3502-ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? | View Thread

Companies are flooding Earth’s orbit with satellites, but no one’s directing traffic

Companies around the globe are launching an increasing number of satellites, crowding Earth’s orbit in an effort to satisfy the ravenous on-demand desire for more broadband, satellite television and communications.

In the past five years, the number of operational satellites has jumped 40 percent, and nearly 1,400 now orbit the Earth. Industry officials say that number could more than double in five years as a revolution in technology has made satellites smaller and more affordable. Entrepreneurs eye the ethereal real estate a couple of hundred miles up as a potentially lucrative new market.

Companies such as OneWeb, Boeing and SpaceX plan to put up constellations of small satellites that could number in the hundreds, if not thousands, and beam the Internet to the billions of people not yet connected.

Just last month, Boeing filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission that would allow it to send up nearly 3,000 satellites for broadband services.

But U.S. officials are concerned about all the traffic in space and the lack of oversight. Although the Pentagon tracks objects orbiting the globe and warns of close approaches, it does not have the power to order an operator to move a satellite out of the way to avoid a collision.

Some members of Congress think a civilian agency, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, should be made responsible for managing satellite traffic. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), has led that effort, saying the Pentagon should focus instead “on how do we fight and win wars in space.”

He has introduced legislation that would give the FAA authority to monitor objects in space and play the role of traffic cop, warning operators when satellites are dangerously close to one another.

The FAA would have the power to order operators to move satellites when necessary, Bridenstine said, and to require that satellites have propulsion systems to maneuver and transponders for better tracking. It would be up to the FAA, not Congress, to come up with the exact regulations, he said.

“As space becomes more congested and contested and competitive, there needs to be an agency with unambiguous authority that can compel somebody to maneuver,” Bridenstine said.

There is no guarantee the bill will pass anytime soon. And if it does, giving the FAA jurisdiction in space would require additional resources at a time of tight budgets. Creating rules of the road in space would also be an immense and complicated regulatory challenge. Bridenstine said he would favor only “light-touch” regulations, but some interested parties fear a new set of rules would impose a costly burden on U.S. satellite operators and put them at a disadvantage with competitors in other countries that would not have to abide by them.

Tom Stroup, the president of the Satellite Industry Association, said the industry “wants to make sure that any transition that takes place is carefully thought through.” The FAA, or any other government agency tasked with the job, should have “sufficient resources to do it properly,” he said.

Any regulation should be drafted so that it “doesn’t drive business away,” he said. And the rules have to provide “an international solution,” he added, palatable to foreign governments and businesses, much the way air traffic is managed across international borders.

Defense officials say such an approach would help them focus on the possibility of hostilities in space.

“It’s clear that we’re going to need a way to regulate that traffic just as we have a way to regulate air traffic,” said Douglas Loverro, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy.

Establishing rules of the road would not only help military satellites avoid collisions, he said, but also head off conflicts over nations’ satellites coming too close to other pieces of sensitive equipment.

The discussion comes as companies pursue plans to launch constellations of satellites that have become smaller and cheaper, much the way computers have gone from massive mainframes to smartphones. Satellites once were as big as garbage trucks, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Now there are versions as small as dishwashers, or shoe boxes — or even smaller.

The imagery of Earth that such devices provide could help weather forecasters, farmers and scientists studying climate change; aid rescue workers and guide soldiers on the ground.

“There have been a lot of technological developments as well as a recognition that broadband access is the equivalent today to what electricity was 100 years ago,” Stroup said. “There’s a feeling there’s a market opportunity and a cost-effective means for providing that service that didn’t exist 20 years ago.”

OneWeb, in a joint venture with Airbus that is also backed by business magnate Richard Branson, plans to put up nearly 700 satellites, beginning in 2018. The company is opening an $85 million manufacturing facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that it says will be able to build more than 15 satellites a week.

