Wednesday - November 10, 2010
At Sea, Where Worse Things Happen
disappeared in Philippines sea, search started, all vessels warned to look for any traces. Last known position 21-05N 123-50E, last AIS signal dated Oct 15 2010, last port of call Lianyungang, bulker left port on Oct 10. Crew 25, all Chinese.
Even in this day and age of GPS, weatherproof lifeboats, satellite cellphones, and air-sea rescues that can cover tens of thousands of square miles, the sea can still exact her price.
The Japanese coastguard at Naha Okinawa was alerted earlier today after Taiwanese authorities lost contact with the listing bulker Nasco Diamond, according to local reports.
Taiwan authorities had been in contact with the vessel after it developed a four degree list yesterday afternoon local time. But contact was lost by the early evening.
A Japanese coastguard search failed to locate the ship. An oil slick and two life rafts were spotted but there was no sign of any survivors.
...
Nasco Diamond is understood to have picked up a cargo of nickel ore bound for China. Nickel ore is known to liquefy and cause stability problems during transportation if it has excess moisture content.
Two weeks ago the similarly sized freighter Jian Fu Star capsized and sank in the same area. It was also carrying nickel ore. Half the crew was rescued, the other half was lost.
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid’st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.
Posted by Drew458
on 11/10/2010 at 09:40 PM
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Permalink • Monday - October 25, 2010
Death Count Rising
On Friday the death count was at 150, with 1526 people infected. Today, Monday, the number of fatalities has increased to 253 (reported so far) and 3015 infected. The WHO and teams of international aid workers are rushing fresh water and medicine to the beleaguered island nation, but with outbreaks now plotted in nearly a dozen areas, expect the counts to climb nearly vertically before the outbreak can be contained.
The Artibonite river in Haiti has turned deadly. Once a source of water for the villagers that live along its banks, now it is thought to be the source of the cholera epidemic.
For those who used to bathe, play and do laundry in the river - or drink from it - life has changed drastically. Aid agencies deliver bottled water daily and leaflets are being given out to the villagers. “This is very good information,” one man tells me, as he reads about how handwashing is important in combating the spread of the disease.
“If we had learned this before, lives could have been saved,” he observes.
The guy can read, but he doesn’t know that washing your hands is the most basic step in sanitation. They’re doomed.
The public information campaign is well underway. Outside St Nicholas’ hospital in St Marc, a song blares out from the sound system, encouraging people to use clean water and clean toilets. There is plenty of bottled water, courtesy of the aid agencies, but clean toilets are another matter.
...
Haitian authorities hope the epidemic may now be stabilising, but the human cost continues to mount, in a country which has already seen so much suffering.
“It should be possible” to keep an outbreak of cholera out of the capital of Haiti, but the potentially deadly disease remains “a major risk,” an international aid worker told CNN Monday.
“I think we’ll be able to contain it fairly well, but it is a risk, it is a major risk,” said Jason Erb, deputy country director for the International Medical Corps.
The fast-moving outbreak has claimed at least 253 lives on the impoverished island nation, which is yet to recover from January’s massive earthquake. Another 3,015 cases have been reported, according to Haiti’s Health Ministry. Even if the disease can be kept out of the capital, Port-au-Prince, it remains a serious risk in the tent camps that are still home to tens of thousands of earthquake survivors, Erb warned.
“It’s a danger because the camps are so crowded and so unhygienic,” he said
But meanwhile, officials are stepping up sanitation efforts and setting up quarantine areas in Port-au-Prince. Authorities are bracing themselves for a possible larger outbreak nationwide.
“I think the only responsible thing we can do at the moment is prepare and plan for the worst-case scenario,” [UN aid spokesman] Wall said.
On Friday, officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the U.S. Agency for International Development discussed the outbreak and efforts to work out a containment strategy.
The CDC will send an 11-member team to Haiti over the next few days to find out which antibiotics will be most effective in treating the outbreak. USAID will provide supplies needed to set up treatment centers. The group already has 300,000 oral re-hydration kits in position and is distributing water purification kits in affected areas.
The U.N. mission in Haiti credited access to clean water and free medical facilities for preventing feared outbreaks of cholera and tuberculosis.
Great. So the next outbreak will be TB. Guaranteed.
Posted by Drew458
on 10/25/2010 at 07:31 AM
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Permalink • Friday - October 22, 2010
MAJULAH SINGAPURA ….. Forward Singapore and well done. You don’t want to mess with Singapore.
Got a problem with ppl overstaying their visa? Keep an eye on SINGAPORE. Gotta love em. They take no crap from anyone. The USA and the Brits could do worse then hiring these folks to look after our borders. We aren’t, so somebody hasta.
MAJULAH SINGAPURA ..... (Forward Singapore)
Former American football player Kamari Charlton faces caning in SingaporeA former Florida State University football player may become the first American in 16 years to be caned in Singapore after he overstayed his visa, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Kamari Charlton was arrested on Sept 1 when he attempted to leave the city-state 169 days after his 90-day social visit pass expired, his lawyer M. Ravi said.
Mr Charlton, who was born in the Bahamas and owns a construction company there, was in Singapore while his wife received medical care for pregnancy complications, Mr Ravi said. It was not clear why Mr Charlton and his wife chose Singapore for medical treatment.
Staying in Singapore for more than 90 days after the end of a visa is punishable with a maximum jail term of six months and at least three cane strokes.
The Attorney General’s office declined to comment on the case. A judge is to meet with lawyers from both sides in a pretrial conference on Friday.
