to that thought.

It's Sunday Night.

 "Let It Go" by Idina Menzel (click here for official website)
 
The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation,
And it looks like I’m the Queen.
 
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn’t keep it in, heaven knows I tried
 
Don’t let them in, don’t let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don’t feel, don’t let them know
Well, now they know
 
Let it go, let it go
Can’t hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door
 
I don’t care
What they’re going to say
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway
 
It’s funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can’t get to me at all
 
It’s time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me
I’m free
 
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You’ll never see me cry
 
Here I stand
And here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on
 
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast
I’m never going back,
The past is in the past
 
Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone
 
Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway

Sorry I am late. Wow, 9:30 already. I was helping a friend. There is a full moon tonight. That gives the wolves something to howl at. Tomorrow is St. Patrick's Day.

Maybe something more based in science than politics tonight.

War mongering is postponing stability.

Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbollah’s leader, said he wanted to send a clear message to those “who believe they can threaten us.”

No more threats. Some of the sweetest words I have read is the fact Nasrallah was more worried about stability of the nation then being successful at causing death to enemies. 

I don't ever expect Nasrallah to be a USA ally, but, by stepping back from the brink of invasion the leaders of the people are finding out it isn't easy being green.

So many of these controversial leaders had no clue what governing encompassed. They only understood they were losing their religion and to that end they would not be deterred and jihad was a noble cause sending some of the youngest of their men to die for Allah.  

Now, since they were allowed to breath the lack of assault they know there is more to leading their people than simply calling for evening prayers. The words of Jihad are slipping away from their reality as they now realize it only destroys valuable infrastructure their people need for housing, pilgramages, worship, land for farming and supplies of water. They finally realize the hold on control of these countries actually took care of all these concerns, but, they are bringing their people along to find their way for the first time. 

Where does the USA fit into this new paradigm in the Middle East? Vigilance and humanitarian aid. Someday perhaps their new view of the world will begin to appreciate the connectedness of economies and how their people can not only live, but, prosper and find happiness. I realize that seems like an injustice to those that have died in fighting these groups, but, perhaps the reality is the killing was immoral and death was an enemy. 

The transition of peaceful methods of life and relying on passive measures of democracy such as elections is difficult to watch and it seems as though USA soldiers could bring the justified peace The West is looking for, but, that is called Nation Building. Nation Building should not be a priority to our military and peace missions to bring economic prosperity is a far better outcome than the deaths of so many citizens. 

The real enemy for The West is genocide and near border wars. France has a unique perspective. The highest priority for any Western nation has to be in ending death of innocent people. We are looking allies and not enemies. 

I know that entire concept is counter intuitive to any political ambition, but, the words Nation Building is a trigger to the memory of the wayward war into Iraq and rightfully so. The cost of Nation Building is hideous and I remember President Obama's focus, "We need to do some Nation Building at home." 

The reason much of the Homeland Nation Building didn't happen is directly related to the political priorities of the GOP, their desire to dissolve public education, allow poisons in our consumer products from foreign trading before trusting our own need for an industrial sector. Nation Building at home is also called "Income Inequality" and the right for every American to pursue home ownership and a comfortable retirement. 

Democrats need to measure the future commitment to SSI and Medicare. Some of the Gen Xers like the idea of independence and to that end President Obama provided that option within the protections of government through myRA (click here). "myRA" is a beginning and a strong base of support to the future retirement we all face, but, Democrats have to be receptive to ideas about the future while insuring the stability of SSI and Medicare through simple adjustments without taking funding from Seniors or Veterans. There have been generations of planning that included SSI and Medicare that simply can't be written off as a voucher program. 

The Democrats should not be abandoning their values, it looks phoney and a way of avoiding them as illegitimate. Tell me the Climate Crisis is not real. Tell me our entitlements are a mistake. Tell me a public education can be sacrificed for privatized enterprise. Tell me all that mess and I'll call you a liar. 

The truth is the truth and no one can escape that, nor should they try.

The Democrats have a great President in Barak Obama and he has provided an incredible vision of the future. He is a good and decent man that has brought the USA a long way while peaking over the horizon to a country at peace with it's difference and prosperity for their children. 

The 2014 elections are about state and local. The federal interests are state interests of House and Senate. Local matters.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is a direct result of the hard work of the Late Senator Ted Kennedy.

He worked for a long time to insure the wellness of Americans.

