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Tuesday, January 31, 2017

Linux BASH CLI RSS Reader, Explaining Prophets 4, and More

- built my own RSS feed reader yesterday. It actually took a lot less time then going out to search for one that suited my needs. It's based on someone else's code (credit given in code but since that code was so buggy that it wouldn't work) I guess it's mine now?
rssread-1.11.tar.gz
https://sites.google.com/site/dtbnguyen/
- code to extract from feeds from OPML/XML file from naufrago included in script (can't post it here for some strange reason. Clearly, financial struggles at Google are really having an impact on their services?)
- have been looking for a simple Linux CLI based RSS reader. Not much luck...
simple rss reader
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/simple-rss-reader-srr/
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/rss-feed-reader/pnjaodmkngahhkoihejjehlcdlnohgmp?hl=en
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/brief-rss-feed-reader-for-firefox/
https://www.alexkras.com/simple-rss-reader-in-85-lines-of-php/
bash rss reader
http://www.linuxjournal.com/content/parsing-rss-news-feed-bash-script
A simple but well coloured feed reader written in bash
https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=146850
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/443991/how-to-parse-rss-feeds-xml-in-a-shell-script
http://www.antionline.com/showthread.php?255431-bash-rss-reader
https://github.com/sebsu/RSS-reader-in-bash
http://chr.tx0.org/nuush
beautify xml linux cli
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16090869/how-to-pretty-print-xml-from-the-command-line
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21275928/how-to-format-xml-document-in-linux
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11965347/xml-formatting-indentation-tags-matching-linux
https://blog.jorisvisscher.com/2013/04/24/pretty-print-xml-on-linux-command-line-bash/
http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/94037/any-command-that-can-format-html-or-xml-from-shell
format xml linux cli
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/16090869/how-to-pretty-print-xml-from-the-command-line
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21275928/how-to-format-xml-document-in-linux
chrome rss feed reader
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/local-reader-6-excellent-rss-extensions-for-chrome/
firefox rss reader
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/simple-rss-reader-srr/
https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/brief/
http://mashable.com/2007/05/26/rss-firefox-guide/
- sometimes, you wonder whether life would be better in the 'caveman days'?
http://www.itwire.com/security/76611-hotel-returns-to-locks-and-keys-after-ransomware-attack.html
- life in China is tough/rough?
The people who can't quite get a government job
http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-38151203
- this problem has been present since before the computing age...
http://www.itwire.com/shawthing/76458-employees-can-steal-company-ip.html
- vive La France?!
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/france-digital-minister-axelle-lemaire-explains-the-logic-behind-the-new-french-tech-visa-2017-1?r=US&IR=T
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/france-tech-visa-entrepreneurs
- really smart animals are superbly funny
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4160216/Grizzly-bear-looks-flies-whiel-hunt-salmon.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/01/30/you-know-the-weather-is-bad-when-you-find-a-moose-in-your-basement/
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=really+smart+cat
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=really+smart+dog
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=really+smart+monkey
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=really+smart+bear
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=funny+baby+hippo
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moose+eating
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=moose+petting

