The 11 Cities Most Likely To Run Out Of Drinking Water – Like Cape Town

Cape Town is in the unenviable situation of being the first major city in the modern era to face the threat of running out of drinking water.

However, the plight of the drought-hit South African city is just one extreme example of a problem that experts have long been warning about – water scarcity.

Despite covering about 70% of the Earth’s surface, water, especially drinking water, is not as plentiful as one might think. Only 3% of it is fresh.

Over one billion people lack access to water and another 2.7 billion find it scarce for at least one month of the year. A 2014 survey of the world’s 500 largest cities estimates that one in four are in a situation of “water stress”

According to UN-endorsed projections, global demand for fresh water will exceed supply by 40% in 2030, thanks to a combination of climate change, human action and population growth.

It shouldn’t be a surprise, then, that Cape Town is just the tip of the iceberg. Here are the other 11 cities most likely to run out of water.

1. São Paulo

Brazil’s financial capital and one of the 10 most populated cities in the world went through a similar ordeal to Cape Town in 2015, when the main reservoir fell below 4% capacity.

At the height of the crisis, the city of over 21.7 million inhabitants had less than 20 days of water supply and police had to escort water trucks to stop looting.

It is thought a drought that affected south-eastern Brazil between 2014 and 2017 was to blame, but a UN mission to São Paulo was critical of the state authorities “lack of proper planning and investments”.

The water crisis was deemed “finished” in 2016, but in January 2017 the main reserves were 15% below expected for the period – putting the city’s future water supply once again in doubt.

2. Bangalore

Local officials in the southern Indian city have been bamboozled by the growth of new property developments following Bangalore’s rise as a technological hub and are struggling to manage the city’s water and sewage systems.

To make matters worse, the city’s antiquated plumbing needs an urgent upheaval; a report by the national government found that the city loses over half of its drinking water to waste.

Like China, India struggles with water pollution and Bangalore is no different: an in-depth inventory of the city’s lakes found that 85% had water that could only be used for irrigation and industrial cooling.

Not a single lake had suitable water for drinking or bathing.

3. Beijing

The World Bank classifies water scarcity as when people in a determined location receive less than 1,000 cubic metres of fresh water per person a year.

In 2014, each of the more than 20 million inhabitants of Beijing had only 145 cubic metres.

China is home to almost 20% of the world’s population but has only 7% of the world’s fresh water.

A Columbia University study estimates that the country’s reserves declined 13% between 2000 and 2009.

4. Cairo

Once crucial to the establishment of one of the world’s greatest civilisations, the River Nile is struggling in modern times.

It is the source of 97% of Egypt’s water but also the destination of increasing amounts of untreated agricultural, and residential waste.

World Health Organization figures show that Egypt ranks high among lower middle-income countries in terms of the number of deaths related to water pollution.

The UN estimates critical shortages in the country by 2025.

5. Jakarta

Like many coastal cities, the Indonesian capital faces the threat of rising sea levels.

But in Jakarta the problem has been made worse by direct human action. Because less than half of the city’s 10 million residents have access to piped water, illegal digging of wells is rife. This practice is draining the underground aquifers, almost literally deflating them.

As a consequence, about 40% of Jakarta now lies below sea level, according to World Bank estimates.

To make things worse, aquifers are not being replenished despite heavy rain because the prevalence of concrete and asphalt means that open fields cannot absorb rainfall.

6. Moscow

One-quarter of the world’s fresh water reserves are in Russia, but the country is plagued by pollution problems caused by the industrial legacy of the Soviet era.

That is specifically worrying for Moscow, where the water supply is 70% dependent on surface water.

Official regulatory bodies admit that 35% to 60% of total drinking water reserves in Russia do not meet sanitary standards

7. Istanbul

According to official Turkish government figures, the country is technically in a situation of a water stress, since the per capita supply fell below 1,700 cubic metres in 2016.

Local experts have warned that the situation could worsen to water scarcity by 2030.

In recent years, heavily populated areas like Istanbul (14 million inhabitants) have begun to experience shortages in the drier months.

The city’s reservoir levels declined to less than 30 percent of capacity at the beginning of 2014.

8. Mexico City

Water shortages are nothing new for many of the 21 million inhabitants of the Mexican capital.

One in five get just a few hours from their taps a week and another 20% have running water for just part of the day.

The city imports as much as 40% of its water from distant sources but has no large-scale operation for recycling wastewater. Water losses because of problems in the pipe network are also estimated at 40%.

9. London

Of all the cities in the world, London is not the first that springs to mind when one thinks of water shortages.

