ONLINE TODAY
► If any kind of conflict erupts in your group today, you have to be frank and open about how you feel. By communicating honestly, you will show people that you aren't trying to gain anything -- you are just trying to make things better for everyone. This is not the time to get suspicious or self conscious about your feedback or criticisms. A compromise will take time to arrange, but your input will help it happen sooner, and it will be a better solution for everybody involved. It's a great time to meet new people -- you are quite likely to run into someone from far off whom you'd never have expected. It's a great time to round out your growing list of friends.
MOSCOW — RECENT events surrounding Syria have prompted me to speak directly to the American people and their political leaders. It is important to do so at a time of insufficient communication between our societies.
Relations between us have passed through different stages. We stood against each other during the cold war. But we were also allies once, and defeated the Nazis together. The universal international organization — the United Nations — was then established to prevent such devastation from ever happening again.
The United Nations' founders understood that decisions affecting war and peace should happen only by consensus, and with America's consent the veto by Security Council permanent members was enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The profound wisdom of this has underpinned the stability of international relations for decades.
No one wants the United Nations to suffer the fate of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it lacked real leverage. This is possible if influential countries bypass the United Nations and take military action without Security Council authorization.
The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria's borders. A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.
Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multireligious country. There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government. The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations. This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.
Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.
From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future. We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law. We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos. The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not. Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council. Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.
No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria. But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists. Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.
It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America's long-term interest? I doubt it. Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan "you're either with us or against us."
But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw. Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.
No matter how targeted the strikes or how sophisticated the weapons, civilian casualties are inevitable, including the elderly and children, whom the strikes are meant to protect.
The world reacts by asking: if you cannot count on international law, then you must find other ways to ensure your security. Thus a growing number of countries seek to acquire weapons of mass destruction. This is logical: if you have the bomb, no one will touch you. We are left with talk of the need to strengthen nonproliferation, when in reality this is being eroded.
We must stop using the language of force and return to the path of civilized diplomatic and political settlement.
A new opportunity to avoid military action has emerged in the past few days. The United States, Russia and all members of the international community must take advantage of the Syrian government's willingness to place its chemical arsenal under international control for subsequent destruction. Judging by the statements of President Obama, the United States sees this as an alternative to military action.
I welcome the president's interest in continuing the dialogue with Russia on Syria. We must work together to keep this hope alive, as we agreed to at the Group of 8 meeting in Lough Erne in Northern Ireland in June, and steer the discussion back toward negotiations.
If we can avoid force against Syria, this will improve the atmosphere in international affairs and strengthen mutual trust. It will be our shared success and open the door to cooperation on other critical issues.
My working and personal relationship with President Obama is marked by growing trust. I appreciate this. I carefully studied his address to the nation on Tuesday. And I would rather disagree with a case he made on American exceptionalism, stating that the United States' policy is "what makes America different. It's what makes us exceptional". It is extremely dangerous to encourage people to see themselves as exceptional, whatever the motivation. There are big countries and small countries, rich and poor, those with long democratic traditions and those still finding their way to democracy. Their policies differ, too. We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal.
Vladimir V. Putin is the president of Russia.
► INDEPENDENT 11 September 2013 : US alligator hunters break record for biggest beast ever caught – three times in a week. The annual Mississippi hunt, necessary to control the size of the alligator population, apparently couldn't come soon enough
► DAILY MAIL 8 September 2013 : Horror of Red Lobster waitress as she collects check from customer to see 'none ni**er' written in the tip section || ► HUFFINGTON POST 10 September 2013 : Racist Receipt Apparently Left By Red Lobster Customer (PHOTO)
► XINHUA - HEALTH
■ 6 September 2013 : Substance use relates to recidivism: study
■ 9 September 2013 : Two-drug therapy for deadly MERS virus effective in monkeys: researchers
■ 14 June 2013 : New study explores motivations behind suicide attempts
► NATIONAL POST 14 Junbe 2013 - "It's not unlike Sherlock Holmes and the dog that didn't bark, " said Jean Pascal Zanders, a leading expert on chemical weapons who until recently was a senior research fellow at the European Union’s Institute for Security Studies. It's not just that we can't prove a sarin attack, it's that we're not seeing what we would expect to see from a sarin attack."
