Mummified baboons may identify lost land of Punt, ancient Egypt's trading partner

By Stephanie Pappas

Baboons illuminate an ancient network of trade.

 

Mummified baboons may reveal the location of the lost land of Punt, ancient Egypt's mysterious and most-valued trading partner. 

Ancient Egyptian texts make clear that Punt was somewhere to the south and east of Egypt, a place that could be reached by either land or sea. Unfortunately, a large region meets that description, ranging from the Arabian Peninsula to northeast Somalia, southern Sudan and northern Ethiopia or Eritrea. To this day, no one knows the location of Punt.

Nathaniel Dominy, a primatologist and professor of anthropology at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire, realized that there might be a way to narrow down Punt's location: baboons. These primates aren't native to Egypt, but ancient Egyptians imported and mummified them by the barrel load for centuries. In some temples and necropolises, there are hundreds of baboon mummies. Many seem to have lived long lives in captivity as pets or service animals (they're depicted in some tomb paintings as "police dogs," helping the authorities chase down thieves). Others may have been kept as part of the worship of the god Thoth, who was sometimes depicted as having a baboon head. 

"The Egyptians described importing baboons from Punt," Dominy told Live Science in an email. That meant that if the native land of the baboons could be determined, it would lead Dominy and his colleagues right to Punt. 

A molecular map

To trace the baboons' origins, Dominy and his colleagues looked at levels of particular variations of  strontium and oxygen in the animals' tissues. The molecular variations, called isotopes, are present in soil and water, and they vary from place to place. They became incorporated into the baboons' bodies from the food they ate and the water they drank. Different tissues hold a record of where the animals ate and drank at different times in their lives. For example, tooth enamel forms in the first one to three years of a baboon's life, so oxygen and strontium isotopes in enamel can reveal where a baboon was born. Hair, on the other hand, holds a record of the last few months of an animal's life. 

The researchers first analyzed strontium and oxygen levels from 155 modern baboons in 77 different locations to create a molecular map of what these levels look like in different regions. They then analyzed two baboon mummies from the New Kingdom period (1520 B.C. to 1075 B.C.) and five from the Ptolemaic period (after 332 B.C.). 

They found that the New Kingdom baboons were born outside of Egypt, in the region that is modern-day Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, none of which share a border with Egypt. This suggests that Egpytian sailors were quite capable seafarers, able to traverse the length of the Red Sea, Dominy said. 

"Punt existed in the southern Red Sea region, very likely on the coasts of Eritrea and Somaliland," he wrote in his email to Live Science. 

The mummies from the later Ptolemic period, on the other hand, did not seem to be imported. They likely were captive-bred in Egypt, which fits with historical texts describing baboon-breeding in the Egpytian city of Memphis, Dominy said.

The findings should be considered provisional, Dominy and his colleagues reported on Dec. 15 in the journal eLife, with more studies needed on more baboon mummies to paint a fuller picture of the ancient primate trade. However, the results suggest that the sacred baboons were one of the driving forces behind the development of long-distance trade in ancient Egypt, the researchers conclude.

Associate editor Laura Geggel contributed reporting to this article.

Originally published on Live Science.

  https://www.livescience.com/baboon-mummies-lost-land-punt.html

Happy Solstice Folk

Happy Solstice Folk

long live the leaves,

glory to the trees,

live on creation,

way beyond the nations,

pray for humanity,

to reach true sanity,

thankful for the sky above,

putting first the inside love.

Something I just made up,

Join me now and raise your cups.

 

 

Alun Buffry, LCA conference 2001

Alun Buffry - LCA Confernece 2006

Retired HR barrister Roger Warren Evans speaking about cannabis and human rights

Readings from Words of Weed and Wisdom poetry 2020

One 2 One, No. 2 - Life is a Gift

One 2 One, No. 1 - Back to Perfection

VIDEO: Readings from Inside My Hat and Other Heads 10 April 2020

VIDEO: Greece, Rome and Florence

VIDEO: Bran Castle, Romania

VIDEO: 2014 Portugal

VIDEO: 2014 Cruise to Antwerp and a few days in Dublin

You Get More Beautiful

VIDEO: Prague, Kutna Hora, Ceske Budejovice, Cesky Krumlov, Czech 2004

Looking Into a Child's Eyes, a poem by Sarah Dougan, read by Alun Buffry

It's hard to believe that the UK government did not know this

 it's hard to believe that the UK government did not know this as schoolchildren are well known as asymptomatic carriers of flu

Largest COVID-19 contact tracing study to date finds children key to spread, evidence of superspreaders

Morgan Kelly, Princeton Environmental Institute

Sept. 30, 2020

A study of more than a half-million people in India who were exposed to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 suggests that the virus’ continued spread is driven by only a small percentage of those who become infected.

Furthermore, children and young adults were found to be potentially much more important to transmitting the virus — especially within households — than previous studies have identified, according to a paper by researchers from the United States and India published Sept. 30 in the journal Science.

Researchers from the Princeton Environmental Institute (PEI), Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Berkeley, worked with public health officials in the southeast Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh to track the infection pathways and mortality rate of 575,071 individuals who were exposed to 84,965 confirmed cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. It is the largest contact tracing study — which is the process of identifying people who came into contact with an infected person — conducted in the world for any disease.

Lead researcher Ramanan Laxminarayan, a senior research scholar in PEI, said that the paper is the first large study to capture the extraordinary extent to which SARS-CoV-2 hinges on “superspreading,” in which a small percentage of the infected population passes the virus on to more people. The researchers found that 71% of infected individuals did not infect any of their contacts, while a mere 8% of infected individuals accounted for 60% of new infections.

