Saturday, 19 October 2013

The European Union Times

Shocking Travel Alert Warns US Cops Are On “Unprecedented” Killing Spree

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 06:53 AM PDT

A shocking report prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) for the Federal Assembly (FA) is urging a new law be passed giving to all Russians traveling to the United States a “warning” that American police officers have entered upon an “unprecedented killing spree” that in the past decade has seen nearly 5,000 innocent civilians gunned down without benefit of either charges being filed, or being convicted of a crime.
Two of the worst American cities for police abuse likely to be visited by Russian citizens, this report says, are Chicago, which was condemned by the United Nations for its practice of widespread police torture, and New York City whose government paid out over $1 billion between 2000-2010 in lawsuit claims related to police abuse, and last year, 2012, had to pay out another $131 million to settle civil rights and police abuse claims too.
Grimly to be noted, this report continues, are that the statistics for the nearly 5,000 people killed by American police officers in the past decade, including 587 killed in 2012 alone, may not even be the true total of these deaths as a study of killings by police from 1999 to 2002 in the Central Florida region found that US national databases included only one-fourth of the number of persons killed by police as reported in the local news media.
To the types of people being targeted by these US police “killing machines,” this report says, are many with disabilities and mental illness, including:
Down Syndrome patient Robert Ethan Saylor, 26, who was brutally straggled to death by 3 Maryland sheriff’s deputies on 12 January and whose last words were cries for his “mommy” to come help him.

Mentally ill patient Bobby Bennett, 53, brutally shot by Dallas Texas police officers on 14 October while standing in the street in front of his house not threatening anyone. [See video HERE]
To the “kill first” mentality of American police officers this report cites the 29 November 2012 public execution of Timothy Russell and Malissa Williams by Cleveland Ohio police officers, who for daring to flee from police after a traffic stop were chased by 104 police officers for 25-minutes and then gunned down in a hail of 137 bullets.
Even though 63 of the 104 Cleveland police officers were suspended for the execution of Russell and Williams, this report says, no officers in the killing of Saylor or the shooting of Bennett have been charged.
In fact, this report states, the lack of American authorities holding their police officers responsible for killing of innocents is virtually unheard of in the United States and has caused this unprecedented “explosion” of police violence.
Equally to be blamed, this report continues, are America’s wars over the past 12-years that has filled its police departments with veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan who have yet to acclimate to civilian life and are, in essence, still in “combat mode.”
Two of the many examples cited in this report of this “combat mode” mentality held by American police officers include:

Allen Hicks, in 2012, who was arrested by Tampa Florida police officers for “not following orders” and was thrown into a jail cell where he was later found to be having a stroke, and which a few months later he died from in hospital.
Elliott Williams, in 2011, who was arrested by Tulsa Oklahoma police officers on a minor charge and was left in his jail cell for 5 days until he died, all the while being neglected and his health ignored.
What’s even worse, this MFA report warns, is that this unprecedented “killing spree” US police officers are now on is only going to get worse as these once honored guardians of the peace have become more militarized.
And as further warned about the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU): “American neighborhoods are increasingly being policed by cops armed with the weapons and tactics of war.”
To if the Obama regime will attempt to stop this police “killing spree,” this report concludes, it does not appear likely as President Obama has just nominated as his new Homeland Security Secretary former Pentagon lawyer Jeh Johnson, and who has said, “US citizens do not have immunity from assassination when they are at war with the United States.”
And to whom these Obama regime leaders feel they are “at war” with, the MFA says, was recently revealed in US Court documents relating to a lawsuit against the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) which shockingly revealed that the invasive personal searches conducted by them upon their own citizens has nothing to do with preventing terrorism, but is, instead, designed to make these people as compliant to police authority as possible.
Source

