NC Renegades

On 10 April 2014, the USS Donald Cook entered the waters of the Black Sea and on 12 April a Russian Su-24 tactical bomber flew over the vessel triggering an incident that, according to several media reports, completely demoralized its crew, so much so that the Pentagon issued a protest.

The USS Donald Cook (DDG-75) is a 4th generation guided missile destroyer whose key weapons are Tomahawk cruise missiles with a range of up to 2,500 kilometers, and capable of carrying nuclear explosives. This ship carries 56 Tomahawkmissiles in standard mode, and 96 missiles in attack mode.

The US destroyer is equipped with the most recent Aegis Combat System. It is an integrated naval weapons systems which can link together the missile defense systems of all vessels embedded within the same network, so as to ensure the detection, tracking and destruction of hundreds of targets at the same time. In addition, the USS Donald Cook is equipped with 4 large radars, whose power is comparable to that of several stations. For protection, it carries more than fifty anti-aircraft missiles of various types.

Meanwhile, the Russian Su-24 that buzzed the USS Donald Cook carried neither bombs nor missiles but only a basket mounted under the fuselage, which, according to the Russian newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta, contained a Russian electronic warfare device called Khibiny.

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h/t Robin S

China’s military upstaged the Asian economic summit in Beijing this week by conducting flights tests of a new stealth jet prototype, as the White House called on Beijing to halt its cyber attacks.

Demonstration flights by the new J-31 fighter jet—China’s second new radar-evading warplane—were a key feature at a major arms show in Zhuhai, located near Macau, on Monday.

The J-31 flights coincided with President Obama’s visit to Beijing for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit meeting. In a speech and meetings with Chinese leaders, Obama called on China to curtail cyber theft of trade secrets.

China obtained secrets from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter through cyber attacks against a subcontractor for Lockheed Martin. The technology has shown up in China’s first stealth jet, the J-20, and in the J-31. Both of the jets’ design features and equipment are similar to those of the F-35.

The Chinese warplanes are part of a major buildup of air power by China that includes the two new stealth fighters, development of a new strategic bomber, purchase of Russian Su-35 jets, and development of advanced air defense missile systems. China also is building up its conventional and nuclear missile forces.

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These past few years have seen statist encroachments into every area of American life. One of the least appreciated of these is Michelle Obama’s attempt to dictate our diets, particularly our children’s diets. Were there more federal force or dollars behind that effort, perhaps we’d take it as seriously as it deserves. Yet it’s worth a moment to reflect that at one time, meddling with our food supply stood at the heart of federal policy. There’s nothing to prevent Washington from revisiting that era with a somewhat different orientation…say, one that prioritizes limiting the fiscal damage done by ObamaCare.

But wait: what have we here?

How we produce and consume food has a bigger impact on Americans’ well-being than any other human activity. The food industry is the largest sector of our economy; food touches everything from our health to the environment, climate change, economic inequality and the federal budget. Yet we have no food policy — no plan or agreed-upon principles — for managing American agriculture or the food system as a whole.That must change.

The food system and the diet it’s created have caused incalculable damage to the health of our people and our land, water and air. If a foreign power were to do such harm, we’d regard it as a threat to national security, if not an act of war, and the government would formulate a comprehensive plan and marshal resources to combat it. (The administration even named an Ebola czar to respond to a disease that threatens few Americans.) So when hundreds of thousands of annual deaths are preventable — as the deaths from the chronic diseases linked to the modern American way of eating surely are — preventing those needless deaths is a national priority.

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This past week Brazil announced that it will be building a 3,500-mile fiber-optic cable to Portugal in order to avoid the grip of the NSA.

What’s more, they announced that not a penny of the $185 million expected to be spent on the project will go to American firms, simply because they don’t want to take any chances that the US government will tap the system.

It’s incredible how far now individuals, corporations, and even governments are willing to go to protect themselves from the government of the Land of the Free.

The German government, especially upset by the discovery of US spying within its borders, has come up with a range of unique methods to block out prying ears.

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Friend —

What President Obama did yesterday is a big deal for anyone who uses the internet. (Hi!)

He’s urging the Federal Communications Commission to protect net neutrality — the principle that all web traffic should be treated the same, and not controlled by providers.

If you think a free and open internet is a good thing, sign our petition to tell the FCC you stand with President Obama’s plan to protect net neutrality.

The concept of a free and open internet has been part of the whole deal from the beginning.

It’s common sense: Your cable or phone company shouldn’t get to be a gatekeeper to the internet. They shouldn’t get to slow down or block access to sites you love, or be able to charge you extra if you use a service like Facebook or Netflix.