“Our study presents the largest empirical demonstration of superspreading that we are aware of in any infectious disease,” Laxminarayan said. “Superspreading events are the rule rather than the exception when one is looking at the spread of COVID-19, both in India and likely in all affected places.”

The findings provide extensive insight into the spread and deadliness of COVID-19 in countries such as India — which has experienced more than 96,000 deaths from the disease — that have a high incidence of resource-limited populations, the researchers reported. They found that coronavirus-related deaths in India occurred, on average, six days after hospitalization compared to an average of 13 days in the United States. Also, deaths from coronavirus in India have been concentrated among people aged 50-64, which is slightly younger than the 60-plus at-risk population in the United States.

The researchers also reported, however, the first large-scale evidence that the implementation of a countrywide shutdown in India led to substantial reductions in coronavirus transmission.

The researchers found that the chances of a person with coronavirus, regardless of their age, passing it on to a close contact ranged from 2.6% in the community to 9% in the household. The researchers found that children and young adults — who made up one-third of COVID cases — were especially key to transmitting the virus in the studied populations.

“Kids are very efficient transmitters in this setting, which is something that hasn’t been firmly established in previous studies,” Laxminarayan said. “We found that reported cases and deaths have been more concentrated in younger cohorts than we expected based on observations in higher-income countries.”

Children and young adults were much more likely to contract coronavirus from people their own age, the study found. Across all age groups, people had a greater chance of catching the coronavirus from someone their own age. The overall probability of catching coronavirus ranged from 4.7% for low-risk contacts up to 10.7% for high-risk contacts.

The study, “Epidemiology and transmission dynamics of COVID-19 in two Indian states,” was published Sept. 30 by the journal Science. The work was supported by the National Science Foundation and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

Unchain My Heart

Perfect Day

Heaven's Door

Dancing in the Moonlight

WARNING CREDIT CARD SCAM - Mastercard and Visa cards

WARNING CREDIT CARD SCAM - Mastercard and Visa cards

automated phone call claiming to be from Mastercard or your bank stating that a suspicious £600 withdrawal has been made from abroad 15 minutes ago and to stop the transaction press button 1 immediately.

DO NOT PRESS BUTTON 1

PUT DOWN THE PHONE

It is a SCAM to get your card details

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2019/07/new-warning-over-automated-scam-calls-/

Status of COVID-19: As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in the UK.

 Status of COVID-19

As of 19 March 2020, COVID-19 is no longer considered to be a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) in the UK.

The 4 nations public health HCID group made an interim recommendation in January 2020 to classify COVID-19 as an HCID. This was based on consideration of the UK HCID criteria about the virus and the disease with information available during the early stages of the outbreak. Now that more is known about COVID-19, the public health bodies in the UK have reviewed the most up to date information about COVID-19 against the UK HCID criteria. They have determined that several features have now changed; in particular, more information is available about mortality rates (low overall), and there is now greater clinical awareness and a specific and sensitive laboratory test, the availability of which continues to increase.

 The Advisory Committee on Dangerous Pathogens (ACDP) is also of the opinion that COVID-19 should no longer be classified as an HCID.

The need to have a national, coordinated response remains, but this is being met by the government’s COVID-19 response.

Cases of COVID-19 are no longer managed by HCID treatment centres only. All healthcare workers managing possible and confirmed cases should follow the updated national infection and prevention (IPC) guidance for COVID-19, which supersedes all previous IPC guidance for COVID-19. This guidance includes instructions about different personal protective equipment (PPE) ensembles that are appropriate for different clinical scenarios.

Definition of HCID 

In the UK, a high consequence infectious disease (HCID) is defined according to the following criteria:

• acute infectious disease
• typically has a high case-fatality rate
• may not have effective prophylaxis or treatment
• often difficult to recognise and detect rapidly
• ability to spread in the community and within healthcare settings
• requires an enhanced individual, population and system response to ensure it is managed effectively, efficiently and safely

Classification of HCIDs

HCIDs are further divided into contact and airborne groups:

•  contact HCIDs are usually spread by direct contact with an infected patient or infected fluids, tissues and other materials, or by indirect contact with contaminated materials and fomites

• airborne HCIDs are spread by respiratory droplets or aerosol transmission, in addition to contact routes of transmission

List of high consequence infectious diseases

A list of HCIDs has been agreed by a joint Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England HCID Programme:

Contact HCID	Airborne HCID
Argentine haemorrhagic fever (Junin virus)	Andes virus infection (hantavirus)
Bolivian haemorrhagic fever (Machupo virus)	Avian influenza A H7N9 and H5N1
Crimean Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF)	Avian influenza A H5N6 and H7N7
Ebola virus disease (EVD)	Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)
Lassa fever	Monkeypox
Lujo virus disease	Nipah virus infection
Marburg virus disease (MVD)	Pneumonic plague (Yersinia pestis)
Severe fever with thrombocytopaenia syndrome (SFTS)	Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)*

*No cases reported since 2004, but SARS remains a notifiable disease under the International Health Regulations (2005), hence its inclusion here

**Human to human transmission has not been described to date for avian influenza A(H5N6). Human to human transmission has been described for avian influenza A(H5N1), although this was not apparent until more than 30 human cases had been reported. Both A(H5N6) and A(H5N1) often cause severe illness and fatalities. Therefore, A(H5N6) has been included in the airborne HCID list despite not meeting all of the HCID criteria.

The list of HCIDs will be kept under review and updated by PHE if new HCIDs emerge that are of relevance to the UK.

HCIDs in the UK

HCIDs, including viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs), are rare in the UK. When cases do occur, they tend to be sporadic and are typically associated with recent travel to an area where the infection is known to be endemic or where an outbreak is occurring. None of the HCIDs listed above are endemic in the UK, and the known animal reservoirs are not found in the UK.

