Pictures of violence between the Gaza Strip military arm and the IDF of Israel (click here).

There is a ceasefire in place. It is best that ceasefire lasts a very long time.

Be sure there are paper maps available when traveling to unfamiliar destinies.

I hope Putin realizes interference with civilian travel is serious and does amount to crimes that can be prosecuted. Russia already shot down a civilian jet at the Ukraine border, certainly, at this point Russia understands the severity of their actions.

I suggest Russia stop warring against the civilized world and begin the concept most of the world embraces called peace. Economies do really well when peace is the governance of the world.

There is no such thing as a secure internet. If that is Putin's focus for disrupting militaries, he will fail. Militaries like cyberspace. It was developed by the USA military in case there was any doubt. But, when it comes to real battle, there are self-sufficient methods that don't require batteries. How old is the B-52?

14 November 2018
By Jamie Seidel

In recent weeks, (click here) NATO conducted its largest military exercises in decades in the frigid waters and icy mountains of Norway. But something odd happened. The GPS signals guiding ships, aircraft, tanks, trucks and troops started to fail.

Civilian airliners, cars, trucks, cargo ships and smart phones operating in and around Norway and Finland experienced similar disruptions.

Why?

Russia is the chief suspect.

It was riled by the scale and location of NATO's Trident Juncture manoeuvres — despite having itself conducted several massive military exercises in the Baltics recently.

And Moscow is known to be avidly experimenting with ways to disrupt military forces — and the global economy — through sabotaging or destroying the now vital GPS navigation network.

The space-based network of GPS satellites supply the beacons now integral to our daily lives....

So, it begins. "El Chapo" will probably be in a USA prison for the rest of his life.

8 November 2018

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán faces 11 charges and is being held in a maximum security prison in New York

An autograph seeker (click here) and a Michael Jackson impersonator are among the jurors who were rejected to serve on the trial of notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán.

Seven women and five men will decide if Guzmán is guilty of charges related to trafficking, laundering and firearms.

All 12 will remain anonymous under tight security terms and be escorted to and from court by US marshals.

The leader of the infamous Sinaloa Cartel could face life in prison....

There is probably no other country in the world that could hold him and still uphold the dignity of humane treatment. If any escape will be tried, it will be while he is being transported to and from the court hearings. In all honesty, he should be provided a viewing screen at the prison rather than taking him to the courthouse. Why open the public to any danger affiliated with this brutal killer.

14 November 2018
By Tom Hayes

During the height of Mexican drug wars in 1993, (click here) an attempted hit on Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman went wrong.

A team of gunmen sent to rub out the notorious drug lord instead killed a Roman Catholic cardinal at an airport in Guadalajara, outraging the Mexican public enough to touch off a massive manhunt for Guzman.

He was captured, but prosecutors say he was undeterred from a brutal pursuit of power that lasted decades, featured jail breakouts and left a trail of bodies.

The story of the botched assassination will be part of an epic tale told in a tightly secured New York City courtroom as Guzman's long-awaited trial opens today.

Opening statements were delayed after a juror was excused; a replacement was being selected.

Guzman, who has been held in solitary confinement since his extradition to the United States early last year, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he amassed a multi-billion-dollar fortune smuggling tonnes of cocaine and other drugs in a vast supply chain that reached New York, New Jersey, Texas and elsewhere north of the border.

If convicted, he faces a possible life prison sentence....

