US economic and political power is set to decline over the next two decades and the world will grow more dangerous as the battle for scarce resources intensifies, a report by US intelligence agencies has predicted.
The current global financial crisis is the beginning of a weakening of the US dollar to the point where it becomes "first among equals", said the National Intelligence Council's (NIC) Global Trends 2025 report published on Thursday.
One of the main conclusions of the report is that "the unipolar world is over, [or] certainly will be by 2025", said Thomas Fingar, the NIC's deputy director, at a press conference in Washington DC.
China and India were likely to join the US at the top of a multipolar world and compete for influence, the report added.
Global Trends 2025
'Western' economic liberalism, democracy and secularism will become less appealing.
US global influence will decline as developing powers like China and India join as world leaders.
Greater access to technology will increase the possibility of nuclear conflict.
Some states in Africa and South Asia will disappear after failing to provide security for their people.
Others in Eastern or Central Europe could be taken over by organised crime.
Read the full report here
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
SUPREME MASTER TV
SUPREME MASTER TV is a free-to-air satellite channel broadcasting 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a variety of engaging programs in English with over 30 subtitles and 60 languages. Being the ideal television channel that brings to your life Nobility and Spirituality. Broadcasting on 14 satellite platforms across the globe.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Friday, February 22, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Monday, February 4, 2008
SUPER TUESDAY (February 5, 2008)
In the United States, Super Tuesday commonly refers to the Tuesday in early February or March of a presidential election year when the greatest number of states hold primary elections to select delegates to national conventions at which each party's presidential candidates are officially nominated. More delegates can be won on Super Tuesday than on any other single day of the primary calendar, and accordingly, candidates seeking the presidency traditionally must do well on this day to secure their party's nomination. In 2008, Super Tuesday is February 5; 24 states will hold primaries or caucuses on this date, with 52 percent of all pledged Democratic Party delegates and 41 percent of the total Republican Party delegates at stake. [1] READ MORE>>>
Saturday, February 2, 2008
RIO CARNIVAL GUIDE
This site provides information about Rio Carnival 2008, about all aspects of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. Find here all Rio Carnaval events, venues, its history, 2008 Rio Carnival tickets, costumes for the 2008 Samba Parade and Sambodromo information, accomplished with insiders´ recommendations. Listen to the 2008 samba songs. All FAQ answered about Carnival in Rio de Janeiro.More>>>
The Brazilian Carnival (Portuguese: Carnaval) is an annual festival in Brazil held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. The carnival, celebrated as a profane event and believed to have its origins in the pagan Saturnalia, can thus be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh.
Brazilian Carnival as a whole exhibits some differences with its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, and within Brazil it has distinct regional manifestations. MORE>>>
Carnival is a festival season. It occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February or March. It typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations.
Carnival is mostly associated with Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox Christians; Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions, like the Danish Carnival. The world's largest carnival celebration is held in Brazil but many countries worldwide have large, popular celebrations, such as Carnival of Venice. MORE>>>
BRAZIL TRAVEL GUIDE: OVERVIEW LONELY PLANET WorldGUIDE
RIO CARNIVAL 2008 Samba Songs
The Brazilian Carnival (Portuguese: Carnaval) is an annual festival in Brazil held 40 days before Easter and marks the beginning of Lent. During Lent, Roman Catholics are supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures, including the consumption of meat. The carnival, celebrated as a profane event and believed to have its origins in the pagan Saturnalia, can thus be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh.
Brazilian Carnival as a whole exhibits some differences with its counterparts in Europe and other parts of the world, and within Brazil it has distinct regional manifestations. MORE>>>
Carnival is a festival season. It occurs immediately before Lent; the main events are usually during February or March. It typically involves a public celebration or parade combining some elements of a circus and public street party. People often dress up or masquerade during the celebrations.
