…akné, silnější narkotické účinky makovic, ledvinové kameny, pandemie HIV, změny v gravitačním poli, psychické choroby, vybuchování chobotnic, infestace parazitů, zánik budhistyckých klášterů, cholera, kanibalizmus, aligátoři v Temži, lepší či horší pivo, globální oteplování dává výhodu Talibanu a Al-Kaidě, útok zabijácké chobotnice, smršťování mozku, menší počet obřízek v Africe…

Acne, agricultural land increase, Afghan poppies destroyed, poppies more potent, Africa devastated,  Africa in conflict, African aid threatened, African summer frost, aggressive weeds, Air France crash, air pressure changes,  airport malaria, Agulhas current, Al Qaeda and Taliban Being Helped,  Alaska reshaped, moves,  allergy season longer, alligators in the Thames, Alps melting, Amazon a desert, American dream end,  amphibians breeding earlier (or not),  anaphylactic reactions to bee stings,  ancient forests dramatically changed, animals head for the hills, animals shrink, Antarctic grass flourishes, Antarctic ice grows, Antarctic ice shrinks, Antarctic sea life at risk,   anxiety treatment, algal blooms, archaeological sites threatened, Arctic bogs melt, Arctic in bloom, Arctic ice free, Arctic ice melt faster, Arctic lakes disappear, Arctic tundra to burn, Arctic warming (not), Atlantic less salty, Atlantic more salty,   atmospheric circulation modified, attack of the killer jellyfish, avalanches reduced, avalanches increased,  Baghdad snow, Bahrain under water,  bananas grow, barbarisation, beer and bread prices to soar, beer better, beer shortage, beer worse, beetle infestation, bet for $10,000, big melt faster, billion dollar research projects, billion homeless, billions face risk, billions of deaths, bird distributions change, bird loss accelerating, bird strikes, bird visitors drop, birds confused, birds decline (Wales), birds driven north, birds face longer migrations, birds return early, birds shrink, bittern boom ends, blackbirds stop singing, blackbirds threatened, Black Hawk down,  blood contaminated, blue mussels return, bluetongue, brain eating amoebae, brains shrink, bridge collapse (Minneapolis), Britain one big city, Britain Siberian, British monsoon,  brothels struggle, brown Ireland, bubonic plague, budget increases, Buddhist temple threatened,  building collapse, building season extension, bushfires, business opportunities, business risks,  butterflies move north, carbon crimes, camel deaths,  cancer deaths in England, cannibalism,  caterpillar biomass shift, cave paintings threatened,  childhood insomnia, Cholera, circumcision in decline, cirrus disappearance, civil unrest, cloud increase,  coast beauty spots lost, cockroach

čti: A complete list of things caused by global warming

Don’t we all luv waking up to the usual Nairobi drama extraordinaire laid bare on the city’s major dailies, like a woman who is already too willing? Check this out “It’s a race against time,” screams the Standard’s headline about what short a time the new constitution has to be implemented after the referendum. Well, not so much drama over here, even if we assume that the draft will pass anyway, but then check this other one out, “Taxman boosts businesses with VAT refunds,” opines the Business Daily. Who said a Kenyan will walk into Times Tower tomorrow with an empty brief case and walk out smiling with it bursting on the seams full of his/her tax refunds! “Draft: President and MPs must pay taxes” so says the Daily Nation, as if we still care, we all know that they will find a way of getting back whatever they pay out as taxes! “Uhuru to join Ruto, VP over Mau”, the Star is trying to be a little economic with the truth here but it lets you know that it’s not in condemning the kick out of the invaders but in fundraising for the kicked out. Somewhere in one of Nairobi’s pink press is a subhead that the govt has run out of Passats and I can’t help but envy those public officers who took time to return their fuel guzzlers. If this is true then these fellows get to keep their coveted till the next budget is read. Talk of laughing last and laughing loudest!

Nairobi is again abuzz with constitution talk and Mau double speak with politicians politicising and digging in to milk the most mileage out of these issues critical to this nation.

The constitutional debate has in all sense of the word gone tribal with the Central Kenya cousin tribe vowing to trash it and the western alliance of tribes vouching for it. One politician has been overhear saying that the reason he wants his tribesmen to  trash this draft into the dustbin is not just because during the days of the Bomas one the lady called Atsango always went around talking about this ‘community’ that thinks it owns Kenya thus putting her objectivity into disrepute but because of some aspects of it that negate two democratic principles, that of independence of the three arms of government and that of equality of all men; a major shift right there from banana luving to oranges lusting.

Although a keen person will easily see that this it is a product of a huge attempt to please very many quarters such that it looks like a toxic mix that is bound to lead this nation to anarchy, the process does allow for input of the public such that the draft can be alter to suit the majority’s wishes. My take, lets contribute and make it better, let’s not trash it!

The Mau issue too should not be politicised. Whereas there is need to conserve the forests that we have and create some more, there is need to take care of the evictees and ensure that their children don’t sleep out in the cold on empty stomach. There is need to provide them with adequate transport to where they came from and ensure that those who took over their land welcome them with open arms; well that’s a tall order over there but it doesn’t harm to try J

In the inner pages convicts are dying of cholera at Kamiti Maximum Security Prison and questions are being raised over the ability of the health facility at the prison to handle cholera cases. All signs show that there is some kind of apprehension to having the inmates get medical attention from the mainstream health facilities maybe due to threats they could pose to the common mwananchi health and general security wise

washlink notes: via a link I saw the title below  and assume it was a humerous story from the US or Europe…Reading the first line  “Do landlords know that it is an offence not to provide toilet facilities…”  I’m thinking what’s the catch… som badly placed joke  but  I  read on….  I caught on rather quickly that sadly there was no clever catch to it, like to sell  toilet paper etc.  This is  just another part of the world …stupid me.  But  then the outrage:  something so improbable for for me in Massachusetts :”Do landlords know that it is an offence not to provide toilet facilities…” that I anticipate a humorous story!!
Yes so probable for a good portion of  the human race, when  I realize mistake I am saddened ….at what trick perspective  has played…..

Toilet – A very essential part of every home

Do landlords know that it is an offence not to provide toilet facilities in their houses before renting them out?

Well, a lot of them do not know and that is why they continue to put up houses without toilet facilities and expect their tenants to use the public toilets.

essential ?

So the reminder of the Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation, Mr Demedeme Naa Lenason, to landlords that it is an offence not to provide toilet facilities in their houses or to convert their toilets and bathrooms into living rooms is timely.

Quoting from the 2000 Population and Housing Census, he said more than 20 per cent of Ghanaians did not have any form of latrines and therefore resorted to open defecation.

Mr Lenason said the 2000 census revealed that 31.45 per cent households in Ghana used public latrines as compared to 8.5 per cent using water closet; 22 per cent used pit latrine, 6.9 per cent used KVIP, four per cent used bucket or pan latrine and 6.9 per cent attend to nature’s call in other people’s houses.

He said the Ministry’s Environmental Sanitation Policy of 1999 was unequivocal on households and public toilets and the policy states that at least 90 per cent of the population should have access to acceptable domestic toilet, while the remaining 10 per cent should have access to hygienic public toilets.

