African Civil Society Rejects Foreign Investment*

African Civil Society Rejects Foreign Investment*   This letter from African civil society critical of foreign investment in African Agriculture was presented at the G8 Summit.   15 May 2012 Mr. President (of the African Union), Please allow a West African peasant to share with you his preoccupations in the run-up to the G8 Symposium [...]

Good News for Coffee Drinkers!?

Good News for Coffee Drinkers!?   By Hwaa Irfan   The news is out following research by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health that coffee is good for you! Their findings from 400,000 U.S. men and women ages 50 to 71 have demonstrated that coffee drinkers (caffeinated and [...]

Drilling for Water Greens the Saudi Deserts

Drilling for Water Greens the Saudi Deserts   NASA’s Earth Observatory maps the changes and activities observed from up high including the changes to the desert landscape of Saudi Arabia. Even before the British Geological Survey and University College London (UCL) declared its findings of large grounwater reserves under the soil of Africa, Saudi Arabia [...]

Allah’s Medicine Chest: Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)

Allah’s Medicine Chest: Ginger (Zingiber Officinale)   By Hwaa Irfan Unlike the Chinese kao-liang kiang (large mild ginger), Zingiber Officinale is native to south east Asia. Confucius (557–479 BC) mentioned ginger in his Analects and apparently never ate without it. Dioscorides and Pliny both associated ginger cultivation with Arabia and Trogodytica (present-day Somalia). Known as [...]

Heavenly Signs: New Structures Evolving!?

Heavenly Signs: New Structures Evolving!? By Hwaa Irfan Just when when man thinks that he has mapped the structure of the universe and can foretell/predict what patterns will evolve under certain circumstances, emanations from the universe pop up to tell us otherwise. As far too many keep rolling out doomsday scenarios as we go through [...]

Allah’s Medicine Chest: Honey

Allah’s Medicine Chest: Honey By Hwaa Irfan The bee, its product, and the lessons one can learn are appreciated so much in the Qur’an that a whole chapter (An-Nahl) is dedicated to the work of the honeybee. Just think, such a small creature contributes to the global food supply through pollination and a gain through [...]

An Occupied World: The Blue Whale

An Occupied World: The Blue Whale By Hwaa Irfan Most of us were born, grew up, and live far removed from much of nature. Even in our growing awareness  unless nature pertains to healthy food, we think no more of it, accept maybe, just maybe when we go away on holiday or to decorate our [...]

Is tThere Aluminium in Your Deoderant!

Is their Aluminium in Your Deoderant!   Given the toxic ffect of aluminium on the human body it is less surprising that research published in the Journal of Applied Toxicology found deoderants with aluminium have the ‘potential’ to cause cancer, and more surprising that companies are still selling consumers cancer sticks – but they will [...]