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Some Topics Considered Taboo For Russian Media

By RD Bentley on August 13, 2015 in

Beslan Siege: Hundreds of hostages packed into the school gym with wired explosives attached to the basketball hoop (a frame from the Aushev tape)

Controversy is a part of life, and even though the sensitivity of certain issues verge of being on the prophetic edge, the events may be critically dissected. These are topics considered taboo for the Russian media, yet this is undeniably a part of Russian history that must not be ignored.

The Russian Apartment Bombings Documentary

A documentary (Blowing up Russia) helps to explain the 1999 Russian bombings. There were a series of explosions that hit four apartment blocks in the Russian cities of Buynaksk, Moscow and Volgodonsk. Russia had never been subjected to such acts of terrorism.

The Russian apartment bombings happened in September of 1999. Hundreds died in a series of bombing, killing 293 and injuring 651 people, as panic ensued across the nation. The bombings led to what is called the Second Chechen War.

The Prime Minister of Russia demanded the air bombing of Grozny, which initiated the war. Not long afterwards, Putin became president of Russia.

The Beslan Siege Documentary

A documentary titled The Beslan Siege presents the testimonies of the survivors.

The Chechen terrorists were blamed for many of the incidents, including the famous Beslan school siege, which “started on September 1, 2004, lasted three days and involved the capture of over 1,100 people as hostages (including 777 children), ending with the death of 385 people.”

The recognition of the independence of Chechnya was the reason for the standoff.

“At least 385 hostages were killed, including 186 children, with a significant number of people injured and reported missing.”

Eventually the string of disastrous events led to further consolidation of the president of Russia. In 2011, serious questions were posed and the Russian government was under heavy criticism, due to the handling of the crisis.

Censorship of the media was an important factor, probably because of government blame, with accusations of excessive force during the crisis.

In general, the criticism was denied by the Russian government. President Vladimir Putin claimed that the West wanted to “pull the strings so that Russia won’t raise its head.”

However, there were contradictions coming from reporters and former hostages of the The Beslan Aftermath.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

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Legionnaires’ Bacteria Commonly Found Near Cooling Towers

By RD Bentley on August 13, 2015 in

Contaminated water with a certain type of bacteria is the cause of Legionnaires’ disease and is commonly found near cooler towers. There is not much clarity concerning the disease, and Wet Surface Cooling Towers (WSAC) are a big part of the equation.

Sensationalism is a tool sometimes overscored by the media, often inducing a sort of mass hysteria.

“The fact remains that these WSAC systems are atop almost every large building in New York City. On top of every tall building, these open (potentially stagnant) pools of water exist, and they vent directly into the air we all breath.”

Many of the cases were concentrated in the South Bronx area of New York. According to a statement from Mayor Bill de Blasio, “two more cooling towers have tested positive for bacteria that causes the severe form of pneumonia.”

Most residents are not at risk. The simple way to stop the problem is to test the cooler towers, and most of these towers have been cleaned. Legionnaires’ deaths have prompted NY Mayor Bill de Blasio to vow cooling tower regulations.

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Resolving The Crisis At Calais

By RD Bentley on August 9, 2015 in ,

Thousands of migrants from Calais, if not millions, are seeking to enter the United Kingdom illegally. The situation has fulminated so much so that it has alarmed the British and French governments.

The migrants are posing a problem for the Chunnel, a rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais, near Calais, a ferry port in northern France.

The traffic through the Chunnel consists of: high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, the Eurotunnel Shuttle for road vehicles, and international freight trains. There is mobile network coverage for those in the need.

The line length of the Channel Tunnel is 50.45 km (31.35 miles) and the operating speed is 160 kilometres per hour (99 mph).

In an act of desperation, migrants in Calais have stormed the Eurotunnel zone by guessing the security gate code. The worn numbers guessed were two, four and zero, just in case you’re interested.

Migrant Crisis in Calais

“Refugees from Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, and Eritrea steadily descend on a migrant camp in the French coastal town of Calais.”