As we observe World Toilet Day on November 19, a day to celebrate the humble, yet vitally important toilet and to raise awareness of the global sanitation crisis, we need to learn from other countries, such as the United Kingdom, how toilets became a vital part of any building.

As far back as in 1891, there were legislations for the construction of water closets in houses by the British under the London Householder’s chart.

There were nuisances, which could be dealt with summarily under the Public Health (London) Act 189.

There were strict regulations regarding erected or re-built houses, with the provision of proper water closets. Penalty was 20 pounds then.

Additionally, the British found it necessary to support this Law having had very bad experiences in waste management and becoming sufferers of epidemics such as typhoid and cholera in the 1840s.

There is no way a building can be erected in the UK now without the provision of at least a toilet.

But in Ghana people still build houses without making provision for toilet facilities.

Dr John Snow’s work in tracing the source of a cholera outbreak in Soho, England, in 1954, is described now as “a major event in the history of public health and can be regarded as the founding event of the science of Epidemiology”.

The discovery of what causes cholera was followed by the crisis, which was termed, “The Great Stink or the Big Stink.” In the summer of 1858, the smell of untreated sewage almost overwhelmed people in Central London.

Within 18 days a bill was passed and the task of building the city’s sewers began and those sewers still serve London.

Sadly, there are still outbreaks of cholera in Ghana almost every year, but no serious focus has been given to building hygienic toilets across the country to check this outbreak.

Click here to  read this wonderful great story in its entirety …
from Peace FM

nor information

Water supply and sanitation in Ghana From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

WaterAid Ghana

Google scholar search: Ghana sanitation water 2008+

By MARGIE MASON, AP Medical Writer – Thu Nov 19, 3:01 pm ET
AP – FILE -This Dec. 7, 2008 file photo shows children collecting stagnant water for use at home in Glen View, …

HANOI, Vietnam – Diarrhea doesn’t make headlines. Nor does pneumonia. AIDS and malaria tend to get most of the attention.

Yet even though cheap tools could prevent and cure both diseases, they kill an estimated 3.5 million kids under 5 each a year globally — more than HIV and malaria combined.

“They have been neglected, because donor or partnership mechanisms shifted their emphasis to HIV and AIDS and other issues,” said Dr. Tesfaye Shiferaw, a UNICEF official in Africa. “These age-old traditional killers remain with us. The ones dying are the children of the poor.”

Global spending on maternal, newborn and child health was about $3.5 billion in 2006, according to a report by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That same year, nearly $9 billion was devoted to HIV and AIDS, according to UNAIDS.

Pneumonia is the biggest killer of children under 5, claiming more then 2 million lives annually or about 20 percent of all child deaths. AIDS, in contrast, accounts for about 2 percent.

If identified early, pneumonia can be treated with inexpensive antibiotics. Yet UNICEF and the World Health Organization estimate less than 20 percent of those sickened receive the drugs.

A vaccine has been available since 2000 but has not yet reached many children in developing countries. The GAVI Alliance, a global partnership, hopes to introduce it to 42 countries by 2015.

Diarrheal diseases, such as cholera and rotavirus, kill 1.5 million kids each year, most under 2 years old. The children die from dehydration, weakened immune systems and malnutrition. Often they get sick from drinking dirty water.

The worst cholera outbreak to hit Africa in 15 years killed more than 4,000 people in Zimbabwe last year. The country recently reported new cases of the waterborne disease, and more are expected as the rainy season peaks and sewers overflow.

Rotavirus, a highly contagious disease spread through contaminated hands and surfaces, is the top cause of severe diarrhea, accounting for more than a half million child deaths a year.

A vaccine routinely given to children in the U.S. and Europe is expected to reach 44 poorer countries by 2015 through the GAVI Alliance.

“Every child in the United States gets it, even though they have access to clean water and hygiene,” said John Wecker, of the Program for Appropriate Technology in Health, a Seattle-based nonprofit that is part of the vaccine alliance. “The only effective way to prevent these deaths is through vaccination.”

Diarrheal diseases received more attention in the 1980s and 1990s, he said, but interest has waned or been diverted elsewhere, allowing them to creep back.

“How did the leading killers end up at the bottom of the global health agenda? I don’t know,” Wecker said at a recent GAVI meeting in Hanoi. “We’ve got the tools. We’re not looking for the next technological breakthrough. It’s here now and it’s not being used.”

Death can often be prevented by giving children fluid replacement, a simple recipe of salt and sugar mixed with clean water to help ward off dehydration. Yet 60 percent of children with diarrhea never receive the concoction, according to a WHO and UNICEF report released last month.

“It is so preventable,” said Dr. Richard Cash, a Harvard University expert who helped develop the oral rehydration therapy 40 years ago. “Preventing the deaths is at the very least what we should be striving for.”

Harare suburbs including Glen Norah, Budiriro, Warren Park and Glen View have been without water for a week and residents have been fetching water from shallow wells… From VOA. Full story

This site may contain information about: sea climate. The blog is also related to: pacific sea.

wie die Pest und Cholera zusammen, dann sind es diese absolut asozialen , verlausten miesen Penner die Feuerholz, Streichhölzer sowie anderes Equipment  an einer Hütte benutzen und es dann nicht wieder auffüllen.Von sauber machen oder spülen rede ich jetzt mal erst gar nicht.

Und zusätzlich eine Berg Müll, vorzugsweise aus Plastik und YOGHURTBECHERN nebst BIERDOSEN hinterlassen. Im Umkreis von 30 Metern. Da steht man dann wie Karl Arsch und ist erst mal fast eine Stunde damit beschäftigt den Mist weg zu räumen, Holz zu suchen und zu hacken und so weiter.

Diese antisozialen Unsitten breitet sich auch hier oben immer mehr aus. Selbst Äxte die man früher überall vor fand werden mittlerweile geklaut.

Man kommt sich mittlerweile schon wie ein Idiot vor wenn man im Herbst Duzende Hütten und Unterstände abklappert um alles aufzufüllen und dann im Winter wenn man es selbst braucht nichts mehr vorfindet. Nicht mal einen Zettel mit ” sorry haben nicht aufgefüllt anbei 100 Kronen für die gemachte Arbeit/Unkosten”.  Als ich hier rauf kam war das noch ganz anders…. .

Vorbei die Zeiten als man bedenkenlos sündhaft teure geladene Akkupacks mit einem freundlichen Zettel nebst Logo deponieren konnte und anschließend sicher war die auch nach 3 Monaten noch unberührt vorzufinden. Mittlerweile besteht eine 99,9 % Wahrscheinlichkeit das so was geklaut wird…

Eben viel zu viele Leute “neue” Leute unterwegs denen alles Wurst ist, Hauptsache ich. Schade und sehr ärgerlich das.

Have fun

Neal has no tolerence for the Swine Flu pandemic.

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Lusaka District Commissioner Christah Kalulu is confident [that the city] will have fewer cases of cholera and malaria, and suffer less disaster than it has during rainy seasons over the past decade.

This follows the successful implementation of the District Disaster Reduction (DDR) programme which was launched on August 18, 2009.

By June 2009, 162 deaths occurred countrywide out of 7,587-reported cases of cholera. Lusaka alone had a mortality rate of 30.

The new intervention measures were adopted from the United Nations (UN) lead Programme on Risk Reduction – a global platform on risk reduction currently shared worldwide.

