Current news VS Current opinions (part ll)

[Red Lead Ted]

#9 John, Debate with government ministers this morning on radio 5 live, Can you get your head around this. An amnesty for radicalised brits etc........... who decide to down arms with the I.S. and return home. What about the horrific travesties these guys have carried out in the name of their religion, Not only the beheading of western and other normal innocent people. Raping and pillaging villages all over Iraq and Syria. This in my opinion is no longer there home and the more that are blown away by air strikes from any country the better. I only hope we can get the Turks on board before the inevitable boots on the ground. Bloody livid Terry.

[Red Lead Ted]

#10, John, Try and imagine a world without the yanks intervening and none of us doing anything to stop the many evils in this world I agree sometimes you need to turn away. And sometimes you get involved when you shouldn't but the way the middle east is heading if something isn't done then its only going to spread the world over. Result Goodnight Vienna for the globe. Regards Terry.

[Rodney Mills]

My way news. Oct. 1, 2014 Edited by Rodney


ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey's parliament approved a motion Thursday that gives the government new powers to launch military incursions into Syria and Iraq and to allow foreign forces to use its territory for possible operations against the Islamic State group.Parliament voted 298-98 in favor of the motion which sets the legal framework for any Turkish military involvement, and for the potential use of Turkish bases by foreign troops.
Meanwhile, the militants pressed their offensive against a beleaguered Kurdish town along the Syria-Turkey border. The assault, which has forced about 160,000 people to flee across the frontier in recent days, left Kurdish militiamen scrambling Thursday to repel Islamic State extremists pushing into the outskirts of the northern Syrian town of Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab.
Turkey, a NATO member with a large and modern military, has yet to define what role it intends to play in the U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State group.
Parliament had previously approved operations into Iraq and Syria to attack Kurdish separatists or to thwart threats from the Syrian regime. Thursday's motion expands those powers to address threats from the Islamic State militants who control a large cross-border swath of Iraq and Syria, in some parts right up to the Turkish border.
Parliament had previously approved operations into Iraq and Syria to attack Kurdish separatists or to thwart threats from the Syrian regime. Thursday's motion expands those powers to address threats from the Islamic State militants who control a large cross-border swath of Iraq and Syria, in some parts right up to the Turkish border.
Asked what measures Turkey would take after the motion was approved, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said: "don't expect any immediate steps."
"The motion prepares the legal ground for possible interventions, but it is too early to say what those interventions will be," said Dogu Ergil, a professor of political science and columnist for Today's Zaman newspaper.
Ergil said the motion could allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters, for example to use Turkey's territory to safely cross into Syria, to help Syrian Kurdish forces there, or the deployment of coalition forces' drones.


BBC news. Oct. 1, 2014 Edited by Rodney.

Authority, told reporters.
A shipwreck uncovered beneath the icy wastes of northern Canada has been identified as long-lost HMS Erebus.
The Victorian-era vessel became part of nautical folklore after it vanished in the mid-19th Century.
Its captain, Sir John Franklin, had been searching for the fabled Northwest Passage.
Experts on Thursday confirmed that the wreck, discovered last month, was indeed the celebrated Royal Navy vessel.
"It is in astonishing condition,'' said search team member John Geiger, president of the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. "We're over the moon."
The ship set sail from England in 1845 under Sir John's command.
He was accompanied by a second ship, HMS Terror, captained by Francis Crozier.
Alongside Sir John were 128 officers, all of them aiming to find the elusive sea route linking the Atlantic to the Pacific via the Arctic seas off northern Canada.
The two vessels were last seen in the summer of that year bypassing whaling boats in Baffin Bay, off the coast of Greenland.




Aljezzera news. Oct. 1, 2014 Edited by Rodney



A person’s nose knows when he or she is knocking on death’s door, according to research released Thursday showing that a severe loss of one’s sense of smell is a stronger indicator of impending death than a diagnosis of heart failure or cancer.
In a study of more than 3,000 adults between the ages of 57 and 85, researchers from the University of Chicago administered a test measuring how well participants could identify five common odors: peppermint, fish, orange, rose and leather. Then they followed up with all the participants five years later.
A whopping 39 percent of the people who could only identify one of the five scents died within five years, compared to just 19 percent of people who recognized two or three of the five smells, meaning that they had moderate loss of smell. Among the people who could correctly identify all five scents, just 10 percent died within five years.
The researchers statistically adjusted their results for age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, mental health and overall health, including whether participants had ever been diagnosed with a disease or whether they smoked or drank. Despite the adjustments, a strong loss of sense of smell still translated into “strikingly increased odds of death,” researchers said.
Smell was a stronger indicator than a diagnosis of heart disease, cancer or lung disease. Only severe liver damage had a stronger link to imminent death.
"We think loss of the sense of smell is like the canary in the coal mine," Dr. Jayant M. Pinto, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, said in a release. "It doesn't directly cause death, but it's a harbinger, an early warning that something has gone badly wrong, that damage has been done. Our findings could provide a useful clinical test, a quick and inexpensive way to identify patients most at risk."
The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS ONE, is part of the university’s National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP), which aims to examine the health and well being of older adults.
The researchers didn’t look into the actual causes of the relationship between the olfactory system and mortality, but they have a few ideas. First, the olfactory nerve, with its receptors in the nasal passages, is the only cranial nerve exposed to the environment.
That means the central nervous system, in receiving sensory information about scents from the olfactory nerve, may be damaged by continuous exposure to airborne toxins and pollution, which has been shown to increase the risk of death.
Also, the olfactory system is unique, the researchers wrote, in that it continuously regenerates itself with stem cells. So another reason for a marked decrease in the ability to smell could be age-related decline in the body’s ability to rebuild itself overall.
“This evolutionarily ancient special sense may signal a key mechanism that affects human longevity,” the authors wrote.