The reality is very different. With an average annual rainfall of about 600mm (less than the Paris average and only about half that of New York), London draws 80% of its water from rivers (the Thames and Lea).

According to the Greater London Authority, the city is pushing close to capacity and is likely to have supply problems by 2025 and “serious shortages” by 2040.

It looks likely that hosepipe bans could become more common in the future.

10. Tokyo

The Japanese capital enjoys precipitation levels similar to that of Seattle on the US west coast, which has a reputation for rain. Rainfall, however, is concentrated during just four months of the year.

That water needs to be collected, as a drier-than-expected rainy season could lead to a drought. At least 750 private and public buildings in Tokyo have rainwater collection and utilisation systems.

Home to more than 30 million people, Tokyo has a water system that depends 70% on surface water (rivers, lakes, and melted snow).

Recent investment in the pipeline infrastructure aims also to reduce waste by leakage to only 3% in the near future.

11. Miami

The US state of Florida is among the five US states most hit by rain every year. However, there is a crisis brewing in its most famous city, Miami.

An early 20th Century project to drain nearby swamps had an unforeseen result; water from the Atlantic Ocean contaminated the Biscayne Aquifer, the city’s main source of fresh water.

Although the problem was detected in the 1930s, seawater still leaks in, especially because the American city has experienced faster rates of sea level rise, with water breaching underground defence barriers installed in recent decades.

Neighbouring cities are already struggling. Hallandale Beach, which is just a few miles north of Miami, had to close six of its eight wells due to saltwater intrusion.

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Cardinal Wilfrid Napier: Abortion Culture Cannot Hope for ‘Happy or Peaceful Future’

The intrepid Cardinal Wilfrid Napier has once again blasted the modern abortion-rights culture, suggesting that a society that “destroys its unborn babies with such abandon” should never hope to have a happy or peaceful future.

The South African Cardinal was responding to news posted on social media by pro-life champion Obianuju Ekeocha, who noted that only three days into 2018, the world had already seen the deaths of 293,548 unborn babies through “legal” abortion.

“I beg all people of goodwill to speak up against this injustice,” Ms. Ekeocha said. “Make it part of your mission this year to be unabashedly pro-life.”

Cardinal Napier replied with a rhetorical question, “How can a culture that destroys its unborn babies with such abandon ever hope to have a happy or peaceful future, which is the deepest-seated desire of every human heart?”

Shortly afterward, the prelate launched another indictment of the abortion lobby, this time in response to an Ohio ad campaign by an abortion provider that calls abortion “life-saving,” “sacred,” “a blessing,” and “safer than childbirth.”

“To say abortion is safer than child birth,” the cardinal tweeted, “is like saying ‘life’ in a grave in the cemetery is safer than life on the street. On the street you could get knocked over by a bus, mugged by a desperate drug user, or shot by an extremist!”

This is not the first time this cardinal, who is also the archbishop of Durban, has strongly voiced his firm opposition to the killing of children in the womb.

Last January, the cardinal reacted forcefully to President Obama’s farewell address to the nation by reminding people that Obama had been a global advocate of abortion-on-demand as well as an enemy of religious liberty.

Immediately following the farewell address, Napier retweeted a number of particularly pointed critiques of the outgoing president and his legacy, stressing the irony of Obama as a “son of Africa” funding illegal abortions in Africa as well as Marie Stopes International, the notorious abortion promoter that works throughout African nations.

In the summer of 2016, Napier called for an apology for the countless deaths at the hands of the U.S. abortion industry and, in particular, the disproportionate number of black babies who have been aborted, which he referred to as “genocide.”

Quoting the figure of more than 57 million babies legally aborted in the United States since the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision (from Planned Parenthood’s own Guttmacher Institute), the Cardinal asked, “Isn’t this something we should be apologizing for?”

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Study Unveils The Stomach-Turning Truth That Fast Food Burgers Are Made with Less Than 2% Real Meat

Rumors have circulated for years about how the meat used by fast food restaurants is fake or even made from other animals besides cows.

According to NaturalSociety these cheaply-processed foods fuels illness and disease due to containing numerous harmful ingredients – some of which are actually banned in other countries.

A study published in the journal Annals of Diagnostic Pathology, found that some fast food hamburgers may contain as little as 2% actual meat.

For this study, researchers analyzed the content of 8 fast food hamburger brands.

To ensure that there was no bias in the results, they assigned each hamburger with an anonymously designated name, ranging from H1 to H8.

While it is widely assumed that hamburgers are made up primarily of meat, much of the 5 billion hamburgers consumed by Americans annually actual contain very little meat (and could contain a whole host of other, unhealthy ingredients.

