I suppose no surprise about Kenyan tea pickers who saw their jobs being automated away and started destroying the machines replacing them. The American msm headline would be something along the lines of 'Tea pickers are violent extremists'. Then again, the founders of this media outlet are a former CEO of Bloomberg Media and a former columnist of the New York Times.  The 'industrial revolution' comes for Africa, in 2023.

Quote:KERICHO, Kenya — Kenyan tea pickers are destroying machines brought in to replace them during violent protests that highlight the challenge faced by low-skilled workers as more agribusiness companies rely on automation to cut costs.

At least 10 tea-plucking machines have been torched in multiple flashpoints in the past year, according to local media reports. Recent demonstrations have left one protester dead and several injured, including 23 police officers and farm workers. The Kenya Tea Growers Association (KTGA) estimated the cost of damaged machinery at $1.2 million (170 million Kenyan shillings) after nine machines belonging to Ekaterra, makers of the top-selling tea brand Lipton, were destroyed in May.

In March, a local government taskforce recommended that tea companies in Kericho, the country’s largest tea-growing town, adopt a new 60:40 ratio of mechanized tea harvesting to hand-plucking. The taskforce also wants legislation passed to limit importation of tea harvesting machines. Nicholas Kirui, a member of the taskforce and former CEO of KTGA, told Semafor Africa 30,000 jobs had been lost to mechanization in Kericho county alone over the past decade.

"We did public participation in all the wards and with all the different groups, and the overwhelming sentiment we were hearing was that the machines should go," Kirui said.

In 2021, Kenya exported tea worth $1.2 billion, making it the third-largest tea exporter globally, behind China and Sri Lanka. Multinationals including Browns Investments, George Williamson and Ekaterra — which was sold by Unilever to a private equity firm in July 2022 —  plant on an estimated 200,000 acres in Kericho and have all adopted mechanized harvesting.

Some machines can reportedly replace 100 workers. Ekaterra's corporate affairs director in Kenya, Sammy Kirui, told Semafor Africa that mechanization was “critical” to the company’s operations and the global competitiveness of Kenyan tea. As the government taskforce established, one machine can bring the cost of harvesting tea down to 3 cents (4 Kenyan shillings) per kilogram from 11 cents (15.32 shillings) per kilogram with hand-plucking.

Analysts partly attribute Kenya's unemployment rate — the highest in East Africa — to automation in industries, including banking and insurance. Some 13.9% of working age Kenyans (over 16) were out of work or long term unemployed in the final quarter of 2022.

Martin's view

Automation is only going to continue at a breakneck speed, not just in rural Kenya but other sectors in nations across Africa — particularly as artificial intelligence becomes more common. Rage in tea-picking regions could just be an early sign of future tensions if governments and companies don’t find ways to help low skilled workers.

The majority of pickers are young, many are women, and they often lack the opportunities and skills to thrive outside the tea sector. Retraining farm workers, as well as creating more jobs and diversifying economies in tea-growing communities, will be key to countering violence and growing anger. "My ministry is keen on opening up the labor market to boost employment opportunities for Kenyans," Labor Cabinet Secretary Florence Bore said during a trip to Kericho, days after the latest wave of attacks in May. She added that efforts were under way to resolve the dispute between locals and tea companies.

The private sector can also play a role in retraining workers. Kirui told me Ekaterra is keen on partnering with local communities on projects including technical and vocational education and training centers (TVETs).
Mechanization makes business sense for tea producers and they are unlikely to ditch tea-harvesting machines that lower their costs. But the trend is likely to continue hurting rural communities where farm workers are central to economic activity. Workers and residents will continue to oppose these changes because they lack alternative employment options.

The View From China

China is the world's largest tea exporter. In a paper calling for more efficient mechanization of tea harvesting in China, published in March, Wu Luofa of the Institute of Agricultural Engineering at the Jiangxi Academy of Agricultural Science noted that manual tea picking accounts for more than half of the cost of tea production.

"Developing and popularizing tea-picking machines is beneficial to increase labor productivity, reduce labor cost, enhance the market competitiveness of tea products and promote the sustainable development of the tea industry," he said.

Room for Disagreement

Adopting technology and mechanization is key to unlocking the potential of agriculture across Africa and should therefore be embraced, despite the frustrations of some workers, according to Tabitha Njuguna, managing director of African commodities exchange AFEX in Kenya.

"We find that potential disruptions caused by the integration of technology and mechanization can seem initially threatening, however, it is important for all stakeholders (agricultural organizations, farmers, processors) involved to see these as increasingly imminent and unavoidable," she told Semafor Africa.

