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Internet-Ausverkauf – Breiter Widerstand gegen Verkauf der .org-Domain

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

29-11-19 10:24:00,

Mitte des Monats gab die Internet Society (ISOC) bekannt, die Zuständigkeit für die drittgrößte Top-Level-Domain (TLD) .org an die US-Investmentgesellschaft Ethos Capital zu verkaufen. Teile der Öffentlichkeit reagierten schockiert, da diese TLD seit ihrer Einrichtung 1985 auf Non-Profit-Basis betrieben wurde. Unter anderem deswegen avancierte sie zur bevorzugten Adresse für gemeinnützige Organisationen und Open-Source-Projekte weltweit. Viele davon befürchten jetzt steigende Preise und eine Abkehr vom ursprünglichen Geist der .org-TLD.

Seit 2003 verwaltet die von ISOC eigens dafür gegründete Public Interest Registry (PIR) die .org-TLD. Mit dem jetzt angekündigten Verkauf wird PIR von Ethos Capital übernommen und damit aus der Non-Profit-Organisation ISOC herausgelöst. Diese erkärte, das aus dem Verkauf gewonnene Kapital in einer Stiftung anlegen zu wollen, um so ihren Fortbestand zu sichern.

ISOC gibt zwar an, dass Ethos Capital eine Reihe von Verpflichtungen in Bezug auf die Art und Weise, wie das PIR geführt wird, eingegangen ist, jedoch wollen weder Ethos Capital noch ISOC mitteilen, wie diese genau aussehen. PIR hat zwischenzeitlich bereits bestätigt, dass es seinen Status als gemeinnütziges Unternehmen infolge des Verkaufs verlieren wird.

Lauter Protest der netzpolitischen Zivilgesellschaft

Verschiedene gemeinnützige Organisationen haben als Reaktion auf den geplanten Verkauf die Save .ORG – Kampagne ins Leben gerufen und formulieren in einem offenen Brief an den Vorsitzenden der ISOC mehrere Kritikpunkte. Neben dem befürchteten Preisanstieg zeigen sie sich besorgt, dass eine private Firma wie Ethos Capital einfach Seiten kritischer NGOs auf Wunsch von Regierungen abschalten könnte, ohne zuvor den jeweiligen Sachverhalt zu prüfen.

Aufgrund der Bedeutung der TLD formulieren sie den Anspruch, dass .org von Personen gemanagt wird, die Bedürfnisse von NGOs über Profitinteressen stellen. In dem Zusammenhang fordern sie auch, bei Entscheidungen, die die .org-TLD betreffen, angehört und beteiligt zu werden.

Tim Berners-Lee, Erfinder des World Wide Web, äußerte ebenfalls sein Bedenken und schrieb auf Twitter: „Ich bin sehr besorgt über den Verkauf von .org an ein privates Unternehmen. Wenn PIR am Ende nicht verpflichtet ist, im öffentlichen Interesse zu handeln, wäre es eine Farce.“

Außerdem äußern die Unterzeichner:innen der Save.ORG – Kampagne die Befürchtung, dass der Verkauf an eine gewinnorientierte Investmentgesellschaft einen Anstieg der Registrierungskosten für .org-TLDs nach sich ziehen wird. Dadurch könnten kleine und finanziell schwache NGOs in ihrer Arbeit behindert werden.

Internet-Ausverkauf – Breiter Widerstand gegen Verkauf der .org-Domain

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

29-11-19 10:24:00,

Mitte des Monats gab die Internet Society (ISOC) bekannt, die Zuständigkeit für die drittgrößte Top-Level-Domain (TLD) .org an die US-Investmentgesellschaft Ethos Capital zu verkaufen. Teile der Öffentlichkeit reagierten schockiert, da diese TLD seit ihrer Einrichtung 1985 auf Non-Profit-Basis betrieben wurde. Unter anderem deswegen avancierte sie zur bevorzugten Adresse für gemeinnützige Organisationen und Open-Source-Projekte weltweit. Viele davon befürchten jetzt steigende Preise und eine Abkehr vom ursprünglichen Geist der .org-TLD.

Seit 2003 verwaltet die von ISOC eigens dafür gegründete Public Interest Registry (PIR) die .org-TLD. Mit dem jetzt angekündigten Verkauf wird PIR von Ethos Capital übernommen und damit aus der Non-Profit-Organisation ISOC herausgelöst. Diese erkärte, das aus dem Verkauf gewonnene Kapital in einer Stiftung anlegen zu wollen, um so ihren Fortbestand zu sichern.

ISOC gibt zwar an, dass Ethos Capital eine Reihe von Verpflichtungen in Bezug auf die Art und Weise, wie das PIR geführt wird, eingegangen ist, jedoch wollen weder Ethos Capital noch ISOC mitteilen, wie diese genau aussehen. PIR hat zwischenzeitlich bereits bestätigt, dass es seinen Status als gemeinnütziges Unternehmen infolge des Verkaufs verlieren wird.

Lauter Protest der netzpolitischen Zivilgesellschaft

Verschiedene gemeinnützige Organisationen haben als Reaktion auf den geplanten Verkauf die Save .ORG – Kampagne ins Leben gerufen und formulieren in einem offenen Brief an den Vorsitzenden der ISOC mehrere Kritikpunkte. Neben dem befürchteten Preisanstieg zeigen sie sich besorgt, dass eine private Firma wie Ethos Capital einfach Seiten kritischer NGOs auf Wunsch von Regierungen abschalten könnte, ohne zuvor den jeweiligen Sachverhalt zu prüfen.

Aufgrund der Bedeutung der TLD formulieren sie den Anspruch, dass .org von Personen gemanagt wird, die Bedürfnisse von NGOs über Profitinteressen stellen. In dem Zusammenhang fordern sie auch, bei Entscheidungen, die die .org-TLD betreffen, angehört und beteiligt zu werden.

Tim Berners-Lee, Erfinder des World Wide Web, äußerte ebenfalls sein Bedenken und schrieb auf Twitter: „Ich bin sehr besorgt über den Verkauf von .org an ein privates Unternehmen. Wenn PIR am Ende nicht verpflichtet ist, im öffentlichen Interesse zu handeln, wäre es eine Farce.“

Außerdem äußern die Unterzeichner:innen der Save.ORG – Kampagne die Befürchtung, dass der Verkauf an eine gewinnorientierte Investmentgesellschaft einen Anstieg der Registrierungskosten für .org-TLDs nach sich ziehen wird. Dadurch könnten kleine und finanziell schwache NGOs in ihrer Arbeit behindert werden.

Assad to Paris Match: France Should Return to International Law | Syria News

Posted by EN-AG in Assad, Paris

28-11-19 10:43:00,

Syrian President Dr. Bashar al Assad explained that France needs to return to International Law, in Paris Match interview.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad received Régis Le Sommier in Damascus, for one of those rare interviews given to western journalists whose countries engage in war crimes against Syria. Le Sommier, co-editor of the Paris Match weekly, immediately reminded Dr. Assad of their meeting in November 2014. He did, however, show some decency by not mentioning his book, Assad, based on the earlier interview, and about which Paris Match once remarked, How can a journalist face up to a tyrant? Exclude him from his scope of investigation? Or approach him, try to grasp his mechanics? The question arises regularly at the whim of the dictators who parade at the head of certain states.

It is fascinating to view the derivative outcomes of these “rare” interviews. Le Sommier created a book, published in 2018. In May 2013, Marcelo Cantelmi used his ‘rare interview’ to launch a scathing attack on Syria and its President al Assad, before releasing dribbles of the interview, over a few days. In January 2015, Foreign Affairs managing editor, Jonathan Tepperman, used his rare interview to also launch a series of anti-Syria propaganda reports — including his complaints that the presidential palace was not bullet-ridden, and rat-infested — via his report on the interview and his being interviewed about the interview…weeks before the actual interview was published.

