Category Archives: Health

U.S.BISHOPS CAUGHT GIVING $2.7 MILLION TO ABORTION DRUG GROUP

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
FRIDAY, JULY 19, 2013

Catholic Relief Services is in the midst of distributing a projected $2.789 million grant to one of the leading voices in the international abortion movement, LifeSiteNews reports. The U.S. Bishops’ foreign relief agency is distributing the funds to Population Services International, a $670 million organization that markets abortion drugs in the developing world.

This takes place barely a month when the Catholic Bishops in Kenya took a united stand against a series of advertisements by the pro-abortion lobbying group Catholics for a Free Choice promoting condom use in the country.

The advertisements read “Good Catholics use Condoms”, and have been seen on billboards across Kenya, as well as appearing in leading newspapers in the country. Cardinal John Njue, the Archbishop of Nairobi, who serves as president of the Kenya Episcopal Conference wanted those adverts pulled out.

It is also taking place at the time a Polish priest is contesting his removal from the position of pastor following a blog post in which he reportedly denounced the Polish bishops’ condemnation of the sins of abortion, euthanasia, contraception, and in vitro fertilization, according to the Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Fr. Wojciech Lemanski, 53, has been removed from his leadership position of the parish of Jasienica by Henryk Hoser, Archbishop of Varsovie-Praga, for “lack of respect and disobedience,” and for causing “serious damage and confusion at the heart of the community of the Church.” Fr. Wojciech Lemanski was reportedly removed for dissent.

Lemanski initially refused to vacate his parish, but has now decided to leave in accordance with canon law while disputing his removal with the Vatican. The temporary administrator sent to oversee the parish by the archdiocese was refused entry by parishioners supportive of Lemanski.

The removal follows a series of conflicts between Lemanski and the archbishop, which the priest claims were provoked by his work to commemorate the killing of Jews in Poland during World War II, a labor that was recognized by the Polish government in 2008. Archbishop Hoser denies the claim.

Jesuit professor Stanislaw Obirek supports Lemanski and is expressing hope that Pope Francis will support the priest in his struggle against Archbishop Hoser. “The priest Lemanski opposed the language used by the Polish church which is hurtful for people who think differently, particularly on the subject of in vitro fertilization, abortion, or homosexuality, a language of hate,” Obirek said, according to AFP.

Obirek believes that the conflict represents “a new stage in the confrontation between an open Chuch,” represented by Pope Francis, “and a closed Church,” represented by the Polish bishops.

On the U.S. Bishops’ foreign relief agency distributing the funds to Population Services International, when questioned about the grant, CRS initially claimed PSI had merely sold them mosquito nets to combat malaria, but when presented with more information, the Catholic agency acknowledged that the abortion giant took a decidedly more active role.

Founded in 1970 by porn baron Phil Harvey, who initially used his porn profits to fund PSI, the organization networks and trains local providers throughout the world to offer “safe abortion.” The group’s “charity” work largely involves “stimulat[ing] demand” for contraceptives and abortion drugs among the world’s poor and then selling them the products.

Asked on Friday to explain the grant, CRS communications director John Rivera told LifeSiteNews that in late 2011 they had purchased water purification packets from PSI in Panama to help with water contamination following a major tropical storm.

PSI is open about its promotion of abortion even on its own website. On its page about “reducing unsafe abortion,” the firm explains that it “works to increase access to WHO-approved medical abortion drugs.” Its website also mentions its provision of medical abortions in Cambodia and Nepal, noting that in Cambodia it launched the country’s “first safe medical abortion drug, known as Medabon.”

The website says their work in India focuses “both on the demand and supply side” of the medical abortion and IUD markets, explaining that they promote the use of the products by “target[ing] audiences with information and messages using inter-personal; mid and mass media.”

As with its controversial grants to the pro-abortion group CARE, CRS’ $2.7 million grant to PSI Guinea is “pass-through” funding, meaning that CRS acts as a principal recipient to a funding agency and then doles out part of the funds to sub-recipients.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

U.S. Senate: Label GMOs

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From: Senator Jeff Merkley

Below is an email from Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon. Senator Merkley started a petition on the MoveOn website, where anyone can start their own online petition.

–Senator Jeff Merkley

– – – – – – – – – – –

U.S. Senate: Support the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act. We deserve to know what’s in our food.
Sign the Petition!
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291122&id=70962-21095459-NEIdRux&t=3

Dear MoveOn member,
Whether it’s corn on the cob, big juicy tomatoes, or a pint of raspberries, summer is a great time to eat whatever’s fresh off the farm—nature’s bounty at its finest.

But these days, it seems that food is a bit more complicated. Additives, preservatives, artificial flavorings—not to mention genetically engineered food. Maybe you want to eat 100% organic. Maybe you don’t mind some artificial something-or-other.

But there’s one thing I think we can all agree on: You should have the right to know and choose what’s in your food.

The big multinational food, chemical, and pesticide companies—like Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow—would rather keep you in the dark.

That doesn’t work for me, and it’s why I am supporting the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act.

Tell your Senators that you deserve the right to know what’s in your food.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291123&id=70962-21095459-NEIdRux&t=4

The petition to the United States Senate says:

Whether you’re a 100% organic shopper or a fast-food junkie, every single one of us should have the right to know whether the food we’re eating has been genetically engineered. We call on the U.S. Senate to support the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act and pass it without delay.

Visit here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291123&id=70962-21095459-NEIdRux&t=5

Thanks!

This petition was created on MoveOn’s online petition site, where anyone can start their own online petitions. Senator Jeff Merkley didn’t pay us to send this email—we never rent or sell the MoveOn.org list.

Want to support our work? We’re entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in here.

https://pol.moveon.org/donate/donate.html?cpn_id=44&id=70962-21095459-NEIdRux&t=6

SENT BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://pol.moveon.org/. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.

CAN DIABETES EFFECT YOUR SEX DRIVE?

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From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste
SUNDAY, JULY 7, 2013

Following my today’s homily one of the Dispatch News readers has asked two questions: “Fr Beste thank you for your inspiring homily of today-I have two questions to ask, first is to do with second reading. Paul’s interpretation to the Mosaic Law is that we should interpret the law according to the environment and with time.

Now Humanae Vite that bar Catholics from using contraceptives, including condoms was written by Pope Paul VI in 1967 when HIV/Aids was not there-now that it is there and people are dying, why is the catholic church authorities rigid to lax the law so that people with the virus could use condoms to save life?

Number two, even though this one is not directly related to your homily but I would like if you can comment on it. I saw yesterday on Citizen TV that about two million Kenyans suffer from diabetes in Kenya and the number is expected to increase by 600 thousand by 2030. That even children are suffering from it, some born with and some acquire it later.

I also read somewhere that diabetes can affect your sex drive. If so can this lead to infidelity among couples? Is there treatments for people who have lost their sex drive due to diabetes, at least for the purposes of securing their marriage?

Answer

I am not in position to answer question one because I am not church authority. I am just a simple ordinary catholic like any others. Although there are individuals who think that the law should be lax in a case where one couple is negative and the other is positive.

Question number two. It is true that diabetes is a big health concern in Kenya. However, diabetes does not affect your sex drive, instead, it affects your erectile functions. A characteristic problem associated with diabetes is low blood pressure, which means that blood flow is sluggish, and in an organ that requires blood flow to become erect, that is a problem.

In this case, yes fulfilling marital right of sexual intercourse in many cases is a problem and this can lead to infidelity, also known in Kenya as mpango was kando. This is especially considering that couples are young and still need sexual fulfillment.

To remedy this, exercise is recommended. Exercise helps to increase blood flow to all parts of the body, and gets you healthier so that your body can better regulate itself. A change in diet helps too- reducing fatty and sugary foods keeps the diabetes and low blood pressure in check, further improving your health and your erectile functions.

One point must be made very clear here- sex drive is a big issue, not only in diabetes patients but may be also due to age. As a man gets older his sex drive diminishes. A man hits his sexual peak in his 20s, and after that, it’s downhill in regards to his sex drive, yet as a woman ages, her sex drive goes up.

Sexual problems as a result of having diabetes can affect both men and women. Although these sexual health problems can be fairly common among people with diabetes, they are often not widely discussed because sex is considered taboo in many societies.

Remember, if the nerves that supply the penis are damaged, even though you might have the mental stimulation to have sex, the message from the brain doesn’t reach the penis and it doesn’t respond.

If the blood vessels supplying the penis become narrowed, blood can’t flow in fast enough to make an erection and keep it. Another problem that can occur with the blood vessels is atherosclerosis. This is the name doctors give to hardening and narrowing of the arteries.

People with diabetes are susceptible to atherosclerosis as they are at increased risk of high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol. If atherosclerosis occurs in the arteries that supply blood to the penis, the blood supply may not be sufficient to achieve an erection.

Similarly, stress in a man’s life and other psychological factors, such as depression, can also cause erectile dysfunction. So, it’s often a combination of physical and psychological causes.

There are many options to help men with erectile dysfunction: treatments to help with the physical causes; and psychological training and counselling to help with the psychological aspects.

Although medicines taken by mouth, such as Viagra (sildenafil), Cialis (tadalafil) and Levitra (vardenafil), have been shown to be effective in treating erectile dysfunction in men with diabetes, if abused can lead to death.

Injection into the penis with the medicine Caverject (alprostadil) is also another treatment for erectile dysfunction. Penile implants are a type of surgical treatment that may be suitable for some men when other treatments have not been successful. Your doctor is the best person to advise which treatment would be most suitable in your case.

There is also problem in some men with retrograde ejaculation, a condition where semen passes backwards into the bladder instead of through the tip of the penis.

In men with diabetes, retrograde ejaculation can result from damage to the sphincter muscle at the neck of the bladder.

Raised blood glucose levels can damage the sphincter muscle and the nerves that control it, meaning that the sphincter doesn’t close properly and allows semen into the bladder.

Retrograde ejaculation is not harmful, and only needs treatment if you are trying to father a child. Controlling blood sugar levels can help, but couples trying to conceive may need to use assisted fertilisation procedures.

There is also a problem to do with testosterone deficiency, inadequate production of the male sex hormone- testosterone can cause decreased libido in adult men. Men with type 2 diabetes are at risk of testosterone deficiency, particularly if they are also overweight.

The sex problems experienced by some women with diabetes are the same problems that may be experienced by women without diabetes, namely: lack of vaginal lubrication; uncomfortable or painful intercourse; and loss of desire, reduced libido.

Just like other women, some women with diabetes may suffer problems with orgasm. If you are having sexual problems that may or may not be related to your diabetes, see your doctor there may be some simple things you can do to improve the situation.

Dryness of the vagina, due to a lack of lubrication or slow lubrication, can lead to painful intercourse for women. It is thought that nerve and blood vessel damage in diabetes contributes to this effect.

The problem is easily remedied by using a water soluble personal lubricant which should provide relief from discomfort during sex. Oestrogen creams or pessaries are sometimes prescribed to women going through the menopause or who have had the menopause, because the body slows down its production of oestrogen during and after menopause, leading to vaginal dryness. Your doctor will be able to advise the most suitable options for you.

