Articles by M

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An Open Letter on My 82nd Birthday
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 19 Nov 2012

Exactly two years ago I wrote my first blog. Throughout this period it has been a bittersweet experience consisting of work, play, challenge, and occasional consternation. Many warm and generous responses have given me an appreciation of the distinctive satisfactions of cyber connectivity.

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Nobel Foundation – Request for Injunction against EU Prize
Fredrik S. Heffermehl – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

In my letter to Länsstyrelsen on Oct. 7, 2012, I quoted startling remarks from the Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Geir Lundestad, that the Norwegian Committee is not willing to pay attention neither to the will of Alfred Nobel nor to the law and the March 21, 2012, decision of the Länsstyrelsen. Referring to the IPB request of Oct. 5 [2012] I hereby urge the Länsstyrelsen to urgently intervene with an injunctive to stop payment of the prize to the European Union.

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7 Palestinians, Including 3 Children, Killed and 52 Injured As Israeli Attack on Gaza Continues
Annie Robbins and Adam Horowitz - Mondoweiss, 12 Nov 2012

11 Nov 2012 – Over the past 72 hours, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have escalated their aerial and ground attacks against the Gaza Strip. Five Palestinian civilians, including 3 children, have been killed, and 52 others, including 6 women and 12 children, have been wounded. Four of these deaths and 38 of the injuries resulted from an Israeli attack on a football playground in al-Shoja’iya neighborhood east of Gaza City.

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The 16 Smartest People on Earth
Dina Spector and Shlomo Sprung, Yahoo News – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

IQ is a problematic measure of intelligence. Many have never been tested, while others have taken the test many times to improve their scores. Still, psychologists consider it the best measurement of intelligence out there. So who has the highest score?

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UK Nuclear Deterrent Plan Triggers Divisions
Simon Hooper – Al Jazeera, 12 Nov 2012

Announcement of an extra $565m for improved nuclear weapons capacity worries critics in an era of austerity. At an unknown location somewhere deep beneath the world’s oceans, a British submarine sits primed to launch up to 40 nuclear warheads with a collective destructive power almost 300 times greater than the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945.

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Policing the Internet
Padraig Reidy, Index on Censorship – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The more we live our lives online, the greater the temptation for governments and private companies to spy on us. The dark side of our increasing dependence on digital communications. While the internet offers opportunities for mass communication and social interaction unprecedented in human history, the chances for governments to monitor and control how we communicate are also ample.

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Revelation 3:20
TMS editor, 12 Nov 2012

A new pastor moved into town and went out one Saturday to visit his parishioners.

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Haiti’s Misery before Sandy
Ashley Smith – Socialist Worker, 12 Nov 2012

How decades of neoliberalism and imperialist intervention set the stage for a new level of devastation after Hurricane Sandy.

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(Portuguese) A Presença da Opus Dei na Política no Brasil e na América Latina
Henrique Júdice Magalhães – Pátria Latina, 12 Nov 2012

Mas o que é afinal, a Opus Dei (em latim, Obra de Deus)? Obscurantismo e misoginia. Denúncias de Jean Lauand, professor da Universidade de São Paulo, que escreveu com outros ex-membros, o juiz Márcio Fernandes e o médico Dário Fortes Ferreira, o livro “Opus Dei – os bastidores”. Entranhas mafiosas: ” Que membros numerários e supernumerários saibam que devem observar sempre um prudente silêncio sobre os nomes dos outros associados e que não deverão revelar nunca a ninguém que eles próprios pertencem à Opus Dei.”

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Bad News for Africa: 3,000 More U.S. Soldiers Are on the Way
Mark P. Fancher, World Mathaba – TRANSCEND Media Servivce, 12 Nov 2012

The Obvious Mission Is to Lock Down the Entire Continent – 31 Oct 2012-The United States plans to permanently station a U.S. Army brigade on African soil, beginning next year [2013]. Is this the start of something big – and ominous – or “only a benign creeping U.S. military presence in Africa?”

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Anti-Depressant
Tom Greening – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

I’m depressed and hallucinating again,
and need my doctor’s help.
I see things on TV
that aren’t really there,

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Are You Man Enough To Go Vegan?
Victoria Martindale – The Independent, 12 Nov 2012

As we enter World Vegan Month it’s time to reconsider the vegan stereotype. Admittedly, veganism has been given a bad name over the years, it’s very mention conjuring up images of pale hirsute hippies who zip about on their bikes to spread the love. I remember the only vegan on my course (and quite probably in the whole university) turned up at our graduation ball dressed in sackcloth and sandals.

