A Californian corporation has been awarded a contract with United States Central Command (Centcom), which oversees US armed operations in the Middle East and Central Asia, to develop what is described as an "online persona management service" that will allow one US serviceman or woman to control up to 10 separate identities based all over the world.

The project has been likened by web experts to China's attempts to control and restrict free speech on the internet. Critics are likely to complain that it will allow the US military to create a false consensus in online conversations, crowd out unwelcome opinions and smother commentaries or reports that do not correspond with its own objectives. The discovery that the US military is developing false online personalities – known to users of social media as "sock puppets" – could also encourage other governments, private companies and non-government organisations to do the same.

The Centcom contract stipulates that each fake online persona must have a convincing background, history and supporting details, and that up to 50 US-based controllers should be able to operate false identities from their workstations "without fear of being discovered by sophisticated adversaries". Centcom spokesman Commander Bill Speaks said: "The technology supports classified blogging activities on foreign-language websites to enable Centcom to counter violent extremist and enemy propaganda outside the US."

Included among those suing the Obama administration are the University of Notre Dame, the Archdioceses of Washington, New York and Michigan, and the Catholic University of America. The policy was announced by President Barack Obama in January following a recommendation made last year by an advisory panel from the Institute of Medicine.

The rule, adopted by the US Health and Human Services Department as a means of improving health care for women, is intended to ensure the possibility that women can space their pregnancies if they so choose. However, the Roman Catholic Church has protested the mandate, claiming it violates freedom of religion.

The Obama administration offered a compromise that would ask insurers to pay for birth control instead of religious groups – but the church rejected the proposal. "We do not seek to impose our religious beliefs on others,” said Notre Dame President Reverend John Jenkins in a statement to media. “We simply ask that the government not impose its values on the university when those values conflict with our religious teachings.”

Banks and building societies have been increasing the cost of new mortgages and tightening lending criteria in recent months because the economic calamity in the eurozone has resulted in tighter conditions in wholesale markets. Experts have warned that the lending freeze will strengthen its grip on the market if the crisis persists. Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “The mortgage market has gone into reverse. Borrowers are already bearing the brunt of the political dithering in Europe.”

They are being hit hard by rate rises and tightening lending criteria as banks scramble to protect their balance sheets from the impact of the Greek exit from the euro, which looks more inevitable by the day. “The turmoil in the financial markets has increased the funding of mortgages by 40 per cent since February. Banks have shipped costs on to consumers in the guise of higher rates and less loans to low income borrowers. Lending to borrowers with deposits under 15 per cent has fallen for the last four months, and loans to first-time buyers fell to their lowest level for nine months in April.”

“Worse will follow if Greece falls on its sword. Banks will reduce lending even further to focus on storing credit, and the mortgage market could relapse into the sclerotic state it was in during its 2009 nadir.” Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King warned last week that households were likely to suffer from higher borrowing costs as a result of banks looking to protect their balance sheets.

The claims come as chief executive Jamie Dimon announced that the bank is suspending plans to buy back $15 billion worth of shares. 'It's an embarrassment, it's a black mark,' Mr Dimon said of the trading loss. But he added that the bank's balance sheet was 'barely nicked' by the loss. JPMorgan, the US's biggest bank and once seen as one of the safest on Wall Street, is still trying to unwind the mammoth trading positions taken by London-based French trader Bruno Michel Iksil.

Rival traders working on desks specialising in the derivatives the bank used to make its trades now reckon the losses could total nearly $7 billion (£4.4 billion). JPMorgan had last week estimated that the losses could hit $3 billion. 'The market knows roughly what [JPMorgan] has and what the sizes are,' a source with knowledge of the bank's positions told CNN Money.

The bank is capitalised well enough to easily withstand the losses, according to analysts. It had $190 billion of shareholder equity supporting $2.32 trillion in assets at the end of March.

I [Nigel Lawson] fully understand why he felt obliged to say that. Even though, fortunately, the United Kingdom is not part of the eurozone, the issue is of such importance that he could scarcely remain silent. And had he spoken and not expressed the desire to see the eurozone ‘succeed’ he would have been held at least partially responsible for its failure.