The whole exercise is expected to cost K12.5 billion and so far Lusaka District has raised K5.2 billion from DDR’s own resources since the intervention came as a post budget strategy.

The funds are meant to cover health, water and sanitation, bridges and crossings, garbage collection and drainage clearance.

The Disaster Management and Monitoring Unit (DMMU) which falls under the office of the vice-president, made available temporary water tanks and mobile lavatories in high-risk areas to try and reduce the impact of the disease.

The Lusaka District Commissioner together with the area Members of Parliament and members of the community developed a plan of action [which] will perhaps help answer questions on why [there are] priority [high-risk] areas, like Mandevu and Kanyama.

In 2008, areas like Mandevu experienced floods that left a trail of destruction largely due to the blocked drains and unplanned construction.

The Lusaka District office with the help of prisoners has unblocked drains containing stagnant water, which are not only a potential source of a cholera outbreak but also a breeding ground for mosquitoes that cause malaria.

Mindful of the hazards associated with unblocking drainages, the Lusaka DDR has bought protective clothing, which included overalls, gumboots, and facemasks. The DDR also provides meals for the prisoners.

In areas where there has been erratic water supply or no water at all, the DDR is installing permanent water reticulation stands and sinking bore holes. The Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) has put up 11 permanent water pipes, and is replacing temporary water stands put up in 2008.

Such programmes however cannot succeed without the participation and interest of the community and it is for this reason that Ms Kalulu has embarked on a hygiene promotion crusade. Some of the programmes will include drama with the Muvi Television soap, Banja crew and musicians like Joe Chibangu.

Source: Sam Phirim, Times of Zambia / allAfrica.com, 27 Oct 2009

Lusaka District Commissioner Christah Kalulu is confident [that the city] will have fewer cases of cholera and malaria, and suffer less disaster than it has during rainy seasons over the past decade.

This follows the successful implementation of the District Disaster Reduction (DDR) programme which was launched on August 18, 2009.

By June 2009, 162 deaths occurred countrywide out of 7,587-reported cases of cholera. Lusaka alone had a mortality rate of 30.

The new intervention measures were adopted from the United Nations (UN) lead Programme on Risk Reduction – a global platform on risk reduction currently shared worldwide.

The whole exercise is expected to cost K12.5 billion and so far Lusaka District has raised K5.2 billion from DDR’s own resources since the intervention came as a post budget strategy.

The funds are meant to cover health, water and sanitation, bridges and crossings, garbage collection and drainage clearance.

The Disaster Management and Monitoring Unit (DMMU) which falls under the office of the vice-president, made available temporary water tanks and mobile lavatories in high-risk areas to try and reduce the impact of the disease.

The Lusaka District Commissioner together with the area Members of Parliament and members of the community developed a plan of action [which] will perhaps help answer questions on why [there are] priority [high-risk] areas, like Mandevu and Kanyama.

In 2008, areas like Mandevu experienced floods that left a trail of destruction largely due to the blocked drains and unplanned construction.

The Lusaka District office with the help of prisoners has unblocked drains containing stagnant water, which are not only a potential source of a cholera outbreak but also a breeding ground for mosquitoes that cause malaria.

Mindful of the hazards associated with unblocking drainages, the Lusaka DDR has bought protective clothing, which included overalls, gumboots, and facemasks. The DDR also provides meals for the prisoners.

In areas where there has been erratic water supply or no water at all, the DDR is installing permanent water reticulation stands and sinking bore holes. The Lusaka Water and Sewerage Company (LWSC) has put up 11 permanent water pipes, and is replacing temporary water stands put up in 2008.

Such programmes however cannot succeed without the participation and interest of the community and it is for this reason that Ms Kalulu has embarked on a hygiene promotion crusade. Some of the programmes will include drama with the Muvi Television soap, Banja crew and musicians like Joe Chibangu.

Source: Sam Phirim, Times of Zambia / allAfrica.com, 27 Oct 2009

Cholera has killed at least 51 people in the past few weeks in northern Cameroon, where health experts say safe water and proper sanitation are sorely lacking.

“[The fight against cholera] here will be difficult because the hygiene conditions are awful,” said a health official who was not authorized to be quoted. He noted that most people defecate in open areas.

The regions affected are Cameroon’s North and Extreme North, with the first infections reported in September, according to the Health Ministry.

As of 14 October [2009] 23 people had died in Extreme North, of 144 infected, according to a Health Ministry document that is updated regularly, while in neighbouring North region 28 people had died of 152 infected.

This area of Cameroon is on the southern fringe of the Sahel and water is scarce; existing boreholes and wells are insufficient to meet the needs of the population, according to UNICEF in Cameroon.

In rural Cameroon only 30 percent of inhabitants have access to safe water and 15 percent to sanitation systems, according to UNICEF.

In the cholera-hit areas local authorities have begun disinfecting wells and other water points, according to Albert Friki, prefect in one affected department of Extreme North region. Authorities are also urging communities to practice proper hygiene.

“We are urging people to be careful with the food and water they consume, and with how they handle the remains of people who died of cholera,” he said.

Cholera epidemics are frequent in northern Cameroon but the current outbreak is particularly severe, the health ministry official told IRIN. The highest number of cholera deaths in recent years was in the commercial capital Douala in 2004 when cholera killed 100 people.

Source: IRIN, 15 Oct 2009

In early October 2009, at least 29 people died of cholera and hundreds more were being treated for cholera-related symptoms such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in the larger Turkana District in the northwest and in the eastern regions of Garbatulla and Laisamis, say health officials. The regions are not only facing an acute water shortage, due to a prolonged drought, but also have poor latrine coverage.

Cholera has also surfaced in several parts of the Coast in the aftermath of flooding. Coast Provincial Medical Officer Dr Anisa Omar confirmed on 3 November 2009, that 12 people have been admitted at Lamu district hospital after contracting cholera. There were also outbreaks of water-borne diseases in Magarini and Tana Delta district.

Cholera has also killed 11 people in Nairobi. The first case was reported in the sprawling Mukuru kwa Njenga slum. Some 949 people — most of them pregnant women and children under five years — had been treated for cholera and other water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, vomiting and dysentery.

See below two NTVKenya video reports on cholera in Mukuru, which also show the poor sanitary conditions in the slum.

Source: IRIN, 09 Oct 2009 ; Mathias Ringa, Daily Nation / allAfrica.com, 03 Nov 2009 ; Mike Mwaniki, Daily Nation, allAfrica.com, 29 October 2009

In early October 2009, at least 29 people died of cholera and hundreds more were being treated for cholera-related symptoms such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) in the larger Turkana District in the northwest and in the eastern regions of Garbatulla and Laisamis, say health officials. The regions are not only facing an acute water shortage, due to a prolonged drought, but also have poor latrine coverage.

Cholera has also surfaced in several parts of the Coast in the aftermath of flooding. Coast Provincial Medical Officer Dr Anisa Omar confirmed on 3 November 2009, that 12 people have been admitted at Lamu district hospital after contracting cholera. There were also outbreaks of water-borne diseases in Magarini and Tana Delta district.

Cholera has also killed 11 people in Nairobi. The first case was reported in the sprawling Mukuru kwa Njenga slum. Some 949 people — most of them pregnant women and children under five years — had been treated for cholera and other water-borne diseases like diarrhoea, vomiting and dysentery.