► WALL STREET JOURNAL 11 September 2013 : Lessons From Destruction of U.S. Chemical Weapons. U.S. starting the destruction of chemical weapons in the Cold War era as much as 31 thousand tons in 1997. Until this year, the U.S. chemical weapons destruction process is not yet finished.
► BLOOMBERG 11 September 2013 : Securing Syria Toxic Weapons Confronts Months of Hurdles
► RIA NOVOSTI 10 September 2013 : As Syria Rages, US and Russian Chemical Weapons Stockpiles Persist
► GUARDIAN ■ 12 September 2013 : Syria crisis: US welcomes 'significant' Russian proposal on chemical weapons
■ 11 September 2013 : US struggles show hazards of chemical weapons destruction
■ 11 September 2013 : Record number of estate agent workers signals UK house price bubble
■ 11 September 2013 : NSA shares raw intelligence including Americans' data with Israel
■ 12 September 2013 : Yahoo CEO Mayer: we faced jail if we revealed NSA surveillance secrets
■ 11 September 2013 : Nigel Evans resigns as deputy speaker with emotional speech to MPs
► DAILY KOS 11 September 2013
■ Rand Paul asks Americans to form alliance with Assad regime► TUAW 11 September 2013 : On Apple, the new iPhones and points made and missed
■ Boehner forced to delay vote on spending scheme
► I NEED MOTIVATION - The Puzzle of Motivation
► SLATE 11 September 2013
■ A Secret Plot in Syria. An illustrated account of the 1949 coup—possibly CIA-assisted—that plunged the country into decades of political turmoil.
■ Never Forget Benghazi. The organizers of Benghazi remembrance rallies can’t seem to get us to remember that day the way they do.
► USA TODAY 11 September 2013 : Obama, critics mark Benghazi anniversary
Ah, if the event of 11 September 2001 is always and continues to be commemorated as the day of U.S. independence, then how can the U.S. learn to receive a sweet reality that, "If you terrorize, then you will be terrorized?"
This is just like when you become a victim of rape. Are you going to always remember the moment with a Painful Pride about days when you were raped? What would you announce about your self, hm? That you are great because you have been a victim of male lust? Oh.
America, do you feel you are a victim of terrorism, hm? Why do you look so dashing as a victim? Stop this event, please. Why do you look so sad while you are also seen carrying a very big grudge, hm? Oh come on. Be mature and be good with all the groups in this world. Start by giving a smile to the minorities, perhaps? What are the benefits of a memorial service conducted by the lips seemed stiff and eyes full of hatred towards Muslims, perhaps?
I do not mean cynical, but remember the time. Twelve years ago! The duration is enough to heal your pain. Why do you continue to grieve while I see your grief has been transformed into a heating furnace for a prolonged vendetta?
► CBS NEWS 11 September 2013 : Putin: U.S. military interventions are "alarming"
► KSAT 11 September 2013 : Putin jabs U.S., Obama on Syria in op-ed
► POSTSCRIPTS TYPE PAD 19 September 2007 : Politics, conspiracy, and a little humor
► SPACE 11 September 2013 : Mars Rover Camera Invention Could Help NASA Robots Explore Solo
► TODAY in HISTORY
■ 12 September 1940 : Lascaux cave paintings discovered
■ 12 September 1953 : John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Newport, Rhode Island
► PETS &ANIMALS : Python eats Alligator 02, Time Lapse Speed x6. Uploaded on Dec 14, 2011 by ojatro
► EDUCATION : BBC Horizon: Secret Life Of Caves (Documentary). Set against the back drop of awe inspiring geological beauty, a strange scientific adventure sets out to discover how a mineral clad cave network - the height of a 30 storey building and the length of six football fields - came to exist deep below the Guadalupe Mountains in North America.
But this journey soon unravels a multitude of inexplicable phenomena and obscure geological formations, leading to the discovery of extreme rock-eating microbes - a testimony from primordial Earth and a glimpse of life elsewhere in the Solar System.
Geologists believed that all limestone caves were formed by rain and underground water percolating through cracks in the rocks. Absorbing carbon dioxide from the soil, this water becomes weak carbonic acid, nibbling away at limestone, etching out networks of subterranean caves.