But it is, of course, complete nonsense. A successful eurozone is an impossibility. European Monetary Union, to give it its full name, was doomed from the start. The disaster which we see unfolding today, most acutely in Greece but increasingly elsewhere in the eurozone, too, was not only predictable but predicted.

I first explained why it should not be embarked upon, and why it would be doomed to fail, when I was Chancellor in January 1989, and the proposal was about to be formally launched. I concluded in these terms: ‘It is clear that Economic and Monetary Union implies nothing less than European Government – albeit a federal one – and political union: the United States of Europe. That is not on the agenda now, nor will it be for the foreseeable future.’

In his bleakest assessment to date, Mr Clegg admitted that his beloved European project faces a “huge” crisis of confidence as the public loses faith in the EU “as a whole”. Mr Clegg’s intervention followed warnings from Cabinet ministers that the eurozone debt crisis is approaching a “moment of clarity” when it is “quite likely” that Greece will be forced out of the single currency.

In an interview with the German magazine, Der Spiegel, the Liberal Democrat leader said EU nations are “condemned to work with each other” but warned that nine European governments have “fallen” since 2009. “Everybody should be more active,” he said. “At the moment, what’s happening is you have one emergency summit after another; you have one election after the other; you have one bail out after the other. This cannot carry on because the combination of economic insecurity and political paralysis, we know this from the history of our continent, is the ideal recipe for an increase in extremism and xenophobia.”

“I, as a passionate Liberal and pro-European, think it would be a disaster if a lack of grip and a lack of a comprehensive solution were to lead to a push towards the extreme Right or the extreme Left.” He added: “If the eurozone does not come up with a comprehensive vision of its own future pretty soon - in three, four, five years time - we will have a whole range of nationalistic, extremist, xenophobic and populist movements increasing across Europe.”

“FRANKLY, QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BRITISH DEBATE ABOUT THE EUROPEAN UNION WILL BE LIKE A SMALL SIDE SHOW COMPARED TO THE RISE OF THE POLITICAL EXTREMISM. THAT IS WHAT’S AT STAKE.”

His remarks came on the day International Atomic Energy Agency director Yukiya Amano flew to Tehran to negotiate for inspections of Iran’s nuclear program. They were reported by the Fars News Agency, the media outlet of the Revolutionary Guards Corps. While many within the Islamic regime, including President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, have often stated that Israel should be annihilated, until Sunday no one in the nation’s leadership has announced Iran’s determined intention to carry it out.

Josh Block, a Middle East expert and former spokesman for the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, told The Daily Caller that it’s unwise to shrug off the threats of a top Iranian military commander. “When they say it, they mean it,” Block said. “That is the lesson of history. We had best heed that reality. You can be sure the Israelis already understand it.”

Block is a senior fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute who worked in the Clinton administration’s State Department. He told TheDC that the US should be concerned about “an Iran that could give nuclear technology to their terrorist allies, including those like Al Qaeda and Hezbollah.”

The American president’s residence at Camp David was invaded by Europeans over the weekend, or at least it seemed that way, with almost all G8 talk touching on the eurozone. The economic catastrophe of Greece dominated the G8 gathering, amid fears the country may be headed for a chaotic and unprecedented exit from the single currency bloc.

However, some believe that talks behind closed doors suggested a different agenda for the beleaguered nation.

“Practically every financial analyst thinks that Greece will leave. It has to be an orderly withdrawal from the euro. Anything else would be a disaster,” Martin McCauley, senior lecturer at the university of London, explained to RT. The official eurozone mantra says everything should be done to help Athens stay in euro. Once again this united stance was recorded in the final declaration as the Camp David Summit wrapped up. Some believe the smiles and handshakes at the G8 summit are just damage control.

“I think it's just trying to put up a pretty face on it, this ‘hopetimism’, so when the markets open Monday they can have some good news report,” independent journalist Charlie McGrath, the founder of Wide Awake News, told RT. The journalist has been even more categorical in evaluating the results of the summit. He said the world leaders could not achieve anything other than “absolutely nothing” in solving Europe's financial crisis.

