Electricity Changes In Northern Society An Integrated: Fill & Download for Free

Oh, my friend, I’m going to disappoint you! We don’t know is the honest answer.There is no final conclusion: the human-induced Late Bronze Age "collapse" presents multiple materials, social, and cultural realities that demand continuing, and collaborative, archaeological, historical, and scientific attention and interpretation.There has never been any overarching explanation to account for all the changes within and beyond the eastern Mediterranean, some of which occurred at different times from the mid to late 13th throughout the 12th century B.C.E. The ambiguity of the evidence-material, textual, climatic, chronological, and the differing contexts involved across the central-eastern Mediterranean makes it difficult to disentangle background noise from boundary conditions and to distinguish cause from effect. Can we identify the protagonists of the crisis and related events?Climatic changeA sharp increase in Northern Hemisphere temperatures preceded the collapse of Palatial centers, a sharp decrease occurred during their abandonment. Mediterranean Sea surface temperatures cooled rapidly during the Late Bronze Age, limiting freshwater flux into the atmosphere and thus reducing precipitation over land. These climatic changes could have affected Palatial centers that were dependent upon high levels of agricultural productivity. Declines in agricultural production would have made higher-density populations in Palatial centers unsustainable.This climatic change could have influenced the systems collapse of complex society in the Eastern Mediterranean, as well as influence the population declines, urban abandonments, and long-distance migrations associated with the period.Voices from last Ugaritic letters bare this out: “There is famine in our house. We will all die of hunger.” “Our city is sacked. May you know it! May you know it!”http://virtuallaboratory.colorado.edu/Origins/class%20readings/climate%20change%20and%20collapse.pdfEarthquake StormsWe know from recent research by archaeoseismologists, that Greece, as well as much of the rest of the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean, including Ugarit, was struck by what are known as “earthquake storms” – a series of earthquakes that began about 1225 BCE and continued over fifty years, until about 1175 BCE. Although there is evidence of repetitive rebuilding, the damage caused likely disrupted trade and diplomacy temporarily at least.Internal ConflictsThe destruction of Mycenaean palatial centers or Canaanite cities, for example, may well in part have been perpetrated by mutinous foot soldiers, and other local inhabitants as these top-down civilizations weakened. But it’s not likely that the conflict came entirely from people already living inside these states. In any case, as Cline points out “many civilizations have successfully survived internal rebellions, often even flourishing under a new regime.”International Conflicts and WarsA Peleset (Philistine) killed by an Egyptian warrior in the Medinet Habu temple relief.We know from the surviving writings, that conflicts came and went, treaties were created and broken, economic embargoes enforced, and diplomatic relationships destroyed or created; that wars were fought, won, and lost, causing continuous movement within the globalized economy of the Late Bronze Age. The Hittite Empire flourished and reached its apex during the Late Bronze Age—beginning in the fifteenth century and lasting until the early decades of the twelfth century BCE. The Mitannians were weakened by the Hittites and finally destroyed by the Assyrians, who by 1207 BCE had played an important role in the region for two hundred years. In the last quarter of the thirteenth century, the Assyrians extended their empire westward, annexing much of the Hittite empire, and initiating its decline.The Sea Peoples and Pirates; Refugees and Other Migrating CommunitiesFor a long time the demise of the Bronze Age civilizations was thought to have been the result of invasions by the “Sea Peoples,” a term coined by the French Egyptologist Emanuel de Rougé in 1885 to describe what is now thought to have been diverse groups of raiders, soldiers, mercenaries and refugees from different countries and cultures.We know of them almost entirely from Egyptian records, they left no trace of their own. Egyptian texts refer to them by their various names. The Tjekker, Shardana, Shekelesh, Danuna, and Weshesh, the Peleset – thought to be the Philistines, later identified in the Bible as coming from Crete – are all mentioned on the mortuary temple walls at Medinet Habu dated 1177 BCE, the eighth year of Pharaoh Ramses III’s reign. Invaders are recorded as coming “in waves by sea and land.” Hittites, Myceneans, Cypriots, and others were invaded as “They desolated its people, and its land was like that which has never come into being.”These groups became larger as their piracy, raids, and waves of attacks included migrations from mainland Greece and the Aegean, modern Libya and Cyprus, Lebanon, and Asia Minor. People were forced to uproot because of famine or the destruction of their own homeland; others may well have encountered chaos as they entered and took advantage of dominions already in decline; still, others would already be resettled with their families and themselves have suffered from later invasions.Although we learn from Medinet Habu that these “Sea People” were destroyed by the Egyptians, as they were in previous invasions, this time Egypt never quite recovered, probably because the entire Mediterranean region was floundering. For the rest of the second millennium BCE Egypt’s power was much reduced.Sickness EpidemicsRecent DNA evidence from Bronze Age human skeletons show early signs of the bacterium that causes plague. Geneticists think a pandemic of pneumonic plague may well explain the sudden massive migration east and west of the Yamnaya peoples from the steppes into Europe and Central Asia. There are records of plague, traveling with prisoners of war from Egypt to the Hittite region in central Anatolia, and causing the death of Suppiluliuma I in the fourteenth century BCE. Ramses V may have died from smallpox in 1140 BCE.The Perfect StormIt seems more than likely that it took all the above causes to bring down the Bronze Age civilizations. It might take as much as a century for all aspects of the collapse to be completed, and that there would be no one single obvious cause. Additionally, in the aftermath of such a collapse, “there would be a transition to a lower level of sociopolitical integration and the development of ‘romantic’ Dark Age myths about the previous period.”From about 1500 BCE to 1200 BCE, Mycenaean Greece, Crete, Anatolia, and the Hittite empire, Cyprus, Syria, the Southern Levant, and (to a lesser extent) Egypt relied on trade in the Mediterranean region. Many of the Late Bronze Age kingdoms had fragile economies dependent on imports from other lands, including, copper and tin for making bronze weapons. The Hittites, for example, were importing grain from Egypt which was critical for their survival. These nations had become so interdependent that a catastrophe in one area inevitably triggered a reaction in neighboring areas.When multiple catastrophes took place almost simultaneously, as they did in this period, their effects were amplified and multiplied and spiraled throughout the region.Recall that this is “the Bronze Age.” Imagine a disruption along the route from Afghanistan, from which tin has to be imported, into to the Aegean. It would end the bronze industry. The very internationalism that had ensured the success of the Bronze Age, triggered the apocalyptic disaster that eventually ended it. Just as it could in our globalized world today.Cline 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - The Human Journey reminds us, that there are times when we also wonder if our own civilization might be heading for a similar collapse. What, for example, would have happened in 2008 if the banking institutions had collapsed? What if our electrical grid, satellites, and of course, the GPS we have come so much to rely on are destroyed? We are no more immune than the civilizations of the Late Bronze Age.He suggests that we might learn from this history. “If we see the same sort of things taking place now that happened back then, including drought and famine, earthquakes and tsunamis, and so on, then might it not be a good idea to look at the ancient world and see what happened to them? Adam Frank of NPR asked me, ‘If we don’t want to be repeating history, what lessons should we be learning from their mistakes?’ I replied, and I will say it here again, that we should be aware that no society is invulnerable and that every society in the history of the world has ultimately collapsed. The fact that similarly intertwined civilizations collapsed just after 1200 BC should be a warning to us; we are, in fact, more susceptible than we might wish to think. At the same time, we should also be thankful that we are actually advanced enough to understand what is happening and can take steps to fix things, rather than simply passively accept things as they occur.”More details in:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/291016979_Crisis_in_Context_The_End_of_the_Late_Bronze_Age_in_the_Eastern_MediterraneanThe Bronze Age Collapse - The Human Journey1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed - The Human Journey

