China opens doors of secret military base to journalists

A soldier from Air Defence Brigade, 47th Combined Corps, PLA poses for picture during a display organized for media by Chinese government in Lintong, Shaanxi province July 29, 2013. (Reuters / Petar Kujundzic)

China’s military gave a rare display of its military prowess to journalists on Monday to help dispel fear about the country’s intentions and provide a sense of openness over Chinese strategy the day before Japan’s vice FM visits to negotiate territory.

China displayed a range of its weaponry, including anti-aircraft cannons dating back to the 1960s. Similar, modern counterparts were also showcased, as soldiers chatted to journalists about why they joined the military.

Military commander Chen Xifeng, who is in charge of the base in central-eastern Lintong, was tasked with speaking to representatives of the press. “The Chinese people and the People's Liberation Army are peace loving,” he told a Reuters reporter while shaking hands and smiling.

The base is of key importance as it is part of one of seven territories which encompasses the far western region of Xinjiang, which borders Pakistan and central Asia. It is the first base outside of Beijing to be opened up to journalists.

The commander described other weaponry which wasn’t available for viewing, including a detachment of HQ-7B short-range anti-aircraft missiles.

Government funds being channeled into the People's Liberation Army will rise 10.7 per cent to 740.6 billion yuan ($120 billion) this year. However, analysts say this figure is not reflective of the government’s true expenditure.

While using the opportunity to inform reporters of the extent of China’s military capabilities and to declare a commitment to increased transparency, the commander also confirmed the existence of tensions with other Asian countries. “China does have territorial disputes with some neighbors but the government and military are quite restrained in dealing with them,” he said.

On Tuesday, Japan’s vice foreign minister, Akitaka Saiki, is to arrive on Chinese shores. He hopes to resolve ongoing territorial disputes surrounding an island chain in the East China Sea, as well as put an end to a scuffle surrounding two archipelagos in the South China Sea.

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Groundbreaking investigation reveals Monsanto teaming up with US military to target GMO activists

A hard-hitting investigative report recently published by a prominent German newspaper has uncovered some shocking details about the tactics being used by chemical giant Monsanto in assuming control of global agriculture. 

According to this thorough analysis, Monsanto appears to be aggressively targeting independent researchers, scientists, activists, and others opposed to genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) by utilizing the vast resources and manpower of both the United States federal government and the American military-industrial complex

The report, which recently appeared in the July 13 print edition of Suddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), explains in rigorous detail how both individuals and groups opposed to GMOs and other chemical-based crop technologies have been threatened, hacked, slandered and terrorized for daring to digress from the pro-GMO status quo. On numerous documented occasions, pertinent information about the dangers of GMOs or lack of GMO safety data has been effectively blocked from timely release by mysterious forces that many say are the chemical industry in disguise.

"A conspicuously large number of Monsanto critics report regular attacks by professional hackers," explains an English-translated snippet from the SZ report. "There are (Monsanto) ties with the U.S. secret services, the U.S. military, with very hard operating private security companies and of course, with the U.S. government."

A telling example of this was when the European environmental group Friends of the Earth (FOTE), together with the German Environmental and Nature Protection Association (BUND), was targeted prior to releasing a damning study on the health-damaging effects of glyphosate, the primary active ingredient in Monsanto's Roundup herbicide. A mysterious virus infected the computer of the study's main organizer just days before publishing, which threatened to delay several important press releases.

The distinguished GMO truth website GMWatch.org has also been relentlessly targeted with "cyber attacks" since at least 2007, a disturbing trend that the site's main editor is convinced originates from the biotechnology industry. As we reported back in 2012, some of the strongest attacks against the site came just weeks and days before the historic Proposition 37 vote in California, which would have mandated GMO labeling at the retail level.

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 Related:
 The Final Stand: Grassroots Movement Against Monsanto Explodes
‘Monsanto’ hires infamous mercenary firm ‘Blackwater’ to track Activists around the World
Safety Group Blows Lid on ‘Secret Virus’ Hidden in GMO Crops

Bayer and US Government Knowingly Gave HIV to Thousands of Children

What if a company that you thought you could trust, knowingly sold you a medicine for your child that they knew had the potential to give your child HIV? 

How would you react?

What if a government agency that claims the responsibility for protecting you from such treachery, not only looked the other way, but was complicit in this exchange?

Everyone has heard of Bayer aspirin, it is a household name. Bayer AG also manufactures numerous other products, from pesticides to medicine for hemophiliacs called Factor 8.
In 1984 Bayer became aware that several batches of this Factor 8 contained HIV.

They knew this because there was an outbreak of HIV among hemophiliac children, and this outbreak was traced back to Bayer.


Unable to sell their Factor 8 in the US, Bayer, with the FDA’s permission, (yes that’s right, the FDA allowed Bayer to potentially kill thousands) sold this HIV infected medicine to Argentina, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, and Singapore after February 1984, according to the documents obtained by the NY Times.
 read more


Related:
Big Pharma Criminality no Longer a Conspiracy Theory: Bribery, Fraud, Price Fixing now a matter of public record
20 Signs That The Pharmaceutical Companies Are Running A 280 Billion Dollar Money Making Scam
Quackity quack: Eight evil genius ways to fake a vitamin study (and scare consumers into being afraid of fish oils)

UK Internet Porn Censor to Also Block Conspiracy Theories

The totalitarian tip-toe is tap dancing to tyranny with the proposed Internet censorship bill in the United Kingdom. 

In the name of keeping children safe from porn, the UK law will impose Internet filters on far more than just porn.

According to Wired :

As well as pornography, users may automatically be opted in to blocks on "violent material", "extremist related content", "anorexia and eating disorder websites" and "suicide related websites", "alcohol" and "smoking". But the list doesn't stop there. It even extends to blocking "web forums" and "esoteric material", whatever that is. "Web blocking circumvention tools" is also included, of course.

The definition of "esoteric" makes clear that censorship of broad topics is the goal of this so-called ISP filter:
es·o·ter·ic [es-uh-ter-ik] adjective
1. understood by or meant for only the select few who have special knowledge or interest;
2. belonging to the select few.
3. private; secret; confidential.