If found guilty, Mr Charlton would be the first American citizen caned in Singapore since 1994, when teenager Michael Fay was punished for vandalism.
Of course, not everyone is happy with how the people of Singapore run their own country. For example, the asswipes in the civil rights industry aren’t happy. But screw those jerks. They are the reason crime rates and the drug scourge has taken over so much of our country. But not Singapore.
The Southeast Asian country boasts one of the lowest violent crime rates and highest standards of living in the world, but human rights groups often criticise the government for severe punishments, such as a mandatory death penalty for drug traffickers
And they do not put up with things like this either. Good for Singapore.
Earlier this year, Oliver Fricker of Switzerland was sentenced to five months in jail and three cane strokes for breaking into a train depot with an accomplice and spray painting subway cars. Fricker later appealed his sentence and a judge added two months to his jail term.
People who are caned are strapped to a wooden frame and lashed across the bare buttocks with a long rattan stick.
Posted by peiper
on 10/22/2010 at 01:11 PM
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Permalink • Saturday - October 09, 2010
Confusing Art News
A 12-year battle over the possession of a painting that was stolen from a Jewish Austrian by the Nazis came to a close today when the work by Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele was displayed at a Vienna museum.
The oil painting was returned over the weekend after the Leopold Museum agreed to pay $19 million (15 million euros) as part of the settlement to the estate of art dealer Lea Bondi Jaray, the original owner.
US authorities had refused to return the painting to the Leopold Museum after it was exhibited in 1998 at the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) because of a claim by her descendants.
Bondi Jaray was forced to sell the painting, “Portrait of Wally,” at an unrealistically low price in the prelude to World War II as part of a widespread Nazi campaign that stripped Jews in Austria, Germany and later other European countries of their possessions.
So the painting was sold at a loss, under duress? That isn’t exactly stolen, is it? But maybe it’s close enough.
US customs refused to let the work leave the country after Henry Bondi of Princeton, New Jersey, filed a claim that said his late aunt was forced to give up the painting before fleeing Vienna in 1939 to escape to London when Germany annexed Austria.
She died in 1969. Henry Bondi also has since died.
The controversy over the portrait, which the Leopold Museum acquired after the war, contributed to Austria passing a 1998 law that stipulates the restitution of property taken from the country’s Jews by the Nazis.
Ok, I think I get it. Anything that the Nazis touched is evil. Granted. So this is akin to theft, and Blondi’s estate is entitled to the painting. Even if it’s pretty ugly:
Andreas Noedl, who sits on the Leopold museum’s board, acknowledged the gross injustice done to Austria’s Jews, telling reporters today that the portrait “reflects the history of the horrendous atrocities during the Holocaust.”
Leopold Museum chief Peter Weinhaeupl called the return a “symbolic day” for the museum.
It was created by the late Rudolf Leopold. He is credited with assembling Austria’s largest and most important private art collection that includes more than 5,000 works by renowned artists such as Schiele, Gustav Klimt and Oskar Kokoschka, along with the famous The Fallen Madonna With the Big Boobies by Von Klump.
Posted by Drew458
on 10/09/2010 at 10:15 PM
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Permalink • Monday - October 04, 2010
Forced to be Fair and Balanced
Since Peiper had to put up pics of seriously ugly entertainers, I thought it was only right that I balance the equation.
This is Priyanka (aka Nisha) Kothari, Bollywood actress. She is mostly famous for her “item numbers”, which is a throwaway scene in a bolly film where they have a really attractive woman sing some song or do a sexy dance, but she’s not in any other part of the film. You know, like the main characters go to a nightclub and she’s performing. Or the cast is on a road trip and passes this local cultural festival doing some dance bit, usually up on a mountain top somewhere.
No, I don’t understand the colored contacts thing either. It’s striking, but it’s kinda odd. I used to work with a beautiful young woman from India and she did the same thing. I guess when 800,000,000 of your sisters all have dark brown eyes and dark brown hair you want to do something to make yourself a little different. I get it.
-Kothari.jpg)
Posted by Drew458
on 10/04/2010 at 12:55 PM
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Permalink • the west continues to see no evil as Wilders goes on trial, meanwhile we have a high alert in effect
Hells bells I guess this case may never end as the bed wetting , muslim appeasement, we love our muzzies , Dutch pc authorities continue to go after Mr Wilders.
And of course they should. Who the heck does Mr. Wilders think he is, spouting off and being critical of members of the ROP. Where did he suddenly get the idea that free speech and voicing opinions or even reporting on what he sees, could be done without first getting co-operation and permission from muslims, on whose good graces Dutch freedom now depends. And guess what? With the present govt. accepting the new laws that were passed by the previous leftist govt. with regard to what ppl can and can not say without being sued or charged with harassment, folks here may as well learn to speak Dutch. Or Arabic. Or both.
Dutch politicians revolt over burka ban
Christian Democrats are in revolt against their party leaders over plans to ban the burka as part of a deal to create a Dutch liberal-conservative coalition government with the support of Geert Wilders, a far-Right leader.
By Bruno Waterfield
Stupid Fuckin Idiots! Jeeze I see red when I see this kind of thing.
Anti-Islam MP Geert Wilders on trial for inciting racial hatred
Geert Wilders, the Dutch anti-Islam MP who will become a shadow partner in the next Dutch government, has gone on trial accused of inciting racial hatred against Muslims.
The controversial politician risks up to a year in jail or a 7,600-euro (£6,600) fine for calling Islam “fascist” and likening the Koran to Hitler’s Mein Kampf.
