CDC Officially Planning For Nuclear Attack

We can only pray that a nuclear attack can be prevented!

Welcome to 2018. It’s been an apocalyptic start to the new year. And according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the worst could be yet to come. The agency wants the American public to get ready for the possibility of a nuclear strike, reports Politico, and it has posted a notice for a Jan. 16 briefing titled “Public Health Response to a Nuclear Detonation.” The session in Atlanta, Georgia will include experts on radiation and disaster preparedness and discuss what federal, state and local governments are doing to prepare. . .

via The CDC is now officially planning for a nuclear attack — Quartz

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William Shakespeare

“Come gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness.“ –William Shakespeare

2017 – It Was A Year

This blog by Lew Bornmann is an excellent summary about very interesting events in 2017. I very much like to reblog it!

Lew Bornmann's Blog

It seems to me….

“And now we welcome the new year. Full of things that have never been.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke[1].

Another year – 2017 – has now passed. When young, New Year’s was an excuse to party but with the passing of many years, it is met more with regret as the accelerating passage of time and fleeting years only serve as a reminder of how quickly the sands of time are passing through that hourglass. This observation is not met with melancholy but with a degree of fatalism and increasing awareness of what lies ahead.

Most years are characterized by very mixed sentiments but following eight years of political light, optimism, and hope; inauguration of a new U.S. president apparently determined to lead us down an erroneous path casts a deep shadow of despondency concerning our nation’s future.

There isn’t any one year…

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Our last Day in 2017

Today we had lunch in the GOSSIP LOUNGE, namely pots of tea and Hamburgers. My Hamburger was vegetarian. The filling was spinach and Ricotta Cheese! Very tasty. And I had some yummy salad with it. We also bought some great products at the fruit shop in the Figtree Shopping Centre. And last but not least we were able to buy Berliners in that shopping centre.
Soon we were ready to drive to Nan Tien Temple. The place was packed full and we had to park outside a bit further away from the Entrance Gates. The rain had stopped. So we experienced another beautiful walk to this magnificent building. Peter took some photos as we walked towards the building. The open inside area at the upper level was decorated in celebratory fashion for the year’s end. We listened to some music and watched some of the dance performances. At one of the stands with a lot of things for sale I bought a colourful windmill.

Our New Year’s Eve is going to start with “Dinner for One”:

Here now are Peter’s pictures that he took today:

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Australian Defence Force on heightened alert during Russian military exercise in Indonesia Exclusive by Defence reporter Andrew Greene Updated 24 minutes ago

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-30/australia-on-alert-during-russian-military-exercise-in-indonesia/9293362

Australian Defence Force on heightened alert during Russian military exercise in Indonesia
Exclusive by Defence reporter Andrew Greene
Updated 22 minutes ago

Two TU-95 bombers of the Russian Aerospace Forces sit on the tarmac.
PHOTO: Two nuclear-capable TU-95 bombers flew their first ever patrol mission over the South Pacific. (Supplied: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)
RELATED STORY: Why Russia and the West can’t get along
MAP: Australia
Defence personnel in Darwin were operating at “increased readiness” earlier this month as Russian strategic bombers conducted navigation exercises close to Australia, flying out of an Indonesian military base.

Key points:
RAAF Base Darwin placed on a “short period” of heightened alert
Russian Ministry of Defence claims it “carried out air alert mission over neutral waters of south Pacific Ocean”
Defence Department would have been concerned about Russian intelligence collection, defence expert says
The ABC can reveal RAAF Base Darwin was placed on a “short period” of heightened alert, while over 100 Russian personnel and several aircraft were stationed at the Biak Airbase in Indonesia’s eastern Papua province.

During the five-day stopover two nuclear-capable Tu-95 bombers flew their first ever patrol mission over the South Pacific, prompting concerns they may have been collecting valuable intelligence.

The Russian Ministry of Defence claims its strategic bombers “carried out air alert mission over neutral waters of south Pacific Ocean” in a flight lasting more than eight hours.

In a statement to the ABC, Australia’s Defence Department said “the ADF maintains appropriate levels of readiness and posture to respond to evolving circumstances,” but did not specifically refer to the Russian activity.

“There were no instances of unalerted or unscheduled foreign aircraft operating in Australian airspace during this period,” the Department added.

Defence also insists RAAF Base Darwin was never in lockdown, but did acknowledge “in early December there was a brief period of increased readiness” at the facility.

Two Russian Ilyushin-76 transporters carrying 81 personnel arrived on Biak island in Indonesian Papua on December 4, and were joined shortly after by a pair of Tu-95 bombers, bringing the total number of deployed troops to 110.

Russian aircraft ‘likely gathering Australian intelligence’
Two Russian Il-76MD aircraft arrive in Indonesia.
PHOTO: Two Russian Ilyushin-76 transporters arrived in Indonesia on December 4. (Supplied: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation)
One of Australia’s leading defence experts believes the Defence Department would have been concerned about the ability of the long-range Russian aircraft to collect intelligence during their visit to the region.

Executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings said this month’s deployment was a significant step by Moscow.

