Category Archives: planetkillers

Makes it Pro-Japan Against Outside World! Japan struggles to keep whaling alive | Asia | DW.DE | 26.02.2014

Junichi Sato, the executive director of the Japan branch of Greenpeace, says the argument has been framed in such a way for the domestic audience that Japanese people largely remain silent, even if they do not agree with the “research whaling” program.

“It has become a cultural conflict pitting Japan against outsiders,” he said. “They have made the argument claiming that if you oppose whaling, you oppose Japanese culture. That makes it very difficult for Japanese people to speak out.

via Japan struggles to keep whaling alive | Asia | DW.DE | 26.02.2014.

Why the Plan to Dig a Canal Across Nicaragua Is So Risky – Wired Science

Isn’t this the same guy who wants to build a bridge from Miami to Havana? Kidding – but makes as much sense :> /

Under the agreement, HKND would raise the $40 billion needed to build the canal and would have the right to operate and manage it for up to 100 years before turning it over to Nicaragua. In the meantime, Nicaragua would have a controlling interest in the canal and receive income from it.

But there are many lingering questions. How HKND–apparently the only company to submit a bid–managed to land the deal, isn’t clear, leaving many Nicaraguans frustrated by their government’s lack of transparency. “Normally when you have a major infrastructure project you have to place bids, that is the law,” says Jorge Huete-Pérez, a biologist and president of Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences. “Here they overlooked the law and chose this company that has no experience building infrastructure.”

Exactly where the money to build the canal will come from is another mystery, as is the role, if any, the Chinese government will play. Wang Jing has denied that the government is involved in the project, as have government officials. But some analysts suspect otherwise.

via Why the Plan to Dig a Canal Across Nicaragua Is So Risky – Wired Science.

Are long-banned PCBs hiding in your clothing, food packaging & paint? | myEARTH360 (the blog)myEARTH360 (the blog)

F$$$ers poisoning us via the back door!

“… a little known fact is that the Toxic Substances Control Act has a big loophole: PCBs are allowed in consumer products as long as their production is unintentional. Oftentimes, PCBs are by-products of chemical processes.

One process that generates a lot of PCBs is the production of pigments, which are used in paints and printing inks. Researchers at the University of Iowa tested batches of paint pigments and found a wide range of PCBs in them. My students here at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, have been testing consumer products that have printing inks in them, including newspapers, magazines, napkins, plastic bags, and even clothing, and finding PCBs in them. That’s right, there are PCBs in your children’s clothing, food packaging, and napkins!“

via Are long-banned PCBs hiding in your clothing, food packaging & paint? | myEARTH360 (the blog)myEARTH360 (the blog).

No coalition after next election, David Cameron to tell voters – report | Politics | theguardian.com

David Cameron has declared he does not want his Conservative party to form another coalition after the next election and would go into minority government instead, according to a report.

Cameron’s Tories are the senior partners in a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats but will fight next May’s general election on a promise not to form another coalition in the event of a hung parliament, the Telegraph reported.

It is expected that a minority government would soon collapse, triggering a second election.

“He’s very clear, he doesn’t want another coalition,” a Cameron confidant told the Telegraph. The paper said Cameron was preparing to fight the next election on a clear promise there would be no coalition if the Conservatives had the chance to form government.

“A promise in the manifesto not to do any deals after the election would make that very clear to voters and ensure they know exactly what the choice is at the election.”

An Ipsos Mori poll published in January showed that 65% of voters did not want a hung parliament at next year’s vote.

via No coalition after next election, David Cameron to tell voters – report | Politics | theguardian.com.

http://youtu.be/LRyrWN-fftE

VDU’s blog: Live bird market closures continue…

Aside : Poultry eggs are mainly produced by >1-billion birds in Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Liaoning, Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hubei, Anhui, Heilongjiang and Jilin (7,8) whereas >4-billion broiler chickens (bred for meat) are more concetrated in Shandong, Jiangsu, Guangxi, Liaoning, Guangdong, Anhui, Sichuan and Henan provinces  (2,6,8,9,10,11,12,13).

Aside : An interesting to read (5,9) that the volume of chicken consumed per capita has risen by 9-fold or more in recent years – it has not always been the staple but is part of the tradition.

via VDU’s blog: Live bird market closures continue….

Yellowstone Begins 2014 Wild Bison Slaughter – Sickening – S | Native News Online

Brucellosis is the reason used by Yellowstone to justify the slaughter of wild bison. There has never been a documented case of wild bison transmitting the livestock disease to cattle. Other wildlife, such as elk, also carry brucellosis and are known to have transmitted it, yet they are free to migrate, and even commingle with cattle with no consequence.

Year after year, Yellowstone and Montana officials executing the ill-conceived Interagency Bison Management Plan forcibly prevent wild bison’s natural migration with hazing, capture, slaughter, quarantine and hunting. Millions of U.S. tax dollars are wasted annually under activities carried out under the IBMP.

The wild bison of the Yellowstone region are America’s last continuously wild population. Like other migratory wildlife, bison cross Yellowstone’s ecologically insignificant boundaries in order to access the habitat they need for survival. During 2007-2008 more than 1,300 wild bison were captured in Yellowstone National Park and shipped to slaughter.

