Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Kiwis kowtow to World Trade Organisation...

The woman on the left side of the coat of arms...
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12/08/11

Kiwis kowtow to WTO...



NZ food bill to make growing food a government privilege rather than a human right
Ethan A. Huff, staff writer for NaturalNews.com , wonders why the New Zealand Government is so keen to sign up to a draconian new "Food Security" Bill.

The God-given human right to freely cultivate food is under attack in New Zealand (NZ) as special interest groups and others are currently attempting to push a "food security" bill through the nation's parliament that will strip individuals of their right to grow food, save seeds, and even share the fruits of their labor with friends and family members.

In accordance with the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Codex Alimentarius scheme for global food control, the NZ Food Bill, if passed, will essentially transfer primary control of food from individuals to corporations under the guise of food safety. And unless massive public outcry and awakened consciences within the NZ government are able to put a stop to it, the bill could become law very soon.

According to NZ Food Security, a group working to protect the food freedom of New Zealanders, the bill will turn growing and sharing food into a government-granted privilege rather than a human right. It will also make it illegal to distribute any type of food based on the bill's language. This includes seeds, nutrients, natural medicines, minerals, and even water -- without expressed government permission.

You see, agribusiness giants like Monsanto want full control of the food supply, which means putting an end to small-scale agriculture systems that operate "off the grid," so to speak. This is why they have worked so hard in places like the US to convert conventional, staple crop systems to genetically-modified (GM) ones that are continually reliant upon new seeds and chemical interventions.

As far as enforcement, the NZ bill also authorizes private companies to deploy "Food Safety Officers" that can raid private property without warrant. Not only will these "Food Safety Officers" be permitted to draw weapons against those they are pursuing, but they will also be immune from criminal and civil prosecution for their illegal actions.

You can read a full summary of what the NZ Food Bill entails here:
http://nzfoodsecurity.org/2011/07/19/food-a-controlled-substance-not-in-my-back-yard/

What all this means, of course, is that the NZ government may soon be able to arbitrarily decide at any time to restrict individual freedom to plant vegetable gardens and share the produce with their neighbors, for instance. Even "cottage industries," which include at-home food artisans, could be restricted under the new law.

To learn more and to help defeat the NZ Food Bill, visit:
http://nzfoodsecurity.org/

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/034337_New_Zealand_food_freedom_human_rights.html#ixzz1fsQP0AmG

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Friday, December 09, 2011

Tuition to teach bloggers in oppressive states how to communicate freely...

Official portrait of Secretary of State Hillar...
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Hillary Rodham Clinton AP – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers a speech at the Conference on Internet Freedom, …
       
THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The European Union should help teach bloggers living under oppressive regimes how to communicate freely and avoid detection, and develop technology to help them, the bloc's digital affairs commissioner said Friday.
Speaking at an online free speech conference, Neelie Kroes said digital dissidents need tools that are "simple and ready-made."
"I want the EU to help develop and distribute these tools," she said.
Governments, companies and civil liberties groups are meeting at the Freedom Online conference at the Dutch Foreign Ministry in hopes of creating a coalition of like-minded groups to promote Internet freedoms.
Bloggers and users of social networks played a key role in fomenting the revolutions of the "Arab Spring" — and took great risks.
In an emotional speech, Syrian blogger Amjad Baiazy said his country's surveillance system was built by Western companies. He said he was arrested and tortured in May for expressing his opinion online, and a friend was arrested as recently as this week for a Facebook posting. He called on governments to fight for "security of citizens, not corporations or governments."
On Thursday U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton opened the conference with a call for companies not to sell surveillance tools to authoritarian regimes.
Dutch member of parliament Marietje Schaake echoed Clinton's call, saying that companies "with a reputation to lose" — such as Google, one of the conference's sponsors — are more likely to heed it.
However, she said less well-known companies may need incentives or laws to restrain them.
She said it was ironic there is also conference being held this week in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, aimed at disseminating advanced surveillance techniques.
"We need to get ahead of the curve," she said. "Some governments curb freedom before the Internet fully arrives there."
Schaake also slammed the U.S. for its proposed "Stop Online Piracy Act," which would require U.S. telecommunications companies to block access to foreign-based websites that infringe U.S. copyrights.
This will "give great incentives to governments like China to do the same," she said, blocking political speech they don't approve and arguing that their censorship practices are no different than those in the West.
Karen Reilly of the TOR project, which helps Internet users browse the web anonymously, said governments should listen less to the copyright lobby. She said her organization could use assistance in answering technical questions in local languages, noting that addition of a Persian service had opened up a flood of communication from Iran.
Among concrete actions taken Friday, the Dutch government pledged euro1 million ($1.3 million) to develop "mesh" networks — networks that use mobile phones to create a backup system to disseminate information when a government tries to block the Internet or social networks. He named Syria, Iran and Zimbabwe as target countries.

