Thursday, 30 July 2015

The European Union Times

Germany criticizes Israel over new settlement plans

Posted: 29 Jul 2015 04:03 AM PDT

Germany has censured Israel’s plans to construct more illegal settler units in the occupied West Bank as violating international law.
The German Foreign Ministry, in a statement released on Tuesday, said Israel’s plans to build more than 1,000 new housing units on Palestinian territories scuttle the chances for the resumption of the Palestinian-Israeli talks and a possible deal between the two sides.
“The construction of settlements in occupied territories violates international law. This also hinders efforts to revive the peace process and threatens the basis of a two-state solution,” the statement read.
It added, “Precisely now both sides are urgently called to build trust and refrain from unilateral and provocative actions. We warn that such steps would hamper chances for the resumption of peace negotiations.”
Israeli settlement watchdog group Peace Now reported on July 23 that the Israeli military approved 541 new housing units, retroactively legalized 228 existing housing units, and approved infrastructure for a plan that includes 296 housing units in the occupied West Bank the previous day.
There are reports that the military also approved the construction of several industrial and non-industrial structures in the occupied lands.
More than half a million Israelis live in over 120 settlements built since Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank in 1967.
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1500 illegals storm to UK through Eurotunnel for a second consecutive night

Posted: 29 Jul 2015 03:56 AM PDT

At least one illegal migrant has died when he tried to enter Eurotunnel’s French terminal near Calais on Tuesday night as about 1,500 refugees attempted to break through fences in a bid to reach UK for a second straight night.
“Our teams have found a body this morning and firefighters have confirmed the person’s death,” a spokesman for Eurotunnel told France Info. BMFTV reported that the migrant of was Sudanese origin. The man was run over by a truck from the UK, Francetvinfo website reported.
A police spokesman told BFMTV that they were “completely clueless” about the situation, adding that 60 officers are currently working at the scene of the incident.
According to police sources cited by Francetvinfo, migrants were attempting to break into Eurotunnel “at least three times” on Tuesday night.
On Monday night about 2,000 migrants tried to breach the fences of the Calais terminal trying to get into UK. A Eurotunnel spokesman, who described the situation as “the biggest incursion effort in the past month and a half.”
This is not the first migrant death in recent months. July 7 a man reportedly of Eritrean origin attempting to reach the UK from Calais was found dead on a freight shuttle, Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel has said.
Overall, with the latest fatality, the number of deaths in Eurotunnel stands at nine, according to French media.
Source

Planned Parenthood Demands Media Not Air Damning Footage

Posted: 29 Jul 2015 03:44 AM PDT

“The material should not be aired,” the organization said in a message to news outlets.
Planned Parenthood branches in several states are demanding local media refrain from airing damning footage obtained through recent undercover stings, in a frantic attempt to suppress negative criticism generated over their reported sale of aborted fetal tissue.
On Monday evening, Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota issued statements to “Health and Political Reporters and Producers” recommending the footage, which they say was garnered “under false pretenses,” “not be aired.”
“[The Center for Medical Progress] gained access to Planned Parenthood facilities under false pretenses and filmed without securing approval from the Planned Parenthood staff being filmed or the patients whose privacy is compromised by this secret videotaping,” a letter sent by Communications Director Jennifer Aulwes to media said.
“The material should not be aired.”
The organization’s effort to silence the press follows the release of a third documentary style video from the pro-life Center for Medical Progress Tuesday, which depicts in graphic detail the dissection of fetal organs.

The threatening message to the press comes as Planned Parenthood hires “progressive” Washington DC public relations firm SKDKnickerbocker to assist with damage control, according to Politico, even as corporations like Ford and Coca Cola have vowed to stop donating to the organization.
The PR firm claims to “craft… effective messages” “to protect a women’s right to choose, for marriage equality or to stop the scourge of guns on our streets,” and boasts major political clients such as President Obama, former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
“Planned Parenthood is a longtime client, and we are proud to help them push back against these extremist attacks from people who want to end reproductive health care for women in this country,” a spokesperson for the firm said in a statement.
Meanwhile the governors of Indiana, Texas, Louisiana, Missouri and Kansas have all called for investigations into the horrific revelations, with presidential candidate Rand Paul and others leading the charge to defund the organization.
“My legislation won’t be about whether it’s legal or not … I think everybody in America is horrified by this, and they don’t want their tax dollars going to this group,” the republican presidential candidate said of his proposed bill on CBS’ Face the Nation.
Planned Parenthood warned a congressional committee last week that more sting videos would be forthcoming, and that some could be racially charged.
The Center for Medical Progress says it will release additional videos in weeks to come, promising one per week.
Below is Planned Parenthood’s message to the media in full, via valleynewslive.com:

