Another area of interest I took up a little while back is the power of frequencies. This lead me to the hemi sync process. I started to put it into practice, and noticed a change pretty soon after practicing this methodology, and using binaural beats to sync both hemispheres of the brain together so they sync up together at the same frequency. Ive heard that this is even something that is a part of Navy Seal training. As well as some government agencies. This is also something i have learned to use in my meditation; as well as for healing, of didn't sorts.

Hemi Sync Through Binaural Beats

March 29
So, Hemi-Sync® Works! But How?


Allyn Evans
A German scientist named Heinrich Wilhelm Dove discovered in 1839 what happens when one tone (or frequency) is introduced into one ear and then another tone is introduced in the other ear. It is called a binaural beat, which to us sounds like a warbling sound similar to what you might hear while riding in a two-propeller airplane.

As an example, let’s assume we are playing a tone of 120 Hz in one ear and 128 Hz in the other. The brain will then translate this to 8 Hz (binaural beat). A Hertz measurement is equivalent to the number of cycles per second a frequency is expressed. If we are experiencing this ourselves, then we are more likely to be able to access the state of awareness associated with the difference. In our example, then, we’d find ourselves with the opportunity to experience the alpha state.

How Do We Know Sound Technology is Effective? We all experience a range of normal brainwaves that can be measured by an electroencephalogram (EEG). This device measures our brainwaves as well as provides a means to evaluate what states we might be experiencing at any given moment, states that are considered normal and part of our daily experience.

When we are measuring cerebral signals we typically find readings ranging from 1 to 20 Hz (hertz). Although, we are capable of reading lower and higher signals. Our focus for this discussion will keep us primarily in the .5 to 30 Hz range. To better understand, we’ll discuss several brainwaves patterns. We can measure brainwaves using cycles per second, which is called a hertz (Hz). The lower number means slower activity is occurring in the brain.

Beta (13 Hz to approximately 30 Hz)
Beta frequencies originate in the cortex, the thinking/reasoning part of the brain. Beta is the state of awareness we tend to find ourselves in when we are wide-eyed and alert. A beta state is indicative of times when we are engaging with life—being busy or productive, worrying, fretting, concentrating or being fully engaged in an activity. Robert Monroe referred to this state as being in C1 consciousness. When we are in this state we are usually wide awake and alert.

Alpha (8 Hz to 12 Hz)
Alpha waves originate in the thalamus, the great relay station in the brain that receives sensory input from external and internal stimuli and then passes them on to the cortex and other parts of the brain for processing. One way to think of alpha is in terms of driving a manual transmission car when the stick shift is in neutral. From a neutral position, one can easily transition to the action phase (beta) or to a state of relaxation (theta and delta). This state or these frequencies can be achieved when relaxing or meditating. Children under the age of six years spend much of their waking time in the alpha brainwaves regions. Typically, one is lying or sitting quietly with eyes closed to reach this state. We tend to step “out” of an alpha state when our eyes are open, when we are thinking or when we invite in our analytical mind to evaluate and review.

Theta (4 Hz to 7 Hz)
Theta brainwaves are instrumental in the limbic system (amygdala, hypothalamus) in the brain. The limbic system is the key to emotional and memory aspects of our brain function. It’s a place that is subconscious for most people, and often overriding or hijacking the rational thinking or reasoning of the cortical brain. These frequencies can be easily reached when sleeping. In the more alert phases of theta, you might find that you tap more readily into your creativity as this is a highly functioning cognitive state. Researchers Elmer and Alyce Green of the Menninger Foundation said: “Causing the brain to generate theta activity daily over a period of time seems to have enormous benefits, including boosting the immune system, enhancing creativity and triggering feelings of wellbeing.”

Delta (.5 Hz to 3 Hz)
Delta waves are generated by the brainstem, especially during sleep, and allow the cortical, thinking brain to be down-regulated when we need to have rest and recovery. This state typically occurs when one is experiencing a deep level of sleep. Studies indicate that a person benefits mentally and physically from regular delta experiences while sleeping. Delta is also involved in global communications of the cortical brain and has a multitude of other functions.

Like we already said … The Proof is in the Pudding. Yes, We Can Measure This!