“We keep talking about Greece over and over and over again for the last several years. But the problem is not just Greece, Greece is a relatively small economy,” McGrath warned. “The problem is the European debt load period, and nobody is addressing the real problem which is these banks that have loaded up the debt on all these countries.” It appears there is a plan already in place that intends Greece be cut loose and leave the eurozone.

The magnitude six tremor, centred north of Bologna, destroyed or badly damaged many historic buildings. Italian officials say the priority is to find safe accommodation for an estimated 3,000 displaced people. Civil protection officials in the town of Finale Emilia organised the setting up of tents on a football pitch to accommodate hundreds of residents.

Many had seen their homes destroyed but others were simply too afraid to return home.

The original earthquake struck at a relatively shallow depth of 10km just after 04:00 local time (02:00 GMT) on Sunday. Its epicentre was between the towns of Finale Emilia, San Felice sul Panaro and Sermide, about 35km (20 miles) north of the city of Bologna. It was felt across a large swathe of northern Italy, as far away as the cities of Milan and Venice.

Italian TV showed many historic buildings reduced to rubble. Cars lay crushed under fallen masonry.

Sunday's earthquake was the worst to hit Italy since the L'Aquila tremor killed nearly 300 people in 2009. Northern Italy is frequently rocked by minor earthquakes, but the country is well-prepared to deal with them, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Rome says.

Yesterday, the European Court of Human Rights published a judgment in the important case of Fernandez-Martínez c. Espagne (application no 56030/07) in which it concluded by six votes to one that “the choice of the bishop not to renew the contract of a teacher who is a married priest and activist of the Pro-Optional Celibacy Movement comes under the principle of religious freedom, as protected by the Convention”.

The ECLJ intervened in this case as intervening party (amicus curiae) and as legal representative of the Spanish Bishops’ Conference, who also intervened in the case. Grégor Puppinck, Director of the ECLJ, greets a significant victory for the freedom of the Church. He rejoices that the Court has strongly and clearly stated the principle of the freedom and autonomy of the Church. This judgment reflects the reasoning of the ECLJ in its written observations of 20 October 2011.

This case questioned the freedom of the Church to withdraw its agreement from a Catholic religion teacher for religious reasons, while the material causes of the withdrawal (marriage and positions taken in the press) enjoy human rights protection, especially the right to respect for private and family life and the right to freedom of expression.

More generally, and as a conclusion, one may rejoice for the freedom of the Church and the protection of the fundamental rights that THE COURT CLEARLY RECOGNISED ITS INCOMPETENCE TO RULE ON THE COGENCY OF A RELIGIOUS DECISION. Human rights are more and more presented as arbiters in the conflicts between religion and culture. Many expect human rights to condemn the position of Christian Churches on issues such as respect for life and family, respect for conscience and moral law, marriage of priests, homosexuality, abortion, divorce etc. This judgment constitutes an important step for the recognition and respect for the freedom of the Church in Europe, within and facing the civil society.

At first it was believed that only honeybees were affected, but then bumblebee populations began to decline. The crisis was eventually given a name: Colony Collapse Disorder or CCD.

CCD is Not a Disease.

There were initially several theories about the cause of CCDE, including Varroa mites, cell phone radiation and a virus similar to AIDS. However, it has now been proven that the bee deaths are actually the result of poisoning from two known pesticides called clothianidin and imidacloprid – manufactured by Bayer. The trade name for clothianidin is Poncho. The trade names for imidacloprid include Gaucho, Admire, Advantage, Merit, Amigo, Premise, Prothor, and Winner.

Why are They Used?

One of our most important crops is corn. But corn has an enemy called diabrotica vergifera vergifera – also known as the “root worm.” It burrows into the roots of the corn plant and causes the plant to wither and eventually die. Major infestations can wipe-out entire crops.

