Another Feather in the Cap of Tourism: Waterborne Diseases

One-Third of Waterborne Infections Linked to Hotel Pools, Hot Tubs –CDC

Crypto parasite continues to cause most outbreaks and illnesses linked to pools and water playgrounds.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows one-third of recreational waterborne infections are acquired in hotel pools or hot tubs.

The parasite, Cryptosporidium [“Crypto”] bacteria, which causes the majority of outbreaks and illnesses, is spread by swallowing water contaminated with feces.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) – Outbreaks Associated with Treated Recreational Water — United States, 2000–2014

Outbreaks associated with exposure to treated recreational water can be caused by pathogens or chemicals in venues such as pools, hot tubs/spas, and interactive water play venues (i.e., water playgrounds). During 2000–2014, public health officials from 46 states and Puerto Rico reported 493 outbreaks associated with treated recreational water. These outbreaks resulted in at least 27,219 cases and eight deaths. Among the 363 outbreaks with a confirmed infectious etiology, 212 (58%) were caused by Cryptosporidium (which causes predominantly gastrointestinal illness), 57 (16%) by Legionella (which causes Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonia, and Pontiac fever, a milder illness with flu-like symptoms), and 47 (13%) by Pseudomonas (which causes folliculitis [“hot tub rash”] and otitis externa [“swimmers’ ear”]). Investigations of the 363 outbreaks identified 24,453 cases; 21,766 (89%) were caused by Cryptosporidium, 920 (4%) by Pseudomonas, and 624 (3%) by Legionella. At least six of the eight reported deaths occurred in persons affected by outbreaks caused by Legionella. Hotels were the leading setting, associated with 157 (32%) of the 493 outbreaks. Overall, the outbreaks had a bimodal temporal distribution: 275 (56%) outbreaks started during June–August and 46 (9%) in March. Assessment of trends in the annual counts of outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium, Legionella, or Pseudomonas indicate mixed progress in preventing transmission. Pathogens able to evade chlorine inactivation have become leading outbreak etiologies. The consequent outbreak and case counts and mortality underscore the utility of CDC’s Model Aquatic Health Code (https://www.cdc.gov/mahc) to prevent outbreaks associated with treated recreational water.

46 outbreaks infect more than 27,000 people

During 2000–2014, public health officials from 46 states and Puerto Rico reported 493 outbreaks associated with treated recreational water, which resulted in at least 27,219 cases and eight deaths. Etiology was confirmed for 385 (78%) outbreaks. Among these, 363 (94%) were caused by pathogens (including four caused by both Cryptosporidium and Giardia) and resulted in at least 24,453 cases. Twenty-two (6%) outbreaks were caused by chemicals and resulted in at least 1,028 cases. Among the 363 outbreaks with a confirmed infectious etiology, 212 (58%) were caused by Cryptosporidium, 57 (16%) by Legionella, and 47 (13%) by Pseudomonas. Of the 24,453 cases, 21,766 (89%) were caused by Cryptosporidium, 920 (4%) by Pseudomonas, and 624 (3%) by Legionella. Of the 212 outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium, 24 (11%) each affected >100 persons; four of these outbreaks each affected ≥2,000 persons. At least six of the eight deaths,^¶ which all occurred after 2004, were in persons affected by outbreaks caused by Legionella.

32% of infections acquired in hotels

Hotels** (i.e., hotels, motels, lodges, or inns) were the leading setting associated with 157 (32%) of the 493 outbreaks. Of the 157 hotel-related outbreaks, 94 (60%)^†† had a confirmed infectious etiology, 40 (43%) were caused by Pseudomonas, 29 (31%) by Legionella, and 17 (18%) by Cryptosporidium.^§§ Sixty-five (41%) hotel-related outbreaks were associated with hot tubs/spas, and 47 (30%) started during February–March. Among all 493 outbreaks, a bimodal temporal distribution was observed. The 275 (56%) outbreaks that started during June–August were predominantly caused by Cryptosporidium, whereas the 46 (9%) that started in March were predominantly caused by an unidentified etiology or pathogens other than Cryptosporidium. Negative binomial regression analysis indicated that during 2000–2007, the annual number of outbreaks caused by Cryptosporidium increased by an average of 25% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 7%–45%) per year. No significant trend was found after 2007.^¶¶ Poisson regression analysis indicated that during 2000–2014 the annual number of outbreaks caused by Legionella increased by an average of 13% (95% CI = 6%–21%) per year, and the annual number of Pseudomonas folliculitis outbreaks (a total of 41 outbreaks during 2000–2014) decreased by an average of 22% (95% CI = 14%–29%) per year.*** [Source: CDC MMWR]

Tourism Responsible for 8% of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Submitted by edmundironside

Tourism is responsible for a twelfth of world greenhouse gas emissions

Emissions from tourism were found to be highest in the United States, China, Germany and India, according to a review of 160 nations led by the University of Sydney researchers and published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Flights, hotels, food and production of souvenirs, accounted for emission of the equivalent of 4.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2013, the latest data available [tourism has been growing at an annual rate of about 4 percent since. Editor] or 8 percent of all anthropogenic greenhouse gases, up from 3.9 billion in 2009, according to the report.

The carbon footprint of global tourism

By Manfred Lenzen et al., 2018

Published by Nature Climate Change (2018) doi:10.1038/s41558-018-0141-x

Abstract

Tourism contributes significantly to global gross domestic product, and is forecast to grow at an annual 4%, thus outpacing many other economic sectors. However, global carbon emissions related to tourism are currently not well quantified. Here, we quantify tourism-related global carbon flows between 160 countries, and their carbon footprints under origin and destination accounting perspectives. We find that, between 2009 and 2013, tourism’s global carbon footprint has increased from 3.9 to 4.5 GtCO2e, four times more than previously estimated, accounting for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Transport, shopping and food are significant contributors. The majority of this footprint is exerted by and in high-income countries. The rapid increase in tourism demand is effectively outstripping the decarbonization of tourism-related technology. We project that, due to its high carbon intensity and continuing growth, tourism will constitute a growing part of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Related Links

• Hundreds of millions Billions worldwide face disaster

 

Hawaii Declares Disaster Emergency Over Homelessness

Hawaii has 7,620 homeless people

Hawaii Gov. Ige has signed a Disaster Emergency Proclamation to deal with the state’s homelessness disaster emergency.

