Nine Countries Kick Out Syrian Envoys

In response to the latest massacre in Syria nine countries have given Syrian envoys seventy-two hours to leave.

The United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Bulgaria all announced the decision on Tuesday. Expectations are that more countries will join in on the expulsion.

The massacre by Syrian troops, firing artillery into a populated area, killed around one hundred. Somewhere around 15,000 have been killed since last March, when the uprising began.

Russia has continuously protected Syria, but as things continue they're finding that position harder to maintain. If Russia backs down, Syria will have no protectors left. 

Zombie/Cannibal Attack in Miami

On Saturday, Miami police were forced to shoot a man, who had attacked another man.

Officers found the man literally chewing off the victim's face.

He refused to stop, pausing only to growl at officers, with pieces of flesh hanging out of his mouth.

The first shot didn't even make him pause. They then shot him til he was dead.

His victim is in critical condition, pictures of him are beyond grotesque. Seventy-five to eighty percent of his face is gone.

Police believe the man may have been on drugs. They suspect a new form of LSD. Others suspect a virulent form of rabies.

Sixteen Year Old Solves 350 Year Old Problem

Shourryya Ray, a sixteen year old living in Germany, solved two problems first set, 350 years ago, by Sir Isaac Newton.

Ray has been awarded a research award for his work solving the two equations, that no one had been able to solve til now. Even computers had struggled to solve the equations.

His solutions allow exact calculations of a trajectory under gravity and subject to air resistance. In other words, an item's flight path can be calculated and predictions can be made about how the object will hit and bounce off a barrier.

Math experts are now throwing around the word genius in conjunction with Ray. He denies he is one, but his solving the equations definitely show that the title is earned.

Fires Continue to Burn Across The US

The Whitewater Baldy Fire in New Mexico continues to grow thanks to the help of dry, hot, windy weather. Already having burnt over 152,000 acres, it is expected to beat the record for New Mexico's largest fire, by the end of the day. That record was set just last summer by the Las Conchas fire, which burned 156,593 acres.

However firefighters are hopeful, as they've been able to prepare lines in advance of the fire. So far the fire has burned a dozen structures, most of which were summer cabins. Firefighting resources from all over the United States are being used to fight it.

Two fires are burning in Colorado. The Sunrise Mine Fire, near Paradox and the Utah border has forced evacuations of campers. Thanks to seven aircraft, six engines, and eighty fire fighters the fire is about thirty percent contained.

Another fire is burning near Pagosa Springs, Colorado. This one is not contained at all, but firefighters are preparing a fire line north of the fire. They are also lighting small fires in front of it to burn out any possible fuel.

In Michigan, the Duck Lake Fire is nearing 22,000 acres. Two hundred and thirty-two firefighters are battling that one. The fire is mostly contained, and expectations are for it to be over with soon. Michigan is learning a lesson from this fire, as they were extremely unprepared for any fires. The state had dropped from one hundred and thirty fire crews, down to seventy.

Arizona is dealing with several fires. The Sunflower Fire, near Payson, has burned over 17,500 acres.. Fifty firefighters have it eighty percent contained. Near Flagstaff, the Mormon fire is being spurred on by winds, but firefighters are hoping to knock it out today or morrow. Over 16,000 acres have been burned by the Gladiator Fire. In the middle of the Prescott National Forest, it has prompted evacuations of three communities, but it is up to sixty percent containment now. By Thursday, firefighters hope to have the Toadlena Fire completely contained. It burned about 1,000 acres in the Navajo Nation.

Thoughts on This Memorial Day

All weekend I struggled over what I should write about for Memorial Day. So many ideas came and went, but none of them felt quite right. An article reminding everyone about the importance of remembering? Yes, for far too many it's simply a day to mark the beginning of summer by eating barbeque and drinking. Could be good, but almost cliche.

I began to think of not writing one at all, just writing the other articles on my list. O, of course I would make some Facebook and Twitter status mentioning how thankful I am to everyone who has or is serving. But honestly that feels pretty hollow to me today. How can you seriously thank someone enough, in just a few words, who did things you could never understand? There's truly no way to.

A day of silence to honor them? Ooops, too late for that, and there's already too much silence about it. Silence is all that those who don't care have, and I already dismissed doing nothing. Silence, whilst golden, is also one of the evils of the world. If our soldiers had remained silent, what form of tyranny would we be under? And so I started writing my thoughts.

All this led me to thinking of my family that's served. Past my grandparents, a lot is just stories handed down. I don't know many specifics about who, when, or where; but as far back as can be remembered ancestors bled mostly fighting against and possibly whilst wearing British colors. We were present during the Revolution, the Texas war for independence, and in the south during the Civil War.

