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Doomsday Vault Opens To Give Seeds To Syria (cnn.com)
pabloApicco sends word that the The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has opened up in order to give seeds to Syrian scientists who had to relocate their research due to the war. CNN reports: "Known as the 'Doomsday Vault,' this seed bank — operated by the Norwegian government and containing a seed of just about every known crop in the world — is meant to be humanity's backup in the event of a catastrophe that devastates crops. But it was not a natural disaster that has caused scientists to have to dip in and make the first significant withdrawal from the vault. Rather, it was the most preventable of man-made disasters -- war. The bloody conflict in Syria has left scientists at an important gene bank in Aleppo -- where new strains of drought- and heat-resistant wheat have been developed over time -- unable to continue their work in recent years. With no sign of conditions in Syria improving, scientists have begun recovering their critical inventory of seeds, sourced from around the Fertile Crescent and beyond, that have been in safekeeping beneath the Arctic ice."
The seeds are being returned to Syria, who sent them to the Global Seed Vault as a precaution. From TFA:
The ICARDA Aleppo center had sent nearly 80% of the seeds and samples to the Global Seed Vault as a backup by 2012, with its last deposit being in 2014.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
There are no civilians to these people. The red cross, humanitarian aid workers, journalists, and others are just more notable targets for them to hit. They will generate even more media attention and are thus more valuable.
... as well as Bill Gates Foundation.
Bill Gates is not a Republican. He is a political independent, and has donated more to Democrats than Republicans.