Notable

• A BBC documentary in February uncovered widespread sexual harassment and abuse on tea farms in Kericho, with 70 women having been abused by their managers at plantations operated by British companies Unilever and James Finlay.
  

Quote:Lipton tea can be found in almost any grocery store, and the brand is just about synonymous with industrial Big Tea. So tea enthusiasts who sniff at the familiar square bags might be surprised that once upon a time, Lipton was known as the "farm to table" of the tea world. In fact, it was sold with the catchy slogan "direct from tea garden to tea pot."

So how did Thomas Lipton build this tea empire?

Lipton was already a self-made millionaire before he ever entered the tea trade. He was the Scottish-born son of an Irish grocer, and in Glasgow in 1871, he founded the first of a successful chain of grocery stores that made him a wealthy man by age 40.

But, in the British working classes, he saw an opportunity to get even richer...

How Lipton Built An Empire By Selling 'Farm To Table' Tea

For several years I have wondered how so many young adults became so messed up in their thinking. I thought that yes, being raised on years of psych meds was probably a contributing factor, but how were their thinking patterns concerning what is right and wrong changed so drastically? Some think it was the advent of social media and while I can agree it most likely contributed along with a huge amount of video game screen time  there had to be other contributing factors. How did we end up with so many "entitled" young people?

You have to admit huge numbers of them operate like packs of ravenous wolves attacking en force against anyone who entertains any idea different from their current "group think". While some think that mainstream media is to blame I tend to believe that previously fostered behavior has only been capitalized on. The last few days that belief has been permanently cemented into my brain. 

The last several months we've been marathoning a lot of series from the 2000s and 2010s that were created for and marketed towards younger teenagers of the time- those that are young adults now. They are extremely "cheesy" in my opinion but sometimes boredom will lead you down strange viewing paths. The majority of the shows center around supernatural creatures: vampires, werewolves, witches, aliens, ghosts, monsters, etc. So last night we were watching one of these series when Kdog made an observation that really got my gears turning. He brought up the fact that in all of these shows the main group of characters' ultimate answer to anyone who disagrees with them is to kill them. 

Now it's not completely surprising that fantasy creatures in a television show would not behave as most humans would but these shows were aimed at pre-teens and very young teens who tend to model their behaviors after their favorite characters whether those be from movies, television, books, movies, social media or whatever. So here are a few observations about these types of series that almost all seem to have in common.

The core group of characters consists of mainly narcissists.

Any character who disagrees with the core group is usually killed.

No matter how horrible the actions of the core group they are painted as the "good guys".

The core characters claim to care about "friends" and associates but in reality only use them to attack others who disagree with them with no real benefits in return.

Anyone not in the immediate core group is considered "lesser" and rather than being downplayed it is celebrated among the core.

There is blatant disregard for law, morals and any sort of authority whatsoever. Parents are almost always portrayed as murderous or at least extremely abusive- and also almost always killed.

Most characters are independently wealthy and only the "lesser" people have to work for a living. 

These are just a few of many, many things I've noticed in this programming. Most of these shows aired for at least several seasons and were the most popular teen shows of their time, plenty of time for these "values" to sink into impressionable minds. The behaviors we see amongst the 25-35 age bracket mirror the behavior glamorized in these shows- not all but in the majority definitely yes. 

Narcissists and sense of entitlement- Yes

People who don't agree with current group think should die- Yes

No respect for authority- Yes

Use others to attack disagreeing parties in pack-like behavior- Yes

They deserve to live the "high life" without having to work for it- Yes

They are always the "good guys" no matter how horrid their actions- Yes

Anyone who isn't part of their group is "lesser" and looked down upon- Yes

The similarities are endless! My curiosity has been sated.

Probably one of the reasons China wants to get it's hands on Taiwan's chip industry. Moore's law where computing doubles ever so often is now obsolete as this new chip set from NVIDIA can and will set totally new standards.

https://lists.youmaker.com/links/wU34Kqa.../j3vyICnAW

Quote:Is Mouthwash Ruining Our Health?
FEATUREDOral Health

Christy Prais
Jun 13 2023
biggersmaller

(White bear studio/Shutterstock)