I. THE CHARGES (click here)

A grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of New York returned the Indictment on May 11, 2016. This Indictment, which spans over two-and-a-half decades of Guzman’s criminal conduct, charges Guzman in Count One with leading a Continuing Criminal Enterprise (“CCE”), in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 848(a), 848(b) and 848(c), for his role as the leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. In Count Two, Guzman is charged with participating in an international conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and marijuana, knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 960(b)(1)(A), 960(b)(1)(B)(ii), 960(b)(1)(G), 960(b)(1)(H) and 963. Counts Three and Four charge Guzman with being involved in cocaine importation and distribution conspiracies, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 960(b)(1)(B)(ii) and 963 and Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846 and 841(b)(1)(A)(ii)(II), respectively. The Indictment also charges Guzman in Counts Five through Fifteen with specific instances of international cocaine distribution knowing and intending that the narcotics would be illegally imported into the United States, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 959(a), 959(c), 960(a)(3) and 960(b)(1)(B)(ii). Count Sixteen charges Guzman with the unlawful use of a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking crimes, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(i), 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), 924(c)(1)(A)(iii) and 924(c)(1)(B)(ii). Finally, Guzman is charged in Count Seventeen with participating in a money laundering conspiracy, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h). The Indictment provides Guzman notice of criminal forfeiture related to all charged counts in the amount of $14 billion, which represents the illegal proceeds of his narcotics trafficking activities.

If convicted of Count One alone, Guzman faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life imprisonment.... 

Ladies? Women are breaking down barriers in a wave of acceptance and inclusion. Congratulations to Serena.

November 13, 2018

Serena Williams is the Champion of the Year

No matter how you cut it, (click here) Serena Williams had a remarkable year. Jeanne-Marie Laskas visits the G.O.A.T. at her Florida home to hear about the U.S. Open moment heard around the world, along with Serena's plans for the future, her thoughts on Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court appointment, and what it's like to be a black woman in America in 2018. All that, plus GQ worked up a special surprise cover collaboration with Virgil Abloh—the Off-White designer behind her coolest on-court looks in 2018—featuring his signature quotation marks in his own handwriting.

Serena Williams also has a clothing line (click here).

Serena Williams Career (click here)

Serena has a child now, but, she has continued to be competing after the birth.

August 28, 2018
By Lena Grossman

Serena Williams (click here) and Alexis Ohanian's daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. has a big milestone coming up on Sept. 1: her first birthday. 

The tennis prodigy's daughter's birthday falls right in the middle of the U.S. Open, where Serena is currently competing. The family, however, won't be celebrating. "Olympia doesn't celebrate birthdays," the tennis champion said in a press conference. "We're Jehova's Witnesses so we don't do that."...

Illegal activity, violations of the rule of law.

Scott has no place in the US Senate until the Secretary of State certifies the election. McConnell has just racked up another ethics violation. McConnell after the election took place stated he wants to pass legislation that would legalize the growth of hemp as a crop. He said that before and it hasn't happened yet.

November 12, 2018
By James Hohmann with Joanie Greve

THE BIG IDEA: As Florida’s 67 counties (click here) retabulate their ballots and lawyers duke it out in court, Rick Scott is hiring staff for a Senate office, conferring with Mitch McConnell about committee assignments and considering what asks he might make of President Trump to increase his effectiveness as a freshman.

Unofficial tallies show the Republican leading three-term Sen. Bill Nelson (D) by 12,562 votes out of more than 8 million ballots cast, a margin of 0.15 percent. Nelson, who never conceded, remains hopeful he will come out on top after recounts by machine and then, if the current margin holds, by hand....

Different than Georgia where Brian Kemp resigned his position as Secretary of State; a federal judge is placing the vote first and ordered the ballots deemed illegal by Kemp now being counted.

It might be interesting to think about the implications of the judge's decision that the ballots are in good enough legal condition to be counted. Did Kemp break any law that created the necessity for a judicial review of the facts? What if he did? He was trying to rig the election in the face of a fair and legal recount.

November 13, 2018
By Nicoquel Terry Ellis

Atlanta – A federal judge (click here) has ordered Georgia election officials to review all provisional ballots cast in the midterm elections and prohibited the state from certifying the election before Friday.

And another judge ruled Tuesday that absentee ballots that have been rejected because there were problems with the date of birth must be counted.

Georgia's bitterly fought contest for governor remains undecided. Republican Brian Kemp leads Democrat Stacey Abrams by nearly 59,000 votes.

Kemp has declared himself the winner of the vote last week, resigned as Georgia's secretary of state and named a transition team....

Jim Acosta's questions are very important.