WILD FIRES ARE A HEALTHY AND NATURAL REALITY AND IN DECLINE GLOBALLYOne bad bush fire year in Australia does not climate change make especially when there is so little evidence of unusual warming in our snow ridden world and if there was any warming it is obviously from the natural variability of the post Little Ice Age cooling. Bush fires in Australia and wild fires in California share the challenge of human error in land management. New research puts the spotlight on human error as a major factor in the severity.The historical data of wild fires shows 50 years with little intensity and then the odd year very destructive and how. This data debunks any relevance of the fires to a new trend of climate change. Also the data shows no correlation between temperatures in Australia over the past 50 years and wild fires. In fact the worst fires happened in 1974 one of the coolest years.Further in Australia the winter of 2019 our summer had record snowfall to the delight of the ski resorts.PHOTO Australian snow bus for happy skiing.Here is 67 years of wild fire data suggests a cooling climate not global warming.Well researched science of the Indian Ocean Dipole confirms the rainfall or lack thereof in Australia is the result of natural forces not human cars and trucks.Summary and KeywordsDiscovered at the very end of the 20th century, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is a mode of natural climate variability that arises out of coupled ocean–atmosphere interaction in the Indian Ocean. It is associated with some of the largest changes of ocean–atmosphere state over the equatorial Indian Ocean on interannual time scales. IOD variability is prominent during the boreal summer and fall seasons, with its maximum intensity developing at the end of the boreal-fall season. Between the peaks of its negative and positive phases, IOD manifests a markedly zonal see-saw in anomalous sea surface temperature (SST) and rainfall—leading, in its positive phase, to a pronounced cooling of the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean, and a moderate warming of the western and central equatorial Indian Ocean; this is accompanied by deficit rainfall over the eastern Indian Ocean and surplus rainfall over the western Indian Ocean.Indian Ocean Dipole - Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Climate ScienceVijay Jayaraj explains how weather is created around the Indian Ocean in this article Record Heat and Cold Expose Climate Alarmists’ Bias. Excerpts in italics with my bolds and images.HUMAN ERROR is the well documented evidence for Australia and California wild fires and research shows humans are 90% + to blame for starting wild fires either deliberately or accidentally.Note there are record cold temperatures for this time of year in parts of Australia and no science for the false view that hot dry weather starts wild fires.Australia suffers record cold summerWeather is not the issue as temperatures are record cold in many parts of Australia.25+ LOCATIONS ACROSS SOUTH AUSTRALIA HAVE JUST SUFFERED THEIR COLDEST JANUARY DAYS EVER — MAINSTREAM MEDIA SILENTJANUARY 6, 2020 CAP ALLONParts of South Australia have just shivered through some of their coldest January days on record — with Adelaide missing out on beating its 1970 record by just 0.7C.The temperature at Adelaide’s West Terrace weather station reached just 16.6C on Sunday — about 13C below the average for the time of year, and below the city’s previous lowest January max temp on record, the 17.1C from 1970.However, because of the controversial way the BOM now measures Australia’s maximum temperatures “as the highest reading during the 24 hours to 9am each day,” an observation of 17.8C at Adelaide’s West Terrace site just before 9am on Monday has gone down as the official max for the 24 hour period.So Adelaide may have narrowly –and conveniently– missed out, but more than 25 locations across South Australia have just endured their coldest January days on record, as reported by www.adelaidenow.com.au and quietly logged by the BOM.Just look at the temp departures during the first week of the year:25+ Locations across South Australia have just suffered their Coldest January Days ever - Mainstream Media Silent - ElectroverseOne very hot year of bush fires in Australia cannot possibly be evidence of climate change (distorted meaning human forced change). One year of weather hot or cold is just weather because the climate is chaotic and non-linear incapable of prediction more than a few days out and changes very slowly.Here is a newspaper story this week from Australia documenting this reality. Also I add some analysis for Australia and similar studies for California.Arson, mischief and recklessness: 87 per cent of fires are man-madeOur coverage of the bushfire crisis is free for all readers. Please consider supporting our journalism with a subscription.By Paul ReadNovember 18, 2019 — 12.00amThere are, on average, 62,000 fires in Australia every year. Only a very small number strike far from populated areas and satellite studies tell us that lightning is responsible for only 13 per cent. Not so the current fires threatening to engulf Queensland and NSW. There were no lightning strikes on most of the days when the fires first started in September. Although there have been since, these fires – joining up to create a new form of mega-fire – are almost all man-made.About 40 per cent of fires are deliberately lit ... The Hillville fire that destroyed homes last week.CREDIT:NICK MOIRA 2015 satellite analysis of 113,000 fires from 1997-2009 confirmed what we had known for some time – 40 per cent of fires are deliberately lit, another 47 per cent accidental. This generally matches previous data published a decade earlier that about half of all fires were suspected or deliberate arson, and 37 per cent accidental. Combined, they reach the same conclusion: 87 per cent are man-made.The cycles of the seasons are changing beyond that which can be explained by known forces, both ancient and modern. Every lethal wildfire since 1857 has happened at the height of summer. Until now. The size of these fires has never been seen in Australia's history this side of summer, and certainly not starting as early as September.Seasonal changes, in part due to climate change on top of natural oscillations causing the drought and westerly winds, have some origins in man-made emissions. More directly, however, the source of ignition is human.AdvertisementIt's not lost on police, emergency services and firefighters at the front line that most of these fires were lit deliberately, or accidentally through recklessness, nor that they are unprecedented in their timing and ferocity. Since September, it has been a constant pattern that a few days after the fires roar through we have the first police reports that arson or recklessness was involved.RELATED ARTICLEBUSHFIRESPolice say firebugs will be 'put before a court'Add to shortlistThe mix of people lighting fires always follow the same age and gender profiles: whether accidental or deliberate, half are children, a minority elderly, and the most dangerous are those aged between 30 and 60. Ninety per cent