BBC news. Oct. 1, 2014 Edited by Rodney


MONROVIA, Liberia (AP) — The Liberian man infected with Ebola who brought the disease to the United States will be prosecuted when he returns home for lying on his airport screening questionnaire, Liberian authorities said Thursday.
With an Ebola epidemic raging in West Africa, passengers leaving Liberia are being screened for fever and are asked if they have had contact with anyone infected.
On the form obtained by The Associated Press and confirmed by a government official, Thomas Eric Duncan answered "no" to questions about whether he had cared for an Ebola patient or touched the body of someone who had died in an area affected by Ebola.

[happy daze john in oz]

Today PM here in Oz has announced that the combat aircraft sent to Iraq will now take turns with the striking of ISIS forces. But he tells us we are not at war just assisting Iraq in getting rid of ISIS!!!!!!!!
Once they are gone then a new force will emerge and off we all go again.

[John Pruden]

so we all can fly over another country drop bombs but we are not at war?? I would think about that if I was him me thinks...jp

[Rodney Mills]

BBC news. Oct. 2, 2014 The following are unedited, Rodney

Canada plans to join the US-led campaign of air strikes against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq, its government has said.

A motion authorising the mission is expected to pass on Monday in the House of Commons.

The six-month mission will include CF-18 fighter jets and refuelling and surveillance aircraft, but not ground troops.

PM Stephen Harper said it was intended to "significantly degrade" IS.

Canada has more than two dozen military advisers already in Iraq.

The US has undertaken its own air strike campaign in Iraq for several weeks and in Syria for almost two weeks.

The plan put forward in parliament by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird asks Canadian lawmakers to "recognise that the leadership of the terrorist group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has called on its members to target Canada and Canadians at home and abroad".

Mr Harper said that if "left unchecked" IS could grow quickly.

"As a government, we know our ultimate responsibility is to protect Canadians, and to defend our citizens from those who would do harm to us and to our families," he said, according to broadcaster CBC.

Such an air strike mission must be debated and voted on in Canada's Parliament, but Mr Harper's Conservative MPs have a majority of seats, so it is expected to pass.

Canada's opposition parties have pressed Mr Harper to be more transparent about the plans.

Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau said on Friday his party would not support the motion.

New Democratic Party leader Thomas Mulcair did not make a similar pronouncement but said he questioned the wisdom of getting involved in Iraq.

"The prime minister insists this mission in Iraq will not be allowed to become a quagmire," Mr Mulcair said, according to CBC.

"But isn't that precisely what our American allies have been facing in Iraq for the last 10 years?"

Canada did not join the US coalition that invaded in Iraq in 2003.

If the motion passes as expected, Canada will join a number of other countries that have joined the US in air strikes in either Syria or Iraq against IS, including Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UK and France. Australia and Turkey have recent authorised military force for similar missions.​



BBC news

The Australian cabinet has given its approval for fighter jets to join the US-led military action against Islamic State targets in Iraq.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott said IS was a "death cult" that had "declared war on the world" and must be stopped.

IS controls a broad swathe of territory, spanning a borderless stretch of Syria and Iraq.

The US-led coalition has been bombing IS targets in Iraq and Syria for the past two weeks.

On Thursday, the Turkish parliament backed a motion that could allow its military to enter Iraq and Syria to join the campaign.

IS militants have recently advanced close to the border with Turkey, prompting thousands of Kurdish refugees to cross the border. Turkey is already hosting more than a million Syrian refugees.

The UN says the militant Islamists have committed a "staggering array" of human rights abuses.

'Death cult'

In a widely anticipated statement, Mr Abbott said approving military force was "not a decision the government has taken lightly" but that "Iraq should not be alone" in its fight against the IS.

He said the cabinet had also authorised the deployment of special forces to assist and advise the Iraqi military, with the action expected to continue for "months rather than weeks".

"Yes, it is a combat deployment, but it is an essentially humanitarian mission to protect the people of Iraq and ultimately the people of Australia from the murderous rage of the Isil (IS) death cult," he told reporters.

