Think You've Had a Tough Winter so Far? You Haven't Seen Anything Like This

Don't tell that to the people of Oymyakon, Russia - the coldest permanently inhabited settlement on Earth. Though it's situated just one degree north of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, average January temperatures in Oymyakon are nearly 20 degrees colder — below 50 degrees Celsius. 

Now is that below -50 deg C, or 50 deg C below? You can tell I used to  be a weatherman.

Not to be mistaken for Walmart

It's that extreme cold that motivated New Zealand-based photographer Amos Chapple to travel to Oymyakon last winter. Unsurprisingly, people in the village were not in a particularly happy mood.

"The village, to be honest, was kind of depressed," he said. "There was a lot of drunkenness, and people were not as welcoming as I would have thought." 

How likely, Amos, is it that any of those people wanted to be there? And, why are they there, it's not like it's great farmland? I doubt that there are many golf courses.

Wonder if it's self-serve? Looks like it with steps leading up to a window.

Photographing the village was a "nightmare," according to Chapple, who had difficulties finding willing subjects — people would scurry to and from buildings, usually with their face in their hands to stay warm. He instead worked to find subjects by following around local animals.

"It's very desolate, and very very isolated, said Chapple. "The trip there really made that clear. It's absolutely deserted tundra all around.

"A bit more intense than I'd imagined."

Wonder if they have fur-lined seats, or if you have to bring your own?

Intensity aside, Chapple returned home to New Zealand with some amazing shots. Grab a mug of hot cocoa, and take a look through our gallery. You might even be able to feel the chill through your screen.

One thing is for sure, despite the drunkenness and lack of hospitality, these people are a long way from Hell.

Davos, Switzerland: Kerry Urges Plan to Tackle Causes of Terrorism

Keyword here is 'urges' plan. He doesn't have one, but he wants someone to come up with a plan.

US secretary of state tells Davos conference more must be done to tackle extremism

US secretary of state John Kerry leaves the stage after addressing
the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland

US secretary of state John Kerry has called for an ambitious international plan to combat the underlying causes of terrorism.

In a lengthy address to the World Economic Forum in Davos which focused on conflict in the Middle East, Pakistan and Africa, Mr Kerry said the threat of terrorism was a global menace, with terrorist groups looking to expand.

“It seems that terrorists are now competing with each other for recruits and perpetrating evermore macabre crimes,” Mr Kerry said.

‘The overt message was equally simple. Growth is up, unemployment is down and we did it by engaging in a constructive northern European manner with the troika.’

“Eliminating the terrorists who confront us today actually only solves part of the problem. We have to do more to avoid an endless cycle of violent extremism, a resupplying on a constant basis. We have to transform the very environment from which these movements emerge.”

And just what do you mean by that? Eliminating extremism from Islam is to eliminate Islam. Just ask Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

He also announced he would travel to Nigeria, a country which has been racked by attacked by Islamic militant group Boko Haram.

Terrorism and the need for a collective response to the threat of radical Islam was a central theme of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which finishes today in the Swiss resort.

Addressing delegates on Friday, the Iraqi prime minister Haider al-Abadi said his country had received increased support from Western countries and from Iran in fighting Islamic state.

“I have received quite sizeable (amounts of) ammunition free of charge. And we have been promised deferred payments on some arms sales to Iraq, ” Mr al-Abadi said, referring to Western countries.

Iran had also sent Iraq arms and ammunition without requesting immediate payments, the Iraqi premier said. 

Funny how having a common enemy can bring two former enemies together, like I said yesterday.

Despite tensions between Tehran and Washington, Iran has been aiding Iraq in the fight against Islamic State, though Mr al-Abadi said that no Iranian soldier had fought on Iraqi soil.

The US has been leading air-strikes against Islamic State targets in Iraq and Syria since September.
The threat of extremist groups was also addressed by French president Francois Hollande in a speech to the World Economic Forum in which he called on the world’s biggest corporates to participate in the fight against terrorism, by taking action against money laundering and trafficking.

Speaking on Friday, President Hollande also highlighted the role that technology and internet companies could play in ensuring that “illegal content” was taken off the web, saying governments could not fight terrorism on their own.

Obama Pays Iran $12 BILLION to Talk Nukes - Where's the Media?

Iran Flexing Muscles becoming a Rival for IS

"Three Arab capitals have today ended in Iran's hands and belong to the Islamic Iranian revolution".

