All posts by nedhamson

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

Avian Flu Diary: Study: Recombinant H5N2 Avian Influenza Virus Strains In Vaccinated Chickens

The `elephant in the room’ is that 10 years ago, when most of these countries elected to rely primarily on poultry vaccinations to control H5N1, there was only one HPAI H5 virus of concern; H5N1.   Now we now have at least a half dozen subtypes (H5N1, H5N2, H5N3, H5N6, H5N5,  H5N8) and literally dozens of clades between them.

This rapid growth is likely due in no small part to the continued use of outdated, poorly matched poultry vaccines which only hid symptoms in birds, and allowed viruses to continue to circulate and reassort.

via Avian Flu Diary: Study: Recombinant H5N2 Avian Influenza Virus Strains In Vaccinated Chickens.

Judge bans a Facebook page exposing paedophiles and awards £20,000 damages to convicted sex offender

So, you have to wonder, how much the judge drinks for lunch or how far he has his head up where the sun don’t shine to make such a silly and harmful decision.

Westminster Confidential

An extraordinary ruling by a Northern Ireland judge will lead to a chilling effect on people using the internet to expose convicted paedophiles and give hope to sex offenders that they can make money from people and organisations attacking them for their crimes.

The  Belfast case has been picked up by the excellent Inforrm blog which gives a detailed legal analysis of what happened from Lorna Skinner ,a barrister at Matrix Chambers.

The facts appear to be these. Joseph McCloskey set up a Facebook profile page called ” Keep Our Kids Safe from Predators 2 ” which posted information about a convicted sex offender called CG. A similar page was set up by RS the father of one  of CG’s victims.

CG’s lawyers complained about the postings on both sites.

Inforrm says: ” Broadly speaking, each consisted of the publication of a photograph of CG together with information identifying him as…

View original post 615 more words

NYC Rats Now Carrying Same Fleas That Spread Bubonic Plague: Gothamist

The good news is that researchers did not find any plague or typhus bacteria in the fleas they sampled. But come on, we all know it’s only a matter of time. “If these rats carry fleas that could transmit the plague to people, then the pathogen itself is the only piece missing from the transmission cycle,” says Matthew Frye, the lead author of the study.

via NYC Rats Now Carrying Same Fleas That Spread Bubonic Plague: Gothamist.

Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules – NYTimes.com Advertising $$ down – want Koch Bros to buy ads?

Mrs. Clinton is not the first government official — or first secretary of state — to use a personal email account on which to conduct official business.

But her exclusive use of her private email, for all of her work, appears unusual, Mr. Baron said. The use of private email accounts is supposed to be limited to emergencies, experts said, such as when an agency’s computer server is not working.

“I can recall no instance in my time at the National Archives when a high-ranking official at an executive branch agency solely used a personal email account for the transaction of government business,” said Mr. Baron, who worked at the agency from 2000 to 2013.

via Hillary Clinton Used Personal Email at State Dept., Possibly Breaking Rules – NYTimes.com.

Noa: Netanyahu’s speech writer [wish it was real]

To summarize my offer:

1.    No nuclear weapons, for anybody in the middle-east.

2.    A regional agreement that will start with the Palestinians, and embrace the entire Arab world, wherever there are partners for dialogue, and I know they exist, backed and secured by the US and the international community as a whole.

I am willing to take the first, courageous step, in the name of my people, the citizens of Israel.

I believe we have no chance to survive in the region if we do not initiate a positive dynamic, one of good will and action, and I would like to lead this movement

I have no idea if this plan, at this moment in time after all that has come to pass, will lead us to the fulfillment of our goals, but I do know, that continuing on the present  destructive track we are all on, will lead to our certain demise.

I do not know if I will be in office long, as elections are coming up. My words are not meant to serve me, but a higher ideal. I wish these words to be my legacy, continued by my successors and on into the future.

A future of life.

Thank you for your attention.

via Noa: Netanyahu’s speech writer.

Saudi MERS deaths reach 400 as cases surge | CIDRAP

Saudi Arabia’s surge of MERS-CoV cases and deaths continues into March, with 15 more cases reported over the past 3 days, as well as 6 additional deaths, pushing the country’s fatality count to 400, according to statements from the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH).

Thirteen of the new cases are from Riyadh, with 2 reported in Buraydah, the capital of Al Qassim region, which is 220 miles northwest of Riyadh. All of the patients are adults, ages 34 to 80, and all but four are men. All 15 of the latest MERS-CoV (Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus) case-patients are symptomatic, with 9 hospitalized in critical condition and 6 listed as stable.

Seven of the patients are from outside of Saudi Arabia, and of four healthcare workers who are infected, three are from foreign countries. All but four of the patients have preexisting health conditions.

via Saudi MERS deaths reach 400 as cases surge | CIDRAP.