Here is an analysis of what you might find lurking in a fast food hamburger according to the study’s findings:

• Water content by weight ranged from 37.7% to 62.4% (mean of 49%).
• Meat content in the hamburgers ranged from 2.1% to 14.8% (median of 12.1%).
• The cost per gram of hamburger ranged from $0.02 to $0.16 (median of $0.03).
• Relatively preserved skeletal muscle was observed.
• A variety of tissue types besides skeletal muscle were observed including connective tissue, blood vessels, peripheral nerve, adipose tissue, plant material, cartilage, and bone.
• In 2 hamburgers, intracellular parasites were identified.

The study concluded that:

“Fast food hamburgers are comprised of little meat (median, 12.1%). Approximately half of their weight is made up of water. Unexpected tissue types found in some hamburgers included bone, cartilage, and plant material; no brain tissue was present. Sarcocystis parasites were discovered in 2 hamburgers.”

The study abstract nor the 4 pages of the study reveal where the 8 hamburgers came from, which most individuals will find upsetting.

However the study most likely involved at least some popular fast food hamburgers, leaving you to make your own educated conclusion.

In the end, the research simply backs the notion that fast food is questionable at best and health-compromising at worst.

The junk food may be cheap, but it is questionable what you’re actually paying for with conventional food this day and age.

Fast food hamburgers contain numerous health-damaging ingredients, and is the complete opposite of healthful organic beef coming from grass-fed cows. Avoid fast food; good health depends on it.

The video below reveals more disgusting truths about how consumers are being secretly tricked by some companies.

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Is The Doner a Goner? EU Rules Could See Kebabs Banned | ከ “እባብ”

KEBAB = ከ “እባብ”

• The European Union’s legislature moving to ban the phosphates used meat slabs
• Citing health concerns based on studies that linked phosphates to heart disease
• But takeaway owners say there is ‘doner discrimination’ against Turkish business

A change in European Union rules could see doner kebabs banned across the continent, infuriating takeaways and fast-food lovers.

The European Union’s legislature is moving to ban the phosphates used in the slabs of meat at the heart of the popular street snack that originated in Turkey.

Up-in-arms kebab vendors in Germany have skewered the idea.

EU lawmakers are citing health concerns based on studies that linked phosphates to cardiovascular disease.

Owners of takeaway restaurants and industry groups claim the additives are needed to keep seasoned kebab meat juicy and flavorful, both during transport and on the vertical retail rotisseries where it is cooked.

Fueling the brouhaha is that some sausages containing phosphates are allowed to be sold in EU countries and would not be affected by any move involving kebab meat.

The disparity has some vendors alleging that ‘doner discrimination’ was cooked up deliberately to disadvantage Turkish-owned businesses.

‘If the European Parliament gets its way, this would be the death sentence for the entire doner kebab industry in the European Union,’ Kenan Koyuncu of the German Association of Doner Kebab Producers told Germany’s Bild daily newspaper.

Renate Sommer, a member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party in the European Parliament, wrote on Facebook that ‘a ban of the phosphate addition would be the end of doner production and would lead to the loss of thousands of jobs.’

Selected Comments:

Good it’s disgusting foreign junk anyway

Kebabs are truly awful, but then again, so is the majority of fast food

For once I agree with the eu. kebab meat is not fit for animals never mind humans.

It’s disgusting, vile and not fit for human consumption. I would not give my dog kebab meat!!!!

If you watched what went into a Kebab you would never eat one YUK

It’s all halal–i do not eat halal knowingly

They should ban the halal meat that goes into them

I’d have thought the biggest threat to health is the unhygienic way the meat is prepared, stored and handled.

Funny how people like the Turks always quote persecution over tiny matters when in their “liberal” country people actually disappear and are never seen again. Why don’t you go back if you don’t like it here.?

Good idea..Close all the a Kebab shops down, you never see a Turk eat a Donor Kebab do you? They have more sense, the donor Kebab is 90% fat and gristle and only served and purchased by British Drunks coss any sane person wouldn’t touch one with a bargepole. 5-7years ago health and safety raided 20 Kebab shops up and down the country to test how much Lamb % was in their Donors. 15 had less than 5% 4 hadn’t any Lamb at all and used substitute meats like chicken which was cheaper and 1 shop after testing didn’t have Lamb, Chicken, Beef, Pork or any meats whatsoever, even being tested for Dog and Cat and after DNA testing coudn’t work out what was actually in the Kebab whatsoever!!.