Translation: anything outside the acceptable mainstream narrative will be filtered. In short, the free flow of information is under assault with this law.

The organization Open Rights Group refers to this totalitarian tip-toe as "sleepwalking into censorship":
What's clear here is that David Cameron wants people to sleepwalk into censorship. We know that people stick with defaults: this is part of the idea behind 'nudge theory' and 'choice architecture' that is popular with Cameron.

The implication is that filtering is good, or at least harmless, for anyone, whether adult or child. Of course, this is not true; there's not just the question of false positives for web users, but the affect on a network economy of excluding a proportion of a legitimate website's audience.

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The journey begins

For those who seek Joy, Happiness, Bliss, Compassion & Love in their lives, continue reading.

Albert Einstein once said: "You cannot solve a problem with the same level of consciousness that created it."

Many seekers tried for ages to alter their consciousness or simply try to change their lifes. With good results, if we understand the words of Buddha, JC & others well...

If you start this journey it will be your choice to do so. While reading this you probably realize that you've made that choice already.
Even better if your search & resque mission for yourself has already begun a while ago, most likely it's even expanded to help other people, animals & plants.

At some point in your life you realize that the outside world doesn't provide you with the happy feelings, not even from people you love. Can't blame them...
There's a gap. To fill that gap you can argue, beg, shout & even do worse things to the world.
That probably didn't work too well all the time, did it?


The Journey begins

You can say a Prayer now and then and you've probably already made a wish or two sometimes in the past, for changes in your life.

These results from the prayer/wishingswitch -you turn on now & then- can be related to 'the secret'.
The real secret is that there is no switch to turn it 'on'. Well, I don't even know how to turn it off...

Your wishfull thinking is already constantly working for you, your whole life. It's already happening in your life & mind by your thoughts & intentions.
The time between you're thinking something & experiencing that in your life is to be closely observed by you. It's just a timedelay.

Slowly you take more care of what you think & wish for. Adjusting your intentions & thoughts slightly probably now & then. As your world expands...
Confusing can be the realisation that you feel separated from family, friends or nature & life at all. At some point you start to communicate with them in another way.
Sure there are moments of despair, loneliness & loss of control over your life. That's part of the game. Accept it in the process of who you are going to become.

Your life experiences are like day & night, yin & yang and ups & downs but eventually you're graduating slowly. That graduatingprocess is a cyclic process what you're experiencing all your life already.
Thoughts & emotions are now in your toolkit ready for use when you need them. Being the Master of it. Pushing the buttons as you wish. You simply choose what to think of or what emotion you wish to experience. Turn it on/off as you wish.

Suddenly you realize that it was YOU -the Master with compassion- you were waiting for.

Then you realize more & more that with great power comes greater responsability & you're feeling better and more relaxed in daily life -probably living then in abundance.
As you receive more of the things you need in your life you can feel the need to give some of it away to those creatures who need it and show people how life can be.
That's where the hapinessfeeling inside of you comes from. Then you feel blessed that you're capable  of doing this. Other living beings nééd you.
And you need them.

Remembering walking in nature feeling one with it all and in total peace?
Now try falling from an airplane's open door with nothing more than a backpack on. I did that 12 times and died almost twice from a crash & a drowning.
The feeling of flying is unbelievable and it doesn't end there. The world of your reality turns upside down and flips from left to right all the time.
It's overwhelming to feel ALL different emotions at once, thinking of everyting at the same time & realize it's all in your hands.
It can be scary sometimes to walk and feel like flying at the same time.
But it's a joyfull feeling.


Where do we go?

When a significant amount of people on Earth start using their 'toolkit', there's no other possibility than that we turn this planet into one giant small town where we all take good care of eachother.

If Heaven has always been a place far away and something for your near future maybe...
Now when do you decide then that you're already in it? Next year?  Never? Someday? Tomorrrow?


Your journey has begun.
It's already happening.
Fasten seatbelts & enjoy the ride !


Boddhi

Related:

Symptoms Of Spiritual Awakening

Living In A Hologram: Our Holographic Reality

We grow up thinking and believing that the world and reality in which we exist in is something tangible and physical and is just as is perceived. 

However, not only does this thought-process become disillusioned with various difficult-to-explain phenomena, but perceptions becomes realized as completely subjective that do not reflect an objective reality, if such a reality even exists. With the significant advances in the knowledge and information attained by the human race in its most recent history, radical shifts in how reality is perceived are being formulated.

Where the universe was once seen as an empty space with bits of matter scattered about is now being seen as a holographic projection stemming from some primary reality unseen to our biological and technological instruments.

The evidence for a holographic reality is becoming quite plentiful; too much to be disregarded. What gives it more credence is that those who have experienced higher states of consciousness and echelons of reality via meditation, astral projection, or entheogens have been proclaiming very holographic-esque musings and aphorisms.

To give just one example, there was the research done in 1982 in the University of Paris which discovered that under certain circumstances subatomic particles such as electrons are able to instantaneously communicate with each other regardless of the distance separating them. It did not matter whether they were 10 feet or 10 billion miles apart. Somehow each particle always seemed to know what the other was doing. The great physicist David Bohm believed that these findings imply that objective reality does not exist, that despite its apparent solidity the universe is at heart a phantasm, a gigantic and splendidly detailed hologram.

Within a hologram, the whole is within the part. No matter how many times you divide the whole, the part will always contain it’s totality. Just as higher consciousness realizations show that each part, as seemingly small or separate it is from total reality and the Source of reality itself, contains that very Source and v.v. The deduction from the holographic experiments conclude that autonomy and separateness are an illusion and that all is one.

Oneness is a concept found in seemingly every major belief system ever manifested within the realm of human consciousness, so it only emboldens recent discoveries pertaining to our manifested reality. If this indeed is the case, (and enough evidence shows that it is) then the universe is itself a projection, a hologram. If the apparent separateness of subatomic particles is illusory, it means that at a deeper level of reality all things in the universe are infinitely interconnected. The electrons in a carbon atom in the human brain are connected to the subatomic particles that comprise every salmon that swims, every heart that beats, and every star that shimmers in the sky. Oneness prevails.