0:0011:20






A growing number of dentists and medical professionals are cautioning against the indiscriminate use of popular mouth rinses, suggesting that they may inadvertently contribute to cavities and persistent bad breath.
There is also an emerging correlation between regular mouthwash use and more serious health issues, including high blood pressure, heart disease, and oral diseases.
The Evolution Of Mouth Rinses
The origins of formal oral rinsing as a practice can be traced back to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to around 2700 B.C. when it was first used for treating gum diseases.
A May 2023 study published in The Journal of Ethnopharmacology notes that “The Book of Rites” (“Li Ji,” written around 221 B.C.) from the period of the early Qin Dynasty recorded that rinsing with salt water was used as a tooth cleaning method during that time.
But our modern-day mouth rinse products are far from a simple salt water rinse. In fact, they were originally not even intended for oral rinse purposes.
The antiseptic mouth rinses Listerine, acquired from Pfizer by Johnson & Johnson in 2006, was originally developed as a surgical antiseptic in 1865 and named after Joseph Lister who performed the first antiseptic surgery.
According to the book “Health & Drugs, Disease Prescriptions & Medication”by Nicolae Sfetcu, after its use as a powerful antiseptic, it was distilled and sold as a floor cleaner and as a cure for gonorrhea. In the 1920’s it was rebranded and sold as a cure for “chronic halitosis,” and was the first over-the-counter mouth rinse to receive the American Dental Associations’ (ADA) prestigious seal of approval.
Over the years the mouth rinse market has quickly grown, and as of 2021 the global market was valued at $8.5 billion dollars and expected to grow to $15.7 billion by the end of 2032, according to Persistence Market Research.
Dr. Jack Kall, a practicing biological dentist of 46 years and the executive chair of the board of directors of the International Academy of Oral Medicine (IAOMT) says he typically does not recommend using mouth rinses regularly.
“I would reserve their use for very limited times such as if you’re going on a job interview, or you have something happening close up to where you want to be covering up garlic breath,” Kall told The Epoch Times in an interview.
Problems Revealed By Research
Kall warns that there has been research showing that overuse of antibacterial products including mouth rises can have negative effects on different aspects of our health.
According to Kall and recent studies, overuse of antibacterial products can be harmful in several ways.
Oral Microbiome Dysbiosis
Regular use of these rinses can disrupt the oral microbiome and shift it out of balance, a state known as dysbiosis. Antibacterial products not only kill the “bad bacteria” but also the good bacteria that are needed for many vital functions, including fighting off bacterial and viral infections.
Several studies reveal connections between diseases, viruses, and alterations in the oral microbiome. For instance, when imbalances occur within the oral microbiome, they can prompt gut microbes to generate carcinogenic toxins, triggering gut inflammation and metabolic complications.
High Blood Pressure
Kall also stressed that the antiseptic ingredient in mouth rinses can also interfere with the nitrate–nitrite–nitric oxide (NO) pathway which occurs at the back of the tongue.
This pathway is important in the oral microbiome because nitrates from our diet are converted into nitrites by oral bacteria through the process of nitrate reduction which are then further converted into NO.
NO is one of the most important signaling molecules in our bodies and plays a crucial role in regulating many physiological functions, including blood flow by helping with the dilation of blood vessels, immune response, and microbial homeostasis.
A study published in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology in 2019 warns that the use of “oral antiseptics resulted in increases in systolic blood pressure.”
The study looked specifically at chlorhexidine, an antiseptic used in mouthwash.
“Twice-daily chlorhexidine usage was associated with a significant increase in systolic blood pressure after 1 week of use and recovery from use resulted in an enrichment in nitrate-reducing bacteria on the tongue,” it reads.
Another study published in the American Journal of Hypertension had similar findings and concluded, “Results of this study suggest that use of antibacterial mouthwash by treated hypertensive individuals could have a detrimental effect on blood pressure. Of concern, is the widespread use of mouthwash in the general population.”
Dry Mouth, Cavities, and Fungal Infections
Many mouth rinse products contain alcohol which has a drying effect that can be problematic over time, warned Kall. That’s because saliva has several important roles that are compromised when the mouth is dry.
According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) having a sufficient amount of saliva is crucial because saliva contains minerals like “calcium and phosphate that help keep teeth strong and fight tooth decay.”
