All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Coronavirus vaccine 99% effective in preventing serious disease, death – The Jerusalem Post

For those who are past two weeks from the second dose, the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine has proven to be about 99% effective in preventing hospitalization, serious disease and death, new data released by the Health Ministry on Saturday night showed. Source: Coronavirus vaccine 99% effective in preventing serious disease, death – The Jerusalem Post

Tjestenina s brokolijem

Pasta with Broccoli recipe – good one! NUTRITIONAL VALUE PER PORTION: 450 calories, 32 g carbohydrates (including 5 g sugar), 12 g protein, 31 g fat (18 g saturated fat), a good source of B vitamins, vitamins A, C, E and folate.

Myrela

VRIJEME: 20 minuta / PORCIJA: 4

  • 10 listova svježeg bosiljka
  • 3 grančice peršuna
  • 2 mlada luka
  • 2 mala češnja bijelog luka
  • 2 kašike dižon senfa
  • 125 g smekšanog putera
  • 2 velike glavice brokolija, da daju 550 g samog cvijeta
  • 1 kašika maslinovog ulja
  • so i crni biber
  • 500 g svježe tjestenine
  • Za ukrašavanje: 10 čeri paradajza

Sipajte vodu za kuvanje tjestenine u veliku šerpu i zagrijte da uzavri. Operite i posušite bosiljak i peršun i isjeckajte ih na sitno. Očistite i operite mladi luk, na sitno nasjeckajte njihove zelene krajeve i ostavite ih sa strane, a zatim isijecite i ostatak. Oljuštite i zdrobite bijeli luk. Izmiješajte senf i puter u činiji i umiješajte u njih bilje, bijeli dio mladog luka i bijeli luk, gnječeći ih po dnu činije da bi ispustili svoje ukuse. Ostavite ih sa strane.

Operite i podijelite glavice brokolija na zasebne cvjetiće. Stavite so, tjesteninu i brokoli…

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L.A. County sheriff searches offices of LA Metro, oversight board member in criminal probe

Watch and see who is using office to reward-punish others???

Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives this week searched the headquarters of L.A. Metro and the offices of a nonprofit run by a civilian oversight commissioner critical of the department’s leadership, sheriff’s officials announced Friday.

Detectives served warrants for unspecified records at both locations on Thursday, Feb. 18, but a spokesperson declined to provide details about the nature of the probe.

“The search warrant was signed by a judge, and partially sealed, in connection to an ongoing criminal investigation,” said Deputy Eric Ortiz, a member of the sheriff’s information bureau, in an email. “We are unable to offer further comment at this time, in order to preserve the integrity of this active investigation.”

In an email, Metro spokesman Dave Sotero confirmed the transportation authority received a warrant.

“However, given the limited information contained in the warrant, we cannot determine the nature of LASD’s investigation,” Sotero said.

Peace Over Violence, the nonprofit targeted in the search, operates L.A. Metro’s “Off Limits” sexual harassment counseling hotline. Spokeswoman Darcy Pollan also confirmed the search warrants served at Peace Over Violence, which is based out of Metro’s headquarters on Wilshire Boulevard. She declined to comment further.

Patricia Giggans, executive director of Peace Over Violence, is a member of the Civilian Oversight Commission and was appointed by county Supervisor Sheila Kuehl. The nine-member commission advises the Board of Supervisors and was created to increase transparency and accountability at the Sheriff’s Department.

Kuehl’s office referred questions about the search warrants to L.A. County Counsel. The county’s attorneys then deferred to Metro.

Commission’s rocky history with sheriff

Commissioners have clashed with the department, and Sheriff Alex Villanueva in particular, in the past two years. Giggans chaired the commission when Villanueva defied a subpoena to appear at one of its meetings. Measure R, approved by voters in March 2020, grants that power to the Oversight Commission. In response, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge threatened Villanueva with contempt over the issue.

LDN-L-SHERIFF-VILLANUEVA-0129.jpg?fit=62Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva (Photo by Keith Birmingham, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

The commission, Kuehl and Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas called for Villanueva’s resignation in September. Earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors discussed possible legal strategies for removing the sheriff from office shortly after the California Attorney General announced a civil rights investigation into the department.