However, the intricate cave structures beneath the Guadalupe Mountains in the Carlsbad Caverns of New Mexico are coated in glistening white, gypsum-clad walls. 400m under a desert, the world's largest gypsum chandeliers adorn a cavern called Lechuguilla Cave. There, dazzling white crystals create delicate branches up to 6m in length.
Gypsum is soluble in water, so the 'water flow' theory doesn't fit here. Gypsum has been left copiously encrusting the walls, when it should have been dissolved in the cave formation process. Teams of scientists from the University of New Mexico, Portland State University and Chapman University discovered how such vast mineral coated caverns formed, and their explanation involved the work of a much stronger acid.
The team visits a more active and dangerous cavern in South Mexico, searching for evidence of a cave in the act of formation. Respirators and poison-gas monitors are required for protection from the hydrogen sulphide gas and lethal sulphuric acid deep inside the Cueva de Villa Luz cave. Yet within this noxious environment life thrives. Microbes, spiders, insects, crabs, and fish all flourish in the complete darkness and caustic atmosphere. The team also discover 'snottites', mucous-like stalactites of sulphur-eating bacteria that drip sulphuric acid onto the surrounding limestone.
These so-called 'extremophiles' are organisms that thrive in conditions that we consider unusual. They live in environments devoid of sunlight or oxygen, deep below the surface of the Earth. They tolerate high and low temperatures, extreme acidity and pressures that would crush surface creatures. They can survive at temperatures of 83°C in the bubbling hot springs at Yellowstone National Park. Colonies clump together in thick mats thriving by volcanic hydrothermal vents, belching out minerals and chemicals in boiling temperatures, deep within the ocean floor.
It is these extreme microbes, feeding on oil far beneath the Carlsbad caves, or reacting in Cueva de Villa Luz that produce hydrogen sulphide. The gas emerges into the caves, where it reacts with oxygen to produce powerful sulphuric acid. This acid dissolves limestone eight times the volume of its weaker cousin, carbonic acid. It also leaves a mineral residue of gypsum.
These microbial engineers have been busy hundreds of metres below the surface of the Earth for millennia. They have created geological beauty through biological activity. This process, still ongoing in Cueva de Villa Luz, was completed millions of years ago in Carlsbad and Lechuguilla. These environments are as extreme as the primordial Earth and may even be present under the freezing permafrost of the UV-saturated surface of Mars, or beneath the thick ice of Jupiter's moon, Europa. Published on Jan 14, 2013 by EducationaITV
► TRAVEL & EVENTS : The Dordogne, France: Lascaux's Prehistoric Cave Paintings. Uploaded on Oct 27, 2010 by RickSteves
► HOW to & STYLE : Dan Pink : The puzzle of motivation. Career analyst Dan Pink examines the puzzle of motivation, starting with a fact that social scientists know but most managers don't: Traditional rewards aren't always as effective as we think. Listen for illuminating stories -- and maybe, a way forward. Uploaded on Aug 25, 2009 by TED
► Snowball Earth (BBC Horizon Documentary). Published on Jan 11, 2013 by BBCHORlZON
► Concerned Israel sees some hope in Syrian weapons plan
► U.S. seeks proof Syria ready to give up chemical arsenal By Warren Strobel - GENEVA - The United States will insist that Syria take rapid steps to show it is serious about abandoning its vast chemical arsenal, senior U.S. officials said, as Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Geneva for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
* Diplomatic efforts intensify on corralling Syrian chemical arms
* Israeli minister cautiously welcomes Syria chemical arms plan
* After seeing Iraq up close, top U.S. general wary on Syria
* Syria's chemical weapons; decades to build, years to destroy
► VIDEO : Canadian woman hide drugs in fake pregnant belly
► Obama agrees to give Russia's Syria plan a chance
► Confucius makes comeback at Chinese tables
► Astronauts return from International Space Station
► US marks 12th anniversary of 9/11 terrorist attacks
► Electric, concept cars highlight Frankfurt car show
Uh, one, two, three. Ah, I'm trying to remember how many times I watch him silently. Why sometimes he looks very romantic and tender anyway? I saw his eyes light was dim. It's good, not blinding my eyes. Hmmm.