“OneWeb’s mission is to bring the entire world online to improve quality of life and spur economic and national development where it’s needed most,” Greg Wyler, the founder of OneWeb, has said.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is best known for launching rockets that deliver commercial satellites to space and carry cargo to the International Space Station. But Musk has discussed plans to launch as many as 4,000 satellites that would provide broadband service to all parts of the globe. He said the effort “would be like rebuilding the Internet in space.”

Last year, SpaceX asked the federal government for permission to begin a test project and said that if all goes as planned, the service could be running within five years.

Raytheon, meanwhile, is building 50-pound “disposable satellites” for the Pentagon that could stay aloft for 60 to 90 days and provide soldiers with real-time imagery of the battlefield.

In its application to the FCC, Boeing said that it was aware of OneWeb’s plans and that it would work with the firm “to develop an analysis of the potential risk of collision” and to prevent collisions from occurring.

Some observers were skeptical of leaving it to satellite companies to regulate themselves.

“Do they pinky promise?” said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser to the Secure World Foundation. “What if the two can’t come to an agreement?”

Bridenstine is also wary of self-regulation. If a company knew, for example, that there was a 1-in-10,000 chance of a collision, he said, he feared that it might decide to live with that level of risk and not perform a costly maneuver.

“The problem is that analysis is what’s in the best interest for the bottom line of that company,” he said.

CLEVELAND

The notions that Donald Trump would make a typical presidential pivot, and that his divisive form of politics was merely a pose, lie dead on the convention floor in Cleveland. And it is now necessary to confront his unmasked contempt for American institutions.

Far from being confused or opportunistic, Trump has a consistent, well-developed view of the universe and his (prominent) place within it. The world is in chaos. Our country is being infiltrated by child-murdering illegal immigrants and “massive . . . flows” of disloyal, unscreened refugees. American communities are overwhelmed by violence, impoverished by unfair trade and betrayed by politicians who refuse to “put America first.” The institutions that are supposed to defend us are dominated by special interests and rigged by elites.

These claims are wrong, exaggerated or cherry-picked in nearly every respect. But the message resonates. A majority of Americans regard their country as being on the “wrong track ” and have for some time. Conservative media and “breaking news”-driven cable networks reinforce this sense of decline and crisis.

And our institutional challenges are not imaginary: A long-term, wage-earner recession (to which Republicans have offered little practical response). Educational mediocrity concentrated in high-poverty communities. Congressional dysfunction. A Supreme Court that seems overly political and outcome driven. Everyone can find some reason for disillusionment.

But there are two possible responses to such failures. The first is the institutionalist answer: To rebuild with existing materials. To reform, repair, reclaim and renew our patrimony. The second alternative is the promise of deliverance by a man on horseback — a single leader claiming to embody the interests of “the people.”

In Cleveland, Trump offered the second option with more forthright clarity than any politician in my lifetime. The speech contained almost no serious discussion of public policy or ideological argumentation. Instead, Trump said: “I am your voice.” “I am not able to look the other way.” “I know the time for action has come.” “I can be your champion.” “I will fight for you, and I will win for you.”

As someone involved in GOP politics during a previous professional life, the moment was surreal, then emotional. A party with a distinguished history, generally led by men and women of public spirit and decency, has embraced a demagogue who may be a genuine threat to American democracy. Trump is cultivating a state of panic to increase public tolerance for political risk — in this case, the risk of a candidate who is untested, unprepared, unstable and unfit. And the requisite sense of emergency is being created by populating American nightmares with migrants, refugees and Muslims. Standing on the convention floor, I could see what the face of American authoritarianism might look like.

If Trump is elected president, he can justly claim a mandate to pursue the enemies of the people, foreign and domestic. If he tests the limits of executive power to punish rivals and intimidate opponents, he has hidden none of his intentions.

The Caesarian option — rolling the dice with a populist authoritarian, using democratic majorities to undermine democratic structures — is common in history. Any Latin American or African can tell you what strongmen or “big men” are like.

