Ombudsman Answers Breivik’s Charges Of “Inhumane” Prison Treatment

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Norway’s parliamentary ombudsman has visited the prison in which political mass killer Anders Breivik has been locked up since 2012, and reported Wednesday that the conditions of the prison could represent inhumane treatment as alleged by Breivik in his lawsuit against the Norwegian State.

Breivik has brought suit against his country for what he says are violations of his human rights as guaranteed under the European Convention of Human Rights — specifically the articles dealing with torture, infringements of private and family life, correspondence, and the right to marry.

Ombudsman Aage Thor Falkanger presented his report of the prison:

“The regimen in the very high security unit imposes very strict conditions on inmates’ freedom of movement and their possibility to have contact with other people.

“This, and the fact that in reality there is an extremely limited number of inmates in the very high security unit, means that this regimen represents an elevated risk of inhumane treatment,” Falkanger reported.

The ombudsman made several recommendations to reduce the risks of inhumane treatment, including more interaction with guards and inmates and a review of handcuff use.

In 2012, Breivik was convicted in the 2011 killings of 77 people — mostly family members of a political party with which Breivik was aggrieved due to their immigration policies. Breivik prepared for his attack far in advance and wrote a 1,518 manifesto detailing his history and beliefs, as well as his motivation.

The Real Reason For China’s Slowdown

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Central Banks manipulate the price of money using several different tactics for controlling interest rates. One of those mechanisms is buying assets like bonds. The last easing program that the Federal Reserve conducted ended in Oct. of 2014. Even though interest rates are still at a record low in the United States, the effects of ending Quantitative Easing have been felt across the globe. Namely with our largest trading partners. Europe, Canada and China have all faced slowing economies since the end of the program. In Europe, the ECB is combating the problem with a record asset buying program. And so far it has kept Europe afloat.

The largest effect of this asset buying program, has been the devaluation of the Euro, to close to parity with the US dollar. The idea behind this is easing is to strengthen exports and create inflation with the intention of spurring growth.  When central bankers devalue their currencies, each major bank gets to ease its currency when its economy is most in need. After QE3, the Japanese and European economies were slowing at a rapid pace. The burden of US easing could no longer be put on their shoulders, and the ECB soon began to cheapen its currency. As an effect of this, the US dollar index started to rise precipitously in July of 2014. The index’s rise was further strengthened with the possibility of a US Interest Rate hike being brought into focus by Chair Yellen. As a result the US economy began to face more economic pressure, and it started to show in the data.

One may ask how any of the above is critical to understanding why China’s economy is slowing, or why the People’s Bank of China devalued the Yuan by 2%, but it is the key foundation for accurate analysis.

The Yuan is directly pegged to the Dollar. If the dollar becomes more valuable then the yuan does likewise. This may seem trivial but it is absolutely essential to realize. US Central Bank policy that effects the value of the dollar, will also heavily effect the Yuan. Since the dollar has been rising in value against the Euro and the Yen, so has the Yuan.

One of the largest effects of a strong currency is stong cheap imports and weak expensive exports. This explains part of the large inventory buildup seen in the US. China is heavily dependent on its exports. The lower demand for higher priced Chinese exports dragged on the sector and has contributed to their slowing economy.

Rather than breaking their peg with the US Dollar the PBOC decided to directly devalue their currency against the dollar to provide stimulus for their economy and relief to their export industries.  Despite this small devaluation China will continue to face pressure as long as the dollar remains strong, and Central Banks continue their manipulation of interest rates.

The amount of malinvestment in China and economies around the world will continue to make global markets unstable in the years to come. But instead of blaming the Chinese for their slowdown, one must really look at the underlying reasons why systemically that slowdown is inevitable. In the meantime we will continue to hear the word “China” blasted three hundred times per day from every news network, financial channel, and every Donald Trump interview.

By Andrew Gehrig

New UK Cryobiology Research Network Launched

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A new network has been established by UK scientists to advance and promote research into cryobiology – the effects of extremely low temperature on living organisms and cells.

The UK Cryonics and Cryopreservation Research Network is being coordinated by Dr Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, a Senior Lecturer at the University of Liverpool’s Institute of Integrative Biology, who studies the molecular basis of ageing.

Cryopreservation is the process of placing cells, organs or even whole organisms at low temperatures so that they remain in a state of suspended animation and function is preserved.

Crucial area of research

At present, cryopreservation technology is only successful for cell lines and very small tissues. More research is required before whole organs can successfully be cryopreserved while retaining their biological integrity.

Dr de Magalhaes said: “Cryobiology is a crucial area of research for modern biotechnology due to the importance of biobanking; from developing reliable stem cell storage systems, organ banking for transplants as well as storage for engineered tissues.”