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አዲስ አበባ | ወገኔ፡ አሳሳቢና አስደንጋጭ የሆነ ውፍረት በእህቶቻችን ላይ እየታየ ነው!!!

በየአብያተክርስቲያናቱ አባቶች፦“ሴቶቻችን ውስጥ የገባው ጋኔን ይውጣልን!”

እያሉ ጸሎት ማድረስ ጀምረዋል።

ዛሬ፤ እንደገና፡ ቀኑን ሙሉ ሲያሳስበኝ የዋለ ጉዳይ ነው…

ጌታዬ አምላኬ፣ ፈጣሪዬ ሆይ፡ ጠላቶችህ፡ በጥቁር አሜሪካውያን ላይ የተጠቀሙትን ዓይነት ዲያብሎሳዊ ትሪክ በየዋሆቹ እህቶቼ ላይ እየተጠቀሙ ነው፤ አባቴ ሆይ፡ አንተ ታያቸዋለህና ዝም አትበል…

በጣም ብዙ የሆንት እህቶቻችን የወሊድ መከላከያውን እንደ ክረሜላ ነው የሚወስዱት፤ የሚያስጠነቅቃቸው፣ የሚመክራቸውና የሚያስተምራቸው አካል የለም፤ በጣም ነው የሚያሳዝነው።

ምግብንም በሚመለክት፤ እንደ ምሳሌ አድርጌ ቪዲዮ ውስጥ “በርገር” ቤቱን አቅርቤዋለሁ፦

ቦሌ መድኃኔ ዓለም ፊት ለፊት፤ መድኃኔ ዓለም እየተባለ የሚጠራው ህንፃ ሥር፡ በእንግሊዝኛው ይጠራል፡ “InN Out Burger“ የሚባል ትልቅና “ዘመናዊ/ፈረንጃዊ” የፈጣን ምግብ ቤት አለ። ዶሮና ድንች ጥብስ፣ በርገሮችና የመሳሰሉትን የፈረንጅ ምግቦች ነው የሚያቀርቡት። ባጠቃላይ፡ ቦሌና ሃያሁለት በመሳሰሉት አካባቢዎች ጣፋጩንና ጤነኛውን ኢትዮጵያኛ የእንጀራ ምግብ ማግኘት በጣም ከባድ ነው። የሚገኝ ከሆነ እንኳን ምግቡ ሁሉ በአደገኛው ዘንባባ ዘይት የተሠራ ነው።

አንን ቀን አመሻሽ ላይ፡ እስኪ ልቅመሰው ብዬ በረንዳው ላይ ቁጭ አልኩ፤ የተቆራረጡ ዶሮዎችና (ሁሉ ነገር በእንግሊዝኛ ነው„Chicken Nuggets“ ብለውታል)የድንች ጥብሶች አቀረቡልኝ። ለመግለጽ ያዳግተኛል፤ አንዷን ቁራጭ ዶሮና ድንቹን እንደቀመስኩ በጣም አጥወለወልኝ፣ አፈር አፈር ይላል ብል አፈርን መስደብ ይሆንብኝል፤ አፈር የተሻለ ይጣፍጣል፡ የበለጠም ጥቅም ይኖረዋል፤ ይህ ግን ዶሮውም ድንቹም፡ ከፈርንጅ አገሩ እንኳን ሲነጻጸር በጣም የተለየ ነው።

አሳላፊውን ጠርቼ ይቅርታ ስለምቸኩል አልጨረስኩትም ብዬ ሂሳቤን ከከፈልኩ በኋላ ወርጄ ሄድኩ። ምነው ብለው ደነገጡ። ትንሽም ሄደት እንዳልኩ፤ አንዲት ወጣት እህታችን መንገድ ዳር ቁጭ ብላና ጨቅላዋን አቅፋ ትለምናለች…..ኩምሽሽ ብዬ አብሪያት ቁጭ አልኩ…እዚያ ሬስቶራንት ለዚያ ምግብ 95 ብር ነበር የከፈልኩት…ሬስቶራንቱ ውስጥ እስከ መቶ የሚጠጉ ወጣቶች እየተጯጯሁ ይመገባሉ፤ በብዙ ብር የሚገመት ምግብ ያዛሉ… በሽተኞች የሚያደርጋቸውን/ የሚያደርገንን ምግብ ይወስዳሉ/ እንወስዳለን…እዚህ ደግሞ እህታችን፡ ልክ እንደ ማርያም ልጇን አቅፋ፡ ትለምናለች….. ያው እስካሁን ልረሳው የማልችለው ገጠመኝ ነው፣ ልክ እንደ ኃይለኛ ነገር ሆኖ ነው የሚትየኝ።

