Tag Archives: Standards

Det kan godt betale sig at fælde dit birketræ hvis du har pollenallergi

fakta
F flere gode rd p Astma-alleri.dk
Vil du gre noget ved din birkepollenallergi, skal du rette blikket mod dine
nrmeste omgivelser.

Meget tyder nemlig p, at birketrer i egen eller naboens have betyder mere
for pollenmngden i luften omkring dig end den mngde pollen, der for
eksempel svver ind over landet fra kmpemssige birkeskove syd og st for
Danmark.
Danske trer giver de strste pollenmngderDet fortller informationschef i Astma Allergi Danmark Lise Nrgaard, der
blandt andet peger p, at nr de store udbrud fra skovene i lande som
Sverige, Polen, Tyskland og andre lande sydst for os svver ind over
Danmark omkring en uge fr, de danske birketrer springer ud, er
pollenniveauet mrkbart lavere, end nr de danske pollen begynder at blande
sig.

Tal fra dette forrs opblomstring af pollenplagen viser, at i en uge fr, de
danske birketrer begyndte at smide deres pollen i dagene omkring den 2.
maj, blev der mlt pollental fra udenlandske birketrer p 177 den 29. april
som det hjeste. Da de danske birketrer kom med, kom tallet op p p 1.180
den 5. maj.
LS ARTIKELAdvarsel til birkeallergikere:
Det bliver en kort, men forfrdelig sson
Vi ved, at de lokale kilder giver de vrste symptomer p pollenforurening,
men det er ikke sdan, at vi kan sige, at de lokale kilder str for for
eksempel 80 procent og de udenlandske for 20 procent, siger Lise Nrgaard.

Af samme grund giver det god mening for pollenallergikere at tjekke havens
vkster ud.

Har du et birketr i haven, s er det det der giver dig de fleste pollen i
din hverdag. S det vil selvsagt hjlpe p din allergi, hvis du flder det.

Astma Allergi Danmark arbejder p at minimere antallet af birketrer i det
offentlige rum, men p hjemmefronterne vil foreningen dog ikke forsge at
lave restrikrtioner.

Vi anbefaler generelt ikke at g ud og flde birketrerne. Vi er ikke en
forbudsforening men siger for eksempel til haveejere, at de m gre op med
sig selv, om de vil flde deres birketr, siger Lise Nrgaard.
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Diplomat tells Congress Benghazi mission failed to meet critical security standards

A career diplomat told Congress on Wednesday that the US mission in Benghazi in Libya had failed to meet crucial security standards, a deficiency that may have contributed to American deaths last year. Eric Nordstrom, the regional security officer at the US Embassy in Tripoli in the months before…

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Government-operated spyware on the rise around the world – report

Citizen Lab, a digital research unit at the University of Toronto, says that servers running notorious FinFisher software have been found in eleven new countries over the past year, bringing the total number of states where servers have been detected to 36.FinFisher is an “IT intrusion and remote monitoring solution” that is “solely offered to law enforcement and intelligence agencies”, according to its makers Gamma International. Behind the euphemisms is a toolkit of malware which can infect a user’s computer or phone and then track his movements, record his conversations, and steal his confidential documents and passwords.It is produced by Gamma International, an Anglo-German company registered in the British Virgin Islands. It first rose to prominence two years ago when documents published on whistleblower website Wikileaks revealed that the Egyprian security services during the regime of Hosni Mubarak paid over $350,000 to use the software.Citizen Lab says ‘permissive’ standards are used by Gamma International and other publicity-shy companies in the largely unregulated spyware market. They also argue that the term ‘lawful intercept’ – which allows the companies to sell hacking software without being arrested – is just a fig leaf.“There is nothing inherently lawful about the capabilities of these tools. They are simply trojans sold to states, not individuals,” declares the report.The newest detection scan by Citizen Lab, which was aided by sympathetic anti-malware producers (whose software Finfisher successfully evades) showed that fresh servers have appeared in Hungary, Turkey, Romania, Panama, Lithuania, Macedonia, South Africa, Pakistan, Nigeria, Bulgaria and Austria.Citizen Lab says the location of the servers does not necessarily mean they are being operated by governments in those countries, but they also point out that the true number of clients may be much higher than the scan has revealed, as Gamma International constantly tries to conceal the signature of its servers.In any case, recent examples of Finfisher being used unethically, and possibly illegally are plentiful.In Morocco Mamfakinch, a website critical of the government, was infiltrated through software posing as popular browser Mozilla Firefox.Somewhat ironically, anti-government activists in Bahrain were targeted with a fake email attachment that alleged to shed the latest information on state-sanctioned torture.In Malaysia, politically active internet users were monitored after they clicked on a list of candidates in the upcoming presidential election.“The 20th century is rife with politically motivated abuse of electronic surveillance that runs contrary to legal and constitutional protections. There is no reason to suspect that remote intrusion and surveillance software isn’t subject to the same temptations,” say the reports authors.Instead, of lofty words, the Mozilla Foundation, which produces Firefox, has sent a cease-and-desist order to Gamma International. On its blog it said the company “uses our brand and trademarks to lie and mislead as one of its methods for avoiding detection and deletion” while its software is “used by Gamma’s customers to violate citizens’ human rights and online privacy”.But Citizen Lab has called not for piecemeal defensive legal moves, but a new level of supervision for the shadowy commercial surveillance industry, estimated to be worth $5 billion. It hopes its attempt at a comprehensive study, reveals the scale of the problem.“The proliferation of increasingly powerful commercial surveillance tools has serious implications not just for dissidents and activists, but for all of us, no matter our citizenship,” the report summarizes. Read More

