All posts by nedhamson

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

Kellogg’s Boasts ‘Diversity,’ But Locks Out Black Workers | Labor Notes

“We want every person to bring their ‘whole self’ to work every day,” says a Kellogg’s human resources manager in the company’s latest “diversity and inclusion” report.

But for more than three months now, 220 locked-out cereal workers in Memphis, a majority black, have had to settle for bringing their “whole self” to the frigid picket line at the Kellogg’s factory entrance. Workers maintain a 24/7 picket, with four to 10 workers holding signs.

Production continues uninhibited by the picketers. Scabs brought in by an Ohio company enter through a back gate. Cereal leaves by the trainload, heading east.

At a rally on Martin Luther King Day, the president of the Memphis chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) called for a boycott of Kellogg’s products.

Rev. Dwight Montgomery said he had spoken with an organization of 300 ministers in the Memphis area, and that they had decided to ask “our congregation members to go talk to their friends, family neighbors… We are not going to buy any Kellogg’s products.”

via Kellogg’s Boasts ‘Diversity,’ But Locks Out Black Workers | Labor Notes.

Rock Salt Bound for New Jersey Is Held Up by Decades-Old Maritime Law – NYTimes.com

The delivery of salt has been complicated by the Jones Act — formerly known the Merchant Marine Act — which was passed in 1920 as a way of ensuring that the country is able to maintain a viable merchant marine fleet.

It requires that any shipment going directly from one port in the United States to another be carried on vessels built in the United States and operated by an American crew.

While there have been waivers granted in the past, they are rare, according to a government official familiar with maritime regulations who spoke on condition of anonymity because she was not involved in the matter involving the salt shipment.

via Rock Salt Bound for New Jersey Is Held Up by Decades-Old Maritime Law – NYTimes.com.

The Academic Feminist: Melanie Klein on Yoga and Feminism

1) You credit feminism and yoga with being the two main influences of your work. Can you describe how the two are linked for you?

Ultimately, for me, they’re both equally about raising consciousness, wiping the fog from the mirror, seeing the world (including ourselves) through fresh eyes, thereby moving in the world from an authentic and grounded place. And, in the end, this means we’re capable of being a more effective agent for social change, whether you’re making changes in your home, the workplace, the media or politics.

Feminism provided the intellectual and ideological framework to recognize, deconstruct, analyse and critique the structured inequality that is the hallmark of the system of patriarchy. That veil was lifted when I found feminism and my first mentor, a Radical Marxist feminist who is now well into her eighties. One of my biggest “a-ha” or “click” moments is when I realized, “It’s not me! It’s patriarchy.”

via The Academic Feminist: Melanie Klein on Yoga and Feminism.

“Let them eat cake” or “Give them cash” – Daily News Egypt

A more current and increasingly popular strategy in the world today is a cash transfer directly to the citizen. Through a food subsidy programme, a government rations food. The basic idea of a cash transfer is that instead of spending money on something like subsidies that cause so many market distortions (meaning there are bad consequences for many segments of the economy), the government gives the cash to individuals or households.

Brazil, Mexico, South Africa are among only a few countries that have had great success with cash transfer programmes. These programmes give money directly to the benefit of the elderly, children or households. Women are most often the recipients of the cash, as hundreds of studies have shown women to be more prudent spenders to the better benefit of their households.

These programmes are highly effective and represent great efficiency gains relative to a subsidy system, which means public money is better used to meet the goal of protecting the vulnerable. Efficiency is particularly important given the high budget deficit.

via “Let them eat cake” or “Give them cash” – Daily News Egypt.

Northwestern University offers new online graduate degree in Global Health | Vaccine News Daily

The Northwestern University School of Continuing Studies recently announced it will partner with the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine’s Center for Global Health to offer students a new graduate program in Global Health.

The new program will offer graduate students the option to earn a Master of Science in Global Health degree beginning fall 2014. It is the only program of its kind available online and was developed to meet emerging global health threats.

The new program seeks to empower leaders in global healthcare to address emerging health threats, including the emergence of almost 40 new infectious diseases since 1973 and the re-emergence of other diseases, such as malaria. The program sets out to fight emerging health threats globally through increased healthcare technology and expertise.

The new program, which includes 12 online courses, was created to empower healthcare professionals to address growing global health concerns. Multidisciplinary courses are available to prepare students to improve healthcare systems and address global health concerns by evaluating the results of health program initiatives.

“Graduates of the MS in Global Health program will be prepared to identify needs, navigate complex political, sociological and regulatory environments and deliver impactful health care solutions,” Director of the Center for Global Health and the John Philip Phair Professor of Infectious Diseases at Feinberg Robert Murphy said.

via Northwestern University offers new online graduate degree in Global Health | Vaccine News Daily.

The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library by Louise S. Robbins

Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library

By Louise S. Robbins

University of Oklahoma Press

256 pages. ISBN: 0-8061-3163-2 Cloth $29.95 Published February 2000

In 1950 Ruth W. Brown, librarian at the Bartlesville, Oklahoma, Public Library, was summarily dismissed from her job after thirty years of exemplary service, ostensibly because she had circulated subversive materials. In truth, however, Brown was fired because she had become active in promoting racial equality and had helped form a group affiliated with the Congress of Racial Equality.