Carnival is mostly associated with Roman Catholic and, to a lesser extent, Eastern Orthodox Christians; Protestant areas usually do not have carnival celebrations or have modified traditions, like the Danish Carnival. The world's largest carnival celebration is held in Brazil but many countries worldwide have large, popular celebrations, such as Carnival of Venice. MORE>>>
BRAZIL TRAVEL GUIDE: OVERVIEW LONELY PLANET WorldGUIDE
RIO CARNIVAL 2008 Samba Songs
Friday, February 1, 2008
GREASECAR:Vegetable Oil for Diesel
Back to the Future...Garbage for Fuel!
Want to run your car 'cheap as chips'? The Top Gear team find out how?
Watch this video>>>
Greasecar Vegetable Fuel System
Saving the world with the french fries
Water Car run on Water + FuelHydrogen Save GasFREE ENERGY
Want to run your car 'cheap as chips'? The Top Gear team find out how?
Watch this video>>>
Greasecar Vegetable Fuel System
Saving the world with the french fries
Water Car run on Water + FuelHydrogen Save GasFREE ENERGY
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
U.S. Navy Face-Off with Iran Speed Boats ACTUAL VIDEO
Actual Video but No Audio( See for yourself!)
The U.S. Navy released dramatic video and audio of this weekend's stand-off with Iran. The video shows Iranian speedboats swarming around(???) three American warships going through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
US Releases Dramatic Video of Iran Boat Incident
The U.S. Navy released dramatic video and audio of this weekend's stand-off with Iran. The video shows Iranian speedboats swarming around(???) three American warships going through the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
US Releases Dramatic Video of Iran Boat Incident
Friday, January 18, 2008
The Filipino Monkeys:The Legend (Kuno)
Based on my experience operating in that part of the world, where there is a lot of maritime activity, trying to discern [who is speaking on the radio channel] is very hard to do,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Gary Roughead told Navy Times during a brief telephone interview today.
Indeed, the voice in the audio sounds different from the one belonging to an Iranian officer shown speaking to the cruiser Port Royal over a radio from a small open boat in the video released by Iranian authorities. He is shown in a radio exchange at one point asking the U.S. warship to change from the common bridge-to-bridge channel 16 to another channel, perhaps to speak to the Navy without being interrupted.
Further, there’s none of the background noise in the audio released by the U.S. that would have been picked up by a radio handset in an open boat.
So with Navy officials unsure and the Iranians accusing the U.S. of fabrications, whose voice was it? In recent years, American ships operating in the Middle East have had to contend with a mysterious but profane voice known by the ethnically insulting handle of “Filipino Monkey,” likely more than one person, who listens in on ship-to-ship radio traffic and then jumps on the net shouting insults and jabbering vile epithets.
Navy women — a helicopter pilot hailing a tanker, for example — who are overheard on the radio are said to suffer particularly degrading treatment.
Several Navy ship drivers interviewed by Navy Times are raising the possibility that the Monkey, or an imitator, was indeed featured in that video.
Rick Hoffman, a retired captain who commanded the cruiser Hue City and spent many of his 17 years at sea in the Gulf was subject to the renegade radio talker repeatedly, often without pause during the so-called “Tanker Wars” of the late 1980s.
“For 25 years there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats,” he said. “He could be tied up pierside somewhere or he could be on the bridge of a merchant ship.”
And the Monkey has stamina.
“He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy,” he said. “But who knows how many Filipino Monkeys there are? Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely.”
Furthermore, Hoffman said radio signals have a way of traveling long distances in that area. “Under certain weather conditions I could hear Bahrain from the Strait of Hormuz.”
Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, could not say if the voice belonged to the heckler.
“It’s an international circuit and we’ve said all along there were other ships and shore stations in the area,” he said.
When asked if U.S. officials considered whether the threats came from someone besides the Iranians when releasing the video and audio, Roughead said: “The reason there is audio superimposed over the video is it gives you a better idea of what is happening.”
