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| North Korean Nuclear weapon |
Danny Roy, a Nuclear Weapon Specialist calculates that if North Korea attacks the United States of America with a nuclear weapon, it could hit as many as 120,000 people.
Roy who insists that the threat is real says North Korea nuclear missiles can reach the Hawaiian Islands.
According to him, the number of victims will reach 60,000 people and another 65,000 will be affected in varying degrees as a result of the attack.
He says that if North Korea had more modern technologies, its missiles could reach the opposite coast of the United States, in which case at least 200,000 New Yorkers could become victims.
“Apparently, the United States understands the probability of a North Korea nuclear attack and that is why the USA’s tough rhetoric against the D.P.R.K. has been subsiding lately” he said.
The US announced its intention to test its own missiles defense systems to see their ability to shoot down North Korean missiles.
The tests were held in the Pacific Ocean.
Editorial
PLEASE THINK AGAIN!
For those who think that the United States of America can just fly over the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) and drop a few Bombs to silence the communist state, perhaps it is time to think again.
The truth is that the DPRK will most definitely hit back and cause the death or injury of as many as 120,000 people in the United States of America alone.
If the number of casualties in Japan and South Korea is added to this figure, the picture becomes even gorier.
As far as The Insight is concerned the only sensible way out of what some refers to as the Korean crises must be diplomacy.
Bombs will not bring the DPRK to its knees and indeed there can be no sense in even attempting to humiliate the Government and people of an independent State.
Donald Trump must be persuaded to avoid the reckless path of confrontation with the DPRK.
A word to the wise can sometimes be more than enough.
Local News:
Ghana needs vibrant opposition for growth - Rev. Dr. Amfo-Akonnor
Ghana needs vibrant opposition for growth - Rev. Dr. Amfo-Akonnor
By Stephen Asante
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) should step up efforts at providing a more vibrant opposition to the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) to help nurture the nation’s democratic dispensation, a Minister of the Gospel, has advised.
The Reverend Dr. Kofi Amfo-Akonnor, Chairperson of the Asante Presbytery of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana (PCG), said democracy without a vibrant opposition lacked credibility, saying such a situation does not auger well for political development.
The NDC, he noted, should resolve, therefore, to strengthening its internal structures in order to be formidable in presenting alternative development options and constructive criticisms of the government’s policies and programmes.
Rev. Dr. Amfo-Akonnor was addressing a ministers’ conference of the PCG at the Bantama Peyer Memorial Presbtyerian Church in Kumasi.
The programme, formed part of the 95th Presbytery Congress of the Church, and held under the theme, “When the Holy Spirit Moves the Church is Sustained”
It was designed to update the knowledge of its Ministers of their terms of reference, particularly, relating to the propagation of the Gospel and staying focused to the cause of humanity.
The Asante Presbytery Chairperson took a swipe at the leadership of the nation for playing double standards in the current campaign to bring down the incidence of illegal small-scale mining (galamsey).
“How can we fight this menace when the same people spearheading this campaign are the very ones doing the worst things?”
Rev. Dr. Amfo-Akonnor advocated a resilient crusade to save Ghana’s bio-diversity, and warned of dire consequences for the nation if the current spate of environmental degradation was not addressed.
He impressed upon the various congregations of the Church to focus on the PCG’s Non-Formal Education Project, a programme initiated by the Presbytery to reduce the illiteracy rate amongst its members.
He also demanded of the various circuits to enhance their outreach and humanitarian services for the wellbeing of the society in which they operated.
Africa:
Newly Discovered Human Relative in South Africa
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| The 300,000 year old human remains |
A team of South African researchers has found that 300,000 years ago, early humans co-existed with a primitive, small-brained hominin species that was previously thought to have gone extinct before the dawn of man.
The anthropologists with Johannesburg's University of the Witwatersrand published their findings in the journal eLife.
Homo naledi was first discovered in 2013 in South Africa: 15 skeletons were found in the depths of a cave complex that seemed to be a split between our Homo genus and our progenitor genus Australopithecus. Their skulls were half as voluminous as ours, meaning they had small brains, but little else is known for sure about these creatures.
Some anthropologists argue that they buried their dead, given that the bodies were all discovered in one place with no signs of predation. However, the cave complex was extremely treacherous to navigate, so much so that the researchers had to seek out six petite, acrobatic female scientists to reach the bones – not exactly the perfect place to bury your dead.
