Lead – Empower – Deliver

This is the theme for World Aids Day 1 December 2008

Download wall chart

A global view of HIV infection - Estimated adult HIV prevalence for countries in 2007

]

World AIDS Day originated 20 years ago at the 1988 World Summit of Ministers of Health on Programmes for AIDS Prevention. Since then, every year UN agencies, governments and all sectors of civil society worldwide join together to campaign around specific themes related to AIDS.

My hope is that 20 years from now we will no longer be ldquo;celebratingrdquo; the day as a call to action to do something but ldquo;celebratingrdquo; the fact that the scourge is no more, one less health challenge to be inherited by future generations.

Selection of photographs from 2008 Report on the global AIDS epidemic

Browse photographs as Flash photo gallery

Disclaimer: Photographs in this report do not necessarily represent the situation, opinions, or beliefs of the persons depicted, and in no way imply their HIV status.

Country: Senegal Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot		Country: Senegal Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot
Country: Russian Federation Credit: UNAIDS/S.Drakborg		Country: Argentina Credit: UNAIDS/ TangoPhoto /P.Carrera
Country: Morocco Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot		Country: Morocco Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot
Country: China Credit: UNAIDS/ ILO/J.Maillard		Country: Ecuador Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot
Country: Malawi Credit: UNAIDS/A.Gutman		Country: Senegal Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot
Country: Senegal Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot		Country: Mali Credit: UNAIDS/P.Virot SOURCE:  UN AIDS

DRINK LIQUID MEDICINAL GOLD

Gold is a very precious metal; an all-natural mineral that is non-toxic and exhibits no interactions with other drugs, and is easily tolerated by the body.

Its healing properties are  being rediscovered, as modern scientists and physicians uncover what the ancients seem to have known all along:

• Over 5,000 years ago, the Egyptians ingested gold for mental, bodily and spiritual purification. The ancients believed that gold in the body worked by stimulating the life force and raising the level of vibration on all levels.

• The Alchemists of Alexandria developed an ldquo;elixirrdquo; made of liquid gold. They believed that gold was a mystical metal that represented the perfection of matter, and that its presence in the body would enliven, rejuvenate, and cure a multitude of diseases as well as restore youth and perfect health.

• The Egyptians used gold in dentistry and it is still in favor today as an ideal material for dental work, approximately 13 tons of gold are used each year for crowns, bridges, inlays and dentures. Gold is ideal for these purposes because it is non-toxic, can be shaped easily, and never wears, corrodes or tarnishes.

• In medieval Europe, gold-coated pills and ldquo;gold watersrdquo; were extremely popular. Alchemists mixed powdered gold into drinks to ldquo;comfort sore limbs,rdquo; which is one of the earliest references to arthritis.

• During the Renaissance, Paracelsus (1493-1541) - who is considered the founder of modern pharmacology - developed many successful medicines from metallic minerals including gold. One of the greatest alchemists/chemists of all time, he founded the school of Iatrochemistry, the chemistry of medicine, which is the forerunner of pharmacology.

• In the 1900s, surgeons would often implant a gold piece under the skin near an inflamed joint, such as a knee or elbow. As a result, the pain would often subside or cease altogether.

• In China, the restorative properties of gold are still honored in rural villages, where peasants cook their rice with a gold coin to replenish the mineral in their bodies, and fancy Chinese restaurants put 24-karat gold-leaf in their food preparation

.More recently, gold has been medically documented to be highly effective in certain cases of inoperable cancer. Injection of microscopic gold pellets helps retard prostate cancer in men. Gold injections are also very effective in cases of acute arthritis. Women with ovarian cancer are treated with colloidal gold. Brain surgeons use 24 carat gold thread to suture delicate areas of the brain during surgery.

Medicinal Gold in the human diet whether absorbed into the blood stream from jewelry through the skin or infused in sops like Heart of Gold, imbibed like Joulersquo;, or injected through hypodermics by licensed medical practitioners has wonderful nutritional effects on the human system.  READ MORE

Source:  Muriellarsquo;s Corner Newsletter

Purest Colloids

Muriellarsquo;s Corner Blogs

Give thanks no matter what.

Thanksgiving 2008 - is there anything worth giving thanks for?  In todayrsquo;s world we can be blinded by the godawful trials and tribulations affecting people all over the world, so blinded that we can be overcome with woes and worries and doubts and fears.

However, if we could take a breath and look for something for which we could be grateful, then the world would not seem so bleak and devastating even though the sky seems to be falling.

When we change the way we look at things; the things we look at change - Wayne Dyerrsquo;s gentle exhortation is effective no matter what situation we are facinghellip;

Find something to be grateful for and give thanks, no matter what.