But Trump’s version of “Americanism” is not, in fact, very American. Our constitutional system was designed to make personal rule both impossible and unnecessary. The idea that political salvation might be found simply by replacing one leader at the top of government would have been regarded as perverse by the Founders. The United States has benefited from skilled leaders — a Lincoln or an FDR — at moments of genuine national crisis. But this is not such a time. And this is not such a leader.

Does institutionalism still have defenders in American public life? Certainly there are members of the Senate and House who would resist and balance the ambitions of a President Trump. But history has often shown that unscrupulous executive power can run circles around a divided legislature.

It is also hard for me to regard Hillary Clinton — whatever her other virtues — as the savior of institutional integrity. While she would be preferable, on this score, to Trump, she has her own history of disregard for the rules and procedures that govern other mortals.

However quixotic the attempt may currently seem, the country needs a committed institutionalist in the presidential race. Those distinguished Americans who have taken a pass on running as a third-party candidate should watch Trump’s Cleveland speech once again, and weigh the very real risk to the republic. Bob Gates, are you taking phone calls?

(The Washington Post)

US to Keep Bombing Syria Despite Civilian Deaths and Humanitarian Pleas

Asked if airstrikes would pause, chief spokesman for U.S. military in Iraq and Syria said, "No. Operations continue against [ISIS.]"

The escalation in violence follows U.S.-backed Syrian fighters giving ISIS militants 48 hours to leave Manbij as part of a "last-ditch effort to protect civilian lives." (Photo: Reuters)

The U.S. says airstrikes on Syria will continue, despite reports of dozens of civilian deathsand the pleas of opposition activists and human rights groups.

The Guardian reports:

Anas Alabdah, president of the Syrian National Coalition, has called on the U.S. to suspend its airstrikes until it performs a thorough investigation into the attack near the contested northern city of Manbij on Tuesday that Syrian activists say killed at least 73 civilians—and possibly more than 125.
[....] The U.S. has launched at least 12 airstrikes since the destruction in the village of Tokkhar, according to a daily tally released by the military. Asked by the Guardian if the military will pause airstrikes, Army Colonel Christopher Garver, chief spokesman for the U.S. military command in Iraq and Syria, replied: "No. Operations continue against Daesh," another name for ISIS.

The escalation in violence follows U.S.-backed Syrian fighters giving ISIS militants 48 hours to leave Manbij as part of a "last-ditch effort to protect civilian lives," the Associated Pressreports.

UNICEF estimated this week that "35,000 children are trapped in and around Manbij with nowhere safe to go. In the past six weeks, and as violence has intensified, over 2,300 people were reportedly killed in the area, among them dozens of children."

“We deplore all forms of violence and urge all parties to the conflict in Syria to make every effort to avoid the loss of civilian lives," the group said.

The AP continues:

The fighting around Manbij coincides with an uptick in fighting in the contested city of Aleppo where government forces have completely encircled the eastern, rebel-held parts of the city, trapping hundreds of thousands of people inside.
Stephen O'Brien, the U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, said he is "gravely alarmed" by developments in eastern Aleppo. "Food in east Aleppo is expected to run out by the middle of next month," he warned.

The news also comes as the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) warns that the situation in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is "devastating and overwhelming," with every neighborhood coming under heavy fire in recent days.

"We hear that dozens of civilians are being killed every day and scores more injured from shells, mortars and rockets. The bombing is constant. The violence is threatening hundreds of thousands of people's lives, homes and livelihoods," said Marianne Gasser, head of the ICRC's Syria delegation, in a statement on Thursday.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License

(commondreams.org)

