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A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Khouloud and Nidale are a couple that distracted everyone from the utter failure of our politicians at coming up with an electoral law last week with them using loopholes in Lebanon’s political system to have a civil marriage in Beirut. Everyone was abuzz with what the couple did.

But, as is the case with Lebanon, not all reactions were positive and their marriage left us with more questions than answers (link).

The first official reaction to the marriage was Lebanon’s president Michel Suleiman who expressed his support to what Khouloud and Nidale did, voicing the need for civil marriage in Lebanon. His statement was also echoed by the Maronite Patriarch Bechara Al Raï.

Soon enough, our prime minister Najib Mikati was the first to shoot down hope of ratifying a proposal to have legalize marriage in Lebanon because we “don’t need such controversial issues at the time being.”…

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Beautiful in all seasons

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

I finally had enough time on my hand to visit one of my favorite places in Lebanon: the Cedar mountains. They are probably the most underrated locations in the country and are nowhere near as visited as they should be because, quite frankly, very few places in this country can rival them in sheer landscape beauty.

Using my iPhone 5’s panorama feature, I was able to capture what I believe are pretty decent shots of the drive up to the mountains, the town of Becharre with its snowy mountainous backdrop, the Cedar Mountains themselves and part of the Kadisha Valley known as Qozhaya on the way back.

These locations may be far from Beirut – about 130 km – but they’re worth every single minute spent driving and every dollar spent in gas. I think I’m lucky that I live nearby and only need about 30 minutes to get there.

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chtodelat news

In August 2012, the magazine Russian Reporter published a long, detailed article on Valentin Urusov, a diamond miner and trade union activist from Yakutia who was sentenced to six years in prison for drug possession in 2008. I hadn’t heard of Urusov before. Few in and outside Russia have. Despite efforts over the last four years to increase international pressure to have him freed, Urusov’s plight and that of Russian political prisoners like him get overshadowed by more capitalist friendly names like Mikhail Khodorkovsky and the late Hermitage Capital lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in Russian police custody in 2009, or the more sensational and repackageable Pussy Riot. It’s safe to say we won’t be hearing about the US Congress sponsoring a “Urusov Law,” nor will any of his tormentors find themselves on a US State Department persona non grata list.

Many regard Urusov’s conviction, based on what they allege…

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Thank you for your efforts and insights

Nervana

This is a collection of photos from Egypt, from  various sources, as the country mark the second anniversary of its revolution.  To me, it was a surreal, poignant, and sad event. These photos powerfully reflects what is good and also what is badly wrong about Egypt now.


Tahrir early FridayTahrir. Twitter via @Beltrew

Sabahi

Egyptian opposition leader Sabbahi ( Daily News Egypt)

National  Front of Egypt women National Front of Egypt’s women. Twitter via @ Beltrew

Tahrir again1

Women with Hijab and niqb protesting in Tahrir. Twitter

Sufi socialistSheikh Samir Mansi, a Sufi- socialist who thinks the consititution is poison. He bears the crescent and the cross. Twitter via @erincunningham

wheelchair A disabled Egyptian joins the march. Twitter via @Egyptocracy

Who rule EgyptProtestor hold a sign” who rule Egypt? Morsi, Supreme Guide, or Obama?” Twitter via @betsey_heil

US tahrir

A man holding a sign asking for the U.S. to stop supporting Morsi.Twiter via @betsey_heil

Qasr-El-Aini-3

Protestors attempting to tear down the security wall in Cairo. Daily News Egypt

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Pride's Purge

(satire)

The government has announced it is to close a loophole in which thousands of able-bodied young military personnel are abusing the benefits system by travelling to Afghanistan and other places in the Middle East and returning to the UK without limbs in order to claim disability benefits.

Government ministers say under the system put into place by the previous Labour administration – cheats can use a loophole in the benefit rules which allows people to join the armed forces and be sent to places like Afghanistan where they can be blown up and shot at, thereby enabling them to claim thousands of pounds in disability benefits on their return to the country.

The government is tackling the problem with a two-pronged attack. Firstly, they are reducing the military’s effectiveness by cutting the number of armed forces personnel by 25% – thereby ensuring more of its members are killed outright rather…

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Cannot possibly add anything to this whimsy – except to say read it!

Pride's Purge

(satire – sort of)

The Food Standards Agency is urgently investigating how excess amounts of artificial sweeteners – including significant traces of fudge – have been allowed to find their way into what was supposed to be the red meat of David Cameron’s speech today on Britain’s relationship with the EU.

The Food Safety Authority reported on Wednesday that results of an analysis they carried out into the speech have revealed it also contained dangerous levels of unprocessed tripe – which they say accounted for as much as 80% of the total red meat content of the speech.

