Monthly Archives: June 2017

Locals pick sides in ‘free speech, hate speech’ debate – Boulder Weekly

Posted: June 15, 2017 at 9:00 pm

Free speech? Hate speech? Both? Neither?

Depending on who you talk to, all of the above were on display on Saturday, June 3 in downtown Boulder in front of the County Courthouse, where roughly 30 members of Proud Boys Colorado and the groups supporters held a Free Speech Rally.

Penned in behind two rows of metal fences erected by the Boulder Police Department, the free speech ralliers waved American, Dont Tread On Me and Trump flags. They also held signs reading Muh Feelings! and Working Class Against AntiFa. Outside the fences, a far larger crowd of around 250 gathered, made up of those protesting the Proud Boys, those voicing their support, and others just curious about what was going on.

The scene was loud and chaotic, with people yelling, chanting, beating buckets and drums, and setting off smoke bombs. About 25 members of the Boulder Police Department and other law enforcement agencies were on the scene, including some in riot gear who brandished pepper spray and what appeared to be pepper ball guns, which shoot projectiles filled with a powdered form of pepper spray.

One protester was arrested for throwing a firecracker and several more were detained by police per media accounts.

Who are the Proud Boys?

The organizer of the rally, Proud Boys Colorado, is a chapter of the national Proud Boys organization, which was formed in 2016 by writer, comedian and co-founder of Vice Media, Gavin McInnes. According to Proud Boy Magazine, the Proud Boys are a fraternal organization of Western chauvinists who will no longer apologize for creating the modern world.

J, a Proud Boys Colorado member from Denver, defines Western chauvinism as being prideful [of] the great things that have been achieved through Western culture. For instance, J points out that its Western countries that have led the charge when it comes to gay rights.

Proud Boys support some traditionally right-wing positions such as minimal government, closed borders and gun rights, while also championing libertarian views like opposition to the drug war and taking a stand against political correctness.

Despite their political stances, Proud Boy Vince Hubbard of Elizabeth says, Were more like the Shriners or the Knights of Columbus than a political organization. We are mostly about cracking cold ones with the boys.

While not a member of Proud Boys, Denver resident Martin Meyers, 27, joined the group behind the barricades to advocate for the promotion of liberty, for people to be able to say what they want.

Dressed in a Trump T-shirt, Jennifer Archer, 31, from Louisville, stood with the Proud Boys to show solidarity for free speech and to express her concerns about illegal immigration.

Mingling with the larger crowd outside the fences in a Make America Great Again hat, G, a 27-year-old Boulderite, says he supports the right to free speech, and voted for Trump as a gigantic middle finger to [Washington,] D.C. He says he voted for Barack Obama in previous elections for the same reason.

Tyler, 27, from Denver, attended the rally in support of allowing people to say what they want. He sees this and similar free speech events popping up across the U.S. as a backlash to events in Berkeley, California, in February and April, where protests from the political left some of which turned violent compelled conservative speakers Ann Coulter and Milo Yiannopoulos to cancel speaking engagements.

Sticks and stones

Though the rally was billed as promoting free speech, not everyone buys that claim.

A flyer circulated by the Peoples Protection League and the Front Range Socialist Party maintained that groups such as the Proud Boys use free speech to conceal their intentions to people who do not know who they are or know about their violent goals.

Free speech is code for the normalization of far right organizing and violence in public discourse, read the flyer.

I do not think hate speech should be free speech, says B, a 30-year-old resident of Longmont and member of AntiFa, a loosely knit international movement opposed to fascism. Like a dozen or so other protesters at the rally, B dressed in black with a bandana covering the lower half of his face to hide his identity.

AntiFa tends to be comprised of leftist anarchists who often view themselves as the polar opposite of white nationalists, white supremacist or alt-right groups.

If you read the Constitution, free speech is what the government will or will not allow, it has nothing to do with people versus people, says B. Even if it is free speech, we dont have to stand out here and take it.

Kyle Newbrough, 23, from Boulder, believes the concept of hate speech is all too often used to silence opposing viewpoints. You cant say that just because I say something that makes you feel bad, that thats illegal.

Thomas, 23, of Denver agrees, adding that, Words arent hurtful, actions are hurtful.

Yet the Peoples Protection League and the Front Range Socialist Party have a different take, with their flyer insisting that speech is inseparable from action and organization.

I think that they have a right to be here, says Kaila Spencer, 27, from Boulder. While not a supporter of the Proud Boys, she says, freedom of speech is allowed for everyone. But once that starts to harm other people

Dialogue lacking

In one sense, those opposed to the Proud Boys and their supporters communicating their message accomplished their goal, in that it was nearly impossible for attendees to hear them over the noise of protesters. While this was a relief to some in the crowd, a number of locals were disappointed that they didnt get a chance to listen to what the organizers had to say.

Eighty-five-year-old retired Boulder high school teacher, Jacqui Goeldner, has lived in Boulder for 50 years. As a Bernie Sanders supporter, she assumes her politics dont align much with the Proud Boys. Still, she wanted to find out what they stood for in hopes of starting some sort of dialogue. This was an opportunity for communication, she says. An opportunity that we missed.

Boulders David Rosdeitcher, aka street performer Zip Code Man, says that while his own politics are not on the spectrum, hes curious about the Proud Boys take on things. They have a point of view and you might be surprised that you might agree with them.

If Rosdeitcher had his way, hed take these police blockades away and get representatives from this group to speak and this group to speak.

Tanya, in her mid-40s, lives in the Boulder area and says shed like the Proud Boys to be given the opportunity to speak so as to expose their agenda. Once they show what they are to the town, she says, more people are going to reject them.

Racist?

Do the Proud Boys have a Neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and/or fascist bent or not?

The Peoples Protection League and Front Range Socialist Party flyer contended that groups such as the Proud Boys organize in order to spread their hateful ideology and incite violence with their thinly veiled white-supremacist views.

Recently in Colorado Springs, the Colorado Springs Anti-Fascists hung up flyers with the name, address and photo of a member of Proud Boys Colorado under the heading Our Neighbor is a Fascist.

The poster read, We cant say decisively that [the individual] holds racist, anti-semitic, homophobic, or misogynist views, but he has chosen to affiliate himself with an organization that does, and should be considered a danger to the community.

Ethan Au Green, 37, of Boulder, thinks the Proud Boys and their supporters are a mix of Nazis, fascists, white supremacists and Trump supporters. I dont know if they all share the same identity, but they surely keep company with each other, which implicates them all with the worst noxious ideologies present in their group.

Yet the Proud Boys say their support for Western chauvinism is about culture, not race, which is why they have adopted anti-racism as one of their main tenets.

