Chinese Lawyers Outraged as Colleague Is Dragged From Court
These Were the Runners-Up to the Physics World Breakthroughs of 2014
News stories today
Sunday 14 December 2014
Biohacking
A HUGE, DETAILED GUIDE TO NOOTROPICS (SMART DRUGS): HOW THEY WORK AND HOW TO USE THEM
http://www.thebioneer.com/guide-to-nootropics/
Bionotics for Fitness Training:
business and biohaking finally meet
Homo Technologicus – The Impacts of Redesigning Your Body from World Business Dialogue on Vimeo.
Biohacking
Channel 4 report leads to arrest of twitter user @ShamiWitness
Pro-ISIS tweeter Mehdi Masroor Biswas aka @ShamiWitness is a 24-year-old man believed to be the person operating under the handle and followed by many jihadist fighters according to officials who arrested Biswas in Bengaluru city, India on Saturday.
Biswas’ Twitter account had a record 17,700 followers before it was shut down following a report by Britain’s Channel 4 News. A quick search reveals another account @ShamiWitness, who describes himself as having “Studied and became a qualified cyber-sheikh, Unemployed, Twitter 24/7, Dawla fanclub and it’s apostasy if you hate Dawla!” The handler is followed by 199 users, tweeted 18 times, the last time on Nov. 18 and contains extremist propaganda.
The offensive tweets on the previously deleted account linked to ElSaltador@gmail.com, included messages praising fallen jihadists as martyrs of the faith, information for would-be recruits and footage of executions.
L R Pachuau, the police director general for the Bengaluru police in a press conference credited “credible intelligence inputs” that led to the arrest of the junior executive who works for a food conglomerate. In the early hours of Dec. 13, a team raided Biswas’ one-room apartment and seized his laptop, phone and other documents for evidence.
Of Biswas at the conference, Pauchau revealed that the millenial worked at an office in the day and spread his social media propaganda via Twitter, at night. He “ferociously” tweeted late at night after gathering information from various TV and web 2.0 news sites discussing anything related to ISIS or activity by the terrorist outfit in the Iraq and Syria region.
Particularly close to English-speaking terrorists, Biswas became the source of “incitement and information” for the youth interested in joining ISIS. Pauchau says, “ Through his social media propaganda, he abetted [Isis] in its agenda to wage war against the Asiatic powers.”
For now, the Indian police have arrested Biswas on charges of assisting war against the state. Following his arrest Biswas, who denies any wrongdoing, was quoted saying, “I’ve not harmed anybody, I haven’t broken any laws of the country, haven’t waged any war against the Republic of India … I’ve not waged any war against any allies of India.”
Channel 4 also quoted Biswas saying that he would leave everything and join the ISIS if it were not for his family who financially depended on him.
Dr. Mekail Biswas, a retired assistant engineer of the West Bengal State Electricity Board and a homeopathy practitioner believes that this is a case of mistaken identity and labeling Muslims as terrorists. He says, “You know being Muslim, we are easily identified as terrorists,” said Dr Mekail Biswas. “The days are so hard now. But I can tell you that my son … has done nothing wrong. If he has landed in trouble it is because some enemy is after him.”
By Rathan Paul Harshavardan
Channel 4 report leads to arrest of twitter user @ShamiWitness
2015 budget exposes Americans savings to potential derivatives bailout
The 113th Congress has passed legislation allowing losses incurred by derivatives trading to be covered by the FDIC. President Obama is expected to sign the new budget into force, which includes provisions that permit financial institutions to trade certain financial derivatives from subsidiaries backed by the FDIC that were previously restricted by Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act.
There was some resistance to the measure. As it moved through the House of Representatives, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) stated, “The House is about to vote on a budget deal, a deal negotiated behind closed doors that slips in a provision that would let derivatives traders on Wall Street gamble with taxpayer money and get bailed out by the government when their risky bets threaten to blow up our financial system.”
When first introducing the amendment in 2013, the main sponsor of the bill and former Goldman Sachs vice president , Jim Himes (D-Conn.), 
was quoted as saying, “The discussion of derivatives in the political world has become a zero sum game but there’s a lot more common ground here than the people who are yelling about this would have you believe.”
The law changes provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act signed by President Obama on July 21, 2010. Following the financial crisis of 2008, the Dodd-Frank Act was passed to restructure the financial regulatory system to restore public confidence and prevent another crisis from occurring.
The primary goals of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Act that have been changed as part of the 2015 budget, were meant to minimize systemic risk of 
derivatives trading, create transparency in derivatives markets, and prohibit entities holding customer deposits from engaging in speculative derivatives activity. Before 2010, Wall Street banks had typically traded derivatives from institutions backed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, however, Dodd-Frank required them to move many of these derivative transactions that were deemed high risk to units that were not insured by consumer deposits.
The FDIC is an independent agency of the federal government created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Its mission is to preserve and promote public confidence in the US financial system by insuring the deposits of banks and thrift institutions. The standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor from the approximately $9 trillion in deposits in U.S. banks that the FDIC insures.
According to The Bank for International Settlements, the notional value of derivatives contracts totals more than $710 trillion. Five US banks have more than $40 trillion dollars in exposure to derivatives, and the US debt recently crossed the $18 trillion mark.
Financial derivatives are contracts between two or more parties that derive their value from an underlying asset. The fluctuations in the value of the underlying asset determine the value of the assigned derivative.
Speculators who enter into a derivative contract are betting that the future price of a given asset will be different from the expected price held by the other member of the contract. Financial derivatives can also be used as insurance by investors to hedge against certain risks, and though they are not inherently bad, the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett referred to them as, “financial weapons of mass destruction,” six years before taxpayers were asked to bailout the “too big to fail” banking sector put at risk, in part, by derivatives connected to the Lehman collapse.
By Jay Verkamp,
Sources:
http://paperboat.studiopod.com
2015 budget exposes Americans savings to potential derivatives bailout
Saturday 13 December 2014
The Israeli Druze: soldiers and citizens
In this in-depth analysis of Israel’s Druze population, Israeli soldier Josh Green, who has lived and worked side by side with the Druze, paints a picture of familiarity and understanding of a group that accounts for a significant portion of the IDF.
