From the Equestrian section of RIO 2016
Parzival, a top level dressage horse, is on his way back home from the RIO 2016 Olympics after encountering a bite from an unknown animal which has triggered a serious illness. Checking with a vet Cornelissen was told that the swelling was probably due to an insect bite that left toxins behind. The horse with his rider Adelinde Cornelissen won a silver medal together in the London 2012 Olympics as well as a team bronze; she said that she could tell that he was “off” as soon as they entered the arena. She bowed out and arranged to send him home. With care, Parzival was on the road to recovery, and perhaps another day would have made the difference, but a request to change their team order to give the horse more time to recover was refused. Canadians won’t be able to cheer “Captain Canada” for the first time in 40 years. His horse is off needing surgery. Ian Millar had an alternate horse but it wasn’t ready for the Olympics. He will be there in spirit though, his daughter Ami Millar will be on the four person team. Friday the dressage finals were held with Germany taking gold, the British took silver and the US garnered a bronze. The New Zealand eventing team had to make a horse and rider substitution when a horse was injured overnight by an exposed pipe which cut the horse’s cheek badly enough to require stitches. The NZ eventers were fortunate to have a reserve team to fill the gap. Equestrian show jumping finals will be held on August 19. Further reading: National Post http://news.nationalpost.com/sports/rio-2016/dutch-rider-pulls-out-of-rio-2016-to-protect-her-horse-whose-body-was-full-of-toxic-fever Adelinde Conelissen FB Page https://www.facebook.com/adelindecornelissen.nl/posts/1439893979357850:0 https://www.rio2016.com/en/equestrian
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Op-ed: As part of the ever tightening hold that Israel has on occupied Palestine, Israeli authorities have arrested two aid workers in the past few weeks.
The NGO involved is Christian based World Vision. The security agency, Shin Bet, has alleged that a worker has funneled tens of millions of dollars to Hamas. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel. Wahid Abdullah al Bursh, an engineer was arrested by the Israeli security organization on July 16 but news of his whereabouts was kept quiet until now. His job with the UN Development Program was to oversee the repair of Palestinian homes that had been damaged by the ongoing fighting. It has been alleged that Mr. Bursh confessed that he diverted 300 tons of construction materials to the Hamas organization which is classified as a terrorist group. It is also alleged that he failed to disclose when he found tunnels and weapons stores. He has been indicted. It should be noted that the Shin Bet organization operates with a great deal of autonomy and has the reputation among its critics for obtaining confessions through torture. The arrest of Bursh comes on the heels of the announcement that Mohammad El Halabi, an employee of Christian charity World Vision, had diverted tens of millions of dollars to Hamas. He denies the charges. World Vision backs him up saying that the Israeli government is alleging the theft of more money than the organization collects. Israel is calling for stricter oversight of the NGOs operating in Palestinian territory. It has been speculated that the conviction of these two workers will bolster Israel’s rationale for continuing the siege of the Gaza Strip. Further reading: Al Jazeera http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/christian-charity-top-israel-target-list-160809083841824.html The Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Shin-Bet-UN-worker-used-his-position-to-aid-Hamas-military-projects-463636 The Washington Post washingtonpost.com/national/world-digest-aug-9-2016/2016/08/09/20763102-5e3b-11e6-af8e-54aa2e849447_story.html Japan China tensions rise as PRC installs radar near disputed islands
China has been flexing its muscles in the East China Sea, much to Japan’s annoyance. This last June the Japanese discovered the gas and oil exploration platforms in the E. China Sea. The radar facilities are unnecessary for exploration operations and Japan has expressed concern that China may be in the early stages of militarization of the platforms. There are some unoccupied islets in the E. China Sea that Japan asserts ownership of. Japan refers to them as the Senkaku Islands and the PRC calls them the Diaoyu Islands. Taiwan also has a claim on them. Japan has had control of them since the 1800s and China recognized their claim until the 1970s when they began to agitate for ownership. While the islets themselves are not rich in resources, the surrounding ocean is. China is exploring the sea bed for petroleum resources and the waters are rich in edible fish and invertebrates. A week ago Japanese diplomats called the Chinese ambassador to task over the encroachment of their waters by a flotilla of 230 fishing boats. The PRC in an effort to bolster their claims established the "East China Sea Air Defense Identification Zone" requiring all aircraft passing through the area to identify themselves. The Japanese and US airforces have to date ignored this sally. The