We arent racists. Period, says Proud Boy Vince Hubbard. If we were racists, we wouldnt have people from other races in our group.

Proud Boy J adds that, we have had tons of people contact us looking to join up with our group, many of [whom] are minorities who heard about the rally through some of the lies being pushed about it.

A handful of individuals thought to espouse pro-fascist and white-supremacist views did attend the rally, one of whom wore a Proud to Be a Fascist T-shirt. A YouTube video is circulating of a Proud Boy confronting this individual, saying, As Proud Boys we do not believe in fascism. We do not appreciate you coming out here. If I wouldve known you were coming out here, I wouldve told the police not to let you up here.

Minutes after the confrontation, the Proud Boys disbanded the rally. Proud Boy supporter Jennifer Archer admits that the arrival of these folks was the reason organizers ended the rally early. We dont want to be associated with that kind of thing, she says.

Conflicting ideologies

Asked whether he supports violence against the Proud Boys, AntiFa member B says, I actually do.

Their ideology is violence. Against my family, against other families, against my neighbors and my community, says B. So I dont think we should just sit around and wait.

The new political spectrum is freedom to authoritarianism, says Proud Boy supporter Martin Meyers. He says AntiFa and other anti-fascist groups lean heavy towards authoritarianism, because they want people to be controlled. Thats really their ultimate goal. They want their ideology to impose itself on everyone else, while we want people to be free to do what they want.

While concerned about racism in the community, Boulder resident C.T. Hutt, 34, is neither a proponent of Proud Boys nor AntiFa. Standing quietly by himself throughout much of the rally, he says he was there simply to keep calm and bear witness.

Hutt doesnt believe violence will accomplish anything worthwhile for either side, but will only exacerbate the conflict. Anger, he says, breeds anger.

The views of those behind the barriers and those protesting in front of them make it clear that in the era of Trump, free speech is up for debate. An increasing number of folks on the left seem unwilling to view speech they perceive to be masking hate and discrimination as protected. And those on the right claim that it is most often the left these days who use violence to impose censorship on the political speech of those who see themselves as pro-white or pro-American rather than anti anyone else.

And lastly, there are those of all political stripes who still believe free speech is more important than anything that might be said and allowing all viewpoints, no matter how repugnant to others, is always better than forcing silence on anyone.

Hate speech is controversial because the line our words must cross to be considered such is drawn in a different place by each of us. Hate speech to one group is simply patriotic free speech to another.

What is certain is that limiting anyones speech today will nearly always lead to someone elses speech being limited tomorrow. Thanks to the current political environment, that is a lesson Boulder County residents will be learning one way or another over the next few years.

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Locals pick sides in 'free speech, hate speech' debate - Boulder Weekly

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Berkeley Rep’s Tony Taccone Talks Free Speech, Art of Risk in Relation to The Public’s JULIUS CAESAR – Broadway World

Posted: at 9:00 pm

Berkeley Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director Tony Taccone has responded to the recent controversy surrounding JULIUS CAESAR at The Public Theater.

Read his full statement below:

"'Something wicked this way comes......'

"Over the past week, a controversy has emerged surrounding The Public Theater's production of Julius Caesar now playing in New York's Central Park As staged by director Oskar Eustis, the actor portraying Caesar is dressed to appear like Donald Trump. The famous assassination that occurs in the middle of the play has incensed political pundits from Breitbart and Fox News, provoking them to express their scorn and moral outrage and claiming that the artists involved are endorsing the murder of our president. Their reaction, in turn, spurred other citizens (the vast majority of whom had not seen the production first-hand) to pressure corporate sponsors Delta Airlines and Bank of America to withdraw their support of the production - which they did with breathtaking speed. Mr. Trump's own son added his fury to the fray by questioning the role of any corporation providing philanthropic support for the show, which he mockingly referred to as 'art.'

"These reactions are deeply troubling for two reasons.

"Concluding that any production of Julius Caesar endorses assassination is, at the very least, misguided. Shakespeare spends the entire latter half of the play criticizing both the effectiveness of murder as a political strategy and analyzing the psychological and moral consequences of such a deed. Tyranny is never eliminated when the means of removing the tyrant are the same methods he used to seize power. The play, one could argue, is a condemnation of such actions. Any criticism of The Public's production needs to include the full narrative of the story in order to understand the intentions of the artists. To do less is to foster ignorance. And to manipulate the argument so as to defund or close the show is pernicious.

"Secondly: Regardless of the debate over the content of the show, freedom of speech is the great gift of our Constitution. It guarantees that all of us have the right to voice our opinions. This tenet is critical to democracy, and to any society that aspires to engage its citizenry. It is especially important to artists, who not only have the right but the responsibility to describe their experience of the world. It is their job to not only entertain us, but to make us think about our society. To catalyze our imagination and to jolt us into action. To test our boundaries, sometimes uncomfortably. That is the job of the artist.

"Those supporting the arts are keenly aware of this. Or should be. Philanthropy is a risk, because art is a risky endeavor. But when philanthropists withdraw their support of any project without a deeper recognition of both artistic intent and our fundamental rights, they abdicate their role as leaders in the community. They become reduced to frightened players in the marketplace, as opposed to enlightened guardians of culture. And that's not fake news. That's just bad news for all of us."

Julius Caesar, Shakespeare's play of politics and power, was last seen in the Park 17 years ago. Rome's leader, Julius Caesar, is a force unlike any the city has seen. Magnetic, populist, irreverent, he seems bent on absolute power. A small band of patriots, devoted to the country's democratic traditions, must decide how to oppose him. Shakespeare's political masterpiece has never felt more contemporary.

The complete cast of The Public Theater's production of Julius Caesar features Tina Benko (Calpurnia); Teagle F. Bougere (Casca); Yusef Bulos (Cinna the Poet); Eisa Davis (Decius Brutus); RoBert Gilbert (Octavius); Gregg Henry (Caesar); Edward James Hyland (Lepidus, Popilius); Nikki M. James (Portia); Christopher Livingston (Titinius, Cinna); Elizabeth Marvel (Antony); Chris Myers (Flavius, Messala, Ligarius); Marjan Neshat (Metullus Cimber); Corey Stoll (Marcus Brutus); John Douglas Thompson (Caius Cassius); and Natalie Woolams-Torres (Marullus). The non-equity company will include Isabel Arraiza (Publius Clitus); Erick Betancourt; Mayaa Boateng (Soothsayer); Motell Foster (Trebonius); Dash King; Tyler La Marr (Lucillius); Gideon McCarty; Nick Selting (Lucius, Strato); Alexander Shaw (Octavius' Servant); Michael Thatcher (Cobbler); and Justin Walker White (Pindarus).