In a holographic universe, even time and space could no longer be viewed as fundamentals. Because concepts such as location break down in a universe in which nothing is truly separate from anything else, time and three-dimensional space, like the images of the fish on the TV monitors, would also have to be viewed as projections of this deeper order. At its deeper level reality is a sort of super-hologram in which the past, present, and future all exist simultaneously.

The three-dimensional universe we live in is the hologram created out of a primary reality that is outside space and time so it is a copy of something “real” so it would make sense in such a case that our real self is in another reality. Our consciousness is the real us. Consciousness is everything and therefore it is nothing, since all that is, is consciousness.


To further build the case for a holographic reality, consider the following:

• A holographic universe explains nearly all paranormal and mystical experiences.
• Near Death Experiences can be explained by a holographic universe, in that death is a shifting of a person’s consciousness from one level of the hologram of reality to another.
• Current neurophysiological models of the brain are inadequate and only a holographic model can explain such things as archetypal experiences, encounters with the collective unconscious, and other unusual phenomena experienced during altered states of consciousness.
• A holographic model for the universe explains lucid dreams, in which such dreams are visits to parallel realities.
• Synchronicity can be explained by the holographic model. Our thought processes are much more intimately connected to the physical world than has been previously thought. Also note that synchronicity tends to peak just prior to a new realization or insight.
• Telepathy, precognition, mystical feelings of oneness with the universe, and even psychokinesis can be explained through the holographic model.
• Holography can explain how our brains can store so many memories in so little space (our brains can store 280,000,000,000,000,000,000 bits of information).
• Holography can also explain how we are able to recall and forget, how we are able to have associative memory, how we have the ability to recognize familiar things, how we have the ability for the transference of new skills, how we have the ability to construct a world “out there”, how we are able to have “phantom limb” sensations, and how we are able to have photographic memory.
• The brain itself, would therefore be a holographic projection created out of a primary reality outside of space and time. 

All relative realities are created by consciousness existing in relation to itself. We are that consciousness. We are that consciousness existing in relation to itself and interacting with itself.” There is nothing else. None of the things we perceive as separate have an independent existence, as all are in actuality relational extensions of the underlying unity of consciousness. Physical reality is a product of consciousness.

Consciousness is not a product of physical reality. Physical reality does not interact with itself in some unknown fashion to cause consciousness to come into existence. Consciousness in the process of repeated and progressive self-relation becomes the awareness of experience, and thus creates physical reality.

There are realizations concerning the nature of the universe being a holographic projection, through the experience of enlightenment. Once enlightenment is experienced, one can understand exactly how the holographic universe operates and is indeed, very real. There comes an understanding that we are multidimensional beings that exist simultaneously in many levels of quantum reality.

There is no reason to get annoyed, angry, stressed, etc over the things that happen in one’s physical reality, which is the lowest dimension of our awareness, because it is all trivial in the grand scheme of things. Focusing on the specifics of reality may divert one’s self from discovering and realizing the reason he or she exists right now. This is why one of the steps to becoming enlightened is to replace fear and anger with wonder and curiosity.

Have you experienced a shift in perception concerning reality yet? At the very least, hopefully you are able to now expand your mind to realms previously unvisited. Reality is a mysterious and exciting place. Let’s all be explorers of this enchanting life experience.


 Paul Lenda


Related:
Flatland: Understanding Multiple Dimensions From Our Third Dimensional Perspective

Mind-Control Scientists Successfully Implant False Memories

The race to decode the brain continues. A wild array of new possibilities are opening in the field of mind control. 

The mind control of the future forgoes all pretense at indirectly altering perception through media and politics, or even mind-altering drugs and environmental toxins. The mind control of the future goes straight into direct programming.

This direct programming could take place in a number of ways, from gadgets that create a brain-computer interface, to magnetic manipulation via "neural dust," to the direct uploading of the contents of our brain and the subsequent hacking of our minds in the digital realm.

Memory research is a key component of this as well. Our memories help us form our identity: who we are relative to where we have been. Positive or negative lessons from the past can be integrated into our present decisions, thus enabling us to form sound strategies and behaviors that can aid us in our quest for personal evolution. But what if we never knew what memories were real or false? What if our entire narrative was changed by having our life's events restructured?

Current research on mice indicates a disturbing quest by technocrats and reductionists to interfere with this human cognition and even deliberately plant false memories.

The military already has openly discussed a desire to erase the memories of soldiers suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. This is seen as a viable solution, rather than investigate and ameliorate the horrific events which have put soldiers into stressful situations to begin with. Multi-tour soldiers are more suicidal than ever before, and military researchers would like to rewire their brains, as opposed to rework our current understanding of war and peace.

Damn the ethics; science continues full throttle, largely at the behest of military ideology and funding. The proverbial canary in the coal mine has transformed into a mouse in a laboratory. Apparently, until humanoid robots can be released full force, they need to create the best human facsimile possible.

Once again MIT is in the picture.

In a supposed attempt to understand why people can have memories of things that never happened, or divergent reports of the same documented event, the upshot of recent experiments with mice is that it is in fact possible to implant false memories of events that never have happened. Beyond that, researchers can implant fear:
The researchers place a mouse in a brand new environment. As the mouse explores this environment (Place A), new memories are created in the hippocampus (the region of the mammalian brain that we know is deeply involved with memory formation). In Place A, the mouse has the time of its life. The mouse is then relocated to a different environment (Place B). While in Place B, the neuroscientists stimulate the memory of Place A using optogenetics . . . while simultaneously delivering electric shocks to the mouse’s feet, causing fear and pain. Then, when the mouse is returned to Place A, it freezes in fear. This is because the mouse’s brain has somehow confused the fear of electric shocks in Place B with its memory of Place A — in other words, a false memory has been created.
What you have just read is a form of trauma-based mind control.

