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Guilty Pleasure: Slavery and Child Labour in the Production of Chocolate

December 30, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Child Labour, Peace & Security, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Guilty Pleasure: Slavery and Child Labour in the Production of Chocolate.

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Thomas Hauschildt

For many, Christmas is upon us once again. And like every other year chocolate will be sold in vast quantities. But unbeknownst to most consumers, some of the chocolate they buy will have partly been the product of slavery and child labour in West Africa.

A bittersweet product

West Africa was responsible for nearly three quarters of the 4.24 million tonnes cocoa beans produced worldwide last year – the Ivory Coast alone produced roughly 1.5 million tonnes, or one third of the world’s production, while Ghana produced over 1 million tonnes. According to some research, these two countries also rely on around 1.8 million child labourers…

Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com

December 26, 2012

Peter Singhatey Uncategorized Health, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com

via Stop Subsidizing Obesity – NYTimes.com.

Not long ago few doctors – not even pediatricians – concerned themselves much with nutrition. This has changed, and dramatically: As childhood obesity gains recognition as a true health crisis, more and more doctors are publicly expressing alarm at the impact the standard American diet is having on health.

“I never saw Type 2 diabetes during my training, 20 years ago,” David Ludwig, a pediatrician, told me the other day, referring to what was once called “adult-onset” diabetes, the form that is often caused by obesity. “Never. Now about a quarter of the new diabetes cases we’re seeing are Type 2.” …

Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post

December 26, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, People & Society, peter singhateh, Senegal Leave a comment

Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post

via Dakar mosque decked in Christmas lights as mostly Muslim Senegal joins in holiday cheer – The Washington Post.

It looks a lot like Christmas in Senegal, where 95 percent of the 12.8 million residents are Muslim. Even the Grande Mosquee, a mosque that dominates the city’s skyline, is aglow in holiday lights.

“When they go to school, the children learn about Santa,” says Lo, wearing a flowing olive green robe known as a boubou. “We are born into the Senegalese tradition of cohabitation between Muslims and Christians. What is essential is the respect between people.”

Senegal, a moderate country along Africa’s western coast, has long been a place where Christians and Muslims have coexisted peacefully. Most Christians here are Catholic and live in the south of country and in the capital…

Schools ban photos to stamp out cyber bullies via @independent_ie

December 5, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education, Irish News Education, Ireland, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

Schools ban photos to stamp out cyber bullies via @independent_ie.

SCHOOLS have been told to ban all students from taking photographs of other pupils or members of staff under new guidelines to combat cyber bullying.

The radical advice from secondary school managers is the latest move in the drive to combat electronic bullying through social media websites, text and picture messaging, email, chatrooms and gaming sites.

In its advice to 400 schools sent out last week, the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) said the only exception should be when the pictures were specifically required for a school project. The damage caused by cyber-bullying, which has been linked to some recent teen suicides in Ireland, has forced schools to improve their response to the fast-growing problem.

A ban on the generally harmless activity of taking photographs in school, other than in limited circumstances, shows the extent to which the management body has to go to protect its staff and pupils in the age of social media…

The simple magic of learning to spell

December 5, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education Education, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

The simple magic of learning to spell.

Your child has picked up a book, understood what they’ve read and now, in the third part of our literacy series, it’s time to help with spelling

Who needs spelling? Isn’t that what spell-check is for? Well despite advances in technology, there is still a need for children to learn to spell in order to write and convey their thoughts. Spelling is essential for written communication.

Many people will remember the Friday spelling test: learning lists and lists of words, only to write them down and have your classmates correct them – gold star optional.

The problem with this method is that being good at memorising lists of words is no guarantee that a child will be able to reproduce the same words at a later date. There are many reasons why children struggle with spellings…

‘Diabesity’ the new big thing

November 20, 2012

Peter Singhatey Irish News Health, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

‘Diabesity’ the new big thing.

We are heading towards an epidemic of diabetes that threatens to bankrupt our healthcare systems

The incidence and prevalence of type 2 diabetes is increasing worldwide. In Ireland the latest figures by the Institute of Public Health showed that in 2010 more than 10 per cent of adults aged 55 and over have diabetes. More than 41,000 (2.7 per cent) adults aged 45 years and over have undiagnosed diabetes. Diabetes is also more common among older people.

The cause of this is very clear. We are becoming increasingly obese as a population, and the relationship between obesity and diabetes is well established. In fact, the term “diabesity” has been coined to link the relationship between increasing obesity and associated type 2 diabetes.

Some 90 per cent of the world’s 285 million people with diabetes have type 2 which is directly related to obesity. Richard Schulze of the Schulze Diabetes Institute in the US said “the increasing prevalence of obesity – fuelled by excessive calorie intake, suboptimum dietary quality and sedentary lifestyles – is driving this epidemic”…

5 times more girls drive than cycle to school | Irish Examiner

November 19, 2012

Peter Singhatey Irish News obesity, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

5 times more girls drive than cycle to school | Irish Examiner.

The country’s leading expert on obesity has revealed that five times more schoolgirls drive to school than ride a bicycle.

With a quarter of all three-year-olds classed as obese, consultant endocrinologist, Professor Donal O’Shea, who features in the RTÉ series The Obesity Clinic, has warned a generation of parents could end up burying their children in the future…

Africa, Sovereignty and International Law | Think Africa Press

November 6, 2012

Peter Singhatey Articles on Africa Africa, Gambia, peter singhateh, West Africa Leave a comment

3: Africa, Sovereignty and International Law | Think Africa Press.

Sovereignty is not solely a European invention that was extended and exported; its origins are mired in encounters with the rest of the world – a history of subjugation. This article will seek to identify key turning points in its evolution, comparing and contrasting various classic and contemporary qualities, in order to provide the necessary context in which to understand current projects in international law….