JULIUS CAESAR includes feature scenic design by David Rockwell; costume design by Paul Tazewell; lighting design by Kenneth Posner; sound design by Jessica Paz; original music and soundscapes by Bray Poor; and hair, wig, and makeup design by Leah J. Loukas.

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Berkeley Rep's Tony Taccone Talks Free Speech, Art of Risk in Relation to The Public's JULIUS CAESAR - Broadway World

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An Essential College Atheist Reading List – Uloop News

Posted: at 8:59 pm

College is the period in your life after adolescence and before adulthood where you truly discover who you are as an individual. Experimentation with drugs and ones sexuality are interestingbut far more profound and lasting is experimentation with new ideas. One such idea you should at least read up on is atheism.

Atheism is a philosophical movement that has existed for thousands of years, spreading across many borders and cultures over the course of time. Simply put, atheism is the rejection of belief in any god or supernatural dimension. Any variation on that simple premise qualifies as atheism: there are hard atheists (also called anti-theists), who state with firm belief that a god certainly doesnt exist, and there are also soft atheists who reject the notion of a god but remain open to the possibility. Some atheists still consider themselves spiritual, but separate contemplative practices like meditation from any kind of faith system.

Generally speaking, many atheists put heavy emphasis on the power of science and philosophy on our everyday lives, and assert the superiority of such a position over religious belief. Many books have been published to this effect, putting forward arguments against religion and belief in the supernatural. In this list, we explore 10 such works that offer an absolutely essential view of the arguments associated with atheism. Whether youre a skeptic yourself, a firm believer, or havent made up your mind yet, this list will provide the most helpful material available for understanding the minds of those who doubt.

10. Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell

The classic pamphlet by mathematician and philosopher Bertrand Russell that declares boldly: I am as firmly convinced that religions do harm as I am that they are untrue.

In it, Russell goes through the numerous reasons he finds the Christian religion, as well as religion generally, to be unconvincing in the extreme. Our narrator argues that to be a Christian, one must overcome the historical difficulties surrounding the life of Jesus and the authorship of the Bible something he contends is impossible to an impartial reader of the texts.

9. God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens

Moved into action by what he saw as the creeping threat of theocracy in the world, the late journalist and literary critic treats his reader to a multifaceted critique of organized religion of every form, from Judaism and Christianity to Buddhism and Hinduism. Writing with profound wit and eloquence, Hitchens examines the texts and history of all the major faith traditions, showing explicitly where each allied itself with tribal violence and regressive thinking. Especially powerful is his exploration of how little humanity knew of science in the days when these religions came into existence, and how laden with obvious mythology each of them is. A thoroughly engaging read.

8. Breaking The Spell by Daniel Dennett

A philosopher and behavioral scientist at Tufts University, Dennett makes the case that religious belief must be treated as a proper scientific hypothesis that can either be supported or refuted (a topic which will appear later in this list). Dennett traces the development of religious thinking through evolutionary biology and social psychology, showing the thoroughly natural foundations for its claims. In true philosophical fashion, the last part of the book dismantles the idea that morality is derived from supernatural beliefs.

7. The Blind Watchmaker by Richard Dawkins

Evolutionary biologist and former Oxford professor Richard Dawkins lays out the factors that influenced the evolution of life on this planet and shows how it eventually culminated in Homo sapiens. In so doing, he demonstrates how the mechanism of natural selection requires no intervening god to guide the process.

The crucial point Dawkins makes here is that while we cant prove that a god didnt intervene in human evolution, whats important is that such a being is unnecessary; that is, we can understand nature in the exact same way if we abandon the notion that we are the center of the cosmos. This is summed up by one of the books most lyrical passages:

Natural selection, the blind, unconscious, automatic process which Darwin discovered, and which we now know is the explanation for the existence and apparently purposeful form of all life, has no purpose in mind. It has no mind and no minds eye. It does not plan for the future. It has no vision, no foresight, no sight at all. If it can be said to play the role of watchmaker in nature, it is the blind watchmaker.

6. God: The Failed Hypothesis by Victor Stenger

In this New York Times bestseller, physicist Victor Stenger proposes the idea of God as a scientific hypothesis like any other: an idea open to consideration and debate, and therefore thoughtful criticism and refutation. Like the earlier entry by Daniel Dennett, Stenger contends that if a god really does exist, then his (or her) presence must be measurable in some way by science.

However, whereas Dennett focused on the philosophical and cognitive underpinnings of belief, our author here focuses on the observable claims made by the faithful. Evidence of intelligent design in biology, the efficacy of prayer in medicine, signs of salvation in human behavioral psychology, the existence of an immaterial soul in physiology, and discoveries in physics that may point toward divine creation are all examined and systematically refuted. A wonderful resource for those skeptics wanting to debate with believers head-on.

5. The Atheist Universe by David Mills

An excellent primer to give as a gift to those who are considering atheism, Mills does a fine job of setting fire to the straw-men presented by theologians and laypeople alike. Written in concise, straightforward language, the author tends to shun the complicated arguments used by professional philosophers and scientists.

Mills clarifies the facts surrounding the classic questions like, How did the universe begin?, and Is there any meaning to life without religion? for those who are just beginning to ask these questions. This entry is especially profound because of its scope and accessible language that nearly anyone can follow.

4. Why There is No God by Armin Navabi

This entry is styled along a Q&A format; it offers a typical point in defense of religion or in criticism of unbelief and then responds to the point with a straightforward and concise answer. Much like the previous entry, this one gets props for being accessible to a larger audience. Lets face it with the trappings of modern college life, most people dont have the time or energy to read some massive title. For those who want fast clarification on tough topics, this one is the way to go.

3. The End of Faith by Sam Harris

Provoked into action by the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris argues that, in the age of nuclear weapons and targeted missile strikes, humanity must abandon religious barbarism if we are to move beyond this century. As he says, the worst fear of any sane individual in the 21st century needs to be the possibility of a state possessing weapons of mass destruction, with the psychological equivalent of Osama bin Laden at its head. Harris makes an interesting caseand treads fearlessly into deep philosophical waters in this scathing critique of human tribalism.

2. The Portable Atheist by Various

If your goal is to understand the actual ideas of unbelievers, look no further. A massive anthology containing essays from unbelievers like Einstein, Darwin, Marx, Hume, Orwell, Twain, Sagan, Spinoza, and Lucretius, as well as more modern writers like Penn Jillette, Salman Rushdie, and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, this anthology is packed with memorable essays and profound ideas.

To add to its appeal, the whole collection has been selected and edited by Christopher Hitchens, the wit and prose of whom know no end. It also doesnt hurt that this anthology is a veritable gold-mine of memorable quotes, among them: All logical arguments can be defeated by the simple refusal to reason logically from the physicist Steven Weinberg, and Who wishes that there was a permanent, unalterable celestial despotism that subjected us to continual surveillance and could convict us of thought-crime, and who regarded us as its private property even after we died? from the eloquent editor of this collection.

1. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins

So rarely does a work achieve such a level of name-recognition among those who were never its intended audience. In its heyday, Dawkins attempt to convert believers to atheism resulted in the publishing of more than a dozen books responding to the claims presented. It landed him on news programs and in the pages of magazines and newspapers to take up the mantle of atheism in formal debate. Any proper list of atheist writings would not be complete without this iconic book, which has slowly become a symbol of rebellion from authority.

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An Essential College Atheist Reading List - Uloop News

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Hubble Telescope reveals new discovery of universe’s brightest galaxies – AOL

Posted: at 8:57 pm

Aaron Dickens

Jun 14th 2017 4:28PM

The Hubble telescope captures the brightest galaxies ever seen in the universe.

Times Square isn't the only place you can catch the glitz and glam. NASA's famous Hubble Telescope got a front row seat using what's called "gravitational lensing."

Thousands of galaxies act like lenses that magnify light, making them appear super bright.

RELATED: Best photos from NASA's Hubble telescope

52 PHOTOS

Best photos from NASA's Hubble telescope

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The many sides of the supernova remnant Cassiopeia A. Located 10,000 light-years away in the northern constellation Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia A is the remnant of a once massive star that died in a violent supernova explosion 325 years ago. Hubble Space Telescope (HST), Spitzer Space Telescope.

(Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image shows one of the most complex planetary nebulae ever seen, NGC 6543, nicknamed the ?Cat's Eye Nebula.? Hubble reveals surprisingly intricate structures including concentric gas shells, jets of high-speed gas and unusual Lock-induced knots of gas. Estimated to be 1,000 years old, the nebula is a visual ?fossil record? of the dynamics and late evolution of a dying star. A preliminary interpretation suggests that the star might be a double-star system. The suspected companion star also might be responsible for a pair of high-speed jets of gas that lie at right angles to this equatorial ring.

(Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

This NASA Hubble Space Telescope image captures the chaotic activity atop a three-light-year-tall pillar of gas and dust that is being eaten away by the brilliant light from nearby bright stars. This turbulent cosmic pinnacle lies within a tempestuous stellar nursery called the Carina Nebula, located 7,500 light-years away from Earth in the southern constellation Carina. The image celebrates the 20th anniversary of Hubble's launch and deployment into an orbit around Earth. Hubble's Wide Field Camera 3 observed the pillar on Feb. 1-2, 2010.

(REUTERS/NASA/Handout)

This Hubble Space Telescope image of the star V838 Monocerotis (V838 Mon) reveals dramatic changes in the illumination of surrounding dusty cloud structures. The effect, called a light echo, has been unveiling never-before-seen dust patterns ever since the star suddenly brightened for several weeks in early 2002. The illumination of interstellar dust comes from the red supergiant star at the middle of the image, which gave off a pulse of light, somewhat similar to setting off a flashbulb in a darkened room. The dust may have been ejected during a previous explosion, similar to the 2002 event.

(Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

By pushing NASAs Hubble Space Telescope to its limits, an international team of astronomers has shattered the cosmic distance record by measuring the farthest galaxy ever seen in the universe. This surprisingly bright infant galaxy, named GN-z11, is seen as it was 13.4 billion years in the past, just 400 million years after the Big Bang. GN-z11 is located in the direction of the constellation of Ursa Major.

(Photo via NASA)

This image, taken by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows a peculiar galaxy known as NGC 1487, lying about 30 million light-years away in the southern constellation of Eridanus.

Rather than viewing it as a celestial object, it is actually better to think of this as an event. Here, we are witnessing two or more galaxies in the act of merging together to form a single new galaxy. Each galaxy has lost almost all traces of its original appearance, as stars and gas have been thrown by gravity in an elaborate cosmic whirl.

Unless one is very much bigger than the other, galaxies are always disrupted by the violence of the merging process. As a result, it is very difficult to determine precisely what the original galaxies looked like and, indeed, how many of them there were. In this case, it is possible that we are seeing the merger of several dwarf galaxies that were previously clumped together in a small group.

Although older yellow and red stars can be seen in the outer regions of the new galaxy, its appearance is dominated by large areas of bright blue stars, illuminating the patches of gas that gave them life. This burst of star formation may well have been triggered by the merger.

(Photo viaESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Judy Schmidt, Caption viaEuropean Space Agency)

These blue-white stars are burning their hydrogen fuel so ferociously they will explode as supernovae in just a few million years. The combination of outflowing stellar winds and, ultimately, supernova blast waves will carve out cavities in nearby clouds of gas and dust. These fireworks will kick-start the beginning of a new generation of stars in an ongoing cycle of star birth and death.

(Photo viaNASA, ESA, and J. Maz Apellniz (Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia, Spain), Acknowledgment: N. Smith (University of Arizona))

Most galaxies possess a majestic spiral or elliptical structure. About a quarter of galaxies, though, defy such conventional, rounded aesthetics, instead sporting a messy, indefinable shape. Known as irregular galaxies, this group includes NGC 5408, the galaxy that has been snapped here by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope.

The galaxy resembles a giant maelstrom of glowing gas, rippled with dark dust that swirls inwards towards the nucleus. Messier 96 is a very asymmetric galaxy; its dust and gas are unevenly spread throughout its weak spiral arms, and its core is not exactly at the galactic center. Its arms are also asymmetrical, thought to have been influenced by the gravitational pull of other galaxies within the same group as Messier 96.

(Photo:ESA/Hubble & NASA and the LEGUS)

It would be reasonable to think of this as a single abnormal galaxy, and it was originally classified as such. However, it is in fact a new galaxy in the process of forming. Two separate galaxies have been gradually drawn together, attracted by gravity, and have collided. We now see them merging into a single structure.

Most Distant Galaxy Candidate Ever Seen in Universe

The farthest and one of the very earliest galaxies ever seen in the universe appears as a faint red blob in this ultra-deepfield exposure taken with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. This is the deepest infrared image taken of the universe. Based on the object's color, astronomers believe it is 13.2 billion light-years away.

(Photo Credit:NASA, ESA, G. Illingworth (University of California, Santa Cruz), R. Bouwens (University of California, Santa Cruz and Leiden University), and the HUDF09 Team)

(Photo:ESA/Hubble & NASA)

The Veil Nebula, left behind by the explosion of a massive star thousands of years ago, is one of the largest and most spectacular supernova remnants in the sky. This is only a small section of it.

(Photo credit: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage)

A ribbon of gas, a very thin section of a supernova remnant caused by a stellar explosion that occurred more than 1,000 years ago, floats in our galaxy. The supernova that created it was probably the brightest star ever seen by humans.