The Democrats have to stop the confusion over the topic of the ACA and Obamacare. They are the same thing and many Americans don't even know that. They believe there is a radical agenda still waiting for them called Obamacare. It's nonsense and the name is disrespectful. 

The Late Senator Kennedy guaranteed the education of the health care consumer when he fought for the Patient Bill of Rights. That is part of the ACA. It is the patient protection part of it.  

If politics are local, it matters less what the national slanderous media of the right wing says so long as local information can point to the improvements in people's lives. If my neighbor or the person on the other side of town has a better life today because the country invested in The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, it will matter.

The Texas elections can easily point to the obstructionist agenda that is costing so many hardship in health care. If the people in office were truly interested in 'Mrs. Jones or Mr. Smith, right here in county So and So, their lives would be improved by the ACA and this is how...."

And the one golden rule for elections, "You have to ask for their vote." Those are the words of the Late Senator. He knew by asking the electorate for each vote that is was important and the election was not guaranteed. If I were shaking hands and making speeches to an electorate, at the end of every interaction I'd be saying, "...and please come out to vote, it is very important and I can't win without you." If the election is a landslide, I guess there was nothing more than a great turn out and then the acceptance speech can end with a big "Thank you to everyone who voted." 

Those words are important. "Please, thank you, I need your help."

Make it real.

Bush puts a lobbyist in the USA House.

The three points that separated Sink and Jolly came from here. "With all the dysfunction in Washington..."

He had to win one for Rove. Where will Bush be in his run for President without Karl? When Jolly took the House it affirmed the idea Rove is a winning strategy after losing it so completely in 2012. 

Now, the new coffers Rove received from Jolly is going to attempt to elect the Massachusetts traitor. This is not new and is called crony politics. Bush's advice in Florida pushes buttons and was a known outcome before he provided the endorsement. Bush would not have done it if Jolly was going to lose.

Sunday, March 16, 2014 at 09:15AM
Rove Joins Koch Brothers to Put Brown Back in the Senate to Represent Their Interests, not New Hampshire (click here)
Concord -- New Hampshire Democratic Party spokesman Harrell Kirstein issued the following statement after it was reported that Karl Rove is spending $600,000 on attack ads to help his candidate, Scott Brown:

“Karl Rove, like the Koch Brothers, thinks he can buy our Senate seat and put Scott Brown back in the Senate protecting big oil, Wall Street, millionaires and big corporations. That’s not good for New Hampshire and people here know it.  Karl Rove can’t buy New Hampshire.”

Rove's ad buy comes after the Koch Brothers poured more than $740,000 into attack ads to get Brown into the race. In total, out of state billionaires are now slated to spend more than $1.3 million on attacks to support Brown and buy enough Senate seats to get their agenda - privatizing Social Security, ending Medicare's guaranteed benefit for seniors and raising taxes on middle class families to pay for more tax breaks for big corporations, oil companies and millionaires. 

Democrats are not using the right buttons. Politics is local. In this picture, Jolly is a service worker. Pinellas County (click here) had a 70% occupation rate of their hotels and motels for the purpose of tourism, conferences, etc. Does he look like a tourist or a resident?

Monday, March 3, 2014 7:37pm
Adam C. Smith, Times Political Editor

LARGO — David Jolly, (click here) the Republican nominee to succeed the late Rep. C.W. Bill Young, says he is "a Bill Young Republican."

What does that mean? It's an important question because David Wilson Jolly has roughly even odds of being elected next Tuesday, and he remains something of a mystery four months after announcing his first campaign for public office.

For much of his four decades in the U.S. House, Young showered Tampa Bay with federal spending projects. Jolly won't be that Bill Young Republican; the money and earmarks are gone....

The USA right wing is having a good time with this one.

The landowners are simply wrong. Of course, the right wing sees this as a challenge to liberty. The landowners didn't get all the necessary permits and the pond is integrated into moving water that effects other landowners, but, the right wing likes to isolate issues and call them defense of liberty. 

One permit does not a pond make. Water structures are very big deals. They can cause an uptick of biotic content or they can cause a lot of problems. Such a pond incorporated into COMMUNITY water is a problem. This is different than building a farm pond for irrigation, it is a communicating water structure that effects others.

Besides the local permits, there are state and federal permits. This is a very big deal and the landowners, regardless of how 'nice' they are, should have consulted with an attorney. This is like building a structure. It is like building a house or barn or otherwise. It requires a lot of permission from many authorities. If other landowners object they have a right to respond to the permitting agency and seek relief from the plans to change the landscape. They did it wrong. Just that simple. 