The Druze have a total population of around 1-2 million. The largest community lives in Syria. Approximately 130,000 Druze live in Israel, and have served among the front lines of the Israeli army since 1956. It is estimated that over 83 percent of eligible Israeli Druze enlist in the army–above even the Jewish enlistment rate of 75 percent. Druze, who according to research by Tel Aviv University, predominently and increasingly self-identify as “Druze-Isrelis,” also increasingly are joining elite units of the IDP rather than the official Druze batallion, Herev.
The Druze population of Israel (and the world at large) is a confusing and mysterious one. This is partially intentional on their part and partly due to lack of media attention and widespread familiarity. To understand who the Israeli Druze are, first we must explore what it is to be Druze. Unfortunately, this is not as easy as it sounds. The Druze culture and religion is heavily steeped in esotericism, therefore there are few hard facts that we can confirm relating to their religion. What we do know (and what I know personally from Druze friends that I proudly serve with) is 
that their religion is monotheistic, loosely based on the tenets of Islam, Judaism and Christianity, and comprised of levels. They have basically the same moral values as Christianity, Judaism and Islam, with minor changes. The Druze have a strong aversion to iconography and images of god and idols are forbidden; however, they do have certain symbols, such as the five colored star representing the limits of humanity and the difference between a human soul and an animal. The five-colored star also incorporates phi, the golden ratio, as a way to express the Druze ideal of a life of moderation and temperance. The Druze believe that some wisdom from their sages and holy books is too powerful for the uninitiated and those who are not learned enough, and so the elders hide it and reveal it only to those they deem worthy. Many young Druze have no idea why they perform certain rituals, and refuse to explain why they perform others. There is no conversion in the Druze religion whatsoever, meaning that someone born Druze stays that way regardless of whether they convert to another religion, as conversion is not recognized. There is also no way to become Druze for someone not born into it.
The Druze are very proud of their culture and heritage and take offense easily when criticized or questioned too much. Insults are taken very seriously in their culture, especially those relating to female members of the family. Probably the worst thing you can call a Druze person is Arab. 
They are often mistaken for Arabs due to their appearance and language, but this is incredibly insulting to them. Insulting a Druze person is very dangerous and can be hazardous to your health and should therefore be avoided at all costs. Despite how protective many Druze are of the women in their families, the women have almost the same religious rights and and responsibilities, though they are less represented in the military than the men. The Druze are similar to the Sikhs in that they take pride in being warriors and defending their country, but it is more based on nationalism as opposed to glorification of battle. A very important part of Druze doctrine and culture relates to loyalty. They believe that loyalty to the nation comes before loyalty to other Druze (outside of the immediate family, as far as I understand it), and the Israeli Druze originally volunteered for the IDF shortly after the birth of the nation. Now they are drafted for compulsory military service just like Jews and other ethnic groups. Druze citizens of Israel are Israelis first and Druze second.
This was especially visible in the wars Israel fought with Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan, as they all have significant Druze minorities. In many of these wars there were prominent Druze on both sides, and both sides fought viciously to the end. The conflict is most pronounced in the somewhat disputed Golan Heights, where some 20,000 Druze live. Some of them are not sure whether they should be fighting as Syrians under occupation, or as Israelis. From what I am told, the dedication to country first is somehow religiously motivated, but the people I asked refused to elaborate. Regardless, those who live in the Golan and in Judea and Samaria, whose fate is uncertain, could go from being Israelis to being enemies of Israel because they live somewhere that got traded as part of some treaty or agreement. The Druze are unreservedly loyal, and many see the army as a path to advancement, which, of course, it is. In Israel, the first question any prospective employer will ask is about your army service. It serves as an indicator of a person’s talents, determination, physical ability, and leadership skills. For example, former officers are very desirable employees, as the IDF officers’ course is very competitive and many are rejected, and many of those accepted are dropped partway through. Being an officer shows leadership skills, intelligence, determination and talent. Other army positions like general combat soldiers, translators, medics, etc show prospective employers that the ex soldier can handle stressful situations, or has good command of multiple languages, or has medical knowledge and experience.
In the army, Druze are very valuable because of their language skills. Their first language is Arabic and they learn Hebrew in school, therefore they are theoretically bilingual. In practice of course, there are those who speak fluent Arabic, Hebrew and English, and those who speak mostly Arabic and can only get by in Hebrew. Despite the disparity, Druze are often elevated to high positions where their language skills will be of use 
and are also often found in special forces units. This is partially due to their appearance (very close to Arabs) and language skills, allowing them to pass as Arab if needed, and partially due to their determination to succeed and to serve their country. I had a Druze officer in basic training and in my operational service, and he was an incredible officer, a perfect example of a good soldier and he took care of his men, as an officer should. Not only that, he is also around six and a half feet tall and 250 pounds, very little of it fat. Despite his height and bulk, he is unbelievably fast and silent, moving like moonlight on a waterfall, disarming a knife-wielding opponent with a quick burst of violence. He was intimidating in Krav Maga (IDF hand to hand combat) classes to say the least. One second we would square off, and then next I would be in pain, on my back, with no idea how I had arrived there. Even so, he was (and I assume he remains) a patient and effective teacher, and he was a tough commander, but was always there for his men when they needed him. When we were at checkpoints or dealing with terrorists we had arrested, he was always very rough with the Arabs, and it was almost as though he hated them. I asked him about it, and he said that not only are they hurting his country and his friends, but also have similar religious tenets and beliefs, and to see terrorists pervert Islam like that makes him angry. He said “there can be no good reason for hurting innocent people if it can be avoided at all, and targeting them on purpose is unforgiveable”. Many Druze share his point of view, and it is common knowledge in the army that Druze often hate the terrorists more than the other Israelis serving in the army do. Their unquestionable loyalty and dedication to Israel only amplifies their value and increases mainstream Israelis’ appreciation for them.