It is uncommon for the Sheriff’s Department to conduct investigations into other county agencies. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office typically handles public corruption cases in the county through its Public Integrity Division. The Sheriff’s Department did not respond to questions about whether it is working with other agencies, nor would it address whether it has taken steps to avoid any conflicts related to investigating a commissioner.

A spokesperson for the Oversight Commission took a message from a reporter, but no one returned the request for comment.

Peace Over Violence’s contract questioned

While it is unclear what exactly the Sheriff’s Department is investigating, Metro’s sole sourced, no-bid contract with Peace Over Violence for the sexual harassment hotline has faced scrutiny recently.

In September, Fox 11 released an investigation into the hotline and determined the low volume of calls — sometimes only a few dozen per month — amounted to a cost of about $8,000 per call. A Metro employee, Jennifer Loew, alleged Peace Over Violence received the contract in 2017 via a behind-the-scenes push from supervisor Kuehl, a close friend and ally of Giggans. Loew previously sued Metro in February 2020, alleging discrimination and conspiracy, but a judge dismissed the case in August for a “lack of prosecution” after Loew, who represented herself, did not respond to a court order, according to court records.

LDN-L-HOMELESS-COUNT-0605-17BM.jpg?fit=6LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl on June 4, 2019. (Photo by Brittany Murray, Press-Telegram/SCNG)

Kuehl is a member of Metro’s board and a member of Peace Over Violence’s advisory board. In a FAQ on its website, Peace Over Violence confirmed Kuehl and Giggan’s friendship, but denied it played any role in the selection.

“POV categorically refutes these accusations as false and self-serving fabrications on the part of the whistleblower,” the FAQ states.

The hotline’s contract never came before the board for a vote because it was below a $500,000 threshold. Peace Over Violence has worked on other projects with Metro and its total pay from the agency, across multiple contracts, is more than $800,000 as of 2021, according to the nonprofit’s website. The contract is set to expire at the end of the year.

Metro similarly told Fox 11 that Kuehl had no influence over Peace Over Violence’s contract. Kuehl’s office at the time stated that Metro CEO Phil Washington, who is set to step down when his employment agreement expires in May, made the decision. An employee from Kuehl’s office offered recommendations on the proposed scope of work, which was described as “appropriate given the supervisor’s role as a Metro board member,” according to the statement to Fox 11.

Nonprofit first hired in 2015

An FAQ on Peace Over Violence’s website indicates the nonprofit began working with Metro in 2015 in response to a survey showing that one-fifth of Metro riders faced unwanted sexual behavior. At the time, Metro, Peace Over Violence and the Sheriff’s Department under Villanueva’s predecessor partnered on a public information campaign, titled “It’s Off Limits,” that was credited with contributing to a decline in sexual harassment on the public transportation system.

That collaboration later led to the 2017 contract for the 24/7 “Off Limits” hotline, which offers “immediate counseling, safety planning, advocacy and referrals” to callers. The hotline provides a “direct link” to Metro Security for reporting and tracking where and when assaults are occurring, according to the nonprofit.

The hotline has reportedly helped more than 200 victims of sexual harassment or assault and handled “thousands” of calls from distressed riders. Fox 11’s investigation suggested publicly released information about the number of calls may have been inflated because many were hangups or wrong numbers.

Peace Over Violence denied the allegation. The website states there is no quota associated with the hotline and questioned putting a “price tag on serving a survivor of violence.”

“According to our contract, all calls coming into the hotline are legitimate,” the FAQ states. “Hangups are common on hotlines, and we do not classify them as live calls from survivors. We repeatedly called attention to the low number of calls received and continued to encourage Metro to advertise this service.”

Metro no longer advertises the hotline’s number and instead refers callers reporting sexual harassment to the non-profit if they need counseling.

Russian Media Reports 7 Human Infections With Avian H5N8

“So far, we see that the new pathogen of avian influenza A (H5N8) is capable of spreading from birds to humans – it has overcome the interspecies barrier. But this variant of the influenza virus is not transmitted from person to person today,” Popova said.

 Russia.JPG

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One of the reassuring hallmarks of avian H5N8 has been that – unlike H5N1 and H5N6 – it has never been known to infect humans.  There were reports out of Russia in the fall of 2017 – made by Anna Popova Chief State Sanitary Physician of the Russian Federation – regarding potential asymptomatic human infection with HPAI H5N8, but they were never verified (see A Curious (And Unverified) H5N8 Report From Russia).