are male.The psychosexual pyromaniac has long been relegated to dusty tomes from 1904 to the1950s. At least among those caught, the profile emerges of an odd, unintelligent person from a chaotic family, marginalised at the fringes of society and deeply involved in many types of crime, not only fire.If I had to guess, I'd say about 10,000 arsonists lurk from the top of Queensland to the southern-most tip of Victoria, but not all are active and some light fires during winter. The most dangerous light fires on the hottest days, generally closer to communities and during other blazes, suggesting more malicious motives. Only a tiny minority will gaze with wonder at the destruction they have wrought, deeply fascinated and empowered. Others get caught up with the excitement of chaos and behave like impulsive idiots.As for children, they are not always malicious. Children and youths follow the age-crime curve where delinquency peaks in their late teens. Fire is just one of many misbehaviours. The great majority grow out of it. Four overlapping subgroups include: accidental fire-play getting out of control; victims of child abuse – including sexual abuse – and neglect; children with autism and developmental disorders; and conduct disorder from a younger age, which can be genuinely dangerous.RELATED ARTICLECRIMEPolice hospitalised after catching accused arsonist in the actWhereas the first three groups can be helped and stopped, the last is more problematic. These children are more likely to continue lighting fires for a lifetime, emerging as psychopaths in adulthood. This tends to match the finding that only 10 per cent of convicted arsonists will go on to light fires again after prison. They are the recidivists, more fascinated by fire, more prone to giving in to dangerous urges when in crisis, more impulsive, less empathic – the hallmarks of a psychopath.Some research suggests only a very small percentage of arsonists are ever caught, which has several implications.One is that we have a biased profile of who they really are. Whereas the children and the dopey get caught, the more cunning would be less represented in our samples. More ominous, many more than 10,000 arsonists might be active.One of the few prospective studies of almost 3000 fire lighters in South Australia alone found as many as 14 per cent of people in a community sample lit fires. This level is much higher than actual convictions would suggest. Further to this, community sampling suggests females represent 20 per cent of those fire lighters, even though convictions of females are only half this figure. If this trend continues into adulthood, it suggests we have a biased view of the typical arsonist to begin with.Those we haven't caught yet are still hiding, but we know enough to recognise them and, one day, maybe stop them.RELATED ARTICLEBUSHFIRESIn the path of disaster: The big causes of bushfires that most of us are missingIn the thick of a deadly crisis, it beggars belief that some people would seek to make it worse. But we should be careful who we demonise. Not all children mean to do harm. Careful handling of them will reduce, not exacerbate, their problems and allow caregivers to refer them before the first match is struck.Emergency services and communities on the front line will shine a light on the very best of humanity; others will disgrace themselves through idiocy or malice. Amid the chaos of confronting fires, the psychopath forever looms – not only the criminals who light fires in the forests and grasslands but perhaps also, figuratively, the people who profit from planetary destruction and ignore the urgent warnings of 23 emergency commissioners to prepare.When the flames abate, we can have a sensible national dialogue about the prevention of wildfires, handling arson, and maybe even climate change.Paul Read is an ecological criminologist and sustainability scientist at Monash UniversityArson, mischief and recklessness: 87 per cent of fires are man-madeNASA GISS Fudges Data, Cooling Turns Into WarmingClimatologist: Blaming Aussie Bushfires On Climate Change Is ‘Alarmist Nonsense’WRITTEN BY ROY W. SPENCER, PH.D. ONJAN 9, 2020 POSTED IN LATEST NEWSSummary Points1) Global wildfire activity has decreased in recent decades, making any localized increase (or decrease) in wildfire activity difficult to attribute to ‘global climate change’.2) Like California, Australia is prone to bushfires every year during the dry season. Ample fuel and dry weather exist for devastating fires each year, even without excessive heat or drought, as illustrated by the record number of hectares burned (over 100 million) during 1974-75 when above-average precipitation and below-average temperatures existed.3) Australian average temperatures in 2019 were well above what global warming theory can explain, illustrating the importance of natural year-to-year variability in weather patterns (e.g. drought and excessively high temperatures).4) Australia precipitation was at a record low in 2019, but climate models predict no long-term trend in Australia precipitation, while the observed trend has been upward, not downward. This again highlights the importance of natural climate variability to fire weather conditions, as opposed to human-induced climate change.5) While reductions in prescribed burning have probably contributed to the irregular increase in the number of years with large bush fires, a five-fold increase in population in the last 100 years has greatly increased potential ignition sources, both accidental and purposeful.Historical BackgroundAustralia has a long history of bush fires, with the Aborigines doing prescribed burns centuries (if not millennia) before European settlement.A good summary of the history of bushfires and their management was written by the CSIRO Division of Forestry twenty-five years ago, entitled Bushfires – An Integral Part of Australia’s Environment.The current claim by many that human-caused climate change has made Australian bushfires worse is difficult to support, for a number of reasons.Bushfires (like wildfires elsewhere in the world) are a natural occurrence wherever there is strong seasonality in precipitation, with vegetation growing during the wet season and then becoming fuel for fire during the dry season.All other factors being equal, wildfires (once ignited) will be made worse by higher temperatures, lower humidity, and stronger winds.But with the exception of dry lightning, the natural sources of fire ignition are pretty limited. High temperatures and low humidity alone do not cause dead vegetation to spontaneously ignite.As the human population increases, the potential ignition sources have increased rapidly. The population of Australia has increased five-fold in the last 100 years (from 5 million to 25 million).Discarded cigarettes and matches, vehicle catalytic converters, sparks from electrical equipment and transmission lines, campfires, prescribed burns going out of control, and arson are some of the more obvious sources of human-caused ignition, and these can all be expected to increase with population.Trends in Bushfire ActivityThe following plot shows the major Australian bushfires over the same period of time (100 years) as the five-fold increase in the population of Australia.The data come from Wikipedia’s Bushfires in Australia.Fig. 1. Yearly fire season (June through May) hectares burned by major bushfires in Australia since the 1919-20 season (2019-20 season total is as of January 7, 2020).As can be seen, by far the largest area burned occurred during 1974-75, at over 100 million hectares (close to 15% of the total area of Australia).Curiously, though, according to Australia Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) data, the 1974-75 bushfires occurred during a year with above-average precipitation and below-average temperature.This is opposite to the narrative that major bushfires are a feature of just excessively hot and dry years.Every dry season in Australia experiences excessive heat and low humidity.Australia’s High-Temperature TrendsThe following plot (in red) shows the yearly average variations in daily high temperatures for Australia, compared to the 40-year average during 1920-1959.Fig. 2. Yearly average high temperatures in Australia as estimated from thermometer data (red) and as simulated by the average