See below two NTVKenya video reports on cholera in Mukuru.

Source: IRIN, 09 Oct 2009 ; Mathias Ringa, Daily Nation / allAfrica.com, 03 Nov 2009 ; Mike Mwaniki, Daily Nation, allAfrica.com, 29 October 2009

Parade Magazine named him 2009 world’s worst dictator, jumping ahead of other notorious leaders from Sudan and North Korea. He has been blamed for the downfall of his once wealthy country, subjecting his people to cholera outbreaks, poverty, starvation, and one of the lowest life expectancy rates.

Robert Mugabe was hailed as a hero when he helped liberate the country in 1980, but since then, has veered far from his first message of democracy.

In 2000 the economy began to collapse when Mugabe began the seizure of almost 4,500 white owned commercial farms for redistribution to Zimbabwe’s black farmers.

At the time whites owned 32% of Zimbabwe’s most fertile agricultural land, compared to one million black peasant families who owned just 38%; a problem that was created in colonial times when blacks were forced off their ancestral land by the Europeans.

But Mugabe has no plans to reimburse the white farmers for the land they have lost.  Instead he states in Mail & Guardian,

“The responsibility of compensation rests on the shoulders of the British government and its allies. We pay compensation for developments and improvements. That’s our obligation and we have honored that. Above all Zimbabwe upholds the sanctity of property rights…. Sure there must be some compensation. Let’s join hands and appeal to the British.”

Other Zimbabweans, such as now Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, would beg to differ.

“Some of the land stock that is in the government’s hands has ended up in city government officials or ministers and the people who need the land have been excluded.” (7:43-7:53)

And as a result, food production has plummeted, leaving millions to starve and millions of farm workers have now been unemployed.

Then, between August 2008 and July 2009 close to 100,000 cases of cholera were reported and over 4,000 people died as a result.   Inadequate drinking water and the lack of food fueled the cholera outbreak, a disease caused by eating or drinking contaminated food or water. 

A crisis Mugabe outright denies in the midst of the outbreak during a televised address:

“I’m happy to say that our doctor’s have been assisted by others and WHO have now arrested cholera.  So now that there is no cholera there is no cause for war.” (0:13-0:29)

Mugabe again blames the West for the problem.  Accusing them of trying to use the outbreak as a means to oust him from power.

Zimbabwe’s Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu described the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe as a

“…genocidal onslaught on the people of Zimbabwe by the British,” likening it to  “serious biological chemical weapon” used by the British…”

But now, even as the cases have slowed down, there is still fear of another round of outbreaks due to the lack of action taken by the Zimbabwe government and Mugabe. 

Inflation has further caused the Zimbabwean dollar to plummet, a soda at one point costing $300 billion.  The fall in value has forced many to use foreign currency.  Currency they have little access to.

“I don’t have that money. I’m Zimbabwean and I just want to use the Zimbabwean dollar.  Most people are saying give me US dollar. Where can I get US dollar if I am Zimbabwean?” (2:06-2:16)

A problem for the estimated 94% of the population that is unemployed.

Still, with starvation, high inflation, and deadly outbreaks there is little hope of new leadership.  Mugabe has long been accused of threatening those who oppose his policies, including the last election.

“Opposition supporters rounded up and forced to vote for Robert Mugabe while gangs roam the country hunting down those who have tried to boycott this poll.  Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader who pulled out because of the violence says the results will only reflect the fears of the people.”(0:3-0:28)

Meanwhile, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations Andrew Young believes Mugabe is not the only one to blame for the troubles in Zimbabwe.

“Mugabe is not hurting Zimbabwe. The U.S./ British embargo is hurting Zimbabwe.” (7:00-7:10)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-na_qSoIo2k

]]> http://karleduardskanal.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/noch-mehr-pest-und-cholera/ Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:03:19 +0000 Karl Eduard http://karleduardskanal.wordpress.com/2009/11/02/noch-mehr-pest-und-cholera/

Denkschrift über die Choleraepidemie 1892

1. Theil. Entwicklung der Epidemie.

Einleitung.

Cholera in Persien.

Seit mehreren Jahren hat sich die Cholera außerhalb des ständig von ihr beherrschten Gebiets in Ostindien auch in Persien und dessen Nachbarländern eingenistet. Die Seuche tritt dort bald in geringerem, bald in größerem Umfange auf, und steigert sich namentlich in der wärmeren Jahreszeit zu örtlichen oder ausgedehnteren Epidemien. Ein weiteres Vordringen der Cholera nach Norden über das Kaspische Meer oder den Kaukasus war bis zum gegenwärtigen Jahre nicht bekannt geworden.  Im April und Mai trat die Krankheit wieder in großer Heftigkeit in Afghanistan und Persien auf. Zufolge der vorliegenden Nachrichten bilden sich nach und nach in den Städten Kabul, Herat, Meshed, Teheran, Tebriz und Isphahan Seuchenherde. In Kabul starben beispielsweise in der Zeit vom 19. bis zum 29. April 5575 Personen an der Cholera. Die Krankheit sollte sich diesmal nicht auf ihren nächsten Bereich beschränken; sie fand bereits nach kurzer Zeit im europäischen Rußland Eingang, wohin sie vielleicht durch den Verkehr über das Kaspische Meer aus den persischen Handelsplätzen Asterabad und Rescht verschleppt worden ist. …

Choleraausbruch  in Deutschland

Feststellung der Krankheit in Hamburg-Altona

Während die Cholera in der geschilderten Weise sich in Rußlands Westprovinzen ausbreitete und in Paris und Havre einen bedrohlichen Umfang annahm, erfolgte ganz plötzlich ein heftiger Ausbruch der Seuche in Deutschlands größtem Seehafen Hamburg-Altona.

Am 19. August waren in das städtische Krankenhaus zu Altona 2 Personen aufgenommen worden welche an choleraähnlichen Krankheitserscheinungen litten und nach kurzer Zeit verstarben. Der eine Kranke war ein schwedischer Matrose, welcher Tage zuvor abgelohnt worden war, der andere ein Cigarrenarbeiter, welcher sich bereits eine Woche lang obdachlos in Hamburg umhergetrieben hatte, in der Nacht zum 19. August schwer betrunken auf der Straße gefunden und im Polizeigewahrsam kurze Zeit darauf erkrankt war. Auf Veranlassung des Kreisphysikus zu Altona begann der in bakteriologischen Arbeiten geübte Stabsarzt Dr. Meißner sofort die Untersuchung des Darminhalts der Verstorbenen, und stellte bereits am 20. August mit Wahrscheinlichkeit und am 21. mit Sicherheit das Vorhandensein asiatischer Cholera fest. Da an diesen beiden Tagen dem Altonaer Krankenhaus neue ähnliche Krankheitsfälle zugingen, meldete der Kreisphysikus am 20. der Polizeibehörde, daß ernster Verdacht des Ausbruchs der echten Cholera bestehe, und am 21. telegrafisch an den Regierungspräsidenten zu Schleswig, daß die bakteriologischen Untersuchungen kaum Zweifel an der Diagnose asiatischer Cholera ließen.  Dies vom Regierungspräsidenten sofort an den königlich preußischen Minister der Medizinalangelegenheiten weitergegebene Telegramm veranlaßte letzteren, am 22. August den Regierungspräsidenten telegrafisch anzuweisen, daß alle Maßregeln getroffen würden, wie wenn echte Cholera vorliege, und daß sofort dem Geheimen Medizinalrat Dr. Koch verdächtige Objekte zur bakteriologischen Untersuchung überwiesen werden sollten.

