Presents, a Life with a Plan. My name is Karen Anastasia Placek, I am the author of this Google Blog. This is the story of my journey, a quest to understanding more than myself. The title of this blog, "The Secret of the Universe is Choice!; know decision" will be the next global slogan. Placed on T-shirts, Jackets, Sweatshirts, it really doesn't matter, 'cause a picture with my slogan is worth more than a thousand words, it's worth??.......Know Conversation!!!
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as the light is of fracture computation to the burning of the sun at a glance is then in fraction a node,
bound by the moon on the shine of the eased of breath verses the swing breeze of clarity of Mind,
to technology for the rash quicks to cell on a system in operate with the halves of the swell.
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burrito Christmas morning with the tinsel on the sound a tree within the spelling is echos on a round,
circulation Mountain says the Valley gots a bridge by bays off dead to feed upon the vast majors red.
Crank a grasp with a tsk to shame on scamper Cramped at bank with walrus of the seal in the eats,
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scratch the ream of but the seam to anti Septic sumping back with chlorine to a digger pigs a read.
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but for the wisdom of the reason in the measure of the cost is the total on the tipping tastes of Wine,
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The starvation belly stands out in painful relief against emaciated arms, legs, and face, and will appear more taut and inflexible.
That’s because the belly on a starving person has nothing to do with fat. Rather, it is often the result of Protein Calorie Malnutrition, or PCM. PCM means a healthy number of calories are being eaten — say in the form of rice — but with a severe deficiency in protein. This is often the case in third-world countries where meat and fish are rare or too expensive for many.Even in a healthy state, the blood vessels and organs leak fluids a little. This is generally no problem, as the lymphatic system removes the excess, and a little fluid cushioning the organs is a good thing. In PCM, however, the lymphatic system can’t keep up with the leakage, and the stomach area begins to bloat with its own waste fluids. Add to this the likelihood of a swollen liver, which is another result of PCM, and you wind up with the terrible irony of a person on the verge of starvation looking weirdly similar to an overeater.
Perhaps you may want to file this away for reference purposes or perhaps you may wish to read the book of John to exit at Leviticus introduce Deuteronomy to Genesis Up with a taste of Psalms for the Proverb in a dedication in the book of Luke.
KILL PEOPLE WHO WORK ON SUNDAY
Exodus 31:15 - "Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord: whosoever doeth any work in the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."
Exodus 35:2 - "Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the Lord; whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death."
KILL NON-VIRGIN BRIDES
Deuteronomy 22:13-21 - "If any man take a wife, and go in unto her, and hate her, And give occasions of speech against her, and bring up an evil name upon her, and say, I took this woman, and when I came to her, I found her not a maid: Then shall the father of the damsel, and her mother, take and bring forth the tokens of the damsel's virginity unto the elders of the city in the gate…. And they shall spread the cloth before the elders of the city. And the elders of that city shall take that man and chastise him; and they shall amerse him in an hundred shekels of silver, and give them unto the father of the damsel, because he has brought up an evil name upon a virgin of Israel; and she shall be his wife; he may not put her away all his days. But if this thing be true, and the tokens of virginity be not found for the damsel: Then they shall bring out the damsel to the door of her father's house, and the men of her city shall stone her with stones that she die: because she has wrought folly in Israel, to play the whore in her father's house…."
KILL UNWED LOVERS
Deuteronomy 22:22 - "If a man be found lying with a woman married to an husband, then they shall both of them die…."
Leviticus 20:10 - "And the man that committeth adultery with another man's wife, even he that committeth adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress shall surely be put to death."
Leviticus 21:9 - "And the daughter of any priest, if she profane herself by playing the whore, she profaneth her father: she shall be burnt by fire."
KILL UNWED MOTHERS
Genesis 38:24 - "And it came to pass about three months later, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter-in-law hath played the harlot; and also, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, Bring her forth, and let her be burnt."