Wilders, 47, is charged with five counts of giving religious offence to Muslims and inciting hatred and discrimination against Muslims and people of non-Western immigrant origin, particularly Moroccans.
In comments made between October 2006 and March 2008 in Dutch newspapers and on internet forums, prosecutors say that Wilders described Islam as “the sick ideology of Allah and Mohammed” and its holy book as “the Mein Kampf of a religion that seeks to eliminate others”.
Among the exhibits is Wilders’ 17-minute film, “Fitna”, alleged to depict Islam as a force bent on destroying the West and whose screening in the Netherlands in 2008 prompted protests in much of the Muslim world.
Wilders arrived at the Amsterdam district court minutes before the start of the hearing.
Mr. Wilders doesn’t have to say or do anything to inspire fear and or hatred or both as concerns this particular murderous group of sub humans.
I just can not imagine what has got into Mr. WIlder’s mind. Gee, could it be things like:
Our threat level remains at severe - meaning that an attack is highly likely.
Or maybe things like this:
Indonesian women caned for selling food during Muslim festival of RamadanThis is the moment two women were publicly caned in Indonesia’s staunchly Muslim Aceh province on Friday for selling food.
Well gosh. I just don’t understand why the man is so hateful and critical of a religion that is so merciful and so understanding and so peaceful.
Can you?
Foreign Office warns of high terror threat in France and Germany
Britain followed the US in upgrading its travel advice for Europe today following a series of terror alerts.
The Foreign Office warned that there was a ‘’high threat’’ of attacks in countries including France and Germany, rather than the ‘’general threat’’ previously identified.The move came shortly after the State Department issued guidance urging Americans to be vigilant when visiting Europe, highlighting the ‘’potential for terrorists to attack public transportation systems and other tourist infrastructure’’.
“Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers.”
The warnings have been heightened after intelligence officials in Britain intercepted a credible al Qaida-linked terror plot last week.The planned attack would reportedly have been similar to the deadly commando-style raids in Mumbai, India, two years ago, with other European cities, in France and Germany, also targeted.
“US citizens should take every precaution to be aware of their surroundings and to adopt appropriate safety measures to protect themselves when travelling,” the department said.
Hey, I take that last bit personally. In fact, I take all of it personally.
Posted by peiper
on 10/04/2010 at 05:26 AM
Filed Under: • EUro-peons • International • muslims • Personal • Terrorists •
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Permalink • Saturday - September 18, 2010
Mark Steyn on Danish TV … A man worth listening to …
H/T Europe News
I check these folks often because there’s lots in one place. Have been a fan of Steyn for awhile now but haven’t checked his site lately. So it’s good to see him here.
If you watch the video, use the slider and advance to 1:27, because the first 1:27 is all in Danish.
So there’s about 7 minutes left with Steyn on muslims in Europe.
Canadian Free Speech activist, publisher and writer Mark Steyn visited Denmark, to receive the Sappho Prize for Free Speech, and Dkr. 20,000 for his activities as an advocate for free speech.
Towards the end of the seven minute interview, Steyn mentions the obvious but forbidden notion:
Interviewer Kurt Strand:
Why isn’t the European Culture strong enough to defend [itself against] this.
Steyn: I think, since the Second World War, and even since the First World War, European elites have not believed in them selves or their own people.
I think European elites drew the wrong conclusion at the end of the Second World War, when they said, ‘never again’, on the German death camps. They didn’t really mean never again to standing up to intolerance and,..
They drew the wrong conclusion; they thought it meant rejecting nationalism, rejecting national identity, rejecting your own cultural inheritance.
And there’s a huge hole in the heart off where European Identity ought to be.
Posted by peiper
on 09/18/2010 at 01:59 PM
Filed Under: • International • muslims •
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Permalink • Wednesday - September 08, 2010
burning the koran might not actually be the best idea, but not for pc reasons …
The American church, if you want to call it that, has I am to understand, only 50 members. Is that a church or a cult?
Whatever, I see no point to burning the koran. Whats it do for our side? Naturally, half the world will see it as an American thing and blow it out of all proportion.
Then the president will have to go on TV and apologize.
The only reason I’d be for it to be truthful, would be to get up the noses and annoy the folks who don’t like us anyway and won’t no matter what we do.
Downside of course is that it just gives our enemies grist for their mill. Not so sure I like that idea.
How do you feel about it?
Vatican condemns Koran burning
Irish Times
The Vatican added to world condemnation of plans by a Florida church to commemorate the September 11th attacks on the United States by burning a Koran, calling it an “outrageous” act.
The Vatican added to world condemnation of plans by a Florida church to commemorate the September 11th attacks on the United States by burning a Koran, calling it an “outrageous” act.
Leaders ranging from US secretary of state Hillary Clinton to the head of the Islamic Society of North America and the top US commander in Afghanistan have denounced plans by the pastor of a tiny Florida church to burn a copy of the Koran.
In a statement today the Vatican said it had heard with great concern of the planned commemoration of the attacks in 2001 which killed 2,752 people.
“These deplorable acts of violence, in fact, cannot be counteracted by an outrageous and grave gesture against a book considered sacred by a religious community,” it said.
“Each religion, with its respective sacred books, places of worship and symbols, has the right to respect and protection.”