እዚያ ምግብ ቤት እንዲሁ ለመታዘብ አልፎ አልፎ አለፍ እያልኩ ወደ ውስጥ አይ ነበር። ሁሌ ሙሉ ነበር። አንድ ሌላ የታዘብኩት ነገር ቢኖር፦ ባካባቢው የሚገኙት ብዙ ፈረንጆች ወደ እዚህ ቤት ገብተው ሲመገቡ አለማየቴ ነው። እ…ለምን ይሆን? የሚያውቁት ነገር ይኖር ይሆን? ለነገሩማ ለእነርሱ የት፣ ምን መብላት እንዳለባቸው ብዙ ጊዜ አስቀድሞ ባገራቸው/በኢንባሲዎቻቸው በኩል ይነገራቸው የለ!?

ዔዶማውያኑ እና እስማኤላውያኑ የሳጥናኤል ልጆች በተገኘው ቀዳዳ ሁሉ ነው እየገቡብን ያሉት፣ ዓይናችን እያየ ጆሮአችን እየሰማ ዲያብሎሳዊ ድርጊታቸውን በፈርኦናዊ ትዕቢትና ድፍረት በመፈጸም ላይ ናቸው። በተለይ አሁን ትኩረቱን ያደረጉት የሕብረተሰባችን ምሶሶዎች በሆኑት ሴቶቻችን እና ህፃናቶቻን ላይ ነው፤ በቅርቡ ደግሞ የወንዱን ዘር ለማድከም የተለያዮ ኬሚካሎችን፣ ጀርሞችንና ባክቴሪያዎችን እያዘጋጁልን ነው። ይህን እያንዳንዳችን ያልቸልተኝነት ልናውቅና ልናሳውቅ ግዴታ አለብን።

ለእህቶቻችን ውፍረት፦

መንስዔ ፩

ዲያብሎሳዊ ምግብና መጠጥ

ይህ ምግብ ፈረንጁ አገር “ጃንክ/ቆሻሻ” ምግብ ይባላል፤ የሚመገቡትም፤ ብዙ ያልተማሩና ድኾች የሚባሉት ናቸው።

በአዲስ አበባችን ደግሞ፣ ተምሯል፣ ያውቃል፣ ኃብታም ነው የሚባለው ነው በፈቃዱ ይህን ቆሻሻ የሚበላው።

+ የሚረጋ የዘንባባ(ፓልም)ዘይት(በውስጡ ፓልሚክ አሲድ የተባለ አደገኛ ኬሚካል የያዘ ነው)

+ ኦርጋኖፓስፌት በተባለ መርዝ የተቀቀለ የእርዳታ(አሜሪካ)ስንዴ

+ የፈረንጅ በርገር እና ጥብሳጥብስ

+ የ ”ፈረንጅ” ዶሮና እንቁላል

+ የ “ፈረንጅ” ወተትና እርጎ

+ ሚሪንዳና ኮካኮላ

+ የአረብ ዱቄቶች

+ የቱርክና ፓኪስታን ስኳር

+ ኤታኖል የተሽከራሪ ነዳጅ

መንስዔ ፪

ዲያብሎሳዊ የወሊድ መከላከያዎች

+ ውርጃ

+ እንክብሎች

+ ክትባቶች

+ ቅባቶች

መንስዔ ፫

ዲያብሎሳዊ የማሕበረሰብ ግኑኝነት መርዞች

+ በየጎረቤቱ ምግብና ውሃ ውስጥ የሚቀላቀሉ የአረብ ቅመሞች፣ ሽታዎች(መርዝ ጂሃድ)

+ በጎረቤት እንስሶች ላይ የሚካሄድ ጭካኔ፤ በተለይ በውሻ ላይ

+ በየትምህርት ቤቱ በህፃናት የምሳ እቃ ውስጥ በድብቅ የሚጨመሩ ጠብታዎች(መርዝ ጂሃድ)

+ የቱርክ የ”ፍቅር” ድራማዎች (የፍቅር ጂሃድ)

መዝሙረ ዳዊት ምዕራፍ ፹፫:

፩ አቤቱ፥ እንደ አንተ ማን ነው? አቤቱ፥ ዝም አትበል፥ ቸልም አትበል።

፪ እነሆ፥ ጠላቶችህ ጮኽዋልና፥ የሚጠሉህም ራሳቸውን አንሥተዋልና።

፫ ሕዝብህን በምክር ሸነገሉአቸው፥ በቅዱሳንህም ላይ ተማከሩ።

፬ ኑ ከሕዝብ እናጥፋቸው፥ ደግሞም የእስራኤል ስም አይታሰብ አሉ።

፭ አንድ ሆነው በአንተ ላይ ተማከሩ፤ በአንተ ላይ ቃል ኪዳን አደረጉ፤

፮ የኤዶማውያን ድንኳኖች እስማኤላውያንም፥ ሞዓብም አጋራውያንም፥

፯ ጌባል አሞንም አማሌቅም፥ ፍልስጥኤማውያንም ከጢሮስ ሰዎች ጋር፤

፰ አሦርም ከእነርሱ ጋር ተባበረ፥ ለሎጥ ልጆችም ረዳት ሆኑአቸው።

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Have Scientists Programmed GMO Food to Reduce the Population? Evidence Suggests Reduced Sperm Counts, Especially in Black Men, are a Result of Weaponized Food

Could a new technology for weaponizing food known as RNA interference be used for population control?

Genetic engineers found a way to make food crops grow fragments of RNA that they can use bioweapon-style to interfere with the physiological properties of any species eating the food. For example, it can cause corn to grow characteristics that will kill pests when they eat it so pesticides won’t be needed at all. This, of course, is presented as good news for humanity as it could eliminate the need for pesticides, but there is a huge caveat: This same technology could also be used to target not just pests but also human beings.

There are lots of possibilities here. For example, crops of food can be engineered to cause infertility in humans and some suspect it’s already being done; dropping sperm counts seem to indicate that something is indeed going on.

A recent study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that was published in the Human Reproduction Journal Update revealed that human sperm production dropped by 59.3 percent between 1973 and 2011, which is a huge decline that could have serious implications. Much of it has been blamed on chemical exposure, specifically chemical castrators like atrazine. After all, the sperm drops are particularly prevalent in Western nations like the U.S. where GMO foods are widely consumed.

This statistic is something that population control proponents are surely pleased about. Many believe it’s being done intentionally, and it shows just how possible these frightening scenarios are. Just how far does this population control agenda go?

Black people have long been targeted in population reduction experiments

There have been lots of horrifying incidents in recent years in which blacks were targeted for experimentation and population reduction – and there could be many more that have yet to be exposed, so it’s not too far-fetched to imagine they’re being targeted right now by such technology. This is the topic of a new video lecture by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, called “The Science Agenda to Exterminate Blacks.” In the video, he talks about the “concerted, organized and longstanding effort to eliminate African Americans from the gene pool” and Africans in general.

In the video, he looks at how blacks have been targeted throughout the years. One of the more recent high-profile incidents was the lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan’s water supply, an area largely populated by African Americans.

In another example, Pfizer officials were arrested in Nigeria a few years ago for illegally testing experimental antibiotics on children there. Eleven kids died and dozens of others were harmed in the incident.

Adams believes that in the recent Ebola outbreak that gripped Africa, weaponized strains of the disease were allowed to escape there to test their epidemiological impact and try out new drugs and also to encourage more funding.

Then there are the groups giving young African women vaccines like tetanus shots in the “Eliminate project” that analysis showed had a high percentage of covert sterilization chemicals.

Vaccines are even believed to be used to target black babies. While everyone is susceptible to vaccine damage, they cause more damage in black babies than white ones. The genetic differences between black and white babies make it harder for black babies’ bodies to clear mercury from vaccines out of their bodies. Interestingly, black boys who were given the MMR vaccine had a 340 percent higher risk of autism.

One of the most egregious examples, however, is the Tuskegee syphilis experiment in the U.S. back in the 1930s in which poor, illiterate black men were left to suffer from syphilis intentionally so doctors could study the disease’s progression and then dissect their bodies after they died.

With a track record like that, it’s only natural to wonder if the latest genetic engineering technology is being used for similar unethical experiments in our food supply.

Source

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A Fmous Egyptian Singer Faces Trial for ‘Provocative’ Nile Remarks

A famous Egyptian singer faces trial for “spreading provocative publicity” after she suggested that drinking from the River Nile could make someone ill.

A lawsuit was filed after video emerged showing Sherine Abdel Wahab being asked at a concert last year to sing Mashrebtesh Men Nilha (Have You Drunk From The Nile?)

She responded by saying “drinking from the Nile will get me schistosomiasis” – a disease commonly known as bilharzia.

“Drink Evian, it’s better,” she added.

On Tuesday, the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate announced that it banned the 37 year old from performing over her “unjustified mockery of our dear Egypt”.

The union said it had opened an investigation and would not grant Abdel Wahab the necessary permits until she appeared before officials to answer questions.