Consumers like that about the internet — and our economy depends on it. Net neutrality encourages innovation, and puts entrepreneurs on a level playing field.

But if some internet service providers get their way, that could all change forever. They want to have a say in how you use the internet, or how fast your favorite sites load.

The FCC will get to decide which way this goes — that’s why it’s so important that President Obama spoke up yesterday, calling for the “strongest possible rules” to protect net neutrality.

His plan is simple: No blocking websites, no slowing down content, no “fast lane” deals, and more transparency.

That’s something worth fighting for — especially in the face of an absurdly well-funded opposition. The groups trying hard to end net neutrality have plenty of allies in Washington. One of them, Senator Ted Cruz, wasted no time yesterday criticizing the President’s plan, calling it “Obamacare for the internet”… which, as far as I can tell, makes sense to exactly no one.

The President is out there, fighting for net neutrality, because none of us can afford to take it for granted.

Add your name to tell the FCC you support a free and open internet:

http://my.barackobama.com/Defend-Net-Neutrality

Thanks,

Toby

Toby Fallsgraff
Digital Director
Organizing for Action

Russia is to build eight nuclear power units in Iran, as a new partnership agreement, guaranteed by the IAEA, was signed in Moscow on Tuesday.

The head of the Rosatom, Sergey Kirienko, and the chief of the Atomic Energy Agency of Iran, Ali Akbar Salehi, signed a series of documents, promoting the links in the field of peaceful application of atomic energy between the countries, RIA Novosti reports.

According to the agreement, Russia is to construct eight pressurized water reactors “turn-key ready” in Iran. Four of them will be built at the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant, also completed by Russia a year ago.

Besides, nuclear fuel for the future reactors will be provided by Russia during the whole life cycle of the new reactors. Spent fuel will be returned for processing and storage.

“It is the turning point in the relations between our countries,” Salehi said. “These friendly actions, taken by Russia will be well-remembered.” He added that now Russia and Iran “have become even closer to each other.”

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A virus that interferes with people’s cognitive skills has been found in 45% of a sample population conducted by Johns Hopkins Medical School. Now we know how Obama was elected.

David DeGerolamo

Almost half the population may be infected with a mysterious virus that makes people stupid

Scientists at Johns Hopkins Medical School have identified a mysterious virus that literally makes people stupid, and it has so far been found in about 45% of the people tested.

The discovery of the “stupid” virus, normally found in algae, was revealed at the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study, entitled “Chlorovirus ATCV-1 is part of the human oropharyngeal virome and is associated with changes in cognitive functions in humans and mice” is found at this link on the PNAS.org website.

The rather shocking take away from the study is that the virus alters the gene expression of brain cells, literally making people perform more poorly on cognitive tests, visual processing and spatial awareness.

So far, 90 people have been tested for the presence of the virus, and 40 tested positive, according to The Independent. [2] “Those who tested positive performed worse on tests designed to measure the speed and accuracy of visual processing. They also achieved lower scores in tasks designed to measure attention,” reports the paper.

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h/t John P

Friend —

Two years: That’s all the time I have left as your president.

I know what I’m going to be fighting for until I leave this office.

And the work you do now with OFA — whatever it is that you choose to fight for — will define what we can achieve together in that time.

So let’s go. If it’s raising the minimum wage for hard-working Americans or fixing our broken immigration system that fires you up, I need you to stand up for it. If it’s gun violence prevention, speak out. If it’s marriage equality, or women’s rights, or getting serious about fighting climate change, your voice is needed like never before.

The elected officials I’ll work with in the last two years of my presidency need to be reminded that people like you aren’t going away.

They need to know you won’t let the special interests in Washington drown out the voices of Americans who want to drive our country forward. That’s what OFA was built to do.

So today, I’m asking directly: Will you commit to finish what you started with OFA?

I want to be clear about this: The difference you make isn’t theoretical — what you choose to do has a concrete impact.

When it comes to health care reform and the effort to help Americans across the country get covered in the months ahead, the role you play will be life-changing for real people. I’ve seen it.

Because of you, and groups like OFA, the face of American politics is fundamentally different today. You’ve changed what it means to get involved, and you’ve redefined how power is built.

Last week’s election doesn’t change that — it just makes your job all the more critical.

With or without help from Congress, I’m not done making real change for the American people. And I bet you aren’t, either.

Let’s hear it:

http://my.barackobama.com/Lets-Go

Thank you,

Barack Obama

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