Standoff in The South China Sea

BRP Gregorio de Pilar

On Sunday, a Philippine Navy surveillance aircraft spotted eight Chinese fishing boats in Philippine waters. The BRP Gregorio de Pilar was dispatched. Tuesday upon boarding one of the vessels it's inspection crew found "large amounts of illegally collected corals, giant clams and live sharks" in the boat's compartments.


The inspection team returned and reported. Before the Gregorio de Pilar could begin making arrests, two Chinese maritime surveillance ships showed up, and placed themselves between the fishing boats and the Gregorio de Pilar.


With this began the standoff. The Philippines have protested to the Chinese government, but China responded by stating that the area is Chinese territory. This despite the area being recognized as belonging to the Philippines by UN treaty. China in fact claims almost the whole South China Sea to be theirs.

Wednesday the Philippines dispatched a coast guard vessel to join the Gregorio de Pilar. By the time it arrived on Thursday, a third Chinese vessel had arrived. Latest reports from the BBC state that the Gregorio de Pilar has pulled back, but the Philippine government would not state why.


The Philippines are scheduled to undergo naval operations with the US Navy, April 16-27, near the area.

Plague Spreading Through Bats

A mysterious plague has been killing off bats in alarming numbers. First discovered in 2007 "white nose syndrome" has spread from Albany, New York into nineteen states and three provinces.

The disease has been named for the white that begins to cover the bats face, ears, and wings. The fungus then begins to eat through the membranes of the wings, tail, and ears. As it spreads through each bat, it appears to mess with their mental stability and instincts.

So far it is estimated that 5.5 million bats have been lost to the plague. Nothing has yet been effective in stopping it's spread.

This is of grave concern as bats have an important role in the food chain. Just one million bats eats at least 540 tons of insects a year. Many of those insects will now survive to eat more crops, gardens, and trees; upsetting the balance even more.

Amazon Begins Trade In of CDs

On Wednesday, Amazon announced an expansion to their trade in program. For the last few years customers have been allowed to trade in movies, textbooks, video games, and electronics. When Amazon receives them, they put an amount of credit into the person's account.

Well now you can turn in your old CDs as well. On Amazon there's a list of CDs that they'll accept, and the amount they'll give you for them. Once you've found one you want to remove from your collection, print a shipping label and packing slip and ship the discs for free.

In a press release, Amazon said, "Through customer feedback we've learned that a lot of customers are interested in trading in their used CDs to upgrade to something new."

Betty White Joins Twitter

Betty White joined Twitter on Tuesday starting right off with, "Hello Twitter! And they said it would never happen. Oh wait, that was me."

She then continued to promote her new show and tease Ryan Seacrest, "Hey @RyanSeacrest -- my new show airs tomorrow and I hear we're in the same time slot. I've always dreamed of sharing a night with you..."

Attitude and humor is exactly what we expected from the 90 year old, and whenever she does tweet we'll be sure to be entertained.

You can follow the star on Twitter at @BettyMWhite.

Reveiw: Anesthesia's La Paradinha

Anesthesia's brand new album La Paradinha came out yesterday and is one of the most calming and relaxing albums you'll ever listen to.

La Paradinha is the second album from, Denver based, Anesthesia and does not disappoint at all. It even has a quest appearance by Mark Labriola II, formerly of Intrepid and Foolish Things.

Beautifully composed and made, it could very well be one of the best purchases you make this year. The perfectly blended mix of electronic beats, live drums, and rhythmic guitars gives a rich, soothing texture and you'll end the album wanting more.

La Paradinha is available on Amazon and ITunes. You can also check it out on Spotify.



Megan by Anesthesia on Vimeo.

US Government vs. Capitalism

The federal government, in a desperate attempt to distract from all the problems of it's own, has decided to sue Apple and some publishers over the price of some ebooks. Eric Holder's Justice Department decries their making profits as criminal. Yes, that's right, the DoJ is coming out against capitalism.