Muriellarsquo;s Corner salutes the troops and their families and thanks them for their efforts in securing peace.

Enjoy the beautiful faces in the video sharing gratitude and appreciation from around the world

Source: The Certain Way

Click here for images which help in visualizing peace and security on the African continent.

Some quotes on thanks and gratitude

Wilbur D. Nesbit

Forever on Thanksgiving Day; The heart will find the pathway home.

Anonymous

Thank you, dear God

For all You have given me,

For all You have taken away from me,

For all You have left me.

Cicero

Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.

Charron

He who receives a good turn should never forget it; he who does one should never remember it.

Meister Eckhart

If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, lsquo;thank you,rsquo; that would suffice.

Galatians 6:9

Do not get tired of doing what is good. Donrsquo;t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.

Albert Barnes

We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.

Anonymous

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

Hunter S. Thompson

When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro.

Ronald Knox

A good sermon should be like a womanrsquo;s skirt: short enough to rouse the interest, but long enough to cover the essentials.

Barbara Stanwyck

Egotism - usually just a case of mistaken non-entity.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Fear is the mother of morality.

Abraham Lincolnrsquo;s Thanksgiving Proclamation

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies

To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequalled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plough, the shuttle, or the ship; the axe had enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and voice by the whole American People.

I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to his tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility and Union.

Scriptural References to Thanksgiving

JOEL 2:21-27

In every culture the harvest season is a time of

thanksgiving.  Such celebrations occurred in ancient Israel as this excerpt

from one of their minor prophets shows.  The images of plenty pour out on

the page, line after line.  What is more, this abundant harvest came after

years of privation.

The significant element of this celebration comes to the fore in the phrase

ldquo;rejoice in the Lord your God.rdquo;  Providential grace, not human effort alone,

yields the abundant harvest.

PSALM 126

This brief psalm exults in the return of the exiles

from Babylon.  The dream of two generations had come true.  The psalmist

likens the experience to a harvest when the watercourses in the parched

desert of the Negeb were flowing from plentiful rainfall.  It could have

been included among the Songs of Ascent to remind Israelites of who gave

them whatever prosperity they might enjoy.

1 TIMOTHY 2:1-7

The two Letters to Timothy probably date from about

120-140 AD.  A church leader, using Paulrsquo;s name, wrote to guide a younger

pastor (or several pastors) in his (their) ministry.  Among other counsel,

he warned about a serious heresy.  Here he gave instructions about how and

for whom to pray.  Most surprising is the inclusion of the king (i.e. the

Roman emperor) and government officials.  The philosophy behind the

Canadian Constitution reflects this very contemporary prayer in the words,

ldquo;peace, order and good government.rdquo;

MATTHEW 6:25-33

This well-known passage from the Sermon on the Mount

declared that the secret to Godrsquo;s ample provision for human need are trust

and obedience to Godrsquo;s righteous rule.  Our response to Godrsquo;s plentiful

grace, not anxious manipulation of economic and financial systems, will

bring about the universal prosperity God wants all of us to enjoy.

For more read Muriellarsquo;s Corner Newsletter Thanksgiving Issue 2008

HELLO WORDPRESShellip;

Visit Hello to You World and get more informaton on life and culture in different countries.  Learn about cultural gaffes that could make or break relationships when living in or visiting countries.

This project was approved by American express as being innovative, achievable and having global impact http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/O3YPNO

Check out the links below for hellos from countries around the world, hellos which provide a hub through which one enters and grasps the life and culture of each countryhellip;money, flag, food, music, fashion, distribution of disease patterns, issues of water, sanitation, an appreciation of the way kids learn and the education system.   We all would like to understand how the other half lives, we can begin to know just by a simple hello.

Sudip Aryal from says ldquo;This project seems very nice and would surely come out be succesful. I am very much positive aboout its influence in a developing country like Nepal ldquo;

What do we know of Nepal? Its money, its population, its food, its flag, etchellip;Hello to You World will help provide that insight necessary for a deeper understanding of how the other half lives.

Another comment was ldquo;Excellent hellip;!!!! The beginning of a New Frontier! When we say hello, we are communing with the heart. Doors are open and anything is possible!rdquo;

You can appreciate the hellos from the countries in these videos as well as those on the website Hello to You World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjAVKBvswdoamp;feature=related

Belize

Jamaica

Bermuda

Australia

Iraq

Trinidad and Tobago

Yemen

Indonesia

East Timor

Congo (Brazzaville)

USA (Hawaii)

Visit United Nations Yak to learn about the different players in the field of social and humanitarian development and United Nations activities around the world; feel free to join the Yakkersrsquo; Community

When he entered the race, Senator Obamarsquo;s Intention was to become the 44th President of the United States of America and thus help create a better world in unity through diversity.

