The Day in Gun Violence – NYTimes.com

A two-year-old child got a hold of a gun and accidentally shot himself in the head in Trigg County, Ky., Tuesday night. The shooting happened inside the home of David Southwick, 35, and how exactly the child got access to the gun remains unclear. The toddler is in stable condition. Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of filing charges.

via The Day in Gun Violence – NYTimes.com.

Fear of anti-Cockney backlash after Woolwich killers revealed as Londoners

Well thank God they weren’t from Oldham! Then we’d really be for it!

Pride's Purge

(satire?)

The announcement that the murder of a young British soldier in Woolwich was the work of men police believe were British-born Londoners sparked fears of a backlash against cockneys and eastenders yesterday.

As the direction of the  investigation became clear, a parallel operation was launched by police chiefs to brief community leaders in the capital and prepare for reprisal attacks on anyone expressing a liking for jellied eels or looking like they were born within the sound of Bow bells.

Police say that since Wednesday’s horrific events, police have recorded 30 hate crime incidents against the cockney and mockney community, including an attack on a man wearing an I ♥ London T-shirt and criminal damage to a pie and mash shop.

.

Well it’s just as ridiculous as blaming all Muslims for the tragic events in Woolwich, isn’t it?

.

Please feel free to comment – you don’t…

View original post 39 more words

Eurosurveillance – View Article – Global travel and pandemics

In April 2013, ten cases of dengue fever in travellers returning from Luanda, Angola, to five countries on four continents, were reported to the globally distributed GeoSentinel Surveillance network. Dengue virus serotype 1 was identified in two cases. The findings indicate that a major dengue outbreak is currently ongoing in Luanda. This report illustrates how cases from an emerging arboviral epidemic focus can spread internationally and highlights the risk of dissemination of a vector-borne disease into receptive areas.

via Eurosurveillance – View Article.

If anyone still needs an example of how easy it is now for a pandemic or serious disease outbreak of something like Ebola to travel quickly – here it is.

Raul Labrador warns that Obamacare could kill immigration bill – Seung Min Kim – POLITICO.com

“What might be the story at the end of this year, at the end of this session, is that Obamacare killed immigration reform,” Rep. Raul Labrador said Wednesday. The Idaho Republican is one of eight House lawmakers who have engaged in private talks on immigration reform.

via Raul Labrador warns that Obamacare could kill immigration bill – Seung Min Kim – POLITICO.com.

“He actually said this with a straight face and pretended that he cared if immigration reform passed or not.”

Suicide attacks rock Niger | World news | The Guardian

Areva, the world’s second largest uranium producer, said that its mine was “badly damaged” forcing it to stop production.

Although Areva has been attacked by AQIM in the past – with five French workers taken hostage at the site in 2010 – the latest attacks are the first of their kind in Niger. Niger has been singled out as a target for its role in the military intervention in Mali, for its relationship with France – which obtains 20% of its uranium from Niger – and with the US, which

signed an agreement this year to establish a new military base in the country.

This week Nigeria, which borders Niger to the south, asked Niger for help fighting its militant Islamist group Boko Haram, members of whom are reported to be operating in southern Niger. Last month Niger’s military participated in a raid against Boko Haram fighters in the Nigerian town of Baga, near the border with Chad.

“These attacks are an inevitable consequence of the decisions our government has taken,” said Akfar. “But our intervention in Mali was not a mistake – we share borders with Mali, and if we had not intervened, the crisis there would have affected us anyway.

“We are a poor country, but now we are going to have to find the means of heightening our security, or else face further attacks.”

via Suicide attacks rock Niger | World news | The Guardian.

Invasive quagga mussels found on boat entering eastern Oregon | OregonLive.com

An eastern Oregon checkpoint aimed at keeping invasive species from hitchhiking into Oregon on boats has opened for the spring, and it found an infested boat the next day.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says about 50 small quagga mussels were on the outboard motor of a boat being returned last week from Lake Mead.

The Ontario Argus Observer reports  the boat was decontaminated with a high-pressure, hot water cleaning.

The state operates checkpoints at Ashland, Lakeview and Ontario. Last year, it reported disinfecting 51 boats.

Quagga mussels are a prime target of the inspections. Brought to the United States on cargo ships, they have spread widely, but not yet to the Northwest. They damage infrastructure and outcompete native species.

via Invasive quagga mussels found on boat entering eastern Oregon | OregonLive.com.

Where are a bunch of dudes debating your reproductive rights today?

You know that old truism that I just made up: At any given moment, somewhere  in the United States, your reproductive rights are being debated by old white men. And right now, it’s in the House of Representatives, where Rep. Franks and these guys are having hearing to discuss his proposed 20-week abortion ban.

via Where are a bunch of dudes debating your reproductive rights today?.

Health News – Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans

The level of immunity to the recently circulating H7N9 influenza virus in an urban and a rural population in Vietnam is very low, according to the first population-level study to examine human immunity to the virus, which was previously only found in birds. The findings have implications for planning the public health response to this pandemic threat.

The study used a new, high-throughput method that allows blood samples to be analysed for antibodies to multiple human and animal influenza viruses at the same time and is easier to standardise than previous techniques. However, the assay is yet to be validated clinically for the H7N9 virus, and the researchers caution that the results must be interpreted with care.

Since the first case of H7N9 infection in humans was reported in February 2013, there have been 131 confirmed cases and 36 deaths, all in China apart from one case in Taiwan. All of the infections seem to have come from infected poultry and there is no evidence of sustained transmission between people.

via Health News – Estimates reveal low population immunity to new bird flu virus H7N9 in humans.

Why The Lebanese Government Is Silent On Tripoli | A Separate State of Mind | A Lebanese Blog

The solution for Tripoli isn’t political. If it were, all those politicians asking for calm and peace would have succeeded by now. The problem is that those same politicians want to perpetuate the status quo, because this status quo works and does wonders for them and their careers.

It keeps the city poor for them to do their “charity” work.It keeps the city relevant politically for them to make a “political” dent and remain in the country’s political spotlight.

Perhaps the solution for Tripoli is for a side of the battle to actually win. Perhaps the problem in this country is that we have never had a clear winner and a clear loser in anything, not elections, not the war and not even those sporadic battles in Tripoli which we’ve gotten used to.

Until then, my thoughts go to all the people spending their days and nights in absolute terror in the city I’ve come to love, a place that doesn’t deserve the hand it’s dealt.

via Why The Lebanese Government Is Silent On Tripoli | A Separate State of Mind | A Lebanese Blog.

Why The Lebanese Government Is Silent On Tripoli

A Separate State of Mind | A Blog by Elie Fares

Every once in a while, the city I once referred to as “3enna” by mistake becomes a place I force myself to go the extra mile to recognize.
The last time such heavy fights broke out in the city, we were all in outrage at how media couldn’t care less about the people dying and the innocent lives in danger. Today, the outrage over Tripoli’s worst night since the Civil War is gravitating towards a government that is as apathetic as apathy goes.

However, are we supposed to expect anything more from our government? Tripoli’s Ministers and MPs go on air to voice their disdain and condemnation over what’s going on. What’s actually happening, though, is that in the other side of the room is one of their henchmen waiting on a phone to issue further instructions to the fighters on both sides of the battles.

Najib Mikati feigns peace…

View original post 208 more words