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, boasted that Sanaa, Yemen, which fell to rebels yesterday, has now become the fourth Muslim capital that is on its way to joining the Iranian revolution.

Alireza Zakani, a loyalist of the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said that Iran considered the Yemeni revolution to be an extension of its own and that 14 out of 20 provinces would soon come under the control of the Houthis and that they would not stop there:

"Definitely, the Yemeni revolution will be not be confined to Yemen alone. It will extend following its success into Saudi territories. The Yemeni-Saudi vast borders will help expedite its reach into the depth of Saudi land."

That's bad news for Saudi Arabia's brand new King - the old one died yesterday. They just announced yesterday that they would build a 1000 km wall on their border with Iraq to keep IS out. Now, Iran is threatening to come at them from the other side of the country. Talk about volatile times.

So now we have IS starting to build a caliphate in Iraq and Syria, Iran building a coalition of like-minded believers with strong influence in 4 capitol cities: Sanaa, Baghdad, Damascus, and Beirut. Admittedly, none of those are stable and could quickly fall to another regime at any time.

And let us not rule out the self-inflating ego of Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan. While sympathetic to IS, or is he just helping them decrease the Kurdish population; he hates Kurds. In any event, I do not see him becoming a #2 to Al Baghdadi, or anyone else. So I consider Turkey to be a third element in the Islamic insanity that is the middle east.

The west can be grateful that these sects aren't pulling together; that would really be frightening. And yet, it is just possible that they could unite for a period of time against a common enemy, Israel. 

With Obama granting Iran all the time in the world to build its nuclear bombs with which they promised to destroy Israel, and now he's helping fund those bombs by rewarding Iran with billion of dollars in previously frozen assets; Israel has no choice but to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities. When they do, I believe the US will plead innocence and abandon Israel to the mercy of Islam (OK, there is no mercy in Islam), and the mercy of God (where there really is mercy).

What happens next is that Turkey will lead a conglomeration of Muslim states against Israel and all hell will break loose. 

Photo: First satellite images of a new long-range Iranian missile on a launch pad outside Tehran. (Channel 2 screenshot). It's the first time we have ever seen it in the West. also capable of carrying a conventional or non-conventional warhead “far beyond Europe,” the report added.

U.S. to Award Iran $11.9 Billion Through End of Nuke Talk, By Adam Kredo, Free Beacon, January 22, 2015

The Obama administration on Wednesday paid $490 million in cash assets to Iran and will have released a total of $11.9 billion to the Islamic Republic by the time nuclear talks are scheduled to end in June, according to figures provided by the State Department.

Today’s $490 million release, the third such payment of this amount since Dec. 10, was agreed to by the Obama administration under the parameters of another extension in negotiations over Tehran’s contested nuclear program that was inked in November.

Iran will receive a total of $4.9 billion in unfrozen cash assets via 10 separate payments by the United States through June 22, when talks with Iran are scheduled to end with a final agreement aimed at curbing the country’s nuclear work, according to a State Department official.

Iran received $4.2 billion in similar payments under the 2013 interim agreement with the United States and was then given another $2.8 billion by the Obama administration last year in a bid to keep Iran committed to the talks through November, when negotiators parted ways without reaching an agreement. 

In other words the US is paying Iran for nothing! All those trade sanctions - just for show!

Iran will have received a total of $11.9 billion in cash assets by the end of June if current releases continue on pace as scheduled.

So, help me think this through, I'm a little slow these days. The US has imposed sanctions on Iran in order to get them to the bargaining table on nuclear development. At the same time, the US is paying Iran billions of dollars to negotiate. I must be missing something here!

Is it any wonder Iran is stalling as much as possible? That not only gives them time to manufacture weapons grade plutonium, but the longer the negotiations drag out, the more money the US will pay them. What's the incentive to negotiate? 

So, if Iran develops nuclear weapons and annihilates Israel and parts of the US, we can rest in the knowledge that much of it was paid for by American dollars. Is there any hope for American survival when we contribute to our enemies plans to destroy us?

The release of this money has drawn outrage from some Republican lawmakers who filed legislation last year to prevent the release of cash due to a lack of restrictions on how Iran can spend the money.

These cash payments by the United States have been made with no strings attached, prompting concerns that Iran could use the funds to finance its worldwide terror operations, which include the financial backing of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other rogue entities.

Senators—including Mark Kirk (R., Ill.), Kelly Ayotte (R., N.H.), and John Cornyn (R., Texas)—sought last year to put a hold on the cash infusions until the White House could certify that Iran was not using the money to support terrorism.