of 41 climate models (blue). (Source).Also shown in Fig. 2 (in blue) is the average of 41 CMIP5 climate models daily high temperature for Australia (from the KNMI Climate Explorer website). There are a few important points to be made from this plot.First, if we correlate the yearly temperatures in Fig. 2 with the bushfire land area burned in Fig. 1, there is essentially no correlation (-0.11), primarily because of the huge 1974-75 event.If that year is removed from the data, there is a weak positive correlation (+0.19, barely significant at the 2-sigma level).But having statistics depend so much on single events (in this case, their removal from the dataset) is precisely one of the reasons why we should not use the current (2019-2020) wildfire events as an indicator of long-term climate change.Secondly, while it is well known that the CMIP5 models are producing too much warming in the tropics compared to observations, in Australia just the opposite is happening: the BOM temperatures are showing more rapid warming than the average of the climate models produces.This could be a spurious result of changes in Australian thermometer measurement technology and data processing as has been claimed by Jennifer Marohasy.Or, maybe the discrepancy is from natural climate variability. Who knows?Finally, note the huge amount of year-to-year temperature variability in Fig. 2.Clearly, 2019 was exceptionally warm, but a good part of that warmth was likely due to natural variations in the tropics and subtropics, due to persistent El Nino conditions and associated changes in where precipitation regions versus clear air regions tend to get established in the tropics and subtropics.Australia Precipitation TrendsTo drive home the point that any given year should not be used as evidence of a long-term trend, Australia precipitation provides an excellent example.The following plot is like the temperature plot above (Fig. 2), but for precipitation, as reported by the BOM (data here).Fig. 3. As in Fig. 2, but for annual precipitation totals.We can see that 2019 was definitely a dry year in Australia, right? Possibly a record-setter.But the long-term trend has been upward (not downward), again illustrating the fact that any given year might not have anything to do with the long-term trend, let alone human-induced climate change.And regarding the latter, the blue curve in Fig. 3 shows that the expectation of global warming theory as embodied by the average of 41 climate models is that there should have been no long-term trend in Australia precipitation, despite claims by the media, pseudo-experts, and Hollywood celebrities to the contrary.Keep in mind that wildfire risk can actually increase with more precipitation during the growing season preceding fire season. More precipitation produces more fuel.In fact, there is a positive correlation between the precipitation data in Fig. 3 and bushfire hectares burned (+0.30, significant at the 3-sigma level).Now, I am not claiming that hot, dry conditions do not favor more bushfire activity. They indeed do (during fire season), everything else being the same.But the current 2019-2020 increase in bushfires would be difficult to tie to global warming theory based upon the evidence in the above three plots.Global Wildfire ActivityIf human-caused climate change (or even natural climate change) was causing wildfire activity to increase, it should show up much better in global statistics than in any specific region, like Australia.Of course, any specific region can have an upward (or downward) trend in wildfire activity, simply because of the natural, chaotic variations in weather and climate.But, contrary to popular perception, a global survey of wildfire activity has found that recent decades have actually experienced less fire activity (Doerr & Santin, 2016), not more.This means there are more areas experiencing a decrease in wildfire activity than there are areas experiencing more wildfires.Why isn’t this decrease being attributed to human-caused climate change?Concluding CommentsThere are multiple reasons why people have the impression that wildfires are getting worse and human-caused climate change is to blame. First, the news tends to report only disasters… not a lack of disasters.The desire for more clicks means that headlines are increasingly sensationalized. The media can always find at least one expert to support the desired narrative.Second, the spread of news is now rapid and it penetrates deeply, being spread through social media.Third, an increasing number of environmental advocacy groups seize upon any natural disaster and declare it to be caused by increasing CO2 in the atmosphere.The hyperbolic and counter-factual claims of Extinction Rebellion is one of the best recent examples of this.This is all against a backdrop of government-funded science that receives funding in direct proportion to the threat to life and property that the researcher can claim exists if science answers are not found, and policy is not changed.So, it should come as no surprise that there is political influence on what research gets funding when the outcome of that research directly affects public policy.My personal opinion, based upon the available evidence, is that any long-term increase in wildfire activity in any specific location like Australia (or California) is dominated by the increase in human-caused ignition events, whether they be accidental or purposeful.A related reason is the increasing pressure by the public to reduce prescribed burns, clearing of dead vegetation, and cutting of fire breaks, which the public believes to have short term benefits to beauty and wildlife preservation, but results in long-term consequences that are just the opposite and much worse.Recent news reports claim that dozens of people have been arrested in Australia on arson charges, a phenomenon which we must assume has also increased by at least five-fold (like population) in the last 100 years.Accidental sources of ignition also increase in lockstep with the increasing population and all of the infrastructure that comes along with more people (vehicles, power lines, campfires, discarded matches, and cigarettes, etc.)So, to automatically blame the Australian bushfires on human-caused climate change is mostly alarmist nonsense, with virtually no basis in fact.Read more at Dr. Roy’s BlogClimatologist: Blaming Aussie Bushfires On Climate Change Is 'Alarmist Nonsense'WRITTEN BY THOMAS D. WILLIAMS, PH.D. ONJAN 10, 2020. POSTED IN LATEST NEWSExperts Say California Wildfires Not Caused By Climate ChangeA panel of experts said Wednesday that California’s devastating wildfires were caused primarily by “the way we manage lands and develop our landscape” rather than climate change.Speaking at the annual conference of the National Council for Science and the Environment in Washington D.C., Scott Stephens, a professor of fire science at the University of California, Berkeley, said that perhaps 20 to 25 percent of the wildfire damage resulted from climate change, whereas “75 percent is the way we manage lands and develop our landscape.”Stephens noted that in past centuries, wildfires were far more widespread than they are today, and played a vital role in California’s ecosystem by helping to thin forests, Thomas Frank reported for E&E News.In the 18th century, for instance, when California was occupied by indigenous communities, wildfires would burn up some 4.5 million acres a year, said Stephens, whereas from 2013 through 2019, wildfires burned an average of just 935,000 acres annually in California.Even in 2018, the worst year for California fires, blazes consumed just 2 million acres.“When you think about what fire used to do in the state, it was so integral to systems. Fire was almost as important as rain to ecosystems,” Stephens said.Jennifer Montgomery, director of the California Forest Management Task Force, said that climate change did not cause wildfires but “accelerated” them by creating hotter and drier conditions that aggravated naturally occurring blazes.