Category Archives: News to use

Useful news for all to advance knowledge of the world and how it works

Words Change the World

Joevic Africa

The good and the traumatic seem to find permanent residence! Remember, words are important! They can build up or tear down in a matter of seconds Remember, words are remembered Embedded in feelings they lie in our minds Remember, words have power Call out those who commit atrocities Remember, words can bring peace Offering forgiveness, […]

Words Change the World

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Parasites and Mental Health

CRAIN'S COMMENTS

There’s a small but growing body of literature linking a common parasite, Toxoplasma gondii, to schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.(1)

Approximately 30% of the human population carries this parasite. The primary vector for the parasite is the rodent — rats and mice — but the transmission to humans is via cats who spend time outdoors and then come into the home. The parasite has been found in cat feces.

Children who are infected can develop mental issues as adults.

We have two cats who stay indoors.

A separate study notes that half of older adults are diagnosed with dementia at or just prior to death.(2) I wonder if parasitic infections are one of the causes?

Source:

  1. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/969852?uac=153634BV&faf=1&sso=true&impID=4142618&src=mkm_ret_220406_mscpmrk_psych_pets
  2. https://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=274210&ecd=mnl_day_040622

Found online

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US rightwing figures in step with Kremlin over Ukraine disinformation, experts say | Republicans | The Guardian

Led by Tucker Carlson at Fox News, a few Republican rightwingers in Congress, and some conservative activists, a spate of comments that have disparaged Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and echoed other Russian war disinformation have been recycled by Moscow, say experts. Source: US rightwing figures in step with Kremlin over Ukraine disinformation, experts say | Republicans | The Guardian

Microplastics found deep in lungs of living people for first time | Plastics | The Guardian

Microplastic pollution has been discovered lodged deep in the lungs of living people for the first time. The particles were found in almost all the samples analysed.

The scientists said microplastic pollution was now ubiquitous across the planet, making human exposure unavoidable and meaning “there is an increasing concern regarding the hazards” to health.

Samples were taken from tissue removed from 13 patients undergoing surgery and microplastics were found in 11 cases. The most common particles were polypropylene, used in plastic packaging and pipes, and PET, used in bottles. Two previous studies had found microplastics at similarly high rates in lung tissue taken during autopsies.

People were already known to breathe in the tiny particles, as well as consuming them via food and water. Workers exposed to high levels of microplastics are also known to have developed disease.

Microplastics were detected in human blood for the first time in March, showing the particles can travel around the body and may lodge in organs. The impact on health is as yet unknown. But researchers are concerned as microplastics cause damage to human cells in the laboratory and air pollution particles are already known to enter the body and cause millions of early deaths a year.

 

Source: Microplastics found deep in lungs of living people for first time | Plastics | The Guardian

Taxing the Rich Dudes — Part II

Filosofa's Word

A week or so ago I posted Robert Reich’s column on taxing the wealthy.  At the time, I thought the odds of any such legislation passing were slim-to-none, but today Mr. Reich is back with a bit more optimism, so … maybe, just maybe the time is coming when we will stop bowing at the feet of the wealthy and start expecting them to be held accountable for paying their fair share to keep this nation rolling.  Heck, if the wealthy paid their share, we could eliminate the federal debt within a year!


Why Biden’s plan to tax the super rich is moving from unlikely to likely

And why it’s really really important

Robert Reich, 5 April 2022

America is on the cusp of the largest inter-generational transfer of wealth in history. As wealthy boomers expire over the next three decades, an estimated $30 trillion will go to their…

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Russian Oligarch Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions | OPA | Department of Justice

According to the indictment, which was unsealed today in the Southern District of New York, Konstantin Malofeyev, 47, of Russia, is charged with conspiracy to violate U.S. sanctions and violations of U.S. sanctions in connection with his hiring of an American citizen, Jack Hanick, to work for him in operating television networks in Russia and Greece and attempting to acquire a television network in Bulgaria. As alleged, Malofeyev also conspired with Hanick and others to illegally transfer a $10 million investment that Malofeyev made in a U.S. bank to a business associate in Greece, in violation of the sanctions blocking Malofeyev’s assets from being transferred. Along with the indictment, the United States issued a seizure warrant for Malofeyev’s U.S. investment. Malofeyev remains at large and is believed to be in Russia.

“The Justice Department will work relentlessly to counter Russian aggression, including by enforcing U.S. sanctions law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “As alleged in the indictment, Konstantin Malofeyev is a Russian oligarch who has been sanctioned since 2014 for threatening Ukraine and providing financial support to the Donetsk separatist region. Malofeyev knowingly violated U.S. sanctions by paying for services of a U.S. person and by seeking to transfer money that had been invested in the United States.”

“Konstantin Malofeyev is closely tied to Russian aggression in Ukraine, having been determined by OFAC to have been one of the main sources of financing for the promotion of Russia-aligned separatist groups operating in the sovereign nation of Ukraine,” said U.S. Attorney Damian Williams for the Southern District of New York. “The United States sanctions on Malofeyev prohibit him from paying or receiving services from United States citizens, or from conducting transactions with his property in the United States. But as alleged, he systematically flouted those restrictions for years after being sanctioned. The indictment unsealed today shows this office’s commitment to the enforcement of laws intended to hamstring those who would use their wealth to undermine fundamental democratic processes. This office will continue to be a leader in the Justice Department’s work to hold accountable actors who would support flagrant and unjustified acts of war.”

Source: Russian Oligarch Charged with Violating U.S. Sanctions | OPA | Department of Justice