Contrary to what we are being told, Iran is in fact already under attack by Israel, the US, and other western powers, and has been for some time. Through a series of measures, Iran has been facing an onslaught of cyberwarfare, special operations, targeted assassinations, and crippling economic sanctions for years now.
The Canadian government has banned MDPV (methylenedioxypyrovalerone), a synthetic stimulant commonly found in “bath salts” drugs. The ban went into effect last Wednesday, the same day it was announced by Health Canada.
“Our government is committed to protecting hardworking Canadian families and keeping our streets and communities safe,” said Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq in a statement. “That’s why we have moved quickly to make the illicit drug known as “bath salts” illegal to possess, traffic, import or export, unless authorized by regulation.”
The criminalization of MDPV — it is now a Schedule I controlled substance, like heroin and cocaine — had been a promise of the Conservative government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Aglukkaq said in July that regulation was forthcoming.
All activities involving MDPV are now illegal, except for research and scientific activities, which must be authorized by regulation. That means that people seeking to use and distribute it will have to resort to underground markets, something that police spokesmen who lauded the move don’t seem to understand.
“Today’s announcement by the Government of Canada to add MDPV in Schedule I of the Controlled Drug and Substances Act is an important step in stopping organized criminal groups from acquiring and profiting from this illegal substance,” said Staff Inspector Randy Franks of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police and Acting Chair of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police Drug Abuse Committee.
But as Marni Soupcoff noted in a National Post op-ed critical of the ban, Franks was both taking credit where it was not due and making unwarranted assumptions about how drug markets work.
“The substance, which is a key ingredient in the drug known as ‘bath salts,’ was obviously not illegal before the ban,” Soupcoff wrote. “So it’s circular to credit the ban for stopping the acquisition of something illegal. My bigger problem with the quote is the notion that making a substance illegal stops organized criminals from profiting from it. This is precisely the opposite of how things have gone with alcohol, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, marijuana and pretty much every other illicit drug or beverage in history.”
Instead of prohibiting a relatively new and uncommon drug, Canada could have gone a more rational, public health-oriented way, Soupcoff suggested.
“What else could Canada have done to try to mitigate harm from MDPV?” she asked. “How about public health and education initiatives? Maybe monitoring MDPV sellers to ensure compliance with existing laws (investigating instances of fraud, false advertising, etc.) and creating open forums for MDPV buyers to report complaints, adverse reactions, etc. Heck, Health Canada could even have formally declared the stuff dangerous, no good, terrible, very bad and to be avoided by those who know what’s good for them.”
But instead Canada gets a new addition to its list of banned substances — and a new, underground criminal market to supply it.
Kimberly Rivera, an American soldier who moved to Canada to avoid the Iraq war, has been deported to the U.S.
The mother of four presented herself at the Canada-U.S. border in Gananoque, Ont. on Thursday, where she was arrested and transferred to U.S. military custody.
“Kimberly now awaits punishment for refusing to return to Iraq, a conflict which Kimberly and Canada determined was wrong,” the group War Resisters Support Campaign said in a statement.
Rivera’s husband and children, two of whom were born in Canada, crossed the border separately on Thursday, according to the group’s spokesperson.
“She didn’t want her children to see her arrested by the military,” said Ken Marciniec.
The parliamentary secretary to Immigration Minister Jason Kenney confirmed the deportation in the House of Commons, drawing a huge cheer from the Conservative benches.
“Our government does not believe that the administration of the president or the president himself in any way, shape, or form, is going to persecute Ms. Rivera,” said Rick Dykstra, Conservative MP for St. Catharines, Ont.
While Rivera’s supporters were hoping for a last-minute intervention by the government, news of the 30-year-old’s deportation sparked a series of protests across the country.
The largest one was in Toronto, where Rivera has been living with her family since she moved to Canada in 2007.
Some 20,000 people also signed an online petition protesting the deportation order.
A new animal study links bisphenol-A (BPA) exposure in females in utero with reproductive problems later in life, including abnormal egg development.
“All the eggs that a female is going to have in her lifetime are formed before birth,” says researcher Catherine VandeVoort of University of California, Davis. “Anything that disrupts that process is going to have an impact later in life.”
Impaired Follicles and Division
For the study (which will be published next week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences), scientists put fetal monkeys in two groups. A control group remained unexposed to BPA while another group was exposed to the chemical through daily food during second or third trimesters or through an implant that administered constant, low doses of BPA.
