Hello Everyone!!!!   

    Those of you who do thank you.This year like last year and the year before I have attached images that shaped 2014.Each one of these images will be addressed in my year-end review.Now I will begin the year-end review.A little different than how I normally start.Every year I start with the news and first discuss issues related to the USA and then I will discuss issues regarding other parts of the world. Well,this year I'll start with a couple of topics that mentions the the USA but the USA is not all inclusive.The topics look at several events of the past year.So hold your breath now and let's begin by looking at what has transpired in this world that we live in over the past 365 days.

 NEWS

 HEGEMONY

 Of the Beatles it was mostly John Lennon who wrote songs that were cutting edge.However,Paul McCartney wrote "Back In The USSR" and he wasn't being facetious with the lyrics.

          Further,before I continue I may would like to quote you the words of my deceased Socioloy professor from university,who spent 20 years in the military."Pride and ignorance" go hand in hand.

  Now,to hegemony.To understand this let's go back to January 17,1961 while US President Dwight Eisenhower was giving his farewell speech to the US congress.John F. Kennedy would become president in three more days.Eisenhower spoke about a military-industrial complex.He was referring to the military and big business going to bed together which would cause wars being fought for wrong reasons.All weapons manufacturers  were concerned about was profit.It didn't matter to them the collateral damage.

 Although the military-industrial complex had been created.During the cold war the USA was somewhat a decent country.This is because the USSR kept the USA in check.

  Then in the late 1980s the Soviet Union collapsed and the USA kicked Russia in the teeth and became the sole superpower.Since that time the USA goes around the world shitting and pissing on everybody just because they can.They USA has invaded Panama, Peru,Liberia,Iraq (3 times),Kuwait,Zaire,Sierra Leone,Bosnia and Herzegovina, Somalia,Macedonia,Haiti,Afghanistan,Sudan,East Timor,Serbia,Yemen,Pakistan,Mali,Libya and Syria.Since the collapse of the Soviet Union how many countries has Russia invaded?

  In 2012 when Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency in Russia and said we will no longer have a unilateral world but a multi-lateral world.In June,2013 after Edward Snowden revealed the invasions of privacy being committed by the NSA in the USA he was granted asylum in Russia.The USA did not like this.Just last year Russia,along with China,Brazil,India and South Africa formed BRICS.An organization that was a rival to the US dominated IMF and World Bank.The USA did not like this either.They want to control the world and expect everyone to kiss their ass.

  September 11th,2001 may have been the best thing to happen for China.Before September 11th the USA was obsessed with bashing China.Demonizing nations (rather Orwellian) is a tactic the US uses to nations they feel that may stand in their way of world dominance.But after September 11,2001 the USA stopped focusing on China and became more focused on men with beards in the middle east.Then China went to South America and Africa and made many business deals.Now they are the most economically powerful country in the world.

 UKRAINE

  Ukraine has always been a divided country.The western part of Ukraine which is more agrarian wants closer ties with Europe while the industrial eastern Ukraine wants stronger ties with Russia. In the eastern part particularly in Donetsk and Luhansk there is oil.In November of 2013 the Europen Union tried to offer the Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovych possible EU membership.It was a shitty deal.They would have been a member of the EU like Bulgaria is a member of the EU.So Yanukovych rejected the deal.Then Yanukovych tried to make a deal with Russia and Russia was willing to let the USA and the EU join in on the discussions. The USA rejected this.It's either my way or the highway was America's attitude.

     Although democratically elected Yanukovych was not very popular.He was up for re-election in 2015 and not likely to win.But the USA who claims to believe in democracy,although they support undemocratic countries like Saudi Arabia and Israel,only supports democratic elections when they like the outcome.So led by the CIA and Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland in February they stage a coup d'etat backed by a bunch of Nazis to overthrow the Yanukovych government.

   On Friday,November 21st,2014 an anti-nazi resolution was presented before the entire UN General Assembly.The resolution would condemn attempts to glorify Nazi ideology and to deny German Nazi war crimes,including the Holocaust.The resoltion overwhelmingly passed.But the USA,Ukraine  and one other country voted against the resolution. You can read all about it at:http://www.cpcml.ca/Tmld2014/D44098.htm.

   Back to February of 2014. After the Yanukovych government is overthrown the people in Crimea hated this.From 1783-1921 Crimea belonged to Russia.Then when the Soviet Union was formed Crimea and Russia were both part of the Soviet Union.In 1954 Soviet Union President Nikita Khrushchev who was Ukranian made Crimea part of Ukraine.But both Ukraine,Russia and Crimea were all part of the Soviet Union.But then the Soviet Union collapses in 1991 and Crimea becomes part of the Ukraine,although the people in Crimea speak Russian (not Ukranian) belong to the Russian Orthadox Church and the Russian navy maintains a base in Crimea.

  So the people of Crimea held a referendum and overwhelmingly voted to become part of Russia.The USA and the west did not like this and condemned Russia.

  Many people in the eastern Ukranian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk also did not like this and civil war broke out in this region.Russia did not have anything to do this.The last thing Russia wants is a civil war on it's doorstep,but the west was rather eager to blame Russia.

  The USA was then pushing for tough sanctions against Russia.But because the USA and Russia do very little trade any sanctions imposed by the USA would have minimal impact at best.To have sanctions with any teeth the USA needed Europe to impose them.However,Europe was rather reluctant.But on July 17^th the USA figured out how to get Europe on board.

AMERICANS SHOOT DOWN A MALAYSIAN AIRLINER AND THEN ACCUSE RUSSIA

 On July 17^th Malaysian airliner flight MH17 going from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur is shot down over Ukraine. Before any investigators even arrived on the scene the USA was pointing it?s finger at Russia.

  First of all,what would Russia stand to gain by shooting down this plane,while the USA stands to gain a lot if they get people to think that Russia was the culprit.