PRC is also involved in claims to all of the South China Sea, claiming historical ownership. That claim is disputed by six other countries. The international court upheld the Philippines’ claim to part of the territory. The PRC government responded by saying that the court has no jurisdiction. Tensions in the S. China Sea have increased markedly over the past few years as the PRC has engaged in island building and militarization of the artificial islets. In June 2016 a Chinese fighter jet came within 50 metres of a US fighter jet in the area. John Kerry has stated that the US will not recognize the Chinese claims to the disputed territory. Further Reading: The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/aug/07/japan-protests-over-chinese-radar-in-disputed-east-china-sea-drilling-rig Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senkaku_Islands_dispute Colorectal cancer is the third most common non-skin cancer. It takes the lives of thousands of people a year in the developed countries and an uncounted number in those with less efficient medical systems. The colon is the last part of the digestive system. Because tumours often go undetected until they are embedded in the gut lining, they are often advanced cancers before symptoms alert a person to a problem. Researchers at Case West Reserve School of Medicine have found that about one-third of colorectal cells contain a genetic mutation. The mutated cells are big users of the amino acid glutamine and when deprived of it, simply die. Head of the research team, Zhenghe John Wang is quoted below: "In layman's terms, we discovered that colon cancers with PIK3CA oncogenic mutations are addicted to glutamine, a particular nutrient for cancer cells. We also demonstrated that these cancers can be starved to death by depriving glutamine with drugs." Science Daily Evidence of the "starving the cells of glutamine" treatment is strong enough that clinical trials are already being planned. Our bodies make glutamine and use it for many functions, including bolstering the immune system. Some research points to this amino acid can make cancer therapy more effective. The seeming contrast in results is likely because only one third of the colon cancer cells are vulnerable to a reduction in glutamine. Cancer is an umbrella term that in fact, covers many different types of disease. Research done last year at Case University examining the molecular differences in colon cancer tumours showed unique mutations in African Americans who have a higher rate of the disease than those of Western European heritage. With the availability of powerful computers, 20,000 genes with examined when comparing the makeup of tumours removed from patients at the University Medical School. Further reading: Science Daily https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/07/160720215322.htm University of Maryland http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/supplement/glutamine Case Western Reserve School of Medicine https://casemed.case.edu/newscenter/news-release/newsrelease.cfm?news_id=247 The fragile peace deal that returned Riek Machar to the South Sudan vice-presidency has again exploded into violence. The S. Sudanese president, Salva Kiir, appointed another person to the VP office when Machar fled the capital city, Juba. This violated the peace deal worked out in Ethiopia in August 2015.
Yesterday the leader of the Democratic Change Group, Lam Akol, called for both of them to resign. Meanwhile the people are fleeing their country. An estimated 60 000 have left in the latest round of violence. More than a million are displaced and many are on the edge of starvation. Adding to their misery are armed militia that are raiding villages and stealing what little is left. The armed militia are capturing young men and boys and forcing them to serve in their ranks. Rape is simply an aside in this nasty civil war. Adding to the misery of those who are trying to avoid violence, flash floods have destroyed villages and what few possessions the people have left. Those who are in the UN camps for safety now are coping with flooded tents and latrines raising the specter of disease spreading. Still, the people are reluctant to leave given the armed militia outside the camps’ perimeters. A tweet from a UN worker sums up the poor conditions. SandraBulling @SandraBulling1 24 Jul 2014 A night full of rain in #bentiu camp in #SouthSudan. Result? Flooded #CARE office, muddy roads, movement impossible The world’s youngest country achieved independence from Sudan after years of civil war. In a referendum, the people voted overwhelmingly to split from their northern neighbours. A government was formed with Machar and Kiir leading separate parties. The coalition worked for about two years when the two leaders openly accused each other of crimes. In 2013 open civil war broke out and quickly devolved into a bloody ethnic war. Further Reading: Al Jazeera http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/08/unhcr-violence-south-sudan-prompts-mass-flight-160802093747893.html Floodlist http://floodlist.com/africa/sudan-floods-darfur-khartoum-al-jazirah-july-2016 |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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