An insufficient amount of saliva can lead to an increased risk of tooth decay. Saliva also keeps invading germs in check, so a reduction in saliva can contribute to fungal infections, and bad breath.
Softening Effect on the Composite Filling Materials
Kall also notes that the harsh ingredient in many mainstream mouth rinses has a softening effect on the composite filling materials (the tooth-colored filling materials).
“Alcohol can be problematic for composites and cause a quicker breakdown, shortening the amount of time that those composites will hold up,” Kall said.
A study published Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry warned “The use of mouthwashes triggered changes on the structure of both dental materials: composite resin and resin modified glass ionomer.”
Chemical Soup
Aside from alcohol, Kall said chlorhexidine is another mouthwash ingredient to avoid.
Chlorhexidine is used as a surgical scrub and diluted down and flavored for use as a mouth rinse.
Some oral surgeons will recommend it after a person’s had some kind of surgery to reduce the risk of infection, Kall noted but “you definitely don’t want to be using that for very long.” Aside from disrupting the oral microbiome, it can also stain the teeth.
Reading the labels on mouth rinses is a must, advises Kall.
“Unfortunately, when you look at the inactive ingredients, it’s a chemical alphabet soup. A lot of times there are various dyes or flavoring agents in them. Why expose yourself to these chemicals?” he said.
“They can be problematic, particularly with chronic long-term consumption. Even though you’re not swallowing the material intentionally, there’s still some that gets down into your gut and now your body has to deal with these irritating chemicals that can possibly cause leaky gut issues or chemical sensitivities,” Kall continued.
Harmful ingredients to look out for include alcohol, chlorine dioxide, chlorhexidine, cocamidopropyl betaine, parabens, poloxamer 407, formaldehyde, and saccharin.
Alternative Solutions
There are many types of effective homemade mouth rinses that can have antiseptic effects and help heal gum tissues. Dr. Kall noted a few options.
Saltwater or Peroxide: Both can have antiseptic effects.
Baking Soda: Has a mildly abrasive effect that can help remove plaque and has natural whitening properties.
Herbal Products and Essential Oils: Herbal extracts such as cinnamon bark oil, Papua-mace extracts, clove bud oil, peppermint, tea tree, eucalyptus oil, and thyme oil are shown to be very helpful at killing germs and healing gum tissue.
Oil Pulling: From Ayurveda, the ancient holistic system of medicine that originated in India 3000-5000 years ago. It involves swishing oil, such as sesame oil or coconut oil, in the mouth for 3-5 minutes then expelling it.
According to a review in the Journal of Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine, oil pulling is mentioned in the Ayurvedic text Charaka Samhita and “claimed to cure about 30 systemic diseases ranging from headache, migraine to diabetes and asthma,” and used to prevent decay, oral malodor, bleeding gums, dryness of throat, cracked lips, strengthening teeth, gums, and the jaw.
Oral Probiotics: A randomized clinical trial published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology in 2013 found that a specific strain of good bacteria called Streptococcus salivarius strain M18, has been shown to improve dental health and reduce cavities by recolonizing your mouth with good bacteria and crowding out the bad bacteria.
Kall notes that although herbal-based products and alternatives are the healthier choice, he again cautions to be careful as some of these herbs are very effective antimicrobial agents and can be overdone similarly to the chemical options.
To The Root
As a biological dentist, Dr. Kall approaches dentistry in a holistic way using the least toxic treatment options.
Kall says that there are several factors that cause dental issues and bad breath. Some of the main ones are dysregulation of the body, oxidative stress, and dry mouth.
For example, problematic or bad bacteria love it when there’s too much free iron in our tissues, the small level of bad bacteria which could be okay to have around starts proliferating, and gets out of control. An overabundance of free iron can occur when our bodies are out of balance and have inadequate levels of copper, magnesium, and retinol, Kall notes.
We can minimize oxidative stress through diet and lifestyle choices. Avoiding things like sugar, chemicals from different sources, pesticides, heavy metals, and food additives and adding nervous system-regulating activities such as grounding, physical exercise, meditation, and acupuncture can help minimize oxidative stress, Kall says.
As mentioned above, dry mouth can be caused by drying agents such as alcohol but can also be exasperated by mouth breathing. Kall notes that there are remineralizing sprays that can help as well as mouth apparatuses that can be worn at night to avoid prolonged mouth breathing.