The FSA also expressed concerns about the inaccuracy of some of the labelling of a number of the ingredients contained within the speech – which had been sold to the public as pure British bulldog but was in fact found to contain large traces of cattle, sheep and chicken DNA.

According to…

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Profiling Yersinia enterocolitica « eFoodAlert

What is yersiniosis? How long does it take to develop?

Yersinia enterocolitica infections in younger children usually result in enterocolitis – diarrhea, low-grade fever and abdominal pain. In older children and young adults, the infection may produce symptoms that resemble appendicitis. Symptoms typically require from one to 11 days to develop.

What are the symptoms of Yersinia enterocolitica infections?

Symptoms may include diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, and vomiting. The severity of the symptoms depends upon the age of the victim and the size of the dose. The disease symptoms last from one to three weeks in most cases.

What is the prognosis of a Yersinia enterocolitica infection?

Most infections are self-limiting; however, complications and secondary illnesses can include appendicitis, arthritis, erythema nodosum, bacteremia, or extraintestinal infections. Among individuals who develop bacteremia (infection of the bloodstream), the fatality rate is 34-50%.

What foods carry Yersinia enterocolitica?

Yersinia enterocolitica has been found in meats (beef, poultry, lamb and, especially pork), milk and other dairy products, and seafood. Many – but not all – of the strains found in food are not pathogenic to humans.

How can people protect themselves from Yersinia enterocolitica infections?

Yersinia enterocolitica is killed during pasteurization of milk and by normal cooking procedures. Ways to minimize the risk of contracting an infection include:

Always cook pork, beef, lamb and poultry thoroughly, to an internal temperature of 165ºF (74ºC)

Take care to avoid contact between raw meat juices and foods that are ready-to-eat, including cooked meats, side dishes, salads and desserts

Wash and sanitize hands, utensils and work surfaces after working with any raw meat

Avoid consuming raw milk and dairy products made using unpasteurized milk

Avoid drinking untreated water

Always wash hands after touching a pet or barnyard animal

Do not allow toddlers and young children to play with pets or barnyard animals unsupervised.

via Profiling Yersinia enterocolitica « eFoodAlert.

read b4 u eat

eFoodAlert

Here is today’s list of food safety recalls, product withdrawals, allergy alerts and miscellaneous compliance issues. The live links will take you directly to the official recall notices and company news releases that contain detailed information for each recall and alert.

If you would like to receive automatic email alerts for all new articles posted on eFoodAlert, please submit your request using the sidebar link.

United States

  • Allergy Alert:C & H Meat Company (Vernon, CA) recalls Korean Brand BBQ Flavored Spicy Pork Butt (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013), Marinated Spicy Pork Butt (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013) and Korean Brand BBQ Flavored Spicy Boneless Chicken Leg Meat (10-oz pkgs and bulk pkgs; Produced through Jan 16, 2013), due to undeclared monosodium glutamate (MSG). The recalled products were distributed to retail establishments and restaurants in California.
  • Food Safety Recall:Knott’s Fine…

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Nervana

Mali image(Photo, the Atlantic)

Initially published in the Daily News Egypt.

The history of Mali is heartbreaking to read. The land that had once been a prosperous empire and one of Africa’s most stable democracies has fallen victim to locusts, hunger, and rebellion.

The year 2012 was a turning point in the history of this unfortunate nation; a military coup in March 2012 has led to the fall of the nation’s democratically elected government at the hands of a group of disgruntled junior soldiers. This event ultimately destroyed the military’s command-and-control structure and created a void of power that was filled by rebel groups.

Several rebel groups in Mali have a long, complex history. The recent crisis is mainly triggered by radical, Islamist groups, including Ansar Dine, the Al-Qaeda organization in the Islamic Maghreb AQIM, and Movement for Unity and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO).

In July 2012, this coalition succeeded in controlling all…

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Dengue and cholera – we can protect ourselves better by living with nature and taking care of our communities properly

Through the Eye of the Needle

When I was a child, I heard my grandmother talk about the hard times of cholera, and of how her family had escaped from this terrible disease. That was all I knew of this plaque, pure history.

And it turns out that now, in the 21st century, in “my beloved planet”, that terrible word is mentioned again. After those stories told by his grandmother María, I again heard about this pandemic when I enjoyed reading the famous novel by García Márquez: Love in the Time of Cholera, passionately losing myself in his unforgettable character Florentino Ariza.

I was surprised, it’s true, that for so many years we had weathered the danger of such a plague, because our beloved island is increasingly sinking into more precarious hygienic conditions die to the apathy and neglect in all sectors, in all social spheres. Thanks to our relentless sun, we have survived some…

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