...The government says (click here) he violated the Clean Water Act by building a dam on a creek without a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. Further, the EPA claims that material from his pond is being discharged into other waterways. Johnson says he built a stock pond -- a man-made pond meant to attract wildlife -- which is exempt from Clean Water Act regulations. *
The property owner says he followed the state rules for a stock pond when he built it in 2012 and has an April 4-dated letter from the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office to prove it.
“Said permit is in good standing and is entitled to be exercised exactly as permitted,” the state agency letter to Johnson said....

What seems like a simple pond will cause changes in the waterway it is connected to. The pond with dam will create what is called backwater. Backwater will increase the level of the stream or river upstream. If anyone owns a home on the waterway in question they can occur flooding now that would not have otherwise happened.

Then downstream there is a lack of water level because of the dammed water. Now the water heading downstream has to pass over the dam and will reduce the amount of water downstream and may kill fish and wildlife and reduce the enjoyment of the stream or river by those downstream. 

There is also an issue with sediment. Rivers and streams produce sediment. If the sediment builds up too much it causes flooding and/or a change the direction of the water. The sediment has to be removed on intervals that prove to be effective.  

Then there is the issue of pollution. If the water pond covers land that was either used for farming, mining or any other use there is the issue called 'over land flow.' Over land flow is the water during weather events that cause runoff into the stream or river. Yes, even a pond can create pollution. Now, if the over land flow ended it's travel before it got to the stream, now all changed and an assessment to the water quality and sediment has to occur. Some might see this as government over reach and it is not. The government has to consider the interests of all citizens and not just the right wingers that claim liberty at the cost of others. 

Yes, sediment can carry pollutants and not just water. The landowners really didn't do the right thing by cheating the required permits. They are wrong and they need to hire an attorney to untangle all the problems they brought on to themselves. They'd have to hire an attorney anyway because of lawsuits that might be filed by others when they realize what changed the stream profile. 

I am sure all the landowners new political buddies are on his side, but, they aren't his neighbor. 

Liberty is not an overlord to the rights of others. Americans can enjoy their liberties when they act responsibly. This landowner was not responsible. His new attorney will be able to ask the EPA to reconsider, but, the agency will require proof that the pond was worthy of the permit in the first place. The landowner will have to hire professionals to assess the land, the watershed this stream or river contributes to as well as the history of the land to know if there are potential pollutants that will cause damage to others. If the landowners did that in the first place he would have had the same costs but without the fines they now face and rightfully so. When citizens don't practice responsible landownership they deserved to be fined. I doubt the EPA will demand a fine that will create a foreclosure issue, but, it will demand a fine and it may even demand the reversal of the pond.

Basically, when landowners abuse their ownership rights, it is truly unfortunate. Leave it to FOX to be this stupid about reporting the facts that sincerely carry brevity.

The price of freedom is Russian aggression because of the worldly presence of Neo-Nazism.

The propaganda Russia uses against The West and in the Crimea is that it allows Neo-Nazis to exist. The word was exist.

Ultra orthodox Jews offer prayers in the small Ukrainian city of Uman, some 200 kms south of Kiev on September 9, 2010 

Published: 16 Mar 2014 at 11.49 
Online news: World

Russia may accuse the protesters (click here) who toppled Ukraine's pro-Moscow government of being "fascists" and "neo-Nazis" but the country's Jews insist they have seen no trace of anti-Semitism. 

Moscow was quick to slam the Maidan protesters as extremists bent on waging war against ethnic Russians, and media in Russia -- much of it influenced by the Kremlin -- has carried repeated reports of Russians fleeing Ukraine, claiming both they and Jews are at risk of violence.
But according to Ukraine's chief rabbi Moshe Reuven Asman, there isn't a hint of anti-Jewish sentiment -- either on the Maidan square, where protesters have camped out for four months, or elsewhere in the country.
Just to be sure, he and Vadim Rabinovich, the president of the Congress of Ukrainian Jews, phoned around to get local confirmation.
"We called community leaders and rabbis across the country and noone mentioned any expression of anti-Semitism," said Asman... 

See the real problem with Europe is that they tolerate diversity even down to the demons of Neo-Nazism. Currently there are three international Neo-Nazi organizations and small groups in Africa, Canada, United States, Latin America, Iran, Belgium, the Netherlandsm, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Oceania Islands.

