World – Page 65 – The Speaker News Journal

Imam of Xinjiang Province’s Largest Mosque, Who Had Been Appointed by Chinese Government, Killed — Suspects Also Killed

November 23, 2014August 1, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The imam of Xinjiang’s largest mosque, located in Kashgar, was killed Wednesday, and shortly afterwards police shot dead two suspects in the murder, who, according to the police, “resisted arrest with knives and axes.”

The suspects had been located shortly after the murder, according to police, who said the men had been “influenced by religious extremism.”

The suspects, according to Chinese state media agency Xinhua, had planned to “do something big” to boost their influence in the region.

The imam, Jume Tahir, was appointed to the position of imam of the mosque by China’s ruling Communist Party.

There have been reports that the imam was unpopular for praising Chinese policies while preaching.

Xinjiang is composed of 43.3 percent Uyghur, 41 percent Han Chinese, 8.3 percent Kazakh, 5 percent Hui and small numbers of other ethnic groups. Han have been migrating to Xinjiang on a large scale in recent years, and tensions have been rising between the local Uyghurs and their Chinese rulers.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Thailand’s Military Government Approves Massive Railway to Connect to China and Laos

October 15, 2014August 1, 2014 by Sid Douglas

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Today, Thailand’s military government, the Thai National Council for Peace and Order, approved two massive railway projects to link Bangkok and the southern coast with southern China and Laos.

A 737-kilometer line will extend from northeastern Nong Khai to coastal Map Ta Phut in Rayong province. Another line will run from northern Chiang Khong in Chiang Rai province to Ayutthaya province.

The lines will run trains capable of 160 kilometers per hour.

The two rails will cost more than $23bn total, and construction is expected to begin next year, with a projected completion in 2021.

The rail lines will eventually be tied into a greater system of high-speed rails that are planned to connect all of Southeast Asia. Much of the push for this network has come from China.

China’s line to connect its southwestern Yunnan Province with Singapore is expected to transform rural Laos, where the majority of the 6.5 million Laotians have never ridden a train. China aims to sell goods in Southeast Asia while receiving natural resources in return.

However, the Chinese plan is not going as smoothly in Burma, where a plan to link Arakan State with China was recently abandoned over potential cost and environmental concerns. The line was to cost $20bn and would have been operated by China for 50 years before being handed over to the Burmese government.

China also has plans to connect to Tibet, India, Nepal and Bhutan by 2020.

By Sid Douglas

Russia Plans Upcoming Census in Crimea

July 31, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Russia has planned a census to be taken in Crimea in October. The census will include 33 questions, which will be answered by declaration and without documented proof, will be accounted by “foreigners temporarily residing in Crimea,” and will have special focus placed on foreigners working and studying in Crimea. The plans were announced this week by Krymstat, the statistical body of Russia’s Crimean occupation authority. Russian authorities have commented that they expect the census will provide a needed picture of the actual populace of Crimea, which they believe may have been misrepresented in past censuses.

Among the 33 questions will be queries about date and place of birth, ethnic origin, migration activeness, citizenship, income sources, education, marital status, fertility and residence.

A separate section will be devoted to housing conditions questions.

The census will be based on declarations–not documents. Krymstat has stated that census takers will not require documentary validification for any census declarations.

Krymstat also has said it they will include foreign residents in Crimea, and will place a focus on foreign nationals who have come to Crimea to work or study, although details as to how Krymstat would count or group foreigners have not been not given.

Soldiers of the Black Sea Fleet will also be included in the census.

A decree to organize the census was signed by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev earlier this month. The census will cost approximately 387 million rubles, according to RIA Novosti.

Accounting of the census will be conducted by “foreigners temporarily residing in Crimea,” reportedly. Specialists will examine in detail the working and student migrants category.

Russian news sources have reported that the census is important as a recognition of the actual populace of Crimea, and also because Russian experts suspect Crimean Tatar organizations overestimate the strength of their people.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper Snapper Reported Second Quarter Sales and Profits Showing Consumers Prefer Stevia and Sugar over Aspartame, the Artificial Sweetener in Most Diet Varieties–But Scientists Are Still Debating About Sugar

October 15, 2014July 30, 2014 by Tina Zhang

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Last week, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr. Pepper Snapper all revealed their second quarter earnings report. Coca-Cola’s soda sales were flat in North America and its revenue fell 1.4 percent, despite a sales volume increase in other parts of the world. PepsiCo suffered a two percent fall in both profit and soda sales volume. Dr. Pepper Snapper reported an increase of over one percent of revenue and its soda sales volume climbed two percent. These numbers reflected consumers’ attitudes on different types of sweeteners.

