#Local news in Cameroon

[ahmed25646]

News Cameroon :: Diet: Women in search of a dream body :: Cameroon news

News Cameroon :: Diet: Women in search of a dream body :: Cameroon news

They rush to diet cabinets in search of advice either to refine their silhouette or to gain curves. Fanny is not satisfied with her figure. The young girl has subscribed to taking vitamins for, she says, having shapes. “It’s true that I play sports, but it’s thanks to the vitamins that I consume that I manage to gain weight. I wanted to have a nice butt. Sport just helps me stay healthy,” she…

[the-cimmerians]

Queer and trans folk around the world often take an interest in the athletes from our community, and Outsports even collects a database of all the the out LGBTQ competitors. While JK Rowling and 99 percent of conservative media were harassing two cis women boxers, 195 QT athletes represented 26 nations and none, but we’ll get to that. That makes this the queerest Olympics ever, beating out the total of 186 out athletes in Tokyo and, if Queer Nation granted citizenships, would be the 14th largest national contingent at the games. That hypothetical Queer Nation would also have placed sixth in the medal count, tying the Netherlands with 15 golds but falling neatly between the Dutch and host country France on the strength of silvers and bronzes.

One happy bit of news is that in both golds and overall medal count, Queer Nation beat out every single country in the world that criminalizes same-sex boinking. The only bad news seems to be that people competing in the men’s events seem a little underqueered compared to the women. Can’t we at least get a few interested in the Greco-Roman wrestling? Yr Wonkette is just asking.

...

Sure, justice in silver and gold for badass bisexual Black woman Sha’Carri Richardson, excluded from Tokyo on the basis of smoking legal weed in Eugene, Oregon, was as sweet as sativa; it was fun to see Diana Taurasi go out on the queer top with her sixth Olympic gold in a row (team USA’s eighth consecutive women’s basketball gold); and seeing the shoulders on those women rugby players was a dream come true. But we want to speak about someone who didn’t represent any country at all: Cindy Ngamba.

Ngamba is a middleweight (75kg) boxer originally from Cameroon. At 11 years old some family members fled to the United Kingdom as refugees, and brought Ngamba along. The family maintains it had the proper approval for Cindy, but that when her uncle returned to Cameroon it was lost. The UK Home Office has been threatening to deport her since the age of 16, when she was accepted to university and realized she couldn’t produce her visa for her college paperwork.

Despite the threats, Ngamba fought and won many times in the UK’s amateur boxing competitions, having started as a hobbyist in the local Bolton Lads and Girls Club program. She also went on to get an undergraduate degree with honors, all while threats of deportation hung over her head. After winning a UK national championship, she met then-PM Theresa May celebrating her win and the efforts of the Lads & Girls Club where she trained. One might think that the UK might eventually forgive an 11-year-old girl for not keeping track of her paperwork herself, but the Home Office has remained resolute denying Ngamba regularized status.

What makes all this both horrifyingly inhumane and also relevant to this article is that Ngamba is an out lesbian. She has been consistently denied a path to citizenship or even legal residency, only escaping deportation because of her ability to document horror after horror inflicted on queer residents of Cameroon. International law prohibits sending a refugee back to their nation of citizenship or previous residence if they would face persecution and risk of great harm, a crime called “refoulement.”

“If I was sent back, I can be in danger,” Ngamba said. “So, I was given the refugee status to be safe and protected."

Unable to represent the UK and unable to compete in qualifying competitions in Cameroon, Ngamba got an opportunity that no other stateless athlete had ever shared before 2016: she was named to the IOC Refugee Olympic Team. So far that team has only been allowed to compete in the summer games, and only in Rio, Tokyo, and this year in Paris. (They will be allowed to compete in the Winter Games for the first time in 2026.) Given the incredible barriers most refugees face, it is perhaps not surprising that no Refugee Team member has ever won a medal. But while Ngamba has faced incredible legal problems and a ruthlessly anti-immigrant government her entire time in the UK, she at least had better training facilities in her local Lads & Girls than most refugees can dream.

And the dreams paid off. Team Refugee got its first medal ever when Ngamba took home middleweight bronze. "I just want to tell every refugee out there, whether they are an athlete or not, to never give up,” she said after being asked to carry the Olympic flag at the opening of the games. When she won, the whole refugee team took to the internet to celebrate:

“The Refugee Olympic Team is incredibly proud of Cindy Ngamba, the first EOR athlete and the first-ever refugee medallist at the Olympics,” the team posted on X, formerly Twitter. “Today, we are speechless. Cindy did it. Refugees did it!”

Yes, yes you did.

[beardedmrbean]

Burkina Faso's military junta has announced a ban on homosexual acts, making it the latest African state to crack down on same-sex relations despite strong opposition from Western powers.

Homosexuality was frowned upon in the socially conservative West African state, but it was never outlawed.

Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala said the junta's cabinet had now approved legislation to make it a punishable offence, but he did not give further details.

The military seized power in Burkina Faso in 2022, and has pivoted towards Russia after drastically reducing ties with former colonial power, France.

Homosexual acts were decriminalised in Russia in 1993, but President Vladimir Putin's government has been cracking down on the LGBTQ community, including banning what it calls "propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations".

The doctor forced to fight jihadists in Burkina Faso

Nigeria-EU deal sparks false claims over LGBT rights

The Nigerian queer parties that offer liberation

Burkina Faso's decision to outlaw homosexual relations is part of an overhaul of its marriage laws.

The new legislation, which still needs to be passed by the military-controlled parliament and signed off by junta leader Ibrahim Traoré, only recognises religious and customary marriages.

"Henceforth homosexuality and associated practices will be punished by the law," the justice minister was quoted by AFP news agency as saying.

Capt Traoré took power in September 2022 after overthrowing another military ruler, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba, accusing him of failing to quell an Islamist insurgency that has gripped Burkina Faso since 2015.

Burkina Faso was among 22 out of 54 African states where same-sex relations were not criminalised.

Unlike in many former British colonies, it did not inherit anti-homosexuality laws after independence from France in 1960.

Muslims make up around 64% of Burkina Faso's population and Christians 26%. The remaining 10% of people follow traditional religions or have no faith.

Many African states have been taking a tougher stand against the LGBTQ community in recent years.

Uganda is among those that have adopted legislation recently to further crack down on the community, despite strong condemnation from local rights groups and Western powers.

In May, its Constitutional Court upheld a tough new anti-gay law that allows for the death penalty to be imposed for “aggravated homosexuality”, which includes having gay sex with someone below the age of 18 or where someone is infected with a life-long illness such as HIV.

Activists said they would appeal against the ruling.

The World Bank has halted new loans to President Yoweri Museveni's government while the US has stopped giving Ugandan goods preferential access to its markets, following the adoption of the legislation last year.

Mr Museveni defended the legislation as preserving traditional family values, and said Uganda would not allow the West to dictate to it.

The daughter of Cameroon's president drew mixed reaction after she came out as a lesbian last week.

Brenda Biya, who lives abroad, said she hoped that her coming out would help change the law banning same-sex relations in the country.

Cameroon has been ruled with an iron-hand by her 91-year-old father, Paul Biya, since 1982.

In Ghana, parliament passed a tough new bill in February that imposes a prison sentence of up to three years for anyone convicted of identifying as LGBTQ+.

However, President Nana Akufo-Addo has not signed it into law, saying he will wait for the courts to rule on its constitutionality.

The finance ministry has warned him that if the bill became law, Ghana could lose $3.8bn (£3bn) in World Bank funding over the next five to six years.

Ghana is suffering a major economic crisis and received a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last year.

[mariacallous]

Hello, this is Kostyantyn Nechyporenko. I’m a researcher at the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit.

In this issue of The Witness, our newsletter about Russian war crimes, I’ll talk about how Russia exploits poverty in Asian and African countries to recruit soldiers for its war against Ukraine.

On Aug. 1, 2024, the Indian government told its parliament that it knew of eight Indian citizens who died in Ukraine while serving in the Russian army. The exact number of Indians serving in the Russian military is unknown, but the government knows of 63 Indian nationals who "have sought early discharge" from the Russian army.

At the first glance, this news may seem strange. Russia’s population is almost three times bigger than Ukraine’s – why would Russia look for soldiers abroad?

Moreover, why would it recruit soldiers from the other side of the continent and spend resources on logistics instead of finding "volunteers" nearby, from the countries that are culturally closer, where people may speak Russian and have even served in an army that is similar to that of Russia?

Russia doesn’t limit itself with India. In June, the Kyiv Independent published a video of a questioning of a Nepali POW who fought for Russia in Ukraine. Russian special services send hundreds of people to conduct secret or semi-secret recruitment in dozens of countries. Ukrainian military intelligence has said that Russians are recruiting citizens of at least 21 countries for the war in Ukraine.

The list includes post-Soviet countries, as well as Serbia, and a number of countries in South Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. This list is probably not exhaustive, as videos and photos of alleged citizens of Somalia, China, Vietnam, Cameroon, and Ghana participating in the war on the side of the Russians have surfaced.

What do we know about Russia’s international recruitment and why it’s conducting it?

The recruitment is active in the countries where Russia can afford to not care about locals’ discontent, where there won't be even a diplomatic note of protest or condemnation.

It is telling that the reaction of the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry to Russian recruitment of its citizens was to propose to set up a "joint committee" with Russia to address the following issues: "payment of compensation for the deceased and the wounded, the plight of the uncontactable Sri Lankans, and the possibility of voluntary returns." Despite the obviously abusive attitude towards the Sri Lankans in the Russian military, the statement has no hint of resentment or dissatisfaction.