The age of the bones has been a sticking point in the debate: early dating determined them to be around 200,000-300,000 years old, while later estimates guessed the bones to be between 1.5 and 2.5 million years old.
"This is a humbling discovery for science," Lee Berger, a paleoanthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, told Reuters. "It's reminding us that the fossil record can hide things … we can never assume that what we have tells the whole story."
"No one thought that a small-brained, primitive hominin could extend down through time this long and that period is exactly the moment when we thought modern humans were arising here in Africa."
One major question regarding Homo naledi is what drove them to extinction – and as with nearly every species that has gone extinct since the dawn of man, we are one of the leading suspects. Like the neanderthals, who are believed to have been driven to extinction by humans (how we managed this is still under debate), it is possible that humans outcompeted or outbred Homo naledi into extinction.
"All we know is that Homo naledi is extinct today. Could Homo sapiens have driven them extinct? Yes. Could there have been gene exchange between Homo naledi and early Homo sapiens? It's entirely possible," Berger said.
Berger said his team's next main objective would be to acquire Homo naledi DNA to determine whether there was a gene exchange or not. "If we had Homo naledi DNA, not only would we be able to answer the question of a biological exchange with humans, but we would gain a window back millions of years. We would actually be looking at DNA from the split with humans. And that would be cool."
The bones found thus far were too poorly preserved to contain extractable ancient DNA. It would take another, better-preserved sample to achieve that goal.
United States:
The Numbers are Staggering: U.S. is ‘World Leader’ in Child Poverty
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| A homeless white family in the USA |
By Paul Buchheit
America’s wealth grew by 60 percent in the past six years, by over $30 trillion. In approximately the same time, the number of homeless children has also grown by 60 percent.
The 16 million kids on food stamps know what it’s like to go hungry. Perhaps, some in Congress would say, those children should be working.
“There is no such thing as a free lunch,” insisted Georgia Representative Jack Kingston, even for schoolkids, who should be required to “sweep the floor of the cafeteria” (as they actually do at a charter school in Texas).
The callousness of U.S. political and business leaders is disturbing, shocking. Hunger is just one of the problems of our children. Teacher Sonya Romero-Smith told about the two little homeless girls she adopted: “Getting rid of bedbugs that took us a while. Night terrors, that took a little while. Hoarding food..”
America is a ‘Leader’ in Child Poverty
The U.S. has one of the highest relative child poverty rates in the developed world. As UNICEF reports, “[Children’s] material well-being is highest in the Netherlands and in the four Nordic countries and lowest in Latvia, Lithuania, Romania and the United States.”
Over half of public school students are poor enough to qualify for lunch subsidies, and almost half of black children under the age of six are living in poverty.
$5 a Day for Food, But Congress thought it was Too Much.
Nearly half of all food stamp recipients are children, and they averaged about $5 a day for their meals before the 2014 farm bill cut $8.6 billion (over the next ten years) from the food stamp program.
On a typical frigid night in January, 138,000 children, according to the U.S. Department of Housing, were without a place to call home.
That’s about the same number of households that have each increased their wealth by $10 million per year since the recession.
The US: Near the Bottom in Education, and Sinking
The U.S. ranks near the bottom of the developed world in the percentage of 4-year-olds in early childhood education. Early education should be a primary goal for the future, as numerous studies have shown that pre-school helps all children to achieve more and earn more through adulthood, with the most disadvantaged benefiting the most. But we’re going in the opposite direction. Head Start was recently hit with the worst cutbacks in its history.
Children’s Rights? Not in the U.S.
It’s hard to comprehend the thinking of people who cut funding for homeless and hungry children. It may be delusion about trickle-down, it may be indifference to poverty, it may be resentment toward people unable to “make it on their own.”
The indifference and resentment and disdain for society reach around the globe. Only two nations still refuse to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: South Sudan and the United States. When President Obama said,
“I believe America is exceptional,” he was close to the truth, in a way he and his wealthy friends would never admit.
Paul Buchheit is a college teacher, an active member of US Uncut Chicago, founder and developer of social justice and educational websites (UsAgainstGreed.org, PayUpNow.org, RappingHistory.org), and the editor and main author of “American Wars: Illusions and Realities” (Clarity Press). He can be reached at paul@UsAgainstGreed.org.
Cuba:
Cuban Farmers Reaffirm Commitment to Boosting Agriculture
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| A Cuban farmer |
By Prensa Latina
On May 17, Cuban farmers, gathered in Matanzas, reaffirmed their commitment to increasing agricultural production and making a greater contribution to the updating of the country’s economic model in order to construct a prosperous and sustainable socialism on the island.