To: North Dakota Health and Political Reporters and Producers
From: Jen Aulwes, Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota
Date: July 27, 2015
Re: Center for Medical Progress Expected to Violate Patient Privacy
The Center for Medical Progress (CMP) is an extreme activist organization whose sole mission is to prevent women from accessing health care and to destroy Planned Parenthood. The board members of this group believe that abortion is “genocide,” and employ people who went to jail for attempting to bomb a women’s health clinic. They are also connected with the man who murdered abortion provider Dr. George Tiller.
CMP has used footage obtained through deceit and unlawful behavior, including possible violations of state recording laws, federal tax laws and falsified state identification. Then, they concoct wildly false stories through selective editing. We expect this video will be no different in that regard; however, footage yet to come is expected to represent an extreme violation of patient privacy by including footage of post-abortion fetal tissue neither patients nor health care professionals authorized be filmed.
When your network decides whether to consider this story newsworthy, or whether to use any of this footage at all, we urge you to keep this in mind: The extremists who entered Planned Parenthood labs under false pretenses violated research protocol, and, worse, violated the privacy of patients involved. Those patients’ privacy should not be further violated by having this footage shared by the media.
The storage and examination processes that CMP used to get this footage are medically necessary. It is necessary medical professionals ensure an abortion is complete so that patients do not get an infection. When tissue is donated for medical research, these steps are also necessary for the donations to be completed. It is also medically necessary that researchers evaluate the laboratory procedures of a medical provider for safety standards and best practices.
Some of the conversations and protocols that occur in medical settings and among professional peers can sound jarring when taken out of context. While this can be difficult to hear or watch, it should not be used as an excuse to defund Planned Parenthood.
CMP gained access to Planned Parenthood facilities under false pretenses and filmed without securing approval from the Planned Parenthood staff being filmed or the patients whose privacy is compromised by this secret videotaping. The material should not be aired.
Please contact me at 651-755-9557 or jaulwes@ppmns.org if you have any questions or need any more information.

Source

129 bodies turn up in Mexico search

Posted: 29 Jul 2015 02:37 AM PDT

The search for 43 Mexican students who went missing 10 months ago has turned up 60 mass graves and 129 bodies in the southern state of Guerrero.
The graves have been found since the search start for the missing students last September.
However, the attorney general’s office said none of the remains of bodies found in the mass graves belong to the students who were last seen in Iguala, in southern Mexico.
The majority of the bodies are said to be males, but the remains of some 20 women are also among the dead, as well.
Authorities say corrupt members of the local police in Iguala had abducted the students and handed them over to the Guerreros Unidos drug gang, which slaughtered them in turn before incinerating their dead bodies.
Dozens of police officers and gang members suspected of implication in the case, and the mayor of the town, have so far been detained.
However, the families of the students refuse such news and believe their children are alive.
The parents of the 43 missing students have called on the authorities to continue the search.
Activists and the missing students’ friends joined the parents in a march in the capital Mexico City on Sunday, demanding proof of life on the students who disappeared 10 months ago.
“We demand the relaunching of the search and the reopening of the case, which this corrupt government has refused to do,” said Vidulfo Rosales, a lawyer for the families of the missing students.
Until today, only one of the students’ bodies has been found among the charred remains found in a landfill.
Civil societies in the country estimate that more than 35,000 people are missing in Mexico due to violence.
The Mexican government launched a so-called war on drug traffickers in 2006 in a bid to put down drug-related violence. However, the arrest of drug kingpins, has only led to an increase in drug violence as cartels fight for domination over the drug trade.
Source

10 terrible ‘cuisine intrigues’ of McDonald’s

Posted: 29 Jul 2015 02:00 AM PDT

Rather dubious McDonald’s food chain makes its clients to choose between tasty and healthy food.
700 snackbars turned out to have been closed so far because of not being able to pay the way. But even such problems do not impede McDonald’s getting billions of profit. At the same time the components used in its cuisine terrify even the US National Institutes of Health.
Acrylamide is contained in every McDonald’s fries. This chemical is known to the State of California to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
Azodicarbonamide is used in McDonald’s buns. It is also a chemical foaming agent, a blowing agent for plastics and rubbers and a common food additive, and it is even found in some tobacco products. In the UK, you cannot find azodicarbonamide in McDonald’s buns, because it is a banned food additive there. It is also banned in most European countries, as well as Australia. In Singapore, using azodicarbonamide can result in a 15-year prison sentence and a fine of $450,000.
Sodium acid pyrophosphate can be found in the McDonald’s hash browns, eggs and tortillas. This synthetic substance can lead to dietary imbalances that might contribute to osteoporosis, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is added to cooking oils and is used as an anti-foaming agent to cook Filet-o-Fish, Chicken McNuggets and french fries. It can also be found in cosmetics, hair conditioners, silly putty and even in breast implants.
A petroleum-based product THBQ can be found in eyeshadows and Chicken McNuggets, used as a preservative.
Sodium aluminum phosphate, also added to Chicken McNuggets, triggers Alzheimer’s disease.
Sodium benzoate found in sauces, and most of their soft drinks, is lilnked to increased hyperactivity in children.
Disodium 5′-ribonucleotides should be avoided by asthmatics and people with gout.
Sodium metabisulfite used in tortillas, is known to cause allergic reactions. It is also related to certain diseases and health conditions, including skin conditions, lethargy, diabetes, bloating, joint pain and even brain fog.
High-fructose corn syrup, which as McDonald’s PR managers claim, is similar to sugar, tends to generate diabetes instead.
McDonald’s has many other ‘cuisine intrigues’, but these listed may set you to thinking before approaching the so-called restaurant.
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