KILL RAPE VICTIMS
Deuteronomy 22:23-24 - "If a damsel that is a virgin be betrothed unto an husband, and a man find her in the city, and lie with her; Then ye shall bring them both out unto the gate of that city, and ye shall stone them with stones that they die; the damsel, because she cried not, being in the city…."
KILL GAYS
Leviticus 20:13 - "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them." (A 2001 Doubleday book, In the Beginning, by Oxford theologian Allister McGrath, says King James himself was gay, often fondling and kissing male court favorites in public.)
KILL DISOBEDIENT CHILDREN
Deuteronomy 21:18-21 - "If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not harken unto them: Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, and will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard. And the men of the city shall stone him with stones, that he die…."
Exodus 21:17 - "And he that curseth his father, or his mother, shall surely be put to death."
Leviticus 20:9 - "For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall surely be put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him."
KILL RELATIVES WHO DON'T WORSHIP YAHWEH
Exodus 32:26-28 - "Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the Lord's side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbor. And the children of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men."
Deuteronomy 6-10 - "If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods… Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor harken unto him, neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him. But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die: because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the Lord thy God."
KILL NEIGHBORS WHO MARRY INTO OTHER RELIGIONS
Numbers 25:1-8 - "And Israel abode in Shittim, and the people began to commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab. And they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did eat, and bowed down to their gods…. And the Lord said unto Moses, Take all the heads of the people, and hang them up before the Lord against the sun, that the fierce anger of the Lord may be turned away from Israel. And Moses said unto the judges of Israel, Slay ye every one of his men that were joined unto Baal-peor. And behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the full sight of Moses…. And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand; And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So that the plague was stayed from the children of Israel."
KILL WITCHES
Exodus 22:18 - "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."
Leviticus 20:27 - "A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them."
KILL ANIMAL-LOVERS
Exodus 22:19 - "Whosoever lieth with a beast shall surely be put to death."
Leviticus 20:15-16 - "And if a man lie with a beast, he shall surely be put to death: and ye shall slay the beast. And if a woman approach unto any beast, and lie down thereto, thou shalt kill the woman, and the beast: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them."
SEX-INTERRUPTERS MUST DIE
Genesis 38:9-10 - "And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the Lord, wherefore he slew him also."
PENALTY FOR BALL-HOLDING
Deuteronomy 25:11-12 - "When men strive together one with another, and the wife of the one draweth near for to deliver her husband out of the hand of him that smiteth him, and putteth forth her hand, and taketh him by the secrets. Then thou shalt cut off her hand, thine eye shall not pity her."
SACRIFICE CHILDREN
Judges 11:30-40 - Jephthah promised that if God would "deliver the children of Ammon into mine hands," he would make a burnt offering of "whatsoever cometh forth of the doors of my house to meet me." Alas, his daughter, his only child, came dancing out to greet him, and he sadly was required to burn her.
OSTRACIZE FATHERLESS CHILDREN
Deuteronomy 23:2 - "A bastard shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation shall he not enter into the congregation of the Lord."
BIBLICAL FAMILY VALUES
Genesis 25:6 - "But unto the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son…."
Genesis 29, 30 - Jacob had 12 sons by two wives and their two handmaids (thus starting the 12 tribes of Israel). (Using maids as surrogate mothers was the basis of The Handmaid's Tale.)
II Samuel 5:13 - "And David took him more concubines and wives out of Jerusalem, after he was come from Hebron: and there were yet more sons and daughters born to David."
I Kings 11:1-3 - "But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites…. Solomon clave to these in love. And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines…."
II Chronicles 11:21 - "And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; and begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.)"
Song of Solomon 6:8 - "There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number."
SLAVERY APPROVED
Exodus 21:2-4 - "If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve; and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be the master's, and he shall go out by himself."
Exodus 21:7 - "And if a man sell his daughter to be a maidservant, she shall not go out as the menservants do."
Leviticus 25:44 - "Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids."
DON'T LAUGH AT PREACHERS
II Kings 2:23-24 - "And he [Elisha] went up from thence unto Beth-el: and as he was going up by the way, there came forth little children out of the city, and mocked him and said unto him, Go up, thou bald head; go up, thou bald head. And he turned back, and looked on them, and cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth two she bears out of the wood, and tare forty and two children of them."