The network is made up of a group of UK researchers from Liverpool, Cambridge and Oxford who, together with international advisors, aim to advance research in cryopreservation and its applications, including the idea of cryopreserving whole humans, commonly known as cryonics.

Controversial topic

Cryonics has been a topic of much debate over the years, with many scientists doubting whether current cryogenically frozen individuals can ever be brought to life.

Dr de Magalhaes said: “Although cryonics is not feasible at present, technological breakthroughs in cryobiology may, in the future, decrease the amount of damage to levels that permit reversible cryopreservation.

“One of the goals of our research network is to discuss the ethical, medical, social and economic implications of these potential breakthroughs that would radically change our perceptions of life and death.”

By Julie Owens

Alberta Refinery V Strategic Planning

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Response to Darryl et al (on LinkedIn)

Now we have a conversation going. What started as an idea about a refinery in Alberta is evolving into a discussion of significant importance to Alberta/Canada and for Albertans/Canadians, namely, a Strategic Future Energy Plan compatible with economic aspirations and climate concerns.

Let’s get back to the Alberta refinery idea to start. Historical strategic thinking over many decades has served to turn Canada, in particular Western Canada, into a raw materials and commodities exporter. It is well understood now that this strategy, born in board rooms, served the corporate bottom line and political pundits first before much else.

In the current socio-economic climate, much voice is being given to ideas like an Alberta refinery motivated by the recognition that exporting raw materials is akin to exporting jobs and economic prosperity. Market diversification away from a single (USA) customer base by way of pipelines to the coasts for marine export is also a hot topic, as is Energy East, including on LinkedIn where this recent conversation started.

Over time, some have advocated for a TransCanada (coast to coast) trunk-line much in the vein of the TransCanada railroad built in the late 1880’s to unite Canada. In this case, the trunk-line would have several multi-directional pipelines in a single trench set with input and output headers strategically placed to afford Canada the flexibility to ship energy and fluids in any direction as markets and technologies evolved.

A decade or two ago, this concept made huge strategic sense for the country as whole as well as its various constituents. The question as to whether a concept like this is viable in a broader current 2015/16 strategic view within context of the technological change coming to the energy and water industries over the next 15 years to 2030 is meritous of both dialogue and study.

Certainly the technologies and capability to develop the technologies to build a multi-purpose, hyper-smart and secure trunk-line system with negligible environmental impact are now, more than ever, at our disposal.

Since my (part time) time return to Canada in the past few years after a life abroad, I have been advocating for not only refining in Alberta, but deploying massive technological change to the refining processes such that diverse carbon neutral energy inputs are used to power the process, refining capacity is flexible and reasonably mobile, water is fully recycled and most importantly, that carbon capture including re-use/re-purpose is part of the refining process.

Building up startup exploration and production (E&P) oil and gas (O&G) companies around the world forces one to innovate and think strategically. As the former soviet union broke up, some of us went east, it turned out to be the wild wild east with a whole set of unique challenges, not least of which, the overall strategic challenge of making stable and sustainable markets for the product(s).

While the London boardrooms preferred the traditional model exporting product abroad for hard currency, to succeed over time, market and product diversity were required right from the start, far from easy. Disrupting traditional models and innovating into vertically integrated O&G companies exporting raw as well as distributing refined product to local and regional markets contributed to sustainable success.

Success, dependent upon strategic thinking and innovation, was also contingent upon environmental performance.

As the iron curtain fell, the true nature of the soviet era environmental performance with regard to oil and gas (O&G) exploration and production came to light, Canadian oil extraction of the era looked downright pristine by comparison. Had these new western joint and sole ventures adopted the same environmental practices and policies as soviet era companies, no success would have been realized. Taking leadership positions up front and following through with a ‘zero discharge’ policy won over hearts and minds of even those most opposed to western companies operating in their back yards.

A ‘zero discharge’ aspiration of the early ‘90s might equate to a ‘carbon neutral’ aspiration of today and the inevitable ‘carbon zero’ aspiration within a decade in socio-technological terms and capability.

The venerable Peter Lougheed came out in support of the notion that Alberta needs to be refining its crude and exporting refined product. A decade ago, building an Alberta refinery (of undetermined scale and technology) made strong strategic sense both short and medium term. Alberta’s job situation and economic prosperity might look decidedly different today, not to mention pump prices.

2015 is closing out with many Canadians either distraught or hopeful. New governments in, old ones out. Circa 100,000 jobs in the O&G sector gone, most relegated to history. Royalty reviews, climate change policy review and carbon capture X-Prizes are water cooler and LinkedIn topics while many voices are speaking to near term job and prosperity solutions like refineries and east west pipelines.

