Millions of children 'being taught distorted view of European history'
UK - Millions of children are being taught a “distorted” view of European history that deliberately promotes further integration of the European Union, one of Britain’s leading historians has warned. Professor David Abulafia, a Cambridge University don, has said school textbooks are “papering over” past differences between European nations in favour of a misleading idea of European citizenship.
The Mediterranean History lecturer told The Telegraph the “soft push” for further EU integration was most prominent in Germany and France but was starting to “creep in” to teaching in Britain. It comes as 30 top historians this week pledged support to a new campaign, Historians for Britain, calling for a fundamental redrawing of the UK’s relationship with the European Europe.
Among the names to sign up are TV historian David Starkey, Cambridge University dons Professor Robert Tombs and Richard Rex, and Gladstone biographer Professor Richard Shannon. To coincide with the launch many of the academics penned pieces criticising the concept of a European demos – a single, European identity – which underpins the push for further integration. “The search for common roots has not been ignored in Brussels and among its acolytes. School textbooks are issued that attempt to present the history of Europe as a common enterprise,” Professor Abulafia wrote in his essay.
“It hardly needs to be said that this has involved a distortion of the past, by assuming that a sense of European identity has existed for centuries, and by assuming a common purpose leading to the ultimate unification of Europe.”
India follows Russia, ratifies $100 billion BRICS Bank
RUSSIA - The BRICS Bank launched last year will fund infrastructure projects in Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, and challenge the dominance of the Western-led World Bank and the IMF. “The new development bank will mobilise resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, to supplement existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development,” read an Indian government statement on Wednesday.
“The establishment of the bank would also reflect the close relations among BRICS countries, while providing a powerful instrument for increasing their economic cooperation,” it said. The Agreement will enter into force and the Bank will begin operations only after all member countries deposit their instruments of ratification with Brazil.
Central Banks of the member countries will also have to finalize an Inter-Central Bank Agreement containing the operational details of swap transactions and the Standing Committee’s Operational Procedures (SCOP) before the arrangement can be operational. Russia has agreed to provide $2 billion dollars from the federal budget for the bank over the next seven years.
Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov is likely to become the bank’s first Chairman of the Board of Governors while India will nominate the first President of the BRICS Bank. The first board meeting is supposed to take place in April in the Russian city of Ufa and the Bank is expected to start fully functioning by the end of 2015, according to the Russian Finance Ministry.
Obama Bans Ammo For The Most Popular Rifle In America
USA - Because he can’t get Congress to approve the things that he wants to do, Barack Obama has apparently decided to rule by decree for the rest of his time in the White House. One of Obama’s latest moves is to try to ban some of the most popular ammunition for the most popular rifle in America. Previously, the Obama administration attempted unsuccessfully to ban the AR-15. That didn’t work, so now Obama is going after the ammunition.
This is yet another example of the war on preppers that is going on all over the nation. Whether you are a gun owner or not, this assault on our constitutional rights should disturb you greatly. Barack Obama has promised to try to squeeze as much “change” as possible out of his last two years, and in the process he is “fundamentally transforming” America. But what will our country look like when he is done?
This is how republics die. When one man starts grabbing more and more power and nobody stops him, eventually a dictatorship is born. This is not what our founding fathers intended. If they could see us today, they would be rolling over in their graves. And a lot of Americans are getting fed up. In fact, according to one recent survey only 47 percent of Americans still believe that Obama loves this country…
'Every chicken could give you food poisoning'
UK - Every home-cooked chicken poses a food poisoning risk because supermarkets are acting too slowly to eradicate a dangerous bug, officials have said. Tests over the past nine months found 73 per cent of chickens in supermarkets contained campylobacter, which makes 280,000 people ill every year and can cause death.
Almost one in five birds was highly dangerous, figures published on Thursday showed. In almost 7 per cent of cases, the bacteria were present on the outside packaging of fresh whole chickens. In a statement supported for the first time by the Office for National Statistics, food safety officials concluded that "all chickens, no matter which retail outlet they are sold from" were at risk of being contaminated.