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Stop posting that Dove ad: “Real beauty” campaign is not feminist

Unless your Facebook friends are completely pre-occupied right now with Gabrielle Giffords’ op-ed and Science Bros, you’ve seen multiple teary re-posts of Dove’s newest “Real Beauty” video this week, in which a forensic sketch artist draws portraits of “real women” without ever seeing them. The artist asks each woman to describe herself, and they all oblige with damning self-criticism like “I kind of have a fat, rounder face” and “I’d say I have a pretty big forehead.” Take-away: Women are our own worst critics!Except we’re not — at least, not naturally. All of that body image baggage is internalized by growing up in a society that enforces rigid beauty standards, and since the target demographic for this ad is clearly women over 35 with access to library cards (which is to say, women who have had some time to figure this reality out), it is baffling that Dove can continue to garner raves for their pandering, soft-focus fake empowerment ads.Continue Reading… Read More

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At least 40 injured as passenger plane with over 100 on board crashes in Bali

The victims, four of whom were hospitalized, were treated for injuries including broken legs and head wounds, Reuters quoted hospital officials as saying.No one was killed in the incident, and rescue teams have managed to evacuate the plane.The company’s spokesperson said 101 passengers and a seven-member crew were aboard the aircraft when it crashed; earlier reports suggested there were 172 passengers.The plane is sitting in shallow waters 200 to 300 meters off the end of the runway, local media reported. The cabin broke apart as the aircraft crashed into the sea.The cause of the accident has yet to be determined. The plane had flown from Bandung, the capital of the West Java province, and was landing in Bali Ngurah Rai Airport.Lion Airlines is Indonesia’s largest privately owned airline, and a leading budget airline. In 2012, the company transported some 24 million people.The company is banned from operating in the European Union due to its failure to meet safety standards. Read More

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Why is a Known Toxic Substance Allowed in Organic Foods?

While the USDA certified organic is indeed the way to go, not everything approved under their standards is good for you. On the contrary, some may be very harmful. Such is the case with a substance known as carrageenan. Read More

Connecticut governor signs tough gun control law

Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law on Thursday sweeping new restrictions on weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines. With family members of some of the victims from the  Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting at his side, Malloy signed the bill just hours after it had been approved by the Connecticut House.”This is a profoundly emotional day for everyone in this room,” Malloy said. “We have come together in a way that few places in the nation have demonstrated the ability to do.”On Wednesday the law was approved by the State Senate vote with 105 in favor and 44 opposing the measure.Some of the clauses of the new law took effect immediately after Malloy’s endorsement. These include banning of the sale or purchase of large capacity magazines.Connecticut is now the third state to introduce such strict gun control measures following the December shooting in Newtown.Some of the measures introduced by the bill limit the capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds, add more than 100 types of guns to the state’s list of banned assault weapons, require background checks for all weapon sales, including at gun shows, and establish safety standards for school buildings.On December 14, 20-year-old Adam Lanza killed 20 children, six adults and then himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Before going on a shooting rampage at the school, Lanza fatally shot his 52-year-mother at their home in Newtown. The shooter fired over 150 rounds with his rifle shooting all of his victims, who were mostly between six and seven years of age, multiple times.   At Lanza`s home the investigators discovered large stock of weapons and ammunition. It was reported that the guns were acquired legally by his mother. The horrific accident prompted vigor gun control discussion throughout the US. Read More