Pastor Terry Jones, who heads a congregation of 50 at the Dove World Outreach Centre in Gainesville, Florida, says he scheduled the Koran-burning on the anniversary of the 2001 atrocities to stop what he sees as the encroachment of Sharia in the US and because “we must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam. We will no longer be controlled and dominated by their fears and threats.”
The Obama’s administration made clear that it deplored the planned event, which State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley described as “un-American.”
“I am heartened by the clear and unequivocal condemnation of this disrespectful, disgraceful act that has come from American religious leaders of all faiths,” US secretary of state Hillary Clinton told American Muslims at the State Department last night as she hosted an Iftar, the meal at which Muslims break their daily fast during the month of Ramadan.
US attorney general Eric Holder reportedly called the planned Florida event “idiotic” during a closed-door meeting with a small group of religious leaders.
General David Petraeus, the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, said the burning could “endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort” to stabilise the Afghan situation.
“It is precisely the kind of action the Taliban uses and could cause significant problems, not just here, but everywhere in the world we are engaged with the Islamic community,” Gen Petraeus said.
I kinda think I’d want to pay more attention to the general. He’s in a position to know what he’s talking about.
Posted by peiper
on 09/08/2010 at 02:07 PM
Filed Under: • International • Religion • USA •
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Permalink • Tuesday - September 07, 2010
speaking of islam …
BMEWS, This is a very, very, very looong read at the link. Sometimes I think these things get overlong, but darn if they aren’t also very interesting.
So then, here’s a taste and it’ll be short here. No comments from either myself or WOOF, who I just decided to name. I said what I wanted to say in a previous post. I’ll leave the the rest to anyone interested. Which don’t seem to be many which you might say is a plus for the enemy.
WOOF
Oh yeah ... H/T Europe News ....
Teaching Sweden about IslamEuropeNews
By Henrik R. Clausen
In Denmark, it is well known that the Swedish public debate about immigration, and Islam in particular, hardly exists
The established political parties have a tacit agreement not to discuss the developments, and a compliant press is very helpful towards achieving that goal. Only one political party is seeking to open the discussion in anticipation of the September 19th general elections.
On August 30th, they hosted an evening conference with guests from abroad invited to teach interested Swedes about Islam, the connection to crime and the possible implications for freedom of speech and other civil liberties. This packed the hall with just under 100 in attendance. The speakers were:
Nicolai Sennels, Danish psychologist. His extensive professional experience with criminal Muslims has taught him important reasons why the cultural differences between Western and Islamic cultures makes traditional crime-preventing methods ineffective.
Farshad Kholghi, Iranian-born, non-Muslim refugee to Denmark. Now a professional actor and debater, his personal experience of living in an Islamic society has motivated him to speak out now, in order that we may know the dangers of Islam and Sharia, and defend our Western ideals of freedom.
Elisabeth Sabaditsch-Wolff, daughter of an Austrian diplomat. Having lived and worked in several Islamic countries, her extensive experience and studies earned her an invitation to teach the Austrian political party FPÖ about the dangers of radical Islam. For her assessment of Islam, she was reported to Austrian police for ‘Hate speech’, but continues to stand up for womens’ rights, freedom of expression and other Western values.
Nicolai Sennels:
How do we deal with immigrant crime?The first speaker, Nicolai Sennels, was armed with an array of slides with examples and statistics regarding immigrant crime. A handful of Antifa-style youth was watching from a distance, but apparently found the charts, bars and numbers presented by Nicolai Sennels to be not worth their time.
Sennels pointed out that crime rates are not falling over time (as one might expect), that quite to the contrary crime is more extensive among second and third generation immigrants. Thus, we cannot expect immigrant crime to level off in the foreseeable future, unless new methods are found and applied.
With his documentation he busted several other myths, including the one that the high crime levels was due to the traumatic experiences of coming from a war-torn country. This is countered by way of example, as crime rates among immigrants of Turkish background are at the very top of the statistics, beaten only by those of Moroccan background. Neither of these contries have suffered major military conflicts for many decades. In contrast, immigrants from Somalia, Iraq and Afghanistan have much lower crime rates. War trauma simply isn’t a plausble explanation, but rather a diversion from the real problems.
OK ... I checked and it worked ... try again. Thanks
Posted by peiper
on 09/07/2010 at 12:25 PM
Filed Under: • FREEDOM • International •
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Permalink • Tuesday - August 31, 2010
Gaddafi: Europe will ‘turn black’ unless EU pays Libya £4bn a year. cripes, pay the guy, pay hi
Whoa ... More on Muammar. Maybe not so Daffy? This popped up on my screen about an hour ago. Maybe a bit more.
This guy is either a loose cannon or ..... hmmmm. Maybe he could block the dreaded migration he speaks of. It can’t cost more then Europe pays now, surely.
We live in interesting and frustrating and maddening times.
Col Muammar Gaddafi has warned that Europe runs the risk of turning “black” unless the EU pays Libya at least €5 billion (£4.1 billion) a year to block the arrival of illegal immigrants from Africa.
By Nick Squires in Rome
Published: 5:52PM BST 31 Aug 2010Speaking at a ceremony in Rome while standing next to Silvio Berlusconi, Italy’s prime minister, Col Gaddafi, 67, said that unless his request for money was met, Europe would otherwise become “another Africa” as a result of the “advance of millions of immigrants”.
“Tomorrow Europe might no longer be European and even black as there are millions who want to come in,” he said.
“We don’t know if Europe will remain an advanced and united continent or if it will be destroyed, as happened with the barbarian invasions”.