► UN team decries crimes against humanity in Syria
► Guinness World Records 2014 unveiled
► 9/11 Anniversary Marked With Somber Tributes
► 9/11 Victims Remembered at Pentagon, Shanksville
► Mideast Reax to Pres. Obama's Speech on Syria
► NEWS
■ Syria's chemical weapons: why it could take decades to destroy them
* Syria CW Elimination Modalities■ Islamist rebels kill 12 Alawites in Syrian village: monitors
* Syria
* Bashar Assad
* Chemical Weapons Convention
* Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
* Chemical weapons 101: Six facts about sarin and Syria's stockpile
* Destruction Technologies - According to the provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), a State Party may select and apply the appropriate destruction methods for its chemical weapons (CW). However, it should be noted that in the process of destroying chemical weapon the following methods are not permitted under the provisions of the CWC: dumping in any body of water, land burial or open pit burning.
* United States
* Congressional Research Service study - PDF
* U.S. Army
* U.S. Department of Defense
* Incineration Process - PDF
* Hazardous Waste Landfills - PDF
* Used Neutralization - PDF
■ Report: Russia Plans Air-Defense Sale to Iran
■ Bomb attack on Benghazi anniversary
■ Bomb damages Libyan foreign ministry building in Benghazi
■ NASA Space Telescope Discovers 10 Monster Black Holes
■ Diplomatic success may strengthen Assad
■ Russia could boost Iran arms sales if U.S. strikes Syria: Putin ally
■ Car bomb hits Libyan Foreign Ministry in Benghazi
■ Syrian opposition forces feel let down by Obama
■ Netanyahu says Syria must be stripped of its chemical weapons
■ AP ANALYSIS: Russia re-emerges as Mideast player
■ Putin foe Navalny to challenge Moscow election defeat in courtThat's right! And you know who's the coolest ruler there. Ahem ahem. I'm not bad in taste, right? Vladimir Putin is more handsome and intelligent and tactful, and polite, and so on and so forth than Barack Obama, That's it. And this is a fact, at least for me.
■ NYC political world pauses to remember 9/11
■ Why Are Companies Reluctant to Hire Military Veterans?
■ Russia, U.S. work on deal to disarm Syria of poison gas
► HOMES : Underground Vegas estate lets you weather the apocalypse
► SHINE
■ 10 Surprising Things All Wives Should Know About Their Husbands
■ No-Bake Cake Recipe
Haaa .... they both look nice. Pope and Renault. Yes yes I see the pandas and want to kiss them both. Mwah mwah!
► MOVIES : Matthew McConaughey: Why I Rejected a $15 Million Paycheck
► EDUCATION & FAMILY : 'Priceless' butterflies found at Oxford museum
Vladimir Putin appeals to the American people over Syria, hours before US-Russia talks on Damascus's chemical weapons.
* Bowen: Battle rages in Maaloula -VIDEO
* Analysis: Russia - a step ahead
* Horror of chemical weapons
* Destroying Syria's chemical arms
* War crimes on both sides - UN
* Views from US and Damascus
* Damascus diaries
* Syria conflict: Special report
► MAGAZINE
■ Big-money butlers - The household staff earning $150,000 a year
■ A nation's nemesis - In a room with the self-confessed mastermind of 9/11
► ANALYSIS
■ Forbidden weapon - Why chemical warfare is deemed bad, asks Frank Gardner
■ Mooncake malarky - Linda Yueh examines China's efforts to tackle corruption
► OP-ED : The real rainbow Russia
► 'Chance for Syria peace can't be missed' - Lavrov on Kerry talks
► US interventions in internal conflicts 'alarming' – Putin
► Obama's Syria address reveals 'diplomatic chaos' in the US
► No plans to supply Iran with S-300 systems – Putin's press secretary
► Russia should take 'serious measures' if US decides to strike Syria - Duma
► CIA starts arming Syrian rebels overtly
► 'Monsanto Protection Act' quietly extended by Congress
► EU lawmakers nominate Snowden for Sakharov human rights prize
► Navalny submits hundreds of complaints against mayor poll, demands halt to inauguration
► Over a million Catalans lock hands in independence chain (PHOTOS, VIDEO)
► In MOTION
■ Safe landing of Soyuz spacecraft crew► VIDEOS
■ Putin's image used for controversial Italian far-right campaign
Ow ... He looks very handsome. Mwah!
(Shhh, do not kiss your computer screen, Cisca!)