Of additional note is that scientists employed a virus to change "the neuron’s DNA so that they produce a protein switch that is sensitive to light. Then, when these neurons are struck by light (a hole is drilled in the mouse’s skull and a laser is shot into that region of the hippocampus), the memory is turned on."

A literal on/off switch to produce fear.

This is part of the grand future of neuroscience, which is receiving funding from the $100 million BRAIN project in the U.S., and another $1.3 billion committed by Europe.  We are already seeing some very unethical applications.

We would do well to weigh the positives and negatives while we still have the capacity to freely form and communicate our own thoughts; because the next step is on the horizon . . .  and it looks rather grim for anyone who values human emotion:
The next step, of course, is to actually do something with these findings. The research group would like to use its memory manipulation technology to fix/treat undesirable brain function, such as anxiety and depression. Being able to delete or reprogram bad memories, a la Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, would probably make short work of many mental woes. Perhaps more excitingly, though, is the potential to directly encode new memories into our neurons — kind of like when Neo learns to fly a helicopter in The Matrix. That’s probably a few years away yet, though.
Probably...

MIT Research Paper:
“Creating a False Memory in the Hippocampus”: DOI: 10.1126/science.1239073 –

Main source:
http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/162364-mit-successfully-implants-false-memories-may-teach-us-how-human-brains-form-false-memories

Additional Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2013/jul/25/false-memory-implanted-mouse-brain
http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2013-07/researchers-successfully-implant-mice-false-memories
http://faculty.mercer.edu/spears_a/studentpages/falsememories/clairesteinbeck.htm


Nicholas West

Fracktivists: At least 15 arrests at anti-fracking rally outside London

Police have made 15 arrests a protest against plans by the fracking company Cuadrilla to explore for oil and gas just 40 miles (64km) from London grew into clashes with law enforcers.

Cuadrilla has been granted a government permit for the exploration of oil and gas near the middle class village of Balcombe, in East Sussex, just this week.

The protests against the drilling began back on Thursday morning, as well-to-do villagers set up gazebos and bunting by the roadside. Mothers were there with their children, tea cakes were handed out to passersby, and there was a sing-along.

Several hours later, the villagers were joined by more organized and hardened anti-fracking activists. They blockaded gates to the proposed fracking site, formed a human chain and used tree trunks to stop trucks going in.

The unusual alliance of villagers and environmentalists succeeded in turning away at least one vehicle carrying drilling parts for the operation.

On Friday, however, police drew in more forces and the protesters were warned that they would be committing an offence if they stopped trucks from entering the site.

“A human chain was formed in front of the gates and the police have made the first arrests. People are really shocked it escalated so quickly,” Andrew West from the campaign group Frack Off told the Guardian.

Up to 75 police officers marched down the road in formation and then began to arrest the environmentalists who blocked their path.

“They just started taking people out one by one. Not everyone went voluntarily and there were some struggles. The police seemed to be quite rough,” Lilias Cheyne, an anti-fracking activist who witnessed the arrests, told the Guardian.

Helen Savage, one of the villagers, said they were not willing to be arrested, but planned to keep protesting in any legal way possible.

“We are completely committed to protesting through every legal channel we can. This goes beyond Balcombe. It is against government policy, which is to frack nationwide. It means a fracking rig every two miles. It will industrialize the landscape,” she told the Telegraph.

About half an hour after the arrests were made, the first truck made its way onto the site, more than 24-hours after the blockade started on Thursday morning.

A source in Sussex police defended his officers’ actions.

“Sussex police fully supports the right to demonstrate peacefully and within the law and also facilitate the contractors to carry out their business,” Superintendent Steve Whitton told the Guardian.

But Ashley Williams, who witnessed the arrests, said the police used disproportionate force.

“This is a totally disproportionate response. The community is standing up for themselves against a company that is trying to poison them. As soon as regular people put their head above the parapet the state jumps in to defend the interests of a wealthy few,” she said.

Cuadrilla insists that the rigs are only being brought in for exploratory drilling, and that fracking or hydraulic fracturing, could only happen at a later date if viable and if approved.

The local Conservative MP for the area, Francis Maude, said that Cuadrilla should be allowed to drill exploratory wells, but that more consultations were needed before the start of any commercial extraction.

Cuadrilla already operates fracking rigs in Lancashire, which have seen several protests by environmentalists and locals.

Opponents to the controversial process fear that water sources could be polluted, small country roads will be congested with trucks and that there could even be earthquakes.

The process of fracking involves blasting water mixed with toxic chemicals into rocks deep underground to release oil and gas trapped inside. In the US, where the process in widespread, it has been linked to water pollution, as well as ill health and methane leakage into neighboring water sources.

Tabitha Smith, an activist from Frack Off, said that protesters from other parts of the country planned to come to Balcombe.

“This is a battle which I think will be repeated across the country,” she said.


RT

Kiwis on the march: Thousands turn out against new spy powers in New Zealand

Thousands of people have protested across New Zealand against the new surveillance bill that would enable the country’s Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) to spy on its citizens.

The protests were held in 11 cities and towns. with the strongest turnouts in Auckland and Wellington, showing the growing level of New Zealanders’ concern over the GCSB bill, the NZ Herald reports. Once passed into law, the bill will extend the bureau’s powers granting the agency a right to eavesdrop on telephone conversations.

Protesters took to the streets in Auckland blocking the traffic in the central part of the city. A march down Queen Street attracted an estimated 2,000 people.

MegaUpload founder Kim Dotcom joined the rally, addressing the people in a speech at Auckland's Aotea Square. He told the crowd that the government had invaded his privacy and "if they can do that to me they can do that to any of you."

It would be an "uphill battle" to stop the passage of the pending bill, said Labour Party leader David Shearer, adding  that “there's now a lack of confidence by New Zealanders in our intelligence agencies,” as quoted by the NZ Herald.

In Wellington more than 500 protesters marched to the steps of parliament, many wearing stylized Guy Fawkes masks, adopted as a universal symbol against tyranny. The people held signs and chanted slogans like "we don't want your spying state'' and "surveillance is for war."