Pain during sex can be due to yeast infections (thrush) as well as vaginal dryness. Women who suffer from poor blood glucose control are more susceptible to vaginal yeast infections, because the yeasts flourish in high sugar environments. Thrush can be treated with antifungal creams or vaginal pessaries.

It is to be noted here very clearly that losing interest in sex is not the sole domain of women with diabetes. Decreased sexual desire can be due to many factors, but one which does relates to women with diabetes is widely fluctuating blood glucose levels.

Poor control of blood glucose can lead to tiredness and a lack of interest in sex. Bringing blood glucose control back under control may help restore desire. Whether you’re a man or a woman, when you do have sex, always remember that sex is like any form of exercise-your muscles need glucose for energy. Afterwards, your blood sugar may drop.

Children who are born with diabetes are because diabetes can be hereditary. Majority of cases in the country can be attributed to unhealthy lifestyles which many Kenyans have adopted. Unhealthy diets and physical inactivity are two of the major causes of diabetes.

An alarm has also been raised over increased diabetes cases among pregnant women. That is why thousands of children are dying annually due to diabetes. Kenya is currently experiencing a rise in diet-related diseases as diabetes, cancer, kidney and liver complications.

Yet still, in Kenya today vitamin and mineral deficiencies continue to pose a major challenge to the health of our people. Currently, more than 80 per cent of children under-five suffer from vitamin A deficiency, which affects their immunity and exposes them to infections and diseases. Iron deficiency affects 43 per cent of children under five.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

State of the World’s Mothers 2013

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From: Yona Maro

Every year, 287,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth, and 6.9 million children die before reaching their fifth birthday. Almost all these deaths occur in developing countries where mothers, children and newborns lack access to basic health care. While child mortality rates have declined in recent decades, 19,000 mothers still mourn the loss of a child each and every day – an unthinkable number of heartbreaks. This is especially tragic since most of these deaths could be prevented at a modest cost.

This year’s report looks at the critical first day of life, when mothers and their newborns face the greatest threats to survival, and when there is tremendous opportunity to save lives. It highlights approaches that are working to bring essential health care to the hard-to-reach places where most deaths occur. And it shows how millions more lives each year can be saved if we invest in proven solutions and help mothers do what’s best for their children. If we don’t save lives on this critical first day, we will never truly end preventable child deaths.

This report contains our annual ranking of the best and worst places in the world for mothers – but no matter if they’re in the United States or Malawi or India, all mothers are fundamentally the same. Every night, millions of mothers around the world lean over their sleeping newborns and pray that they will be safe, happy and healthy. It’s what we all want for our children. And it’s certainly not too much to ask.

When a child is placed into his mother’s arms for the first time, that woman’s life is changed forever. The moment is brief and precious. We must seize the opportunity to invest in this most basic, most enduring partnership – between a mother and her child – if we are to change forever the course of history and reduce newborn deaths.
Link:

http://www.savethechildren.org/atf/cf/%7B9def2ebe-10ae-432c-9bd0-df91d2eba74a%7D/SOWM-FULL-REPORT_2013.PDF

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Ensuring Safety for Kids at Home

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From: Junaid Tahir

Your kids are a great blessing. You can be more patient for a mishap that happens to you but when it comes to your kids, you are very sensitive and cannot see them in pain, tragedy or chronic sickness. Below are some of the tips through which you can avoid several emergency situations popping up when your kids are at home:

1- Don’t allow kids to go to washrooms alone till they clearly understand the usage of hot and cold water taps.

2- Keep medicines away from your kids. Recently a friend of mine had to take his daughter to hospital in emergency as she ate 10+ tablets from the shelf. Although the hospital washed her stomach but did not take any responsibility for any mishap. My friend has to sign the disclaimer which stated that in case of any mishap the whole responsibility would be on the parents.

3- Don’t put chairs or sofas near windows, especially if you are living in flats. We have read so many news about kids death falling from windows.

4- Consider windows/doors closing brackets. If you have IKEA in your area, buy one from there.

5- If you have sharp edged dining or lounge tables, consider rubber based edge protectors. (Visit IKEA)

6- Keep the match or lighter away from the stove.

7- Keep the knives, scissors and other sharp edge cutlery away from the reach of kids.

8- Cleaning agents (floor cleaners, crockery cleaners, toilet antiseptics etc) must be out of reach. Be sure to close the bottles tightly. Toddlers have the tendency of putting everything in mouth.

Some Recommended Articles:

Raising Confidence in Children

18 ways to make parents feel great

Story: Mr. Educated and Mr. Wisdom

8 Points to consider for buying a Sofa

About Author: Junaid Tahir, a telecom engineer and a passionate blogger, writes articles on wisdom, happiness, stress management and life enhancement subjects. His articles can be read Here

USA: Gasland 2

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Oscar-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox is teaming up with MoveOn members to screen his new documentary Gasland Part II—a jaw-dropping exposé of the fracking industry. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn the truth about fracking and join the national movement that’s fighting back. You’ll need HBO—or a friend with HBO—to host. Can you host a Gasland Part II Movie Party in Dayton on Sunday, July 14?
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291160&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=1

Dear MoveOn member,

Imagine being able to light your city tap water on fire.

That’s a reality right now in communities across the country as the fossil fuel industry pushes our country into an all-out—and dangerous—”fracking” boom.1

Want to learn more about fracking and how to stop it? We’ve teamed up with Oscar-nominated filmmaker Josh Fox for a fun, informative, and sobering nationwide event to watch his new HBO documentary Gasland Part II on Sunday, July 14, and you can have a front row seat—in your own living room!

Fracking for gas and oil has been linked to water so contaminated that it catches fire, illness in residential neighborhoods, unusual earthquakes, dead livestock, and tanking property values. And the methane released by fracking is a far more potent global warming gas than carbon dioxide.2

The hopeful news is that MoveOn members are fighting back—and Gasland Part II gives us a powerful new weapon to grow our grassroots movement. That’s why hundreds of MoveOn members are signing up to host a Gasland Part II Movie Party on Sunday, July 14.

Hosting a movie screening is easy and very rewarding. We’ll provide a host guide with special materials, we’ll help you recruit MoveOn members in your area to attend, and we’ll invite you to join director Josh Fox and thousands of other MoveOn members for a special briefing after we view the film together. Because the film is only available right now on HBO, you’ll need an HBO subscription—or a friend with HBO—to host a movie night. If you don’t have HBO, we may be able to match you up with a MoveOn member near you who does.

Will you sign up to host a Gasland Part II Movie Party in Dayton on Sunday, July 14?
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291160&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=2

No, I don’t have HBO, and I’m not sure I have a friend who does.
http://www.moveon.org/gasland2/?id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=3

Like Josh’s first film, which made “fracking” a household word, Gasland Part II is catalyzing a movement—and if enough of our friends, families, and neighbors work together, we can build the large-scale movement we need to stop fracking. Since the original Gasland debuted in 2010, dozens of cities, towns, and counties—from Pittsburgh, PA to Mora County, NM—have passed local bans on fracking, and MoveOn members in 30 states have launched campaigns to stop this dangerous new form of fossil fuel extraction.3

Gasland Part II is only available on HBO right now, so if you’d like to host but don’t have a subscription, ask your friends or family members who might have HBO to team up with you. If you do have HBO, sign up to help MoveOn members near you have the opportunity to watch this amazing film

I had the opportunity to preview the film, and it gave me the chills. I grew up—and my mom still lives—just a few miles from the largest urban oil field in the country, in Los Angeles, where fracking is happening right now. Neighbors suspect that high rates of cancer are linked to toxic chemicals used in fracking—and they’re organizing to stop the fracking from continuing.4

Earlier this week, in his first speech on climate change, President Obama stuck his neck out to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, and MoveOn members have applauded him for that. But he also doubled down on propping up the oil and gas industries, even though scientists have shown that extracting and burning gas and oil could be far worse for the climate than coal.5

Banning fracking is the next frontier in the movement to protect our communities and our kids from climate change—and MoveOn members, with Josh Fox, are leading the way.

When people find out the truth about fracking, they rise up to stop it. The MoveOn community of 8 million members has the power to spread the truth, and organize to win.

Visit here to host a Gasland Part II Movie Party on Sunday, July 14.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291160&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=6

Thanks for all you do,

–Victoria, Manny, Bobby, Rosy, and the rest of the team

P.S. Check out the trailer for Gasland Part II here: http://vimeo.com/69061416

Sources:

1. “Fracking’s coming boom,” Salon, April 24, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291186&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=7
2. “Drillers Silence Fracking Claims With Sealed Settlements,” Bloomberg Businessweek, June 6, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=290800&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=9

“Campaign to Ban Fracking Heats Up,” Culver City Patch, May 17, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=290822&id=&t=10&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=10

“More Evidence Shows Drilling Causes Earthquakes,” Bloomberg Businessweek, April 1, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=290821&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=11

“The Fracturing of Pennsylvania,” The New York Times, November 17, 2011http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291187&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=12

“Methane Losses Stir Debate on Natural Gas,” The New York Times, April 12, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291188&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=13

3. “NY Local Fracking Bans Upheld By Appeals Court,” Huffington Post, May 2, 2013
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=291189&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix&t=14

4. Ibid., Culver City Patch

5. Ibid., The New York Times

MoveOn Civic Action is entirely funded by our 8 million members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way.

Chip in.
https://civic.moveon.org/donatec4/creditcard.html?cpn_id=457&id=70552-21095459-WVWlpix

Kenya: Nairobi based businessman donated 10,000 pair of rubber-sporting shoes to all primary and nursery schools in Seme constituency

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Reports Leo Odera Omolo

A Nairobi based businessman Mr Edward Omol has made a hefty donation of 10,000 pair of rubber-sporting shoes worth K,shs 2.6 million.

The shoes which is to be distributed to the nursery and primary schools pupils in the entire Seme constituency within Kisumu County included those small sizes fitting nursery schools children to the medium numbers that is fitting lower, medium and upper primary pupils.

Mr Omolo who contested the newly created Seme parliamentary seat in March this year, on a ODM ticket but lost to the incumbent Dr. Nyikal said children learning under a highly hygienic conditions stands a better chance of furthering their education to e higher height of success.

The distribution will be done on the basis of 360 per each school. The donor conducted the distribution of the shoes while accompanied by four Assembly representatives from the entire Seme constituency and members of the school committees, PTA chairman and opinion leaders in a colorful ceremony which started at Kirindo Primary School.

The donor handed his donations to the School’s committee chairman Kilion Otieno and another Kisumu and Mombasa based businessman, Mr George Abaja who is a director of a construction firm.

Also accompanying him were four County Assembly representatives Benter Nduta ,Ogoli, Okoth Diang’a and Makadede four local Assembly representatives. All the four thanked the businessman and asked him to maintain the same spirit of helping the unfortunate people.

Other schools which benefited from this hefty donation were Bundi, Jimo, Kayila Siala, Reru, Gumo and Kayila. THe businessman also donated 20 green houses to be used by other school’s pupils in growing vegetables, fruits and other cash crops and promised to donate more

This was the largest donation ever made for the schools in the region by an individual and it has since rekindled politics of the area a fresh with a lot of murmuring going around.