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Burma’s Buddhism: A Tale of “Form without Substance”
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Do not mistake Myanma’s thousands of Golden Temples and Pagodas and thousands of Saffron Robed men, that is, form, for the real practice of Buddhism, that is, the practice of Metta or universal loving kindness for all sentient beings. That, of course, is except Rohingya and Muslims.

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An Appeal to the Political Leaders of India
Debidatta Aurobinda Mahapatra – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Protests against corruption in India or other parts of the world are not new. History shows enough evidence of such kinds of protests from time to time. In case of India, there appears a mismatch between concept of public service and political power as a means to realize that goal.

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(Castellano) Haiti: El Poder de la Calle
Centre Tricontinental – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

La oposición haitiana y el gobierno buscan presentar pruebas de adhesión popular. La escalada del costo de la vida y las irrefutables acusaciones de corrupción suman opositores en todas las clases sociales.

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India: Why We Don’t Talk About Inequality—And How to Start Again
Pratap Bhanu Mehta, Centre Tricontinental – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Equality is forged in the crucible of politics; it would be presumptuous to prescribe solutions. But the politics of equality will have to cut more insistently through the culture of avoidance; this is easier said than done, because this culture has become deeply embedded in everyday sites and practices. Economically, growth is not everything; in many ways, it will pose new and serious challenges.

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Greed, Reckless Behaviour and the Financial Crisis: A Timeline
Transparency International – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

This crisis was not just the result of a few rogue traders placing reckless bets. Corruption, in the form of fraud and a ‘no holds barred’ pursuit of profits, bonuses and growth, infected the whole financial system. Transparency International believes that not enough has been done to change the culture of greed and reckless risk-taking.

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Letter to Delegates of 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Only our two countries, China and India, are going for major expansion of nuclear power with no concrete plans to decommission the plants or to store and safeguard the nuclear waste. Both our countries also go for major nuclear arms build-up which is not in the best interests of our peoples, regional harmony and world peace.

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Call for Civil Society Submissions for Report on Peaceful Protests
International Service for Human Rights – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Civil society organisations are requested to submit information for a report being prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, on ‘effective measures and best practices to ensure the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of peaceful protests’. The deadline for these submissions is 15 November [2012].

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World Fisheries Day – 21 Nov 2012: Call for a Nuclear Free World
National Fishworkers' Forum – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The World Forum For Fisher People (WFFP) has issued the call for ‘Nuclear Free World’ on the occasion of the World Fisheries Day 2012.

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Water: From Privatisation to Corporatisation and the Need for a Counter-Strategy
FIVAS – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The report explores the development from privatisation to corporatisation, within neoliberal policy on urban water services in developing countries. It calls for the water justice movement to update and adjust its strategy, in order to counter the neoliberal tactical shift towards corporatisation. Corporatisation reform entails the implementation of commercial neoliberal management principles within public sector water utilities.

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Our Words Are Our Weapons against the Destruction of the World by Greed
Rebecca Solnit - TomDispatch, 12 Nov 2012

We should call it how it is and no longer hide behind the doublespeak that permeates throughout America.

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Johan Galtung at the Russell Tribunal on Palestine (Video of the Weel)
Antonio C. S. Rosa, editor - TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

New York, NY – October 2012 – Prof. Galtung defines and explains the notion of Sociocide, a concept parallel to Genocide and Ecocide, in the context of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

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(Italian) La Crisi Finanziaria Europea: Germania/GIPSI
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Una crisi così massiccia – con il sistema sanitario in Grecia al collasso e il 50% della gioventù spagnola disoccupata – richiede grandi cause.

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Africa: Cooperatives Crucial Allies in Fight against Hunger
Nigeria Daily News – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

One of the only chances small-scale food producers have to gain competitive access to local and global markets is by banding together in cooperatives, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told a meeting of the World Cooperatives Congress in Manchester today [31 Oct 2012]. The International Year of Cooperatives is being observed in 2012.

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(Castellano) Tercer Simposio Mundial: Los Humanistas Proponen Campaña Latinoamericana por la Reducción del Gasto Militar en la Región
Nelsy Lizarazo, Mundo Sin Guerras y Sin Violencia – Pressenza Int’l Press Agency, 12 Nov 2012

Tomás Hirsch, humanista chileno, lanzó la propuesta humanista para trabajar en una gran campaña latinoamericana para la reducacción del gasto militar en América Latina y Caribe y reorientar ese gasto hacia la salud, la educación y la calidad de vida de nuestras poblaciones. Avanzaremos en esta propuesta y les invitamos a todos y todas a sumar a ella, concluyó Hirsch.

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The United States of America: A “Culture of Violence”
Anthony J. Marsella, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Charting a “Culture of Violence:” Causes and Consequences – As Figure 1 demonstrates, the manifestations and consequences of violent acts are extensive. This suggests the existence of a “culture of violence” that is generated, sustained, and promoted by acts that arise from individual and collective impulse and intent, and that too often find tier tolerance and approval across political, economic, educational, military, and moral policies of institutions.