Killer GMO looking for shelter in Russia

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 05:23 AM PDT

While in the West hundreds of thousands of demonstrators are protesting against the wide spread of genetically modified foods, Russia has taken a complex stance in relation to GMOs. On the one hand, the Russian President is hinting at the possibility of a total ban of such products, while on the other hand Russia has ratified international agreements that do not allow such bans.
Meanwhile, a clear legislative framework for the definition of acceptability of GMO products in the country can directly affect the state of Russia’s agro-industrial complex suffering the consequences of the country’s accession to the WTO.
Last weekend, protest marches against the spread of genetically modified products and their manufacturers were held in fifty countries. Particular anger of hundreds of thousands of protesters was directed against one of the biggest players in this market, the Monsanto Corporation. It is not surprising. In addition to large amounts of seeds of genetically modified corn, soybeans and cotton, this leader of bioengineering produces herbicides, fertilizers, and growth hormone for animals that advocates of clean food do not approve.
At first glance, the situation seems paradoxical. For nearly its entire history mankind has dreamed of high-yielding, disease and pest-free crops. Now, when biotechnology provided this opportunity, suddenly there are plenty of people who are unhappy. Opponents of GMOs contrast obvious economic benefits with a number of concerns ranging from direct harmful effects on human and animal health to a hypothetical risk of unpredictable formation of features in microorganisms harmful for humans and animals.
Proponents of GMOs respond with an argument to these concerns: there is no “objective” data about the dangers of such products (obviously, they refuse to recognize the objectivity of the arguments put forward by their opponents). They argue that the history of genetically modified organisms is too short to draw global conclusions. In this philosophy lies a considerable danger because when all the side effects of these technologies manifest, it may be too late.
However, with regard to Russia and Russian agriculture there are quite specific, easily measured in tons and rubles facts that make us pay close attention to the issue of GMOs. Russia is far behind the developed countries in the implementation of biotechnology, and this is a problem. However, at the same time this lag provides good chances for the Russian agriculture.
The lag in biotechnology means that the Russian agricultural industry that is already under severe conditions is forced to compete with a significant inflow of cheap agricultural products from the West. One may hurry to catch up with the leaders, but there are other traps. The world’s producers of genetically modified seeds will enthusiastically rush into the Russian market, but the trick is that, for example, they sell seeds that can only be used once. After harvesting, these plants cease to proliferate. What would happen if for some reason seed suppliers stop selling to Russian farmers?
Development of domestic biotechnology is certainly necessary. However, considering the risks associated with genetically modified food, there should be no rush in this direction. What should be done now? There is not that much room for maneuver. Under the terms of the WTO the Russian market should be open for GMO-containing foods, and consumers should be warned about whether or not the presence of these additives in the product depends on the willingness of the manufacturer.
The situation is so serious that, summing up the meeting on socio-economic development held in September in the Rostov region, President Putin instructed the Cabinet to tighten control over the circulation of GMO-containing products including the possibility of a total ban in Russia. Recently, during a press conference that took place before the industry forum “Golden Autumn – 2013″ Russian Agriculture Minister Nikolai Fyodorov said that “Russia will focus on international experience, including the experience of the European Union that allows GMOs, but regulates its use in a way that these measures can be called almost prohibitive.”
According to the Minister, “prospects for Russia will be strategically successful if we maintain ecological agriculture in Russia.” Branding of Russian agricultural products as environmentally friendly can be a marketing advantage of the Russian food.
“Indeed, Russia has a unique opportunity to occupy a niche as a global manufacturer of environmentally friendly agricultural products,” said an expert consultant of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation Olga Rasbash. “We have tremendous resources of 40 million hectares of land that has not been subjected to chemicals for a long time, and another 3 million hectares lie fallow or are simply abandoned. The introduction of organic farming on these lands would bring the country great benefits. In particular, according to experts, by 2020 Russia will be able to occupy over 15 percent of the global market of environmentally friendly agricultural products that by that time will increase to 200-250 billions of dollars.
According to a representative of the Public Chamber, a focus on organic farming not only promises direct economic benefits, but also will be able to give life back to the abandoned Russian villages. Organic farming will ensure the development of small and medium-sized businesses, and will provide the villagers with well-paid jobs and will keep young people in their home lands.
But to do this, as Olga Rasbash explained in an interview with Pravda.Ru, more should be done than a simple ban on the use of GMOs in agriculture and food industry. “This would require an entire set of laws, first of all, technical regulations for organic agricultural products, the national quality standard of environmental friendly products, laws on organic farming, soil protection, a law on protection of genetic resources, and so on. In addition, the state control has to be tightened and new principles of expertise and product labeling should be introduced allowing differentiating the degree of harm and healthfulness for individuals. A possibility of social control based on the best international practices in the field of food security should be introduced,” the expert explained.
But what about the fact that the products of organic farming are more expensive both in terms of cost of production and consumer price? Will Russian farmers be able to use a more expensive organic technology? Will the majority of Russian consumers be able to afford expensive organic products?
“These fears are exaggerated,” said Olga Rasbash. “Experts estimate that the unit cost of production of environmentally- friendly products in Russia can be comparable to, or higher than average by 10-40 percent. Our experience shows that, even now, without the creation of special conditions many regions are trying to implement the principles of organic farming, at least partially. As for the concerns that eco-friendly products will not be affordable to most citizens of Russia, no one says that all foods should be organic. It would be sufficient to spread the principles of organic farming to 30-35 percent of the agricultural land, and the rest can be used for conventional production, of course, without genetically modified organisms.”
According to Olga Rasbash, in Russia there is hope that the arguments of the opponents of GMOs will be heard. In addition to the fact that some regions take independent steps to protect local farmers from unfair competition (and protect consumers from dubious GMO-products), the State Duma may consider the bill on organic agriculture during this fall session.
Finally, here is some history of the Monsanto Corporation. The company was founded in 1901. It became famous during the American war in Vietnam as the main supplier of defoliants (chemicals that the U.S. military sprayed over jungles to cause abscission of foliage). Later it was revealed that these reagents cause cancer, and the company had to pay $180 million in compensation to the veterans of the Vietnam War.
During the same period, the corporation was the first in the world to manufacture plastic bottles for soft drinks. Soon, it became clear that they were not safe for health and the Office of Food and Drug Administration banned their U.S. production. The company is constantly mentioned as a defendant in claims for damage to health. Last year alone Monsanto has spent about $ 6 million on lobbying in Congress and U.S. government agencies, which eventually led to the adoption of “Law for the Protection of Monsanto” that protects biotech companies from lawsuits related to the production and sale of GM seeds.
Now this “good doer” set out to build a large enterprise in Ukraine for the production of genetically modified corn seeds. It is obvious that this production will be focused not only on Ukraine and Europe (the latter, incidentally, already has enough of this production). If this is the consequences of the choice of the “European path” we can only sympathize with our western neighbors and hope that Russian legislators and the executive branch will not delay the protection of Russian fields and health from the GMO grace.
Source