As of February 2020, 2019, the UK has experience of managing confirmed cases of Lassa fever, EVD, CCHF, MERS and monkeypox. The vast majority of these patients acquired their infections overseas, but rare incidents of secondary transmission of MERS and monkeypox have occurred in the UK.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/high-consequence-infectious-diseases-hcid?fbclid=IwAR1WvHvkce7fl-rS-nWM2_V1gh45aQn52yaXb4ZV2xUeHuNyRjSY3NTjbhg

Protest exemption set to be removed from England lockdown rules

This has a lot to do with the weird locdown rules - over the years the collapse of the conomy (which will be blamed on the virus) and the environmental crisis will normally lead to more and more protests and the Governments of this country and elsewhere do not want that

 Protest exemption set to be removed from England lockdown rules

 The Guardian November 3 2020

 Expected move is met with fierce criticism from campaigners and human rights groups

Protections for protesters are set to be removed from the coronavirus rules under the second national lockdown, it has emerged, provoking anger from human rights groups and campaigners.

An exemption that permits demonstrations to take place with additional conditions designed to mitigate the spread of the virus is expected to be omitted from fresh regulations being drawn up for the lockdown that will commence from this Thursday.

There have been a series of a high-profile protests since the pandemic erupted in the UK including rallies for racial equality led by the Black Lives Matter movement, racist counter-demonstrations and marches against lockdown measures directed by conspiracy theorists and extremists.

While there will be no explicit ban on protests in the regulations, the removal of the exemption will render organising large-scale lawful protest almost impossible.

The expected move, first revealed by the Times, has been met with fierce criticism from campaigners and human rights groups.

Tyrek Morris, the co-founder of All Black Lives UK, a youth-led campaign group born out of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, said: “With regards to protesting, and protesting through the pandemic, one thing that is clear, we have no support from the government in any way shape or form.”

Morris said protests organised by All Black Lives UK had faced a heavy handed response, despite meeting the criteria set out by the exemption.

“Since the BLM movement arose again, the government has been completely against our protest, against protest full stop, and at every chance possible have tried to stop us. But we’ve always found a way around it. They could stop us protesting, but they can’t stop us fighting for our own rights.”

 

Morris said criticism of the current government was implicit in the All Black Lives UK protests. “We have criticism for the way the government has mishandled the coronavirus pandemic, for how black people are more likely to suffer from this pandemic, we’ve been very vocal about Boris Johnson and his racist tendencies, his previous comments. So this does not come as a shock to me. They don’t want to hear us talk.”

Rosalind Comyn, the policy and campaigns manager at Liberty, the human rights group, said: “We should all be able to stand up for what we believe in. In a healthy democracy protest is one way we do that, and that’s why any measures which stop people expressing dissent are deeply worrying and should be treated with suspicion.

“We have always supported proportionate measures to protect lives, but people must not be criminalised en masse for voicing opposition to government action – even in the context of a pandemic. What’s more, parliament has been sidelined at every turn of this government’s pandemic response, making protest even more important than ever to ensure everyone’s voices are heard.

“The government and police must commit to uphold their duty to facilitate protest so we can stand up to power.”

A spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion UK, which has staged climate protests since the pandemic outbreak, said: “Only a government keenly aware of its epic failing would bring in such extreme restrictions to protest.

“These are the actions of a government not willing to listen to its citizens. Studies over the last year have found that protests held outdoors do not lead to spikes in infection rates. This is clearly a political choice at a time when the government needs to be held to account on many fronts.”

When the regulations were refreshed for the new three-tiered system in England, the wording explicitly said a clause about gatherings of more than six was applicable to protests.

The clause in effect permitted individuals to gather in a group of more than six for the purposes of protest as long as the following rules were satisfied:

• The gathering has been organised by a business, a charity, a benevolent or philanthropic institution, a public body, or a political body.

• The organiser of the protest has carried out a risk assessment that meets the requirements of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.

• The organiser has taken all reasonable steps to limit the risk of transmission of coronavirus, in line with the risk assessment and with any relevant government guidance.

But while the clause remains in the new lockdown regulations, which were published late on Tuesday, the explicit reference to “protests” has vanished.

Whitehall sources told the Guardian the change was spearheaded by the Covid-19 taskforce and was designed to make the rules simpler.

But a senior police source told the Guardian they feared being “left in the middle” by any dropping of the protections for protests and also would rather there was a clear-cut regulation, rather than something vague and open to interpretation. “It’s going to be difficult,” the source said.

Police are saying they are already under strain from trying to impose existing Covid regulations, with regular crime returning to normal levels, having plunged during the first lockdown.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The right to peaceful protest is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. In these unprecedented circumstances, any gathering risks spreading the disease, leading to more deaths, so it is vital we all play our part in controlling the virus.

“People must follow the rules on meeting with others, which apply to all gatherings and therefore protests too. As they have done throughout the pandemic, the police and local authorities will engage, explain and encourage people to follow the rules before moving on to enforce the law.”

  Quick guide: What you can and can't do in England's new national Covid lockdown

New national restrictions are due to come into effect in England on Thursday, after MPs vote on them, and remain in place at least until 2 December.

What can I leave home for?

• For childcare or education, where it is not provided online.
• To go to work unless it can be done from home.
• Outdoor exercise either with household members or with one person from another household.
• For all medical reasons and appointments.
• To escape injury or harm, such as domestic abuse.
• To provide care for vulnerable people or volunteer.
• To shop for food and essentials.
• To see people in your support bubble.
• Children will still be able to move between homes if their parents are separated.