So now you understand some of the languages of the brain and hopefully, you understand a little about the mechanism and why it works. Keep reading for more details.

Your Brain Will Thank You! What Binaural Beats Can Do For You!

Specific combinations and layers of signals, for example, can help individuals achieve laser-like focus and concentration. Hemi-Sync® is one example and is a trade name. Depending on the intended goals, different frequencies are combined with music, verbal guidance or subtle sound effect to strengthen its effectiveness. Exercises can be targeted to incorporate predominately delta frequencies, which assist with sleeping. Or they can be designed to offer predominantly beta frequencies, which helps with concentration and focus. Users remain in total control. These recordings do not contain subliminal messages or any other directives that are not completely transparent. Hemispheric synchronization does occur naturally in daily life, but typically only for random, brief periods of time. Sound technology can assist individuals in achieving and sustaining this highly productive, coherent, brainwaves state.




This process had such potential that the C.I.A. picked up research on it.
They came to find that this process leads to opening up psychic abilities as well. To the point of something called the "Gateway project," that is a guide for astral projection.




Note the knowledge they picked up concerning holograms. Put a pin in that.

As I've stated in the past, I've pretty well mastered the auto hypnotic suggestion.

This is like any other discipline. Some parts come easier than others.
Oddly, I had already learned some of these disciplines, through the meditative practices I had learned, as a young man, through Taoism; and the art of meditation.

The mind is powerful. It holds the heavens, God, the devil, above, below, and everything in between. It is the door in which we step through, and into the Kingdom.

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I have compiled some notes on the angels, and there places, according to the Abrahamic scrolls. I started with the book of Enoch, along with some Catholic texts.
Meet the Archangels of God


From the book of Enoch
XX. Name and Functions of the Seven Archangels.

CHAPTER XX.
1. And these are the names of the holy angels who watch. 2. Uriel, one of the holy angels, who is over the world and over Tartarus. 3. Raphael, one of the holy angels, who is over the spirits of men. 4. Raguel, one of the holy angels who †takes vengeance on† the world of the luminaries. 5. Michael, one of the holy angels, to wit, he that is set over the best part of mankind ⌈⌈and⌉⌉ over chaos. 6. Saraqâêl, one of the holy angels, who is set over the spirits, who sin in the spirit. 7. Gabriel, one of the holy angels, who is over Paradise and the serpents and the Cherubim. 8. Remiel, one of the holy angels, whom God set over those who rise.



The Four Archangels.

CHAPTER XL.
1. And after that I saw thousands of thousands and ten thousand times ten thousand, I saw a multitude beyond number and reckoning, who stood before the Lord of Spirits. 2. And on the four sides of the Lord of Spirits I saw four presences, different from those that sleep not, and I learnt their names: for the angel that went with me made known to me their names, and showed me all the hidden things.

3. And I heard the voices of those four presences as they uttered praises before the Lord of glory. 4. The first voice blesses the Lord of Spirits for ever and ever. 5. And the second voice I heard blessing the Elect One and the elect ones who hang upon the Lord of Spirits. 6. And the third voice I heard pray and intercede for those who dwell on the earth and supplicate in the name of the Lord of Spirits. 7. And I heard the fourth voice fending off the Satans and forbidding them to come before the Lord of Spirits to accuse them who dwell on the earth. 8. After that I asked the angel of peace who went with me, who showed me everything that is hidden: 'Who are these four presences which I have seen and whose words I have heard and written down?' 9. And he said to me: 'This first is Michael, the merciful and long-suffering: and the second, who

p. 60

is set over all the diseases and all the wounds of the children of men, is Raphael: and the third, who is set over all the powers, is Gabriel: and the fourth, who is set over the repentance unto hope of those who inherit eternal life, is named Phanuel.' And these are the four angels of the Lord of Spirits and the four voices I heard in those days.