Obviously, a continuation from:
- we only know a fraction of what is known in the Universe. EM spectrum is supposedly only 0.005% of what is in the Universe?
The Fake 'Choice' - God or Non-Existence - The David Icke Videocast Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cUqNt-FTtE
- it makes sense that humanity thought that some of the pre-cogs/prophets were important (especially after seeing the impact on those who had heard the 'Call from God', http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-3-random-thoughts.html). They perhaps though bloodline would be best of mechanism would to maintain 'incorruptibility'? It wasn't so? The visions were supposed to keep them 'in check'? Same thing seemed to occur over and over again. Muhammad was perceived by some to have become slightly corrupted by some toward the end of their life? Did his 'abilities' diminish towards the end of his life?
- clear that some of the 'enhanced' abused their abilities. If many of them are just standard humans with extra abilities it would make a lot of sense?
- clear some translations of Holy Scriptures aren't 'pure'. I looked at translations from Sanskrit for Hinduism and translations for the Quran from Arabic and translations can look radically different from one another... Some supposed codes don't translate as well. For instance, ancient Hebrew/Aramaic into the Torah codes only seem to work in the original language?
- one ability that has been mentioned throughout the Holy Scriptures is the ability to take possession of other animals/people (as I said previously they're technically on a 'leash', http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-3-random-thoughts.html) Clearly, there is a problem here. An obvious experiment is whether you can get them (pick any random animal that you meet) to twitch particular body parts (move their ears, move a particular paw, wag tail, etc...). There must be some form of sensory deprivation (no line of sight, smell, etc... pure telepathy?) between you and the animal to reduce chances of sample contamination (reduces the chances of the relationship being like what an animal tamer does rather than a pre-cog/telepathic)? Explains the Daniel and the Lion's Den story/parable and also explains Jesus's animal possession/exorcism miracle...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_in_the_lions'_den
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=animal+mind+control
- since most of these guys seem to aware that they can take other forms, warp anywhere/anytime they want (most seem to go forward and that is probably more interesting anyhow), etc... puts other things into context. They don't need to learn how to speak dog, cat, bird, bee, etc... when using animal telepathy which puts Jesus' 'Lights of Pentecost' (talks to others using languages/tongues in spite of not knowing the language) miracle into more context. He didn't have to learn the language. If he used his altered form and then used it to communicate things would have been done 'automagically' (like https://translate.google.com/ except better)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Spirit
- the multi-form arrangement helps to explain other 'miracles' as well? If they can get into the mind of animals and take other forms then it stands to reason how some of the miracles in the Old Testament may work. If they are currently on Earth then they can just take that other form and enter someone else's mind. If they are on the 'other side' then it's fundamentally the same procedure?
- not certain how Jesus did the walking on water thing yet? Obvious funny explanations is that the disciples were delirious with hunger and were seeing things?, Jesus had really big feet which made for better surface tension? He 'took control' of sea creatures/organisms and walked on top of them? He could have just flashed the image into their heads? etc...
- feeding many people using small number of fish/bread is easy if they can take other forms and enter people's minds? Altering neurochemistry (hunger is supposedly controlled via the 'brain' based on some of the science I've seen)...
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/overeating-caused-by-brain-chemical-enkephalin-2012-9?r=US&IR=T
- placebo effect a huge obvious big problem in many of these experiments. In many cases, in the Holy Scriptures doesn't say what the livelihood of those people who are 'blessed' down the line?
http://china-underground.com/2014/01/23/rise-and-fall-of-the-qigong-frenzy-in-china-when-superstition-and-science-collide/
- if they are down here they may have diminished 'abilities'? The 'other form' seems to be where they get their power from?
- 'non-enhanced' humans don't get the significance of the Holy Scriptures (Torah, Bible, Quran, etc...) because if they are authentic (faithfully transcribed) they are effectively a manual those who are 'enhanced'. They allow them to understand how the others took control of their abilities and how to do the same. If noetics is true it gives them a potential navigation/starting point that pre-cogs/prophets can use that to 'seed' and 'navigate' in 3-D/4-D. It can be used to verify old/other pre-cogs/prophets after all?
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/12/explaining-prophets-fake-news-and-more_26.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-2-what-is-liberal.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-3-random-thoughts.html 
- obvious big questions for any pre-cog is verification over what is pre-cognition and what is a miracle. Not as simple as you think. Good example are the following. Pre-cog could look at a tree and predict that the birds move en-masse outwards within 5-10 seconds. They do so. Pre-cognition or miracle? Pre-cog predicts weather change on other side of world on a particular day. Pre-cognition or miracle (especially if in right season for said weather change)? Pre-cog could could also predict rain within next 2 seconds, rain will stop within 5 seconds, command weather to change within certain amounts of time, etc...? It happens. Pre-cognition or miracle? This puts Jesus' halt the storm miracle issue into context and why this stuff is so difficult to investigate? Possibly Moses as well? They mightn't have needed the level of power of that have been possibly suspected. They could've simply taken advantage of particular set of conditions (that only they were aware of)?