Chief executive of Kim Dotcom's new Mega website and the former head of Internet NZ, Vikram Kumar, was met with a resounding "no'' when he asked the crowd whether they want to be spied on, the Herald said.

"The land of the long white cloud becoming the land of the NSA spy cloud? No!''

Civil liberties campaigner and Tech Liberty co-founder Thomas Beagle said the GCSB bill was about “mass surveillance” that gives extensive power to the state.

"It's about spying on everyone, no matter what they've done, no matter what they're going to do,” he said. "This sort of mass surveillance changes the balance of power in our society away from the people and towards the state.''

Prime Minister John Key has been defending the bill, saying that it would give greater oversight and was "a strengthening of the previous legislation.”

"I accept there are some that will always feel a bit nervous about privacy and their own rights, but I can give you the best assurance I can that we're very careful and cautious about what we do as a state. But in the end we do have to protect the interests in New Zealanders,'' he said during a visit to South Korea.


The pending bill is expected to pass through parliament with a majority of one. If passed into law, more power would be given to New Zealand’s domestic and foreign intelligence agencies - the Security Intelligence Service (SIS) and the GCSB. MPs have said that both surveillance agencies require additional resources to protect national security.

RT

Scientists confirm: Pesticides kill America's honey bees

Honey bees are quickly disappearing from the US – a phenomenon that has left scientists baffled. But new research shows that bees exposed to common agricultural chemicals while pollinating US crops are less likely to resist a parasitic infection.

As a result of chemical exposure, honey bees are more likely to succumb to the lethal Nosema ceranae parasite and die from the resulting complications.

Scientists from the University of Maryland and the US Department of Agriculture on Wednesday published a study that linked chemicals, including fungicides, to the mass die-offs. Scientists have long struggled to find the cause behind the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), in which an estimated 10 million beehives at an average value of $200 each have been lost since 2006.

Last winter, the honey bee population declined by 31.1 percent, with some beekeepers reporting losses of 90 to 100 percent of their bee populations. Scientists are concerned that “Beemageddon” could cause the collapse of the $200 billion agriculture industry, since more than 100 US crops rely on honey bees to pollinate them.

The new findings are key in determining one of the causes of the CCD, but they fail to explain why entire beehives sometimes die at once.

UMD and DOA researchers found that pollen samples in fields ranging from Delaware to Maine contained nine different agricultural chemicals, including fungicides, herbicides, insecticides and miticides. One particular sample even contained 21 different agricultural chemicals. To test their theory, they fed pesticide-ridden pollen samples to healthy bees and then infected them with the parasite. They found that the pesticides hindered the bees’ abilities to resist the infection, thus contributing to their deaths. The fungicide chlorothalonil was particularly damaging, tripling the risks of parasitic infection.

“We don’t think of fungicides as having a negative effect on bees, because they’re not designed to kill insects,” Dennis vanEngelsdorp, the study’s senior author, said in a news release.

He explained that federal regulations restrict the use of insecticides while pollinators are foraging, but noted that “there are no such restrictions on fungicides, so you’ll often see fungicide applications going on while bees are foraging on the crop. The finding suggests that we have to reconsider that policy.”

Bees are declining at such a fast rate that one bad winter could trigger an agricultural disaster. California’s almond crop would be hit particularly hard, since the state supplies 80 percent of the world’s almonds. Pollinating California’s 760,000 acres of almond fields requires 1.5 million out-of-state bee colonies, which makes up 60 percent of the country’s beehives. The CCD is a major threat to this $4 billion industry.

Entomologists suspect that a number of other factors also contribute to the CCD, including climate change, habitat destructing and handling practices that expose bees to foreign pathogens. But the effect of agricultural chemicals is particularly alarming, especially since the US does not have laws banning the use of the pesticides that are affecting bee health.

“The pesticide issue in itself is much more complex than we have led to believe,” vanEngelsdorp said. “It’s a lot more complicated than just one product, which means of course the solution does not lie in just banning one class of product.”


RT

Second-Largest Dutch City Bans Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide

Some cynics write off citizen action including petitions and sign-carrying protestors. They don’t believe such small efforts can make any big difference. 

But the more than 600,000 people of Dutch city Rotterdam disagree. Their efforts, which began with a petition, have led to a “green initiative” in their city including the banning of Roundup, Monsanto’s flagship product.

The petition campaign was called “Non-toxic Sidewalks for Our Children.” With support from that country’s Green Party, concerned citizens were able to make a significant change for their city and their future.

As we know, Roundup (glyphosate) is a dangerous pesticide that is used all over the world. Though its maker, Monsanto, would have you believe there’s nothing to be afraid of, research says differently. As a matter of fact, glyphosate has been connected to numerous health problems including respiratory distress, cellular damage, and even cancer. Check out this article which outlines just 7 nasty effects of pesticides.

“It is bad stuff and I’m glad we’re giving it up,” says Emile Cammeraat, Green party leader in the council. “The producer Monsanto also provides genetically engineered seeds, Monsanto’s own plants are the only thing RoundUp doesn’t kill. In such a business district as you want to be, no Roundup is simply necessary, as there are organic alternatives.” (Translated by Fritz Kreiss)

Global consumers are getting wise to the dangers of Roundup and the GMO seeds designed to resist it. They don’t want Monsanto and other GMO-seed giants taking over the global food supply and have started grassroots resistance movements around the world. The problem lies in getting enough people to take actual action against the seed giants and local, state, and federal lawmakers who support them in one way or another.

Collectively, the people of Rotterdam were able to make their voices heard, essentially eliminating glyphosate from their local environment. There’s no reason similar cities in other areas of the world couldn’t do the very same thing.

Comically, the U.S. government has recently decided to increase the allowable amount of glyphosate in U.S. food crops, just as another place bans the substance. The new rule allowing for even greater use of this damaging ingredient would take existing limits on glyphosate and dwarf them with new, higher ones. These limits would truly only work to benefit the interests of one, and it’s not the American people, but Monsanto – the giant corporation who is making millions off of genetically modified crops and the destruction of agriculture and human health.