Similarly, Davis said the audio was part of the “totality” of the situation and helped show the “aggressive behavior.”
Another former cruiser skipper said he thought the Monkey might be behind the audio threats when he first heard them earlier this week.
“It wouldn’t have surprised me at all,” he said. “There’s all kinds of chatter on Channel 16. Anybody with a receiver and transmitter can hear something’s going on. It was entirely plausible and consistent with the radio environment to interject themselves and make a threatening comment and think they’re being funny.”
This former skipper also noted how quiet and clean the radio “threat” was, especially when radio calls from small boats in the chop are noisy and cluttered.
“It’s a tough environment, you’re bouncing around, moving fast, lots of wind, noise. It’s not a serene environment,” he said. “That sounded like somebody on the beach or a large ship going by.”
He said he and others believe that the Filipino Monkey is comprised of several people, and whoever gets on Channel 16 to heckle instantly gets the monicker.
“It was just a gut feeling, something the merchants did. Guys would get bored, one guy hears it, comes back a year later and does it for himself,” he said. “I never thought it was one, rather it was part of the woodwork.”
The former skipper noted that he warned his crew about hecklers when preparing to transit Hormuz. “I tell them they’ll hear things on there that will be insulting,” he said. “You tell your people that you’ll hear things that are strange, insulting, aggravating, but you need to maintain a professional posture.”
A civilian mariner with experience in that region said the Filipino Monkey phenomenon is worldwide, and has been going on for years.
“They come on and say ‘Filipino Monkey’ in a strange voice. They might say it two or three times. You’re standing watch on bridge and you’re monitoring Channel 16 and all of a sudden it comes over the radio. It can happen anytime. It’s been a joke out there for years.”
While it happens all over the world, it’s more likely to occur around the Strait of Hormuz because there is so much shipping traffic, he said.
———
Chris Amos and Zachary M. Peterson contributed to this report
Indeed, the voice in the audio sounds different from the one belonging to an Iranian officer shown speaking to the cruiser Port Royal over a radio from a small open boat in the video released by Iranian authorities. He is shown in a radio exchange at one point asking the U.S. warship to change from the common bridge-to-bridge channel 16 to another channel, perhaps to speak to the Navy without being interrupted.
Further, there’s none of the background noise in the audio released by the U.S. that would have been picked up by a radio handset in an open boat.
So with Navy officials unsure and the Iranians accusing the U.S. of fabrications, whose voice was it? In recent years, American ships operating in the Middle East have had to contend with a mysterious but profane voice known by the ethnically insulting handle of “Filipino Monkey,” likely more than one person, who listens in on ship-to-ship radio traffic and then jumps on the net shouting insults and jabbering vile epithets.
Navy women — a helicopter pilot hailing a tanker, for example — who are overheard on the radio are said to suffer particularly degrading treatment.
Several Navy ship drivers interviewed by Navy Times are raising the possibility that the Monkey, or an imitator, was indeed featured in that video.
Rick Hoffman, a retired captain who commanded the cruiser Hue City and spent many of his 17 years at sea in the Gulf was subject to the renegade radio talker repeatedly, often without pause during the so-called “Tanker Wars” of the late 1980s.
“For 25 years there’s been this mythical guy out there who, hour after hour, shouts obscenities and threats,” he said. “He could be tied up pierside somewhere or he could be on the bridge of a merchant ship.”
And the Monkey has stamina.
“He used to go all night long. The guy is crazy,” he said. “But who knows how many Filipino Monkeys there are? Could it have been a spurious transmission? Absolutely.”
Furthermore, Hoffman said radio signals have a way of traveling long distances in that area. “Under certain weather conditions I could hear Bahrain from the Strait of Hormuz.”
Cmdr. Jeff Davis, a Navy spokesman at the Pentagon, could not say if the voice belonged to the heckler.
“It’s an international circuit and we’ve said all along there were other ships and shore stations in the area,” he said.