Despite all of these great qualities and the impact Druze soldiers have in the army, they are not so well known. Most Israelis know very little about the Druze outside of the basic common knowledge. Druze can often be seen in shuks (outdoor markets where haggling is the norm) and malls with stands selling their distinctive Druze laffa bread baked on an enormous inverted bowl, which is then liberally smeared with Labaneh (a type of cheese spread) and za’atar (a popular spice made with sesame seeds and other ingredients), or whatever the customer requests. The Druze at the kiosks are usually wearing traditional clothing and head coverings, as Druze custom and religion dictates modesty among men and women alike; however many younger Druze have more modern attitudes toward dress and dating. Druze can also often be seen guarding checkpoints as civilian contractors after the army, as well as guarding gates of Jewish villages and towns in the West Bank. The civilian contractors who facilitate high risk security jobs only take the best, and Druze are among the most desirable for these jobs due to their unflinching loyalty and natural suspicion (Druze have been persecuted by mainstream and radical Islam for centuries). The Druze are a perfect example of the diversity of Israel. Even though they are very different in language, appearance, religion, culture, and live in their own villages (by their own choice) somewhat separated from the rest of Israel, they are accepted and loved and considered an integral part of Israeli society. They serve as soldiers, guards, doctors, lawyers, interpreters, and scientists. It is a shame that they are not as well known or well represented, but maybe that is because there are only 130,000 or so in Israel. I am proud to serve next to the Druze soldiers of the IDF, and we as a whole are proud to have such dedicated and loyal citizens.
Blog by Josh Green.
Josh Green is currently serving as a combat soldier in the IDF, and was active during the most recent war in Gaza.
The Israeli Druze: soldiers and citizens
Friday 12 December 2014
Even a single mine can damage fish habitats miles downstream - study
A unique study of landscape factors–in particular, mines–as regional sources of stress has been conducted by Michigan State University researchers. The study involved waterways in 33 U.S. states and 22,000 fish community samples. The researchers were themselves surprised by the results: even a single mine can damage fish habitats in larger rivers downstream, and the effects can reach streams not even directly connected to a mine.
“Mines have a much stronger influence on fishes than has been assumed,” Dr. Wesley Daniel, a research associate at MSU and lead author of the study, said. “It’s important, when considering the location of a new mine, to not just look local–but look way downstream.”
Here Dr Daniel explains the research, which has relevance in every part of the world where mining occurs.
Our study was funded by the US Fish and Wildlife and US Geological Survey as part of efforts to characterize associations between landscape factors, including coal and mineral mines, on stream fish communities in a range of stream sizes in the eastern US.
We wanted to test whether mines operate as a regional source of stress to fish communities over large spatial extents, as has been shown in many previous works examining urban and agricultural land use.One of the striking results was the clear and consistent negative associations between fish and mines across all three regions, and that these relationships held true for many different groupings of fishes. Examples of groupings include game species (fish species targeted by anglers like trout, bass, catfish), intolerant species that cannot endure much disturbance, fishes that use various habitats for spawning or their life cycle, and tolerant species that are often found to increase in disturbed areas. 
We found that tolerant species decreased in abundance with increased mine density in the watershed.We found that a single mine in a small river’s watershed (1000 km2 watershed) has the potential to alter the fish community by decreasing the number or diversity of fishes. When considering the effect of mines (current or new), managers need to consider not only the local stream watershed but the downstream impact.
There is an opportunity for management and agencies to use the our results along with the advancements in GIS mapping data we have created to consider mine’s influence as a regional source of stress and improve fisheries through management actions. Mining will continue to be needed until an adequate substitution can be found. As a society, we should be thoughtful on where mines at placed, keeping them out of ecologically or culturally significant watersheds. Since, based on our results, a very low density of mines has the potential to alter the fish community in large areas.
We found strong associations between greater numbers of mines in watersheds and lower numbers and diversity of fishes. We tested both 
mineral and coal mines together and separately and saw associations with altered fish communities. We did not test specifically for mechanisms by which mines could affect stream fishes, but many other studies that have been conducted at smaller spatial scales have demonstrated specifically how mines can affect stream fishes (mines can be a source of sediments and chemicals into rivers, alter the flow of streams, and alter natural land covers all of which can change stream habitats). What makes our study unique is that it was conducted over a large spatial extent, and we repeated our analyses in each of three regions that cover all or portions of 33 states in the central and eastern US. Also, our associations were based on trends detected using 22,000 fish community samples.
Our results suggest that a single mine has potential to alter fish communities. We cannot provide a unique value for the distance the mines can influence fish communities. The distance downstream that mining can influence fish communities will vary based on stream 
size, number of mines, and regional variation in natural conditions. There is an opportunity for future studies to build upon our results and try to quantify and characterize distance downstream in various regions that mines influence aquatic communities.
Our results suggest that a single mine has potential to alter fish communities. We cannot provide a unique value for the distance the mines can influence fish communities. The distance downstream that mining can influence fish communities will vary based on stream size, number of mines, and regional variation in natural conditions. There is an opportunity for future studies to build upon our results and try to quantify and characterize distance downstream in various regions that mines influence aquatic communities.
The report, “Characterizing coal and mineral mines as a regional source of stress to stream fish assemblages,” was completed by Drs. Wesley Daniel, MSU associate professor of fisheries and wildlife Dana Infante, Robert Hughes at Amnis Opes Institute, Yin-Phan Tsang, Daniel Wieferich, Kyle Herreman, Arthur Cooper and William Taylor at MSU, Peter Esselman at the U.S. Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Lizhu Wang of the International Joint Commission Great Lakes Regional Office in Detroit,” was published in the journal Ecological Indicators, and was funded the US Fish and Wildlife and US Geological Survey.
Editorial by Day Blakely Donaldson
Even a single mine can damage fish habitats miles downstream - study
Russia criticizes US for aiding fight in Eastern Ukraine - "Ukraine Freedom Support Act"
The United States has almost completed the passing of the law that will provide Ukraine with $350 million in support in addition to US military equipment to continue its fight against Russia and pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine. Russian foreign ministry official representative Alexander Lukashevich commented on the “openly confrontational character” of the US’s assistance to Ukrainian fighters. The US actions were, he said, a source of “deep regret.”
The US Congress passed the legislation unanimously Thursday, and if US President Barack Obama signs the bill into law, America will assist Ukraine in its fight against Russian and pro-Russian separatists in Eastern Ukraine with $350 million in military aid. Additionally, 20 million dollars will be made available for the support of democratic institutions in Ukraine and the Russian Federation.
The US will supply anti-tank weapons, surveillance drones, ammunition, counter-artillery radar and communication equipment.