Surviving the New Jungle in Calais

Surviving life in the New Jungle in Calais has caused trouble for Irish truck drivers. Because of the demands in the industry, this passage is vital for commerce. It is the only economical means of transportation.

Irish truck drivers who have been driving through Calais for decades say that refugees have been trying to board their trucks for years, but that the situation has become dangerous in recent months.

Unprecedented levels of global forced displacement last year resulted in 60 million people worldwide fleeing persecution, conflict, generalised violence or human rights violations, according to the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

— The Irish Times

The desperate migrants are actually dying trying to travel through the Chunnel from France to England. According to The Irish Times article, 60 million people have been displaced due to the destabilization of global unrest. This might amount to a modern day genocide, if the situation goes awry, and some have indicated that it has.

Looking for a better life in Calais

Looking for safety and a better life in Calais’ jungle, as reported by UNHCR, states the following:

“Many of the people who are staying in the land in Calais are refugees. They fled conflict, violence or persecution in Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia and Syria and need international protection. They are part of the 225,000 people who arrived by the Mediterranean sea and entered Europe so far this year mainly through Greece or Italy.” — UNHCR

How does the United Kingdom fit into the crisis?

How does the United Kingdom fit into the crisis? There is a crisis in Europe and the migrants are fleeing from war-torn countries, seeking shelter and supplies. Where are they coming from? Why is there a crisis in Calais?

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Controlled Remote Viewing Is A Science

By RD Bentley on August 8, 2015 in

Remote Viewing Developed At Stanford Research Institute

Controlled Remote Viewing is a science developed in the laboratory at Stanford University to mimic the work of natural psychics, says ex CIA remote viewer Lyn Buchanan.

Stargate Project

The project was overseen until 1987 by Lt. Frederick Holmes “Skip” Atwater, an aide and “psychic headhunter” to Maj. Gen. Albert Stubblebine, and later president of the Monroe Institute.

Hal Puthoff, an American physicist and parapsychologist. “In the 70s and 80s he directed a CIA/DIA-funded program at SRI International to investigate paranormal abilities, collaborating with Russell Targ in a study of the purported psychic abilities of Uri Geller, Ingo Swann, Pat Price, Joseph McMoneagle and others, as part of the Stargate Project.”

In a sense, you are contacting the subconscious mind.

Remote viewing

“Remote viewing was popularized in the 1990s upon the declassification of certain documents related to the Stargate Project, a $20 million research program that had started in 1975 and was sponsored by the U.S. government, in an attempt to determine any potential military application of psychic phenomena.”

Official statement: Remote viewing is vague and ambiguous

The Stargate Project was claimed to have been terminated in 1995 following an independent review which concluded:

Most importantly, the information provided by remote viewing is vague and ambiguous, making it difficult, if not impossible, for the technique to yield information of sufficient quality and accuracy of information for actionable intelligence. Thus, we conclude that continued use of remote viewing in intelligence gathering operations is not warranted.

— Executive summary, “An Evaluation of Remote Viewing: Research and Applications”, American Institutes for Research, Sept. 29, 1995

The Men Who Stare at Goats

“A character in the 2009 film The Men Who Stare at Goats — a fictionalized adaptation of Ronson’s book — is loosely based on Stubblebine as head of the project to walk through walls.”

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What is Torus?

By RD Bentley on August 7, 2015 in ,

The NSA Is Much Bigger Than We Thought

What is the word of the day, according to Edward Snowden? Jeopardy fashioned answer is—What is Torus?

The NSA is much bigger than we thought. In fact, the NSA’s ECHELON capacity has doubled since 2000, and is set to quadruple in the future, according to a special report from an investigative journalist in the business.

Multiple-beam antennas are essential to accomplishing the goal, even if they look like ‘warped billboards’.

The Torus antenna—unique quasi-parabolic shapes enabling them to simultaneously collect signals from up to 35 earth orbiting satellites at once—is key to the puzzle. Here’s another special report.