When asked if U.S. officials considered whether the threats came from someone besides the Iranians when releasing the video and audio, Roughead said: “The reason there is audio superimposed over the video is it gives you a better idea of what is happening.”
Similarly, Davis said the audio was part of the “totality” of the situation and helped show the “aggressive behavior.”
Another former cruiser skipper said he thought the Monkey might be behind the audio threats when he first heard them earlier this week.
“It wouldn’t have surprised me at all,” he said. “There’s all kinds of chatter on Channel 16. Anybody with a receiver and transmitter can hear something’s going on. It was entirely plausible and consistent with the radio environment to interject themselves and make a threatening comment and think they’re being funny.”
This former skipper also noted how quiet and clean the radio “threat” was, especially when radio calls from small boats in the chop are noisy and cluttered.
“It’s a tough environment, you’re bouncing around, moving fast, lots of wind, noise. It’s not a serene environment,” he said. “That sounded like somebody on the beach or a large ship going by.”
He said he and others believe that the Filipino Monkey is comprised of several people, and whoever gets on Channel 16 to heckle instantly gets the monicker.
“It was just a gut feeling, something the merchants did. Guys would get bored, one guy hears it, comes back a year later and does it for himself,” he said. “I never thought it was one, rather it was part of the woodwork.”
The former skipper noted that he warned his crew about hecklers when preparing to transit Hormuz. “I tell them they’ll hear things on there that will be insulting,” he said. “You tell your people that you’ll hear things that are strange, insulting, aggravating, but you need to maintain a professional posture.”
A civilian mariner with experience in that region said the Filipino Monkey phenomenon is worldwide, and has been going on for years.
“They come on and say ‘Filipino Monkey’ in a strange voice. They might say it two or three times. You’re standing watch on bridge and you’re monitoring Channel 16 and all of a sudden it comes over the radio. It can happen anytime. It’s been a joke out there for years.”
While it happens all over the world, it’s more likely to occur around the Strait of Hormuz because there is so much shipping traffic, he said.
———
Chris Amos and Zachary M. Peterson contributed to this report
IRGC: US Navy audio, video fake
Wed, 09 Jan 2008 11:51:52
Iran releases footage of PG naval check Watch Here!
IRGC says the US video of Sunday's incident in Hormuz Strait involving Iran patrol boats and US ships is archive footage and the audio is fake.
A member of the Navy Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) told Press TV on Wednesday that the footage released by the US Navy had been compiled using file pictures and the audio had been fabricated.
Earlier Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the incident was a normal identification request by the Iranian side.
Hosseini explained that exchanging messages to identify ships in the Persian Gulf is routine.
Washington earlier claimed that IRGC speedboats harassed three US Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
The US Navy later released footage purportedly showing Iranian boats menacing US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf.
Iran releases footage of PG naval check Watch Here!
IRGC says the US video of Sunday's incident in Hormuz Strait involving Iran patrol boats and US ships is archive footage and the audio is fake.
A member of the Navy Forces of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) told Press TV on Wednesday that the footage released by the US Navy had been compiled using file pictures and the audio had been fabricated.
Earlier Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Mohammad-Ali Hosseini said the incident was a normal identification request by the Iranian side.
Hosseini explained that exchanging messages to identify ships in the Persian Gulf is routine.
Washington earlier claimed that IRGC speedboats harassed three US Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday.
The US Navy later released footage purportedly showing Iranian boats menacing US Navy ships in the Persian Gulf.
Video of U.S.-Iranian encounter
Five Iranian high-speed attack craft accosted a trio of U.S. Navy warships Jan. 6, in the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. 5th Fleet commander said, prompting evasive maneuvers by the U.S. ships and reportedly bringing them close to opening fire. In this video you can hear the transmissions from the Iranian ships.
‘Filipino Monkey’ behind threats?
By Andrew Scutro and David Brown - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 17, 2008 10:21:10 EST
The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.”