This, according to Rafael Santiesteban, President of the National Association of Small Farmers (ANAP) speaking during the main act commemorating the organization’s 56th anniversary.
The ANAP President called on Cuban farmers to continue to transform production, save resources, protect the environment, increase yields, and contribute to the substitution of imports.
Santiesteban, also a member of Cuba’s Council of State, stressed the importance of the date, which symbolizes rebellion and struggle for the entire Cuban population.
“We must remember that the ideas of (José) Martí were frustrated in pre-revolutionary Cuba, and that only after the revolutionary triumph were those that worked the land given rights to it, and confidence in the present and future of the nation validated,” he highlighted.
The Cuban official also noted that this year the organization is celebrating its first anniversary since the passing of Fidel Castro, which is why “we reiterate our commitment to his ideas, to boosting agricultural production, and upholding Cuban pride.
“We reiterate our support and solidarity with Venezuela and its President Nicolás Maduro, demand an end to the economic, financial blockade of our country, and condemn any form of aggression against our sovereignty,” he stated.
Other speakers reiterated Cuban farmers’ commitment to the country’s heroes, martyrs, and the legacy of Fidel Castro, while the act also featured cultural moments in the form of musical performances.
In addition, awards were presented to Calimete (National Vanguard); Matanzas, as host of the main anniversary celebrations; while recognitions also went to Artemisa (West), Cienfuegos (South-central), and Santiago de Cuba (East).
The ceremony, which saw the participation of some 10,000 campesinos, was held at the Dagoberto Rojas Agricultural Production Cooperative (CPA) in the neighborhood of Amarillas, in the municipality of Calimete, Matanzas province, around 130 kilometers southeast of Havana.
The Cooperative was given the honor of organizing the national act, due to its outstanding sugarcane yields; 80 tons per hectare; notable achievements in rice production and social initiatives.
Cuban Farmers’ Day is celebrated every May 17, in memory of the 1946 murder of humble farmer and defender of social justice Niceto Pérez, in Cuba’s easternmost province of Guantánamo.
As an everlasting tribute to the memory of Niceto, Fidel Castro chose this day in 1959 to sign the Agrarian Reform Law.
The historic event took place in La Plata, Sierra Maestra, where the General Command of the Rebel Army was based during the struggle to overthrow the Fulgencio Batista dictatorship, which was finally achieved January 1, 1959.
Health:
6 things your blood type can say about your health
By Chris Weller
Blood type is one of the body’s more mysterious taxonomies. There are four bins our blood can fall into — A, B, AB, and O — and together they represent the four groups of antigens found on the surfaces of red blood cells. But they don’ t just signal who we can donate to and receive from; our blood types can reveal complex patterns of personal health. Here are six to consider:
1. Memory Problems
At-risk: AB
Your brain and vascular system have more in common than you may think. A recent study found people with type AB blood were 82 percent more likely to experience difficulties with memory recall, language, and attention than people with other types. One reason, researchers suspect, is due to the key clotting protein, known as coagulation factor VIII, which may actually reduce the quality of blood flow to the brain, rather than sealing up injury sites.
“Since factor VIII levels are closely linked to blood type, this may be one causal connection between blood type and cognitive impairment,” said Mary Cushman, author of the recent study.
2. Pancreatic Cancer
At-risk: Non-O
It may be more accurate to say people with type O blood are at a lower risk for pancreatic cancer, given the work researchers from Yale University are doing on bacterial infection. In a study conducted last July, scientists from the University’s Cancer Center looked at cases of a common species of bacteria called Helicobacter pylori, or H. pylori, that lives in people’s gut.
They found people with H. pylori were significantly more likely to develop pancreatic cancer, due to the way A and B antigens help the bacteria thrive. People with type O blood carry no antigens on the surface of their red blood cells. This is what allows them to donate to anyone.
3. Heart Disease
At-risk: AB
A 2012 study from Harvard University found people with non-O blood also happen to have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. But those with type AB blood were the most at-risk overall, demonstrating a 23 percent greater chance of suffering from heart disease than type O subjects.
Study author Dr. Lu Qi, an assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition, said the particular makeup of people’s antigens should be given the same weight we already assign to cholesterol and blood pressure. "While people cannot change their blood type, our findings may help physicians better understand who is at risk for developing heart disease,” Qi said in a statement.