Le Sommier was discreet enough not to mention Paris Match‘s sweet report on Belgian Michel, armed terrorist in Syria, who returned home to a more simple life as a baker’s assistant. It is possible that Belgian Michel would be a household deity in the western world, had it not been for those annoying terrorist attacks in Paris, mere weeks after that interview.

» Lees verder

Who is James Corbett? – Questions For Corbett

Posted by EN-AG in Corbett, James

28-11-19 02:12:00,

SHOW NOTES AND MP3: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=34188

In this week’s edition of Questions For Corbett, James answers the most frequently asked questions that he receives: Who are you, where are you from, and why did you start this website?

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Forscher entwickeln Solarmodul durch Kombination von Protein- und Quantenpunkten

Posted by EN-AG in entwickeln, Forscher

28-11-19 02:00:00,

Wissenschaftler der MEPhI-Universität haben eine „Solarbatterie“ auf der Basis von Hybridmaterial aus Quantenpunkten und lichtempfindlichen Proteinen entwickelt und sehen darin ein großes Potenzial für Solarenergie und optische Informationsverarbeitung. Die Ergebnisse der Studie sind in der Zeitschrift Biosensors and Bioelectronics veröffentlicht.

Proteine einzelliger Organismen Archaea – Bacteriorhodopsine – sind in der Lage, Lichtenergie in Energie chemischer Verbindungen (wie Chlorophyll in Pflanzen) zu verarbeiten. Dies ist auf die Übertragung einer positiven Ladung durch die Zellmembran zurückzuführen. Bacteriorhodopsin wirkt als Protonenpumpe und ist somit ein fertiges natürliches Element einer Solarbatterie.

Ein wichtiger Unterschied zwischen Bacteriorhodopsin und Chlorophyll besteht darin, dass Bacteriorhodopsin ohne Sauerstoff arbeiten kann. Dadurch kann die Archaea in sehr aggressiven Umgebungen wie den Tiefen des Toten Meeres leben, was zu ihrer hohen chemischen, thermischen und optischen Stabilität geführt hat. Gleichzeitig verändert Bacteriorhodopsin durch das „Pumpen“ eines Protons die Farbe in Milliardstel Sekunden sehr oft, so dass es ein vielversprechendes Material für die Herstellung holographischer Prozessoren ist.

Wissenschaftler der Moskauer Nationalen Universität für Nuklearforschung MEPhI konnten diese Eigenschaften von Bacteriorhodopsin signifikant verbessern und mit Quantenpunkten, Halbleiternanopartikeln, verknüpfen, die in der Lage sind, Lichtenergie auf einer Skala von wenigen Nanometern zu konzentrieren und ohne Lichtemission auf Bacteriorhodopsin zu übertragen.

“Wir haben eine hocheffizient arbeitende lichtempfindliche Zelle geschaffen, die elektrischen Strom unter dem Einfluss von Licht mit sehr geringer Photonenenergie erzeugt. Unter normalen Bedingungen funktioniert eine solche Zelle nicht, da lichtempfindliche Moleküle wie Bakteriorhodopsin Licht nur in einem sehr engen Energiebereich absorbieren. Und Quantenpunkte tun dies in einem sehr weiten Bereich und können sogar zwei niederenergetische Photonen in ein hochenergetisches Photon umwandeln, als würden sie sie zusammenlegen”, sagte einer der Autoren der Studie, MEPhI-Forscher Wiktor Kriwenkow.

Durch die Schaffung von Bedingungen für die Strahlung eines Photons mit hoher Energie ist ein Quantenpunkt in der Lage, es nicht auszustrahlen, sondern an Bacteriorhodopsin zu übertragen, so Kriwenkow. So erhielt das MEPhI-Team eine Zelle, die in der Lage ist, mit Licht im Bereich von Ultraviolett bis Infrarot zu arbeiten.

“Wir verfolgen eine interdisziplinäre Herangehensweise an der Schnittstelle von Chemie, Biologie, Teilchenphysik und Photonik. Quantenpunkte werden durch chemische Synthesemethoden erhalten und mit Molekülen beschichtet, die ihre Oberfläche gleichzeitig biokompatibel und geladen machen und dann an die Oberfläche von bakteriorhodopsinhaltigen purpurfarbenen Membranen von Archaea, Halobacterium salinarum archaea,

Russia is now far less dependent on US dollar or any other foreign currency – central bank

Posted by EN-AG in dependent, Russia

28-11-19 10:05:00,

Russia is ready to significantly reduce its dependence on foreign financing, Alexander Morozov, chief of the Research and Forecasting department at the Central Bank of Russia, has told RT.

Moscow has been dumping the US dollar from its international reserves, halving its share to around 24 percent in one year. The diversification could help to mitigate risks, including those linked to sanctions, Morozov said on the sidelines of the 5th Russian-British Business Forum (RBBF) in London.

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Russia dumps half its US dollar holdings, while boosting gold, yuan & euro share of forex reserves

“We have already made significant progress in this,” Morozov told RT. “If we compare the current situation with what we had 10 years ago, now, whatever happens, the Russian financial system is certainly much more stable.”

He pointed out, however, that getting rid of the US dollar has never been the goal. Moscow just wants to control the risks that any currency could pose, such as liquidity or changes in the exchange rate, according to the financial regulator.

“As Russia trades with many countries in different currencies, we are naturally interested in keeping some share of foreign currency in the structure of our assets. So, we haven’t had the goal to get rid of the dollar, the euro or any other currency,” Morozov stressed.

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Golden shield: Russian bullion reserves will protect country against slump in oil prices

Russia’s foreign currency and gold reserves have been steadily growing over recent years and have already exceeded half a trillion dollars, thanks to the budget rule. The rule, designed to shield and stabilize the nation’s economy, implies that if oil prices are higher than $42 per barrel, then extra money from the Russian crude and gas exports is transferred to the Russian National Wealth Fund. Thus if crude prices remain above the threshold stipulated by the budget law, Russia is set to further boost its bullion and forex reserves, according to the central bank official.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

RT Spanish removed from airways in Bolivia by private broadcaster

Posted by EN-AG in Removed, Spanish

28-11-19 09:27:00,

RT Spanish broadcasts in Bolivia will be terminated starting next week, the country’ leading private TV operator has announced without a prior notice or clear explanation, citing only orders from its administration.

Cotas, a non-governmental operator and the leader in the Bolivian paid television market, sent a notice to RT on Wednesday that the Spanish service would be taken off air on December 2.

“This is a decision taken by the company’s administration, which tasked us with shutting down the channel’s broadcast,” said the statement, without going into any other details.

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Journalists & politicians from Morales’ party threatened with sedition arrests as Bolivia purges socialist elements

It’s unclear if the move was the initiative of the company’s management or if there was any pressure from the government in La Paz that came to power after ousting President Evo Morales in a military-backed coup earlier this month.

The new government, led by conservative Senator Jeanine Anez, has been facing large-scale protests by supporters of Morales, whose party still has the parliamentary majority. More than 30 people were killed in clashes with police and the military so far. The government warned politicians from Morales’s party, Movement to Socialism, against “disloyalty” to the new authorities – while threatening journalists not to engage in what the new communications minister called “sedition.”

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Ecuador cuts off RT Spanish broadcast without explanation following minister’s complaint about protest coverage

“There’s no freedom of expression nor freedom of press in the country, but there’s prosecution of some leaders, murders, yet there are no culprits found,” former Vice President of Bolivia Álvaro García Linera told RT.