Mr Abbot said there were no immediate plans for Australian involvement to extend to Syria, nor for troops to be involved in combat on the ground.

Canberra has already sent 400 Air Force personnel, 200 special forces members and six warplanes to a US base in the United Arab Emirates.

The decision to join the military action - which did not need parliamentary approval - comes amid growing domestic concern about the number of Australians involved with IS.

The government believes at least 60 Australians are fighting with terror groups in the Middle East and at least 100 are actively supporting them from home.

Last month, police carried out raids on several addresses in Sydney sparked by intelligence reports that Islamist extremists were planning random killings in Australia. The raids, with at least 800 heavily armed officers, led to 15 arrests.

An 18-year-old terror suspect was shot dead last week after he stabbed two police officers in Melbourne. Abdul Numan Haider, originally from Afghanistan, had been summoned to a police station for a counter-terror interview because of concerns over his recent behaviour.

Images have also been published online which appeared to show the young son of an Australian ex-terror convict holding a Syrian's severed head.

Mr Abbott said at the time the image showed "just how barbaric" IS is




BBC news Oct 2, 2014


Education Secretary Michael Gove has suggested the Queen should be given a new royal yacht to mark her Diamond Jubilee.

The cabinet minister made the proposal in a letter to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, obtained by the Guardian.

He said the Queen's "highly significant contribution" to Britain and the Commonwealth should be recognised with a "lasting legacy".

Labour said the idea showed Mr Gove was "out of touch".

Mr Gove wrote: "In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents.

"Events such as proms and the party at the palace organised for the diamond jubilee, and street parties, although excellent, are transient.

"It would be appropriate to do something that will mark the significance of this occasion with fitting ceremony.

Mr Gove wrote: "In spite, and perhaps because of the austere times, the celebration should go beyond those of previous jubilees and mark the greater achievement that the diamond anniversary represents.

"Events such as proms and the party at the palace organised for the diamond jubilee, and street parties, although excellent, are transient.

"It would be appropriate to do something that will mark the significance of this occasion with fitting ceremony.

"My suggestion would be a gift from the nation to her majesty; thinking about David Willetts's excellent suggestion of a royal yacht, and something tangible to commemorate this momentous occasion."

The last royal yacht, Britannia, served the Queen for 44 years, carrying her and the Royal Family on 968 official voyages before being taken out of service in 1997.

The ship is now a tourist attraction in Edinburgh and is currently in dry dock undergoing repairs.

In his letter, Mr Gove also said the Diamond Jubilee celebrations should not be outshone by the London Olympic Games.

"The diamond jubilee must not be overshadowed by the Olympic Games, but form an integral part of this great year for our country," he said.

But Michael Gove has shown he is out of touch with this proposal. When school budgets are being slashed, parents will be wondering how Gove came even to suggest this idea. This is not the time to spend Ł60m on a yacht."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he did not agree with the idea of the taxpayer funding a new royal yacht.

Deputy PM Nick Clegg says he suspects the public would object to the idea of a new royal yacht

"But Michael Gove has shown he is out of touch with this proposal. When school budgets are being slashed, parents will be wondering how Gove came even to suggest this idea. This is not the time to spend Ł60m on a yacht."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said he did not agree with the idea of the taxpayer funding a new royal yacht.

"I think most people in the country would think the Diamond Jubilee is a wonderful occasion for us to celebrate together as a community and as a nation.

"But I suspect most people in the country would think that given there's very little money around, this probably wouldn't be at the top of their list of priorities for the use of scarce public resources."

A spokesman for Mr Gove said the government did not comment on leaked documents.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport spokesman said: "The Diamond Jubilee will be an extraordinary occasion with communities across Britain, the Commonwealth and the world coming together to celebrate this landmark and pay tribute to Her Majesty the Queen.

"However from the outset, the Palace has been clear that the Diamond Jubilee celebrations should reflect the current economic climate.


Cheers, Rodney

[gray_marian]

I'm enjoying the News Bulletin Rodney, when the grandchildren are staying over
the TV is usually back to back "Horrid Henry" or "Shaun the sheep". No sport reviews or flash photography or inane drivel spoken between a panel of botoxed newscasters to pad the air time or unnecessary adverts either with high volume music which keeps you guessing till the end to what they are actually advertising. Only thing missing is Big Ben striking, which is a comfort, then I know I'm on home turf.

[Captain Kong]

ISIS have just cut off the Head of Salford Taxi Driver, Alan Hennings. A video has been posted.
Brian

[gray_marian]

I was hoping against hope for this poor soul. Just makes me very sad, helpless and angry.
R.I.P. Mr Hennings.

[happy daze john in oz]

Killing inocent persons in this manner will do nothing to ease the situation. It is sad that those who have gone to give assistance to those in need should be treated in this manner.
ISIS is an evils group set on some form of domination of others, but to what ends? This is not a religeous roup, just a group of blood thirsty thugs.