Tens of thousands of desperate African refugees and economic migrants have reached Italian soil by boat from the North African coast, although the influx has been stemmed by the Libyan navy in the last year under an accord with the Berlusconi government.
An MP from the opposition Italy of Values party, Silvana Mura, accused the Libyan leader of holding Europe to ransom, demanding mafia-style protection money in return for a promise to safeguard the continent from unchecked immigration.
Another opposition MP, Luigi de Magistris, accused the Libyan regime of keeping tens of thousands of African migrants in “concentration camps” in the desert.
“accused the Libyan regime of keeping tens of thousands of African migrants in “concentration camps” in the desert.”
Yeah so? Where ya want em. Over here? Probably not true and merely the charge of a left wing opposition bed wetter. And if the charge is true, yawn.
Posted by peiper
on 08/31/2010 at 12:34 PM
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Permalink • Thursday - August 12, 2010
International Interconnectivity
Or at least lower prices here in the USA?
You may have heard, Kenya just voted themselves a new constitution. On Obama’s birthday. And they did it without killing each other or rioting in the streets. Thumbs up Kenya!
Kenyans have today approved a new constitution in a landmark referendum vote. Thank you, fellow Kenyans! And welcome to Kenya 2.0! This new constitution - which is probably one of the best in Africa, if not the best - is redefining Kenya and is indeed a very historic moment signalling a new dawn for East Africa’s most vibrant economy. The wind of change has blown through our country, and we should all be ready to contribute to the building of a great nation, creating an example for Africa, and becoming an important and respected player in the world. This time for Africa, our time for change has come.
Yesterday Kenya defied expectations. Voting in a referendum on a new constitution was peaceful, and yet the changes this piece of paper could make are potentially momentous. It would introduce an impeachable president, MPs recallable by their constituents, a land commission to look at historic injustices, an expanded bill of rights, a reformed judiciary. These are causes for which generations of opposition leaders have fought. It took a fraud-plagued election in 2007, in which Kenya teetered on the edge of civil war, to put this on the agenda, as a requirement of the peace deal. But, if the opinion polls are correct, it will happen. It is not a magic wand, but – as Maina Kiai, a former chairman of the Kenya national commission on human rights, said – it is a chance for a new beginning.
Not that it will be easy
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The passage of Kenya’s new constitution ends a decades-long struggle to cut down the massive powers of the presidency, although it now will take up to five years to implement all the changes approved in this week’s referendum.
New institutions such as a Supreme Court and a Senate must now be formed. The country’s judiciary is to face a vetting process aimed at ridding it of corrupt or incompetent judges. And Parliament will have to pass 49 new laws under a timetable.
“Kenyans can’t just sit back and relax. We have to pay attention now to the criteria and process of appointing people to the commission that is responsible for implementation. That is going to be the first big political battle in terms of interests,” said Muthoni Wanyeki, the executive director of the independent Kenya Human Rights Commission.
But they’ve got to try, waka waka eh eh? And when they say radical, they mean it. Land reform plays a prominent role in their new document, attempting to both rid themselves of colonial holdovers and even out past injustices; former Kenyan Presidents always set things up for their own tribes at the expense of all the others. So Kenya is really going to level the playing fields. And the growing fields as well.
One of the clauses allows parliament to set a limit on the maximum and minimum acreage of land that can be owned by any individual, clearly a cause of concern to Kenya’s landowners. All other land outside the minimum or maximum bracket will revert to the state.
Those who have huge tracts of land come mostly from the Kikuyu community, which has produced two presidents (Kenyatta and Kibaki), and Kalenjins, who produced Moi. So voters from such groups would be reluctant to vote in someone who would be seen to upset the status quo. They will be comfortable with a president they can trust to lobby MPs to set maximum land limits in their favour.
The constitution provides for a land commission and allows for the repossession of land illegally acquired, such as land which was previously forest but was then recategorised and given away to individuals.
Not sure how that one will work out, especially since farming is one of the major exports Kenya has. Too many little farms and there won’t be any confidence in what crops will be raised, or whether produce will get to market fresh or even at all.
Nairobi — To other East Africans and, indeed the rest of the world that do business with Kenya, the draft constitution, passed in the referendum this Wednesday, will not radically change the way things are done in the country.
However, while the words “radical reform” have been used in heated debate ahead of the referendum, the new constitution will certainly rearrange its politics in ways that only the Ethiopian constitution of 1994 did in the wider East African region.
Kenya’s food basket, the Rift Valley Province, has always been key to Kenya’s politics—from colonial times to post-Independence—but usually for the wrong reasons. The same is true as the country goes to a referendum on a new constitution. Rift Valley is not just Kenya’s food basket, it is also the region where most of the flowers for the country’s lucrative export industry are grown.
Yes, they grow flowers in Kenya. For export. Specifically, Kenya is the leading world source of chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium, the pyrethrum daisy. The what? It’s a flower that is used to make insecticide. Tasmania is also in the pyrethrum game, but only contributes 10% of the world market. Because of the 5 year life cycle of the plant, the political upheavals in Kenya from the 2007 election caused a worldwide insecticide shortage that lasted 3 years. We’re still feeling some of the effects.
