PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Eight-year-old Widlene Gabriel has lived nearly half her life in a camp for the hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the devastating January 2010 earthquake in desperately poor Haiti. As the fourth anniversary of the disaster approaches, more than 170,000 Haitians are still living in makeshift housing, in extremely precarious conditions and sometimes facing eviction. Widlene and her family live in a tent on a private lot along a main road linking the capital Port-au-Prince to the eastern suburb of Petionville. The girl has never been to school and spends her days staring blankly at cars and trucks speeding along the road nearby. “On January 12, 2010, the roof of our house fell on top of our heads. I wasn’t hurt but our house fell apart and so we came here,” Widlene recalls, her bare feet covered in dust. Manette Nazius, a mother of six, says Widlene is hardly the only child seemingly left behind. “All the kids here are in the same boat. All days are the same. They drag around all day. In fact, we are living without hope and we all feel abandoned,” she says. An estimated 250,000 people were killed in the quake, and the rebuilding process has been slow in Haiti, which was already one of the world’s poorest countries when disaster struck. In the immediate aftermath, more than 1.5 million people were homeless. Huddled under Tent 15, which doubles as a church at the entrance of the camp, a small group of women chanted “Blessed be the lord. Blessed be the lord.” The pastor, in his 60s, stood at the entrance, but the faithful were few. “We still support them in prayer,” said the 60-something pastor, who gave his name as Pierre. “They are people who have been abandoned by the authorities. They have nothing. But God does not punish twice.” Nevertheless, the young and homeless say they are without hope and feel they have been forgotten. Since 2011, the government has been able to relocate more than 60,000 families and take back some of the public spaces occupied by the unsanitary camps. But about 172,000 people still live sprawled across 300 camps, according to the International Organization for Migration. Residents of the camp where Widlene lives say they have no alternatives, surviving thanks to odd jobs and whatever food scraps they can gather. “We live like brothers and sisters. We help each other out but we don’t expect anything from the government,” said Bladimir Eliancy, a 30-something resident who was trained as a mechanic. At another camp – a group of tents were set up on a property once owned by the Italian mission – the feeling of despair is the same. “We have been forgotten by the authorities and international organizations no longer visit us,” said a dejected Donald Duvert. “Sometimes, we get angry. But we are good citizens. We don’t go out into the streets to attack the rich. But just take a look at how we live,” he added, pointing to the dilapidated tents that house 150 families. Joseph Gino, seeking a bit of shade under a mango tree, echoed Duvert’s hopelessness. “Before, life was very difficult for us. Today, there is no life. Only God knows when we’ll get out of here – or maybe the decision-makers do,” he said. –Rappler

The UN human rights committee unanimously passed a 'right to privacy' resolution sponsored by Germany and Brazil that protects the right to privacy against illegal surveillance, following revelations about NSA spying.

The resolution states that surveillance and data interception by governments and companies "may violate or abuse human rights.”

This is the first document that establishes protection of human rights in the digital sphere, Brazil's Ambassador Antonio de Aguiar Patriota told the AP. It "establishes for the first time that human rights should prevail irrespective of the medium, and therefore need to be protected online and offline,” Patriota said. 

The resolution is concerned with the "the negative impact" that surveillance, "in particular when carried out on a mass scale, may have on the exercise and enjoyment of human rights.”

German Ambassador Peter Wittig added, "Is the human right to privacy still protected in our digital world? And should everything that is technologically feasible, be allowed?”

France, Russia and North Korea were among the 55 countries that co-sponsored the resolution that only made indirect references to US global spying techniques.

The fact that the resolution was unanimously passed by the committee seems to guarantee that it will get the votes of all 193 members of the General Assembly in December. Although the resolution will not be legally binding, it will have some political weight. 

The US did not go against the measure, though it did lobby the ‘Five-Eyes’ intelligence sharing alliance of UK, Britain, Australia and New Zealand to water down the language of the resolution. By the end of the day, language stating that foreign spying would be a rights violation was weakened, according to AFP.

Human Rights Watch specialist Philippe Bolopion lamented that the language had been watered down. But, Bolopion still believes that it was "a vital first step toward stigmatizing indiscriminate global surveillance.”

Brazil and Germany introduced to the UN General Assembly their draft resolution in early November, calling for internationally recognized rights to privacy. The document further urged an end to global electronic espionage and the extension of internet freedom. 

The resolution comes amid international scandal over NSA spying over much of the world’s population and eavesdropping on a number of foreign leaders, including Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff and German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

NSA spying revealed by former intelligence contractor Edward Snowden revealed that Washington has spied on at least 35 world leaders besides the exposed the mass surveillance against private citizens and business. 

According to Snowden’s leak intelligence agencies from all signatories of the ‘Five Eyes’ agreement – the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – collaborated with the NSA. 

Since Snowden’s leaks surfaced in June, protests demanding more privacy protections have emerged in countries around the globe, with thousands of people worldwide having joined in recent Million Mask March rallies organized by the amorphous Anonymous movement. - RT

Genetically modified foods such as soy and corn may be responsible for a number of gluten-related maladies including intestinal disorders now plaguing 18 million Americans, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

The report was released by the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), and cites authoritative data from the US Department of Agriculture, US Environmental Protection Agency records, medical journal reviews as well as  international research.

