Russian Prime Minister Putin to run for presidency next year

MOSCOW (BNO NEWS) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Saturday announced he will participate in next year's presidential elections for a third term as president. It is a move which had been expected for years.

The announcement was made during the United Russia party congress in Moscow where both President Dmitry Medvedev and Putin were addressing supporters about the upcoming elections. Medvedev used his speech to endorse Putin's presidential run.

"I propose we decide on another very important issue which naturally concerns the party and all of our people who follow politics, namely the candidate for the role of president," Medvedev told the audience. "[..] I think it's right that the party congress support the candidacy of the current prime minister, Vladimir Putin, in the role of the country's president."

Medvedev's endorsement was met with applause from the audience, and the Russian leader admitted that this scenario had been planned a long time ago. "What we are proposing to the congress is a deeply thought-through decision," he said. "And even more, we already discussed this scenario back when we first formed a friendly alliance."

Medvedev added: "But while we waited a long time to reveal publicly our positions and the scenario for the next elections, I hope that you, and our citizens, will understand that this was a matter of political expediency, linked to the specific political practices of our country. But I would like to emphasize one thing: we have always told the truth."

In response to Medvedev's endorsement, Putin said he welcomed the support. "I want to express to you my gratitude for the positive response to the invitation for me to stand as president," he told party members. "For me this is a great honor. Thank you. I hope for your support in the future. After the presidential elections we will form a new government."

With Putin likely to win a presidential run next year, the prime minister also proposed Medvedev to head the election list of United Russia during the legislative elections. This would make him prime minister at the end of his presidential term. "I suggest that United Russia's list for the State Duma elections on December 4 this year be headed by President Dmitry Medvedev," Putin said. "I believe that this will enhance the party's prestige and will guarantee its anticipated and honest victory."

Putin first became acting president in December 1999 until he was elected for his first full term which began in May 2000. He won re-election in March 2004 and continued to serve in the country's highest office until May 2008 when term limits prevented him from running for a third consecutive presidential term.

Days before the end of Putin's second term as president, he undertook a series of controversial steps to increase the power of the prime minister. Medvedev had been widely expected to serve only one term so Putin could again become president after a short break.

Sunday, September 25th, 2011

Source: WireUpdate.
Link: http://wireupdate.com/news/russian-prime-minister-putin-to-run-for-presidency-next-year.html.

The five things you really need to know about HPV vaccines

Monday, September 26, 2011
by: Tony Isaacs

(NaturalNews) After the political tempest about Gardasil and mandatory HPV vaccinations, CNN posted an article about the things they claimed should be known. The article contended that the HPV vaccine controversy was mostly political and that HPV vaccines were safe. It also noted that we have been vaccinating children for many years.

For those who prefer the truth over mainstream propaganda, here are five things you really need to know about HPV vaccines:

1. Merck needed a new cash cow to replace the billions in profits lost due to Vioxx finally being pulled from the market after it caused upwards of 50,000 deaths. Gardasil was selected to become the new cash cow and, just like happened with Vioxx, Merck has resorted to rigged and misreported study results and hidden evidence of harm.

Initial Merck safety tests used a placebo, which was identical to the Gardasil vaccine minus only the HPV virus components - instead of a truly benign placebo such as saline solution. The placebo contained highly toxic aluminum, polysorbate 80 and sodium borate - items whose side effects are markedly similar to those being experienced after Gardasil injections.

Actual trial data for Gardasil reveals that a shocking 73.3 percent of the participants who received Gardasil acquired a new medical condition ranging from flu-like symptoms to paralysis. Almost 60% had systemic reactions. The "placebo" recipients had similar results, but obviously no mere saline solution would have produced even a fraction of such reactions.

2. Studies have actually shown that Gardasil and its sister vaccine Cervarix (from GlaxoSmithKline) provide no protection for women already exposed to the HPV virus, and in fact present highly elevated risks for already exposed women as well as for expectant mothers. When the vaccine is administered to a woman with a dormant or harmless form of HPV, her likelihood of developing precancerous lesions increases by a staggering 44.6 percent.