For the decline in profits, Coke and Pepsi both blamed the weak market for diet soda. The artificial sweeteners in diet soda were supposed to win over consumers who are concerned over the negative impact of high sugar intake. But the safety and quality of artificial sweeteners became a stronger concern, causing a continuous and accelerated fall in diet soda sales. As the new report revealed, the sales volume for regular Coke actually rose one percent in North America, while Diet Coke sales dropped further.

Aspartame is the artificial sweetener used in most diet sodas for Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper brands. It has very little nutrient value, and thus is nonfattening. And it is much sweeter than sugar gram for gram, which is interesting because the two amino acids used in forming this substance do not taste sweet. Individuals with phenylketonuria, a genetically transmitted disease, are unable to break down one of the two amino acids in aspartame and thus must avoid it. Explicit warnings are placed on such products.

FDA considers aspartame to be safe for the vast majority of consumers, and approved the sweetener in 1981. Although a few cases of adverse side effects have been attributed to aspartame, exhaustive reviews have failed to show an unequivocal and direct connection between the symptoms and the sweetener. Coke ran a national print ad, “The safety of aspartame is supported by more than 200 studies over the last 40 years,” in the summer 2013. The continuous declining in diet soda sales shows it is an uphill battle to assure consumers of the safety of this artificial “chemical.”

Dr. Pepper Snapper’s soda sales volume increase was largely due to the brands Canada Dry, Peñafiel (in Mexico) and Schweppes. The latter two offer carbonated water in addition to sugary drinks. All three brands do not have artificial sweeteners, but use sugar or high fructose corn syrup instead.

For low and mid calorie soda, all three companies are working hard. Dr. Pepper Snapper introduced ten lineups in 2011 which use only small quantities of high-fructose corn syrup, and from March this year started to test soda that has 60 calories per can with only the natural sweetener stevia and sugar. Coke and Pepsi both failed before with non-natural sweeteners— “C2” from Coke in 2011 and “Pepsi Edge” from Pepsi in 2005. Coke released “Coca-Cola Life,” which contained stevia in Argentina and Chile last year, and will market it in UK this autumn. Pepsi Next does not use aspartame and has 30 percent less sugar than regular Pepsi.

Stevia is rising start as a natural sweetener. This non-caloric sweetener is found in the leaves of Stevia rebaudian (one species in the genus Stevia in the sunflower family). Native to subtropical and tropical regions from western North America to South America, local populations have used these sweet leaves for centuries. It has a slower onset and longer duration in comparison to sugar. With negligible effects on blood glucose, it is attractive to people on carbohydrate-controlled diets. Stevia causes a bitter or licorice-like aftertaste at high concentrations and therefore is often used together with sugar.

Sugar seems to be the devil people know. But how much is really known? It became a part of the human diet after the domestication of the sugarcane in 8,000 BC. “Sugars” include honey, sucrose (table sugar), high-fructose corn syrup, fruit juice concentrate and agave nectar. There is a direct relation between intake of dietary sugars and the dental caries (decay and crumbling of a tooth or bone) across the life span.

Other than these, not much can be agreed on regarding the role of sugar and its recommended intake. The linkage between high sugar intake and obesity and other health complications is inconclusive, according to the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), the world’s largest food science organization. At IFT’s annual meeting in New Orleans at the end of June, a discussion panel stated that government and health organizations’ recommendations for sugar intake have varied significantly based on different studies and different methodologies to evaluate those studies.

While sugar intakes in the US have decreased over the past 10-15 years, obesity has continued to increase. The North American branch of the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI), a nonprofit organization in Washington, DC, has undertaken a project to better understand the interplay between sugar in the diet and health outcomes and to identify research gaps.

Some of the questions ILSI plans to address with respect to sugar and health are: What is the long-term effect of a reduction in sugar intake on body weight and/or fatness in overweight/obese adults and in children? Do dietary sugars impact how the body accumulates fat differently than other energy-yielding nutrients? What is the effect of sugar intake on satiety and hunger mechanisms? What are the mechanisms in the brain linking sugar consumption to a reward system/insulin and glycemic levels (“addictive behavior” or “sugar addiction”)?

These answers will aid the emergence of an evidence-based and more meaningful sugar intake recommendation. Still beverages–non-carbonated drinks such as energy drinks, fruit juice and flavored water–have seen a quick rise in market shares since they are deemed healthier than the carbonated sugar bombs. But it is not unusual for natural fruit juice, with no sugar added, to have as much sugar and calories as traditional Coke at the same volume. A deeper and more comprehensive understanding of sugar will help a concerned and confused public, and impact the future of all sugary drink industries.

