Where in the world has Vlad been? After more than a week of silence, Russia’s president has broken his silence in a big way that could shape the future of the Arctic forever.

Plus a quick ISIS update, how Oil explains it all, some feedback & a lot more!

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Wikipedia Sues NSA Over Dragnet Internet Surveillance – The Intercept

The lawsuit argues that this broad surveillance, revealed in documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, violates the First Amendment by chilling speech and the open exchange of information, and that it also runs up against Fourth Amendment privacy protections.

Edward Snowden is right—NSA surveillance won’t stop terrorism

The controversial whistleblower made a surprise appearance via Google Hangout at SXSW this week, where his remarks proved captivating as always. Essentially a less flashy sequel to his ACLU speech from 2014, Snowden only spoke to a few people this time around, engaging in a conversation with a select group of leaders from America’s tech sector. In particular, he urged tech companies to become “champions of privacy,” suggesting that they use their power to help shield Americans from an increasingly watchful government.

Even with hiring up, Fed want further gains before rate hike – Houston Chronicle

The Fed signaled Wednesday that it needs the job market to improve further and inflation to rise above low levels before it begins nudging borrowing rates up. Even then, it suggested it will do so only very gradually.

The statement the Fed issued after its latest policy meeting seemed to catch investors by surprise in suggesting that a rate increase might be further off than many had assumed. Stock prices jumped, and bond yields fell.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been down nearly 100 points before the statement was issued, closed up 227 points, or 1.3 percent. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which influences long-term mortgage rates, tumbled from 2.04 percent just before the Fed’s announcement to 1.92 percent.

The US Assuming Chairmanship of Artic Council

Admiral Robert Papp, U.S. special representative to the Arctic, delivered a keynote address on U.S. policy in Arctic. He stressed the importance of U.S. leadership in the Arctic, and the need to educate younger generations on climate change and the Arctic at an early age. His comments preceded U.S. assumption of the Arctic Council chairmanship for a two year term.

“U.S. Leadership in the Arctic” was held at the Brookings Institution.

In April US assumes the chairmanship of the Arctic council for two years

• Arctic Council

• Arctic Council at US State Dept

The Arctic Council is a high-level intergovernmental forum that addresses primarily environmental protection and sustainable development issues in the Arctic region. The eight founding nations (Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Sweden and the United States) of the 1991 Arctic Environmental Protection Strategy comprise the Member States of the Arctic Council. Six Arctic indigenous groups hold Permanent Participant status, and a number of other countries and organizations are accredited observers. The Council meets every two years at the Ministerial level to coordinate Council activities and oversee the work of the six working groups. Senior Arctic Officials from each member state meet more frequently to oversee Council operations between Ministerial meetings. The Arctic Council website includes general information about the Council and its activities, projects, and upcoming events, as well as archives of Council documents and links to the working group websites.

The United States participates in the Arctic Council under the leadership of the Department of State. Many other agencies, including the Departments of Interior, Energy, Commerce (NOAA), Transportation (FAA), and Homeland Security (Coast Guard), the Environmental Protection Agency, the National Science Foundation, the Arctic Research Commission, and the State of Alaska support or actively participate in the Arctic Council’s work.

The United States actively seeks to promote the viability and socioeconomic well being of Arctic communities and supports scientific research and international cooperation in achieving these goals. The United States is committed to working with its partners in the Arctic Council to advance shared objectives and looks forward to its 2015-17 Chairmanship.

Russia’s Arctic pivot is a massive military undertaking – Business Insider

Russia’s biggest new military development in the Arctic is the creation of the Russian Joint Strategic Command North (JSCN), which is built out of the former Northern Fleet. The command, according to Defense News, has a surface fleet and a submarine fleet of about 40 vessels each, although between 40% and 70% of those ships are currently unusable.

According to the Polish Institute of International Affairs, the JSCN won’t be an ordinary naval fleet. The command will ultimately feature an air defense division, two Arctic mechanized brigades, a naval infantry brigade, a coastal defense missile system, and the placement of missile regiments in outlying archipelagos in the Arctic Ocean.

Russia’s Arctic Militarization ‘Disturbing,’ US Lawmakers Say | Defense Tech

“When you look at what the Russians are doing in the Arctic, it is actually quite impressive –impressive, but disturbing,” Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska., told military leaders at a recent Senate Armed Services Committee Navy budget hearing.

“The Russians are looking at adding four new combat brigades in the Arctic as our U.S. Army is thinking at pulling them out of there,” he said. “I think that would give Vladimir Putin a lot of joy. They are building 13 new airfields and conducting long-range air patrols off the coast of Alaska.”

Petroleum exploration in the Arctic – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A 2008 United States Geological Survey estimates that areas north of the Arctic Circle have 90 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil (and 44 billion barrels of natural gas liquids ) in 25 geologically defined areas thought to have potential for petroleum. This represents 13% of the undiscovered oil in the world.

Arctic drilling is inevitable: if we don’t find oil in the ice, then Russia will – Telegraph

Forget the North Sea and the Middle East, it is the frozen oceans of the Arctic which are the next great frontier that big oil companies plan to exploit over the coming 15 years.

“There aren’t that many places left on the planet that are on the kind of scale as the Arctic in terms of possible resources for the oil companies to go at,” Andrew Latham, vice-president of exploration services at Wood Mackenzie told The Daily Telegraph.

Jason and The Argonauts

I’ve written into the show once before, but I still hear my name called from time to time. So I decided to do some digging…

Looking at the Unfilter Patreon page[1] I noticed that the amount of patrons named Jason is way above average. According to NameStatistics.com[2] about 0.66% of males in the USA are named Jason. Of the Unfilter patrons, 2.1% are named Jason. That’s over three times the average.

So way to go all the other Jasons out there!

Non-Lethal Aid: US Spends $15 Million on Journalists for Anti-Assad Reports — News from Antiwar.com

$15 million of the funding is going to go to journalists and opposition figures “to support documentation of war crimes, human rights violations, and other Syrian government abuses.”

Reports link Islamic State recruiter to Canadian Embassy in Jordan

Canada’s embassy in Jordan, which is run by Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s hand picked ambassador and former top bodyguard, is being linked in news reports to an unfolding international terrorism and spy scandal.

The federal government refused to comment Friday on multiple Turkish media reports that a foreign spy allegedly working for Canadian intelligence — and arrested in Turkey for helping three young British girls travel to Syria to join Islamic State militants — was working for the Canadian embassy in Amman, Jordan.

High-Note:

Top Pot Researcher Weighs in on Long-Term Effects of Marijuana Use | High Times

Allegations from anti-pot proponents that cannabis use by adults causes serious harms are unwarranted and unproven. So says one of the nation’s leading marijuana researchers.

Speaking recently to the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. Igor Grant acknowledged, “There is no evidence for long-term damaging effects in adults.”