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) has reported 45 cases of spontaneous abortion, or miscarriage, following Gardasil vaccination. At the time the vaccine was approved, five babies had been born with congenital birth defects after their mothers had been given Gardasil compared to zero in a placebo group. Later reports put the number of birth defects in the vaccinated group closer to 40.

3. Vaccination safety organization SANE Vax announced that they discovered that Gardasil has been contaminated with a substance many government health and safety agencies classify as a bio-hazard. HPV recombinant DNA (rDNA) was found in 100% of the 13 samples which had different lot numbers and came from New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Poland, France, and three states in the U.S.

4. Due to lack of prescribing information furnished to doctors by Merck, doctors are reluctant to report adverse events and other factors; actual deaths and adverse events for Gardasil are hugely under-reported. It has been estimated that only 10% of adverse events for other vaccines are reported. With Gardasil the estimates range as low as 1%.

5. Anyone who doubts that Gardasil has caused deaths and permanent injuries and devastated families should check out the SANE Vax vaccine safety site (www.sanevax.org). The site, created by mothers of daughters killed or injured by HPV vaccines, details story after story illustrating the harm HPV vaccines can cause.

Behind Gardasil's trail of deception is a very large and mostly hidden trail of tears. Parents and the general public richly deserve to be told the full truth to keep that trail from leading to an ever larger ocean of suffering.

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033688_HPV_vaccines_Gardasil.html.

Five health-enhancing foods that don't even seem like health foods: Mustard, cole slaw and more

Monday, September 26, 2011
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger

(NaturalNews) When observing the typical diet of American consumers, with all the fried foods, aspartame-laced "diet" products and pasteurized, hormone-ridden dairy products that typical people consume, I sometimes ask myself a question that perhaps you've pondered, too: What on Earth is keeping all these people alive?

The answers may surprise you. Hidden inside the typical western diet of highly-toxic processed foods are gems of natural medicine that you'd never suspect are really health foods. So here, I've assembled a short list of the five most powerful health-enhancing foods that don't seem like health foods but which are quite possibly the one remaining source of natural medicines for mainstream consumers.

#1 - Mustard

Mustard, believe it or not, is a medicinal paste made from the seed of the mustard plant. It's a superfood that's been around for at least 5,000 years, and it's one of the few common sources of cancer-busting selenium, a trace mineral often missing from over-farmed soils.

Mustard is known to help in reducing migraines, and it's a natural anti-fungal and antiseptic. Another benefit of mustard is that it's never made with MSG or yeast extract. Mustard products -- even conventional products from non-health-food companies -- are still very healthful to consume.

You can also make your own mustard using nothing more than a Vita-Mix blender...

#2 - Cole Slaw

Cole slaw is made out of one of the most powerful natural medicines in the food kingdom: Raw cabbage.

Raw cabbage is a proven cure for stomach ulcers. It's also an amazing anti-cancer food with that can help prevent (or even reverse) many types of cancer. Throughout the history of the civilized world, cabbage has been one of the most medicinal foods ever consumed. It's also good for you when cooked (cabbage soup) or fermented (sauerkraut).

Cabbage is rich in indole-3-carbinol (I3C), one of its many anti-cancer nutrients.

It's best to make your own cole slaw at home, but if you purchase store-bought cole slaw, be sure to avoid processed ingredients often used in cheaper cole slaw recipes such as high-fructose corn syrup and canola oil (which is often GMO).

#3 - Cinnamon, cloves, rosemary, paprika and other spices

Nearly all the pungent cooking spices are actually powerful medicines.

Cinnamon, for example, helps regulate blood sugar in diabetics. Cloves are the No. 1 source for the highest density of antioxidants found in the entire food supply. (Yes, they have a higher ORAC value than any other food or spice.)