Huge half-ton chunk of Russian meteorite lifted from lakebed

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 04:46 AM PDT

The largest-discovered fragment of a Russian meteorite, weighing around 570 kilograms, has been lifted from the bed of Lake Chebarkul in the Urals.
The huge meteorite chunk split into three pieces when scientists tried to weigh it. The precise weight could not be established because the heavy object broke the scales.
“The preliminary examination… shows that this is really a fraction of the Chelyabinsk meteorite. It’s got thick burn-off, the rust is clearly seen and it’s got a big number of indents. This chunk is most probably one of the top ten biggest meteorite fragments ever found,” said Sergey Zamozdra, associate professor of Chelyabinsk State University, as cited by Interfax news agency.
He explained that it was important to establish the weight of the fragment in order to learn more about the qualities of the whole of the meteorite.
The lifted chunk was taken to the regional natural history museum. The plan is to have a small sample of it X-rayed to determine what minerals it consists of.
Several earlier attempts to raise this massive chunk of meteorite, found by divers at the beginning of September, failed.
The divers’ mission was hampered by a number of factors. The meteorite fragment lay 20 meters under water, buried under a thick layer of mud.
Estimates concerning the layer of sediments covering the chunk were more optimistic than what the divers actually had to deal with. It took them 10 days to pump the mud away from the rock.

The divers had to do their job in conditions of zero visibility, due to the extremely muddied waters of the lake. Storms further contributed to delays in lifting the celestial body.
The largest lifted chunk of meteorite so far weighed 11 kilograms. Scientists on Wednesday confirmed its extraterrestrial nature.