Acknowledgements: Associated Press
 
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Tuesday, December 06, 2011

Afghan president pardons imprisoned rape victim - providing she marries her attacker...

Chief Justice Shinwani from the Supreme Court ...
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And the international community.

Karzai’s office said in a statement that the woman and her attacker have agreed to marry. That would reverse an earlier decision by the 19-year-old woman, who had previously refused a judge’s offer of freedom if she agreed to marry the rapist.
Her plight was highlighted in a documentary that the European Union blocked because it feared the women featured in the film would be in danger if it were shown.
More than 5,000 people recently signed a petition urging Karzai to release the woman. She had the man’s child while in prison and raised her daughter behind bars, which is common among women imprisoned in Afghanistan.
A statement released by Karzai’s office says that after hearing from judicial officials, the decision was made to forgive the rest of the sentence she received for having sex out of wedlock, a crime in Afghanistan. The presidential statement did not say when the woman was to be released or how much prison time had been pardoned.
The woman told The Associated Press in an interview last month that she had hoped that attention generated by the EU film might help her get released. With the film blocked, she said that she was losing hope and considering marrying her rapist as a way out. She said her attacker was pressuring her to stop giving interviews.
About half of the 300 to 400 women jailed in Afghanistan are imprisoned for so-called “moral crimes” such as sex outside marriage, or running away from their husbands, according to reports by the United Nations and research organizations. Fleeing husbands isn’t considered a crime in Afghanistan

The Riverman Reports:  The international community  condemns this decision, but should refuse to continue to prop up  an administration that supports such inhuman Islamic Sharia law.

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Saturday, December 03, 2011

The Amish don't get autism - And they don't get vaccinations - possible link...



People outside the alternative health community are often confused by the lack of autism in the Amish people. The Amish do not experience autism, or any of the other learning disabilities that plague our technological society. The Amish live in a society that consists of outdated technologies and ideals, by contemporary standards. Their diet consists of eating organic, fresh, locally-grown produce, and of course, they do not follow the established vaccination routines. To the dismay of the mainstream media and the medical establishment, this has resulted in a healthier people, that are void of all of our chronic diseases. Heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are virtually non-existent in Amish villages. Equally non-existent are modern, chemically-engineered medicines, enhanced (chemically-engineered) foods, G.M.O. foods, and of course, vaccines. How is it that those who are without the “miracles” of modern orthodox medicine are healthier? The truth about health, medicine, and how they both relate to the Amish is becoming an embarrassment to some rather powerful people.
There have been 3 (yes three) verified cases of autism in the Amish, and at least two of those children were vaccinated. No information is available for the third. The strong correlation between vaccinations and autism is absolutely undeniable, unless you work for the medical establishment, the government, or Big Media. Proponents of the status-quo claim that the Amish obviously have a special super gene that makes them immune to autism. They pathetically try to rationalize that autism is some type of genetic failure (i.e. God’s fault), which attacks a brain based on religious affiliation. We’re tentatively expecting a space alien theory next, in a similar vein to the aliens theory used to attack those who believe in a Creator. This is truly is F.D.A. and A.M.A. science in all its shining glory. Vaccine proponents are willing to espouse any ridiculous explanation, so long as they do not have to accept that their entire industry of vaccinations is causing chronic disease, leaving autism for 1 in every 100 children now.


When the Amish are simply left alone, to live free of chemical toxins found in our medicines and foods, they are not plagued with diseases, learning disabilities, or autism. They are categorically more intelligent, with the exception of advanced (college-level) writing skills, which is explainable by the fact that English is not their primary language. Could it be those same Amish ‘super genes’ at work again? Society could learn greatly from their example, if we would only stop poisoning ourselves, and our children on a routine basis.