They are most important due to the First Amendment and the demonizing of the mainstream press. If Jim Acosta was to be silenced that would effect the entire press corp. which would be Trump exercising intimidation. That is the beginning of the end of our democracy.

Outside of the lawsuit rightfully pursued by CNN, I firmly believe Trump is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. There is an investigation to Russian activities during the 2016 elections. We also know that Trump benefitted by Russian hackers that went to work after Trump stood at a podium and asked for that exact help.

When President Macron of France invited world leaders to the ceremony of the 100th anniversary of the end of WW I, it was in an understanding peace is a priority. For the most part, Trump didn't engage the ceremonies. He was either late of unenthusiastic while making inappropriate remarks to others.

The first thing Putin stated after leaving France was that by Europe becoming a military power unto itself it was beginning to dissolve NATO. He stated President Macron interfered in any chance for Putin to speak to Trump.

Putin intentionally was attempting to use words to create a divide between the USA and NATO. Rather than accepting the walk towards peace offered by President Macron, Putin attacked Macron's diplomacy. 

Ukraine is still involved in defending it's borders from Russia. It is estimated the civil war is being won by the Ukraine government. On November 11, the day of the WW I ceremony and the traditional Veteran's Day in the USA Putin held a faux election (click here) as a means to assert Russian influence in the region. 

There is no reason why President Trump should be leaning into a favored status for Russia over and above the continued civil war in Ukraine. Yet, he does. He ignores diplomacy, spurns allies and enjoys the company of dictators. His accolades toward North Korea are void of any denuclearization as Russia is pushing it's limits in areas rightfully of concern to NATO. In asserting Russian preferences for the eastern border of Ukraine, Putin has turned his back on the Minsk agreements. Once again, Russia is breaking treaties.

As a perspective one has to realize the Russian Revolution occurred in 1917. Therefore, the USA's democracy has been in existence for a much longer time than the current form of the Russian government. As a matter of fact, the Treaty of Versailles, which replaced the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk and others, provided the new Russian government a step up to stability. The Allied Powers wanted stability at the end of the war and not more instability. The argument can be made that the end of WW I and the Allied Powers of The West helped the Russian Revolution to solidify in expectations of peace and not the further mischief of Putin. That is especially the case in realizing The West and Russia allied in WW II.

When it comes to Russia and North Korea, President Trump of the United States of America is giving aid and comfort to the enemy. The Democrats have a lot of work to do to be sure the USA's national security is intact, including fiscal stability.

People like those found at CNN, people like Jim Acosta are vital to the information the country needs to move forward and protect our country from evil intent. CNN and Jim Acosta are more than correct in filing a lawsuit to protect their status in the USA democracy.

CNN is suing the White House for return of Jim Acosta's credentials (click here).

November 9, 2018

By Scott Nover

robert sherrill (click here)was an outsider by the nature of his work as a Washington correspondent for The Nation. A prolific anti-establishment voice, Sherrill was unafraid to play contrarian to the left or right of the aisle.

“He took the shibboleths of liberalism and exposed them as what he felt they were,” Ralph Nader told The Washington Post when Sherrill died in 2014. “He took liberals and progressives down a peg or two, or 10 pegs or two.”...

...In January 1972, when Sherrill reapplied for White House press credentials, he was again denied without explanation. That’s when the American Civil Liberties Union took his case to federal court. With the ACLU’s help, Sherrill sued the Secret Service for violating his First and Fifth Amendment rights.

By the time a D.C. circuit-court judge ruled in his case in 1977, it had been 11 years after his credentials were originally denied....

...The exchange became testier and Trump’s complexion reddened. “Honestly, I think you should let me run the country. You run CNN. And if you did it well, your ratings would be better,” Trump told the reporter.

Acosta held on to the microphone as a White House intern tried to grab it back from him. “Mr. President, I had one other question, if I may ask, on the Russia investigation,” Acosta said. “Are you concerned that—”

Trump lifted a finger and wagged it from the podium. “I’m not concerned about anything about the Russia investigation, ’cause it’s a hoax.” He walked away from the podium momentarily, readying for his next hit. Acosta gave in and relinquished the mic....