What constitutional freedom can be there if journalists are not allowed to do their job, to inform and tell the truth?

Earlier this month, RT Spanish broadcast was also shut off in Ecuador, after the interior minister in Quito complained about the coverage of local protests.

RT’s Ilya Petrenko has more details in his report.

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California DMV Rakes In $50 Million Per Year Selling Personal Information

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

28-11-19 09:26:00,

The California DMV has been selling the personal information of registered drivers to the tune of $50 million per year, according to a DMV document obtained by Motherboard.

In a previous investigation, Motherboard found DMVs in other states have been selling non-optional information drivers must provide in order to obtain a license, such as names, physical addresses and car registration information.

And while California didn’t disclose exactly who they’re selling to, other states were making a handy profit from customers which include data broker LexisNexis, Experian, private investigators and others.

In a public record acts request, Motherboard asked the California DMV for the total dollar amounts paid by commercial requesters of data for the past six years. The responsive document shows the total revenue in financial year 2013/14 as $41,562,735, before steadily climbing to $52,048,236 in the financial year 2017/18. –Motherboard

The California DMV told Motherboard that requestors may include insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers and prospective employers.

When asked if the DMV relied on this revenue, public information officer Marty Greenstein wrote that the revenue is applied to highway and public safety “including availability of insurance, risk assessment, vehicle safety recalls, traffic studies, emissions research, background checks, and for pre- and existing employment purposes.”

“The DMV takes its obligation to protect personal information very seriously. Information is only released pursuant to legislative direction, and the DMV continues to review its release practices to ensure information is only released to authorized persons/entities and only for authorized purposes. The DMV also audits requesters to ensure proper audit logs are maintained and that employees are trained in the protection of DMV information and anyone having access to this information sign a security document,” he added.

So, who exactly is California selling drivers’ non-optional information to?

California DMV Rakes In $50 Million Per Year Selling Personal Information

Posted by EN-AG in California, Rakes

28-11-19 09:26:00,

The California DMV has been selling the personal information of registered drivers to the tune of $50 million per year, according to a DMV document obtained by Motherboard.

In a previous investigation, Motherboard found DMVs in other states have been selling non-optional information drivers must provide in order to obtain a license, such as names, physical addresses and car registration information.

And while California didn’t disclose exactly who they’re selling to, other states were making a handy profit from customers which include data broker LexisNexis, Experian, private investigators and others.

In a public record acts request, Motherboard asked the California DMV for the total dollar amounts paid by commercial requesters of data for the past six years. The responsive document shows the total revenue in financial year 2013/14 as $41,562,735, before steadily climbing to $52,048,236 in the financial year 2017/18. –Motherboard

The California DMV told Motherboard that requestors may include insurance companies, vehicle manufacturers and prospective employers.

When asked if the DMV relied on this revenue, public information officer Marty Greenstein wrote that the revenue is applied to highway and public safety “including availability of insurance, risk assessment, vehicle safety recalls, traffic studies, emissions research, background checks, and for pre- and existing employment purposes.”

“The DMV takes its obligation to protect personal information very seriously. Information is only released pursuant to legislative direction, and the DMV continues to review its release practices to ensure information is only released to authorized persons/entities and only for authorized purposes. The DMV also audits requesters to ensure proper audit logs are maintained and that employees are trained in the protection of DMV information and anyone having access to this information sign a security document,” he added.

So, who exactly is California selling drivers’ non-optional information to?

Trump adviser who wanted to NUKE Afghanistan now works on arms control at State Department

Posted by EN-AG in adviser, Trump

28-11-19 09:23:00,

A senior Trump administration official who once called for a “tactical” nuclear strike on Afghanistan now helps to oversee arms control at the State Department, where he will manage Washington’s weapons treaties.

Frank Wuco, formerly of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), was recently made a senior adviser at the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control – which is tasked to address the “threat posed by weapons of mass destruction” – according to a report in the Washington Post.

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‘I don’t want to kill 10 million people’: Trump says he could win Afghanistan war in 10 days

Wuco’s idea of “arms control” may not be quite what the bureau has in mind, however, apparently preferring to “control” arms straight to their target. In a 2016 radio appearance, when asked why Washington hadn’t simply turned Syria and Iran into “glass,” Wuco casually suggested how he would send a “message” to America’s adversaries given the chance.

I think if we were going to have done that, my preference would have been to have dropped a couple of low-yield tactical nuclear weapons over Afghanistan the day after 9/11 to send a definite message to the world that they had screwed up in a big way.

President Donald Trump himself has previously mused about “using nuclear” in Afghanistan, but later dismissed the idea, arguing that he would prefer not to “kill 10 million people.”

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US ready to blow another arms control treaty to feed its war economy

It’s unclear exactly when Wuco was transferred from the DHS to his current role at the ACB, but an anonymous State Department official said he had been there at least since August.

Before his time in government, Wuco made his name peddling unorthodox theories in conservative media – once claiming that former CIA director John Brennan had converted to Islam while serving in Saudi Arabia – and is known for other quirks as well. As a private security consultant, he created an alter ego he named “Fuad Wasul,” delivering presentations in character to provide a “first-hand account of what inspires and motivates the jihadist.”

While the State Department’s conception of “arms control” has seldom meant more than ensuring Washington’s nuclear superiority over much of the planet,

Syrian Army Bombs Kurdish Tankers Smuggling Oil to Turkey, A Message to Trump – Global Research

Posted by EN-AG in Bombs, Syrian

28-11-19 09:20:00,

Oil tankers and oil makeshift refineries in northeast Syria were bombed by ‘mysterious’ planes yesterday morning, SANA later stated it was done by the Syrian Army regional command.

The statement conveyed Syrian Arab News Agency SANA was brief but very meaningful:

“SANA’s correspondent in al-Hasakah quoted a field source as saying: after verifying that some Kurdish organizations in the Syrian Jazira region smuggle Syrian oil through tanks through Jarablus and Erbil region in northern Iraq to the Turkish regime, which they claim to be their main enemy, Groups of these tanks and oil refining centers were destroyed this morning.

The source stressed that strict measures will be taken against any smuggling of stolen oil from Syrian territory outside Syria.”

Syrian Jazira region refers to the Syrian territories east and northeast of the Euphrates.

That’s it!

The statement is short, the message is profound, the warning line at the end cannot be missed and should be studied very carefully by Trump forces operating illegally in Syria. The US President Donald Trump is the one who said explicitly he’s keeping a number of his forces in Syria to loot the Syrian oil and smuggle it outside the country. In the thinnest chance, they have some smart analysts they should interpret this warning correctly.

It’s been a proven fact over the years that the pariah Turkish regime of the anti-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood fanatics led by Erodgan is stealing Syrian factories and machinery, Syrian wheat, Syrian oil, and even organs from sick Syrians admitted at their ‘hospitals’.

In public, the separatist Kurds claim that the Turkish regime, especially since the radical anti-Islamic Muslim Brotherhood junta took over, is their main enemy and has carried out countless attacks against Turkish targets that led only to the killing of thousands of their own people, they claim to be protecting, southeast of Turkey, which is exactly what ISIS claimed, yet both of them were Erdogan’s ‘best’ business partners in stealing Syrian riches, destroying the Syrian economy and infrastructure, and smuggling it all to Israel…!

In the early days of the Russian military intervention aiding the Syrian Arab Army upon the official request of the Syrian state,

The Reaction of America’s European Allies to Nuclear Escalation in Europe | New Eastern Outlook

Posted by EN-AG in America, Reaction

28-11-19 08:49:00,

There are reportedly around 20 B61 nuclear bombs at the German Bundeswehr’s Büchel Air Base alone. If an armed conflict were to break out, German pilots flying Panavia Tornado aircraft would drop nuclear bombs on the “enemy”. American nuclear bombs are also stored at the Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and Aviano Air Base in Italy, as well as military air bases in Belgium, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. An internal US Air Force investigation has determined that most nuclear weapon sites in Europe do not meet Department of Defense security requirements, and according to public opinion in many of the countries where they are stored, people are in favor of having these weapons withdrawn.

