Ice Expert Predicts Three-Quadrillion-Gallon Lake Superior Will Completely Freeze Over This Winter

/3 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: NOAABy Barbara Hollingsworth.

Superior hasn’t completely frozen over in two decades.

But an expert on Great Lakes ice says there’s a “very high likelihood” that the three-quadrillion-gallon lake will soon be totally covered with ice thanks to this winter’s record-breaking cold.

The ice cover on the largest freshwater lake in the world hit a 20-year record of 91 percent on Feb. 5, 1994.

Jay Austin, associate professor at the Large Lakes Observatory in Duluth, Minn., told CNSNews.com that he expects that record will be broken this winter when the most northern of the Great Lakes becomes totally shrouded in ice.

The thickness of the ice on Lake Superior “varies tremendously,” from a very thin sheet in some areas near the coast to several feet thick in other spots, Austin says. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reports that the mean thickness of the lake ice is 26 cm, or a little over 10 inches.

Read more from this story HERE.

________________________________________________________________________

Photo Credit: AccuWeather Historic Ice Storm Unfolds in South; Lengthy Power Outages Possible

By Brian Lada.

With a major winter storm unfolding over the South, snow and ice will severely impact travelers and residents from Texas to the Carolinas through midweek.

The event could be the worst ice storm for parts of the South in more than 10 years.

One batch of snow, sleet, rain and freezing rain affected the South Monday into Tuesday.

Nearly 650 flights have been canceled at Atlanta International Airport alone as of Tuesday afternoon.

Another batch of snow and ice will hit many of the same areas spanning Tuesday night into Wednesday night, including parts of Texas, Arkansas, northern Louisiana and central and northern Mississippi.

Read more from this story HERE.

Sinking Feeling: Iranian Navy Sends Message with US-Bound ‘Rust Buckets’

/6 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: FARS News AgencyThe two Iranian warships headed toward U.S. waters — one of which barely survived a 1988 run-in with an American fighter jet — are a pair of “rust buckets” Tehran is using to prove to its people it can project power around the globe, naval experts said.

The commander of Iran’s Northern Navy Fleet said the ships — the frigate Sabalan and Kharg, a supply ship capable of carrying helicopters — began their trip last month from the southern port city Bandar Abbas. Adm. Afshin Rezayee Haddad said the vessels had already entered the Atlantic Ocean near South Africa en route to U.S. maritime borders as part of a three-month mission. Haddad characterized the move as a response to the ongoing presence of the U.S. Navy’s 5th fleet, which is based in Bahrain, across the Persian Gulf.

But the British-built ships, which are reportedly carrying roughly 30 Iranian Navy academy cadets, are not militarily imposing, according to defense experts reached by FoxNews.com.

“From a tactical perspective, neither one of these ships are any good; they are an afterthought to the U.S. Navy from a warfare perspective,” said Christopher Harmer, senior naval analyst at the Institute for the Study of War. “From a strategic standpoint, they are very important.”

In 1988, the 310-foot Sabalan was attacked by American forces after it fired upon an A-6 Intruder aboard the USS Enterprise following tensions in the Persian Gulf. The Iranian ship was completely decimated but did not sink, ultimately being restored and improved — something not lost on the Iranian powers, Harmer said.

Read more from this story HERE.

A ‘Tsunami’ of Store Closings Expected to Hit Retail (+video)

/5 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Getty ImagesGet ready for the next era in retail—one that will be characterized by far fewer shops and smaller stores.

On Tuesday, Sears said that it will shutter its flagship store in downtown Chicago in April. It’s the latest of about 300 store closures in the U.S. that Sears has made since 2010. The news follows announcements earlier this month of multiple store closings from major department stores J.C. Penney and Macy’s.

Further signs of cuts in the industry came Wednesday, when Target said that it will eliminate 475 jobs worldwide, including some at its Minnesota headquarters, and not fill 700 empty positions.

Experts said these headlines are only the tip of the iceberg for the industry, which is set to undergo a multiyear period of shuttering stores and trimming square footage.

Shoppers will likely see an average decrease in overall retail square footage of between one-third and one-half within the next five to 10 years, as a shift to e-commerce brings with it fewer mall visits and a lesser need to keep inventory stocked in-store, said Michael Burden, a principal with Excess Space Retail Services.

Read more from this story HERE.

Obama Admin Pressed for Lifting Sanctions on Iranian Broadcaster Involved in Human Rights Abuses

/0 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: AlgemeinerWatchdog group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) on Tuesday called on the Obama Administration to reconsider its decision to lift sanctions on Iran’s state broadcaster, Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), which had been punished for its involvement in the Iranian regime’s human rights abuses. Among other offenses IRIB has jammed foreign broadcasts, televised forced confessions and broadcast show trials of political prisoners.