One might think that the point of international recruitment is to give the impression that Russia’s war is supported by a large number of countries. However, there seems to be not enough publicity to support this version. There is no evidence of a systematic public campaign by the Russian state and Kremlin-controlled media that would highlight that volunteers from around the world are joining their fight.

From what I've seen, most videos and photos of foreigners in the Russian army show that Russian recruiters tend to target poor and embattled countries.

Syria is the most appalling example. After years of brutal campaigns in support of the Assad regime, Russia is taking advantage of the country’s dire economic situation, lack of essential goods and staple foods, and many Syrians struggling to provide for their families. Some public sector employees, for example, can earn as little as $20 a month. For many Syrians, the promise of a soldier’s wage of $300 to $3,000 per month is very tempting. In addition, recruiters often promise non-combat roles, "work in the rear," or even "guarding facilities" thousands of miles away from the combat zones. Often, it’s deliberate deception.

Those who accept the offers risk ending up in so-called "meat assaults" – this is what Ukrainians call Russian tactics in which waves of infantry with little or no mechanized support attempt to wear down the defenders of Ukrainian fortified positions with continuous attacks. Such tactics are not uncommon in the Russian army, known for its blatant disregard for casualties.

This is exactly what happened to one of the Syrians who was lured to Russia with the promise of "guarding gold mines in eastern Siberia" and a tempting salary, where he quickly found himself in the ranks of the Russian army. In an audio message to his uncle, he describes how he was forced to walk over the bodies of killed soldiers and how horrified he was to see scorched earth and burned trees on battlefields.

Technically, such recruitment isn’t a war crime. But if you ask me, exploiting poverty, dire living conditions, and unemployment to send people far from home to die in an unprovoked and ill-motivated war is not just predatory recruitment. It is a crime.

Still, Russia needs more people to fight. Their tactics and strategy require many troops, no regard for casualties, and treating soldiers as “expendables.” Therefore, the search for new soldiers never stops.

One of the recruitment ads got a lot of attention on Ukrainian social media because of its somewhat comical wording and lack of consistency. It begins with the words “Contract work for real men in Moscow” and ends with “The women are back in action! Recruitment in Rostov-on-Don has opened for you!” However, those who mocked the ad missed a very important part: the ad promised a one-time bonus of 2.3 million rubles (about $25,000, a great deal of money for Russia) for signing the contract. This shows how much the Russian army needs more recruits and how unwilling the Russian leadership is to intensify the mobilization at home. Foreign mercenaries are a different case — they can be paid less, and there are no political consequences at home if they die or get seriously wounded.

As I was writing this newsletter, the military juntas of Burkina Faso, Niger, and Mali sent a letter to the UN Security Council condemning Ukraine's alleged support for rebels in the Sahel. Following the successes of the Tuareg rebels in their battles against the Wagner, many Ukrainian military bloggers have speculated that they are being supported and perhaps even trained by the Ukrainian special services. Whether this is true or not is hard to say now. But Mali and Burkina Faso are definitely on the list of countries where Russians actively recruit soldiers.

This war may be taking place on the territory of just two countries in Eastern Europe, but it has truly global implications.

[snakemanaustralia]

Grabbing Herald Snakes in Africa. See the big paper ....