Kirk, who is preparing to offer legislation that would tighten sanctions on Iran, said that the ongoing payments could help Iran fuel its terror empire well into the near future.

“Between November 2014 and July 2015, the interim deal’s direct forms of sanctions relief will allow Iran access to roughly $4.9 billion in frozen money,” Kirk told the Washington Free Beacon “That’s equal to what it’d cost Iran to fund Hezbollah for as much as 50 years.”

The Pentagon estimates Iran has spent $100 to $200 million per year funding Hezbollah.

Entities likely to receive support from Iran include the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, the legislation suggests.

When final negotiations between the United States and Iran failed in November, negotiators decided once more to extend the talks through June of this year. The terms of that extension granted Iran the 10 payments of $490 million, a State Department official said.

“With respect to sanctions relief, the United States will enable the repatriation of $4.9 billion of Iranian revenue held abroad during the extension,” the official said.

The first two payments were made in December, followed by Wednesday’s payment.

The next release is scheduled for Feb. 11, with two more scheduled for March. The rest of the frozen cash assets will be given back to Iran on April 15, May 6, May 27, and June 22, respectively.

Mark Dubowitz, the executive director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), said the ongoing release of these assets has provided Iran with a critical “financial lifeline.”

“The Obama administration provided Iran with a financial lifeline through both direct sanctions relief and the de-escalation of sanctions pressure that helped the regime stabilize its economy after a severe sanctions-induced economic crisis in 2012 and 2013,” Dubowitz said. “It is not a surprise that this has increased Iranian negotiating leverage and hardened the supreme leader’s nuclear intransigence.”

In addition to decrying the lack of restrictions in place to ensure that Iran does not use the released funds to sponsor terrorism, critics of the sanctions relief protest that Iran is benefitting while the United States receives little in return.

Iran has continued to enrich uranium under the interim deal, adding what one critic, Rep. Brad Sherman (D., Calif.) referred to as “about one bomb’s worth” to its reserves.

Iran also has continued to make advances on the plutonium track, which provides it with a second path to a nuclear bomb.

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran announced last week that the country has begun constructing two new light water nuclear reactors, a move that the U.S. State Department said is permissible under the terms of the interim agreement.

Is there anything else we can possibly do to help blow-up Israel?

Two Murdered Boys - A Palestinian and an Israeli - The Profound Consequences

The stories referred to in the title are the stories of two of the boys who were murdered by evil men. Their deaths provoked last summer's Israeli - Hamas war that left thousands dead, many innocent women and children.

I've heard it and read, even here, that the Israelis were looking for an excuse to bomb Gaza, and, at first, I rejected that notion, but then realized that the IDF was indeed probably quite anxious to get into Gaza and destroy the myriad of tunnels Hamas had built with the intention of causing terror in Israel. The murder of the three Jewish boys and the incessant pounding of rockets from Gaza was all the excuse they needed.

I suggest you get a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy this brilliantly presented, completely unbiased report. While reading it you might want to compare the long-term reactions of the parents of the murdered children.

Mohammed Abu Khdeir

Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, Eyal Yifrach

Read their beautifully presented stories here.

Christian Nurse Fired for Praying for a Muslim

Christian nurse Victoria Wasteney, 37, 

claims she was sacked after praying for a Muslim colleague

Tomorrow Miss Wasteney will launch an employment tribunal against the NHS trust she works for, claiming her employers discriminated against her because of her religion.

Miss Wasteney told the Daily Mail: 'I'm not anti-Muslim and I'm always very mindful to be sensitive to other people's beliefs.'

Christian Nurse Victoria Wasteney

'We discussed our beliefs but I certainly didn't tell her that my way was the only way. I don't even believe it's possible to force someone to convert.

'But the way it was all handled left me looking like a religious nutcase and I would like an acknowledgement that there is a negative attitude towards Christianity in some areas of the public sector.'

Miss Wasteney, who describes herself as a born-again Christian, was working at the John Howard Centre, a secure psychiatric hospital in Homerton, East London.

She said she was always careful about discussing her religion at work because her managers had warned her it could 'get you in trouble'.

After Miss Nawaz joined the hospital as a newly qualified occupational therapist in 2012, the two women discussed Islam and Christianity, as well as work done by Miss Wasteney's church to campaign against human trafficking.