GOD-MANDATED SLAUGHTER
Genesis 6:17 - "And behold, I, even I, do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under heaven; and every thing that is in the earth shall die."
Exodus 12:29-30 - "And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead." (Passover)
Leviticus 10:1-2 - "And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord."
Numbers 31 - "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites…. And they warred against the Midianites, as the Lord commanded Moses; and they slew all the males…. And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt…. And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and the captains over hundreds, which came from the battle. And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?… Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him. But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves."
Deuteronomy 2:33-34 - "And the Lord our God delivered him [Sihon, king of Heshbon] before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and all his people. And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed the men, and the women, and the little ones, of every city, we left none to remain."
Deuteronomy 3:3-6 - "And the Lord our God delivered into our hands Og also, the king of Bashan, and all his people: and we smote them until none was left to him remaining…. And we utterly destroyed them, as we did unto Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women and children of every city."
Deuteronomy 7:1-16 - "When the Lord thy God shall bring thee into the land whither thou goest to possess it, and hath cast out many nations before thee, the Hittites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and mightier than thou; And when the Lord thy God shall deliver them before thee; thou shalt smite them, and utterly destroy them…. And thou shall consume all the people which the Lord thy God shall deliver thee; thine eye shall have no pity upon them." (condensed)
Joshua 6 and 7 - "And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given unto thine hand Jericho…. (walls fell at trumpet blare)…. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword…. And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass and of iron, they put them into the treasury of the house of the Lord…. But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing… (kept some of the loot)…. And the Lord said unto Joshua…. Neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you…. And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire…. And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took A'chan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of A'chor. And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? The Lord shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the Lord turned away the fierceness of his anger." (greatly condensed)
Joshua 8 - "And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to A'i…. And thou shalt do to A'I and her king as thou didst unto Jericho…. And so it was, that all that fell that day, both of men and women, were twelve thousand, even all the men of A'I. For Joshua drew not his hand back, wherewith he stretched out the spear, until he had utterly destroyed all the inhabitants of A'i." (condensed)
I Samuel 6:19 - "And he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men: and the people lamented, because the Lord had smitten many of the people with a great slaughter."
I Samuel 15:2-3 - "Thus saith the Lord of hosts…. Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass."
II Samuel 24:15 - "So the Lord sent a pestilence upon Israel from the morning even to the time appointed: and there died of the people of Dan even to Beersheba seventy thousand men."
II Kings 19:35 - "And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the Lord went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses."
46 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, 22 million on Christmas and 19 million turkeys on Easter.
In 2011, 736 million pounds of turkey were consumed in the United States.
Turkey consumption has increased 104% since 1970.
Since 1970, turkey production in the United States has increased nearly 110%.
In 2013, 242 million turkeys are expected to be raised in the United States.
In 2012, 253,500,000 turkeys were produced in the United States.
The turkey industry employs 20,000 to 25,000 persons in the United States.
In 1970, 50% of all turkey consumed was during the holidays, now just 29% of all turkey consumed is during the holidays as more turkey is eaten year-round.
In 2012, turkey was the # 4 protein choice for American consumers behind chicken, beef and pork
The top three turkey products sold in 2011 were whole birds, ground turkey and cooked white meat (deli meat).
Turkey hens are usually sold as whole birds. Toms are processed into turkey sausage, turkey franks, tenderloins, cutlets and deli meats.
In 2011, 47.4% of turkeys were sold to grocery stores and other retail outlets, 30% sold in commodity outlets, 15.5% sold to foodservice outlets and 6.2% were exported.
In 2011, 703.3 million pounds of turkey were exported.
The average weight of a turkey purchased at Thanksgiving is 15 pounds.
The heaviest turkey ever raised was 86 pounds, about the size of a large dog.
A 15 pound turkey usually has about 70 percent white meat and 30 percent dark meat.
The wild turkey is native to northern Mexico and the eastern United States.