Rosemary is a powerful digestive tonic and internal detoxification herb. Ginger is legendary as an immune-boosting, circulation-enhancing tonic herb that's also fantastic for beating winter colds and flu. Ginger even works to relieve muscle pain!

If you're into curry, then you'll be glad to know that turmeric, the main ingredient in curry, is also an amazing source of natural medicines. It's a powerful anti-cancer as well as an anti-inflammatory medicine. If you really want great pricing on curry powder and other spices in bulk, visit a Middle Eastern food store in your local area, where these aromatic spices are often sold at the best prices in town.

In Southern and Midwestern cuisine, barbeque sauce is a surprisingly good source of bitter alkaloids and health-enhancing spices (often including mustard and paprika), but this is only true with the rich, homemade sauces, not the processed "Kraft Foods" sauces (which are usually loaded with sweeteners and highly processed ingredients).

Nearly all the common spices you find in grocery stores are medicinal foods. But avoid common table salt (or white "sea salt") because it's just a processed, refined combination of two poisons. The only salt you should regularly consume is a full-spectrum salt that's off-white in color, such as Celtic salt or Royal Himalayan Pink Crystal salt.

#4 - Raisins

Raisins may not sound super cool, but if you think about what they really are, it becomes obvious how powerful they can be as natural medicine. Raisins are dried grapes, of course, meaning they contain all the natural medicine of grape skins.

Remember: Most of the medicine in grapes is found in the skin (and the seeds, but most raisins are made from seedless grapes). This is why it's so important to buy only organic raisins, because grapes sprayed with fungicides have low levels of resveratrol. Organic grapes have the highest levels of resveratrol, which is one of the most miraculous natural medicines in the world.

Raisins are also very high in naturally-occurring antioxidants, making them a fantastic overall source of nutrition. When consumed with nuts, their glycemic index is slowed, so I recommend eating raisins with things such as pecans or walnuts (both of which superfoods in their own way, as you'll see below).

#5 - Common nuts: Walnuts, pecans, peanuts and more

Once again, nuts may not be on your list of the "coolest" foods, but they probably should be: Walnuts are an amazing natural medicine that helps reduce the risk of heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. They're very high in natural antioxidants and also help reduce the risk of prostate cancer.

Pecans boost brain protection and also help lower cholesterol levels. Almonds are now being widely used to make almond milk (a natural anti-cancer milk beverage), and even peanuts are now making a comeback as a health food.

Just remember: When you buy nuts, raw is best because heat processing destroys the natural medicine found in foods. Avoid "salted" nuts because they're almost always salted with toxic sodium chloride (simple table salt). Avoid "flavored" nuts because they almost always -- yes, nearly ALWAYS -- are made with MSG flavor enhancers such as yeast extract or autolyzed proteins.

Just look for plain, simple, unsalted nuts... then find ways to work those into your recipes or smoothies. I like to blend cashews into smoothies to give them a creamy milk-like flavor!

The five common health foods in review

So there you have it, the five health foods that you probably didn't even know were health foods!

The good news about these is that they're available in virtually every grocery store in North America (and around the world). Once again, they are:

• Mustard
• Cole Slaw
• Common spices: Cinnamon, cloves, paprika, etc.
• Raisins
• Walnuts, pecans, almonds and other nuts

Eat more of these (and less processed junk food) and you'll be healthier as a result!

Source: NaturalNews.
Link: http://www.naturalnews.com/033695_health_foods_mustard.html.

Three KGB hit teams were involved in terrorist attack on Chechens in Turkey

23 September 2011

Investigation continues into the massacre of three Chechens in Istanbul on September 16.

It is to be recalled that the Turkish security forces got on trail of the alleged killer Alexander Zharkov, after they had captured the crime weapon and a set of spy accessories during the raid on a hotel room, where the killer stayed.

According to Turkish media, which refer to sources in police investigation departments, the killer used a 9 mm pistol of Russian GRU special troops "Groza 3" (pistol "Groza 1" with 7.62 mm bullets was used in the murder of Musa Atayev in 2009).

