All posts by nedhamson

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

RIP: Thomas M. Menino, Mayor Who Transformed Boston, Dies at 71 – NYTimes.com

Mr. Menino remained a creature of its neighborhoods. He spent his whole life in Hyde Park, where he was born. He spent his days ambling along the city’s streets, talking with residents, reporting potholes and rarely missing a ribbon cutting. In a remarkable achievement for a big-city mayor, he met more than half of Boston’s 625,000 residents in person, according to polls. He left office with approval ratings at an astronomical 82 percent.

via Thomas M. Menino, Mayor Who Transformed Boston, Dies at 71 – NYTimes.com.

Ebola fears grip North Korea; foreigners to be quarantined | CTV News

Governor Christie and North Korea taking the same stance on public health zealotry/foolishness. If you needed any more “proof” about how silly and bullying people are being about Ebola when they are thousands of miles away from anyone who may have it – here it is!

North Korea announced Thursday it will quarantine foreigners for 21 days over fears of the spread of the Ebola virus, even though no cases of the disease have been reported in the reclusive country, or anywhere in Asia, and very few foreigners are allowed to enter.

An announcement distributed to diplomatic missions in Pyongyang said that, regardless of country or region of origin, all foreigners will be quarantined under medical observation for 21 days.

Foreigners from affected areas will be quarantined at one set of locations, while those from unaffected areas will be sent to other locations, including hotels. The staff of diplomatic missions and international organizations will be allowed to stay in their residences.

via Ebola fears grip North Korea; foreigners to be quarantined | CTV News.

Liberia: 300,000 people at risk of malaria as Ebola epidemic damages healthcare system | MSF UK

On 29 October, 20,000 families – 100,000 people – living in the New Kru neighborhood had already received one treatment. The distribution will continue for several days in other neighbourhoods. It will be repeated the next two months at the same locations, with the same treatment and mosquito nets.

Given the backdrop of Ebola, vigilance is essential. To protect both the population and healthcare workers against the risk of infection, the distribution takes place early in the morning, when the streets are still empty. Participants keep their distance from each other to avoid any physical contact.  The operation is divided among 55 sites.

After each distribution, the MSF-trained volunteers ensure that the message has gotten through, going door-to-door to confirm that all family members have taken the drugs even if they are not ill, because the treatment both cures and prevents the illness.

via Liberia: 300,000 people at risk of malaria as Ebola epidemic damages healthcare system | MSF UK.

House Demolitions in Umm al-Kheir

No shame for being shameful is in unlimited supply in Israel today

The Villages Group: Cooperation in Israel-Palestine

On Monday, October 27, Israeli Army and Police forces demolished dwellings in the western part of the Beduin-Palestinian village of Umm al-Kheir. This was the most massive operation of house demolition in the village since October 2008. 
The operation was aimed mostly at three houses that were built in the last two years (on the ruins of earlier demolitions). These houses were built for three young couples: Abd’alla and Ruqaya al-Hathelin and their four children (aged two months to seven years); Kheir’alla and Nura al-Hathelin and their baby girl, and Bilal and Iman al-Hathelin and their baby boy.
On top of that the Israeli occupation forces demolished the mobile home of Samikha (Miyaser) al-Hathelin and her seven children, which was donated to her by European agencies after her house was demolished twice in 2011 and 2012. Samikha’s tabun (traditional bread oven) was demolished as well, although it was not included in…

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Why Dumb and Dumber 2 is being made in US! CT Family Sues Ebola-Fearing School After Child Is Banned: Gothamist

Ikeoluwa traveled with her father, Stephen Opayemi, Oct. 2-13 to Lagos, Nigeria, for a family wedding. The Opayemi family says that health director Dr. Dennis McBride initially told them that Ikeoluwa should be screened, which they agreed to. The father, Stephen Opayemi, even took her to a doctor to get a clean bill of health. But then McBride said the little girl should stay home, due to Ebola panic—even though the family only visited Nigeria. From the CT Post:

Ebola is a contagious illness that has killed nearly 5,000 people, mostly in the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Though there was a small outbreak of Ebola in Nigeria that caused 19 illnesses and seven deaths, there has not been a case in the country in more than a month. Indeed, the country has been praised for its aggressive efforts to contain the disease.