The male turkey is called a tom.
The female turkey is called a hen.
The turkey was domesticated in Mexico and brought to Europe in the 16th century.
Tom turkeys have beards. That is comprised of black, hair-like feathers on their breast.
Canadians consumed 142 million kgs of turkey in the year 2012.
Turkeys can see movement almost 100 yards away.
Turkeys lived almost ten million years ago.
Baby turkeys are called poults and are tan and brown.
Turkey eggs are tan with brown specks and are larger than chicken eggs.
It takes 75-80 pounds of feed to raise a 30 pound tom turkey.
In 1920, U.S. turkey growers produced one turkey for every 29 persons in the U.S. Today growers produce nearly one turkey for every person in the country.
Male turkeys gobble. Hens do not. They make a clicking noise.
Minnesota, North Carolina, Arkansas, Missouri, Virginia, Indiana, California, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Ohio were the leading producers of turkeys in 2011-2012.
Minnesota raised 46 million turkeys in 2012.
Illinois farmers produce close to 3 million turkeys each year.
A 16 week old turkey is called a fryer. A 5 to 7 month old turkey is called a young roaster and a yearling is a year old. Any turkey 15 months or older is called mature.
The ballroom dance the "Turkey Trot"was named for the short, jerky steps that turkeys take.
Turkeys do not really have ears like ours, but they have very good hearing.
Turkeys can see in color.
A large group of turkeys is called a flock.
Turkeys do not see well at night.
A domesticated male turkey can reach a weight of 30 pounds within 18 weeks after hatching.
Wild turkeys spend the night in trees. They prefer oak trees.
Wild turkeys were almost wiped out in the early 1900's. Today there are wild turkeys in every state except Alaska.
Wild turkeys can fly for short distances up to 55 mph and can run 20 mph.
Turkeys are believed to have been brought to Britain in 1526 by Yorkshire manWilliam Strickland. He acquired six turkeys from American Indian traders and sold them for tuppence in Bristol.
Henry VIII was the first English King to enjoy turkey and Edward VII made turkey eating fashionable at Christmas.
200 years ago in England, turkeys were walked to market in herds. They wore booties to protect their feet. Turkeys were also walked to market in the United States.
For 87% of people in the UK, Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a traditional roast turkey.
Turkey breeding has caused turkey breasts to grow so large that the turkeys fall over.
June is National Turkey Lover’s Month.
Since 1947, the National Turkey Federation has presented a live turkey and two dressed turkeys to the President. The President does not eat the live turkey. He "pardons"it and allows it to live out its days on a historical farm.
The National Thanksgiving Turkey has been the Grand Marshall in the Thanksgiving Day Parade at both Disneyland Resort in California and Walt Disney World in Florida for the past four years.
The five most popular ways to serve leftover turkey are in a sandwich, stew, chili or soup, casseroles and as a burger.
Eating turkey does not cause you to feel sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. Carbohydrates in your Thanksgiving dinner are the likely cause of your sleepiness.
According to the 2007 Census, there were 8,284 turkey farms in the United States.
Turkey is low in fat and high in protein.
Turkey has more protein than chicken or beef.
White meat has fewer calories and less fat than dark meat.
Turkeys will have 3,500 feathers at maturity.
Turkeys have been bred to have white feathers. White feathers have no spots under the skin when plucked.
Most turkey feathers are composted.
Turkey feathers were used to stabilize arrows and adorn ceremonial dress, and the spurs on the legs of wild tom turkeys were used as projectiles on arrowheads.
Turkey skins can be tanned and used to make cowboy boots and belts.
The costume that "Big Bird"wears on Sesame Street is rumored to be made of turkey feathers.
The caruncle is a red-pink fleshy growth on the head and upper neck of the turkey.
Turkeys have a long, red, fleshy growth called the snood from the base of the beak that hangs down over the beak.
The bright red fleshy growth under a turkey’s throat is called a wattle.
The beard is a lock of hair found on the chest of the male turkey.