(Photo credit: NASA, ESA & the Hubble Heritage team)

This image from Hubbles Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 showcases NGC 1501, a complex planetary nebula located in the large but faint constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe).

Discovered by William Herschel in 1787, NGC 1501 is a planetary nebula that is just under 5,000 light-years away from us. Astronomers have modeled the three-dimensional structure of the nebula, finding it to be a cloud shaped as an irregular ellipsoid filled with bumpy and bubbly regions. It has a bright central star that can be seen easily in this image, shining brightly from within the nebulas cloud. This bright pearl embedded within its glowing shell inspired the nebulas popular nickname: the Oyster Nebula.

(Photo: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Marc Canale)

At first glance, Jupiter looks like it has a mild case of the measles. Five spots one colored white, one blue, and three black are scattered across the upper half of the planet. Closer inspection by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals that these spots are actually a rare alignment of three of Jupiter's largest moons Io, Ganymede, and Callisto across the planet's face. In this image, the telltale signatures of this alignment are the shadows [the three black circles] cast by the moons. Io's shadow is located just above center and to the left; Ganymede's on the planet's left edge; and Callisto's near the right edge. Only two of the moons, however, are visible in this image. Io is the white circle in the center of the image, and Ganymede is the blue circle at upper right. Callisto is out of the image and to the right.

(Photo: NASA, ESA andE. Karkoschka)

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the region around a star known as R Sculptoris, a red giant located 1,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sculptor.Recent observationshave shown that the material surrounding R Sculptoris actually forms a spiral structure a phenomenon probably caused by a hidden companion star orbiting the star. Systems with multiple stars often lead to unusual or unexpected morphologies, as seen, for example, in the wide range of strikingplanetary nebulae that Hubble has imaged.

(Photo: ESA/Hubble & NASA)

This image shows the center of the globular cluster Messier 22, also known as M22, as observed by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. Globular clusters are spherical collections of densely packed stars, relics of the early years of the Universe, with ages of typically 12 to 13 billion years. This is very old considering that the Universe is only 13.8 billion years old.

(Photo: ESA/Hubble & NASA)

In a nearby galaxy called the Small Magellanic Cloud, young stars are spewing radiation thats eating away at the cloud of gas and dust that gave birth to them not too long ago. This Hubble image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys, shows that scene.

The cluster of blue stars, called NGC 602, formed when a large part of the gas cloud collapsed under gravity and became very dense. The fierce radiation now being produced by these hot, young stars is sculpting the inner rim of the gaseous nebula. Parts of the nebula resist this erosion better than others, leaving tall pillars that point toward the source of the radiation the stars.

(Photo:NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) - ESA/Hubble Collaboration )

The giant nebula NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of our galaxy, about 20,000 light-years away. Discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834, it is the largest nebula seen in visible light in the Milky Way. Within its core is nestled a stellar jewel box of thousands of sparkling young stars, one of the most massive young star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy.

(Photo:NASA, ESA, R. O'Connell (University of Virginia), F. Paresce (National Institute for Astrophysics, Bologna, Italy), E. Young (Universities Space Research Association/Ames Research Center), the WFC3 Science Oversight Committee, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

This esthetic close-up of cosmic clouds and stellar winds features LL Orionis, interacting with the Orion Nebula flow. Adrift in Orion's stellar nursery and still in its formative years, variable star LL Orionis produces a wind more energetic than the wind from our own middle-aged Sun. As the fast stellar wind runs into slow moving gas a shock front is formed, analogous to the bow wave of a boat moving through water or a plane traveling at supersonic speed. The small, arcing, graceful structure just above and left of center is LL Ori's cosmic bow shock, measuring about half a light-year across. The slower gas is flowing away from the Orion Nebula's hot central star cluster, the Trapezium, located off the upper left corner of the picture. In three dimensions, LL Ori's wrap-around shock front is shaped like a bowl that appears brightest when viewed along the "bottom" edge. The beautiful picture is part of a large mosaic view of the complex stellar nursery in Orion, filled with a myriad of fluid shapes associated with star formation.

(NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team/ABACAPRESS.COM)

An undated handout picture by NASA/ESA shows around 5,500 galaxies seen through the Hubble telescope. The time exposure titled 'Hubble extreme Deep Field' (XDF reveals galaxies up to 13.2 billion light-years from earth.

(Photo: NASA/ESA/G. Illingworth/D. Magee/P. Oesch/R. Bouwens/HUDF09 Team)

Sun Seasons: Our sun is constantly changing. It goes through cycles of activity - swinging between times of relative calm and times when frequent explosions on its surface can fling light, particles and energy out into space. This activity cycle peaks approximately every 11 years. New research shows evidence of a shorter time cycle as well, with activity waxing and waning over the course of about 330 days. Understanding when to expect such bursts of solar activity is crucial to successfully forecast the sun's eruptions, which can drive solar storms at Earth. These space weather events can interfere with satellite electronics, GPS navigation, and radio communications. The quasi-annual variations in space weather seem to be driven by changes in bands of strong magnetic field that are present in each solar hemisphere.

(NASA)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has revisited the famous Pillars of Creation, revealing a sharper and wider view of the structures in this visible-light image. Astronomers combined several Hubble exposures to assemble the wider view. The towering pillars about are 5 light-years tall. The new image was taken with Hubble's versatile and sharp-eyed Wide Field Camera 3. The pillars are bathed in blistering ultraviolet light from a grouping of young, massive stars located off the top of the image. Streamers of gas can be seen bleeding off the pillars as the intense radiation heats and evaporates it into space. Denser regions of the pillars are shadowing material beneath them from the powerful radiation. Stars are being born deep inside the pillars, which are made of cold hydrogen gas laced with dust. The pillars are part of a small region of the Eagle Nebula, a vast star-forming region 6,500 light-years from Earth. The colors in the image highlight emission from several chemical elements. Oxygen emission is blue, sulfur is orange, and hydrogen and nitrogen are green. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) #nasagoddard #space #Hubble #hd

Star V838 Monocerotis's (V838 Mon) light echo, which is about six light years in diameter, is seen from the Hubble Space Telescope in this February 2004 handout photo released by NASA on December 4, 2011. Light from the flash is reflected by successively more distant rings in the ambient interstellar dust that already surrounded the star. V838 Mon lies about 20,000 light years away toward the constellation of Monoceros the unicorn. It became the brightest star in the Milky Way Galaxy in January 2002 when its outer surface greatly expanded suddenly.

(REUTERS/ NASA, ESA, H. E. Bond (STScI)/Handout)

This false-color composite image shows the Cartwheel galaxy. Hubble Space Telescope.

