Comrades or Foes: Did the Russians Break the Law or New Ground for the First Amendment?

This Article discusses the recent decision by the United States Federal Government to indict more than a dozen Russian nationals for conspiracy to defraud the United States of America. The Government accused the Russians of staging protests, distributing false propaganda, and spreading political messages and ideologies online in an effort to affect the outcome of the 2016 Presidential Election. We argue that while the Defendants violated several other laws, the majority of the acts the Government classifies as a conspiracy to defraud the United States should not be considered criminal. Rather, these acts are protected political speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution because the Russians engaged in conduct that is crucial to political discourse in a Democracy and which the Founding Fathers intended to protect. Therefore, prosecution of the Russian Defendants on that basis should cease

Effect of zinc supplementation on serum mlondealdehyde and lipid profiles on beta thalassemia major patients

Objectives: Thalassemic patients are seriously at risk of serum dislipidemia, zinc deficiency and tissue damage due to oxidative stress induced by iron storage. In biologic systems, zinc may interact with iron and inhibit oxidative and reductive reactions resulted by iron and other chimiooxidative agents. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of zinc supplementation on serum Malondealdehyde (MDA) and lipid profiles in beta thalassemia major patients. Methods: In this clinical trial, 60 beta thalassemia major patients (male & female) older than 18 years old were assigned randomly in two groups as intervention and control groups(30 per group). The intervention group ingested zinc supplement as 220 mg zinc sulfate capsule contented 50 mg elemental zinc daily for 3 months. The control group did not receive any supplement in that time. Information about general characteristics, weight, height and dietary intake were gathered before and after the end of study. Blood samples were obtained from each subject prior and after the study and serum zinc, MDA, triglyceride, LDL-C and HDL-C levels were measured. Data analyzed with paired t-test, independent t-test and ANOVA. Results: Zinc supplementation caused significant increasing in daily caloric intake, body mass index, serum zinc and HDL-C levels and significant reduction in LDL-C levels in intervention group. No significant variations were observed for other variables in both of groups. Conclusion: Zinc supplementation had beneficial effects on serum lipid profiles in studied beta thalassemic patients and might have suitable role in delaying cardiovascular disease risks in these patients

Budgetary Implications of Enlargement: Agriculture. CEPS Policy Brief No. 22, May 2002

[Introduction]. The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) accounts for 45% of the total EU budget. Will its extension to Central and Eastern European countries (CEECs) break the EU budget? The 10 CEECs currently negotiating for membership would increase the number of farmers by 120% and would increase the area under cultivation by 42%. It is thus widely expected that enlargement will dramatically increase the cost of the CAP. Early studies of the cost of extending the CAP to the CEECs arrived at very large numbers. But most of these studies pre-dated the 1999 Berlin Council and the Agenda 2000 reforms agreed there. These early budgetary impact estimations are now considered inaccurate. The discussion here is based on a set of more recent studies, which have incorporated the actual Agenda 2000 reforms and adjusted expectations on the number of countries and timing of enlargement, and are considered to be more accurate in their predictions. More specifically, the studies are produced by DIW (Berlin/Göttingen), IBO/LEI (The Hague) and IAMO (Halle)

The Impact of Monetary Union and the Euro on European Capital Markets: What May Be Achieved in Capital Market Integration

Up to now, the Euro has been successful in replacing the traditional European currencies and in altering the landscape of European Capital Markets. Domestic users of the Euro are almost the same in number as the population of the United STates, although the Gross Domestic Products of the two economies are clearly not comparable. Still, if the Member States within the Euro-area truly want to be recognized as an integrated capital market, some work must be done. This Article will estimate, from current economic thought, what remains to be done and what can be achieved in the short term. Some historical analysis will help in identifying the players and the main trends at work. Moreover, some of the international issues that have been raised by the new role of the European Monetary Union (“EMU”) will be presented