  Second,this plane was shot down over Ukraine not Russia.It was shot down over rebel occupied territory.But I seriously doubt that some drunken rebel in a field could shoot down a plane with an RPG flying at 30,000 feet above. Further,why would he want to do this.It would just force foreign elements to occupy their captured territory.Whoever shot down this plane had to have good technology and know what they were doing. Granted Russia has the capabilities.But so does Ukraine a fact the west totally ignores.Ukraine like Russia was at one time was part of the Soviet Union.So Ukraine has the same capabilities.Also,the Ukraine government is backed by the US.So they even have more high powered technology at their disposal than Russia.Further,while flying over Ukraine air space this plane was told to lower its altitude 2000 feet just minutes before it was shot down.

  Still further,the USA has a track record for such antics.In August of 1964 the USA made an American ship look like it was North Vietnamese and they had it fire on a US naval ship.This was used as a pretext for the Vietnamese War which resulted in 58,000 Americans and many more Vietnamese being killed.In 1979 the Afghan government was friendly with the USSR.The CIA recruited someone named ?Osama Bin Laden? to stir up shit in Afghanistan.The Russian government planned to help the Afghan government but the US called it an act of Russian aggression and boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In 2003 Colin Powell went before the UN showing photos claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.As we all later found out this was false.

  The USA will resort to any means to get their way.They shot down that plane killing 298 people. After that happened the USA was able to convince the Europeans that Russia was the culprit.Subsequently the European Union imposed sanctions on Russia.The primary objective of the USA was to cripple Russia first economically then militarily.With the sanctions and now with the lowering of oil prices (Russia receives much income from selling oil) and a devalued Rouble The USA is on its way to bringing Russia to it?s knees.The issue is not just about the oil in Eastern Ukraine.The USA does not like anyone who stands up to them.They feel threatened.They expect everyone to bow down and kiss their ass.

  In October a study was conducted at prestigious Harvard University and the study concluded that the USA was a bigger threat to world peace than ISIS see:www.dailymail.co.uk/.../Harvard-students-think-America-bigger-threat-wor...orhttp://www.ijreview.com/2014/10/185703-harvard-students-identify-bigger-threat-world-peace-isis/

  At Princeton another ivy league school,in April concluded the USA is no longer a democracy.

Most of the decision made are determined by a very few rich people not the masses.The USA is an oligarchy/Read about it at: http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746.

  When a soldier goes to fight in Afghanistan or Iraq he is not fighting for the United States of America. He is fighting for big banks,big corporations and the military-industrial complex.This is a form of Nazism.

   As far as Russia goes.Russia has been under attack many times before.

   Now the economy has been weakened.But,Russia is also entering into new business deals with India,China And Turkey. When these deals reach fruition the Russian economy will boom again.

Putin predicts that within 2 years maximum the Russian economy will bounce back.I say less than that.Russia has many resources.Right now they have to rearrange their business partners.If Russia and China can make a deal to set up a bank or a monetary fund within a year to compete with the IMF and World Bank you will hear the west cry "fowl"

    In October while giving a speech at the Valdai International Discussion Club in Sochi Russian President Vladimir Putin talking about the Americans said "You break & blame others". We are not gonna change if not then prepare for chaos?.

  Russia has withstood aggression before.They beat off Napoleon and Hitler.When the Bolshevik Revolution broke out the west imposed many sanctions on Russia. Subsequently,Russia emerged as a superpower.At that time Russia was a totalitarian empire.Now it is not.

   Russia has overcome adversity before and they will again.Bowing down and kissing the Americans nasty ass is not an option. When Russia re-emerges as a superpower again.The world will be a better place.

 IF NOT FROM THE OUTSIDE PERHAPS FROM WITHIN

   Before I discuss the demise of the USA from within I?d like to go back to Russia.

    It looks like the cold war has been resurrected.This time Russia does not have a totalitarian regime.In the first cold war the USA presented itself to the world as the good guy.Now in the second cold war it has yet to pan out as to who is the good guy and who is the bad guy.The US still has Europe in it?s pocket.But due to the sanctions (Putin will not be bullied and cave in to the west) Russia has looked to other areas.They have made business deals with China,India,Turkey,Brazil,Cuba & Argentina.

 It will be interesting to see in the new cold war which countries will follow the USA and which will follow Russia.

  If the USA doesn't collapse from the outside it could collapse from within.The police have been written a blank check to do as they please with impunity.In January,in Orange County,California after being caught on video police were acquitted by a jury of the beating death of a homeless man.

   In New York City also in January the police beat up 84 year old Kang Wong for jaywalking.Also in New York City a police officer fondles Cecily McMillan a 25 year old graduate student.She responds by pushing him.She gets charged with assault,gets convicted and goes to prison.

  Not to mention in July when 43 year old Eric Garner (also from New York City) who gets strangled to death by police (after being caught on video) and the police don?t even get charged.Likewise on August 9 in Fergusson,Missouri 18 year old Michael Brown is shot to death by police officer Darren Wilson and again the police officer is not charged.The list goes on and on.Studies have shown that every 28 hours in the USA a black man is shot to death by a white police officer.

  Along with police brutality,you have the US spying on it?s citizens,people getting paid low salaries while executives of the same corporations get million dollar bonuses,the gap between rich and poor growing bigger and bigger,the average American is getting hammered.

   The USA was in a similar predicament in the 1930s.Then President FDR took a bunch of business tycoons into a room office and said ?Look we have a problem,you have a lot of angry people. If something is not done like spreading out some of your wealth,we?ll be in trouble?.Half the tycoons ignored Roosevelt (Duponts tried to have FDR assassinated) the other half went along.It was enough to get America back on track.Will this happen now?

 RT

 One good channel to watch is RT.RT stands for Russian television.Now some flag waving American would probably dismiss the channel as propaganda.However,by making that accusation that accusation is propaganda.Granted,a Russian would call CNN and Fox News as American propaganda.So sometimes you have to read between the lines.You can start by looking at the news from the two countries.

