Category Archives: Fail!

How Unscientific Ebola Steps in U.S. Could Help Spread Virus Elsewhere – NYTimes.com

that it pays to be 100% safe and to isolate anyone with a remote chance of carrying the virus. What harm can that approach do besides inconveniencing a few health care workers? We strongly disagree. Hundreds of years of experience show that to stop an epidemic of this type requires controlling it at its source. Médecins sans Frontières, the World Health Organization, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and many other organizations say we need tens of thousands of additional volunteers to control the epidemic. We are far short of that goal, so the need for workers on the ground is great. These responsible, skilled health care workers who are risking their lives to help others are also helping by stemming the epidemic at its source. If we add barriers making it harder for volunteers to return to their community, we are hurting ourselves….

We should be guided by the science and not the tremendous fear that this virus evokes.

We should be honoring, not quarantining, health care workers who put their lives at risk not only to save people suffering from Ebola virus disease in West Africa but also to help achieve source control, bringing the world closer to stopping the spread of this killer epidemic.

via How Unscientific Ebola Steps in U.S. Could Help Spread Virus Elsewhere – NYTimes.com.

What Jian Ghomeshi’s Accusers Were Afraid Of – NYTimes.com

Three women spoke to The Toronto Star about the former CBC radio host Jian Ghomeshi, accusing him of violent behavior. None of them wanted to be identified by name. And their reason for anonymity offers a stark lesson about the effects of online harassment.

One of the women told The Star’s Kevin Donovan and Jesse Brown that “she visited Ghomeshi at his Toronto home and alleges as soon as she walked into his house he suddenly struck her hard with his open hand, then continued to hit her and choked her.” Another said: “He attacked me. Choked me. Hit me like I didn’t know men hit women.

via What Jian Ghomeshi’s Accusers Were Afraid Of – NYTimes.com.

Nasrallah: Takfiris present Muslims as ‘savages’ | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR

Jihadist terrorism poses “a threat to Islam as a religion [as well as] its principles and values,” Nasrallah said, warning that “takfiris”

This takfiri trend “will instill this false understanding of Islam,” he said, warning that the nature of modern day communication would allow radicals to spread a false image of Islam across the world.

“This would push non-Muslims away from Islam, because the [takfiri] method presents Muslims as a savage and bloodthirsty group,” he added.

via Nasrallah: Takfiris present Muslims as ‘savages’ | News , Lebanon News | THE DAILY STAR.

Quarantined Nurse Believes Her “Basic Human Rights” Have Been Violated: Gothamist

Hickox, a 33-year-old nurse who had been in contact with Ebola patients in Sierra Leone and became the first person to be placed under mandatory quarantine, was particularly angry with Christie. Christie has described her as “obviously ill,” (obviously lying) and said on Fox News this morning that he had “no second thoughts” about the mandatory quarantine policy. “I’m sorry if in any way she was inconvenienced, but inconvenience that could occur from having folks that are symptomatic and ill out amongst the public is a much, much greater concern of mine,” Christie said. “I hope she recovers quickly.” (Nothing for her to recovery from tested twice – no Ebola!)

Hickox responded: “I’m sorry, but that’s just a completely unacceptable statement in my opinion. For him—a politician who’s trusted and respected—to make a statement that’s categorically not true is just unacceptable and appalling,” she said in a separate interview with CNN. She believes that public health decisions should be made by public health officials, not politicians: “For the first 12 hours, I was in shock. Now I’m angry,” she said. “To put me in prison is just inhumane.”

via Quarantined Nurse Believes Her “Basic Human Rights” Have Been Violated: Gothamist.

Israeli “teabag” and racist rightists hold anti-Palestinian demo at light rail station | Maan News Agency

Dozens of Israeli rightists late Thursday protested at the site of a suspected attack which left a three-month-old baby dead, witnesses said.

Protesters held aloft signs reading “Death to Arabs!” and “Revenge” by the Ammunition Hill light rail station in Sheikh Jarrah.

There were reports of attempted assaults on Palestinians as they crossed the road in the area, with Israeli forces deploying to prevent such incidents.

Israel immediately labeled the incident on Wednesday as a “terrorist” attack, while the Palestinian suspect’s family denied that it was intentional.

via Israeli rightists hold anti-Palestinian demo at light rail station | Maan News Agency.