Other voices including Darryl are calling for a strategic forward plan.

As a passionate student of the future including the future of energy and now relocating to Alberta, I share interest in a strategic plan for not only Alberta but Canada. Around the world, Canadians are generally well known for their ‘Candoo’ philosophy and attitude. If we really want an east west trunk-line and/or a state of the art high tech refinery in Alberta, we ‘Candoo’ it. Clearly.

The question now at hand is whether we ‘Candoo’ strategic thinking. Can we look out to 2030 and beyond to develop a leadership plan, commencing in 2105/2016, that seeks to ensure Canada’s future economic and climatic prosperity as carbon based energy loses its global strategic influence and market space to lo-carbon energy.

Can we we strategically innovate and evolve from a struggling but highly capable and resourced raw material exporter of today into Diversified Energy and Water powerhouse of tomorrow?

Candoo !

[Referencing earlier comments to this discussion, a caveat: Very rarely and occasionally does the leadership and vision required to ‘Candoo’ arise out out of the confines of the halls of government or boardrooms. More commonly it is ‘we the people’ in the back alleys and garages that start shit happening.]

By Dave Davies

Will Italy Bomb Iraq?

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Italy is ready to air strike regions of Iraq that are critical to the fight on terrorism, Corriere della Sera reported on the 6th of October.

The Italian newspaper claimed that the possibility of engaging in bombardment was taken into consideration by the central government in Rome after receiving a formal request sent by the Iraqi. The air strike, according to official sources, has not yet taken place.

The announcement created a wave of protests across all Italy’s political parties. Despite several requests for explanation inside and outside the Italian parliament expressed over the course of the past month, the situation remains unclear.

Italy joined the coalition against terrorism in the Middle East leaded by the U.S. but never took part in any military action. Italian forces contributed with recon missions and logistics. After the formal request, Italy prepared and deployed four jet fighters and one air-refueling aircraft to Kuwait ready to strike.

The president of the Defence Commission of the Senate, Nicola Latorre, declared that the request had formally been made by the official government in Iraq, but no decision was taken yet.

The opposition to the center-left government expressed its dissent calling for a parliamentary interrogation on the matter, claiming that considering an act of war without the consent of the nation would be considered a lack of respect of popular sovereignty.

The Five Star Movement (Movimento Cinque Stelle) declared that it was unacceptable to apprehend from the press that Italy in considering to change the rules of engagement in Iraq. They also restated that dropping bombs on so-called “terrorists” won’t actually solve the problem, but it will create even more resentment toward the West and will eventually be the cause of even more violence.

Many commentators on the political scene observed that it is important for Italy to engage in such war actions against terrorism so it can eventually have a say on issues which directly concern the nation. The stability of the region of North Africa has a direct impact on the mass-migration fluxes that have directly effected Italy over the past four years.

By Cesare Baccheschi

Liberal Party Promises On Environment Highlighted

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Liberal Party Promises On Environment Highlighted
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Canada’s new prime minister Justin Trudeau was sworn into office Wednesday along with his new federal cabinet, including new Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine McKenna.

Canadian climate and energy think tank Clean Energy Canada, which is based at British Columbia’s Simon Fraser University, welcomed the new environment minister and highlighted the key points the Liberal Party had committed to so far in their promised “real change” environment policy, including:

  • Invest $100 million more per year in the growth and development of cleantech companies.
  • Work with the private sector to unlock venture capital.
  • Shift subsidies from fossil fuels to ‘new and clean technology’.
  • Support energy efficiency and electric vehicles.
  • Create a $2 billion fund to support projects that would cut carbon emissions.
  • Work with the provinces to put a price on carbon pollution and ensure more renewable, clean electricity is being produced.

Merran Smith, executive director of Clean Energy Canada, made the following statement on the swearing-in of McKenna and the other new cabinet ministers:

“We congratulate Canada’s new prime minister and federal cabinet ministers, and we applaud the federal government’s commitment to take a new approach on climate change and clean energy.”

Smith mentioned the upcoming climate change negotiations in Paris and said, “We welcome this government’s efforts to restore Canada’s stature as a constructive voice in the upcoming global climate talks, and to collaborate with the provinces and territories to reduce carbon pollution here at home. Including climate change in Minister McKenna’s title signals how high a priority climate action is to our new federal government.

“Canada has vast, untapped clean energy potential and developing these resources is both a key climate solution and important economic opportunity. As the economic opportunities and environmental benefits related to clean energy span regions and sectors, realizing this potential requires an integrated, whole-government approach.”