A huge meteorite, weighing around 11,000 tons, exploded over the Chelyabinsk region in Russia on February 15. It injured more than 1,600 people, and inflicted plenty of damage – around a billion rubles ($31 million) worth and also caused mass media frenzy.
Overall 12 alleged pieces of meteorite have so far been raised from the lakebed. Five of them were confirmed as meteorite fragments.
Source

Italians go on strike to protest austerity measures

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 03:47 AM PDT

Demonstrators dressed to represent prisoners, hold chains and a mock cannonball during a protest against the reforms by the Italian government in downtown Rome, October 18, 2013.

Thousands of Italian civil servants and transport workers have gone on strike in the capital Rome and other cities to protest against austerity measures enforced by the government.
Friday strike, which disrupted urban transportation, was organized by the far-left COBAS union against the government of Prime Minister Enrico Letta.
More than 100 flights were grounded at Rome’s Fiumicino Airport while 80 percent of buses stopped running in the capital. In other cities, subway services were disrupted.
Letta, who submitted his 2014 budget on Tuesday, has come under heavy fire for freezes on public sector salaries.
Labor unions are complaining about insufficient relaxation of tax burden on workers.
“With this budget the government is continuing to hurt a country which is already on its knees,” COBAS spokesman Piero Bernocchi told Reuters, adding, “Even after austerity has proven to be disastrous, with debt rising, the economy crumbling and unemployment soaring they still continue with these policies.”
Further protests are planned for Saturday in Rome. Some protestors have said they plan to camp overnight in front of St. John’s Basilica, which is a traditional site for union rallies.
Italy started to experience recession after its economy contracted by 0.2 percent in the third quarter of 2011 and by 0.7 percent in the fourth quarter of the same year.
Over the past decade, Italy has been the slowest growing economy in the eurozone as tough austerity measures, spending cuts, and pension changes have stirred serious concerns for many people already grappling with the European country’s ailing economy.
Italians have been staging protests against high unemployment, economic adversity, and hardship over a series of government-imposed austerity packages in the recent past.
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Moscow authorities ban nationalist rally citing security concerns

Posted: 18 Oct 2013 03:24 AM PDT

City officials have revoked the earlier-granted license for an October 19 nationalist rally, saying they could not guarantee the safety of participants after recent ethnic conflicts in the district of Biryulyovo.
One of the organizers of the rally, the leader of the ‘Russians’ political bloc Dmitry Dyomushkin wrote in his internet blog that he and other organizers of the rally had been summoned to a district prefecture and informed that the previously issued permit for the rally had been annulled.
Civil servants explained that they could not guarantee the safety of rally participants after weekend events in the district of Biryulyovo. Police detained about 400 rioters and over 1,000 foreign citizens in Biryulyovo and closed one of Russia’s largest vegetable warehouses following a conflict sparked by the fatal stabbing of a local Russian man, allegedly by an Azerbaijani illegal immigrant.
The authorities also said that they preferred not to hold a nationalist rally whilst Muslims were celebrating the holiday of Kurban Bairam (Eid al-Adha) which started on October 15 and lasts for four days.
According to Dyomushkin, the authorities granted permission for the rally on October 9. The event was to be held on Narodnogo Opolcheniya Street in the north-west of Moscow, almost across the city from the southern suburb of Biryulyovo.
Dyomushkin currently heads the supreme council of a loose nationalist ‘Russians’ bloc with an agenda of protecting the rights of ethnic Russians both inside the Russian Federation and abroad. Dyomushkin also used to head the ‘Slavic Union’ movement, which was banned in 2010 as extremist and racist.
At the same time, some of Dyomushkin’s moves indicate that he is open for dialogue with other ethnic groups and confessions. In 2011 he traveled to the Chechen republic at the invitation of local authorities and highly praised the developments in the region and the governing style of its leader. In early 2012 he again traveled to Chechnya and spoke before the parliament of the republic, praising the role of ethnic Russians in the Russian Federation.
Dyomushkin is also known as a key organizer of the so called Russian Marches – mass rallies of Russian nationalists that take place annually on November 4 which is marked in the Russian Federation as the Day of People’s Unity. In 2011, between 10,000 and 25,000 people rallied at the Russian March in the remote Moscow district of Lyublino. In 2012, the march was held in the city center and also gathered over 10 thousand participants.
The ‘Russians’ bloc has already announced that it is preparing for a Russian March in 2013, but has not yet submitted an official request to the city authorities.
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