Nearly 7,200 wild bison have been eliminated from America’s last wild population since 1985. Bison once spanned the North American continent, but today, fewer than 4,400 wild bison exist, confined to the man-made boundaries of Yellowstone National Park and consequently are ecologically extinct throughout their native range.

via Yellowstone Begins 2014 Wild Bison Slaughter | Native News Online.

Settlers destroy 700 olive tree saplings near Ramallah | Maan News Agency

Extremist settlers destroyed over 700 newly planted olive tree saplings north of Ramallah on Wednesday, a Palestinian Authority official said.

Ghassan Daghlas, who monitors settlement activity in the northern West Bank, told Ma’an that a group of settlers from the illegal outpost of Ade Ad carried out the attack.

Over 700 saplings belonging to Mahmoud and Rabah Hizma were either uprooted or broken in the al-Sadir area in Turmusayya.

An identity card belonging to one of the perpetrators was found at the scene.

via Settlers destroy 700 olive tree saplings near Ramallah | Maan News Agency.

Recall: Nearly 230,000 pounds of egg products over salmonella by Washington company | OregonLive.com

Here’s a list of the recalled products:

1,383-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag Egg Mix, Butter Flavor” with the lot code “C0513-A”

2,540-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “B1913-A”

2,409-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “B1913-B”

4,712-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “E0713-A,B”

1,265-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag, Heat and Serve” with the lot code “F1813-A”

4,155-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “I1113-A”

6,132-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg, Cage Free” with the lot code “J2913-A”

9,345-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg, Cage Free” with the lot code “A1414-A”

3.06-lb. bags of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag Egg Mix, Butter Flavor” with the Julian dates “3074” and “3075”

2.34-lb. bags of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag, Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3122,” “3123,” “3124,” “3127,” “3128” and “3129”

4.5-oz. cans of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian date “2903,” “1343” and “2893”

4-oz. bags of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0853” and “0863”

4.5-oz. bags of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0853,” “0863” and “0873”

1.75-lb. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0813,” “1083,”  “1093,” “1433,” “1443,” “1573,” “1723,” “2063,” “2163,” “2173,” “2183” “2243,” “2253,” “2183,” “2533,” “2543,” “2553,” “2563,” “2673,” “2683,” “2693” and “2703”

3.2-oz. bags of “Wise Company, Wise Blend” with the Julian dates “0953” and “0993”

2-oz. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “2073,” “2063,” “2163,” “2603,” “2613” “2903,” “2913,” “2953,” “2963,” “3173” and “3183”

3.2-oz. packs of “Wise Company, Wise Blend” with the Julian dates “1133,” “1143,” “1153,” “1163” and “1353”

1.17-lb. bags of “OvaEasy UGRA Boil-in-Bag, Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3129,” “3130” and “3137”

1.75-lb. packs of “OvaEasy” with the Julian dates “2163,” “2173,” “2183” and “2243”

4.5-oz. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “2563,” “2623” and “2633”

1.1-lb. packs of “OvaEasy UGR H&S” with the Julian dates “3173,” “3174,” “3175,” “3177,” “3178,” “3179,” “3180,” “3181,” “3182,” “3183,” “3194,” “3195,” “3196,” “3197,” “3198” and “3199”

1.1-lb. packs of “G0213-A UGR H&S” with the Julian dates “3186,” “3187,” “3189,” “3190” and “3191”

128-gram packs of “Egg Crystal, Sea Salt and Pepper” with the Julian date “3033”

128-gram packs of “Egg Crystal, Sausage and Herb” with the Julian date “3043”

1.17-lb. packs of “OvaEasy UGR-A Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3141,” “3142,” “3148,” “3149” and “3150”

3-oz. packs of “eFoods Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates of “3173” and “3183”

via Recall: Nearly 230,000 pounds of egg products over salmonella by Washington company | OregonLive.com.

Avian Flu Diary: Malaysian MOH Statement On Imported H7N9

We have met the enemy who will perhaps spread a world pandemic that may kill half or more of the human race – It is us!

Last month, in Start Spreading the Flus, we talked about the potential downsides of using antipyretic meds (ibuprofen, acetaminophen or paracetamol, etc) when experiencing flu-like symptoms, as they can lull one into going to work or school, or even on vacation, and end up exposing others to the virus.

In 2009, in Vietnam Discovers Passengers Beating Thermal Scanners we looked at reports of people using fever reducing meds to evade airline passenger screening during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic.
When the bills have to be paid, a deadline has to be met, or a long-planned vacation is at risk, most people will try to find a way to fight through what they believe is a `minor’ viral infection.
And while penny wise and  pound foolish, society tends to reward perfect attendance and `toughing it out’ when sick, while punishing those who follow the advice of medical authorities to `stay home’ when sick.  All of which conspires to make it virtually impossible to stop even a moderately infectious respiratory virus from spreading rapidly in a susceptible population.

 

Avian Flu Diary: Malaysian MOH Statement On Imported H7N9.

Amazon CARES: Deforestation of Peru’s Rainforest Threatens The Amazon & The World

But now, the Romero Group, a wealthy and powerful conglomerate of several international corporations, has started to destroy the Amazon rainforest at an accelerated pace. They are planning to destroy as much as 43million acres (18 million hectares) of our forests, to create palm oil plantations.

via Amazon CARES: Deforestation of Peru’s Rainforest Threatens The Amazon & The World.