Government say the list is not exhaustive, and other permitted reasons for leaving home may be set out later. People could face fines from police for leaving their home without a legally permitted excuse.

Can different households mix indoors?

No, not unless they are part of an “exclusive” support bubble, which allows a single-person household to meet and socialise with another household.

Parents are allowed to form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.

Can different households mix outdoors?

People are allowed to meet one person from another household socially and for exercise in outdoor public spaces, which does not include private gardens.

Can I attend funerals, weddings or religious services?

Up to 30 people will still be allowed to attend funerals, while stone settings and ash scatterings can continue with up to 15 guests.

Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are not permitted except in “exceptional circumstances”. Places of worship must remain closed except for voluntary services, individual prayer and other exempt activities.

Can I travel in the UK or abroad for a holiday?

Most outbound international travel will be banned. There is no exemption for staying away from home for a holiday. This means people cannot travel internationally or within the UK, unless for work, education or other legally permitted exemptions.

 Which businesses will close?

Everything except essential shops and education settings, which include nurseries, schools and universities, will close.

Entertainment venues will also have to close. Pubs, restaurants and indoor and outdoor leisure facilities will have to close their doors once more.

However, takeaway and delivery services will still be allowed, while construction and manufacturing will stay open.

Parents will still be able to access registered childcare and other childcare activities where reasonably necessary to enable parents to work. Some youth services may be able to continue, such as one-to-one youth work, but most youth clubs will need to close their doors.

Public services, such as jobcentres, courts, and civil registration offices will remain open.

There is no exemption for grassroots organised team sports. Elite sports will be allowed to continue behind closed doors as currently, including Premier League football matches.

VIDEO: Guy Coxall (Seed Our Future) - Cannamantv Episode - ''It's time to END ...

New Zealand cannabis referendum

See the dangers of a referendum under which voters are poorly informed by those with the money and power over media and after which the government says "the will of the people" (you know, just as Hitler did) instead of Governments taking responsibility to do what is legal, just and Right? 

 

The Cannabis referendum is an example; we all have equal Rights to practice our beliefs, to do what we choose in our Private Lives, so long as we pose no threat to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others, without interference, and any government action is illegal, such as against possession, consumption or cultivation of cannabis plants.

New Zealand votes to legalise euthanasia – but not cannabis

Cannabis referendum: What now for the law and police?

 

Referendum results live: NZ votes yes on euthanasia, no on cannabis legalisation

 

Human Rights, the higher law

 I never asked for Human Rights, they were given to me even before I was born.

I only ever demanded that my Rights and the Rights of others be protected by law.

Human Rights are not subject to or limited by laws.

Laws are subject to and limited by Human Rights, the higher law.

Human Rights were written down and signed by many nations in the late 1940's in order to limit and stop tyrannical and unjustifiable laws created by Governments, in the name of the Brotherhood of Mankind.  They were incorporated into UK law as late as 1999.

Governments cannot put their own interpretations, limits or conditions upon our Rights.  In fact Human Rights put restrictions on Governments and their statutes, although there is some interpretations on how Rights can be ignored, clearly specified in the Articles, that is in the interest of Public Health, Public Order, National Security or the Rights of Others, but it the onus should always be on the authorities to prove those criteria are satisfied.

Ultimately the European Court of Human Rights has the final say on whether or not a Government or Authority has contravened Human Rights although taking a case there can be along and difficult process which can be thrown out without reason and with no Right of appeal at the administrative level before a case can even get to court.  They are the obstacle.

We all have equal Rights.

Rights are not subject to or limited by race, religion or lifestyle;  they are not only for the wealthy and powerful, they are for everyone, for all time.

Those Rights include the Right to choose and practice ones own religion or belief and the Government cannot limit that unless they can show a threat to public health, national security or the Rights of others.  Governments cannot make laws limiting that choice willy-nilly, there is no list of acceptable or unacceptable beliefs.  The practice of those beliefs can be alone or in the company of others.

Similarly, we have the Right to a Private Life and what we do in that private life cannot be limited by arbitrary or politically-motivated laws - so long as there is no threat to public health etc.

So the fact that what a person does in their Private Life or in the practice of their beliefs cannot be interfered with only because a government has made it "illegal" - it must be in the interests of law AND to prevent a risk to public health, public order, national security or the Rights of others - that is very clearly specified in the Article of Human Rights.

That cannot be stressed enough - when a Government cannot satisfy the criteria and sends its forces such as police to interfere with our given and inalienable Rights, then that Government and its forces are guilty of a crime and we are the victims. 

This should be paramount in any consideration of the application of laws, for example, in the possession, production, supply and consumption of some drugs by some people in their own homes.

Population control, economic and environmental collapse and government hoax

 I was thinking the other day, if "they" wanted something to reduce the population then surely it would target the young befote they have children, not the old that will be dead in a decade or two anyway. If "they" wanted to reduce public care costs then yes target the elderly. But IMO now the governments are taking advantage of the situation to avoid blame for mismanagement that is clearly leading to both econonic and ecological collapse as well as introducing measures to prevent protests and creating gross censorship on social media and trying to scare everybody into submission. I am not saying covid19 is a hoax - I am saying government is a hoax.

The Convenience of Covid19

It is not that hard to see that both the world economy and the climate have been on the point of collapse for some years now and that more and more people around the world are taking to the streets to protest against their bungling greedy governments that have done little to halt that happening.