    In August of 1964 the USA made an American ship look like it was North Vietnamese and they had it fire on a US naval ship.The US media backed the story being told by the US government.This incident was used as a pretext for the Vietnamese War which resulted in 58,000 Americans and many more Vietnamese being killed.In 1979 the Afghan government was friendly with the USSR.The CIA recruited someone named ?Osama Bin Laden? to stir up shit in Afghanistan.The Russian government planned to help the Afghan government but the US media called this an act of Russian aggression and got many western countries to boycott the 1980 Moscow Olympics. In 2003 Colin Powell went before the UN showing photos claiming that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.As we all later found out this was false.Further,during the Iraq War the US media was very supportive of the USA.

    More recently at the 2014 Olympics the US media was focused on the dirty toilets in the living quarters for athletes.

    When it comes to the western media when they discuss Edward Snowden,they focus on Snowden being a traitor but not on the information he revealed.

   In 2004 when the Beslan school massacre occurred in Russia.The western media identified the perpetrators as rebels and separatists but not terrorists.Although 385 people died and most of the victims were children.

    On RT they have programs where they have people with opposing views debate an issue.They have had people debate the Israel-Palestine issue where one person was pro-Israel and another was pro-Palestinian.On FOX News everything is one-sided.

   Just this past July when Israel was bombing Gaza RT would show photos of Israel bombing ambulances that were transporting bombing victims to the hospital.They also showed Israel bombing a school for the mentally retarded.You would never see this on US media.On western media the only thing they talk about is the US saying Israel has the right to defend itself.

  In other words, I give very little credence to western media.

  Further,RT has many Americans on the channel.81 year old native New Yorker Larry King who broadcasted on CNN from 1985 to 2010,now broadcasts on RT.

  An excellent program on RT is Cross-Talk with California born Peter Lavelle.Lavelle received a B.A. in International Economic Relations, an M.A. in European history and completed Ph.D. courses in Studies in European Economic History from the University of California,Davis. He was a Fulbright Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw,Poland.He has been living in Eastern Europe and Russia for over 25 years while working as a lecturer at the University of Warsaw.

      In 2004,she campaigned for John Kerry's presidential campaign,but became disillusioned with the left-right paradigm,a concept proposing that societies have a tendency to divide themselves into ideological opposites.

    Before hosting her own show "Breaking The Set" on RT,she was for two years a correspondent for RT America.Martin is also an artist and activist and she helped found the citizen journalism website "Media Roots".She serves on the board of directors of the "Media Freedom Foundation",which manages "Project Censored".Martin appeared in the documentary film "Project Censored The Movie:Ending the Reign of Junk Food News (2013)",and she co-directed "99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film".

  In 2013 RT became the first ones to get over one billion views on You tube.Just now in December 2014 RT became the first to get 2 billion views.

85 RICHEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD AS WEALTHY AS HALF THE WORLD?S POPULATION

   In January an Oxfam study concluded that the 85 richest people in the World have more wealth than 3.5 billion people in the world. The world's wealthiest people aren't known for travelling by bus,but if they fancied a change of scene then the richest 85 people on the globe ? who between them control as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population put together?could squeeze onto a single double-decker.

      The extent to which so much global wealth has become corralled by a virtual handful of the so-called 'global elite' is exposed in a new report from Oxfam on Monday,January 20.It warned that those richest 85 people across the globe share a combined wealth of ?1tn,as much as the poorest 3.5 billion of the world's population.

    The wealth of the 1% richest people in the world amounts to $110tn (?60.88tn), or 65 times as much as the poorest half of the world, added the development charity,which fears this concentration of economic resources is threatening political stability and driving up social tensions.

    Oxfam also argues that this is no accident either,saying growing inequality has been driven by a "power grab" by wealthy elites, who have co-opted the political process to rig the rules of the economic system in their favor.

    In the report,entitled Working For The Few, Oxfam warned that the fight against poverty cannot be won until wealth inequality has been tackled.

      "Widening inequality is creating a vicious circle where wealth and power are increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few,leaving the rest of us to fight over crumbs from the top table," Byanyima said.

     Oxfam called on attendees at the World Economic Forum to take a personal pledge to tackle the problem by refraining from dodging taxes or using their wealth to seek political favors.

    As well as being morally dubious,economic inequality can also exacerbate other social problems such as gender inequality,Oxfam warned.Davos itself is also struggling in this area, with the number of female delegates actually dropping from 17% in 2013 to 15% this year.

    Polling for Oxfam's report found people in countries around the world-including two-thirds of those questioned in Britain-believe that the rich have too much influence over the direction their country is heading.

    Byanyima explains"In developed and developing countries alike we are increasingly living in a world where the lowest tax rates,the best health and education and the opportunity to influence are being given not just to the rich but also to their children.

      "Without a concerted effort to tackle inequality,the cascade of privilege and of disadvantage will continue down the generations.We will soon live in a world where equality of opportunity is just a dream. In too many countries economic growth already amounts to little more than a 'winner takes all' windfall for the richest."

     The Oxfam report found that over the past few decades,the rich have successfully wielded political influence to skew policies in their favor on issues ranging from financial deregulation, tax havens, anti-competitive business practices to lower tax rates on high incomes and cuts in public services for the majority.Since the late 1970s, tax rates for the richest have fallen in 29 out of 30 countries for which data are available, said the report.

     This "capture of opportunities" by the rich at the expense of the poor and middle classes has led to a situation where 70% of the world's population live in countries where inequality has increased since the 1980s and 1% of families own 46% of global wealth - almost ?70tn.

    Opinion polls in Spain,Brazil,India,South Africa,the US,UK and Netherlands found that a majority in each country believe that wealthy people exert too much influence.Concern was strongest in Spain,followed by Brazil and India and least marked in the Netherlands.