In his Disaster Emergency Proclamation Ige admits that a recent statewide homeless count has highlighted a significant increase in homelessness for the entire State of Hawaii.

“…count of homeless individuals and families throughout Hawaii, estimates the total number of homeless individuals statewide is 7,620… the number of unsheltered homeless individuals is 3,843… the statewide Count estimates that there are 185 unsheltered families, which consist of a total of 439 unsheltered children throughout the state.”

“these unsheltered homeless individuals and families are living on privately owned and public lands, including the streets, public parks, beaches, and elsewhere on each island… these unsheltered homeless individuals and families are without access to portable toilets, bathrooms, showers and clean wate… these unsheltered homeless individuals and families require health and social services in order to maintain themselves safely and in reasonable health,” he said.

The Disaster Emergency Proclamation relief period has already commenced this week, and will last for sixty days, unless terminated by a separate proclamation, whichever occurs first, Ige said.

Full text of the governor’s Proclamation is posted at

Click to access 10.16-EMERGENCY-PROC-HOMELESSNESS-.pdf

Tourism in the Hawaiian Islands

The largest source of private capital into the Hawaiian Islands, tourism contributed at least $11.4 billion in visitor spending and $1 billion in tax revenue last year, according to Hawai’i Tourism Authority (HTA). “The HTA anticipates visitor spending to reach $12.6 billion, with $1.1 billion in tax revenue for 2011, and will work together with the industry to ensure that we continue to build on this positive momentum.”

What’s Happening in Cyprus?

In 2008, CASF Team analyzed  the impact of “extreme environmental stress” in Cyprus and forecast the island’s early collapse triggered by the ecological time bomb.

The post is reproduced below with the permission of our CASF and EDRO:

.

Cyprus Collapse May Be Imminent!

Posted by edro on July 19, 2008 – Submitted by a CASF Member

Cyprus’s extreme environmental stress may lead to early collapse!

Ex-govt official: “We are going through a visual process of desertification.”

Main Causes of Collapse

Climate Change
– Persistent Droughts
– Disruption in climatic patterns
– Low Precipitation
– Higher than normal temperatures
– Heatwaves
– Wildfires and other natural phenomena [disasters] exacerbated by warming

Land
– Urbanization
– Land use and land cover change
– Loss of topsoil
– Soil degradation, especially salination
– Soil erosion caused by high temperatures, low precipitation and hot dry winds

Water
– Extreme water shortages throughout the island worsened by additional [including unforeseen] factors

Tourism
– Causing additional environmental stress
– Creating excessive waste and pollution
– Weakening the Island’s natural defense mechanisms

Main Effects

– Reduced ability to produce food
– Crop failure
– Continued water scarcity (compounded by economic/monetary issues)
– Breakdown of sewage, water and sanitation systems
– Spread of disease pandemics
– Overshoot of Carrying Capacity: The Island may have already passed the tipping point
– Resumption of the Cypriot civil war between the north and south enclaves reignited by the specter of ecological collapse
– Collapse of local ecosystems
– Desertification
– Land abandonment
– Population displacement/climate refugees

Possible Timeline

2011- 2013

Country Data

Estimated Population: 793,000 (July 2008 Estimate)
Area:
Total: 9,250 sq km (of which 3,355 sq km are in north Cyprus)
Land: 9,240 sq km
Water: 10 sq km

No. of Tourists: About 3,000,000

Land use:
Arable land: 10.81%
Permanent crops: 4.32%
Other: 84.87% (2005)

Irrigated land: 400 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 0.4 cu km (2005)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
Total: 0.21 cu km/yr (27%/1%/71%)
Per capita: 250 cu m/yr (2000)

Primary Energy Consumption year 2007: 0.13 Quad BTU [CASF estimate based on EIA data]
Percentage rise compared to year 2000: 20.8 percent

Fossil Fuel consumption (excluding aviation fuel) year 2007: 2,431,399 tonnes of oil [source]
Percentage rise compared to year 2000: 18.4 percent

CO2 Emissions From Consumption of Fossil Fuels year 2007 : 9.65 MMT [CASF estimate for 2007]
Percentage rise compared to year 2000: 22.5 percent

Natural hazards: moderate earthquake activity; droughts

Environment – current issues:
water resource problems (no natural reservoir catchments, seasonal disparity in rainfall, sea water intrusion to island’s largest aquifer, increased salination in the north); water pollution from sewage and industrial wastes; coastal degradation; loss of wildlife habitats from urbanization.

Human Rights Issues
Cyprus [like New Zealand] is primarily a destination country for a large number of women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose of sexual exploitation; traffickers continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term “artiste” visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas. (Source CIA Factbook, Wikipedia, others)

Population density: It is estimated that at peak tourist season, the effective population density of [Southern] Cyprus exceeds that of the Netherlands (ranked world’s 25th most densely populated).

Location map: Cyprus (dark green) / European Union (light green) / Europe (dark grey). Credit: User 3meandEr, via Wikimedia Commons

Water Facts

• After little winter rainfall, the drought in Cyprus is now in its fifth year.

• Cypriot water reserves are at their lowest for 100 years; however, the effective population of Cyprus (citizens and tourists) have multiplied by about 150 folds.

• “As long as the population remained [as] low [as] in the pre-industrial period, the water was sufficient for supplying cities which received water either from the mountains through the aqueducts or through the groundwater supply.” Said Chris Schabel, medieval historian at the University of Cyprus.

• The entire island including both the Turkish Cypriot north and the Greek Cypriot south divisions are drought stricken.

• The Island has an annual requirement of about 210 million cubic meters of water.

• As of July 16, 2008 the water reservoirs were only about 6.5 percent full. Down one percent in the last three weeks (33 percent of the level 12 months ago).
• Southern Cyprus’ 17 main reservoirs currently contain a paltry 17,733 cubic meters of water, some of which may be unsuitable for drinking.

