Food more likely shared if given to women

Chaos Eases As Haiti Food Lines Focus on Women

CBS News: The 79-year-old woman with a 55-pound bad of rice perched on her head gingerly descended concrete steps and passed it off to her daughter-in-law -- who quickly disappeared behind the faded leopard-print sheets that are the walls of their makeshift home on the crowded turf of Haiti's National Stadium. That personal victory for Rosedithe Menelas and her hungry family was a leap forward as well for the United Nations and aid groups...

Under a new targeted approach to aid, Menelas and thousands of other women across Haiti's capital no longer have to battle with men at food handouts that in recent days have been chaotic and dangerous scrums. 'Every time they give out food there's too much trouble,' said Menelas, collapsing into a small wooden chair as two grandchildren quickly scrambled into her lap. 'Today, we finally got something.'...

The UN World Food Program and its partners, including World Vision, borrowed an approach that has worked in other disaster zones. The agencies fanned out across Port-au-Prince, distributing coupons to be redeemed for bags of rice at 16 sites. The coupons were given mainly to women, the elderly and the disabled. Men could redeem coupons for women who were taking care of children or who otherwise could not make it.

'Our experience around the world is that food is more likely to be equitably shared in the household if it is given to women,' WFP spokesman Marcus Prior said at the stadium, now a sprawling encampment of families left homeless by the quake. Officials targeted women because they are primary caregivers in most households and are less likely to be aggressive on aid lines. Many Haitians agreed. Chery Frantz, a 35-year-old father of four who lives in a ravine near one distribution center, said men are more likely to try to sell the donated rice. 'Women won't do that because they're more responsible.'...

A tour of several sites showed the project was largely successful. People hauled away their rice, often dividing it up among friends and family... Some recipients said it was their first aid since the quake. 'I have a big family and we have nothing,' said Nadia St. Eloi... who carried her rice bag on her head while holding her 2-year-old son by the arm. She said she still needs cooking oil and beans to make a meal but will make the rice last as long as possible.

Image source here.

Hiroshi Sugimoto: Electric art

Japanese Photographer Bends Electricity to His Will

Wired: Hiroshi Sugimoto has always used his camera to explore unseen phenomena -- artifacts of time, light, the elements, and human perception. But for his latest project, called Lightning Fields, the award-winning photographer traded optics for electricity. He wields a Van de Graff generator to send up to 400,000 volts through film to a metal table. The resulting fractal branching, subtle feathering, and furry whorls call to mind vascular systems, geologic features, and trees. 'I see the spark of life itself, the lightning that struck the primordial ooze,' Sugimoto says. Although some of the effects happen by chance, the artist does try to exercise control. 'I have a kitchen's worth of utensils that produce sparks with different characteristics,' he says. 'But there are many variables -- weather, humidity, perhaps even what I had for breakfast -- I'm never sure what influences the results.'

Image source here.

'Keep hating the Arabs and justify the Jews'

Female soldiers break their silence

Ynet News: Six years after first collection of Breaking the Silence testimonials, organization releases booklet of testimonies from female soldiers who served in territories. Stories include systematic humiliation of Palestinians, reckless and cruel violence, theft, killing of innocent people and cover-up. Here are only some of their testimonies...

'We caught a five-year-old... can't remember what he did... The officers just picked him up, slapped him around and put him in the jeep. The kid was crying and the officer next to me said 'don't cry' and started laughing at him. Finally the kid cracked a smile -- and suddenly the officer gave him a punch in the stomach. Why? 'Don't laugh in my face,' he said."...

"It's boring, so we'd create some action. We'd get on the radio, and say they threw stones at us. then someone would be arrested... There was a policewoman, she was bored, so okay, she said they threw stones at her. They asked her who threw them. 'I don't know, two in grey shirts, I didn't manage to see them.' They catch two guys with grey shirts... beat them. Is it them? 'No, I don't think so.' Okay, a whole incident, people get beaten up. Nothing happened that day."...

"Crossing the checkpoint, it's like another world... Palestinians walk with trolleys on the side of the road, with wagons, donkeys... so the Border Guards take a truck with the remains of food and start throwing it at them... cottage cheese, rotten vegetables... Many times the soldiers would open the Palestinians' food... They take things all the time at checkpoints in the territories.... No one was punished. Really, it was an atmosphere in which we were allowed to hit and humiliate."...

Some of the female soldiers were shocked with the level of violence the settlers' children used against the Palestinians... "You also don't really know which side you are on... I have to make a switch in my head and keep hating the Arabs and justify the Jews.'... The same female soldier told of how she once spit on a Palestinian in the street: "I don't think he even did anything. But again, it was cool and it was the only thing I could do to... you know, I couldn't take brag that I caught a terrorist... But I could spit on them and degrade them and laugh at them."...