Ends

Health: Understanding Hepatitis

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From: Junaid Tahir

WebMD Medical Reference

Reviewed By Debbie Bridges, MD
What Is Hepatitis?

Hepatitis is a general term that means inflammation of the liver. It can be acute or chronic and has a number of different causes. It can be caused by a group of viruses known as the hepatitis viruses, including A, B, C, D and E. Other viruses may also be the culprit, such as those that cause mononucleosis (the Epstein-Barr virus) or chickenpox (the varicella virus).

Hepatitis also applies to inflammation of the liver caused by drugs and alcohol abuse or toxins in the environment. In addition, people also can develop hepatitis from other factors, such as fat accumulation in the liver (called fatty liver disease), trauma or an autoimmune process in which a person’s body makes antibodies that attack the liver.

Viral hepatitis is common. Thousands of cases are reported to the CDC each year, but researchers estimate that the true number of people in the United States who have the disease (acute and chronic) is much higher than the number reported.

Many hepatitis cases go undiagnosed because they are mistaken for the flu. Hepatitis can be serious because it interferes with the liver’s many functions. Among other things, the liver produces bile to aid digestion, regulates the chemical composition of the blood, and screens potentially harmful substances from the bloodstream.

The five hepatitis viruses can be transmitted in different ways, but they all have one thing in common: They infect the liver and cause it to become inflamed. Generally, the acute phase of the disease lasts from two to three weeks; complete recovery takes about nine weeks. Many patients recover with a lifelong immunity to the disease, but a few hepatitis victims (less than 1%) die in the acute phase. Hepatitis B and C may progress to chronic hepatitis, in which the liver remains inflamed for more than six months. This condition can lead to cirrhosis and possibly death.
What Causes It?

Although their effects on the liver and the symptoms they produce can be similar, the various forms of hepatitis are contracted in different ways. In the case of viral hepatitis, the severity and duration of the disease are largely determined by the organism that caused it.

Hepatitis A, which is generally contracted orally through fecal contamination of food or water, is considered the least dangerous form of the disease because it almost always resolves on its own. Also, it does not lead to chronic inflammation of the liver. The hepatitis A virus commonly spreads through improper handling of food, contact with household members, sharing toys at day-care centers, and eating raw shellfish taken from polluted waters.

Hepatitis B can spread through sexual contact, blood transfusions, and needle sharing by intravenous drug users. The virus can pass from mother to child at birth or soon afterward; the virus can also travel between adults and children to infect whole families. In over half of all hepatitis B cases the source cannot be identified.

The majority of adults with hepatitis B recover completely, but a small percentage of them can’t shake the disease and become carriers. Carriers can transmit the disease to others even when their own symptoms have vanished. A smaller percentage of patients who cannot fight off the virus will develop chronic hepatitis B. Like carriers, those with chronic hepatitis B are able to pass on the virus. Up to 25% of chronic hepatitis B patients die prematurely from the disease as a result of cirrhosis or liver cancer.

Hepatitis C is usually spread through contact with blood or contaminated needles — including tattoo needles. Although hepatitis C may cause only mild symptoms or none at all, approximately 20% of those infected develop cirrhosis within 20 years. The disease can be passed on through blood transfusions, but screening, which started in the early ’90s, has greatly reduced the number of such cases. In a third of all hepatitis C cases, the source of the disease is unknown.

Hepatitis D occurs only in people infected with hepatitis B and tends to magnify the severity of that disease. It can be transmitted from mother to child and through sexual contact. Although less common, hepatitis D is especially dangerous because it involves two distinct viruses working at once.

Hepatitis E occurs mainly in Asia, Mexico, India, and Africa; only a few cases are reported in the United States, mostly among people who have returned from a country where the disease is widespread. Like hepatitis A, this type is usually spread through fecal contamination, and it does not lead to chronic hepatitis. This form is considered slightly more dangerous than hepatitis A. It can cause severe disease and death in pregnant women.

Other viruses. Other viruses may also be responsible for causing hepatitis. These include the Epstein-Barr virus (often associated with mononucleosis), the varicella virus (which causes chickenpox), the herpes simplex virus (HSV), and cytomegalovirus ( CMV).

Alcoholic, toxic, and drug-related hepatitis can produce the same symptoms and liver inflammation that result from viral hepatitis. This form is caused not by invading microorganisms but by excessive and chronic consumption of alcohol, ingestion of environmental toxins, or misuse of certain prescription drugs and over-the-counter medications such as acetaminophen.
M Junaid Tahir
www.DailyTenMinutes.com

THE MUGO REPORT: MAY 2013

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From: Mugo Muchiri
Los Angeles, CA
June 1, 2013

THE MUGO REPORT – May 2013

Q: Good morning Bwana Mugo, nice to see you. Another month gone by, can you believe this?

Mugo: Good morning ndugu and asante. Yep, as they say in the song, ‘life is a-fleeting!” Tell me about your clan, how are they doing?

Q: Actually pretty good, considering. I’ve been trying to sell them on the turmeric tip we talked about last time. Asked them if they can ‘kusindikisha’ me. Well, we’ll see how that goes. Any tip for this month?

Mugo: Ground spices in cooking. When I saute my food, I use a combination of turmeric, fennel, cumin, coriander, mixed in a 1:4:2:3 ratio respectively. Try using a teaspoon in either ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil when sauteing. This is a secret of Maharishi Ayurveda, India’s ancient system of developing and maintaining perfect health as revived by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 80s. You’ll notice that Kenyan Indians use plenty of spices in their cooking. Infact the curries which are a hallmark of their cuisine have found great favor with many a Kenyan urbanite.

Q: Share with us the benefits of cooking with spices?

Mugo: They’re wide-ranging. Turmeric is considered a liver detoxifier, is known to tame high cholestrol levels, boost immunity and aid skin complexion so that you can, according to Mulu Mutisya, ‘ng’alang’ala like a tomato.’ Both turmeric and cumin are antioxidants, meaning they scavenge free radicals in the system. Fennel of course is excellent for good digestion, while coriander acts as a blood purifier. Used together, an immune system-boosting synergy is further created. This, in Maharishi Ayurveda, contributes to balancing the doshas that underlie one’s constitution.

Q: Sawa. Let’s turn our eyes now on Kenya this past month of May and do some reviewing.

Mugo: Am ready when you are.

GOVERNANCE & DEMOCRACY

Q: Trans Nzoia Governor Patrick Simiyu Khaemba was unhappy with the revenue collection from markets, PSVs etc. One of his first acts upon assuming office was to dismiss the officials responsible for collections. The very next day, revenues went up from SHS 200,000 to SHS 1,000,000 a day, representing a 500% increase. Why do we still have our hats on?

Mugo: It’s a great start. You have drama, you have impact…….I mean these pistons are not waiting for a committee, they’re firing on all cylinders! What I worry about though is consistency. Reform is a journey. We don’t need one-hit wonders. It’s the sustainability that’s key. I just loved reading that story! If this is what ugatuzi or devolution is all about, then let the inspiration spreads to other counties.

Q: Let’s talk a little about democracy and free speech. I’m concerned about what I see as a creeping tendency to stifle free expression among, surprisingly, reasonably well-educated Kenyans? And here’s exhibit A to prove my point: I love following Professor Mutua Makau, the famous Nation newspaper columnist who does a weekly piece there and is, very notably, dean of SUNY Buffalo School of Law. What concerns me is the manner in which the guy gets slaughtered by his readers, judging from their comments. I mean, it’s not just swipes, it’s a freeking bloodbath! Are your eyes seeing the same thing as me?

Mugo: Well first of all, like you, I admire Makau. His voice is singularly unique. Where many vacillate on modes of expression, lucidity has found a home in his pen. In Makau World, boldness and incisiveness runneth over, spontaneously oozing wits in his writings. But his most prized possession in his arsenal, if you asked me, is his love of country so vividly discernible from every piece he crafts. These attributes haven’t stopped many of his readers from spitting venom at him when their views are divergent. Their level of rage and detestation has a personal element that’s clearly uncalled for and quite disturbing. Is it not possible to disagree without being disagreeable? I think the answer should be ‘yes,’ if education works.

AFRICA AND THE ICC

Q: Sawa. I’ve noticed that the closer we get to the trial dates of President Uhuru Kenyatta and deputy President William Ruto at the Hague, the more the flurry of activities to either delay, derail or even stop the judicial proceedings from commencing. First we heard submissions at the United Nations in New York by both Kenya’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Macharia Kamau, and his deputy, Koki Muli. Notably, African Heads of States just concluded their annual summit in Addis Ababa with a resolution to request a referal of the cases back to Kenya. What do you make of these moves?

Mugo: 1133 Kenyans were viciously killed simply because someone’s tribal arithmetic didn’t tally the way they thought it should. Someone needs to answer for that!!!!!

Of the 600,000 Kenyans displaced from their homes, many continue to languish in IDP camps. I actually saw a good number of them when I visited the Nakuru Pipeline IDP camp last December. Someone needs to answer for that!!!!!

There was a rapefest, burnings, forced circumcisions and just about everything that would describe a Hell on earth. Someone needs to answer for that!!!!

The Head of State must comport him or herself as the embodiment of the collective consciousness of his or her nation, and not one of an elitist subset. To me, the AU Heads of States resolution is a lagging indicator of an Africa that’s sick to her core, where food is regarded as poison, and poison as food. We need a savior and thank God we have one in Ms. Fatou Bensouda. The Jesus’ and Mohameds of their day led tortured lives precisely because tough medicine rarely finds a welcoming ingester. Appreciations and worldwide acclaim become latter-day developments.

Now Uhuru and Ruto have multiply attested to their innocence and must be so considered before their trials. Many Kenyans believe them. Moreover, they themselves have repeated many times ‘Shetani atashindwa.’ So why all the behind-the-scenes efforts to prevent them from giving Kenyans and the world an opportunity to prove their innocence? Why scuttle a process whose benefit to their co-presidency would essentially be of a liberative nature?

Or is this to continue being an Africa where the champion swimmer tells everyone that winning the race is a foregone conclusion, but alas his coterie of trainers and aides does everything to prevent him from even nearing the water’s edge?

And another curiosity: one of the two guys judged centrally responsible for the mayhem gets what? A retirement gift of a brand new SHS 500 million home exclusively funded by the taxpayers. Never mind that he has several palatial homes in Muthaiga, or that his land holdings put him at the second or third largest landowner in Kenya, a country where more than 60% of its population lives on less than one and a half dollars a day! Perhaps an appropriate gift should have been a tour of future digs at Kamiti, a la Emperor of China.

CHALLENGES

Q: Nimesikia hiyo mambo. The ICC is obviously a very emotive issue and I’m sure we’ll be hearing more as the trial comes closer. I’d like us to step aside for a moment and look at some challenges and opportunities for Kenya this past month.

