Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday 8 March 2015

The European Union Times


Posted: 07 Mar 2015 07:34 AM PST


The number of drug deaths involving heroin has soared four times since 2000 throughout much of the United States, new statistics indicate. Most of the increase in heroin fatalities occurred after 2010, with the highest rate among adults aged 25–44.
“From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted rate for drug poisoning deaths [in the US] involving heroin nearly quadrupled from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2013,” says a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study used data from 28 states.
Heroin overdoses by gender vary differently as men die from heroin overdose four times as often as women. In 2013, the number of fatal overdoses involving heroin “was nearly four times higher for men (6,525 deaths) than women (1,732 deaths),” says the research.


The increase in deaths affects the whole country, with the Midwest being particularly hard hit.
“From 2000 through 2013, the age-adjusted rate for heroin-related drug-poisoning deaths increased nearly 11-fold in the Midwest region (from 0.4 to 4.3 per 100,000).”
The highest rate for heroin-related drug-poisoning deaths was among adults aged 25–44. From 2010 through 2013 the death rate for this group increased from 1.9 to 5.4.
According to the report, in 2013 “non-Hispanic white persons aged 18–44 had the highest rate.” In 2000, non-Hispanic black persons of the same age had the highest rate.
“From 2000 through 2013, rates increased for both age groups (18–44 and 45–64) and race and ethnicity groups (non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, and Hispanic), with the largest increases seen among non-Hispanic white persons.”


“Identifying populations at high risk of heroin-related drug-poisoning death can help target prevention strategies,” says the study.
In January, the CDC said that 2,000 more people died from heroin-related deaths in 2013 than in 2012, as prescription painkillers became harder to obtain and led to a rise in cheaper, illicit street drugs.
“These troubling statistics illustrate a grim reality: that drug, and particularly opioid abuse, represents a growing public health crisis,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
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Posted: 07 Mar 2015 07:16 AM PST


Russia’s Security Council has accused the United States of plotting to oust President Vladimir Putin by aiding opposition groups.
Nikolai Patrushev, the council’s chief, said on Wednesday that Washington is financing the opposition and encouraging mass demonstrations against Putin.
Patrushev added that the US funds Russian political groups under the guise of promoting civil society, just as in the “color revolutions” in the former Soviet Union republics.
He went on to say that Washington also uses sanctions over the Ukraine crisis as a “pretext” to inflict economic pain and cause discontent.
Combating color revolutions
“It’s clear that the White House has been counting on a sharp deterioration in Russians’ standard of living, mass protests,” Patrushev said, adding that Moscow can stand against the pressure thanks to its resilience and “decades of experience in combating color revolutions.”
The comments come a week after a Russian protest leader was murdered near the Kremlin. Russia’s Putin described as politically motivated the killing of Boris Nemtsov, a former deputy premier, who had joined the opposition.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for an end to “shameful” political murders in his country, following the killing of the Kremlin critic.
US officials have dismissed the suggestion of a plot, with White House spokesman Josh Earnest calling the idea “outrageous and false.”
US President Barack Obama also has prolonged the anti-Russia sanctions introduced on March 6, 2014 “to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States.”
The sanctions were imposed by the US and the European Union after they accused Russia of being involved in the Ukrainian conflict that broke out last year. Russia has repeatedly denied the accusation.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in the eastern Ukraine have been hit by deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.
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Posted: 07 Mar 2015 06:41 AM PST


François Crépeau, the United Nation’s special rapporteur on human rights of migrants, has said the final “solution for Europe” is for it give up on immigration and to have open borders.
“I don’t see any other solution for Europe,” he said. “They need to open the borders.”
“European states need to create an operation where saving lives is the first objective.”
Joel Millman, a press officer for the International Organization for Migration echoed Crépeau’s call for open borders.
“We appreciate border security is a shared responsibility. We don’t think everybody should be allowed in, not terrorists or pedophiles. But you can’t ignore certain truths here. Europe is close to massive conflict zones” he said.
“We need to open up the channels of legal resettlement”
“The EU can’t escape it. This is their future. They should actually embrace it,” Millman said.
Traitors and sellouts are really pushing for open borders in Europe, even Pope Francis has demand Europe open its borders.
The majority of Europe is already against massive immigration, but all the buffoon politicians in power refuse to accept our opinion.
All these open borders policies will irreparably change our European culture based on Christian moral values, freedoms and technological progression. People from other continents don’t share our mentality and most of the time they want us to change and become like them and forget about our culture and our way of life but even if hypothetically our culture would be worse then theirs, still no one has the right to destroy our culture in this way, for according to UN’s definition of genocide, this is exactly what’s happening in Europe.
        
Posted: 07 Mar 2015 03:08 AM PST


Following a governing council meeting of the European Central Bank it was announced that quantitative easing will begin in the eurozone from next Monday. In a desperate move to stimulate the euro, the currency used by 19 EU countries, the ECB will print money to buy €60bn worth of bonds each month. The bank has raised its eurozone economic growth forecast for this year from 1% to 1.5% but ECB President, Mario Draghi, has warned that the euro will only emerge from its slump if some eurozone countries implement major structural reforms.
Greece is currently the ECB’s biggest headache as the country owes the bank €100bn. There are still concerns that a Greek exit from the euro, because of its enormous debt burden, could spell disaster for the ailing currency.
Since the anti-austerity government was formed in Greece last January billions of euro have been withdrawn from the country’s banks as people fear their money will vanish. That trend is continuing, undermining the credibility of the euro currency.
The eurozone crisis will be one of the main items on the agenda when EU heads of government hold a summit here in two week’s time. Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras, will be pressed by his counterparts, most notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel, to give specific details on what measures he intends to implement to meet the terms of his country’s enormous €240bn bailout.
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Posted: 07 Mar 2015 01:52 AM PST


A 38-year old Canadian citizen is facing up to a year in jail and a fine of up to 25,000 Canadian dollars for refusing to unlock his cell and thus “obstructing” an in-depth security screening by the border service officials at the Halifax airport.
Alain Philippon from Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, Quebec, has been detained and charged with “obstructing border officials” after he refused to provide his BlackBerry phone password to Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers upon his arrival from the Dominican Republic this week.
“Philippon refused to divulge the passcode for his cell phone, preventing border services officers from their duties,” the Canada Border Services Agency told AFP.
It was not announced why the Quebecan was selected for an in-depth examination, but the agency says that the Customs Act allows border officials to examine “all goods and conveyances including electronic devices, such as cell phones and laptops.”
As a result, the man was charged under section 153.1 (b) of the Customs Act. After being let out on bail, and having lost the privilege of using his seized cell phone, Philippon is to appear in court in May to face charges that could see him barred for up to a year and a CAD$25,000 fine.
Philippon told local media he would fight the charges, saying that he refused to provide the password because his smartphone data is “personal.”
“Officers are trained in examination, investigative and questioning techniques,” a border services spokesperson wrote in an email to CBC. “To divulge our approach may render our techniques ineffective. Officers are trained to look for indicators of deception and use a risk management approach in determining which goods may warrant a closer look.”
Philippon’s case may make him the first person in Canada to test the depth and the scope of the applicable law. “This is a question that has not been litigated in Canada, whether they can actually demand you to hand over your password to allow them to unlock the device,” Rob Currie, director of the Law and Technology Institute at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University told CBC.
“[It’s] one thing for them to inspect it, another thing for them to compel you to help them,” Currie added.
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Posted by Roberto Abraham Scaruffi at 10:00