A female Border Guard officer in Jenin spoke of an incident in which a nine-year-old Palestinian, who tried to climb the fence, failed, and fled -- was shot to death: "They fired... when he was already in the territories and posed no danger. The hit was in the abdomen area, they claimed he was on a bicycle and so they were unable to hit him in the legs."... An investigation was carried out, at first they said it was an unjustified killing... In the end they claimed that he was checking out escape routes for terrorists or something... and they closed the case."

Image source here.

'There's a cover-up of something'

French missiles or just toy rockets? Mystery deepens in Newfoundland

Toronto Star: Were those mysterious bulletlike objects seen in the sky off the coast of Newfoundland missiles?... Resident Darlene Stewart was planning to take a picture of the sun going down around 5p.m. But to her shock she saw the objects in the sky above Fortune Bay and called her neighbour, Emmy Pardy. Stewart took pictures of the mysterious objects.

'It was grey and silver on colour. It looked like an oversized bullet with a trail of fire behind it,' Pardy told the Star. There was no sound of an airplane's engine, she said, and three of the objects were visible for about 15 minutes.

An RCMP officer initially confirmed to Pardy in two telephone conversations that it was indeed a missile, she said. 'He said the military was made aware of this,' Pardy explained, adding he told her a missile or missiles were launched from nearby St.-Pierre-Miquelon, which is French territory. But the RCMP later referred inquiries on the matter to the federal government, which said there was no missile and no evidence of anyone firing a rocket near the area.

Liberal Senator George Baker told the Star there's no way the objects were models fired by locals. They were too large -- one witness Baker spoke to said they were at least the size of an 18-wheeler.

No 'indication' of rocket launch over Newfoundland, PMO official says

Globe and Mail: 'That's a missile. Of course it's a missile. The question is, whose missile?' said Robert Huebert, associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary...

Dr. Huebert speculated it could have been a misfiring intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) or a submarine- or sea-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which veered badly off course and travelled slowly enough to linger over the Newfoundland skyline for minutes. France, Russia and England are all testing new models of those missiles, he said.

'Generally they're so fast, so high, you'd never see it,' Mr. Huebert said. 'Unless it was having a malfunction. There could be something going wrong with it that wasn't allowing it to go supersonic.'...

As speculation ran wild Thursday, governments provided more denials than answers... 'We confirm that no French military activity took place at the time of the incident...' a French embassy statement said. 'There was never a rocket launched,' added Dimitri Soudas, the exasperated spokesman for Prime Minister Steven Harper... 'We have confirmed that there were no planned exercises off the Eastern Seaboard,' a Defence department spokesman said yesterday. 'We did not see a threat to the security of Canada.'

Ms. Pardy rejected the denials, saying, 'It seems like there's a cover-up of something.'

See also Were those UFOs or missiles seen over Newfoundland?

Image source here.

Warmest decade; human extinction

2009: Second Warmest Year on Record; End of Warmest Decade

NASA/GISS: This map shows the 10-year average (2000-2009) temperature anomaly relative to the 1951-1980 mean. The largest temperature increases are in the Arctic and the Antarctic Peninsula.

Endangered Species: Humans Might Have Faced Extinction 1 Million Years Ago

Scientific American: The genetic evidence suggests that the effective population -- an indicator of genetic diversity -- of early human species back then... was about 18,500 individuals... That figure translates into a total population of 55,500 individuals, tops... The population, and thus its genetic diversity, faced a major setback about one million years ago. The finding is detailed in the January 18 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences...

The effective population researchers estimate at about 18,500 reveals that the extent of genetic diversity... was between 1.7 and 2.9 times greater than among humans today.... The diminished genetic diversity suggests human ancestors experienced a catastrophic event.

Image source: NASA/GISS

New York Times: Canada's response to Haiti

Canadians Give Generously to Haiti

The Lede, New York Times: While almost 90 million Americans tuned in to a celebrity telethon for Haiti on Friday, and donated more than $61 million, about 6 million Canadians watched one of two similar telethons broadcast the same night and donated nearly $20 million.

Taking into account a promise by Canada's government to match, dollar for dollar, every donation made by its citizens, the two telethons -- 'Canada for Haiti' and 'Ensemble Pour Haiti' -- raised almost $40 million for the devastated country. Given that Canada only has about one-tenth the population of the United States, the success of their two telethons is quite remarkable.