Read More: The Health Wyze Report
Photo Credit: Bob Jagendorf via Flickr
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Thursday, December 01, 2011

Drones cleared for domestic patrol use within the US..


Drones cleared for domestic use across US
Drones cleared for domestic use across US
TAGS:Arms, SciTech, Politics, Terrorism, Law, History, Immigration, USA, War

What do you know about drones? You know drones — those robotic, unmanned planes that fire missiles for the American military across Afghanistan, Pakistan and anywhere else the United States needs to get away with murder.
Well if you don’t know too much, don’t worry, that’ll change soon. The Federal Aviation Administration is looking into rules that will bring the controversial aircraft into the country, creating an United States airspace buzzing with tiny, robot planes to look over every inch of American soil — and maybe more.
An article published Tuesday in the Los Angeles Times reveals that new drone planes could be coming domestically quite soon, as both law enforcement and the agricultural sector are seeing benefits in keeping an arsenal of unmanned planes ready to patrol the skies. For farmers, drones could bring a new method of pumping pesticides into fields of crops from above; for the cops, the aircraft could conduct surveillance over suspected criminals (think police chopper but remote controlled). The Times reports that utility companies see a benefit in drones as well, giving them a new set of eyes to monitor oil, gas and water pipelines.
But with missile-equipped drones causing thousands of deaths overseas, the installation of a drone program stateside could be detrimental to America as the government all but deems the country fit as a warfront.
"It's going to happen," Dan Elwell, vice president of civil aviation at the Aerospace Industries Association, tells the Times. "Now it's about figuring out how to safely assimilate the technology into national airspace."
According to the Department of Homeland Security’s website, the government has already been using drones domestically for several years, but remains mostly mum on their missions, other than that they are regularly used for "support of disaster relief efforts."
In July, however, retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Michael Kostelnik, currently with the US Customs and Border Protection UAV program, told a congressional subcommittee that a third drone was being added to an arsenal of two that already fly over Texas to patrol the US/Mexico Border.
“On any given day there could be three or more (unmanned) aircraft in Texas,” said Kostelnik.
As the FAA investigates legislation to govern drones domestically for a variety of reasons, the US Air Force says that it will train more drone pilots than fighter and bomber pilots combined, reports National Public Radio. Though the military has not explicitly stated that they intend on flying Predator drones — the kind equipped with Hellfire missiles — through American airspace, it will soon have the manpower to up their robot game. Strangely enough, the US Senate is currently considering a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act which would make America a battlefield of itself, which RT reported on Monday.
Earlier this year, RT also revealed that the military is investing $23 billion into new drone crafts, and that the US has added bases to fly the planes in and out of across the world. A friendly fire strike gone disastrous in April killed two American troops mistaken as Taliban insurgents, and a September strike in Yemen killed two American citizens alleged to have ties to al-Qaeda. Following that strike, Republican Congressman Ron Paul told an audience during a televised GOP debate that “now we know American citizens are vulnerable to assassination.” A passing of the National Defense Authorization Act’s latest provision this week, coupled with a reinforced drone arsenal, could create such executions to be carried out stateside, by-the-books.
So far the FAA has issued 266 testing permits to allow for civilian drones in the United States, but the Times reports that the aircraft aren’t flying in large numbers yet, as the agency says that the crafts do not have the proper technology to keep them from crashing into each other as they start to soar in growing numbers. Small drones are being manufactured in the thousands, however, and AeroVironment Inc. has created a drone helicopter for police monitoring and intends on sending 18,000 of them to law enforcement agencies once the crafts have clearance. Those drones, reports the Times, weigh barely five pounds and could be controlled by a tablet computer.
"This is a tool that many law enforcement agencies never imagined they could have,” Steven Gitlin of the aerospace company tells the Times.
As the realm of drone-filled skies becomes a reality, Americans could be experiencing a police state that they never could have imagined, either.