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/23/2016 6:25:54 PM
	Politics Is Fake And Staged JULY 21, 2016 By James Corbett Only a psychopath could read someone else’s lies from their teleprompter with such feigned emotion. And only the flag-waving, dumbed down masses could believe them. Politicians are puppets, and your only questions should be: “Who is writing their speeches? And who is pulling their strings?” This is a public service announcement from The Corbett Report. Visit CorbettReport.com (activistpost.com)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/23/2016 11:47:45 PM
	Companies are flooding Earth’s orbit with satellites, but no one’s directing traffic SpaceXs Falcon 9 rocket launches with the JCSAT-14 communications satellite on May 6 in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (NASA/NASA via Getty Images) By Christian Davenport July 22 at 5:47 PM Companies around the globe are launching an increasing number of satellites, crowding Earth’s orbit in an effort to satisfy the ravenous on-demand desire for more broadband, satellite television and communications. In the past five years, the number of operational satellites has jumped 40 percent, and nearly 1,400 now orbit the Earth. Industry officials say that number could more than double in five years as a revolution in technology has made satellites smaller and more affordable. Entrepreneurs eye the ethereal real estate a couple of hundred miles up as a potentially lucrative new market. Companies such as OneWeb, Boeing and SpaceX plan to put up constellations of small satellites that could number in the hundreds, if not thousands, and beam the Internet to the billions of people not yet connected. Just last month, Boeing filed an application with the Federal Communications Commission that would allow it to send up nearly 3,000 satellites for broadband services. But U.S. officials are concerned about all the traffic in space and the lack of oversight. Although the Pentagon tracks objects orbiting the globe and warns of close approaches, it does not have the power to order an operator to move a satellite out of the way to avoid a collision. Some members of Congress think a civilian agency, such as the Federal Aviation Administration, should be made responsible for managing satellite traffic. Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-Okla.), has led that effort, saying the Pentagon should focus instead “on how do we fight and win wars in space.” He has introduced legislation that would give the FAA authority to monitor objects in space and play the role of traffic cop, warning operators when satellites are dangerously close to one another. The FAA would have the power to order operators to move satellites when necessary, Bridenstine said, and to require that satellites have propulsion systems to maneuver and transponders for better tracking. It would be up to the FAA, not Congress, to come up with the exact regulations, he said. “As space becomes more congested and contested and competitive, there needs to be an agency with unambiguous authority that can compel somebody to maneuver,” Bridenstine said. There is no guarantee the bill will pass anytime soon. And if it does, giving the FAA jurisdiction in space would require additional resources at a time of tight budgets. Creating rules of the road in space would also be an immense and complicated regulatory challenge. Bridenstine said he would favor only “light-touch” regulations, but some interested parties fear a new set of rules would impose a costly burden on U.S. satellite operators and put them at a disadvantage with competitors in other countries that would not have to abide by them. Tom Stroup, the president of the Satellite Industry Association, said the industry “wants to make sure that any transition that takes place is carefully thought through.” The FAA, or any other government agency tasked with the job, should have “sufficient resources to do it properly,” he said. Any regulation should be drafted so that it “doesn’t drive business away,” he said. And the rules have to provide “an international solution,” he added, palatable to foreign governments and businesses, much the way air traffic is managed across international borders. Defense officials say such an approach would help them focus on the possibility of hostilities in space. “It’s clear that we’re going to need a way to regulate that traffic just as we have a way to regulate air traffic,” said Douglas Loverro, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for space policy. Establishing rules of the road would not only help military satellites avoid collisions, he said, but also head off conflicts over nations’ satellites coming too close to other pieces of sensitive equipment. The discussion comes as companies pursue plans to launch constellations of satellites that have become smaller and cheaper, much the way computers have gone from massive mainframes to smartphones. Satellites once were as big as garbage trucks, costing hundreds of millions of dollars. Now there are versions as small as dishwashers, or shoe boxes — or even smaller. The imagery of Earth that such devices provide could help weather forecasters, farmers and scientists studying climate change; aid rescue workers and guide soldiers on the ground. “There have been a lot of technological developments as well as a recognition that broadband access is the equivalent today to what electricity was 100 years ago,” Stroup said. “There’s a feeling there’s a market opportunity and a cost-effective means for providing that service that didn’t exist 20 years ago.” OneWeb, in a joint venture with Airbus that is also backed by business magnate Richard Branson, plans to put up nearly 700 satellites, beginning in 2018. The company is opening an $85 million manufacturing facility near NASA’s Kennedy Space Center that it says will be able to build more than 15 satellites a week. “OneWeb’s mission is to bring the entire world online to improve quality of life and spur economic and national development where it’s needed most,” Greg Wyler, the founder of OneWeb, has said. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is best known for launching rockets that deliver commercial satellites to space and carry cargo to the International Space Station. But Musk has discussed plans to launch as many as 4,000 satellites that would provide broadband service to all parts of the globe. He said the effort “would be like rebuilding the Internet in space.” Last year, SpaceX asked the federal government for permission to begin a test project and said that if all goes as planned, the service could be running within five years. Raytheon, meanwhile, is building 50-pound “disposable satellites” for the Pentagon that could stay aloft for 60 to 90 days and provide soldiers with real-time imagery of the battlefield. In its application to the FCC, Boeing said that it was aware of OneWeb’s plans and that it would work with the firm “to develop an analysis of the potential risk of collision” and to prevent collisions from occurring. Some observers were skeptical of leaving it to satellite companies to regulate themselves. “Do they pinky promise?” said Brian Weeden, a technical adviser to the Secure World Foundation. “What if the two can’t come to an agreement?” Bridenstine is also wary of self-regulation. If a company knew, for example, that there was a 1-in-10,000 chance of a collision, he said, he feared that it might decide to live with that level of risk and not perform a costly maneuver. “The problem is that analysis is what’s in the best interest for the bottom line of that company,” he said. And the consequences, if there were a collision, could be severe, he said: “It could create 5,000 pieces of debris that will be up there for 100 years.” (The Washington Post)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/24/2016 12:11:50 AM
	MUNICH MALL SHOOTING: LONE GUNMAN KILLS NINE THEN COMMITS SUICIDE An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman apparently acted alone, police said. BY REUTERS ON 7/22/16 AT 5:49 PM Updated \| An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman who apparently acted alone opened fire near a busy shopping mall in Munich Friday evening, killing at least nine people in the third attack on civilians in Western Europe in eight days. Authorities sought to piece together the circumstances of an attack behind which they had found no immediate evidence of an Islamist motive, Munich police said. Chancellor Angela Merkel is due to meet her chief of staff Peter Altmaier, Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere and intelligence officials on Saturday to review the incident. The pistol-wielding attacker, identified by Munich police chief Hubertus Andrae as a dual national from Munich, was later found dead of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities said it was too early to say whether it was a terrorist attack but that the shooter was believed to have staged the attack alone, opening fire in a fast food restaurant before moving to the mall. In addition to determining the motive, police will have to find out how the 18-year-old got the firearm used in the attack in a country whose gun control system is described by the U.S. Congress Library as being "among the most stringent in Europe." The gunman, whose body was found on a side street near the mall, was not identified but Andrae said he was not previously known to police. Police commandos, armed with night vision equipment and dogs, raided an apartment in the Munich neighbourhood of Maxvorstadt early on Saturday where the German newspaper Bild said the gunman lived with his parents. "I am shocked, what happened to the boy? Only God knows what happened," Telfije Dalpi, a 40-year-old Macedonian neighbour of the family told Reuters. "I have no idea what happened - but he was a good human being. I have no idea if he did anything bad elsewhere." There was a huge police presence in the street, which lies just north of Munich's old city. Andrae said authorities saw no links to an attack in southern Germany last Monday in which an axe-wielding 17-year-old asylum-seeker injured five people in an incident claimed by the Islamic State group. Andrae said it was premature to say whether Friday's shooting was a terrorist attack, as French President Francois Hollande said, or the work of a deranged person. Police said they were investigating a video in which the gunman is heard shouting "I am German" and exchanging racial slurs and profanities with another man. "We are trying to determine who said what," a police spokesman said. U.S. intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said initial reports from their German counterparts indicated no apparent link between the shooter and Islamic State or other militant groups. It was the third major act of violence against civilians in Europe in eight days. Previous attacks in France and Germany were claimed by Islamic State. At least 16 people, including several children, were in hospital and three were in critical condition, Andrae said. Kosovan media reported that three of the victims were of Kosovan origin. Naim Zabergja, the father of one of the victims wrote on Facebook: "With great sadness I want to inform you that my son Dijamant Zabergja, 21, was killed yesterday in Munich." A second victim was named by her brother on Facebook as Armela Segashi, who he said died along with a third, Sabina Sulaj. Friday's incident snarled traffic as authorities blocked highways, closed the main railway station, and shut down public transport. Thousands of people had been crowding the streets and squares in Munich's city center on Friday for a beer festival. "There were a few people who came running towards us who were screaming and in panic. But mostly it was surprisingly calm," said Elena Hakes, who had been with a friend in the Odeonsplatz square. The incidents in Germany follow an attack in Nice, France, in which a Tunisian drove a truck into crowds celebrating Bastille Day, killing 84. Islamic State claimed responsibility. (Newsweek)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/24/2016 12:22:33 AM