...When Acosta returned to the White House grounds later that evening to do a live shot for Anderson Cooper 360°, the Secret Service asked for his hard pass, which he had held since 2013, and confiscated it. They were just following orders, and he understood that; the orders came from higher up. His access was revoked: He was locked out of the Trump White House....

...Sherrill never knew why the Secret Service had refused to issue him credentials; they wouldn’t tell him. Only in 1972 did White House counsel John Dean and John Warner, the assistant to the director of the Secret Service, inform the ACLU that “Sherrill had been denied accreditation ‘for reasons of security’ on May 3, 1966.”

The Secret Service cited two incidents that had little to do with the president’s safety or White House security: Sherrill had gotten into a physical altercation in 1964, while he was a political writer for the Miami Herald, when he punched the press secretary to Florida Governor C. Farris Bryant aboard a Johnson campaign train. (He was arrested and fined for physical assault.) Additionally, the Secret Service noted that Sherrill had been charged with assault in 1962 in Texas.

The D.C. circuit court ruled in Sherrill’s favor in 1977. While the court did not demand that the Secret Service issue him a press credential, it did set forth a series of new, transparent steps to ensure that no reporter’s First Amendment rights were violated....

What would a potential Mideast peace look like?

Quite possibly, the exact way it is unfolding now. There has been a lot of violence between Israel and the Gaza strip. Both sides have been firing explosives at each other. There has been no further armed combat of soldiers. Each side does not trust the other and quite frankly those in Gaza know nothing else besides violence with Israel. So, to think a lasting ceasefire is not possible is simply wrong. It makes sense after decades of violence, ending it will seem counter-intuitive. Those involved in the current ceasefire hold optimism the violence will stop.

Isreal is worried about an anti-tank missile that exploded a bus. It was a military bus. Anti-tank missiles have never been used before.

The road may be longer and far more unsettling as the persistence to move toward a permanent ceasefire becomes real.

Armed Gaza groups (click here) agree to stop firing rockets at 3:30 this afternoon

Armed factions in the Gaza Strip have agreed to stop firing rockets at Israel, according to reports in Palestinian media.

Reports say the groups will stop all rocket and mortar launches at 3:30 p.m. at the request of Israel and the United Nations.

This is the path "Oumuamua" took. It used the sun for trajectory acceleration the way we use, too.

The nominal trajectory of interstellar asteroid ʻOumuamua, as computed based on the observations of October 19, 2017 and thereafter. The observed trajectory deviated by an acceleration that corresponds to an extremely small ~5 microns-per-second^2 over what was predicted, but that's significant enough to demand an explanation.

Basically, what that means is that our current astrophysics does not agree with a trajectory and speed that occurred in the observation of "Oumuamua." Something altered the expected trajectory and speed. Quite possibly that altered trajectory and speed were controlled by intelligence.

 

The BBC is reporting UFO sightings by several commercial aircraft pilots off the UK's southwest coast, who thought there was some kind of military exercise.

The interstellar object arrived last year. There is a problem that enters into physics with any object entering our solar system and that is gravity. Everything has a gravitational pull and such an object, if it is significantly heavy will impose a gravitational pull on Earth or other objects.

It is interesting Professor Loeb believes it is under the influence of the sun's light. One of the reasons expectations to live outside of Earth's protective atmosphere is thought by some to be too dangerous to engage; is due to the Solar Wind from the sun.

Scientists from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies will tell anyone who asks, the solar wind has high amounts of radiation that people simply can't be exposed to without severe consequences. The idea that radiation, called the solar wind, could be harnessed as an energy source for space flight is not that strange. The radiation has mass and velocity. If this object has exhibited such capacity, it is possible by the laws of physics. Just because Earth's scientists haven't perfected the possibility simply means the technology is in it's infant stages.

If there is alien life, the hull of such a vessel could be thick while resilient to the wind produced by suns. Also, realize the possibility of a moving object in interstellar space would meet with collisions of other objects, especially if it relies on solar elements for propulsion, the appearance of such a hull could appear to be battered.

