EU Saudi Relations: Calls for Saudi arms embargo pit EU values against interests

Pressure is growing for the European Union to consider an arms embargo on Saudi Arabia after Germany, Austria and the European Parliament called for an end to weapons sales over the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

In the space of a few hours that highlighted tensions over the matter, Germany's Angela Merkel reaffirmed last Friday (Oct 26) that her country would not deliver any arms to Saudi Arabia until Mr Khashoggi's death was explained, while French President Emmanuel Macron said such moves smacked of populist "demagoguery".

EU ambassadors may formally discuss the issue after a rare request to do so by governments, two diplomats said last Friday, and the Netherlands is lobbying for a new EU regime to sanction human rights abuses, regardless of where they happen.

But the debate in Brussels and in EU capitals is also reviving familiar splits in the bloc's foreign policy, with Europe's main powers following their own economic and political interests that tend to undermine any forceful EU foreign policy that aims to be guided by democracy and human rights.

The Belgian region of Wallonia, which owns firearms manufacturer FN Herstal, has said it will examine future requests for arms export licences to its top weapons client with "the greatest circumspection", following Mr Khashoggi's murder.

Austria, which holds the EU's six-month presidency, wants a halt to arms sales, and Germany will stop approving weapons exports until Mr Khashoggi's murder is cleared up. France ignored such calls.

Read more: Calls for Saudi arms embargo pit EU values against interests, Europe News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

USA: Jewish leaders tell Trump he's not welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism - by Morgan Gstalter

A group of Jewish leaders told President Trump that he is no longer welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism following the shooting at a synagogue there over the weekend.

Eleven members of the Pittsburgh affiliate of Bend the Arc: A Jewish Partnership for Justice penned a letter to Trump following the Saturday shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue.

"Our Jewish community is not the only group you have targeted," the group wrote. "You have also deliberately undermined the safety of people of color, Muslims, LGBTQ people, and people with disabilities. Yesterday's massacre is not the first act of terror you incited against a minority group in our country."

Trump was fiercely criticized after he failed to condemn white supremacy and asserted that there is "blame on both sides" after last year's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va.

The group also said Trump is not welcome in the city until he also stops targeting minorities, immigrants and refugees.

The president has "spread lies and sowed fear about migrant families in Central America," the group wrote.

"The Torah teaches that every human being is made b'tzelem Elohim, in the image of God. This means all of us," the leaders wrote. "In our neighbors, Americans, and people worldwide who have reached out to give our community strength, there we find the image of God."

Read more: Jewish leaders tell Trump he's not welcome in Pittsburgh until he denounces white nationalism

Saudi Arabia: France and Britain still selling weapons to Saudi Arabia despite killing of journalist and other human rights problems

Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Emmanuel Macron clash over Saudi weapons. 

 

Read more at :
https://p.dw.com/p/37GIs

Chemical Industry - weed killer - a small amount of poison won't harm, say manufacturers : Lists of Cereals, Breakfast Snacks Where Weed Killer Was Allegedly Found - by Maria Perez

A controversial herbicide has been found in more than two dozen popular breakfast cereals, snack bars and oats, according to a report released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) on Wednesday.

Glyphosate was found in 26 out of the 28 products EWG tested, with levels “higher than what EWG scientists consider protective of children’s health,” according to the report. Glyphosate is known as the most widely used herbicide in the world, according to the report. More than 250 million pounds of glyphosate is sprayed on American crops, according to EWG.

“How many bowls of cereal and oatmeal have American kids have eaten that came with a dose of weed killer? That’s a question only General Mills, PepsiCo and other food companies can answer,” said EWG President Ken Cook in the report. “But if those companies would just switch to oats that aren’t sprayed with glyphosate, parents wouldn’t have to wonder if their kids’ breakfasts contained a chemical linked to cancer."

Quaker and General Mills have said their products are safe for consumption. In a statement to CNN, General Mills said the levels of glyphosate in the products are “extremely low.”

"The extremely low levels of pesticide residue cited in recent news reports is a tiny fraction of the amount the government allows," the company said in a statement to CNN. "Consumers are regularly bombarded with alarming headlines, but rarely have the time to weigh the information for themselves. We feel this is an important context that consumers should be aware of when considering this topic." 