■ 'Diplomatic Chaos: Obama in weak position, nation split'. It looks like President Obama is toning things down after weeks of bombastic statements and threats that the Syrian government deserves a U.S. strike. In an address to his nation - which according to recent polls is against America getting involved into a brand-new war - he agreed to give way to diplomacy first.
The prospect of America's strike against Syria has revealed deep public and political chasms within the U.S. - putting president Obama in a very uncomfortable position. That's the belief of Manuel Ochsenreiter - who's been extensively writing on the matter.
■ German Elections: Fringe parties gain as voters shun Merkel
■ Recruited by Al-Qaeda: Foreign fighters in Damascus jail tell their stories
■ Americans don't deserve Apple's profits, Chinese do?
■ NSA 'routinely' shares Americans' data with Israel - Snowden leak
■ Chemical weapons: 'Easy to make and disperse, impossible to get rid of'
■ 'Plea for Caution': Putin warns against diminishing intl law role. It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts has become commonplace for the US, President Vladimir Putin said in an editorial for The New York Times. Putin however has welcomed Barack Obama's decision to develop a compromise on Syria
■ Merkel's Ark: Germany receives its first Syrian refugees. Cherry-picked from overcrowded refugee camps in Lebanon - Germany has received its first Syrian asylum seekers - all 107 of them. Their arrival was green-lighted only after opposition parties called out Chancellor Merkel for not doing enough to help the displaced. More than two million Syrians have so far fled their war ravaged country. RT's Peter Oliver reports, from Berlin.
■ Independence Chain: Over 1 million Catalans arm-in-arm to press for separation. Over one million Catalans have formed a human chain stretching over 400-kilometers along Catalonia's Mediterranean coast, locking hands to show their support for Barcelona's independence from Spain.
■ Frontline: Dramatic report as Syria Army battles jihadists in ancient Christian village
► World leaders divided over Syria's diplomatic solution
► Senator McCain discusses Syria resolution options
► France tables UN resolution on Syria
► NATIONAL SECURITY : How To Destroy Syria's Chemical Weapons
► Klein: Obama's Syria Stumbles. The President's uneven response has damaged his office and weakened the nation. It's time for one more pivot
* Syria Debate Breeds Electoral Doubts in Both Parties
* Syrian Rebels Reject Russian Proposal as Kerry and Lavrov Meet for Talks
* Putin Calls for Diplomacy on Syria in Times Op-Ed
► MICHELLE OBAMA : First Lady: Americans Need to Drink More Water
► FASHION : 8 Things We Learned at Fashion Week - Our favorite wacky runway looksWhat? Is this a theory about the discovery of indigenous peoples and they had just been discovered, maybe? Ehhehhe ... every day I drink at least 3 liters of water / day. What is your problem, lady?
► VIDEO : The "Pin Prick" Weapon Against SyriaAhahahha ... hello you, there, how are you today? Hahaha .... I'm clicking pictures of fashion and I do not blame you why I'm laughing until my stomach cramps .... ahahahha ... I'll tell you later why I have to use a little beautiful feeling when choosing clothing. I do not want to be a victim of fashion, ehehehhe...and I can't dispel my sense of humor tickles my mind today. Certainly, this is not about how our home curtains could perch on my head and I took a walk along the highway with a sweet smile and said hello to all my neighbors. "Hi ..." for example? Not at all! Ehehehe...
► WORLD
■ Putin talks tough in pitch to U.S. public
■ U.S. and Iran are edging toward direct talks
► BUSINESS : Calif. job growth has slowed, experts say
► LOCAL : Panel urges LAX operators to pay more heed to runway plan critics
► SCIENCE
■ Team reportedly grows 'better quality' stem cells in live mice
■ Carbon-coated spider silk wires could lead to 'green' electronics
► OPINION
■ "The diplomatic track must not be allowed to become a long and winding road to nowhere." — The Times editorial board on trying diplomacy in Syria
* GOP's unhealthy obsession with Obamacare
* The Putin Doctrine
■ Putin's chemical weapons scheme could save Obama from Syrian mess
Herders escort cattle down from their summer grazing grounds in the Bavarian Alps during the annual Viehscheid cattle drive near Bad Hindelang, Germany. BY: Lennart Preiss / Getty Images
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