Giblets are the heart, liver, and gizzard of a poultry carcass. Although often packaged with them, the neck of the bird is not a giblet.
Turkey eggs hatch in 28 days.
The Native Americans hunted wild turkey for its sweet, juicy meat as early as 1000 A.D.
There are a number of towns in the United States named after the holiday’s traditional main course. Turkey, Texas, was the most populous in 2005, with 492 residents;followed by Turkey Creek, Louisiana (357);and Turkey, North Carolina (269). There also are 9 townships around the country named “Turkey,”3 in Kansas.
IT was a full house at the much anticipated English songwriter and singer James Blunt’s Moon Landing Tour Concert which took place at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) in Harare on Tuesday evening.
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IT was a full house at the much anticipated English songwriter and singer James Blunt’s Moon Landing Tour Concert which took place at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) in Harare on Tuesday evening.
IT was full house at the much-anticipated English songwriter and singer James Blunt’s Moon Landing Tour Concert which took place at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) in Harare on Tuesday evening.
BY TINASHE SIBANDA
Despite Blunt’s consistency in churning out hit after hit that kept audiences singing along, organisers appeared to have done their homework on security.
Dressed in a pair of jeans and T-shirt together with his band gave the audience a good run for their money with lots of interaction as he would take time to crack a few jokes leaving them in stitches in the two-hour performance.
He performed hits including Where Are You Now, Beautiful Dawn Satellites, These Are The Words and Postcards among many others that made the audience forget it was a midweek show.
Blunt took time to tell the audience that he had been very much impressed by the crowd considering that it was only his first time performing in Zimbabwe.
It was at that moment he sang the hits Bonfire Heart, Goodbye My Lover and You’re Beautiful that the audience got into an even bigger frenzy of enjoyment.
“This is my favourite guitar which I even take to my bedroom. I use it to make me feel bigger,” he said showing the audience a tiny guitar which he went on to play with ease just as the others.
He also took his time off the stage to get even closer to his audience, crowd-surfing which made it even a more memorable affair for the audience.
Blunt rose to prominence in 2004 with the release of his debut studio album Back To Bedlam, before achieving worldwide fame with the singles You’re Beautiful and Goodbye My Lover.
The album sold over 11 million copies worldwide, topping the UK album charts and peaking at number two in the United States.
Blunt’s second album, All The Lost Souls, was released in 2007, topped the charts in over 20 countries and produced the hit single 1973.
His third album, Some Kind of Trouble, was released in 2010, after its lead single Stay the Night.
A deluxe edition was then released the following year, titled Some Kind of Trouble: Revisited.
Blunt has sold over 20 million albums and 17 million singles worldwide, with his debut album, Back to Bedlam, being listed as the best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.
Blunt has also received several awards and nominations, having won two Brit Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, two Ivor Novello Awards as well as receiving five Grammy Award nominations.
Ebola: Namibians told to avoid Zimbabwe
THE Namibian government has warned against travel to Zimbabwe following reports that Harare had quarantined over 100 people who returned from countries affected by the deadly Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
Speaking to local media from New York, the country’s health minister Richard Kamwi said he was not aware of the quarantine in Zimbabwe but warned Namibians not to visit that country.
“The incubation period for Ebola is 21 days and until they are over and the country has been declared safe, I advise Namibians not to visit and Zimbabweans not to come to Namibia,” he said.
Kamwi also maintained that no Namibian is yet allowed to visit Nigeria and Senegal.
This is despite the fact that the WHO on Monday declared that the Ebola virus had been “pretty much contained” in Nigeria and Senegal and declared the two countries Ebola-free.
“We do not know without doubt that it is contained, so we still need to take care of ourselves,” he said.
Last month the minister advised visitors from Ebola-hit countries not to visit Namibia until further notice and Namibians not to travel to such countries.
He said this advice does not affect Namibian citizens who are entitled to come back since they are guaranteed such rights in terms of the country's Constitution.
“However, such Namibians will be subjected to strict screening at the port of entry to ensure that they are not infected with Ebola,” Kamwi said.