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(Portuguese) Uma Nova Era das Cooperativas?
Robin Murray – Outras Palavras, 12 Nov 2012

Relegadas pelo capitalismo e socialismo do século 20, elas estão ressurgindo, favorecidas pelo economia imaterial. Quais seus novos desafios?

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Why We Should All Be Talking About Global Sharing
Adam Parsons, Share The World’s Resources – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Understanding how the principle of sharing relates to economic policy might be simpler than we imagine. In STWR’s recent report, we expanded the existing notion of the sharing economy to include modern systems of social welfare and public service provision, which we argue is perhaps the most advanced form of sharing on a nationwide level that exists in the modern world.

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Osprey Outrage on Okinawa
Seamus Murphy – Foreign Policy in Focus, 12 Nov 2012

The outrage shows no signs of waning, with Okinawans claiming their government is treating them like second-class citizens, breaking a promise to remove the U.S. military presence at Futenma. With the pace of Osprey operations increasing, so too is the catastrophic disparity between the U.S. military and the people of Okinawa.

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Wisconsin’s Tammy Baldwin Is First Openly Gay Person Elected to Senate
Emanuella Grinberg - CNN, 12 Nov 2012

Tammy Baldwin made history Tuesday [6 Nov 2012] night — twice. She became the first openly gay politician, and first Wisconsin woman, elected to the U.S. Senate.

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America’s Deplorable Human Rights Record
Stephen Lendman – Information Clearing House, 12 Nov 2012

Far and away, America’s human rights record is the world’s worst. No other nation approaches its unprincipled history. Earlier crimes against humanity were largely internal and regional.

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Chemtrails. The Realities of Geoengineering and Weather Modification
Prof. James F. Tracy – Global Research, 12 Nov 2012

For over a decade military and private jet aircraft have been spraying our skies with what an admixture of aluminum, barium, strontium, and other dangerous heavy metals. Such substances distributed into the atmosphere as microscopic subparticulates eventually descend to earth where they are breathed by living things and absorbed by the soil and plant life. By drawing attention away from actually existing efforts of atmospheric experimentation and manipulation, such coordinated efforts are complicit in the impending environmental catastrophe they profess to be rallying against.

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(Italian) Studi per la Pace Con Mezzi Pacifici
Johan Galtung – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Gli studi per la pace sono importanti, tanto quanto quelli sulla salute. Nasciamo inclini a rifiutare la sofferenza, sia essa dovuta a violenza o a malattia, e a cercare il benessere, lo si chiami pace, o salute. Ma non nasciamo con la conoscenza e la competenza, la teoria e la pratica.

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Project Aims to Transfer Brazilian Know-How in Support of Cotton Farmers
UN Food and Agriculture Administration (FAO) – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

South-South cooperation for rural development, stronger agricultural livelihoods. Brazil and FAO signed a new South-South cooperation agreement today [17 Oct 2012] worth $20 million that aims to channel Brazilian expertise in cotton production to other developing countries.

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California: Prop 37 Fails – Why We Can’t Rely on Policy to Change Our Food System
Kristin Wartman and Erika Lade – Huffington Post, 12 Nov 2012

On Tuesday [6 Nov 2012], Californians voted on Proposition 37, which if passed, would have required the mandatory labeling of genetically-modified foods (GMOs). According to public health lawyer Michele Simon, Big Food companies like Monsanto, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, Nestle, and Kraft, which donated funds to “No on 37” engaged in lying, scare tactics, misrepresentation, and various dirty tricks to protect their profits and keep California voters uninformed about their food choices.

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Colorado and Washington Vote To Become First US States To Legalize Marijuana
Russia Today – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Marijuana is now legal in Colorado and Washington for recreational use, and possibly in Oregon as well. Proponents of the initiative argued that pot is safer than alcohol, and that the legal sale of marijuana could rake in $45 to 100 billion in tax revenue, according to Bloomberg. The government will also save an estimated $14 billion in cannabis-related costs in fighting the war on drugs.

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Kurdish Hunger-Strikers Fight for Rights
Berza Simsek – Al Jazeera, 12 Nov 2012

Nearly 700 prisoners demanding greater recognition for Kurds in Turkey have refused food, some for nearly two months. Death by starvation or long-term health damage are what Mazlum Dikmen and hundreds of other Kurdish prisoners in Turkey are now facing.

