I Wish All My Readers A HAPPY NEW YEAR …

… and all the very best in 2017!!!


Wikipedia:

German original[12]
English translation
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern laßt uns angenehmere an stimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Freude! (men’s chorus: Freude! )
Freude! (chorus again: Freude! )
Oh friends, not these tones!
Rather, let us raise our voices in more pleasing
And more joyful sounds!
Joy! (Joy!)
Joy! (Joy!)
Freude, schöner Götterfunken*
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt.
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods*
Daughter from Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Into your sanctuary, heavenly (daughter)!
Your magic reunites
What custom strictly divided.
All men become brothers,
Where your gentle wing rests.
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer’s nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund!
Whoever has had the great fortune
To be a friend’s friend,
Whoever has won a devoted wife,
Join in our jubilation!
Indeed, whoever can call even one soul,
His own on this earth!
And whoever was never able to, must creep
Tearfully away from this band!
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott.
Vor Gott!
Joy all creatures drink
At the breasts of nature;
All good, all bad
Follow her trail of roses.
Kisses she gave us, and wine,
A friend, proved in death;
Pleasure was given to the worm,
And the cherub stands before God.
Before God!
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt’gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn,
Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen.
Glad, as His suns fly
Through the Heaven’s glorious design,
Run, brothers, your path,
Joyful, as a hero to victory.
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such’ ihn über’m Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen.
Be embraced, millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, above the starry canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Do you bow down, millions?
Do you sense the Creator, world?
Seek Him beyond the starry canopy!
Beyond the stars must He dwell.
Finale repeats the words:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über’m Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Seid umschlungen,
Diesen Kuß der ganzen Welt!
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Freude, schöner Götterfunken,
Götterfunken!
Finale repeats the words:
Be embraced, you millions!
This kiss for the whole world!
Brothers, beyond the star-canopy
Must a loving Father dwell.
Be embraced,
This kiss for the whole world!
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods,
Daughter of Elysium,
Joy, beautiful spark of the gods
Spark of the gods!

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Russian Hackers Said To “Penetrate US Electricity Grid” Using Outdated Ukrainian Malware

Russian Hackers Said To “Penetrate US Electricity Grid” Using Outdated Ukrainian Malware:

A Vermont state electric utility, Burlingont Electric, announced on Friday it had found on one of its laptops not connected to the power grid a malware code the U.S. government says is used by Russian hackers. However, as usual in such cases, there is more to the story than initially reported.

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Creator of NSA’s Global Surveillance System Calls B.S. On Russian Hacking Report

Creator of NSA’s Global Surveillance System Calls B.S. On Russian Hacking Report:

We’ve previously documented that the hacking evidence against Russia is extremely weak, and the new report on Russian hacking doesn’t say much.

Indeed – if Russia hacked the Democratic party emails (from the DNC and top Clinton aide John Podesta) – the NSA would have all of the records showing exactly who did it.

We asked Bill Binney what he thought of the new report.

Read moreCreator of NSA’s Global Surveillance System Calls B.S. On Russian Hacking Report

Temperatures 30 to 50 degrees below normal to grip most of U.S.

Temps 30 to 50 degrees below normal to grip most of U.S.:

Washington Post dismisses it as a “cold snap”.

“Rare coast-to-coast cold snap to engulf Lower 48 late next week,” reads the Post headline. “The cold is predicted to consume almost the entire nation, from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast.”

“Some parts of the country are forecast to experience temperatures 30 to 50 degrees colder than normal …. Far colder than we have seen in many years” … and they call it a “cold snap”?

“Most remarkable,” “rare,” “almost the entire nation,” “30 to 50 degrees colder than normal” … and they call it a “cold snap”?

Read moreTemperatures 30 to 50 degrees below normal to grip most of U.S.

‘Policing For Profit’ Goes To The Next Level

‘Policing For Profit’ Goes To The Next Level:

It’s bad enough getting arrested – especially when you didn’t do anything to warrant it. This happens all the time, because the the threshold for arresting someone is very low. It can be done by any cop, pretty much anytime – without much in the way of legal justification. He has the gun – and the handcuffs, after all. If he wants to arrest you, he will arrest you. Maybe the courts will sort it out later; eventually you are released, your record “cleared.”

This isn’t new – or news.

