Category Archives: Fail!

Electronic Village: James Baldwin vs. New Hampshire Police Chief Who Called Obama the N-Word

Copeland is a old and foolish. The fact that he is responsible for law enforcement policy in his town makes him dangerous. But, maybe it’s our fault…

via Electronic Village: James Baldwin vs. New Hampshire Police Chief Who Called Obama the N-Word.

FCC approves plan to allow for paid priority on Internet

(No way – you gonna make us pay – the uproar that is about to descend upon you should be no surprise – but your majority is too disconnected with reality to understand that until the wave washes over you!)

The plan, approved in a three-to-two vote along party lines, could unleash a new economy on the Web where an Internet service provider such as Verizon would charge a Web site such as Netflix for the guarantee of flawless video streaming.

via FCC approves plan to allow for paid priority on Internet.

Shinzo Abe reveals plans to lift Japan’s ban on fighting in conflicts overseas | World news | theguardian.com

(Wonder how long it would take him to come to South Korea’s assistance to quell disruptions and help defend against North Korean aggression – and then declare that the unified Korea wanted to become part of a Greater Japan – while claiming to not be waging war)

Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, has announced plans to lift the country’s ban on fighting in conflicts overseas – a move that is certain to raise tensions with China and anger voters at home.

Abe called for a review of the way Japan interprets its pacifist constitution, to allow its military to participate in conflicts beyond its borders for the first time since the end of the second world war.

In an apparent attempt to address concerns in Chin and other parts of Asia where memories of Japan’s wartime conduct remain strong, he said Japan would never again become “a country that wages war”.

via Shinzo Abe reveals plans to lift Japan’s ban on fighting in conflicts overseas | World news | theguardian.com.

[UPDATED] NY Times Abruptly Replaces Jill Abramson As Top Editor: Gothamist

Paying a woman less – plain and simple sexism by management – ironic and sleazy! 
Update 5:58 p.m.: In a post on the New Yorker’s blog, columnist Ken Auletta says sources tell him that in addition to other tensions with management, Abramson “discovered that her pay and her pension benefits as both executive editor and, before that, as managing editor were considerably less than the pay and pension benefits of Bill Keller, the male editor whom she replaced in both jobs.” She reportedly confronted the paper’s management—”and this may have fed into the management’s narrative that she was ‘pushy,’ a characterization that, for many, has an inescapably gendered aspect.” Auletta reports that Abramson was told she would be terminated last Friday.Update 5:58 p.m.: In a post on the New Yorker’s blog, columnist Ken Auletta says sources tell him that in addition to other tensions with management, Abramson “discovered that her pay and her pension benefits as both executive editor and, before that, as managing editor were considerably less than the pay and pension benefits of Bill Keller, the male editor whom she replaced in both jobs.” She reportedly confronted the paper’s management—”and this may have fed into the management’s narrative that she was ‘pushy,’ a characterization that, for many, has an inescapably gendered aspect.” Auletta reports that Abramson was told she would be terminated last Friday.

via [UPDATED] NY Times Abruptly Replaces Jill Abramson As Top Editor: Gothamist.

Breaking News: Campaign Launched to End Slaughter of Dolphins in Peru

BlueVoice and Mundo Azul have called on the Peruvian government to both enforce existing laws and enact legislation banning harpoons on fishing boats. “Harpoons are used solely to kill dolphins and banning them would save the lives of t

via Breaking News: Campaign Launched to End Slaughter of Dolphins in Peru.

Two U.S. health workers ill after MERS exposure; World Health Organization meets | Reuters

Two health workers at a Florida hospital exposed to a patient with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome have begun showing flu-like symptoms, raising concerns about the ability of global health authorities to contain the mysterious and deadly virus.

The World Health Organization convened an emergency meeting in Geneva on Tuesday to decide whether the rising rate of confirmed cases, most of them in Saudi Arabia, constitutes a “public health emergency of international concern.”

Florida officials said they were monitoring the health of 20 healthcare workers who had been in contact with the patient, including a doctor who had already left for Canada. They also were trying to track down nearly 100 people who may have overlapped with the patient at the two medical facilities he visited.

via Two U.S. health workers ill after MERS exposure; World Health Organization meets | Reuters.

Sharp rise in French Jews leaving for Israel | Maan News Agency

Kandel told AFP that the reasons for the hike in numbers were a “climate of anti-Semitism” and the prevailing gloomy economic situation in France.

France’s Jewish community is one of the largest in Europe and pegged at around 500,000.

The number of French Jews leaving for Israel has been growing steadily. A total of 1,907 left in 2012 and it rose to 3,280 in 2013.

More than three million people have emigrated to Israel since 1948, including some 90,000 from France.

via Sharp rise in French Jews leaving for Israel | Maan News Agency.

Avian Flu Diary: CDC : 2nd Imported MERS Case Confirmed In Florida

Avian Flu Diary: CDC : 2nd Imported MERS Case Confirmed In Florida.

 

The unidentified HCW left Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and flew to London on May 1st, and began to feel unwell on the flight.  He then flew on to Boston, then Atlanta, and finally arrived in Orlando Florida. The CDC is doing airline contact tracing for those who may have had close exposure to this patient (a number that could approach 500 contacts on US flights alone).

The patient went to a local Emergency Room on May 8th, was admitted, and state public health testing subsequently identified this patient as being infected with the virus.   The CDC confirmed the results last night.

The press conference was conducted by CDC director Dr. Tom FriedenDr. Anne Schuchat, and Florida Surgeon General John H. Armstrong, who all stressed that the risk to the general public is extremely low.