  In the UK, some 67% agreed that "the rich have too much influence over where this country is headed" - 37% saying that they agreed "strongly" with the statement - against just 10% who disagreed, 2% of them strongly.

   The WEF's own Global Risks report recently identified widening income disparities as one of the biggest threats to the world community.

    Oxfam is calling on those gathered at WEF to pledge: to support progressive taxation and not dodge their own taxes; refrain from using their wealth to seek political favors that undermine the democratic will of their fellow citizens; make public all investments in companies and trusts for which they are the ultimate beneficial owners; challenge governments to use tax revenue to provide universal healthcare,education and social protection;demand a living wage in all companies they own or control; and challenge other members of the economic elite to join them in these pledges.

EVERY DAY 22 US VETS COMMIT SUICIDE

  The United States military veteran suicide epidemic is an ongoing phenomenon regarding a reported high rate of suicide among U.S. military veterans,in comparison to the general public.The United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that covered suicides from 1999 to 2010,which showed that roughly 22 veterans were committing suicide per day or one every 65 minutes.The total number of suicides differs by age group;31% of these suicides were by veterans 49 and younger while 69% were by veterans aged 50 and older.

CALIFORNIA PRISONS CONDEMNED BY UN

 The foremost torture investigator at the United Nations has expressed concern over worsening conditions in prisons throughout the US and hopes to visit California facilities,where in October a judge has granted state lawmakers more time to reduce overcrowding.

   Juan Mendez,the UN?s special rapporteur on torture,met with The Los Angeles Times editorial board,where he called for greater oversight into the California prison system.The California Department of Corrections has long been the target of human rights groups for its policy of housing inmates in solitary confinement indefinitely.

    ?We should have more justification? for putting inmates in isolation,Mendez said.While correctional officers are supposed to use solitary confinement as a last resort for delinquent prisoners,it has been commonly adopted as the preferred method of punishment.

   ?We should put the burden on the state that this is the proper way to do things,and we should all be more skeptical,? Mendez said.

     Mendez previously expressed interest in touring California prisons in May 2013.The request needs authorization from the US Department of Justice and California Governor Jerry Brown,yet Mendez said his requests have gone unacknowledged.US State Department spokeswoman told The Times that officials are ?open to continuing to discuss? a visit from Mendez.

    ?The conditions for visits to detention facilities in the United States are all determined on a case-by-case basis,? spokeswoman Laura Seal said.

    Mendez said he would need the power to meet with any inmate he so chooses and would not accept an agreement granting him only partial access to a facility.He condemned any policy that keeps inmates in their cell for 22 hours a day and maintained that no mentally ill inmate should be locked up alone,an oft-voiced complaint from human rights groups.

     ?Sometimes you negotiate all the way to the cell door,? he said.

     The conditions in California were marked earlier this year by a 60-day hunger strike that reverberated throughout the state.Thousands of inmates refused their daily meals to protest the state?s policy of isolating gang members for years - and sometimes decades.

    As many as 10,000 inmates are thought to be held in solitary confinement,also known as the Secure Housing Unit (SHU),raising the possibility that thousands of convicts will be released into the public with serious socialization issues or a mental illness not present when they were first put behind bars.

      Unfortunately,life within a prison?s general population may only be a marginal improvement because of vast overcrowding.

     California prison facilities operated at 200 percent capacity for over a decade but authorities have slowly reduced that number after a federal judge deemed the conditions constituted ?cruel and unusual punishment.? The California Department of Corrections was operating at 143.8 percent of capacity as of September 2013. 

     Authorities have been slow in finding a way to reduce overcrowding,to the extent that a three-judge panel said in 2011 that the state would need to begin releasing thousands of inmates early.Over 1,000 prisoners were released early over the past year in preparation for the December 31,2013 deadline.Yet that date has since been moved back twice - first to January 27, 2014,then again to February 24,2014.

    Much of the problem lies with inadequate medical treatment,according to defense attorneys. 

    ?Prisoners are getting injured and dying because of poor care,? Don Specter, a long time defense lawyer who has spent years petitioning the state,told The Los Angeles Times. ?California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has never taken its obligation to provide basic healthcare seriously.?

CANADA NOW HAS THE RICHEST MIDDLE CLASS IN THE WORLD

   Canada?s middle class appears to be the richest in a new study of incomes in several big countries.

   The in-depth report published today in The New York Times in April,which looks at about 20 nations, indicates that Canadians have bumped Americans out of the top spot they have long held.

    ?Median income in Canada pulled into a tie with median United States income in 2010 and has most likely surpassed it since then,? it adds.

   The New York Times backs up its findings saying they?re based on 35 years of surveys and compiled by LIS,which runs the Luxembourg Income Study Database.The findings were also studied by LIS researchers, along with colleagues at a New York Times website, and outside economists.

    The findings show that median per-capita income in Canada,after tax,matched that of the Americans in 2010 at $18,700 (U.S.).However,as the report noted,it has probably increased since.

(As economics professor Anke Kessler of Simon Fraser University pointed out,the current numbers did not take into account countries that have traditionally been ahead of Canada,such as Norway,Switzerland and Luxembourg.Indeed,according to one of the researchers involved in the study,Luxembourg is higher.)?Because the total bounty produced by the American economy has not been growing substantially faster here in recent decades than in Canada or Western Europe,most American workers are left receiving meager raises,? the New York Times report says.

     ?Finally, governments in Canada and Western Europe take more aggressive steps to raise the take-home pay of low-and middle-income households by redistributing income.?

    Douglas Porter of BMO Nesbitt Burns noted that commodity prices, and the Canadian dollar, were strong in 2010,and of course,the country had an exceptional rebound from the global recession compared to most other countries.

   "And, historically, of course, Canada's going to be up there,in any event," he said.

    Median income in Canada has climbed by 19.7 per cent since 2000,according to the New York Times report, matching the pace in Britain, ahead of Ireland,the Netherlands,Spain and Germany, and far ahead of the meagre 0.3 per cent in the United States.