(Photo by: Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

In this composite image provided by NASA, ESA, globular star cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139) in the Centaurus constellation and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team, is pictured July 15, 2009 in Space. Today, September 9, 2009, NASA released the first images taken with the Hubble Space Telescope since its repair in the spring.

(Photo by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team via Getty Images)

What resemble dainty butterfly wings are actually roiling cauldrons of gas heated to more than 36,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

(Photo by NASA, ESA, and the Hubble SM4 ERO Team/MCT/MCT via Getty Images)

The galaxy cluster Abell S1063, located 4 billion light-years away, is pictured in this undated handout Hubble Telescope image surrounded by magnified images of galaxies much farther. The photo unveils the effect of space warping due to gravity. The huge mass of the cluster distorts and magnifies the light from galaxies that lie far behind it due to an effect called gravitational lensing, first predicted by Einstein a century ago.

(NASA, ESA, and J. Lotz (STScI)/Handout via REUTERS)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope took this photo, released on March 1, 2007, of Jupiter with Hubble's Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 on February 17, 2007, using the planetary camera detector. Jupiter's trademark belts and zones of high- and low-pressure regions appear in crisp detail. Circular convection cells can be seen at high northern and southern latitudes.

(REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

The sky is seen at night just before the predicted merger between our Milky Way galaxy and the neighboring Andromeda galaxy, in this NASA photo illustration released May 31, 2012. About 3.75 billion years from now, Andromeda's disk will fill the field of view and its gravity will begin to create tidal distortions in the Milky Way. The view is inspired by dynamical computer modeling of the future collision between the two galaxies. The two galaxies collide about 4 billion years from now and merge to form a single galaxy about 6 billion years from now.

(REUTERS/NASA, ESA, Z. Levay and R. van der Marel)

The central region of our Milky Way galaxy. Hubble, Spitzer and Chandra.

(Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)

The photo, taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, captures a small region within M17, a hotbed of star formation M17, also known as the Omega or Swan Nebula, is located about 5,500 light-years (1690 parsecs) from Earth in the constellation Sagittarius. The turbulent gases in this photo of Gaseous Nebula in the Milky Way Galaxy shows roughly 1.9.arcminutes (3.1 light-years or 0.95 parsecs) across. The image is being released to commemorate the 13th anniversary of Hubble's launch on April 24, 1990.

(NASA, ESA and J. Hester (ASU)

UNSPECIFIED - 1992: Composite image, taken by Hubble Space Telescope's Wide Field & Planetary Camera, of hypersonic shock wave (lower right) of material (clouds of dust) moving through Orion Nebula, surrounding (relatively) newborn stars.

(C.R. O'Dell/Rice UniversityNASA/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images)

The Hubble Space telescope's soon-to-be decommissioned Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 photographed this image of planetary nebula K 4-55 as its final image, released by NASA May 10, 2009. This Hubble image was taken by WFPC2 on May 4, 2009. The colors represent the makeup of the various emission clouds in the nebula: red represents nitrogen, green represents hydrogen, and blue represents oxygen. K 4-55 is nearly 4,600 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus.

(REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, in this undated image, has released on April 24, 2007, one of the largest panoramic images ever taken with Hubble's cameras, a 50-light-year-wide view of the central region of the Carina Nebula where a maelstrom of a star's birth and death is taking place.

(REUTERS/NASA/Handout)

An image of four moons of Saturn passing in front of their parent planet in seen this image taken by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope February 24, 2009 and released by NASA March 17, 2009. In this view, the giant orange moon Titan casts a large shadow onto Saturn's north polar hood. Below Titan, near the ring plane and to the left, is the moon Mimas, casting a much smaller shadow onto Saturn's equatorial cloud tops. Farther to the left, and off Saturn's disk, are the bright moons Dione and the fainter Enceladus.

(REUTERS/NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team)

Planetary nebula NGC 2818 in the southern constellation of Pyxis (The Compass). Glowing layers and shell of gas were created when a star shed its outer layers into space after running out of nuclear fuel.

(Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images)

Hubble image of Arp 148 is the staggering aftermath of an encounter between two galaxies, resulting in a ring-shaped galaxy and a long-tailed companion. The collision between the two parent galaxies produced a shockwave effect that first drew matter into the center and then caused it to propagate outwards in a ring. The elongated companion perpendicular to the ring suggests that Arp 148 is a unique snapshot of an ongoing collision. Infrared observations reveal a strong obscuration region that appears as a dark dust lane across the nucleus in optical light. Arp 148 is nicknamed "Mayall's object" and is located in the constellation of Ursa Major, the Great Bear, approximately 500 million light-years away. This interacting pair of galaxies is included in Arp's catalog of peculiar galaxies as number 148. This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the occasion of its 18th anniversary on April 24, 2008.

(REUTERS/NASA, ESA, the Hubble Heritage Team)

Thousands of sparkling young stars nestled within the giant nebula NGC 3603. This stellar 'jewel box' is one of the most massive young star clusters in the Milky Way Galaxy. NGC 3603 is a prominent star-forming region in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way, about 20,000 light-years away. This image shows a young star cluster surrounded by a vast region of dust and gas. The image reveals stages in the life cycle of stars. The nebula was first discovered by Sir John Herschel in 1834. The image spans roughly 17 light-years.

(NASA/MCT via Getty Images)

The barred spiral galaxy M83, also known as the Southern Pinwheel, is seen in a NASA Hubble Space Telescope mosaic released January 9, 2014. The Hubble photograph captures thousands of star clusters, hundreds of thousands of individual stars, and "ghosts" of dead stars called supernova remnants.

(REUTERS/NASA/Handout via Reuters)

IN SPACE - This undated image taken by the Hubble telescope shows Pluto and its moons: Charon, Nix, and Hydra.The International Astronomical Union announced on August 24, 2006 that it no longer considers Pluto a planet, a status it has held since its discovery in 1930. The announcement reduces the solar system from nine planets to eight.

(Photo by NASA via Getty Images)

A new view of the Whirlpool Galaxy, one of the largest and sharpest images Hubble Space Telescope has ever taken, is released by NASA. A new view of the Eagle Nebula, one of the two largest and sharpest images Hubble Space Telescope has ever taken, is released by NASA on Hubble's 15th anniversary April 25, 2005. The new Eagle Nebula image reveals a tall, dense tower of gas being sculpted by ultraviolet light from a group of massive, hot stars. During the 15 years Hubble has orbited the Earth, it has taken more than 700,000 photos of the cosmos.

(REUTERS/NASA/Handout)

Galaxy Ngc 5866, Image Of The Disk Galaxy Ngc 5866 Taken With The Advanced Camera For Surveys (Acs) On The Hubble Space Telescope, November 2005.