I took this last section from two different Catholic texts.
Seraphim: The highest order, known for their intense love and worship of God, often depicted as six-winged beings (Isaiah 6:2-7).
Cherubim: The second-highest order, associated with the throne of God and often depicted as four-winged beings (Exodus 25:18-22, Ezekiel 10:1-22).
Thrones: The third-highest order, responsible for governing and maintaining the divine order (Colossians 1:16).
Dominions: The fourth order, involved in governing and ruling over various aspects of creation (Ephesians 1:21).
Virtues: The fifth order, associated with moral virtues and the governance of the universe (1 Peter 3:7).
Powers: The sixth order, responsible for exercising authority and power in the universe (Ephesians 1:21).
Principalities: The seventh order, involved in governing and guiding nations and peoples (Ephesians 6:12).
Archangels: The eighth order, often depicted as high-ranking angels, such as Michael and Gabriel (Jude 1:9, Revelation 12:7-9).
Angels: The lowest order, yet still considered “angels” due to their role as messengers and servants of God (Hebrews 1:14)

Seraphim - Isaiah 6:2, 6:6; Ezekiel 1:13
Leading this sphere are the Seraphim, which means in Hebrew “to burn”. Out of all of the angels, the Seraphim have the most intimate knowledge of God and they meditate upon His Person, meaning they contemplate on the great mystery about who and what God is, including the Trinity. Because they comprehend God with greater clarity than any other of God’s creations, they are so passionately in love with Him due to so much that has been revealed to them and they are characterized by fire, which is thus why they are often referred to as the burning ones. And because of this great in depth knowledge of God and their burning passionate love for Him that defines and characterizes their being, it is speculated that the Seraphim are incapable of sinning because such knowledge and love/charity cannot allow them to do so; it would become a contradiction of their nature and being.

Second to the Seraphim are the Cherubim. While the Seraphim contemplate on God as a Person, the Cherubim meditate upon His Divine Plan for all of Creation. Because of their knowledge and understanding of the Divine Plan, the Cherubim are often translated to mean “fullness of wisdom”. In accordance with their contemplation about the Divine Plan, the Seraphim teach the Cherubim about the Divine Person which helps the Cherubim understand the Divine Plan all the more.

Third in rank within this First Sphere are the Thrones and they represent the judicial power of God. From the Cherubim, they learn about the Divine Person of God and His Divine Plan, which in turn allows them to mediate upon the power of God and His judgments, such as man’s banishment from Eden, the Flood of Noah, etc. The Thrones are responsible for passing on their divine knowledge down to the Second Sphere of the Hierarchy.

Dominions (also called Dominations) - Ephesians 1:21, Colossians 1:16
The word Dominions have root in the Latin word dominus, which means “master” or “lord”. Thus the Dominions are the angels of authority and they are believed to be the leaders of the Second Sphere of the Angelic Hierarchy and they pass on the orders of knowledge of God that they received from the Thrones down to those under their charge. In essence, they are similar to the Archangels in the Third Sphere in terms of duty, but they oversee the affairs of guarding the Universe and protecting it from harm.

Powers (also called Authorities) - Ephesians 1:21, 1 Peter 3:22
It is believed that the Powers fight the forces of evil that desire to destroy the Creation. It is thus possible to speculate that if Satan and his demons were to make an effort to destroy the Earth by means manipulating the forces of the Universe, such as through a great asteroid or a solar flare, the Powers would prevent the Enemy from succeeding.

Virtues - Ephesians 1:21, 1 Peter 3:22
The Virtues mean “might” and “energy”. It is believed that they oversee the movements of planets, stars, and the forces of nature. Thus, they make sure that the Universe operates according to God’s Design.

*Note: Some traditions rank the Virtues above the Powers in the hierarchy.

THE THIRD SPHERE
The duties of the Third Sphere are to look after human beings

Principalities - Romans 8:38; Ephesians 3:10, 6:12; Colossians 1:16, 2:15
The Principalities are the Guardian Angels of nations and cities. There are also evil Principalities who had joined Satan in his rebellion against God and thus there are also Principalities appointed by Satan to influence nations and cities for evil, which is evident by the fact that in Daniel 10:13 the Prophet Daniel is told by an angel that there was a spiritual power referred to as the prince of Persia who that angel was in conflict with until the Archangel Michael came to his aid.

Archangels - 1 Thessalonians 4:16, Jude 9
The Archangels are Guardian Angels appointed to guard special individuals, such as the Church, the Pope, possibly the Virgin Mary while one Earth, etc. What makes it extremely strange is that even though the Angelic Host as a whole consists of an innumerable amount of angels, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition indicates that there are only seven angels who have this rank (Tobit 12:15; Revelation 1:4,20; 3:1; 8:2,6; and Isaiah 63:9). More on this will be addressed at a later time.