November 12, 2018

By Craig LaMoult

There’s a new theory (click here) that a mysterious object that passed by earth last year may have been an alien probe intentionally sent here from some other civilization outside our solar system.

The object was first discovered a little over a year ago. And it has a name: Oumuamua. That’s Hawaiian.

“And it means a visitor from far away, coming for the first time,” said Avi Loeb, the chair of Harvard University's Astronomy Department, who published a paper on the object in the Astrophysical Journal Letters.

“This is the very first object that we found in the solar system that originated from outside the solar system,” Loeb said. “It's a visitor from outer space. Sort of like a guest that comes for dinner and you can learn about the country where the guest came from without buying an airline ticket to visit that country.”

And this one doesn’t look like the guests we usually get.

“It turned out to be very weird,” Loeb said. “It's nothing like we have seen before in the solar system.”

That novelty — this thing’s unusual shape and the way it moves — led Loeb to some hypotheses that sound more like science fiction than science. This thing has a long, narrow shape and rotates. It doesn’t have a tail like a comet. And it accelerated in a way they didn’t expect, given the sun’s gravitational force....

I am glad Stonehenge is still intact. It is arrogant to think Earth is unique. The fact the pilot stated the objects didn't appear to be on a collision course could indicate intelligence. If there is intelligence in these flying objects, their steps in meeting with human beings would be measured considering they are a minority and we live within a scope of violence including nuclear explosion. It is possible another civilization would find the use of nuclear weapons an abhorrence against nature since the solar energy (solar wind) they might rely on as an energy source is produced by far more violent explosions inside any sun.

Look at what Trump wants, a space force with the idea of war. That is insane. There is no oxygen in space to make a bomb blow up. That was a sharp reality when the "Challenger" exploded. If an explosion happened minutes later it would not have killed the astronauts or destroyed the spacecraft as they entered the outer limits of Earth's atmosphere. The other real example is Apollo 13. So, if I were an intersellar visitor why would I want contact? Witnessing people killing each other has to leave an incredibly stupid impression on alien intelligence.

13 November 2018

The Irish Aviation Authority (click here) is investigating reports of bright lights and UFOs off the south-west coast of Ireland.

It began at 06:47 local time on Friday 9 November when a British Airways pilot contacted Shannon air traffic control.

She wanted to know if there were military exercises in the area because there was something "moving so fast".

The air traffic controller said there were no such exercises.

The pilot, flying from the Canadian city of Montreal to Heathrow, said there was a "very bright light" and the object had come up along the left side of the aircraft before it "rapidly veered to the north".

She was wondering what it could be but said it did not seem to be heading for a collision.

Another pilot from a Virgin plane joined in and suggested it might be a meteor or another object re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

He said there were "multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory" and that they were very bright.

The pilot said he saw "two bright lights" over to the right which climbed away at speed....

Becoming by Michelle Obama

I watched the interview with Robin Roberts. It was magnificent and true to herself the former First Lady was real. I can think of many words to describe her, but, the foremost is a trailblazer. She never lets an opportunity to break new ground pass her by. The second word that comes to mind is love. She is always full of love for this country and it's people. She never hesitates to uplift another person with sincere love and a depth of caring that permeates differences.

I already checked at the library and the list of those waiting to read the book is too long, so I'll buy my own copy. I don't know if First Ladies hold book signings, but, if it ever happens I'll travel any distance to be in the presence of a real person that actually cares about me.

There isn't anything I can say that will enhance her or the book. She is real, a trailblazer and just about the most sincere and loving person that ever graced this country.

Thank you for the book, First Lady Michelle.

November 12, 2018
By Lisa de Moraes

Against (click here) Sunday Night Football‘s Cowboy-Eagles game and AMC’s The Walking Dead, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s Becoming Michelle special (0.7 rating in adults 18-49 demo, 5.846 million viewers) handed ABC its most-watched Sunday this season with a five-month total-viewer high in the 9 PM hour....