(Encyclopaedia Britannica/UIG Via Getty Images)

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope catches the Boomerang Nebula in this image taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys in early 2005 and released on September 13, 2005. This reflecting cloud of dust and gas has two nearly symmetric lobes of matter that are being ejected from a central star. Each lobe of the nebula is nearly one light-year in length, making the total length of the nebula half as long as the distance from the Sun to the nearest neighbors-the Alpha Centauri stellar system, located roughly 4 light-years away. The Boomerang Nebula resides 5,000 light-years from Earth. Hubble's sharp view is able to resolve patterns and ripples in the nebula very close to the central star that are not visible from the ground.

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NATO – News: Norway strengthens scientific cooperation with NATO … – NATO HQ (press release)

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Scientists and experts from Norway and NATO partner countries discussed opportunities for practical cooperation to address common emerging security challenges during a Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme Information Day held in Oslo on 14 June 2017. Successful cooperation between Norway and NATOs SPS Programme included activities in the areas of Women, Peace and Security and unexploded ordnance (UXO) detection.

Organised in cooperation with the Norwegian Delegation to NATO and the Norwegian Research Council, the SPS Information Day provided an opportunity to exchange on possibilities for capacity-building and research cooperation with partners in defence and advanced technologies such as cyber defence, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) technology and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) defence.

Norway has traditionally been a strong partner in the SPS programme, said Rune Resaland, Head of Department for Security Policy and the High North, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the period from 2000 until 2014, Norwegian researchers participated in more than 60 SPS projects. Currently, there is only one project with Norwegian involvement in the SPS. We hope that the SPS Information Day can contribute to more interest for SPS in Norway and sow the seeds for projects between Norwegian researchers and international partners in the future.

Human and social aspects of security, including civil-military relations, counter-terrorism and the Women, Peace and Security issues were a focus of discussions. Norway recently conducted an SPS research workshop aimed at sharing good practices for handling gender-related complaints in the armed forces, co-organised by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF). Experts dealing with gender-related harassment and discrimination engaged in a frank and open discussion and exchanged best practices. Their work resulted in the publication entitled Gender and Complaints Mechanisms Handbook to prevent and respond to gender-related discrimination.

Norway is also working with Ukraine on an SPS multi-year project to develop a 3D mine detector. This project complements other SPS efforts in support of humanitarian demining and forms part of NATOs Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine that was endorsed at the Warsaw Summit last year, says Dr Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. Together, these countries aim to design a state-of-the-art digital ground penetrating radar system which will detect dangerous targets such as mines, improvised explosive devices and explosive remnants of war. The device will provide a visual 3D image and automatically recognise the type of the detected object in up to three meters depth. Ultimately, the technology will allow faster, cheaper and safer clearance of former conflict zones and help to avoid victims among civilians and the military.

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Lawmaker warns: Some NATO allies still using Russian equipment – Washington Examiner

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A House Republican lawmaker said Thursday that some members of the NATO alliance are still dependent on Russia for military equipment for their air and ground forces, which is makes it harder for the U.S. to count on them as allies.

"We have not weaned them off," Rep. Paul Cook, a retired Marine Corps colonel, said of those countries during a House Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing.

The California Republican said the use of "Soviet-style" equipment is a complicating factor for U.S. policy. It leaves the eastern European NATO allies vulnerable to Russian aggression, in addition to complicating their efforts to fulfill President Trump's demand that they increase military spending.

"They still have to go back to the new Russia for those things that they have [had] for years and until they become a total member of NATO in terms of our military equipment and everything else, I think it diminishes their capability as a true ally," Cook told Pentagon and State Department officials during the hearing.

Cook urged the Trump administration to sell eastern European allies American military equipment that can replace the Russian weapons systems. "It doesn't seem like a big priority, and yet, countries there, they've been with us and everything else, but we expect them to come to the fight when and if the Russians come across," he said.

The allies have to want to make such deals, though. "I am seeing on my travels a desire to move away from Russian equipment and into NATO standard type equipment," Vice Admiral Joseph Rixey, director of the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency, told Cook. "We are prepared to execute if requested."

The prevalence of Russian military equipment among some U.S. allies also hampered efforts to impose new sanctions again Russia in response to its aggression in Syria and Ukraine, and cyberattacks against the Democratic party in 2016.

"We're looking long and hard about allies that have Russian equipment," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told the Washington Examiner about a new Russia sanctions bill that passed the Senate today. "I think they negotiated a pretty good compromise ... what we're trying to do is make sure we don't undermine our allies but also go after [Russian President Vladimir] Putin."

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Nato supersonic jets and massive military vehicles storm a beach in … – The Sun

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Some 6,000 troops from 14 countries are taking part in the alliances Baltops (Baltic Operations) exercise in Poland and Germany this month

SUPERSONIC bombers have spearheaded an amphibious assault as part of a massive Nato military exercise on Russias doorstep.

Some 6,000 troops from 14 countries are taking part in the alliances Baltops (Baltic Operations) exercise in the Batlic Sea this month.

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Dramatic pictures show troops storming a beach in Ustka, Poland, yesterday.

Soldiers and vehicles charged ashore as aircraft whizzed by overhead in a terrifying display of force.

The manoeuvres began in Szczecin, Poland, on June 1, and will end in Kiel, Germany, tomorrow.

The aim of the exercise which is taking place in Russias backyard is for Nato and its allies to strengthen cooperation.

US Navy Vice Admiral Christopher Grady said: What we want to do is practice and demonstrate the ability to deliver sea control and power projection at and from the sea.

Baltops involves troops from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, the UK, the US, Finland and Sweden.

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Some 50 ships and submarines and over 50 aircraft were also present for the drills including B-1 and B-52 bombers, and F-16 fighter jets.

US Navy Commander Edward Chandler said: This exercise is a great opportunity for the United States, Nato allies and partners to practice air and maritime integration.

Baltops is not a new event, and has been taking place since 1972.

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Grady added: Weve maintained a consistent level of participation over the last couple of years.

Its a very large exercise with a lot of moving parts and the participants will provide that realistic and challenging training were looking for.

The exercise comes after US B-52 bombers were intercepted over the Baltic by Russian fighter jets.

SU-27s were deployed to head off the aircraft, which the US says were flying in international airspace at the time.

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The Baltic has been a source of tension between Nato and Russia in recent times, with both sides building up their military presence in the region.

Baltic States like Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fear they could be next on Vladimir Putins hit-list after Russias invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

Just last month, Russia announced it was planning to beef up its Baltic fleet with new warships and fighter jets.

According to an analyst writing for state-owned Sputnik News, the deployment is in response to aggressive manoeuvres by Nato powers.