Inzwischen hatte Stabsarzt Dr. Meißner sich an demselben Tage persönlich nach Berlin begeben und dem Geheimrat Dr. Koch seine mikroskopischen Präparate und Bakterienkulturen vorgelegt. Letzterer gewann die Überzeugung, daß es sich wirklich um die Bacillen der asiatischen Cholera handelte, und wurde durch die Mittheilungen des Stabsarzt Dr. Meißner zu der Annahme geführt, daß die Erkrankungen, welche das Material zur Untersuchung geliefert hatten, wahrscheinlich vom Hamburger Hafen ausgegangen seien. …

Am 24. August traf im kaiserlichen Gesundheitsamt eine Meldung des Medizinalbüros zu Hamburg vom 23. August ein, daß am 22. August auch in dieser Stadt einige Krankheitsfälle durch bakteriologische Untersuchung als asiatische Cholera erkannt worden seien. An demselben Tage berichteten die beiden erwähnten Kommissare telegrafisch, daß die Seuche in Hamburg bereits eine große Ausdehnung gewonnen habe. Mit dem 25. August begann die regelmäßige tägliche Veröffentlichung der Zahlen der Erkrankungen und Todesfälle an Cholera durch die Hamburger Behörde.

Entstehung und Verlauf der Epidemie

Hinsichtlich der Entstehung der Epedimie ist festgestellt worden, daß schon seit Mitte August in Hamburg choleraähnliche Erkrankungen in größerer Zahl vorgekommen waren. Man war in ärztlichen Kreisen geneigt gewesen, diese Fälle in das Gebiet des Brechdurchfalls oder der einheimischen Cholera zu verweisen, deren Vorkommen zu der betreffenden Jahreszeit nichts Außergewöhnliches war und bei der großen Hitze jener Tage auch leicht erklärlich schien, hatte sich aber angesichts der Tatsache nicht verschließen können, daß die Fälle recht zahlreich waren und sich durch große Sterblichkeit auszeichneten. Nach später angestellten Ermittlungen waren bis zum 20. August bereits 85 Erkrankungen dieser Art mit 36 Todesfällen vorgekommen. Indessen hatten die mehrfach ausgeführten Leichenöffnungen und bakteriologischen Untersuchungen den an maßgeblicher Stelle befindlichen Sachverständigen Hamburgs zunächst nicht die sichere Überzeugung gebracht, daß es sich wirklich um die asiatische Cholera handelte. Erst am 22. August wurde die Diagnose dieser Krankheit auf Grund des Ergebnisses der bakteriologischen Untersuchung in den Hamburger Krankenhäusern seitens der dortigen Ärzte gestellt und dem Medizinalbüro gemeldet.

Die Seuche nahm in Hamburg rasch einen außerordentlich großen Umfang an. Die Zahlen der Neuerkrankungen und Todesfälle hatten am 21. August 83 und 22 betragen; schon an den beiden folgenden Tagen steigerten sie sich auf 200 und 70, sowie 272 und 111, um von da an stetig zuzunehmen, bis am 30. August mit 1081 Erkrankungen und 484 Todesfällen die höchsten Ziffern erreicht wurden. Dann begann die Epidemie allmählich abzunehmen; leichte vorübergehende Steigerungen gegen die vorhergehenden Tage brachten noch der 9. und 10. , sowie später der 16. September. Vom 7. Oktober ab wurde die Zahl von 20 Neuerkrankungen an einem Tage nicht mehr erreicht. Am 24. Oktober wurden zum ersten Male Erkrankungen nicht gemeldet, und seit dem sind nur noch ganz vereinzelte Fälle vorgekommen.

Neben der Zunahme in der Zahl der Colerafälle ging in Hamburg eine räumliche Ausbreitung der Epidemie einher. Wenige Tage nach Beginn der Seuche waren nicht nur die am Hafen gelegenen Stadttheile, sondern auch die übrigen Stadtgegenden ergriffen. Diese auffallend rasche und seitdem oft als explosionsartig bezeichnete Verbreitung der Cholera wird von den Sachverständigen in erster Linie der Wasserversorgung in Hamburg zugeschrieben. Hamburg entnimmt sein Wasser oberhalb der Stadt bei Rothenburgsort aus der Elbe und pumpt es aus Ablagerungsbassins in die Röhrenleitung.. Die Reinigung durch Ablagerung ist bei dem großen Wasserverbrauch Hamburgs so wenig wirksam, daß sich das Leitungswasser schon dem äußeren Aussehen nach nicht von dem gewöhnlichen Elbwasser unterscheidet und stets größere Verunreinigungen enthält. Die Anlage von Sandfiltern zur Reinigung des Leitungswassers ist seit Jahren in Aussicht genommen. Dieselben befinden sich auch im Bau, können aber voraussichtlich erst im nächsten Sommer dem Gebrauch übergeben werden.

Einen Beweis für das ursächliche Verhältnis der Wasserversorgung Hamburgs zu der Verbreitung der diesjährigen Choleraepidemie liefern die später zu schildernden, ungleich günstigeren Gesundheitsverhältnisse Altonas, dessen Wasserversorgung zeitgemäßen Anforderungen entspricht. Auch innerhalb Hamburgs blieben einige Altona benachbarte Straßen, welche an die Wasserleitung dieser Stadt angeschlossen sind, von der Seuche verschont. Ein überzeugender Beweis von dem Zusammenhang des Wassers mit der Verbreitung der Cholera wurde ferner durch die Art der Betheiligung des in Hamburg befindlichen Militärs an der Epidemie gebracht. In der Kaserne zu Hamburg, welche vom Beginn der Epidemie zwei Bataillone des 85. Infanterie-Regiments, später durch Ersatzreservisten(mit Unteroffiziersfamilien etwa 500 Köpfe) belegt war, sind Choleraerkrankungen nicht vorgekommen, obwohl die Kaserne dieselben Boden- und Abfuhrverhältnisse hat wie der sie umgebende Stadttheil, in welchem viele Häuser von der Seuche heimgesucht wurden. Dagegen ereigneten sich 17 Erkrankungen im 3. Bataillon des 85. Regiments, welches bis zum 24. August in nächster Nähe der Kaserne in Bürgerquartieren lag, und zwei Cholerafälle in einer Batterie, welche nur eine Nacht in Hamburg zubrachte und gleichfalls in Bürgerquartieren untergebracht war. Das auffallende Verschontbleiben der Kaserne kann nur durch deren Wasserversorgung erklärt werden, welche ausschließlich aus Tiefbrunnen erfolgt. Die in den Gebäuden vorhandenen Auslässe der Elbwasserleitung, welche vorher nur das Wasser für die Klosetspülung geliefert hatten, waren bei Beginn der Epidemie geschlossen worden.  … (Wer mehr lesen will muß Fraktur lernen.)

