Category Archives: healthcare

[Update] [NSFW] Video: Topless Activists Disrupt Saturday’s Anti-Abortion Rally, Get Arrested: SFist

 

The group, reports Jezebel, is called Femen, and specifically sought to disrupt the speech of David Daleiden. Daleiden, you may remember, is the guy whose highly edited Planned Parenthood videos caused an uproar among anti-choice activists last year. He was scheduled to speak at Saturday’s event, and that’s when Femen made their move.”Seconds after Daleiden took the stage,” reads a press release from the group, “FEMEN activist Anni Ma set off a personal security alarm from within the crowd, and took her shirt off to reveal ‘FREEDOM MEANS CHOICE’ painted on her chest. Activist Carly Mitchell joined Ma in chanting ‘Fraud! Hypocrite! Liar!’ at Daleiden.””Ducote and Marston climbed up the wheelchair lift and tossed 200 fake subpoenas at Daleiden,” continues the group’s statement, “featuring his face stamped with ‘Fraud,’ ‘Fake,’ and ‘Liar.'”Ducote and Marston were charged with violating a park code prohibiting women from being topless, notes Jezebel, after six rally attendees physically restrained the women (you can watch a partial video of the arrest below).“I have written to SF Board of Supervisors at length about changing this park code, but they have not risen to the occasion,” notes Ducote.As we’ve learned before, SF’s current ban on public nudity does not extend to certain sanctioned events, beaches, and permitted protests, and activists have claimed successfully in court that other instances of nude protest might be legal as well.Update: Houston Public Media is now reporting that David Daleiden, the focus of Femen’s protest and featured speaker at Saturday’s anti-abortion rally, has been indicted by a Texas grand jury.Both David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt have been indicted for Tampering with a Governmental Record, which is a felony. Daleidan was also indicted for Prohibition of the Purchase and Sale of Human Organs, meaning he illegally offered to purchase human organs in the video recording. A violation of this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

Source: [Update] [NSFW] Video: Topless Activists Disrupt Saturday’s Anti-Abortion Rally, Get Arrested: SFist

WHO expects Zika virus to spread through Americas, except Canada and Chile | News | DW.COM | 25.01.2016

The World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Monday that the mosquito-borne Zika virus is expected to spread to all countries in the Americas – with the exception of Canada and Chile.Speaking in Geneva, Director General of the WHO Margaret Chan said she was “very concerned” by the outbreak and by the possibility that it could lead to “neurological syndromes” – although she gave no further details.

Source: WHO expects Zika virus to spread through Americas, except Canada and Chile | News | DW.COM | 25.01.2016

2 Abortion Foes Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Are Indicted – The New York Times {ROTFLMAO)

Gov. Greg Abbott said on Monday that the inspector general of the state’s Health and Human Services Commission and the Texas attorney general’s office were continuing to investigate Planned Parenthood’s actions.“Nothing about today’s announcement in Harris County impacts the state’s ongoing investigation,” Mr. Abbott said in a statement. “The State of Texas will continue to protect life, and I will continue to support legislation prohibiting the sale or transfer of fetal tissue.”CONTINUE READING THE MAIN STORY259COMMENTSMr. Daleiden has been praised as a hero by some religious opponents of abortion. On Thursday, Mr. Daleiden was a featured guest at an Evangelicals for Life conference and was interviewed by Russell Moore, the president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and Jim Daly, the president of Focus on the Family.Asked by Mr. Moore whether it was morally consistent to engage in lies and deception to obtain information, Mr. Daleiden said that undercover work is “fundamentally different from lying,” according to BaptistNews.com, because its underlying purpose “is actually to serve the truth.”

Source: 2 Abortion Foes Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Are Indicted – The New York Times

#ImSoEstablishment: Why words (and the absence of them) matter — Medium

Senator Sanders is a great man. He fights for so many things we believe in, but he’s not the champion we need in this perilous moment for women and families. His voice is an important one, which is why his rhetoric matters.Words matter. So do the absence of them. And so do we.