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The 2012 Peace Prize Is Unlawful and Cannot Be Paid to the EU
International Peace Bureau, 1910 Nobel Peace Laureate – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The European Union, announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee as the winner of the peace prize for 2012, clearly is not one of “the champions of peace” Alfred Nobel had in mind and described in his will as “the person who (Swedish original: “Den som…”) shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”

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(Portuguese) EUA: Primeira Senadora Abertamente Gay É Eleita Sem Levantar Bandeira do Movimento
BBC Brasil – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

A democrata Tammy Baldwin tornou-se na terça-feira [6 nov 2012] a primeira senadora americana abertamente gay, embora as bandeiras do movimento GLBT (Gays, Lésbicas, Bissexuais e Transgêneros) não tenham sido temas centrais nem em sua campanha, nem no discurso de agradecimento feito após o anúncio da vitória.

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The Buzz about Pesticides
Charlotte Stoddart, Nature – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Common pesticides affect bumblebee foraging.

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Suspension of Anti-Homosexuality Laws in Malawi a Historic Step Forward
Amnesty International – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Laws criminalising same sex sexual conduct in Malawi are suspended pending a decision on whether or not to repeal them is a historic step in the fight against discrimination in the country.

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2012 – International Year of Cooperatives
United Nations – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Cooperatives are not just an economic phenomenon but also a philosophy. It is an entrepreneurial model which is based on values such as equality, solidarity and reciprocity – and democracy, “a model which brings market logic together with social inclusion, making solidarity the focus of concern.”

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Further Reflections on Istanbul as Global Capital
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

My proposal that we consider the possibility of treating Istanbul as the world capital attracted a broad range of responses. I tried to make clear in my revised text that Istanbul could not hope to have this kind of recognition until Turkey had addressed some serious issues, especially the Kurdish grievances that have induced a massive hunger strike in Turkish jails (with over 600 prisoners now taking part, and more threatening to do so).

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India’s Nuclear Programme: Trust Abroad but Not At Home
Catherine Mei Ling Wong – Al Jazeera, 12 Nov 2012

The protests in Kudankulam will continue if the government doesn’t reassess the root cause of public unrest. Even as trust in India’s nuclear power programme in the international arena grows steadily, trust on its domestic front has been eroding over the last few decades.

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Ways to Eliminate Body Odor
Dr. Edward F. Group, Global Healing Center – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

If body odor is a product of poor hygiene, new behaviors simply must be learned and adequate tools must be used. One thing we need to be clear of though is that toxic antiperspirant and deodorant sprays are not the answer. When body odor is indicative of a problem from within, detoxifying your body is the answer. There are a variety of cleansing routines that may be appropriate and regularly incorporating detox foods may help.

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Kill or Be Killed (Or Both)
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The doctrines of nuclear deterrence and massive retaliation are still based on the Stone Age maxim: “Kill or be killed”, and the voice at the back of the hall is still right in adding “Or both!” We have to remember that the total explosive power of the nuclear weapons in the world today is 500,000 times as great as the power of the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. What is threatened by a nuclear war today is the complete breakdown of human civilization.

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Walnuts Are Top Nut for Heart-Healthy Antioxidants
Science Daily – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

A new scientific study positions walnuts in the number one slot among a family of foods that lay claim to being among Mother Nature’s most nearly perfect packaged foods: Tree and ground nuts.

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Restoring Democracy in the United States
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The United States is no longer a democracy, since neither the economic system nor the government serve the will and needs of the people. They serve instead the interests of the wealthy and powerful 1%, who control not only the mass media and the financial system, but also the politicians of both major parties. The situation in many other countries is very similar.

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Will Someone Speak Out for the Heroic Libyan People?
Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey – Pravda, 12 Nov 2012

The heroic people of Libya fight on against the occupation of their beloved country by NATO and by their Islamist terrorists who have visited terror on peaceful communities living together side-by-side for decades. Let us take a look at the situation today and apportion the blame.

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Cameroon: Lawyer Gets Threats for Defending Gays
News24 – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Cameroon lawyer Alice Nkom, who is known for defending gays and lesbians in a country where homosexuality is outlawed, said on Tuesday [23 Oct 2012] that she has been receiving death threats from anonymous callers over her stance.

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Banned
Sumeet Grover – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Dedicated to the freedom and dignity of young men who choose to have boyfriends.

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The Failed War on Drugs
TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

Infographic – “Let’s be blunt: It’s time to end the drug war.”

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What Does the World Bank Have to Do with Burma’s Wars, Conflicts and Atrocities?
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 12 Nov 2012

The war in Kachin State has everything to do with the World Bank which funded and promoted the idea of “cross-border energy free market”.

