PolitiCook.net

Tainted Mafia Wine: Beware!

A few days ago I wrote about Italian buffalo mozzarella (archived under the Food category) which was found to be contaminated with dioxins as a result of a long drawn garbage crisis. As I wrote, the Neapolitan Mafia, the “camorra”, is believed (or should I say alleged) to have had a major responsibility for the rubbish crisis since it has long operated huge scale illegal dumping (a lot of it being industrial toxic waste) in and around Naples.

Yesterday, authorities in Italy “suspect” some 70 million liters of cheap wine on sale in local shops and supermarkets could contain illegal, harmful substances, a weekly magazine reported Friday. And in a separate report that threatens to harm the image of one of Italy’s most prized vintages, L’Espresso magazine also said a probe is underway on an alleged scam to mislead consumers by falsely labeling bottles.

Who is responsible this time? The Mafia. Read on.

Read more »

US Rendition & DU: a Damning European Timeline

First, knowing what we know, let’s put a little perspective on what the UK’s and Irish government have told us so far:

UK, December 2005: Three days ago UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said that since US President George Bush took office in January 2001 the UK government had found no evidence of a request from the US “for over-flights or for re-fuelling or other facilitation for what you’ve described as rendition… nor are we aware by other means of any such case.”

Around the same time: The Irish Government has received specific assurances from the US authorities, including US President George W Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, that no prisoners have been transferred through Irish airports, nor would they be without Irish Government permission.

Well, we all take comfort in the knowledge that no less than GWB himself has reassured us! And the Depleted Uranium?

Read more »