The eggs of fetuses exposed to BPA had difficulty forming follicles, which surround eggs during development. Being unprotected in this manner often leads to eggs dying before maturation, according to VandeVoort.
Other abnormalities seen in the eggs were signs that they would carry too many chromosomes from being unable to divide during development, leading to miscarriages or disorders like Down Syndrome.
Closest yet to Human Study, Effects
Researchers don’t test the effects BPA on people, but because the latest research was conducted on monkeys, who have similar reproductive systems to ours, scientists prize the new results. “This is the closest we can get to humans,” says Tufts University professor Dr. Ana Soto.
Because the monkeys were not raised in the study to a reproductive age, the researchers remain unsure what would come of the egg abnormalities over time and during reproductive processes. They do suspect, however, that it would result in:
Miscarriages
Birth defects
Reduced pool of eggs
This isn’t the first study to link BPA to fertility problems. The chemical has also been tied to adversely affecting male genital development and subsequently targeting fertility rates. The study examined the effect of BPA on Anogenital distance – the distance between the genitalia and the anus, and biologically very important. AGD has been linked to fertility in males, making the affect of BPA on the male reproductive system quite significant.
And while BPA is slowly being replaced with a more toxic substance known as BPS chemical, BPA is still used widely today. Found in a multitude of products, food, and even paper money, BPA has also been linked to the following conditions:
Breast cancer
Obesity
Feminization of boys
Accelerated maturation in girls
Diabetes
Depression and hyperactivity in young girls from BPA-exposed mothers
To begin naturally reversing the effects of BPA exposure, donate or throw away plastic food and drink containers in favor of reusable, stainless steel varieties and avoid packaged foods that come in cans or plastic.
20:41 01/10/2012 UNITED NATIONS, October 1 (RIA Novosti) – Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem on Monday called on the opposition to come to the negotiating table, adding that it was critical for neighboring countries to end their support for the opposition.
“The success of any international efforts in Syria requires – in addition to the Syrian government’s obligations – obligations from states that are supporting the [rebel] armed groups in my country,” he told the 67th Session of the UN General Assembly.
He mentioned countries such as Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Libya, which Syria accuses of supplying arms and funding, and training and sheltering “terrorist groups.”
“I am inviting the national opposition to work together to stop the Syrian bloodshed,” Moallem said.
US inundates terrorist legions with cash & support after regional embassy attacks and death of own ambassador. by Tony Cartalucci
September 28, 2012 – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced that the US would be providing an additional $45 million in “non-lethal aid” to the “opposition” in Syria, reported the Associated Press. The Western press chose their words carefully, ensuring that the term “civilian opposition” was repeatedly used to describe the armed terrorist forces attempting to violently overthrow the Syrian government.
Image: Libyan Mahdi al-Harati of the US State Department, United Nations, and the UK Home Office (page 5, .pdf)-listed terrorist organization, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), addressing fellow terrorists in Syria. Harati is now commanding a Libyan brigade operating inside of Syria attempting to destroy the Syrian government and subjugate the Syrian population. Traditionally, this is known as “foreign invasion.” US aid is going to foreign terrorists, not a “civilian opposition.”
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In reality, the “opposition” in Syria constitutes foreign terrorist legions flowing across Syria’s borders, and in particular, staging and crossing over from NATO-member Turkey. In fact, it was recently admitted by the terrorist legions themselves that their headquarters has been located within Turkish territory for the duration of the conflict. In a recent France 24 article titled, “Free Syrian Army move HQ from Turkey to Syria,” armed militants claimed they had only just recently “moved from Turkey to within Syria.”
Clinton’s Aid is Going to Al Qaeda, Not a “Civilian Opposition.”
While the Western media attempts to portray heavily armed foreign terrorists as “Syria’s civilian opposition,” it has been revealed that entire brigades are led by Libyan terrorists drawn from the ranks of the US State Department (#29), UK Home Office (page 5, .pdf), and UN-listed terror organization, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG).
Abdulhakim Belhadj, head of the Tripoli Military Council and the former leader of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, “met with Free Syrian Army leaders in Istanbul and on the border with Turkey,” said a military official working with Mr Belhadj. “Mustafa Abdul Jalil (the interim Libyan president) sent him there.”
by Lisa Garber
PN 