Capitalism, where a minority get richer and richer, the middle wealth become complacent and the poor are left out, often living on a comparative pittance, is inevitably doomed.  Nowadays Western currencies are based on nothing, governments can print as much paper money as they want and "I promise to pay the bearer" is as meaningless as "in God we trust".  Government debt to world banks run by a small number of billionaire families is beyond reason, sense and imagination, yet under Covid 19 many dish out small sums to the people in real need or most deserving and many times more to their business friends.  The corner shops suffer whilst on-line businesses and giant supermarkets thrive.  "in God we Trust" for them has become "in Covid we Trust".   Check out what the UK MP's are offered as subsidised lunches whilst NHS staff have to buy their own.  Normally the numbers on the streets demonstrating would have increased. 

As for the climate, well it's decades now since we have been warned and started to see the effects of pollution.  Now our seas - and our food - is full of plastic, radioactive chemicals spreading throughout the oceans, big cities have air so bad that people are told to wear masks or stay indoors, chemicals are put into our tap water to make it "safe" to drink whilst more and more get ill and need to take the dangerous pharmaceutical drugs that make the rich richer, and on it goes.  Normally the numbers on the streets protesting about the lack of action to save our planet would have continued to increase

Those that fight tyrannical governments, those that are having their own countries devastated and bombed, those that flee for their lives, are labelled as terrorists and immigrants; in reality, those that see through it all recognise their own governments and their forces as the real terrorists.

There are more police in the world than ever, but also more crimes and more prisons.  There are more doctors and nurses than ever but more sick and disabled (a terrible word).  There are more schools and universities but what they teach is carefully controlled.  More so-called freedom of speech through social media but more control and censorship.  More food than ever before but more starving millions.  More churches, synagogues, mosques and temples than ever but more war based on differences in beliefs and lifestyles.  Normally more people would be protesting those excesses and shortages.

Then conveniently along comes to governments' saviour - Covid19.

Street protests are banned.  Tyrannical police action is justified by governments that force restrictions, social distancing, numbers that can gather together even in our own homes, face coverings and threatening us with serious illnesses and death caused by over-flowing health services that they have for so long underfunded or sold off to private investors and big businesses whose very existence is to profit.

Now I am not saying that Covid19 in not real, or even that it has been deliberately spread, but it has come at an ideal times for the rich and powerful and that the Governments, just like the people that vote them in, are taking full advantage of the situation to further their private causes which are seldom seeking common or shared wealth and well-being.

DO NOT TRUST THE

LEADING CLOWNS
by Alun Buffry, June 2020

You may well think our leaders clowns,
For sure they let the people down.
It matters not where you come from,
If your name's Boris, Jacob or Dom.

Unless you're in the Upper Class,
Workers will stay upon their ass.
It matters more where they went to school.
Eaton and Oxford were so cool.

They had a grand old party time,
That's why they pull the Party line.
They laugh and tell us what to do,
Won't listen to the likes of You.

We vote and think our votes will count,
Lead us to what we think we want,
We praise them for the little they give,
They hide away the way they live.

And when they want to fight a war,
They ask all all to give some more.
They sail their yachts and ride their horses,
They play with their balls on their golf courses.

They drink their champers and fine wines,
They eat their gourmet meals so fine,
Put chemicals in our food and water,
Send our soldiers out for slaughter.

Yet deep inside we’re all the same,
It matters not your family name,
For when we reach the end of life,
It’s them that will suffer the grief and strife.

For then they’ll see themselves were bad,
For then it’s them in loneliness that will feel sad,
It’s them that did us all that bad,
For them that last breath will be so sad.

For one thing to them I’d like to teach,
That in this life we each need peace.
It’s not in glory, wealth or fame.
It’s only in our Soul’s true name. 

 

All ABOUT MY HAT THE HIPPY TRAIL 1972 REMAKE - VISUALISED

SHAME on Chloe Smith, MP Norwich North for voting for torture and killing and against school meals for hungry schoolchildren

 These are the MPs who voted to let secret agents commit murder, torture and rape

 Daily Mirror names and shames every MP who voted against free meals for hungry kids on its front page

 

No public money for MPs' meals

Alun Buffry on Twitter

 https://twitter.com/AlunBuffry

 

IF ONLY SUOMI - a story of love through time.

 Available on Amazon and Kindle  https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08L71WYDN/

If Only Suomi is a story of love through time.
At first thought, the difference between past, present and future may seem obvious. The past has happened, the present is now and the future has yet to come. Second by second, our future becomes our past.
That is if time is linear and we travel in a straight line.
But what if we could travel in time, your past can become your future or your future can become your past? What if your future could become your past?
What sort of paradox could we create? How careful would one have to be to avoid even wiping oneself out of time altogether?
What if you went back in time and fell in love, then had to return to the present, leaving your love behind?
What if you could travel back and change your past to change the present and your future or even to live your life a second time?
This is such a story, of how the future changed the past, when Al from 2028 travels back to 1972, just for a three days.
This is a science fiction story and a romance, for Al falls in love in 1972 and then has to return to 2028 without his beloved Suomi. Will they ever meet again? Time can sometimes work wonders.

Sketches by Jacqui Malkin

Dreaming of Hemp

Last night I had a dream that I was on a bus explaining to some people all the uses of the cannabis plant, at first not naming it; the value as a fibre as a source of clothing, platic, paper, packaging, canvas, rope, as a fuel and lubricant and the seed as a source of nutrition, and as a medicine;

I explained how it was easy to grow and harvest almost anywhere without fertilisers or pesticides and that it was environemnetally friendly and biodegradable, even the burning of the fuels releasing only the CO" and H"O absobed during the growing.

I remember it went on a while. I said it wa a shame it needed an expsnsive license to grow and they were hard to get. 

