US Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral James Winnefeld: Countering the threat of Russia’s intercontinental ballistic missiles is too hard and too costly

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The top of the list of threats to the survival of the United States itself is “a massive nuclear attack from Russia, or some other high-end adversary or potential adversary like China,” Winnefeld noted.

“We have stated that missile defense against these high end threats is too hard, and too expensive, and too strategically destabilizing to even try,” Winnefeld said of the threat of a Russian or Chinese nuclear attack in a speech at the Center for Strategic International Studies.



Military and top civilian leadership have alleged that US homeland and regional European missile defense systems are intended to counter long-range missile threats from North Korea and Iran.

The primary US deterrent against Russia, Winnefeld added, is the nuclear triad.

“We will use the cost imposition piece to deter Russia by keeping all three legs of our nuclear deterrent strong and our nuclear command and control system robust.”




Moscow has repeatedly raised opposition to US proliferation of missile defense systems near its border, claiming it represents a threat to Russia’s strategic nuclear deterrent.

The BMD systems were previously limited under the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty between the US and Russia to avoid a strategic imbalance. The United States backed out of that treaty in 2001.

Credit to Sputnik

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/military/20150519/1022335176.html#ixzz3adE9K5zP

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From Jerusalem "Dead Birds, Fish, And People

Scientists have successfully coaxed old brain processes to become young again

Scientists, led by an Indian-origin researcher, have successfully coaxed old brain processes to become young again, paving the way for new treatments for brain disorders such as autism and schizophrenia.

University of California-Irvine neurobiologist Sunil Gandhi and colleagues re-created a critical juvenile period in the brains of adult mice, reactivating brain plasticity — the rapid and robust changes in neural pathways and synapses as a result of learning and experience. They achieved this by transplanting a certain type of embryonic neuron into the brains of adult mice.

Transplanted neurons express GABA, a chief inhibitory neurotransmitter that aids in motor control, vision and many other cortical functions.

Much like older muscles lose their youthful flexibility, older brains lose plasticity. But in the study, the transplanted GABA neurons created a new period of heightened plasticity that allowed for vigorous rewiring of the adult brain. In a sense, old brain processes became young again.

In early life, normal visual experience is crucial to properly wire connections in the visual system. Impaired vision during this time leads to a long-lasting visual deficit called amblyopia.

In an attempt to restore normal sight, the researchers transplanted GABA neurons into the visual cortex of adult amblyopic mice.

"Several weeks after transplantation, when the donor animal's visual system would be going through its critical period, the amblyopic mice started to see with normal visual acuity," said Melissa Davis, a postdoctoral fellow and lead author of the study.

These results raise hopes that GABA neuron transplantation might have future clinical applications. This line of research is also likely to shed light on the basic brain mechanisms that create critical periods.

"These experiments make clear that developmental mechanisms located within these GABA cells control the timing of the critical period," said Gandhi, an assistant professor of neurobiology & behaviour.

The study was published in the journal Neuron

Credit to The Tribune

What IS this strange sound from the sky?

A mysterious noise from the sky is continuing to baffle people all over the world - as well as giving those who hear it sleepless nights.

Sounding like a trumpet or a collective from a brass section of an orchestra, a selection of videos shot from the Canada to Ukraine, via the U.S., Germany and Belarus show strange goings on above us.

And the eerie sounds have been continuously heard at all different times and locations for almost a decade. 

Can YOU work out what the sound coming from the sky is?

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This recording of the trumpet-like sound shot in Germany shows a child in the street frozen with terror

This is the sound wave captured from the noise in Germany, that appeared to leave a child frozen in shock

The first video posted on YouTube recording the unusual, unearthly sounds, was in 2008 when a user recorded the strange sounds in the sky from Homel, in Belarus. 

That same year another anonymous user shared the 'ear-deafening' sounds that they insisted 'were not a hoax,' from a quiet neighbourhood believed to be in the U.S.

Kimberly Wookey from Terrace, British Columbia in Canada first captured the alien sound in June 2013, and since then she has managed to capture several recordings of the noise with her most recent being on May 7 this year. 

Writing on YouTube, where she posted the videos, Ms Wookey writes: 'On the morning of August 29, 2013 at approximately 7:30am I was awoken by these sounds. 

'I shot out of bed realizing it was the same sounds I had heard before and I ran looking for a camera to try to capture them with. I came out into the living room to find my seven-year-old son awake and scared wondering what was going on. He had said the noises woke him up as well and shook his window. 

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As the wind shook the huge trees in British Columbia, the eerie sounds were recorded by one quick-thinking resident

This wave form shows how the sound was recorded when captured in Canada

'I managed to record three clips showing almost five minutes of these strange sounds. After it was over and I sat down at the computer to upload the video. After checking my Facebook I noticed a lot of locals had heard the same sounds again but this time it was far more widespread. 

'I have no idea what these sounds are but it is pretty strange and I am glad that I was able to catch them this time and share what I heard. The sounds were heard again on Sept 8th at 6:30am so far we have confirmed reports of it being heard from town to the lake, 25km away.'

Credit to Dailymail.co.uk

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3084260/What-strange-sound-sky-Noise-heard-globe-nearly-DECADE-explanation.html#ixzz3abCJz9GX 

Netanyahu: Protecting Israel against enemies is new government's top priority

The 34th Government of Israel convened at the Presidential Residence in Jerusalem for the presidential reception and to take the official ceremonial photograph.

Standing at the podium alongside President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he will make every effort to bring about an agreement with the Palestinians that will maintain Israeli security.



He said that the first task of the new government will be to protect the country against threats from Israel's enemies in the region. Netanyahu also said that lowering the cost of living is a top priority.

Credit to Jerusalem Post