Honduras: Human Rights Lawyer Murdered, Had Helped Prepare Motions Declaring Proposed Private Cities Unconstitutional
September 27th, 2012Via: AP:
A prominent Honduran human rights lawyer gunned down after a weekend wedding had long complained about death threats, including in documents filed last year seeking protection from a powerful billionaire landowner.
Antonio Trejo Cabrera, 41, who died early Sunday after being ambushed by gunmen, was a lawyer for three peasant cooperatives in the Bajo Aguan, a fertile farming area plagued by violent conflicts between agrarian organizations and land owners. The most prominent is Dinant Corporation owned by Miguel Facusse, one of Honduras’ richest men. Thousands of once-landless workers hold about 12,000 acres (5,000 hectares) of plantations they seized from Dinant.
…
Before his death, Trejo had publicly said that if he were killed, Facusse would be responsible.
In a statement received by The Associated Press late Monday, Facusse denied any role, direct or indirect, in Trejo’s murder.
…
Trejo had also helped prepare motions declaring unconstitutional a proposal by the Honduran government and a U.S. company, MGK Group, to build three privately run cities with their own police, laws and tax systems.
Just hours before his murder, Trejo had participated in a televised debate in which he accused congressional leaders of using the private city projects to raise campaign funds.
MGK director Michael Strong said the company is “horrified” by Trejo’s killing.
“We believe that Antonio Trejo, had he lived long enough to get to know us, would have concluded that our approach is 100 percent beneficial to Honduras and Hondurans. We are saddened for his family and understand what a tragedy this is for trust and goodwill in Honduras,” Strong said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Research Credit: almaverdad2
Related: Honduras Sets Stage for 3 Privately Run Cities
Student Debt Weighs Down One-Fifth of U.S. Households
September 27th, 2012Via: The Exchange:
A record number of American households carry student loan debt, while the average outstanding loan balance is the highest it’s ever been, according to a new report from the Pew Research Center. The Pew analysis found that about one out of five (19%) households, or around 22.3 million, were burdened with student debt in 2010. That figure is more than double the 9% it was in 1989, and it marks a big jump from 15% in 2007.
Related: Young U.S. Adults Flock to Parents’ Homes
Secret Cold War Aerosol Experiments on Poor, Minority Communities in St. Louis
September 27th, 2012Make sure to stick with this video to the end and notice what the government did with the building where many of the the people (test subjects/victims) lived.
Via: Proquest / University of Missouri:
The Manhattan-Rochester Coalition, research on the health effects of radioactive materials, and tests on vulnerable populations without consent in St. Louis, 1945–1970
by Martino-Taylor, Lisa, Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI – COLUMBIA, 2011, 838 pages; 3515886
This piece analyzes a covert Manhattan Project spin-off organization referred to here as the Manhattan-Rochester Coalition, and an obscure aerosol study in St. Louis, Missouri, conducted under contract by the U.S. military from 1953–1954, and 1963–1965. The military-sponsored studies targeted a segregated, high-density urban area, where low-income persons of color predominantly resided. Examination of the Manhattan-Rochester Coalition and the St. Louis aerosol studies, reveal their connections to each other, and to a much larger military project that secretly tested humans, both alive and deceased, in an effort to understand the effects of weaponized radiation. Through this case study, the author explores how a large number of participants inside an organization will willingly participate in organizational acts that are harmful to others, and how large numbers of outsiders, who may or may not be victims of organizational activities, are unable to determine illegal or harmful activity by an organization. The author explains how ethical and observational lapses are engineered by the organization through several specific mechanisms, in an effort to disable critical analysis, and prevent both internal and external dissent of harmful organizational actions. Through studying the process of complex organizational deviance, we can develop public policies that protect the public’s right to know, and construct checks and methods to minimize the chance of covert projects that are contrary to societal norms.
New Zealand Prime Minister John Key Apologizes to Kim Dotcom for Illegal Surveillance
September 27th, 2012Via: New Zealand Herald:
Prime Minister John Key says he apologises to Kim Dotcom for what he has described as “basic errors” by the Government Communications and Security Bureau, but that has not stopped opposition parties from calling for a more detailed independent inquiry.
In a media conference after the release of the report into unlawful monitoring of Mr Dotcom and an acquaintance, Mr Key said he was “appalled” at the agency, saying it had “failed at the most basic of hurdles.”
“Of course I apologise to Mr Dotcom, and I apologise to New Zealanders.”
He said New Zealanders were entitled to be protected by the law “and we failed to provide that protection to them.”
He said he was ultimately accountable for the GCSB and had made his displeasure clear to the current director of the GCSB Ian Fletcher, but it was up to him what he did.
He said he did not believe any of the information collected had been passed onto the FBI, although information about the location of Mr Dotcom and his acquaintances was sent to police.
Related: Servility… Spies?