Then, in the dream, I said it was a plant called cannabis. A couple of passengers commented like ha! yes that's why it's banned, because cannabis is addictive and leads to hard drugs and can cause lung problems and cancer and it's dangerous for kids.

"Ha!" I said, "you have fallen into my trap! Because it's also called hemp. Cannabis is just the botanical name. Cos cannabis usually has THC which gets people high and makes them feel good, and hemp, the same plant but a different varierty and usually grown taller, has avery very low amount of THC and you'd have to smoke a field full to get any effect. 

"So even if what you said about THC-cannabis was true, which it's not, hemp is not dangerous at all. So why do the same laws limit and stop people from growing hemp as they do for cannabis? Could it be anything to do with the profits big business makes by controlling our supply of fuels and plastics and pharmaceutical drugs?"

Then the bus stopped and we had to get off. Then I woke up.

SCAM ALERT

 

Love the God of Spinoza.

 

When Einstein gave lectures at U.S. universities, the recurring question that students asked him most was:

- Do you believe in God?

And he always answered:

- I believe in the God of Spinoza.

Baruch de Spinoza was a Dutch philosopher considered one of the great rationalists of 17th century philosophy, along with Descartes.

(Spinoza) : God would say:

Stop praying.

What I want you to do is go out into the world and enjoy your life. I want you to sing, have fun and enjoy everything I've made for you.

Stop going into those dark, cold temples that you built yourself and saying they are my house. My house is in the mountains, in the woods, rivers, lakes, beaches. That's where I live and there I express my love for you.

Stop blaming me for your miserable life; I never told you there was anything wrong with you or that you were a sinner, or that your sexuality was a bad thing. Sex is a gift I have given you and with which you can express your love, your ecstasy, your joy. So don't blame me for everything they made you believe.

Stop reading alleged sacred scriptures that have nothing to do with me. If you can't read me in a sunrise, in a landscape, in the look of your friends, in your son's eyes...  you will find me in no book!

Stop asking me "will you tell me how to do my job?" Stop being so scared of me. I do not judge you or criticize you, nor get angry, or bothered. I am pure love.

Stop asking for forgiveness, there's nothing to forgive. If I made you... I filled you with passions, limitations, pleasures, feelings, needs, inconsistencies... free will. How can I blame you if you respond to something I put in you? How can I punish you for being the way you are, if I'm the one who made you? Do you think I could create a place to burn all my children who behave badly for the rest of eternity? What kind of god would do that?

Respect your peers and don't do what you don't want for yourself. All I ask is that you pay attention in your life, that alertness is your guide.

My beloved, this life is not a test, not a step on the way, not a rehearsal, nor a prelude to paradise. This life is the only thing here and now and it is all you need.

I have set you absolutely free, no prizes or punishments, no sins or virtues, no one carries a marker, no one keeps a record.

You are absolutely free to create in your life. Heaven or hell.

 I can't tell you if there's anything after this life but I can give you a tip. Live as if there is not. As if this is your only chance to enjoy, to love, to exist.

So, if there's nothing after, then you will have enjoyed the opportunity I gave you. And if there is, rest assured that I won't ask if you behaved right or wrong, I'll ask. Did you like it? Did you have fun? What did you enjoy the most? What did you learn?...

Stop believing in me; believing is assuming, guessing, imagining. I don't want you to believe in me, I want you to believe in you. I want you to feel me in you when you kiss your beloved, when you tuck in your little girl, when you caress your dog, when you bathe in the sea.

Stop praising me, what kind of egomaniac God do you think I am?

I'm bored being praised. I'm tired of being thanked. Feeling grateful? Prove it by taking care of yourself, your health, your relationships, the world. Express your joy! That's the way to praise me.

Stop complicating things and repeating as a parakeet what you've been taught about me.

What do you need more miracles for? So many explanations?

The only thing for sure is that you are here, that you are alive, that this world is full of wonders.

- Spinoza

Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System

 Introduction to the Endocannabinoid System

Dustin Sulak, DO, Healer.com

As you read this review of the scientific literature regarding the therapeutic effects of cannabis and cannabinoids, one thing will become quickly evident: cannabis has a profound influence on the human body. This one herb and its variety of therapeutic compounds seem to affect every aspect of our bodies and minds. How is this possible?

At our integrative medical clinics in Maine and Massachusetts, my colleagues and I treat over 18,000 patients with a huge diversity of diseases and symptoms. In one day I might see cancer, Crohn’s disease, epilepsy, chronic pain, multiple sclerosis, insomnia, Tourette syndrome and eczema, just to name a few. All of these conditions have different causes, different physiologic states, and vastly different symptoms. The patients are old and young. Some are undergoing conventional therapy. Others are on a decidedly alternative path. Yet despite their differences, almost all of my patients would agree on one point: cannabis helps their condition.

As a physician, I am naturally wary of any medicine that purports to cure-all. Panaceas, snake-oil remedies, and expensive fads often come and go, with big claims but little scientific or clinical evidence to support their efficacy. As I explore the therapeutic potential of cannabis, however, I find no lack of evidence. In fact, I find an explosion of scientific research on the therapeutic potential of cannabis, more evidence than one can find on some of the most widely used therapies of conventional medicine.

At the time of this writing (February 2015), a PubMed search for scientific journal articles published in the last 20 years containing the word “cannabis” revealed 8,637 results. Add the word “cannabinoid,” and the results increase to 20,991 articles. That’s an average of more than two scientific publications per day over the last 20 years! These numbers not only illustrate the present scientific interest and financial investment in understanding more about cannabis and its components, but they also emphasize the need for high quality reviews and summaries such as the document you are about to read.