ABSTRACT Following extensive fieldwork by Raymond Hoser in Africa in 2009 and after catching and inspecting large numbers of various forms of the widespread Herald Snake (Genus Crotaphopeltis Fitzinger, 1843), the genus was subjected to an intensive audit, including inspection of specimens of all previously named species in the genus, as well as a review of literature, published photos and the like. This examination included snakes from locations across the known sub-Saharan distribution of the genus as currently recognized. The result of the audit included the recognition of the six currently widely recognized species, Crotaphopeltis barotseensis Broadley, 1968, C. braestrupi Rasmussen, 1985, C. degeni (Boulenger, 1906), C. hippocrepis (Reinhardt, 1843), C. hotamboeia (Laurenti, 1768) and C. tornieri (Werner, 1908). Also resurrected from the synonymy of C. degeni (Boulenger, 1906), type locality Entebbe, Uganda, is the related taxon, Leptodira attarensis Werner, 1908 from South Sudan and nearby west Ethiopia (Gambela). An allied species Crotaphopeltis andreeblouinae sp. nov. from Cameroon and the Central African Republic is formally named for the fi rst time. The species C. tornieri (Werner, 1908), type locality Usambara Mountains, Tanga Province, northeastern Tanzania is split into four species, with the population from Mount Rungwe, Tanzania Ukinga to the south and the nearby Misuku Mountains in Malawi formally named as Crotaphopeltis juliusnyererei sp. nov.. Those morphologically similar specimens from the Ufi pa Plateau are formally named C. ufi paensis sp. nov.. The divergent population from the Rondo Plateau area of south east Tanzania are formally named as C. rondoensis sp. nov.. The remaining population of nominate C. tornieri (mainly in the north-east) is also split with the southwestern population from the Udzungwa Mountains being formally described as a new subspecies C. tornieri udzungwaensis subsp. nov.. The most widely distributed species C. hotamboeia is formally split into six subspecies, four formally named for the fi rst time. The most divergent species in the genus C. barotseensis, believed to have diverged from the others about 15 MYA, is herein placed in a new genus Paracrotaphopeltis gen. nov.. Taxonomic vandalism by way of pretending these forms are not unique, or by assigning them non-ICZN compliant duplicate names could hamper conservation to the degree that one or more way well become extinct as has already happened for other similarly affected taxa, including as detailed in Hoser (2019a, 2019b). Keywords: Africa; Snake; Reptilia; Squamata; Serpentes; Colubridae; Crotaphopeltis; barotseensis; braestrupi; degeni; hippocrepis; hotamboeia; tornieri; attarensis; ruziziensis; Congo; Cameroon; Tanzania; Sudan; Ethiopia; Central African Republic; Ufi pa plateau; Rondo plateau; new genus; Paracrotaphopeltis; new species; andreeblouinae; juliusnyererei; ufi paensis; rondoensis; new subspecies; udzungwaensis; rubrumlabellum; luteuslabellum; labellumpulvereus; albalinguacalloso. Full text at: https://www.smuggled.com/AJH-62-Pages-3-22.pdf

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Cameroon Concord is Private Cameroonian Media]

Sources purportedly close to Ambazonian independence groups have asserted that a Cameroonian military helicopter was allegedly brought down, crashing into residential areas in the Bui locality, specifically in the village of Waingoilum. Ambazonian rebel leader Cho Ayaba took to his X handle to announce the incident, declaring,

"Today, an enemy Chopper was brought down by our brave forces of the Unity Warriors. Occupation has a cost, and Cameroun will pay heavily."

Ayaba further linked the incident to economic repercussions, stating, "Due to our economic sabotage, Cameroun can't pay its debt. It owes 5 companies 200 billion amba. It owes Internet and telephone companies 76 billion. It owes electricity companies 132 billion. Our resistance will continue to impact the economy of the rogue occupier."[...]

However, it is crucial to note that Cameroon Concord, an independent news outlet, has not independently confirmed this report at this time. The unverified nature of these claims raises questions about the reliability of the information and underscores the need for cautious interpretation amid the ongoing complexities in the region.

11 Jan 24

[readyforevolution]

FACTS ABOUT CAMEROON

Fast facts

Official name: Republic of Cameroon

Capital city: Yaounde

Population: 27,744,989

Area: 475,440 sq km

Major languages: English, French

Time zone: UTC+1 (West Africa Time)

– Source: CIA World Fact Book

1. Archaeological evidence suggests the African country of Cameroon has been inhabited by humans for at least 50,000 years.

– Source: Britannica

2. Cameroon is often referred to as “Africa in miniature” due to its geographical and cultural diversity.

– Source: BBC News

3. Cameroon is home to over 200 different ethnic groups and has been described as an “ethnic crossroads”.

– Source: Britannica

4. There are as many as 275 local languages spoken in Cameroon, making it one of the most linguistically diverse countries.

– Source: Ethnologue

5. In fact, Cameroon is the ninth most linguistically diverse country in the world and the second in Africa after Nigeria.

– Source: Ethnologue

6. The flag of Cameroon 🇨🇲 comprises vertically strips of green, red and yellow with a central yellow star. The star symbolises national unity, the green stripe symbolises the vegetation of the south, the yellow the savannas of the north and the red represents a link between the north and south and stands for national sovereignty.

– Source: Britannica

7. The first Europeans to explore Cameroon were Portuguese navigators who sailed up the Wouri River in 1472.

– Source: Britannica

8. They initially named the river Rio dos Camarões (River of Shrimps), after the numerous shrimps found there.

– Source: Britannica

9. After the First World War, Cameroon was divided between Britain and France, then in 1961, the two colonies unified after gaining independence and became the United Republic of Cameroon.

– Source: Britannica

[theliterarywolf]

And as someone actually native to the "ancient, forgotten, savage country uwu" that Established Titles (and their ilk) "helps", it made my blood boil. First time I heard an ad, I had to think "never heard of these people, how & why are they capitalising off the apparent new world need to say "I own a castle in Scotland"?" A local council demolished an *actual* ancient forest during the pandemic for a super campus and buyers think they're "saving the land" like this??

It's the unfortunate truth that there will always be an off-shore party to come along and capitalize an unassuming area while marketing it off as something new, trendy, and niche.

