U.S. jets intercepted Russian bombers off the California and Alaska coasts on July 4th

US jets intercepted Russian bombers off the California and Alaska coasts on July 4 (Source Business Insider)On July 4th, two pairs of Russian Tupolev Tu-95 bombers approached the US West coast, causing the Air Force to scramble to intercept the planes before they breached US airspace, two senior defense officials told Fox News. The first incident reportedly occurred at 10:30 am ET off the coast of Alaska, when NORAD identified the Russian planes and two F-22s hurried to intercept them. Another incident occurred at 11 am ET off the coast of central California, and was responded to by two F-15s. The Russian bombers they intercepted are capable of carrying nuclear weapons, but sources do not indicate whether or not they were armed. The Air Force intercepted the bombers before they entered America’s sovereign air space, which extends 12 miles out from the coast, but the presence of the bombers is an ominous sign during the heightened tensions between Russia and the US. As retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney, who formerly commanded the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) told the Washington Free Beacon:“It’s becoming very obvious that Putin is testing Obama and his national security team.” The type of warfare being teased is reminiscent of the Cold War not only in theory, but in practice. “These long-range aviation excursions are duplicating exercises I experienced during the height of the Cold War when I commanded the Alaska NORAD region,” McInerney told the Free Beacon. Pentagon officials haven’t given the exact location of the interceptions, but ABC News cites one official as saying that it could have taken place as “far out as 200 miles.” The Pentagon’s John Kirby told the Free Beacon that they assessed the flight of the Russian bombers as another training activity. Since the start of the crisis in Ukraine, Russia has flown increasingly aggressive aircraft missions throughout Europe and the Pacific. From May 2014 to September 2014, the US intercepted Russian bombers over Guam and off the coast of California and Alaska. In September, two Russian aircraft carried out a mock cruise missile attack on the US.

Oregon legalizes recreational marijuana

Potlandia! Oregon legalizes recreational marijuana — free weed included (Source Yahoo)

Oregon officially became the fourth state to legalize recreational marijuana on Wednesday, as pot smokers gathered across the Beaver State to light up and celebrate. In Portland, hundreds of weed enthusiasts fanned out across the aptly-named Burnside Bridge before midnight, counting down the minutes until the law allowing recreational use went into effect. As was the case in Colorado, Washington and Alaska, Oregon pot smokers hugged and toked like stoners at the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve The Oregon law allows those 21 and older to smoke marijuana privately, grow up to four pot plants and possess up to eight ounces of weed at home and carry one ounce outside. But unlike Colorado and Washington, pot shops won’t arrive until 2016, and a bill that would allow bans on retail sales in cities and counties where at least 55 percent of voters are against legalization is headed to the governor’s desk.

Bill Gates’ Temporary Sterilization Microchip in Beta Female Testing

Bill Gates’ Temporary Sterilization Microchip In Beta Female Testing By End of Year (Source globalresearch.ca) Earlier this week, I wrote about a deal reached that would soon be pumping out medical microchip implants. Meet the new face of medicine that polygamously marries Big Pharma, biotech, nanotech and wireless remote technology. Maybe hooking oneself into the Internet of Things will be an additional app, although this sounds like a passive form of medicine where someone else gets to call the shots, so to speak. The same developers who are bringing wireless remotely controlled microchip implants are actually focusing on their first flagship product: Gates Foundation-funded birth-control microchip implants. Wireless technology allows the remotely controlled chip to turn a woman’s ability to conceive off or on at will – temporary sterilization. Of course with remote technology funded by eugenics depopulation fanatics, the first questions should always be, “the ability to conceive by whose will?” This would be the complete antithesis of female empowerment or a “woman’s right to choose” – would it not? The encryption is alleged to be so safe, that cyberhackers cannot break entry – that means you too. The chip can be implanted into the hip, arms or beneath the back. Mum was the word during the last few years of development until it was finally publicly confirmed that the beta testing for the birth control chip would be starting towards the end of this year. Indeed, human volunteers will be sought for real-life chip testing.