- think of other problems with designing experiments for ESP? Most people seem to turn around if they know they are being watched. So you somehow need to get rid of peripheral vision issues. Also, this experiment does not factor out if people have latent ESP capabilities across the board. Only way to do it for real is to revert to objects once more? If you can predict the colour of moving cars, objects, etc... behind you (consistently and while sensory deprived in the conventional sense) it feels like a more valid experiment
- the irony of the original Stargate experiment documentation is that confidence seemed to play such an important factor? Surely, if you believed in cause and effect then you would have allowed greater feedback? At times it's junk documentation? or else the experiments weren't designed properly? Surely, you'd start small and gradually move towards bigger things? For instance, picking random numbers, cards, dice, etc... This would allow you to hone technique and move on to bigger things? Else, they were exasperated? or it's all just an elaborate cover story? If that's the case surely things would be better throughout the world though?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stargate_Project
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/755646/CIA-FBI-America-USA-secret-classified-documents-aliens-mind-control-star-gate-Cold-War
http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/579641/aliens-cia-ufo-documents-stargate-project-uri-geller-henry-kissinger
http://www.timesofisrael.com/how-uri-geller-persuaded-the-cia-he-can-read-minds/
https://www.rt.com/viral/374260-cia-ufo-psychic-powers/
Chinese government has conducted numerous studies on Superhuman Powers 
http://macedoniaonline.eu/content/view/30827/23/
http://humansarefree.com/2014/04/10-scientific-studies-proving-that.html
http://worldufosightings.com/itsabouttohappen/2016/12/09/declassified-cia-documents-suggest-super-powered-x-men-among-us/
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-3-random-thoughts.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2017/01/explaining-prophets-2-what-is-liberal.html
http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/12/explaining-prophets-fake-news-and-more_26.html
- if those from up above are are basically 'enhanced/ascended' humans it will make a lot more sense why not all prayers seem to be answered? They're just like normal humans just with extra abilities (if God exists he's probably 'different')? Moreover, the answering prayers thing is problematic because if people are supposed to 'earn ascension' the others can only intervene under special conditions?
- non pre-cogs/prophets can copy pre-cogs/prophets and non-prophets/prophets can copy non-prophets which makes the problem of credibility, authentication, and verification even worse
- in all of the religions it was hoped that someday that there would be an individual (or group of individuals) who would be able to explain things. It's not that simple. A single individual can lie and in reality, it's really difficult to verify a lot of these abilities since the science seems to be a little bit behind? My guess, is that it will take multiple pre-cogs who are identified and verified who can be then used to authenticate and verify existing texts? Done in a controlled setting it will be much easier for others to believe?
- much of what is in the Holy Scriptures can be explained via 'standard abilities' in most pre-cogs/prophets. Some other stuff is very difficult to explain though. Most logical explanation would be aliens (literally beings from another dimension or planet), plain shenanigans (covert mlitary operations), etc... For instance, the massive miracles of Moses (haven't look at this too closely though), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Staff_of_Moses. The problem is how do you fake 'massive plagues' (if animal control/telepathy is possible then it's simply a case of increasing broadcast power of in order to do what Moses did?), parting of the Red Sea (one theory being this was overhead comet/aliens, etc... Notice that it seems to indicate that his 'staff' is important and that he's seemingly talking directly with God (most of the other pre-cogs seem to deal with God in other forms/ways? Stories regarding Moses (and in the Old Testament) seems to imply direct contact? As an aside, how do artists know what 'God' looks like anyhow if pre-cogs/prophets seem to have different accounts of him? Just strange representations?), etc...? There's also a troubling aspect to the 'power level' problem to measure the relative importance of pre-cogs/prophets/messengers?  If you look at Jesus and the Arab/Jewish argument against him being their Saviour/Messiah then you start to understand what the problem is?
UFOs, telekinesis & spies - 12 million pages of CIA secrets online for 1st time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W77sGmLxHko
- there's obvious one really funny inference that you can draw from the CIA telepathy/kinetic experiments. If you start at any animal for however long they will eventually die (unless they're really special)?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Men_Who_Stare_at_Goats_%28film%29
- one of the interesting things about those who have warped through seem to have the same problem with the 'nature of God'. Many seem to imply that the other place is basically a playground for them?
- prophecies can be faked is if you say something and then do the job in the meantime (covert operations). Not possible for prophets with limited resources obviously (which has often been the case in the past)?