• Emergency measures have limited the supply of running water to homes to only twice weekly.

• Most of the municipal wells have been shut down to avoid the risk of seawater contamination.

• “The British policy of drilling boreholes throughout the island resulted in a serious depletion, due to excessive pumping of the groundwater reserves, in the main water bearing areas of Famagusta, Morphou and Akrotiri. It was calculated a few years ago that groundwater resources of Cyprus are over-pumped every year by 40 per cent over the allowable safe yield.” (Source)

• Cyprus is buying from Greece 8 million cubic meters (2.1 billion gallons) of water to be delivered by November 2008 at a cost of €40 million (US$64 million). The water will only be distributed in the Greek Cypriot south.

• The first ship carrying water from Greece arrived June 30 at Limassol (Cyprus’ main port). The officials then realized they could not pump the water from tanker because their makeshift pipeline was 10 feet short. Because of the delay, the water turned “odorous” and was deemed unsafe for drinking. The entire tanker load of 40,000 cubic meters was subsequently pumped into the ground, instead of the city’s water network due to contamination fears!

• Under the initial agreement, two water-laden tankers were scheduled to leave Elefsina near Athens bound for Cyprus every day for six months (6 tankers delivering 200 shipments) between June and November 2008.

• The Turkish Cypriot north is negotiating a separate arrangement with Turkey for their water needs.

• The Greek Cypriot south plans to build a third desalination plant.

Agriculture, Wildfires, Desertification

“Extremely hot and dry weather conditions in Cyprus, combined with strong winds led to a disastrous upsurge of forest fires and wildfires in the Troodos Montain area on 29 June 2007. … Small villages had to be evacuated. Some houses were destroyed. Cyprus reported severe material damages in the area. Moreover, two forest fires hit Cyprus on 16 July 2007 in touristic areas of the Island. The first hit the vicinity of the Kalavasos village area … The other was close to Kornos village, which is located 20 km south of Nicosia [capital city]. The total burnt area … in Cyprus measured from satellite imagery on 31 July 2007 was 12 286 hectares.” European Civil Protection.

Climate change is pointing at us “like a loaded gun,” warned the EU Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel at a conference on water policy last week.

“Global warming is happening,” she said. “It’s taken thousands of years for global temperatures to rise by just one degree. In this century we expect to see an increase in global temperatures of between two and six degrees Celsius.”

“Climate change has arrived. Drought has arrived. We need to take out insurance now. Good business sense demands better use of water. For those farmers caught unprepared, climate change could be a sledge hammer,” said Boel. “Maybe there are areas that will benefit from this, like in the north, but we expect climate change to leave a wave of destruction. We expect more heat waves, drought, floods and crop failures.”

“We are going through a visual process of desertification. Krasochorio near Limassol, has lost its environment [Ecosystems have collapsed]. Around 85 per cent of the population has left. In Lania, 30 villas are surrounded by burnt land after the fires. What can the villagers do with them now?” Said the former Cypriot Agriculture Ministry official, Antonis Constantinou.

“What Cyprus is not good at is holding water, avoiding erosion, adapting to water shortage, and not giving incentives which can’t guarantee a better future for the island. We are also not so good at keeping greenery, avoiding fires, fighting fires, giving incentives to people to manage land, even non-agricultural land owners,” he added. (Source)

Recent History

Cyprus is situated in the eastern Mediterranean south of Turkey, north of Egypt, and east-southeast of Greece, It is the third-largest Mediterranean island and a busy tourist destination, attracting about 3 million tourists each year.

A former British colony, it gained independence from the UK in 1960 claiming sovereignty over 97% of the island and surrounding waters, with the United Kingdom controlling the remaining three percent. It became a member of the European Union May 1, 2004.

In 1974, following a period of violence between Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots and an attempted Greek Cypriot coup d’état aimed at annexing the island to Greece and sponsored by the Greek military junta of 1967-1974, Turkey invaded and occupied one-third of the island. This led to the displacement of thousands of Cypriots and the establishment of a separate Turkish Cypriot political entity in the north. Cyprus is thus divided to:

• The area under the effective control of the Republic of Cyprus in the south of the island
• The Turkish-occupied area in the north, calling itself the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey)
• The United Nations-controlled Green Line, separating the two
• Two “Sovereign Base Areas” or military bases Akrotiri and Dhekelia, where United Kingdom is the sovereign despite Cypriot independence. (Source: Wikimedia)

Map of Cyprus: WSBA and ESBA (British military bases at Akrotiri and Dhekelia) are in pink, UN buffer zone dividing the northern (Turkish) and southern (Greek) administrations is shown in gray. The map is adapted from the CIA World Factbook map. (Source).

Related Links:

• Drought
• Worsening Signs of Planetary Stress
• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities

edro

Let Dolphins Be!

Thrill-seeking holidaymakers are putting dolphins at risk

Public release: Newcastle University

Tourists wanting to watch and swim with dolphins are now being urged to keep their distance in a bid to protect both the animals and the local communities whose livelihoods depend on them.

A study of bottlenose dolphins living off the coast of Zanzibar has found that the many tourist boats operating in the area are harassing the animals, preventing them from resting, feeding and nurturing their young.

The research, led by Dr Per Berggren of Newcastle University, also highlights swimming with dolphins – in particular where tourists swim in very close and try to touch the dolphins– as being incredibly stressful for the animals.

Printed today in the academic journal Endangered Species Research, the authors say regulation of the dolphin tourism industry is “urgently needed” to minimize the potential long-term negative impact on the animals.

Dr Berggren, who joined Newcastle from Stockholm University earlier this month, explained: “The current situation in Zanzibar is unsustainable. The local community is dependent on tourism – and therefore the dolphins – but unless the activity is regulated the animals will leave.

“Our study found that whenever the tourist boats were present the dolphins were very unsettled and spent less time feeding, socialising or resting. This has a negative impact, not only on individual animals, but on the population as a whole and long term it could be devastating.

