Boas Festas!

Just out of the oven...

 

Christmas Fruit-Cakes!

 

 

 

Easy recipe too!:

Ingredients

Serves: 30

• 600g mixed fruit;
• 600 mls chocolate milk;
• 1 and 1/2 cups self raising flour;
• 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder;
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar;
• 3 or 4 tablespoons of various fruit liquors!

Preparation method

Prep: 8 hours | Cook: 20 minutes! |

1.

Soak the mixed fruit in the chocolate milk, brown sugar, and liquors overnight in the fridge.

2.

Preheat oven to lowest temperature.

3.

Sift the flour into the soaked fruit slowly mixing in well. Pour the mixture into the prepared cupcaked forms until full and cook for 20 minutes.  Insert a toothpick into the centre of the cake and if it comes out clean the cupcakes are done! :)

 

Sprinkle some confectionate sugar on top for a snowy effect and vuolá! ;)

Easy-breezy! And no eggs too! Cupcakes taste delicious and moist with all the wonderfull fruits! :)

Sacred Rides Catalogue 2013!

Substâncias activas toxicas na nossa água

Water: vital to the existence of life on Earth, is now killing all life on Earth. The culprit of course being: humans, that are poisoning their own water supplies.

E assim, o ciclo vicioso continua, com os mesmos culpados de sempre: Empresas de produção de herbicidas --- distribuição para agricultores, na maioria das vezes apoiados pelo governo.

 

Abaixo, alguns dos factos:

 

 

 

“What is it?

Under normal conditions, Linuron is found as white crystals, flakes or powder, which have no smell. It melts at 93 degrees celsius. Linuron is only very slightly soluble in water and has variable solubility in different types of organic (carbon-containing) solvents.

What is it used for?

Linuron is used as a herbicide, applied to soils before plants emerge and also to soils around growing crops. It is used mainly to control grasses and other weeds amongst cereal crops and vegetables.

Where does it come from?

Linuron is released to the environment mainly during its application as a herbicide. It may also be released during its manufacture, transport and storage. There are not thought to be any natural sources of Linuron to the environment.

How might it affect the environment?

Linuron is known to be very toxic to aquatic organisms and exposure to high levels is thought likely to harm other wildlife as well. There is concern that Linuron may mimic the behaviour of animals hormones, that it is an "endocrine disruptor". Linuron binds strongly to soils and is naturally broken down within 3-4 months. A relatively small amount enters water bodies as a result of run-off or accidental spills. This binds strongly to sediments, where it is broken down in a similar manner to its degradation in soils. Linuron can enter the atmosphere by evaporation or when it is sprayed onto crops. It is broken down in air within a matter of days. It is not considered likely that Linuron pollution has any effects on the global environment.

How might exposure to it affect human health?

Linuron can enter the body either by ingestion of contaminated food or water, or by dermal contact with linuron. Ingestion of linuron may cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Dermal contact with linuron can cause skin irritation. Eye contact can cause irritation. There is little evidence available as to the effects of exposure to linuron on human health. The International Agency for Research on Cancer has not designated linuron in terms of its carcinogenicity. However, exposure to linuron at normal background levels is unlikely to have any adverse effect on human health”

 

 

“In a subchronic toxicity study using rats, terbuthylazine caused

decreased body weight gain as well as decreased thymic, kidney and liver

weights. A study using rabbits resulted in decreased body weight gain and

food consumption, and mortality in one female. In another rabbit study, all

the animals developed difficulty in breathing, piloerection, sedation, curved

body posture, dermal irritation, and decreased body weight gain and food

consumption.

In chronic toxicity and carcinogenicity studies using mice and rats,

decreases in body weight gain and food consumption were observed. Two

studies using mice and rats caused no increase in tumors. However, a third

study using rats caused an increased incidence of testicular tumors in males

and mammary gland carcinomas in females, but only at a dose at which

excessive systemic toxicity also was observed. Based on this study, EPA's

Carcinogenicity Peer Review Committee has classified terbuthylazine as a

Group D carcinogen--one for which there is inadequate evidence to

determine carcinogenicity in humans.”

 

 

How can we allow this to be happening right under our noses?

 

 

Já não sei o que beber!

 

Water Privatization... Next will probably be air, "clean" air...

 

 

 

 

 

"In her book Water Wars, the Indian author Vandana Shiva lists nine principles underpinning water democracy. At least two of these principles are directly compromised by the privatization of water. Point number four states that “Water must be free for sustenance needs. Since nature gives water to us free of cost, buying and selling it for profit violates our inherent right to nature's gift and denies the poor of their human rights.” When private companies try to make large profits through high water prices, it denies the poor the inalienable right to the most necessary substance for life. Inaccordance with this fact, point number seven states, “Water is a commons. . . It cannot be owned as private property and sold as a commodity.” How can one justify claiming water as their own through contractual agreement while letting another human being go thirsty? Water is a commons because it is the basis of all life. Water rights are natural rights and thus are usufructuary rights, meaning that water can be used, but not owned. As far fetched as water ownership may seem, it is happening at an increasing rate around the globe."

 

"Currently there is a rush to privatize water services around the world. The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) are pushing for the privatization of water services by European and U.S.-based companies. They are pushing privatization through stipulations in trade agreements and loan conditions to developing countries. These privatization programs started in the early 1990’s and have since emerged in India, Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Nigeria, Mexico, Malaysia, Australia, and the Philippines, to name a few. In Chile, the World Bank imposed a loan condition to guarantee a 33 percent profit margin to the French company Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux while the company insisted on a margin of 35 percent."

"This privatization of services is only the first step toward the privatization of all aspects of water. Through this new globalization and privatization of water resources, there is an effort to replace collective ownership of water sources with corporate control. This effort is being met with increasing opposition. Supporters of privatization say that it has a great track record of success, increasing the efficiency, quality, reliability and affordability of services to the population."

"Yet the industry has a track record of hazards and failures. For example, private companies most often violate standards of operation, and engage in price fixing without many consequences. This leads to water stress among the poor populations of these areas, causing people to drink water that is often very contaminated and hazardous to their health (even though case studies have shown that privatized water can be very contaminated as well)."

Rising Prices and Deteriorating Water Quality

Australia - In 1998, the water in Sydney, was contaminated with high levels of giardia and cryptosporidium shortly after its water was overtaken by Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux.
Canada - At least seven people died as a result of E. coli bacteria in Walkerton, Ontario, after water testing had been privatized by A&L Labs. The company treated the test results as "confidential intellectual property" and did not make them public.
Morocco - Consumers saw the price of water increase threefold after the water service was privatized in Casablanca.
Argentina - When a Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux subsidiary purchased the state-run water company Obras Sanitarias de la Nacion, water rates doubled but water quality deteriorated. The company was forced to leave the country when residents refused to pay their bills.
Britain - Water and sewage bills increased 67 percent between 1989 and 1995. The rate at which people's services were disconnected rose by 177 percent.
New Zealand - Citizens took to the streets to protest the commercialization of water.
South Africa - Water became inaccessible, unaffordable, and unsafe after the water supply was privatized by Suez Lyonnaise des Eaux in Johannesburg. Cholera infections became widespread and thousands of people were disconnected from their supply of water.