In addition to the Roundup ban, Rotterdam’s green initiative will provide new parks and play areas, and even get the city involved in planting fruit trees. There will be more flowers and environments to support bees and wildlife, and more places for the urbanites to take in nature without fear of contamination by Monsanto’s evil poster child.


Elizabeth Renter

Thousands take to the streets after opposition leader gunned down in Tunisia

Tunisian opposition member Mohamed Brahmi was shot dead in the capital Tunis on Thursday, six months after the murder of another secular leader sparked a national crisis. 

Thousands of secularists have poured on to the streets in protest.

Several Islamist party offices and government buildings have been set on fire.  Police in Tunisia’s second-largest city of Sfax have fired teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters who stormed a local government office while demonstrators threw stones at them. There were no immediate reports of casualties.

President Moncef Marzouki, who leads a secular center-left party, has called for calm in the face of “plots against Tunisia’s national security”.

Brahmi was the leader of the nationalist and secular People's Movement party, which has two seats in the National Constituent Assembly, the temporary parliamentary body charged with drafting a new constitution for the country. Twitter reports, citing eyewitnesses, say two men on a motorcycle shot the politician as he stood by his car, before speeding away. Brahmi's family witnessed the assassination.

Interviewed by local news station Mosaique FM, his pre-teen daughter said that her father "didn't want to leave the house" but then "received an urgent phone call and rushed out to his car", where he was mowed down.

Brahmi was declared dead upon arrival in hospital, with at least 11 bullet wounds.

"He died as a martyr to his opinion and position - he was killed by a terrorist gang," his wife told Mosaique FM, placing the blame at the hands of the ruling Islamist Ennahda party.

"This is the biggest catastrophe that could happen in Tunisia. We have now had a series of political assassinations of anyone with a different, loud voice,” said fellow opposition deputy Najla Bourriel, a member of the Democratic Bloc, to local news portal Tunisia Live.

Spontaneous protests broke out on an already charged day that officially marks the foundation of the republic, a significant date for secularists.

"Down with the rule of the Islamists!" the crowd chanted as it gathered outside key government buildings, the opposition headquarters, and the hospital to which Brahmi was taken.

Some demanded for Brahmi's body be brought out of the morgue and displayed in front of the crowd.

A mass protest has also been reported in the desert city of Sidi Bouzid, the birthplace of the demonstrations that led to the overthrow of authoritarian leader Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011, and 58-year-old Brahmi's hometown. Twitter photos show a fire at the regional administration building.

"This failed government has caused another national catastrophe. The streets are the solution," tweeted Tamarod, a grassroots opposition movement.


Two Ennahda party offices were set on fire by protesters in the towns of Menzel and Meknassy. Torchings of Muslim Brotherhood affiliates was a precursor to the overthrow of Islamist Mohamed Morsi in Egypt earlier this summer.

Ennahda has rebutted the accusations of its involvement, saying the murder was a "trap laid by criminals to cause in-fighting and violence instead of national consensus and peaceful alternation", and has called for those responsible for the "cowardly and despicable crime" to be "urgently arrested".

UN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay said he was "shocked and deeply saddened" by the murder.

"I call upon the authorities to immediately launch a prompt and transparent investigation to ensure that the people who carried out this crime are held accountable," Pillay declared in  a statement.

Friday will be declared a national day of mourning, announced Mustapha Ben Jaafar, the speaker of the National Constituent Assembly.

In the meantime, all flights to and from the country have been cancelled, following a general strike in protest over Brahmi's murder. "All flights to and from Tunisia will be cancelled tomorrow because the workers at the airport responded to the calling of the general strike", an airport spokesman said.

In February, the assassination of another secular political leader Chokri Belaid - also executed by gunmen on  a motorcycle - led to a political crisis in the country. Belaid was believed to be a target of radical Islamists, and secularist demonstrations following his brazen assassination brought down the Islamist government of Hamadi Jebali.

His murderers have not yet been brought to justice (although authorities say they have identified them) provoking accusations from the opposition that Ennahda is not interested in protecting secular politicians, and may even be shielding the radical Muslim assassins.

Although Tunisia paved the way for the Arab Spring when it toppled Ben Ali, the country has not been able to achieve stability in the two and a half years that have passed since. The National Constituent Assembly has not been able to agree not just on the religious and ideological make-up of the constitution, but  also on the basic political system the country will adopt.


RT

Live updates

Turkey is a half-open penitentiary: Jails 64 Journalists for coverage of People's Protest

Journalists in Turkey who covered this spring's Gezi Park protests are living in a "half-open penitentiary," say critics, as media bosses—under pressure from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government—have sacked dozens of reporters while others face criminal prosecution.

Sixty-four journalists are currently under arrest and another 123 are facing charges of terrorism, said a report issued by the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Tuesday.

"Mr. Prime Minister has turned the country into a half-open penitentiary and made it impossible to live for journalists," said CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu during a press briefing.

“We are experiencing a process in which [...] the media bosses are under the rule of political authority and publish the news that the political authority accepts,” he added. “We have gone 105 years back in time."

Earlier this month, Reporters Without Borders issued a statement on the Istanbul police's targeting of journalists during recent demonstrations. "Several journalists critical of recent government policy have been fired, publications have been banned, media have been prevented from working, and many foreign journalists have been arrested and ordered to leave," they wrote.

According to reports, 59 journalists have been removed from their positions since May 28—when the Instanbul park sit-in sparked a wave of demonstrations against the government and their authoritarian rule.

United Press International reports that 22 of those journalists were fired—a number of them simply over their Twitter commentary—and the remainder resigned in the face of the severe censorship.

Those journalists worked "hard for the public's right to be informed and they paid for it with their jobs," said Gokhan Durmus, head of the Istanbul branch of the Turkish journalists union, adding that the removals were related to "censorship policies followed by some media outlets in dealing with the Gezi Park resistance."

Among those who have been fired is veteran journalist Yavuz Baydar who was dismissed Tuesday from the daily Sabah, days after the New York Times ran an op-ed in which he, ironically, highlighted the deepening ties between Turkish media owners and the government.