AeroVironment’s planes are being manufactured particularly for law enforcement purposes and could create an eye-in-the-sky small enough to fit in the trunk of a car that'd monitor every action from high in the air — undetectable to the naked eye yet all knowing of every move.
"By definition, small drones are easy to conceal and fly without getting a lot of attention," John Villasenor, a UCLA professor and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution's Center for Technology Innovation, adds to the Times.
Also getting less attention are the programs used to create the crafts itself. A recent report in Wired.com’s Danger Room reveals that the US military has been keeping members of the press off of drone bases in increasing numbers as of late, keeping the progress of the program overseas highly unreported.
“The change in guidance wasn’t a light switch that turned off all public access to information about [remotely piloted aircraft],” Lt. Col. Tadd Sholtis, spokesman at Air Combat Command, tells Danger Room. “It was a recognition of the sensitive nature of the mission and the risks involved in unrestricted media access to an operational unit.”
The US government has repeatedly dismissed claims that put drone attacks in alarming numbers contrary to their own count, responsible for a shocking toll of deaths; though reporting overseas has unearthed figures that would frighten most people living under skies patrolled by drones. According to a report this year from Britain’s Bureau of Investigative Journalism, US drone strikes have killed nearly 400 civilians in Pakistan alone, and that the CIA has launched 291 attacks by the report’s publishing in August — eight percent more than the Central Intelligence Agency had admitted to. Casualties in all, adds the UK’s Bureau, are at least 40 percent higher than what the US has reported.
Standing up for his research, Bureau Editor Iain Overton tells CNN that "All of our sources are credible and transparent, and where contradictory information exists, we make that clear.”
"It is unfortunate that instead of engaging with our work, the CIA sees fit to smear it,” adds Overton.
Pentagon spokesperson George Little reported to the press this October that the US launched nearly 150 airstrikes with drones over Libya in just the few months of NATO involvement in the oust of Muammar Gaddafi.
With drones coming to a sky near you — and your neighborhood soon being considered a battlefield — the number of strikes could increase and come a little too close to home. Literally.
"Most Americans still see drone aircraft in the realm of science fiction," author Peter W. Singer tells the Times. "But the technology is here. And it isn't going away. It will increasingly play a role in our lives. The real question is: How do we deal with it?"
With lawmakers pushing for drones to dominate our skies, American civilians aren’t left with many options to deal with it than just that — deal with it.
Both sides of the aisle have shown support for drones.
GOP presidential hopeful Jon Huntsman said earlier this month that “an expanded drone program is something that would serve our national interests” and that it “must be done.” The Bureau of Investigative Journalism report earlier this year calculated that President Obama has been in office for around 236 drone strikes against Pakistan — or one for every four days in office.
Foreign policy aside, politicians have shown support for bringing drones to America. Now that the FAA has given it the go ahead, it is only a matter of time before the robotic whizzing of robotic crafts being a regular occurrence.
“We know that there are Predator drones being flown for practice every day because we're seeing them; we're preparing these young people to fly missions in these war zones that we have,” Texas Governor Rick Perry said in New Hampshire earlier this year. “But some of those, they have all the equipment, they're obviously unarmed, they've got the downward-looking radar, they've got the ability to do night work and through clouds.”
“Why not be flying those missions and using (that) real-time information to help our law enforcement?” asked Perry.
Last year the Obama administration got behind a $600 million border security bill that will bring two more drones to the US/Mexico border. Congress approved it in 2010.
By this summer, the Customs and Border Protection had six drones in their arsenal to monitor their border. For those not in Texas, Arizona or anywhere near the southwest US, however, you could expect to see those numbers increase. Be sure to wave if you see them, too. “You have a lot of police chiefs and sheriffs that would love to have this information,” Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, said of the technology earlier this year.
“Technology is part of the long-term solution to securing the border,” Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, said in a letter to Congress earlier this year.
Say good-bye to long-term. Drones are here and they are only going to get smaller, stealthier and greater in numbers.
Smile, you’re on drone-craft camera.