https://www.rt.com/usa/375818-fbi-secret-rules-powers/
https://theintercept.com/series/the-fbis-secret-rules/
- if the religions have basically been standing by on the sidelines it's obvious what some of the faithful may have been thinking. If they are correct then in time the science will prove the religion (pre-cogs/prophets) correct... Those pre-cogs who are less religiously inclined will be easier for others to believe? If they can take complete control they can verify particular time streams/events going both forward and back in time surely others would start to believe?
- a lot of prophecies online often gloomy. Always the same thing, don't listen to those who prophecies come to pass (heaps)
PROPHECIES-COLLECTION.pdf
http://www.tribulation-now.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/PROPHECIES-COLLECTION.pdf
- navigation via time isn't that simple. If time/space is finite but the pre-cogs are travelling instantly (no accounts of Doppler shift from many of them) from one point or another or there isn't anything that feels like you can 'grab onto' to navigate. See the problem? There's something missing? Like a different form of matter that needs to be investigated?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-create-kind-matter-time-182302622.html
- difference between imagination and other place? Imagination is simply a bunch of ideas. Pre-cognition is something radically different. The 'augmentation level' seems to allow them to distinguish things. Most of the pre-cogs seem to know this. They also seem to know when/if they've warped through by reading accounts from others? Trouble is for those who are experiencing nightmares versus pre-cognition?
- the funny thing in the science versus religion debate is that some people are so cynical that it makes it difficult for them to see what's real from what's not, aspects of religion clearly make science defunct and vice-versa, if science continues to be changing/wrong then how is it possible that religion can be 'proven'?
http://www.dw.com/en/f-duncan-haldane-on-quantum-computers-entanglement-and-proving-einstein-wrong/a-37211970
https://cruxnow.com/analysis/2017/01/24/parsing-pope-franciss-puzzling-take-religion-china/
- one funny thing about the world now is that 'charity paradox'. Some countries did really well after the World Wars. Others didn't. Those who did well appeared to look more charitable while others were less so didn't (this applies to the rich and poor parent scenario as well). The irony is that a lot of core metrics (heathcare, wealth distribution, poverty, etc...) look fairly similar and if you look book in a lot of footage of the past things in different parts of the world aren't so different? Many are just trying to do the best they can given the circumstances?
- think like a lazy man. Let's say there is a God? What's more efficient? His science (we'll just call it 'God's science')or 'human science'? For me, it's clearly his science? It's the ultimate lazy/smart man's science. Imagine instead of building a home you could grow homes. Each home could be as you wished but all were slightly different. They were all slightly different because of localised resource deficiencies and they only grow to a finite point which means that other things can grow as well. Extrapolate to plants and animals and things make more sense. You don't need to do work, you just let it flow. No arbitrary rules/regulations that you come up after the things have happened (after all, the critical flaw in societal management seems to be monetary/economic. Get rid of this flaw and everything else sort of falls into place? The Marxists-Leninists were partially right?). They just happen and you just enjoy the fruits of your labour? It also helps us deal with the resource consumption problem. If the science is correct and the human population growth rate can be kept in check then things should fall into place? Prior to that though humanity must hit 'transcendence'. Consume within reason so that no matter how much is thrown at them they won't become greedier (this partly comes down to neuroscience, http://dtbnguyen.blogspot.com/2016/07/neuroscience-in-psyops-world-order.html) and end up destroying themselves and one another?
https://www.rt.com/news/375650-nazi-auschwitz-camp-list/
http://pamiec.pl/pa/form/r48758554236407,ALSCHEWSKI.html
- the world needs to deal with the religion problem once and for all. Empires will just keep on jostling in the meantime as none of the models so far scale up (especially as long as we don't have FTL capability)?
New Data Tracks Inequality Over Centuries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Tue6Zx8reo
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201701281050113534-end-of-us-dominated-world-order-analysis/
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-26/us-empire-would-have-collapsed-decades-ago-if-it-didn%E2%80%99t-abandon-gold-standard 
- stress and anxiety can cause schizophrenia but so can neurochemical issues. Doesn't account for those with abilities prior to any symptoms or thereafter though
- it's obvious why faith is so easy to these guys. They're pre-cogs! They've also figured out how to identify between false positives and true prophecies...
- obvious huge benefits for pre-cogs (should they exist) in societal and economic planning? Perfect allocation each time? Imagine screening for security? No background required (if they have complete control over abilities)?
- the ultimate diplomat argument in the past seems to be was, "God said so!". Obvious that this could have been abused by many?
- over time, it becomes obvious that some of the claims aren't so outlandish after all? If pre-cogs/prophets exist the problem seems to be explanation not the actual content itself? If, angels (and the others) are aliens (often just enhanced humans) a lot of stuff makes more sense?