The Ukraine Freedom Support Act also authorizes new sanctions on Russia. Giants Rosobornexport and Gazprom–the state’s arms exporter and natural gas producer–will bear the brunt of the new sanctions.
Further, Moldova and Georgia will receive special status as partners outside NATO.
“Approved by both houses of the US Congress without discussion and appropriate voting, the law ‘Ukraine Freedom Support Act’ is a cause of deep regret due to its openly confrontational character,” said Lukashevich.
“Again, the US capital has leveled against Russia unfounded accusations and threatens us with new punishments. This mix of Ukrainian and Syrian conflicts, to foment which the United States had a hand–and even the INF Treaty–the observance of which in Washington, to put it mildly, raises questions.”
The ministry spokesperson criticized America for one the one hand promising Kiev authorities weapons to continue military operations in the Donbass, and on the other hand simultaneously openly denouncing their intent to use non-governmental organizations to influence the political process in our country.”
By Day Blakely Donaldson
Image: CSPAN
Russia criticizes US for aiding fight in Eastern Ukraine - "Ukraine Freedom Support Act"
Thinking of God leads to increased risk taking - study
Leaps of faith? Gambling on Sundays may be more risky than churchgoers are aware, because, according to research by Radboud University, Netherlands scientists, activation of the concept of God in the minds of individuals increases their propensity to take risks.
“Risk taking is influenced by subtle environmental factors. It might not be a good idea to house a church service beside a casino, for example,” lead researcher Dr Kai Qin Chan of RU’s Department of Social and Cultural Psychology, told The Speaker.
Chan’s most recent research indicates that bringing the concept of God to the fore of people’s minds increases risk taking behavior, particularly when there is an incentive for gain.
The premise of the research was a hypothesis based on two fields of current research–recent psychological models that suggest religious belief provides a form of social control, and scientific findings that increased psychological control can lead to the formation fo riskier strategies. It made sense that these two fields of research could be brought together to show that religion could influence risk taking.
“We measured risk taking using a behavioral task,” Chan told us. “In this task, participants had to pump virtual balloons. With more ‘pumps’ they gave, the risk of explosion increases, but the chances of getting a larger reward increases as well, provided the balloon does not burst before they cashed in on their trial. We found that participants primed with God–for example, seeing the word ‘God’ briefly before doing the task–took more risk–they gave more pumps.”
All of the three studies conducted by the team showed that activating the God concept led to greater risk taking. The study participants were literally “taking a leap of faith,” according to the researchers.
However, this increased risk taking behavior was found to present only when participants felt they were in control of the situation.
“When we made one group of participants feel that they were not in control of things–i.e., we decreased their sense of psychological control–albeit momentarily–we found that these people look less risks, even when primed with God. This implies that priming with God (without any manipulation of psychological control) must have increased psychological control, because when we disrupted this process, risk taking returned to baseline levels.”
Chan’s research enabled him to make some educated guesses about the relationship between religion, morality and risk taking, but he was clear that questions of such relationships were difficult to answer, and that other great research was being done in those areas.
“I think much risk taking literature that examines how religion–e.g., religiosity–is related to lower risk taking may be an artifact of the measurement of risk taking,” said Chan.
“In these studies, sometimes investigators use measurements of risk taking that have an inherent moral component–for example, unprotected sex is risky, but it also has a tinge of one being morally loose. So, there are different domains of risk taking and we need to take them into account. Being risky in one domain does not necessarily translate into being risky in another, and because our notion of religion is so tightly linked with morality, risk-religion research needs to take into account the moral domains of risk taking as well.”
The research, the team found, contradicted certain other survey findings that religious people were less risk seeking than other people.
“Religion sometimes affects us in subtle ways,” observed Chan. “However, I do want to stress that I am not implying that religion is bad. Risk taking itself is not necessarily an evil, and I certainly do not want to say that religion makes people bad risk takers.”
The report, “Taking a Leap of Faith Reminders of God Lead to Greater Risk Taking,” was authored by Kai Qin Chan, Eddie Mun Wai Tong, and Yan Lin Tan of the National University of Singapore.
By Day Blakely Donaldson
Thinking of God leads to increased risk taking - study
Small businesses aren't hurt by giant competitors, sales are boosted if they can "stick it to the man"
Small businesses that fear competing giant neighbors may need to think again. According to research by a joint team of university scientists, having a large competitor nearby may actually boost the sales of small businesses, but this depends on whether a small business can successfully “stick it to the man” in “framing the game.”
“When the owner of Los Angeles’s Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf could not stop Starbucks from moving in next door, he at first admitted defeat,” the team stated. “However, soon after, he was surprised to see his sales shoot up, so much so that he began to proactively locate new stores next to Starbucks.”
The research team, composed of Neeru Paharia of Georgetown University and Jill Avery and Anat Keinan of Harvard University, set out to test a theory that small businesses could benefit from big neighbors.
They examined shopping habits of two groups of participants. One group was told that a small bookstores only competitors were other small bookstores. Another group was told that the small bookstore was in competition with a nearby chain that threatened the future of the small bookstore.
The second group was more likely to buy at the small bookstore.
The team further explored the idea with a second study.
They gave participants a scenario: “Imagine you are in the mood for a cup of coffee. You can either go to Starbucks or an independent coffee shop called Joe’s Java.”
Again, there were two groups involved. The first was told that Joe’s Java and the chain were the same distance away, although in different directions. The second group learned that Joe’s and Starbucks were neighbors.
The second group–believing the two shops were neighbors–was the one that was more likely to patronize Joe’s Java.
The team believes that the results indicate an interest people may have in “sticking it to the man.”
This interest, the researchers argue, has something to do with the “framing-the-game effect.” Consumers, the researchers believe, want to be felt and heard in the marketplace, and do so through their purchase choices. Thus, they may feel motivated to exert their influence upon stores they wish to allow to succeed or fail.
The report, “Positioning Brands against Large Competitors to Increase Sales,” was authored by Neeru Paharia, Jill Avery, and Anat Keinan, and will be published in the upcoming in Journal of Marketing Research.