YES WE CAN became the mantra, the slogan, the chant, the Peace Cry, rallying all those who had a deep belief that they could, but who lacked the courage to say it out loudly and really did not believe that they could.

The rallying cry was picked up all over the world and suddenly dreams and hope were unleashed - YES WE CAN became a movement and supported the actions the Senator had to take to realise his dream and hopes, all wrapped up in his intention to become the 44th President. And, YES HE DID

The First Family - the 44th President of the United States of America

The election of Americarsquo;s First Black President has laid the groundwork/foundation for dreams, hope, love  to be no longer fanciful concepts, but concepts which lead to concrete action, AND, WHO KNOWS, the beginning of a peace movement around the world.

Martin Luther Kingrsquo;s I HAVE A DREAM

Jessie Jacksonrsquo;s KEEP HOPE ALIVE

Mother Theresarsquo;s  WE NEED TO LOVE WITHOUT BEING TIRED

Barack Obamarsquo;s intention YES WE CAN

DREAM, HOPE, LOVE, ACT - THE FOUR PILLARS OF THE BARACK OBAMA MOVEMENT FOR CHANGE. BELIEVE THAT YOU CAN ACHIEVE. Obama believed, Obama achieved.

LET US ADOPT IT AND MOVE FORWARD JOYOUSLY AND IN GRATITUDE

For affirmations and quotes from those who led the way read Muriellarsquo;s Corner online, content-rich newsletter and download the latest post-election issue.

Related sites

www.hellotoyouworld.com

www.unitednationsyak.com

The United States is a melting pot for people from almost every country on the planet.  Which means that every country has at least one family member or friend who is a citizen of the United States.

In these important last days of the campaign I urge all countries around the world to exhort their friends and families who are citizens of the United States to VOTE, FIRST OF ALL, and of course, vote for Obama/Biden ticket.

From Albania to Zimbabwe and all countries in between - text/email/blog/skype/call your families/friends who are citizens of the United States and remind, urge, implore, tell them to VOTE.  VOTE EARLY, VOTE NOVEMBER 4, 2008, VOTE, VOTE, VOTEhellip;

A vote for OBAMA-BIDEN TICKET IS A VOTE FOR IMPROVED INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Read More Here

Given that I am tuned in and turned on to the creation of a Global Peace Corps, my sensitive ears caught the mention of the possible expansion of the Peace Corps during the second presidential debate.

There are so many young people working energetically during this unprecedented political process, as well as those around the globe following on their televisions, cell phones, laptops, the internet, that it would be effective and efficient for the United States to consider revisiting the existing, unidirectional Peace Corps, and promote the establishment of a Global, multidirectional, Peace or Youth Corps and leave PEACE FOOTPRINTS across the globe.

For example, youth from the USA could consider as usual spending time in any country - not only in the developing countries as is with the current Peace Corps, but in other countries in this globalizing world where issues are becoming broader than developing vs developed country challenges.

Moreover, disparities in the world should no longer be consider rural vs urban.  They should be looked at in terms of eco-zones where behaviours are culled depending on habitats - mountain, forests, deserts, plains, small island states - and because of the environmental challenges faced by theses ecozones, their people are descending on the urban areas in droves - urban areas which are becoming ldquo;more harmonious and sustainablerdquo; and which are acting like magnets for those from not necessarily the ldquo;ruralrdquo; areas, but from these specific habitats with urban areas built in.

A dramatic example of challenges faced by people in the various ecozones was seen in 2007, where a pygmy chief from the forests in the Central African Republic and his posse descended on the World Bank to make a claim for people to stop cutting down the trees in his habitat.  Indigenous populations are most at risk when their habitats are attacked- some joint venture with logging companies click here

The US will not be alone in this -“Let us change the world, together” said Gordon Brown at the end of a riveting speech on globalization at the Clinton Global Initiative.

http://video.clintonglobalinitiative.org/health_cast/player_cgi2008_nointro.cfm?id=4597#

Related blogs -

http://muriella.wordpress.com/2008/08/23/hello-to-you-world/

http://muriella.wordpress.com/2008/09/27/gordon-brown-on-global-peace-corps-cgi-2008/

http://peacesecurity.blogspot.com/

Clinton Global Initiative 2008

FOCUS ON WATER AND SANITATION

Global Health

Investment in health not only alleviates suffering, but increases human capital and helps avoid inter-generational transmission of poverty. This year’s program will highlight opportunities to dramatically improve global health with existing tools and knowledge.