While primarily a disease affecting birds, we have seen some evidence of H5N8 jumping to mammals (see MAFRA: H5N8 Antibodies Detected In South Korean Dogs (Again)), and some research (see Sci Rpts: H5N8 – Rapid Acquisition of Virulence Markers After Serial Passage In Mice) suggesting that H5N8 could someday acquire the genetic changes that would make it a human health threat as well.

A 2017 editorial in the Journal Virulence (see J. Virulence Editorial: HPAI H5N8 – Should We Be Worried?) reviewed and summarized the literature, and found enough reasons to be concerned over the future evolutionary path of H5N8, stating that:

The extensive distribution of HPAI H5N8, as well as the gene reassortment with other circulating avian viruses already observed for H5N8 suggests there is a potential risk for human cases of H5N8 infections.

According to numerous Russian and English language media reports this morning, Russia has notified the World Health Organization of 7 confirmed avian H5N8 infections in humans.  The announcement was made earlier today by Anna Popova. 

This (translated) report from TASS.

The world’s first case of human infection with influenza A (H5N8) was detected in Russia

Bird flu is not yet transmitted from person to person, emphasized the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova

MOSCOW, February 20. / TASS /. Avian influenza of a new type was detected in seven employees of a poultry farm in southern Russia, the head of Rospotrebnadzor Anna Popova said at a briefing on Saturday.
 
“Scientists of the Vector Center have isolated genetic material of this type of avian influenza from seven employees of a poultry farm in the south of the Russian Federation, where an outbreak was registered among the poultry population in December 2020,” she said. The head of Rospotrebnadzor noted that this was the world’s first confirmed case of human infection with avian influenza A (H5N8) virus.

According to her, all measures to protect people and animals were carried out in a short time, all risks were minimized and this situation did not develop further.

“All people, all seven people I’m talking about today, feel good, their clinical course was very mild. But at the same time, our scientists were able to see changes in the human body and the immune response to meeting this virus in all seven workers This poultry farm. Today they feel good, and at that moment they felt good, the disease ended quickly enough, “she said.

Person-to-person transmission

No cases of human-to-human transmission of the new type of avian influenza virus have yet been recorded, Popova said.

“So far, we see that the new pathogen of avian influenza A (H5N8) is capable of spreading from birds to humans – it has overcome the interspecies barrier. But this variant of the influenza virus is not transmitted from person to person today,” Popova said.

According to the head of Rospotrebnadzor, “how quickly subsequent mutations will allow him to overcome this barrier, time will tell.”

“This scientific discovery of our scientists, the Vector Institute of Rospotrebnadzor allows us to warn scientists, practitioners, and the public and citizens around the world in order to take the necessary measures in a timely manner and counter a new threat at a significantly new high level of counteraction and prevention. Time for this. we have it today, “the chief sanitary doctor of Russia emphasized.

(Continue . . . )

This is obviously unwelcome, but not completely unexpected, news.   Hopefully we’ll get an update from the WHO with more details in the days ahead.

20th Day of February – Fatcowco – John Glenn orbits the earth in Friendship 7, 1962

1962 – First American to orbit the earth John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman and politician. On February 20, 1962, Glenn flew the Friendship 7 mission, becoming the first American to orbit the Earth, the third American and fifth person in history to be in space. Friendship 7 made three orbits in four hours, 55 minutes. He received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal in 1962, the Congressional Space Medal of Honour in 1978, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in 1990, and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012.

Source: 20th Day of February – Fatcowco

At least 2 killed in Myanmar city of Mandalay in protests

For more:

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-02-20/At-least-2-killed-in-Myanmar-city-of-Mandalay-in-protests-Y2Ja1BJJbq/index.html

At least two people were killed on Saturday in Myanmar’s Mandalay as police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators. The clash happened near a shipyard in Mandalay. A ship leaving for Bhamo city was intercepted by the protesters on Saturday morning. Since early this month, protests have been held in the country calling for the release of the detained leaders, including U Win Myint and Aung San Suu Kyi. #Myanmar

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