It was also established that there had been 3 Russian teams involved, each of them consisting of two or three persons, who had been have involved in the slaughter and direct execution of the terrorist attack.

The name of another Russian terrorist, Nadim Ayupov, who seems to have acted in team with Alexander Zharkov, leaked to the press.

The killer group rented 6 cars in total. Two squads conducted surveillance and logistics, the third one, apparently the squad of Zharkov, was involved in the direct killing.

Some Turkish media write that some members of the killer group of killers, which included 7 to 9 people in total, were probably able to leave Turkey before the massacre.

Meanwhile, a press statement from several human rights and public Turkish organizations was published, which accuses Russia of unleashing bloody terror in Turkey and calls on the government to take rapid and effective measures to prevent Russians from further terrorist attacks.

The statement says:

***

The aggression of Russia has resulted in the deaths of 250,000 people in Chechnya in front of the world's public opinion.

In the present situation there is, on one hand the aggressors' collaborating Chechen government which is claiming legitimacy with its propaganda, especially in Muslim public opinion, and on the other hand they have developed an elimination policy against the dissident population.

A part of the dissident people, who are opposed to the collaborator Kadyrov's regime, took refuge in Turkey only seeking safety, as has happened in many other countries.

While today the winds of freedom are blowing all over the world and democratization is occurring in a push to terminate autocratic governments, our demand from the government, law enforcement and judicial powers is below:

The only entity responsible for the safety of the people, which includes both life and property, who are in the country as refugees, is the government and the state of the Republic of Turkey.

The investigation into and judicial process for both the previously committed murders, which still are not solved, as well as the recent attack which resulted in the deaths of three Chechen asylum seekers, should be carried out urgently and sensitively; and the necessary security measures against probable future attacks should be taken.

We present this matter to the attention of those who are concerned in the public arena.

Caucasus Foundation
Caucasus-Chechen Solidarity Association
United Caucasus Association
MAZLUMDER Istanbul branch

***

Department of Monitoring
Kavkaz Center

Source: Kavkaz Center.
Link: http://tor.kavkazcenter.com/eng/content/2011/09/23/15171.shtml.

Animal rights groups want end to Italy horse race

August 17, 2012

MILAN (AP) — Animal rights campaigners are calling for an end to the famed Palio bareback horse race in Siena after six of 10 horses crashed during the latest edition.

The LAV animal rights group said Friday the accident on the first curve of the dirt-covered course in Siena's main square was just the "umpteenth confirmation that the Palio needs to put the safety of the horses and all the participants ahead of tradition."

One of the horses broke a front leg in the collision on Thursday. Critics have long held the race, a fierce competition among the Tuscan city's quarters, should be held without animals. Horses frequently fall, collide, or are trampled during the race, and some 50 have died since 1970.

The Palio is held each July and August.

UN: Algeria's Brahimi will replace Annan in Syria

August 17, 2012

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Lakhdar Brahimi, a former Algerian foreign minister and longtime U.N. diplomat known as a strong-willed, independent broker, has agreed to replace former Secretary-General Kofi Annan as peace envoy to Syria, the United Nations announced Friday.

Brahimi, who served as a U.N. envoy in Afghanistan and Iraq, formally accepted the post and will resume efforts to find a diplomatic solution to Syria's crisis, said Eduardo del Buey, deputy spokesman for Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

"The violence and the suffering in Syria must come to an end," del Buey said. "The Secretary-General appreciates Mr. Brahimi's willingness to bring his considerable talents and experience to this crucial task for which he will need, and rightly expects, the strong, clear and unified support of the international community, including the Security Council."

Annan announced earlier this month that he would resign on Aug. 31 as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy to Syria, after failing to broker a cease-fire as the country descended into civil war. The U.N. says at least 18,000 people have been killed since March 2011.