What is new – and ought to be news – is that several states have begun charging people “processing” and “incarceration” fees for their bogus arrest and subsequent just-as-bogus caging.

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Migrants Angry with Sweden Expected ‘Own House’, Girlfriend

Migrants Angry with Sweden Expected ‘Own House’, Girlfriend:

Migrants dissatisfied with the quality of life provided for them by Swedish taxpayers are increasingly speaking out, with one Syrian even accusing Swedes of wanting to kill him and his fellow ‘refugees’.

“You have made our lives miserable”, Syrian Mohammad Jumaa wrote in an opinion piece published by Sweden’s public broadcaster Thursday. Blasting how he and other migrants have waited a year but have yet to be provided with “a good and natural life”, which includes a well-paid job, he laments: “We are people, not animals that only need to eat and sleep!”

Slamming Swedes for “forcing” migrants to “wait in housing with poor conditions”, he wrote: “I am an honourable and honest man. Many refugees curse the day they came here.

“I can’t believe this is in Sweden!” the Syrian exclaimed and accused the country, which casts itself as a ‘humanitarian superpower’, of only pretending to care about human rights. “Why did you open your doors to us refugees, if you can’t help us to live a dignified, respectful and fulfilled life?” Mohammed asks.

Read moreMigrants Angry with Sweden Expected ‘Own House’, Girlfriend

Merkel Stands by Migrant Policy in New Year’s Speech, Says Germany Fights Terrorism with Compassion

Merkel Stands by Migrant Policy in New Year’s Speech, Says Germany Fights Terrorism with Compassion:

In her New Year’s speech, Chancellor Angela Merkel affirmed that her government will win the fight against terrorism with compassion and denied that her open-door mass migration policy, which directly brought terrorists to Germany, was wrong.

In the federal chancellor’s New Year address to Germany, Merkel asserted that the terror attacks committed by Islamist migrants in Würzburg, Ansbach, and recently at a Christmas market in Berlin were not attacks on Western civilisation but an attack on ‘refugees’ and Germany’s willkommenskultur (‘welcome culture’).

Read moreMerkel Stands by Migrant Policy in New Year’s Speech, Says Germany Fights Terrorism with Compassion

Merkel Decries “Distorted Picture” Of Refugee Policy, Claims “Our State Is Stronger Together”

Merkel Decries “Distorted Picture” Of Refugee Policy, Claims “Our State Is Stronger Together”:

In an awkwardly similar rhetoric to the failed slogan of Hillary Clinton, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told her nation that “together, we are stronger. Our state is stronger,” giving no ground on her increasingly questioned open-border refugee policy as she slammed the “distorted picture” being painted by populists.

Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans to stay calm in the face of Islamist terrorism and, as Bloomberg reports, criticized nationalists for offering false hopes of security, signaling she’ll count on voters to opt for stability when she runs for a fourth term in 2017.

Read moreMerkel Decries “Distorted Picture” Of Refugee Policy, Claims “Our State Is Stronger Together”

Afghan Migrants Who Brutally Raped Teenage Boy Will Not Be Deported

Afghan Migrants Who Brutally Raped Teenage Boy Will Not Be Deported:

Five Afghani migrants have been convicted of raping an underage boy and filming the ordeal on their phones. However, the rapists cannot be deported because their homeland is “too dangerous”.

The victim, is understood to be aged under 15, was raped in woodland in Uppsala county in Sweden by the five Afghanis who were aged 16 and 17 at the time. He was beaten and dragged to the forest a knife-point before being raped for over an hour.

The teenage attackers were found guilty of aggravated rape, but the judge denied a request from prosecutors that they be deported, citing the “dangerous” situation in their homeland.

Read moreAfghan Migrants Who Brutally Raped Teenage Boy Will Not Be Deported

Sweden’s Infamous “Bikini Cop” Quits Amid Growing Police Crisis

Sweden’s Infamous “Bikini Cop” Quits Amid Growing Police Crisis:

Back in August Mikaela Kellner became Sweden’s most famous police officer when she took a short break from sunbathing in the park to tackle and arrest a pickpocket.  Pictures of the event quickly rose to international fame and nearly broke the internet.

Spread of the news instantly gained the fit cop nearly 30,000 instagram followers.