By Tina Zhang

Sources:

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition

Science Daily

UN Report: East Ukraine Armed Groups Causing “Reign of Fear and Terror”

July 29, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The UN released a report on Ukraine Monday that stated that armed groups in Eastern Ukraine have caused a “total breakdown of law and order and a reign of fear and terror.” The report found that the armed groups “continue to abduct, detain, torture and execute people kept as hostages in order to intimidate and to exercise their power over the population in raw and brutal ways.”

The report listed some of the 812 people reportedly abducted and detained by armed groups in Donetsk and Luhansk, and also listed various crimes allegedly committed by the armed groups, such as torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, enforced disappearances and the planting of landmines and explosive remnants.

“Some of those detained by the armed groups are local politicians, public officials and employees of the local coal mining industry,” the report said, “the majority are ordinary citizens, including teachers, journalists, members of the clergy and students.”

The report also noted documents indicating that the armed groups were conducting “military tribunals” and group leaders were signing “execution orders.” Those executed were reported to be members of armed groups and a common criminal. The Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) is verifying the details of these reports with relatives of the victims and a witness, the UN reported.

Since fighting broke out early this year, over 1,129 people have been killed and 3,442 wounded in Ukraine, according to UN and WHO estimates. The material cost of the damage done so far is estimated at $750 million USD. Over 100,000 people have been displaced.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

UN Warns Foreign Fighters in Ukraine Will Be Brought to Justice for Any War Crimes

July 28, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

Navi Pillay warns East Ukraine Separatists

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated Monday that foreign fighters and others currently active in East Ukraine would be brought to justice for any war crimes committed in East Ukraine. Pillay made the statement while issuing a new report by the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, and calling for care in preventing civilian casualties in Ukraine.

“I would like to stress to all those involved in the conflict, including foreign fighters, that every effort will be made to ensure that anyone committing serious violations of international law, including war crimes, will be brought to justice, no matter who they are,” said Pillay. “I urge all sides to bring to an end the rule of the gun and restore respect for the rule of law and human rights.” Pillay also noted that the downing of Malaysian Air MH17 may qualify as a war crime.

Pillay called for a “prompt, thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigation” into the downing of MH17. The UN Security Council also called for the investigation, and demanded armed groups currently active in Eastern Ukraine allow investigators unfettered access.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Small First Nations Tribe Evicts TransCanada Pipeline Crew From Land

July 30, 2016July 28, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The Unist’ot’en tribe, which has taken an uncompromising stance to industrial development on its land, has evicted a TransCanada pipeline crew from its land.

“We’re not willing to sit down at any table with them because our firm answer is no,” said Freda Huson, Unist’ot’en camp leader. “An official letter with the clan’s letter heading and the chief’s signature will go to the company and mention that they were evicted off our territory and that they’re not permitted back, and that if they come back it’s trespass.”

The crew was found in a section of Unist’ot’en land where several fracked gas and tar sands pipelines had been planned without tribal consent, and were evicted peacefully. The TransCanada Coastal GasLink pipeline crew were conducting preliminary work for a project to carry gas from Northeastern British Columbia to the West Coast.

The Unist’ot’en community is functioning as a watchdog for the land, ensuring that Unist’ot’en law is enforced. Unist’ot’en land has only one entry point, which includes a bridge that displays the words “NO PIPELINES.”

Anyone entering Unist’ot’en land is expected to answer questions about their stay and how it will benefit the Unist’ot’en.

The TransCanada crew flew in by helicopter over the bridge and landed without permission in a low mountain valley. According to Unist’ot’en representatives, the helicopter flew over the bridge several times and should have been able to read the sign.

Huson spoke of the action and the Unist’ot’en camp in an interview recently with Vice News’ Michael Toledano, saying that she encouraged people to come and see the land they were protecting for themselves.

“The number one thing when people take away from here is they drink water, fresh from the river, still got the minerals intact, and it’s still pure compared to what they get out of the tap back home,” Huson said, speaking of the Widzin Kwah river, the last river within Unist’ot’ten land from which it is safe to drink. “And they see everything around—the animals, the beauty, the mountains, and all the plants.

“They see all that and see what it is that we’re protecting here and see that we’re human, we’re not militant as the media would try to portray us, but we’re actually human like everybody else. We got educated, we got jobs, walked away from jobs because we felt it was important to try and protect the remaining lands that we still have left, which is a very small amount.”

There’s probably ten percent that’s pristine like this area here, and we’re trying to hang onto that ten percent for our future generations,” said Huson, referring to the extensive British Columbia mining and logging industry.