Poaching continues to be an ever-growing menace in Kenya. Here are some statistics:

– October 2012 – Hong Kong Customs seizes 4 tons of ivory tusks; value $3.4million

– November 2012 – Dubai, UAE seizes 215 ivory tusks; value $4million

– Jan 2013 – Hong Kong Customs seizes 779 ivory tusks

– May 2013 – Dubai Customs seizes 259 tusks

– May 2013 – Hong Kong Customs seizes 113 tusks; value $400,000

Meanwhile, Liu Guangyuan issues a statement on March 12, 2013 ‘educating’ Kenyans that concerns about China’s involvement in illegal ivory are unfair and misinformed. Ati they send text messages to all Chinese tourists to Kenya “not to engage in the ivory trade,” ati “harmony between nature and humankind is the most important component of Chinese civilization,” ati “China put the African elephant on the list of first-class wildlife species under special state protection,” ati China’s only current stockpile is 62 tons of non-poached ivory. Please bwana Mugo, help me out here!

Mugo: My honest opinion: it’s sweet BULLSHIT! There’s no doubt that the Chinese are a great people with an awesome heritage and great talent. It is that part of Civilization that gave the world the art of papermaking, gunpowder, printing and the compass (used, amongst other things, for navigability). But there’s another side to the Chinese persona that can be raw, vicious, calculating and unrelenting. It has a ravenous appetite that stops at nothing to get its fill: from big ticket items like African minerals and oil; to extorting trade secrets from US China-domiciled research center; to military intelligence garnered through cyber snooping. Even comparatively smaller menu items like shark fins are not spared.

The problem with Africans in general, and Kenyans in particular is our short memories and blind trust that makes us so amenable to be taken advantage of. If you ‘escort’ an ailing heart for an operation in South Africa with $5000, then ALL GLORY to you.

WANANCHI WENZANGU, AMKENI!!! MUSIKUBALI KUFUMBWA MACHO. Wake up to the fact that if nothing is done now, if the status quo prevails, in as short a time as 10 years, we’ll have no elephants and rhinos remaining to roam our continent – a large transfer of living wealth from Africa to the dead wealth Ornament rooms across South East Asia.

Mozambique which was awash with rhinos a few decades ago now has only one or two in the whole country which are encouraged to ‘get going’ to increase numbers. Ati text messages. How come the US or European embassies don’t send text messages to their visiting countrymen and women?

Fortunately, we’re seeing signs of movement in the right direction. Just today, we’re learning that 32 senior KWS personnel have been sent home pending investigations to finger the culprits vis-à-vis the high-level collusion of poachers with senior ranks at the organization.

William Kiprono, the KWS Director needs to be singled out for special mention. He’s working with another noted Kenyan – Inspector General Kimaiyo – to remove Somali herders who’ve leased large tracts of land in Taita-Taveta obstensibly for their commercial livestock endeavors (to fatten their herds). But poachers masquerading as herders have used this cover to visit havoc of elephant and rhino stocks. ALL KENYANS MUST JOIN HANDS WITH THESE SENIOR CIVIL SERVANTS TO TURN THE TIDE ON A CALAMITY THAT HAS REACHED TRULY EPIC PROPOTIONS.

Even then, one has to realize that Kiprono and Kimaiyo’s combined efforts could not have been as bold or even evocative of hope were they launched outside the context of a reformist agenda that propelled the new Jubilee government to office. My wish is for the President to be focused on this issue and to be unrelenting in his behind and sometimes not-so-behind-the-scenes support for wildlife protection.

OPPORTUNITIES

Q: Asante. I think we should wrap this up now. But not before pointing out at least one area of Opportunity for Kenyans.

Mugo: I am impressed by K-Rep bank and its ‘Maji ni Maisha (Water is Life) project. The company has partnered with the World Bank and European Union to expand access to water in communities that suffer perennial water shortages. Reports have it that about 220,000 Kenyans have already benefited from these types of water projects. K-Rep provides 80% of funds while the communities – through funds such as CDF – come up with 20%. Where viability and sustainability are shown, the World Bank can provide up to 40% subsidies. This is a pick-up type story. You feel good because you know the right thing is being down by your fellow wananchi.

Just in closing, I urge any Kenyan of repute and influence to take 30 minutes to study the concept of Volunteerism as seen through the prism of TEACH FOR AMERICA. I say this because I’m really concerned about the demands of more and more money from so many sectors of the economy. To name a few, the JUDICIARY (can you believe this nonsense of wanting to spend 300 million to buy a new plane so Judges can be flown to remote parts???), the TRANSITION AUTHORITY, the LEGISLATURE, now TEACHERS all want more mullah.

Let’s explore how we can include the Youth on a volunteer basis in the development of our nation. It’s not a freebie. They would get vouchers for work done – whether it’s tree planting, lake cleaning (hyacinth in Lake Victoria), agriculture, etc. – which are redeemable as tuition payment at qualifying universities or tertiary institutions. Or perhaps redeemable through food via the National Cereals and Produce Board. Everything doesn’t need to be monetized.

Q: Haya ndugu, kwaheri. Mpaka next month na Asante for your participation.

SHOCKING HEADLINE MAKING NEWS IN THE MONTH MAY

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from: Ouko joachim omolo
*The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images*
FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2013

The month of May is ending with lots of shocking news. First it was the news that show the head of the Italian Bishops’ Conference filmed this weekend
http://video.corriere.it/widget/players/player_tv_video_iFrame.shtml?width=398&height=223&videoId=http://static2.video.corriereobjects.it/widget/content/video/rss/video_10e5d234-c545-11e2-896c-3db9fdd7e316.rss&channelName=ITALIA&advChannel=Dall>giving
Holy Communion to a notorious “transsexual” and homosexualist political activist who goes by the name Vladimir Luxuria, at the funeral Mass of a controversial Genoan priest.

The deceased priest, Fr. Andrea Gallo (hereafter referred to as Don Gallo), strongly opposed Catholic teaching on sexuality. In the video clip, published by the national newspaper Corriere della Sera, Angelo Bagnasco, the Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa is seen giving Communion to Luxuria, and another transsexual at the funeral of Fr. Andrea Gallo.

Three thousand flocked from all over Italy for the funeral of Don Gallo, the priest they called the “pretaccio communista” (an ironic use of “lousy communist priest”) and the “angelic anarchist”. Some participants wore t-shirts with the slogan, “Tell me who to exclude and I’ll tell you who you are”.

Standing in front of a group of priests wearing rainbow stoles and addressing the gathered thousands, Vladimir Luxuria gave a eulogy in which he thanked Don Gallo for “letting us open the doors of your church and your heart.”

“Thank you for having us transgender creatures feel willed by God and loved by God. We hope that many will follow your example and someone will apologize.”

Born Wladimiro Guadagno, actor and former prostitute Vladimir Luxuria (“Lust” in Latin) was a member of the Italian parliament and a founding member of the Communist Refoundation Party.

Although he remains physically a male, he claims “female identity” and is famous in European politics as the first openly “transgender” member of any European national legislature. In 1994 he helped organise Italy’s first Gay Pride festival in Rome.

Gallo, whose casket was decorated with a scarlet scarf, was known for his promotion of Marxist ideologies, and was popular with the more radical end of the homosexualist movement having participated in June 2009 in the Genoa Pride demonstration, complaining to the press about the “uncertainties” of Catholic teaching on homosexuality.

Gallo was called Gay Character of the Year by homosexualist activists. In March this year Don Gallo told media that the Catholic Church needs an openly gay pope
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2013/03/07/Italian-priest-calls-for-gay-pope/UPI-54211362661597/
and said that homosexual priests should be allowed to “express” their sexuality. “Because repression leads to pedophilia,” Gallo told ANSA news agency, adding that he had been sexually abused as a young priest.

No formal canonical sanction was ever laid against him during his priestly career. An obituary in Avvenire, the Italian bishops’ official paper, called Gallo “Priest of the road for the weak,” and said he gave “a witness of Christ and of the Church.”

Under the governance of Cardinal Bagnasco, who had been named a “front runner” for the last Conclave, Genoa is a haven for priests who openly oppose Catholic teaching and discipline.

When this was taking place, 29 years old male Andrew Mbugua Ithibu goes to court to have his name changed from Andrew Mbugua Ithibu to Audrey Mbugua Ithibu. He went to court after he was unable to win Government recognition of her new status as a woman.

She accuses the national examinations body of preventing her from being employed by refusing to change her academic certificates to reflect her current gender status. The case is seeking orders to compel the Kenya National Examination Council (Knec) to change her names in the examination certificate.

Audrey says she was born male and diagnosed with Gender Identity Disorder seven years after completing High School and scoring a grade of A-minus. After completing High School in 2001, Andrew decided she wanted to be a female and chose the name Audrey.

Another shocking story making the headline this month was that of a Form Three Audrey Janet Radul who was abducted on her way to barber shop to have her hair cut on May 9. Her teacher at Nyamonye Girls’ High School in Bondo, Siaya County, had sent her to have her hair cut because it had chemical, which was against school rules.

She went missing since May 9 but resurfaced 21 days later on Wednesday, the day the *Daily Nation* published a story about how she went missing without trace
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/Girl-went-for-haircut-never-to-return-/-/1056/1865590/-/x7f1f7/-/index.html
. She was in Bondo at the shopping centre heading to the barber shop to cut her hair when a saloon car approached her.

The man asked her for directions to a place she did not know. Although she told him she had no idea, he insisted on shaking her hand. She later found herself in a dark room. The man had told her to mind her on business and keep quiet if she wanted to live long.

Janet described the room where she was taken hostage as very dark and she could not distinguish day from night. The room had no ventilation and the door was always closed from the outside.

As days went by, two other girls were brought in; one a Form Two student and the other a Standard Seven pupil. They were called Marion and Victoria respectively; Marion was in a grey skirt, white shirt and grey windbreaker while Victoria was in a blue uniform with a white collar.

Later, some two men — an Indian and an African — came for the two and she remained alone again. The men appeared to be dealing in sex trade because she heard one say: ‘I like this little one, she looks so young. He was referring to Marion the class seven girl,”

Another shocking news making headline was that of a 20-year-old man from USA confessed to smothering a 14-year-old girl, keeping her body in a suitcase, and trying to set her remains on fire because she would not have an abortion.

In another story, 26-year-old pregnant mother Zhang Yinping was dragged to the local Family Planning Office in Yuyue, Hubei, for a forced abortion. Despite being 6-months pregnant, the Family Planning Officials reportedly went ahead with the forced surgery. After the surgery, Ms. Zhang suffered a massive hemorrhage and died the following morning on May 24th.

China’s one-child policy is routinely enforced through brutal measures including forced abortions and sterilizations, and crippling fines that can amount to several times a family’s annual income.

It is at the time statistics from the Nepalese Health Ministry indicate that more than 95,000 abortions were performed between April 2010 and April 2011, up from 89,000 the year before and 51,000 the year before that.

In 2002, Nepal legalized abortion until the 12th week of pregnancy, a deadline that is extended until the 18th week in cases of rape, incest, fetal disabilities, or if the woman’s health is in danger.