Following the termination of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF Treaty) on the elimination of intermediate-range and shorter-range missiles, many European media sources are currently discussing the American medium-range nuclear-tipped missile launchers which have begun appearing in Europe, and the possible repercussions this move could have for European security. At the same time, reports have emphasized that Russia has yet to aim nuclear-tipped missiles at any of its neighbors, and the US withdrawal from the INF brings Europe a step closer to a nuclear apocalypse. The peace that has prevailed in Europe in recent years without being affected by the conflict between Russia and NATO, is now coming under threat. The US withdrawal from the INF has divided Europeans, and has also created divisions between the US and Europe. “It is unpleasant to be within range of missiles, no matter who they belong to,” French Defense Minister Florence Parly told Le Monde on September 7.

In this context, Washington’s move to increase its nuclear arsenal in Europe has been met with criticism by America’s European allies, who have good reason to fear that they may become victims of this provocative US policy, and that a nuclear conflict breaking out on the continent could mean the end of European civilization.

Researchers at Rutgers University in New Brunswick have used a modern global climate model to examine the possible repercussions of a nuclear war between two nuclear superpowers. According to the results of their study, if the US and Russia were to wage an all-out war, the whole world would suffer apocalyptic devastation,

Russia’s national payment system MIR looks to expand to Europe

Posted by EN-AG in National, Russia

27-11-19 12:07:00,

MIR payment system, developed by Russia in response to Western sanctions, is set to hit the European market. It will launch a pilot project at the Russian-British business forum in London on Wednesday.

PayXpert will become the unique acquirer of MIR cards in Europe, and the UK will be the first country where the system will operate, according to one of the organizers of the business event, the Roscongress Foundation.

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Russia, China & India to set up alternative to SWIFT payment system to connect 3 billion people

“The launch of our joint project with PayXpert is the first and foremost step in the development of MIR acquiring in Europe, which will lay the foundation for new promising trends in the foreign expansion of Russian payment cards,” said CEO of the MIR payment system Vladimir Komlev.

Read more

The Russian payment system is expected to open up access to the Russian consumer market and boost the turnover between Russia and the UK, as it will simplify payment transactions for customers of different companies. The tourist sector is also set to benefit from the project, since more than 40 million Russian tourists visit Europe annually.

“Demonstrating the potential of Russia’s financial services abroad is extremely important,” Russian Trade Representative in the UK Boris Abramov said, vowing to assist in connecting new organizations in the UK to the payment scheme.

PayXpert says that MIR is “a solid cross border payment system” that can make a company attractive to more than 147 million Russian potential customers and give access to new Eastern European and Asian markets.

Russia started developing its own national payment system when the US targeted it with sanctions in 2014. Back then clients of several Russian banks were temporarily unable to use Visa and Mastercard due to the restrictions. Since the introduction of the new system, Russian banks have already issued more than 69.7 million MIR cards.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT’s business section

Escobar: The Road Toward Greater Eurasia

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

27-11-19 08:18:00,

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Saker blog,

Kazakhstan’s first president has road map for 21st century: global alliance of leaders for nuclear-free world…

Photo: Asia Times

The Astana Club is one of the most crucial annual meetings in Eurasia, alongside the Boao forum in China and the Valdai discussions in Russia. China, Russia and Kazakhstan are all at the forefront of Eurasia integration. No wonder, then, that the 5th meeting of the Astana Club had to focus on Greater Eurasia – synonymous, it may be hoped, with a “new architecture of global cooperation.”

Astana Club congregates a fascinating mix of Eurasia-wide notables with Europeans and Americans. Virtually all relevant shades of the geopolitical spectrum are represented. Panels are very well structured (I moderated two of them). Discussions are frank and non-denial denials are heavily discouraged. Here is just a taste of what was discussed in Nur-Sultan, under the spectacular shallow dome designed by Norman Foster.

Great stabilizer

Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute in Moscow, bets that China is “ready to prepare Eurasia for the future” even while there’s “no hint it will be treated by the West in a positive way.” Yakunin sees the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative, as a “civilizational dialogue basis for China” even as Russia continues to assert itself again as a global power.

Wang Huiyao, from the Center for China and Globalization and a counselor of China’s State Council, sees China as “the biggest stabilizer” in international relations and trade as “the biggest mechanism for prosperity,” as demonstrated once again at the latest Shanghai Expo.

Senior Pakistani diplomat Iftekhar Chowdury, now at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, argues that the “liberal world order is not universal”; now it all comes down to “liberal capitalism against China.” Huiyao, for his part, is not fazed: he stresses that China already sees a “Eurasia 3D” as a new negotiation platform.

Huiyao points out how the “wrong methodology” is being applied as a “stabilizer of the world economy.” He emphasizes the role of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and especially Belt &

Escobar: The Road Toward Greater Eurasia

Posted by EN-AG in Escobar, Toward

27-11-19 08:18:00,

Authored by Pepe Escobar via The Saker blog,

Kazakhstan’s first president has road map for 21st century: global alliance of leaders for nuclear-free world…

Photo: Asia Times

The Astana Club is one of the most crucial annual meetings in Eurasia, alongside the Boao forum in China and the Valdai discussions in Russia. China, Russia and Kazakhstan are all at the forefront of Eurasia integration. No wonder, then, that the 5th meeting of the Astana Club had to focus on Greater Eurasia – synonymous, it may be hoped, with a “new architecture of global cooperation.”

Astana Club congregates a fascinating mix of Eurasia-wide notables with Europeans and Americans. Virtually all relevant shades of the geopolitical spectrum are represented. Panels are very well structured (I moderated two of them). Discussions are frank and non-denial denials are heavily discouraged. Here is just a taste of what was discussed in Nur-Sultan, under the spectacular shallow dome designed by Norman Foster.

Great stabilizer

Vladimir Yakunin, chairman of the Dialogue of Civilizations Research Institute in Moscow, bets that China is “ready to prepare Eurasia for the future” even while there’s “no hint it will be treated by the West in a positive way.” Yakunin sees the New Silk Roads, or Belt and Road Initiative, as a “civilizational dialogue basis for China” even as Russia continues to assert itself again as a global power.

Wang Huiyao, from the Center for China and Globalization and a counselor of China’s State Council, sees China as “the biggest stabilizer” in international relations and trade as “the biggest mechanism for prosperity,” as demonstrated once again at the latest Shanghai Expo.

Senior Pakistani diplomat Iftekhar Chowdury, now at the Institute of South Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore, argues that the “liberal world order is not universal”; now it all comes down to “liberal capitalism against China.” Huiyao, for his part, is not fazed: he stresses that China already sees a “Eurasia 3D” as a new negotiation platform.

Huiyao points out how the “wrong methodology” is being applied as a “stabilizer of the world economy.” He emphasizes the role of the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank and especially Belt &

70% of IDP Families Returned to their Liberated Villages in Idlib Province

Posted by EN-AG in Families, Returned

26-11-19 03:51:00,

Idlib liberated villages in the province’s eastern countryside are being rehabilitated by state’s workshops which helped the return of the majority of the IDPs to their homes.

Over the past 1.5 years since cleaning these villages form NATO terrorists, and despite the hardship due to the sanctions and continuous terror threats by al-Qaeda and their chief Turkish Erdogan, the public workshops are working on restoring the living conditions to the state it was prior to the US-waged War of Terror against the country.