“The problem is that any change needs to be tourist-driven. Many visitors will pay drivers extra in tips to steer their boats in close, herding the dolphins so they can dive right in amongst them. Our message is, keep your distance and put the dolphins first.”

Dolphin-watching was introduced off the South coast of Zanzibar in 1992. Today it is one of the few places in the world where tourism has completely replaced the traditional dolphin hunt – an activity which threatened the local population of around 150 bottlenose dolphins.

“Abolishing the hunts was a major breakthrough and dolphin watching offered a humane, sustainable alternative,” says Dr Berggren.

“Unfortunately, without regulation, dolphin tourism brings with it its own challenges.”

Watching the dolphins over a period of 40 days, the research team found that in the presence of the tourist boats, the time the dolphins spent resting dropped from 38 per cent of the time to 10 per cent while the time they spent foraging and socialising dropped from 19 and 10 per cent to just 10 and 4 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, travelling behaviour more than doubled in proportion, from 33 to 77 per cent, becoming by far the most dominant activity state during interactions with tourist boats.

“Overall, the dolphins are using more energy than they are taking in because they aren’t resting or feeding as much but are swimming more as they try to avoid the tourist boats,” explains Dr Berggren, based in the School of Marine Science and Technology at Newcastle University.

“Zanzibar is a wonderful place, the dolphins are incredibly interesting and between July and October there are also breeding humpbacks in the area. I would recommend that anyone go there for a holiday and support the local community but act responsibly and ask operators to follow existing guidelines.”   Contact: Dr. Per Berggren per.berggren@ncl.ac.uk

0O0

Related Links:

• Noise from Oil Exploration, Tourist Boats Kills 150 Whales
• Small Country, Big ‘Dirty Little Secret’
• US Woman killed Swimming with Dolphins in NZ

• Torturing and Killing Defenseless Animals
• Every time you fly someone will die!
• Eco-Terrorism and Dead Rare Sunfish
• Airlines

IF Nature Had a List of Extreme Dislikes

Submitted by a reader with additional information added by FEWW

AND She Probably Does …

Don’t Pollute the Sea, Your Life Depends on Water

Cars, Air Travel, Power Plants, Oil Rigs, Coalmines, War, Military Hardware, Large-Scale Human Movement, Tourism, Trade Shows, Global Tournaments, Oil Spills, Plastic Garbage, GHG  …  and Cruise Ships Would Probably Top Her List of Loathsome Activities by Humans

Louis Majesty is a Maltese-flagged, Greek Cypriot-owned cruise ship. Image via AFP. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice.

Three giant 8.5-meter (26ft) high waves bashed against a cruise ship in the Mediterranean, as if trying to rip it apart, killing two people and injuring  six others.

The Cypriot-owned Louis Majesty was sailing off the north-east coast of Spain when the “abnormally high” waves attacked, breaking ship windows,  shipowners were reported as saying.

“A wave broke the glass in the area of the saloon and water was taken on board,” a spokesman for the Spanish coast guard confirmed.

The dead weer identified as a German and an Italian male, both in their fifties.  There were 1,350 passengers and 580 crew onboard.

The Louis Majesty was on a 12-day Mediterranean cruise headed toward Genoa, Italy, but has since returned to Barcelona, Spain.

“Louis Cruises extends its sincere condolences to the families of the two victims and its full support to the injured passengers while expressing its deep sorrow for the incident,” a company spokesman said.

Winds of more than 100km per hour (60 mph) in the area may have been responsible for the incident a French Navy official was reported as saying.

Do you feel as if nature has put you on notice?

Related Links:

• 2010: Year One of Human-Enhanced Disasters
• Major Blackout Plunges Brazil into Darkness
• Murphy’s law has no time vector!
• Floods Kill 32 on Portuguese Island of Madeira
• Earthquake, Heavy Rain, Mudslides Strike Peru

• ConocoPhillips Alaska Head Killed in Avalanche
• U.S. power plant explosion kills 50*
• Australian Coal and the Planet
• Australian fires toll may exceed 200
• The Australian Clean Energy Ruse

• A Living Hell Heated by Australian Coal
• 10 Facts on Climate Change
• Our Oceans Are Dying
• How many are up there polluting our skies?

Every time you fly someone will die!

FEWW Moderators had never heard of the “Con the Nasty Traveler”

That’s until the “ghost readers” of Condé Nast Traveler allegedly voted Italy and New Zealand as the top 2 tourist destinations in the world [sic.]

Moderators believe tourism [euphemistically, eco-tourism] is an intentional [informed and willing] act of eco-terrorism.  How would YOU define tourism and air travel?

Every time you fly someone will die!

MSRB has estimated the carbon pollution (CO2e) associated with air travel:

Each air passenger produces about 1.36 lbs.  [0.62 kg] of CO2 and other Greenhouse Gases (called CO2 Equivalents or CO2e) for every air mile flown.

Italy is in Europe, but New Zealand is “downunder.” So what sort of damage do you inflict on the environment when you fly all the way to New Zealand?

NewZeelend, a New Zealand news blog says:

On a return flight from the United States to New Zealand, each visitor produces about 7.4 metric tons of CO2 pollution. [Note: Driving an average passenger car in the US over a year, traveling 12,500 miles (20,112 km), which burns about 581 gallons (2,200 liters) of gasoline, produces about 11,450 pounds (5.2 metric tons) of carbon dioxide.] A couple on a return flight from the US to NZ produce as much CO2 as driving their car for about THREE years! A UK visitor produces about 17.64 metric tons of CO2. A European/UK couple on a return flight to NZ produce more CO2 than in EIGHT years of driving.]

Was tourist safety a factor before Nast[y] Traveler dished out its readers’ award [sic] to New Zealand?

If it did, it would be a massive irony, not to mention downright fraudulent claims.

NewZeelend wrote:

Did you know that between January 1, 2000 and August 9, 2009 at least 1,585 foreigners were killed in New Zealand? [The 450 permanently missing American, Chinese, Japanese, Korean … nationals are not included] That is as many as 36 percent of all US troops killed in Iraq during a comparable period. [Between March 2003 and August 9, 2009, some 4,330 US military personnel were killed in Iraq—officially acknowledged.]