Source: #ImSoEstablishment: Why words (and the absence of them) matter — Medium

Sarah Palin, This Is What PTSD Is Really Like – The New York Times

Because there is a stigma attached to mental health issues, there is a personal and professional risk attached with admitting an unseen ailment. I have the benefit of being a veteran, but I still worry about future graduate school applications or academic job searches. I worry about my own tenuous employment as an adjunct English lecturer. I also know that I’ve managed to improve my symptoms greatly by seeking counseling, avoiding destructive behaviors and writing about my experiences. I can function in society because I was able to seek care, and I want to make that care more accessible to people who need it.That process begins by speaking frankly. Facing up to destructive or abusive behavior comes next, along with the assertion that we are responsible for our actions, no matter what burdens we carry. Post-traumatic stress is no excuse for violence or abuse, nor should it be considered a default association. I’d like to hope that, beneath the bluster and the political talking points, Sarah Palin understands this. I hope even more that her son seeks care and finds peace.

Source: Sarah Palin, This Is What PTSD Is Really Like – The New York Times

WHO reports more local Zika confirmations, GBS spike | CIDRAP

Local transmission on St. Martin, GuadeloupeMeanwhile, the WHO today confirmed the first two locally acquired Zika infection cases in the French part of St. Martin and in Guadeloupe. It said French health officials notified the WHO of both cases on Jan 18.The two territories already appear on PAHO’s list of affected locations in the Americas, which stands at 20. Like most other parts of the Caribbean, both areas have been affected by the chikungunya virus outbreak over the past year.WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the

The two territories already appear on PAHO’s list of affected locations in the Americas, which stands at 20. Like most other parts of the Caribbean, both areas have been affected by the chikungunya virus outbreak over the past year.WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the

WHO urges no travel restrictionsThe WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas.So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the

The WHO said in both statements today it does not recommend any trade or travel restrictions to the affected areas. {Deja vu – same thing they said too long about ebola outbreak last year – giving in to local government’s fears of losing trade dollars and further increased the impact of the epidemic}

So far the WHO has held off on recommending that pregnant women, or those planning to become pregnant, avoid the affected countries due to the microcephaly threat. In its most recent update on the disease it urges pregnant women to take steps to protect against mosquitoes and to consult with their local health officials before traveling.

Source: WHO reports more local Zika confirmations, GBS spike | CIDRAP

Avian Flu Diary: CDC Zika Press Conference: Audio & Transcript

The CDC has posted the transcript of last night’s hastily called CDC press conference (at 7pm EST) on yesterday’s release of new, interim travel advice for pregnant women seeking to travel to countries where the Zika virus is transmitting.

Source: Avian Flu Diary: CDC Zika Press Conference: Audio & Transcript

In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford – The New York Times

{Self-delusion is very attractive when the present is so unattractive. In a nearby – to me – Kentucky town that devolved, is has meant the self-destruction of many streets within the community as the county ends up not having the money either to maintain streets and small cars end up getting beat up and garbage and emergency services end because the roads are too bad. And drugs in the community – whew – no law enforcement to prevent a new market!}

 

But some in Cary say deorganizing is a way to give the community a new lease on life, not to abandon it.“I think it’s going to bring more people in,” said Kai Libby, 55, a retired Border Patrol agent who became the town’s first assessor last year to help shepherd the deorganization effort through the multistep process (and thus eliminate his own position).Mr. Libby and his wife, Tina, who led the withdrawal of Cary from its school district, live in the only house on their road, with four dogs and stacks of documents related to deorganization near their kitchen table.“There’s privacy, and it’s so quiet,” said Ms. Libby, 51. “We want to stay here. And to do that, it needs to be affordable for us to stay here.”

Source: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford – The New York Times

Smell test can detect Alzheimer’s disease, scientists find – Telegraph {Peaches or?}

“Now we have evidence that urinary odour signatures can be altered by changes in the brain characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease.”This finding may also have implications for other neurologic diseases.”

Source: Smell test can detect Alzheimer’s disease, scientists find – Telegraph