Since the Jan. 6 incident was announced to the public a day later, the U.S. Navy has said it’s unclear where the voice came from. In the videotape released by the Pentagon on Jan. 8, the screen goes black at the very end and the voice can be heard, distancing it from the scenes on the water.
“We don’t know for sure where they came from,” said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It could have been a shore station.”
While the threat — (03:45m/s)“I am coming to you.(04:14m/s) You will explode in a few minutes” — was picked up during the incident, further jacking up the tension, there’s no proof yet of its origin. And several Navy officials have said it’s difficult to figure out who’s talking.
See the Pentagon’s version of the video
‘Filipino Monkey’ behind threats?
By Andrew Scutro and David Brown - Staff writers
Posted : Thursday Jan 17, 2008 10:21:10 EST
The threatening radio transmission heard at the end of a video showing harassing maneuvers by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz may have come from a locally famous heckler known among ship drivers as the “Filipino Monkey.”
Since the Jan. 6 incident was announced to the public a day later, the U.S. Navy has said it’s unclear where the voice came from. In the videotape released by the Pentagon on Jan. 8, the screen goes black at the very end and the voice can be heard, distancing it from the scenes on the water.
“We don’t know for sure where they came from,” said Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, spokeswoman for 5th Fleet in Bahrain. “It could have been a shore station.”
While the threat — (03:45m/s)“I am coming to you.(04:14m/s) You will explode in a few minutes” — was picked up during the incident, further jacking up the tension, there’s no proof yet of its origin. And several Navy officials have said it’s difficult to figure out who’s talking.
See the Pentagon’s version of the video
'Filipinos are NOT Monkey' Theory
I hope my kababayans will comment on this situation!
On my personal opinion why is it they always tag us so fast without any due process or any thorough investigation? I am really upset when bad things like this they decide and single-ing us out, Filipino! But on the other good side as a people and a human being, we are always ignored or even under-rated. To the one who coined us and used our name without respect, shame on him! He should go back to school or even watch children shows like "Sesame Street" or "Barney" to learn some moral values. This is another "persona en grata" to all the Filipino people around the world. A lot of Filipinos are poor because we are being used by others and taking advantage of us.
But the world should know we have our good values that we are really proud of as a true God-fearing , peaceful people. Lastly, Filipinos treat themselves not different from others.
Maybe there are some bad news about my people but because a lot of us are poor and live in poverty but some places are worst than us.But even though we are one of the poorest country in the world, we are not ashamed of that, and it is not our fault. No Filipinos are lazy if they've given a chance!!!We know how to celebrate happiness with very simple little things with us, but we know how to survive even in the worst & stickiest situations. 'Cuz we care and know how to help each other.--WJMeinard B.
On my personal opinion why is it they always tag us so fast without any due process or any thorough investigation? I am really upset when bad things like this they decide and single-ing us out, Filipino! But on the other good side as a people and a human being, we are always ignored or even under-rated. To the one who coined us and used our name without respect, shame on him! He should go back to school or even watch children shows like "Sesame Street" or "Barney" to learn some moral values. This is another "persona en grata" to all the Filipino people around the world. A lot of Filipinos are poor because we are being used by others and taking advantage of us.
But the world should know we have our good values that we are really proud of as a true God-fearing , peaceful people. Lastly, Filipinos treat themselves not different from others.
Maybe there are some bad news about my people but because a lot of us are poor and live in poverty but some places are worst than us.But even though we are one of the poorest country in the world, we are not ashamed of that, and it is not our fault. No Filipinos are lazy if they've given a chance!!!We know how to celebrate happiness with very simple little things with us, but we know how to survive even in the worst & stickiest situations. 'Cuz we care and know how to help each other.--WJMeinard B.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
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"Try this! It's a music therapy...this will make you click your fingers & tap your foot! Or even dance and make love too! So relaxin'....the sound of bossanova, the rhythm of the heart!"--- WJMeinard B.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
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