Random Quotes:
- The Smart NZ Education Center, which helps young Thais arrange their university studies in New Zealand, has told six out of ten students to consider changing their nicknames before traveling to the Pacific Ocean islands.

The names, which include Poo, Pee, Porn, Moo, Nit and Dam among others, have caused problems for some students, reported the "New Zealand Herald."

The company said it now includes the advice on all its application forms, after many Thais faced jokes from fellow students when they first introduced themselves.

"There are nicknames that you know will result with the student getting harassed if nothing is done," said Smart NZ spokesman Chonnanit Na Songkhla.

He told the "NZ Herald" that Thais would have a "smoother cultural integration" if they changed their names.

Lost in translation

Most Thais have a nickname, given to them by their parents at birth. Superstition contends that a second name will confuse evil spirits intent on snatching a toddler, explained the Bangkok Post, which also reported the story on Saturday.

But while many nicknames are perfectly innocent in Thai, they have an entirely different meaning when translated into English. For example, the Thai word for dimpled is Bum, and crab is translated as Poo.

Foreign words also make popular nicknames, with some Thais called Beer, Milk and even Bank, the website Into-Asia.com said.

Others are called Mydear, Cake, Perfume and even FIFA, according to the original "NZ Herald" report.

One young man, whose nickname is Peach, was advised to take the moniker Peter when he traveled to New Zealand in 2014.

"My mum named me Peach because my mum is Apple and my sister is Pear," Vichaya Nilrungratana was cited by the "NZ Herald" as saying.

"I was surprised because I didn't think my nickname would be understood differently in another country."
http://www.dw.com/en/thais-told-to-change-poo-pee-and-porn-nicknames/a-35883952
- US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will win the race for the White House, says an American professor, who has correctly predicted all the last eight presidents of the United States.

Allan Lichtman, a distinguished professor of history at American University, told The Washington Post that based on a system he calls "Keys to the White House", Trump will emerge victorious in the November election.

“Based on the 13 keys, it would predict a Donald Trump victory,” he claimed.

The professor said he derived the system of true/false statements, "by looking at every American presidential election from 1860 to 1980, and have since used the system to correctly predict the outcomes of all eight American presidential elections from 1984 to 2012.”

He said one of the keys he uses to predict the winner of the White House is that the candidate is charismatic or not.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/09/24/486227/US-politics--Donald-Trump-win-presidential-race-Hillary-Clinton
- Coast guard and maritime law enforcement ships are seen as China’s go-to units in the South China Sea. Between 2010 and 2016, Chinese coast guard units were involved in 71 percent of the 45 incidents. China’s coast guard vessels are growing in size and are, in some cases, navy “grey hulls” which have been painted white, according to Center for Strategic and International Studies scholar Bonnie Glaser, who also spoke at the hearing.

The third sea force, China’s maritime militia, is a paramilitary force that operates on the front lines but hides behind the façade of civilian operations. They are often presented as fishing trawlers, but they rarely behave as such. These maritime militia “blue hulls” are waging a campaign of “grey zone aggression.”

“Make no mistake, these are state-organized, developed, and controlled forces operating under a direct military chain of command,” Erickson stated emphatically during the recent hearing.

China’s maritime militia has been involved in numerous incidents. Maritime militia units made appearances during the 2009 harassment of a U.S. surveillance ship, 2011 sabotage of two Vietnamese hydrographic vessels, 2012 seizure of Scarborough Shoal, 2014 repulsion of Vietnamese vessels near a Chinese oil rig in disputed waters, and 2015 harassment of the U.S.S. Lassen during a Freedom of Navigation Operation (FONOP).

