.transparent aluminium.

metal you can see through.. and it stops a .50 bullet.

.military on board.

Interesting news, and this is coming right after a report of another Italian vessel being taken. The reason why it was taken is because their guard force on the boat was not armed. Funny how some folks still think that a less than lethal, unarmed guard force is still a good idea? On the bright side, it sounds like the MV Montecristo was retaken by British and US commandos and all of the hostages have been released.

As far as using military assets on merchant vessels, I guess that will work. Although I certainly hope that these shipping companies are paying the bill for such a thing, because that is a pretty sweet deal to get a military protection force on their boats for free. Maybe Italian banks or jewelry stores should write their lawmakers and ask if they will provide military details to protect their businesses?

The Italian navy will have to re-adjust as well to service all of these private vessels. And what is interesting with that is aren’t these vessels losing their merchant status by posting military folks on them? Aren’t they now technically military vessels? For example, if these vessels were attacked by an enemy of Italy, that the vessel would be considered a military target and not a civilian target. And who would be in charge on these vessels, the ship’s captain or the military force? I don’t know, and these are some interesting legal questions that I do not have an answer for.

.thus spake the night spirit.

.the quiet professionals.

This is what i strive to be. these individuals are on a entirely different level. they are masters of everything in front of them.

.imagine.

.nuke town.

just a small reminder of the mess that still exists in japan.. did you know we are still getting radiated from this?

.hearts and minds.

War can be waged without guns and bombs. Take the time to watch this. I do not support "infowars.com" or Alex Jones. I dont support fear mongering. I support educating yourself and reality.

.ghost in the machine.

.mythical Viking village found.

A tiny village that previously existed only in folklore and fairy tales, a bit like Tir na nOg, has just been identified as one of the most important Viking sites in the world.

The Vikings wintered in two places in Ireland. One would become Dublin, the other was believed to have been lost in time. Not anymore.

A year after test trenches were dug on the 'virgin' site in Co Louth, the results of radio-carbon testing on some of the artefacts recovered have confirmed that 'Linn Duachaill' exists and is perfectly preserved underneath farmland in Annagassan.

An international conference will be held in Dundalk later this month to discuss the significance of the site -- which some academics already believe is one of the most important of its kind in the world.

Brian Walsh, curator of the county museum in Louth, said: "This site is mind blowing. It is untouched and it is basically virgin territory."

Another who always believed that the tales about Vikings in Louth were more than just stories handed down from generation to generation is the keeper of antiquities at the National Museum, Dr Ned Kelly.

"Linn Duachaill is enormously important because it is of the very earliest period of Viking settlement in Ireland. It was founded in 841 and the annals (of Ulster) tell us it was used over the next 50 years," he said.

"Radio carbon dating has conclusively shown we are dealing with a site of early Viking age," he added.

Linn Duachaill is beside the river Glyde some 60km north of Dublin and is just south of Dundalk Bay.

It was here the Vikings brought their long ships or 'longphorts' to be repaired.

The poor tides and shallow waters of Dundalk Bay meant the Vikings eventually chose Dublin as a location to repair their ships.

However, Linn Duachaill was also a large trading town, exporting Irish slaves and looted goods.

The future of Linn Duachaill must, according to Dr Kelly, not involve "willy-nilly digging of holes out of curiosity. We are looking for funding for further geophysical surveys. Then with research done we can proceed by key-hole excavation".

Both he and Mr Walsh believe the site has enormous potential for tourism. "This site is of such importance we feel it can contribute majorly into the local economy through heritage tourism," Dr Kelly added.

The conference -- open to academics and non-academics alike -- will be held in the town hall in Dundalk on October 22 and 23.

.holy smoke.

Ok this is a weird one. There is a company out there who will put your ashes into your ammunition. So grandpa can be there when you bag that next buck. Maybe your die hard infantry son can take a loved on back into battle and be there for your next kill.. what ever you use it for, this is just weird.

"We offer a way to honor your deceased loved one by giving or sharing with him or her one more round of clay targets, one last bird hunt, or one last stalk hunt." - Holy Smoke

.humans for sale.

An estimated 27 million people are held in slavery worldwide, meaning there are more slaves in the world than were taken from Africa during 300 years of the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

After drug trafficking, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing. (hhs)

Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually trafficked across international borders worldwide. (Dept of State)

The average price of individual slaves is less than a new cell phone or about $90. (nfs)

Every 10 minutes, one person is trafficked into the U.S. Around the World, a victim is exploited every minute.