It is quite shocking that at Barcelona’s Sant Pau Hospital, which is co-administered by the Catholic Archdiocese of Barcelona, killed an unborn child earlier this month in a pre-scheduled abortion based on the “suspicion” of deformities that normally do not pose a medical danger to the mother, according to internal hospital documents obtained by LifeSiteNews.com.

The documents contradict repeated and vehement denials by Barcelona’s Cardinal Archbishop Lluis Martinez Sistach, who has dismissed numerous reports published in the Spanish media and abroad regarding the killing of the unborn at the facility since they first began to be published in 2010.

The documents, written in Catalonian and Spanish, include copied text in Word format apparently taken from hospital computer records, as well as two screen shots of hospital computers. They indicate that a woman entered the hospital on May 13 at 10 a.m. “for a medical interruption of pregnancy because of a suspicion of fetal osteochondrodysplasia with thoracic hypoplasia.”

According to standard medical references, osteochondrodysplasia is a disorder that causes stunted bone growth and is often associated with dwarfism. Thoracic hypoplasia is a lack of complete growth in the chest area.

The archbishop of Barcelona, Cardinal Lluis Martinez Sistach, has stonewalled pro-life groups for years regarding numerous reports of abortions at the hospital, which began appearing in the media in 2010, when the Spanish newspaper *ABC *revealed government records indicating that several Church-affiliated hospitals in the Catalonia region had been performing abortions for years.

In 2011, the Cardinal began to publicly deny the reports, claiming that abortions do not occur at Sant Pau, adding that an order had been given not to perform abortions.

However, the evidence of the killing of unborn children at Sant Pau has continued to pile up.

The sad news is that after your abortion, you may go through a number of different emotions. Some women feel relieved; some feel sadness and grief, whereas others may have mixed feelings.

You may also develop an infection after your abortion, heavy vaginal bleeding with large clots, severe lower abdominal pain, high temperature and generally feeling unwell, unusual or unpleasant smelling vaginal discharge.

*Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ*
*Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578*
*E-mail **omolo.ouko@gmail.com***
*Facebook-omolo beste*
*Twitter-@8000accomole*

* *
Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.*

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002
* *

CONCERNS OVER FATHER DOLAN’S CALL TO CONDOMS USE

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from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
SUNDAY, MAY 26, 2013

A caller was so worried yesterday after reading the article by Fr Gabriel Dolan on the use of condoms. He wondered whether the Kenya Episcopal Conference would spare when he expressed his opinion that condoms can be used to prevent life-threatening HIV transmission when one partner is positive while the other is negative.

I do not think the bishops will have a major issue with him since the bishop who welcomed him in his diocese is of the same opinion. Mombassa Archbishop Boniface Lele holds that couples can use to condoms when one is negative while the other is positive.
http://www.catholicsforchoice.org/topics/hivaids/bishopssupportcondoms.asp

Furthermore, Fr Dolan is not the first cleric to endorse the use of condoms to prevent life-threatening HIV transmission. In February 2005 a Vatican Cardinal was the latest church official – the most senior so far – to endorse the use of condoms to prevent life-threatening HIV transmission, as the debate on the issue continues to rage around the world. The Tablet – Vatican cardinal breaks ranks over condoms.
https://thetablet.co.uk/article/1666

Cardinal Georges Cottier, the theologian of the papal household, told the Italian news agency Apcom that the use of condoms was ‘legitimate’ to save lives in the poorest parts of Africa and Asia where the Aids pandemic has been catastrophic. He argued that condoms should be tolerated as a ‘lesser evil’ in instances where the ideals of abstinence and fidelity are simply not realistic.

Cardinal Godfried Danneels, Archbishop of Brussels, and Bishop Kevin Dowling of Rustenburg, South Africa, are among several church leaders who have voiced their support for the use of condoms to limit the spread of Aids.

Cardinal Javier Lozano Barragan, who chairs the Pontifical Council for Health, recently appeared to recognise the right of a spouse whose husband has HIV/Aids to demand that he use a condom, according to a report by the Italian daily La Repubblica.

This is similar opinion like that of Lele who is convinced when faced with the prospect of families being wiped out by an infected spouse infecting their partner, a condom could be a life-saver.

According to yesterday’s article run by Saturday Nation entitled: Churches have abandoned Social Justice Fr Dolan argued that while our religious leaders may well be right about condoms, married couples make choices of their own and he will not condemn them.

This is not only because morality is all about making informed decisions and taking responsibility for our actions, because Jesus came to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable but churches today worship power and preaches a prosperity gospel.

He also warns us not to judge. The only time he is angry and judgmental himself is on the subject of the poor in Mt 25. He condemned religious leaders of his day for laying heavy burdens on the shoulders of the common folk and not lifting a finger to remove them (Mt 23).

According to Fr Dolan, instead of bishops using much of their time discussing about the use of condoms they should discuss how to assist 18 million Kenyans living on less than Sh100 a day. This is how they are going to be judged according to Matthew 25.

We will be judged by how we treated ‘the least of these’ brothers and sisters of Jesus. Our church leaders will be judged how they viewed IDPs, slum dwellers, people with HIV, albinos, autistic children, widows and orphans and every other forgotten sector of society as our own kith and kin because when we ignore them we reject the divinity and dignity present in each of them.

Fr Dolan instead expected the bishops to join Rev Timothy Njoya who was the only religious leader involved in protesting the greed of the latest bunch of parliamentarians. This is because authentic religion is about mercy and challenging unjust systems and laws that shackle the marginalised in our midst.

That is also why, like Njoya Jesus would have cleansed Parliament with a whip like he cleansed the temple of money dealers two millennia ago. In the Day of Judgment God will ask what each person did to help the poor and needy: “Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.”

The poor have the most urgent moral claim on the conscience of the nation. People are called to look at public policy decisions in terms of how they affect the poor. As church leaders we need to discuss and involve topics such as affordable access to health care, especially for low income households and families.

As church leaders we do not want lay people to rate us as worse than our MPs who instead of giving service to their electorates they discuss how much money they should earn. We do not want them to look at us greedy leaders whose objectives are not only limited to money and earthly pleasures but leadership and power.

We do not want to create an environment where lay people look at us as if we are the only ones who are always right in the name of Jesus while we remain secret sinners covered with the name of Jesus by giving them heavy burdens that we cannot be able to carry by ourselves.

We do not want people we serve to suffer under us because they have nowhere to take their complains when they think we have offended them. In this way they will remain traumatised forever. Their consolation is only that in heaven no different from lay person and religious leader.

Social justice rightly understood is a specific habit of justice that is “social” in two senses. First, the skills it requires are those of inspiring, working with, and organizing others to accomplish together a work of justice.

These are the elementary skills of civil society, through which free citizens exercise self–government by doing for themselves (that is, without turning to government) what needs to be done.

Although in the church structure there is no civil society, there are some incidences where the faithful have protested against their church leaders, like what happened in Yei diocese in South Sudan in 1980s and recent one in Nigeria where faithful protested against the installation of Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke as the bishops of the diocese of Ahiara.

Despite protests from the local Christians who wanted one of their own appointed, Bishop Okpaleke formerly a priest of the Awka diocese was installed on May 21, 20 13 under high security outside his new diocese, at Seat of Wisdom Seminary in Ulakwo, in the Archdiocese of Owerri due to the strong opposition among the local Mbaise community.

The Mbaise are a tribe of the Igbo, one of the three major ethnic groups of Nigeria. Most Christians in Nigeria are Igbo, and reside in the south-east of the country.

The first time I met Fr Gabriel Dolan was in November 2003 when he and three human rights activists were arrested and put in Kitale police custody for obstructing the Vice-President’s motorcade.

The four were protesting against landgrabbing. They wanted to present a memorandum on land grabbing to the vice-president Moody Awori as he visited the Kitale prison. The Government subsequently agreed to investigate how the land in question was allocated to senior government officials and both in the past and the current Governments in vain. This is because the ‘untouchables’ were involved. Fr Dolan was released after an order from Vice-President.

Although Emeritus Nairobi Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a’Nzeki was angry with Fr Dolan, arguing that he would have not protested before consulting with the hierarchy before undertaking the protest, Fr Dolan received widespread support from other church leaders and the Catholic faithful, peaceful demonstrations, including the Kenya Episcopal Conference who came to his defense by saying that he had the right to meet Vice-President Moody Awori over the grabbed Kitale Prison land.

“Kenya is now a free society. It is clear to the KEC that Fr Dolan had every right to peacefully meet the Vice-President, whose ministerial docket includes the prisons,” the chairman, the Right Rev Cornelius Korir argued.

But this of course did not make his nice ending. He lost his right to fight for the rights of voiceless in Kitale- came back to Nairobi with a mission to begin a justice and peace centre to no success since Ndingi was still the Nairobi Archbishop. He was eventually received by Archbishop Boniface Lele of Mombasa to work with him where he is to date.

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

USA & Kenya: President Obama, “G” and “L” are not the only letters in the alphabet, and

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from: Jeremy Kinyanjui

President Obama, “G” and “L” are not the only letters in the alphabet, and neither are they the most important…

President Obama, you have lately gone on a particularly aggressive charm offensive on behalf of Homosexuals and Lesbians and it’s difficult to understand where you are drawing your inspiration from. It seems to have escaped your attention that two ancient cities called Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed through Divine Retribution, because of decadence and homosexuality. The word “Sodomy” has it’s origins in the said ancient city of Sodom. President Obama

The Human Immuno Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), first came to light in the year 1983, via an article then in Newsweek Magazine. Medical Science then and now, holds that HIV/AIDS originated from homosexuality, the same homosexuality you are glorifying. HIV/AIDS ravaged and dissipated entire villages here in the entire East & Central African in the 1980s and 1990s, including villages in Kenya’s Nyanza Province, where your iconic ancestral Nyang’oma-Kogelo roots are. We do not like remembering those time, President Obama.

There were no treatments for HIV/AIDs back then, and the only available remedy in those days i.e. AZTs, were way too expensive, and in any case, had terrible side effects even for those who could afford them. Where were you at the time, President Obama? We wish you had been as forceful in your assistance of the entire East & Central African Region in the 1980s and 1990s, as you are now in putting the rights of Homosexuals and Lesbians at the forefront.

Same-sex marriages have just been legalised in France, the United Kingdom and New Zealand. Same-sex marriages have been legal for sometime now in South Africa, Malawi is pushing for legalization of same-sex marriages, and it is indeed clearly just a matter of time before same-sex marriages are legalised all across Africa, including here in Kenya. You see President Obama, Africa’s agenda is tailored for us by the contemporary Trans-Atlantic Anglo-Saxon Empire of the United States of America and Europe, which you are the current “de facto” monarch of, and which Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany, is the current “de facto” vice-monarch of, and what the Anglo-Saxon Empire directs we do in Africa, we must do. One of the most unfortunate things is that our beloved Africa suffers from rather acute material & intellectual impoverishment, on top of the fact that we have lost the will to fight for a better day, so it is not lost on us that wedding bells for Adam & Steve, and for Carole & Eve, are just about to begin ringing resoundingly across the entire length & breadth of the African continent.