I mean, it was just a few years ago were people kept having to mention 'Hey, uh, that land wasn't just there, you guys just bogarted your way to it while offering the locals shitty investment deals! HEY!' when all of those Chinese ads for 'join this futurist settlement in countries like Kenya, Nigeria, and Cameroon~!' were popping up.

[stele3]

https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/israel-strikes-rafah-refugee-camp-22-killed-local-health-officials-say-2024-02-12/

[coochiequeens]

Good news for Women’s History Month

By April White

THROUGHOUT THE YEAR, WE HERE at Atlas Obscurahighlight women who have shaped our past, but this Women’s History Month we also want to shout out the scientists, activists, chefs, historians, artists, and adventurers who are making history right now. From the scrubland of Argentina and the kitchens of Japan all the way to the South Pole, these women are writing the next chapter of history.

This Is What a Polar Explorer Looks Like

by Amy Crawford

Last year, 33-year-old Harpreet Chandi became the first woman of color to make the difficult solo trek to the South Pole. The harrowing 40-day, 700-mile journey—which Chandi described as “like traveling inside a marshmallow”—was “about so much more than me.” She hopes to “inspire people to push their boundaries, no matter their background, gender, or color of their skin.”

How the Enchanting, Elusive Pink Fairy Armadillo Became One Scientist’s Obsession

by James Hall

Conservation biologist Mariella Superina began studying armadillos in western Argentina 25 years ago. Today, she leads an international team that monitors global populations of anteaters, sloths, and armadillos. But, thanks to her obsession with the pink fairy armadillo, she has also become the leading expert on these diminutive, enigmatic animals. She even hosted a live pink fairy armadillo—which turned out to be a real diva—in her living room in the name of science.

In India, These Trailblazing Female Stunt Bikers Rule the Road

by Shubha Menon

For decades, Indian women have fought—and won—the right to stunt. And as stunt biking has gained popularity in the country, the riders are pushing back against traditional gender roles and inspiring one another through education and community-building.

Ngonnso Will Finally Come Home to Cameroon

by Ye Charlotte Ming

For years, Sylvie Njobati would walk by a life-size statue of a woman in Kumbo, in the northwest region of Cameroon. Meticulously outlined with hundreds of seashells, the statue depicts Ngonnso, the queen mother of Nso people, a cultural group in the region whose origin can be traced to the 14th century. But the statue is only a replica. The real one was 3,000 miles away, in a glass box at Berlin’s Humboldt Forum, a museum mired in controversy for its connection to Germany’s colonial past. Now, thanks to work by activists such as Njobati, Ngonnso is coming home to Cameroon.

One Woman’s Quest to Create Truly Japanese Cheese

by Joan Bailey

“One of my goals is to introduce Japan through cheese,”says cheesemaker Chiyo Shibata of Fromage Sen cheesery in Chiba Prefecture. Cheese is not a historical part of the Japanese diet, but Shibata believes it could be part of its future—especially as the country faces the impact of climate change. She uses local Japanese microbes and flavors such as Sakura blossoms and sake to create a uniquely Japanese product.

She Was There

This ongoing Q&A series features female scholars who are writing long-forgotten women back into history. Among them are historian Rebecca Hall, who is telling the untold stories of the women who led slave revolts; scholar Pamula S. Murray, who has rediscovered the female revolutionaries behind Latin American independence; documentary filmmaker Immy Humes, who has focused her lens on lone women as they made their way into a man’s world; and many more.

[kendrixtermina]

It DOESNT MATTER if the Israelis' distant ancestors really came from Palestine

Leaving aside that "indigenous" in a political sense tends to mean "current victim of colonialism or post-colonial structures" and not "being originally from somewhere" (we don't usually call the French "indigenous") consider the following:

All Slavic people & their languages are thought to have originated in what is now Ukraine somewhere in the late middle ages and spread from there to everywhere they live today. Does that mean I can kick a Ukranian out of his house because I have a czech grandpa?

All the Bantu peoples are thought to have originated roughly in what is today Cameroon. Can any west or central African speaking a Bantu language kick out someone in Cameroon from their house? Or even a black person from the USA or the Caribbean?

All the Germanic Peoples originated from Jutland peninsula (what is today Denmark & some bits of Northern Germany.) - can a guy in England, Austria or the USA kick a Dane out of his house?

The people of Australia, Canada, the eastern USA & to a lesser extent South Africa (where many alre also descended from Netherlanders) are all descended from the English. Can they all come to England & kick an English farmer out of his house?

(they can, however, still in practice sometimes get an unfair advantage over Hawaiians & Puerto Ricans, or put a pipeline or mine through a Native American or Australian Aboriginal's home, or expropriate a black person to build a highway... at least there its not based on directly racist laws, in theory a rich POC could do it too.But in practice the result still often screws locals for short-sighted business ventures, so there is some stuff to be fixed still...)