“China is generating a worrying new wave … in leading maritime militia development,” Erickson mentioned. “The Sansha maritime militia was established to be a professional paramilitary force first and foremost, with fishing a secondary mission at best,” he added.

Several new, large maritime militia vessels with reinforced hulls, external rails for the mitigation of collision damage, and water cannons have been deployed in the South China Sea. Such features are not necessary for standard fishing trawlers, but they work well for ramming other vessels and spraying other ships with water to force them out of certain areas.

A 1978 report estimated that China’s maritime militia consisted of 750,000 personnel and 140,000 vessels, but the current size of this force is unknown. A 2010 defense white paper reported that China had 8 million militia units; the maritime militia would be a smaller subset of that group.

China’s maritime militia is typically positioned on the front line, with naval and coast guard vessels stationed nearby for protection. China uses these vessels to skirt claims that it is militarizing the South China Sea. “This is a force that thrives within the shadows of plausible deniability,” argued Erickson.
http://dailycaller.com/2016/09/24/how-the-us-should-respond-to-chinas-secret-weapon/
- If the global economy enters a new economic crisis it may lead to epic debt defaults, according to trade economists at the United Nations.

“As capital begins to flow out, there is now a real danger of entering a third phase of the financial crisis which began in the United States housing market in late 2007 before spreading to the European sovereign bond market,” the annual report of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Following the 2008-2009 crisis, developing countries faced a huge influx of cheap credit. The process was heated by quantitative easing programs in the developed nations.

“Alarm bells have been ringing over the explosion of corporate debt levels in emerging economies, which now exceed $25 trillion. Damaging deflationary spirals cannot be ruled out,” the report says. Under the conditions of slowing global GDP the debt is likely not to be redeemed.
https://www.rt.com/business/360402-un-global-financial-crisis-defaults/
- Latin American nations accused the US of “neo-colonialism” at the UN General Assembly, with Venezuela going as far as calling Washington “the biggest exporter of violence in the world,” while also arguing for the removal of stumbling blocks to development.

Ecuador and Nicaragua joined Venezuela in their condemnation of the US at the 71st UN General Assembly in New York.

The mood was largely centered around the economic exploitation of countries in the south by the developed north. The United States, with its history of fomenting unrest and regime change in Latin America – took center stage.

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Delcy Rodriguez in particular said capitalism is the main “producer of violence and unhappiness” as she spoke in support of rebalancing global power dynamics through the BRICS. 
Read more
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro © Miraflores Palace 60 more days of emergency in Venezuela as president fears US plots

With her country in turmoil, Rodriguez reminded the delegates about the cost of war.

“The United States is the biggest exporter of violence in the world,” she said as quoted by Telesur channel. “The United States has about 800 military bases across the world. Capitalism is the biggest obstacle for peoples to develop. It's a lethal formula against peace.”

Rodriguez has also taken a stand against Washington’s meddling in Venezuelan politics, particularly with regard to a motion by the opposition who want to hold a referendum to remove President Nicolas Maduro.

Venezuela’s foreign minister recalled Operation Condor, in the 1970s, where right-wing dictatorships orchestrated mass killings at home in order to stop the public from being influenced by communism and the Soviet Union.

While the US never openly admitted its role in the operation, the CIA acknowledged it was aware of it and various publications and witnesses alleged Washington’s key organizational, financial and technical roles.

Rodriguez likened the current coup in Brazil to “a new operation Condor,” before moving onto US support of Israel and declaring that “there won’t be peace in the Middle East if it denies Palestinians their rights.”

Just two days ago, the country accused the US of spying on the Non-Aligned Movement summit. Venezuela’s air force said it spotted two US aircraft circling near the island Margarita, allegedly “collecting information [and] carrying out intelligence operations on the summit,” according to Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez. He added that there were a total of 32 airspace violations in 2016 alone.
https://www.rt.com/news/360500-venezuela-exporter-violence-us/
- Chinese companies invested a record $145 billion abroad last year which is 18.3 percent more than in 2014. The country overtook Japan to become the world's second-biggest cross-border investor, after the US.