“Climate change is an amplifier for natural systems and natural occurrences,” Montgomery said.The comments by Montgomery and Stephens flew in the face of recent assertions by the head of California’s largest power utility who has blamed the wildfires on climate change.The CEO of PG&E Corp., CEO Bill Johnson, testified at a Senate hearing last month that the wildfires were “a climate-driven experience” caused by extensive drought.California’s “prolonged, record drought; unprecedented tree mortality; heat waves” and offshore Diablo winds created “a significant and an unforeseen increase in wildfires,” Johnson told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.A December report by California regulators, however, said that PG&E and subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Co. had “failed to maintain an effective inspection and maintenance program to identify and correct hazardous conditions on its transmission lines.”The utility has acknowledged blame for the massive 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and burned more than 150,000 acres in Northern California.Experts Say California Wildfires Not Caused By Climate ChangeSmoke And Deception Blanket Australia: NASA GISS Fudges Data, Cooling Turns Into WarmingBy P Gosselin on3. January 2020By Kirye and P GosselinWe’ve been hearing much fake news about the Australian bush fires supposedly having been caused by man-made climate change. Yet it has emerged that Australian authorities were warned years ago that poor land management practices were in fact escalating the risk of devastating fires, according to an expert.Forest fuel level highest in 1000 yearsIn 2015, bush fire scientist David Packham warned of a “huge blaze threat” and urged an “increase in fuel reduction burns”.“Forest fuel levels had climbed to their most dangerous level in thousands of years,” wrote Darren Gray here in 2015. Today the public is being misled by climate alarmists and the media on the real causes of the devastating bush fires now taking place.In fact NASA data shows that the area burned by global wildfires dropped by 25% since 2003, according to the Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)Misleading temperature trendsUnfortunately, deception is not only taking place in the communication of Australian bush fires, but also authorities (NASA GISS) are grossly misleading the public in terms of temperature trends in Australia.What follows are the curves of six Australian station that go back to the late 19th century. The comparator shows the plots of GISS “unadjusted data compared to the “homogenized” data:Data: NASA GISSBefore the homogenization, the unadjusted data from 4 of the 6 stations showed cooling.But after NASA changed the data, the cooling disappeared and all 6 stations showed warming!Looking at the three stations Yamba. Moruya and Darwin, here we see that NASA dropped the early part of the temperature record (because they showed warm temperatures?). The result of course is a greater warming trend.Look at NASA GISS data plots for Darwin Airport for example. See the huge differences between the versions:So whenever people claim warming is man-made, they are right. But it’s not so much because of the CO2 emitted by man, but rather it is because of the statistical fudging of data at NASA GISS.Smoke And Deception Blanket Australia: NASA GISS Fudges Data, Cooling Turns Into WarmingClimate Activists Suffering From Factophobia… Host Of Studies Show No Drought/Forest Fire TrendClimate Activists Suffering From Factophobia… Host Of Studies Show No Drought/Forest Fire TrendBy P Gosselin on14. January 2018Not climate change: forest fires in the USA controlled by El Nino, arson and land use changesBy Dr. Sebastian Lüning and Prof. Fritz Vahrenholt(German text translated/edited by P Gosselin)Droughts increase the risk of forest fires; that’s logical. However it is false to reflexively assign every forest fire to climate change. There have always been droughts and forest fires. Anyone wishing to shift the blame over to climate change first has to show that the trend has already deviated from the range of natural variability. For many, that is simply too much work.Thus they prefer to claim something and hope that nobody will bother to fact check the claim. They don’t like climate skeptics because they have the silly habit of carefully examining the facts. They prefer the silent, non-questioning audience who immediately say yes and amen in response to all alarmist claims.And when the facts indeed do contradict their alarmist claims, they get personal. They attack the occupation of the skeptic, or education, or skin color, or, or, or.Nowadays we can find a load of facts in the Internet. Example: forest fires in the USA. The size of the areas ravaged by forest fires is provided by a table from the National Interagency Fire Centers. Strangely the data are not offered in graphical form. You are forced to make your own, which is no problem. Most people however simply are left in the dark. Steven Goddard (Tony Heller) shows such a charts at his Real Science blog.2004 – 2014 burn acreage trend is falling. Chart source: Tony Heller.One cannot always just pull climate change at of his magic hat every time a forest fire appears. The University of Colorado at Boulder recently calculated that 84% of all forest and bush fires in den USA are caused by humans. Read the press release from February 2017:Humans have dramatically increased extent, duration of wildfire seasonHumans have dramatically increased the spatial and seasonal extent of wildfires across the U.S. in recent decades and ignited more than 840,000 blazes in the spring, fall and winter seasons over a 21-year period, according to new University of Colorado Boulder-led research. After analyzing two decades’ worth of U.S. government agency wildfire records spanning 1992-2012, the researchers found that human-ignited wildfires accounted for 84 percent of all wildfires, tripling the length of the average fire season and accounting for nearly half of the total acreage burned. The findings were published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.“There cannot be a fire without a spark,” said Jennifer Balch, Director of CU Boulder’s Earth Lab and an assistant professor in the Department of Geography and lead author of the new study. “Our results highlight the importance of considering where the ignitions that start wildfires come from, instead of focusing only on the fuel that carries fire or the weather that helps it spread. Thanks to people, the wildfire season is almost year-round.” The U.S. has experienced some of its largest wildfires on record over the past decade, especially in the western half of the country. The duration and intensity of future wildfire seasons is a point of national concern given the potentially severe impact on agriculture, ecosystems, recreation and other economic sectors, as well as the high cost of extinguishing blazes. The annual cost of fighting wildfires in the U.S. has exceeded $2 billion in recent years.The CU Boulder researchers used the U.S. Forest Service Fire Program Analysis-Fire Occurrence Database to study records of all wildfires that required a response from a state or federal agency between 1992 and 2012, omitting intentionally set prescribed burns and managed agricultural fires. Human-ignited wildfires accounted for 84 percent of 1.5 million total wildfires studied, with lightning-ignited fires accounting for the rest. In Colorado, 30 percent of wildfires from 1992-2012 were started by people, burning over 1.2 million acres. The fire season length for human-started fires was 50 days longer than the lightning-started fire season (93 days compared to 43 days), a twofold increase. “These findings do not discount the ongoing role of climate change, but instead suggest we should be most concerned about where it overlaps with human impact,” said Balch. “Climate change is making our fields, forests and grasslands drier and hotter for longer periods, creating a greater window of opportunity for human-related ignitions to start wildfires.”While lightning-driven fires tend to be heavily concentrated in the summer months, human-ignited fires were found to be more evenly distributed across all seasons. Overall, humans added an average of 40,000 wildfires during the spring, fall and winter seasons annually—over 35 times the number of lightning-started fires in those seasons. “We saw significant increases in the numbers of large, human-started fires over time, especially in the spring,” said Bethany Bradley, an associate professor at University of Massachusetts Amherst and co-lead