“This place has been in the hands of the Unist’ot’en people for thousands of years. They’ve managed it,” said Freda’s husband, hereditary chief of a neighboring clan, Toghestiy. “Governments and corporations moved in, forced us onto reservations, and came out and mismanaged it. Now the Unist’ot’en are back out here and they’re going to manage it again. They’re going to manage it properly.”

A TransCanada representative said of the eviction, “While we believed we had permission to do this work, our crew decided to safely leave the area after being confronted by people wearing masks.”

Huson was firm on the Unist’ot’en stance.

“No means no, and we have the final jurisdiction on our own territory,” said Huson. “This is not Crown land, this does not belong to Indian bands… this is my peoples’ territory and we never gave up our decision making power to anybody. Tell them to produce their papers, or anything, that say we gave them the power to decide for us. Our governing system is our hereditary chiefs system and its members.”

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Siberians Increasingly Consider Themselves Siberians–Not Russians, Want Independence From Russia

July 27, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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According to surveys conducted in Siberia, 25-30 percent of Siberians want immediate, complete separation from Russia and 60-70 percent want equal autonomy, while only 10 percent are satisfied with the current status of Siberia within the Russian Federation.

The polls, taken regularly by social and political organizations such as Regionalist Alternative for Siberia (CCA), New Roads of Siberia, and the Siberian Movement, illustrate an increasing interest in separation or greater autonomy from Moscow.

Siberia contains around 11 percent of the population of the Russia Federation–around 20 million people–while it provides the Federation with a disproportionately large amount of revenue. Of the revenue made on exports from Siberia, around 80 percent is reported to proceed to Moscow.

Around 70 percent of Russia’s total exports came from Siberia in 2012. Besides oil and gas, Siberia is rich in metals, mineral, wood, and paper and pulp products. According to analysts, if Siberia ceased paying Russia from its export revenue, it would be the richest region or among the richest regions in the Federation, causing some Siberians to adopt the slogan “Stop feeding Moscow” and adopt a green and white Siberian flag from a brief period in Siberian history when the region was independent.

While Siberia is rich in natural resources, the working wage in Siberia is lower than in Moscow, while the price of food is almost identical. The living standard in Siberia has declined since the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the mortality rate has increased by nearly 30 percent. migration from Siberia to other parts of the Russian Federation has increased.

Also since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Siberians are reportedly travelling more often to China and Japan, rather than Moscow or Europe. Siberia’s economic ties are also said to be increasingly better with Asia than with Moscow or St Petersburg.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

20 African Nations Together To Build 7,600 KM “Great Green Wall of Africa” Against the Sahara Desert

November 13, 2014July 26, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The largest non-polar desert, the Sahara, which continues to expand south under the influence of global warming, will be halted by a 20-nation project to build the world’s largest horticultural feature, the Great Green Wall of Africa.

The project will be supported by the World Bank, the African Union, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the UK Royal Botanical Gardens, which have together pledged $3 billion in addition to technical expertise.

The Sahara covers 9,400,000 square kilometers in North Africa, and it continues to grow due to climate change, creeping into Senegal, Mauritania and Nigeria, according to the US Public Education website.

Twenty African nations, led by Senegal will erect a wall of trees across the southern edge of the Sahara desert from the Dakar on the Atlantic Coast to Djibouti on the Gulf of Aden. The 7,600 km long, 15 km wide Great Green Wall will be the largest horticultural feature ever.

In addition to the stopping the southward advance of the Sahara, the project will focus on sustainable farming, livestock cultivation and food security. For example, a 50,000 acre tree-planting initiative in Senegal focused on acacia trees, which produces gum arabic, a valuable commodity used as a food additive. Some of the trees planted are fruit bearing as well, which will help feed the rural interior of Senegal.

The Great Green Wall is expected to open up thousands of local jobs, as quality land and cultivation opportunities are created.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

CSF

Complaint Filed at International Court Against Israel for Alleged War Crimes in Gaza Strip

October 17, 2014July 26, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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A French lawyer filed a complaint Friday against Israel for what the lawyer said were “war crimes committed by the Israeli army in June and July 2014 in Palestine,” referring primarily to Israel’s Protective Edge military campaign in the Gaza Strip, which began July 8.

Over 1000 people have already been killed and over 6,000 injured in the most recent stage of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, according to emergency services in Gaza.

The French lawyer, Gille Devers, told reporters Friday that “Israel, the occupying power, is carrying out a military operation which in principle and form violates the basis of international law.