 IN THE UK YOU DON?T NEED THE PROPERTY OWNERS?S PERMISSION TO FRACK

 Fracking will take place below Britons? homes without their permission after ministers in September rejected 40,000 objections to controversial changes to trespass laws.

    The UK government argued that the current ability for people to block shale gas development under their property would lead to significant delays and that the legal process by which companies can force fracking plans through was costly,time-consuming and disproportionate.

   There were a total of 40,647 responses to a consultation on the move to give oil and gas companies underground access without needing to seek landowners? permission, with 99% opposing the legal changes. Setting aside the 28,821 responses submitted via two NGO campaigns, 92% of the remaining responses objected to the proposals.

    The government response to the consultation,published online on the eve of the parliamentary vote on military strikes against Islamic militants in Iraq,concluded: ?Having carefully considered the consultation responses,we believe that the proposed policy remains the right approach to underground access and that no issues have been identified that would mean that our overall policy approach is not the best available solution.?

   New laws will now be passed giving automatic access for gas and oil development below 300m and a notification and compensation scheme will be run by the industry on a voluntary basis.

   ?It is essential that we make the most of home-sourced energy and start exploring the natural energy supplies beneath our feet. As the cleanest fossil fuel shale gas provides a bridge to much greener future,? said a statement from the Department of Energy and Climate Change. ?By removing barriers to deep underground drilling access, we are speeding up oil and gas and deep geothermal energy exploration. ?

    The Conservative energy minister, Matt Hancock, said: ?These new rules will help Britain to explore the great potential of our national shale gas and geothermal resources, as we work towards a greener future ? and open up thousands of new jobs in doing so.?

   ?This is an important day for the future of energy supply in the UK,? said Ken Cronin, chief executive of the industry?s trade body, UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG). ?Landowners on the surface will not notice this underground activity [usually a mile deep] and it will have no impact on their day-to-day lives.?

   But Green Party MP Caroline Lucas said: ?This sham consultation exposes the government?s disregard for the growing public concern about the major environmental and health risks of fracking.The decision to deny people the right to say no to fracking under their own homes is outrageous.It shows that ministers are putting the greed of oil and gas companies above the public interest in tackling climate change.?

     Simon Clydesdale,from Greenpeace, said: ?The roar of opposition to this arrogant policy is deafening,yet ministers are determined to blithely ignore what the overwhelming majority of the British public thinks and wants.There will be a hefty political price to pay for this massive sell-out to the narrow interests of the shale lobby.?

   Friends of the Earth?s Jane Thomas said: ?This government seems hell-bent on fracking irrespective of widespread opposition.You?d think with a general election approaching politicians would listen to public opinion and get behind the popular energy solutions of cutting waste and backing renewables.?

   The changes to the trespass laws were also criticized by Scotland?s energy minister Fergus Ewing: ?UK government proposals to remove the right of Scottish householders to object to drilling under their homes,without so much as debate in the Scottish parliament,flies in the face of Scotland?s cautious,considered and evidence based approach on this issue.It is also fundamentally an issue affecting land ownership rights.?

   In January,another controversial pro-fracking legal change was passed in the face of overwhelming public opposition.The change,which ditched the requirement to notify homes individually of future shale gas operations, was criticized by a Lords committee as having been rushed through without proper parliamentary scrutiny.

   Fracking companies will still need to obtain regulatory permissions, such as planning and environmental permits.

   Earlier in September,the planning committee of the South Downs National Park Authority voted unanimously to reject an application by Celtique Energie to undertake exploratory drilling as a precursor to fracking at Fernhurst in West Sussex.

SCOTTISH VOTERS REJECT INDEPENDENCE FROM THE UK

      Staying in the UK.The Scottish independence referendum was a referendum on Scottish independence that took place in Scotland on September 18,2014.

      The independence referendum question,which voters answered with "Yes" or "No", was "Should Scotland be an independent country?".The "No" side won,with 2,001,926 (55.3%) voting against independence and 1,617,989 (44.7%) voting in favor.The turnout of 84.6% was the highest recorded for an election or referendum in the United Kingdom since the introduction of universal suffrage.

   The Scottish Independence Referendum Bill,setting out the arrangements for this referendum, was passed by the Scottish Parliament in November 2013,following an agreement between the Scottish and the United Kingdom governments,and was enacted as the Scottish Independence Referendum Act 2013.To pass,the independence proposal required a simple majority.With some exceptions,all European Union (EU) or Commonwealth citizens resident in Scotland aged 16 or over could vote,a total of almost 4.3 million people.

   Yes Scotland was the main campaign group for independence,while Better Together was the main campaign group in favor of maintaining the union.Many other campaign groups,political parties, businesses,newspapers and prominent individuals were also involved.Prominent issues raised by the Better Together campaign during the referendum included which currency an independent Scotland would use,public expenditure,EU membership and North Sea oil.

CATALONIA SAYS YES TO INDEPENDENCE FROM SPAIN

      The citizen participation process on the political future of Catalonia,was a non-binding vote on the political future of Catalonia that was held by the Government of Catalonia on November 9^th,2014. While also known as the Catalan independence referendum,the vote was rebranded as a "participation process" by the Government of Catalonia,after a "non-referendum popular consultation" on the same topic and for the same date was suspended by the Constitutional Court of Spain.

    The ballot consisted of two questions:"Do you want Catalonia to become a State?" and "Do you want this State to be independent?".The second question could only be answered by those who had answered Yes to the first one.The Catalan government indicated that 2,305,290 votes were cast overall,but did not provide a turnout percentage figure. Turnout estimates published by media outlets range between 37.0%  and 41.6%.80.8% of the cast votes supported the Yes-Yes option, 10.1% the Yes-No, 4.5% the No option.

