FBI Links Arrests in Louisiana Shooting to Extremist Groups
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that some of the people arrested in the fatal shootout with Louisiana police on August 16 are linked to violent anarchists groups.
DeSoto Parish Sheriff Rodney Arbuckle told reporters that detectives had been monitoring the group before Thursday’s shootout in Laplace, in which two police officers were killed and two more wounded.
The investigations allowed discovering that the shootout suspects were heavily armed adherents to an ideology known as the “sovereign citizens” movement.
The FBI classifies “sovereign citizens” as people who believe they are free from all duties of a U.S. citizen, like paying taxes, and considers the group’s members a danger for making threats to judges and law enforcement, using fake currency and impersonating police officers.
The arrested include the group’s apparent leader, 44-year-old Terry Smith, his wife, Chanel Skains, 37, and their two sons, Derrick Smith, 22, and Brian Lyn Smith, 24.
Also arrested were Brittney Keith, the girlfriend of Brian Smith; Kyle David Joekel, 28, and a woman living with him, 21-year-old Teniecha Bright.
Greek Government Cuts Pensions and Wages and Increases Dismissals
The Greek government will reduce pensions and wages and will dismiss more government employees as part of the severe budget cuts worth 11.5 billion Euros.
According to a report of the Ministry of Finances this weekend, of that number, some 4 billion Euros will come from pensions cuts and the restriction or elimination, in some cases, of some social security services.
On the pension readjustment, the government has not decided the cut scale to implement yet, which is estimated between two and 15 percent.
This will be the fourth pension cut since 2010, when Greece accepted the financial rescue by the European Union and the IMF, which imposed the implementation of harsh cuts.
According to government plans, wages in public companies will decrease between 30 and 35 percent, so their average annual wage will go from current 31,000 Euros to about 21,000.
In addition, according to the newspaper Ekathimerini, it will be announced the gradual dismissal of 34,000 government employees who will be put in a reserve system, when they will receive part of their salary during the next 12 or 24 months before being definitely dismissed.
Cuba Plans to Expand Ostrich Farming
The Cuban government plans to expand ostrich farming across the country to boost local economy and exports.
Ostrich is considered the latest livestock introduced into the island country, with farms now existing in the provinces of Havana and Granma. The Ministry of Agriculture is planning to establish six more farms in other provinces, with the goal to supply the domestic and international markets, the state news agency Prensa Latina reported.
The first flock of ostriches were imported to Cuba from Mexico by CENPALAB (the National Center for Laboratory Animal Production) in 1997 as part of a program designed “to diversify the production of healthy foods and create new export items.”
The first commercial farm was established in 2007, when the experimental farm La Esperanza, in the outskirts of Havana, received 36 ostriches from the CENPALAB.
Compared to other cattle breeding, ostrich farming carries more economic benefits since ostrich has high reproduction rate and commercial value. Its skin can be used for clothes, footwear and fashion jewelry of high quality. Its meat is highly nutritious, which is sold at high prices at the international markets. Its egg has a protein power equivalent to about 23 chicken eggs and the shells, an excellent source for calcium, are widely used in crafts and decorations.
Oil obtained from the ostrich’s abdominal fat is rich in essential fatty acids (EFAs), which is good for human health and can be utilized by cosmetic and perfume industry.
Raising ostriches for commercial purpose began in South Africa around 1863. Currently, ostrich farming is among the most profitable agricultural projects, dubbed the “farms of the future.”
Cuba had introduced other exotic species with remarkable success, such as buffalos from Vietnam two decades ago