There is much to do. Unclean water and poor sanitation directly cause millions of deaths each year. Lack of basic nutrition kills 3.5 million children under the age of five, annually. Disease burdens borne by adolescent girls and young women are disproportionately harsh, and in turn are passed on to their own children. Facing these challenges head-on will require a massive investment to expand the health workforce in developing countries by four million people.

There are many promising opportunities to make a difference in each of these areas.

The Global Health Working Group sessions will address:

* Expanding provision of safe drinking water and sanitation

* Ensuring that mothers and their children have adequate nutrition

* Helping adolescent girls care for themselves and their families

* Training and managing the largest expansion of health workers in history

GET VIDEO OF WATER AND SANITATION PANEL AT CGI 2008 HERE

http://video.clintonglobalinitiative.org/health_cast/player_cgi2008_nointro.cfm?id=4594

Integrated Solutions - Water, Food, Energy

http://video.clintonglobalinitiative.org/health_cast/player_cgi2008_nointro.cfm?id=4564

Closing remarks by Gordon Brown, Prime Minister, UK on Globalisation and the Creation of a Global Peace Corps

“Let us change the world, together” said Gordon Brown at the end of a riveting speech on globalization at the Clinton Global Initiative.

http://video.clintonglobalinitiative.org/health_cast/player_cgi2008_nointro.cfm?id=4597#

REf: http://muriella.googlepages.com/waterandenvironment

ldquo;Let us change the world, togetherrdquo; said Gordon Brown at the end of a riveting speech on globalization at the Clinton Global Initiative.

http://video.clintonglobalinitiative.org/health_cast/player_cgi2008_nointro.cfm?id=4597#

During his remarks on the last day of the fourth annual Clinton Global Initiative, Mr Gordon Brown, Prime Minister gave an impressive account of his vision for building a global society. More global-type organizations might be necessary in the 21st century as we no longer are alone on this planet, everything that is done someplace is reported on or known or in another.

The power of the internet in these times of globalization cannot be ignored. For example, in Burma, monks were the first blogging the uprising; Zimbabwe, as a result of an army of mobile phones photographing and texting the results as they were announced, the government could not interrupt any attempt and the government toying with the results. The first 21st century coups - the coups de texte - was realized in the Philippines and brought down a president. People might be suppressed, but will not be silenced.

He also called on the revisiting of the vision and the mission of the World Bank as a Bank for Development; the UN must be transformed to deal with insecurities facing states and to deal not only with military but civil help in human and socio-environmental development.

Towards a global civic societyhellip;where we are all one, where we all have the same central, golden rule - treat each other as we want to be treated - the idea of fairness and responsibility to each other. There could be global organizations where people can meet and discuss issues affecting them and how they could help others. Mandela is at the head of the call for a truly global society, where all of us connect and share and support each other. This could be the generation that gives every child a chance to have an education, to stop the advance of disease, benefit from the opportunities of this truly global economy; we are all summoned to build a world where globalization is a force for justice on a global scale.

The idea of a Global Peace Corps resonate well with me as it is my dream to mobilize the energy of youth around the world towards the generation of peace. The existing peace corps as I see it, is unidirectional with US youth going abroad; the global peace or youth corps for sustainable development is multidirectional with youth, armed with laptops, skillsets/mindsets and the desire to share their knowledge and receive knowledge from others could utimately bring us closer to peace - to the establishment of Global Peace Positioning Systemhellip;their efforts in health, education, nutrition, water and sanitation, relationships, business strategy, etchellip;could serve as a foundation for peace and for the realization of the Millennium Development Goals, for the living of the spirit of the Universal Declaration on Human Rightshellip;

www.unitednationsyak.com

http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/O3YPNO - Create a better world through hellos

CGI Exchange showcases the different Member Commitments to creating a better world.

Here below are Members sharing information on their projects and inviting partnerships.

24 September 2008

Queen Rania on Education

Sep 24, 2008 Queen Rania enthralled the participants at the 2008 Clinton Global Initiative with the progress being made on education in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with the involvement of public-private sector partnershipshellip;

www.insideoutchoices.com

www.unitednationsyak.com

2008 ushers in the fourth annual meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI),  bringing together global leaders from business, government, academia, science, religion, and non-governmental organizations, including numerous heads of state, former heads of state, CEOs of multinational corporations and prominent philanthropists. CGI is a forum for participants to develop and then implement workable solutions to some of the worldrsquo;s most pressing challenges.