    Holding a referendum about the "political future of Catalonia" in 2014 was one of the items of the governance agreement ratified by Artur Mas from Convergence and Union (CiU) and Oriol Junqueras from Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) on December 18,2012,that allowed Artur Mas to be voted in as President of the Generalitat of Catalonia for a second term.

    On September 19,2014, the Catalan parliament approved a call for a referendum on independence.Eight days later Artur Mas announced that the vote was to be held on November 9,2014.The same day the Spanish government announced that it would block the effort by appealing to the Spanish Constitutional Court.The Spanish Constitutional Court decided to hear the Spanish government case on September 29,2014 and provisionally suspended the vote.The Catalan Government subsequently announced the "temporary suspension" of the referendum campaign.

  On October 14,Artur Mas proposed a "process of citizen participation" as an alternative for the original referendum.The Spanish government announced that it would also block this effort by appealing to the Spanish Constitutional Court,which decided to hear the Spanish government case on November 4,2014 and provisionally suspended the vote.The Catalan Government,however,pushed forward with the vote in defiance of the Constitutional Court of Spain.

GERMANY WANTS TO LEGALIZE INCEST

    Germany?s national ethics council has called for an end to the criminalization of incest between siblings after examining the case of a man who had four children with his sister.

    Patrick Stuebing,who was adopted as an infant and met his sister in his 20s,has launched several appeals since being imprisoned for incest in 2008 and his lengthy legal battle has prompted widespread public debate.

    Sexual relations between siblings or between parents and their children are forbidden under section 173 of the German criminal code and offenders can face years in prison.

    But on September 24^th,the German Ethics Council recommended the section be repealed,arguing that the risk of disability in children is not enough to warrant the law and de-criminalizing incest would not remove the huge social taboo around it.

   The chairman of the council,Christiane Woopen,was among the 14 members voting in favour of repealing section 173,while nine people voted for the ban to continue and two abstained.

   A statement released on Wednesday said:?Incest between siblings appears to be very rare in Western societies according to the available data but those affected describe how difficult their situation is in light of the threat of punishment.

    ?They feel their fundamental freedoms have been violated and are forced into secrecy or to deny their love.

   ?The Ethics Council has been told of cases where half-siblings did not grow up together and have only met in their adult lives.?

   Such was the case with Mr Stuebing,who was adopted at a young age and traced his birth family in his early 20s.

   He and his sister Susan Karolewski,who were not brought up together,met for the first time when they were aged 24 and 16 respectively.

    He was convicted of incest in 2008 and spent three years in prison,failing an appeal to the Federal Constitutional Court in 2008 and to the European Court of Human Rights over his rights to a family life in 2012.

    Ms Karolewski was allowed to keep custody of their youngest child but the other three were taken into care.Two are disabled,although it is not known whether incest is the cause.

   In a statement outlining its recommendations,the Ethics Council said the law against incest ?put couples in a tragic situation?.

   ?The majority of the German Ethics Council is of the opinion that it is not appropriate for a criminal law to preserve a social taboo,? it added.

   ?In the case of consensual incest among adult siblings, neither the fear of negative consequences for the family,nor the possibility of the birth of children from such incestuous relationships can justify a criminal prohibition.

   ?The fundamental right of adult siblings to sexual self-determination has more weight in such cases than the abstract protection of the family.

    Members objecting to decriminalizing incest argued that it would weaken ?ethically significant? family values that contribute towards personal development.

    A spokeswoman for Angela Merkel's CDU party,Elisabeth Winkelmeier-Becker,responded to the Ethics Council's vote saying that the abolition of the law against incest would give out the wrong signal.

   ?Abolishing criminal punishment against incestuous actions within a family would go completely against protecting the undisturbed development of children,? she told Deutsche Welle.

    The Ethics Council?s recommendation only covered incest between siblings and members did not recommend decriminalizing sex between parents and children.

 KENYAN WOMEN PROTEST AFTER WOMAN IS STRIPPED FOR WEARING A MINI-SKIRT

    Now to Africa.On Saturday,November 15^th hundreds of women turned out on the streets of the Kenyan capital Nairobi to defend their right to wear what they choose after a woman was stripped and beaten for wearing a miniskirt.

   The attack,which took place the week before at a busy bus stop in Nairobi?s Central Business District,involved dozens of men who surrounded the woman,tore off her clothes and forced her to the ground.

    Local media said the men,who are believed to have been ticket touts,had said the woman was ?indecently dressed?, and accused her of ?tempting? them.

   A video of the incident later emerged online,showing the men calling the woman ?jezebel? as she cried for help.The footage has sparked debate in Kenya,with many Kenyans taking to social media to condemn the video,uniting under the hashtag #MyDressMyChoice.

    The Facebook group Kilimani Mums organised a ?miniskirt protest? in central Nairobi to defend their right to wear what they choose.

   On their event page they wrote: ?This morning we as Kilimani Mums met and decided that we shall hold a peaceful procession to Accra Road.?

    ?This is our chance to stand together as women and deliver a message to our country that sexual violence will not be tolerated.?

    It is reported that over 200 people attended the march.

    Hours after the protest departed from Uhuru Park to where the attack took place on the Accra Road,reports began to circulate of clashes with the ticket touts.

   Kenya?s Ghetto Radio reported that the men confronted protestors and argued they would ?continue to strip women who are dressed skimpily.?

   The victim of the attack remains anonymous.Police chief David Kimaiyo appealed to her to lodge an official complaint with police so that the incident can be investigated.

   Campaigners say that in Kenya?s conservative society,women?s rights are often abused.A Kenyan petition titled ?Violation against women will not be tolerated? hosted on the campaign website Avaaz has attracted over 4,000 signatures since it was launched last week.

 ?It doesn?t matter whether or not the woman was indecently dressed,after all what?s the benchmark for what is considered decent? Furthermore,how did stripping her bare aid in enhancing her decency?? wrote Winnie Kabintie,a correspondent for KenyaForum.net.