4. Stress
At-risk: A
Because certain blood types are more likely to co-occur with varying levels of hormones in the body, physicians commonly tailor their exercise recommendations to the patient’s type. People with type A blood, for example, are more likely to have higher levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, in their body. So, stress-reducing exercises, like Tai Chi and yoga, may be more beneficial at cutting that tension than running or weightlifting alone.
When the adrenal gland dumps more and more cortisol into the blood, people’s stress response grows more acute. People with type A blood may find themselves getting anxious more quickly and having a harder time letting troubles roll off their back.
5. Exercise Demands
More generally, the makeup of a person’s antigens on his or her red blood cells can determine how much of a certain hormone gets released. People with type A and B blood respond better to calming, low-intensity exercise like yoga, especially if depression runs in the family. Likewise, people with AB blood benefit from well-rounded workouts that keep their immune systems in check. Type O people, however, are a different story.
“Type O’s are more prone to problems that arise from an inability to clear stress hormones from their system quickly,” Dr. Ginger Nash, a naturopathic physician, told Personalized Living. “It takes more to get a Type O stressed but it takes more to de-stress them as well.”
6. Gut Bacteria
In addition to living on your red blood cells, antigens are often found in the lining of your digestive tract — about 80 percent of people fall into this category. Much of the bacteria living in people’s gut uses these antigens as food, which largely determines which bacteria flourish and which disappear. Prior research has estimated, for instance, that people with type B blood contain up to 50,000 times the number of strains of friendly bacteria than people with either type A or O blood.
“Increasingly, studies are showing that changes in the microflora content of the digestive tract can be linked to metabolic illnesses, including type II (adult onset) diabetes and obesity,” wrote Dr. Peter D’Adamo, physician and author of Eat Right 4 Your Type, in a blog post. “Blood group and secretor status play an important role in conditioning the overall characteristics of the digestive tract.”
Think You Can Be Both Fat and Fit?
A new study of millions of Brits over a decade has led researchers to say that the idea that a person can be overweight, but still maintain a good physical fitness level is "an age-old myth." The news could affect millions, as 67% of British adults are classed as overweight.
The use of a person's BMI, or Body Max Index, to help determine their health has faced criticism in recent years. Some doctors have pointed out that BMI is purely a measure of weight and doesn't distinguish between muscle and fat.
It means that some international athletes — particularly professional rugby players — are technically classed as "obese" by the UK National Health Service (NHS).
Such comments fed into the narrative that it is possible for individuals to be overweight and still healthy.
However, a recent study that examined 3.5 million people over a decade suggests that it may wishful thinking.
Researchers at the University of Birmingham analyzed the data from British patients between 1995 and 2015.
They found those who are were overweight or obese, but still metabolically healthy — without conditions as high blood pressure or diabetes — are still at a significantly higher risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, than those with healthy BMIs.
"This is the largest prospective study of the association between metabolically healthy obesity and cardiovascular disease events," said study author Dr. Rishi Caleyachetty from the Institute of Applied Health Research at Birmingham University.
The research was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Portugal mid-May, and was backed up by the British Heart Foundation.
"It's not often that research on this scale and magnitude is able to clarify an age-old myth. These findings should be taken extremely seriously and I'd urge healthcare professionals to take heed," said Dr. Michael Knapton from the British Heart Foundation.
"Previously we used to think that being overweight led to an increase in heart attacks and stroke because it raised your blood pressure or cholesterol.
"What was new from this study for me is that it showed that people who were overweight or obese were at increased risk of heart disease even though they may have been healthy in every other respect. Just being overweight puts you at increased risk of heart attack and stroke."
So what are the implications for a nation of increasingly bulging waistlines?
Researchers stress that "blaming individuals" is not productive, but that an honest reappraisal of the nation's declining health is vital to saving lives.
A shocking 67% of British adults and a growing number of children are obese or overweight, not far behind the US figure of 71%.
And the list of diseases that overweight men and women are at a higher risk of is long indeed, including type 2 diabetes, liver disease, heart attack, gallbladder disease and certain cancers.
The British Heart Foundation highlights that a growing number of Brits are also at risk of high blood pressure, which can lead to further health complications in later life.
The study has not yet appeared in a scientific journal and is yet to undergo checks by other academics.
However, for more than 2/3 of British adults, this week's news coming out of Portugal may set off alarm bells over their diet and lifestyle.
Dr. Mike Knapton said that it's important that overweight people should have support to help them improve their general health.
"We all have a role to play. The government, retailers, food manufacturers and consumers must work together to help tackle this obesity epidemic."
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