All posts by nedhamson

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

Instagramming A Suicide Bomber

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

#Instabomb.

I’ve been wondering if our media salivates like Pavlov’s dog when they get wind of yet another explosion takes place in this country. Their coverage sure always sounds like a kid who was given a new shiny toy on Christmas morning: relentless, excited, carefree, all over the place and – more importantly – chaotic.

I, for one, live in lala land. As a consequence, I’m becoming more or less ignorant as to what’s taking place around me politically. I’d like to think of it as a blessing in disguise. It feels good not to know sometimes. What’s constant throughout my enforced ignorance, however, is people always telling me about the horrors they’ve been seeing on television as if the explosions we all have to withstand were not enough: we are also being forced to get desensitized to the charred remains of human beings.

Social media has done wonders to…

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Hunters (faux-men) in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Wannabe “he-men” hunters in Germany similar to same in US – any excuse to go and shoot a wolf – to feel like a “real” man and lie about it to get your way! Members of district hunting association in Meissen, an idyllic city with a castle that is world famous for its porcelain, recently criticized the wolves’ return in a letter to the Saxony state interior minister that included the header “urgent”. In it, the hunters lament that Saxony has the “world’s densest population of wolves,” and that it is increasing. It goes on to say that they worry not only about public safety, but also that “previously unseen mass packs” of up to 40 wild boar had been lurking about in the Meissen area recently.

The hunters claim the animals have joined together in large packs out of fear of the wolves and are causing tremendous damage. They also claim that local partridges, pheasants, hares, owls and skylarks are disappearing, devoured by wolves and other predators. Something has to be done, the hunters warn — otherwise fear “will become an unwelcome part of daily life.”

via Hunters in Gemany Say Wolf Populations a Growing Threat – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Settlers cut down 100 olive trees near Nablus | Maan News Agency

Israeli settlers on Wednesday destroyed over 100 olive trees in the Nablus district, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, an official who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that settlers from Itamar cut down the olive trees in an open area in Wadi Yanoun, which is situated between Awarta and Yanoun villages.

Jewish settlers on Sunday vandalized private Palestinian agricultural lands north of Ramallah and uprooted more than 1,000 olive trees and newly planted saplings.

In 2012, there were 353 incidents of settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Settler regularly target Palestinian olive trees for attack.

Over 90 percent of investigations into settler violence by Israeli police fail to lead to an indictment.

via Settlers cut down 100 olive trees near Nablus | Maan News Agency.

Avian Flu Diary: FAO On H7N9’s Cross Border Threat

The spread of the H7N9 virus among poultry in live bird markets (LBM) in China’s Guangxi Province has significantly increased the risk that it will progressively spread to other neighbouring countries of China, posing an increased human health risk, the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned today.

 

The virus, which produces no detectable symptoms among infected birds, has seriously disrupted poultry production and markets in 14 provinces of China, as well as Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Province of China. It has resulted in at least 290 confirmed illnesses with 66 human deaths from animal-to-human transmission. There is no evidence of human-to-human transmission with many human cases being linked to poultry exposure at live bird markets (LBM).

 

Authorities in China have tracked movement of the infection to live bird markets in Guangxi between 24 and 28 January 2014, where the province’s first human casualty was also reported. Guangxi Province shares a border with Viet Nam while its neighbouring province, Yunnan, shares borders with Myanmar, Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam.

via Avian Flu Diary: FAO On H7N9’s Cross Border Threat.

Chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean expanding | Vaccine News Daily

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control announced on Monday that 247 new cases of Chikungunya fever were reported in the Caribbean in the past week alone and the outbreak continues to expand.

The epidemiological data regarding the Chikungunya outbreak shows that it began in Saint Martin and is continuing to spread throughout the Caribbean. Most of the areas already affected have seen an increasing number of cases.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports Chikungunya fever is a mosquito-borne viral disease. The chikungunya virus causes fever-like symptoms, including fever, headache, muscle pain, fatigue, rash, nausea and joint swelling, according to the World Health Organization.

via Chikungunya outbreak in Caribbean expanding | Vaccine News Daily.

Doctors warn of pandemic potential of the new H10N8 bird flu virus | South China Morning Post

Doctors warn of pandemic potential of the new H10N8 bird flu virus | South China Morning Post.

A novel bird flu virus that has killed one mainlander and left another critically ill has the potential to spread efficiently among humans, doctors warn.

They say the fact that the H10N8 bug jumped to humans for the first time in December is an important warning of a possible pandemic.

H7N9 avian influenza concerns escalate in China | Business, Political, and Cultural News in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas

Tyson Foods CEO Donnie Smith said, the company is still committed to vertically integrating its operations there and at this time the two plants are running one shift with company controlled birds.

via H7N9 avian influenza concerns escalate in China | Business, Political, and Cultural News in Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas.

North Korea and South Korea agree to first family reunions in over three years | News | DW.DE | 05.02.2014

South Korea\’s Unification Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that the two countries would bring together families divided by the 1950-53 war for a brief visit. The last such reunion was allowed over three years ago.

Delegates from the Red Cross, South and North Korea had struck the deal during a meeting in the demilitarized zone, the Unification Ministry said. Reunions were to take place between February 20-25, it added without providing further details.

The reunion date coincides with annual military drills conducted by Seoul in partnership with the United States. Although North Korea has already called on South Korea to scrap the drills, which it described as preparation for an invasion, the government in Seoul on Wednesday said it would stand its ground.

\”The drills have been conducted annually and they simply cannot be an issue for us as far as the reunions are concerned,\” a government official in Seoul told the news agency Reuters, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

via North Korea and South Korea agree to first family reunions in over three years | News | DW.DE | 05.02.2014.

When will Korea and US end war, militarism, separation? Or does everyone have too much invested in permanent war?

Morgan Stanley to pay $1.25-billion settlement for bad mortgages | News | DW.DE | 05.02.2014

US banking giant Morgan Stanley has agreed in principle to pay a $1.25-billion settlement for its involvement in the housing market bust. The bank allegedly misled investors about mortgage-backed securities.

via Morgan Stanley to pay $1.25-billion settlement for bad mortgages | News | DW.DE | 05.02.2014. Today’s $200 pass go card to stay out of jail after killing the livelihoods of millions of people?

Awaken Me #poetry #photography

penned in moon dust

a new year 035

I lay here

cold and solitary

life passes by

I too inert to cry

*

Free once

to laugh and sing

 formed of sinew and bone

I now a mindless stone

*

“Where do you go?”

I call as they pass

you eddy and whirr

I dream to  momentarily stir

*

no use

I never can drift

with a meaningless sigh

once again I close my eyes

*

This poem is symbolic of my blogging state today. I am frozen and for some unknown reason can’t change a post I needed to reschedule. So I, like the stone, watch the words go by and I have little control.

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