New Collection Posture

This slide (New Collection Posture) from an NSA presentation to the 2011 Five Eyes conference shows that limits on the collection and processing of information are not part of the way the agency sees its own role:

For more information see the book No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State.

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The Online Eye Exam Could Be An Option

By RD Bentley on July 27, 2015 in ,

That exasperating trip to the eye doctor can be a pain and recently the eye care industry has jumped on the bureaucracy bandwagon. The legislators want to tell us how often we need the exams, etc. There might just be a solution for those with independent minds and minimal eye needs. What about the online eye exam on the computer? Could this be a cheaper option for qualifying consumers?

If you think that the bureaucracy isn’t that bad, read this: Legislators Block Low-Cost Eye Exams in Michigan. Sounds like Michigan has passed laws to protect favored businesses from economic competition.

The eye doctor used to shoot air in the eye during the eye exam, which was bearable, but now the patient usually gets the nasty, yellow mydriatic eye drops. This isn’t so bad, except your eyes get a little blurry and this creates a problem for those driving home. You can ask for anti-dilation drops, which bring relief from sun sensitivity (photophobia). Flip on sunglasses can be very useful after an eye exam.

Getting back to the online eye test on the computer. Are these exams effective and accurate? Is this legitimate?

I would prefer personal care from a qualified attendant, especially when it comes to fitting the frames on the face. I admit this to be a luxury, but the frames should fit better if this technique is properly applied by an expert.

Probably, the intended application is to get the eye exam online, and afterwards go to a local retailer to purchase the prescription glasses. The key is to save money on the eye exam itself.

If you’ve been to the eye doctor for an exam lately, then you are aware of the soaring expense that is imposed on the patient. A trip to the optometrist is getting rather expensive these days.

For those that qualify: “Opternative, the world’s first online eye exam service, is now available to provide consumers with a convenient and affordable physician-issued prescription for glasses or contacts.”

This company could revolutionize the way eye care is done in the future.

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What is VDSL?

By RD Bentley on July 23, 2015 in

What Is VDSL (Very-high-bit-rate digital subscriber line)? Most of us are familiar with ADSL (Asymmetric digital subscriber line), or what we refer to as DSL. DSL is common in the United States. How much faster is VDSL than ADSL? The experts claim that it’s 3X faster than DSL.

VDSL is widely available in towns and cities throughout New Zealand.

VDSL is a digital subscriber line (DSL) technology providing data transmission faster than ADSL (Asymmetric digital subscriber line) over a single flat untwisted or twisted pair of copper wires (up to 52 Mbit/s downstream and 16 Mbit/s upstream), and on coaxial cable (up to 85 Mbit/s down- and upstream) using the frequency band from 25 kHz to 12 MHz. These rates mean that VDSL is capable of supporting applications such as high-definition television, as well as telephone services (voice over IP) and general Internet access, over a single connection. VDSL is deployed over existing wiring used for analog telephone service and lower-speed DSL connections. This standard was approved by ITU in November 2001.

VDSL can be found in these locations: Denver, Colorado; Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Phoenix, Arizona; Seattle, Washington; Omaha, Nebraska; Minneapolis; Des Moines, Iowa; Fayetteville, North Carolina.

Exactly how does VDSL work? Follow the link @ howstuffworks to find out the juicy answer.

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Rumor Countdown: Olbermann Coming Back To MSNBC?

By RD Bentley on July 22, 2015 in ,

Face it; the ratings have tanked and the MSNBC Rumor Alert is that Olbermann is coming back. “The struggling cable net has to figure out how to overhaul its programming following two of its worst quarterly performances in recent memory.”

Why? Maybe not the only reason, nevertheless, the sending away of the talented political satirist, Mr. Keith Olbermann, was a major contributing factor. Ahem.. Maybe his presence was underappreciated.

It’s hard to make an argument against Olbermann when George Stephanopoulos allegedly donated $75,000 to the Clinton Foundation.

Joe Scarborough did the exact same thing. Wasn’t it $4,200 to a Republican House candidate?