How can one herb help so many different conditions? How can it provide both palliative and curative actions? How can it be so safe while offering such powerful effects? The search to answer these questions has led scientists to the discovery of a previously unknown physiologic system, a central component of the health and healing of every human and almost every animal: the endocannabinoid system.

What Is The Endocannabinoid System?

The endogenous cannabinoid system, named after the plant that led to its discovery, is perhaps the most important physiologic system involved in establishing and maintaining human health. Endocannabinoids and their receptors are found throughout the body: in the brain, organs, connective tissues, glands, and immune cells. In each tissue, the cannabinoid system performs different tasks, but the goal is always the same: homeostasis, the maintenance of a stable internal environment despite fluctuations in the external environment.

Cannabinoids promote homeostasis at every level of biological life, from the sub-cellular, to the organism, and perhaps to the community and beyond. Here’s one example: autophagy, a process in which a cell sequesters part of its contents to be self-digested and recycled, is mediated by the cannabinoid system. While this process keeps normal cells alive, allowing them to maintain a balance between the synthesis, degradation, and subsequent recycling of cellular products, it has a deadly effect on malignant tumor cells, causing them to consume themselves in a programmed cellular suicide. The death of cancer cells, of course, promotes homeostasis and survival at the level of the entire organism.

Endocannabinoids and cannabinoids are also found at the intersection of the body’s various systems, allowing communication and coordination between different cell types. At the site of an injury, for example, cannabinoids can be found decreasing the release of activators and sensitizers from the injured tissue, stabilizing the nerve cell to prevent excessive firing, and calming nearby immune cells to prevent release of pro-inflammatory substances. Three different mechanisms of action on three different cell types for a single purpose: minimize the pain and damage caused by the injury.

The endocannabinoid system, with its complex actions in our immune system, nervous system, and all of the body’s organs, is literally a bridge between body and mind. By understanding this system we begin to see a mechanism that explains how states of consciousness can promote health or disease.

In addition to regulating our internal and cellular homeostasis, cannabinoids influence a person’s relationship with the external environment. Socially, the administration of cannabinoids clearly alters human behavior, often promoting sharing, humor, and creativity. By mediating neurogenesis, neuronal plasticity, and learning, cannabinoids may directly influence a person’s open-mindedness and ability to move beyond limiting patterns of thought and behavior from past situations. Reformatting these old patterns is an essential part of health in our quickly changing environment.

What Are Cannabinoid Receptors?

Sea squirts, tiny nematodes, and all vertebrate species share the endocannabinoid system as an essential part of life and adaptation to environmental changes. By comparing the genetics of cannabinoid receptors in different species, scientists estimate that the endocannabinoid system evolved in primitive animals over 600 million years ago.

While it may seem we know a lot about cannabinoids, the estimated twenty thousand scientific articles have just begun to shed light on the subject. Large gaps likely exist in our current understanding, and the complexity of interactions between various cannabinoids, cell types, systems and individual organisms challenges scientists to think about physiology and health in new ways. The following brief overview summarizes what we do know.

Cannabinoid receptors are present throughout the body, embedded in cell membranes, and are believed to be more numerous than any other receptor system. When cannabinoid receptors are stimulated, a variety of physiologic processes ensue. Researchers have identified two cannabinoid receptors: CB1, predominantly present in the nervous system, connective tissues, gonads, glands, and organs; and CB2, predominantly found in the immune system and its associated structures. Many tissues contain both CB1 and CB2 receptors, each linked to a different action. Researchers speculate there may be a third cannabinoid receptor waiting to be discovered.

Endocannabinoids are the substances our bodies naturally make to stimulate these receptors. The two most well understood of these molecules are called anandamide and 2-arachidonolglyceraol (2-AG). They are synthesized on-demand from cell membrane arachidonic acid derivatives, have a local effect and short half-life before being degraded by the enzymes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL).

Phytocannabinoids are plant substances that stimulate cannabinoid receptors. Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the most psychoactive and certainly the most famous of these substances, but other cannabinoids such as cannabidiol (CBD) and cannabinol (CBN) are gaining the interest of researchers due to a variety of healing properties. Most phytocannabinoids have been isolated from cannabis sativa, but other medical herbs, such as echinacea purpura, have been found to contain non-psychoactive cannabinoids as well.

Interestingly, the cannabis plant also uses THC and other cannabinoids to promote its own health and prevent disease. Cannabinoids have antioxidant properties that protect the leaves and flowering structures from ultraviolet radiation – cannabinoids neutralize the harmful free radicals generated by UV rays, protecting the cells. In humans, free radicals cause aging, cancer, and impaired healing. Antioxidants found in plants have long been promoted as natural supplements to prevent free radical harm.

Laboratories can also produce cannabinoids. Synthetic THC, marketed as dronabinol(Marinol), and nabilone (Cesamet), a THC analog, are both FDA approved drugs for the treatment of severe nausea and wasting syndrome. Some clinicians have found them helpful in the off-label treatment of chronic pain, migraine, and other serious conditions. Many other synthetic cannabinoids are used in animal research, and some have potency up to 600 times that of THC.

Cannabis, The Endocannabinoid System, And Good Health

As we continue to sort through the emerging science of cannabis and cannabinoids, one thing remains clear: a functional cannabinoid system is essential for health. From embryonic implantation on the wall of our mother’s uterus, to nursing and growth, to responding to injuries, endocannabinoids help us survive in a quickly changing and increasingly hostile environment. As I realized this, I began to wonder: can an individual enhance his/her cannabinoid system by taking supplemental cannabis? Beyond treating symptoms, beyond even curing disease, can cannabis help us prevent disease and promote health by stimulating an ancient system that is hard-wired into all of us?