UN  Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and Bill Gates will join Queen Rania, Gordon Brown, Hamid Karzai, Al Gore, Barack Obama, John McCain, Michael Bloomberg, Lance Armstrong, Bono, Craig Barrett, and John Chambers as well many more leading CEOs and ver 50 Current and Former Heads of State

Clinton Global Initiative September 23th - 26th at the Sheraton New York Hotel amp; Towers

2008 will focus on Education, Energy and Climate Change, Global Health, and Poverty Alleviation

Some advance news of the first GGI commitment for 2008.

First 2008 CGI Commitment

Corporate Responsibility Program; Visa; CGI Commitment 2008

Visa Inc.rsquo;s commitment is the first of 2008, initiating a new program of Corporate Social Responsibility with three pillars:

First,  upholding the highest ethical business practices and responsible operations

Second,playing a role in improving the well-being of individuals around the world, by working with leading humanitarian aid organizations that have the expertise and mission to help individuals in vulnerable communities

Third, through a combination of their payments expertise and focused philanthropic efforts, addressing the long-term challenge of poverty.

To these ends, Visa Inc. will fund and build projects that empower individuals from vulnerable communities to improve their lives with access to formal banking systems and financial services, and aid in promoting entrepreneurship and small business development. In doing so, Visa Inc. is committed to providing financial literacy to at least 10 million people over the next five years.

More to followhellip;

Source:  www.cgi.org

www.unitednationsyak.com

Re The Summit on Service at Columbia University organized by Service Nation in which Presidential Candidates John Mc Cain and Barack Obama shared their views on service.

The debate brought back to me memories of collaborating with the Peace Corps in farflung and distant communities during my career at the United Nations.

Listening to the forum prompted me to make this post.

I would hope that   honoring those who served in the Peace Corps could be the subject of a future show (Larry King, Oprah, the Daily Show) and introduce the new concept of a global youth corps below.

Global Youth Corps for Sustainable Development -  mission  to have peace break out in the world.

I collaborated with the Peace Corps  during my career at the United Nations, and remember the energy and enthusiasm of those American youth, open to learning local languages, foods, culture, and sharing info about the USA with communities.

This prompted me to suggest to the presidential candidates during the primaries that they should consider having a platform on service and youth which would not be unidirectional, like the Peace Corps, but involve youth from around the world.

This Global Youth Corps would be multidirectional, where youth from each country, not only from USA, would traverse the globe armed with PCs/laptops,iPodshellip; United Nations Instruments - like the Convention on the Climate Change, the Declaration of Human Rights, the Goals of the UN - Millennium Development Goal, etchellip;working on connecting, linking, cooperating.

A network of youth, exchanging skillsets, learning languages, music, appreciating and understanding cultural and behavioural practices and differences,  knowing that, though we live in different climes, and different lands, we are basically the same - human beings.

These differences can be made clearer when youth are grouped by eco-zone:  youth from mountains, small island states, deserts, forest environments, all having specific adaptive and cultural behaviors which disappear or metamorphose when thrown into foreign environments, usually the urban areas.  Now the world can benefit from the knowledge and efforts of these youth.

Global youth corps for sustainable development would be of value as the youth involved would become future leaders and their participation in this movement would help make the world a better place -  they would be in the driversrsquo; seats for the creation of a better world based on service

Hello to You World would be the goal as we connect, communicate to create a better world .  The project below is one way going forward

http://www.membersproject.com/project/view/O3YPNO

More from Dr Vini Khurana on cell phones and cancer -

According to Khurana, even bluetooth devices and unshielded headsets merely turn the head into an antenna that bombards itself with radiation. Children, with thinner skulls than adults, are particularly at riskhellip;

Mobile Phone Radiation to Unleash Epidemic of Brain Tumors by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) A new review of more than 100 studies on the safety of mobile phones has concluded that cellular devices are poised to cause an epidemic of brain tumors that will kill more people than smoking or asbestos.

The review was conducted by neurosurgeon Vini Khurana, who has received more than 14 awards in the past 16 years, who made headlines worldwide with his warnings. He called upon the industry to immediately work to reduce peoplersquo;s exposure to the radiation from mobile phones.

According to Khurana, research demonstrates that long-term use of mobile handsets, more than 10 years, can double the risk of contracting brain cancer. While a number of studies have concluded that there is no such risk, Khurana said that most of those studies only examined short-term use. But because a brain tumor can take 10 years to develop, studies without a long follow-up period are largely meaningless.

ldquo;There is a significant and increasing body of evidence for a link between mobile phone usage and certain brain tumors,rdquo; Khurana said, a link that will be ldquo;definitively provenrdquo; within 10 years.

Khurana urged people to minimize their use of mobile phones, particularly handsets. He also urged the industry to act immediately to reduce exposure to radiation from the devices.

