All posts by nedhamson

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

Rough and magical sunset in kikhavn

Beautiful – almost beyond words…

Leelouz Café

I know this is going to be repetitive for some of you, but not sharing this magical walk is too selfish! Please bear with me and I am sure you will enjoy to some extend what we experienced first hand. ..Some of these pictures are taken by my son georges who has a good eye  for beauty ( thanks God my love of beauty is being transmitted to my young ones!)

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It is truly beyond description…am fascinated and in awe of these moments…

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Detroit Zoo Halts Bottled Water Sale, Cites Waste

ROYAL OAK, Mich. (AP) — The Detroit Zoo says it’s giving up a $240,000-annual revenue stream when it stops selling bottled water to visitors.

Operators of the 125-acre zoo in suburban Royal Oak say they’re acting to cut back on what is the “largest contributor to plastic waste.”

“This phase-out will cost us revenue, but it’s important to walk our talk and do what’s good for the environment,” zoo Executive Director Ron Kagan said in a statement.

The zoo says it will sell reusable water bottles that can be filled with filtered water at seven locations.

“We understand that this will be an adjustment for some visitors, but we hope it will help in a simple but significant way to make a difference for the planet,” said Kagan.

In its announcement, the zoo described bottled water as a major waste disposal problem nationwide.

“According to the Earth Policy Institute, more than 30 billion water bottles each year end up as garbage or litter in the United States,” he zoo said. “Additionally, it takes 5 liters of water to make 1 liter of bottled water, and it requires about a quarter of a water bottle of oil to produce, transport and dispose of a single bottle of water. ”

via Detroit Zoo Halts Bottled Water Sale, Cites Waste.

Monsanto’s new GE crops already in the ground? | Pesticide Action Network

Dicamba-resistant soy is still awaiting USDA approval, as are 2,4-D-resistant corn and soy. And after receiving hundreds of thousands of comments opposing the approval of these crops, the agency recently extended its decision-making timeline. Despite the outcry, however, Monsanto has plowed full speed ahead, planting and spraying these crops in large, field-sized “Ground-Breaker” demonstration plots in North and South Dakota and in research plots in undisclosed locations.

Farmers, as well as other concerned citizens, are particularly worried about pesticide drift, crop damage and health harms that would likely accompany planting and spraying of dicamba- and 2,4-D-resistant crops.

Most at risk are fruit, nut and vegetable growers around the country, whose produce is highly susceptible to severe damage from 2,4-D and dicamba — herbicides known to volatilize and drift for miles. In one incident in California’s San Joaquin valley, 2,4-D drifted 100 miles from where it was applied, damaging 15,000 acres of cotton and a pomegranate orchard along the way.

via Monsanto’s new GE crops already in the ground? | Pesticide Action Network.

Arabic is Dying in Lebanon

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

We’ve all tossed around the idea of the Arabic language meeting a slow but sure demise in Lebanon. It was only very recently that a friend and I figured we should strive to lessen mixing languages during our day to day discussions. This has proven to be especially difficult seeing as our day to day discussions stem from elements in our lives where Arabic is as dead as dead goes.

As an example at the top of my head, there are next to no Arabic words that I’m aware of with which I can describe what goes on at the hospital. So I simply revert to the language that makes such descriptions easier. It’s a simple matter of convenience.

However, there are now tangible numbers as to the state of the Arabic language today. Out of more than 61,000 brevet students, only 33.7% managed to get the required 30/60 to…

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WHO | Frequently Asked Questions on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV)

MERS-CoV has recently been found to be genetically related to a virus identified in bats from Southern Africa. But there is no definitive evidence that MERS-CoV originates in bats.

via WHO | Frequently Asked Questions on Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV).

(Such viruses can be easily spread from animal to animal via urine, feces and saliva. And it may be possible that enough virus carrying material has been deposited in and around the hundreds of thousands of date palms grown in the area of Saudi Arabia with the most cases reported. If there was an increase in area planted or more dates in past year – population of bats would increase and so would exposure.)

US: Crop-damaging fruit pest found in North Dakota

Ah – the benefits of globalization and lack of good inspection of plants and produce entering US ports!

A pest that feeds on fresh fruit has been found in North Dakota for the first time, officials said. The spotted-wing drosophila was found in cherries from the Carrington Research Extension Center in Eastern North Dakota’s Foster County. The North Dakota State University Plant Diagnostic Laboratory in Fargo found larvae and one adult female in the fruit.

“This insect is capable of causing serious damage, and growers and gardeners should be on the lookout for the larvae in seemingly healthy fruits,” Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring said Thursday. “It can be confused with the common fruit fly, but it prefers fresh fruit while the fruit fly prefers rotting fruit.”

The spotted-wing drosophila is about 3 millimeters long, yellowish brown in color with prominent red eyes. Males have dark spots on their wing tips. The pest is native to Asia. It was first found in the US in 2008 in California, and has since spread to other parts of the country. It was first detected in Minnesota last Summer.

via US: Crop-damaging fruit pest found in North Dakota.

 

The Gun Report: August 8, 2013 – NYTimes.com

A 9-year-old boy was critically injured in what police say was an accidental shooting in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday afternoon. Three boys were inside a home when a gun fired, striking the victim at least once. No adults were in the house at the time. The two other boys, ages 13 and 16, have been taken in for questioning.

via The Gun Report: August 8, 2013 – NYTimes.com.

Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Rose

You died, Mother, as quickly as a rose,

flew away like a bird bound for the sky.

I am your orphan, miss you now,

my dear angel.

I used to see love in your eyes.

I found life in your love.

I always saw your smile.

Today, Mother, I am needy.

You are not with me, the place you were—

Empty.

My sister cried as you fell

to your sleep, Mother.

All the family weeps.

This sorrow affects us all.

There is no joy, no laughter,

nothing bright now.

My anxiety weighs, gathers gloom.

I miss you, Mom,

travel inward, into my heart,

because that’s where I can find

the heart of you.

I wish I could fly to heaven

and be with you,

my dear Mother.

Come again and touch my shoulder.

By Nelab

via Afghan Women’s Writing Project | Rose.

Herring Filets Recalled over Listeria Concerns | Food Safety News

Gold Star Smoked Fish Corp. of Brooklyn, N.Y., is recalling Baltic Treasures, Norwegian Style Matjes, Marinella “Delicatessnaya,” Jewish Style Matjes, Traditional Russian Matjes, and Rybacka Wies Matjes Brands of Herring Fillets in Oil due to contamination or possible contamination with Listeria monocytogenes.

In addition, Zip International Group LLC of Edison, N.J., is recalling Baltic Sprats in Spicy Brine Net Wt. 15.8 Oz (450g) in plastic packaging, also because of the potential Listeria contamination.

The recalled Gold Star products are packaged in 10.5 oz/300 gram, 17.64oz/500 gram, and 35.5oz/1 kg vacuum packed plastic packages and have sell by dates 103113, 113013, 123113, or 13114 stamped on the back of the container.

The UPC Numbers are 0 21143 24118 1, 0 21143 24119 8, 0 21143 24117 4, 0 21143 24116 7, 0 21143 24101 3, 0 21143 24105 1, 0 21143 24111 2, 0 21143 24103 7, 0 21143 24106 8, 0 21143 24110 5, 0 21143 24102 0, 0 21143 24104 4, 0 21143 24121 1, 0 21143 24122 8, and 0 21143 24123 5.

The products were sold nationwide. They are products of the USA.

via Herring Filets Recalled over Listeria Concerns | Food Safety News.