The Romance languages all descend from Latin. Can any Italian kick ppl out out of everything that used to be Roman, including France, England and Bavaria?

Can any Greek kick someone out out of everything that used to be the Byzantine Empire?

Spain belonged to the Islamic empire for a long time. Can a Moroccan go kick a Spanish person out of his house?

Spain does give Spanish nationality to south american spaniards, (to attract skilled workers & fix low population growth), which I know cause my dad insisted on getting it due to patriotic feeling, but while he could buy a house there & vote, he cannot kick anyone out. Not even out of the exact village where his ancestors lived just 100 years ago.

Heck, the czech grandpa I mentioned? His family was expropriated when Communism took over. After communism, my mom & her siblings got an offer to get their farm/house back, but ONLY if they find the ppl currently living in the house an equivalent place.

It turns out there was a family of Romani ppl living there & it would be hard to find them a big house due to housing discrimination - my mom & her siblings just decided to let them keep the house since they were actually using it & none of us was planning to move to rural czechia. It seemed mean to kick out ppl who are being discriminated & had themselves lived there for decades now, after all we have our own places. (and my mom has, like, a painting of the town's church hanging in her living room & remembers living there as a little girl, & has stories about it, including some lewd jokes about the shape of the mountains.)

They should probably do a similar program in Palestine, where Palestinian families can get still-standing houses back or $$ for rebuilding destroyed villages, but the current inhabitants get provided for. Though probably the state should have to find them a new place, not impoverished Palestinians themselves. In the communist expropriation example, chances are the original owner was richer than the current one, which is different in Palestine.

Let us also consider the difference between conquest & immigration.

Conquest means you disrupt the social order & impose your own rules. This is clearly what was done in Palestine.

Immigration is different - I'm all for the right to immigrate & for ppl to live where they want, but immigrating means you fold yourself into an existing society & follow the laws there. (many ppl explicitly immigrate to places where they like the laws more)

The problem is not jewish ppl living in Palestine because they want to live in the land of their distant ancestors, but rather taking over & oppressing everyone else.

No one would mind my dad going to live in Spain where his ancestors lived. Indeed they would probably rejoice, he is a skilled worker & pays lots of tax. But if he came with an army, rebranded the country "new Cuba", demanded that everyone speak Latin American Spanish & started oppressing the local farmers, that would be a very different issue.

Though of course I wonder how many ppl care more about special treatment & free stuff than they do about religion or "connection to the land". Many might end up going to some gated community in the USA if they have to be equal citizens with no special privileges.

[ahmed25646]

News Cameroon :: Diet: Women in search of a dream body :: Cameroon news

News Cameroon :: Diet: Women in search of a dream body :: Cameroon news

They rush to diet cabinets in search of advice either to refine their silhouette or to gain curves. Fanny is not satisfied with her figure. The young girl has subscribed to taking vitamins for, she says, having shapes. “It’s true that I play sports, but it’s thanks to the vitamins that I consume that I manage to gain weight. I wanted to have a nice butt. Sport just helps me stay healthy,” she…

[s4g2]

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[beardedmrbean]

The Greek coastguard has caused the deaths of dozens of migrants in the Mediterranean over a three-year period, witnesses say, including nine who were deliberately thrown into the water.

The nine are among more than 40 people alleged to have died as a result of being forced out of Greek territorial waters, or taken back out to sea after reaching Greek islands, BBC analysis has found.

The Greek coastguard told our investigation it strongly rejects all accusations of illegal activities.

We showed footage of 12 people being loaded into a Greek coastguard boat, and then abandoned on a dinghy, to a former senior Greek coastguard officer. When he got up from his chair, and with his mic still on, he said it was "obviously illegal" and "an international crime".

The Greek government has long been accused of forced returns - pushing people back towards Turkey, where they have crossed from, which is illegal under international law.

But this is the first time the BBC has calculated the number of incidents which allege that fatalities occurred as a result of the Greek coastguard's actions.

The 15 incidents we analysed - dated May 2020-23 - resulted in 43 deaths. The initial sources were primarily local media, NGOs and the Turkish coastguard.

Verifying such accounts is extremely difficult - witnesses often disappear, or are too fearful to speak out. But in four of these cases we were able to corroborate accounts by speaking with eye witnesses.

Our research, which features in a new BBC documentary, Dead Calm: Killing in the Med?, suggested a clear pattern.

In five of the incidents, migrants said they were thrown directly into the sea by the Greek authorities. In four of those cases they explained how they had landed on Greek islands but were hunted down. In several other incidents, migrants said they had been put onto inflatable rafts without motors which then deflated, or appeared to have been punctured.

One of the most chilling accounts was given by a Cameroonian man, who says he was hunted by Greek authorities after landing on the island of Samos in September 2021.