They urged families to take particular care during handling and cooking whole chickens at home. The Food Standards Agency, which is responsible for protecting the public from poisoning, criticised supermarkets for taking too long to cut contamination levels.
‘Warrior’ fungus could wipe out a quarter of British wheat crop
UK - An aggressive fungus could wipe out a quarter of British wheat crops this harvest season, scientists have warned. The virulent ‘Warrior’ strain of yellow rust has been found in many crops in the UK and experts warn it could present a serious threat to wheat production.
The National Farmers Union warned that around a quarter of British crops could be affected and said that European pesticide bans were making it more difficult to control. Yellow Rust can cause significant reductions in quality and yield, and in some cases, lead to the loss of the entire harvest.
Farmers have been urged to spray crops thoroughly but scientists say they are unsure if regular fungicides will be affective against the new strain. Many more powerful chemicals have been banned by Europe. The findings were published in the journal Genome Biology.
Last days? Heavenly signs abound during Netanyahu speech
USA - Religious leaders are warning that the United States is nearing a day of judgment based on its treatment of the nation of Israel. What’s more, they say, signs in the heavens are coinciding with what is shaping up to be an unexpectedly controversial address by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3 and a fiercely contested Israeli election weeks later.
Pastor Mark Biltz of El Shaddai Ministries warns that “our nation will be judged” based on whether the United States sides with or against the Jewish state. Biltz believes signs in the heavens and correlations with feast days on the biblical calendar show such a judgment may be coming soon. “When Netanyahu speaks before Congress on March 3, this is the day before the Fast of Esther when the enemies of Israel, specifically Persia/Iran, had planned to destroy the nation of Israel,” he said. “The next day is Purim, which celebrates the day Israel achieved victory over Iran. The timing significance of this is just as important as the timing of the blood moon.”
Biltz, author of “Blood Moons: Decoding the Imminent Heavenly Signs,” warns that the next blood moon is scheduled to appear over Passover, which begins April 3, just one month after Netanyahu’s speech. And this will be preceded two weeks earlier by a total solar eclipse on March 20, three days after the Israeli election, and coincides with Nisan, the beginning of the New Year according to the biblical calendar. These prophetic warnings come amid unprecedented tumult in the American-Israeli relationship.
Food preservatives linked to obesity and gut disease
USA - Artificial preservatives used in many processed foods could increase the risk of inflammatory bowel diseases and metabolic disorders, according to research published on 25 February in Nature. In a study done in mice, chemicals known as emulsifiers were found to alter the make-up of bacteria in the colon — the first time that these additives have been shown to affect health directly.
About 15 different emulsifiers are commonly used in processed Western foods for purposes such as smoothing the texture of ice cream and preventing mayonnaise from separating. Regulatory agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule that emulsifiers are “generally regarded as safe”, because there is no evidence that they increase the risk of cancer or have toxic effects in mammals.
But when immunologist Andrew Gewirtz at Georgia State University in Atlanta and his colleagues fed common emulsifiers carboxymethylcellulose and polysorbate-80 to mice, they found evidence that the chemicals affected the animals' health. Although their diet was not otherwise changed, healthy mice whose water contained the chemicals became obese and developed metabolic problems such as glucose intolerance. In mice genetically engineered to be prone to inflammatory gut diseases, emulsifiers also seemed to increase the severity and frequency with which the animals developed inflammatory bowel disease.
Iraqi army downs two UK planes carrying weapons for ISIL
IRAN - Iraq’s army has shot down two British planes carrying weapons for ISIL terrorists in Iraq’s Al Anbar province. Hakem al-Zameli, head of the Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defence Committee revealed that the committee “has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” FARS News reported (Iranian News Agency).
The Iraqi lawmaker explained that the United States prefers the chaotic situation in the province because it reportedly does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end. The al-Ahed news website quoted Khalaf Tarmouz, head of Al Anbar Provincial Council saying that they have “discovered weapons made in the United States, European countries and Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL’s control in Al-Baqdadi region.”