Studies show more TB cases worldwide than earlier estimates | Vaccine News Daily

Old diseases, not as interesting? Or if not perceived as a threat to US or EU – so no worries like for Ebola?

New studies show that there are approximately 500,000 more cases of tuberculosis than was previously estimated.

The World Health Organization’s (WHO) “Global Tuberculosis Report 2014″ details how 9 million people developed TB last year and 1.5 million died, including approximately 360,000 individuals who were HIV positive.

“Following a concerted effort by countries, by WHO and by multiple partners, investment in national surveys and routine surveillance efforts has substantially increased,” WHO Director of the Global TB Program Dr. Mario Raviglione said. “This is providing us with much more and better data, bringing us closer and closer to understanding the true burden of tuberculosis.”

The report states that the death rate from TB is still falling and has actually dropped by 45 percent since 1990. The number of people developing TB is declining by approximately 1.5 percent a year, while 37 million people have survived TB through thorough diagnosis and treatment over the past 14 years.

Another aspect of the report shows that while an astounding number of lives are being lost to curable diseases, TB is the second biggest killer from one infectious agent. Approximately three million people stricken with TB are still misdiagnosed, or diagnosed but not reported.

A lack of funding is hindering worldwide efforts to fight the TB epidemic. An estimated $8 billion is needed each year, but there is currently a $2 billion shortfall.

via Studies show more TB cases worldwide than earlier estimates | Vaccine News Daily.

Traditional culture trumps Ebola Safety? MONROVIA, Liberia: Beds at Ebola treatment units empty in Liberia | Health | The Island Packet

Even as Liberians fall ill and die of Ebola, many beds in treatment centers are empty because of the government’s order that the bodies of all suspected Ebola victims in the capital be cremated, authorities have determined.

Cremation violates values and cultural practices in the western African country. The order has so disturbed people that the sick are often kept at home and, if they die, are being secretly buried, increasing the risk of more infections.

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia decreed in August that the bodies of Ebola victims in the Monrovia area be cremated. The government brought in a crematorium and hired experts. The order came after people in neighborhoods of the capital resisted burials of hundreds of Ebola victims near their homes.

A recent analysis of bed space at Ebola treatment units concluded that out of 742 spaces, 351 were occupied and 391 were vacant, said Assistant Health Minister Tolbert Nyenswah, who heads the government’s Ebola response.

via MONROVIA, Liberia: Beds at Ebola treatment units empty in Liberia | Health | The Island Packet.

South Carolina house speaker pleads guilty in ethics case, to resign | Reuters

AKA: Trying to imply he did nothing wrong but is pleading guilty?

“I have agreed to this today to end what has been a two-year nightmare,” Harrell said in a statement. “To continue to fight this would have taken at least another year, possibly two.”

via South Carolina house speaker pleads guilty in ethics case, to resign | Reuters.

AKA: No profit/no life! Without Lucrative Market, Potential Ebola Vaccine Was Shelved for Years – NYTimes.com

Almost a decade ago, scientists from Canada and the United States reported that they had created a vaccine that was 100 percent effective in protecting monkeys against the Ebola virus. The results were published in a respected journal, and health officials called them exciting. The researchers said tests in people might start within two years, and a product could potentially be ready for licensing by 2010 or 2011.

It never happened. The vaccine sat on a shelf. Only now, with nearly 5,000 people dead from Ebola and an epidemic raging out of control in West Africa, is the vaccine undergoing the most basic safety tests in humans.

Its development stalled in part because Ebola was rare, and until now outbreaks had infected only a few hundred people at a time. But experts also acknowledge that the lack of follow-up on such a promising candidate reflects a broader failure to produce medicines and vaccines for diseases that afflict poor countries. Most drug companies have resisted spending the enormous sums needed to to develop products useful mostly to poor countries with little ability to pay for them.

via Without Lucrative Market, Potential Ebola Vaccine Was Shelved for Years – NYTimes.com.

Capitalism in Crisis Amid Slow Growth and Growing Inequality – SPIEGEL ONLINE

In this sense, the crisis of capitalism has turned into a crisis of democracy. Many feel that their countries are no longer being governed by parliaments and legislatures, but by bank lobbyists, which apply the logic of suicide bombers to secure their privileges: Either they are rescued or they drag the entire sector to its death.

via Capitalism in Crisis Amid Slow Growth and Growing Inequality – SPIEGEL ONLINE.