While mobile phones may save lives in certain emergency situations, Khurana said, brain cancer is ldquo;a life-ending diagnosis.rdquo;

ldquo;It is anticipated that this danger has far broader public health ramifications than asbestos and smoking,rdquo; Khurana said. While one billion people worldwide smoke tobacco, three times as many now use mobile phones.

Smoking is responsible for five million deaths each year.

While the United Kingdomrsquo;s Independent newspaper described Khuranarsquo;s study as ldquo;the most devastating indictment yet published of the health risksrdquo; of mobile phones, his warning is not the first. A Swedish study in 2006 concluded that people who used mobile phones for an hour or more each day had a 240 percent higher brain tumor risk than non-users. Tumors were significantly more likely to develop on the side of the head where the phone was most often used.

Inspired in part by such studies, France has warned against mobile phone use (especially in children), Germany urges people to minimize their use of mobile handsets, and the European Environment Agency has called for minimizing exposure to cellular radiation.

The mechanisms by which mobile phones increase cancer risk are not well understood, but several possibilities are suspected. Electromagnetic radiation (EMR) is known to directly heat up the head and brain, and can also cause thermoelectric effects on cells and DNA. According to Khurana, even bluetooth devices and unshielded headsets merely turn the head into an antenna that bombards itself with radiation. Children, with thinner skulls than adults, are particularly at risk.

ldquo;EMR rays in general cause irritation, concentration lapses and in many cases even proliferation of cells which cause cancer,rdquo; said Dr Rajeev Ranjan, a New Delhi neurologist. Radiation can also interfere with the functioning of medical devices like pacemakers.

EMR also ldquo;affect[s] the DNA and cause[s] problems in cell recovery and cell growth,rdquo; said New Delhi neurologist Anshu Rohatgi.

Khurana warned that if immediate measures are not taken, mobile phones will soon be responsible for a massive public health crisis.

ldquo;We are currently experiencing a reactively unchecked and dangerous situation,rdquo; he said.

Because mobile phone use began in the mid-1980s and it can take up to 20 years to diagnose a malignant solid brain tumor, he said, ldquo;In the years 2008-2012, we will have reached the appropriate length of follow-up time to begin to definitively observe the impact of this global technology on brain tumor incidence rates.rdquo;

ldquo;Malignant brain tumor incidence and its associated death rate will be observed globally to rise within a decade from now,rdquo; Khurana said, ldquo;by which time it may be far too late to meaningfully intervene.rdquo;

Sources for this story include: www.independent.co.uk, www.dnaindia.com, www.stuff.co.nz.

Millionaires go ldquo;barefootrdquo; in the African villages to make a difference

Channel 4 television in the UK commissioned a series of four programmes following eight multimillionaire business people as they

travelled to a small community in rural Uganda with a mission to improve its economy with sustainable development ideas.

Despite coming from professional/technical backgrounds ranging from construction to radio, PR, weddings, pubs, IT and media, they metamorphosed into backpackers and campers, having to make do with tents, a camp fire and fetching water from a spring a mile way, as they camped out for three and a half weeks at Nykasiru in rural south-western Uganda, close to the Rwandan border.

The eight had a combined fortune £600m, and, notwithstanding, quite a few large egos. They were asked by the development organisation WorldVision to come up with projects that would help this poor community to stand on its own feet.

The village needed to move forward, rather than continuing to subsist on potatoes, a few goats and chickens, hand-outs from charities or intervention by non-government organisations. Each of the entrepreneurs in this enterprise pledged £15,000 to improve life in the village.

They were challenged to listen to what people wanted, to think about whether those projects could be sustainable, then use their expertise to get ideas off the ground, supported by the communities.

A TV crew of 53 followed the team in their efforts to effect change in a country where, generally, the speed of progress is agonisingly slow.

The construction tycoonrsquo;s project was the re-routing of water to the village school, so that children did not have to miss two hours of lessons a day in order to make a dangerous journey back and forth to the bottom of the valley with water carriers.

Two others proposed attracting tourism by earmarking £8,000 for the development of a tourist hotel to sleep up to 11 guests in a disused school building.

The IT multimillionaire ordered a new ambulance and oversaw the electrification of the local maternity unit, so that babies will no longer be born by candlelight. A cooperative of local basket-weaving women has found a buyer for their wares.

And so onhellip;

World Vision is to be commended for highlighting the stories of people from all walks of life and all financial orientations who are committed to making a difference in the lives of others, despite the fact that when the millionaires returned after a period, some projects were up and running and sustained; unfortunately, the local authority did not pay the bill for the maternity unit, hence lights were switched off; the wrong ambulance was delivered, with no attention to maintenance and fuel for its smooth operation.

