Nexus - 0405 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

... GLOBAL NEWS ... NEWS US WAGES BIOLOGICAL WAR ON CUBA'S ORGANIC CROPS constitute biological or toxin weapons" includes thrips among the invertebrates rel- evant to the biological weapons conven- tion. Being highly resistant to pesticides, thrips make an ideal biological agent. US research indicates that the insect, in its larval stage, can be dropped effectively from the height of a fumigation plane. Thrips transmit plant viruses, and with their voracious appetites are devastating to a variety of crops. (Source: Green Left Weekly, 18 June 1997; Pesticide Action Network) battery, microchip and sensor and can be programmed to follow a target illuminated by a laser beam. The gun and the laser sight need not be in the same place, researchers say, and side winds are now longer a worry. Military experts have successfully tested prototypes intended for use in aircraft can- non, and expect rifle and hand-held ver- sions to be available within a few years. The estimated cost is expensive, at US$140 per bullet. (Sources: The Sunday Mail, 27 April 1997; New Scientist, 12 April 1997) n 21 October 1996, the pilot of an air- borne Cuban Airlines plane noticed a US-registered light aircraft releasing a white or greyish mist over land in western Cuba, and immediately reported the inci- dent to Cuban flight control. Communications logs later revealed that the aircraft was operated by the US State Department and flew out of Patrick US Air Force Base in Florida. On 18 December an infestation of plant- damaging thrips, previously unknown in Cuba, was discovered in a state-run potato farm. After further investigation linked the thrips' appearance to the unknown misty substance, the government concluded that Cuba had been the target of a biological attack by the USA. The next week, Cuban Foreign Affairs lodged a complaint with US interests in Havana, and received a "smoke screen" reply on 12 February. The plague of thrips has already spread through two provinces and is rapidly mov- ing into others, despite chemical control measures. Is it any coincidence that Cuba is in the midst of the most comprehensive conver- sion from conventional agriculture to organic or semi-organic farming ever attempted? Cuban researchers and farmers are working to replace their former heavy dependence on imported farm machinery, chemicals and food, and increase their yields through animal traction, crop and pasture rotation, poly-culture, soil conser- vation, organic soil amendments, biological pest control and a rapidly expanding, chemical-free, urban agricultural sector. Interestingly, the Federation of American Scientists’ February 1996 Report on "claims of use or escape of agents which "RAY GUNS' SABOTAGE COMPUTERS AT A DISTANCE Pa and security services in the UK are increasingly worried about the potential of electronic information warfare and are working to combat the threat posed by sophisticated military technology now available on the "grey arms" market. High-energy radio frequency (HERF) guns can jam or disable computers from a distance. Some of these HERF guns are capable of emitting pulses of electromag- netic radiation of similar strength to those given off in a nuclear blast. Smaller, hand-held HERF guns can already be purchased for less than £1,000 (A$2,200). (Source: The Sydney Morning Herald, 26 May 1997) GETTING TOUGH ON PHTHALATES [ a move which reflects growing unease over phthalates, Denmark has introduced regulations to discourage the use of phtha- lates as additives to soften PVC plastic. Phthalates are suspected of disrupting human physiology by mimicking oestrogen hormones. The Danish measures include a phthalate tax and a compulsory labelling scheme, and follow concern over Danish scientists' find- ings that some types of teething rings release these chemicals into infants. (Source: New Scientist, 5 July 1997; also refer to NEXUS 3/06 for "Poisonous Plastics" article by Barry Densley) DENMARK GOING ORGANIC? Da is considering banning all pes- ticides. The government has set up a committee of scientists and farmers' groups to decide by June 1998 whether the country should go entirely organic. Some pesticides have already been sin- gled out, and 150 products become illegal from July as a result of a law passed in 1995. Niels Juul Jensen, deputy director of the Danish Environment Agency, says levels of pesticides are rising in the groundwater that supplies nearly all of Denmark's drink- ing water. (Source: New Scientist, 7 June 1997) Peper Vas capa ees pads aeseeaaasae’ yy hemicals and food, and increase their "SMART' BULLET JUST AROUND nields through animal traction, crop and THE CORNER yasture rotation, poly-culture, soil conser- hey are known as BLAMs—Barrel- vation, organic soil amendments, biological Launched Adaptive Munitions—and yest control and a rapidly expanding, you don't ever want to have one shot at chemical-free, urban agricultural sector. you! Interestingly, the Federation of American A BLAM is a new type of ‘smart’ bullet scientists’ February 1996 Report on which can change direction during flight— claims of use or escape of agents which a bit like a mini-missile. While a BLAM can't yet chase you around corners, it will soon be able to hit a moving target several kilometres away. The bullet, under develop- ment at the US Air Force's Wright Laboratory in Florida, is fit- ted with a tiny POLLUTION/CRIME LINK Conventional theories link crime with social, economic and psychological factors. But Roger Masters of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, UK, believes that toxic chemicals—in particu- lar, metals in water supplies—can disrupt the neurological control mechanisms that normally inhibit violent urges. He says that conventional theories can- 8 - NEXUS AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 1997