All posts by nedhamson

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

Golden Rice Still Won’t Solve the Political Problem of Hunger and Poverty | Food & Water Watch

Every industry has its go-to PR strategies, the ones they revisit periodically out of habit or when they hit a rough patch in the news. For the biotechnology industry, their old reliable is how genetically engineered crops are going to solve some pressing social problem, like curing disease or ending global hunger. Their favorite example is golden rice. And this weekend, the New York Times ran a piece that rehashed the same old debate, wondering how anyone could possibly be opposed to this miracle crop that will supposedly save poor people around the world from vitamin A deficiency.

Unfortunately, the piece missed the point that sustainable agriculture and peasant farmer advocates have been making for years: that unleashing an unproven, unwanted technology into the food systems of developing countries won’t solve the political issues that create hunger.

via Golden Rice Still Won’t Solve the Political Problem of Hunger and Poverty | Food & Water Watch.

Assad’s Cold Calculation: The West’s Reputation Is at Stake – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Same or similar arguments used to get us to attack and invade Iraq. You’d think, they just did a search and replace in material written in 2003 and using for a new war in 2013!?!

The credibility of both the United States and its Western allies is on the line: Anyone who mentions a red line but doesn’t back it up may as well forget about making any threats in the future. If that becomes its reputation, how will the United States ever rein in North Korea’s bomb-makers or Tehran’s mullahs?

This latest chemical weapons attack should finally set aside reservations about a military intervention. Poison gas is outlawed internationally — a ban that should be respected. The 1999 Kosovo mission showed that citizens of Western countries are prepared to accept a well-founded humanitarian intervention. The Americans’ invasion of Iraq triggered so much outrage precisely because the weapons of mass destruction Washington had claimed as justification were never found. No one doubts they exist in Syria.

via Assad’s Cold Calculation: The West’s Reputation Is at Stake – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge as BLM closes Vegas rescue center – The Washington Post

“It’s the lesser of two evils, but it’s still evil,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service desert tortoise recovery coordinator Roy Averill-Murray during a visit to the soon-to-be-shuttered reserve at the southern edge of the Las Vegas Valley last week.

Biologists went about their work examining tortoises for signs of disease as Averill-Murray walked among the reptile pens. But the scrubby 220-acre refuge area will stop taking new animals in the coming months. Most that arrive in the fall will simply be put down, late-emerging victims of budget problems that came from the same housing bubble that put a neighborhood of McMansions at the edge of the once-remote site.

via Desert tortoise faces threat from its own refuge as BLM closes Vegas rescue center – The Washington Post.

So let’s play who is telling the truth game? UN team returns after visiting site of chemical attack | News | DW.DE | 26.08.2013

The Syrian government and the opposition fighters both blamed each other for the attack on the UN convoy. State media outlet SANA reported that the attack was the work of “terrorists,” the term commonly used to describe rebel fighters on Syrian media. The opposition, meanwhile, said Assad’s forces were behind the attack.

“The National Coalition of the Syrian opposition and the Free Syrian Army firmly condemn the action of the Assad regime militias at the entrance to Moadamiyet al-Sham … by opening fire on a car transporting the UN team,” the political opposition and armed rebels said in a statement.

Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claimed over 1,300 people died in the attack last Wednesday, while Doctors Without Borders said 355 people had died of “neurotoxic” symptoms.

The inspection came as foreign leaders consider consequences for the government of President Assad if his regime is found responsible for the attack, which was allegedly carried out using gas-filled rockets.

Assad told Russia’s Izvestia daily newsapers that the accusations were “nonsense.”

via UN team returns after visiting site of chemical attack | News | DW.DE | 26.08.2013.

Snakes found in Gothenburg home after he was bitten by cobra – UPI.com

How dumb can guys be? Sorry for him and hope he survives but… What can they be thinking? A Swedish man was hospitalized after being bitten by a venomous cobra inside his Gothenburg home, officials said.

The 40-year-old man managed to call authorities before he passed out after being bitten by the snake Saturday night, The Local.se reported.

When paramedics arrived, 40 other venomous snakes were found in the man’s apartment, including a taipan, the world’s deadliest snake.

The man was rushed to a local hospital, where he received anti-venom that was sent from Stockholm. His condition was unknown Monday.