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An Important Icelandic Referendum – the Media Remains Silent
Mauro Santayana - Pravda, 5 Nov 2012

The citizens of Iceland voted in a referendum, on Saturday (20 Oct 2012), with about 70% of the voters. The basic text of its new constitution, drafted by 25 delegates, almost all ordinary men, chosen by direct vote of the people, included the nationalization of its natural resources. During these few years, in which the Icelanders resisted against the harassment of large international banks, the international media have been conveniently silent about what is happening in Reykjavik. It is an eloquent sign that Icelanders may be paving the way to a peaceful world revolution of the people.

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The Universe Unraveling
William Blum, Killing Hope – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

On October 7 [2012] Hugo Chávez won his fourth term in office as president of Venezuela. The feeling of frustration that must have descended upon the Venezuelan and American power elite is likely reminiscent of Chile, March 1973, when the party of another socialist and American bête noire, Salvador Allende — despite the best intentions and dollars without end of the CIA — won about 44 percent of the vote in congressional elections, compared to some 36 percent in 1970.

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Perpetual War
John Scales Avery – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Because the world spends roughly 1.7 trillion dollars each year on armaments, it follows that very many people make their living from war. This is the reason why it is correct to speak of war as a social, political and economic institution, and also one of the main reasons why war persists, although everyone realizes that it is the cause of much of the suffering of humanity.

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(Portuguese) Portugal: A Universidade-Mercado – Sete Exemplos da Mercadorização do Ensino Superior
João Mineiro, Esquerda – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

As universidades foram sempre um espaço de debate, crítica e movimento. Foram sempre uma pedra no sapato do sistema, porque nelas se exprimiram com imensa intensidade a liberdade, a subversão, a rebeldia e a crítica. Nos últimos anos fomos assistindo a estratégias de transformação da universidade pelo mercado, com o objetivo de amenizar o seu potencial crítico e emancipatório. Vejamos sete exemplos.

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Hurricane Sandy: Problems at Five Nuke Plants
Mark Schone – ABC News, 5 Nov 2012

The nation’s oldest nuclear plant declared an alert and a second plant just 40 miles from New York City was forced to shut down power as five different nuke plants in Hurricane Sandy’s path experienced problems during the storm. Indian Point in Buchanan, New York, on the Hudson River north of New York City, automatically shut power to its unit 3 on Monday [29 Oct 2012] night “as a result of an electrical grid disturbance,” according to Entergy, the plant’s operator.

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Chile’s Most Wanted
Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Branded a ‘terrorist’ at an early age by the government of Chile, Pascual Pichun is a man on a mission. Pascual is a symbol of the indigenous Mapuche resistance movement, which is trying to protect and reclaim its ancestral lands from the government and foreign companies. The movement is accused of attacks on forestry company property, destroying bulldozers and burning down a helicopter.

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British Ex-Envoy Told the Truth (for a change)
Gilad Atzmon – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Peter Jenkins, Britain’s former representative on the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaking in a debate at Warwick University on nuclear proliferation in Iran, said that “Israelis don’t practise an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; they practise ten eyes for an eye and ten teeth for a tooth.” He also added that “the idea that a just war requires the use of force to be proportionate seems to be a Christian notion and not a Jewish notion.”

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Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
UN General Assembly – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Adopted by Resolution 260 (III) A of the United Nations General Assembly on 9 December 1948

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America’s Nuclear Safety under Scrutiny after Oyster Creek’s Sandy Alert
Richard Schiffman – The Guardian, 5 Nov 2012

If superstorm Sandy, and the increasing frequency of other extreme weather events in recent years is any evidence, America’s luck may be running out. Oyster Creek nuclear power station was offline on Monday [29 Oct 2012] for maintenance, but officials said Sandy’s storm surge came within 6in of damaging its cooling system.

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(Italian) Aerei da Trasporto Alenia per le Future Guerre Africane
Antonio Mazzeo – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

“Il governo del Ciad ha mantenuto in vigore la pena di morte”, denuncia Amnesty International nel suo ultimo rapporto annuale sui diritti umani. “Nel paese sono aumentati i casi di arresti e detenzioni illegali, così come di tortura, aggressioni ai danni di difensori dei diritti umani, giornalisti e sindacalisti. Stupri e altre violenze nei confronti di donne e ragazze sono stati frequenti. Le condizioni nelle carceri sono difficili ed equiparabili a trattamento o pena crudele, disumana o degradante.

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Open Letter to the Heads of States of the World
People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

We, several millions of people from India, are seeking your support for the peaceful and nonviolent struggle that we have been waging for almost a quarter century against the Koodankulam nuclear power project. It is being built with Russian loan and technology against the will and wishes of the local people. As Indian authorities charge us with sedition and waging war on the state, imprisonment, curfew and prohibitory orders, intimidation campaigns, home searches, physical attacks on us and our properties, and other such police atrocities, we are forced to seek justice from the international community.