According to a joint report from China's Ministry of Commerce, National Bureau of Statistics and State Administration of Foreign Exchange, China has contributed almost ten percent of global direct investment.

Outbound direct investment by China's financial institutions rose 26 percent last year to $24.4 billion.

"We think Chinese companies' overseas takeovers can help them acquire high-end production elements such as design, research and development, marketing and service to upgrade their positions in the global value, industrial, logistics chains," the commerce ministry's representative Zhang Xiangchen told reporters at a news conference on Thursday.
https://www.rt.com/business/360397-china-foreign-investment-record-high/
- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he is not concerned if American rating agencies like Fitch, S&P or Moody’s downgrade his country to junk status. Erdogan told Bloomberg that Turkey's economy is strong and the ratings are biased.

“I don’t care at all, they’re making mistakes and they’re doing it intentionally. Whether you’re honest or not, Turkey’s economy is strong,” the Turkish leader said in an interview on Thursday.

After the failed military coup in Turkey on July 15, S&P slashed the country’s rating to BB, two notches below investment grade. In August, another US rating agency, Fitch, kept Turkey’s rating at BBB-, or the lowest investment grade, but downgraded the outlook from stable to negative. Moody’s announced on July 18 that Turkey may face a rating cut within 90 days.

Erdogan said the ratings are politically biased. “They’re praising economies that have collapsed, that are finished, on the other hand, they’re either freezing or going towards cutting a country that’s standing on its feet, that’s upright, and where investments are continuing,” he told the media.
https://www.rt.com/business/360361-erdogan-turkey-junk-status/
- Ishchenko recalled that until recently, only two countries have had any significant success in the use of marine mammals for underwater warfare – the United States and the Soviet Union (later Russia). "In principle, for both countries, there are only three uses for so-called 'fighting bio-technical systems', including dolphins, seals and sea lions: to fight against underwater saboteurs and protect naval bases; to search for and destroy naval mines; and to discover and raise sunken objects."

The US began their experiments in this field in its the Pacific Island territories, and in Hawaii, beginning in the 1960s. In the 1970s, six trained dolphins were used to defend the port at Cam Ranh Bay, South Vietnam from saboteurs. In 2003, combat dolphins were believed to have been used to help demine Umm Qasr port in Iraq. Currently the US Navy is estimated to have 24 demining dolphins, along with 50 dolphins and 30 sea lions for other purposes. The program has an annual price tag of about $20 million.
https://sputniknews.com/military/20160924/1045664270/ukraine-combat-dolphins-resurrection.html
Editors from two Palestinian news publications based in the occupied West Bank say their Facebook accounts were suspended last week and that no reason was provided, alleging their pages may have been censored because of a recent agreement between the US social media giant and the Israeli government aimed at tackling "incitement".

Last week, four editors from the Shehab News Agency, which has more than 6.3 million likes on Facebook, and three executives from the Quds News Network, with about 5.1 million likes, reported they could not access their personal accounts.

Both agencies cover daily news in the occupied Palestinian territories.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/09/facebook-blocks-accounts-palestinian-journalists-160925095126952.html
- Altogether, the Pentagon has planned to spend $1 trillion to overhaul its three-pronged nuclear attack force over the next 30 years.

The extravagant approach has elicited bipartisan attacks among American politicians, who question the program’s feasibility.

"We flat can't afford it. And from a priorities standpoint, it's the wrong priority in the world that we face," Democratic Representative Adam Smith told a forum in Washington last week.

He said countries like China and Russia can boast a "spectacular deterrent" with far fewer nuclear warheads.

“What they have is enough to say 'Don't screw with us, or we will obliterate you,'” he said, adding that in case of a major nuclear fight, “we're pretty much all toast anyways.”
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/09/25/486377/US-China-Russia-nukes-Minuteman
- Recode says, “As a fiduciary duty, the board of Twitter must consider the options and is doing so, although informally. And possible buyers also have to check in, largely because Twitter is one of the few interesting and impactful digital platforms around. It might be limping, but it’s not lame (see Yahoo for that). And its mass of data, advertising potential, mobile video opportunity and real-time news capabilities make it a must-look.”