UANI said that while the U.S. and world powers agreed in November to lift sanctions tied to Iran’s economy in exchange for the regime allowing increased access to its nuclear facilities, they also agreed to maintain sanctions on areas tied to human rights abuses, and should stay that course.

“We urge the Obama administration to reconsider its decision to waive sanctions on IRIB,” said Ambassador Mark D. Wallace, UANI’s CEO. “The administration repeatedly pledged that the sanctions relief it granted Iran would not include those sanctions related to human rights. It must now uphold those promises, and maintain sanctions on IRIB given IRIB’s continued role in facilitating human rights abuses in Iran.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Abortion Worker: It Would “Torment My Soul” to See Babies’ “Tiny Crushed Bodies”

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: LifeNews In 2006, Destiny Image Publishers published a book by author Cheryl Chew called Make Me Your Choice. This powerful pro-life book tells moving stories of post-abortion women who suffered from guilt and grief and managed to find peace and healing. Chew also published the testimony of a woman named Judy. Judy worked for an OB/GYN who performed abortions (1).

Judy first described the way she was told to prepare women for their abortions:

During this time [I worked for the OB/GYN] my duties involved preparing the patients for the procedure. I was instructed to counsel with them if they had any questions. If they were having an abortion, I was to reassure them about their decision by telling them that it was all right and that “they were just getting rid of a blob of tissue.

Very few surgical abortions are done before the sixth week (2). By this time, the brain has divided into its hemispheres and is giving off measurable brain waves (3), and the embryo’s heart is beating. You can see an amazing video of a four-and-a-half-week-old embryo’s heart beating here. At this time, the heart beats 113 times a minute – faster than the average heartbeat of an adult.

Even at the earliest stages, these women were not “just getting rid of a blob of tissue.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Washington State Gov. Inslee Suspends Death Penalty

/1 Comment/in , /by

Photo Credit: Kathleen Tyler ConklinGov. Jay Inslee said Tuesday he was suspending the use of the death penalty in Washington state, announcing a move that he hopes will enable officials to “join a growing national conversation about capital punishment.”

The Democrat said he came to the decision after months of review, meetings with family members of victims, prosecutors and law enforcement.

“There have been too many doubts raised about capital punishment, there are too many flaws in this system today,” Inslee said at a news conference. “There is too much at stake to accept an imperfect system.”

Inslee said that the use of the death penalty is inconsistent and unequal. The governor’s staff briefed lawmakers about the move on Monday night and Tuesday morning.

Read more from this story HERE.

Report: Ohio National Guard Training Envisions Right-Wing Terrorism

/7 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Media TrackersDocuments from an Ohio National Guard (ONG) training drill conducted last January reveal the details of a mock disaster where Second Amendment supporters with “anti-government” opinions were portrayed as domestic terrorists.

The ONG 52nd Civil Support Team training scenario involved a plot from local school district employees to use biological weapons in order to advance their beliefs about “protecting Gun Rights and Second Amendment rights.”

Portsmouth Chief of Police Bill Raisin told NBC 3 WSAZ-TV in Huntington, West Virginia that the drill accurately represented “the reality of the world we live in,” adding that such training “helps us all be prepared.”

Internal ONG documents provided to Media Trackers after repeated delays provide further context to what WSAZ-TV reported last winter.

In the disaster-preparedness scenario, two Portsmouth Junior High School employees poisoned school lunches with mustard gas, acting on orders from white-nationalist leader William Pierce.

Read more from this story HERE.

Video: Happy 50th Birthday Governor Palin!

/14 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore/Creative CommonsFormer Alaska Governor Sarah Palin turns 50 today.

Join us in wishing her a very Happy Birthday!

Godspeed in all the future holds for you Governor Palin!!

________________________________________________________________________

Natalie Villacorta, Politico

On Tuesday former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin turns 50, and many of her Republican colleagues have joined together to make a birthday video.

In the clip posted Sunday to Youtube by She-PAC, a political action committee focused on electing conservative women to office, Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Newt Gingrich, Donald Trump, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC) and other notable Republicans warmly wish Palin a happy birthday and thank her for her contributions to the conservative movement…

Utah Sen. Mike Lee: “Enjoy some moose hunting or do whatever else that a mama grizzly does on an important birthday.”

Read more from this story HERE.