The fact still however remains that Homosexuality and Lesbianism are a curse, an abomination, sacrilege, an attempt to re-write the story of creation, and an open courtship of & for Divine Retribution e.g. HIV/AIDS type of ailments, and calamities such as the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. The fact of the matter President Obama, is that if Heaven intentions were for same-sex unions on this planet, then you for instance, would have had two fathers, instead of a father and a mother, and life as we know it today, would have comprised a six-day week instead of a seven day week, because Eve’s creation and existence would have been on another planet exclusively inhabited by females, a female planet that would also have had a six-day week like the male-exclusive inhabited planet. This is God’s planet President Obama, not yours, so you have no business propagating the violation of Divine Laws

President Obama, at the start of the 1990s when HIV/AIDS was ravaging East and Central Africa as mentioned, a seer here in Kenya prophesised that HIV/AIDS would gradually mellow and become a regular “common cold” type of ailment, but in it’s place would instead emerge a terrifying ailment that would make HIV/AIDS look like “child’s play”. Maybe those times are with us President Obama, because HIV/AIDs is no longer the terriying “death sentence” that it once was, maybe Heaven is losing patience with us, and maybe terrifying intermittent recurring epidemics such as Severe Acquired Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the Maburg Virus, Ebola, Rift Valley Fever, Mad Cow Disease, Swine Flu and Bird Flu, are veiled warnings from Heaven that much worse is on the way, if we do not change our ways

President Obama, Homosexuality and Lesbianism continue to be a pet project of yours even in the midst of the collapse of Capitalism and the continued crumbling of the Anglo-Saxon Empire owing to fall of Capitalism. President Obama, one of your predecessors, Ronald Reagan, is a hero and a legend in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Reagan and recently deceased Lady Margaret Thatcher, pumped in huge sums of money into sub-Saharan Africa in the 1980s, money that helped bring up at least one generation of sub-Saharan Africans. Ronnie Reagan and Maggie Thatcher did not tell men to get married to men, and neither did they tell women to get married to women.

If you want to help us President Obama, at least give us fish as we teach ourselves to fish, which we still unfortunately have still not taught ourselves to do even at this late stage, in other words President Obama, do what Ronnie Reagan and Maggie Thatcher did to Africa in the 1980s, if nothing more…

President Obama, there are 26 letters in the alphabet, not just “G” and “L”…

KENYA: MORE LUOS EMBRACE MALE CIRCUMCISION.

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By Agwanda Saye

Men are now enrolling in the second phase of a study of the PrePex™ device for performing adult male circumcision after a planned review of the data from the first phase raised no safety concerns.

A committee of independent experts conducted the review and recommended continuing the study.

The device has shown promise in clinical studies conducted in Rwanda and Zimbabwe. But this study, conducted by the Male Circumcision Consortium (MCC) in collaboration with the National AIDS/STI Control Programme (NASCOP) and the Nyanza Reproductive Health Society (NRHS), is the first to assess the safety and acceptability of PrePex-assisted adult male circumcision in routine clinical settings in Kenya.

“Our study will provide the information that the Ministry of Health (MOH) needs to decide whether to add PrePex to the national programme on voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC),” says Dr. Peter Cherutich, NASCOP deputy head and head of HIV prevention, who is a co-investigator for the study.

The first phase of the study was designed as a “safety run-in,” with an analysis and independent review of the data on the first 50 participants after 42 days of follow-up. Men ages 18 to 49 who sought VMMC services at the UNIM Research and Training Centre run by NRHS in Kisumu and consented to be in the study were circumcised by trained providers using the PrePex device.

Each man was scheduled to return after seven days to have the PrePex device removed and for additional follow-up visits after nine, 14, 28, 35 and 42 days.

Dr. Elijah Odoyo-June of UNIM reports that most of the men returned for all of their follow-up visits. Only two men missed any visits at all, and more than 97 percent of the scheduled visits were complete

Enrolment in the study has also proceeded smoothly. The first 50 participants were recruited within three weeks.

Now the study is enroling another 375 men at the UNIM Research and Training Centre and at dispensaries or health centres in Rachuonyo where VMMC is provided on specific days by outreach teams.

“Both service-delivery approaches — fixed and outreach — are important components of the Kenyan VMMC programme and will provide essential data on how the device might be integrated into ongoing services,” explains co-principal investigator Paul Feldblum of FHI 360.

In addition to getting circumcised, all participants receive the package of HIV prevention services recommended by the Kenyan MOH, including HIV testing and counseling, screening and treatment for any sexually transmitted infection, condoms and instructions in how to use them, and counseling on HIV-risk reduction and safer sex.

The men participating in the second phase of the study are asked to return after seven days to have the device removed and the circumcision wound assessed, and then for a final assessment 42 days after the procedure. They are encouraged to contact a study clinician or come to the clinic at any time should they have problems or questions related to care of the wound.

The main objective of the study is to assess the safety of PrePex procedure by measuring rates of complications and side effects and comparing them to the rates seen with the conventional surgery.

The researchers will also examine a range of other service delivery issues, such as client satisfaction with the procedure, providers’ perceptions of ease of use, return for follow-up visits, time to wound healing, the training required to achieve proficiency in the PrePex procedure and the cost of the procedure. Results are expected by September 2013.

The PrePex device consists of an elastic mechanism that fits closely around an inner ring, clamping the foreskin and cutting off its blood supply. The foreskin then dries up and is removed after a week.

Use of PrePex dramatically reduces the time needed to perform a male circumcision. The procedure requires no stitches, involves minimal bleeding and can usually be performed without injected anaesthesia. These advantages could make male circumcision more accessible and acceptable to adult and adolescent men. Disadvantages include the need to wear the device for a week and possibly a longer healing period.

Several PrePex studies have been conducted in Rwanda, including a randomised controlled trial that documented the safety of the procedure. A randomised trial has also been completed in Zimbabwe; the results have not yet been published.

The World Health Organization’s Technical Advisory Group on Innovations in Male Circumcision has endorsed the use of PrePex only in Rwanda based on the results of the studies there. The Kenya implementation study will show how well the device performs in a wider variety of settings.

The MCC consists of FHI 360 and the University of Illinois at Chicago, working closely with the NRHS. It is funded by a grant to FHI 360 from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

KENYA: KISUMU CHRISTIAN MINISTRY TO CONSTRUCT HEALTH FACILITY IN SIAYA COUNTY.

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By Agwanda Saye

A Christian Organization Ministry is set to construct a health centre which is to cost Kshs 5 million within Siaya County to boost health care within the area.

Salem Orphanage Ministries head Bishop Pheobe Onyango said the clinic sponsored by Unbox Life International and her Kisumu Based Ministry is to serve those who are living along the beaches and other adjacent areas of Lake Victoria within Bondo District in Siaya County .

“We have palns to develop aclinic around this area to address the lack of proper medication in the area far away because even NGO’s have ignored it” she said.

KENYA: FREE MEDICAL CAMP BY SALEM MINISTRIES WITHIN SIAYA COUNTY.

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By Agwanda Saye

Salem Ministries which is a Kisumu based Christian Ministry will host a free medical camp within Siaya County the birthplace of the USA President Barrack Obama which will be conducted by a group of volunteer nurses from California and Washington Seattle from the United States of America.

The free medical camp will take place at Uhasi in Pala Sub Location

According to the head of Salem Ministries Bishop Pheobe Onyango the free medical camp will take place between 13th and 14th of May this year and will comprise eight people from the US under Unbox Life and together with local nurses and doctors.

“There will be general treatment and the main target will be to try and de worm the children and test and treat malaria” Onyango added.

She added that her organization targets to offer the services to over two thousand people for the two days event.

“We target people from all the Constituencies making Saiya County to come for the free medical camp and we hope that people from Ugenya,Alego,Rarieda,Gem ,Bondo and Ugunja constituencies will attend ,my worry is that the duration might be a challenge but we will try to attend as many as possible “she added.

She however said that should they be overwhelmed by the number of those seeking medical attention then they might be forced to add another day.

“She added that she has followed all the laid down procedures with the authorities in regard to the event saying all the authorities concerned are fully aware of the free medical camp.

THE BIG DEBATE ON ‘GOOD CATHOLICS USE CONDOMS

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from: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
MONDAY, APRIL 29, 2013

Some of our readers have requested if I could make a comment on the Archbishop Peter Kairo of Nyeri’s statement on Sunday at St Cyprian Kagicha Catholic Church in Othaya that the position of the church was clearly against the use of condoms, when Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI encourages the use of it.

Although Benedict was quoted by some sections of media to have said that the use of condom in the case of prostitution was “first step” towards morality for the prostitute to use condom “in order to diminish the risk posed to another person is intending to reduce the evil connected with his or her immoral activity, the church hierarchy has maintained the pope was misquoted.

The media reported that the pope pointed out that the use of a condom ‘with the intention of reducing the risk of infection, can be a first step in a movement towards a different way, a more human way, of living sexuality- An action which is objectively evil, even if a lesser evil, can never be licitly willed.

The pope made in an interview with journalist Peter Seewald regarding condom use in 2010. The interview attracted attention in the media. This explanation was interpreted by many as a change of tack by the Vatican which necessitated a clarification from the Vatican that “the pope does not morally justify the disordered exercise of sexuality, but maintains that the use of the condom to diminish the danger of infection may be “a first assumption of responsibility”, as opposed to not using the condom and exposing the other person to a fatal risk.”

A number of Episcopal conferences have also been quoted to have suggested that condom use may be acceptable in some circumstances to prevent Aids. One of the first Episcopal conferences to take such a stance was the French Bishops Council which asserted in 1989 that, “The whole population and especially the young should be informed of the risks.

Archbishop Kairo while reacting to an advertisement which appeared on the Sunday Nation said: “As the Catholic Church we are not promoting use of condoms. I don’t agree with the advertisements on the billboards and newspapers that say Catholics believe in sex which is sacred and that they believe in using condoms.

The advertisement was run by Catholics for Choice movement advocating for use of condoms to save life. The advert attempts to redefine church teachings on condoms, saying- “Good Catholics use condoms.” Good because they save life.

According to Kairo the stand of the church on sex was that married couples must be faithful to each other and unmarried women and girls must abstain from sexual activities until marriage.

“We as Christians should learn how to live respecting each other in the holy sacrament of marriage and I urge the youths to respect and guard themselves in our day-today as the world is not the same as the olden times,” he said.

The Archbishop stated that the Catholic Church did not comply in any way with the campaign dubbed “Good Catholics Use Condoms.” In other words-‘Bad Catholics Use Condoms’.

While the Catholic Church hierarchy argues that the Church is concerned that promotion of condom use will lead to irresponsible, risky sexual behavior (promiscuity and prostitution), those who advocate for the use of condoms argue that if used during the intercourse it will reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases.

They argue that as a method of birth control, male condoms put on a man’s erect penis and physically to block ejaculated semen from entering the vagina, it has the advantage of being inexpensive, easy to use, having few side effects, and offering protection against sexually transmitted diseases.

