#LB4Gaza: What Was The Point?

Well said.

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Behold the greatness of Lebanese media. All eight of our TV stations decided to unite yesterday for Gaza in one news broadcast that has people talking about it today still, beating the typical Lebanese news cycle lifespan of a few seconds. Talk about influence.

About 24 hours later, I am here wondering if the dust has settled enough for us to look objectively at what was accomplished yesterday or if it’s too early for us to question the actual point of yesterday’s broadcast, at the cost of being branded unpatriotic Lebanese who don’t care about Gaza, although many of the kind do exist.

It goes to say that the only oddity about yesterday’s united news broadcast was seeing MTV’s news anchor with Al Manar’s logo above her head, or Al Manar’s news anchor on MTV. It was a chuckle worthy moment as they went on and on about Gaza, expressing…

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Israel soldier ‘kidnapped’ by Hamas is dead: army | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

The Israeli army Tuesday confirmed that a soldier who Hamas militants claimed they had kidnapped is dead and his body remains unaccounted for.

The army named the soldier, whose body is still missing, as Oron Shaul, two days after Hamas said they had kidnapped an Israeli soldier of the same name.

A spokeswoman said Israeli pathologists had identified 12 out of 13 soldiers killed in Gaza over the weekend but that 21-year-old Shaul’s body was still unaccounted for.

Publication of the name suggested Hamas was likely to be holding the soldier’s remains, although it was not clear if the entire body or only part of it was missing.

Israeli dog tags carry a soldier’s name and his army number, and are designed to be broken in two, with half worn around the neck and the other half inserted into his boot to allow for identification in the event of death.

Shaul was part of a group of seven troops from the elite Golani unit who died in an attack on an armored vehicle in Gaza.

via Israel soldier ‘kidnapped’ by Hamas is dead: army | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

Half of mainland consumers no longer trust Western fast-food companies after scandal | South China Morning Post

Exactly half of all the Chinese consumers who took part in an online poll today say they no longer trust Western fast-food companies following the new scandal surrounding rotten meat.

The survey, carried out by Sina Shanghai, had attracted more than 1,800 respondents by 2.45pm today.

In a second Sina survey started yesterday, featuring 25,000 respondents up to 2.45pm today, 77 per cent believed the restaurant brands affected had been aware of Husi’s faulty practices, while 69 per cent said they would no longer dine at the restaurants run by the Western companies.

via Half of mainland consumers no longer trust Western fast-food companies after scandal | South China Morning Post.

West Africa Ebola outbreak total tops 1,000 | CIDRAP

As 67 new Ebola virus disease (EVD) illnesses in Sierra Leone and Liberia pushed the outbreak total to 1,048 cases, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned about the risk of virus transmission from wildlife, especially fruit bats.

Along with new infections, 19 more deaths were reported in Sierra Leone and Liberia, raising the fatality count to 632, according to a Jul 19 update from the World Health Organization (WHO) that covers new cases reported from Jul 15 to Jul 17.

via West Africa Ebola outbreak total tops 1,000 | CIDRAP.

Ancient Christian population of Mosul flees Islamic State | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR

The ancient Christian community of the northern Iraqi city of Mosul had all but fled by Saturday, ending a presence stretching back nearly two millennia after radical Islamists set them a midday deadline to submit to Islamic rule or leave.

The ultimatum by the Islamic State drove out the few hundred Christians who had stayed on when the group’s hardline Sunni Muslim fighters overran Mosul a month ago, threatening Christians and the diverse city’s other religious communities.

This week the Islamic State gave any remaining Christians a final choice to make by Saturday noon: convert to Islam, pay a religious tax, or face the sword.

A Catholic bishop from Mosul told Reuters that 150 Christian families had left in recent days and church leaders had advised the few families who wanted to negotiate with militants that they should also flee for their own safety.

The Christians described their flight as a historic loss.

“We have lived in this city and we have had a civilisation for thousands of years – and suddenly some strangers came and expelled us from our homes,” said a woman in her 60s who fled on Friday for Hamdaniya, a mainly Christian town controlled by Kurdish security forces to the southeast of Mosul.

via Ancient Christian population of Mosul flees Islamic State | News , Middle East | THE DAILY STAR.

Ebola: [New] Updated Charts

Excellent snapshot

Mens et Manus

Last Update: 16 July 2014 [Charts]
Current Update:
18 July 2014 [Data Source]

ebola_history_LCR_7.21ebola_history_CFR_7.21epicurve_country_7.21cuma_epicurve_country_7.21epicurve_all_7.21cuma_epicurve_all_7.21Historical Data Sources:
[1] World Health Organization. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Zaire, 1976. Report of an International Convention. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):271-293.
[2] World Health Organization. Ebola haemorrhagic fever in Sudan, 1976. Report of a WHO/International Study Team. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1978;56(2):247-270.
[3] Heymann DL, Weisfeld JS, Webb PA, et al. Ebola hemorrhagic fever: Tandala, Zaire, 1977-1978. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1980;142(3):372-376.
[4] Baron RC, McCormick JB, and Zubeir OA. Ebola virus disease in southern Sudan: hospital dissemination and intrafamilial spread. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. 1983;61(6):997-1003.
[5] Georges AJ, Leroy EM, Renaud AA, et al. Ebola hemorrhagic fever outbreaks in Gabon, 1994-1997: epidemiologic and health control issues. Journal of Infectious Diseases. 1999;179:S65-75.
[6] Le Guenno B, Formenty P, Wyers M, et al. Isolation and partial…

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Rick Perry (who wants to run for President again) to Deploy 1,000 National Guard Troops to the Border – The Wire

Perry hinted at his plans on Sunday during a trip to Iowa. “If the federal government does not do its constitutional duty to secure the Southern border of the United States, the state of Texas will do it,” Perry said, according to The Washington Post.

via Rick Perry to Deploy 1,000 National Guard Troops to the Border – The Wire.

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Three Women in Kabul

It is very painful when I have to pay the rent on our house and the markets are too expensive. I have six children and I am the leader of my family. My husband is ill and has had two operations.

My wish during Ramadan is that God save our people from illness, sadness, and poverty.

We Don’t Have Food to Eat

via Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Three Women in Kabul.