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Let’s Not Forget! Hurricane Sandy Ravaged the Caribbean First (PHOTOS)
Global Grind – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

We must not forget that before Hurricane Sandy touched down in New York City and New Jersey, Caribbean nations such as Cuba, Haiti and Jamaica took the brunt of the superstorm days before it hit the Tri-State area.

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9 Ways to Reduce Symptoms of Pet Allergies
Dr. Edward F. Group, Global Healing Center – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Pets bring a lot of joy and are usually considered a true member of the family. Petting a cat or dog has been shown to lower blood pressure and decrease feelings of loneliness and isolation. It’s not hard to understand why we have a real emotional connection to our pets. However, for people with allergies to animal dander, pets can pose a problem.

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Hunger Stalks My Father’s India Long after Starvation End
Mehul Srivastava – Bloomberg Businessweek, 5 Nov 2012

It was 1958, my father was still a child, and India was running out of food…

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HSBC Caught in New Drug Money Laundering Scandal
Tom Burghardt, Antifascist Calling – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

While HSBC’s Canary Wharf masters are back-peddling furiously over charges that they gave a leg up to terrorist financiers and drug traffickers as a recent U.S. Senate report charged, new evidence emerged that its business as usual for the multinational banking giant founded by Hong Kong-based British opium merchants.

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Peace Studies by Peaceful Means
Johan Galtung - TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Peace studies matter; same as health studies. We are born with the inclination to reject suffering, be it from violence or disease, and to seek wellbeing, call it peace, call it health. But we are not born with the knowledge and skills, theory and practice

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How a Group of Christians Smearing Muslims Benefits the Jewish State
Maidhc Ó Cathail – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

In the course of his much-ridiculed albeit deadly serious ACME bomb speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu asserted that “the medieval forces of radical Islam” stand in the way of Israel’s desire for “a Middle East of progress and peace.” As evidence of these freedom-hating, anti-modern forces supposedly “bent on world conquest,” Netanyahu cited the Sept. 11 besieging of U.S. embassies throughout the region.

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(Portuguese) A Política e a Ética da Fome
Leonardo Boff – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Existem técnicas de produção de extraordinária eficácia. A produção de alimentos é superior ao crescimento da população mundial. Mas eles estão pessimamente distribuídos. 20% da humanidade dispõe para seu desfrute 80% dos meios de vida. Aqui reside a injustiça. Continua válida a crítica de Gandhi: ”A fome é um insulto; ela avilta, desumaniza e destrói o corpo e o espírito…senão a própria alma; é a forma de violência mais assassina que existe”.

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ANC International Solidarity Conference Supports Boycott of Israel
BDS South Africa – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

BDS South Africa welcomes the position adopted by the African National Congress (ANC) International Solidarity Conference to support the international boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel campaign.

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Prop 37, GMOs, Food Sovereignty, and More
Vandana Shiva and Sonali Kolhatkar, Uprising Radio – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

A new poll conducted by the University of Southern California and the LA Times has found that Proposition 37, the GMO labeling initiative, has slipped a whopping 17 points since the last poll in September [2012]. Now, one of the world’s most renowned scientists and environmental activists, Vandana Shiva, is speaking out. Long a thorn in the side of Monsanto, Dr. Shiva has taken on big bio-tech and agribusiness companies in her home country of India and works with farmers groups all over the world to protect their right to farm using their traditional methods and seeds.

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Victims of the Future
Paul Rios, Lokarri – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

October 20 [2012] marked one year of the end of ETA violence and these words have taken on a new meaning: “Alec Reid, when talking about the worst years of the conflict in Northern Ireland, said that he started to carry out the role of mediator and tried to represent the victims of the future; he wanted to represent them precisely with the objective that they would never become victims”.

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Sri Lanka: Militarizing the Land and Terrorizing the Minds
Nirmanusan Balasundaram – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Nearly four decades of asymmetric war between the Sri Lankan state and the Tamil guerrillas ended in a bloodbath that was seen by some as “unacceptably high”. Such statements arouse a cynical curiosity as to what could be an “acceptable level of bloodbath” and confirmed that the State’s victory was achieved by massacring hundreds of thousands of Tamils.

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(French) II Symposium Mondial: Les Humanistes Proposent Une Campagne en Amérique Latine pour la Réduction des Dépenses Militaires
Nelsy Lizarazo, Monde Sans Guerres et Sans Violence – Pressenza Int’l Press Agency, 5 Nov 2012

Tomás Hirsch, humaniste chilien, a lancé la proposition humaniste de travailler sur une grande campagne de réduction des dépenses militaires en Amérique Latine et aux Caraïbes. Le but étant de réorienter ces ressources dans la santé, l’éducation et la qualité de vie de nos populations. Nous avancerons sur cette proposition et vous invitons toutes et tous à vous regrouper autour d’elle, conclut Hirsch.