What’s the rub now?

“Olbermann established a niche in cable news commentary, gaining note for his pointed criticism of right-wing or conservative politicians and public figures.” Keith’s stinging criticism and witty satire gained him a huge audience. This is no small achievement by any means.

Many of his followers would agree that MSNBC lost the punch when Olbermann left the network. Olbermann connected with a mainstream audience who remembered what it was like before the era of political correctness. Opinions are just opinions, but this is all-American and some honesty is quite refreshing, whether it leans to the left or to the right.

And as far as the liberal label, Olbermann has said so himself: “I’m not a liberal. I’m an American.” He is simply an entertainer in a niche role that he carved out for himself. If you don’t like it you could always tune in to the other guy—shall we make the reference—the other clown…

How could we forget the famous routine: “Worst Person in the World”?

Yes, it might be true that Olbermann is over-the-top and he may have crossed that line from time to time. Many entertainers are guilty of this. It’s that spontaneity and candor that adds the appeal to any show. Without it, it’s just another uneventful day.

What can we say about the harsh criticisms of the Bush administration, or of any other for that matter? What would you say the consensus is at the present time? Have you checked any political approval ratings lately?

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Schedule your favorite TV program and record it on your PC.

By RD Bentley on July 20, 2015 in ,

HDHomeRun EXTEND OTA TV Tuner

Turn your computer into a true media center with software and the SiliconDust HDHomeRun EXTEND 2-Tuner. Watch the game live on your phone or tablet wherever you are in your home. Extend’ your multi-room, multi-device, multi-user TV experience.

The HomeRun TV Tuner enables you to receive the glorious HD 1080i definition content at your convenience, while a cheaper version does standard definition only.

Schedule your favorite TV program and record it on your PC. Then you can play it back later. Watch, pause, and record.

If you purchase the device and already have an HDTV antenna, then you’ll be ready for the download, which contains the drivers. Here it is at the SiliconDust website.

Live TV can be viewed with the HDHomeRun View app (which is supported on Windows, Mac, Linux, PC or Android devices such as phones, tablets, Amazon branded media devices and Android TV) or it can be viewed on any client device that supports the Kodi/ XBMC Add-On.

MythTV, a software option for Linux users, is the ultimate Digital Video Recorder and home media center hub. Think of it as a Free and Open Source alternative to Windows Media Center or Tivo. Pause, skip, and rewind live TV shows.

Though MythTV was initially written to run only on the Linux operating system, BSD and MacOS X are also well supported, and it has recently become possible to build a version that can run on Microsoft Windows.

Some consumers use Plex. The free Plex Media Server simplifies your life by organizing all of your personal media, making it beautiful and streaming it to all of your devices.

It pays to have access to the TV Signal Locator, in order to know where to point the antenna!

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Has Texas Opened Its Own Gold-Backed Bank?

By RD Bentley on July 18, 2015 in

Has Texas opened its own gold-backed bank? Does this challenge the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank? Gov. Greg Abbott (R-Texas) signed House Bill 483 into law, which will establish a state gold bullion depository. No, this is not a joke. This is for real.

Texas. Governor Abbott issued the following statement:

“Today I signed HB 483 to provide a secure facility for the State of Texas, state agencies and Texas citizens to store gold bullion and other precious metals. With the passage of this bill, the Texas Bullion Depository will become the first state-level facility of its kind in the nation, increasing the security and stability of our gold reserves and keeping taxpayer funds from leaving Texas to pay for fees to store gold in facilities outside our state.”

This is really big news. Why is there no coverage from the mainstream media?

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione discusses the matter with a host of TRUNEWS, as can be heard on the YouTube video. Rep Giovanni said that gold will be used as money. The details are bound to come out sooner or later.

Capriglione is an advocate for greater accountability and transparency in state government. He announced in 2015 that he will seek further ways to make public information more readily available to the citizenry. His proposed House Bill 483 proposes the establishment of a state bullion depository to insure that Texas has first rights to its gold, rather than the U.S. government.

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