Half Of UK Councils Face Financial Collapse – Report – 20 November 2014

Half the UK’s local councils are at risk of collapse, the government’s official auditor has said, warning that one in six may be unable to provide basic services this year. The warning comes after severe cuts in national government funding.

In a report produced by the government’s official auditor, the National Audit Office (NAO) on Wednesday, 52 percent of councils were said to be at risk of not having enough resources to fund public services, including education and social care.

Additionally, around 16 percent of councils were said to be struggling to fund public services within the current financial year.
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‘US-UK Torture’ Victim Wins Right To Sue British Government – 20 November 2014

Britain’s High Court has dismissed the UK government’s claim that US-UK relations would be compromised if a Pakistani man who claims to have suffered brutal torture at the hands of American and British troops is given the right to sue for damages.

Yunus Rahmatullah claims he was tortured for a decade following his capture by UK Special Forces in Iraq, and his subsequent handover to American soldiers in Afghanistan.

Following the High Court’s ruling, Mr Justice Leggatt said on Wednesday that British courts would be failing in their fundamental duty to uphold the law if they didn’t deal with the claims. Whether the court eventually finds US forces acted in an unlawful manner is irrelevant, he said.

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7 US Corporations Paid CEOs More Than Govt In Taxes – 20 November 2014

In 2013, seven of the 30 largest US corporations paid their chief executive officers more in remuneration than they paid in US federal income taxes, according to a new study.

The seven companies came out ahead after taxes, accruing $1.9 billion more than they owed, according to the Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government, the study’s co-authors. Combined, the seven last year reported more than $74 billion in US pre-tax profits.

The CEOs of all seven corporate giants were paid an average of $17.3 million last year.

The seven companies included Boeing Co., Chevron Corp., Citigroup Inc., Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Verizon Communications Inc.

Boeing and Ford both paid their CEOs more than $23 million in 2013 while receiving hefty tax refunds, the study found.

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John Ward – Crash2 : Why The Roadmap From Italy To Global Debt Frogiveness Is Highlighted In Dayglo – 20 November 2014

Frankfurt, Rome, Paris, Berlin, London & Washington: the forced march of two opposing philosophies

Here’s a point that may have escaped you. Probably you know that eurozone sovereign nations have joint and several responsibility for the zone’s debt. But the amount each country is liable to cough up in the event of a euro default is based on their size and gdp track-record, not their own current debt problems.

This brings with it all sorts of unpleasant ramifications. France alone, for example, is responsible for 20% of the debt…a relatively modest €160bn. But its own national debt is €2.1 trillion…and its economy is in recession….and the recession is getting worse.

Police Mistakenly Arrest People Having Epileptic Seizures – Health Charity – 20 November 2014

People with epilepsy could end up with criminal records because police fail to recognize their condition, a charity has warned. They then inadvertently enter the criminal justice system because of behavior they cannot control.

Epilepsy Scotland said people could be arrested for shoplifting or getting into the wrong car when they were mid-seizure and unaware of their actions.

As part of an awareness campaign for police and law officers, the charity has developed a training DVD to show what seizure-related behavior looks like.

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Hungary To Start South Stream Construction In 2015 Despite Western Pressure – 20 November 2014

Hungary plans to break ground next year on its stretch of the South Stream pipeline to send natural gas from Russia to Europe. It is in defiance of EU and US calls to halt the project over frosty relations with Moscow.

One major reason Hungary has thrown its support into South Stream is the lack of a better option since the EU-backed Nabucco pipeline, which was supposed to deliver gas from Azerbaijan to Europe, failed.

“Nabucco will not be built and after nearly 10 years of hesitation, and especially in light of the Ukraine situation, we need to act. This is a necessity,” Hungarian Energy Minister Andras Aradszki told Reuters.

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French Surgeons Successfully Operate On 20-Week Fetus To Correct Spina Bifida – 20 November 2014

French surgeons have successfully operated on a fetus in its mother’s womb – for the first time in the country. They have corrected a defect which could lead to the baby’s legs being paralyzed – a procedure available in only a dozen hospitals worldwide.

The fetus was suffering from the congenital disorder spina bifida, which can cause partial or total paralysis of the legs, and the congestion of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain.

Incisions were made to the mother’s uterus and the fetus, and the baby’s spinal cord was covered and closed by surrounding skin and tissue.

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Worst In Memory: 8 Killed As Ferocious Cold ‘Thunder’ Snowstorm Sweeps Through US – 20 November 2014

Record-breaking cold weather with freezing temperatures is sweeping through US states. A huge “thunder” snowstorm slammed the US state of New York, killing at least eight people, and bringing some six feet of fallout.

Arctic air made this Tuesday morning the coldest in November since 1976 in the USA. Even in Hawaii, the temperature dropped to +31 C. Over the past week the country’s cities and towns have seen 1,360 daily low maximum records, Boston news website reports.

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‘Monsanto Uses Indian Farmers To Contaminate World With GMO Crops’ – 20 November 2014

By persuading Indian farmers to buy genetically modified organism (GMO) seeds Monsanto spreads its genetically engineered crops around the world so that no one can compete with pure non-GMO products after that, anti-GMO activist Jeffrey Smith, told RT.

It is estimated a farmer commits suicide in India every thirty minutes. Over 16 years more than a quarter of a million farmers have taken their own lives in desperation of being unable to provide for their families, according to CHRGJ (Center of Human rights and global justice). One of the possible reasons for the high suicide rates is considered the advent of genetically modified crops in India.

RT: Thousands of Indian farmers have committed suicide because of Monsanto’s genetically modified crops. What makes them do this?

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John Ward – Lines On The Problem Being Not One Of Human Rights, But Of Human Beings Getting It Wrong – 20 November 2014

I have believed since the early 1970s that there is no such thing as Human Rights, and no self-respecting human should expect them. It is, let’s face it, typical of Homo sapiens to award himself inalienable rights: one tedious species (only in existence on one tiny speck of the Universe because a random meteor killed all the dinosaurs) deserves rights? What tosh.

I don’t mean by this that the mass slaughter of Jews, the mentally ill, Greeks, Turks, Ibos, Sikhs, Catholics and Russian dissidents is fine and dandy. I just find it odd that a species capable of doing such things in the first place thinks it deserves rights. We deserve to be tarred for our inhuman rites, not awarded human rights.