The European Union Times |
- Severe voting fraud reported in Greek Euro Elections
- Pope Francis arrives in West Bank amid Israeli protests
- USDA announces 3.5% higher food prices in coming months
- UKIP ranks more than 30% in Britain – New Poll
|
Posted: 25 May 2014 09:56 AM PDT
 Statement Issued at 3pm Greek time. 8am New York time. The Golden Dawn is urging all citizens to stand up for their civil rights and call it’s main office to report ballot tampering. Reports have already been pouring in with certain polling stations outright withholding Golden Dawn ballots. The website makeleio.gr reported: Panic from citizens who say they were not given all the ballots. “In polling stations in Gizi (932), in Thisio (395) and second at the 1645 High School of Nea Ionia, they did not give all the ballots on the grounds that the parties are too numerous. But how is it that some very small parties are present and out of everything they forget Golden Dawn? They only target us? This is the junta coalition! “ Other reports are coming out such as one polling station where elderly Golden Dawn voters are screaming and furious, demanding the ballot for Golden Dawn. Tensions are running high. Greek Euro Elections: Samaras Junta caught damaging ballot slips! Plot Foiled! Early this morning right before elections began, in the following areas Golden Dawn ballot slips were found damaged and mutilated! The obvious intent was that nobody would be there in time to replace the damaged ballots and get away with it. Fortunately our representatives caught the illegal action and stopped them. So this time the process will run smoothly. The Samaras Junta is desperate to alter the outcome no matter how illegal the methods. These are the following polling stations: Second Piraeus 2nd Gymnasium Drapetsonas 13th Primary Keratsini 21st Primary Keratsini 6th Primary Keratsini 8th Primary Korydallos 7th Gymnasium Korydallos 5th Gymnasium Korydallos 3rd Lyceum Keratsini A Piraeus 1st High School of Piraeus Athens 91st in Athens Municipal Pagrati 126th Elementary in Athens Paggrati 18th City of Athens 56th High School of Athens 16o to Athens Municipal Ambelokipi           |
|
Posted: 25 May 2014 03:21 AM PDT
 Pope Francis has arrived in the occupied West Bank at the start of a two-day tour to the occupied Palestinian territories amid protests by Israelis opposed to his visit. Upon arrival in the city of Bethlehem on Sunday, the 77-year-old spiritual leader held a meeting with acting Palestinian Authority Chief Mahmoud Abbas. During the meeting, Abbas blasted the Israeli regime for putting pressure on Christians and Muslims to leave al-Quds (Jerusalem). “We have informed his holiness about the tragic situation in Jerusalem (al-Quds)… where Israel is systematically acting to change its identity and character, and strangling the Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims, with the aim of pushing them out,” Abbas said. Meanwhile, Israeli forces have arrested at least 26 people protesting the Pope’s visit to al-Quds. Two Israeli soldiers were injured in clashes with the protesters. Israel is facing mounting pressure to rein in a spiraling wave of hate crimes by Israelis, which have been on the rise ahead of the papal visit, mainly in the form of vandalism and graffiti targeting churches. The Pope began his tour to the Middle East by visiting Jordan earlier on Saturday. This is Pope Francis’ first visit to the Middle East region since he assumed the papal position and it is the first time a pope lands in the West Bank rather than Tel Aviv first. Source      |
|
Posted: 25 May 2014 02:49 AM PDT
 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released a report recently which details changes in food price indexes for the years 2012-2014. Astonishingly in the report, the U.S. is headed for a massive increase on certain foods in the coming months. For example in 2012 there was a 2.6% increase in for the cost of consumer foods as a whole, raising 1.4% more in 2013. However, with farmers and meat producers across the U.S. experiencing violently harsh weather conditions, including drought, the USDA predicts another 2.5-3.5% increase in 2014, compounding yet again from previous years. At this rate, in 5-years not many will be able to afford to eat certain foods, like meats or even eggs and dairy. Ros Krasny, writing for Reuters, reported: Egg prices are also climbing, up 15 percent in April alone and are expected to rise by 5 to 6 percent on the year, and higher milk prices are feeding through to other products in the dairy case, particularly cheese. Sweet lovers and caffeine addicts will see some relief, however, since global prices for sugar and coffee remain low, USDA said. The agency forecast prices of sugar and sweets to rise by 1 percent to 2 percent in 2014 and prices for non-alcoholic beverages to rise by 1.5 percent to 2.5 percent. Both forecasts were lowered this month. Source      |
|
Posted: 25 May 2014 02:36 AM PDT
 The results of the local elections have been fascinating. It was reasonable to expect that Ukip would do well in the European Parliament ballot (which is yet to be counted), but the fact that so many people chose to vote for the party at council level, too, suggests that the revolt is about more than just our relationship with Brussels. It represents a cry of rage against politics-as-usual, a cry that the main parties would be wise to listen to. Once, Ukip was seen purely as a party of the shires, of disaffected Tories. But the phenomenon has broadened. It performed well in several Conservative strongholds, contributing to the loss of key councils such as Maidstone, Southend-on-Sea, Basildon and Brentwood. But Ukip also polled more than 30 percent in parts of Labour’s northern enclaves, as well as contributing to the fall of the party in Thurrock, an area that happens to be number two on Labour’s target list for next year’s general election. The Lib Dems did as badly as expected and face possible wipeout in the European poll. In the long run, the biggest loser was surely Ed Miliband. Yes, he picked up many seats and emerged top of the poll, but he did not do nearly as well as he should for the leader of an Opposition only one year away from a general election. The embarrassment of failing to recognise the name of the leader of Swindon’s Labour Party may have contributed to the fact that the Tories held this crucial council. But policy undid him, too. Mr Miliband has tried to play Robin Hood in the past two years, offering voters everything from controlled rents to fixed energy prices. That such naked populism has not helped him indicates that people have long memories of his party’s time in office and that they are unconvinced by the rebranding. Rather than protesting against a Tory government by voting to the Left of it, they have, unusually, voted to the Right of it. Mr Miliband must now regret his decision effectively to rule out a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, a position out of touch with the nation’s mood. The message for David Cameron is more nuanced. While he did badly, he did not do nearly as badly as he might have done and the opinion polls continue to show that the general election is neck and neck. Improvement in the economy has given his chances of re-election momentum. Also, many voters have registered anger about areas of policy that the Tories ought to be able to score points on, particularly Britain’s membership of the EU and vast illegal immigration. Politically, Mr Miliband cannot respond to these classically conservative concerns, but Mr Cameron certainly can. If he can show that he is determined to negotiate a new relationship with the EU, and he needs to give us a better sense of what this will look like, then Ukip voters may respond warmly. Similarly, if he can convince the public that the Government is determined to manage our borders better, to be honest about the numbers involved and to ensure that Britain’s economy and services are capable of dealing with the logistical challenge of EU migration, then, again, he will find new sources of support. Crucially, Mr Cameron and all the main party leaders must show humility. The people have spoken and the message is that they are tired of the politics of spin, of political correctness shutting down debate or of the feeling that Britain cedes too much sovereignty to Europe. Even if the economy would improve, resentment about past policy mistakes lingers. Mr Cameron was right to say that he shares the “frustration” with the slow pace of change. The choice of language is canny, because he has to convince voters that he feels their anguish and is determined to take the right action to improve things faster. If these results are any indication, the party could do well enough in the general election to deny Mr Cameron a second term. A period of rebellion is cathartic. But a Labour-led government would prove infinitely more frustrating than a Tory one, but with everything said, Ukip’s rise to power is probably the best thing that could happen to Britain in the last 100 years. Source     |