For full story go to yorkshirepost.co.uk/features/

http://www.muriellascorner.com

To our readers

Ensuring environmental sustainability is a goal - Goal 7 - of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals and Muriellarsquo;s Corner is committed to support its implementation, in partnership with all who intend to help more than one billion people release their creative energies, to help free them from the shackles of a life of continuing and overwhelming poverty.

Some of you might have noticed that water has been a recurring topic* on Muriellarsquo;s Corner and blogs. This seeming bias is due to almost three decades of work in the United Nations in the area of environment, water and sanitation.

REMEMBER TO STAND UP FOR THE ELIMINATION OF POVERTY ON

17 OCTOBER 2007

Muriellarsquo;s Corner

*These are earlier issues on water

To filter or nothellip;

End of an erahellip;error?

Environment and you

Water, water, ice

Tips for Travelers to the Tropics

Most of my work took me to developing countries over short and long periods, working with communities, governments and not-for-profit agencies in the drilling of wells, installation of handpumps, building of latrines.



The theme of water vibrates around the globe. In most developing countries, water quantity and water quality are main hurdles for the people. In others, water quality is the main challenge.

I have seen, first hand, the pain and suffering diseases cause to families who ingest and bathe in water populated by parasites - diseases like dracunculiasis (guinea worm), schisostomiasis,bilharziasis, and all the -isises- you can think of.

Peoplersquo;s lives are very affected, too ill to work, not enough time to go to school as fetching water is one of the main duties, especially of girls, and so on.

But they are forced to drink what is available, even though the source is questionable.

They have no CHOICE.

On the other hand, in the developed countries, there is no lack of water. In the quest to make the water potable, many chemicals are added. One of the most insidious is chlorine.

But, since exotic diseases are not present in the water supply, people are hardly concerned about the chemicals and as such continue to drink,shower and bathe in chlorinated water (swimming pools reek of chlorine).

Some are buying bottled water, but here again, hardly any attention is given to health issues - e.g. the water source from which the water is bottled is questionable; the plastic containers are questionable, pollution issues, the financial costs of buying a bottle of water - not enough to drink per day; no attention given to the water used for showering, bathing, cooking, etc., etc.

What is to be done?

The most important thing, we believe, is for people to know that they have a choice. Information propelled them to be users of bottled water, to choose to drink bottled water instead of tap water. But if their grasp of what propelled them is understood overall, they would also be concerned about the water used for showering, bathing, cooking.

We have prepared a comprehensive newsletter on Water with the following headings:

The Water Cure

Different types of water

Bottled Water - clear choices

Brands of Bottled Water; Filtration systems

Chlorine and cancer?

Chlorine and Asthma?

Testimony on drinking water

Discussion H2O

Given the amount of information this entails, we have decided to send it to you in short sips, so that you can click through and read the article you prefer. We recommend however that you read all of them as they will be of use to you as you make your choices.

We have also developed podcasts on water and can make them available upon request.

We will continue the focus on drinking water (quality and quantity), given the focus on this issues as Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals

-Reducing poverty and achieving sustained development must be done in conjunction with a healthy planet. The Millennium Goals recognize that environmental sustainability is part of global economic and social well-being. Unfortunately exploitation of natural resources such as forests, land, water, and fisheries-often by the powerful few-have caused alarming changes in our natural world in recent decades, often harming the most vulnerable people in the world who depend on natural resources for their livelihood.

Goal 7 of the Millennium Development Goals sets out by the year 2015 to:

• Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes; reverse loss of environmental resources.


• Reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water.


• Achieve significant improvement in lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers, by 2020. (Source: millenniumcampaign.org)

For full articles and links go to this webpage

Thank you

Muriellarsquo;s Corner

Industrial food processing and health issues 

Many of us are becoming increasingly aware of  the intimate relationship between the foods we eat and our health.  But how many of us ever consider that the way our foods are processed can be devastating to our health and that of the next generation?

Food processing is natural and traditional.  Farmers, artisans, homemakers all process foods, especially to enhance digestion and to secure and preserve foods.  However, with the advent of the industrial processing industry, these two basic reasons have given place to increased profits and reduced nutritional content in the foods processed.