Kenya and pyrethrum
The Republic of Kenya lies on the Indian Ocean coast of eastern African. While it is the most developed economy in East Africa, Kenya’s population of over 30 million people realize a GDP per capita of only US$ 390. Employment in Kenya is largely dependent on the agricultural sector. The major export commodities in Kenya include tea, coffee, horticultural products including cut flowers,
processed petroleum products, pyrethrum, and chemicals including fluorspar, soda ash,
sodium carbonate and diatomite. Kenya’s development challenges are not unlike those of other developing economies. Longterm barriers to growth, such as the dominance of key sectors by the government, endemic corruption and a high population growth rate continue to retard development.Natural Pyrethrum and synthetic pyrethroids
Pyrethrins are the class of insecticides derived from the dried flowers of the pyrethrum daisy (chrysanthemum cinerariaefolium). Natural pyrethrins are not used widely in agriculture because they degrade easily upon exposure to sunlight. For this reason, several pyrethroids - synthetic chemicals with a molecular structure and biological activities similar to natural pyrethrins - have been developed for use in agriculture. The largest use for natural pyrethrum is in the manufacture of consumer household insecticides.Pyrethrum was introduced to the highlands of East Africa in the 1920’s and by 1938 Kenya had become a major world producer. It has been the largest source of natural pyrethrum for the last 60 years and currently produces over 70 percent of all pyrethrum traded in the world. Pyrethrum provides valuable economic and social benefits to more than 200,000 subsistence and low-income farmers in Kenya.
Pyrethrum is a perennial crop that requires renewal once every five years and is grown in highland areas enjoying moderate well-distributed rainfall, cool night temperatures and rich volcanic soils. In some areas where pyrethrum is grown, the climate and soil structure cannot support other cash crops such as tea or coffee. Other advantages for farmers are that it grows with limited inputs, such as fertilizers and pesticides, and farmers can rotate it with other crops to compliment land use and avoid disease difficulties. The size of the land owned by pyrethrum growers in Kenya averages three to five acres in which the homestead is located and where farmers grow pyrethrum and food crops such as maize, potatoes, cabbages and kales.
Ok, so what does all this have to do with India? Pyrethrum insecticides, especially those made with Piperonyl Butoxide are great mosquito killers. [They do an awesome job on yellowjackets too, as I’ve learned 3 times in the past week alone!] And India is having a terrible malaria outbreak.
Malaria is spreading like wildfire in Mumbai. In July, there has been a three-fold rise in cases diagnosed with the disease compared to last year. Amidst the lack of beds in hospitals and shortage of medicines, here comes another shocker. Civic body Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) does not have enough insecticides to ward off the mosquitoes spreading the disease.
According to a few BMC officials, the municipal authority does not have enough stock of insecticides to curb this disease. They said that the government has not been able to provide adequate funds for buying insecticides, plus payments have not been made to the insecticide manufacturer; even the supply chains are not working.
According to BMC data, in July, 12,000 people tested positive for malaria from the one lakh slides taken in house-to-house surveys. Last year, during the same period, there were 4,380 positive cases. The number of malaria cases in July has not only more than doubled compared to last year, it could very much be the highest number ever recorded in Mumbai.
There is a shortage of stocks for medicines like Vectobac, and insecticides such as DDVP and Pyrethrum, to combat the disease. Another BMC official told us that ward officers have been asking for the insecticides, but have not been receiving them.
Yes, India always has malaria. And so does Africa. Always. But without DDT, pyrethrum products like RipTide, ($210/gallon) are one of the few effective control agents. (And they’re “green” too!!). So peace in Kenya is in everyone’s interest, but an organized and productive Kenya could save the lives of millions. Through flower power.
There. I can write about flowers too. Ha.
Posted by Drew458
on 08/12/2010 at 04:57 PM
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Permalink • Wednesday - July 21, 2010
What a Joke
New US sanctions against North Korea: stop selling them weapons, and no more caviar.
The Obama administration moved Wednesday to push new sanctions against North Korea over its nuclear weapons program, as Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates showed solidarity with South Korea during a visit to the area that separates it from the North.
Clinton announced the new measures — targeting the sale or purchase of arms and related goods used to fund the communist regime’s nuclear activities, and the acquisition of luxury items to reward its elite — after she and Gates toured the heavily fortified border in a symbolic trip four months after the sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on the North.
The penalties are intended to further isolate the already hermetic North and persuade its leaders to return to talks aimed at getting it to abandon atomic weapons. The U.S. is also trying to forestall future provocative acts like the torpedoing of the Cheonan, which killed 46 South Korean sailors.
With specifics of the sanctions still being worked out, the more striking demonstration of U.S. resolve came when Clinton and Gates — in a first for America’s top two cabinet members — together toured the demilitarized zone in the village of Panmunjom.
A photo-op at the DMZ is a “striking demonstration”? Oh please.
At one point, in the Military Armistice Commission building where officials from North Korea and the U.N. Command meet for talks, Clinton and Gates stood briefly on North Korean soil while a North Korean solider peered at them through a window.
I’m sure this will go into Hillary’s memoirs as another suicidal dash, running to avoid sniper fire. BFD.
Presenting the outlines of the fresh sanctions, Clinton said the North could win “the security and international respect it seeks” by stopping its provocative behavior, halting threats towards its neighbors and returning to denuclearization talks.
Details of the sanctions are being finalized, but Clinton and other U.S. officials said they would enhance and expand on existing international financial and travel sanctions. The U.S. will freeze additional assets, prevent more individuals from traveling abroad and collaborate with banks to stop suspect transactions, they said.
The U.S. will also seek to stop North Korea’s abuse of diplomatic privileges to carry out illegal activities, notably cigarette and currency counterfeiting and money laundering, they said.
Yeah right. You want sanctions against the NorKs, make them real. No food, no fuel, no sales of nothing. And we sic our own captive gang of Somali pirates on every one of your ships that goes into international waters. This latest effort is nonsense.