Each year, more than 1 million children are exploited in the global commercial sex trade.

Approximately 80 percent are women and girls and up to 50 percent are minors. (Dept of State)

The majority of transnational victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. (Dept. of State)

Between 18,000 and 20,000 victims trafficked into United States annually. Many who work with this issue believe this number is considerably higher.

In the United States alone, it is estimated that there are 200,000 slaves.

More than half of victims trafficked into United States are thought to be children; victims are probably about equally women and men. (hhs)

Victims can be trafficked into the U.S. from anywhere in the world. Victims have come from Africa, Asia, India, Eastern Europe, Latin America, Russia, and Canada and many other locations. (hhs)

13 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution in the USA. (FBI)

100,000 to 300,000 children in America are at risk for sex trafficking each year.

As many as 2.8 million children live on the streets, a third of whom are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.

After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with the illegal arms trade as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and it is the fastest growing. (hhs)

.who will guard these hills.

Who will guard these hills?
Those which are abandoned
Those which are exhausted
Everything is collapsing, can you see it?
Awareness will come slow, if at all...

I knew it would come, when everything collapsed
It is too late to rebuild these walls?

This self created bliss has destroyed everything true,
When truth was the rise of the first gentian
They do not know what they seek,
So who could expect such grand repose?
When all wisdom ends in nothing,
Who chooses what will be truth?

It feels as though there is a saw resting on these bones
Behind this flesh, lies an anaemic frame
Like brittle bones, they snap
It echoes for days

I regret everything I ever promised,
In this coil, endlessly falling to nothing
as we think, we are all that will exist
learning now, that this truth, was just denial.

.kissing bug. aka the assasin

A deadly parasite is moving into Central Texas. It is carried by the kissing bug, also called the "assassin" bug, because it is so deadly. The scientific name for the bug is Triatomine.
And it can be as close as your backyard.
The kissing bug is the vector -- or carrier -- for protozoa Trypansoma cruzi. It's a parasite that lives in the gut of the bug and is disseminated through its feces.
When the feces get into the bloodstream of humans, it causes Chagas disease, which ultimately can cause heart failure.
Dr. Sahotra Sarkar is a professor of integrative biology at the University of Texas. He has been studying Chagas disease since 2006. He wrote a paper published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.
"The insects like to feed on people when they're asleep and tend to bite your lips," said Sarkar. "That's how the bug got its name. But we've seen bites on almost every part of the human body."
Sarkar's team started off studying Chagas disease in Mexico. Each year Chagas disease kills more than 50,000 people in Central and South America.
But recently Sarkar has been alarmed at the overwhelming numbers of the parasite they are finding in Texas.
Eleven counties in South Texas are at highest risk. But this past year, more than half of the bugs collected in Central Texas were found to carry the deadly parasite.
"Three of the species have been found in Travis County," said Sarkar.
"You are not likely to get a lot of them in the middle of the city, but by the time you get to the suburbs and you have areas where there's a fair amount of wood, that's where you'll see them," said Sarkar.
The blood-sucking insect is nocturnal, biting and feeding on animals and humans at night. Bats are one of their favorite food sources.
"As the bug is biting you, slowly as your blood is going into it, the feces get moved out of the body, and the feces are what carries the parasite," said Sarkar.
If the parasitic feces get into your bloodstream, it can bring on flu-like symptoms, with aches and fever.
But after the symptoms have dissipated, the parasite lives on, burrowing into the heart muscle, sometimes for decades until it causes cardiac arrest.
People can be infected for years and not even know it.
"I suspect there are more people than we think who are walking around who don't know they have it," said Sarkar.
Chagas disease can also infect and kill household pets, if they're bitten.
A simple blood test can show if you have Chagas disease, but there is no cure.
It is expected the Texas Health Department will require doctors to report it by 2012.

.I will lay down my bones among the rocks and roots.

The torment has ended
the beast has done his work
Great fires rage outside of this wooded sanctuary

But soon they will be quenched by a purifying rain
the embers of the ceremonial fire burn to ash

A new warmth stirs within the center of the earth
I am alone here no more

The wood is filled with the sounds of wildness. The songs of birds fill the forest on this new morning. This will be my new home. Deep within the most sacred grove. the sun god is born anew

I will lay down my bones among the rocks and roots of the deepest hollow next to the streambed
The quiet hum of the earth's dreaming is my new song

When I awake, the world will be born anew

It is October. time to celebrate the earth, the passing of life, and our celestial lineage. Go outside.