The infrastructure was completed destroyed with Erdogan stealing power plants, and his al-Qaeda FSA terrorists destroying the roads, clinics, schools, utilities, and even the fresh drinking water networks.

Now, thanks to these state’s efforts, 70% of the displaced Syrian families have returned and returning at an average of 100 – 200 families a day to their homes in the terror-free villages in Idlib.

The following report by Saer Salim of the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news channel adds some info:

The video is also available on Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/YsXcAVWkuZaF/

The transcript of the English translation of the above report:

The countryside liberated from the Idlib governorate in Syria is witnessing several government projects to restore life to liberated areas.

About 70% of the people of the liberated villages in the eastern countryside of Idlib have returned to it during the past two years. Since then, service workshops have continued through the rehabilitation and rehabilitation of infrastructure.

The technical study was prepared for this project and we have been granted this subsidy of 110 million Syrian pounds for reconstruction with government support and with the support of the ministry and the maintenance of this project.

As part of the Government’s reconstruction plan in the liberated area of Sinjar, we have 3 projects, two projects have been implemented and the third is being executed.

Service workshops of various government sectors carry out their work in paving roads, extending water networks and lighting public utilities with alternative energy in the liberated villages, It also works to install doors and windows for damaged houses in these villages to ease the financial burden on the people and encourage the rest to return to their homes and help them to rehabilitate them.

EU Defence Union Spelt Out By New President of the Commission

Posted by EN-AG in Defence, Union

26-11-19 01:44:00,

Last week, Ursula von der Leyen, serving German Defence Minister, spelled out her vision for EU Defence Union. In response, the two Tory leadership candidates, the Brexit Party, as well as the rest of British politics and the media, said absolutely nothing.

Von der Leyen had been visiting the European Parliament in an effort to persuade the sceptics there that she is the best person to succeed Jean Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission.

Described as the ‘compromise’ candidate, following weeks of argument and negotiation between EU Heads of State at the European Council, her nomination was narrowly confirmed at a vote in the European Parliament on this evening, which makes her comments from last week even more important.

And it was as she began her efforts to convince European Parliamentarians of her suitability as the next President of the Commission that she chose EU Defence Union as her main platform.

In the process, she confirmed the main components of the unification process which the UK Column has been highlighting since 2010.

Single Point Command and Control

“I want to talk about four components … which I believe are important for setting up a European Defence Union,” she said. “First of all, just two or three weeks ago, for the first time, we were able to give the green light for a European command capacity in Brussels. That is the first time that military and civil instruments would be commanded together, where these commands would actually come from one single command office.

“This is a major step forward. It was unthinkable a short while ago, but it’s precisely the right approach to have if we want a European flavour to our defence policy.”

Here, in her first point, is the core of what EU Defence Union is, and what it is not.

It is not an EU Army.

It is the unification of member states’ national militaries under a single EU-level command structure.

The original German word she used was “Kommandozentrale” – a new word meaning command centre.

It is quite unlike NATO, which is an organisation of collective defence for sovereign member states.

Military Training for Young Children at Ukraine’s “Neo-Nazi Summer Camp”. Recruitment of Ukraine’s “Child Soldiers” Financed by US “Nonlethal” Military Aid? – Global Research

Posted by EN-AG in Military, Ukraine's

26-11-19 09:16:00,

First published by Global Research in August 2015

Unknown to most Americans, the US government is channeling financial support, weapons and training to a Neo-Nazi entity –which is part of The Ukraine National Guard– The Azov Battalion (Батальйон Азов). Canada and Britain have confirmed that they also are providing support to the National Guard.

The Azov Battalion -which “officially” displays the Nazi SS emblem– (below left) is described by the Kiev regime as “a volunteer battalion of territorial defense”. It’s a National Guard battalion under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the equivalent of America’s Homeland Security.

Officially based in Berdyank on the Sea of Azov, the Azov battalion was formed by the regime to fight the opposition insurgency in the Donbass region. (Eastern and Southern Ukraine).

Military Training of Young Children to fight the Russians

The Azov battalion supported by its Western partners is not only involved in para-military operations in Eastern Ukraine. According to reports including the Kyiv Post (Ukraine mainstream media), it is running a Summer Camp military training project for young children as part of its broader training and indoctrination program.

According to RT:

“The camp was established to show the children that there are things in life besides school and mobile devices and to “give them our love,” Oleksii, a platoon commander in the Azov battalion and instructor at the camp, told Ukrainian ICTV channel. “One has to be strong; has to be courageous to defend the territorial integrity of our motherland,” he added.” (RT report)

Western media sources (quoted by the Kyiv Post) confirm that children as young as six years old (see images below) are participating in the Azov Summer Camp located in the Vodytsya district outside Kyiv.

The text on the banner reads: Iдея B Нації, сила В тобі: broadly translated: The Idea of the Nation, The Power within You

The above photos confirm that many of the children are in fact young kids rather than adolescents.

How Billionaires Become Billionaires – Global Research

Posted by EN-AG in Become, Billionaires

26-11-19 09:01:00,

First published by Global Research on October 5, 2017

America has the greatest inequalities, highest mortality rate, most regressive taxes, and largest public subsidies for bankers and billionaires of any developed capitalist country.

In this essay we will discuss the socio-economic roots of inequalities and the relation between the concentration of wealth and the downward mobility of the working and salaried classes.

How the Billionaires become Billionaires

Contrary to the propaganda pushed by the business press, between 67% and 72% percent of corporations had zero tax liabilities after credits and exemptions … while their workers and employees paid between 25 – 30% in taxes. The rate for the minority of corporations, which paid any tax, was 14%.

According to the US Internal Revenue Service, billionaire tax evasion amounts to $458 billion dollars in lost public revenues every year – almost a trillion dollars every two years by this conservative estimate.

The largest US corporations sheltered over $2.5 trillion dollars in overseas tax havens where they paid no taxes or single digit tax rates.

Meanwhile US corporations in crisis received over $14.4 trillion dollars (Bloomberg claimed 12.8 trillion) in public bailout money, split between the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve, mostly from US tax payers, who are overwhelmingly workers, employees and pensioners.

The recipient bankers invested their interest-free or low interest US bailout funds and earned billions in profits, most resulting from mortgage foreclosures of working class households.

Through favorable legal rulings and illegal foreclosures, the bankers evicted 9.3 million families. Over 20 million individuals lost their properties, often due to illegal or fraudulent debts.

A small number of the financial swindlers, including executives from Wall Street’s leading banks (Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan etc), paid fines – but no one went to prison for the gargantuan fraud that drove millions of Americans into misery.

There are other swindler bankers, like the current Secretary of Treasury Steve Mnuchin, who enriched themselves by illegally foreclosing on thousands of homeowners in California. Some were tried; all were exonerated, thanks to the influence of Democratic political leaders during the Obama years.

Silicon Valley and its innovative billionaires have found novel way to avoid taxes using overseas tax havens and domestic tax write-offs.

These Phones Emit The Most (And Least) Radiation

Posted by EN-AG in Phones, These

26-11-19 09:00:00,

For most people nowadays, their smartphone is within arm’s reach 24 hours a day. It’s in their pocket while they’re at work, it’s in their hand on the train ride home and it’s on their bedside table as they go to sleep. With this level of proximity and usage, many can’t quite shake the niggling feeling that they might be risking damage to themselves in the long run.

While conclusive longitudinal research on the effects of cell phone radiation is still hard to come by, for those looking to hedge their bets, Statista’s Martin Armstrong shows in the infographics below, the phones that emit the most (and least) radiation when held to the ear while calling.

The German Federal Office for Radiation Protection (Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz) has a comprehensive database of smartphones – new and old – and the level of radiation they emit.