Note EU-Digest: When you read this statement it is if these companies are saying: "Don't worry a little poison can't be bad for you" ? 

Here is a list of products that were tested and reportedly have Glyphosate in them: 

Instant Oats:

• Quaker Simply Granola Oats, Honey & Almonds Instant Oats
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal Cinnamon & Spice Instant Oats
• Quaker Instant Oatmeal Apples & Cinnamon Instant Oats  

Overnight Oats:

• Quaker Real Medleys Super Grains Banana Walnut Overnight oats
• Quaker Overnight Oats Raisin Walnut & Honey Heaven
• Quaker Overnight Oats Unsweetened with Chia Seeds
   

Cereal:

• Quaker Oatmeal Squares Brown Sugar Oat 
• Quaker Oatmeal Squares Honey Nut Oat 
• Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
• Very Berry Cheerios
• Chocolate Cheerios
• Frosted Cheerios
• Fruity Cheerios
• Honey Nut Cheerios
• Cheerios Oat Crunch Cinnamon

Snack Bars:

• Quaker Chewy S’mores
• Quaker Chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip
• Quaker Breakfast Squares Soft Baked Bars Peanut Butter
• Quaker Breakfast Flats Crispy Snack Bars Cranberry Almond

Key manufacturers of this "herbicide" include Anhui Huaxing Chemical Industry Company, BASF, Bayer CropScience, Dow AgroSciences, DuPont, Jiangsu Good Harvest-Weien Agrochemical Company, Monsanto, Nantong Jiangshan Agrochemical & Chemicals Co., Nufarm Limited, SinoHarvest, Syngenta, and Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Company.

 
Read more: Lists of Cereals, Breakfast Snacks Where Weed Killer Was Allegedly Found

USA: Opinion: Politically motivated violence in Trump′s America is no surprise

Let's start with an important caveat. The investigation into the potentially explosive devices – which were mailed to the homes of former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, to CNN addressed to former CIA director John Brennan, and other leaders –is still unfolding. So it is not prudent to dwell at this point on the possible nature and background of what appear to be attempted terrorist attacks, which came on the heels an explosive device that was sent to liberal billionaire George Soros on Monday.

But it is both possible and necessary to say that the deeply toxic, increasingly partisan American political climate has at least provided fertile ground for anyone even contemplating such politically motivated attacks. It is also both possible and necessary to say that US President Donald Trump has been the key driving force behind the unprecedented deterioration of the political climate in this country.

He ran and won his presidential race on a campaign based on fearmongering and ad hominem attacks against political rivals and the news media, which he has repeatedly labeled as the enemy of the people. He has a long-established track record of using cavalier language and vague threats against anyone who expresses disagreement of criticism of his policies or statements. Just a few examples in Clinton's case: allowing raucous crowds to chant "lock her up," proposing the "Second Amendment people" can do something to stop her, suggesting her Secret Service personnel no longer carry guns and "let's see what happens to her." It's not a leap of logic that some die-hard Trumpers could see his statements as tolerance, if not an outright call, for politically-motivated violence.

After the death of a counterprotester at a right-wing march in Charlottesville, Virginia, Trump – who just a day ago casually and without garnering huge media attention described himself as a "nationalist" at a Texas rally – initially hesitated to offer a clear condemnation of the right-wing extremist perpetrator.

At his campaign rallies, he has repeatedly insinuated violence against the media and opponents. And less than two months ago, in a closed-door meeting with evangelicals, Trump warned the group of "violence" from the left should Democrats win the midterm election.

Trump's rabble-rousing rhetoric is based on a winning-at-all-cost attitude that accepts no criticism and knows no compromise. While that is a problematic disposition in a person, it is a dangerous disposition in the president of the world's most powerful nation.

In the brief three years since his arrival onto the political scene he has single-handedly transformed the Republican Party into his own political fighting machine. And as a consequence, he has fomented and ramped up the already existing deep divisions in the country to an extent hardly deemed possible. That some of his supporters – or anyone at all, for that matter – may interpret the president's rhetoric and behavior as a call to exert violence against his political detractors should surprise no one.

Read more: Opinion: Politically motivated violence in Trump′s America is no surprise | Opinion | DW | 24.10.2018

Netherlands: Government issues gender neutral passport for first time in its history - by Sabrina Barr

A person in the Netherlands has become the first in the country to receive a gender neutral passport.