By Sid Douglas

NASA Puzzled By 8,000 Year Old Earthworks In Kazakhstan

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NASA Satellite imagery of a barren and treeless steppe in northern Kazakhstan has revealed enormous earthworks that can only be seen from the air. Some of the formations date back 8000 years and are thought to have been built by the neolithic groups of the area.

Known as the Steppe Geoglyphs, these formations are as large as several football fields. The largest structure consists of 101 raised mounds, each 3 feet high and 30 feet across, creating a square with an X or cross intersecting it. There are at least 260 mounds, trenches, and ramparts in 5 different shapes found across the steppe.

The mounds were first discovered on Google Earth by a Kazakh economist and archaeology enthusiast Dimitry Dey in 2007. Since then, the Steppe Glyphs had gained little public attention until they were shown last year at an archaeology conference in Istanbul in which they were described as “unique” and “unstudied.”

The geoglyphs remained unstudied and virtually unknown until two weeks ago when NASA released high-definition satellite images, sparking public and archaeological interest. Archaeologists are trying to figure out what the importance of such massive arrays were to the neolithic people who created them, and why they can only be seen from above. Such a feat defies our current understanding of the capabilities of neolithic peoples to organize, build, and communicate.

“The idea that foragers could amass the numbers of people necessary to undertake large-scale projects — like creating the Kazakhstan geoglyphs — has caused archaeologists to deeply rethink the nature and timing of sophisticated large-scale human organization as one that predates settled and civilized societies,” Persis B. Clarkson, an archaeologist at the University of Winnipeg told the New York Times.

Archaeologists are hopeful that the Steppe Glyphs will provide further insight into just how the stone-age tribes functioned, and what kind of knowledge they had acquired. Many theories have been posed about the reason behind the glyphs, including aliens, relations to Hitler (even though the Swastika was used much earlier than the 20th century), and constellation mapping. Theories of the glyphs’ purpose range from the ridiculous to the entirely possible.

In March of 2007, Mr. Dey, 44, was at home watching “Pyramids, Mummies, and Tombs” on The Discovery Channel. “There are pyramids all over the Earth,” he remembered thinking. “In Kazakhstan there should be pyramids too.” Mr. Dey then searched through the landscape of Kazakhstan on Google Earth, and instead came across what he thought were old Soviet installations until finding more than 15 different formations.

Kazakhstan has also called for urgent protection by UNESCO as an important cultural heritage site — so far without reply. Earlier this year a formation called The Koga Cross was destroyed by road builders, even after Mr. Dey notified officials.

Tony Simpson

Upward Spirals – New Study

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University of London study analyzes the upward spirals generated by positive experience, mood, and decision making, compared with the contrary downward ones

It’s long been known that mood biases our judgments and perceptions, but this effect has usually been regarded as irrational or disadvantageous. A new theory published Tuesday in Trends in Cognitive Sciences argues that mood draws on experiences and can, in fact, help us quickly adapt to changes in our environment. For example, experiencing unexpected gains on the stock market should improve a trader’s mood. That positive mood may then cause the trader to take more risks, essentially helping her adapt more quickly to a market that is generally on the rise.

According to the new theory, as people learn from experiences that are colored by their mood, their expectations come to reflect not only the reward associated with each particular state (such as each stock), but also recent changes in the overall availability of reward in their environment. In this way, the existence of mood allows learning to account for the impact of general environmental factors.

“This effect of mood should be useful whenever different sources of reward are interconnected or possess an underlying momentum,” says one of the study’s lead authors, Eran Eldar of University College London. “That may often be the case in the natural as well as in the modern world, as successes in acquiring skills, material resources, social status, and even mating partners may all affect one another.”

Eldar and his colleagues note that positive or negative moods maximize their usefulness by persisting only until expectations are fully in accordance with changes in rewards. (That may be why happiness eventually returns to a baseline level even following highly significant changes in circumstances, including winning the lottery.)

For instance, a negative mood that persists may cause a person to perceive many subsequent outcomes as worse than they really are, leading to a downward spiral. This might turn mood into a “self-fulfilling prophecy” and lead to the onset of a depressive episode. Therefore, by defining a potential function for mood and describing the learning processes that underlie it, the new theory may lead to a better understanding of the causes of mood disorders.

“We think that this novel approach may help reveal what predisposes particular individuals to bipolar disorder and depression,” Eldar says.

Because moods are ubiquitous and have significant impacts on our lives, it is likely that they have conferred a significant competitive advantage throughout the course of evolution. Being moody at times may be a small price to pay for the ability to adapt quickly when facing momentous environmental changes.