Canada has played a leading role in the emergency relief effort to help the survivors of this month's earthquake in Haiti. On Monday, world leaders met in Montreal to discuss plans for rebuilding, which Canada's foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, said could take ten years.

On Sunday, Canada's Haitian-born governor-general, Michaelle Jean, sang part of what she called 'a song of hope,' which her mother used to sing to her when she was a child in Haiti, during a speech in Calgary.

Canadian troops are currently working in Ms. Jean's hometown of Jacmel, on Haiti's south coast, providing disaster relief and emergency medical care.

Image source here.

Rape: in US Military, and in Bangladesh

1/3rd of Women in US Military Raped

Newsjunkie: According to NPR, 'In 2003, a survey of female veterans found that 30 percent said they were raped in the military. A 2004 study of veterans who were seeking help for post-traumatic stress disorder found that 71 percent of the women said they were sexually assaulted or raped while serving. And a 1995 study of female veterans of the Gulf and earlier wars, found that 90 percent had been sexually harassed.'

The BBC recently reported on The Lonely Soldier: The Private War of Women Serving in Iraq by Helen Benedict... Army specialist Chantelle Henneberry spoke of some of her experiences in Iraq, 'Everybody's supposed to have a battle buddy in the army, and females are supposed to have one to go to the latrines with, or to the showers -- that's so you don't get raped by one of the men on your own side. But because I was the only female there, I didn't have a battle buddy. My battle buddy was my gun and my knife.'

Another study concluded that 90% of all women serving are sexually harassed. Another one estimates that 90% of the rapes do not get reported... In 2008, 62% of those that were convicted of sexual assault or rape received very lenient punishments... This problem is not confined to the US military. This abuse is rampant among private defense contractors.

Rapist spared, victim lashed

The Daily Star (Lebanon): Eight months after being raped, a 16-year-old... had to receive 101 lashes as 'punishment.' A village arbitration found her guilty... but amazingly left alleged rapist Enamul Mia, 20, untouched. The arbitration also fined the victim's father and issued another fatwa that her family would be forced into isolation if he failed to pay up...

Family sources said said Enamul Mia of Gabbari used to tease the girl on her way to high school. He raped her April last year. Fearing the shame, the girl did not disclose the incident. The girl's family had married her off to a man of neighboring village but after a month into the marriage medical test discovered she was seven months pregnant. She was divorced and she had to live at her father's place after an abortion...

At one stage of the inhuman torture, the girl collapsed and fainted. She regained her sense after two hours... 'Enamul has spoiled my life. I want justice,' said the girl as tears rolled down from her eyes... Neighbors spoke in favor of the girl and blamed Enamul. They did not dare to say anything against the so-called village arbitration... A team of human rights activists... will help the victim file separate cases against the culprits.

Image source here.

'Men and boys will have to change'

Equality for Women & Girls

The Elders: Religious values and teachings, along with traditional customs, have... been used throughout the centuries to justify and entrench inequality and discrimination against women and girls. These teachings have been abused by men to give them power over the female members of their families and women across their communities... This deep-rooted belief that women are worth less than men has infected every aspect of our societies...

This is not a fight which should be left to women and girls alone... It is up to all our leaders, particularly male political, religious and civil leaders, to challenge and change these practices and attitudes, however long-established... We also call on all men and boys to throw their weight behind the campaign for equality and challenge those who oppose women's rights... Men and boys will have to change their behavior and thinking... We now have to show the courage and determination to root out discrimination and change our world for the better.

Afghan women escape violence through suicide

The Canadian Press: More Afghan women are choosing suicide to escape the violence and brutality of their daily lives, says a human rights report prepared by Canada's Foreign Affairs Department. The 2008 annual assessment paints a grim picture in a country where violence against women and girls is common...

'Self-immolation is being used by increasing numbers of Afghan women to escape their dire circumstances and women constitute the majority of Afghan suicides,' said the report, completed in November 2009... 'Rape is widely believed to be a frequent occurrence, though its true extent is concealed by under-reporting owing to the social stigma attached to it.'... The Afghan practice of 'honour killings' has been cited as a major problem...

A British study... said 87 per cent of Afghan women [reported] they were the victims of violence, half of it sexual... 'The report added that 60 per cent of marriages are forced, and 57 per cent of marriages involve girls under the age of 16... There are few places victims can go to escape abuse.

Image source here.

'There was only the sound of wind'

We're 18 million years older than we thought, footprints reveal

Toronto Star: A chance discovery in a Polish quarry speeds up evolution by 18 million years but the scientists who previously found the reigning stars of paleontology in the Canadian Arctic aren't ready to concede...