Screening protocols released by the state Department of Public Health and the governor’s office on Monday only said travelers from Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone would be monitored for Ebola upon returning to the United States. Nigeria has not been mentioned as a “red flag” country by state health authorities.

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy’s office said that McBride’s decision didn’t come from the state, “This was a decision by the town’s public health official. The state did not play a role in making this determination, and this family is not under any quarantine orders.”

Stephen Opayemi said, “She is unfairly treated and discriminated against because of a fear some people have [that] she might have Ebola.” Opayemi said the school district was sending a tutor to their house for 90 minutes a day, and argued that this proves the district wasn’t truly worried about the disease.

The lawsuit is asking for $250,000 in damages and for Ikeoluwa to be allowed to return to class immediately.

via CT Family Sues Ebola-Fearing School After Child Is Banned: Gothamist.

Maine, attorneys could be headed for showdown over Ebola-negative nurse – Central Maine

 

 

 

 

JERKS – SHE TESTED NEGATIVE FOR EBOLA – GET YOUR ROCKS OFF ON SOME OTHER MADE UP ISSUE TO SCARE UP SUPPORT FOR YOUR LOONEY GOVERNOR!

JERKS – SHE TESTED NEGATIVE FOR EBOLA – GET YOUR ROCKS OFF ON SOME OTHER MADE UP ISSUE TO SCARE UP SUPPORT FOR YOUR LOONEY GOVERNOR!

The events in Maine took center stage in the national debate over protocols used to stop the spread of Ebola, with states offering differing views on how to protect the public while maintaining individual rights. Art Caplan, a bioethicist at New York University, said actions taken by Maine health officials were not based on science.

“This quarantine has nothing to do with Ebola,” Caplan said. “It has everything to do with fear.”

A hastily arranged news conference by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services late Tuesday afternoon capped two days of conflicting, confusing messages from the LePage administration.

via Maine, attorneys could be headed for showdown over Ebola-negative nurse – Central Maine.

JERKS – SHE TESTED NEGATIVE FOR EBOLA – GET YOUR ROCKS OFF ON SOME OTHER MADE UP ISSUE TO SCARE UP SUPPORT FOR YOUR LOONEY GOVERNOR!

JERKS – SHE TESTED NEGATIVE FOR EBOLA – GET YOUR ROCKS OFF ON SOME OTHER MADE UP ISSUE TO SCARE UP SUPPORT FOR YOUR LOONEY GOVERNOR!

The Farmworker Story Behind Your Cheap Food | Earthjustice

My name is Andrea Cabrera Hubbard. I started working in the fields as a child, picking squash for half the day and then going to school the other half. At school, my classmates would bully me for working in the fields. I made it to fourth grade and then quit. After that, I worked all day, every day, cutting tomatoes in Mexico. Sometimes the tomato cans were heavier than I was and sometimes we would work 14 to 16 hours a day.

In 2001, I came to the United States and began to work in the fields here in Santa Paula, California. I had a lot of fear and didn’t want to come here, because before I arrived, I had heard that this is the land of the slaves.

Today, I don’t work in the fields anymore, and I am studying English. I’m united with the organization Lideres Campesinas to help other women so they don’t have to live the life I had to live. Working in the fields, there’s a lot of abuse. The bosses, foremen and supervisors are the most abusive to the workers. I think most field workers would share their stories but because of the fear, nobody speaks up. The laborers think they are going to be deported, so they would rather keep silent and hold back the pain from all the chemicals they use.

via The Farmworker Story Behind Your Cheap Food | Earthjustice.

Thousands of Hungarians march against Internet tax | News | DW.DE | 29.10.2014

(and how many have not marched in US to retain net neutrality and say no to 3rd class internet for middle and lower income people? ZERO!)

As many as 100,000 people were said to have taken to the streets of Budapest on Tuesday, to protest a plan to tax the use of the Internet from 2015.

The rally was the second in three days objecting to the new law that would force Internet service providers to pay a capped amount of 700 forints ($2.89, 2.27 euros) per month per individual subscriber. Business subscribers would pay 5,000 forints.

“We are not going to let it happen,” the crowd chanted as it passed through the center of the capital to rally in front of the economy ministry.

Zsolt Varady, founder of a Hungarian social media website, told the crowd: “The internet tax is a symbol of the government autocracy.”

via Thousands of Hungarians march against Internet tax | News | DW.DE | 29.10.2014.