Amazon regularly sells it's ebooks for $9.99, which is below cost as Amazon tries to monopolize the market.. Apple and the publishers have been selling brand new ebooks for $12.99-14.99, or just enough to make a little money after all the costs. Brand new books, in print, sell for around $20 due to the cost of paper and printing.

The Department of Justice accuses the companies it is suing, of being part of a conspiracy against the American consumer. Since when is offering a product at a reasonable price, and making a tiny profit, a conspiracy? If the courts uphold this suit, capitalism itself is under attack from the US government.

And speaking of conspiracies against the American public, how about Obamacare or Project Gun Runner? Coerced participation in a government program, now that sounds like the makings of a conspiracy. Secretly smuggling guns into a foreign country and then selling them to drug lords, and then trying to hide it all when your own citizens are murdered with weapons that you technically own, now there's a full on conspiracy.

If the Department of Justice truly had American interests at heart, it wouldn't be trying to attack capitalism, one of the basic principles of the nation. They would and should be cleaning up their own mess, one they shouldn't have started in the first place, and defending the country from the grasping reach of the executive branch.

Colorado Senate Votes Against Trans Fats

The Colorado Senate has voted for a bill that would eliminate trans fats from schools.

SB 12-068 requires the elimination of trans fats in any foods provided by schools, including vending machines.

Industrially produced trans fats such as vegetable shortening, margarine, or any type of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil that contains more than zero grams of trans fat per serving would be banned by the bill.

The bill has to pass a third reading in the Senate. If it does so, then it would be pushed on to the House for debate.

Remembering: Apollo 13

April 11, 1970 Apollo 13 successfully launches from Cape Canaveral, Florida with James A. Lovell, John L. Swigert, and Fred W. Haise aboard. Lovell and Haise were scheduled to become the fifth and sixth men to walk the moon.

On the 13th, just after completing a television broadcast, an explosion rocked the spaceship. "Houston, we've had a problem here", came Lovell's words to mission control. It was realized that oxygen tank 2 had exploded, disabling the normal amounts of oxygen, electricity, and water. The landing was scrapped.

Over the next few days the world held it's breath as the astronauts were carefully guided back to earth by mission control. They endured several days of near freezing temperatures, and fifth rations.

Even then worries abounded that there was more damage and they might not survive reentry. Luckily Apollo 13 held together. Thanks to the ingenuity of the astronauts and mission control they survived the entire ordeal.

Remembering: John Paul Jones

April 10, 1778 John Paul Jones and his crew aboard the USS Ranger, set out from France to begin harassing British shipping, in British waters. Jones not only accomplished his mission, but also did coastal raids against forts in England.

While sailing around Scotland, he visited his childhood home and attempted to kidnap the Earl of Selkirk, but found him not at home. Off the coast of Ireland he and his crew captured the HMS Drake and then headed home.

The next year, saw their return. It was then, in September 1779, that he would manage his most famous deed. While captaining the USS Bonhomme Richard, he became engaged with the HMS Serapis. The Bonhomme Richard was hit, caught fire, and began taking on water. The British captain ordered them to surrender, to which Jones replied, "I have not yet begun to fight!" Hours later the battle finally ended when the Serapis's captain admitted his own defeat.

Jones is remembered as one of the greatest naval commanders of history. He is known as the "Father of the American Navy". His tomb at Annapolis is never to be seen without an honor guard.

More Useless Gestures From Iran

Iran announced that it would stop selling oil to Spain, and is considering doing the same to Germany and Italy. But as Spain was quick to point out, they've not been buying oil from Iran since January. This is not the first time that Iran has stopped selling oil to a country that had already stopped buying.

Poor Iran can't seem to come up with a better way to strike back. It won't dare cut off oil to some one who is actually still buying, as then they'd lose money. But the political field demands that they show strength of some sort.

There have been signs that the sanctions imposed by the EU, US, and other countries have been biting for two months. Iran has also at times tried to offer oil at cheaper rates to EU nations, in attempts to gain their business back.