The news follows a Dutch court ruling earlier this year, which declared that a third gender should be recognised for people who don’t identify as male or female.

Leonne Zeegers, a 57-year-old from Breda, has received a passport with an ‘X’ as their gender specification, rather than an ‘M’ for ‘mannetje’ (‘male’) or a ‘V’ for ‘vrouw’ (‘female’).

 Read more: Netherlands issues gender neutral passport for first time in its history | The Independent

Turkey: Economy is thriving, despite what Analysts say

Via euronews: Trade Minister: The real Turkish economy is proving analysts wrong | View

Read also:
https://www.euronews.com/2018/10/16/trade-minister-the-real-turkish-economy-is-proving-analysts-wrong-view

The Netherlands UN ICJ: Iran - US Relations- Sanctions US ordered to halt 'humanitarian' Iran sanctions in blow for Trump - by Jan HENNOP, Danny KEMP

The UN's top court ordered the United States Wednesday to suspend sanctions on "humanitarian" goods for Iran in a stunning setback for US President Donald Trump.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down the bombshell judgement after Iran asked it to halt economic measures that Trump reimposed after pulling out of a landmark nuclear deal with Tehran.

Judges in The Hague unanimously ruled that the sanctions on some goods breached a 1955 "friendship treaty" between Iran and the US that predates Iran's Islamic Revolution.

"The court finds unanimously that... the United States of America... shall remove by means of its choosing any impediments arising from the measures announced on 8 May to the free exportation to Iran of medicines and medical devices, food and agricultural commodities" as well as airplane parts, chief judge Abdulqawi Ahmed Yusuf said.

The court said sanctions on goods "required for humanitarian needs... may have a serious detrimental impact on the health and lives of individuals on the territory of Iran."

Read more: US ordered to halt 'humanitarian' Iran sanctions in blow for Trump

EU versus Facebook: Will Weber take a hammer to Facebook’s social media monopoly? – by Samuel Stolton

 Dumb fucks.” That’s how Mark Zuckerberg described users of Facebook for trusting him with their personal data back in 2004. If the last week is anything to go by, he was right.

Manfred Weber, the head of the EPP group in the European Parliament and lead candidate for Jean-Claude Juncker’s job as the next European Commission president, threw down the gauntlet on Friday (28 September), suggesting that he may support a breakup of Facebook and Whatsapp.

“I consider it necessary to ask the monopoly question,” Weber told the German newspaper Spiegel. Weber announced his candidacy for the top EU job in early September and has also received backing from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

“The European Commission should consider whether, for example, after the acquisition of Whatsapp and Instagram, Facebook has a dominant position. In extreme cases, a breakup should also be conceivable,” he said.

Weber also noted that Facebook will continue to be under close scrutiny from the European Parliament, and called on the internet giant to be more transparent in its advertising activities.

The EU’s Justice Commissioner Věra Jourová has put pressure on Facebook to disclose further details of the massive security breach that impacted around fifty million users last week.

In a statement on Sunday (30 September), Jourová urged Facebook to comply fully with the body in charge of investigating the breach, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission, and disclose whether EU users were affected by the breach and how their personal data was impacted.

At least 50mln #Facebook users were compromised in the huge security breach. I urge Facebook to fully cooperate with @DPCIreland. We need to know if EU users were affected and what had happened to their data. Here a reminder about the obligations of biz https://t.co/1bZ6IJdJ4B

Ireland’s Data Protection Commission struck a similar tone on Sunday when they announced that they are still waiting for “further urgent details” of the security breach…[to]…properly assess the nature of the breach and risk to users.”

Facebook said on Friday (28 September) that hackers had discovered a security flaw allowing them to capture data belonging to up to 50 million Facebook users.

According to the New York Times, Facebook’s VP for product management, Guy Rosen, has refused to rule out the possibility that the attack may have been coordinated by a nation-state.

Rosen has stated that the hackers were targeting people’s private information, including name, gender and location.

Due to the lack of disclosure given on the specifics of the hack thus far by Facebook, it currently remains unclear as to whether more sensitive information has been accessed.

Read more: Will Weber take a hammer to Facebook’s social media monopoly? – EURACTIV.com