Brahimi will travel to New York and then Cairo in the coming days. Speaking to The Associated Press by telephone from Paris, Brahimi said "I realize it's an extremely complicated and very, very difficult mission." He said he hopes military intervention isn't necessary, and that talking about a military option is akin to admitting diplomatic failure.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Brahimi's appointment, saying he "will continue the pursuit of an end to the conflict and a peaceful transition in Syria." "My message to special envoy Brahimi is simple: The United States stands ready to support you and secure a lasting peace that upholds the legitimate aspirations for a representative government of the people of Syria," Clinton said. "And to the Syrian people: you are not alone. The international community remains fully committed to a Syrian-led political transition leading to a pluralistic political system representing the will of the people."

Brahimi, 78, who emerged last week as the leading candidate to replace Annan, brings a long record of working in the Arab and Islamic world. He served as Algeria's foreign minister from 1991-93 and joined the United Nations in 1994, where he served in a variety of high-profile posts until he retired in 2005.

As an Arab League envoy, Brahimi helped negotiate the end of Lebanon's civil war. Several U.N. diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said Brahimi had delayed taking the job as Syria envoy because he wanted a signal of support from the council. What kind of support Brahimi wanted remains unclear.

Gerard Araud, the French U.N. ambassador and current Security Council president, has called the special envoy post something of an "impossible mission" and said he could understand why someone would take their time before deciding to take it.

Annan said when he announced his resignation on Aug. 2 that the Security Council's divisions prevented the united approach needed to stop the fighting in Syria. Russia and China have used their veto power three times to block strong Western- and Arab-backed action against President Bashar Assad's regime.

On Thursday, Araud announced that the Security Council had agreed to end the U.N. military observer mission and back a small new liaison office that will support any future peace efforts. The 15 council members agreed that international efforts to significantly reduce violence and end the Syrian government's use of heavy weapons — conditions set for possibly extending the observer mission — had failed.

Expectations for what Brahimi can accomplish should be lower than they were for Annan, whose mission suffered from unrealistic hopes, said Richard Gowan, associate director of the New York University Center on International Cooperation. Still, Brahimi is the right kind of negotiator for the job, he said.

"Brahimi has an incredibly strong reputation around the U.N., but is also well-known for not taking orders from the big powers or worrying too much about media attention," Gowan said in an e-mail. "This may be just what is needed in Syria now: a hardened but independent mediator, who will stick with diplomatic efforts even if he faces a lot of criticism for failing to cut a deal fast."

Brahimi is a member of the Elders, a group of former world leaders working for global peace that includes Nelson Mandela. Last week, Brahimi issued a statement through the Elders on Syria, where he last visited while on a delegation with the group in 2010.

"Syrians must come together as a nation in the quest for a new formula," he said. "This is the only way to ensure that all Syrians can live together peacefully, in a society not based on fear of reprisal, but on tolerance. In the meantime, the U.N. Security Council and regional states must unite to ensure that a political transition can take place as soon as possible.

"Millions of Syrians are clamoring for peace. World leaders cannot remain divided any longer, over and above their cries." Brahimi's long U.N. career took him to countries like Haiti, Yemen, Sudan and South Africa, where he led U.N. efforts to oversee democratic elections that brought Mandela to power.

In Afghanistan, Brahimi served as the U.N. envoy both before the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States and after a U.S.-led force ousted the Taliban. In Iraq, he helped piece together the interim government that took power in 2004, following the U.S.-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein.

Brahimi served as Annan's special advisor on conflict prevention and resolution. He also headed independent panels that reviewed U.N. peacemaking efforts and security worldwide. During Annan's six-month tenure, the Syrian government and its allies did at least agree to his six-point peace plan. The plan included a cease-fire leading to a Syrian-led political process to end the crisis. While Annan singled out the regime for failing to take steps to end the violence, as required by the peace plan, he also blamed the opposition's increasingly militant tactics for dooming his plan.

Araud last week defended the need for appointing another special envoy to Syria. "We simply can't let down the Syrians and say to these people 'Go fight and come back when you are done with your fighting,'" he said. "Maybe the special envoy will be useless in the first week or in the first weeks, but at least there will be somebody to seize every opportunity to find a political solution."

