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Is “regime change” in Ukraine the bridge too far for the neoconservative “regime changers” of Official Washington and their sophomoric “responsibility-to-protect” (R2P) allies in the Obama administration? Have they dangerously over-reached by pushing the putsch that removed duly-elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych?
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given an unmistakable “yes” to those questions – in deeds, not words. His message is clear: “Back off our near-frontier!”
Moscow announced on Saturday that Russia’s parliament has approved Putin’s request for permission to use Russia’s armed forces “on the territory of the Ukraine pending the normalization of the socio-political situation in that country.”
Putin described this move as necessary to protect ethnic Russians and military personnel stationed in Crimea in southern Ukraine, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet and other key military installations are located. But there is no indication that the Russian parliament has restricted the use of Russian armed forces to the Crimea.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has given an unmistakable “yes” to those questions – in deeds, not words. His message is clear: “Back off our near-frontier!”
Moscow announced on Saturday that Russia’s parliament has approved Putin’s request for permission to use Russia’s armed forces “on the territory of the Ukraine pending the normalization of the socio-political situation in that country.”
Putin described this move as necessary to protect ethnic Russians and military personnel stationed in Crimea in southern Ukraine, where the Russian Black Sea Fleet and other key military installations are located. But there is no indication that the Russian parliament has restricted the use of Russian armed forces to the Crimea.
Twisted thoughts madden my soul while on my own
Sporadic in its approach spun in my head bursting with
Emotions, raging fire strikes at my heart in wreckage
I cannot escape being felt yet I wish, to which magnitude
Of earthly possessions enough to seek them for I plea
The myopic vanity splits me aside from a heroic being
Ascent to the top I wish to stamp on the weaker ones
Antagonistic as I am as invincibility Marlowe’s Faustus
Relished, abruptly a thought that crossed my cognizance
How come I be probable to oversee the demise of our
Life a pivotal verity? Far along will lay the cupidity low
Neighboring us, and cart off from the materialism
Squeezed Human beings like an Octopus to an infinite
Journey for a finite sanitized time, having the faux wall
Of inequity broken down will scale us as one, for well
Or for shoddier like it’d reach us in point that we should
Conquer self-seeking; succumb to the life across the death
The Fracking world of gas and oil production gets considerable attention on the internet and newspapers. Locally, the Athens News and Athens Messenger also offer regular coverage and the coverage is not always just on local developments and issues. Fracking and related issues are being reported all across the U.S. Some of the news is about the booming output of shale gas and shale (or tight) oil and the economic benefits. But a lot of the reports are about the harmful health and environmental impacts. Among the latter, the well-justified concern about water use in fracking is particularly salient. Why? Just one drilling operation for shale gas may require from 2 million 4 million or more gallons of water, along with an array of chemicals, some known to be toxic, and a large quantity of sand.
Still, to be balanced in its coverage, the Athens Messenger reprinted an upbeat editorial from Bloomberg.org (2-27-14) on how the shale gas industry is on the way to employing recycling methods to reduce the amount of water the industry uses in the fracking process. (Source)
Still, to be balanced in its coverage, the Athens Messenger reprinted an upbeat editorial from Bloomberg.org (2-27-14) on how the shale gas industry is on the way to employing recycling methods to reduce the amount of water the industry uses in the fracking process. (Source)
On Friday, Feb 14, 92 prisoners escaped from their prison in the Libyan town of Zliten. 19 of them were eventually recaptured, two of whom were wounded in clashes with the guards. It was just another daily episode highlighting the utter chaos which has engulfed Libya since the overthrow of Muammar Ghaddafi in 2011.
Much of this is often reported with cliché explanations as in the country’s ‘security vacuum’, or Libya’s lack of a true national identity. Indeed, tribe and region seem to supersede any other affiliation, but it is hardly that simple.
On that same Friday, Feb 14, Maj. Gen. Khalifa Hifter announced a coup in Libya. “The national command of the Libyan Army is declaring a movement for a new road map” (to rescue the country), Hifter declared through a video post. Oddly enough, little followed by way of a major military deployment in any part of the country. The country’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan described the attempted coup as “ridiculous”.
Much of this is often reported with cliché explanations as in the country’s ‘security vacuum’, or Libya’s lack of a true national identity. Indeed, tribe and region seem to supersede any other affiliation, but it is hardly that simple.
On that same Friday, Feb 14, Maj. Gen. Khalifa Hifter announced a coup in Libya. “The national command of the Libyan Army is declaring a movement for a new road map” (to rescue the country), Hifter declared through a video post. Oddly enough, little followed by way of a major military deployment in any part of the country. The country’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan described the attempted coup as “ridiculous”.
Two Norwegian MPs have put forward the whistleblower's name for one of the world's highest honors for "[contributing] to a more stable and peaceful world order" and speaking out against abuses of power. If President Obama, a man responsible for mass drone killings, can win the Peace Prize, then there's nothing barring the man who helped expose his unconstitutional overreach and threat to international transparency.
Please, join us in calling on the Norwegian Nobel Committee to listen to these MPs and put Snowden on the shortlist in March, helping him secure asylum in sympathetic nations and showing Obama he deserves to be pardoned.
PETITION TO NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: Put US whistleblower Edward Snowden on your shortlist for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
Please, join us in calling on the Norwegian Nobel Committee to listen to these MPs and put Snowden on the shortlist in March, helping him secure asylum in sympathetic nations and showing Obama he deserves to be pardoned.