This work, “Mood as Representation of Momentum,” was completed by Eldar, Rutledge, Dolan, and Niv, was funded in part by the Wellcome Trust’s Cambridge UCL Mental Health and Neurosciences Network grant, the Max Planck Society, and an Army Research Office award, and was published in Cell’s Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

Green Columns For Inside Homes: The NutriTower

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The 7-foot tall NutriTower is specifically designed to fit in small spaces and can hydroponically grow a variety of edible plants

The NutriTower – a seven-foot tall vertical farm specifically designed for tiny spaces – may be the solution to urban gardening problems many have been asking for.

Designed by Byrce Nagels of Montreal, the NutriTower fits in small spaces and allows plants to thrive inside by delivering water and nutrients to the bottom of the plant pots.

Nagels relies heavily on his own NutriTower and uses it to grow a continuous supply of lettuce, swiss chard, spinach and an abundance of herbs such as mint, parsley, basil and oregano. He can even grow melons and tomatoes.

The NutriTower is a hydroponic system, which means no messy soil is required. Water and nutrients are pumped up from the base to each of the pots, and the plants are supplied a ‘nutritonic’ that is custom designed for the tower. The mixture is predominantly plant-based and is derived from all sustainable sources.

Because the tower comes with its own lighting system, it can be suitably set up in any location. And – wonderfully, it only takes up one tenth of the space that a horizontal planting bed needs.

The cost of one of these towers is $1,299 – quite expensive for most families, but likely worth the investment if you consider the long-term benefits of growing your own food.

Above all, the company hopes the invention will be used as a learning component. In fact, they’re even offering a special curriculum to anyone who would like to have the NutriTower play a part in the classroom. From the germination of seeds to the actual harvesting of fruits and vegetables, the curriculum serves to ensure kids not only know how to play a part in growing their own food but enjoy the process of doing so.

The item will be released on December 1, 2015. You can, however, pre-order the incredibly unique and innovative invention here. And, for every 50 NutriTowers sold, the company will give one to a school for free.

By Amanda Froelich at True Activist

Processed Meat Is Carcinogenic – World Health Organization

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Salami, sausage, ham and bacon — the latest study by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has found a strong link between processed meat and bowel cancer, as well as evidence for probability of such a link also between red meat and bowel cancer.

IARC, which is the World Health Organisation’s cancer research body, classifies compounds’ carcinogenic properties on a scale of decreasing certainty. In group 1 are agents that are definitely carcinogenic to humans; in 2A those that are probably carcinogenic to humans; 2B includes those that are possibly carcinogenic to humans; 3, includes not classifiable agents; and in group 4, those that are probably not carcinogenic to humans.

Processed meat “refers to meat that has been transformed through salting, curing, fermentation, smoking, or other processes to enhance flavour or improve preservation”, includes things like salami, sausage, ham and bacon, and has been ranked in group 1 by IARC, in the same category as tobacco and alcohol.

According to the study, for every 50 grams of processed meat consumed daily, the risk of colorectal cancer increases by 18 per cent.

In their press release Dr Kurt Straif, Head of the IARC Monographs Programme, said: “For an individual, the risk of developing colorectal cancer because of their consumption of processed meat remains small, but this risk increases with the amount of meat consumed. In view of the large number of people who consume processed meat, the global impact on cancer incidence is of public health importance.”

Although the study scores red meat better than processed meat, its 2A classification means it is now on par with glyphosate, a herbicide contained in products such as Monsanto’s Round-Up, the probably carcinogenic properties of which made headlines earlier in the year. However according to IARC, eating red meat is not just linked to bowel but to pancreatic and prostate cancer too.

Meat industry groups and the research institutes they fund reject that eating meat is on par with smoking or other lifestyle causes to cancer, such as alcohol consumption, obesity and lack of exercise. Nutritionists also argue that the benefits of eating red meat regularly, in combination with plenty of fruit, fibre and exercise, counteract the risk to colorectal cancer.

Yet the debate on the health effects of processed and red meat is nothing new, and neither are the recommendations by health practitioners to limit the amounts consumed to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease – although the IARC study falls short of setting a safe recommended amount for red meat.

Environmentalists  have too been highlighting for sometime how an increasingly intensive meat industry – responsible for much deforestation, carbon emissions, reliant on fossil fuels and addicted to antibiotics,  is not a sustainable source of food for people and planet.

Even if one doesn’t accept the latest findings by IARC, it seems there are many reasons to limit our processed and red meat intake. Whether a healthy heart or a healthy planet is your thing, good old moderation may well just do the trick.

By Annalisa Dorigo