Angels - Numerous references!
These are the angels who directly look after the affairs of mankind and deliver God’s Divine Revelation to us. The Guardian Angels are part of this choir.

The angels and their Hierarchy among the Heavenly hosts. 

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Quantum mechanics is something I have been learning the last couple of years. The deeper my understanding of it goes the more fascinating it becomes. This article runs through a plethora of quantum mechanics applications. 

You are a wave.
Ultra cold atoms

January 20, 2020

The Coolest Physics You’ve Ever Heard Of

Ultracold atoms can simulate all sorts of quantum behavior

By Karmela Padavic-Callaghan


When it comes to furthering our overall understanding of the physical world, ultracold quantum gases are awfully promising. As renowned physicist Richard Feynman argued, to fully understand nature, we need quantum means of simulation and computation. Ultracold atomic systems have, in the past 30 years, proven to be amazing quantum simulators. The number of applications for these systems as such simulators is nothing short of overwhelming, ranging from engineering artificial crystals to providing new platforms for quantum computing. In its brief history, ultracold atomic experimental research has enhanced physicists’ understanding of a truly vast array of important phenomena.

One of the revelations of quantum mechanics is that any object can be seen as a wave (even you!) when an appropriate experimental test is used. Properties of these so-called matter waves depend on their temperature; at high temperatures they have short wavelengths and look and behave particlelike because all the peaks and valleys are so close together that they cannot be told apart. If we lower temperatures to much less than a single kelvin, the wave nature of matter becomes more pronounced and wavelike behaviors more important. What happens then with a large collection of very cold atoms that behave like a large collection of waves? They can all align and overlap to form a single wave, something that was historically called a macroscopic wave function. Such a system—a condensate in physics parlance—is a fundamentally quantum state of matter.

Quantum condensates were theoretically predicted in the mid-1920s, but it was only in the late 1990s that experimental physicists kicked off a revolution (recognized with two Nobel Prizes) by using lasers and magnets to reach sufficiently low temperatures for the transition to these phases of matter to happen. Light can interact with atoms and thus change their energies. Atoms also experience forces when placed in nonuniform magnetic fields. Physicists used these two properties to trap clouds of atoms such as rubidium and eventually lower their temperature to picokelvins—trillionths of a degree above absolute zero. Remarkably, experiments in which these extremely low temperatures can be reached, and quantum states of matter are engineered, fit in an average-sized room, on a large table with the ultracold atom gas frequently visible to the naked eye. The coldest places in the universe can often be found in a room on your local college campus, and they are likely controlled by a graduate student.

But it’s not just making something the coldest or the most quantum that excites physicists; it’s that ultracold atoms can be controlled and manipulated very precisely. Theoretical physicists have been especially emboldened by the possibility of engineering a quantum system by moving ultracold atoms around and fine-tuning the way in which they interact. To a theorist, a physical system such as a novel material that has some odd or unexpected property is a frustrating black box that is hard to describe with mathematical equations.

An ultracold atomic experiment can be the exact opposite, bringing equations to life and determining whether they measure up to nature. Many minimal, prototypical models, extensively studied at the level of mathematical equations but not necessarily matched by any naturally found material, can be engineered in ultracold atomic experiments. Since the late 1990s physicists of all sorts have embraced this idea and pushed it in every direction they could imagine.

As one example, adding counterpropagating laser beams to an ultracold atomic sample creates an optical lattice and turns the system into an artificial crystal. Whereas a physical crystal has to be grown carefully, an ultracold artificial crystal can be changed from one shape to another through adjustments to laser beams. Even more advantageously, such artificial crystals are typically very clean, and researchers can add in disorder by using more lasers. This means they can “reverse engineer” some of the effects of disorder. If a crystal is grown and then studied, it can be difficult to determine how much “dirt” in that sample actually matters for experimental outcomes. If researchers can control the disorder, then they can be very precise about determining its consequences.