“For the Russians to send a couple of aircraft this far down south I think is really proving it’s got the capacity for that long-range reach,” he said.

“It doesn’t surprise me in the least that our own military forces raised their alert levels in response.

“I’m sure there would have been concerns about Russian intelligence gathering because they wouldn’t have come this far south without wanting to look at the one significant [United States] allied presence in this part of the world, which operates out of [RAAF Base] Darwin and RAAF Base Tindall a little further south.”

Topics: defence-forces, defence-and-national-security, world-politics, australia, russian-federation, indonesia

First posted about 9 hours ago

Uta’s December Diary 2017

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The other day Peter made some “Papierschlangen” (paper snakes). He remembered how he learned to make these as a nine year old at a boys’ home in Friedland (Silesia) where he was to be away from the bomb raids over Berlin.

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Peter did hang up his paper snakes at various places in our living room.

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He also found some colourful electric lights to hang up. I think we used to have them on our old Christmas tree.

Here are some books for the great-grandsons to enjoy when they come to visit.

December Diary 2017

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Well, so far I survived for eighty-three years. So what is there to contemplate? The answer: There is a whole lot to contemplate!

I looked this up in Wikipedia:

“Avram Noam Chomsky(US: /ævˈrɑːm ˈnoʊm ˈtʃɒmski/ ( listen) av-RAHMNOHM CHOM-skee; born December 7, 1928) is an American linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, historian, social critic, and political activist. Sometimes described as “the father of modern linguistics,” Chomsky is also a major figure in analytic philosophy and one of the founders of the field of cognitive science. He is the author of over 100 books on topics such as linguistics, war, politics, and mass media. Ideologically, he aligns with anarcho-syndicalism and libertarian socialism. He holds a joint appointment as Institute Professor Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and laureate professor at the University of Arizona.^[22]^[23]

Born to middle-class Ashkenazi Jewishimmigrants in Philadelphia, Chomsky developed an early interest in anarchism from alternative bookstores in New York City. At the age of 16 he began studies at the University of Pennsylvania, taking courses in linguistics, mathematics, and philosophy. . . . .”

It seems, that today is his birthday. So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Noam!

From the above quote the expression “diverted to consumerism or hatred of the vulnerable” demands my attention. As a pensioner in Australia without major assets (except for owning own house), I would have to count myself to the bottom half in the population. And yet I must say I lead a comfortable life with most medical expenses covered by Medicare.. Is it because the general population in Australia is “diverted to consumerism”? Or is it “hatred of the vulnerable” especially hatred of so called illegal migrants that makes us prosper in Australia? Well, this is something to contemplate. If we stop being “apathetic and passive” does our good life end then? How important is it to have a “good ” life at the expense of the vulnerable? Would the vulnerable have a better life if we stopped consuming so much?

So, the powerful think they can do as they please. They may think they can do it, but surely eventually this must lead to some kind of disaster. I mean some major disasters like wars are affecting the vulnerable already, but maybe it is only a matter of time when major disasters hit everyone on this planet. So should there be any survivors, they are going to have a lot to contemplate . . . .

Diary in December 2017

https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Johann_Wolfgang_von_Goethe

This morning I went to Wikipedia to look for a certain quote by Johann Wofgang von Goethe. When I saw the above Wikiquote page I was immediately hooked. My thoughts were, that this page is very, very interesting. I could not look enough at it. How wonderful it would be if I could study it for hours and hours!

I have the feeling time is running away with me. What with more and more medical tests and all the every day things in life that still need doing if one wants to live independently, one would love to have a bit more time left for reflection and writing.

In old age everything does slow down a lot, in my case maybe more physically than mentally. But the mental capacity is very much reduced too, I am sure. It is often difficult to concentrate on just one thing. The frequent dizzy spells do not help in this regard.

I very much wish to approach the end of my life in a calm, thoughtful way. Haste in any form is obnoxious to me. Alas, quite often it cannot be avoided. Maybe sometimes I feel rushed unnecessarily. But this is how I often feel: “Not being able to accomplish things as promptly as required!” Is that the reason for my blood pressure going sky high? Or are there some other underlying causes?

I am looking forward to some relaxing Christmas celebration with joyful company, some alcoholic beverages and a choice of excellent food. Plus I hope for some soothing music and at other times also some very joyful, exuberant music.

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The other day I bought myself some beautiful sandals in this special shoe shop in Piccadelli, Wollongong.. Afterwards I sat down in that cafe opposite for some coffee and a snack while I was waiting for Peter to return from his medical appointment.

On another day I waited for Peter in the car in Burelli Street in Wollongong. The car happened to be parked where some more retirement building is going on. I took some pictures from the car. When Peter returned we talked about how very convenient it would be to be able to live in an apartment in that new retirement building in the centre of Wollongong. Alas, we would have to have at least half a million to afford a place like this. Our place in Dapto is worth quite a bit, but not quite this much! So I guess we will be staying in our beautiful place in Dapto for as long as possible, trying to look after it as well as possible while we are aging more and more.I really do feel sad sometimes that our place shows some signs of neglect. but on the other hand it is really a beautiful not too expensive place, and we love it!!