I now believe the answer is yes. Research has shown that small doses of cannabinoids from cannabis can signal the body to make more endocannabinoids and build more cannabinoid receptors. This is why many first-time cannabis users don’t feel an effect, but by their second or third time using the herb they have built more cannabinoid receptors and are ready to respond. More receptors increase a person’s sensitivity to cannabinoids; smaller doses have larger effects, and the individual has an enhanced baseline of endocannabinoid activity. I believe that small, regular doses of cannabis might act as a tonic to our most central physiologic healing system.

Many physicians cringe at the thought of recommending a botanical substance, and are outright mortified by the idea of smoking a medicine. Our medical system is more comfortable with single, isolated substances that can be swallowed or injected. Unfortunately, this model significantly limits the therapeutic potential of cannabinoids.

Unlike synthetic derivatives, herbal cannabis may contain over one hundred different cannabinoids, including THC, which all work synergistically to produce better medical effects and less side effects than THC alone. While cannabis is safe and works well when smoked, many patients prefer to avoid respiratory irritation and instead use a vaporizer, cannabis tincture, or topical salve. Scientific inquiry and patient testimonials both indicate that herbal cannabis has superior medical qualities to synthetic cannabinoids.

In 1902 Thomas Edison said, “There were never so many able, active minds at work on the problems of disease as now, and all their discoveries are tending toward the simple truth that you can’t improve on nature.” Cannabinoid research has proven this statement is still valid.

So, is it possible that medical cannabis could be the most useful remedy to treat the widest variety of human diseases and conditions, a component of preventative healthcare, and an adaptive support in our increasingly toxic, carcinogenic environment? Yes. This was well known to the indigenous medical systems of ancient India, China, and Tibet, and as you will find in this report, is becoming increasingly well known by Western science. Of course, we need more human-based research studying the effectiveness of cannabis, but the evidence base is already large and growing constantly, despite the DEA’s best efforts to discourage cannabis-related research.

Does your doctor understand the benefit of medical cannabis? Can he or she advise you in the proper indications, dosage, and route of administration? Likely not. Despite the two largest U.S. physician associations (American Medical Association and American College of Physicians) calling for more research, the U.S. Congress prohibiting federal interference in states’ medical cannabis programs, a 5,000 year history of safe therapeutic use, and a huge amount of published research, most doctors know little or nothing about medical cannabis.

This is changing, in part because the public is demanding it. People want safe, natural and inexpensive treatments that stimulate our bodies’ ability to self-heal and help our population improve its quality of life. Medical cannabis is one such solution. This summary is an excellent tool for spreading the knowledge and helping to educate patients and healthcare providers on the scientific evidence behind the medical use of cannabis and cannabinoids.

Words of Weed and Wisdom - an anthology in support of the WTU

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TSirt

Video of Authors

A Mention by Tyler Green

A Reading by Jezza Austin

WTU

 

Together for Peace (Juntos por La Paz): A Message from Calle Paz y Respeto

SPECIAL INTERVIEW WITH GLOBAL PEACE AMBASSADOR PREM RAWAT

Cannabis: laws, human rights, medicinal uses and malfeasance

 

1) There is strong scientific evidence that almost all pharmaceutically prescribed drugs, over-the-counter medications, alcohol, tobacco and sugar can harm people’s mental and physical health, yet they are all legally available.

2) The very same plant is grown and exported for medicinal use by British Sugar Cooporation and used to produce extracts by GW Pharmaceuticals.

 

3) The very same plant is sold to adults through private clubs and collective grows in Spain, Coffeeshops in The Netherlands, shops and dispensaries in many States of the US, shops such as in Canada and Uruguay and available through doctors in dozens of coutries worldwide. 

 

4) There is no stron evidence to suggest that cannabis is harmful to the physical or mental health of the vast majority of consumers (millions of them in the UK) or harmful to communities.

 

5) Preventing a person from access to a beneficial substance and / or punishing them because of the supposed risk to a minority of other people is contrary to common sense and common law and Justice.

 

6) Interference in the chosen practice of ones belief and invasion of a person's private life without evidence that an activity poses a risk to PUBLIC health, public order or morals, national security or the Rights of others, is contrary to the Human Rights laws.

 

7) Any person in authority that is guilty on an offence under any statute or law, irespective of whether they are "following orders" or not, is guilty of a crime by malfeasance.

 

 

Covid19, is it real?

Of course it's real but what the government is telling us is not ALL true.

The death figures depend upon how they are counted.

Recently, the numbers reported by the UK Government are the numbers of people that ave died "within 28 days of testing positive for Covid19".  They don't say that the people died from the virus.

Most people die with food in their stomachs but that does not mean that the food kiiled them. 

My friend's granny had a heart attack, she was taken to hospital and tested negative, they kept her in for a week or so, tested her again and that wa snegative; they sent her home, three days later her carers found her dead; on the death certificate it said covid19. 

Another friends mum is in a a care home; they tested all the residents and staff; all negative; in the next few weeks three died, they said of covid19; they were all over 80; they forced them into isolation. A couple more died since then but now they say of pneumonia. It's been a hot summer, that often kills more people. 

Worry and stress is a massive cause of illness and death. 

In the UK male suicide rate has certainly increased. 

 Stats are not reliable.

I think if people take precautions out of sense it is far better than living in fear. Fear is a weapon for tyrants and churches.

Plandemic: Indoctornation World Premiere - Digital Freedom Platform

Plandemic: Indoctornation World Premiere - Digital Freedom Platform: On August 18 2020 at 5pm UK time, the Digital Freedom Platform by London Real is proud to be exclusively livestreaming PLANDEMIC – INDOCTORNATION.