   Proud to be a Kenyan woman today.People took it from a hashtag to a protest and thousands turned up. #MyDressMyChoice? muki (@Muki254) November 17, 2014.

     Some of the male protestors who attended today?s demonstration were called ?gay? for supporting the marching women,a sentiment echoed by various voices on Twitter,shining a light on attitudes towards homosexuality in the country.Same-sex acts are considered a crime,punishable with a jail sentence of up to 14 years and prejudice is widespread.

? james wamathai (@uqweli) November 17, 2014

In February 2013,Namibia also attempted to ban miniskirts,leading to the arrest of 40 women after police claimed that revealing clothes ?are not African.?

 28 MURDERED ON BUS IN KENYA

 On November 22 members of Somalia's al-Shabab armed group have hijacked a bus in Kenya and killed 28 non-Muslims on board after singling them out from the rest of the passengers.

    Two police officers said that the bus traveling to the capital Nairobi with 60 passengers was hijacked 50km from the town of Mandera near Kenya's border with Somalia.

    The officers insisted on anonymity out of fear of reprisals and because of an order from Kenya's police chief that officers should not speak to the media.

      Al-Shabab claimed responsibility for the dawn attack in a statement on that Saturday, saying it was revenge for raids carried out by Kenyan security forces on mosques in the coastal city of Mombasa.Kenyan police said they found explosives and arrested more than 150 people in the mosque raids.

   "What happened in Mandera today we did in revenge for what the non-believer government has done to innocent Muslims," Sheikh Ali Mohamud Rage, a spokesman for the group, told Al Jazeera. 

   "They were attacked in places of worship and in their homes.They invaded the Muslim land fo Somalia ... It?s our duty to take revenge."

    The interior ministry confirmed the attack,saying via its official Twitter handle: "Security agencies are in pursuit of the criminal gang.We'll give a comprehensive update once preliminary reports are out."

   A reporter for Kenya's Standard newspaper told Al Jazeera the attack happened at 5:45am local time.

   Quoting Mandera County Commissioner,journalist Boniface Mungeri said the attack was carried out by "about 100 gunmen who commandeered" the bus and forced the passengers out.

   Mungeri said the passengers were separated into groups according to their religion. Non-Muslims, the reporter said, were executed and Muslims were freed. The assailants attempted to take the bus but it got stuck in mud on the unpaved road.

   "We killed the non-believers," Rage told Al Jazeera, confirming that they had split people up. "We did not touch the Muslims because they?re the ones we?re fighting for.The Muslims in Mandera and the Muslims in Somalia are the same to us."

    Among those killed were two security officers and teachers who were travelling to their home towns on holiday.

   Mandera County Governor Ali Ibrahim Roba said on Twitter:"The inhumane butchering of innocent Kenyans by terrorist must get [a] very firm response from our national security team."

   Kenyan authorities have blamed al-Shabab for a wave of deadly attacks across the nation. Kenya sent troops to Somalia in 2011 after raids on its coastal towns blamed on al-Shabab and has since seen a surge in lethal attacks.

   The Somali group has also been blamed for the September 2013 attack on the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi,which killed 77 people.

  Somali government troops backed by AU forces are making progress in capturing the remaining al-Shabab strongholds,but the group has continued to carry out attacks in Somalia and the East Africa region.

   Al-Shabab was dealt a heavy blow following the death of their leader, Ahmed Abdi Godane, who was killed in early September in a US airstrike.Godane has since been replaced by Ahmed Omar, also known as Abu Ubeid.

 276 SCHOOL GIRLS ABDUCTED IN NIGERIA     

 On the 14^th of April 276 school girls were abducted from a school in Nigeria.Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau said the children would be held until all imprisoned militants had been freed.

    Interior Minister Abba Moro rejected the deal,saying that it was "absurd" for a "terrorist group" to try to set conditions.

    It will come as a relief for the parents to see at least some of the kidnapped girls alive.A video shows 136 girls sitting on the floor, wearing hijabs and repeatedly citing the first verse of Koran,followed by the words:"Allah is the only God who should be worshipped and the Prophet Muhammad is the only messenger." This is a pronouncement of their conversion to Islam.

    The Boko Haram leader later says they have become "sisters of the militants" following their conversion. Next he goes on to say he may consider swapping the girls for imprisoned militants - but only those who have not converted.

    The interior minister has said "terrorists" cannot set conditions, but the government is likely to come under pressure to bow to the militants' demands to see at least some girls released.

    The BBC's John Simpson in the northern city of Maiduguri says Boko Haram's comments show signs that the group is willing to negotiate.

    Three of the girls-wearing full-length cloaks-are shown speaking in the 27-minute video,obtained by French news agency AFP.

    Two girls say they were Christian and have converted to Islam, while the other says she is Muslim.

    "These girls,these girls you occupy yourselves with... we have indeed liberated them. These girls have become Muslims," Abubakar Shekau says in the video.

    He said his offer to swap the girls for imprisoned militants only referred to the children who had not converted to Islam.

   It is thought the majority of the abducted girls are Christians,although there are a number of Muslims among them.

    A man who is related to three of the abducted girls said the video at first gave him hope,but then made him anxious and tearful.

   "Maybe they are converted into another religion by force, so it truly is a kind of terrifying situation," said the man, who did not want to be named.

   Some 136 girls are shown in the video, just under half of the 276 pupils abducted from their school in the northern state of Borno.

Our correspondent says this could mean those abducted had been split into smaller groups to help avoid detection.

   Boko Haram, which means "Western education is forbidden", had previously said the girls should not have been at school and should get married instead.

   The militants have been engaged in a violent campaign against the Nigerian government since 2009.

   The government has faced heavy criticism of its response to the mass abduction.

   President Goodluck Jonathan said on Sunday that assistance from abroad had made him optimistic of finding the girls.

   The UK and US already have teams helping on the ground in Nigeria and an Israeli counter-terrorism team is also on its way to the country.