“Gluten sensitivity can range in severity from mild discomfort, such as gas and bloating, to celiac disease, a serious autoimmune condition that can, if undiagnosed, result in a 4-fold increase in death,”said  Jeffrey M. Smith, executive director of IRT in a statement released on their website. 

Smith cited how a “possible environmental trigger may be the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to the American food supply, which occurred in the mid-1990s,” describing the nine GM crops currently on the market. 

In soy, corn, cotton (oil), canola (oil), sugar from sugar beets, zucchini, yellow squash, Hawaiian papaya, and alfalfa,  “Bt-toxin, glyphosate, and other components of GMOs, are linked to five conditions that may either initiate or exacerbate gluten-related disorders,” according to Smith. 

It’s the BT-toxin in genetically modified foods which kills insects by “puncturing holes in their cells.” The toxin is present in ‘every kernel’ of Bt-corn and survives human digestion, with a 2012 study confirming that it punctures holes in human cells as well. 

The GMO-related damage was linked to five different areas: Intestinal permeability, imbalanced gut bacteria, immune activation and allergic response, impaired digestion, and damage to the intestinal wall. 

The IRT release also indicated that glyphosate, a weed killer sold under the brand name ‘Roundup’ was also found to have a negative effect on intestinal bacteria. GMO crops contain high levels of the toxin at harvest. 

“Even with minimal exposure, glyphosate can significantly reduce the population of beneficial gut bacteria and promote the overgrowth of harmful strains,” the report found. 

Dr. Tom O’Bryan, internationally recognized expert on gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease, says that “the introduction of GMOs is highly suspect as a candidate to explain the rapid rise in gluten-related disorders over the last 17 years.” 

Internist, Emily Linder, offered some backup for the report’s findings. She removed GMO from her patients’ diets, finding that recovery from intestinal diseases was faster and more complete. 
“I believe that GMOs in our diet contribute to the rise in gluten-sensitivity in the US population,” Linder said in the release.  - RT

A recent WHO report shows grim health implications from Europe’s economic crisis, including a trend in Greece in which citizens infect themselves with HIV to access the meager range of government benefits available.

The WHO report ‘Review of Social Determinants and the Health Divide in the WHO European Region’ concludes that the staggering levels of unemployment and mandated financial austerity have hit European citizens hard, especially those in Greece, where the jobless level stood at 27 percent in September. 

The economic crisis that began in 2008 has “exacerbated” health problems in parts of Europe, exposing “stark social and economic inequities within and between countries.” Greece is the hardest hit, with the country’s economy shrinking to the point of nearly knocking it out of the eurozone completely. 

The report published last week says the HIV rates in Greece have risen “significantly” since 2008. It estimates about half of new HIV infections are self-inflicted “to enable people to receive benefits of 700 euro per month and faster admission on to drug-substitution programs.” 


However, The Press Project has pointed out an inaccuracy in the WHO report, saying the organization was not correct while quoting a 2011 study published in the Lancet, which “described accounts of deliberate self-infection by a few individuals,” but did not give exact statistics -  “about a half,” as stated in the recent report. 

BLOG COMMENTARY:

OK, so this article should really wake some folks up!!!  We are living in times where those who reach a certain level of desperation calls for desperate measures. It is sad but definitely a sign of where things are.  Those who have no relationship with The Most High Creator are willing to do whatever they can do to get money to 'survive'. These lost souls are prime candidates for receiving the Mark of the System of the Beast in order to 'survive'. There is no limit to what a person will do when they have no true relationship with our Heavenly Father Yahuah (YHWH) through our wonderful Master Yahusha Messiach (Christ).  

If one is not standing strong in the Word of God right now during these last days/the final hour,  then there is no hope. 

The Elite World Leaders have millions of dollars to spend on weapons of War, while there are people who are starving and willing to inject themselves with HIV just to survive longer in this wicked earth!  

My heart pours out. My prayers are being lifted. Blessings to the set apart ones who are willing to commit themselves to The Most High God of the Heavens and the Earth. There is no other salvation through this tribulation except through His Son Yahusha (Christ). 

"As it is Written - In Spirit and In Truth"

Selah 

PHILIPPINES - Soldiers were forced to hold back thousands of desperate Filipinos as they rushed to board to military planes that could only evacuate a few hundred people from the typhoon-ravaged region. About 3,000 Tacloban residents walked for miles to queue for help at the airport but just two planes arrived to take survivors to Manila, the capital of Philippines. There were scenes of chaos and devastation as families, many of whom containing young children or elderly people, were held back by soldiers. When the two Philippine Air Force C-130s arrived, people surged forward past a broken iron fence, witnesses said. But only a few hundred made it aboard and the rest were left to wait in the rain, with few supplies. 

Thousands of bodies are being piled up on the streets after the devastating Typhoon Haiyan and aid agencies have warned the death toll will ‘rise sharply.’ Police and soldiers have the grim task of searching through the wreckage for bodies after entire villages and parts of cities were flattened. Makeshift mortuaries, set up in remaining intact buildings like churches, are overrun and body bags are being left outside in rows. Tens of millions of pounds worth of aid has been pledged by countries around the world and agencies say as many, as 10 million people in the developing country are in need of basic supplies such as shelter, clean water and food.Thousands of children have been killed in the category-five storm and one charity worker said two out of every five corpses she had seen were youngsters. –Daily Mail