author of the research. “I think that’s interesting, and scary, because it suggests that as spring seasons get warmer and earlier due to climate change, human ignitions are putting us at increasing risk of some of the largest, most damaging wildfires.” “Not all fire is bad, but humans are intentionally and unintentionally adding ignitions to the landscape in areas and seasons when natural ignitions are sparse,” said John Abatzoglou, an associate professor of geography at the University of Idaho and a co-author of the paper. “We can’t easily control how dry fuels get, or lightning, but we do have some control over human started ignitions.”The most common day for human-started fire by far, however, was July 4, with 7,762 total wildfires started on that day over the course of the 21-year period. The new findings have wide-ranging implications for fire management policy and suggest that human behavior can have dramatic impact on wildfire totals, for good or for ill. “The hopeful news here is that we could, in theory, reduce human-started wildfires in the medium term,” said Balch. “But at the same time, we also need to focus on living more sustainably with fire by shifting the human contribution to ignitions to more controlled, well-managed burns.” Co-authors of the new research include Emily Fusco of the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Adam Mahood and Chelsea Nagy of CU Boulder. The research was funded by the NASA Terrestrial Ecology Program, the Joint Fire Sciences Program and Earth Lab through CU Boulder’s Grand Challenge Initiative.”In July 2017 the Institute for Basic Science explained that the risk of forest fires on the US Southwest was strongly dependent on the temperature differences between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Ultimately the ocean cycles are the real drivers. Press release (via Science Daily):Climate Activists Suffering From Factophobia… Host Of Studies Show No Drought/Forest Fire Trend

Because we have one of the world’s top class militaries.After all it is already the case that - Europe’s security depends on British and American generositythe UK has effectively subsidised European security to the tune of $23 billion over the past five years.Europe's security depends on British and American generosity - CapXEuropean military spending has unrelentingly shrunk. The reductions in European defence expenditure have become so legendary that they have become a bad joke. Recall that most mainland EU countries are also Nato members. In 2006, they agreed to spend 2 per cent of their Gross Domestic Product on defence. Remember also, that, with threats growing in their eastern and southern neighbourhoods, they recommitted to this target at the Nato Summit in Newport in 2014.However, using calculations based on official Nato statistics, it is clear that mainland Europeans, with few exceptions, have not remained united and have failed to meet their commitments. Based on the 2 per cent of GDP guideline, they have underfunded Nato by a massive $451 billion over the past five years (2012-2016). So on the issue of defence spending, not only do the would-be European peace creators stand naked, they stand with their skin stripped fully to the bone.Oddly, the largest EU and Nato countries are the leading miscreants. France, ostensibly the alliance’s third-strongest military power, has short-changed Nato by approximately $24 billion over the past five years, meaning it has missed the alliance’s spending target by 9 per cent. Over the same timeframe, Germany, with all its vast trade surplus, has short-changed Nato by a whopping $142 billion. This means it has fallen short of its Nato spending target by 39 per cent. Italy, despite its economic difficulties, still a large and wealthy country of 60 million people, has short-changed Nato by $90 billion, or 43 per cent. Spain has short-changed Nato by $75 billion, which means it has failed to meet the organisation’s target by a colossal 54 per cent. And the Netherlands, smaller but still very affluent, has short-changed Nato by $64 billion, or 42 per cent.Indeed, insofar as it has exceeded Nato’s guideline, the UK has effectively subsidised European security to the tune of $23 billion over the past five years. So, far from being a vandal, Britain has continued to behave as a leading custodian of the European peace.The wealthier Europeans, of course, want no attention drawn to their inability to protect their integrationist dream. They will respond by claiming that the EU is distinct from Nato, or even that the EU bears greater responsibility for European peace. Yet such assertions are as mythical as they are false. European integration is a product of peace and security on the mainland, not its cause. So while the EU has undoubtedly helped to dampen distrust between ancient opponents, the real reason order finally emerged in Europe, and indeed, across most of the Euro-Atlantic region, is because of the commitment of the UK and US. They have been willing to cough up the cash to provide sophisticated armed forces and nuclear systems to deter countries – both within and without Nato, and by extension the EU – from disrupting the status quo.And I believe that the UK is “a top military power” but of course not “the top military power”, meaning it is amongst the top military powers of the world.One reason for this is the ability to project power globally helped by having a Blue Water navy.Blue-water navy - WikipediaA blue-water navy is a maritime force capable of operating globally, essentially across the deep waters of open oceans. While definitions of what actually constitutes such a force vary, there is a requirement for the ability to exercise sea control at wide ranges.The term "blue-water navy" is a maritime geographical-term in contrast with "brown-water navy" and "green-water navy".Note that the UK is considered to be a “Rank 2” Blue Water Navy meaning “Limited global-reach power projection meaning At least one major power projection operation globally”, a rank shared with France.The US Navy is of course Rank 1 - “Global-reach power projection - Multiple and sustained power projection missions globally”.For comparison Russia is considered to be Rank 3 - “Multi-regional power projection - Power projection to regions adjacent its own”and China as Rank 4 “Regional power projection - Limited range power projection beyond exclusive economic zone (EEZ)”Experience, the UK military has had centuries of experience, but has also had relevant modern experience.Falklands War - WikipediaMilitarily, the Falklands conflict remains the largest air-naval combat operation between modern forces since the end of the Second World War. As such, it has been the subject of intense study by military analysts and historians. The most significant "lessons learned" include: the vulnerability of surface ships to anti-ship missiles and submarines, the challenges of co-ordinating logistical support for a long-distance projection of power, and reconfirmation of the role of tactical air power, including the use of helicopters.Conqueror is the only nuclear-powered submarine to have engaged an enemy ship with torpedoes, sinking the cruiser General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands WarandDuring the 1982 Falklands War, Operations Black Buck 1 to Black Buck 7 were a series of seven extremely long-range ground attack missions by Royal Air Force(RAF) Vulcan bombers of the RAF Waddington Wing, comprising aircraft from Nos 44, 50 and 101 Squadrons against Argentine positions in the Falkland Islands, of which five missions completed attacks. The objectives of all missions were to attack Port Stanley Airport and its associated defences. The raids, at almost 6,600 nautical miles (12,200 km) and 16 hours for the return journey, were the longest-ranged bombing raids in history at that time.Our Special Forces capability is so good that it has been influential on many other’s special forces.Special Air Service - WikipediaFollowing the post-war reconstitution of the Special Air Service, other countries in the Commonwealth recognised their need for similar units. The Canadian Special Air Service Company was formed in 1947, being disbanded in 1949. The New Zealand Special Air Service squadron was formed in June 1955 to serve with the British SAS in Malaya, which became a full