	Trump is cultivating a state of panic Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump delivers his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. (Evan Vucci/Associated Press) By Michael Gerson Opinion writer July 22 at 5:56 PM CLEVELAND The notions that Donald Trump would make a typical presidential pivot, and that his divisive form of politics was merely a pose, lie dead on the convention floor in Cleveland. And it is now necessary to confront his unmasked contempt for American institutions. Far from being confused or opportunistic, Trump has a consistent, well-developed view of the universe and his (prominent) place within it. The world is in chaos. Our country is being infiltrated by child-murdering illegal immigrants and “massive . . . flows” of disloyal, unscreened refugees. American communities are overwhelmed by violence, impoverished by unfair trade and betrayed by politicians who refuse to “put America first.” The institutions that are supposed to defend us are dominated by special interests and rigged by elites. These claims are wrong, exaggerated or cherry-picked in nearly every respect. But the message resonates. A majority of Americans regard their country as being on the “wrong track ” and have for some time. Conservative media and “breaking news”-driven cable networks reinforce this sense of decline and crisis. And our institutional challenges are not imaginary: A long-term, wage-earner recession (to which Republicans have offered little practical response). Educational mediocrity concentrated in high-poverty communities. Congressional dysfunction. A Supreme Court that seems overly political and outcome driven. Everyone can find some reason for disillusionment. But there are two possible responses to such failures. The first is the institutionalist answer: To rebuild with existing materials. To reform, repair, reclaim and renew our patrimony. The second alternative is the promise of deliverance by a man on horseback — a single leader claiming to embody the interests of “the people.” In Cleveland, Trump offered the second option with more forthright clarity than any politician in my lifetime. The speech contained almost no serious discussion of public policy or ideological argumentation. Instead, Trump said: “I am your voice.” “I am not able to look the other way.” “I know the time for action has come.” “I can be your champion.” “I will fight for you, and I will win for you.” As someone involved in GOP politics during a previous professional life, the moment was surreal, then emotional. A party with a distinguished history, generally led by men and women of public spirit and decency, has embraced a demagogue who may be a genuine threat to American democracy. Trump is cultivating a state of panic to increase public tolerance for political risk — in this case, the risk of a candidate who is untested, unprepared, unstable and unfit. And the requisite sense of emergency is being created by populating American nightmares with migrants, refugees and Muslims. Standing on the convention floor, I could see what the face of American authoritarianism might look like. If Trump is elected president, he can justly claim a mandate to pursue the enemies of the people, foreign and domestic. If he tests the limits of executive power to punish rivals and intimidate opponents, he has hidden none of his intentions. The Caesarian option — rolling the dice with a populist authoritarian, using democratic majorities to undermine democratic structures — is common in history. Any Latin American or African can tell you what strongmen or “big men” are like. But Trump’s version of “Americanism” is not, in fact, very American. Our constitutional system was designed to make personal rule both impossible and unnecessary. The idea that political salvation might be found simply by replacing one leader at the top of government would have been regarded as perverse by the Founders. The United States has benefited from skilled leaders — a Lincoln or an FDR — at moments of genuine national crisis. But this is not such a time. And this is not such a leader. Does institutionalism still have defenders in American public life? Certainly there are members of the Senate and House who would resist and balance the ambitions of a President Trump. But history has often shown that unscrupulous executive power can run circles around a divided legislature. It is also hard for me to regard Hillary Clinton — whatever her other virtues — as the savior of institutional integrity. While she would be preferable, on this score, to Trump, she has her own history of disregard for the rules and procedures that govern other mortals. However quixotic the attempt may currently seem, the country needs a committed institutionalist in the presidential race. Those distinguished Americans who have taken a pass on running as a third-party candidate should watch Trump’s Cleveland speech once again, and weigh the very real risk to the republic. Bob Gates, are you taking phone calls? Read more from Michael Gerson’s archive, follow him on Twitteror subscribe to his updates on Facebook . (The Washington Post)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