Who’s Masashi Hayama?

Masashi Hayama, 22, a Japanese male, was the 1,603^rd foreigner to be killed/murdered in New Zealand [the latest known victim who was found dead just yesterday] since January 1, 2000. If Condé Nast Traveler could interview him now, he would probably have a few words to say about the award.

What about Food Safety in New Zealand?

Ask the 63 percent of all British households who abstained from eating New Zealand lamb throughout 2008 !

Much of New Zealand food is “contaminated with disease-causing bacteria and viruses as a result of over-crowded factory farming conditions and unhygienic processing plants.” NZ Green Party said.

“New Zealand has the highest rates of Campylobacter food poisoning in the developed world, nearly 3 times higher than the next highest countries, England and Wales, and 10 times higher than America and Canada.”

“An extraordinary 75,000 New Zealanders [nearly 2 percent of their population] are affected by Campylobacter food poisoning every year.” [See report highlights.]

And New Zealand Beaches?

Steer clear of deadly fish on New Zealand beaches. Poison from dead fish piling up on New Zealand beaches can kill you in 60 minutes.  Deadly fish washed up on New Zealand beaches have prompted health authorities to warning the public to stay away.

The warning signs will not be removed until investigating agencies believe Auckland’s beaches are safe. Photo: PHIL REID/The Dominion Post
Image may be subject to copyright. (Source: Lethal Coastal Waters Kill Deadly Fish!)

Any Other Health Concerns  in New Zealand?

See: New Zealand Visitor Health Warnings

You can express your opinion about air travel, tourism award, or eco-terrorism by emailing the Editor, [discredited] CNTraveller.com at emma.lundin@condenast.co.uk

Related links:

• Another Asian Killed in New Zealand
• Proudly Killed in New Zealand [Most recent toll only!]
• If You Are Flying to or Importing Food From New Zealand
• On a return flight from the United States to New Zealand
• To & From New Zealand: Double Act of Eco-Terrorism

• Woman gang raped by as many as 10 ‘animals’
• Two more teenage tourists raped in New Zealand—together!
• Chinese Woman Raped in Broad Daylight as Kiwis Look On
• Avoid having your sweethearts raped and robbed! Don’t take them to New Zealand!
• Dutch Govt Acts on New Zealand Rapes

• It’s rape-a-tourist season in New Zealand, again!
• Another Dutch Couple Raped in New Zealand
• New Zealand Burger King Rape
• A 27-year-old English tourist was seriously sexually assaulted [syn: RAPED] while walking at a beauty spot [And asked to pay the rapist by credit card!]
• How Many of NZ’s Latest Rape Victims Were Tourists?

• Another Tourist Gang Raped
• 10 compelling reasons why we Americans should visit New Zealand
• Third Asian Murdered in New Zealand in One Week!
• South Korean tourist’s head chopped off with spade
• 10 Worst Places

• Poison from Dead Fish Piling Up on New Zealand Beaches Can Kill You in 60 minutes

Meanwhile, the 1,372nd Tourist Is Killed in New Zealand!

“Sarah Katie Bond, 24, the ill-advised UK tourist who will leave New Zealand in a body bag, was the 1,372nd visitor killed in this country since Jan 1, 2000.”

Original Entry:

The 1,372nd Tourist Was Killed in New Zealand!

Hilarious Polar Bear News!

Why Aren’t the Bears Laughing?

The state of Alaska is suing the federal government because it says listing polar bears as a threatened species is hurting Alaskan oil and gas exploration and development, commercial fisheries, transportation and tourism. In other words, the polar bears had no right to be there!

“We believe that … decision to list the polar bear was not based on the best scientific and commercial data available,” Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin said.

“Additional regulation of the species and its habitat under the Endangered Species Act will deter activities such as commercial fisheries, oil and gas exploration and development, transportation and tourism within and off-shore of Alaska,” the lawsuit said.

Mooning The Unashamed Corporate Shills

Polar bear at the Detroit Zoo. Credit: Maia C; via Flickr. Licensed under Creative Commons terms: Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 Unported.

A spokesperson for one of the environmental groups opposed to the dumbfounding action said:

“The state’s lawsuit isn’t about the science of global warming and polar bears … It is merely doing the bidding of oil companies that want to drill for oil in sensitive polar bear habitat, without any concern for how that oil will impact the climate when it’s burned.”

The lawsuit is also about the inalienable corporate rights [sic.] See The right to disturb wildlife!!

“Listing Sarah Palin as Gov. of Alaska hurts the true interests of all polar bears, Alaskans, Americans and all other animal species on the planet!” ~ An angry polar bear

Gov. Sarah Palin – 11th Governor of Alaska meeting Alaska Congressman Don Young

Palin was born as Sarah Louise Heath in Sandpoint, Idaho. Mother of five, she eats moose burgers and rides snowmobiles. She admits that she used marijuana when it was legal in the Alaska, but says that she did not [inhale?] like it.

Palin holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Idaho. She briefly worked in the media and utility industries.

Palin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. Her husband, Todd, works for BP at an oil field on the North Slope and is a commercial fisherman.

A leopard cannot change its spots

“She [then-Mayor Palin] inherited a city with zero debt, but left it with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved!” An excerpt from: A Letter About Sarah Palin from Anne Kilkenny

In June 2007, Palin signed into law the largest operating budget in Alaska’s history: $6.6 billion! (Source: Wikipedia)

Palin Saga Update >> Click Here: It’s All About Big Oil, Stupid!

Related Links:

• Look me straight in the eye & tell me you can’t …
• Arctic ice cover second-lowest on record
• The real games are in Alaska
• 3 million acres of spruce killed in Alaska in 15 years

• Death by Lethal Pollution
• Bering Sea Drilling Revisited!
• Arctic Marine Mammals on Thin Ice
• Our Oceans Are Dying

• Mother? Moose Murderer and Maverick!

UPDATE #2 – California Fires

California Inferno Rages On

Wildfires are an indispensable tool in Nature’s cycle-of-life toolbox. But … the fires must not be allowed to burn naturally!! Click Here!