Acknowledegments: RT.com

rt.com/usa/news/us-drones-border-patrol-489/
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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Cap badge of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces
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Fijian military regime admits to buying arms from Indonesia...




Fijian military regime admits to buying arms from Indonesia





A high-level Police and Military delegation is in Indonesia strengthening co-operation and links with the big Asia-Pacific republic.They are signing a police co-operation agreement, meeting Indonesia’s top military commander, seeing weapons about to be shipped to Fiji, and visiting training centres.
Minister for Defence, National Security and Immigration Joketani Cokanasiga leads the delegation for the signing of a Police Co-operation Agreement with the Indonesian National Police in Jakarta.
The delegation includes Police Commissioner Brigadier-General Iowane Naivalurua, Fiji Military Forces Land Force Commander Colonel Mosese Tikoitoga, Senior Superintendent of Police Maretino Qiolevu and Joji Dumukoro, of the Ministry of Defence.
Prior to the signing, they visited a weapons-making factory in Bandung, two hours drive from the capital.
The Minister was able to see first-hand the process of making armoured vehicles and light weapons by the State-owned company, PT.
Mr Cokanasiga and his delegation also saw a consignment of weapons recently ordered for the Fiji Military Forces which would be dispatched to Suva shortly.
They were accompanied on the visit by Fiji’s Ambassador to Indonesia Ratu Tui Cavuilati.
The delegation is this afternoon meeting Admiral Agus Suhartono, Commander-in-Chief of the Indonesian Military.
They will then visit the Military Academy in Magelang, the Police Academy and the Jakarta Centre for Law Enforcement Co-operation (JCLEC) in Semarang.
The delegation earlier met with the secretary to the Co-ordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Dr Hotmangaradja Pandjaitan.
They were later treated to a welcome dinner by the Chief of the Indonesian National Police Timur Pradopo and his senior staff.
The delegation returns to Fiji on Saturday

http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=186824

Fijian military and police officials have visited Indonesia. It is believed that a shipment of arms will be sent to Fiji in the near future.  What are these arms for? Do they include large patrol craft and heavier weapons which could be fired from patrol craft. Does Fiji intend to "invade" Tonga to remove a high-ranking  Fijian military officer and deport him back to Fiji?

http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/cp/fiji   Few individuals own guns and other weapons in Fiji. What are all the weapons for? To keep Fijians fenced  in or to be aggressive to other island nations such as Tonga?

http://fijitoday.wordpress.com/2011/06/27/military-dictatorship-in-fiji-plans-to-make-firearms-and-ammunition-who-will-buy-sufficient-arms-from-fiji-to-make-a-factory-economic/

Military dictatorship has considered making arms in Fiji. Who would buy from them?

kiwipete
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Sunday, November 20, 2011

There is no alternative to the F-35 Joint Strike fighter says US and Canada...

The F-35 Lightning II was developed by United ...
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HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) – Defense chiefs from the United States and Canada said on Friday that budgetary pressures would not derail development of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, saying there was no real alternative to what has become the Pentagon's costliest weapons program.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said flatly he was confident Congress would approve funding for the F-35, which is facing fresh scrutiny for possible cuts as lawmakers weigh how to scale back the U.S. deficit.

Two days ago Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay expressed concern about reports of delays in F-35 delivery and said his government was in direct talks with manufacturer Lockheed Martin Corp.

MacKay, speaking to reporters alongside Panetta at a security conference in Halifax, said his country would press ahead with the program.

"There is no fifth generation aircraft other than the F-35 available to Canada and the United States.

 So all of the hypothetical discussions, and negative discussions, quite frankly, about this program are really just clatter and noise," MacKay said. "This program is going ahead."

The United States is developing a family of radar-evading F-35s with eight international partners - Canada, Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey, Australia, Denmark and Norway.

It is projected to cost the United States more than $382 billion to buy a total of 2,447 F-35 models over the next two decades. Other countries, including the co-development partners, are expected to buy roughly another 750 aircraft.

Canada says it plans to buy 65 of the jets, which in theory will start arriving in 2016. It has not yet signed a binding contract.

Panetta acknowledged that the Pentagon was still looking at ways to make the $450 billion in cost-cuts over the next decade, approved by Congress.

"But we also have to look to areas where we have to continue to invest for the future. And the F-35 is one of those areas, where we are going to continue to invest for the future," Panetta said.

Panetta's comments appeared predicated on the expectation that Congress would reach a deficit reduction deal before a November 23 deadline.

If a 12-member congressional "super committee" fails, automatic, across-the-board cuts would kick in. Those would force the Pentagon to slash another $600 billion over the next decade, something that Panetta warned in a letter to Congress this week could affect the F-35 program this week.

"This is the fighter plane for the future. And in some ways we really have no alternative," Panetta told reporters in Halifax.