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Israeli Ministry of Tourism Map Annexes Over 60% of the West Bank
Jonathan Cook – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

The map fails to delineate any territory identifiable as the West Bank, referring to it instead as the Biblical kingdoms of Judea and Samaria. That is also the way Israeli textbooks have presented the West Bank to generations of Israeli schoolchildren: as a single territorial unit of Greater Israel, ruled over by Israel. The Green Line was erased on Hebrew maps from the moment the occupation began. But the tourism map has been drafted not for a domestic audience but for a foreign one.

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AFRICOM Preparing For another ‘Humanitarian’ Military Intervention?
Abdi Ali Diriye – Pambazuka News, 5 Nov 2012

Washington’s corporate interests are hidden behind ‘humanitarian interventions’. That is the story of the US involvement in Libya, Uganda, Sudan and other parts of Africa.

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Money, Power and Class in America
Francis Fukuyama - The Globe and Mail, 5 Nov 2012

Is America a plutocracy? The rich throughout American history have manipulated government in such a way as to protect and expand their own wealth and influence at the expense of others. Many observers have noted that Americans are much less bothered than Europeans by unequal economic outcomes, being far more concerned about equality of opportunity.

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San Diego’s Drone Industry Doubles in Size
Gary Robbins – North County Times, 5 Nov 2012

The industry, which is centered in North County, generated at least $1.3 billion locally in 2011 and directly and indirectly supported 7,135 jobs. The report says the true impact could be far higher due to classified programs that are not included in public records. Most of the business can be tied to two defense giants — Northrop Grumman of Rancho Bernardo, which specializes in Global Hawk UAVs, and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems of Poway, which is best-known for Predators.

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(Castellano) Unión Europea Excluirá a Cataluña en Caso de Independizarse de España
TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

El organismo explica que cuando el territorio de un Estado miembro deja de ser parte de ese Estado, los Tratados regionales no se aplican a dicho territorio, ya que “un nuevo Estado, creado como resultado de un proceso de independencia, se convertiría en un tercer país”.

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Istanbul: A Modest Proposal
Richard Falk – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

My most trusted Turkish friends felt that it grossly exaggerated Istanbul’s credentials as a possible future world capital, and in deference, I will tone down some of the language, and call attention to some problematic features of the Turkish political landscape that should not be ignored in proposing such a status for Istanbul.

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UN Relief Agency Estimates 1.8 Million Haitians Have Been Affected By Hurricane Sandy
UN News Centre – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

2 November 2012 – Some 1.8 million Haitians have been affected by Hurricane Sandy, the United Nations relief agency said today after its first assessment of the situation in the region, adding that food security remains an urgent concern in the Caribbean nation.

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World Bank Business Rankings Obscure Poverty and Corruption, Critics Argue
The Guardian – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Some of the best places in the world to start and run a business have proved hugely controversial, like former Soviet satellite state Georgia and central African nation Zambia. The new boss at the World Bank, Jim Yong Kim, has pledged to review the rankings. It seems not only invidious but also farcical to say that Rwanda boasts a better infrastructure for business than Italy.

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Jeffrey Gedmin: The Democracy-Promoting, Iraq War-Supporting, Pro-Israel Neocon Who Influenced Merkel’s EU Austerity Program
Maidhc Ó Cathail, The Passionate Attachment – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

In his latest New Europe column entitled “Merkel’s real agenda: mugging the poor,” David Cronin asks why the German Chancellor has cast herself as Europe’s “empress of austerity.” The answer, he believes, is to be found by looking at those who have shaped the German leader’s worldview.

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The Fall Guy
Justin Raimondo – AntiWar, 5 Nov 2012

31 Oct 2012 – Fake Iranian terror plot wouldn’t convince a child. The setup and railroading of Mansoor Arbabsiar, a mentally ill Iranian emigrant, in the alleged “terror plot” to kill the Saudi ambassador was completed last week when he entered a guilty plea. The 57-year-old Iranian-American, a naturalized citizen, faced with a possible life sentence, made his last deal: a 25-year sentence in return for a propaganda victory for the Israel lobby.

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Jobless in the Crisis: Euro-Zone Unemployment Higher than Ever Before
Der Spiegel – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

The European debt crisis and related austerity measures continue to drive up unemployment across the euro zone. In September, according to statistics released on Wednesday [31 Oct 2012], fully 18.5 million people were without work in the common currency area, more than ever before.

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California’s Food Fight: To Label or Not to Label GMOs
Amy Goodman & Denis Moynihan - Democracy NOW!, 5 Nov 2012

Of the 11 initiatives before the 2012 California electorate, one drawing perhaps the most attention is Proposition 37, on the labeling of food containing genetically modified organisms, or GMOs. Whether or not this ballot passes could have a significant impact on how our food system is organized, favoring small, local organic-food producers (if it passes), or allowing for the increased expansion of large, corporate agribusiness (if it fails).

