Category Archives: planetkillers

Engaging the normative question in the H5N1 avian influenza mutation experiments – exercise in self-delusion

More proof that humans can convince/delude themselves into justifying anything they want to do or might make a profit or career for someone – even if inordinately dumb and dangerous!

 

The question here is whether there was reasonable moral warrant for genetic alteration of the H5N1 influenza virus.

Conclusion: The paper concludes with philosophical (ethical) justification for continuation of this research.

via Engaging the normative question in the H5N1 avian influenza mutation experiments.

Farming and knowledge monocultures are misconceived | Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy

The Vision 2020 programme of the Andhra Pradesh state government in India is another example of promoting agroindustrial models. Supported by the Indian and UK governments, together with Monsanto, the world’s largest GM seed and agrochemical company, the programme’s stated aim was to reduce the state’s rural population by 30 per cent as part of efforts to ‘modernise’ agriculture by minimising labour and eradicating so-called inefficient peasant agriculture.

The more than 25 million people designated for removal from the land were not included in any social impact assessment of this plan.

via Farming and knowledge monocultures are misconceived | Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy.

Cambodia reports 18th human case of bird flu this year – Xinhua | English.news.cn

PHNOM PENH, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) — A 15-month-old boy in the capital’s Russei Keo district has been diagnosed with H5N1 virus, bringing the number of the cases to 18 so far this year, a joint statement by the World Health Organization and Cambodian Health Ministry said Wednesday.

The boy was confirmed positive for human H5N1 avian influenza last Friday after he was admitted to the Kantha Bopha Hospital with fever, cough, diarrhea, sneezing, lethargy and dyspnea, the statement said.

“The boy was treated with Tamiflu and he is in a stable condition,” it said.

“Investigations are being carried out by the Ministry of Health in the boy’s village in order to determine whether the child came into contact with sick or dead poultry,” the statement said.

Only eight cases out of the 18 cases this year survived.

via Cambodia reports 18th human case of bird flu this year – Xinhua | English.news.cn.

AI Could Help Predict Which Flu Virus Will Cause the Next Deadly Human Outbreak – Wired Science – Hubris to the 10th power?

Icarus flew too close to the sun and crashed. These guys make me think about an old cartoon about someone creating a model of reality that was so complex that it suddenly disappeared because…  The notion that we can outsmart nature and be above it, or outside of it constantly lures us to figure that we can think ourselves out of any problem we stumble into because we think we are above or outside of nature. Grow up folks – industrialized and globalized agriculture is dangerous and needs rethinking not tinkering or engineering!

 

Beyond influenza, Rabadan and Chris Wiggins, a mathematician at Columbia, have developed a method for identifying a virus’s original animal host, which is sometimes difficult to determine from the virus itself.  The coronavirus behind the recent outbreak of Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome, for example, has killed about half of the nearly 100 confirmed cases. Last week, an exhaustive, 15-month search pointed to bats as the source. But machine learning approaches paired with large databases housing information on viruses from many different animal hosts might speed up this type of search.

The machine learning approach is likely to expand as even more genomic information becomes available.  “Databases will get much richer, and computational approaches will get much more powerful,” Webby said. That in turn will help scientists better monitor emerging flu strains and predict their impact, ideally forecasting when a virus is likely to jump to people and how dangerous it is likely to become.

via AI Could Help Predict Which Flu Virus Will Cause the Next Deadly Human Outbreak – Wired Science.

US (OR): Growing populations of brown marmorated stink bug could harm late-season crops

Cheap food from global sources has long term ill effects of global agriculture! Connect the dots – folks!

“Stink bugs in commercial crops can lead to increased management costs, pesticide use and outbreaks of secondary pests. There’s no question stink bugs could be an economic issue.”

A native of Southeast Asia, the brown marmorated stink bug arrived in the eastern United States in the late 1990s and has since spread to more than 30 states, reaching Oregon in 2004. The pest has damaged millions of dollars of crops on the East Coast.

via US (OR): Growing populations of brown marmorated stink bug could harm late-season crops.