Like all the people we interviewed, he said he was planning to register on Greek soil as an asylum seeker.

"We had barely docked, and the police came from behind," he told us. "There were two policemen dressed in black, and three others in civilian clothes. They were masked, you could only see their eyes."

He and two others - another from Cameroon and a man from Ivory Coast - were transferred to a Greek coastguard boat, he said, where events took a terrifying turn.

“They started with the [other] Cameroonian. They threw him in the water. The Ivorian man said: ‘Save me, I don’t want to die'… and then eventually only his hand was above water, and his body was below.

"Slowly his hand slipped under, and the water engulfed him."

Our interviewee says his abductors beat him.

"Punches were raining down on my head. It was like they were punching an animal." And then he says they pushed him, too, into the water - without a life jacket. He was able to swim to shore, but the bodies of the other two - Sidy Keita and Didier Martial Kouamou Nana - were recovered on the Turkish coastline.

The survivor’s lawyers are demanding the Greek authorities open a double murder case.

[mariacallous]

The North Atlantic Ocean has been running a fever for months, with surface temperatures at or near record highs. But cooling along the equator in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific may finally be starting to bring some relief, particularly for vulnerable coral reef ecosystems.

This cooling comes from two climate phenomena with similar names: La Niña, which forms in the tropical Pacific, and the less well-known Atlantic Niña.

Both can affect the Atlantic hurricane season. While La Niña tends to bring conditions ideal for Atlantic hurricanes, the less powerful Atlantic Niña has the potential to reduce some of the hurricane risk.

We’re ocean and atmospheric scientists who study this type of climate phenomenon. It’s rare to see both Niñas at the same time, yet in August 2024, both appeared to be developing. Let’s take a closer look at what that means.

La Niña and Its Cousin, Atlantic Niña

La Niña is part of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, a well-known climate phenomenon that has widespread effects on climate and weather around the world.

During La Niña, sea surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific dip below normal. Easterly trade winds then strengthen, allowing more cool water to well up along the equator off South America. That cooling affects the atmosphere in ways that reverberate across the planet. Some areas become stormier and others drier during La Niña, and the wind shear that can tear apart Atlantic hurricanes tends to weaken.

La Niña and its warmer opposite, El Niño, oscillate every three to four years or so.

A similar climate phenomenon, Atlantic Niña, occurs in the Atlantic Ocean but at a much smaller scale and amplitude. It typically peaks around July or August and tends to have a shorter duration than its Pacific cousin, and much more modest and local impacts. Atlantic Niñas generally have the opposite effect of Atlantic Niños, which tend to reduce rainfall over Africa’s Sahel region and increase rainfall in Brazil and the countries that surround the Gulf of Guinea, such as Ghana, Nigeria, and Cameroon.

While much weaker than their Pacific counterpart, Atlantic Niñas can, however, partially counteract La Niñas by weakening summer winds that help drive the upwelling that cools the eastern Pacific.

Why Are Both Happening Now?

In July and August 2024, meteorologists noted cooling that appeared to be the development of an Atlantic Niña along the equator. The winds at the ocean surface had been weak through most of the summer, and sea surface temperatures there were quite warm until early June, so signs of an Atlantic Niña emerging were a surprise.

At the same time, waters along the equator in the eastern Pacific were also cooling, with La Niña conditions expected there by October or November.

A map of sea surface temperature anomalies shows cooling along the tropical Atlantic and eastern Pacific regions, but much warmer than average temperatures in the Caribbean. Photograph: NOAA Coral Reef Watch

Getting a Pacific-Atlantic Niña combination is rare but not impossible. It’s like finding two different pendulums that are weakly coupled to swing in opposite directions moving together in time. The combinations of La Niña and Atlantic Niño, or El Niño and Atlantic Niña are more common.

Good News or Bad for Hurricane Season?

An Atlantic Niña may initially suggest good news for those living in hurricane-prone areas.

Cooler than average waters off the coast of Africa can suppress the formation of African easterly waves. These are clusters of thunderstorm activity that can form into tropical disturbances and eventually tropical storms or hurricanes.

Tropical storms draw energy from the process of evaporating water associated with warm sea surface temperatures. So, cooling in the tropical Atlantic could weaken this process. That would leave less energy for the thunderstorms, which would reduce the probability of a tropical cyclone forming.

However, the NOAA takes all factors into account when it updates its Atlantic hurricane season outlook, released in early August, and it still anticipates an extremely active 2024 season. Tropical storm season typically peaks in early to mid-September.

Two reasons are behind the busy forecast: The near record-breaking warm sea surface temperatures in much of the North Atlantic can strengthen hurricanes. And the expected development of a La Niña in the Pacific tends to weaken wind shear—the change in wind speed with height that can tear apart hurricanes. La Niña’s much stronger effects can override any impacts associated with the Atlantic Niña.

