ASIA/SYRIA – Battle for Maalula, under sniper fire – Fides News Agency

Damascus (Agenzia Fides) – Soldiers of the regular army have entered Maalula, the Christian village which was attacked and seized by Islamist groups in recent days. According to local sources contacted by Fides Agency, local Christian youth fighting alongside the soldiers are under fire from snipers stationed in homes. Retaking the village seems to be very difficult because of the way it is built, where houses are perched on steep slopes. As reported to Fides, so far 3 young Greek Catholic Christians have been killed and six men have been abducted and taken somewhere near the city of Yabrud, on the slopes of the Qalamoun mountains.

Religious community members, men and women, who are still present in the village, are safe and sound. The Greek Orthodox nuns in the convent of Santa Tecla were “under siege” and were in fear for several days, while armed groups threatened to invade the convent and crosses have been removed and many civilian homes have been sacked. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 12/09/2013)

via ASIA/SYRIA – Battle for Maalula, under sniper fire – Fides News Agency.

Self-delusion in infinite supply over pseudo-freedom issues – Wisconsin’s Most Famous Raw-Milk Advocate Opposes Bill Requiring Licensing | Food Safety News

While those requirements were too much for Hershberger, many raw-milk advocates showed up to support SB 236. Vincent Hunt, a 62-year old farmer who has consumed raw milk all his life, was among those wearing white ice-cream vendor hats with the word “Freedom” on them.

“Just trust the people,” Hunt told committee members. “I believe the opponents of this bill have only one thing to offer and it is fear.”

Numerous proponents said raw milk can cure all sorts of health problems, including allergies and diabetes.

Not buying any of it were spokesmen for the Wisconsin Safe Milk Coalition, which represents both the state’s $26.5-billion pasteurized dairy industry, and numerous public and private health organizations.

Two dairy farmers representing the Wisconsin Farm Bureau, a coalition member, said they will not even give raw milk to their calves because of its potential for spreading disease. They instead pasteurize the milk beforehand.

“Pasteurization exists for a reason,” said Chris Pollack, who runs a 150-cow diary farm and was one of the Farm Bureau representatives.

via Wisconsin’s Most Famous Raw-Milk Advocate Opposes Bill Requiring Licensing | Food Safety News.

( Earlier this week there was a story about a mom who donated a kidney to her infant daughter whose kidneys failed as a result of disease from raw milk that was given to her daughter) Playing Russian Roulette for 40 years without shooting yourself is not a good argument for risking the health of people so foolishly.

Netherlands apologizes formally to Indonesia for colonial killings | News | DW.DE | 12.09.2013

The Dutch ambassador to Indonesia, Tjeerd de Zwaan, made the apology for the massacres during a ceremony at the Dutch Embassy in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta.

“On behalf of the Dutch government, I apologize for these excesses,” he said, adding: “The Dutch government hopes that this apology will help close a difficult chapter for those whose lives were impacted so directly by the violent excesses that took place between 1945 and 1949.”

The Dutch government had previously apologized and paid some compensation to relatives of those killed in particular cases, but it has never before offered a general apology for all summary executions.

via Netherlands apologizes formally to Indonesia for colonial killings | News | DW.DE | 12.09.2013.

Avian Flu Diary: Florida: Dengue Forces Suspension Of Blood Donations In Two Counties

Globalization and air transport strike again – too easy for someone infected to be on other side of globe in less than 24 hours and get bitten by a local mosquito that then becomes infected from the human and infects the next mammal it feasts upon and so it goes…

As a proactive and precautionary measure, OneBlood is temporarily suspending blood collection operations in Martin and St. Lucie counties in Southeast Florida until further notice.  The decision comes after more than a dozen cases of Dengue Fever have been reported by the Florida Department of Health in these two counties over the past several weeks.