By Cheryl Bretton
Small businesses aren't hurt by giant competitors, sales are boosted if they can "stick it to the man"
Thursday 11 December 2014
A Dominican writes: "On the move! Loma Mirada
In La Vega, Dominican Republic, a grassroots campaign has been demonstrating for a declaration that Loma Mirada hill become a National Park. Last week, Salesian priest Rogelio Cruz–who has led the months-long for a park to be created on the site of Glencore Falcondo’s planned nickel mine–led a march of hundreds of Dominicans from La Vega towards the site’s still-militarized main entrance.
With the Spanish colony, it was the gold and silver rush, until there was no more and half the Taínos had died or left the place.
Then nothing for a long time… half dead villages waiting for the next attack from corsairs and pirates. The mother country didn’t give a damn for a long time, not even importing slaves (like next door Haiti) to liven things up, work them dead and make money.
A long slump into oblivion, until the big stick, Marine occupation, road building, political authority, taxes, law and order and the long Trujillo “get off your ass or else” period… the “or else” had a meaning.
Then sugar. The South Puerto Rico Sugar Company changed the landscape. The Eastern prairies were levelled overnight and money was made a plenty, the sugar “boom” had arrived.
The ladies in towns like San Pedro de Macorís went on shopping trips to Paris and the kids studied at the Sorbonne.
Cuba was the big competitor, but had its run in with Spain and ended up American. Wars are obstacles to good business.
After Trujillo the sugar fields were abandoned, the land was was divided up into properties destined for the new enterprises: cattle, great herds which gave major investment returns and political clout.
But Quisqueya (native name) had a hidden treasure, like a good looking girl under her skirt: minerals!!!
In the Southern coast bauxite was discovered and the U.S. company Alcoa mined it through the ’80s.
After Alcoa left the operation, SIierra Bauxita Dominican has a running operation extracting not only bauxite but clinker, limestone, bauxite and concrete.
By 1955 the mining wake up call, with Trujillo still around, a permit was extended for the exploration of mineral wealth to Minera y Beneficiadora Dominicana S. A. for 79,000 hectares.
Just a year later the contract as granted to the Canadian multinational FALCONBRIDGE, a mighty worldwide nickel operator in December of 1956 for the exploitation of the mineral around the hills surrounding the town of Monseñor Nouel (Bonao).
It was a prosperous time: half the town was somehow employed by the company, the rest had business with it.
The whole mining industry was getting red hot. During the 70’s and later, into current times as is usual, mining got into peoples’ guts, realizing the damage that was being caused to the environment in water and river pollution, rising rates of diseases, periodic shutdowns due to crashed international prices, etc.
Around the town of Bonao, which had technically prospered during many years from the presence of Falconbridge which changed hands, sold to Xstrata toward the end of 2006, based in Switzerland.
But things were getting hot around Bonao and a rising tide of public demonstrations was overunning the country. Environmetal activists were organizing marches and sit-ins and putting pressure on Congress and President Medina.
The fact of the matter was that of all the “lomas” (hills), around Bonao which had been esploited in depth over many years, there was just one left, Loma Miranda, that had become the focus of the struggle.
Now democracy had changed its tone from a vote every few years and then lethargy and just watching the politicians go about their bussines, to pressure groups demanding public attention to hundres or thousands of inefficent and corrupt deficiencies.
In August of 2014 Loma Miranda was declared a National Park by law, but on September 2, the law was objected by President Medina and returned to Congress citing certain deficiencies, but under public attack due to the suspicion the it had been under the influence of Falconbridge who was seeing its last bit of exploitable land whisked away by a bunch of activists, campesinos, ganged up and riotous clergy.
We may say the the sun baked, “mañana land”, banana planting and rice eating Dominicanos had at last woken up, like much of the current world situation, and was on the move to demand right and issues that had been dormant for so long.
ON THE MOVE!
By Joaquin Salazar
A Dominican writes: "On the move! Loma Mirada
An Israeli soldier writes: The Judean hills are burning
In this enthralling account of the streets of the Holy Land, written by the hand of an Israeli Defense Forces soldier who took part in the most recent war in Gaza, we are provided with a visceral and beautiful account of the land and conflict at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian struggle.
The Judean hills are burning. The hills spotted with lichen-encrusted boulders, the odd olive tree daring to grow on slopes so steep even the goats rarely climb them; the ancient stone terraces and the small farms and villages dotting the landscape are ablaze. A smoky haze lies over the earth there, carrying with it the stench of burning rubber and trash from the Arab villages. Even tourists can easily tell the Arab villages from the Jewish ones; the Arab ones are drab concrete, utilitarian, lacking glass in the windows for the most part, except for the mansions higher up on the hills, which wouldn’t look out of place in Greenwich CT, as opposed to the Jewish villages and towns which are full of date palms and flowers, beautiful homes with red roofs and strong walls. The other way to tell is the gates. The Arab villages have a sign in front in Hebrew, Arabic and English stating that the area is extremely dangerous and you are risking your life by entering, therefore entrance is illegal for Israeli citizens. The Jewish villages have strong gates, two layers of fences with barbed wire, and armed guards. In the Jewish villages, the air is clear and clean, as high as a thousand meters above sea level, the wind easily whistles through clothes, but there are playgrounds for the children, synagogues, community centers, sports centers, outdoor gyms free of charge, and many even have their own fire departments and ambulances. The Arab villages are choked with black and blue smoke, partially from the Arab custom of burning trash in order to dispose of it, and partially from the riots.
As part of their resistance to Jewish “occupation” Arab villages and towns regularly stage riots. These are not demonstrations or protests, but violent attacks. There are no slogans chanted, no demands, and no goals other than to cause damage and attract attention. Young men from the villages carry out the riots. The youths are usually free because there are not enough jobs in the Arab villages, and complications with entering Israel via proper checkpoints prevent many from gaining employment, leading to general unrest and discontent. Every Friday there is the standard riot, which varies by village; however in general youths anywhere from 12-25 flock to certain areas to congregate in groups of up to 300 in order to present more of a threat. In these situations the police force and the army both handle the riot and are quite used to them. They are standard, we know what to expect, and how long it will last, when the Arabs break for prayers and lunch. We even know who brings the lunch!