Exacerbating the Problem: Global Warming

The past two years have seen exceptionally high ocean temperatures in the Atlantic and around much of the world’s oceans. The two Niñas are likely to contribute some cooling relief for certain regions, but it may not last long.

In addition to these cycles, the global warming trend caused by rising greenhouse gas emissions is raising the baseline temperatures and can fuel major hurricanes.

[mightyflamethrower]

MrBeast’s Philanthropic Effort Draws Unexpected Backlash for Constructing 100 Wells in Africa to Supply Clean Water Because He is “White” (VIDEO)

The best thing that could happen to Africa is for them to be recolonized.

The well-known philanthropist and YouTube giant, MrBeast, has encountered a wave of criticism after his latest project in Africa.

Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as MrBeast, faces a fresh wave of scrutiny following the release of his new video showcasing the funding and construction of 100 wells across various African nations. The digital philanthropist anticipated backlash, stating he expects to “get canceled” for his charitable actions, which have historically drawn fire.

MrBeast, who has previously faced labels such as “white savior” and been called “demonic” for his humanitarian content, has now been accused of overshadowing the efforts of local governments and international organizations. His initiative, stretching across Cameroon, Kenya, Somalia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe, will provide clean drinking water to approximately 500,000 people.

The wells were constructed in villages and schools across Africa and were created using giant drills to access pure water sources underground.

In addition to the wells, MrBeast’s video features donations of educational supplies to Kenyan schools and the construction of a bridge to facilitate community access to medical facilities and educational institutions.

Even Costco Is Now Selling Gold Bars – But How Do You Buy Gold if Your Money Is Wrapped up in a Retirement Account?

Despite the tangible benefits of these projects, the social media star has been met with mixed reactions.

“I already know I’m gonna get canceled because I uploaded a video helping people, and to be 100% clear, I don’t care. I’m always going to use my channel to help people and try to inspire my audience to do the same,” the social media star wrote.

Taylor Lorenz, a far-left reporter, addressed the concept of monetizing kindness, suggesting that the YouTube star’s approach could be perceived as exploitative.

“No one is “cancelling” you for “helping people”, you’ve received extremely light criticism in the past for the way you’ve monetized “kindness” content that some vulnerable people found to be exploitative,” said Lorenz.

“Encouraging young people to exploit vulnerable communities for content which they can then profit off of enormously, is the issue,” Lorenz added.

No one is “cancelling” you for “helping people”, you’ve received extremely light criticism in the past for the way you’ve monetized “kindness” content that some vulnerable people found to be exploitative.

Meanwhile, Albert Nat Hyde, a Twitter activist, rebuffed the idea of Africans needing water donations, criticizing what he views as a capitalist agenda beneath the guise of charity. He also added that the word “wells” is offensive.

“Wells in 2023 is offensive; why not boreholes or pipe-borne water? – Africans do not need water donation; we ain’t that poor and thirsty. – Africa is a continent with 54 countries; he must be specific where he went – This is capitalism; he wanna low-key use these countries for profit – He has set Africans for global ridicule by building wells we never asked him for,” Hyde wrote.

Mr Beast 100 wells is disrespect to Africans – He described the entire Africa as a village with its people living in huts – He projected that all Africans lack good drinking water – Wells in 2023 is offensive; why not boreholes or pipe-borne water? – Africans do not need water… pic.twitter.com/X8k12kvdp3 — Albert Nat Hyde (@BongoIdeas) November 5, 2023

Francis Gaitho, a Kenyan political activist, argued against what he perceives as a perpetuation of African stereotypes, accusing MrBeast of reinforcing the narrative of African poverty for content views. Gaitho emphasized the continent’s desire to move beyond philanthropy that serves external interests over genuine developmental progress.

“America is part of the problem,” said Gaitho, adding, “And you, Mr. Beast, are not supposed to be coming here to validate some of these long-held stereotypes that Africa is poor.”

MR BEAST IN KENYA Content creator #mrbeast was in Kenya drilling boreholes in 100 schools across the country. Also there’s a bishop from Naivasha called Abiud Masinde who has been accused by an American benefactor of stealing donor money meant to build a school. pic.twitter.com/QdZCwOamoy — Francis Gaitho (@FGaitho237) November 5, 2023

Saran Kaba Jones, the founder of FACE Africa, also weighed in, expressing the challenges of sustaining such humanitarian projects. She acknowledges the frustrations of seeing a well-resourced figure like MrBeast, a “white male,” garner immediate attention.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years, but we’ve been struggling to continue the work because funding, awareness, and advocacy all take work,” Jones told CNN, adding, “overnight, this person comes along, who happens to be a white male figure with a huge platform, and all of a sudden, he gets all of the attention. It’s kind of frustrating, but it’s also understanding the nature of how the world is.”