Miller: President Engages in Another ObamaCare Lawless Act

/4 Comments/in , /by

Photo Credit: Fox News Joe Miller called Monday’s announcement by the Obama Administration of its decision to unilaterally grant medium-sized employers two additional years, rather than one, to comply with the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, yet another example of the lawlessness of this Administration.

“But for the November elections, I question whether we would see this decision by the President to delay some of the law’s most devastating impacts on job creation and job retention for yet another year,” said Miller. Just last week the CBO reported that the ACA will result in 2.3 million jobs being lost.

Today’s announcement follows several other unilateral acts by the Obama Administration to change provisions of the law without congressional authorization including: its earlier decision to delay the employer mandate for one year, delaying the individual mandate for one year, delaying the enrollment date, and delaying the requirement in out-of-pocket caps. In all, the Administration has changed at least sixteen provisions of the law without Congress.

“President Obama may find it inconvenient or messy to work through the legislative branch in order to change the law, but that is what the Constitution requires,” said Miller. “During the legislative process he may get more, less or none of what he wants, but this is the way the Founders intentionally established our government. That is the nature of separated powers.”

The Founders divided power between three branches of government with legislative elections falling every two years (including one-third of the senators) rather than four with the President, because they wanted a check against the abuse of authority by both the legislative and executive branches. The peoples’ representatives must stand up and be held accountable for their votes.

Although members of all three branches have an independent duty to uphold their oath to the Constitution in all their actions, Miller noted that “No authority is granted to the President to simply suspend or change laws temporarily, or otherwise make changes in the law that benefit those who support his policies. In America the law is king, and neither a king nor the President is the law.”

President Obama is clearly seeking to do everything he can to mitigate the damage caused by the Affordable Care Act so senators like Mark Begich, who voted for the law against the wishes of the vast majority of his constituents, can somehow retain power. Indeed, it was reported last week by Congressional Quarterly that Senator Begich votes with the President 97 percent of the time. Obama has a 33 percent approval rating in Alaska.

“Alaskans will not be fooled. They know Mark Begich was the 60th and deciding vote for ObamaCare, and they know he has been carrying the water for the President in the Senate since they both took office. The people will hold him to account in November for a record that is out of touch with our state,” said Miller.

Are Government Agencies Secretly Censoring Internet Sites Like Restoring Liberty?

/6 Comments/in , /by

We had a real eye opener last week. Many people had trouble reaching Unseen.is, but some people had no problems whatsoever. The servers were all operating normally; what could cause this problem? I won’t get overly technical, but I think you’ll find the evidence to be persuasive that we’re now entering a new stage of internet censorship, done a bit differently than you might have expected.

It turns out that three network routers, the devices that sit in the data centers that make up the backbone of the internet, flaked out at the same time and dropped many of the packets some of our users were sending to the Unseen.is servers. That three of them would have a problem like this isn’t just highly unusual, it’s actually something suspicious and indicates that they were being targeted to degrade our service and make our customers upset. Here’s a story that came out yesterday (Feb 7th) that talks about this exact subject…the NSA and GCHQ have programs to do precisely this sort of thing and HERE’s the PROOF! If you ever doubted it, this is how they will censor the web in the future (before they go to full lockdown of the internet).

In China, they just blockade the whole thing, to show people who’s really in charge and it’s up to groups like Falun Gong to break through it to let people in China know the truth…or get blamed for a fault in the Great Firewall (when they didn’t do anything). In the West, they’ll need to be more subtle, the peasants might get restless because they still believe they have human rights.

Based on screen grabs from our computers, it appears they can target certain sites, web pages (we’ve seen this with Before It’s News, but finally here’s the proof), individuals and regions and degrade the performance of the internet to prevent access. Most people will just assume “the Internet is having a bad day” because they will talk to friends who can still get to a site or story and assume something is wrong with their computer or local connection. If you can’t see or get something, you might assume it doesn’t exist, like an email you never received. You don’t miss something you never had.

I call this a “soft” Great Firewall and we’d been warned about this by several former military intelligence people. The switch can be flipped at any time and to any degree. To do this you’d need to control or be able to hack your way in to any router on the internet, including those owned by individuals. You should assume the major national security services all have this capability. Some services have their own switching gear at critical locations, I’ve known this since 1997, as our ISP at the time pointed out “the NSA room” that was intercepting and duplicating email and web site visit data. Things have definitely advanced since that time and there is now a Shadow Internet, controlled by these spy services that not only hoovers up data and sends it back to the big data center in the sky. They now actively degrade the internet to censor it.

Restoring Liberty encourages you to read more from this story HERE.