My dad's dad was Royal Canadian Air Force, career. He served before, during, and after World War II, Korea, and the beginning of Vietnam. I never got to meet him, not from war loss, but from death caused by smoking his whole life. From what I've been told John Sangster ended up the highest level of Chief Warrant Officer, the highest level of non commissioned officer there is. No one but high ranking officers actually told him what to do. O, others could, but they didn't. Grandpa ran bases, nothing happened without his okay. Officers checked with him before they did things. He was the power behind the Colonel, or sometimes General.

Mum's dad served in the US Army during WWII. He fought in the Pacific, on islands such as Okinawa. Bill Dodson would earn his stripes before being honorably discharged. I grew up with his stories, at first when we lived next door, and then later whenever we got to visit. Those stories taught me so much, and I treasure them. This past fall, I was able to do a road trip, the focus of which was a weekend with him at the family reunion. I'll be forever grateful for that trip, as he would die three weeks later at the age of 91.

During Vietnam, my mum's brother and dad's brother both served. My dad volunteered, but was rejected by the USAF, based on his Canadian citizenship. Garth Sangster fought in the USMC at the beginning of the conflict. He was there at the very start, when they weren't even allowed to carry their weapons. Dennis Dodson served as a mechanic in the Army. Though I've not had the chance to hear many of their stories, they both have shared stories of being under fire without ways to fight back.

I've friends who served as far back as Nam, and others who currently do. I'm thankful beyond measure for their sacrifices. Their stories are as varied as their backgrounds, but the one thing that is the same between them all, they fought for their country. Most in the hopes, that they could keep the world's troubles far from the shores of the USA. Some simply because they were drafted, and had no other choice.

I was not allowed to serve, a rare genetic liver disorder, that's on the military's lists, keeps me out. But that does not mean that I'm not grateful for everything that our soldiers, as well those of our allies, have done. Given the chance I would've fought by their sides, but that was not meant to be. Instead I'm left with writing about them.

In their eyes you can see the pain, and sorrow. Innocence lost, friends to mourn. They suffered, saw greater yet, and still feel the pain in the memories of what happened and was seen. Some is too painful even to share. Regrets they may have, wishes to change things here and there definitely.

And let us not forget all those who have died in service. So many have died, in so many far away places. Our country still scours the earth for those lost in wars over the last century. Their families have not gotten back someone at all. Often receiving only a box and a flag. It is called the ultimate sacrifice for a reason.

Soldiers doing what needed to be done, fighting for in many cases simply survival, are what has kept us from having to fight ourselves. They are the reasons we get to have a day in the summer where we can simply sit around and eat that barbeque and drink. Their struggles have maintained our freedoms.

Don't just remember them, honor them.

Oil Throughout The Americas

Companies from all around the world are putting money and resources into the search for oil in Argentina. They're finding so much, that the country could become one of the world's top producers of oil.
However, production is being hampered ever since last month when President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner's government took control of the largest energy company, YPF. A company which had not just been a public one before then, but owned by a Spanish company.

Since then, production is actually down, despite all the new finds. Companies continue to be willing to search for the oil, but very few are willing to work the fields and risk having Argentina take over their sites. Argentina had already been a slightly unfavorable place for energy companies due to price controls and restrictions on imports and exports.

Analysts warn that Argentina may be headed the way of Mexico and Venezuela. Both of those countries had started to see booms in oil production, but they nationalized any successful finds. That led to a pull out by all foreign oil companies, and their money, which all but ended the industry. Some point with hope to the Mexican presidential election on July 1, as well as the illness of the Venezuelan leader.

Canada, Brazil, and Colombia seen as bright spots for oil production in the Americas. All of them are encouraging the growth of the industry. Companies are much more willing to produce there, where there's no threat of nationalization. Colombia has some security issues, but with more money coming in, stability seems to be following.

The Falkland Islands is another area being searched heavily for it's possible oil resources. Unfortunately, Argentina has seen that as reason to start up their old threats against the Islands, which are part of the United Kingdom. Thirty years ago the two countries fought a war over them, after Argentina invaded. British soldiers won back the islands.

Many questions surround the United States, and what it will do with it's own oil resources. The Obama government has repeatedly blocked companies from using the fields, which may very well be the largest in the world. In fact, several states alone could have more than Saudi Arabia.

Perhaps the most famous blocking of oil was the Keystone XL pipeline, which would have brought oil from Canada and North Dakota down throughout the US to Texas. The Obama administration blocked it and the project died. Or maybe not, as several states have gone ahead with the sections that go through their own lands.

Other states are going their own ways as well. North Dakota continues to increase production, despite efforts by the national government to stop it. Colorado, another state that has huge amounts of oil and natural gas available, is working on ways to encourage production within it's borders.

