All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Why are Haitians still eating mud cakes? — New Internationalist

In a junkyard at sundown, rusted trucks rest among the bushes and a fire crackles in a clearing. A man in his early twenties approaches, closely watched by a few others, who seem in awe of him. He pulls a handgun from his waistband and tries his best to carry the swagger of a hardened militia leader.

‘We’re ready to give them a lesson,’ he says. ‘And once we do, it’s going to be a lesson to remember.’

These young men, some still in their teens, form one of the many street gangs in Cité Soleil, the most hellish corner of Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The ‘lesson’, they say, awaits the government of President Michel Martelly and Prime Minister Laurent Lamothe, which stands accused in these parts of overseeing what has been a disastrous recovery from the 2010 earthquake.

‘They never want to sit down and talk to us,’ he continues, ‘so it’s only right that we’re armed and ready to do everything that has to be done.’

via Why are Haitians still eating mud cakes? — New Internationalist.

Tripoli’s Massive PR Crisis: Beer Ads Banned In The City

Tripoli deserves better but they voted in the strange mayor did they not – vote him out!

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Tripoli Beer ads

It must be tough being from Tripoli lately, or at least tougher than average for the people of a city long forgotten by successive governments, left to its own accord to make do with the little it has.

It wasn’t enough for people from Tripoli to have to deal with the fact that the other Lebanese, quick as they are to judge and believe their views are scripture, believe them all to be undercover members of ISIS or ISIS members to be.

It wasn’t enough as well for those unfazed by the ISIS threat (yet) to deal with the fact that their city has become synonymous with mayhem, sporadic fights, mini wars and hating the Lebanese army. No amount of tweets, Facebook posts or mini gatherings on the street and billboards in support of the army or in condoning the behavior of some of the city’s men would change that…

View original post 973 more words

Ebola: [New] Updated Charts

Mens et Manus

Last Update: 06 August 2014 [Charts]
Current Update:
08 August 2014 [Data Source]
cfr_bycountry_8.8guinea_CFR_8.8liberia_CFR_8.8SL_CFR_8.8cfr_8.8lcr_8.8cumulative_bycountry_8.8cumulative_all_8.8new_bycountry_8.8new_all_8.8Historical 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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HOW MUCH LONGER BEFORE IT’S TO LATE?

Remember Cher’s song “If I Could Turn Back Time?” I like the poem but fear too many tipping points for various effects that will harm the planet and us have already passed. So listen to the song and know we cannot turn back time, so we better get cracking on changing how we live before…

keithgarrettpoetry

We need to open our eyes, we’ve been blind to long,

Look what’s happening to us, there’s something very wrong.

Alone it won’t be done, we must do this together,

All of us take for granted a world we live in is forever.

Overlooking the pollution we pass by each day,

Leaving it to another to make it go away.

Poisoning the resources we must have to survive,

These things that we do, one day surely we will all die.

It’s now time to change, make a difference each one,

To save mankind, let’s all stand as one.

How much longer before it’s to late,

Why do we tempt the thing we call fate.?

It’s a crime what we are doing to the ground and our sky,

It’s time to stop now, it’s our time to make things right.

We can make it work if it gets done now,

To…

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Aramark CSR – Health and Wellness includes Maggots in prison food

Every year, Aramark serves more than two billion meals to customers around the world, recognizing extraordinary variations in tastes and dietary restrictions.

We prepare and serve food in schools, stadiums, businesses, universities, healthcare institutions and other settings around the world.   We serve almost all age groups from all walks of life, from meals for kindergarteners and college students; doctors, nurses and hospital patients; office workers; residents of senior centers; and even workers living on off-shore oil rigs.

While most traditional restaurants see their customers once or twice a month, many of our customers dine with us five or six times a week, often several times a day.

Because we provide meals to so many people, we know we can play an important role in helping to build a healthier society at a time when the need for nutrition-related chronic disease prevention is greater than ever. Seven out of 10 deaths among Americans are from chronic diseases, and almost one out of every two adults has at least one chronic illness. One in three children in the United States overweight or obese.

Healthy For Life™, our commitment to improve health and well-being, recognizes and addresses these important issues.   It is our comprehensive and integrated approach to health and wellness that features healthy food, nutrition education, and wellness programs that work together to support healthy lifestyles.

Building on our research, and global health trends, plus the knowledge of chefs, dietitians and other experts, Healthy For Life™ focuses on empowering healthier lifestyles

By bringing our Healthy for Life™ approach to the dining locations we serve, we are finding more and more ways to proactively provide choices, information and programs that can help people make healthier decisions and live healthier lives.

via Aramark CSR – Health and Wellness.

March for Gaza one of the biggest Cape Town has seen | World | World | Mail & Guardian

The huge crowd, which stretched halfway across the inner city, chanted, sang and held aloft banners and posters calling for an end to the violence in the Gaza Strip. (Photos: David Harrison, M&G)

via March for Gaza one of the biggest Cape Town has seen | World | World | Mail & Guardian.

This Islamic State nightmare is not a holy war but an unholy mess | Jonathan Freedland | Commentisfree | The Guardian

“Islamic State are jihadis with MBAs,” says Dodge, speaking of a movement so modern it has its own gift shop. He notes its combination of fierce religious ideology, financial acumen and tactical nous. “It’s Darwinian,” he adds, describing IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his inner circle as those strong enough to have survived the US hammering of al-Qaida in Iraq between 2007 and 2009. But what has been crucial, Dodge says, is “not ancient hatreds but this collapse of state power”.

Which partly explains IS’s choice of targets. It attacks wherever it sees a gap, an area of weakness where the state’s writ does not run or that will be too feeble to resist. So when IS’s advance south to Baghdad was repelled, the organisation turned and looked for vacuums to fill. Christian areas were one such target; the remote Sinjar stronghold of the Yazidis is another. With a merciless appetite for territory, IS hunts down any patches of Iraq or Syria it believes can be conquered easily.

via This Islamic State nightmare is not a holy war but an unholy mess | Jonathan Freedland | Commentisfree | The Guardian.

This Tick’s Bite Can Turn You Vegetarian: Gothamist

If you enjoy a juicy hamburger or a well-seared steak, we’d advise steering clear of any wooded areas unless wearing full protective gear. A type of tick spotted on Long Island called the Lone Star tick can cause its victims to develop an allergy to red meat, reports NBC New York. All in favor of renaming it Vegan’s Revenge say aye!

via This Tick’s Bite Can Turn You Vegetarian: Gothamist.