As bad as it sounds, the root worm problem can actually be addressed quite easily with the practice of CROP ROTATION. The larvae must feed on corn roots to survive and cannot travel more than 10 to 20 inches if hatched in a field rotated out of corn. However, rotating a field out of corn can result in LOWER FARM PROFITABILITY if there is less demand for the alternate crop. So in 2003, Bayer Pharmaceutical introduced two pesticides, classified as neonicotinoids, to combat root worms and capitalize on increased farm profits. These pesticides are now two of Bayer’s top agricultural products – even though profits are at the expense of a keystone species.

Read article:- http://www.blacklistednews.com/Bayer_CropScience_and_Bee_Deaths/19574/0/38/38/Y/M.html

The development raises the prospect of already heavily indebted eurozone national governments being forced to take on hundreds of billions of euros of additional debts. “Cracks are appearing in the funding markets for these institutions. If you don’t like the sovereign risk, why would you take the risk of buying the debt of the institutions they support,” said one credit banker.

In France, the authorities are racing to avoid having to rescue Caisse Centrale du Credit Immobilier (3CIF) after Moody’s downgraded the mortgage lender last week, warning it could become totally reliant on taxpayer support within months. The lender is one of France’s largest mortgage providers and is owned by a collection of local authorities and mutuals, giving it implicit government support.

But the troubles at 3CIF are seen as evidence of far wider problems that are likely to face a range of quasi-government borrowers across Europe, as investors become more nervous about exposing themselves to the risk of a break-up of the euro area.

The Muslim Brotherhood candidate, Mohammed Morsi, an American-educated professor of engineering, this weekend called for the release of Omar Abdulrahman, the Egyptian so-called “blind Sheikh” jailed for life in America for incitement to terrorism.

Wednesday’s election to replace Hosni Mubarak and the interim military government has gripped the country, with thousands enthusiastically attending rallies across the country. It has also highlighted the paradox that, according to a recent opinion survey, most Egyptians both favour Turkish-style multiparty democracy and Saudi Arabia’s strict implementation of Sharia law.

Pope Benedict XVI has already appointed a commission of cardinals to investigate the “Vatileaks” scandal. It erupted earlier this year with the publication of leaked memos alleging corruption and mismanagement in Holy See affairs and internal squabbles over its efforts to comply with international anti-money-laundering norms.

The publication Saturday of “His Holiness” by Italian journalist Gianluigi Nuzzi, added fuel to the fire, reproducing confidential letters and memos to and from Pope Benedict and his personal secretary which, according to the Vatican, violated the pope's right to privacy. Vatican spokesman Reverend Federico Lombardi said in a statement Saturday the book was an “objectively defamatory” work that “clearly assumes characters of a criminal act.” He warned the Holy See would get to the bottom of who “stole” the documents, who received them and who published them. He warned the Holy See would seek international cooperation in its quest for justice, presumably with Italian magistrates.

The Vatican had already warned of legal action against Nuzzi after he published letters in January from the former second-highest Vatican administrator to the pope. In those letters the administrator begged not to be transferred for having exposed alleged corruption that cost the Holy See millions of euros in higher contract prices. The prelate, Monsignor Carlo Maria Vigano, is now the Vatican's US ambassador.

Nuzzi, author of Vatican SpA, a 2009 volume laying out shady dealings of the Vatican Bank based on leaked documents, said he was approached by sources inside the Vatican with the trove of new documents. Most of them are of fairly recent vintage and many of them painting the Secretary of State, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, in a negative light.

Sheikh Yousef Ideis, head of the Palestinian Territory's Muslim Sharia court, called on Palestinians to flood the Temple Mount on Sunday, which is a highly revered location for both Jews and Muslims, in order to be present should Jewish "fanatics decide to break into it," according to WAFA.

Police in Jerusalem announced this week that the annual Dance of Flags in honor of the national holiday - which marks the capture and unification of Jerusalem following the 1967 Six-Day War - will not pass through east Jerusalem or the Muslim Quarter due to disruptions during last year's march.

The parade, which in 2011 attracted up to 40,000 people and features live music and floats, will snake its way from King George Street in downtown Jeruaslem to Argon to the Old City, remaining in mostly Jewish-populated areas. Last year, 24 people - the majority of them Jewish - were arrested and three wounded by flying rocks as Palestinians and Jews clashed during the parade.