4 new cases – WHO | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update

The first patient is a 55-year-old man with an underlying medical condition from Medina who became ill on 17 August 2013 and is currently hospitalised.

The second patient is a 38-year-old man with an underlying medical condition from Hafar al-Batin who became ill on 8 August 2013 and died on 17 August 2013.

The third and the fourth cases are family contacts of the second patient. Both the cases, a 16-year-old boy and a seven year-old girl, tested positive for the MERS-CoV virus. They are both healthy and do not have any symptoms of illness.

Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 108 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 50 deaths.

via WHO | Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) – update.

2003 Redux? The White House’s Case For War In Syria | TPMDC

Still sounds too much like 2003 to me…

In the four-page intelligence brief, which senior administration officials said was “fully vetted” by the U.S. intelligence community, the U.S. government said that it had “high confidence” that Assad’s forces were responsible for the chemical attack, which the administration said killed 1,429 people, including 426 children. “Our high confidence assessment is the strongest position that the U.S. Intelligence Community can take short of confirmation,” the government said in the brief.

The intelligence community assessment documents the Assad regime’s chemical weapons capability, reportedly the greatest in the region, and the regime’s frustration with being unable to eradicate the Syrian rebels from certain sections of Damascus’ suburbs. The intelligence community said it has concluded that the weapons used in the attack were the same ones that the Assad regime had in its possession; that the weapons had been launched from Assad-controlled areas of the city to 12 rebel-controlled neighborhoods, according to satellite images; that regime officials were aware of the attack and, following it, ordered regime units to bombard the rebel areas that had been hit in the attack, according to an interception of the communications of a senior officials.

That post-attack bombardment was motivated by the regime’s concern that United Nations investigators would find evidence of an attack, according to senior administration officials. There were also pre-attack indications, such as the utilization of gas masks, by the regime forces that indicated to U.S. intelligence that an attack was imminent.

via The White House’s Case For War In Syria | TPMDC.

Blow to Cameron’s authority as MPs rule out British assault on Syria | Politics | theguardian.com

Stand down! In a devastating blow to his authority, the prime minister lost a government motion by 272 votes to 285 – an opposition majority of 13 – after dozens of Tory MPs joined forces with Labour. A tally of votes compiled by the Labour whips found that 30 Tory MPs rebelled. Ministers had thought they were secure after a Labour amendment was defeated, in the first vote of the night, by 332 votes to 220, a government majority of 112.

One MP shouted “resign” as the results were read out by the Speaker. Cameron said within minutes of the result that the government would respect the decision of parliament which means that Britain will not take part in military strikes against the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

via Blow to Cameron’s authority as MPs rule out British assault on Syria | Politics | theguardian.com.

UK: Assad will repeat gas attacks if not punished – World – NZ Herald News

(Error in photograph, in that it left out the other mouth that he was speaking from with another version of “truth” at same time)

Britain’s leader has said it is legal and just to launch a military strike against Syria even without authorisation from the United Nations Security Council, arguing that Syria could repeat its alleged use of poison gas if the international community fails to act.

But Prime Minister David Cameron also seemed to slow Britain’s movement toward war, telling legislators in the House of Commons that there is still a sliver of uncertainty over who was behind an alleged chemical attack outside Damascus. He added that Britain would not act if it faced major opposition at the UN’s top security body.

“I think it would be unthinkable to proceed if there is overwhelming opposition in the Security Council,” he said, without going into detail.

via UK: Assad will repeat gas attacks if not punished – World – NZ Herald News.

Alpha faces suit over mining at cemetery « Coal Tattoo

We’ve spent years begging the companies to not destroy this place that is so important to our family history. Our most recent visit made us realize that we have no other recourse but to sue the company for the damages to the cemetery and access road Our visit was astounding, very emotionally impacting. The 100 foot cemetery boundary for Jarrell Cemetery has been seriously violated.” By law, mining is not to be done within 100 feet of the cemetery’s boundaries.  “In my opinion 100 feet isn’t far enough to ensure damage is prevented.

via Alpha faces suit over mining at cemetery « Coal Tattoo.