"This is the plane that is going to be able to provide the technology, the capabilities for the future. We need to have those. It's true for us. It's true for our partners."

General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Washington he did not mean to leave the impression during a recent hearing that he was contemplating canceling a version of the F-35.

Dempsey told a congressional hearing last month that in the tight budget environment maintaining three variants of the F-35 "creates some fiscal challenges for us" and added it's "something we'll have to keep an eye on."

He told reporters on Friday that he meant it would be a challenge if the Pentagon was hit with an additional $600 billion in across-the-board cuts, which would slash funding for a proportion of all programs equally.

"I didn't have a crosshair on the F-35," Dempsey said. But he added that everyone should understand that an additional across-the-board cut would "affect ... everything we do."

Acknowledgements: Reuters/ Yahoo News
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Press TV: Iran to reveal IAEA political scene...


Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast

A senior Iranian official says Tehran will expose the behind the scenes political aspirations of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) new Iran report.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told ISNA on Wednesday that the IAEA is expected to maintain its legal status and observe its obligations while releasing reports on member states.
He stated that the latest IAEA report on Iran differs significantly from the previous ones since it evidently reveals the political goals and pressures of certain countries in order to wage psychological war on Iran for its nuclear activities.
Mehmanparast said the new report stresses the IAEA’s previous stance in terms of content, and is in line with US allegations that Iran is after nuclear weapons. This comes as Americans have never presented any evidence to support their claims on the “alleged studies.”
Mehmanparast stressed that the main goal of anti-Iran acts is to divert world public attention from the recent developments in the Middle East and Israel’s actions. “They have long sought to promote Iranophobia in the region. The wave of Islamic Awakening sweeping across the Middle East has, however, thwarted their plot,” he said.
He further said Americans are aware of the fact that anti-Iranian plots do not bear fruit in the Middle East. Nonetheless, they are doing their best to change the course of Islamic Awakening in the region and encourage Iranophobia instead, he added.
Mehmanparast said American officials are also using anti-Iran scenarios to divert world public attention from the US internal woes and the anti-corporatism protests over the growing inequality across the country.
The senior Iranian official said that Amano, who is Japan’s IAEA representative, instead of defending the rights of humanity or at least the Japanese nation, has given into pressure from the US which once launched a nuclear attack on Japan.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman added that Amano is caught in a difficult situation, and should respond to the Iranians, regional nations and the world’s free and independent states over the new IAEA report on Iran.
The senior Iranian official said the latest IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear case shows the scope of the political cooperation involved. The report greatly damaged the nuclear agency’s reputation and downgraded it to a tool in the hands of certain Western states.
Mehmanparast stated that US officials, soon after meetings with the IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, announced that the IAEA would release a report on Iran that would further increase Western concerns over Iran’s nuclear activities, and encourage the West to consider tougher penalties against Iran.
He added that such coordination before the publication of the new IAEA report on Iran shows that the report is technically and legally indefensible.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano’s latest report on Iran’s nuclear activities was given to the 35 members of the Board of Governors on Tuesday evening, ahead of the seasonal meeting of the board, which is scheduled to be held in Vienna from November 17 to 18.
Iran dismissed the report as “unbalanced, unprofessional and prepared with political motivation and under political pressure by mostly the United States.”
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.
However, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, Iran argues that it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.
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Iran claims IAEA report is politically motivated...

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c_150_100_16777215_0___images_stories_nov01_14_01_amin99.jpgThe content of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most recent report on Iran’s nuclear program and the developments which took place before and after the official release of the report clearly indicate that the report is politically motivated.

Regrettably, before the report was issued, some parts of it were leaked in speeches made by officials and political figures in the United States and Israel.

The information used to prepare the IAEA’s reports and communiqués is supposed to remain confidential even after the reports and communiqués are officially issued. However, the recent report on Iran clearly proved that IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano lacks the honesty necessary to deal with sensitive issues such as the Iranian nuclear program.

In other words, the IAEA has lost its legitimacy as an impartial international organization because it can no longer resist the pressure applied by a few powerful governments, most notably the United States.

The recent IAEA report on Iran lacks legal legitimacy and is only based on hypotheses.

The report states that there is no clear diversion toward weapons production in Iran’s nuclear program, but it is full of misrepresentations, falsifications, and hypotheses that seriously undermine the IAEA’s credibility as an international organization.