Associated Press writers Angela Charlton in Paris, Aomar Ouali in Algiers, Edith Lederer at the United Nations and Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

Bosnian boy's death puts focus on mine fields

August 17, 2012

OLOVSKE LUKE, Bosnia-Herzegovina (AP) — The last clothes that 6-year-old Tarik Bijelic wore hang on a line in his yard: a red "Miami" basketball jersey, a pair of gray pants, blue size 2 sneakers.

The blood has been washed off. But the jersey carries the mark of tragedy: a long incision between the "i'' and the "a'' where doctors tried to get to the boy's shattered chest. Tarik was hit by a land mine last week as he scavenged in the forest for firewood to help his family make ends meet.

He died in his father's arms. Under an international treaty, Bosnia was supposed to be free of mines by 2009. Instead, it has quietly obtained another decade to clear the estimated 1,300 remaining square kilometers (500 square miles) of mine fields. In the 16 years since Bosnia's three-year war ended, mines have killed 591 people. So far this year, seven people have been killed and 3 maimed.

Tarik had been looking forward to starting school wearing a backpack stamped with his favorite cartoon character. Instead, he became his village's sixth land-mine victim — the casualty of a war that ended a decade before he was born.

Living next to mine fields is accepted as a fact of life here. The village was a front line during the 1992-95 Bosnian war and when the residents returned to their homes in 1996, they found their houses devastated, surrounded by mine fields. The Bijelic family, like many others in the village, makes a living by selling wood from nearby forests, ignoring signs bearing a white skull and the warning "Attention Mines."

Familiarity with tragedy doesn't blunt the pain. At the hospital, Tarik's father, Ibro Bijelic, repeatedly whispered: "I wish it would have been me." "Bosnia-Herzegovina is one of the most (mine) infested countries in the world," said Dusan Gavran, the head of the country's Mine Action Center. He said the only obstacle to making Bosnia mine-free is the cost: "We have the capacity, qualified deminers, equipment, but we lack funds."

Bosnia's war over its independence from Serb-led Yugoslavia took more than 100,000 lives. All three sides in the conflict — Bosniaks, Serbs and Croats — secured their front lines with mine fields that, laid end to end, would form a belt stretching 8,700 miles, more than a third of the circumference of the earth.

Bosniaks, the least armed group, often laid mines hastily around cities they controlled and the Serbs besieged. This made it harder for the much better equipped Serbs to conquer them. That's how the capital of Sarajevo remained completely encircled by mine fields when the war ended.

Bosnia needs 40 million euro ($50 million) every year to meet its new goal of clearing the mines by 2019. It costs $2.50 to scan a square yard of territory — more than the going price for some land. It may sound cheap until you consider the vast areas of Bosnia that must be poked and prodded to ensure they're safe. All told, locating and removing a single mine costs $10,000.

By now, almost all mine fields are clearly marked. Villagers brave the mines out of economic necessity in a region where the unemployment rate is almost 30 per cent. "The key factor is the economy. Life is very hard for the population," Gavran said. In the past five years all mine accidents happened in marked mine fields. "People enter them consciously. When we investigate, they tell us 'we have to,' and often even after they witness casualties, they still go."

In one case, he said, the Mine Action Center recorded three deaths in one family that occurred within 300 meters (yards) of one another. The victims were cutting wood in a forest marked as a mine field.

Searching for wood with his father, Tarik picked up a branch, apparently setting off the land mine. His father, wounded himself, carried him to a road and stopped a car, which drove them to a hospital. Doctors made a frantic attempt to revive the boy but it was too late.

At the Bijelic home, neighbors gather around a family album looking at Tarik's pictures. One shows him playing with children; in another he's in a plastic pool playing with a yellow rubber duck. Tarik's younger brother, Bakir, plays with an old chair in the yard. He will inherit his brother's drying clothes.

"Hey," the 4-year-old calls out to mourners walking out of the house. "Do you know when Tarik will come home? "It's boring without him."