Abdel Wahab later apologised for her “foolish joke” at the concert, which she said took place in the United Arab Emirates more than a year ago.

“My beloved country Egypt and sons of my country Egypt, I apologise to you with all my heart for any pain I may have caused you,” she added.

But on Wednesday, state newspaper al-Ahram reported that Abdel Wahab would face trial on 23 December at a Cairo misdemeanours court on the charge of “spreading provocative publicity”. A lawsuit accused her of insulting the Egyptian state and undermining efforts to produce tourism, it said.

State television would also no longer play her songs, according to al-Ahram.

Source

My Note: Actually, Egyptians should listen to her, and better beginn storing enough Evian water, perhaps, beneath the Pyramids, as they won’t be able to drink from the Ethiopian Nile soon.

[Isaiah 19:5-8]

The waters of the river will dry up,

and the riverbed will be parched and dry.

The canals will stink;

the streams of Egypt will dwindle and dry up.

The reeds and rushes will wither,

also the plants along the Nile,

at the mouth of the river.

Every sown field along the Nile

will become parched, will blow away and be no more.

The fishermen will groan and lament,

all who cast hooks into the Nile;

those who throw nets on the water

will pine away.

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Embedding Transnational Agribusiness and GMO’s into African Agriculture*

The African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has just released the report For your own good!, which outlines the GMO industry’s expansion across Africa. The report focuses on non-commercial traditional crops, such as cassava, sorghum, sweet potato, pigeon pea, cowpea, banana and rice, which corporations are attempting to genetically modify and roll out under the guise of philanthropy.

The report reveals that a great deal of research and development is currently underway into the genetic modification (GM) of these crops. Most of the on-going trials concentrate on drought and salt tolerance, nitrogen use efficiency, resistance to tropical pests and diseases and nutritional enhancement (bio-fortification). The key countries that have been targeted include:

• Burkina Faso
• Egypt
• Ghana
• Nigeria
• Kenya
• Uganda
• Malawi

The genesis of GM research into these crops can be found in royalty-free donations of various patented GM traits by several transnational companies to experimental programmes undertaken by African scientists employed by government ministries. These companies include Monsanto, Dupont and Pioneer Hi-bred.

Mariam Mayet, Director of the ACB, says:

“This indicates that the GM industry, under the veil of technology donations and public financing, is effectively managing to make further inroads into imposing GM on the African continent. By focusing the research on traits meant to ‘benefit’ farmers and malnourished populations, through inter alia, bio-fortification, the industry is intent on giving a humanitarian face to the real involvement, vested interests and expanding influence of these MNCs in African agriculture”.

The main players involved include the African Agriculture Technology Foundation (AATF), which is on the receiving end of many of the technological property rights donations, the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Program (ABSP) and the Program for Biosafety Systems (PBS). The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and USAID fund the latter organisations.

U.S-based research institutions such as the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (DDPSC) (for cassava) and universities (notably Michigan State University and Kansas State University) play a major role in this ‘philanthropic’ research.

The ACB report notes there is a dearth of literature that critically addresses bio-safety issues and socio-economic aspects relating to the bio-fortification of indigenous crops through GM. According to the authors, this is especially important given the need to move away from an over-emphasis on food fortification strategies towards a permanent solution: diet diversification through locally available foods, which was recognised as early as 1992 by the U.N. International Conference on Nutrition.

As is the case with the controversial Golden Rice research and development project, the report argues these GM projects are diverting financial and human resources and policies and practices away from implementing the real solutions that can be found within the diversity of natural foods and farming.

Zakiyya Ismail, Consumer Campaigner with the ACB argues:

“The real solutions to address vitamin and mineral deficiencies can be found in ecological farming systems, and traditional kitchen and home gardens, which can better contribute to healthy and diverse diets and empower people to access and produce their own healthy and varied food.”

ACB stresses that smallholder farmers must be given the right to choose their means of production and survival. It adds even if gene sequences and constructs are donated, the accompanying requisite GM inputs will be expensive for farmers. GM crops are highly likely to increase the costs of production for farmers and lead them into indebtedness and dependency.

The report by ACB follows a Global Justice Now report that outlines the role of BMFG in spearheading a drive into Africa on behalf of ‘corporate America’ to facilitate a GMO/green revolution.

With assets of $43.5 billion, BMGF is the largest charitable foundation in the world and distributes more aid for global health than any government. Its strategy is intended to deepen the role of multinational companies, even though these corporations are responsible for much of the poverty and injustice that already plagues the Global South. The foundation’s programmes have a specific ideological strategy that promotes neo-liberal economic policies, corporate globalisation, GMOs and an outdated (colonialist) view of role of aid in ‘helping’ the poor.