Mr Tarmouz added that the weapons made by European nations and Israel were discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of Ramadi. Mr Al-Zameli has previously said that the planes of the anti-ISIL coalition have dropped weapons and food supplies for the terrorist group in Al-Anbar, Salahuddin and Diyala provinces. The head of the Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defence Committee noted that the coalition is the main reason why ISIL still exists in Iraq. He told the news agency in January “there are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition’s military aid to ISIL terrorists through air.”
Mr Al-Zameli added that the members of his committee have proved that planes belonging to the United States have dropped advanced weaponry for the ISIL, which is why it has set up an investigation committee to probe into the matter.
Imminent threat of Islamist attack on German city Bremen
GERMANY - German police issued a warning on Saturday that there was an imminent threat of a violent Islamist attack on the northern port city of Bremen. A federal authority has been receiving tip-offs since Friday evening about the activities of potential Islamist threats, the police said. Police said they were adopting "security measures in the public arena" without going into detail. Recently, police cancelled the pre-Lenten carnival in the city of Braunschweig, or Brunswick, 175 kilometers south-east of Bremen over a terrorist threat.
Internet, RIP?
USA - Today the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a non-elected federal government agency, voted three-to-two to reclassify broadband Internet as a common carrier service under Title II of the Communications Act. This means that – without the vote of Congress, the peoples’ branch of government – a federal agency now claims the power to regulate the Internet. I am surprised that even among civil liberties groups, some claim the federal government increasing regulation of the Internet somehow increases our freedom and liberty.
The truth is very different. The adoption of these FCC rules on the Internet represents the largest regulatory power grab in recent history. The FCC’s newly adopted rule takes the most dynamic means of communication and imposes the regulatory structure designed for public utilities. Federal regulation could also open the door to de facto censorship of ideas perceived as threatening to the political class – ideas like the troops should be brought home, the PATRIOT Act should be repealed, military spending and corporate welfare should be cut, and the Federal Reserve should be audited and ended.
The one bright spot in this otherwise disastrous move is that federal regulations making it more difficult to use the Internet will cause more Americans to join our movement for liberty, peace, and prosperity. The federal government should keep its hands off of the Internet!
Greek debt crisis: German MPs back bailout extension
GERMANY - The German parliament has voted to extend financial aid to Greece by another four months. The extension - approved by creditors last week in exchange for a series of Greek government reforms - needs to be ratified by eurozone members. Some MPs had expressed doubts about the deal and there is substantial public scepticism but the vote passed easily. It comes after police and protesters clashed during anti-government demonstrations in Athens on Thursday.
They were the first such disturbances since Greece's leftist Syriza was sworn in as the main government party exactly a month ago. Dozens of activists hurled petrol bombs and stones at police and set cars alight after a march involving hundreds of protesters. Syriza swept to power in January by promising to renegotiate the country's debt and end austerity.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble spoke in favour of the deal, telling parliament: "We Germans should do everything possible to keep Europe together as much as we can. We're not talking about new billions for Greece… rather it's about providing or granting extra time to successfully end this programme," he insisted. Mr Schaeuble has expressed doubt about the Greek government's commitment to reform.
There has been a chorus of scepticism about the deal inside Germany - with Thursday's edition of the largest tabloid, Bild, emblazoned with the word "No!" adding "No more billions for the greedy Greeks!"
In Greece, the proposed bailout extension has also triggered dissent within the governing party. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has defended it, but some on the hard left have accused Syriza of going back on pre-election pledges. Meanwhile, even if the bailout extension goes through Greece still faces the formidable task of trying to service its debt obligations. It will need to flesh out its reform programme in detail by April and prove that reforms are bedding in before receiving a final disbursement of 7.2 billion euros.
German Army considers plan to field more tanks
GERMANY - Germany has been reducing its number of Leopard 2 battle tanks from its Cold War height of 3,500, projected to fall to 225 under current plans. But the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Thursday that that number may be revised upwards, along with numbers of other weapons systems. A spokesman for Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen confirmed to the paper that “modernization and supplementary steps are being considered”.
