Mainstream News

Genetic modification blamed for rejected Washington alfalfa crop

"Authorities were investigating a new suspected case of crop contamination on Thursday – the second in the Pacific northwest in five months – after samples of hay tested positive for genetically modified traits. The investigation was ordered after a farmer in Washington state reported that his alfalfa shipments had been rejected for export after testing positive for genetic modification. Results were expected as early as Friday. If confirmed, it would be the second known case of GM contamination in a major American crop since May, when university scientists confirmed the presence of a banned GM wheat growing in a farmer’s field in Oregon." Continue reading →

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Massive Kenya water discovery will transform drought-prone ‘cradle of mankind’

"UNESCO and the Kenya Government today announce the discovery of one of the worlds largest underground water aquifers in the desert north of Turkana, an area best known for fossils, famine and poverty. The finding by Radar Technologies International (RTI) was made using space based exploration technology called WATEX system. The largest aquifer at 250 billion cubic meters of water which is equivalent in volume to Lake Turkana one of the largest lakes in the Great Rift Valley, and 25 times greater than Loch Ness. More importantly the annual recharge rate, the amount of water that can be sustainably exploited per year, is estimated to 3.4 billion cubic meters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMassive Kenya water discovery will transform drought-prone ‘cradle of mankind’

The true raw material footprint of nations

"The amount of raw materials needed to sustain the economies of developed countries is significantly greater than present indicators suggest, a new Australian study has revealed. Using a new modelling tool and more comprehensive indicators, researchers were able to map the flow of raw materials across the world economy with unprecedented accuracy to determine the true 'material footprint' of 186 countries over a two-decade period (from 1990 to 2008). The study was published today in the US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. It reveals that the decoupling of natural resources from economic growth has been exaggerated." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe true raw material footprint of nations

Africa’s baby-boom: Population to double by 2050

"By 2050, many African states will likely more than double in population. Kenya will rise from 44 million to 97 million people, and Nigeria from 174 million to 440 million. Some nations will nearly triple their growth, the reports finds. Somalia will have 27 million people in 2050, up from an estimated 10 million today; the Democratic Republic of Congo’s 71 million population is predicted to rise to 182 million. The total number of people on the continent is predicted to rise from 1.1 billion to 2.4 billion. India, currently the second most populous country in the world, will overtake China to become the most populous by 2030. The US population was estimated to rise from 316 million to 400 million." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAfrica’s baby-boom: Population to double by 2050

Jim Rogers warns of world economic slowdown, praises RMB

"Rogers reiterated his optimism on the RMB, describing it as 'the only currency that can compete and replace the U.S. dollar.' A recent BIS report showed that the Chinese yuan has broken into the top 10 of the most traded currencies in the world for the first time. 'I will buy more RMB whenever I can. If anyone wants to sell RMB, come and see me afterwards,' he quipped during his speech. He praised the government's endeavors to make the currency more convertible, but hoped that the pace could be faster. In contrast, Rogers called the U.S. dollar 'flawed' and 'troubled'. However, he still has to own the dollar because people go to the greenback when there is economic turbulence, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJim Rogers warns of world economic slowdown, praises RMB

Pay heed to the internet’s Third Wave Cows of Disruption

"'We don't do PayPal, we don't do any of the credit cards. They charge too much, that eats into our profits, and we have to pass that on to the consumer. Direct payment and Bitcoin, they cost us nothing.' Yes, Bitcoin. Honest Beef started accepting the digital currency earlier this year. Is anyone using it? 'Plenty,' Moloney said. 'The last two animals we sent off, we had [those] two pay by Bitcoin, and we've got a third waiting. We're probably getting 10 to almost 20 percent of our customers paying by Bitcoin now.' Now, there's nothing particularly high-tech about Honest Beef. There's a website and Bitcoin, sure, but the rest is just telephones and trucks, emails and evisceration." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPay heed to the internet’s Third Wave Cows of Disruption

South African gold miners strike over ‘slave wages in white man’s economy’

"About 80,000 gold miners in South Africa walked out on strike on Tuesday night, raising fears of renewed violence in the crisis-hit industry and underlining the government’s dwindling authority. The dispute over pay comes a year after 46 people died during unrest in the platinum belt and amid signs that the century-old mining industry model is broken. For years South Africa was the world’s top gold producer, accounting for more than two-thirds of output in 1970, but it has slipped to fifth place with just 6% of global production. The NUM is demanding rises of up to 60% after talks broke down." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSouth African gold miners strike over ‘slave wages in white man’s economy’

Gold Declines Trigger Brief Trading Halt

"Exchange operator CME Group Inc. said it briefly halted gold trading on Thursday morning to prevent excessive price volatility. Stop Logic, a type of circuit breaker that pauses trading for between five and 20 seconds, was triggered in the December-delivery gold futures contract at 2:54 a.m. EDT and lasted for 20 seconds, the spokesman said. A set of automatic sell orders were triggered as futures neared $1,350 an ounce early in European trading hours, said George Gero, a vice president and precious metals strategist with RBC Capital Markets, in a note. The sales sent gold prices as much as $10 an ounce lower in the space of a minute, triggering the trading pause." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold Declines Trigger Brief Trading Halt

Muslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World

"Muslim women in headscarves and elaborately embroidered dresses took to the stage Wednesday for the finale of an Islamic beauty pageant in Indonesia, a riposte to the Miss World contest that has sparked hardline anger. 'We’re just trying to show the world that Islam is beautiful,' Obabiyi Aishah Ajibola, a 21-year-old contestant from Nigeria, told AFP backstage in the capital, Jakarta, before the final got under way. 'We are free and the hijab (Muslim headscarf) is our pride,' she said, adding that the pageant was 'nothing like Miss World, where women expose their bodies'." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMuslim beauty pageant challenges Miss World