F. William Engdahl: Hijacking the World's Food

Birds and bees are something most of us take for granted as part of nature. The expression teaching about the birds and bees to explain the process of human reproduction to young people is not an accidental expression. Bees and birds contribute to the essence of life on our planet . A study by the US Department of Agriculture estimated that perhaps one third of our total diet is dependent, directly or indirectly, on insect pollinated plants. The honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the most important pollinator of agricultural crops. Honey bees pollinate over 70 out of 100 crops, that in turn provide 90% of the world's food. They pollinate most fruits and vegetables, including apples, oranges, strawberries, onions and carrots. But while managed honey bee populations have increased over the last 50 years, bee colony populations have decreased significantly in many European and North American nations. Simultaneously, crops that are dependent on insects for pollination have increased. The phenomenon has received the curious designation of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), implying it could be caused by any number of factors. Serious recent scientific studies however point to a major cause: Use of highly toxic systemic pesticides in agriculture since about 2004. In governments in the EU, USA and other countries fail to impose a total ban on certain chemical insecticides, not only bees become a thing of the past. The human species could face staggering new challenges merely to survive. The immediate threat comes from the widespread proliferation of commercial insecticides containing the highly toxic chemical with the improbable name neonicotinoids. Neonicotinoids are a group of insecticides chemically similar to nicotine. They act on the central nervous system of insects. But also on bees and small song birds. Recent evidence suggests they could also affect human brain development in newborns.

The Economist: 2012 Olympics: Managing the Media!

Many things can make an Olympics memorable. The hope is always that it will be the new world records, sporting prowess and slick and efficient running of the games that do so. The fear is that instead it will be a doping scandal or worse, a terrorist attack. Sometimes though, the memorable moments are more mundane. One reporter told me that the Vancouver winter games in 2010 was marred for her by the horrible food the media center served. I felt little sympathy towards such a gripe, but she was right that such things matter too. That the media is powerful is hardly news to anyone, but Olympic organizers have grown savvy over the years. Journalists often arrive in a city ten days or so before a games, to take the temperature of the town, the games operation and to enjoy the show. Long before the opening ceremony, they start sending back pieces to their home country about how it is all going, and that sets the tone of the games and affect people's views even before the first heats have been held and the first medals awarded. The organizers of London 2012 have amply recognized this if the media center at the Olympic park in Stratford is anything to go by. The true worth of facilities for the press will be tested only once the games are on, and this will come down to whether its wireless connections and other technology stands up to the strain, but on early appearances, it is kitted out pretty well. The center is spacious, has large work areas, zones to find out about different sports, and a number of staff on hand to advise people how to get to their next event at another location in London, where to get a taxi from, or where to get on one of the red London buses that has been commandeered to take journalists around the Olympic village.

The Economist: Democracy in America: "American Politics"

Government surveillance. Views from the other side. One of the problems in tackling a subject as immense as data, as my San Francisco based colleague and I did this week, in just two articles is that inevitably one is left with vast amounts of "over-matter". Readers can probably discern that both I and this paper have fairly strong views about the subject, but that does not mean those are the only views out there. At the moment, in America law enforcement agents who want access to a subscriber's mobile phone or email information need to obtain a 27039(d) order. By the way, I'm speaking in this post about more or less ordinary police/investigative work, not national security or FISA related investigations: That is, to steal an esteemed colleague's phrase, an entirely different kettle of piranhas. That order must contain "specific and articulable facts showing that there are reasonable to believe that the records or other information sought are relevant and material to an ongoing criminal investigation." The problem, say privacy advocates, is that in many jurisdictions, once a police officer shows those facts, the judge is obligated to give the order. There is far less scope for judicial review here than in the traditional warranting process, where a judge can grant or not grant a warrant. There is no requirement, as with a wiretap, to show probable cause, or to show that "normal investigative procedures have been tried and have failed", although I would note that in 1969, there were 302 state and federal wiretaps approved in America. Last year there were 2,732, which suggests either an astronomical increase in the failure rate of normal investigative procedures, or that the necessity requirement is more honored in the breach than in the observance, and even that order is not always honored in the breach than in the observance.  

Prof. Michel Chossudovsky: Syria, NATO's Next Humanitarian War?

In order to facilitate the action of "liberative" forces, a special effort should be made to eliminate certain key individuals, to be accomplished early in the course of the uprising and intervention. Once a political decision has been reached to proceed with internal disturbances in Syria, CIA is prepared, and SIS (MI6) will attempt to mount minor sabotage and coup de main incidents within Syria, working through contacts with individuals. Incidents should not be concentrated in Damascus. Further, a "necessary degree of fear , frontier incidents and staged border clashes", would "provide a pretext for intervention. The CIA and SIS (MI6) should use capabilities in both psychological and action fields to augment tension." (Joint US-UK leaked Intelligence Document, London and Washington, 1957) In this online interactive I-book, we bring to the attention of our readers a selection of feature articles on the Syrian crisis. Our objective is to dispel the tide of media lies and government propaganda, which presents the events in Syria as a "peaceful protest movement". The "protests" did not emanate from internal political cleavages as described by the mainstream media. From the very outset, they were the result of a covert US-NATO intelligence operation geared towards triggering social chaos, with a view to eventually discrediting the Syrian government of Bashar Al Assad and destabilizing Syria as a Nation State. Since the middle of March 2011, Islamist armed groups, covertly supported by Western and Israeli intelligence have conducted terrorist attacks directed against government buildings, including acts of arson. Amply documented, trained gunmen and snipers, including mercenaries have targeted the police, armed forces as well as innocent civilians. There is ample evidence, as outlined in the Arab League Observer Mission report, that these armed groups of mercenaries are responsible for killing civilians.   

