All posts by nedhamson

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

Hong Kong bans live poultry sales, culls 20,000 birds: Shanghaiist

Hong Kong\’s food and health authority announced that it will cull some 20,000 birds after confirming a case of H7N9 bird flu at a local wholesale market in Cheung Sha Wan on Monday. The government yesterday also announced that the sale of live poultry would be banned for three weeks.

China Daily Reports:

The secretary said Hong Kong government has informed the mainland\’s authorities and required mainland\’s inspection and quarantine agencies to investigate the source of the exported poultry that was found carrying the virus.

Monitoring of the mainland chicken farms will continue after the three weeks of suspension of live poultry trading, and live fowl export to Hong Kong would not be resumed unless both the mainland and Hong Kong agree on the investigation results, the secretary told a press conference, adding that it had been the first case of H7N9 bird flu confirmed in imported live poultry in Hong Kong since the epidemic broke out on the mainland last March.

via Hong Kong bans live poultry sales, culls 20,000 birds: Shanghaiist.

Killing time before it kills me

\”When Cynthia Koenig, a young social entrepreneur from New York, learned that millions of girls and women around the world spend hours each day collecting water from distant sources, she decided to create a new way to help people in poor communities transport water and it’s called the WaterWheel. Koenig’s WaterWheel allows people to roll water in a 50-liter container versus carrying it in 5 gallon (19 liter) jugs. Koenig estimates that the WaterWheel can save women 35 hours per week in water transport time, as well as prevent the physical strain that comes from balancing 40 pounds of water on top of their heads for hours each day.

via Killing time before it kills me.

Northeast Nigeria attack by extremists kills 52 people | News , International | THE DAILY STAR

Who is in charge here?

Suspected Islamist extremists used homemade explosives and heavy guns to attack a village in Nigeria’s northeast, killing 52 people and razing more than 300 homes, security officials and witnesses said Monday.

It was among the highest death tolls in attacks increasing in frequency and ferocity as militants defy an 8-month-old military state of emergency to halt the Islamic uprising.

The attackers planted se

via Northeast Nigeria attack by extremists kills 52 people | News , International | THE DAILY STAR.

Group paints mural of Chief Red Cloud to inspire people of Pine Ridge

Artist Derek \”Focus\” Smith works Wednesday on the mural of Chief Red Cloud painted on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He said they like to use a special kind of spray paint, Montana Colors, because it is specially made for creating graffiti art.

via Group paints mural of Chief Red Cloud to inspire people of Pine Ridge.

Reducing immigration and undermining the NHS. Have you spotted Cameron’s trick yet? | Pride’s Purge

It’s a clever trick.

First of all you refuse to renew the visas of working immigrants who are here completely legally. Then you declare them illegal and deport them. And finally you boast about how you’re reducing ‘illegal’ immigration.

Here’s an example of the con trick in action.

An Australian child psychotherapist called Harley Miller – a legal migrant who has worked in the NHS for 9 years – is about to be deported as an ‘illegal’ immigrant:

Immigrant stories: The psychotherapist and the letter of proof

Devious stuff.

But Cameron and Clegg’s con trick is even more devious than that.

A recent study shows 11% of NHS staff and over a quarter of NHS doctors are from overseas.

By deporting NHS workers, it creates staff shortages, longer queues and a much more inefficient NHS – thereby making it easier for the coalition government to sell off the NHS to ‘more efficient’ private healthcare companies

So Cameron and Clegg get to look like they’re reducing immigration while simultaneously helping to sell off the NHS.

It’s the perfect confidence trick that even professional hustlers would be proud of.

And everyone seems to have fallen for it.

Have you?

via Reducing immigration and undermining the NHS. Have you spotted Cameron’s trick yet? | Pride’s Purge.

Food Politics » The fight over white potatoes in WIC

Has nothing to do with nutrition and everything to do with profit!

The National Potato Council lobbyists induced Congress to add a clause to the 2014 omnibus appropriations bill.  When President Obama signed that bill on January 17, he directed the USDA to allow all varieties of fresh, whole, or cut vegetables to be included.  Translation: white potatoes, and French fries at that.

If the USDA fails to comply, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack must submit a report to Congress explaining why not.

The National Potato Council makes this statement: “This action sends a clear message to USDA that it is obligated to base its nutritional policy on the latest nutritional science, which calls for an increase in starchy vegetable consumption for all Americans, including WIC mothers and children.”

It does?  I’m not aware of such science.

The Institute of Medicine is currently reviewing the WIC package and I seriously doubt that it will find a deficiency of starchy vegetables in American diets.

This is about getting potato growers a chunk of taxpayer money spent for the WIC program.

via Food Politics » The fight over white potatoes in WIC.

VDU’s blog: Zhejiang: more live bird market closures…

These regions have already suspended trading…

Hangzhou city (which I noted here)

Xiaoshan District

Yuhang District

Jinhua

Shaoxing City

This new report notes closure of the following markets in the \”main city of Ningbo\” from 26-Jan..

Haishu District

Jiangdong District

Jiangbei District

Yinzhou District

Exotic bird imports and pigeon flying has been banned.

via VDU’s blog: Zhejiang: more live bird market closures….