'This upsets the apple cart,' admits Dr. Per Ahlberg, lead author of the report in the current Nature... 'These are some of the most exciting fossils I have ever encountered.'

Ahlberg, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Uppsala, and his Polish colleagues uncovered secure -- meaning clearly evident -- footprints of a trackway, or walking stride, of tetrapods, four-legged animals with obvious legs and feet. That means we crawled out of the water and started walking 397 million years ago, 18 million before the previous best estimate...

The Polish discovery doesn't just rewrite the history of evolution. It also challenges why we first slunk out of the sea. 'This is about more than just footprints. We're talking about moving from one living environment to another,' said Ahlberg. 'We've argued until now that tetrapods were linked to the ecosystem, which was a seriously barren mud bank. This means they had nothing to do with the terrestrial ecosystem. They were not herbivores. They had vicious, nasty looking teeth and were carnivores.'

Poland itself was nearly tropical, sitting in the Southern Hemisphere on a land mass that included present day Europe, North America and Greenland wedged together. While these crocodile-sized animals were devouring fish and jellyfish that washed up from the sea 'nothing was in the sky. There were no birds yet, no winged insects, no reptiles,' said Ahlberg. 'There was only the sound of wind.'

Image: A fossilized footprint dating back some 397 million years and found in south central Poland, is seen on display at the Geology Institute in Warsaw; source here.

Haiti: Dignity and respect

The Haiti I love is still there

Michael Diebert, Salon: Hardly anyone who has witnessed the response of the Haitians to this great catastrophe has not been moved by their incredible resilience and solidarity and their intact sense of humor... As all the pillars of the Haitian state... collapsed around them, the Haitians helped one another, dug through rubble, prayed, sang and showed everyone who has watched them what the meaning of true perseverance in the face of adversity looks like... Seeing their dignity in this moment has made me love them and their battered country as never before. 'Life goes on,' a friend of mine who lost his wife in the earthquake told me yesterday, bringing to mind the famous Haitian proverb, deye mon gen mon. Beyond the mountains there are more mountains.

Paul Woodward: Dignity is perhaps the most precious human resource on the planet and its distribution bears no relationship with the distribution of material wealth. Indeed, it is so often to be found in greatest abundance among those who possess the least. That's why at times such as these, hands reached out in help should also offer respect.

Gallery: Faces of Haiti

Slideshow: Haiti, Two Weeks On

Haiti: 360 degrees (interactive)

Image source here.

Ice swirls and dolphin circles

Ice on the St. Lawrence

Video: Bottlenose dolphins mud-ring feeding

Off to the rally! No ProRogue!

Find your rally here.

Afghanistan: 'Public statements misleading'

Petroleum economist ties Canadian presence in Afghanistan to pipeline

Georgia Straight: Why has Canada spent eight years in Afghanistan? ... According to John Foster, a petroleum economist with 40 years experience in international development, a big part of the answer is energy... A 'new great game' is emerging, Foster said. The United States, Europe, Russia, China and Iran, are all vying for control over oil and natural gas deposits and transit routes.

Afghanistan holds a significant geographic position in this game... Turkmenistan (to Afghanistan's north) holds the third-largest natural gas reserves in the world... 'The Russians are planning new pipelines north, the Chinese are building new pipelines east, the United States is promoting pipelines west to Europe and south through Afghanistan, to Pakistan and India.'...

He continued, 'Pipelines are important today in the same way that railway building was important in the 19th century. They connect trading partners and they influence the regional balance of power. The pipeline route is critical.'

Foster went on to dispel many of the government's long-stated reasons for staying in Afghanistan... noting that the $7.6 billion project is expected to run right through Kandahar, where Canadian forces have encountered heavy resistance and suffered many casualties.

'One has to listen very carefully these days, Foster said. 'Lots of public statements are technically accurate, but misleading. Talking heads say, 'Afghanistan is not about oil.' And that is literally true. The pipeline plan through Afghanistan is for natural gas. And I've heard diplomats say, 'Canada is not involved in the project.' And that is misleading. It is a multinational project sponsored by the Asian Development Bank, and Canada is a proud member of that bank.'

Near the end of his presentation, Foster turned somber. 'Do Canadians want to be involved in NATO wars around the world?' he asked. 'Do we want the militarization of energy? There is a high price to pay in dollars, lives, and morality.'

Image source here.

MSF/DWB inflatable hospital in Haiti

Plug and Play: Voilà

Common Dreams: Inspiring video shows the remarkable Doctors Without Borders [Médecins Sans Frontières] creating their inflatable 'plug and play' hospital in Haiti. People worked through the night to set up a complex of nine tents with their own generators and sanitation equipment; they hope to start treating patients today.