Following the criteria set for this chart (see footnotes), the smartphones creating the lowest level of radiation are the Samsung Galaxy Note8 and the ZTE Axon Elite – with a specific absorption rate of 0.17 watts per kilogram.

You will find more infographics at Statista

In fact, alongside Nokia, Samsung handsets feature prominently, with eight of the smartphones on this ranking coming from the South Korean company.

This contrasts starkly with their major rival Apple. Two iPhones occupy a place in the list of phones which emit the most radiation, compared to none from Samsung, but, as Statista’s Martin Armstrong notes, the current smartphone creating the highest level of radiation is the Mi A1 from Chinese vendor Xiaomi.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Another Xiaomi phone is in second place – the Mi Max 3. In fact, Chinese companies are represented heavily in this list, accounting for 7 of the top 15 handsets. Premium Apple phones such as the iPhone 7 and the iPhone 8 are also here to be seen, though, as are the latest Pixel handsets from Google.

While there is no universal guideline for a ‘safe’

‘Better kill them with explosives!’ India’s Supreme Court says air pollution turned New Delhi into a ‘gas chamber’

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

26-11-19 08:52:00,

India’s Supreme Court said New Delhi’s staggeringly poor air quality was akin to a “gas chamber” which “suffocates” residents, and slammed both city authorities as well as local farmers for their inaction on the crisis.

With air quality in India’s capital city deteriorating year after year, in a hearing on Monday the Supreme Court said living there was now “worse than Narak [hell],” and demanded to know why authorities weren’t doing more to address the issue.

“In the capital of the country, if you will create this kind of situation, how will the people survive? How will the country become a global superpower if you are not able to check these things?” court justices asked, singling out the Chief Secretary to the state of Punjab, Shri Karan Avtar Singh.

Time has gone where we will keep on waiting. Why this is continuously happening?

The court warned that farmers across the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were continuing the practice of “stubble burning,” or setting fire to the remains of crops after harvest to prepare for the next season. While the process is cheaper than other methods, such as weeding out the stubble by hand, it contributes greatly to India’s air pollution and is currently banned by law.

Also on rt.com
Pay to breathe? ‘Oxygen bars’ hit New Delhi as India chokes under pollution & declares health emergency

“Should this be tolerated? Is this not worse than internal war?” the justices asked.

Why are people in this gas chamber? If it is so, then you better finish them with explosives. If it goes on like this then it would be better to go rather than suffer from diseases like cancer.

While the Chief Secretary of Haryana state, Anand Arora, argued his region had cut stubble burning by some 65 percent, the judges accused him of lying to the court, arguing “we have seen the satellite pictures” showing that the burning continues unabated.

The bench also accused the local authorities of playing a “blame game,” stating “You are politicizing the issue of pollution.

‘Better kill them with explosives!’ India’s Supreme Court says air pollution turned New Delhi into a ‘gas chamber’

Posted by EN-AG in Better, explosives

26-11-19 08:52:00,

India’s Supreme Court said New Delhi’s staggeringly poor air quality was akin to a “gas chamber” which “suffocates” residents, and slammed both city authorities as well as local farmers for their inaction on the crisis.

With air quality in India’s capital city deteriorating year after year, in a hearing on Monday the Supreme Court said living there was now “worse than Narak [hell],” and demanded to know why authorities weren’t doing more to address the issue.

“In the capital of the country, if you will create this kind of situation, how will the people survive? How will the country become a global superpower if you are not able to check these things?” court justices asked, singling out the Chief Secretary to the state of Punjab, Shri Karan Avtar Singh.

Time has gone where we will keep on waiting. Why this is continuously happening?

The court warned that farmers across the states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh were continuing the practice of “stubble burning,” or setting fire to the remains of crops after harvest to prepare for the next season. While the process is cheaper than other methods, such as weeding out the stubble by hand, it contributes greatly to India’s air pollution and is currently banned by law.

Also on rt.com
Pay to breathe? ‘Oxygen bars’ hit New Delhi as India chokes under pollution & declares health emergency

“Should this be tolerated? Is this not worse than internal war?” the justices asked.

Why are people in this gas chamber? If it is so, then you better finish them with explosives. If it goes on like this then it would be better to go rather than suffer from diseases like cancer.

While the Chief Secretary of Haryana state, Anand Arora, argued his region had cut stubble burning by some 65 percent, the judges accused him of lying to the court, arguing “we have seen the satellite pictures” showing that the burning continues unabated.

The bench also accused the local authorities of playing a “blame game,” stating “You are politicizing the issue of pollution.

Why I Don’t Have a Mobile Phone – Global Research

Posted by EN-AG in Don't, Mobile

25-11-19 05:28:00,

In the late 1990’s I bought an early model Ericsson mobile phone. Travelling around the UK countryside visiting farmers, it seemed quite useful, in spite of the very intermittent signal availability of that time. However, I found the masts which transmitted the signals to be extremely ugly and completely unfitting to the rolling beauty of much of the English countryside.

After a while I started feeling the side of my head to which I held the phone, heating-up. It was an unpleasant sensation and it concerned me that using this device involved putting-up with such physical discomfort. So one fine day I dumped it – kissing goodbye to the supposed ‘need’ for this wireless gismo and being thankful for the experience of being once again free to muse on the deeper nature of things without being interrupted by a plethora of incoming communications that, more often than not, contained little of value and could have been made via a landline.

It wasn’t until about ten years later that I started realising that others were completely addicted to this form of communication, and that the wireless cell phone’s way of working meant that the signals from the masts penetrated the human body and affected internal organs, especially the frontal cortex and hippocampus areas of the brain.

I remembered the x ray machines which, when I was a young boy, I used to stand in in the shoe shop and see the bones of my feet outlined clearly in a rather spooky pale green light. It made me realise that something similar was happening here – with the cell phone held against the sacred temple of the human head.

Soon I heard of people suffering headaches, nausea and giddiness after extensive time spent talking on their mobiles. I learned that the reason for this is that the transmission signals are actually microwaves – and I already knew that microwave ovens cook from the inside out – destroying the nutrients of foods cooked in the normal way, from the outside in. The UK organic food standards, which I contributed to as an early organic farmer, banned the use of microwave ovens in restaurants serving organic food, for this reason.

In the early years of the new millenium,

How to Predict the Future – #PropagandaWatch

Posted by EN-AG in Future, predict

25-11-19 01:49:00,

SHOW NOTES: https://www.corbettreport.com/?p=33866

I predict that “foreign interference” will replace “the devil made me do it” as the new excuse for everything. But how did I divine this vision? From a crystal ball? Not quite. Find out the secret of how to predict the future in this week’s edition of #PropagandaWatch.

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Vind ik leuk:
Like Laden…

Washington, the Cesspool of the World, Will Never Rat on Itself – PaulCraigRoberts.org

Posted by EN-AG in Cesspool, Washington

25-11-19 01:17:00,

Washington, the Cesspool of the World, Will Never Rat on Itself

Paul Craig Roberts

Former US Attorney Joe diGenova predicts that US Justice (sic) Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz’s report on the Obama regime’s FISA court violations and US Attorney John Durham’s criminal investigation of the Russiagate hoax perpetrated by the CIA, FBI, Democratic National Committee, and presstitute media will be “very bad for people in the Obama administration. . . . it’s going to be devastating . . . it’s going to ruin careers.”