Male condoms have been used for at least 400 years, having been one of the most popular methods of contraception in the world since the 19th century. Its disadvantage however is that, it may slip off the penis after ejaculation, break due to improper application or physical damage (such as tears caused when opening the package), or break or slip due to latex degradation (typically from usage past the expiration date, improper storage, or exposure to oils).

Some couples also find that putting on a condom interrupts sex, and therefore they can do without it during sex, and only to incorporate condom application as part of their foreplay to prolong erection and delayed ejaculation. This is because in some men use of condoms during intercourse make them loose sexual excitement.

In 1996, the Social Commission of the French Bishops’ Conference said that condom use “can be understood in the case of people for whom sexual activity is an ingrained part of their lifestyle and for whom [that activity] represents a serious risk.”

In 1993, the German Bishops Conference noted: “In the final analysis, human conscience constitutes the decisive authority in personal ethics… consideration must be given…to the spread of Aids. It is a moral duty to prevent such suffering, even if the underlying behavior cannot be condoned in many cases…The church…has to respect responsible decision-making by couples.”

In April 2006, in response to a very specific question from the bioethicist Ignazio Marino, Cardinal Carlo Maria Martini opined that in certain cases, the usage of condoms might be allowable stating, “The use of condoms can, in certain situations, be a lesser evil”.

Cardinal Martini, who used to be Archbishop of Milan, made the comments in an interview with the Italian weekly magazine l’Espresso. In it he says that the fight against Aids, which has caused more than three million deaths, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, must be pursued by all available means-Cardinal backs limited condom use. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4929962.stm

This wa about the time the Agence France-Presse reported that a Roman Catholic newspaper in South Africa, The Southern Cross, has threw its support behind a local bishop who believes the church should lift its ban on condom use to prevent HIV infections in Aids-ravaged sub- Saharan Africa.

Bishop Kevin Dowling said that the Aids crisis in South Africa requires the church to permit the use of condoms to stop “transmitting death.” The editorial backed Dowling’s comments, explaining that this view should be seen as an attempt to balance Catholic doctrine with the compassion the Church should how toward the most vulnerable people in society.

The editorial went on to say, “Bishop Kevin Dowling’s contribution to this debate articulates what many Catholics, including moral theologians, have been reasoning for a long time.” One South African Bishop Supports Condoms To Prevent AIDS http://www.religiousconsultation.org/newsletters/January_2002/South%20African%20Bishop%20Supports%20Condoms%20to%20Prevent%20AIDS.htm

Zenit gives the statement by the Vatican reacting on pope’s remarks on condoms. The statement was released on November 21, 2010 by Jesuit Father Federico Lombardi, director of the Vatican press office. “STATEMENT ON PONTIFF’S WORDS REGARDING CONDOMS – “The Pope Does Not Reform or Change the Church’s Teaching”. http://www.zenit.org/article-31024?l=english

Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
Tel +254 7350 14559/+254 722 623 578
E-mail omolo.ouko@gmail.com
Facebook-omolo beste
Twitter-@8000accomole

Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.

-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002

?AIDS Rights? The statement about Japanese writer Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO was again refused to enter into Mainland China 20130405

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From: Chang Kun
Changkun2010@gmail.com
April 5, 2013

Through the mail from him:“ today I , ASO SEIICHIRO, was again refused to enter into Mainland China at Lo Wu Control Point in Shenzhen City. Why? I always have a good influence in Chinese NGOs, the government is unhappy? They also closed the Dali’s film festival today.” We regret to hear that, and are unhappy about what that had happened.

Last time when he was refused to enter into Mainland China was on November 5, 2012. He planned to enter into China from Beijing international airport, but the police stopped him and arranged for his return to Tokyo. Later we learned that it was the first time he was refused to enter into China. Because of at the eve of the eighteenth Congress of the Communist Party of China, some of friends blind encourage him that it was just an accident. If he chose Pudong International Airport or Guangzhou, Shenzhen, maybe everything is going well.

But it is inexplicable to hear he is again refused to enter into Mainland China at Lo Wu Control Point in Shenzhen City. We are also quite angry for it. Even thousands of mountains also could not prevent the flow of a stream. Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO is a very gentle man. He lets more Japanese people to know civil society of China by his own thinking and writing. He promotes the exchanges of culture between China and Japan, and strengthens the understanding and reduces conflicts. How commendable things there are! What’s more precious, ASO SEIICHIRO has been visiting many activists no matter how hard. He introduces the Japanese how the activists’ work and their ideas. Is that really a problem?

I strongly believe that the decision involve Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO is very unwise.

In summer of 2010, I and Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO was acquainted with each other. Since that, he came into China nine times. No matter where he was, such as in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Chongqing etc, he always visited to my office, have fun with our friends. We talked and even debated something, but still more tolerance and understanding.

During the communication with Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO, his strong civic spirit and civil society consciousness deeply touched my friends and me. For example, he doesn’t give others in trouble as soon as possible. It is something like the consciousness of rules, and also it has become the important language during the AIBO Youth Center’s education work of “Rule Consciousness”, which is a public service community, was started on May 4th, 2010, in Linquan City, Anhui Province which is mainly to carry out the work of civil rights education and change the social environments of my hometown.

Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO is more than 20 years older than me. But our friendship is so profound that it cannot use any simple word to describe. I can’t forget when he bought bottled water to flush the toilet in the middle of the night, and then he seriously said that he would suicide if he didn’t do it. That’s a day the water supply was cut off without note.

In December last year, Japan’s Kyodo News agency reporter Mr. WATANABE Yasuhito went to Zhengzhou City to interview me about the good friendship between ASO SEIICHIRO and me, which made me surprise.

Today, the gentle man, Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO who is promoting people-to-people culture exchange and strengthening the understanding and reducing conflicts between China and Japan was again refused enter into Mainland China. I was very sad and can’t understand about it.

We hope the relevant departments can truly know more about Mr. ASO SEIICHIRO, and allow his free enter into Mainland China in accordance with the law.

At the same time, we are firmly opposed to swindle or infringe behavior upon the interests of our country, such as swindling the money in the name of the so-called “stability, deliberately making the barriers to the social development and progress in the name of the so-called “merits”.

Contact ASO SEIICHIRO:
Telephone in Tokyo: 08054124915
Telephone in China: 15820785674
Mobile phone in Hong Kong: 852-56250302
E-mail: gikyoudai@hotmail.com

Contact Chang Kun:
Telephone: 13349108944
E-mail: Changkun2010@gmail.com

Governments urged to support new Action Plan to save a million African child lives every year

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From: News Release – African Press Organization (APO)

PRESS RELEASE

· New action plan to eliminate two of the main killer diseases of children in Africa – pneumonia and diarrhoea – launched by the World Health Organisation and UNICEF.

· UN states that universal access to water, sanitation and hygiene in Africa alongside availability of vaccines and treatments, is critical in ending preventable child deaths.

· Ending preventable pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths would save the lives of over 1 million children in Africa every year.

LONDON, United-Kingdom, April 11, 2013/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Today, UNICEF and the WHO have launched a new action plan tackling for the first time two of the three biggest killer diseases of children under five in Africa – pneumonia and diarrhoea. The plan aims to end preventable deaths of children in Africa from these diseases by 2025, which would save over 1 million lives a year.

Logo: http://www.photos.apo-opa.com/plog-content/images/apo/logos/wateraid.jpg

Nelson Gomonda, WaterAid’s Pan-Africa Programme Manager (http://www.wateraid.org), said:

“This Action Plan is all about doing more of what we already know works: Increasing access to drinking water and adequate sanitation, promoting breast feeding, improving availability of vaccines and making sure that treatment is on hand when children need them.

“It is the responsibility of African Governments to embrace and implement the plan and the cost of inaction and failure will be high and measured in the lives of the continent’s children. With the support and assistance of organisations like WaterAid and donors, we can succeed in ending these preventable deaths.”

Every year in Sub-Saharan Africa over 600,000 children under five die of pneumonia while more than 400,000 die of diarrhoea. Between them, they account for over a quarter (28%) of all the child deaths on the continent.

The Action Plan calls for a substantial shift is in how poverty reduction efforts are coordinated in Africa. Aid programmes need to bring together different areas of work, such as access to drinking water, health and education, to make them more effective.

The new plan calls on governments to prioritise investment in the poorest and least-served population groups. For example, in Africa’s towns and cities, nearly three-quarters (73%) of the richest people enjoy access to adequate sanitation, while for the poorest groups in these areas only 15% have access.

Alongside dozens of development charities, WaterAid has signed a joint statement in support of the new Action Plan that declares:

‘We can save countless lives by using an integrated approach to fighting disease, improving access to proven interventions and by prioritising efforts to reach the poorest and most marginalised children. As the latest data demonstrate, the Global Action Plan on Pneumonia and Diarrhoea provides the most cost-effective approach and will help achieve the greatest impact in reducing child deaths.’

The statement offers recommendations for developing country governments, businesses and donors.

Distributed by the African Press Organization on behalf of WaterAid.

Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine

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From: Judy Miriga

Good people,

Which is why, you people of Luo Nyanza must stop letting your spears be victims of “the Cut” ….. the result of “the cut” is catastrophic as much as it is divastating…….You will have no one to blame because you were warned well in good time….the people of Luo Nyanza will blame no one for love gone haywire….. it is because life must go on if you decide to be stupid. You will never know the secret of the value of “Not to Cut”.

aaaand you will never understand why beautiful Luo Women will not want to look at you twice……..all you will be left with is, go cry to bottomless pit………Please understand that the “Un-Cut” has no relation to curing or prevention of Aids.

For engagement, awareness and to better serve you,
visit the link http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
for more info and updates…..

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – – – – – – – – – –

— On Thu, 4/4/13, Nelson Oreje wrote:
From: Nelson Oreje
Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine
Date: Thursday, April 4, 2013, 8:20 AM

😉
Only the paranoid survive

From: ROSE KAGWIRIA
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 05:17:16 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine

Hehehehehe. Nelson. you can only achieve this by remaining single. Anything in twos cannot be trusted including your own hands, eyes, legs etc. Can you imagine how many times your own hands cheat one another even when you are in deep sleep? This is why we say” never trust the hand you did not sleep on”. At least you are assured your head was lying on it. The other one, mosquitoes might have been celebrating on.

From: Geoffrey Omollo
Sent: Thursday, April 4, 2013 1:43 PM
Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine

Have you tried?

Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine
From: nelsonoreje@ . . .
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 10:38:53 +0000

Fidelity will never be adhered to
Only the paranoid survive

From: Geoffrey Omollo
Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 11:48:53 +0300
Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine

Rose,

How about the greatest solution of all – moral rectitude, fidelity in marriage an stuff.

Date: Thu, 4 Apr 2013 11:45:50 +0300
Subject: Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine
From: ikirimakagwiria@ . . .