What is happening now is different. There are many smaller riots, which start randomly more or less. Often organized by text messages or whatsapp groups, these are almost like flashmobs in that they start so quickly. Generally, the first step for them is to pour some gasoline over a few old tires, light them on fire, and roll them towards the soldiers. Of course, they won’t reach the soldiers, but they make for good photographs, as the thick black smoke from the tires dramatizes the scene. Once the tires have been lit, the riot can begin. The youths (all male of course) begin shouting, but they are not shouting things like “Free Palestine” or “End the Occupation.” They are shouting obscene things about the soldiers’ mothers and sisters, mixed with threats to rape said mothers and sisters. The soldiers, knowing what is coming, get thick, strong riot shields. The rocks start flying. Rock throwing is apparently an honored Palestinian childhood pastime. They enjoy dropping boulders on passing cars from cliffs, causing crashes and not a few deaths, throwing rocks at passing cars, once again causing crashes and not a few deaths, throwing rocks from a moving car as it passes another car, exponentially increasing the speed and power, and most frequently, throwing rocks at soldiers. Normally, a thrown rock at a soldier isn’t that much of an issue. Most Palestinians are not professional baseball pitchers, and so with a shield and good reflexes it is fairly easy to avoid a rock thrown by hand. The Palestinians have of course realized this and begun using slings in order to increase the speed of a launched stone to the point where it is barely visible. Anyone who knows basic physics knows that speed is far more important than mass when it comes to calculating energy, and so an increase in speed means a massive increase in damage if the rocks hit (interesting anecdote, I actually had a fractured tailbone from being hit with a rock in a riot… very unpleasant I must say).
If the soldiers were to leave the area in order to escape the danger from the rocks, the Palestinians would move on and throw rocks at passing cars, endangering both Arab and Israeli civilians (note that this is not conjecture, but proven to happen nearly every time). Therefore, they must disperse this riot, this danger to themselves and to civilians. However, the IDF operates on a humane basis and has extremely strict rules on morality and the use of all force, especially deadly force. Therefore, soldiers in those areas use riot control weapons such as rubber bullets, beanbag rounds, and CS gas. These are less than lethal options in order to end the confrontation without anyone being seriously hurt. Unfortunately rioting is an old tradition among these communities, and so they have developed ways to escape the effects of tear gas and have learned to deal with rubber bullets. The conflict continues and continues and all throughout, the Palestinians scream threats and promises of pain while the soldiers remain mostly quiet. There is usually a prayer break every so often, during which the women of the village bring snacks and refreshments, and also extra rocks that they have collected in the days prior to the current riot. The army must respect these prayer breaks because not respecting them would be breaking the IDF code of conduct instructing soldiers to respect the religions and beliefs of others. When the rioters are finished praying, they begin the riot again with renewed energy and determination and then slowly trickle away, leaving the hard core of ten or so older boys, one of whom is usually arrested, held for 24-48 hours on charges of assaulting a soldier/police officer, and promptly released without charge. If a civilian or soldier is injured badly, the one arrested can face up to a week in jail. Upon the release of one of these criminals, there is usually a riot in that village to celebrate. They stage a riot to celebrate. That right there tells us a great deal about the mentality and about how much they truly understand. These riots are not protests; they are not attempts to change the allegedly dismal situation they perceive themselves to be in. These riots are excuses for boys to let off steam and try to make themselves feel better by hurting others. The situation is akin to a small peasant seeing a massive, mighty dragon sleeping peacefully and attacking it out of boredom, knowing that his efforts are completely futile and he will never win. The peasant is too narrow minded, frightened and ambitious to see that the dragon could be reasoned with, or even just left to slumber.
By Rafi Glantz
Rafi Glantz is a new Oleh from the US currently serving as a combat soldier in the IDF, and was active during the most recent war in Gaza.
An Israeli soldier writes: The Judean hills are burning
Germany is top destination for migrants
New figures released by the OECD this month show that permanent migration flows in OECD countries, while still below their pre-crisis level, have nevertheless started to rebound. Figures indicate some 4.4m extra permanent migrants in 2013 compared to 2012.
The small (1 percent) increase is mainly attributable to a rise in free-movement migration (for a definition, click here), which in 2012 generated an extra 10 percent migrants, most of which moving between EU states, and of which Germany saw the largest in-flows, receiving almost a third of all free movement migrants.
And while Germany has seen its fourth consecutive annual rise in permanent migration flows in 2013, on the other side flows to the US, Italy, Portugal and Spain have seen a decline.
Family migration however, although also on the decline since 2008, continues to provide the bulk of the migratory flux into the OECD, albeit with reduced numbers into Italy, Spain, the US, the United Kingdom and Belgium. The OECD report also shows a decrease in labour migration by 12 percent compared to 2012, and in the European Economic Area alone an almost 40 percent decrease between 2007 and 2012.
Asylum seekers have also risen in 2013 compared with 2012 figures, with the Syrian conflict the main reason for a 20% increase. Indeed some 560,000 new asylum claims were made in 2013, the bulk of them to Germany, which alone received about 110,000 of them.
The report highlights there are some 115m immigrants in the OECD, equivalent to 10 percent of its total population. At 10% of all flows, China is the greatest sending country, followed by Romania at 5.6 percent and Poland at 5.4 percent.
Of interest is also that 70 percent of migrants are highly educated, 30 percent of which are university educated, but that university educated immigrants are less likely to be in work than their native counterparts and when employed, they are 50 percent more likely to be overqualified, clearly indicating a great waste of economic potential.
Indeed these findings are also in line with those of another study, which found that although the educational level of new arrivals to Germany is now higher than that of the natives, immigrants are still a less likely to be employed in high paying sectors than the natives, and more likely to be overqualified for their jobs.
By Annalisa Dorigo
Germany is top destination for migrants
Wednesday 10 December 2014
Understanding cheap oil
On November 28, following the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) meeting, oil proceeded to plunge over 10 percent. At the meeting, OPEC decided not to cut production, in order to match demand, but continue to overproduce and drive the price lower. OPEC by its very nature is a cartel, a group of companies conglomerating their vast resources and market shares to make output decisions that affect the market as a whole. A cartel may not have full influence over the price of a good or commodity but can greatly influence its general price level in order to serve the interests of the group. OPEC is made up of many diverse countries, ranging from Iran and Saudi Arabia to Venezuela and the UAE. These countries encompass many geographic, economic, and cultural differences, but are driven to cooperate for their economy’s major export, oil.