“Every day new crimes are committed and over 80 percent of the victims are civilians. Children, women, hospitals, UN schools… the Israeli soldiers respect nothing. This is a military attack against the Palestinian population.”

Palestine itself has not filed a complaint at the ICC. Devers said this was due to “political” quarrels over Palestinians’ status, and that his complaint was nonetheless valid.

The UN is currently investigating Protective Edge. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay has said that Israel could be guilty of war crimes for their military actions.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

UN Warns Pro-Russian Separatists in Ukraine Can Be Policed by International Community and Tried in the Hague

October 17, 2014July 26, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, stated Saturday that pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine were obliged to abide by international law and protect civilians.

If separatists break international law, Pillay said, the international community can bring them to justice.

“These groups are obliged to respect international law, and they need to protect civilians. If they do not, the international community can hold them to account. We have the International Criminal Court, which is going against these groups.

The UN High Commissioner’s were reported by Deutsche Welle Saturday.

Pillay said that all governments that have any influence on the separatists should apply that influence.

She also likened the situation in Ukraine to situations in Africa, where the has also had a strong presence policing, providing care and mediating the conflict.

“The UN High Commissioner for human rights violations reacts very quickly,” said Pillay. “After the conflict broke out in the eastern Ukraine and the Central African Republic, our teams were to initiate investigations in a short time on the ground.

“In Ukraine, we have documented extensive violations of human rights. People in conflict situations can contact us directly and put forward their cases. But many governments take human rights more seriously than before. So let all UN member states review their human rights by the UN. Experts of the UN Human Rights Council to control the situation and make recommendations.”

Pillay qualified her statement abut the responsiveness of the UN by noting that sometimes the UN is held back because it can often only act after the outbreak of conflict or violence.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

China Caught Engaging in Mass Fake Twitter Account Campaign Spreading Propaganda About Tibet, While Denying Tibetans Right to Express Their Views

October 17, 2014July 21, 2014 by The Speaker Editors

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Posing as hundreds of models, celebrities, and professionally-photographed schoolgirls, and displaying profile descriptions taken from journalists, choreographers and other professionals, China has been caught using Twitter for a mass propaganda campaign aimed at spreading the Chinese government’s messages about Tibet, while Tibetans are denied free speech rights by the Chinese government.

The propaganda campaign was uncovered by Tibet rights group Free Tibet, working with the New York Times.

The fake profiles were composed of photographs of attractive Westerners, taken from professional photographers’ websites, commercial stock image libraries, and other internet resources, combined with profile descriptions taken from Western professionals, and have genuine followers.

The Chinese government’s messages on Tibet were spread through these accounts by means of copying messages from English-language Chinese websites that agree with the Chinese government, attacking the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, and portraying Tibet as a “contented and idyllic Chinese province,” according to Free Tibet.

The accounts were also used for other types of political spam, such as adding the word “Tibet” into unrelated tweets to drown out legitimate Tibet-related content on the internet.

The fake accounts also spread messages about other Chinese government interests, such as the ethnic unrest in Xinjiang.

Around 100 fake accounts have been identified, but Free Tibet suspects there to be hundreds more.

Free Tibet compiled a detailed report on the fake accounts, and submitted it to Twitter, urging Twitter to prevent abusive propaganda.

“A company of Twitter’s size and highprofile must take responsibility for failing to prevent abuse on this scale for the political purposes of an authoritarian regime,” wrote Free Tibet director Eleanor Byrne-Rosengren. “These accounts are an act of cynical deception designed to manipulate public opinion regarding an occupied and brutally repressed country.

“Tibetans within Tibet are completely denied the right to speak to the world online. They face even greater restrictions on their online activity than China’s own citizens and can receive sentences of up to life imprisonment for online or email content criticising China’s regime. China has the power and resources to use Twitter for its own ends and Tibetans do not. In the words of concentration camp survivor Elie Wiesel, ‘neutrality helps the oppressor, never the oppressed’.”

China has been ranked 175 our of 180 countries rated for press freedom by Reporters Without Borders in 2014.

The Chinese authorities in Tibet regularly cut off media communications after sensitive political events, such as Tibetan protests and Chinese government celebrations.

Chinese authorities have also taken more direct actions against Tibetans use of communications media, such as visiting internet cafes and monasteries and arresting Tibetans who had engaged in overseas calls. Tibetans have also been arrested for sharing photos or other information of protests. More familiarly, carrying photographs of Tibetans high spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who is considered a dangerous separatist by the Chinese government, is illegal, as is carrying recorded Tibetan songs.

Free Tibet has begun a campaign asking netizens to email Twitter about propaganda abuse.

By Day Blakely Donaldson