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(Castellano) Evo Morales Nombra a Sean Penn “Embajador de Causas Nobles de Bolivia”
TeleSur – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

“El Presidente le ha pedido (…) que lleve nuestras reivindicaciones, nuestra propuesta de retorno al mar a los distintos escenarios, en los que podamos avanzar de manera significativa en el contexto internacional”, señaló el ministro de la Presidencia.

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Who Lost the World? The Curious Case of How Libya Became an Election Issue
Ira Chernus - TomDispatch, 5 Nov 2012

Who lost Libya? Indeed, who lost the entire Middle East? Those are the questions lurking behind the endless stream of headlines about “Benghazi-gate.” My short answer: the enduring power of a foreign policy myth that will not die, the decades-old idea that America has an inalienable right to “own” the world and control every place in it. I mean, you can’t lose what you never had.

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Appeal to Our Leaders’ and Nation’s Collective Conscience!
The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

As the very last and desperate attempt at securing our independence and freedom, thwarting another spell of colonialism and foreign domination, safeguarding India’s natural resources, changing our energy policy and ensuring the well-being of our fellow citizens, we would like to appeal to your and our nation’s collective conscience to listen to us, the ordinary people of India, and not to repress us.

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How the U.S. Is Helping to Kill Peace in Syria
Nicolas J. S. Davies – Information Clearing House, 5 Nov 2012

As President Obama confirmed in an interview with the Atlantic on March 2, 2012, one of the strategic goals of U.S. policy in Syria has been to weaken and isolate Iran by removing or helping to remove its strongest Arab ally. Asked what the U.S. could do to accelerate the removal of President Assad, Obama replied, laughing, “Well, nothing that I can tell you, because your classified clearance isn’t good enough.”

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Sandy Caribbean Death Toll Rises
Independent, Ireland – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

31 Oct 2012 – The death toll in the Caribbean from Hurricane Sandy has risen and estimates of damage and destruction it caused grew larger as more complete assessments emerged from throughout the region. Two new deaths were recorded in Haiti, bringing the total for the country to 54 and for the whole of the Caribbean to 71. In Cuba, the government raised the number of homes damaged by Hurricane Sandy from 130,000 to 200,000.

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Who and What Gains from Myanmar’s Genocide of the Rohingya and Other Muslims?
Maung Zarni – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

The site of massive violence and arson of Rohingya and other Muslim neighborhood in Kyauk Hpyu happened to be the site where China is planning a Special Econ and Technological Zone. Why bother with mass eviction and typical Myanmar land grab when you have locally produced Genocide against the Rohingya and other Muslim inhabitants as a tool of ‘developmental policy’?

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Greek Editor Acquitted Over Swiss Bank List
Al Jazeera – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

A Greek journalist who published the names of more than 2,000 Greeks with Swiss bank accounts has been acquitted of breaking data privacy laws. Costas Vaxevanis’s acquittal on Thursday [1 Nov 2012] came hours after he went on trial in a case analysts said was a test for press freedom in Greece.

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Land Deals in Africa Have Led To a Wild West – Bring On the Sheriff, Says FAO
Mark Tran – The Guardian, 5 Nov 2012

Amid warnings that land deals are undermining food security, the head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has compared “land grabs” in Africa to the “wild west”, saying a “sheriff” is needed to restore the rule of law. José Graziano da Silva, the FAO’s director general, conceded it was not possible to stop large investors buying land, but said deals in poor countries needed to be brought under control.

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Being a Poem in the Making
Anthony Judge – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

Produced in the light of the joint meeting of the Scientific and Medical Network and the
Society for Scientific Exploration on Mapping Time, Mind and Space (Brú na Bóinne, Ireland, 2012). Engendering a Multiverse through Musing – This is a reflection on engagement with the quantity of information, the challenge of quality and selectivity, and the consequences of ignorance and confusion as time goes by.

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(Portuguese) Teste Simples Ajuda a Identificar AVC
Radioagência NP – TRANSCEND Media Service, 5 Nov 2012

29 out 2012 – No Dia Mundial do AVC, organizações de saúde intensificam o alerta para prevenir e identificar os primeiros sintomas da doença. Entre os principais fatores de risco estão a hipertensão, diabetes e o colesterol elevado. Uma pessoa morre a cada seis segundos no mundo devido ao Acidente Vascular Cerebral (AVC), popularmente conhecido como derrame.

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God is Watching
TMS editor, 5 Nov 2012

The children were lined up in the cafeteria of a Catholic elementary school for lunch.

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