Chemical in Nonstick Cookware Linked to Child’s Weight
September 27th, 2012Via: NBC:
A group of compounds used in a variety of products, including nonstick cookware, may influence a baby’s growth in the womb and after birth, a new study suggests.
In the study, pregnant women who were exposed to high levels of polyfluoroalkyl compounds, or PFCs, had babies that were smaller at birth and larger at age 20 months compared with those born to women exposed to lower levels of the compounds.
The results held even after the researchers adjusted for factors that could influence the babies’ weights, including the mother’s smoking habits and weight before pregnancy.
The findings agree with previous studies on the effect of PFC exposure during in-utero development. A recent study in Denmark found that girls exposed to PFCs in the womb were more likely to be overweight at age 20, said study researcher Michele Marcus, a professor of epidemiology at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health.
It’s important to note the new study only found an association, and not a cause-effect link.
Research Credit: takelsd
Why Are the Freemasons Collecting Children’s DNA?
September 27th, 2012Does it have anything to do with why they’re driving burial vaults around? Go figger…
Via: Huffington Post:
So why then is an exclusive group collecting our children’s DNA, with support of police and the government across the USA and Canada?
You know them as MasoniChip, or perhaps you’ve been led to believe it was a state and provincial endeavor intended to protect your little ones. They set up fairs, forge partnerships with law enforcement and even strive to distribute their services through North American public school systems.
Research Credit: Sierra
Riot Outside Spanish Parliament
September 27th, 2012Via: Russia Today:
Madrid riot police have cleared Plaza de Neptune of protesters, with about 200 officers securing the surrounding blocks. At least 60 people have been injured and 26 arrested as police used batons and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Local emergency services have confirmed that at least 60 people, including eight policemen, were injured in clashes between police and protesters, El Pais reports. One of the wounded is believed to be in critical condition, while one of the injured policemen suffered a severe concussion.
Riot police dispersed the protesters, dragging some who had tried to get through police lines by their arms and legs. An uneasy order was restored and reinforcements were brought in to try and disperse the crowd.
Thirteen of those arrested have been detained after a group of protesters tried to break through the police barrier for the first time. Further arrests were carried out during the following clashes, bringing the total number of arrests to some 60, El Pais reported.
Authorities estimate that about 6,000 people took part in Tuesday’s protest. Over 1,300 riot police officers were deployed in the capital, which is more than a half the country’s riot police force.
Research Credit: ottilie
Chinese Protester Opposing Government Takeover of Village Land Crushed to Death by Government Road-Flattening Truck
September 27th, 2012I held off posting this for a day, hoping to see this story mentioned by more reputable sources than the Daily Mail, but I’m not seeing it.
So, with the warning that the source of this story appears to be the Daily Mail, here you go…
Via: Daily Mail:
This is the horrifying moment a Chinese protester was allegedly brutally crushed to death by a government road flattening truck over a land dispute.
The demonstrator had apparently resisted a government relocation when he appeared to be crushed by the huge vehicle on the orders of a Chinese government official.
The victim, named as He Zhi Hua, had refused to accept a small sum to relocate from Changsha Village in Hunan Province, where government officials want to claim land for commercial use.
Instead, when Hua began lying down on the land in protest, a construction vehicle reportedly crushed him to death with its huge rollers, allegedly on the orders of the local Vice Mayor.
The local authorities had already evicted many others from Changsha Village when the state-owned construction vehicle carried out the killing, according to reports.
Shocking pictures from the aftermath appeared to show the man’s remains splattered under the rollers of the giant construction vehicle.
It is unclear exactly what the pictures show, however, and there is a possibility the incident could have been an accident.
FORM 1: An Affordable, Professional 3D Printer
September 27th, 2012They’re 4x the initial goal after one day.
Via: Kickstarter:
Our reason for starting this project is simple: there are no low-cost 3D printers that meet the quality standards of the professional designer. As researchers at the MIT Media Lab, we were lucky to experience the best and most expensive fabrication equipment in the world. But, we became frustrated by the fact that all the professional-quality 3D printers were ridiculously expensive (read: tens of thousands of dollars) and were so complex to use. In 2011, we decided to build a solution to this problem ourselves, and we are now ready to share it with the world.
More: Form Labs
Toyota and Nissan Close Factories in China
September 26th, 2012Via: CNBC:
Shares of both Toyota Motor and Nissan Motor fell 3 percent in Tokyo trading on Wednesday on news the automakers will halt production at plants in China in the wake of the worst anti-Japan protests in decades.
While the development has heightened concerns about the impact of the rift on Japanese businesses, analysts CNBC spoke to maintain that the repercussions are likely temporary and it’s too early to be concerned about the automakers.
Nissan (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 7201.T)on Wednesday said it was extending its production closure during the China Golden Week national holiday-scheduled for next week-by three days, starting on Thursday. After the close of Tokyo markets, Toyota (Tokyo Stock Exchange: 7203.T)also confirmed reports that it would suspend output at two Chinese joint ventures from Wednesday through to the end of next week.