Posted by Drew458
on 07/21/2010 at 08:13 AM
Filed Under: • Commies • International •
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Permalink • Friday - July 09, 2010
woo hoo!
Just a little post to congratulate CBullit, who seems to be CMonster these days, about getting his first significant link from behind the Iron Curtain. It seems that some comrade over there found his place and has been borrowing his photo collection on a regular basis. But that comrade publishes some kind of proper online newspaper, so CB/CM’s pics get used as the Page 3 material there. And that’s the straight pravda! So I guess ... since his source material is being published in an officialish news organ ... that makes him an official journalist! An international journalist no less. Impressive on the resume, and we won’t tell anyone that it was all stuff he borrowed in the first place. Can The Daily Snooch Report be far behind?
He toasted his own sudden transcontinental prominence by posting a nice pic of Olga Kurylenko, the model-turned-actress who was in the latest Bond film Quantum of Solace. So to toast his toastiness, here she is again.
That one’s one of my favorites. It shows off her rather striking face without distractions. Not that there’s anything wrong with distractions. She rather reminds me of a young Karina Lombard, who was Catherine Zeta-Jones before CZJ was CZJ. Strong faces, bold eyes, rich dark hair, richer accents. Perfect but normal figures. Drewski likeski!
Posted by Drew458
on 07/09/2010 at 09:06 AM
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Permalink • Wednesday - June 23, 2010
Thar She Blows … oops, never mind
Talks on a resumption of commercial whaling broke down today on the third day of an international whaling meeting that’s being held under a cloud of scandal and legal disputes.
Japan had hoped to cut a deal at this year’s International Whaling Commission summit in Morocco that would allow it to resume commercial whaling for the first time since the mid-1980s, in exchange for trimming its controversial “research” catch in Antarctica. But it reportedly refused to promise an eventual halt to such research whaling, scuttling the deal, according to the New York Times.
A quarter-century ban on commercial whaling, one of the world’s most successful preservation agreements, could crumble if conservationists cannot persuade Japan to cut back on the tradition it champions. Here, a Japanese ship hauls a whale up its slipway in the Antarctic in 2009.
The breakdown in talks mean a continuation of the status quo—whereby Japan, Norway and Iceland conduct their controversial, unregulated hunts despite a ban on commercial whaling and heated opposition from environmentalists.
In an interview with Radio Australia, Glenn Inwood, a spokesman for Japan’s delegation to the whaling meeting in Morocco, said Japan was willing to cut a deal whereby it would shrink its research catch in the Antarctic in return for being allowed to resume limited commercial whaling.
“Japan is very willing to compromise,” Inwood said. “It has made a number of significant concessions to the IWC to this process ... now it’s time for anti-whaling countries to bring something to the table instead of digging their heels in, but they’re not.”
In an interview at his Tokyo office earlier this year, Konomu Kubo of the Japan Whaling Association said, “Japan supports the principle of sustainable whaling, but we do not in the least support the idea of harvesting whales whose numbers are depleted.”
“We are groping for some sort of compromise,” said Kubo.
He said then that it might not be “realistic” to expect a lifting of the whaling ban this year since three-quarters of the IWC’s 88 members would need to support such a move. (Japan is believed to have the backing of just 38 members, according to the Times of London.)
Some scientists and researchers who strongly oppose the killing of whales are even arguing for “whale rights,” with one group issuing a declaration in May, according to Al-Jazeera.
Japanese officials and environmentalists traded blame Wednesday as nations failed to reach a deal to curb whale hunts by Japan, Norway and Iceland that kill hundreds of whales every year.
The 88 nations of the International Whaling Commission held two days of intense closed-door talks on a proposal to ease the 25-year-old ban on commercial whaling in exchange for smaller kills by the three countries that claim exemptions to the moratorium on hunting for profit.
About 1,500 animals are killed each year by Japan, Norway and Iceland. Japan, which kills the majority of whales, insists its hunt is for scientific research — but more whale meat and whale products end up in Japanese restaurants than in laboratories.
...
Acting IWC chairman Anthony Liverpool told an open meeting Wednesday that “fundamental positions remained very much apart.”“After nearly three years of discussions, it appears our discussions are at an impasse,” said chief U.S. delegate Monica Medina.
Meanwhile, the scandal drama continues to unfold:
Seventeen mostly pro-whaling nations have had their voting rights suspended at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Morocco, in what could be a blow to Japan’s hopes of resuming commercial whaling.
...
The countries include Palau, the Marshall Islands, Ghana and Gambia and are mostly drawn from the pro-whaling bloc which had been expected to back Japan’s move.They have been suspended for reasons including failing to pay their annual fees.
Solomon Islands, meanwhile, failed to show up at the meeting.
Hmm ... now which countries do you think have been accused of taking bribes from Japan? Yup! It’s the most amazing coincidence ever!
Not that those accused are taking this lying down. No sir! From the bottom of the world in the Caribbean (Basseterre in St. Kitt’s, a poor but unspoiled island not overrun with tourists, it’s main bay the home of the largest pirate fleet ever to set sail. An island ironically shaped like a whale) comes a cry of innocence. From his luxury villa, no doubt
Marine Resources Minister, Dr. Timothy Harris, caught up in a sting operation by a British newspaper, has said that he is a victim of a smear campaign.
The newspaper has alleged that six countries, including Grenada and St. Kitts-Nevis, have been accepting brides to support Japan’s pro-whaling position.