   It?s been over 8 months and still no word on the girls whereabouts.

 NEW INDIAN PRIME MINISTER TREATED LIKE ROCK ROYALTY

Now to Asia. Narendra Damodardas Modi, born on September 17^th.1950 is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India,in office since May 2014.Modi,a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),previously served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat state from 2001 to 2014.He is currently the Member of Parliament (MP) from Varanasi.

   Modi led the BJP in the 2014 general election,which resulted in an outright majority for the BJP in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian parliament)?the last time that any party had secured an outright majority in the Lok Sabha was in 1984.Since then,Modi has also been credited for the BJP's electoral victories in the states of Haryana and Maharashtra in October 2014.

     Modi is a Hindu Nationalist and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).He is a controversial figure both within India as well as internationally as his administration has been criticized for failing to act to prevent the 2002 Gujarat riots.Modi has been praised for his economic policies,which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat.However,his administration has also been criticized for failing to make a significant positive impact upon the human development of the state.

    In September Modi visited Madison Square Garden in New York City and was treated like rock royalty as many spectators came to listen to him. He received a similar reception in November when he visited Sydney.

  PROTESTS IN HONG KONG

    The 2014 Hong Kong protests,also called the Umbrella Revolution, began in September when members of the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong protested outside the Hong Kong Government headquarters and occupied several major city intersections after China's Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPCSC) announced its decision on proposed electoral reform.In disallowing civil nominations,the NPCSC made it clear that a 1200-member nominating committee, in which the composition remains subject to a second round of consultation,would elect two to three electoral candidates with more than half of the votes before the general public could vote on them.

    The Hong Kong Federation of Students and Scholarism began protesting outside the government headquarters on September 22,2014 against the NPCSC's decision.On the evening of September 26, several hundred demonstrators led by Joshua Wong breached a security barrier and entered the forecourt of the Central Government Complex (nicknamed "Civic Square"),which was once a public space that has been barred from public entry since July 2014.Officers cordoned off protesters within the courtyard and restricted their movement overnight,eventually removing them by force the next day.

    On September 28,the Occupy Central with Love and Peace movement announced that they would begin their civil disobedience campaign immediately.Protesters blocked both east?west arterial routes in northern Hong Kong Island near Admiralty.Police tactics (including the use of tear gas) and attacks on protesters by opponents that included triad members,triggered more citizens to join the protests,occupying Causeway Bay and Mong Kok.The number of protesters peaked at more than 100,000.The government called for an end to the protests by setting a 'deadline' of October 6,but this was ignored by protesters, although they allowed government workers to enter offices that had previously been blocked.

   The state-run Chinese media claimed repeatedly that the West had played an "instigating" role in the protests and that "more people in Hong Kong are supporting the anti-Occupy Central movement,"and warned of "deaths and injuries and other grave consequences."In an opinion poll carried out by Chinese University of Hong Kong, only 36.1% of 802 people surveyed between 8?15 October accept NPCSC's decision but 55.6% are willing to accept if HKSAR Government would democratize the nominating committee during the 2nd phase of public consultation period.

   On October 23,the United Nations Human Rights Committee emphasized "the need to ensure universal suffrage,which means both the right to be elected as well as the right to vote." China's Foreign Ministry responded that China's policy on Hong Kong's elections had "unshakable legal status and effect.?

  At the time of writing the Hong Kong situation is still in limbo.The protesters have ceased protesting for now but the protesters are rather admant that the fight will continue.

 THAILAND UNDER MILITARY RULE

   On May 22,2014,the Royal Thai Armed Forces,led by General Prayuth Chan-ocha,Commander of the Royal Thai Army (RTA),launched a coup d'?tat against the caretaker government of Thailand, following six months of political crisis.The military established a junta called National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to govern the nation.

     After dissolving the government and the Senate,the NCPO vested the executive and legislative powers in its leader and ordered the judicial branch to operate under its directives.In addition,it partially repealed the 2007 constitution,declared martial law and curfew nationwide,banned political gatherings,arrested and detained politicians and anti-coup activists,imposed internet censorship and took control of the media.

      The NCPO issued an interim constitution granting itself amnesty and sweeping power.The NCPO also established a military dominated national legislature which later unanimously voted General Prayuth as a new prime minister of the country.

 WHATEVER HAPPENED TO FLIGHT MH370

   Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370/MAS370)was a scheduled international passenger flight that disappeared on Saturday,March 8,2014,while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Malaysia to Beijing Capital International Airport,People's Republic of China.Air traffic control received the aircraft's last message at 01:20 MYT (17:20 UTC, March 7) when it was over the South China Sea,less than an hour after takeoff. It was last plotted by military radar at 02:15 over the Andaman Sea,320 kilometres (200 mi) northwest of Penang state in northwestern Malaysia.At 07:24, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) reported the flight missing.The aircraft,a Boeing 777-200ER, was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations.A multinational search effort,which became the largest and most expensive in history,began in the Gulf of Thailand and the South China Sea, where the flight's signal was lost on secondary surveillance radar,and was soon extended to the Strait of Malacca and Andaman Sea.The focus of the search shifted to the southern part of the Indian Ocean,west of Australia.An analysis of possible flight paths was conducted,identifying a 60,000 km2 (23,000 sq mi) search area, approximately 2,000 km (1,200 mi) west of Perth,Western Australia.The underwater search of this area began on October 5,2014 and will last up to 12 months at a cost of A$60 million (approximately US$56 million or ?41 million).There has been no confirmation of any flight debris,and no crash site has been found,resulting in many unofficial theories about its disappearance.Analysis of these communications by multiple agencies has concluded that the flight ended in the southern Indian Ocean.On March 24,the Malaysian government,noting that the final location determined by the satellite communication was far from any possible landing sites,concluded that "flight MH370 ended in the southern Indian Ocean.

  At the time of writing no debri or bodies from MH370 have been found.