Our latest enhancement of the Kaikoura UFO incident with a 3D view of the craft created by our chief analyst -



...for more of our videos on the Kaikoura 1979 UFO incident visit here -

https://image-analysis-team.com/1979-kaikoura-videos

Quote:CNN — An inflatable emergency slide accidentally deployed inside of a Delta Air Lines plane while on the ground at Salt Lake International Airport on Saturday.

“Delta flight 520, operating from New York-JFK to Los Angeles-LAX, diverted to Salt Lake City due to a maintenance issue,” said an airline spokesperson in a statement issued to CNN on Sunday.

“While on the ground, the same aircraft’s slide was deployed by accident.”



No emergency landing was declared, nor did the plane divert due to the slide, according to the statement.

Out of an abundance of caution, one crew member was taken to the hospital for evaluation but has since been discharged, the airline stated.

The spokesperson said there were 168 passengers on board the B767-300 plane at the time of the incident.

All customers were re-accommodated on a secondary aircraft. It landed at Los Angeles International Airport Saturday evening without further incident

“We apologize for the delay to their travel plans. Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” the spokesperson said.

Dark to Light... get in loser, we’re artificially incepting memories with light!

Quote:Scientists Found a New Way to Control the Brain With Light—No Surgery Required

If I had to place money on a neurotech that will win the Nobel Prize, it’s optogenetics.

The technology uses light of different frequencies to control the brain. It’s a brilliant mind-meld of basic neurobiology and engineering that hijacks the mechanism behind how neurons naturally activate—or are silenced—in the brain.

Thanks to optogenetics, in just ten years we’ve been able to artificially incept memories in mice, decipher brain signals that lead to pain, untangle the neural code for addiction, reverse depression, restore rudimentary sight in blinded mice, and overwrite terrible memories with happy ones. Optogenetics is akin to a universal programming language for the brain.

But it’s got two serious downfalls: it requires gene therapy, and it needs brain surgery to implant optical fibers into the brain.

This week, the original mind behind optogenetics is back with an update that cuts the cord. Dr. Karl Deisseroth’s team at Stanford University, in collaboration with the University of Minnesota, unveiled an upgraded version of optogenetics that controls behavior without the need for surgery. Rather, the system shines light through the skulls of mice, and it penetrates deep into the brain. With light pulses, the team was able to change how likely a mouse was to have seizures, or reprogram its brain so it preferred social company.

To be clear: we’re far off from scientists controlling your brain with flashlights. The key to optogenetics is genetic engineering—without it, neurons (including yours) don’t naturally respond to light.

However, looking ahead, the study is a sure-footed step towards transforming a powerful research technology into a clinical therapy that could potentially help people with neurological problems, such as depression or epilepsy. We are still far from that vision—but the study suggests it’s science fiction potentially within reach.

...
Using viruses, scientists can add a gene for opsins, a special family of proteins from algae, into living neurons. Opsins are specialized “doors” that open under certain frequencies of light pulses, something mammalian brain cells can’t do. Adding opsins into mouse neurons (or ours) essentially gives them the superpower to respond to light. In classic optogenetics, scientists implant optical fibers near opsin-dotted neurons to deliver the light stimulation. Computer-programmed light pulses can then target these newly light-sensitive neurons in a particular region of the brain and control their activity like puppets on a string.

It gets cooler. Using genetic engineering, scientists can also fine-tune which populations of neurons get that extra power—for example, only those that encode a recent memory, or those involved in depression or epilepsy. This makes it possible to play with those neural circuits using light, while the rest of the brain hums along.

This selectivity is partially why optogenetics is so powerful. But it’s not all ponies and rainbows. As you can imagine, mice don’t particularly enjoy being tethered by optical fibers sprouting from their brains. Humans don’t either, hence the hiccup in adopting the tool for clinical use. Since its introduction, a main goal for next-generation optogenetics has been to cut the cord.

...
But for unraveling the inner workings of the brain, it’s an amazing leap into the future. So far, efforts at cutting the optical cord for optogenetics have come with the knee-capped ability to go deep into the brain, limiting control to only surface brain regions such as the cortex. Other methods overheat sensitive brain tissue and culminate in damage. Yet others act as 1990s DOS systems, with significant delay between a command (activate!) and the neuron’s response.

This brain-control OS, though not yet perfect, resolves those problems. Unlike Neuralink and other neural implants, the study suggests it’s possible to control the brain without surgery or implants. All you need is light.

Singularity hub

I just saw the darnedest thing.

Sylvester and Enoch have a cat tree. Sylvester always hangs around and sleeps at the top. Enoch never showed an interest in the top perch. He preferred the cubbyhole in the center, or my bed.
,
Tonight, Sylvester had gone up to the perch to sleep like he does on the nights they decide to be in the house. They want to be in the house at night when if it is storming, otherwise they prefer to be outside on the porch.

Enoch for some reason decided he wanted to sleep on the top perch. Enoch is alpha of the whole pack, even of the Huskies. So he goes up to the top, but Sylvester doesn't move. So he makes himself taller than Sylvester and they both look at me. I just give them the "look".

They know I do not allow aggressive possession, not even with food. So Enoch starts licking Sylvester on the head. Now all the while looking at me. Sylvester starts to get annoyed, so the tail starts whipping about. I moved to a seat closer. Still I say nothing. Just making sure they get a good view of the "look". Now Sylvester starts licking Enoch about the head.

Enoch grabs Sylvester's head. Looks like he had him in a head lock, and he keeps licking his face. Now after a good ten minutes of this, Sylvester gives in, and gives up the perch. He goes to sleep on the ledge in the music room. It is higher anyway.

I swear those two are a complete mess. They know darn well when they are doing something they have no business, that is why they look at me to make sure I am not looking. Then play innocent if I am looking.

I swear they are worse than children.