What People Said:

• California is reaching a “tipping point.” We need federal help, including military resources, said the mighty Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who declared a state-wide drought in June amid two years of low rainfall.

• Humanoids’ ignorance of Nature’s defense mechanisms hasn’t improved in 12,000 years! Take the California’s wildfires, for example. Tackling the wildfires has become strictly a Freudian affair. ~ A Member of Creating A Sustainable Future (CASF).

A firefighter with the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District talks on his radio as a spot fire burns through trees and brush July 10, 2008 in Concow, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• About 1,300 square miles (3,366 square kilometers), or 0.8 percent of the entire state, an area larger than Rhode Island, has been consumed in California since June 21, said Cal Fire. [The scorched land area is the largest in size in California’s wildfire history.]

• For first time in 30 years, California National Guard lends hand against wildfires, said abc News.

• “I am ordering 2,000 additional California National Guard personnel to boost our firefighting forces,” said Schwarzenegger.

• Burning embers – pinecones and bark chunks as big as baseballs – were thrown a quarter of a mile ahead of the primary wall of flames, creating spot fires. “You can’t see out a quarter mile,” Brown said. “When you find the new fire, it’s already a big fire.” Said SFGate

• “In my district, about 40 more homes were confirmed destroyed and there has been at least one death where a person refused to evacuate,” said Butte County Supervisor Bill Connelly.

• “[The California’s fires] are unprecedented in size and number … [State authorities] have essentially exhausted all of their internal resources; eighty percent of all the federal resources are committed to California right now.” Said Glenn Cannon, assistant administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

A mountain bike is one of the few items recognizable at a home in the Camelot subdivision in Concow, Calif. Chronicle photo by Paul Chinn. Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

• The fires have killed two firefighters, injured 262, consumed 752,944 acres and have costs $325.7 million to fight. The fires threaten about 15,500 homes and structures across California, according to the state and federal fire reports.

• Some 19,704 firefighters and support personnel from 41 states are quenching 322 fires across California, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire.

• Mexican and Canadian crews are also helping the US firefighters, said Mark Rey, undersecretary of natural resources and the environment for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• The Butte blaze threatens 3,800 homes and structures, said Justin Scribner, a spokesman for Cal Fire. “We were trying to conduct a planned burning operation, with crews in place to hold the lines, but the winds picked up, and we weren’t able to stop it.”

• The Butte fire has scorched about 49,000 acres (19,600 hectares), 60 structures, and caused $40.5 million in damages, according to Cal Fire and the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

This image of the combined fires was captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite on July 10, 2008.

Carbon Dioxide Is a Fire Retardant (!)

• Homeland Security (!) Sec. Michael Chertoff held a conference call with Gov. Schwarzenegger, Sen. Feinstein, a staffer for Sen. Boxer, Interior Sec. Kempthorne and Agriculture Sec. Schafer to discuss California’s needs, said DHS spokeswoman. [She did not specify whether the conference was held in French or in English!]

• It has been decided that to create more CO2, which might help put out the fires, firefighters from Australia, Greece and New Zealand should come to the U.S. </dark humor>

• State officials are trying to get all the fires declared as major disasters, to enable increased access to federal funds, said California Lt. Gov. John Garamendi.

• Forest fires have broken out in nine states, including two in Washington yesterday, which destroyed [thirteen] homes [some were multimillion-dollar homes] in the Spokane Valley [Friday], said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.

Numerous major wildfires continued burning Friday in Eastern Washington, prompting Gov. Chris Gregoire to declare a state of emergency for the entire state. That freed equipment, firefighters and funding for efforts to quench the flames.

Fire crews from across Washington were battling blazes in Chelan, Douglas, Stevens, Adams, Ferry, and Spokane counties. With hot and dry conditions statewide, Gregoire said the proclamation ensured any affected area would have sufficient firefighting resources. (Source)

• “It would do us no good to send everything to California and then see fires ignite in three or four other states,” Smurthwaite said.

• So far, about 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares), [an area roughly the size of Connecticut,] have burned in the U.S. this year, exceeding the 10-year average of 2.5 million [by 20 percent,] Smurthwaite said.

• “Hand crews and bulldozers were (in Concow) all night, posted at individual homes” trying to retard the flames, said Joshpae White, an engineer for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

• High temperatures and low humidity have hampered efforts by crews trying to contain another fire advance near Carmel Valley, north of Big Sur. said Susan Zornek, a U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman on loan from Missouri.

• Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.

• “We have firefighters who’ve been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven’t seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire,” said McHale said. “It’s an incredible challenge.”

• “You almost feel like somebody is out to get you,” said Nancy Henphill, 61, a Concow resident.

California Must Decide: Life or “Lifestyle?”

Related News Links:

• Calif. National Guard Joins Firefighting Effort
• California Wildfires Force 10,000 to Evacuate Homes
• Calif. Wildfire Forces More Evacuations

Related Links:

• UPDATE #1: California Fires
• Early Halloween

• Images of the Day: California Fires
• Lightning Safety Awareness Week: June 22-28

• A Few Extreme Events Away

• 2008: Year of the Fire
• Raging Wildfires: Mother Nature ensuring the cycle of life?

• Our Forecast for 2009 California Fires [Aug 14, 2008]

Image of the Day: Three men we admire most

The Conciliary, the Prez and the unholy ghost

George W Bush: “He” no longer speaks to me!

He only knows, I have been trying to speak to Him about flooding and fire, but He is avoiding me!

U.S. President George W. Bush takes part in a briefing on Midwest flooding with Vice President Dick Cheney (L) and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington, June 17, 2008. REUTERS/Jim Young (UNITED STATES). Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

Elevated Risk of Leptospirosis Infection

Before you opt for a kidney transplant, please ensure the kidney is obtained ethically!

See Original Entry:

Visitor Health Warning: Elevated Risk of Leptospirosis Infection in New Zealand

 

Is 350 ppm Safe? Hell, NO!

Folks, don’t be fooled by the hype: 350 ppmv NOT safe!