Ist das nicht wunderbar, wie deutsche Wissenschaftler und Bürger früher in der Lage waren, Ursachen zu erforschen und deren Folgen durch Beseitigung der Ursachen zu bekämpfen? Heute schreien unsere Politiker allerdings nach Zuzug aus Ländern, deren Einwohner Ratten Tempel bauen, ihre Toten in Flüsse werfen, sich und ihre Wäsche darin waschen und auch das Trinkwasser direkt daraus schöpfen. 117 Jahre später. Und natürlich sind wir Europäer an deren Entwicklungsstand schuld. Logisch.

]]> http://blog.thebrights.de/2009/11/02/sozialhelden-vs-homoepathische-pseudohilfe/ Mon, 02 Nov 2009 06:19:16 +0000 nickpol http://blog.thebrights.de/2009/11/02/sozialhelden-vs-homoepathische-pseudohilfe/ http://sonofdisgrace.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/cholera-the-answer-to-infection-2008/ Sun, 01 Nov 2009 22:37:00 +0000 ericws http://sonofdisgrace.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/cholera-the-answer-to-infection-2008/

Estilo:

Grindcore

Tamanho:

19.52mb

Tracklist:

1. Outbreak
2. Things That Were, Shall Be Again
3. Persuasions Convey My Torment
4. This Love Is Your Lie
5. The Answer To Infection
6. Jerry’s Kids
7. Bloodstained

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In Bafata, Guinea-Bissau, children go door-to-door counting mosquito nets, monitoring hand-washing and checking the distance between kitchens and latrines. The activities are among efforts by health NGOs and authorities to fill the gap between cholera-prevention messages and behaviour, after a 2008 epidemic killed some 220 people and infected at least 13,000.

The national flag is hoisted in front of the cleanest house, and the family is feted in schools and on local radio, Ingrid Kuhfeldt, head of NGO Plan International in Bissau, told IRIN. Plan International, which has been working in Bafata for 15 years, launched the scheme to prevent future cholera outbreaks.

“There is much more competition now on who has the best hygiene materials and the cleanest house – we hadn’t seen this kind of rivalry before,” Kuhfeldt said.

Children also try to dispel hygiene “myths” with families – for example that lemon juice can disinfect water – and show people how much chlorine to drop into a well to clean the water, Kuhfeldt said.

Rather than resenting the children, adults listen, partly because of children’s rising status in society over recent years, according to Kuhfeldt. “[People] have a growing respect for their children having seen them make speeches in front of audiences in schools, heard them on the radio and seen them set up committees,” she said. “They’re starting to realize they can learn from [the children].”

In Guinea, with the support of aid agencies and the local health services, a local radio station in Kindia helps spread hygiene messages through radio spots and village contests. A team from the radio station organizes public games in remote communities, quizzing people on hygiene and cholera prevention and asking people to make up songs on a hygiene-related theme, according to Aboubacar Sylla, head of programming at the station. Prizes include radios, water buckets or farming tools.

“Hundreds of people come out for these activities; people really like it,” Sylla said. “And it is quite interactive; we encourage everyone to talk about the subject at hand.”

Bafata and Kindia recorded no cholera in 2008, despite infections in neighbouring regions.

Source: IRIN, 15 Oct 2009

In Bafata, Guinea-Bissau, children go door-to-door counting mosquito nets, monitoring hand-washing and checking the distance between kitchens and latrines. The activities are among efforts by health NGOs and authorities to fill the gap between cholera-prevention messages and behaviour, after a 2008 epidemic killed some 220 people and infected at least 13,000.

The national flag is hoisted in front of the cleanest house, and the family is feted in schools and on local radio, Ingrid Kuhfeldt, head of NGO Plan International in Bissau, told IRIN. Plan International, which has been working in Bafata for 15 years, launched the scheme to prevent future cholera outbreaks.

“There is much more competition now on who has the best hygiene materials and the cleanest house – we hadn’t seen this kind of rivalry before,” Kuhfeldt said.

Children also try to dispel hygiene “myths” with families – for example that lemon juice can disinfect water – and show people how much chlorine to drop into a well to clean the water, Kuhfeldt said.

Rather than resenting the children, adults listen, partly because of children’s rising status in society over recent years, according to Kuhfeldt. “[People] have a growing respect for their children having seen them make speeches in front of audiences in schools, heard them on the radio and seen them set up committees,” she said. “They’re starting to realize they can learn from [the children].”

In Guinea, with the support of aid agencies and the local health services, a local radio station in Kindia helps spread hygiene messages through radio spots and village contests. A team from the radio station organizes public games in remote communities, quizzing people on hygiene and cholera prevention and asking people to make up songs on a hygiene-related theme, according to Aboubacar Sylla, head of programming at the station. Prizes include radios, water buckets or farming tools.

“Hundreds of people come out for these activities; people really like it,” Sylla said. “And it is quite interactive; we encourage everyone to talk about the subject at hand.”

Bafata and Kindia recorded no cholera in 2008, despite infections in neighbouring regions.

Source: IRIN, 15 Oct 2009

Cholera outbreaks in West Africa generally trigger extra hand-washings in households and panic-buying of bleach for treating water. But beating the deadly – but easily preventable – illness requires that such hygiene practices become routine, health experts say.

Researchers with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) say knowing the drivers behind behaviour and tying hygiene messages to those impulses is crucial for preventing cholera, which has become a recurring health emergency in West Africa.

“If we want sustainable change we need to make sure people practice things so they become habits,” Jeroen Ensink of LSHTM’s environmental health group told IRIN.

One way for aid agencies to do so, he said, is to dissociate hygiene messages from cholera – which is seasonal – and link them instead to general diarrhoeal disease.

Ensink also said it might be time to “re-brand” hygiene and health messages, as knowledge of cholera’s causes does not always translate into new habits. “Hand-washing messages need not be just about health; they can be about: if you want to be modern, to smell nice, to be attractive to the opposite sex, use soap.” The use of proper latrines can be linked to privacy instead of just proper hygiene, he added.

LSHTM has studied the impact of government and aid agency prevention and preparedness measures in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as part of a project funded by the European Commission humanitarian aid department (ECHO).

Coherent

The ECHO project aims to build a more coherent approach to cholera control with sound preparedness and early response. And ECHO says ‘quick impact’ actions in vulnerable communities should be accompanied by longer-term prevention measures.

To date, emergency and development strategies fail to address the disease properly, lacking common objectives and complementary actions, ECHO says.

ECHO is focusing on Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, where cholera has become endemic; during 2007 and 2008 over 23,000 people were infected and 560 died in the two countries.

But all of West Africa is highly vulnerable to cholera and a regional approach is needed; ECHO and its partners will study lessons from Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to see what might be applied more widely.

As part of the ECHO-funded project UNICEF and NGOs are training local health workers in responding to cholera, boosting communications strategies and developing emergency kits, which include sanitation and water purification materials, to keep outbreaks in check.

[T]o be effective anti-cholera actions must not be merely reactive, health experts say. LSTHM researchers observed in Guinea-Bissau that while most people could recite verbatim hand-washing and other hygiene messages, they apply them consistently only when cholera strikes. Changing such behaviour takes years, not months, said LSHTM’s Ensink.

Source: IRIN, 15 Oct 2009

Cholera outbreaks in West Africa generally trigger extra hand-washings in households and panic-buying of bleach for treating water. But beating the deadly – but easily preventable – illness requires that such hygiene practices become routine, health experts say.