Oil is an essential commodity for every nation on the planet. With major changes in price, its effects are sure to be felt. In the past six months oil has fallen from over $100 per barrel to $61 per barrel. This sudden drop is the culmination of several things, a strong US Dollar, geopolitical tensions, increased non-OPEC production, and OPEC’s reaction to increased production. By assessing these four factors, one can comprehend why oil has fallen and just how low it might go from here.
The US Dollar has been on a bull run since July. As the value of the dollar increases, the price of oil measured in US dollars will decrease, as long as the value of oil does not appreciate more than that of the dollar. This was part of the reason why the price of oil has been gradually falling since this past July.
Geo-Political tensions are also a reason for falling prices. The US relationships with both the Saudi’s and the Russians are key when examining the political effects on economies. US relations with Saudi Arabia have become strained, which is an entire topic in itself, and relations with Russia have become tense as a result of political upheaval in the Ukraine. Oil can be wielded as a weapon and political tool against Russia. Oil and gas exports make up 68% of the country’s total exports. So by slicing oil prices, Russia’s oil and refining companies, as well as their economy, are hit hard.
A major factor in determining global oil supply is the production from non OPEC members. The amount of barrels produced per day by non OPEC members has been growing steadily since 2000. Most of this growth can be attributed to the United States, and its surge in production. This increased oil drilling has come from new startups in the North Dakota oil boom and from offshore drilling. This increased supply is not being exported but is instead used by consumers in the US. This cuts the global demand for oil and makes business less profitable for other oil-producing countries. The domestic oil boom in the US can be attributed to the high price of oil from foreign sources. This made it profitable to bear the high start-up costs of more oil wells in the US. But as the supply on the market increased and the demand began to decrease, the US, and OPEC have historically called on Saudi Arabia to slow its production in order to keep the global price high. This is at the expense of Saudis and consumers abroad but to the benefit of other oil-producing countries.
This is where the reaction by Saudi Arabia and OPEC have had so much to do with the low price of oil. The burden of an artificially high price of oil was placed squarely on the backs of the Saudis, and they found it in their best interests to dump off that burden, even if it meant plummeting prices. Since Saudi Arabia is a major oil producer and part of an oligopoly, it has a large part in the setting of the international price of oil. If they were able support high global oil prices, they can easily do just the opposite and drag them down. This strategic move shifts the burden from themselves, to new oil producers that caused the increase in supply the first place, this being the US producers. These new producers were created because of high oil prices, and still have enormous start-up costs that need to be paid off. By being critically dependent on high oil prices, US producers have nowhere to turn in this low-priced market. They can’t export the oil from the US, it’s against the law, so they either cut production like the Saudis once did or suffer the devastating consequence of cheap oil on their businesses. One can see these effects in the sector of energy stocks, which have seen very large declines in the past couple of months.
This move is considered strategic by the Saudis because it directly targets US producers but attempts to not injure its engineers. OPEC nations incur cheaper costs to produce oil because their industry has already been established and the cost of labor is cheaper. This allows these countries to sell oil down to below what US producers can and still manage to turn a profit. A price drastically low, say $40, as some analysts have poorly estimated, would gouge Saudi Arabia’s economy. OPEC and Saudi Arabia can carry out a pinpoint attack on the excess US producers by directly sustaining a moderately low price of oil. It is in the interest of OPEC to allow the price to reach this low point where it hurts US producers, but doesn’t simultaneously destroy its own countries’ exports. An extreme price of $40 per barrel would be nonsensical for OPEC members as it is not sustainable and would put them out of business in the long run. It’s a huge balancing act for OPEC. Fortunately, this magic oil price is calculable. Analysts, who have taken the above factors into calculation and applied the costs of oil production in specific nations, have found that the sweet spot is right around $60 per barrel. The hope for the Saudis and OPEC is that this price drop will force US producers to cut production and restore the global price back to a higher level.
Analysis by Andrew Gehrig
Understanding cheap oil
Threatening children does not promote truth-telling - it can have the opposite effect
Threatening children does not promote truth-telling, according to research by McGill University scientists. In fact, using threats of punishment can have the opposite effect.
“Children often lie to try to avoid getting in trouble–especially when they have done something wrong,” Victoria Talwar, professor of educational and counseling psychology at McGill University and lead researcher on the report, told The Speaker.
“The bottom line is that punishment does not promote truth-telling,” Talwar said of her findings. “In fact, the threat of punishment can have the reverse effect by reducing the likelihood that children will tell the truth when encouraged to do so. This is useful information for all parents of young children and for the professionals like teachers who work with them and want to encourage young children to be honest.”
The study involved almost 400 children ages 4 through 8, who were each told not to peek at a toy while the researcher went out for a minute. Video cameras recorded that over two-thirds of the children peeked. Around the same amount of children lied about peeking.
For every month increase in age, children were less likely to peek, and for every month increase, children were more likely to lie and to be able to maintain their lies during later questioning.
“With age children have greater self-regulation/self control,” Talwar said. “We only left the room for a minute. If we had left for longer more children may have peeked. However, this is a common finding in the scientific literature that with age children are have better inhibitory control.”
The children more often told the truth when the experimenter told them that he or she would be happy if the child did so than if the experimenter told the children that the child him- or herself would be happy for telling the truth.
The research teams findings were what they expected–that the younger the child was, the more likely the reason they told the truth was to please an adult, but that older children more frequently told the truth because they felt it was the right thing to do.
Appeals based on punishment were not found to increase truth-telling. Overall, children were found to be less likely to tell the truth if they were afraid of being punished than either of the other two appeals.
Talway provided some comments on alternatives to punishment that may be more likely to achieve the effect parents desire.
“What seems to increase honesty is giving children explicit messages about the value of honesty. If we wish to teach children to act in prosocial ways, we need to teach children about those behaviors and why they are important.”
“We need to teach children about the value of being honest,” Talway told us. “When a child does something wrong a natural reaction is to punish their transgression. However, if they tell the truth about it, we can give them some recognition for it. ‘I’m not happy you broke my vase–and you can help me clean it up/fix it/use your pocket money to replace it–but i’m glad you told me the truth.’ If we recognize honesty that is a powerful way to encourage and teach children that honesty is valued.”