In it Baydar writes:

The problem is simple: one need only follow the money. Turkey’s mainstream media is owned by moguls who operate in other major sectors of the economy like telecommunications, banking and construction. Since only a few large TV channels and newspapers make profits, the proprietors tend to keep them as bait for the government, which needs media managers who are submissive to the will of politicians. [...]

It’s not possible to conduct serious journalism in such a polluted system. These conflicts of interest have transformed Turkey’s major newsrooms into prisons: coverage of economic corruption in Turkey today is almost zero. [...]

The more media moguls get involved in shady dealings with governments, the more their greed blocks all decent journalism and destroys journalists’ ability to hold the government accountable. A corrupted media can never uncover corruption in a credible manner.


Lauren McCauley


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Scientists Control Genes with Light: New Method for Understanding Function

Genes make up the roadmaps of our bodies, revealing exactly how we function. Controlling these genes could allow us to learn more about them, possibly revealing new insight into diseases.  

Now, researchers may have a way to do so. Scientists have developed a technique that can rapidly or halt the expression of any gene of interest simply by shining light on the cells.
Human cells have an estimated 20,000 genes. Yet only a fraction of these genes are turned on at any given time, depending on the cell's needs. Because of this, researchers need a way to manipulate the status of these genes to figure out exactly how they function. This latest method gives them the perfect tool to do so.

"Cells have very dynamic gene expression happening on a fairly short timescale, but so far the methods that are used to perturb gene expression don't even get close to those dynamics," said Silvana Konermann, one of the researchers, in a news release. "To understand the functional impact of those gene-expression changes better, we have to be able to match the naturally occurring dynamics as closely as possible."

The new technique is based on something known as optogenetics, which uses proteins that change their function in response to light. In this case, the scientists adapted the light-sensitive proteins to either stimulate or suppress the expression of a specific target gene almost immediately after the light comes on. More specifically, the method consists of several components that interact with each other to control the copying of DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA), which carries genetic instructions to the rest of the cell.

The scientists found that a single pulse of light was enough to stimulate protein binding and initiate DNA copying. Pulses of light delivered every minute or so were the most effective way to achieve continuous transcription for the desired period of time. In all, they targeted nearly 30 different genes and were able to boost transcription by a factor of two to 200.

"You could control, at precise times, a particular genetic locus and see how everything responds to that with high temporal precision," said Karl Desseroth, a professor of bioengineering at Stanford University, who was not part of the new study, in a news release.
The new method could allow researchers to better understand specific genes and their function.

There are other applications, though, including research into epigenetic modification. Thought to play a key role in learning and forming memories, epigenetic modification could be studied by allowing researchers to interfere with modifications of individual genes precisely. The findings could be huge for future research.


 Catherine Griffin


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Skip the Sleeping Pills, Go For Natural Nutrients for a Better Night's Rest

Researchers have now pinpointed three natural nutrients in connection with a better night's rest.

Of course, skip those silly sleeping pills. Previous research has shown that not only are these guys harmful, they can actually cause some people to unexpectedly die.
Medical sleep aids can be habit forming and if you're mixing them with alcohol, either for recreational use or to really hit the hey as soon as possible, they really could indeed kill you.

According to a 2011 article from Psychology Today, up to 30 percent of American women use some kind of sleeping pill each week. And it's estimated that around 10 percent of American adults use them at least occasionally.

So whether it's Ambien or Lunesta, studies have all linked taking these drugs, even on occasion, to a higher risk of premature death.

For  Brian Epstein, the Beatles' manager, alcohol and sleeping pills were the cause of his death in 1967. And others who have graced the limelight, including more private figures, have fallen victim to the side effects of the drug and it's enhancement with alcohol and or other medications.

And obviously there's a complete difference between those who are abusing prescription medications and wanting to seriously indulge in a good night's rest. However, previous studies show that as prescription sleep aids are habit forming, they can be addictive and many may turn to abusive behavioral activities such as increasing dosage or using other added medications when the original medication no longer functions to the same effect as it once did.
Fortunately, three distinct nutrients, including magnesium, potassium and vitamin D can all play a critical role in helping you get a good night's sleep with a good amount of energy throughout the day.

According to Live Science, magnesium can play a critical role in the bodily function that regulates sleep. As insomnia can be one of the symptoms of magnesium deficiency, it's important to have a regular intake of this mineral, which can also be found in dark leafy greens, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds and Brazil nuts, beans and lentils. And even some types of fish.
Potassium helps those who have trouble sleeping through the night and is available in pill form.

It's also found in high concentrations in bananas, beans, leafy greens and baked potatoes.
Lastly, get some sun exposure, and you're sure to have a healthy dose of good old Vitamin D. This helps prevent excessive sleepiness during the day time. However, there are also supplements for this, too. And swordfish, salmon, tuna and fortified foods are also known to be heavy with this nutrient.


Kathleen Lees


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How Solar Flares Directly Affect Human Consciousness

Everything within this dense configuration of Reality that we call the Universe is interconnected. Through this interconnectedness, everything affects everything else. 

From the dawn of human spiritual experiences to present-day scientific discoveries, the reality of oneness and interconnectedness has continued to permeate as a recurring aspect of existence within the vastness of what we refer to as Reality. We are realizing, with a continuously-growing conviction, that change and transformation, whether it be in society, consciousness, or otherwise is directly affected by other elements of our universe that we sometimes fail to realize have the ability to affect us in transformational ways.

These connections, which many times are unable to be seen through the limited field of human awareness act as two-way portals and tunnels through which energy particles and fields travel through. This may seem like something out of a sci-fi story but has time and time again been proven to be a very genuine part of our reality. It was only in 2008 that it was publicly stated that there are magnetic portals that connect the sun’s magnetic field with the earth’s. A year earlier scientists uncovered an elaborate and vast web of cosmic filaments hundreds of millions of light years long that connect galaxies to each others. Not only are the sun and the earth linked with each other but so are galaxies light years upon light years away. Distance is no obstacle for the interconnectedness of our universe.