Researchers with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) say knowing the drivers behind behaviour and tying hygiene messages to those impulses is crucial for preventing cholera, which has become a recurring health emergency in West Africa.

“If we want sustainable change we need to make sure people practice things so they become habits,” Jeroen Ensink of LSHTM’s environmental health group told IRIN.

One way for aid agencies to do so, he said, is to dissociate hygiene messages from cholera – which is seasonal – and link them instead to general diarrhoeal disease.

Ensink also said it might be time to “re-brand” hygiene and health messages, as knowledge of cholera’s causes does not always translate into new habits. “Hand-washing messages need not be just about health; they can be about: if you want to be modern, to smell nice, to be attractive to the opposite sex, use soap.” The use of proper latrines can be linked to privacy instead of just proper hygiene, he added.

LSHTM has studied the impact of government and aid agency prevention and preparedness measures in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau as part of a project funded by the European Commission humanitarian aid department (ECHO).

Coherent

The ECHO project aims to build a more coherent approach to cholera control with sound preparedness and early response. And ECHO says ‘quick impact’ actions in vulnerable communities should be accompanied by longer-term prevention measures.

To date, emergency and development strategies fail to address the disease properly, lacking common objectives and complementary actions, ECHO says.

ECHO is focusing on Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, where cholera has become endemic; during 2007 and 2008 over 23,000 people were infected and 560 died in the two countries.

But all of West Africa is highly vulnerable to cholera and a regional approach is needed; ECHO and its partners will study lessons from Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to see what might be applied more widely.

As part of the ECHO-funded project UN Children’s Fund and NGOs are training local health workers in responding to cholera, boosting communications strategies and developing emergency kits, which include sanitation and water purification materials, to keep outbreaks in check.

[T]o be effective anti-cholera actions must not be merely reactive, health experts say. LSTHM researchers observed in Guinea-Bissau that while most people could recite verbatim hand-washing and other hygiene messages, they apply them consistently only when cholera strikes. Changing such behaviour takes years, not months, said LSHTM’s Ensink.

Source: IRIN, 15 Oct 2009

In Hamburg gibt es eigentlich keine Gentrifizierung. Hier geht das radikaler. Das Gängeviertel wurde nach einer Choleraepidemie im Jahr 1892 Stück für Stück abgerissen – allerdings nicht ganz ohne Grund. Robert Koch schrieb 1892 an Kaiser Wilhelm: „Eure Hoheit, ich vergesse, dass ich in Europa bin. Ich habe noch nie solche ungesunden Wohnungen, Pesthöhlen und Brutstätten für jeden Ansteckungskeim angetroffen wie hier.“ Den Rest, eine Kommunistenhochburg und gleichzeitig inoffizielles Zentrum jüdischen Lebens in Hamburg, planierten die Nazis. Der kümmerliche Rest steht noch, deplatziert und verschämt zwischen Springer-Verlag und Unilever-Hochhaus. Die paar armen Häuser gammeln vor sich hin, weil der Investor, der ein Shoppingerlebniszentrum schaffen wollte, kein Geld mehr hat.

Hamburg im Jahr 2015: Ein Vergnügungspark

Ein paar Schritte von diesem Ort liegt die tote Innenstadt Hamburgs. Das alte Konzept der Trennung von Wohnen und Arbeit, hier verkörpert durch den Bau der Kontorhäuser, wurde, nachdem zunächst noch Wohnbebauung vorgesehen war, konsequent umgesetzt. In der Politik sorgt Konsequenz in ihrer Reinform für Guillotine und andere Rücksichtslosigkeiten, in der Stadtplanung ist es nicht ganz so gefährlich, aber auch schlimm: Tagsüber spucken Büros und Läden, Banken und Werbeagenturen Menschenmassen aus, die eilig durch die Straßen rennen, und um halb neun klappen müde Verkäuferinnen die Bürgersteige hoch und fahren mit der Bahn in die Vorstadt. Nachts sorgen eine Handvoll Hausmeister und Security-Leute für Ruhe und Ordnung.

Noch ein paar Schritte weiter eine Touristenattraktion, die Speicherstadt. Und was uns hier als altes Hamburg präsentiert wird, ist auch nichts anderes als ein geplantes Gemetzel. 1878 forderte Otto von Bismarck 1878 den Anschluss Hamburgs ans Zollsystem des Deutschen Reichs, die Hamburger sträubten sich, denn Zölle hätten den Handel gestört. 1881 wurde ein Kompromiss gefunden: Hamburg durfte eine kleine Freihandelszone, den Freihafen, behalten. Um Raum für diesen Garanten hanseatischer Geldakkumulation zu schaffen, wurde kurzerhand das Quartier auf dem Großen Grasbrook abgerissen. Rund 24.000 Menschen mussten sich eine neue Bleibe suchen – ohne jegliche Hilfe oder finanziellen Ausgleich.

Jetzt, wo der Hafen es sich auf der anderen Elbseite gemütlich macht, gibt es mit einem der größten Bauvorhaben Europas, der Hafencity, eine andere Merkwürdigkeit Hamburgs zu besichtigen. Baut der Hamburger nämlich neu, kann man sicher sein, dass Langweiliges dabei rauskommt. Neue Architektur war hier jahrelang die Bullauge-meets-Backstein-Tristesse von gmp, jetzt ist gerade Glas und Kastiges in Mode, aber eben auch nur halbherzig. Die gesamte Elbbebauung, die gesamte Hafencity: Hässlich bis gähnend langweilig, bestenfalls ok (der Würfelbau gegenüber des Hafenklang). (Ach ja, auf die Elbphilharmonie dagegen, so teuer und überflüssig sie sein mag, darf man sich freuen, weil die Architekten Herzog & de Meuron gut sind.)

Gegen Turbogentrifizierung helfen auch keine dicken Wände

Städtebaulich betrachtet ist das Leben in Hamburg also kein Kinderspielplatz. Und dann noch die Gentrifizierung, die es natürlich doch gibt. Grundsätzlich dürfte der Prozess bekannt sein: Abgewrackte, unsanierte Gebiete werden neu entdeckt, vornehmlich von Menschen höheren Bildungsgrads bei gleichzeitig niedrigem Einkommen, die einen gewissen Pfadfindergeist in sich tragen. Jonathan Lethem hat diesen Prozess in seinem auch sonst tollen Buch „Fortress Of Solitude“ für Brooklyn beschrieben: Die Eltern sind Künstler (Vater malt Filme, nicht gerade ein Garant für Galerie- oder Kinokassenerfolge), Sohn ist klein und einziger Weißer in der Nachbarschaft, Mutter haut irgendwann ab. Das war Anfang der 1970er. 20 Jahre später: Nobelrestaurant neben Nobelrestaurant. Dieser Prozess ist im Grunde genommen ganz normal. Siehe Eppendorf, wo in den späten 1960ern niemand leben wollte. Altbau war unbequem. Das Bürgertum wollte lieber in irgendwelchen vorstädtischen Neubausiedlungen wohnen. Dann kamen die Studenten, gründeten wuschelige WGs. Im Lauf der Jahre wurden sie älter, schmissen die Mitbewohner raus, wurden reich, strichen die Wände, installierten Designeinbauküchen, bekamen ein Kind, bekamen zwei Kinder, und, schwupps, wurde Eppendorf, wie es heute ist. Diesen Weg gingen ein paar Jahre später auch Ottensen und Eimsbüttel. Soweit, so bedauernswert, aber irgendwie ist er ja auch ganz in Ordnung, der Lauf der Dinge. Immerhin nimmt er etwas Zeit in Anspruch,

