All posts by nedhamson

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

H7N9 bird flu may be spread through human faeces, research suggests | South China Morning Post – “Spin”

More spin thanVirus is known to pass from bird to bird in feces, urine and sweat – so same for people – dun?

The H7N9 bird flu that emerged on the mainland in March may be spreading through human faeces, as university researchers found the virus in the stools of four out of six people killed by the bug in Zhejiang .

Theoretically, the virus could spread in the same way as severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) did during the 2003 outbreak in Amoy Gardens, Kowloon Bay – through sewage pipes – University of Hong Kong microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung, a top researcher behind the cross-border study, told the South China Morning Post.

Microbiologist Yuen Kwok-yung. Photo: David Wong

“This has important implications on the infection control strategies for H7N9 virus infection, as the influenza virus in stools may contaminate the surrounding environment,” Yuen and his team reported.

via H7N9 bird flu may be spread through human faeces, research suggests | South China Morning Post.

Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013

At up to 60 US dollars per animal, dog meat is considered to be an aphrodisiac in Vietnam, where it remains a popular dish. But what the Hanoi middle-classes don’t know as they tuck into the delicacy is where the meat has come from.

Over the past few years, an illegal dog meat trade has flourished across Asia worth millions of dollars, which experts say is unnecessarily cruel and carries a rising risk to public health.

It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of pet dogs and strays are being rounded up by criminal syndicates in neighboring Thailand every year. With only a small domestic demand for dog meat, it’s much more profitable to send them abroad, say animal rights groups.

via Illegal dog meat trade raises moral questions | Asia | DW.DE | 15.08.2013.

IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service

Researchers with Friends of the Earth U.S. and the Pesticide Research Institute say that more than half of the nursery plants studied contained residues of “neonicotinoid” pesticides, a substance increasingly thought to be contributing to mass die-offs of global honey bee populations.

via IPS – Study Finds Many “Bee-Friendly” Plants Laced with Pesticide | Inter Press Service.

Zhengzhou’s ‘lactation rooms’ on public busses are exactly what they sound like: Shanghaiist

Zhengzhou has begun rolling out semi-private ‘lactation rooms’ on its public bus system, because nipples are scary. The curtain-enclosed seats are designed to sidestep the whole issue of public breast feeding by simply eliminating the ‘public’ element entirely, and designating a nice walled-off space for new mothers.

This photo published in the Dahe Daily captures the ease and subtlety of these lactation chambers; nothing like a huge red label and various onlookers to make one feel at ease.

via Zhengzhou’s ‘lactation rooms’ on public busses are exactly what they sound like: Shanghaiist.

100 years ago, no one would have cared and mothers would just do it. Modern is funny and dumb at times and this is one of them.

Police – desperate mothers now turning to prostitution to feed and clothe children

Wish this was satire – Tories needs to look for new jobs themselves

Pride's Purge

(not satire – it’s the UK today!)

Humberside Police have said they are seeing an increase in prostitution – with young mothers turning to selling their bodies for the first time in order to feed and clothe their children.

Here’s a direct quote from PC Lorraine Summerfield from Humberside Police:

Some of these girls are desperate to feed and clothe their children and they are going out to do that, which is really sad.

The number of girls working had reduced but, recently, it has flared up again and it is because new girls are going out, who have never done it before.

There have been a lot more who have come to it recently later in life because they are so desperate for cash. They don’t want to commit crime so they are selling themselves because it is an easy way to make money and feed their family.

OK –…

View original post 103 more words

The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com

At least four people, including a teenage boy, were injured in a drive-by shooting near Findlay Market in the Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati, Ohio, Monday night. Authorities say the suspected shooters used a small-caliber weapon. It is not clear whether the victims were targeted.

via The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com.

Shootings in this neighborhood have been commonplace for last 10 years – many funerals many lame and scarred/scared.

The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com

26-year-old Michael Piemonte was accidentally shot by an instructor at a gun safety class in Lancaster, Ohio. 73-year-old Terry J. Dunlap Sr. was demonstrating a handgun at a training facility on Saturday when he fired a 38.-caliber bullet that ricocheted off a desk and into the victim’s right arm. The victim said Dunlap didn’t know the gun was loaded.

via The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com.

The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com

Lance Cpl. Cody S. Schoenfelder, 19, died Saturday after accidentally shooting himself at his barracks on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. Investigators are exploring the possibility that a gun accidentally discharged as the Marines were playing the game “Trust,” in which one points a weapon at the other.

via The Gun Report: August 13, 2013 – NYTimes.com. This is really sad and disheartening. Prayers for him and his family

Rubio Breaks laws of not shilling for Tea Party funds in the State of Mind he is in!

Rubio, a potential presidential candidate and an author of the sweeping immigration bill that passed the Senate in June but stalled in the House, noted that the Obama administration took action a year ago to give legal status to many immigrants brought here illegally as children. He said without congressional action, the president might well be tempted to do the same for everyone else here illegally, too.

via News from The Associated Press.

Course many of the Cubans here got here without permission and then Congress made it OK to stay. It’s OK for Cubans to be prejudiced against Mexican, Nicaraguans, Guatemalans? Like I said, everything is against the law in his State on Mind

Perennial Peppers for the lazy gardener | Kevin’s Edible Yard

This post is about peppers. The first summer at our house I planted peppers in various places. I had put a few up against our west facing stucco wall. As winter came all my peppers died from the cold except for the ones against this wall. After some light internet based research I found out the peppers (and tomatoes) are perennial plants. They live for multiple years! The thing is they are tropical plants. The cold kills them for most of us in the USA, which is why we consider them annuals. However as I learned by accident in San Jose (Zone 9b) with protection your peppers can be perennial. The stucco wall absorbs heat during the day and radiates it back at night, making a microclimate for the peppers. So if you are a lazy gardener like me, plant some peppers around your south or southwest facing walls. You will get peppers almost year round, and save yourself some planting every year. I have one plant (Hawaiian Sweet Hot) that is in it’s third growing season, check it out…

via Perennial Peppers for the lazy gardener | Kevin’s Edible Yard.