Survey says: 35 percent of Americans would expatriate

Survey says: 35 percent of Americans would expatriate (Source cnbc.com) As the Fourth of July weekend looms and Americans prep their grills and ready their fireworks, some citizens are packing their bags. A recent online poll of more than 2,000 adults by Transfer Wise, a peer-to-peer money transfer service based in the United Kingdom, revealed that 35 percent of American-born residents and emigrants would consider leaving the United States to live in another country.  This percentage greatly increases for those age 18 to 34. More than half of millennials, a whopping 55 percent, said that they would consider leaving the U.S. for foreign shores. Among them, 43 percent of men and 38 percent of women noted that a higher salary would be a factor in their relocation decision. While a high percentage of Americans would entertain the idea of expatriation, only .001 percent of the population actually renounced citizenship in 2014. According to the Treasury Department, that slight percentage equates to a record 3,415 U.S. residents—a 14 percent increase since 2013. Until 2010, the recorded number of annual expatriates was well below 1,000. But, that number continues to rise. In the first quarter of 2015 alone, 1,336 individuals chose to renounce citizenship, another record high reported by the department.

Russia calls new U.S. military strategy confrontational

Russia calls new U.S. military strategy confrontational (Source Reuters) Russia denounced a new U.S. military strategy that accuses Moscow of failing to respect its neighbors’ sovereignty as “confrontational” on Thursday, saying it would set back efforts to improve relations. The Pentagon has updated the U.S. National Military Strategy to take into account changes in the global security situation, which include a standoff with Russia over Moscow’s role in the Ukraine crisis. It said in the document, published on Wednesday, that Russia had contributed to global security in areas such as fighting the narcotics trade and terrorism but had “repeatedly demonstrated that it does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbors and it is willing to use force to achieve its goals”. Asked about the new strategy during a conference call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov expressed regret. “The use of such language in this document points, shall we say, to what is probably a confrontational attitude devoid of any objectivity towards our country,” he said. Asked what would be said about the United States when Russia draws up it own new security strategy, Peskov said: “Of course, all threats to Russia’s national security are taken into account and counter-measures are worked out and adopted.”

Putin smacks Uncle Sam

Putin Gobs macks Uncle Sam … Again (Source Counter Punch) Two days before the swaggering Sec-Def touched down in Germany, Gazprom announced that it was putting the finishing touches on a massive deal that would double the amount of Russian gas flowing to Germany via a second Nord Stream pipeline. The shocking announcement made it look like the clueless Carter had no idea what was going on and that his efforts to isolate Russia were a complete flop. And, make no mistake; the deal is huge, big enough to change the geopolitical calculus of the entire region. “Once this pipeline is finished, almost all of Eastern Europe can be completely cut out of the gas picture. There will be no need for any gas to transit through Ukraine, Poland, Romania, Belarus, Hungary or Slovakia.” Yep, Ukraine is out and Germany’s in, which means that Washington’s plan to extend US hegemony by driving a wedge between Russia and Europe is down the plughole. Judo expert Putin has done it again; he waited until the eleventh hour to pull the rug out from under the blustery Carter, and now he’s sitting back enjoying the show. Is it any wonder why Carter’s been running around Europe with his hair on fire? “Think of the huge leverage this will give Russia. Germany may not have much in the way of natural resources of its own, but with Russia’s help, it is becoming an energy hub of Europe! Increasing quantities of Russian gas are flowing through Germany before being distributed to countries like the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Britain. In this way Germany leverages the power of Russia. Western Europe also is becoming dependent on Germany for gas supplies too. Don’t let the current conflict in Ukraine cloud what is happening. Germany and Russia have a history of secret cooperation—even when headline conflict appears to indicate otherwise. That Germany and Russia would push through such a deal when the West is supposedly sanctioning Russia for its actions in Ukraine speaks volumes.”

US warns of Russia, China military threat amid growing chaos

US warns of Russia, China military threat amid growing chaos (Source AFP) America’s new military strategy singles out states like China and Russia as aggressive and threatening to US security interests, while warning of growing technological challenges and worsening global stability. A somber report released Wednesday by General Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, warns of a “low but growing” probability of the United States fighting a war with a major power, with “immense” consequences. Russia has “repeatedly demonstrated that it does not respect the sovereignty of its neighbors and it is willing to use force to achieve its goals,” the 2015 National Military Strategy says. “Russia’s military actions are undermining regional security directly and through proxy forces.” It points to Russian troop presence in the Ukraine conflict, though Moscow denies it has deployed its military in eastern Ukraine to bolster a separatist insurgency. And the report expresses concern about states developing advanced technological capabilities that are causing the US military to lose its edge in that field. “Since the last national military strategy was published four years ago, global disorder has trended upward while some of our comparative advantages have begun to erode,” Dempsey told reporters. The 2011 report spoke little of Russia. “China’s actions are adding tension to the Asia-Pacific region,” the document states, in reference to China’s land reclamation efforts to build islands in the contested South China Sea to boost its military and civilian presence.

