1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
The last of the milk.
26
27
28
29
30
Thursday 18 April 2019
We all know someone with a pad like this… (30 Photos)
We all know someone with a pad like this… (30 Photos)Fake Tree Observation Posts of WW1
Camouflaging has always been a part of warfare, but it was only during the two world wars that things got really creative.
During the First World War, both sides kept constant watch of the enemy lines for movement, but that was not an easy task. Anyone who stuck his head above the trench parapet for more than a few seconds was shot. So the French started disguising observation posts as trees. Then they taught the British how to do it. Later, the Germans started using them too.
Because the front was constantly watched by the enemy, one just couldn’t erect a new tree, because any new tree appearing out of nowhere would have instantly drawn attraction and fire. The fake tree had to replace an existing tree.
A dead tree, blasted by a bomb, located ideally near the trenches was chosen. The tree was then photographed and extensively studied, measurements taken and sketches made. A hollow, steel replica was then made in the workshop far behind the lines. At night, under the cover of darkness and artillery fire, the real tree was felled and the fake one installed in its place. The artillery fire also drowned out the noise of the work.
The tree's base was sunk into the ground, and its entrance was concealed. If a trench was spotted leading up to the tree in aerial photographs it would be a giveaway.
A soldier would enter the observation post from the base and climb up a ladder bolted to the interior of the steel tube. Near the top, perched on a seat, the soldier would keep watch of enemy positions through multiple viewing holes. For protection, the soldier used a periscope to view through the holes while remaining behind a solid metal wall.
These observation posts were surprisingly successful, and none were detected by the enemy.
Plan of dummy tree observation post. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
An artist's sketch. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
Construction of dummy tree as observation post. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
A model of a sectioned observation post with an artillery observer. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
Erecting the First Camouflage Tree, 1916, by Solomon. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
A canvas and steel tree observation post. Near Souchez, 15 May 1918. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
Entrance to a canvas and steel tree observation post. Near Souchez, 15 May 1918. Photo credit: Imperial War Museum
Two unidentified Australian officers examining a tree trunk which was used as an observation post at German House. Photo credit: Australian War Memorial
Wednesday 17 April 2019
7 Ways to Eat an Earth-Friendly Diet
Since 1970, people around the globe have been celebrating Earth Day on April 22nd. Considering the state of our planet and the political, corporate and industrial forces that seem intent on destroying it, everyday should be Earth Day. Our world needs more care and healing and, in the absence of true leadership from elected officials and the business elite, it is up to “the little people” to lead the way.
In honor of Earth Day, here are seven ways you can eat an earth-friendly diet:
1) Grow your own food
It sounds crazy, but something our ancestors did naturally for millennia has now become one of the most significant acts of revolution we can undertake. At the turn of the previous century, most American households grew all or most of their own food. As late as the mid-1980s when they passed away, my grandparents purchased staples such as flour and salt at the grocery store but grew everything else.
How did we get so far removed from this natural act? The short answer is this: we have been told for decades that buying your food in stores is a sign of affluence. Now that food production is industrialized and run by companies equally interested in chemicals, buying food in stores is increasingly associated with obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other diet-related diseases. Do yourself a favor and take charge of your personal food supply. Whether you have a balcony, a backyard or an acreage, give it a try. You’ll be surprised how easy and rewarding it is and you’ll be even more surprised at how much delicious, fresh food you can get out of even the smallest spaces.
2) Eat local
If growing your own food just isn’t feasible, consider stocking your pantry with locally-grown products from markets and independent grocery stores. Many smaller produce markets and even some health food stores stock fresh fruits, vegetables, herbs and prepared foods from local producers. Not only do you support your local businesses and keep dollars in the local economy, you cut down on the amount of food that needs to be shipped into your community from elsewhere. Less shipping means fewer trucks on the road and fewer fossil-fuel emissions into the atmosphere.
3) Buy food from local farmers
Buying directly from local farmers ensures that your food doesn’t make the lengthy trip to your grocery store, a trip which causes untold pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. You’ll be rewarded with much more nutritious food as well. That’s because food quickly loses its nutritional value after it has been picked. Those precious first days in transport causes a significant loss of nutrients.
4) Eat more plant-based foods
No matter how some people try to spin the facts, the reality is that a plant-based diet is far better for the planet than to use the extensive resources required to grow meat and poultry. Additionally, plants actually absorb carbon dioxide emissions while animals emit them. The bonus is that countless amounts of research shows that plant-based diets are far healthier for your body as well. A study published in the American Medical Association’s own online journal JAMA Network, found that eating a plant-based diet was more effective than other diets to lose weight. Another study published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Diseases found that a plant-based diet slashes mortality risk from heart disease by a whopping 40 percent. A plant-based diet is healthier for you and the planet.
5) Choose chemical-free or organic
Buying organic means that you’re not supporting chemical-based agriculture. When you buy organic, or better yet, grow your own food organically, you’re helping to ensure that many acres of land will not be sprayed with toxic chemicals—chemicals that have been linked to many diseases, including cancer.
6) Drink purified tap water
Choosing tap water over bottled water helps to ensure that billions of plastic bottles don’t end up in landfills, roadsides or waterways. Even the simple act of carrying your own reusable water bottle that you refill can help make a difference to the level of plastic pollution on the planet.
7) Eat fewer packaged and processed foods
Making your own food from scratch isn’t just better-tasting and healthier, it reduces the amount of waste in landfills, as well as the amount of packaging that needs to be processed even if it is recycled. It’s a simple act but just choosing foods with less packaging, or better yet, no packaging at all, will make a big difference to the planet.