All of this, combined, leads to a possible future where the Americas replace the Middle East as the center for oil production. Companies want to promote this, as the Western Hemisphere is a much more stable region. And with all the finds through out, it would seem that the resources of the West dwarf those of the Middle East.

Syrian Forces Use Artillery to Massacre Civilians

Saturday saw at least ninety people were killed in the village of Taldo, Syria when government troops opened fire and shelled for hours. It is possibly the single most deadly event during the fourteen month uprising in.

The shelling only goes to prove how ineffective the UN cease fire is. All UN observers could do was confirm that the attack took place.

Iranian state news, while not mentioning the bombardment, said that Al Qaeda linked terrorists were responsible for the deaths. SANA went on to call them horrible massacres.

A UN release stated, "This appalling and brutal crime involving indiscriminate and disproportionate use of force is a flagrant violation of international law and of the commitments of the Syrian Government to cease the use of heavy weapons in population centers and violence in all its forms. Those responsible for perpetrating this crime must be held to account."

Reports also have come that government infantry opened fire on crowds as they left mosques after Friday prayers. Armed civilians fired back, killing several soldiers.

New Mexico Wildfire Covers Neighboring States in Smoke

Firefighters in New Mexico are battling a huge fire, in the south west of the state.

The fire is a result of the combination of two fires, that were created by lightning strikes.

Closing in on 100,000 acres, and being spread by winds, the fire is nowhere near contained.

Winds are spreading ash and sparks from the fire, more than thirty miles ahead of the current lines, making fighting it nearly impossible.

Smoke from the fire has spread to cover not just New Mexico, but Arizona, Colorado, and parts of several other states.

Health officials are warning people in the smoke affected areas to limit their outside activities due to the potential health risks.

US State Department Joins Al Qaeda Sites

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton bragged that the State Department had begun campaigning on Al Qaeda websites.

They specifically targeted Al Qaeda websites in Yemen, that were heavy with anti American messages.

Joining the sites was simple, and they even listed themselves as members of the US government.

After doing so they began posting message after message showing all the damage that Al Qaeda had caused in Yemen.

The State Department's Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications was begun at the beginning of 2010, but this is their first big mission.

Hopes are high for them to continue success in combating Al Qaeda, in their own forums, all around the world.

Most notable about this group is that they are non hackers, nor ever will be. Hacking is the domain of intelligence agencies.

Okay Quebec Student/Faculty Protesters; Enough is Enough!

Student protests, in Quebec, began on February 13, 2012, over 100 days ago. At the time they were over the increases to university tuition. The current tuition cost is $2,168 and is to be raised to $3,793 by 2017. This averages to an increase of $325 per year. Quebec (23.6% of the Canadian population) has the lowest rate for tuition in Canada and is a "have-not" province which means it receives equalization payments from the Federal Government, money paid by the "have" provinces.

Where do these students think the money is going to come from to cover the costs? The Province of Quebec is currently on a spending spree (subsidized daycare, etc.) and there is only so much money to go around. Education is a privilege not a right; no one is forcing them to go. They go to university to get the degree to get the better paying jobs.

So why do students assume that they should not have to pay slightly more for this education? How long do they think that things can continue the way they are before the province would have to increase the fees? Students pay nowhere near what the cost of the education really is. Do they expect staff to cover these costs if they don’t pay the increase? Do they expect other provinces to pony up more money for Quebec transfer payments? If they expect the 1 percenter's to pay more taxes to help pay for this, do they not realize that with their university degrees, many of them have the possibility of becoming a 1 percenter (making over $360,000) themselves.

Many students, who are not involved in the strikes, are having their education stalled and basically have become tuition hostages, if they could not complete their programs. Quebec passed the bill titled "An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the post-secondary institutions they attend", which restricts freedom of assembly, protest, or picketing on or near university grounds, and anywhere in Quebec without prior police approval.

The bill also places restrictions upon the right of education employees to strike. Many of the students and faculty were angry about the passing of this bill. They vowed to disregard the law and continue protesting. Wednesday, May 23rd saw 518 arrests, the most in one day (as of May 25th, there have been 23 injuries and 2,500 arrests).

Businesses in the area have been affected as people have been steering clear, also there are concerns coming this summer with tourist events, conventions, etc. would be cancelled further hurting these businesses. No one wants to venture into areas where there is a potential for rioting.

How long are the police/politicians going to let it go on? If they give in to the protesters where do things stop? The next group will just step things up to get what they want in a faster timeline. Riots will happen at a more increasing rate if they believe this will further their cause. The Government of Quebec needs to get a serious game plan and get it now before they set the template for further strikes, etc.