Den Dingen ihren Lauf zu lassen, ist aber des Hamburgers Sache nicht. Hier hat man sie gerne im Griff. In der Stadtplanung heißen die Konzepte also „Die wachsende Stadt“ (obwohl sie in Wahrheit schrumpft), „Sportstadt Hamburg“ (weil jedes zweite Wochenende ein paar tausend Extremisten 20-mal um die Alster laufen) und „Kulturmetropole Hamburg“ (es gibt zwei Musicalhäuser, einen Schlagermove und die Harley Days). Damit diese Konzepte wachsen und gedeihen, hat man sich in Hamburg für eine Art Turbo-Gentrifizierung entschieden. Ein kurzer Abriss der Projekte, an denen sich die Gemüter derzeit erhitzen: In Altona soll der Frappant-Komplex einer innerstädtischen IKEA-Filiale weichen. Gut, der Frappant-Komplex ist mal wirklich hässlich, aber deswegen gleich abreißen (zumal er gerade sinnvoll mit Ateliers bevölkert ist)? Und überhaupt: eine IKEA-Filiale in der Innenstadt?? Bei der Moorburgtrasse fällt (zumindest mir) die Entscheidung noch leichter. Das im Bau befindliche Kohlekraftwerk ist sowieso schon ein Unsinn ersten Ranges. Um die Energieeffizienz zu steigern, soll nun eine Fernwärmeleitung gelegt werden, unter der Elbe hindurch, wird sie ab Simon-von-Utrecht- / Holstenstraße überirdisch verlaufen und zwar durch die wenigen Parks, die es in dieser Gegend gibt. Widerstand ruft auch das Bernhard-Nocht-Quartier hervor. Direkt gegenüber der Hafenstraße könnten bald ziemlich konträre Mieter einziehen: Dort hat der Investor Köhler & von Bargen eine Reihe von Grundstücken und Häusern aufgekauft und will diese sanieren. Nachdem schon auf dem Gelände der alten Astrabrauerei ein Viertel im Viertel entstanden ist, also eines, das wenig mit St. Pauli zu tun hat, befürchten nicht nur die Anwohner einen weitere verfehlte Aufhübschung des Viertels. Dass die Bahn angekündigt hat, den Clubs Astrastube, Waagenbau und Fundbureau die Verträge zu kündigen, weil die darüber verlaufende Brücke erneuert werden muss, ist dann noch ein weiteres Tüpfelchen – damit schließen drei sehr unterschiedliche und auf ihre Art sehr gute Clubs im eh langsam clubarmen Hamburg. Ach ja. Dann ist da ja noch der kärgliche Rest des Gängeviertels. Der wird zurzeit von einer Künstlerinitiative besetzt gehalten. Große Namen wie Daniel Richter, Friedrich Schirmer oder Matthias von Hartz und auch hanseatische Saurier wie die Patriotische Gesellschaft unterstützen sie dabei, das xte Einkaufszentrum mit integrierten Eigentumswohnungen zu verhindern.

Diese Bänker kennen die Speicherstadt noch aus ihrer Jugend

Nun kann man die einzelnen Vorhaben bewerten, wie man will. Die Gedanken sind schließlich frei und Ikea-Möbel billig. Dass sich aber gegen sämtliche Vorhaben breitgefächerte Aktionsbündnisse formieren, ist in jedem Fall begrüßenswert. Seit der durchgeknallte Richter Ronald Barnabas Schill im Jahr 2001 Regierungsverantwortung übernahm, hat es so eine Einigkeit selten gegeben. Für das Aktionsbündnis gegen Altona-Ikea hat Ex-Szene-Chefredakteur Christoph Twickel einen schönen (wenn auch arg polemischen) offenen Brief an Ikea-Chef Ingvar Kamprad verfasst. Aus dem Umkreis der Goldenen Zitronen (die auch auf einem Aktionstag gegen das Bernhard-Nocht-Quartier auftraten) stammt ein Papier, das sich generell der Idee widersetzt, eine Stadt nach Marketinggesichtspunkten zu planen: „Wir sagen: Eine Stadt ist keine Marke. Eine Stadt ist auch kein Unternehmen. Eine Stadt ist ein Gemeinwesen.“ Stimmt. In diesem Brief wird übrigens auch auf den Städtebau-Theoretiker Richard Florida hingewiesen. Der hatte in seinem Buch „The Rise Of The Creative Class“ behauptet, dass nur Städte wachsen würden, in denen sich die kreative Klasse wohlfühlt: „Cities without gays and rock bands are losing the economic development race“. Das Lustige daran: In Hamburg wird das wieder so gründlich missverstanden, dass man meint, man könne Gays’n’Rockbands durch Reeperbahnfestival und CSD bei Laune halten. Dass es dafür gewachsenen Strukturen bedarf – warum, wenn man doch eine Stadtentwicklungsbehörde hat, die immer mehr zur Eventagentur mutiert? Aber weiter im Text: Gegen das Bernhard-Nocht-Quartier gehen Anwohner ebenso auf die Barrikaden wie gegen Vattenfalls Moorburgtrassenpläne. Klar: Den Argumentationsketten der Gegnerinitiativen haftet eine teils seltsame Bestandswahrungsmentalität an: Wer beschwert sich da? Häufig genug die Leute, die in der Gentrifizierungskette ganz am Anfang stehen. Und ausgerechnet die, die mit dem ganzen Scheiß angefangen haben, holen jetzt den roten Blitz und den schwarzen Stern aus dem Knopfloch und steigen auf die Barrikaden? Aber, wer wenn nicht die? Der Rentner aus der Gerhardstraße, der nach Billstedt ausgesiedelt wird, wohl kaum. Bleibt also zu hoffen, dass wenigstens die eine oder andere Initiative erfolgreich sein wird, denn sonst:

… wird EU-Gesundheitskommissarin Androulla Vassiliou im Jahr 2015 Hamburg besuchen und hernach einen Brief an den Ratspräsidenten verfassen: „Eure Hoheit, ich vergesse, dass ich in Europa bin. Ich habe noch nie solche eine leblose Unterhaltungshölle getroffen wie hier in Hamburg. Man könnte meinen, man sei in einem Vergnügungspark mit Arbeitsmöglichkeiten gelandet.“

An outbreak of cholera in northern Tanzania has continued to spread, claiming 59 lives over the past two months. Health ministry officials reported 60 new cases last week. A total of 3,454 cases of cholera were recorded in Tanga region during the last eight weeks, a health ministry spokesman said.

The most affected area was in Handeni District, where health officials have attributed the outbreak to ignorance of hygiene practices.

Seif Mpembenwe, Handeni district commissioner, said schools that had been closed because of the outbreak were expected to re-open in November. He said residents had been advised to dig and use toilets as well as boil drinking water to prevent cholera.

Health officials fear that the long rains due now could lead to more cases of cholera if correct hygiene is not observed.

Source: IRIN, 23 Oct 2009