From the very first ultracold atomic experiments, they have been really important for studying fluids having zero viscosity, or superfluids. When does a normal fluid become a superfluid? Can something similar to sound propagate through a superfluid? What happens if a container of superfluid is rotated? Many such fundamental questions have been answered through simulations with ultracold atoms.

For instance, rotating a superfluid has been predicted to give rise to the appearance of vortices—small hurricanes of quantum fluid—as a consequence of basic properties of the macroscopic wave function. Researchers are learning about quantum turbulence by observing and manipulating these vortices, thinking of them as controllable building blocks of more chaotic superfluid flows. Precise models for turbulent quantum flows have historically eluded theorists, which makes ultracold atomic simulations the first line of attack for this difficult problem.

As with studies of superfluids, many efforts have been made to simulate superconductors. They are perfect conductors having no resistance; no energy is wasted as electric current runs through them. As this is in contrast with all conductors used to supply electricity to businesses and households, it is a very active area of research to try to simulate a superconductor that does not have to be very cold. Whereas a physicist’s notion of “very cold” may not quite match the colloquial use of the phrase (a “cold atom” in physics jargon is vastly colder than a cold pint of ice cream in your fridge), even a few kelvins’ worth of difference could be meaningful for applications of superconductors outside the lab.

Theoretical physicists have debated various high-temperature superconducting models for years, and ultracold atomic studies have been one of the prime ways to put those, sometimes conflicting, theories to the test. Experimental physicists can also make a superfluid of ultracold atoms become something like a superconductor in a process called BEC-BCS crossover. This crossover has been theorized in semiconductors and neutron stars but never unequivocally confirmed in any system other than ones consisting of extremely cold atoms.

Superconductors and superfluids are both fundamentally quantum phases of matter, making up something like a quantum expansion of the liquid-solid-vapor list of phases you may have learned in school. Ultracold atomic experiments continue to simulate even more novel quantum phases of matter. One striking example from 2019 is simulation of a quantum supersolid. A supersolid, like a superfluid, flows without any friction between the atoms that make it up but also has a periodic, crystal-like structure like solids do. It is a seemingly paradoxical state of matter whose existence was debated for almost 50 years before ultracold atomic experiments provided a definitively affirmative conclusion.

Many so-called topological phases of matter have also been realized in ultracold systems. Some of these experiments simulate, and generalize, the quantum Hall effect, which was first observed in more traditional experiments with semiconductors. Because many topological states of matter have properties unaffected by disorder, they are a very promising setting for quantum computation. In this way, realizing topological models in a very tunable ultracold atomic system means that physicists are able to not only simulate a new phase of matter but also immediately put it to use, getting closer to making a quantum computer.




Even if ultracold atomic systems have not been turned into quantum computation machines just yet, they can often be used to “beat” classical supercomputers in terms of enabling researchers to learn something new about fundamental physics. One example is that of many-body physics. In quantum mechanics, a system that has more than a few interacting particles is almost always a system where it is very difficult to calculate, and therefore predict, anything precisely. And yet real materials consist of millions of atoms!

Ultracold atomic systems have been invaluable for studying highly interacting many-body systems, uncovering phenomena such as systems failing to reach thermal equilibrium and never losing “memory” of their initial state. Physicists often resort to computational methods and supercomputers to study these systems, but a simulation with ultracold atoms can be a more direct way to attack some of their questions. Failure to equilibrate is of great interest in statistical physics, and the advent of ultracold atomic experiments has reinforced it as a very active field of contemporary physics research.

As for me personally, despite being trained in the broader discipline of condensed matter physics, I spent my six years as a graduate student coming back to ultracold atoms over and over again. Mostly I studied superfluid bubbles (hollow shells) made of ultracold atoms. This led me to the work of NASA scientists who launched an ultracold atom experiment into space to explore how it will be affected by extremely low gravity. This experiment is ongoing onboard the International Space Station, and theorists like me who made predictions about what it will find are anxiously awaiting new results.

In a way, it is fitting that studying hollow ultracold shells caused me to think about space, as part of the motivation for this research lies with neutron stars. Physicists don’t really know what you would find if you could observe the inside of neutron star, but many theories suggest that it looks like an onion with layers of superconductors and superfluids. Studying superfluid shells in labs could then lead to a better understanding of some of these layers that reside in stars that are so far away that scientists may never be able to study them directly. Moreover, measurements of radio signals coming from neutron stars suggest that superfluid vortices within them may affect their rotation.