Affected countries include Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone and now Senegal, Zimbabwe as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Ebola virus has killed more than 2,800 people since March this year.
Lockdown in Harare over Ebola scare
WILKINS Infectious Diseases Hospital was on Thursday forced to close following suspicions that one of its patients was suffering from the deadly Ebola disease.
Patients who rely on the hospital for HIV/AIDS drugs and cancer therapy were left stranded after the early morning lockdown.
Wilkins’ medical superintendent, Hilda Bara, tried in vain to pacify the restive patients but was very clear on what was happening.
“We are managing a suspected Ebola case. The decision to shut this hospital down was made in order to protect you from contracting the disease if it is proven that indeed the patient is suffering from Ebola,” she said.
“We would like to ask you to understand the situation and to seek treatment at Beatrice hospital (Nazareth). Those who want to undergo cervical cancer screening should visit their local clinics. We have also sent our nurses to Nazareth and the officials at the institution are aware of the changes so they will assist you.”
The instruction was greeted with grumbling by the patients who expressed fears they might default on their therapy.
Others said they were only left with a days or week’s supply while some had booked to see doctors at the clinic and feared they could not get the same treatment elsewhere.
With the situation increasingly looking desperate Health Minister David Parirenyatwa later told journalists at Parirenyatwa Hospital where he was visiting that there was no need to panic.
“The issue here is that of public health versus public panic. We need to curb that. Let me emphasise that there is still no Ebola in Zimbabwe and we hope there will never be,” he said. “There have been several scares and I think we need to control it by educating not only the public but also our health professionals so that they don’t get scared.
“(The patient) came to this hospital with fever, and high temperature and was vomiting and bleeding but our doctors did malaria tests and she was positive, so she has malaria. To us it’s still a scare.
“We are sending the specimens to South Africa to test the effectiveness of our system, in case we have a case. However we are still treating the case as suspected Ebola while we wait for the results. We don’t have Ebola in Zimbabwe,” Parirenyatwa said.
While Parirenyatwa claimed the suspected Harare Polytechnic student had first been admitted at Parirenyatwa hospital after visiting her home country, DRC, officials at the health institution contradicted the minister.
Acting clinical director, Noah Madziva, said: “We never transferred any patient to Wilkins. All our patients are here.”
With social media abuzz with information that the patient was a student at the Harare Polytechnic and was from the central African country, city health director, Prosper Chonzi, could neither confirm nor deny the claims.
He however, confirmed the student had been under surveillance before she fell sick.
“It is highly unlikely that it is Ebola but we have a patient who is at Wilkins, someone from DRC who went to Parirenyatwa Hospital and they thought it was Ebola after she got there with a high temperature, vomiting and some nose bleed and yesterday was her 21st day in Zimbabwe. She was in Lubumbashi which is like 3 000km away from where Ebola is.
“We did rapid malaria tests and she tested positive so we are managing it as malaria but we are using this opportunity to try out the system, in case we have the virus in Zimbabwe,” Chonzi said.
He added: “We have already collected specimen samples to be tested in South Africa. The results will tell us in four hours whether it is Ebola or not, but we have so far ruled out Ebola.
“The action is only precautionary and meant to test how efficient our systems are in terms of speed and effectiveness.”
The disease has so far claimed over 3 000 lives in West Africa and has now caused panic in Spain, the United States and Australia.
Southern Africa has only had two confirmed cases of the disease in the DRC.
According to the World Health Organisation, five people are being infected every hour and the figure could double by November.
Questions have been raised over Zimbabwe’s preparedness with intermittent claims of patients having been diagnosed with the virus. All the claims have so far proved to be hoaxes.
Government Mismanagement, Corruption Risks Lives of Millions
NOVEMBER 19, 2013
(Harare) – The water and sanitation crisis inZimbabwe’s capital, Harare, places millions of residents at risk of waterborne disease, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Five years after cholera killed over 4,000 people and sickened 100,000 more, the conditions that allowed the epidemic to flourish persist in Harare’s hOne mother told Human Rights Watch: “We have one toilet for the whole house and there are 21 people who live here. The flushing system doesn’t work because there is no water, so we have to use buckets. When there isn’t any water for flushing we just use the bush.”