Scientists find antibody “roadmap” to AIDS vaccine
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By AFP
Posted Thursday, April 4 2013 at 05:33
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Where there is will, there hope. If small pox was eleminated thru vaccines, even HIV will. God help these scientists to save the world. I have all hopes. In 70s, 80s and 90s, syphilis and gonorrhea were the order of the day where one would find the whole family from house girl to children, their father and mother all infected. Thank God with modern treatment and health education, these diseases are now rare. So why not HIV in the next few years? read more
http://www.nation.co.ke/News/africa/Scientists-find-antibody-roadmap-to-AIDS-vaccine/-/1066/1739004/-/10dcbot/-/index.html

PARIS,

Scientists on a quest for an antibody-based AIDS vaccine said Wednesday they found promising clues in the uncommonly “robust” natural immune response of a patient in Africa.

Studying blood samples over a three-year period after the person was infected, researchers were witness to a microscopic battle between the virus and antibodies — both evolving as they sought to gain the upper hand.

For the first time, scientists were able to follow the full chain of events leading to the patient naturally producing broadly neutralising antibodies (BnAbs)– so called because they attack different strains of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) that causes AIDS.

“The current research… fills gaps in knowledge that have impeded development of an effective vaccine for a virus that has killed more than 30 million people worldwide,” said a statement from Duke Medicine, which participated in the study by a team of researchers in the United States and Malawi.

“We learned from this individual how the antibodies get induced with the hope that this information can be a map for how to induce these antibodies as a preventive vaccine,” added team leader Barton Haynes, director of Duke University’s Human Vaccine Institute.

Antibodies are the foot soldiers of the immune system, latching onto viruses or microbial intruders and tagging them for destruction by specialised “killer” cells.

Most antiviral vaccines are made by priming antibodies to recognise germs, but the method has not yet been successful in AIDS control.

One of vaccine developers’ fiercest foes, the HIV virus typically evolves too fast to ever be left open to antibody attack.

The individual in the study, from an African country that is not specified, is one of about 20 per cent of HIV-infected people whose immune systems naturally produce BnAbs.

Unfortunately, this generally only happens two to four years after infection and is of no help to the host who will still develop AIDS if not treated with anti-retroviral drugs.

“When broad neutralising antibodies are made they are no help to the person already infected. The notion is however; if they are present before infection, then they can prevent infection and prevent insertion of the virus genetic material into the host genetic material,” Haynes told AFP of the research published in the journal Nature.

In monkeys, BnAbs have shown to prevent infection.

A BnAbs-based vaccine is being keenly pursued in the battle against AIDS, an immune system-wrecking disease first recognised in 1981.

Almost one per cent of the world’s population today is infected with HIV, according to the United Nations.

In this study, researchers isolated an antibody named CH103, and found that it was triggered by a specific protein envelope found on an early, little-mutated form of the HIV virus.

This meant the antibodies may only be stimulated to respond in the presence of this protein or other similar ones on the virus.

While most antibodies require about 10 to 15 mutations to be able to attack their target, potent BnAbs show 40 to 100, said a comment on the study also published by Nature, which described the findings as a possible “roadmap” to an HIV vaccine.

The CH103 antibody had a much lower number of mutations, which may explain how it developed so quickly in this patient.

The scientists said they had gained a “critical insight” for developing a potential vaccine.

“We are now making recombinant forms of the (protein) envelopes from this patient as a vaccine to immunise animals to recreate the induction of a similar type of antibody,” said Haynes.

A Nature statement said it remained to be seen whether or not the finding could be used to develop an effective vaccine.

“But it presents a strong and testable rationale that can be used to address the major challenges of creating an antibody-based HIV-1 vaccine,” it said.

—
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World: ?AIDS Rights? A letter from an accuser

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From: Kun Chang

Accuser: Chang Kun, male, born on June 6th ,1985, Han nationality, live in 53-2, Fulin Road, Chengguan Town, Linquan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province.

Accused person: Public Security Bureau?PSB?, Linquan County, Fuyang City, Anhui Province.

Legal Corporate Representation: Chen Qi, director-general of the Linquan City Public Security Bureau.

Accused person: Chen Jie, male, the inspector of Linquan City Public Security Bureau in Dongguan Local Police Station. The telephone number is 13966587511.

Accused person: Gu Jian, male, the original instructor of Linquan City Public Security Bureau in Dongguan Local Police Station. The telephone number is 13805610988.

The request from the accuser:

A?That Chang Yingbin attacked Chang Kun is illegal. Linquan City Public Security Bureau, Anhui Province, should look into the case and Chang Yingbin shall be investigated for his responsibility.

B?Linquan City Public Security Bureau and the Local Police Station in Dongguan didn’t punish the illegal behavior of Chang Yingbin. So the accuser think they are illegal.

C?The accused person Chen Jie and Gu Jian shall be investigated for their misconduct.

The facts and reasons from the accuser:

A?The illegal crime fact of Chang Yingbin attacked Chang Kun. Chang Yingbin was the original deputy director of the Guangming community, Chengguan Town, LinQuan County.

At around ten o ‘clock in the morning on April 4, 2012, Chang Yingbin abused Chang Kun in the crossings of Xinjian Road and Gangkou Road (now it is a waste transfer station). Suddenly, Chang Kun was attacked by someone in the back. Then I ran out, and calling “police, someone is hitting me,”. They drag and hit me a lot, and I stood up finally , taking hold the box car behind me. The police come over, and also there had some riot police. They asked Chang Kun to the police station and assisted in the investigation. Chang Kun stand on the steps, back against the box car, and said to villagers around” I’ve just been attacked, now the police Meng Xianjing (telephone is 13966583485 )asked me to go to the police station to assist their investigation, I am not caught! I’ll come back soon!” the police Meng also loudly said “yes!”

On April 4, at about eleven, Chang Kun was in Dongguan Local Police Station to be investigated. Then he asked the police, why not control the attackers, otherwise they would continue to hit. The instructor of Dongguan Local Police Station GuJian (telephone is 13805610988) said a lot about to protect Chang Kun. At this time, Chang Kun heard that the attackers hit someone again. At last I knew that my mother was attacked by the brain when she was on the phone. She was taken to a hospital by emergency ambulance.

At 12:38 on April 4, Chang kun’s head suddenly was very heavy. Chang Kun can hardly support and put the head on the chair. Chang kun required the police to make a record of the happenings , and the police did it.

But at 14:10 on April 4, Chang kun and some friends came to conference room on the third floor of Kaiyue Wangchao Hotel, Linquan County. When Chang Kun sat on the chair and looked on the phone. Chang Yingbin and some other people suddenly rushed into the conference room. I fall on the floor on my back and lost consciousness.

About 19 o ‘clock on April 4, the police Meng (his telephone is 13966583485)came to the Brain Surgery in-Patient Department 11 beds of People’s Hospital in Linquan County to find Chang Kun. He made a record for Chang Kun. At that time Chang Kun have woke up, and the brain consciousness was relatively clear. But Chang Kun had difficulty in speaking and couldn’t completely say a word. Chang Kun’s upper body can’t move flexible, especially the head can’t turn.

B?The Public Security Bureau took sides in the criminals and his negative act is illegal.

(a), The police on the scene did not take measures to stop the criminal Chang Yingbin, and also didn’t take appropriate measures after the case happened. So that it led directly to Chang Kun and Chang Kun’s mother were attacked again.

At about ten in the morning on April 4, 2011, two policemen in Dongguan Local Police Station arrived at the scene. But they didn’t stop Chang Yingbin’s bad behavior, but took Chang Kun to the police station to make a record. Chang Yingbin beat Chang kun in the presence of the police. So Chang Kun was repeatedly attacked, and the clothes were also tore lousy. When Chang Kun asked the police, why not control the attackers, otherwise they would continue to hit someone? Amazingly, Gujian, the original instructor of Linquan City Public Security Bureau in Dongguan Local Police Station, said what they did are trying to protect Chang Kun. If so, Why don’t you put the violent catch up? Why don’t you stop the attackers when Chang Kun was under beaten? It’s all nonsense, Gujian and the attackers are in the same gang. He is an accomplice dressed in the police uniform. Chang Kun suggest to the leaders that you should get rid of him. Chang Kun’s mother was attacked by the brain when she was on the phone. She was taken to a hospital by emergency ambulance. It’s really can’t speak all his bad behaviors!

On 14:10 in the April 4, Chang Kun was in the conference in Kairui Wangchao

Hotel. Chang Yingbin rushed in it and hit Chang Kun. Chang Kun lost consciousness. The Public Security Bureau took sides in the criminals. May be they are in the same gang?If they don’t have interest relations, how can they neglect Chang Yingbin’s so bad behavior? They are really in for their own selfish, disregard to the state dignity and the law? !

(b). The negative act of LinQuan County Public Security Bureau and the Dongguan Local Police Station is illegal.

on April 4, 2011 at 11 o ‘clock, when Chang Kun was taken to Dongguan Local Police Station to make a record, Chang Kun’s mother was also attacked. On April 4, 2011 in the afternoon, the Public Security Bureau took sides in the criminals and led Chang Kun was attacked again to coma in hospital. All the things, Chang Kun’s father repeated visited LinQuan County Public Security Bureau and Dongguan Local Police Station to ask to punish the murderers all the year. But they all did not take any effective measures, and lack of supervision. In close to a year, they didn’t have any processing results about the case. The criminal Chang Yingbin are still at large.

In addition, Chen Jie(the telephone is 13966587511), the inspector of Dongguan Local Police Station, answered that they were waiting for the instruction of Ge Jinhai, secretary of Chengguan Town.

I am very confused about the relationships between LinQuan County Public Security

Bureau and Chengguan Town? Why the inspector of Dongguan Local Police Station Chen Jie actually need to the instruction of secretary of Chengguan Town GeJinHai? If not so, why LinQuan County Public Security Bureau still don’t handle the case?

According to ninety-ninth regulation of “L aw of the PRC on Penalties for Administration of Public Security”: ” Public Security Bureau has a time limit about the cases, from the date of acceptance of not more than thirty days; if the case is grave and complicated, the Public Security Bureau can prolong thirty days at the next higher level for approval.”

LinQuan County Public Security Bureau neglect the legal regulations of our country.

They maliciously dragged on the case, which is a serious violation of the rights of the accuser Chang Kun! The negative act is illegal. As its agencies, Dongguan Local Police Station disregard our national law, took sides in the criminals, and it is unable to perform a national legal obligation.

In all, the accuser request that the relevant authority should handle the letter. Supervise and correct the wrong act of LinQuan County Public Security Bureau and Dongguan Local Police Station, especially about their negative act and took sides in the criminals. Chang Kun request to punish the criminal Chang Yingbin. Please look into the possible malversation!

Best wishes

Fuyang City Public Security Bureau!

The accuser: Chang Kun

December 17, 2012

Copy to: People’s Congress Standing Committee of LinQuan County, People’s Procuratorate of LinQuan County, LinQuan County Commission for Discipline Inspection, Linquan County Supervision Bureau, People’s Congress Standing Committee of Fuyang City, Fuyang City Commission for Discipline Inspection, Fuyang City Supervision Bureau, People’s Congress Standing Committee of Anhui Province, Anhui Province Commission for Discipline Inspection ,Anhui Province Public Security Bureau, Anhui Province Supervision Bureau, Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, Ministry of Public Security, State Bureau for Letters and Calls.