Category Archives: International

International

United Kingdom admits they have British soldiers on the ground in Libya, Britain & Rebels violate Geneva & Hague Conventions

The Daily Telegraph quoted Ministry of Defense officials, saying the SAS (Special Air Service) is on the ground and taking part in the battle for Tripoli.

Not only that, but the British officials admit they’ve had “boots on the ground” for several weeks.  The British SAS dress like civilians and use the same weapons the rebels are using.

It is a violation of the Geneva and Hague Conventions, for soldiers to dress like civilians.

Under the Geneva Convention, soldiers who wear civilian clothes are considered “illegal combatants”, and can be treated the same way that the United States is treating prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay (GITMO), and other prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and other secret locations.  A “legal combatant” must wear a uniform, or an obvious sign indicating they are a government soldier.

The Hague Convention states that soldiers “…have a fixed distinctive emblem recognizable at a distance.”

However the Hague Convention says any civilians defending their territory from invasion (like the U.S. invading Afghanistan & Iraq) are considered “legal combatants” even if they’re wearing civilian clothes.  If captured they must be treated as an official “Prisoner of War”, under Hague Convention POW rules, as a uniformed soldier would be treated.

Since Libya was not invaded, under the Hague Convention the civilian rebels are not allowed the same rights as a uniformed soldier, even if the rebels are wearing a uniform.

The rebels have been officially recognized by many countries, giving the Trans National Council the status of a government.  This means the TNC should have issued some kind of standardized uniform, or sign, for their “soldiers” to be legal under international law.  On top of that they are not defending from an outside invader.

So, the Libyan rebels, and the civilian clothed British SAS, are “illegal combatants”.  After all, isn’t the United States about the rule of law?

 

 

 

 

 

International, Technology, U.S.

United Police Kingdom: British Bobbies taser to death another man, at least three police killings in 8 days

For the third time in eight days British Bobbies have killed using a taser, and pepper spray.

August 23, Greater Manchester Police officers tasered to death a 53 year old truck driver. They say they were trying to stop him from killing himself!

August 22, a 25 year old amateur rugby player, died after he was hit in the face with pepper spray and subdued by up to 11 cops.

August 16, a professional bodybuilder, and father of two, was pepper sprayed and then tasered three times with 50,000 volts, before dying.  He became the first Brit to be killed with a taser.

Until last week no one in United Kingdom had been killed by the use of a taser. In United States, Amnesty International says that since 2001, more than 460 people have been killed with a taser.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Original Lager Beer Yeast came from South America, not Germany! Proof that Vikings made it all the way to South America?

Researchers from around the world have been looking for the source yeast used in Lager beers.  They found it, in Argentina!

Germany has laid claim as the creator of lager beers, more than 600 years ago.  But scientists realized that the yeast used, Saccharomyces Pastorianus, is not native to Bavaria.

Scientists combed five continents, and found only one source of origin: Patagonia, Argentina.

Now the question is how did Europeans get the yeast?  After all the first German Lagers were created decades before Columbus sailed the ocean blue.   Could it be those daring Vikings who got to North America 400 years before Columbus, made it all the way to South America, then back to Europe?

International

Chronic overeating caused by the same condition that causes Anorexia

Researchers from the University of New South Wales think they’ve figured out what causes people to overeat, to the point of obesity.  It’s the same thing that causes anorexia: Executive Function Disorders.

EFD is a brain condition that prevents people from being able to organize their lives.  The Australian scientists think that obese people, and anorexic people are just the extreme opposites of the same condition.

Anorexics deal with not being able to deal with food by not eating it.  Obese people deal with not being able to deal with food by not thinking about what, and how much they’re eating.

The researchers think therapies used for anorexics, should work with chronically obese people.

International, Technology

Bacteria can stop Dengue Fever

“This is a simple, non-chemical, non-harmful way to reduce the threat of dengue to humans. It could have a transformative effect on the health of literally millions of people worldwide.”–Alun Lloyd

North Carolina State University researchers have discovered that common bacterias can stop the spread of Dengue fever.  The research involved scientists from Australia.

The researchers found that a bacterium called Wolbachia, which is not harmful to humans, can block the transmission of Dengue in mosquitoes.  They think by releasing mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia, it could radically reduce cases of Dengue fever.


Business/Economics, International

What Economic Recovery? Big Beer maker in Europe sees Drop in Profits

Heineken, Europe’s biggest beer maker, made a profit the first half of this year, but no where near what they were hoping for.

Their net profit was 694 million euros (U.S.$999.38 million).  That’s a drop compared to the first half of last year, when they netted 700 million euros.

They still made a big profit this year, but it shocked Heineken’s own analysts because they were expecting to make much more money.

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Steve Jobs resigns, Apple Board rushing to bring in replacment

“I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.”-Steve Jobs

Co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, has been fighting cancer, and now he has resigned.  No confirmation if it’s due to his health.

Tim Cook has already been picked to replace Jobs, and the board of Apple is rushing to get Cook into the CEO position.

Business/Economics, International

Coriander / Cilantro can kill bacteria

The Science Daily reporting that Portuguese scientists discovered that oil from coriander, aka cilantro, makes a good anti-biotic.

“The results indicate that coriander oil damages the membrane surrounding the bacterial cell.  This disrupts the barrier between the cell and its environment and inhibits essential processes including respiration, which ultimately leads to death of the bacterial cell.”-Fernanda Domingues.

Researchers confirmed that coriander/cilantro oil can affect 12 types of bacterial strains, and some were killed by solutions containing 1.6% or less coriander oil.  The oil comes from the seeds of the plant.  Not only could it be used as an anti-biotic, but it might be used to preserve food.

International, U.S.

Pakistan orders 250 U.S. officials out of the country

Pakistan has given the U.S. embassy 40 days to remove 250 U.S. officials.

Pakistan says the U.S. officials are involved in high-level espionage and anti-state activities.

U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan, Cameron Munter, cut short his vacation to deal with the situation.  The situation has gotten worse in Pakistan, because the United States has greatly increased the number of drone attacks.  Pakistani officials, and independent observers, say the majority of people killed in the U.S. drone attacks are civilians.  In some cases the target of the attack is totally missed, and dozens of bystanders are killed.  U.S. officials have dismissed independent investigations that show that several hundreds of children have been killed.