Iran believes that the IAEA must maintain a stance of neutrality in order to foster a spirit of cooperation. As long as the organization maintains an impartial stance, Tehran will be inclined to provide the requested information about its nuclear program. However, if the IAEA violates the principle of confidentiality and leaks Iran’s classified information to Western countries, the Iranian government will feel no obligation to continue on the path of cooperation.

The recent report is expected to be discussed at the IAEA Board of Governors meeting on November 17.

Some members of the board are aware that the report is politically motivated. In the few days remaining until the next IAEA Board meeting in Vienna, Iranian diplomats are expected to step up contacts with these countries in order to create a pro-Iran bloc on the board. Through this policy, Iran will be able to prove the peaceful nature of its nuclear program and show the world how biased Amano is.
MP Elham Aminzadeh is a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s Majlis.

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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Pike River mine CEO charged with 11 alleged offences over fatal mine disaster...



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Pike River mine CEO, Peter Whittle, charged with 11 alleged offences concerning last year's mine disaster near Greymouth on New Zealand's West Coast, that killed 29 mine workers.
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JOHN KIRK-ANDERSON/The Press, Christchurch
CHARGED: Peter Whittall, Pike River's chief executive at the time of the explosions.
LATEST: Lawyers for former Pike River boss Peter Whittall have confirmed he is among those being charged by the Department of Labour in the wake of the tragic explosion at the West Coast mine a year ago.
Whittall was Pike River Coal chief executive, which is now in receivership, at the time of the explosion, which killed 29 men.
The Pike River receivers confirmed that a number of charges have been laid against the company by the department. The 25 charges, against Whittall, Pike River Coal and VLI Drilling, were served yesterday.
The receivers today asked the District Court to lift the existing suppression orders which had been previously sought by the department.
"The matter is now sub judice and the receivers will not be making any further comment at this time."
Whittall's lawyers said he had never sought suppression and denied the all charges against him. They alleged he failed to comply with the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992.
"Rather he has been actively seeking to have that order obtained by the Department of Labour lifted as soon as possible so that he could be identified publicly," they said.
"Mr Whittall is a coal miner. He comes from a coal mining town and has worked in underground mines all his life. He maintains that he would never do anything to put men who worked with him at risk. And Mr Whittall will fight being scape goated now."
The charges alleged Whittall failed to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of workers at the mine, the lawyers said.
Charges related to operations at the mine at a time when Whittall was based in Wellington and handling corporate - not operational - matters, the lawyers said.
An Australian, Whittall had remained on in large part to assist with the department investigation, when he could have taken voluntary redundancy, or left the company and New Zealand.
"He is deeply saddened by the Department of Labour's actions and intends to vigorously defend all charges laid against him," the lawyers said of the man who was the public face of the tragedy, and whose actions in the weeks after the explosion elicited public sympathy.
"Mr Whittall took on this role because he believed it was the right thing to do, and he continued to front for Pike even though it greatly raised his profile at a time when criminal investigations were under way," the lawyers said.
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He had been "fully co-operative" throughout the year-long investigation, and would like to comment further "but in the circumstances has been advised not to make any public statements, given that the matter comes within the jurisdiction of the district court".
The department confirmed all suppression orders had been lifted, following a teleconference between all parties late this afternoon convened by the Greymouth District Court.
It said Pike River Coal had been charged with four offences of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure employee safety; five of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of its contractors, subcontractors and their employees; and one of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of its employees harmed another person.
It said these charges related to, among other things, methane explosion and ventilation management, to lower the risk and impact of an explosion.
VLI Drilling Pty (Valley Longwall) has been charged with one offence of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure employee safety; one of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of contractors, subcontractors and their employees; and one of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of its employees harmed another person.
Those failures related to the maintenance and operation of machinery.
Whittall was charged with four offences of acquiescing or participating in the failures of Pike River Coal Limited as an employer; four of acquiescing or participating in the failures of Pike River Coal as a principal; and four offences of failing to take all practicable steps to ensure that no action or inaction of his as an employee harmed another person.
The department's investigation took 357 days to complete and was the most complex in its history, the department said.
At its peak, a team of 15 was directly involved in the investigation and more than 200 interviews were conducted.

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