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United Nations Report: Internet Access is a Human Right

Tue, 2011-06-07 20:45 — Kathy Gilbeaux

Los Angeles Times - June 3, 2011

Internet access is a human right, according to a United Nations report released on Friday.

"Given that the Internet has become an indispensable tool for realizing a range of human rights, combating inequality, and accelerating development and human progress, ensuring universal access to the Internet should be a priority for all states," said the report from Frank La Rue, a special rapporteur to the United Nations, who wrote the document "on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression."

La Rue said in his report that access to the Internet is particularly important during times of political unrest, as demonstrated by the recent "Arab Spring" uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt, among other countries.

From the report:

The Special Rapporteur believes that the Internet is one of the most powerful instruments of the 21st century for increasing transparency in the conduct of the powerful, access to information, and for facilitating active citizen participation in building democratic societies.

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Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) - Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouted Seeds

Tue, 2011-06-07 18:07 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by Stuart Leiderman

The Code of Practice for the Hygienic Production of Sprouted Seeds, developed with the sprout industry’s input in 2001 and amended in February 2007, continues to be the current Canadian regulatory guideline used to assess sprout manufacturers’ compliance with Canada’s Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. The HACCP Generic Model for Sprouts Grown in Water and its companion document, Food Safety Practices Guidance for Sprout Manufacturers (FSPGSM), were developed by a committee consisting of representatives from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Health Canada. These documents are intended to be food safety resources for the sprout industry.

CFIA - Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) - (a 42 page .PDF file)

http://www.sproutnet.com/Reports/CFIA_HACCP_EN.pdf

CFIA - Food Safety Practices Guidance For Sprout Manufacturers (FSPGSM) - (a 79 page .PDF file)

http://www.sproutnet.com/Reports/CFIA_FSPG_EN.pdf

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Food
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Alarm Spreads as E. Coli Cases Rise Sharply (in Europe) - With Unusual Neurological Effects

Thu, 2011-06-02 11:31 — Kathy Gilbeaux

June 1, 2011

The number of E. coli cases has risen dramatically in northern Germany, authorities announced Wednesday, with at least 180 new cases emerging in the past 24 hours in Hamburg and Lower Saxony alone.

The new figures came as doctors in Schleswig-Holstein reported that the bacterial illness was also causing unusual neurological effects including epilepsy.

Seventeen people – one in Sweden and the rest in Germany – have now died from the virulent form of enterohamorrhagic E. coli (EHEC), which can cause bloody diarrhoea and kidney failure known as haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS).

In the past day, the number of cases rose in Lower Saxony by 80 to 344, while in Hamburg another 99 cases were identified, bringing the total in the port city to 668.

“We are again seeing a clear rise in cases of people sick with EHEC and HUS,” Hamburg’s Health Minister Cornelia Prüfer-Storcks said. “The situation remains worrying and it is definitely too early to give any kind of all-clear.”

An 84-year-old woman who died on Sunday has now been identified as the 17th confirmed victim, the Lower Saxony Health Ministry announced Wednesday.

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Guardian -- "Food security: rising prices, climate change and a growing population"

Thu, 2011-06-02 08:33 — mdmcdonald

The Guardian holds a periodic news round up and forums under their "Poverty Matters" series.

Below is a sample of the issues now being discussed:

 

 

Rising commodity prices, a changing climate and a growing population have combined to push food security to the top of the international agenda, and have also dominated coverage on the Global development site this week.

 

Our Global food crisis interactive highlights the big issues in the current food debate, through blogs, features, video, galleries and audio reports.

 

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Agriculture
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Germany, in Reversal, Will Close Nuclear Plants by 2022

Tue, 2011-05-31 21:53 — Kathy Gilbeaux

The New York Times - May 30, 2011

BERLIN — The German government on Monday announced plans to shut all of the nation’s nuclear power plants within the next 11 years, a sharp reversal for Chancellor Angela Merkel after the Japanese disaster at Fukushima caused an electoral backlash by voters opposed to reliance on nuclear energy.

The plan calls for phasing out all of Germany’s 17 nuclear reactors — eight of which are offline — and expanding the use of renewable resources. The decision was based on recommendations of an expert commission appointed after the Japanese disaster to study an industry that generates 23 percent of Germany’s electricity.

“It’s definite — the latest end for the last three nuclear plants is 2022,” said Norbert Röttgen, the environment minister.

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WEBCAST: Rolling Out GHI On The Ground

Fri, 2011-05-27 14:47 — Kathy Gilbeaux
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Policy
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WEBCAST: Rolling Out GHI On The Ground

Fri, 2011-05-27 14:45 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by:  Mary Suzanne Kivlighan

A webcast of a May 25 Kaiser Family Foundation briefing that explored the rollout of the U.S. government's Global Health Initiative (GHI) on the ground, with a particular focus on the recently released GHI country-level strategies. The briefing examined progress and challenges that arise when translating the GHI in the field.

Panelists included:

    * Lois Quam, GHI executive director
    * Mamadi Yilla, former PEPFAR country coordinator and GHI Planning lead for Malawi and current senior public health advisor for Sustainability and Integration, Office of the Global AIDS Coordinator, Department of State
    * Bethanne Moskov, health team leader in Mali, USAID
    * Kayla Laserson, director, KEMRI Research Station in Kenya, CDC
    * Mark Green, senior director at the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition and former ambassador to Tanzania
    * Karl Hofmann, president and CEO of PSI and former ambassador to the Republic of Togo
    * Jen Kates (moderator), vice president and director, Global Health and HIV Policy, Kaiser Family Foundation

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Bill McGuire: 'A global databank could warn of natural disasters'

Fri, 2011-05-27 05:18 — mdmcdonald

If world governments could turn to a central information source on natural disasters, many lives could be saved through better preparedness

 

 

Devastating natural disasters have killed close to a million people and caused billions of pounds of damage in the past few years. Despite its sophisticated technology, humanity remains hugely vulnerable to earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and other calamities. The danger is only likely to increase, say geologists and weather experts. Earth's swelling numbers are forcing more and more people to live in geological and meteorological danger zones. As a result, death tolls are destined to rise.

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Disaster Response
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Solutions

To Make Logging Legal, Liberia Will Give Every Tree a Barcode

Fri, 2011-05-27 01:04 — Kathy Gilbeaux

submitted by: Albert Gomez

Good - May 23, 2011

The African country of Liberia is blessed with lush rainforests full of pygmy hippos, Diana monkeys, duikers, and lots of valuable trees. But when Charles Taylor started plundering the forests to fund his forces in the country's civil war, the UN placed sanctions on Liberian timber.

Now President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wants to establish a legitimate timber trade to boost the Liberian economy. To that end, she has signed a deal with the European Union that would require companies bringing Liberian lumber into the EU to have proof that it's legal. To make that possible, every legally harvestable tree and every cut log would have to carry a barcode that makes it traceable. Helveta, a British company that specializes in timber supply chain management, has invented the tracking system.

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Environment
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Solutions

The 25th Anniversary of Chornobyl

Tue, 2011-04-26 16:31 — mdmcdonald

 

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