“Safety of the blood supply is our number one priority,” said Dr. Rita Reik, Chief Medical Officer for OneBlood.  “We will resume blood collections in Martin and St. Lucie counties once it is determined the threat of Dengue Fever has been minimized,” Reik said.

via Avian Flu Diary: Florida: Dengue Forces Suspension Of Blood Donations In Two Counties.

GOP’s unhealthy obsession with Obamacare – latimes.com

Try as they might, House Republican leaders are having trouble stopping their colleagues from shooting themselves in the foot — again.

Having failed to approve any of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund federal agencies, Congress has to pass a stopgap spending bill by Sept. 30 to keep much of the federal government from shutting down. But rank-and-file Republicans in the House are resisting their leadership’s proposed stopgap because it wouldn’t necessarily block funding for the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a.k.a. Obamacare.

Opponents of the Affordable Care Act don’t have the votes to repeal it in the Senate, and even if they did, they couldn’t override a certain veto by President Obama. Nevertheless, a large faction in the House wants to hold funding for the rest of the government hostage until Democrats agree to stop implementing Obamacare.

via GOP’s unhealthy obsession with Obamacare – latimes.com.

Could rain gardens be one solution to the floods in Singapore?

It is not unusual for large cities to flood as a result of severe weather, we have seen this in New York, Melbourne, Tokyo, Bangkok, and Mumbai. With climate change, it seems like unpredictable weather is here to stay and mitigation of storm water and floods is what we need to focus on.

According to the City of Desmoines’ park and recreation department,  an executive summary of the 2003 Iowa Water Summit prepared by Nonpoint Source Work Group documented that, “As a result of our landscape changes over time, storm water does not infiltrate into the soil as it once did. Storm water runs-off the landscape at an increased rate and volume, carrying with it the sediment, nutrients, and other compounds that constitute NPS (nonpoint source) pollution. More attention must be given to identifying technologies that reduce the amount of water and pollutants leaving the landscape.”

Some countries are…

View original post 401 more words

SPaRK

AXIS Performance Advisors

SPaRK logo square

Confused about how to create a sustainability plan?

Daunted by how to identify and track meaningful sustainability metrics?

Wondering how you’ll find time to create a sustainability report?

SPaRK™—the Sustainability Planning and Reporting Kit—is a tool for helping organizations quickly develop a sustainability plan, metrics and management system. It helps you gather data on sustainability metrics and create charts that can be used in a sustainability report. The product is an Excel file with worksheets for many of the common analyses and metrics an organization would use. It is designed to be used as a facilitation/decision tool as well as a way to store your performance data. We use SPaRK with clients and train others how to use it. Now you can have it too!

See also the companion guide, The Step by Step Guide to Sustainability Planning, under Books.

Watch a podcast explaining SPaRK 4.0.

SPaRK Process

View original post 309 more words

Spin and counter-spin – result in ruining careers despite facts: Kerry and McCain’s favorite Syria ‘expert’ fired for faking credentials | The Raw Story

A prominent pro-Syrian intervention expert, cited by both Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and Sec. of State John Kerry, lied about her academic credentials and failed to disclose her ties to rebel groups in the embattled republic. According to Buzzfeed, the Institute for the Study of War, a non-partisan Washington think tank, fired Elizabeth O’Bagy on Tuesday after finding out she lied about earning a Ph.D. from Georgetown, University in Washington.

via Kerry and McCain’s favorite Syria ‘expert’ fired for faking credentials | The Raw Story.

‘Never Again’: Chileans Look Back on Coup, 40 Years On · Global Voices

40 years ago, the US helped depose the government in Chile and cause many to be murdered and disappeared…

Forty years ago today, Chilean socialist President Salvador Allende was overthrown in a coup d’état which marked the beginning of a 17 year-long military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet.

After 40 years since the coup and 23 since the country’s return to democracy, Chileans reflected on the coup and on what the country must do to reach reconciliation.

via ‘Never Again’: Chileans Look Back on Coup, 40 Years On · Global Voices.