Miss Wasteney said her colleague had 'definitely initiated' the conversations, before she invited Miss Nawaz to attend church events linked to the anti-trafficking work.

She said Miss Nawaz had then come to her in tears because she was upset about health problems. Miss Wasteney said: 'I put my hand on her knee to comfort her and asked if that was okay, and said 'Would you like me to pray for you?'

'She said yes, so I asked for God to bring peace and healing. She left the office afterwards and said she was okay.' Miss Wasteney also gave Miss Nawaz a book, I Dared to Call Him Father, about a Muslim woman who converts to Christianity, but denied it was an attempt to make Miss Nawaz convert.

So the question is, did she go home and her husband saw the book and went ballistic? That would be my guess.

Saudi Arabia To Build a 1000 km Wall To Keep IS Out

Islamic State (known as Daesh here) lists the capture of Saudi Arabia, home to the holy Muslim grounds of Mecca and Medina, as a key goal.

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Just over a week ago, IS militants launched an attack on a Saudi border post, killing a senior Saudi general and two border guards, marking the first direct IS assault on Saudi grounds, The Telegraph reported.

In an effort to defend itself from the IS threat and further attacks, the kingdom launched a massive project to construct a "Great Wall" along it's northern border with Iraq, where IS presence is heavy. 

Proposed in 2006, the border zone entails five layers of fencing, supplemented by watch towers, radar cameras, night-vision security, and a heavy presence of extra Saudi troops, according to the report.

The wall is set to extend nearly 1000-km and will combine fence and ditch barriers along the northern Saudi border. 

Riyadh hopes that the completed project will fend off IS threats and keep the relatively closed kingdom, closed indeed.

US republicans will probably be watching this to see if they can do something similar to keep Mexicans and Central Americans out as they doggedly try to hold on to a way of life that has already gone.

Buddhist Monk Uses Shocking Language Against Female UN Envoy

UN condemns Myanmar monk Wirathu's 'sexist' comments as he
personally attacked a UN envoy at a rally of his supporters

The UN human rights chief has called on Myanmar to condemn a Buddhist nationalist monk for calling a UN special envoy a "bitch" and a "whore".

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said Ashin Wirathu's comments amounted to "incitement to hatred".

The comments related to South Korean envoy Yanghee Lee, who was in Myanmar last week to address the plight of its Muslim minority.

Wirathu spent almost a decade in jail for inciting anti-Muslim violence.

The monk is a leader of the 969 movement, which says Myanmar should remain a Buddhist country and calls for restrictions and boycotts on Muslims.

Mr Zeid called the language "sexist" and "insulting".

"I call on religious and political leaders in Myanmar to unequivocally condemn all forms of incitement to hatred including this abhorrent public personal attack," Mr Zeid said in a statement.

'Systematic discrimination'
Since the end of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma, in 2011, Buddhist nationalism, largely led by monks including Wirathu, has been energised.

In 2012, scores of people died and thousands were left homeless after violence broke out between Buddhists and Muslims in Rakhine state, mostly from the Rohingya minority. Anti-Muslim violence has flared several times since then.

The UN says the Rohingya are being persecuted, and last week passed a resolution calling on Myanmar to give them citizenship.

UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee at a news conference
in Yangon, Myanmar (21 Jan 2015)
Yanghee Lee said displaced Rohingya were living in "abysmal" conditions
in refugee camps

Ms Lee, who was on a 10-day trip to the South East Asian country, said the Rohingya faced systematic discrimination.

She criticised draft legislation, proposed by a coalition of nationalist Buddhist monks, that includes curbs on interfaith marriage and religious conversions.

Last Friday, Wirathu spoke at a public rally where he criticised the UN interference and personally attacked Ms Lee, according to local media.

"We have explained about the race protection law, but the bitch criticised the laws without studying them properly," he said from the stage to the crowd.

"Don't assume that you are a respectable person because of your position. For us, you are a whore."

This just totally changes my perspective on Buddhists. Angry, rude, insulting, even war-like are not adjectives I would normally associate with Buddhist monks, but, obviously, I was naive. 

In his statement, Mr Zeid said instead of focussing on people, leaders should address the substance of the concerns raised by the special envoy.

On Wednesday, Myanmar's government said it was investigating the speech.

The BBC's Jonah Fisher in Yangon said monks are a powerful political lobby in Myanmar.

With a general election this year the question now is which leaders will speak up and risk Wirathu and the monks turning on them, he adds.