For the sake of accountable government, I hope that Mr. diGenova is right. But I have my doubts. Cabinet departments and government agencies are not very good at investigating themselves. Attorney General Barr’s job is to protect his department. He knows, and will be often told, that to bring indictments against Justice Department officials would discredit the Justice Department in the public’s mind. It would affect the attitude of juries toward DOJ prosecutions. John Durham knows the same thing. He also knows that he will create a hostile environment for himself if he indicts DOJ officials and that when he joins a law firm to capitalize on his experience as a US Attorney, he will not receive the usual favors when he represents clients against DOJ charges. Horowitz knows that his job is to coverup or minimize any illegalities in order to protect the Department of Justice from scandals.

In Washington coverups are the rule, and the DOJ coverup might already have begun. One sign of a coverup is to announce a future release date of the report. This has now occurred with Horowitz’s report on the FISA violations. The purpose of such announcements is to allow the report to be discredited in advance and to be old news by the time it appears.

Another sign of a coverup is the use of leaks to shift the focus from high level officials to lowly underlings, and this has happened with the Horowitz report, which has leaked that a low level FBI attorney is under criminal investigation for allegedly falsifying a document related to the surveillance of former Trump campaign official Carter Page in 2016. According to the leak, the FBI attorney has acknowledged that he did alter the document.

Actor/Producer/Activist Mark Ruffalo Releases Film “Dark Waters” About DuPont and Asks Congress to Take Action Against “Forever Chemicals” – Activist Post

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

25-11-19 09:00:00,

Newly released film Dark Waters is based on true events which led American lawyer Robert Bilott to investigate DuPont.

From Film School Rejects:

Bilott’s environmental crusade began in 1998 when he was contacted by Wilbur Tennant, a farmer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, whose cattle had been dying as a result of suspected poisoning. The farmer believed that the chemical company DuPont was responsible for their deaths, but no local lawyers were willing to accept his case because the corporate entity wielded too much influence and power in the town.

Upon accepting the case, Bilott discovered that DuPont had been dumping chemical waste — including an unregulated chemical compound called Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — near the site where Tennant was raising the cattle. PFOA wasn’t public knowledge at the time, but during his research, the lawyer was given access to 160,000 DuPont files which revealed that the company had been using the substance since 1951.

Despite what has happened in the past, there seems to be no shortage of corporations putting profit over people in the U.S. and worldwide. This led to Ruffalo requesting a hearing to address Congress about “Forever Chemicals”:

The hearing was centered on a chemical abbreviated as PFAS. The substance is used in firefighting foam and has contaminated the water near at least 425 military sites, causing health problems for military members and their families.

Ruffalo and many Democrats used their time to talk about PFAS manufacturers’ long held knowledge of the harms of their products.

PFAS manufacturers like 3M and DuPont “made billions upon billions of dollars producing chemicals they knew were building up in our blood and they knew they were toxic but failed to tell anyone,” Ruffalo said

“In America, it falls to us, the ordinary people to prove that these chemicals are toxic before the chemical is regulated by our government,” he continued. “That is simply backwards.”

Backwards but very profitable to the corporations who choose to operate this way as well as the elected officials they financially support. Sad and infuriating but true.

Actor/Producer/Activist Mark Ruffalo Releases Film “Dark Waters” About DuPont and Asks Congress to Take Action Against “Forever Chemicals” – Activist Post

Posted by EN-AG in activist, Actor

25-11-19 09:00:00,

Newly released film Dark Waters is based on true events which led American lawyer Robert Bilott to investigate DuPont.

From Film School Rejects:

Bilott’s environmental crusade began in 1998 when he was contacted by Wilbur Tennant, a farmer from Parkersburg, West Virginia, whose cattle had been dying as a result of suspected poisoning. The farmer believed that the chemical company DuPont was responsible for their deaths, but no local lawyers were willing to accept his case because the corporate entity wielded too much influence and power in the town.

Upon accepting the case, Bilott discovered that DuPont had been dumping chemical waste — including an unregulated chemical compound called Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) — near the site where Tennant was raising the cattle. PFOA wasn’t public knowledge at the time, but during his research, the lawyer was given access to 160,000 DuPont files which revealed that the company had been using the substance since 1951.

Despite what has happened in the past, there seems to be no shortage of corporations putting profit over people in the U.S. and worldwide. This led to Ruffalo requesting a hearing to address Congress about “Forever Chemicals”:

The hearing was centered on a chemical abbreviated as PFAS. The substance is used in firefighting foam and has contaminated the water near at least 425 military sites, causing health problems for military members and their families.

Ruffalo and many Democrats used their time to talk about PFAS manufacturers’ long held knowledge of the harms of their products.

PFAS manufacturers like 3M and DuPont “made billions upon billions of dollars producing chemicals they knew were building up in our blood and they knew they were toxic but failed to tell anyone,” Ruffalo said

“In America, it falls to us, the ordinary people to prove that these chemicals are toxic before the chemical is regulated by our government,” he continued. “That is simply backwards.”

Backwards but very profitable to the corporations who choose to operate this way as well as the elected officials they financially support. Sad and infuriating but true.

US Forces Attack Boats Caught Smuggling Oil To Syrian Government

Posted by EN-AG in Attack, Forces

24-11-19 08:43:00,

Via AlmasdarNews.com,

The U.S. military reportedly attacked four tanker ferries on Saturday that were attempting to smuggle oil from the SDF-held areas in eastern Syria to the Syrian government territories.

According to local reports, the U.S. warplanes targeted these ferries while they were traveling through the southern region of Syria’s Euphrates River Valley.

Image from a similar attack on an alleged oil smuggling vessel from earlier this year, via Deirezzor24.net.

The reports said the U.S. military managed to destroy the four ferries before they could reach their intended destination, resulting in a number of explosions that were heard in the Euphrates River Valley.

The total number of casualties are still unknown at this time.

While the ferries did not belong to the Syrian government, they were believed to have been transporting the oil to their territories, which is something that many people in Syria have been forced to do as the U.S. currently occupies some of the Levantine nation’s biggest oil fields.

File image of Euphrates in Syria, via Reuters.

Neither the Syrian government nor the U.S. Armed Forces have reported on this attack that took place on Saturday.

It should be noted that the U.S. Armed Forces have carried out similar attacks in the past, especially in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.

Zionist Rewriting of History of Palestine by Israel’s Ministry of Defense – Global Research

Posted by EN-AG in Rewriting, Zionist

24-11-19 05:38:00,

This article was originally published in July 2019

In explosive investigation, Haaretz reports that Israeli defence officials have been sealing off historical files about the mass expulsion of Palestinians in 1948

***

Israel’s Ministry of Defence has been systematically sealing archival documents for at least a decade to conceal evidence of the Nakba, the mass expulsion of 700,000 Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli war of 1948, Haaretz has revealed.

A secretive security department in the defence ministry has overseen the ongoing project, taking historic files and putting them away in vaults. In some cases, historians cited documents in their work that later disappeared, Haaretz reported.

Yehiel Horev, former head of the department which goes by the Hebrew acronym Malmab, told Haaretz that it made sense to hide the details of what happened in 1948 because the documents could “generate unrest” among Palestinians in Israel.

When asked why files were removed that had already been highlighted by researchers and others, Horev said the objective was to undermine the credibility of history written about the era.

Papers on Israel’s nuclear project and the country’s foreign relations were also reportedly transferred to vaults.

Some of the sealed documents reveal details of looting, massacres of Palestinians, forcible expulsion, and demolition of villages by Israeli militias, based on interviews with Israeli generals and soldiers who fought in the 1948 war, Haaretz reported.

A book by Israeli historian Benny Morris – The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-1949 – referred to one of the documents, quoting details of a massacre in the Palestinian village Safsaf in Galilee, based on notes written about a 1948 briefing given by the former chief of staff of the Haganah, the Israeli army’s predecessor.

According to what Morris published, the notes said: “Safsaf 52 men tied with a rope. Dropped into a pit and shot. Ten were killed. Women pleaded for mercy. [There were] three cases of rape. Caught and released. A girl of 14 was raped. Another four were killed.”