regiment in 2011. Australia formed the 1st SAS Company in July 1957, which became a full regiment of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) in 1964.On its return from Malaya, the C (Rhodesian) Squadron formed the basis for creation of the Rhodesian Special Air Service in 1961. It retained the name "C Squadron (Rhodesian) Special Air Service" within the Rhodesian Security Forcesuntil 1978, when it became 1 (Rhodesian) Special Air Service Regiment.Non-Commonwealth countries have also formed units based on the SAS. The Belgian Army's Special Forces Group, which wears the same capbadge as the British SAS, traces its ancestry partly from the 5th Special Air Service of the Second World War. The French 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment (1er RPIMa) can trace its origins to the Second World War 3rd and 4th SAS, adopting its "who dares wins" motto.The American unit, 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, was formed by Colonel Charles Alvin Beckwith, who served with 22 SAS as an exchange officer, and recognised the need for a similar type of unit in the United States Army. The Israeli Sayeret Matkal has also been modelled after the SAS, sharing its motto. Ireland's Army Ranger Wing (ARW) has also modelled its training on that of the SAS. The Philippine National Police's Special Action Force was formed along the lines of the SAS.With the Iran Embassy Siege meaning that the expertise of our special forces became in greater demand from foreign governments. Iranian Embassy siege - WikipediaNonetheless, the operation brought the SAS to the public eye for the first time and bolstered the reputation of Thatcher. The SAS was quickly overwhelmed by the number of applications it received from people inspired by the operation and experienced greater demand for its expertise from foreign governments.The UK military has unfortunately been underfunded by all governments for a number of years now, though despite that, it is still a top military power but it does need to be properly funded to maintain that level of capability.Our Navy is still a capable one.The Type 26 Frigate could be the most capable Royal Navy warship in decades if funded properlyThe Type 26 Frigate, or ‘City class’, represents one of the most capable warships the Royal Navy has owned in decades, albeit one of the most costly.It’s no secret that the Type 26 is designed with modularity and flexibility in mind to enhance versatility across a wide range of operations ranging from counter piracy and disaster relief operations to high intensity combat. The final BAE design had a large amidships mission bay instead of the stern well deck featured in previous designs. BAE have commented regarding the mission bay:“A key feature is the flexible mission space, which can accommodate up to four 12 metre sea boats, a range of manned and unmanned air, surface or underwater vehicles or up to 11 20ft containers or ‘capability modules’, and the most advanced sensors available to the fleet.”Once integrated with the Type 26, the MK 41 VLS will offer the Royal Navy “unparalleled flexibility and capability” say BAE, but only if money is made available to fill it.“Lockheed Martin has a long and successful partnership with the Royal Navy, and we look forward to working with BAE Systems to integrate the MK 41 VLS with the Type 26,” said Paul Livingston, Group Managing Director of Lockheed Martin UK Rotary and Mission Systems.“The MK 41 VLS will provide the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ships with a proven and cost-effective vertical launching solution.”Each Type 26 will be equipped with three 8-cell MK 41 VLS modules. BAE Systems initial order includes nine MK 41 VLS modules, enough for the first three ships of the class.A capable air force (again requires proper funding)What's so good about the F-35 anyway?It’s no secret that the F-35 has had severe cost and schedule issues but as the programme matures, it’s shaping up to be a very capable platform.Where the strength of these aircraft really exists is in a key element of 21st century air power, enabling coalition operations. The F-35 provides a (currently) unique integrated air combat capability whereby coalitions of joint or allied F-35s can be supported in common, with information being shared prolifically. The F-35 was designed from the outset to bring information sharing capabilities to any force with which they’re deployed.Two networks are core to this: the Link-16 and the new Multi-Function Advanced Datalink (MADL). These systems allow the F-35 to communicate with nearly all current and future NATO assets.The jet is a quantum leap in capability, able to give the pilot as much information as only theatre commanders have previously had. While the primary value of the jet is in its sensor and networking capabilities, it is also valuable in that it’s able to perform many tasks designed to increase the lethality of not only itself but other assets, such tasks include the ability to co-ordinate small fleets of unmanned combat aircraft, guide weapons launched from other platforms (even warships as detailed above), launch a wide-range of its own weapons and use it’s own radar to conduct electronic attacks.What is the purpose of Tempest?Tempest’s purpose is to explore the technologies and systems that could form a future combat air system. It is not yet at the stage of building a demonstrator aircraft, it may never end up being in any way similar to the mock-up.According to a Commons Library briefing paper which provides a brief overview of the Strategy, the process is still at very early stages and is focused more on exploring and developing potential technologies. It states that:“Tempest was a fighter aircraft in World War Two, although the Strategy only uses this term in the context of ‘Team Tempest’ – it does not confirm this will be the name of whatever aircraft or system emerges.”The companies involved have given some indications of the technologies and techniques they are looking at. The Strategy itself discusses ‘Pyramid’: the project to develop open mission systems architecture. This should make upgrades simpler and more cost effective and allow partners/export customers to easily integrate their own mission systems.Rolls Royce has talked of developing a future power system that drives not just the aircraft but provides a “step-change levels of electrical power (for the future systems on board)”.BAE say that a future combat air system must be able to survive the most challenging combat environments meaning that payload-range, speed and manoeuvrability will be key.“We expect that the system will be equipped with a range of sensors including radio frequency, active and passive electro-optical sensors and advanced electronic support measures to detect and intercept threats.”The aircraft, say the defence giant, is likely to operate with kinetic and non-kinetic weapons.A capable army, although again proper funding is required.The Government must stop twisting the numbers – it’s time to properly fund the British Armed ForcesThrough almost four hundred years of service, the British Armed Forces have proven their outstanding merit time and time again. Whether intervening against genocide in the Balkans, breaking the seemingly invincible powers of Napoleon or Hitler, or defending British sovereignty in the Falklands.Our armed services have always gone above and beyond the call of duty in their defence of this nation and its interests. Yet in recent years there has been a worrying decline in the Government’s willingness to invest in our armed forces.Despite the Royal Navy requesting thirteen of the new Type 26 Global Combat Ship, only eight are to be ordered, with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) now filling the gap with 5 smaller, less capable Type 31e frigates. More worryingly the size of the army has been greatly reduced with fewer soldiers available now than at any time in the past century. Yet, despite continuous cuts since 2010 it was only last December that Phillip Hammond suggested that the British Army ‘only needs 50,000 troops’. If this were to happen it would make the army smaller than it has even been. Stern opposition from Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson and the threat of a major rebellion in the Commons caused the Government to abandon