In response Dr Harris said: “What we have here is clearly an effort by those who are opposed to whaling, to use every means including subterfuge, to influence policy positions of small countries that are members of IWC.”
He said the bribe allegations were all part of an “evil and vicious” smear campaign.
The Sunday Times newspaper said it had carried out an undercover investigation that exposed Japan’s bribery.
...
According to the article, the governments of Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, the Republic of Guinea and Ivory Coast all entered negotiations to sell their votes in return for aid.
The Times said it had filmed government officials making several admissions about getting something in return for taking a pro-whaling stance.
It did not specify the particular aid that Grenada and St Kitts received.
...
Artherton Martin of Dominica said there was “incontrovertible evidence” to support the Sunday Times allegations of payments.
He claimed that Japan had paid the “extraordinarily high” annual membership dues of the IWC on behalf of Eastern Caribbean nations.
A “vile orchestration of lies, innuendos and insinuations” is how Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris describes allegations of his involvement in the International Whaling Commission (IWC) vote selling scandal.
...
Japan is also accused of providing million-dollar aid packages for these countries in exchange for their vote opposing a de facto moratorium on commercial whale hunting.
...
They were each offered £25m in aid over 10 years. Six countries indicated they were willing to consider our offer. They were St. Kitts and Nevis, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Grenada, Ivory Coast and Guinea.
...
Dr. Harris, who was appointed Minister of Marine Resources in February this year, contends that the discussions centered on the Federation’s whaling position, and at no time was there any negotiation for personal gain.
And Cameron? well, I don’t know if the moratorium ever actually came up for a vote at the conference. The news isn’t actually clear on that point, only that the measure to exchange the moratorium for limited hunting failed. And it failed even though the hunting plan would take about 1/3 as many whales as the old “scientific research” plan had. And there is media coverage (true or not, your call) that says those Whale Wars operations are the parties responsible for Japan’s harvesting of many less whales this last year than it wanted for that “research”. BUT, if the issue did actually come up for a vote, then David Cameron was going to vote for continuing the moratorium, even though the EU had decided it’s voting bloc was going for the limited hunting approach. Between the doubletalk, the doublespeak, and the double negations of the wordings, it’s hard to make out the truth.
David Cameron is ready for his first confrontation with the European Union if he attempts to stop the international ban on whaling being lifted.
The Coalition faces a multi-million-pound fine for voting to maintain the moratorium if, as expected, the rest of the EU refuses to oppose moves to legalise the slaughter of whales.
..
Most leading European nations, including Britain, support the moratorium. But under EU rules, unless all 25 Member States agree the organisation cannot vote, and Denmark is determined to block any EU bid to oppose the Japanese.However, The Mail on Sunday has learned that if the EU does stand aside at the IWC showdown in Morocco, the British Government is considering defying the EU by voting in favour of maintaining the ban.
So, 88 members in the IWC. 17 sent to the corner for a time out. The 25 from the EU internally blocked from voting. That leaves only 46, and at least one country didn’t attend. So 45 at the most went to the conference. And 44 is just half the group. How many do they need for a quorum? If it’s 51%, then ever single attending nation would have had to vote in favor of this measure. So my guess is that it died on the floor and never came to a vote.
Obama recently came out in favor of the measure. When it comes right down to it, which is the better approach? Which way protects more whales? The “scientific research” moratorium with it’s higher quotas that have been kept low due to harassment, or the “leave us alone and we will sign a bit of paper saying we’ll only take fewer” hunting plan? And out on the cold and lonely ocean, with nobody watching, you’d have to take those hunters on faith. Because for the sushi and canned seafood market in Japan, whales are nearly worth their weight in gold. 30 tons at a time. No temptation for over-fishing there at all, no sir.
PS - to either just stir the pot, or to get their “dibs” in ahead of any change in international regulations, Japan sent it’s whaling fleet to see quite early this year, 10 days before this vote was scheduled for. With the plan to catch sperm whales, one of the more seriously endangered whales out there napping vertically in the sea.
Conservation groups have condemned Japan for starting its summer whaling hunt in the north-west Pacific less than 10 days before the annual whaling commission meets.
A Japanese whaling fleet consisting of three harpoon and two research ships left port yesterday to hunt 160 whales before returning in August.
Their quota is to kill 100 sei whales, 50 bryde’s whales and 10 sperm whales before returning in late August.
...
“To be doing it when governments are trying to reach a compromise over the future of whaling it is just adding insult to injury.“It’s just serving to put pressure - undue pressure - on governments to capitulate to their demands.”
Posted by Drew458
on 06/23/2010 at 03:06 PM
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Not that very many people ever read this far down, but this blog was the creation of Allan Kelly and his friend Vilmar. Vilmar moved on to his own blog some time ago, and Allan ran this place alone until his sudden and unexpected death partway through 2006. We all miss him. A lot. Even though he is gone this site will always still be more than a little bit his. We who are left to carry on the BMEWS tradition owe him a great debt of gratitude, and we hope to be able to pay that back by following his last advice to us all:
It's been a long strange trip without you Skipper, but thanks for pointing us in the right direction and giving us a swift kick in the behind to get us going. Keep lookin' down on us, will ya? Thanks.
- Keep a firm grasp of Right and Wrong
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Oh, and here's some kind of visitor flag counter thingy. Hey, all the cool blogs have one, so I should too. The Visitors Online thingy up at the top doesn't count anything, but it looks neat. It had better, since I paid actual money for it.
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