There are five known Neo-Nazi organizations in Russia; The Pamyat Nazi Party, Russian National Unity, National Bolshevik Party, Russian National Socialist Party and Russia 88. But, of course, the Russian organizations don't exist when it serves Russia's purpose.

But, I mean let's face it The West has the highest numbers and they can ultimately invade Russia and there would be mass deaths everywhere. 

And, of course, we all remember this nightmare as a precursor to a larger reality.

Oslo police trawl the waters off Utøya island for more victims of the Norway attacks. Police arrested Anders Behring Breivik, 32, over the twin attacks that have left at least 92 people dead. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images

 Police name 'rightwinger' Anders Behring Breivik, 32, as suspect behind Oslo bombing and youth camp massacre (click here) 

Peter Beaumon
The Observer 
Saturday 23 July 2011 05.16 EDT

...The killings, it now seems clear, were carried out by a 32-year old Norwegian, named by local media as Anders Behring Breivik, who had expressed far-right views, and had dressed as a policeman to carry out his bomb attack on government buildings in central Oslo before heading to the island of Utøya, where he shot at least 85 people.

Survivors of the island attack, which took place barely two hours after a huge bomb was detonated close to the offices of Norway's prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, described how the gunman moved across the small, wooded Utøya holiday island on Friday firing at random as young people scattered in fear....

This is what gives Putin the right to roll into the Crimea. This is the sickness in the political content that is not just Russia, but, also the right wing of the USA uses any excuse for aggression. "He threatened to kill my father." Well, la-de-da.

So, Russia gives itself permission to continue WWII with Europe. Now, I still state the Georgian president killed over 1000 people the day Russia rolled across the boarder with Abkhazia and South Ossetia. That is a fact. Russia did not kill those people. That event also sent a message to Moscow in that the post soviet states can't be trusted so therefore the Russian troops and tanks roll when any hint of hatred arises. 

What concerns me is the hatred and the ability of Russia to turn aggressive on a dime. Europe has a real threat if this continues. The ethnicity of the region of the post soviet states is a flash point for Russian aggression. The problem is that it works.

Look, it is not unrealistic to believe there will be attempts at genocide again. I am sure if Former President Clinton spoke to this reality he might say the same. He went through it and lost dear friends in the attempt to settle the issues in Bosnia. He knows this is just a powder keg waiting to happen. Why leave it for another George Bush?

The reason the post soviet states align so tightly with Russia is because that is what they know. Yanukovych is an example of the tactics of Russian affiliated leadership that will do anything to maintain control. At some levels the post soviet states are afraid of The West. Diversity could be the covert enemy and when panning the landscape in recent history there stands Bush and Cheney. I don't blame them. If continuing any faux sense of being a Russian ally has it's uptick, why not do it? 

Europe and the USA have to move past their decisions these nations can handle their futures as they may and if they divide and rejoin Russia that is their choice. That is not their choice. That is their security strategy and now Russia is seeking to regroup it's former friends into an economic union. What could be better? If they have to settle for a future that is less than their desire, it isn't such a bad one after all, now is it?

Belarus is doing fine. There is no reason for them to move out of their comfort zone. There are political elements in the other post soviet nations that reject that sense of comfort. There will be unrest and bigotry to facilitate reasons to invade. It prolongs the economic development and stability of these nations, so why let it exist?

I'll assume Russia sincerely wants to protect lives along it's borders simply because they are still strongly affiliated with that culture, but, a chronic threat of invasion across sovereign borders is not the way an economic empire is developed. There will be issues of monetary policy that will tire most investors and then these nations will become toys to Wall Street when playing with currency produces new liquidity for their next takeover of some corporation somewhere. This is not the way of the world anymore. At least for the majority of it. The real danger is not at the borders of Russia it is in the small minority of Republicans in the USA that still see World War Three as a reasonable outcome.

And what is the sensationalized headlines of the "Mail Online" today?

Doomed airline pilot (click here) was political fanatic: Hours before taking control of flight MH370 he attended trial of jailed opposition leader as FBI revealed passengers could be at a secret location.

Does the global community actually have to let it go this far simply because it is minding it's own business? I think not. I think The West and Russia have a lot of work to do on bringing down the rhetorical politics that dominate hate. But, first, these smaller nations need to believe they can define themselves as they wish and we need to allow them to move forward with the understanding hate is not an agenda item at their economic meetings. Unless, of course, it is to end it.