Shocking Study Finds Young Adults at Risk of Fatty Liver Disease
Before you dive into all the chocolate and candy promoted just about everywhere for the upcoming holiday weekend, you might want to think twice. That’s because a shocking new population-based study published in the United Kingdom found high levels of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among youth and young adults, driven by obesity.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is an umbrella-name given to liver conditions that are not linked to alcohol consumption. The main issue in fatty liver disease is that too much fat becomes stored in liver cells, which can cause inflammation and a host of other health problems. At its worst, it can cause cirrhosis or liver failure. In the United States, it is the most common form of chronic liver condition and is believed to affect 80 to 100 million people.
Researchers from Bristol University studied over 4000 people as part of their research, calling it the Children of the 90s, following children born in 1991 and 1992 in Avon, England. At age 18, they were given ultrasounds which revealed that 2.5 percent had NAFLD. Five years later, another type of scan revealed that 20 percent of people had fatty deposits on the liver. Half of these people were classified as severe, with scarring on the liver. Severe liver scarring can cause cirrhosis of the liver. The findings were among primarily Caucasians with no symptoms of the disease other than being overweight. Sixty percent of the people with the largest number of fatty liver deposits were obese.
While the study excluded people who drank heavily, drinking alcoholic beverages is one of the main risk factors for fatty liver disease.
SYMPTOMS OF FATTY LIVER DISEASE
While there can be no symptoms of fatty liver disease, which is what makes it particularly dangerous, some of the most common ones are:
-Abdominal fat
-Abdominal swelling
-Enlarged liver
-Enlarged blood vessels just beneath the skin’s surface
-Enlarged breasts in men
-Enlarged spleen
-Fatigue
-High blood pressure
-High triglyceride levels
-Pain in the upper right abdomen
-Red palms of the hands
-Yellowing of the skin and eyes
It is more commonly linked to older adults, believed to start among people in their 40s to 50s, mostly as a result of poor diet, obesity and type 2 diabetes. But, the new study found that even teenagers and twenty-somethings are at risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO AVOID OR REVERSE FATTY LIVER DISEASE
The best ways to reverse fatty liver disease, or avoid it altogether, involve:
-Eat a healthy, plant-based diet replete with plentiful amounts of vegetables, legumes, nuts and seeds.
-Restore a healthy weight—excess fat or obesity are the main reasons for fatty liver disease. Strive to restore or maintain a healthy body weight for protection from fatty liver disease.
-Exercise regularly—you’ll need to make your workout cardiovascular in nature to reap the rewards and to help supply your liver with oxygen-rich blood. Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t do weight training and other forms of activity, just be sure you’re raising your heart rate for at least 20 minutes 3 times weekly. But, don’t overdo either. You should be able to comfortably carry on a conversation.
-Avoid drinking alcohol in excess, or better yet, drink only small amounts of alcohol on an infrequent basis.
In an interview with The Guardian, professor Philip Newsome, vice-secretary of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, best summarized the situation: “This requires swift changes in public policy if we are to defuse the ticking time-bomb of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.”
Are the BPA-Free Alternatives Safe?
Recent human studies indicate that exposure to the plastics chemical BPA may be associated with infertility, miscarriage, premature delivery, reduced male sexual function, polycystic ovaries, altered thyroid and immune function, diabetes, heart disease, and more. Yet, “[a]s recently as March 2012, FDA stated that low levels of BPA in food are considered safe.” However, just months later, to its credit, the agency banned the use of BPA plastics in baby bottles and sippy cups. Regulators standing up to industry? Maybe I shouldn’t be so cynical! But, wait. The ban was at the behest of the plastics industry. It had already stopped using BPA in baby bottles so it was their idea to ban it.
The industry had switched from BPA to similar compounds like BPF and BPS. So, our diets now contain everything from BPA to BPZ, and the majority of us have these new chemicals in our bodies as well. Are they any safer?
We’ve known BPA significantly suppresses testosterone production, and, from “the first report describing BPS and BPF adverse effects on physiologic function in humans,” we know those compounds do, too. Well, kind of. The experiments were performed on the testicles of aborted human fetuses. But, the bottom line is that BPS and BPF seem to have “antiandrogenic [anti-male hormone] effects that are similar to those of BPA.” So when you’re assured you shouldn’t worry because your sales slip is BPA-free, the thermal paper may just contain BPS instead. What’s more, BPS receipts may contain up to 40 percent more BPS than they would have contained BPA. So BPA-free could be even worse. In fact, all BPA-replacement products tested to date released “chemicals having reliably detectable EA,” estrogenic activity.
This includes Tritan, which is specifically marketed as being estrogen-activity-free. However, researchers dripped an extract of Tritan on human breast cancer cells in a petri dish, and it accelerated their growth. This estrogenic effect was successfully abolished by an estrogen blocker, reinforcing it was an estrogen effect. Now, the accelerated growth of the cancer cells from the Tritan extract occurred after the plastic was exposed to the stressed state of simulated sunlight. Only one out of three Tritan products showed estrogen activity in an unstressed state, for instance when they weren’t exposed to microwaving, heat, or UV rays. “Because there would be no value in trading one health hazard for another, we should urgently focus on the human health risk assessment of BPA substitutes.”
In the meanwhile, there are steps we can take to limit our exposure. We can reduce our use of polycarbonate plastics, which are usually labeled with recycle codes three or seven, and we can opt for fresh and frozen foods over canned goods, especially when it comes to tuna and condensed soups. Canned fruit consumption doesn’t seem to matter, but weekly canned vegetable consumption has been associated with increased BPA exposure. If you do use plastics, don’t microwave them, put them in the dishwasher, leave them in the sun or a hot car, or use once they’re scratched. But using glass, ceramic, or stainless steel containers is probably best.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)