Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Wisconsin School District Opts Out of Free Lunch Program (Me: Hard to imagine politics is used to make kids go hungry)

So why does the school board want to possibly operate at a loss in order to not give kids food? They simply don’t want the kids to become too dependent on food, which, as everyone knows is a gateway drug to both being able to focus and, of course, continuing to live. According to some board members, sparing the food will help avoid spoiling the families:

“Karin Rajnicek, a board member, said the free program made it easy for families to “become spoiled.” Darren Clark, assistant superintendent for business services, said there could be a “slow addiction” to the service.”

According to the Post, 36 percent of Waukesha’s students qualified for free or reduced lunch in 2018-19. The language around the idea of “spoiling families” is awfully telling about who is entitled to learn without the burden of being hungry: Those whose families can afford it.

Source: Wisconsin School District Opts Out of Free Lunch Program

From 30 Million Cases to Zero (Malaria in China)

At the end of June, the World Health Organization certified China as having eliminated malaria. The announcement may have gotten a little drowned out by the mass spectacles surrounding the Communist Party’s 100th birthday, but make no mistake: going from 30 million cases annually to zero really is a reason to be cheerful. There are a lot of places that would like to emulate China — malaria is one of the top public health threats around the world, with 200 million cases and 400,000 deaths per year. And while a number of other countries are malaria-free — most recently El Salvador, Algeria, Argentina, Paraguay and Uzbekistan — many more are eager to know how the Chinese did it.

Source: From 30 Million Cases to Zero

Afghan ISIS offshoot ISKP takes on Taliban and US with deadly Kabul bombing | openDemocracy

…there isn’t universal euphoria among extremist Islamists about the Taliban takeover, with ISIS emerging as a key source of dissent. And its Afghan affiliate, ISKP (Islamic State Khorasan Province), has claimed responsibility for the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul yesterday that has killed over more than 90 people and wounded at least 150.

Its main aim was to kill American soldiers, not least as revenge for the tens of thousands of ISIS supporters killed in the US-led air war in Iraq and Syria that only ended three years ago. And so its current leadership will draw satisfaction from the fact that the bomb killed 13 American soldiers and wounded 18.

Source: Afghan ISIS offshoot ISKP takes on Taliban and US with deadly Kabul bombing | openDemocracy

Understand what the time frame is – and how it affects indigenous peoples – Mágica Mistura 車

Nesta quinta-feira (26), teve início a votação da tese do marco temporal no Supremo Tribunal Federal (STF), que deve ser retomada na próxima quarta (1º). Diante disso, povos indígenas e apoiadores, que temem os impactos da medida sobre a demarcação de terras indígenas, se juntaram em Brasília para protestar. Mais de 6 mil indígenas foram…

Source: Understand what the time frame is – and how it affects indigenous peoples – Mágica Mistura 車

L.A.-sized tract of primary forest went up in flames in DRC province in 2020

  • In 2020, more than 1,500 square kilometers (580 square miles) of old-growth forest burned in Sankuru province, including extensive tracts in a nature reserve.
  • Overall, the DRC recorded its second-biggest decline in primary forest cover last year, according to data from Global Forest Watch (GFW), a platform developed by World Resources Institute.
  • Forests in the country face increasing pressure from a constellation of factors: a growing population, climatic shifts like shorter rainy seasons, and, more recently, COVID-19-linked turmoil.
  • In the past two years alone, more than 1,000 km2 (390 mi2) of land in Sankuru Nature Reserve was set alight.

Source: L.A.-sized tract of primary forest went up in flames in DRC province in 2020

 NO to the « Time Limit Trick » – An aberration!

Barbara Crane Navarro

NO to the Time Limit Trick!

«’Time frame’ is a path of the enemies of the forest against my people. ‘Time frame’ for me means stealing more Yanomami land. Stealing more from our lands that have already been demarcated, ratified and registered by the Brazilian government.»

– Spokesperson and shaman Yanomami Davi Kopenawa

Demarcation of indigenous lands NOW!

Since August 22nd, over 6,000 native people from 176 indigenous nations have gathered outside Brazil’s Supreme Court in Brasilia to demand that the justices rule in their favor and reject the time limit date of 1988, adopted by the Bolsonaro government in 2016 and promoted by the agribusiness, cattle ranching, logging and gold mining sectors.

The legal appeal by the Xokleng people of Santa Catarina state, maintaining that the «time frame» is an overly narrow interpretation of indigenous rights that recognizes only the lands occupied by native communities at the time Brazil’s…

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Lideranças indígenas, antropólogos, advogados e representantes da Justiça ressaltam a importância do julgamento do marco temporal em evento —

Barbara Crane Navarro

O debate virtual, organizado pelo CNJ (Conselho Nacional de Justiça) com apoio da Comissão Arns, contou com personalidades como Joênia Wapichana, Sônia Guajajara e os caciques Davi Kopenawa e Raoni Metuktire, na noite de segunda-feira (23); O “II Encontro Virtual sobre Liberdade de Expressão: Liberdade de expressão dos Povos Indígenas” aconteceu em virtude da semana[…]

Lideranças indígenas, antropólogos, advogados e representantes da Justiça ressaltam a importância do julgamento do marco temporal em evento —

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Brazil: Reject Anti-Indigenous Rights Bill! – Human Rights Watch

Barbara Crane Navarro

Time Limit Trick

Brazil: Reject Anti-Indigenous Rights Bill – Human Rights Watch https://ift.tt/3mtFTMq Brazil: Reject Anti-Indigenous Rights BillHuman Rights Watch Superforest via “deforestation” – Google Newshttps://ift.tt/2tI2HiE

Brazil: Reject Anti-Indigenous Rights Bill – Human Rights Watch —

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It Should Be Humanitarian, Not Political!

Filosofa's Word

The 24/7 press about the situation in Afghanistan wears on one’s psyche, especially in light of all the finger-pointing, mud-slinging and everyone putting their own coat of varnish on the situation and its political ramifications.  I am a forever supporter of a free press, but … in return, I expect them to be responsible in their reporting.  This responsibility seems to be largely lacking at the moment.

Nobody can sum up a situation quite like New York Times’ Frank Bruni, so I shall leave it to him to unpack the current chaos …


Stop Politicizing the Misery in Afghanistan

By Frank Bruni

Opinion writer

26 August 2021

Democrats are panicked that the debacle in Afghanistan will shake American voters’ confidence in not only President Biden but also the rest of the party, potentially costing it control of the Senate and the House in 2022. They’ve said as much — to…

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Tropical Storm Ida forms but system moving away from Jamaica – The Den

Tropical Depression Nine is now Tropical Storm Ida.

The system formed in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday (August 26) and continues to bring heavy winds and rains across Jamaica.

According to the latest update from the Met Service, the system is moving away from the island, however the flash flood warning remains in effect for all parishes until Friday (August 27) at 5:00 p.m.

According to the Miami-based National Hurricane Centre, Ida is moving toward the northwest near 12 mph (26 km/h) and this general motion should continue over the next few days.

On the forecasted track, the center of Ida will pass near or over the Cayman Islands during the next few hours.

The system is forecasted to approach the U.S. northern Gulf coast on Sunday.

Source: Tropical Storm Ida forms but system moving away from Jamaica – The Den