Illusionist Joe Labero said the snake was intended for his use. Labero had recently returned from a Morocco where he was inspired by snake charmers.

“We wanted to have animals and something dangerous in the show,” Labero told the Aftonbladet newspaper. “At first, we were thinking scorpions, but they are so small and hard to see that we decided on venomous cobras. We have always known of the danger and had respect for them, it was just the plan to have one or two at the show.”

via Snakes found in Gothenburg home after he was bitten by cobra – UPI.com.

Little doubt on chemical weapons use in Syria | Germany | DW.DE | But!

Anyone can make sarin gas or steal it – suspect this has more to do with forcing a war like people did before Iraq war against its WMD that could never be found!

One of the problems is that sarin gas, unlike other toxic chemical agents, has a very short shelf-life. In Syria’s arid climate, the gas is only deadly for up to two hours. It decomposes rapidly into nontoxic phosphoric acid derivatives and generally degrades entirely in a matter of weeks – making it difficult to trace.

The nerve agent was discovered in the 1930s by two German scientists looking for a more effective pesticide. “In 1938, German army headquarters realized that this insecticide could also be used as a weapon. It’s just a question of the concentration,” said Klaus Koehler, whose company helped destroy stockpiles of chemical weapons in Eastern Europe after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Possible trail leads to Russia

No one doubts that Syria possesses chemical weapons; it is believed that the Assad regime has bunkered some 1,000 tons. “Basically, anybody who has access to normal chemical equipment can make chemical weapons,” said Koehler.

via Little doubt on chemical weapons use in Syria | Germany | DW.DE | 26.08.2013.

But gassing his own people is OK – Turkey Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE

But Erdogan refuses to be swayed by criticism – and has now also started hitting out at Islamic countries that have aided the military in Egypt. “God will shame those in the Islamic world who betrayed their brothers and sisters in Egypt,” he said. He did not mention any countries by name. Saudi Arabia and Qatar can be counted among the supporters of the Egyptian armed forces, however – the same two countries on whom Turkey and NATO are dependent in the Syrian conflict because they are seen as being opponents of Assad. The Turkish military wants to hold discussions in Jordan this week on a way forward, together with generals from other NATO countries and representatives of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

via Turkey Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Turkey’s Wannabe Caliph Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE

Since the nerve gas attack in Syria last Wednesday, in which hundreds of people were reportely killed near the capital Damascus, politicians and generals in Turkey have been asking a frightening question: If the situation escalates, for example if the US carries out a military strike, would Syria fight back? And would Syrian President Bashar Assad dare to attack Turkey, and therefore NATO, using chemical weapons?

via Turkey Fears NATO Action Will Spark Syrian Gas Attacks – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Dumb beats for war coming from those who are afraid of their own people and want to appear strong against a foe that is not attacking it. Spin, spin, spin

The Himalayan Times : Close to one million birds culled – Detail News : Nepal News Portal

(Before the global growth in poultry trade which fueled the growth of avian influenza – there would have been far fewer such farms and less of a threat to the economy from an industry that cannot stand in the long run)

The government has culled 9,90,981 fowls and chicks from several farms in Bhaktapur since the bird flu was first confirmed in the district.

According to Bhaktapur District Bird Flu Control Section, 5,23,921 fowls and 1,56,726 chicks have been culled from as many as 439 poultry farms since the government declared Bhaktapur a crisis-hit zone on August 15.

Bird flu was first confirmed in Bhaktapur on July 26. As many as 1,91,063 fowls and 1,19,271 chicks were culled before the district was declared crisis-hit following the flu confirmation.

via The Himalayan Times : Close to one million birds culled – Detail News : Nepal News Portal.

Garden project in the Queen City aims to aid shelter, kitchen, pantry – NashuaTelegraph.com

New Horizons for New Hampshire Inc. acquired an adjacent lot from the city with the agreement that they do something to improve it. They studied options, including expansion and renovation of their current building, but Director Charlie Sherman said those plans didn’t test well because of the economy. A combination of ideas came together, and he was approached by Rimol Greenhouse Systems, of Hooksett.

Rimol donated a building. Others in the city are teaming up to move the project along, with an end result being a place to grow vegetables for New Horizons clients, helping to offset a hefty $25,000-$30,000 yearly cost of veggies alone.

via Garden project in the Queen City aims to aid shelter, kitchen, pantry – NashuaTelegraph.com.