Global Justice Now shows that the senior staff of BMGF’s programmes are overwhelmingly drawn from ‘corporate America’. As a result, the question is: whose interests are being promoted – those of corporate America or those of ordinary people who seek social and economic justice rather than charity?

Continue reading…

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Smartphones Destroyed a Generation?

More comfortable online than out partying, post-Millennials are safer, physically, than adolescents have ever been. But they’re on the brink of a mental-health crisis.

ne day last summer, around noon, I called Athena, a 13-year-old who lives in Houston, Texas. She answered her phone—she’s had an iPhone since she was 11—sounding as if she’d just woken up. We chatted about her favorite songs and TV shows, and I asked her what she likes to do with her friends. “We go to the mall,” she said. “Do your parents drop you off?,” I asked, recalling my own middle-school days, in the 1980s, when I’d enjoy a few parent-free hours shopping with my friends. “No—I go with my family,” she replied. “We’ll go with my mom and brothers and walk a little behind them. I just have to tell my mom where we’re going. I have to check in every hour or every 30 minutes.”

Those mall trips are infrequent—about once a month. More often, Athena and her friends spend time together on their phones, unchaperoned. Unlike the teens of my generation, who might have spent an evening tying up the family landline with gossip, they talk on Snapchat, the smartphone app that allows users to send pictures and videos that quickly disappear. They make sure to keep up their Snapstreaks, which show how many days in a row they have Snapchatted with each other. Sometimes they save screenshots of particularly ridiculous pictures of friends. “It’s good blackmail,” Athena said. (Because she’s a minor, I’m not using her real name.) She told me she’d spent most of the summer hanging out alone in her room with her phone. That’s just the way her generation is, she said. “We didn’t have a choice to know any life without iPads or iPhones. I think we like our phones more than we like actual people.”

I’ve been researching generational differences for 25 years, starting when I was a 22-year-old doctoral student in psychology. Typically, the characteristics that come to define a generation appear gradually, and along a continuum. Beliefs and behaviors that were already rising simply continue to do so. Millennials, for instance, are a highly individualistic generation, but individualism had been increasing since the Baby Boomers turned on, tuned in, and dropped out. I had grown accustomed to line graphs of trends that looked like modest hills and valleys. Then I began studying Athena’s generation.

Around 2012, I noticed abrupt shifts in teen behaviors and emotional states. The gentle slopes of the line graphs became steep mountains and sheer cliffs, and many of the distinctive characteristics of the Millennial generation began to disappear. In all my analyses of generational data—some reaching back to the 1930s—I had never seen anything like it.

Source

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Study: Language Development May Start In Utero

Unborn babies can distinguish between different languages and may start developing language skills in utero, according to a study published in NeuroReport on July 5 by researchers at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas.

The project leader, Utako Minai, an associate professor in the Department of Linguistics at the university, said in a news release, “The results came out nicely, with strong statistical support. These results suggest that language development may indeed start in utero.”

“Fetuses are tuning their ears to the language they are going to acquire even before they are born, based on the speech signals available to them in utero,” said Minai. “Prenatal sensitivity to the rhythmic properties of language may provide children with one of the very first building blocks in acquiring language.”

The study tested 24 in-utero babies of 24 different American mothers who were approximately eight months pregnant. In the procedure, an English passage was played, followed by the same voice recording of another passage, either in English or Japanese.

When the unborn babies heard the passages in English, their heart rates remained consistent.  However, the unfamiliar rhythm of the Japanese provoked a change in the children’s heart rate.

Minai said that previous research has suggested that, “human language development may start really early — a few days after birth. Babies a few days old have been shown to be sensitive to the rhythmic differences between languages.”

“Previous studies have demonstrated this by measuring changes in babies’ behavior,” she said.  “[F]or example, by measuring whether babies change the rate of sucking on a pacifier when the speech changes from one language to a different language with different rhythmic properties.”

“This early discrimination led us to wonder when children’s sensitivity to the rhythmic properties of language emerges, including whether it may, in fact, emerge before birth,” Minai continued.

“Fetuses can hear things, including speech, in the womb,” she said.  “It’s muffled, like the adults talking in a ‘Peanuts’ cartoon, but the rhythm of the language should be preserved and available for the fetus to hear, even though the speech is muffled.”

While previous studies had examined the effect of language on unborn babies using an ultrasound, researchers for this study used a magnetocardiogram, which is more accurate and sensitive to change in heart rate.

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