any plans for further cuts. But nevertheless, for the party that is supposedly the “most patriotic”, it is hard to defend the willingness to slash defensive spending to save money.Vikings in Norway as Royal Marines train Americans on their vehiclesThe Royal Marine commandos of Viking Squadron are teaching their American counterparts how to operate their all-terrain vehicle.According to a Royal Navy press release:“Viking is similar to the long-serving BV tracked vehicle – except it’s armed and armoured, providing both firepower and protection for the ten Royal Marines transported in the rear cab. It also keeps them warm and spares them exhausting marches, especially in the Arctic.For the past few weeks, the Viking Squadron have been teaching the US Marine Corps how to operate their armour under Project Odin, as the ‘Semper Fi guys’ look for a vehicle suited to such extremes as they expand their cold weather warfare capability.”Part of that expansion has involved the commandos teaching the Americans the art of Arctic survival and combat a part of Exercise Cold Enabler according to a release. For 2nd Battalion 2nd Marines, that’s also included driver training on the Viking say the Royal Navy.BAE unveils 'Black Night' - the first fully-upgraded Challenger 2 tankBAE systems say that Black Night comprises cutting-edge technologies and capabilities, which are being offered to the Ministry of Defence as part of the Challenger 2 Life Extension Programme.Simon Jackson, Campaign leader for Team Challenger 2 at BAE Systems said:“The UK is home to some of the world’s finest engineering companies, who have pushed the boundaries of combat vehicle design with Black Night.We are providing the bulk of this upgrade from home soil, however, we have chosen the best defence companies from around the world to collaborate with also, including names from Canada, France and Germany who bring unique skills and proven technology.The British Army has our commitment that we will deliver the most capable upgrade possible, and the best value for money.”And is the home country to BAE systems - BAE Systems - WikipediaBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company. Its headquarters are in London in the United Kingdom with operations worldwide. It is the largest defence contractor in Europe and among the world's largest defence companies; it was ranked as the third-largest based on applicable 2017 revenues.BAE Systems wins US Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle competitionThe US Marine Corps has awarded BAE Systems a $198 million contract to deliver an initial 30 Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACV), with options for a total of 204 vehicles which could be worth up to $1.2 billion.BAE Systems, along with teammate Iveco Defence Vehicles, prevailed in the Marine Corps’ robust competition for the next generation of vehicles to get the Marines from ship to shore to engage in land combat operations.“We are well positioned and ready to build the future of amphibious fighting vehicles for the Marine Corps, having already produced 16 prototypes,” said Dean Medland, vice president and general manager of Combat Vehicles Amphibious and International at BAE Systems.“Through this award, we are proud to continue our partnership with the Marine Corps by providing a best-in-class vehicle to support its mission through mobility, survivability and lethality.”As for perhaps the moral aspect, we have already seen that along with the USA, the British Armed Forces (as part of NATO) have effectively been subsiding our fellow European members to the tune of Billions in helping ensure peace on the continent.Otherwise the British Armed Forces help the UK stand up for freedom, justice and upholding the United Nations Charter. Which seems pretty ‘good’ to me.Press Conference at the UNWe stand for freedom, justice and upholding the United Nations Charter. The people for example in the Falklands had freedom and justice and self-determination. They now have it once again. We stand for upholding international law, that means that you must honour the borders of other people's countries, otherwise there is no international law, there is only international anarchy. We stand for self-determination. There was a border poll in Northern Ireland and of course it was won overwhelmingly by those who wished to stay with the United Kingdom. The fact is that the vast majority of the people in Northern Ireland wish to stay a part of the United Kingdom—that is their right to self-determination. It is a right under the United Nations Charter, it is a right which we enjoy in my country, it is a right which is enjoyed in all democratic countries. And I might just point out, we were one of those countries which went to war in 1939 to 1945 to uphold all of those principles and to stop a tyrant holding sway over Europe and even further. And for a time we stood alone. So it is not a question I expect to find asked of me. But in having been asked, it is not a question I find difficult to answer in any way.The UK is also ranked number one for its “Soft Power”.Soft Power 30Some of the reasons for this, will be mentioned in the below video.Though We are not now that strength which in old days Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are!Below from the video:We are the seventh largest economy in the worldWe are the 4th military power on the planet (Though I would say 3rd)We are one of five permanent members of the UN Security CouncilOne of the Group of 8 industrialised nations8th Largest Manufacturing Country in the WorldOur language is one of the most widely spoken in the worldEconomy is doing well. UK Grows 1.3% in 2018 -The ONS has released its first estimate of GDP growth for 2018 Q4 at 0.2%, giving an initial figure of 1.3% growth for the year. A far cry from the recession that the Treasury, Bank of England and IMF were all predicting before the referendum…Growth is sluggish across Europe, particularly in Italy and Germany – the UK is still comfortably in the middle of the road, with the European Commission itselfputting the UK on a par with France and the Eurozone average for its 2019 forecast. If steady growth in the UK is all Brexit’s fault, what’s the EU’s excuse?Although a recent report puts the UK military as second.Britain Is The World's Second Biggest Power, Says ReportA new report says the UK is the world’s second most powerful nation, maintaining its position in the rankings.The findings were made by the Henry Jackson Society, a think tank group, in its annual ‘Audit of Geopolitical Capability’.The study describes the UK as 'a truly global power' which has the ability to 'project and extend itself …around the world'. The audit also claims that Britain’s fundamental capacities have faced no 'discernible impact' from Brexit.The UK, boosted by its overseas investment, aid and military, is ranked ahead of China and Russia.The audit finds the UK retains a military might greater than that of China and technological prowess 'far in advance' of Russia. However, it attributes much of the UK’s comparative power to its diplomatic, financial and cultural capabilities and links around the globe.However, Chief Analyst James Rogers, says the UK's position is under threat from countries like Russia and China."We should put our own military into perspective in relation to other countries' militaries because most of them are also facing same sorts of problems that our country has (budget black hole and recruitment issues)," he explained."If you look at the overall tonnage in the British (Royal Navy) fleet and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, you'll actually see there is more than the German Navy, French Navy and the Italian Navy put together."But some countries like China and Russia, are gaining on us and gaining on us at an increasingly rapid clip, so therefore we should be thinking about investing more money in our Armed Forces in order to maintain the position we've held for some time."China has enormous mass behind it and I'd say it's only a matter of time until China does actually overtake the UK but that doesn't necessarily reflect badly on the UK, it's simply the case that China has over a billion people."So with a top class military and a Soft Power ranking of one, it is not hard to see why the UK might be considered a global power.