This document, along with others, has disappeared from the Israeli archive, after Malmab’s team censored them, according to Haaretz.

*

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The Truth Seeker – Article Series part one

Posted by EN-AG in Seeker, Truth

24-11-19 01:27:00,

Due to the sensitive nature of the content of this article, two men in black clothes wearing balaclavas attacked our English Editor at the office of Mena Tidningen late on the 29th of October, delivering the message: “Stop asking questions!” We have decided to publish the article despite of this traumatic event.

Ole Dammegård moved to Spain 20 years ago after his investigations about the Olof Palme Murder lead to mysterious deaths of two of his close investigator friends. Ole himself had a late-night visit threating him if he continued his research and speaking up about it.

A former journalist and investigator Ole Dammegård has dedicated the last 35 years of his life to researching many of the Global conspiracies. His main focus has been the truth behind the assassinations of JFK, the Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme, Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King, John Lennon and Lady Di. The terror attacks of 9/11, Norway, Oklahoma City and more. He is now considered a leading expert on false flag operations and is believed to have managed to expose and stop several planned massacres.

Ole has discovered links between all of these assassinations, which has led him to believe that the same people were involved in both the JFK and Olof Palme murders as well as many other major events. This Global Elite seem to have used identical skilled mechanics to do their dirty work for decades.

Ole has done 500-1000 International interviews, with several million views. He moved to Spain 20 years ago after his investigations about the Olof Palme Murder lead to mysterious deaths of two of his close investigator friends. Ole himself had a late-night visit threating him if he continued his research and speaking up about it. A multi-talent, he lives with his wife and kids by the Mediterranean Sea and he travels around the world lecturing about his research and findings.

He has written the following books: ‘Coup d’etat in Slow Motion’ Part I and II, Shadow of Tears, The power book ‘Re-Mind Me’, the children’s book ‘Yolanda Yogapanda – Truth is One, Paths are Many’ and is currently working on the following title; ‘A Global Tour of Terror Part I and II, ‘The Elusive Enigma’ and the book ‘Guilty Victim’.

Israel cuts Palestinian farmers’ access to their land behind separation wall with yearly quotas

Posted by EN-AG in Israel, Palestinian

24-11-19 10:47:00,

Palestinian farmers, whose land ended up on the wrong side of Israel’s West Bank separation wall, have had their access further restricted with yearly quotas. Those affected see it as part of a creeping theft of their property.

In the early 2000s, Israel began the construction of a long barrier between itself and the West Bank, saying it was a necessary temporary measure in response to the Second Intifada. Two decades on, the wall is still in place, and its impact on the life of Palestinian civilians is increasingly harsh.

Large sections of the separation wall have been built across land seized from Palestinian farmers, trapping some of their lots on the Israeli side. The owners now have to receive permits from Israel’s Civil Administration in the West Bank to gain access to tend to the land. The rules on what kind of access can be granted have been recently tightened, the newspaper Haaretz reported.

The changes include a limit on how many times a farmer can travel through a wall checkpoint each year, depending on the type of produce he grows on his land. The quota is 40 times a year for olives, 50 times for figs, 30 for barley, and 220 for tomatoes or strawberries.

Also on rt.com
US now considers Israeli settlements consistent with international law – Pompeo

Once exhausted, a new request for access will need to be obtained, provided the Israeli officials agree there is a need for extending the quota, which is not a certainty. In fact, the rejection rate for entry permits has jumped to 72 percent in 2018 from just 24 percent four years earlier, the newspaper noted.

Pretty restrictive limitations for land access existed even before the latest change, based on factors such as seasons. For example, olive growers are given a month to collect their harvest – regardless of whether a particular family has enough labor to complete the job in the allocated period of time. Some farmers have to take lengthy trips to the nearest gate before backtracking on the other side, whereas they had only to walk a short direct path before the erection of the wall.

Motorist in Austria has tried FOR MONTHS to scrap his Tesla after it was reduced to ash IN SECONDS after crashing

Posted by EN-AG in Algemeen

24-11-19 10:29:00,

A man in Austria saw his Tesla car totally incinerated in a road accident, in mere seconds. Now, the owner is desperately seeking to salvage it. Yet, no one seems willing to try and recycle the supposedly eco-friendly vehicle.

The electric car’s fiery demise – and what followed – shows that fossil-fuel-free vehicles still have a way to go before they become renewable and eco-friendly enough to drive us into a green future.

Dominik Freymuth, a German motorist, had been an enthusiastic supporter of a shift to electric vehicles. He willingly sold his diesel-powered Mercedes and “made a fully conscious choice in favor of Tesla’s electric car.” And he enjoyed his new vehicle “from the first minute” – until he crashed it into a tree in a minor road accident.

“In just ten seconds after I crashed at a speed of 60 km per hour, this thing was already engulfed in flames and [I] was just happy that someone who was driving by rescued [me] from a fiery death,” Freymuth, who was hospitalized with severe injuries following the accident in October, told RT Deutsch. “I am disappointed.”

Yet that was not the end of Dominik’s troubles. His car, having burned out almost completely, had to be cooled for about three days in a special container. Later, it was transported to a private parking lot and was virtually abandoned there for more than a month as literally no company in Austria was willing to scrap it, despite Freymuth’s tireless efforts.

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The parking lot owner told Freymuth that “he was literally going round in circles as various agencies simply were sending him off to one another.” Eventually, it turned out that Tesla had signed a contract with a certain Austrian company to salvage its cars in Austria – but that firm was still lacking the necessary license from the Austrian government.

Power source from hell

Freymuth had to go through all this for one reason: his ‘eco-friendly’ car’s electric motor ran on a lithium-ion battery. Developed in the late 20th century,

Motorist in Austria has tried FOR MONTHS to scrap his Tesla after it was reduced to ash IN SECONDS after crashing

Posted by EN-AG in Austria, Motorist

24-11-19 10:29:00,

A man in Austria saw his Tesla car totally incinerated in a road accident, in mere seconds. Now, the owner is desperately seeking to salvage it. Yet, no one seems willing to try and recycle the supposedly eco-friendly vehicle.

The electric car’s fiery demise – and what followed – shows that fossil-fuel-free vehicles still have a way to go before they become renewable and eco-friendly enough to drive us into a green future.

Dominik Freymuth, a German motorist, had been an enthusiastic supporter of a shift to electric vehicles. He willingly sold his diesel-powered Mercedes and “made a fully conscious choice in favor of Tesla’s electric car.” And he enjoyed his new vehicle “from the first minute” – until he crashed it into a tree in a minor road accident.

“In just ten seconds after I crashed at a speed of 60 km per hour, this thing was already engulfed in flames and [I] was just happy that someone who was driving by rescued [me] from a fiery death,” Freymuth, who was hospitalized with severe injuries following the accident in October, told RT Deutsch. “I am disappointed.”

Yet that was not the end of Dominik’s troubles. His car, having burned out almost completely, had to be cooled for about three days in a special container. Later, it was transported to a private parking lot and was virtually abandoned there for more than a month as literally no company in Austria was willing to scrap it, despite Freymuth’s tireless efforts.

Also on rt.com
Clean energy dream fuels a dirty mineral rush

The parking lot owner told Freymuth that “he was literally going round in circles as various agencies simply were sending him off to one another.” Eventually, it turned out that Tesla had signed a contract with a certain Austrian company to salvage its cars in Austria – but that firm was still lacking the necessary license from the Austrian government.

Power source from hell

Freymuth had to go through all this for one reason: his ‘eco-friendly’ car’s electric motor ran on a lithium-ion battery. Developed in the late 20th century,