Now, after 11 years on the force, the famed officer has decided to turn in her badge in protest to her department’s recent reorganization that, according to Kellner, has resulted in personnel being treated unfairly.  Per Sputnik:

“The main reason is that I’ve not felt comfortable with the recent [police] reorganization. I do not think that personnel are being treated fairly, as they should.”

Read moreSweden’s Infamous “Bikini Cop” Quits Amid Growing Police Crisis

And Now The Weather …

Heavy snowfall on Island of Crete

Snowfall amounts reported for Quebec:

Snow twenty inches deep in Greece – Video

Big snow dump continues in Quebec – Lesser amounts elsewhere

Rare snowfall in Athens:

Snow at elevation zero!

“Terrible storm of snow in Istanbul”

Snowfall forecast for Libya

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Russian operation hacked a Vermont utility, showing risk to U.S. electrical grid security, officials say

SURE!!!

Take a wild guess what TPTB have in store for us …


Russian operation hacked a Vermont utility, showing risk to U.S. electrical grid security, officials say:

A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to U.S. officials.

While the Russians did not actively use the code to disrupt operations, according to officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a security matter, the discovery underscores the vulnerabilities of the nation’s electrical grid. And it raises fears in the U.S. government that Russian government hackers are actively trying to penetrate the grid to carry out potential attacks.

Read moreRussian operation hacked a Vermont utility, showing risk to U.S. electrical grid security, officials say

Several people seriously injured as car plows into crowd in Finland

Several people seriously injured as car plows into crowd in Finland:

Up to seven people were injured when a car plowed into a crowd in the eastern part Helsinki, Finland’s capital. Police say that nothing indicates the incident was intentional, however.

No one was killed in the collision, but at least three people were taken to hospitals in critical condition, Finnish media report, citing police sources. At the same time, Helsinki’s rescue services department said that two women and one man were seriously injured, while another man received light injuries, Finnish M TV Channel reports.

Read moreSeveral people seriously injured as car plows into crowd in Finland

Romania: 48 Iraqi Migrants Found in Chocolate-Carrying Lorry

Romania: 48 Iraqi Migrants Found in Chocolate-Carrying Lorry:

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Romanian border guards have discovered 48 Iraqi citizens hidden away in a truck that officially was transporting boxes of chocolate.

Border police at the Danube port of Giurgiu on the Romanian-Bulgarian border said they discovered 22 men, 9 women and 17 minors including a young infant on Thursday evening after checks on the truck revealed a high level of carbon dioxide, a gas that humans exhale.

Read moreRomania: 48 Iraqi Migrants Found in Chocolate-Carrying Lorry

Amazon workers now living, sleeping in “tent ghettos” outside the warehouse

Amazon workers now living, sleeping in “tent ghettos” outside the warehouse:

It may be the world’s largest technology giant and retailer, but many of Amazon’s workers appear to be living like they were deployed in a war zone: In tent cities.

As reported by the UK’s Courier newspaper (why hasn’t an American media outlet reported on this—like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ Washington Post, which he owns?), which reported exclusively, Amazon workers at one of the company’s England-based fulfillment centers are actually sleeping in tents.

Reporters for the paper recently discovered at least three tents in a wooded area beside the online retail behemoth’s base near Dunfermline, Scotland, which has sparked new concerns that some employees have to sink to depths unheard of for workers of other companies just to survive.

Read moreAmazon workers now living, sleeping in “tent ghettos” outside the warehouse

New record may be set in 2017: Somali refugees arriving in US at highest rate ever

New record may be set in 2017: Somali refugees arriving in US at highest rate ever:

According to the State Department’s interactive website, Somali refugees have been arriving in the United States at the highest rate ever during the beginning months of the 2017 fiscal year. A total of 2,775 Somali refugees have arrived in the United States between October 1, 2016, and December 7, 2016. This new staggering rate is more then 30 percent higher than the previous record for that time period, although the State Department’s interactive website only shows data from fiscal year 2002 up until the present.

The number of Somali refugees that have entered the US in the 2017 fiscal year are almost double what the figures were from 2016. Since 2002, a total of 100,246 Somali refugees have resettled on the US, 99.9 percent of which are Muslim.

Read moreNew record may be set in 2017: Somali refugees arriving in US at highest rate ever