Corruption and mismanagement at the local and national levels of government exacerbate the situation, Human Rights Watch said. For example, city budget guidelines specify that most of the revenue from water must be ploughed back into the system for maintenance and improvement, but even government officials acknowledged that the money is diverted for other uses. As a result, key parts of the service delivery system, like purchasing water treatment chemicals, are not adequately funded, leading the city to produce less potable water.
Until the late 1980s, Zimbabwe had a functioning water system, with access to potable water for 85 percent of the population. In Harare, remnants of this system are visible in a complex piped water and sewage system to which many residents are connected. The piped infrastructure has not been maintained, however. The result of deterioration of the system combined with a significant increase in the population is that the water now runs only sporadically and is often contaminated.
“Everyone has a right to access a minimum amount of potable water,” Kasambala said. “The government’s inability to maintain the water system and its practice of disconnecting those unable to pay forces people to drink water from contaminated taps or from unprotected wells.”
The government should take a number of steps to improve Harare’s water and sanitation crisis, including investing in low-cost sanitation and water strategies. These include providing community toilets and pit latrines, and drilling and maintaining boreholes so that residents do not have to rely on contaminated sources. A sliding fee scale for municipal water should be put in place to provide affordable water for low-income families, and no home should be disconnected from the city water supply for lack of payment.
Earlier in 2013, the government announced a US$144 million loan from the Chinese government, with 46 Chinese engineers coming to Harare, to upgrade the water infrastructure primarily by improving the sewage treatment plants. While the government has promoted the loan as the solution to Harare’s water crisis, its terms have not been made public. Critics have decried the loan as exemplifying the lack of transparency and corruption in water and sewage services.
The government of Zimbabwe is obliged under international law to protect the right to water and sanitation, Human Rights Watch said. In 2010, Zimbabwe voted for a United Nations General Assembly resolution establishing the right to water and sanitation. The recognition of this right acknowledges that water and sanitation are crucial not only for health, but also for other key aspects of development, such as gender equality, education and economic growth. Zimbabwe’s constitution and domestic laws protect the right to water and, through protections concerning the environment, the right to sanitation. In May, Zimbabwe ratified a newconstitution that includes an explicit right to water.
“Harare’s water and sanitation system has been destroyed by decades of neglect and by ongoing mismanagement and corruption,” Kasambala said. “The 2008 cholera epidemic was a visible catastrophe, but less visible suffering, deaths, and indignity continue.igh-density suburbs.
The 60-page report, “Troubled Water: Burst Pipes, Contaminated Wells, and Open Defecation in Zimbabwe’s Capital,” describes how residents have little access to potable water and sanitation services, and often resort to drinking water from shallow, unprotected wells that are contaminated with sewage, and to defecating outdoors. The conditions violate their right to water, sanitation, and health. The report is based on research conducted in 2012 and 2013 in Harare, including 80 interviews with residents, mostly women, in eight high-density suburbs.
“Harare’s water and sanitation system is broken and the government isn’t fixing it,” said Tiseke Kasambala, Southern Africa director at Human Rights Watch. “In many communities there is no water for drinking or bathing, there is sewage in the streets, there is diarrhea and typhoid and the threat of another cholera epidemic.”
Many residents said that the lack of household water forced them to wait for water at boreholes for up to five hours a day, and that violence frequently erupted when lines were especially long. People believe these boreholes – 200 of which were drilled by international agencies during the cholera epidemic – are the safest water option available, yet one-third of boreholes tested in Harare by Harare Water, the city agency in charge of water, showed contamination.
Residents also said that the city charged them for municipal water even when the water flowed only sporadically or was contaminated. If people were unable to pay their bills, the city turned off their water supply.
Some residents described raw sewage flowing into their homes and streets from burst pipes, in which children frequently played. The water shortage and the lack of functioning indoor toilets or community latrines sometimes gave them no choice but to defecate outdoors.