Deadly Vibrio Vulnificus Bacteria Kills Florida Swimmer

Deadly Vibrio Vulnificus Bacteria Kills Florida Swimmer: Are You in Danger? (Source Yahoo)

A 26-year-old healthy man has died after contracting a rare, deadly bacterial infection while swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Tampa, Fla. Cason Yeager died last week after being infected with the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus, just two days after he went swimming in the Gulf, his mother, Karen Yeager Mercer, told Florida’s WTSP. “This has been a nightmare for me, to say the least, and nobody should have to go through this,” she said, adding that people should be aware that the bacteria can infect healthy people. Cason and a group of friends were swimming in waist-deep water about 2 miles south of Florida’s Pine Island Beach in Hernando County (about an hour south of Tampa) when his mother believes he contracted the bacteria. He died two days later, on June 16. “I’m not telling anyone don’t go into the water, just do your due diligence and make sure that you’re not going to harm yourself,” she said. The state of Florida issued a warning earlier this month about Vibrio vulnificus, which lives in warm seawater. It can be transmitted to people through cuts or scrapes or by eating undercooked or raw shellfish such as oysters, clams, or crabs. Nine people have been infected by the bacteria in Florida this year, and three have died — Yeager, another person from eating raw seafood, and another from “multiple exposures” to the bacteria. (The bacteria killed at least seven people in Florida last year, but the state says that number is underreported.)

Pope Calls for New World Government

Pope Calls for New World Government (Source thetrumpet.com) Last year, in his Evangelii Gaudium, Francis published what was referred to as his call for “the overhaul of the financial system.” He condemned “unfettered capitalism” and said that the world’s economic system had failed the poor. At the time we wrote about the radical nature of the pope’s letter, but noted, “Pope Francis has yet to present a detailed, overt action plan for the global economy.” Laudato Si is closer to being that action plan. Where do you start overhauling the world’s financial system? The pope’s answer is to empower international institutions and create new international regulation with teeth. This is not simply the pope’s opinion. It is more like a declaration of intent: He plans to get straight to work building these institutions. In three months’ time, the pope will be a key speaker at the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Summit. During the same trip, he will also be the first pope to address a joint session of the United States Congress. The Guardian notes: The rare encyclical, called Laudato Si, or “Praised Be,” has been timed to have maximum public impact ahead of the pope’s meeting with President Barack Obama and his address to the U.S. Congress and the UN General Assembly in September. It is also intended to improve the prospect of a strong new UN global agreement to cut climate emissions. By adding a moral dimension to the well-rehearsed scientific arguments, Francis hopes to raise the ambition of countries above their own self-interest to secure a strong deal in a crucial climate summit in Paris in November. Over the next few months the pope will be speaking to the most powerful national body (the U.S. Congress) and the most powerful international body (the UN) to try to put these goals into practice. The global economy still has not recovered from the economic crisis of 2008. The situation in Greece could plunge Europe into more than just a financial crisis at any moment. There are a whole number of problems that could push the world into the abyss. And at this crucial decision point, the pope is driving his way forward.

How a crisis in Estonia could lead to World War III

How a crisis in Estonia could lead to World War III (Source vox.com) When you talk to the analysts and policymakers who worry about the possibility of war between the US and Russia, the scenario you most often hear begins in the tiny Baltic nation of Estonia, along Russia’s border. Estonia is today part of NATO, which obligates the US and most of Europe to defend it from attack, and the US is deploying heavy military equipment there to deter possible Russian aggression. Estonia, formerly part of the Soviet Union, still has a large Russian minority that is served by Russian state media and has participated in incidents of unrest in the past. The fear is that Russia could attempt to exploit or stir up unrest among Estonia’s Russian minority, as it did in 2014 in eastern Ukraine. If such a crisis escalated, NATO’s member-states could split over whether to respond — effectively dissolving NATO, as may be Vladimir Putin’s hope — or, all too easily, the violence could escalate out of control into war, even nuclear war.