Getting back to the sun and the earth, we come to a very significant and important realization…that solar flares have a direct effect on everything that exists on our blue marble…even human consciousness. Solar flares were found to directly affect the mental and physical state of humans in 2008 and three years later, we are seeing just how true that finding truly is. The sun has such incredible power that it is able to send solar flares shooting into the Earth’s atmosphere and affecting its electromagnetic energy field, as well as affecting each person’s electromagnetic energy field.

When looking at profound shifts in society and consciousness, we can find the pineal gland to be of particular importance. Yes, this tiny part of our brain that has been professed as being a DMT production laboratory acting as our gateway into more subtle planes and dimensions of Reality also regulates circadian rhythm and melatonin production…it is incredibly sensitive to magnetic fields.

The case for solar flares directly affecting human consciousness is of the utmost important right now, since we can see all around us and within our own lives the intense changes and transformations occurring. These changes are exasperated by the electromagnetic forces at play around us. The Russian scientist Tchijevsky put together the histories of 72 countries beginning at 500 BCE and culminating in 1922 within the present era. He constructed an Index of Mass Human Excitability, in which he found that 80% of the most significant human events occurred during a 5 year period surrounding the peak of solar activity. What this discovery shows us is that when solar-geomagnetic activity is changing the fastest, it has the greatest potential to affect our moods, behavior patterns, creativity and trends. We are in for quite an interesting next few years.

There is a positive side to the increase in sun activity. Periods of increased solar activity don’t just correlate with societal unrest, but also give rise to innovation and enhanced imagination in architecture, arts and science. The old social structures which are not helping humanity become more consciously evolved might be replaced with more suitable and sustainable models. Above all else, this is a time of opportunity and possibility and the chance to use these rushes of energy to create humanitarian advances and a sustainable living environment.

Something that each and every one of us can do is to increase the emotional balance and coherence within ourselves. Harmony is essential in times of chaos. This will enable us as individuals to use these influxes of energy to our advantage. When we raise our internal coherence, we can positively affect our personal relationships and our social environment, which will also be positively reflected in the collective consciousness of humanity.

We are all affected slightly differently by these cosmic forces, such as solar flares, which is why one person may be affected negativity whereas another in a more positive way. Those individuals who have compressed anger, fear, and jealousy will see their energy fields weaken. Our thoughts help shape and create our reality so it should be of little surprise that the toxic emotions and feelings that we may choose to marinate within our minds may result in the weakening of our energy fields, leading us to become more vulnerable to the negative effects of these electromagnetic solar energy influxes. In order for us to not get into such a downward spiral, we need to identify the negative emotions before we are able to resolve them. If our electro-magnetic energy field is weakened, we become more likely to be significantly affected by the increasing solar activity.

The increase in solar activity activates compressed jealousy, anger, and fear in our minds, no matter if we are conscious or unconscious of this process. If people have not been working on healing these issues, the issues become stronger and magnified when there is a period of increased solar activity as there is now. We are living in a difficult period of our timeline, yet we should not allow ourselves to become sad about the state of everything because we can use this period to our advantage. Let’s use this period of increased solar energy to create great opportunities for positive social transformation…the world desperately needs it.


About the Author

Paul Lenda is a conscious evolution guide, author of The Creation of a Consciousness Shift, and co-founder of SHIFT>, a social community focused on anchoring in the new paradigm and assisting the positive transformation of humanity. With the drive to be aware of and experience the wider horizon of Reality, Paul has developed an extensive background in the spiritual and transformative elements of life; one that is both knowledge and experienced-based. Visit his website www.shift.is and follow him on Twitter @paullenda


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Brunette wings

Its quiet here this morning, and cooler.  The birds are not calling to each other, but chirping amongst themselves.  A hawk soars overhead while the cicadas are silent.  In the distance there are storm clouds.  All seems not waiting so much as watching… what is coming is gonna be wild.  

The preparations have been made.  There’s not much to say to each other now, we are down to the doing.  By all reports we are feeling isolated yet no longer confused; we know who we are and what we came to do.  What burns through us now is a knowing.  The truth of who you are has spoken.  Whispered or shouted it rings in your ears.  Pay attention.

We are integrating.  It may feel like oil and vinegar.  You can swish them together for something unique and yummy, but if left to sit, they will separate.  Action is necessary for creation.  We are here to DO.

Until recently, we’ve relied on our tool kit.  Carefully constructed, it has served us well, fortifying our false self.  We know each piece intimately.  Today though, as we face the same relationships and situations, these tools rest heavy in our hands.  They are awkward, unnatural even.

We look around, there is an empty box – this kit is brand new.  It is up to us to fill it.  What we select depends on who we choose to build.  Our tools now must enhance our attitude.  Our core essence will not be denied.  Oh, we can try, because in the moment the familiar seems easier.  Yet the familiar yields no satisfaction.  We require the tools of a Master.  We’ve been waiting a life time to use them.

There are others out there, fellow artisans, who will point you in the right direction.  You may have just met, and until now, they held little importance for you.  There are no small moments or insignificant relationships now.

We are integrating, returning to our core, becoming the powerful Ones.  You are surrounded with help, let nothing pass you by.  Dream your life into being for this is how it works.  Things don’t happen to you – you make things happen.

All that you are is right now in the body of you.  As you mix it up, you may see, smell or taste things that surprise or even shock you.  Explore them all – it’s you.  As you love each thread you’ll embrace the entire fabric of creation.  With just one thread cut, the entire piece unravels.  Every part matters.

As I write, a deep brunette winged dragonfly rests at my feet. It’s been there for quite some time, returning again and again.  I wonder if it holds the energy of my baby sister, who is on the other side.  Eight years ago, she told me to watch for butterflies and she’d be there.  Usually there is one nearby. Today, it’s a dragonfly.  Perhaps she too is discovering parts of herself she wasn’t aware of while on earth.  This dragonfly’s wings are the color of her hair.

The Masters are returning, and they are every One of us.  You cannot be here if you are not a Master.  Even those who have left are enjoying our becoming.

Beautiful, powerful and surprising, it is an incredible moment, hand crafted by each of us.  We are the One we’ve been waiting for.


Sophia

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