Luis Miguel 1162 61587 Lima	RE: ARE WE NOW IN THE END TIMES? 7/24/2016 10:04:26 AM
	Published on Friday, July 22, 2016 by Common Dreams US to Keep Bombing Syria Despite Civilian Deaths and Humanitarian Pleas Asked if airstrikes would pause, chief spokesman for U.S. military in Iraq and Syria said, "No. Operations continue against [ISIS.]" by Nadia Prupis, staff writer The escalation in violence follows U.S.-backed Syrian fighters giving ISIS militants 48 hours to leave Manbij as part of a "last-ditch effort to protect civilian lives." (Photo: Reuters) The U.S. says airstrikes on Syria will continue, despite reports of dozens of civilian deathsand the pleas of opposition activists and human rights groups. The Guardian reports: Anas Alabdah, president of the Syrian National Coalition, has called on the U.S. to suspend its airstrikes until it performs a thorough investigation into the attack near the contested northern city of Manbij on Tuesday that Syrian activists say killed at least 73 civilians—and possibly more than 125. [....] The U.S. has launched at least 12 airstrikes since the destruction in the village of Tokkhar, according to a daily tally released by the military. Asked by the Guardian if the military will pause airstrikes, Army Colonel Christopher Garver, chief spokesman for the U.S. military command in Iraq and Syria, replied: "No. Operations continue against Daesh," another name for ISIS. The escalation in violence follows U.S.-backed Syrian fighters giving ISIS militants 48 hours to leave Manbij as part of a "last-ditch effort to protect civilian lives," the Associated Pressreports. UNICEF estimated this week that "35,000 children are trapped in and around Manbij with nowhere safe to go. In the past six weeks, and as violence has intensified, over 2,300 people were reportedly killed in the area, among them dozens of children." “We deplore all forms of violence and urge all parties to the conflict in Syria to make every effort to avoid the loss of civilian lives," the group said. The AP continues: The fighting around Manbij coincides with an uptick in fighting in the contested city of Aleppo where government forces have completely encircled the eastern, rebel-held parts of the city, trapping hundreds of thousands of people inside. Stephen O'Brien, the U.N.'s emergency relief coordinator, said he is "gravely alarmed" by developments in eastern Aleppo. "Food in east Aleppo is expected to run out by the middle of next month," he warned. The news also comes as the International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) warns that the situation in Aleppo, Syria's largest city, is "devastating and overwhelming," with every neighborhood coming under heavy fire in recent days. "We hear that dozens of civilians are being killed every day and scores more injured from shells, mortars and rockets. The bombing is constant. The violence is threatening hundreds of thousands of people's lives, homes and livelihoods," said Marianne Gasser, head of the ICRC's Syria delegation, in a statement on Thursday. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 License (commondreams.org)
	"Choose a job you love and you will not have to work a day in your life" (Confucius)
	+1

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Politics Is Fake And Staged

MUNICH MALL SHOOTING: LONE GUNMAN KILLS NINE THEN COMMITS SUICIDE

An 18-year-old German-Iranian gunman apparently acted alone, police said.

US to Keep Bombing Syria Despite Civilian Deaths and Humanitarian Pleas

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