Other sources say that the usual suspects [for a takeover] include Apple, Microsoft, Facebook, Disney, News Corp/Fox and even Telcos like Comcast and Verizon. SnapChat has been mentioned, but it is a minnow that may not be able to raise the capital – it would need a market cap of at least double Twitter’s value to be a serious suitor.

While Twitter is a household name, it has failed to adequately monetise its business and, according to eMarketer, has achieved just over 1% of the digital-ad spend. Twitter makes a substantial amount of its revenue from data mining its billions of tweets. It is looking at adding value through live streaming of events, but that is fairly much a “me-too” effort – it is done better elsewhere.
http://www.itwire.com/deals/74922-twitter-all-a-flitter-after-takeover-talk.html
- Although ‘Person of the Year’ may sound like a title only granted to uncontroversial figures, that is not always the case. In fact, Adolf Hitler was given the title in 1938, and Joseph Stalin was named Person of the Year twice, in 1939 and 1942.

TIME magazine has named a Person of the Year every year since 1927. The names have ranged from political figures to astronauts and protesters, with last year’s winner being German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

This year, the magazine has noted a wide range of influencers, from Donald Trump to Russian President Vladimir Putin – the 2007 winner – and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

It stressed, however, that “not all influence is institutional,” noting that “plenty of prominent athletes and artists used their platforms for larger causes, while a wide range of everyday people became powerful symbols for their fellow citizens.”

Voting in the reader’s poll ends December 4 at 11:59pm EST. TIME's Person of the Year will be revealed three days later, on December 7.
https://www.rt.com/news/367761-time-person-year-assange/
- According to Akamai, the attack is likely the work of a huge botnet (compromised devices able to be remotely controlled by a command and control server) comprising mainly Internet of Things (IoT) devices like routers. Akamai is trying to “size” it, but early indications are that it could comprise as many as one million IoT devices. Such devices can generate “alerts” [email] or go to a website to report home.

While it has not happened yet, the future portends 21 billion IoT devices by 2020, and the scale of botnets could grow as these devices lack security. Imagine if every smart watch, or smart bulb or camera was compromised!

Back to vDOS. Krebs discovered a DDoS service for hire that had claimed to earn over US$600,000 co-ordinating more than 150,000 DDoS attacks to take websites offline. He named two Israeli men, and it is believed they struck back.

DDoS has become the weapon of choice for angry hackers. If they cannot break into the website to steal data or deface it, they will likely DDoS it for a time. Or if a company wants to cripple a competitor it can pay to launch a DDoS on the website – it happens all too often.

DDoS was initially blamed for the failure of the Australian census, but experts quickly dispelled that “porky” – it is simple to measure Internet traffic. DDoS protection is available from many ISPs that can monitor traffic and rotate the website to other DNS, but it’s a costly service. Akamai was doing DDoS protection for Krebs pro-bono, and it would have cost it a fortune to do so.

Other recent memorable DDoS have included Pokémon Go servers, World of Warcraft Battle.net and even iTWire has suffered – but none have come close to the traffic generated to bring down Krebs site.
http://www.itwire.com/security/74920-ddos-takes-down-krebsonsecurity-site.html 
- "US President Barack Obama sees himself as the most powerful leader in the world. Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democrat Party nominee for President, hopes that if elected to the White House, she can retain prominence as the world's most powerful leader. If China continues to rise in global economic and diplomatic influence that would mean Beijing could eclipse Washington as the world's power base. The Washington Establishment, elites and Hillary Clinton want the USA to rule the world and let no one else gain ascendancy. If that means Hillary has to destroy the US economy to inflict harm on China's economy, Hillary would not hesitate to do so," McGregor underscored in an interview with Sputnik.
https://sputniknews.com/politics/20160923/1045633650/us-china-russia-geopolitics.html
- The US Ambassador to the United Nations claims that Russia is responsible for the horrors that have descended upon Syria, but remained silent about the 1.5 million civilians whose water was shut off by US-backed rebels.
https://sputniknews.com/russia/20160925/1045690476/aleppo-syria-russia-security-council.html

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Saving Money (without Sacrificing), Random Stuff, and More

- use price matching when you can to get an extra discount. Note, a lot of companies advertise low prices just to get you through the door. ...