Daily Archives: July 24, 2013

environment, Frankenfood, pandemic, Profiteering

Cyclospora Outbreak in Midwestern States Grows to 267 with More Cases in Iowa | Food Safety News

What is the hold up? Why no source found yet? Would it make a difference if people were dying?

Iowa state officials on Tuesday said they have received reports of nine more cases of Cyclospora infections, bringing the total number affected by the outbreak in the state to 127 and to 267 total in six Midwestern states, according to the latest count by Food Safety News.

A source has still not been identified for the outbreak, which centers in Iowa, Nebraska and Texas, but also involves a handful of victims in Wisconson, Illinois, and Kansas. The most recent case count, based on a tally from officials in each state is as follows: Iowa (127 illnesses), Nebraska (68), Texas (65), Wisconsin (4), Illinois (2), Kansas (1). The Iowa Department of Public Health said Tuesday that that the number of cases reported is decreasing and that the state plans to release another case count Wednesday at approximately 10 a.m.

via Cyclospora Outbreak in Midwestern States Grows to 267 with More Cases in Iowa | Food Safety News.

human rights, immigration

Immigration Talk with a Mexican American: Tea Party Republican Steve King Says Dreamers Are Drug Dealers!

Racist jerk of the decade? Yep!

Tea Party Republican Steve King makes no secret about his hatred towards “Illeeegals.” He also HATES Dreamers.

Last week, King claimed that the majority of Dreamers — are actively engaged in the drug trade.

“For everyone who’s a valedictorian,” King claimed, “there’s another 100 out there that weigh 130 pounds and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling 75 pounds of marijuana across the desert. Those people would be legalized with the same act.”

via Immigration Talk with a Mexican American: Tea Party Republican Steve King Says Dreamers Are Drug Dealers!.

environment, pandemic, planetkillers

EID Journal: South African Bat Carries Close Relative To MERS-CoV

Yesterday the CDC’s EID journal published a letter from  researchers from Germany and South Africa who report detecting the closest relative yet to the MERS coronavirus in the feces of a bat sampled in South Africa – more than 3,000 miles from the outbreak in the Middle East.

via EID Journal: South African Bat Carries Close Relative To MERS-CoV.

So who is testing the bats in the date groves in Saudi Arabia?

Frankenfood, pandemic, planetkillers

Antibiotic resistance: The last resort : Nature News & Comment

As a rule, high-ranking public-health officials try to avoid apocalyptic descriptors. So it was worrying to hear Thomas Frieden and Sally Davies warn of a coming health “nightmare” and a “catastrophic threat” within a few days of each other in March.

The agency heads were talking about the soaring increase in a little-known class of antibiotic-resistant bacteria: carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CREs). Davies, the United Kingdom’s chief medical officer, described CREs as a risk as serious as terrorism (see Nature 495, 141; 2013). “We have a very serious problem, and we need to sound an alarm,” said Frieden, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

via Antibiotic resistance: The last resort : Nature News & Comment.

environment, Frankenfood

GM crops: campaigners in Ghana accuse US of pushing modified food | Afua Hirsch | Global development | guardian.co.uk

Food Sovereignty Ghana and other domestic organisations accuse the US and other foreign donors of promoting GM foods to west African countries, and tying aid to implementation.

According to a leaked cable, the US government was heavily involved in drafting Ghana’s 2011 Biosafety Act, which provided a framework for the introduction of GM foods. The US aid department provided technical assistance and some funding.

The cable said biotech products were being sold in Ghana and GM seeds from neighbouring countries were likely to have migrated over its borders. US companies have begun requesting permission to conduct trials.

The US embassy in Accra declined to respond to a request by the Guardian to comment on its stance on GM food in Ghana, but claims about the arrival of GM are supported by public officials.

via GM crops: campaigners in Ghana accuse US of pushing modified food | Afua Hirsch | Global development | guardian.co.uk.

peace

Days of impunity – Daily News Egypt

The key takeaway ought to be that in 2011 – in 2012 – in 2013 – or whenever it takes place, no-one ought to be killed for simply being in a protest. Independent accountability is not a luxury in Egypt, or a privilege – it is a right, and it ought to be a primary demand for any genuinely patriotic force struggling for progressive and just change within this country. When one condemns violence in one circumstance to serve their own partisan end, but does not in another when it doesn’t serve that end, they are not simply hypocrites – they just condemn a part of their own soul. Egypt has had more than enough of that. She deserves better.

via Days of impunity – Daily News Egypt.

environment

Why Home Farming Will Be The Grocery Store Of The Future [Future Of Home Living] – PSFK

An example of a compact urban agriculture system is the Click and Grow technology. Developed in Estonia, Click and Grow is a digitally-enabled gardening system for raising flowers, vegetables and herbs in a home or apartment. The all-in-one kit contains electronics, sensors, batteries,df a pump and water reservoir, while a replaceable cartridge contains seeds, nutrients and software (in a microchip) for growing the plant. The system measures how much water and fertilizer to an exact amount in accordance with the plant’s needs. After the plant’s natural life cycle ends, users can remove the old plant cartridge and insert a new one. The system has cartridges for mini tomatoes, chillies, flowers and herbs, and is capable of tending to itself over a long weekend or during a busy work week.

via Why Home Farming Will Be The Grocery Store Of The Future [Future Of Home Living] – PSFK.

Uncategorized

Egypt army chief calls for rallies against violence – The Times of India

Egypt’s military chief called for mass rallies on Friday to give the army a mandate to confront violence following the overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, appearing to up the ante against the Muslim Brotherhood.

General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who deposed Morsi on July 3 and replaced his government with a new interim administration, also said there would be no retreat from the army-backed roadmap that envisions parliamentary elections within six months.

“I ask … that next Friday all honest and trustworthy Egyptians must come out,” Sisi said in remarks broadcast live by state media. “Why come out? They come out to give me the mandate and order that I confront violence and potential terrorism.”

via Egypt army chief calls for rallies against violence – The Times of India.