Sally Fallon founder of westonaprice.org, takes us through the chemicalization of our American Breakfast - the dirty secrets of the industry processing our cereal, milk, bacon, orange juicehellip;Read full article in Muriellarsquo;s Corner online newsletter

Packaged Cereals

In his book Fighting the Food Giants - A Former Corporate Insider Reveals How Americarsquo;s Huge Food Conglomerates are Ripping You Off! , Paul Stitt describes how the extrusion process used for these cereals  destroys the fatty acids and even  the chemical vitamins that are added at the end. The amino acids are rendered very toxic by this process and lysine, a crucial nutrient, is especially denatured by extrusion. This is how all the boxed cereals are made, even the ones sold in the health food stores.  All dry cereals that come in boxes are extruded cereals.

Old fashioned porridge

In Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats , it is explained that old fashioned porridges should be soaked overnight in an acid medium (in warm water with one tablespoon of something acidic like a tablespoon of yogurt, lemon juice or vinegar) to neutralize the tannins, complex proteins, enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid.  The next morning, the porridge cooks in about a minute. Of course, you eat your porridge with butter or cream like our grandparents did. The nutrients in the fats are needed to absorb the nutrients in the grains. That was one of the great lessons of Weston Price, that without the vitamins present in animal fats (vitamins A and D), you cannot assimilate minerals and other vitamins. You can be taking mineral supplements, drinking green juices or eating organic food until it comes out your ears, but you cannot absorb the minerals in your food without vitamins A and D that are exclusively found in the animal fats.

Milk

The minute you start to process your milk, you destroy Mother Naturersquo;s perfect food.

The industrial system of agriculture puts our dairy cows inside on cement all their lives and gives them foods that cows are not designed to eat—grain, soy, citrus peel cake and bakery waste. These modern cows produce huge amounts of watery milk which is very low in fat.

Milk from these industrial cows is then shipped to a milk factory.  The largest milk poisoning in American history occurred in 1985 where more than 197,000 people across three states were sickened after a ldquo;pasteurization failurerdquo; at an Illinois bottling plant.

hellip;Of the reconstituted milks, whole milk will most closely approximate original cowrsquo;s milk. The butterfat left over will go into butter, cream, cheese, toppings and ice cream. The dairy industry loves to sell low fat milk and skim milk because hellip;READ MORE ON MILK, Milk Allergies, Powdered Milk.

Orange Juice

A quote from Processed and Prepared Foods states that ldquo;a new orange juice processing plant is completely automated and can process up to 1,800 tons of oranges per day to produce frozen concentrate, single strength juice, oil extracted from the peel, and cattle feed.rdquo;

In the processing, the whole orange is put into the machine. Enzymes are added to get as much oil as possible out of the skin. Oranges are a very heavily sprayed crop. These sprays are cholinesterase inhibitors, which are real neurotoxins. When they put the oranges in the vats and squeeze them, all those pesticides go into the juice.

What about the orange peel used for cattle feed? The dried left-over citrus peel is processed into cakes which are still loaded with cholinesterase inhibitors and organophosphates. Mark Purdey in England has shown these neurotoxins are correlated with ldquo;Mad Cow Diseaserdquo; (Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis or BSE). The use of organophosphates either as a spray on the cows or in their feed is one of the causes of the degeneration of the brain and nervous system in the cow and if these components are doing this to the nervous system of the cow, therersquo;s a possibility they are doing this to you also. In fact, a study carried out in Hawaii found that consumption of fruit and fruit juices was the number one dietary factor for the development of Alzheimerrsquo;s disease. The researchers speculated that the real culprit was the pesticides used in fruit—and concentrated in the juices due to modern processing techniques.

The FDA has decreed that we can no longer buy raw juice, because it might be a source of pathogens. But it might surprise you to know that they have found fungus that is resistant to pressure and heat in the processed juices. One study found that 17% of Nigerian packages of orange juice and 20% of mango and tomato juices contained heat resistant fungi. They also found E. coli in the orange juice that was pressure resistant and had survived pasteurization. So there is plenty of danger from contamination from pasteurized juices.

In one study, heat-treated and acid-hydrolyzed orange juice was tested for mutagenic activity. The authors hypothesized that the heating process produces intermediate products, which under test conditions, give rise to mutagenicity, and cytotoxicity. In other words you have got cancer-causing compounds in your orange juice. In another study, gel filtration and high performance liquid chromatography were used to obtain mutagenic fractions from heated orange juice.

Another study shows just how toxic and damaging these juices are to teeth. They found that rats had more tooth decay from these commercial juices than they did from soda pop, which is loaded with sugar.

One more thing about processed orange juice. Have you ever wondered why processed orange juice stays cloudy, why the solids do not settle? This is because soy protein combined with soluble pectin is added, and this keeps the juice permanently cloudy. It might be interesting to know, for those of you who are allergic to soy.

The full article and more contained in Muriellarsquo;s Corner newsletter

http://www.muriellascorner.com

The Rut 2.0


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