Enlarging existing armoured capacity would entail taking Cold War-era tanks out of storage, rather than buying new ones. Bundeswehr Chief of Staff Volker Wieker promised to report on the impact of the current “availability management” system on the Bundeswehr's ability to fulfil its Nato obligations. “If we want to present a credible allied defence for Europe, the troops have to be fully equipped,” defence committee chairman Hans-Peter Bartels said. “A tank battalion without tanks is not a tank battalion”.
ISIS approaches Europe, planning attacks in Turkey & Bulgaria
TURKEY - Islamic State militants have entered Turkey and are plotting to attack diplomatic missions in Ankara and Istanbul, Turkish media on Thursday quoted the national intelligence agency (MIT) as saying. Around 3,000 militants from the ultra-radical group in Syria and Iraq are looking to enter Turkey through its southern border after failing to take the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani, the Hurriyet newspaper reported the internal MIT note as saying.
Some militants, including senior commanders who are planning the attacks, are thought to have already entered Turkey and are in safe houses, the note said, without saying how many entered. "Militants expert in suicide and bomb attacks are preparing … attacks on the Istanbul and Ankara missions of coalition forces which intervened in Syria," it said.
Some militants with Syrian and Palestinian nationality were also planning to cross into Bulgaria to carry out attacks in European Union countries, it added. Turkish police declined to comment on the issue and MIT was not available for comment. Turkey has in the past drawn criticism from Western allies for failing to stop the flow of jihadists across its border to join the Sunni insurgents in Syria. Some critics said it even aided the militants, an accusation that Ankara denies.
Netanyahu row with Obama administration deepens
USA - A row between the US and Benjamin Netanyahu has deepened, with the Israeli leader accusing America and others of "giving up" on trying to stop Iran obtaining nuclear weapons. The US secretary of state questioned Mr Netanyahu's judgement on the issue. Republican leaders have invited Mr Netanyahu to address the US Congress next week, angering Democrats. A White House spokesman warned against reducing US-Israeli ties to a party political issue.
Earlier, US National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Mr Netanyahu's visit was "destructive to the fabric of the relationship". In response Mr Netanyahu said the US and others were "accepting that Iran will gradually, within a few years, develop capabilities to produce material for many nuclear weapons. I respect the White House and the president of the United States but on such a fateful matter, that can determine whether or not we survive, I must do everything to prevent such a great danger for Israel," he said in a speech in Israel.
Late on Wednesday US Secretary of State John Kerry rebuffed Mr Netanyahu, saying: "He may have a judgment that just may not be correct here." He said it was premature to criticise the nuclear negotiations with Tehran. "The president has made clear - I can't state this more firmly - the policy is Iran will not get a nuclear weapon," Mr Kerry told senators. He was speaking after returning from the latest round of nuclear talks involving Iran in Geneva.
Cyprus signs deal to allow Russian navy to use ports
RUSSIA - Russia has signed an agreement with Cyprus to give Russian navy ships access to Cypriot ports. Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed the deal after talks with Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades. The deal comes as tensions between Russia and Western countries over the Ukrainian conflict continue.
President Putin said that other countries should not be concerned and that the port's main use would be for counter-terrorism and anti-piracy.
The island already hosts British military bases. Britain announced on Tuesday that it would be deploying troops to Ukraine as trainers. Tensions remain high between Russia and other European countries but the Russian leader was not concerned that the deal could be misconstrued.
"Our friendly ties aren't aimed against anyone," President Putin said. "I don't think it should cause worries anywhere." Russia has sought to strengthen ties with a number of individual EU members - including Cyprus, Hungary and Greece, after the bloc, along with the US, imposed sanctions on Moscow over its role in Ukraine. President Anastasiades also revealed that the two countries were discussing the possibility of Russia using an air base on Cyprus for humanitarian relief missions.
Disclaimer:
The views expressed in this section are not our own, unless specifically stated, but are provided to highlight what may prove to be prophetically relevant material appearing in the media.