Soren Dreier: Radioactive Japanese Cars Stopped at Russian Border

Customs officials have stopped 300 radioactive cars from getting into Russia from Japan since the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year, as part of an ongoing monitoring operation: "We have inspected 150,000 vehicles as part of this monitoring mission. Three hundred units that have been seized indicated a level of radioactivity," said Gennady Onishchenko, the head of Russia's consumer rights watchdog. After the Fukushima Daichi nuclear disaster in March 2011, the Russian government has implemented a monitoring mission whereby all imports from Japan, including food and consumer goods, are checked for radioactive contamination. Since the mission's inception, experts have checked 500,000 shipments, 908 ships, 473 aircraft and more than 42,000 people that have arrived from Japan. Russian authorities, together with the EU and World Health Organization, are keeping a watchful eye on all food imports entering the country through its far eastern border: "We import very little food products from Japan, but we have restricted a number of the country's provinces from delivery. The Japanese side has shared with the international community the data on provinces which have a dangerous fallout of precipitation," said Onishchenko. However, fish caught off the shores of Japan show radioactive signs, according to the official. Speaking about the Fukushima disaster, Onishchenko stressed that this is the "first time we have encountered a contamination threat from another state." In August, Russia's Consumer Rights Organization will mount a scientific expedition with the support of the Russian Geographical Society, to establish if in fact there is a health threat from the fish off Japan's coast.

DW: UN Chief to send new Syria Envoy as Border Violence Rages!D

UN chief Ban Ki-Moon is calling upon the world community to act to stop the bloodshed in Syria, as violence spreads in the conflict between Syrian rebels and President Bashar Assad's forces. At least 24 people were in Syria on Saturday. Troops shelled areas in Damascus and its suburbs in the seventh day of fierce fighting with rebels, who claimed responsibility for the Wednesday bomb attack that killed the defense minister and three aides to Assad, including his brother-in-law, and fighting threatened to spill over the Jordanian border. "The Syrian government has manifestly failed to protect civilians, and the international community has a collective responsibility to live up to the UN charter and act on its principles," Ban said on Saturday. Ban said he would send an envoy to Syria to assess the situation, including French diplomat Herve Ladsous. "The situation is fluid and unpredictable, but the path to peace is clear. There must be an end to killing and human rights violations, and a rapid move towards a peaceful, Syrian led political transition and political dialogue," Ban said. Heavy clashes were reported in Syria's second city Aleppo on Saturday, regime forces reportedly shelling several neighborhoods. Hundreds were believed to be fleeing their homes. Until recently, the city has largely remained loyal to Assad. Violence between the rebels and government forces threatened to spill over the border with Jordan: Jordanian security sources said Saturday that border clashes escalated into all out war, with heavy shelling and rocket fire just a few meters from Jordanian soil. The rebel Free Syrian Army briefly gained control of the border Naseib crossing before being repelled again by Syrian troops. Such fighting is expected to continue!

Dana Gabriel: The End of Canada's Sovereignty?

The End of Canada's Sovereignty as a Nation State? Towards a US - Canada Economic and Security Perimeter. Over the past several months, the US-Canada Beyond the Border Action Plan has taken significant steps forward. This includes efforts to modernize and expand infrastructure at key land ports. In a move that went largely unnoticed, both countries also recently agreed on a statement of privacy principles that will guide information sharing across the border. Meanwhile, a separate joint initiative has been announced which addresses energy and environmental issues. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper launched the US-Canada Clean Energy Dialogue (CED) in 2009 to promote new ways to reduce greenhouse gases and combat climate change. The CED Action Plan II released last month, outlines the next phase of activities both countries will undertake. This includes continued work on carbon capture and storage, as well as integrating the electricity grid. In a press statement, Canada's Minister of the Environment, Peter Kent explained that the CED strengthens our efforts to collaborate on innovative clean energy solutions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He also commented on how "It is our hope that the transformation of our economies and our joint work will identify clean energy solutions that will contribute to making sustainable energy a reality for all." Whether real or exaggerated, environmental issues are also advancing North American integration. If you look at some of the words being used and the goals being pushed, they are tied to Agenda 21. Under the guise of protecting the environment, many solutions being offered are in the form of more taxes and control of our lives.