PETITION TO NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE: Put US whistleblower Edward Snowden on your shortlist for the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize.
Ohio Soil Recycling, LLC (OSR), a Columbus, Ohio based business that uses microbes, algae, and bacteria to remediate contaminated soil, will NOT be receiving shale gas solid waste as previously reported. Drill cuttings will instead be sent to Ohio landfills
As reported in The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Soil Recycling was authorized by the Ohio EPA to receive solid waste drill cuttings at the Alum Creek Integrity Drive facility. This was to be an alternate method of disposing of shale gas development waste (fracking). Shale gas drill cuttings would be processed, to rid them of drilling lubricants and used to cap the old Franklin County landfill along Alum Creek.
Radioactive Waste Alert, a Columbus area citizen action group, has concerns about the health risks associated with the processing and re-use of this soil. The OSR facility is located along the banks of Alum Creek, one of the Columbus area water supplies. Shale rock contains radioactive metals, including Radium 228, and 226. Carolyn Harding, organizer of RadioactiveWasteAlert.org warns, "These radioactive elements are water soluble and could contaminate our water supply."
As reported in The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Soil Recycling was authorized by the Ohio EPA to receive solid waste drill cuttings at the Alum Creek Integrity Drive facility. This was to be an alternate method of disposing of shale gas development waste (fracking). Shale gas drill cuttings would be processed, to rid them of drilling lubricants and used to cap the old Franklin County landfill along Alum Creek.
Radioactive Waste Alert, a Columbus area citizen action group, has concerns about the health risks associated with the processing and re-use of this soil. The OSR facility is located along the banks of Alum Creek, one of the Columbus area water supplies. Shale rock contains radioactive metals, including Radium 228, and 226. Carolyn Harding, organizer of RadioactiveWasteAlert.org warns, "These radioactive elements are water soluble and could contaminate our water supply."
The Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand (FCCT) sent a letter to
Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen today requesting he "personally"
ensure "all Cambodian police, military and intelligence resources" are
investigating the unexplained disappearance on February 14 of Dave
Walker, a Canadian journalist and film-maker.
The letter is from "the professional membership" of the FCCT, FCCT a club that was established in Bangkok, Thailand, more than 50 years ago.
-- Dominic Faulder, Past President & Chair, FCCT Professional Committee -- signed the letter to Hun Sen.
-------------------
(Editors note: H.E. is His Excellency. Samdech is an honorific in Cambodia). Here below is the letter's text:
FCCT Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand
H.E. Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Phnom Penh
Kingdom of Cambodia
25 February 2014
Dear Samdech Hun Sen,
The letter is from "the professional membership" of the FCCT, FCCT a club that was established in Bangkok, Thailand, more than 50 years ago.
-- Dominic Faulder, Past President & Chair, FCCT Professional Committee -- signed the letter to Hun Sen.
-------------------
(Editors note: H.E. is His Excellency. Samdech is an honorific in Cambodia). Here below is the letter's text:
FCCT Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand
H.E. Samdech Hun Sen
Prime Minister
Phnom Penh
Kingdom of Cambodia
25 February 2014
Dear Samdech Hun Sen,
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New Albany High School graduate Peter Kobelt and Worthington Kilbourne graduate Kevin Metka walked away from high school tennis with impressive resumes. Kobelt won the 2009 Division I state singles championships and the 2007 Division II doubles title with Skyler Engel and placed second in Division I singles in 2008 and in Division II doubles with Ryan Dodd in 2007. Metka was the 2010 Division I singles champion and the 2009 Division I doubles championship with Jonny Price.
And yet, both had a hard time attracting much attention from collegiate tennis coaches. Kobelt only received offers from Ohio State and Michigan State. Metka, whose only other offer was from Toledo, ended up as a recruited walk-on for the Buckeyes.
“Actually I didn’t get many looks at all,” says Kobelt, now a senior at Ohio State. “I was fortunate that Ty (Tucker, the Buckeyes men’s coach) offered me a scholarship based on (what Kobelt accomplished by his junior year of high school). A lot of schools didn’t know about me.”
At the ITA Men’s Team Indoor National Championships, held Feb.14 -17 in Houston, the pair offered a quick refresher course for those coaches who overlooked them the first time around.
I've been asked to debate Danny Postel on the question of Syria, and so have read the op-ed he co-authored with Nader Hashemi, "Use Force to Save Starving Syrians." Excellent responses have been published by Coleen Rowley and Rob Prince and probably others. And my basic thinking on Syria has not changed fundamentally since I wrote down my top 10 reasons not to attack Syria and lots and lots of other writing on Syria over the years. But replying to Postel's op-ed might be helpful to people who've read it and found it convincing or at least disturbing. It might also allow Postel to most efficiently find out where I'm coming from prior to our debate.
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Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy movie won’t be in theaters until August, but the recent release of a trailer for the movie already has everyone talking about the superhero movie-slash-offbeat space comedy.
Guardians of the Galaxy, slated for an August 1, 2014 release, is a team movie, but the trailer makes it clear these guys are no Avengers. Token human Star-Lord is more Han Solo than Captain America. Gamora and Drax are alien muscle, one seeking to redeem herself and the other on a mission of vengeance. And then there’s Rocket Raccoon and Groot, a trigger-happy raccoon enhanced through alien experiments and his simple-minded tree creature sidekick. Considering the trailer highlights the team being captured by Marvel’s space police, the Nova Corps, and then violently breaking out of jail, it’s safe to say this team is firmly in the realm of anti-heroes.