Louise S. Robbins tells the story of the political, social, economic, and cultural threads that became interwoven in a particular time and place, creating a strong web of opposition. This combination of forces ensnared Ruth Brown and her colleagues-for the most part women and African Americans-who championed the cause of racial equality.

via The Dismissal of Miss Ruth Brown: Civil Rights, Censorship, and the American Library by Louise S. Robbins.

An avian outbreak associated with panzootic equine influenza in 1872: An early example of highly pathogenic avian influenza?

An explosive fatal epizootic in poultry, prairie chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese, occurred over much of the populated United States between 15 November and 15 December 1872. To our knowledge the scientific literature contains no mention of the nationwide 1872 poultry outbreak. The epizootic progressed in temporal-geographic association with a well-reported panzootic of equine influenza that had begun in Canada during the last few days of September 1872. The 1872 avian epizootic was universally attributed at the time to equine influenza, a disease then of unknown etiology but widely believed to be caused by the same transmissible respiratory agent that caused human influenza. Another microbial agent could have caused the avian outbreak; however, its strong temporal and geographic association with the equine panzootic, and its clinical and epidemiologic features, are most consistent with highly pathogenic avian influenza.

via An avian outbreak associated with panzootic equine influenza in 1872: An early example of highly pathogenic avian influenza?.

Recall: Nearly 230,000 pounds of egg products over salmonella by Washington company | OregonLive.com

Here’s a list of the recalled products:

1,383-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag Egg Mix, Butter Flavor” with the lot code “C0513-A”

2,540-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “B1913-A”

2,409-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “B1913-B”

4,712-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “E0713-A,B”

1,265-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag, Heat and Serve” with the lot code “F1813-A”

4,155-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the lot code “I1113-A”

6,132-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg, Cage Free” with the lot code “J2913-A”

9,345-lb. super sack of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg, Cage Free” with the lot code “A1414-A”

3.06-lb. bags of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag Egg Mix, Butter Flavor” with the Julian dates “3074” and “3075”

2.34-lb. bags of “OvaEasy Boil-in-Bag, Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3122,” “3123,” “3124,” “3127,” “3128” and “3129”

4.5-oz. cans of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian date “2903,” “1343” and “2893”

4-oz. bags of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0853” and “0863”

4.5-oz. bags of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0853,” “0863” and “0873”

1.75-lb. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “0813,” “1083,”  “1093,” “1433,” “1443,” “1573,” “1723,” “2063,” “2163,” “2173,” “2183” “2243,” “2253,” “2183,” “2533,” “2543,” “2553,” “2563,” “2673,” “2683,” “2693” and “2703”

3.2-oz. bags of “Wise Company, Wise Blend” with the Julian dates “0953” and “0993”

2-oz. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “2073,” “2063,” “2163,” “2603,” “2613” “2903,” “2913,” “2953,” “2963,” “3173” and “3183”

3.2-oz. packs of “Wise Company, Wise Blend” with the Julian dates “1133,” “1143,” “1153,” “1163” and “1353”

1.17-lb. bags of “OvaEasy UGRA Boil-in-Bag, Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3129,” “3130” and “3137”

1.75-lb. packs of “OvaEasy” with the Julian dates “2163,” “2173,” “2183” and “2243”

4.5-oz. packs of “OvaEasy Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates “2563,” “2623” and “2633”

1.1-lb. packs of “OvaEasy UGR H&S” with the Julian dates “3173,” “3174,” “3175,” “3177,” “3178,” “3179,” “3180,” “3181,” “3182,” “3183,” “3194,” “3195,” “3196,” “3197,” “3198” and “3199”

1.1-lb. packs of “G0213-A UGR H&S” with the Julian dates “3186,” “3187,” “3189,” “3190” and “3191”

128-gram packs of “Egg Crystal, Sea Salt and Pepper” with the Julian date “3033”

128-gram packs of “Egg Crystal, Sausage and Herb” with the Julian date “3043”

1.17-lb. packs of “OvaEasy UGR-A Reduced Cholesterol” with the Julian dates “3141,” “3142,” “3148,” “3149” and “3150”

3-oz. packs of “eFoods Plain Whole Egg” with the Julian dates of “3173” and “3183”

via Recall: Nearly 230,000 pounds of egg products over salmonella by Washington company | OregonLive.com.

VDU’s blog: H7N9 case announcements dropping: is Wave 2 under control? [UPDATED]

In the absence of any other data or a change in climate, I’m proposing that the case decline to a direct effect from the market closure. If that hypothesis is correct, we will see continued decline in cases in Zhejiang and wherever else markets were closed.

That decline in total H7N9 human case announcement began 3-days after Hangzhou markets closed. Given that most cases were accruing from Zhejiang province, I still think that’s a good place to watch.

via VDU’s blog: H7N9 case announcements dropping: is Wave 2 under control? [UPDATED].