Ultracold atomic experiments have excelled in studying exactly those vortices with great precision. I spent several years working on mathematical arguments for what a vortex in a hollow shell of ultracold atoms might do if the whole thing started rotating. I have badgered a fair number of my experimental colleagues with questions about engineering such a system in their labs, and the fact that this is even something we can talk about, some semblance of simulating the quantum innards of a neutron star, still seems to me a little bit like science fiction.

My latest ultracold obsession came when I learned about quasiperiodicity in one-dimensional chains of ultracold atoms. The puzzle hiding behind the jargon is simple: physicists know well how structures of atoms in which they repeat with a regular period behave in nature, but what happens if that period is an irrational number? Such systems are called quasiperiodic, and studying them led cognitive scientist Douglas Hofstadter in 1976 to discover a famous fractal plot later dubbed his butterfly. Hofstadter’s plot is self-similar: if you zoom in or zoom out any amount, it still looks the same.

This property implies that physical states having fractional dimensions can exist in nature, a revelation that jump-started a search for more physical systems where that can happen. A few years ago another graduate student mentioned to me that they had simulated a quasiperiodic system in their ultracold atomic research lab, and I, too, have not stopped chasing the Hofstadter butterfly since. Why would nature care about the difference between rational and irrational numbers so much as to allow for fractional dimensions to be more than a mathematical oddity? Ultracold atomic studies are likely to help physicists answer that question, and I hope to be around to hear about them.

My experience as a researcher has included only a sliver of many topics in modern physics for which ultracold atomic experiments are meaningful. The possibilities are truly numerous. And the quantum simulation revolution is nowhere near over! Researchers continue to push the limits of existing technology to cool gases made up of more elements and execute more manipulations.

Next steps? Quantum chemistry, where molecules form at ultracold temperatures. Ultracold quantum systems that are so large they cannot be called microscopic despite quantum mechanics always being assumed to describe only the smallest of objects. Ultracold systems that can be used to measure fundamental constants in tabletop experiments instead of large accelerators (like CERN’s Large Hadron Collider). Ultracold experiments where a single atom can be poked, prodded, moved around and imaged. And whatever else can give us a window into the fundamentals of our (quantum) world.

An interesting takeaway from all of this is that with cooling down atoms they can run experiments that would usually need a large Hadron Collider to run the experiments.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar...0X22000027
The ability to manipulate atoms that are super cooled is both fascinating, and frightening; when all applications are considered.

I spent so much time of my life thinking about the cosmos, and everything on such a grand scale of how huge the universe really is. Quantum mechanics got me to realize that there is a whole other universe that's on a macroscopic scale.

It's amazing to think that even the largest objects in space are made up of tiny little atoms. The deeper we look into these atoms, the further they go. To the point now that we need new ways to look closer at what's actually going on inside the tiniest parts of atoms.

Maybe this type or research will one day lead to proving string theory, eh?

In essence, if you look deeply enough into any subatomic particle, you will find a string. Even more, string theory states that the strings within different particles are actually identical in nature but vibrate at different rates and in different patterns. The vibrations of the string is what determines what type of particle it is to be. For example, an electron is less massive than a quark. According to string theory, the electron’s string vibrates less than the quark’s string.” (3)

In other words, the vibrations of the string is what produces the particle. A particle is nothing more than the result of vibrations. As of today, it is not known what exactly causes the string to vibrate. One of the leading theories basically states that whatever it is, it must come from a higher dimension.

https://creation.com/string-theory-and-t...ld-problem

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This is a strange case.

Quote:Alexander Yuk Ching Ma, 71, of Honolulu, a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, was sentenced today to conspiring to gather and deliver national defense information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).

Ma was arrested in August 2020, after admitting to an undercover FBI employee that he had facilitated the provision of classified information to intelligence officers employed by the PRC’s Shanghai State Security Bureau (SSSB).