1. There is a 30-year time lag between the release of CO2e greenhouse gases to the atmosphere and the cumulative impact of heat-trapping mechanism taking effect.
2. The positive feedback system whose impacts we are now witnessing started when the atmospheric CO2 concentration rose above the 330 ppmv in the mid 1970s.
3. Any concentration level above the 330 ppm is clearly unsafe. To stabilize at levels below 330 ppm, we must aim for much lower levels of about 260-270 ppm.

Average air bubble CO₂ concentration versus age in three ice cores taken close to the summit of Law Dome at 67�S, 113�E, around 1390 m elevation. Law Dome is near the Australian Antarctic station Casey. (Source)

Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations measured at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. The red curve shows the average monthly concentrations; blue curve is a moving 12 month average. GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 only as published by the Free Software Foundation. [Credit User Superm401via Wikimedia]

Related Links:

• 350 or 450 ppm? Neither, Actually!

• Greenland Ice Melt Faster Than IPCC Estimates
• Only Zero Emissions Would Avert Dangerous Warming
• Stern Report: “a great toxic dump of doublespeak in truly Orwellian fashion”
• UN Hypocrisy: Kick the CO2 Habit!
• The myth of keeping CO2 under 450ppm

Outbreak of Dangerous Group A Streptococcus Bacterium in NZ

[New Zealand Death Syndrome (NZDS), Health Bulletin # 12. Outbreak of Dangerous Group A Streptococcus Bacterium, June 17, 2008]

Urgent Visitor Health Warning: Keep Your Kids OUT of New Zealand!

Health workers revealed an outbreak of group A streptococcus bacterium, which causes rheumatic fever and can lead arthritis and heart damage, had infected at least 32 children in Kaikohe, New Zealand.

Original Entry Blocked by Google:

Urgent Health Warning: Outbreak of Dangerous Group A Streptococcus Bacterium

Photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, 675x Mag. A pus specimen, viewed using Pappenheim’s stain. Last century, infections by S. pyogenes claimed many lives especially since the organism was the most important cause of puerperal fever and scarlet fever. This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #2110.

News Links:

• High levels of dangerous bacterium in Kaikohe
• Baby died after infection breakout
• Stuff New Zealand

Previous Visitor Health Warnings for New Zealand:

• Health Bulletin # 11. Outbreak of Staphylococcus Aureus, June 12, 2008

• Health Bulletin # 10. Outbreak of mystery bacterium, June 4, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 9. Outbreak of Viral Gastroenteritis, May 30, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 8. Outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka, April 4, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 7. Don’t Take Your Children To New Zealand, March 27, 2008
  
• Health Bulletin # 6. New Zealand Emergency Health Warnings: Toxic Honey Poisoning March 22, 2008
  
• Health Bulletin # 5. Food infected with Listeria, March 8, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 4. Sewage contaminated beaches, Feb. 16, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 3. Toxic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), Feb. 13, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 2. Exposure to Compound 1080 Feb. 10, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 1. Exposure to Bromoethane Feb. 6, 2008

Related Links:

• Truth About ‘100% Pure New Zealand’
• The Poisoning of New Zealand
• Hermaphrodite Lamb Born With Seven Legs
• Toxic Sludge
• Toxic Country – Diseased Food
• 1080
• NZ indiscriminate aerial applications of the potent poison 1080

Google Censorship Violates the US Constitution and International Law

The Human Rights of an Octogenarian Chinese Woman

Google has effectively blocked the following posts from its search engines:

Brave New Zealanders Bash Octogenarian Chinese Woman to Death and

New Zealand Racist Storm Worse Than China Quake at

New Zealand: Plumbing the Depth of Depravity

Google Censorship is a Flagrant Violation of Our Freedom of Speech!

Freedom of speech is being able to speak freely without censorship. The United States Constitution protects opinions under inalienable 1st Amendment free speech rights.

The right to freedom of speech is also guaranteed under international law through numerous human-rights instruments, notably under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

How much longer is Google allowed to continue its censorship in violation of the United States Constitution and the international law?

A Biochemical Weapons Testing Ground?

Main Entry:
New Zealand Violence Related to Biochemical Weapons?

Urgent Health Warning

[Food Imports from New Zealand – Health Bulletin # 10. Outbreak of mystery bacterium, June 4, 2008]

Do NOT consume capsicum and tomato imports from New Zealand!

A new disease affecting tomatoes and capsicum have been discovered at three of New Zealand’s North Island hothouses. A new bacterium has been discovered, which is causing severe problems, including leaf curling and yellowing; however, little is known about its origin or potential dangers. (Source)

Previous Health Warnings Concerning New Zealand Food Imports:

• Health Bulletin # 9. Outbreak of Viral Gastroenteritis, May 30, 2008

• Health Bulletin # 8. Outbreak of Salmonella Mbandaka, April 4, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 7. Don’t Take Your Children To New Zealand, March 27, 2008
  
• Health Bulletin # 6. New Zealand Emergency Health Warnings: Toxic Honey Poisoning March 22, 2008
  
• Health Bulletin # 5. Food infected with Listeria, March 8, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 4. Sewage contaminated beaches, Feb. 16, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 3. Toxic blue-green algae (cyanobacteria), Feb. 13, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 2. Exposure to Compound 1080 Feb. 10, 2008
• Health Bulletin # 1. Exposure to Bromoethane Feb. 6, 2008

Related Links:

• Truth About ‘100% Pure New Zealand’
• The Poisoning of New Zealand
• Hermaphrodite Lamb Born With Seven Legs
• Toxic Sludge
• Toxic Country – Diseased Food
• 1080
• NZ indiscriminate aerial applications of the potent poison 1080

Why Didn’t China Prevent the Loss of 86,000 Lives?

China Regime: As Evil as Evil Comes!

Are Earthquake Predictions in China Political?

The following excerpts are from an article written by Wu Weilin, Epoch Times Staff [ May 28, 2008 ] Full Article

Was the recent devastating earthquake in Sichuan, China predicted before it struck? Did the Chinese regime ignore earthquake warnings and thereby caused the loss of more than 86,000 lives?