The report, “The effects of punishment and appeals for honesty on children’s truth-telling behavior,” was authored by Victoria Talwar, Cindy Arruda, and Sarah Yachison, and was published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology.
By Cheryl Bretton
Threatening children does not promote truth-telling - it can have the opposite effect
Shell rig operator guilty of environmental and health & safety violations
The operator of Shell Oil Corporation’s two Arctic drilling rigs, deployed in Alaska in 2012, has pleaded guilty to eight felony charges for environmental and health and safety violations during its operation of the rigs. Noble Drilling has agreed to pay $12.2 million dollars in fines and community service payments.
According to the judgement by the US Department of Justice, the vessels Noble Discover and Kulluk were involved in operations that contravened federal law thereby committing a series of environmental and maritime offences. These included “knowingly failing to maintain an accurate Oil Record Book and an accurate International Oil Pollution Prevention certificate,” “knowingly failing to maintain a ballast water record book” and knowingly and willfully failing to notify the U.S. Coast Guard of hazardous conditions aboard the drill ship Noble Discoverer.”
Greenpeace has responded to the news by pointing out that this isn’t the first time the global oil corporation has violated the regulations. In April 2014, the US Coast Guard accused Shell of ignoring safety warnings and moving one of its drilling ships in the Arctic, partly in a bid to evade paying tax. The allegation by the Coast Guard was included in its official report investigating why the Kulluck ran aground in December 2012. The most significant factor, said the report, which has been published by the US Department of Homeland Security, was the “inadequate assessment and management of risks associated with a complex vessel movement during the winter in the unique and challenging operating environment of Alaska.”
“Shell has proven time and again it can’t be trusted to manage its contractors safely” said Greenpeace Arctic campaigner Ian Duff. “That Shell engaged Noble Drilling, a company now guilty of eight felonies, is the clearest indicator yet. Letting Shell back into such a precious and risky environment as the Arctic would be sheer madness, yet that’s what Shell wants to do next summer. Surely now President Obama has to think twice about approving Shell’s next venture in the Arctic, which the government’s own scientists say has a 75 percent chance of causing a large spill.”
Conducting operations in these waters at this time of year involves extreme risks from giant floating icebergs and stormy seas. Furthermore, the Arctic region’s remoteness and extreme climate together with dynamic sea ice exacerbate the risks and consequences of oil spills and complicates cleanup operations in the event of a disaster. According to another report by the Pew Charitable Trusts, oil spill contingency plans generally underestimate the probability and consequence of catastrophic blowouts, particularly with regard to drilling in the Arctic Ocean. An oil well blowout in this region could devastate an ecosystem that is already under stress and cleanup technologies and systems are, as yet, unproven in the Arctic Ocean environment.
Despite these concerns, the company has pressed ahead with plans to conduct exploratory operations in the Arctic in 2015.
One senior US politician has recommended that Shell be punished for its ‘reckless’ behaviour.
A Shell spokesman said the company was still reviewing the report but had already implemented lessons learned from an internal review of its 2012 operations.
By Robin Whitlock
Shell rig operator guilty of environmental and health & safety violations
Tuesday 9 December 2014
Cambodia becoming a popular choice for expatriates living abroad
An increasing number of people from Western countries are moving around the world to other areas they deem safer, hold better job potential, and are cheaper overall. A large number of these people are moving to Cambodia in search of these things. While it’s very difficult to get an exact number of expatriates coming to Cambodia to live, it’s thought they’re in the tens of thousands.
Many of those that have moved to Cambodia are retired but have found work in their new home country. An expatriate from Canada that wished to remain anonymous told this reporter that while Cambodia is an up and coming country that holds potential for expatriate retirees, it may not be as easy as expected. “The best opportunities are self employment, and to (start off) with a Cambodian partner.” For three years he has been running an online business in Siem Reap that helps expatriates moving to Cambodia find new homes on a tight budget.
Another expatriate, a teacher at one of Siem Reap’s international schools, thinks it’s relatively easy to get a teacher’s job, even with little experience. Nea Techeang, a Khmer American, has been living in Cambodia for two and a half years after living in America for the previous twenty eight years. “I basically walked into the school, met with the owner, and about a week later I had a position teaching kindergarten. It’s much easier to get a good job here than in America.”
Another advantage to living in Cambodia is that English is becoming more widely spoken as education improves, according to the anonymous source. “To live here (Siem Reap) in retirement you do not need to know the language as it is (a) tourist city and many people speak some English and in government offices; dentists (and) doctors etc speak English well.” Mrs. Techeang agrees, but also adds that English is spoken and understood much more in the cities. “The quality of education for the children here is improving, as there are so many international schools in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap. However, older people living in the countryside have a basic knowledge of English, as they had limited access to education growing up.”
Some bonuses that the anonymous source stated as to why Cambodia is a nice country to move to is the food and weather. “(The) food is delicious, weather is tropical and (similar) as what you would get in Thailand, Philippines or nearby countries but no typhoons, hurricanes or earthquakes which some other countries may experience.” Mrs. Techeang elaborates on the Cambodian diet. “While many of the dishes revolve around fish, rice, and vegetables, there are many other choices you can make. Chicken and pork are eaten more now, especially in stir fries. If you go to the right markets, they can be bought cheaply too.”
Both of the expatriates agree that for the most part, prices on housing and other necessities are far cheaper than their home countries. Mrs. Techeang says that being Cambodian herself and knowing how to speak Khmer helped when she was looking for a home in Siem Reap. “I was able to speak to the local motorcycle drivers to find some decently priced apartments. There are many apartments, small houses, and rooms for rent here that are quite affordable. My husband and I live in an apartment in a good part of town for under $75.” The anonymous source also said that transportation can be found cheaply. “There’s no need for (a) car here and it’s best to buy a new or used motorcycle (scooter with 100-150 cc) to get around.”
When the source was asked if he had any advice for people looking to move to Cambodia, he said he thought that overall the country makes a great choice. “It’s a good place to retire to if you want (a) low cost of living, it’s safe, and a friendly place to live. I only wish I knew more about living in Asia sooner and made the move years before I did.”
By Brett Scott
Cambodia becoming a popular choice for expatriates living abroad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)