According to court documents, Ma worked for the CIA from 1982 until 1989. His blood relative (identified as co-conspirator #1 or CC #1 in court documents), who is deceased, also worked for the CIA from 1967 until 1983. As CIA officers, both men held Top Secret security clearances that granted them access to sensitive and classified CIA information, and both signed nondisclosure agreements.

As Ma admitted in the plea agreement, in March 2001, over a decade after he resigned from the CIA, Ma was contacted by SSSB intelligence officers, who asked Ma to arrange a meeting between CC #1 and the SSSB. Ma convinced CC #1 to agree, and both Ma and CC #1 met with SSSB intelligence officers in a Hong Kong hotel room for three days. During the meetings, CC #1 provided the SSSB with a large volume of classified U.S. national defense information in return for $50,000 in cash. Ma and CC #1 also agreed to continue to assist the SSSB.

In March 2003, while living in Hawaii, Ma applied for a job as a contract linguist in the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office. The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to PRC intelligence, hired Ma as part of a ruse to monitor and investigate his activities and contacts with the SSSB. Ma worked part time at an offsite location for the FBI from August 2004 until October 2012.

As detailed in the plea agreement, in February 2006, Ma was tasked by the SSSB with asking CC #1 to identify four individuals of interest to the SSSB from photographs. Ma convinced CC #1 to provide the identities of at least two of the individuals, whose identities were and remain classified U.S. national defense information.

Ma confessed that he knowingly and willfully conspired with CC #1 and SSSB intelligence officers to communicate and transmit information that he knew would be used to injure the United States or to advantage the PRC.

In court documents and at today’s sentencing hearing, the government noted that Ma was convicted of a years-long conspiracy to commit espionage, a serious breach of national security that caused the government to expend substantial investigative resources. The government also noted that Ma’s role in the conspiracy was to facilitate the exchange of information between CC #1 and the SSSB, which consisted of classified CIA information that CC #1 had obtained between 1967 and 1983.

Under the terms of the plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the United States for the rest of his life, including by submitting to debriefings by U.S. government agencies. At the sentencing hearing, government counsel told the court that Ma has been cooperative and has taken part in multiple interview sessions with government agents.

Ma has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Clare E. Connors for the District of Hawaii and Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI's National Security Branch made the announcement.

The FBI’s Honolulu and Los Angeles Field Offices investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Sorenson and Craig Nolan for the District of Hawaii, and Trial Attorneys Scott Claffee and Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

Well articulated presentation.

Quote:Are you starting to see it, what is in play here? Do you want to see it?

The more interesting question: Why?

The hard question: What to do about it?

The numbers tell the story:

Quote:No Russian-owned ship has been attacked by Houthis while transiting the Red Sea for 10 months, with only one incident involving a Chinese-owned ship, according to an analysis of 83 attacks.

According to data from the UN’s trade and shipping agency, of the 83 ships targeted between December and September 2, 56 had ownership links to the UK, US or Europe, including 24 from Greece. All but one of the 24 Greek-owned ships were either bulk carriers or tankers. The world’s largest ship-owning country accounted for 30% of all ships attacked, according to the analysis, yet makes up 17% by tonnage.

Even for first rate naval powers, good intel and ship tracking can be an imperfect science. I’m surprised that only one PRC and Russian ship have been hit.

You don’t need to be a paranoid N2 to see that signal. It’s also important to note that the US Navy and its allied ships are not intercepting all of the missiles and drones:

Quote:Four sailors have been killed, two ships have been sunk and a third, the Greek-flagged suezmax tanker Sounion, is in danger.

Next I want you to ponder this little statistic:

Quote:The Houthis launched attacks in the Red Sea in November, protesting Israel’s war on Gaza, with overall transits down 62% as ships divert around the Cape of Good Hope.

If something is bucking that trend and matches up with other I&W, the pattern really starts to break out from the ambient noise. [China-affiliated ships running Red Sea gauntlet more frequently]

Quote:Growing confidence in the safety of China-owned ships is encouraging some shipowners to undertake Red Sea voyages and others to expand on existing services. 

This has been the worst kept secret since late spring - mostly because it forces a lot of uncomfortable questions.

From May:

Quote:…the safest place to transit the Red Sea is now onboard Chinese-owned ships.