“On July 28, 2006, the Director of the China Earthquake Administration, Chen Jianmin, was speaking on a program of the regime’s mouth piece, China’s Central TV station. He stated with certainty that earthquakes were predictable. But immediately after the recent devastation in Sichuan, Chinese officials claimed that the prediction of earthquakes was a tough task worldwide. Another commentator said that earthquake prediction in China is a political issue.” Said Wu Weilin of Epoch Times.

[Wrapping it up!] Soldiers march to scatter disinfectant in Yingxiu town of Wenchuan county, the epicentre of the earthquake, Sichuan province May 26, 2008. REUTERS/Stringer The image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

What Happened to the Predictions?

“According to Chen, China has been predicting earthquakes since the Xingtai earthquake back in 1966, which killed 8,064 people. ‘Through continuous scientific research and information gained from many actual cases, we can make a prediction on a certain type of earthquake.’ However, after the earthquake in Sichuan took place, Zhang Ziaodong from the China Earthquake Networks Center held a press conference at China’s State Department on May 13. At the conference Zhang denied the quake in Sichuan was predictable and said that predicting earthquakes was a ‘difficult task worldwide.'”

Why did the Chinese media stay quiet about this important issue? “A frontline reporter disclosed that Beijing had sent out rules on reporting the earthquake, ‘To propagate positive, constructive news and forbidding criticism and introspective articles.’ Recently, according to our source, Beijing has officially banned discussing the subject of earthquake prediction in public.”

“However, more and more information has indicated accurate prediction on the quake had been presented to Beijing on many occasions. The communist military had also taken preventative measures based on the predictions.”

Predictions Had Saved Lives Before, Why Not This Time?

“Chen also said during an interview with CCTV two years ago, that following an accurate prediction, a quake that took place in China on February 4, 1975, only took 1,300 lives instead of 100,000. Chen also gave examples from overseas, how predicting earthquakes had cut down the number of deaths – only three died in California in 2003 and 40 in Japan in 2004, two countries where earthquake prediction was released before the event.

“By May 24, 2008, the Sichuan quake was estimated to have killed 60,560, injured 352,290, and 26,221 people were still missing, according to information released from China’s State Department. A Chinese social economist, He Qinglian, commented about the difference in speeches coming out of Beijing about quake prediction before and after Sichuan, ‘In China, earthquake prediction is pure science and earthquake forecasting announcement is pure politics. This is how it works in China, whether in the past or present.‘” [emphasis added.]

Related Links:

• The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse
• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• How Many More Survivors?
• Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence
• Why Was the Girl Removed from Family?

• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath
• Bigger China Disaster Unfolds

• China’s grieving quake parents start to voice anger
• Beijing’s quick response to disaster won’t cover cracks of corruption
• Almost five million left homeless, China says
• Corruption blamed for rising death toll in China
• Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools

• Earthquake Predictions In China Are Also Political

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The Anguished Cries of China Quake Nurse

Why was the quake nurse reduced to tears and had to beg the soldiers to rescue children?

If rescuing the children wasn’t their priority, and clearly it wasn’t, what were the soldiers ordered to do?

Anguished Chinese Nurse Serving in the Earthquake Disaster Area:

Please Rescue The Children!

Photo below was taken by Jason Lee of Reuters news agency (China). The caption reads:

“A nurse holding a general’s written order begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. The soldiers are not under the command of the general, whose written order reads: ‘Please arrange for rescue operations at this school as quickly as possible.'”

What were the orders soldiers own general gave them?

When did the authorities decide they couldn’t cope with too many quake survivors?

Credit: Reuters/Jason Lee (china) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

A close up of the nurse’s face. Her heartfelt agony speaks a thousand words!

[Reuters caption: A nurse cries as she begs soldiers to rescue surviving children still buried in the ruins of another nearby school in the old city district near a mountain at the earthquake-hit Beichuan county, Sichuan province, May 15, 2008. REUTERS/Jason Lee (CHINA) Image may be subject to copyright. See FEWW Fair Use Notice!

The Olympics can wait; the survivors can’t!

“Although the time for the best chance of rescue, the first 72 hours after an earthquake, has passed [exactly as planned by CPC], saving lives remains the top priority of our work [believe what I say, not what I do, you ‘ignorant peasants’],” the [doublespeaking] Chinese president, Hu Jintao, told the survivors. (Source)

To the CORRUPT Chinese Government: The World is Watching YOU!

“Parents’ grief turns to anger at shoddily built deathtrap schools”

“Three days after the quake struck, troops and fire engines queued idly along the roadsides waiting for orders.”

“‘I saw a doctor walking along the lines of bloody bodies, checking pulses and looking at wounds. If he shook his head the nurses were instructed not to take the person to the operating theatre but move them to another room to die. It was like a scene from a war film,’ she said.” (Source)

Related Links:

• Chinese paratroopers rescuing survivors or preventing plague?
• Official worries over possible plague at Sichuan quake epicenter
• Chinese Leaders Incapable of Handling Quake Aftermath

• China Earthquake, Heavy Death Toll, Corruption, Criminal Incompetence

::

Travel Warning

Muggings are on the rise. Avoid Traveling to New Zealand.

After the latest incident in which eight English and dutch tourists, including two women, were attacked by a large gang of knife-wielding Caucasian New Zealanders, and other incidents of robbery targeting foreign visitors (see references below), a trend seems to be emerging.

The attackers, 6 men in their late 20s or early 30s, shouted, “they have the wrong accent!” as they proceeded to stab six of the tourists, in what seems to be a mugging incident.

If you are traveling to New Zealand

• Don’t drive on the deadly roads.

• Don’t walk alone. Make sure you visit places in groups of 20 to 30 people.

• When attacked by muggers, hand over your money without any resistance, or you could get stabbed.

Related Links:

• Six English and Dutch Tourists Injured in Knife Attack

• Another Tourist Raped in New Zealand

• Honeymooning Dutch couple were attacked, raped, and forced to pay rapists

• Moviegoers fall victim to young thieves

• Increase in violent crime

• Driver takes off with Danish backpackers’ luggage

• .NZ Tourism Claims More Victims

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