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Anders Fogh Rasmussen on today’s NATO – Deutsche Welle

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Deutsche Welle
Anders Fogh Rasmussen on today's NATO
Deutsche Welle
Former NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen paid a visit to the DW-TV studios to discuss the organization's relationship with Russia and US. He also talked about other nations in the alliance as well.

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‘Australia is a highly valued, reliable and respected Partner’, says Chairman of the NATO Military Committee – NATO HQ (press release)

Posted: at 8:57 pm

General Petr Pavel, Chairman of the NATO Military Committee visited Sydney and Canberra while in Australia 9 to 14 June 2017. During his visit, the Chairman met with Mr. Brendan Sargeant, Acting Secretary of the Department of Defence; Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, the Chief of the Australian Defence Force; Vice Admiral David Johnston, Chief of Joint Operations; Major General Gavan Reynolds, Australias Military Representative to NATO; Commodore Luke Charles-Jones, Acting Australian Fleet Commander; Captain Ashley Papp, Commanding Officer of HMAS Canberra; The Honourable Dr. Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial; and Major General Simone Wilkie, Commander of the Australian Defence College. General Pavel also attended a meeting of the Special Chiefs of Service Committee.

After meeting with Vice Admiral David Johnston, Chief of Joint Operations, the Chairman received briefings on the current Australian Operations and Missions and toured the Joint Operations Command Headquarters. General Pavel remarked on the professionalism of the Australian Armed Forces and their ability to plug in quickly to both NATO-led and multinational Operations and Missions. We can learn from each other, share best practices, develop common standards and reinforce each others efforts to all our benefits. I have the utmost respect for the Australian Defence Forces who contribute to peacekeeping and multinational operations and missions in their region but also around the world because they strongly believe it is the "right thing to do"' stated the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee.

Discussions with Acting Secretary of the Department of Defence, Mr. Brendan Sargeant and Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin focused on the current security challenges and the benefits of working together to find global solutions to shared threats. While attending the Special Chiefs of Service Committee, General Pavel took the opportunity to thank Australia for its continued commitment to the NATO-led Resolute Support Mission to train, assist and advise the Afghan Armed Forces and Institutions. You have played a significant role in Afghanistan and your service men and women do a magnificent job. We should continue to build on our shared experiences, stressed General Pavel.

During his visit to the Australian War Memorial, the Chairman met with The Honourable Dr. Brendan Nelson, Director of the Australian War Memorial and toured the Commemorative Area. Participating in the Last Post Ceremony with Air Chief Marshal Binskin, General Pavel paid his respects and laid a wreath at the base of the Pool of Reflection in honour of all the Australian fallen who have given their lives in service, protecting freedom, peace and security.

Visiting the Australian Defence College, General Pavel was greeted by Major General Simone Wilkie, Commander of the Defence College. After delivering a speech on NATO's Strategic Challenges, the Chairman held a Question and Answer session with the students. He stressed the interconnectivity of current security challenges and the need to continue to work together to find common solutions.

Concluding his visit to Australia, the Chairman visited Fleet Headquarters where he met with Commodore Luke Charles-Jones, Acting Australian Fleet Commander. Discussions focused on the need to protect global commons, increase interoperability and preparedness. Touring the flagship HMAS Canberra, General Pavel received a guided tour from Captain Ashley Papp, Commanding Officer, as well as a briefing on the ship's capabilities.

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A Giant Russian Exercise Will Soon Put 100,000 Troops on NATO’s … – Defense One

Posted: at 8:57 pm

As Russia and Belarus prep for their quadrennial fight-the-West wargame, NATOs Baltic states are watching more than a bit nervously.

For the Baltic countries on NATOs northeastern flank, carefully monitoring Russias various defense investments and activities is nothing new. Like brushing your teeth, its just a matter of staying healthy, Estonias defense minister told a small group of reporters while visiting the U.S. last week. Observing Russian military activity is that routine, but we do it even more often, hesaid.

So Margus Tsahkna and his counterparts in neighboring Latvia and Lithuania say theyre in no way unprepared for Russias upcoming military exercise, Zapad (West) 2017. The joint exercise with Belarus, which simulates a full-scale conflict with the West, happens every four years. But even so, its not comfortable at all when we expect to have 100,000 troops around our borders, Lithuanian Minister of Defence Raimundas Karoblis said during a recent visit toWashington.

Scheduled for autumn, this years Zapad will be the first since Russia annexed Crimea in2014.

Estonias Tsahkna said transparency is always a question whenever Russia conducts exercises. Several Baltic officials have warned that Russia may leave troops in Belarus after the exercise. During his own trip to the United States, Latvias defense minister, Raimonds Bergmanis, said his department is trying to figure out just how likely thatis.

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But even if those fears prove unfounded, such a large buildup is simply destabilizing, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said while visiting Lithuania lastmonth.

More military units in a given area raises the chance of everything from accidents to probes to deliberateprovocations.

We are treating these as exercises as such, nothing more, but of course, on the local level, some risks are here, Karoblis said. We need to also be prepared for surprises they could, say, go to a different direction than planned, and there also may be some tests of how the border protection is working,etc.

The exercise fits into the wider picture of disruptive Russian activities, from buzzing Baltic, U.S. and NATO military ships and aircraft in the region to information campaigns designed to destabilize Western nations. Karoblis said some Russian politicians have begun suggesting that two of Lithuanias western provinces close to Kaliningrad were originally given to the country by Joseph Stalin statements that echo Moscows rhetoric around the historical ownership and culture of Crimea and easternUkraine.

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania have been rapidly increasing their defense spending ever since Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea. But ultimately, their ability to deter Moscow depends on their European and NATO allies. Each Baltic country could mobilize several tens of thousands of troops, not the hundred thousand Russia is likely to amass for this exercisealone.

We have no doubt that if something happened, our NATO allies would come and react, Estonias Tsahkna said. Now we have 19 different nations with their troops in the Baltic region. That means that all their nations and their military people are asking the same questions we have foryears.

This past weekend, President Trump explicitly affirmed the U.S. commitment to Article 5, which requires the alliance to collectively defend any member under militaryattack.

Trump had not done so during a visit to the alliance headquarters in Brussels two weeks earlier, surprising his fellow heads of state and even his own administration officials, who spent the following days reassuring allies about Americans continued commitments around the globe.

Last week, the Baltic defense ministers said they were confident in it anyway Mattis had articulated those vows when visiting Lithuania. But an explicitly united front, including the U.S., creates a strongerdeterrent.

That is why the Baltic defense ministers spent last week hopping between DC think tank events and meetings on Capitol Hill as a trio more often thannot.

For defense ministers, we absolutely are singular as you mentioned, like the Three Musketeers, Bergmanis said. But maybe the U.S. is DArtagnan, the fourth Musketeer to helpout.

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