The combination of the Houthi’s public agreement with China to not target their shipping and the likely private reprimand after striking the M/V Huang Pu sets up a scenario whereby Chinese shipping will be getting a free pass through the Red Sea. That provides China a significant competitive advantage at the precise moment its economy is starting to falter. There is a way, however, to both remove that advantage and force China to abide by its international obligations.

The linked article above has a nice passive-aggressive “Panda Express” idea, but I’m really not sure there is anything that can be done but to give a nod of respect to the diplomatic and foreign policy community of the People’s Republic of China.

Since we wandered into the exact swamp that Osama bin Laden wanted us to 23 years ago, with a weak hand and no historical legacy advantage to build off of, the People’s Republic of China has done an exceptional job establishing herself on the world stage. In a slow, steady progress, she has earned the respect, cooperation, and yes—fear—that is due a power people have confidence is not easily or cheaply disrespected.

The question really shouldn’t be, “Why is China being given a pass” as much as, “Why are 4th-rate non-state actors comfortable in challenging the free world on the high seas?”

Exploring that will bring wisdom.

This is for my dad. 

I've been spending a lot of time with my son, his girlfriend, and all thier friends. I've also been living with my two nieces, and a friend of theirs, plus their friends come over. Needless to say, I've been surrounded by a bunch of young adults in their early twenties (21-25). Well, there's this word I have heard, over, and over, and over, and over again...

"Bruh"

(Lol)

I caught myself laughing my ass off, to myself because I wanted to tell them the other day, "Quit saying, bruh."

Because I realized something. 

When I was young, and me and my buddies would be hanging out, and back then we called each other, "dude."

My dad would get so sick of this word that he'd belt out, "quit saying, dude." 

This was a constant. I heard it so much growing up. We'd always say, (under our breaths, of course) "Whatever, old man."

Now, I'm the old man....

Hey, you young whipper snappers, quit saying, bruh! And stay off my damn lawn!.""

I got a kick out of this thought. For a moment there, I was my old man.

Love ya, dad. I get it now haha R.I.P.

I hadn't planned on writing anything about this, but screw it. I'm sure it's on a lot of our minds today.

Something a little odd happened this morning, and it has me reflecting on that day, and now the 23 years that have followed. 


This morning I woke up at exactly the same time I did that fateful day. 

I woke up and looked at my clock and it was 8:56am. That was the exact time I was awakened that morning on 9/11/2001.

I was working at a restaurant as a server back then. I shared an apartment with a buddy of mine, and we lived your typical bachelor lifestyle. We both worked nights, and we were always up till the wee hours over the morning. Typically we didn't stir up till close to noon. We had been up late the night before, smoking buds watching the boob tube all night; as was our norm.

My phone rang at 8:56am, which it never went off that early. I knew as soon as the phone rang, that something was wrong. When I saw it was my little sister, I knew something bad had happened. 

I answered, and all she said was, "Turn on the TV. I gotta go." Click

I turn on the TV and see the first building smoking.

I immediately wake my buddy.

As we were watching and we're trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and thinking, Was this an accident, or what? It's felt like Almost immediately after this initial thought, the second plane hit.

We were in shock, as was every one else. We kept saying, "Is this real?"

The rest of the day is a fog.


When I look back at what's happened since all of that, it does seem that there was more to that than we'll ever truly know.

I posted this, so that anyone who wishes to reflect on that day, this thread is an open door to any and all thoughts about that day, and the 23 years since then. 


I know this. Even after all the hike in security, and all the "monitoring of terrorists," and the patriot act, and all that, I don't feel one stitch safer than I did before those towers fell.

R.I.P. to all that lost their lives that day.

I chose this forum for a reason. We all know who's pulling the strings.

Not a dependable power source for transportation IMO as to hot or to cold and you are walking. An EMP or a big CME and you walk, bicycle, or ride an animal. The video talks about the pitfalls of owning an E.V.

Quote:Recently, the Sichuan Meteorological Observatory has issued several high-temperature warnings, with temperatures exceeding 40°C across the province. The extreme heat has caused tight electricity supplies, leading to power restrictions in cities like Chengdu and Chongqing. This has affected industrial and commercial sectors, including the use of electric vehicle charging stations. As a result, 750,000 new energy vehicle owners are facing difficulties charging their cars.