CIDRAP : Senate Renews Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 (PAHPA); New H5N1 Case in Vietnam; Support for H1N1 Vaccine Donations

Death most likely weaponized H5N1 (or is it H5N2 now) created in secret BSL-3 lab at Kobe University Japan by insane virologist/virus thief Yoshihiro Kawaoka and his PhD student Teridah Ernala Ginting; Vietnam killer will probably be found to have Indonesian H5N1 DNA

CIDRAP
03/08/2012

Senate unanimously reauthorizes 2006 preparedness act

The US Senate yesterday approved reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act of 2006 (PAHPA) by unanimous consent, setting the stage for resolving differences between the Senate bill and a House version that was passed in December. Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., lead sponsor of the bill, said in a press release that the nation's ability to respond to public health emergencies has improved since 2006, but the 2009 flu pandemic showed that more work is needed. "I am pleased that this bill will strengthen our existing medical and public health preparedness and response programs based on the lessons we have learned in recent years, including ensuring that the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] has the tools it needs to advance the medical countermeasures necessary to respond to modern day threats," he said.

Weaponized H5N1 creators Kawaoka and Ernala

According to bill summaries from Burr's office and a Senate committee, the bill reauthorizes federal programs that support state, local, and hospital emergency preparedness; authorizes $2.8 billion for Project BioShield for further development of medical countermeasures from 2014-18; increases the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority's focus on developing innovative biodefense tools; charges the FDA with developing regulatory science tools to advance the review and approval of medical countermeasures; and makes targeted enhancements to the National Disaster Medical System, the Medical Reserve Corps, the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals, and the Strategic National Stockpile of drugs and medical supplies. The bill also includes provisions requiring consideration of the needs of at-risk individuals in emergency preparedness.

Mar 8 Burr press release.

Bill summary from Burr's office.

Vietnam reports fourth H5N1 case of 2012

Vietnam's latest H5N1 avian flu patient, a 32-year-old man from Dak Lak province, is being treated at the Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Ho Chi Minh City, Than Nien News reported yesterday. His case is the country's fourth this year, after a 20-month hiatus of H5N1 cases. The man fell ill with a cough and high fever more than 10 days ago, after slaughtering and eating a sick chicken from his backyard flock.  

Vietnam citizen Danh Ni, 18, died from H5N1 on 01/16/2012

The flock was wiped out by the disease, but the story did not specify how many poultry died. He was hospitalized locally 3 days after reporting symptoms, and then was transferred to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases Mar 5, where deputy director Le Manh Hung said that tests confirmed H5N1 flu. Two of the previous three cases this year were fatal. If the World Health Organization (WHO) confirms the case, it will bring Vietnam's total since 2003 to 123, the third-most in the world. Sixty-one of the cases have been fatal.

Mar 7 Than Nien News story.

Mar 6 WHO global case count.

Study shows broad US support for donating H1N1 vaccine to poor nations

Although Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives could generally agree about timely donations of 10% of the US vaccine supply to poorer nations during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, people of different political backgrounds, ideologies, and demographic characteristics disagreed on the amount to donate, according to a study in PLoS One. US researchers surveyed 2,079 US adults from Jan 22 to Feb 1, 2010, after the pandemic's peak and when vaccine was in plentiful supply. They found that 57.6% of Republicans and 54.1% of Democrats supported giving 10% and that percentages for conservatives, moderates, and liberals were 59.5%, 54.5%, and 52.4%, respectively. They found similar general agreement when comparing income level (57.0%, 55.5%, 52.7%, and 57.0% for lowest to highest groups) and priority-group status for receiving the vaccine (54.0% for those in a priority group vs 57.5% for those not). In general, though, the team found that income, priority status, nativity (whether US-born or not), party affiliation, and political ideology were significantly related to views on whether the amount donated should be higher or lower than 10%. For example, 26.8% of Democrats and 14.3% of Republicans thought the country should donate more than 10%, while 11.4% of Democrats and 22.0% of Republicans thought the country should not donate any vaccine. The authors conclude, "Given our evidence for bipartisan support for timely donations, it may be necessary to design multiple arguments, from utilitarian to moral, to strengthen public and policy makers' support for donations."

Mar 6 PLoS One study.

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EDITORIAL : Saudi Arabia First Strands, Then Abandons Foreign Domestic Workers, Leave Them to Starve

Disgusting, apostate Saudi rich abandon domestic workers; this is a new low for people rich enough to be decent to hired help

Arab News
03/09/2012

The recent discovery of dozens of expatriate housemaids stranded in insanitary and unsafe conditions at Jeddah’s King Abdul Aziz International Airport brings discredit to everyone involved — except the members of the National Society for Human Rights (NHSR) who found out about and revealed details of the scandal

It makes a sorry story. The housemaids, mostly from Ethiopia, had arrived legally in our country to go to work in Saudi homes. However, immigration rules stipulate — quite rightly — that such arriving expatriates must be collected by their sponsors, who will vouchsafe for the validity of their documents. What happened here was that no one turned up to meet and collect these new arrivals.

 

 

Saudi rich have committed horrific crimes against Indonesian maids

From this single failure then hung a succession of further failings by immigration officials, airport staff, police and welfare personnel. When two female members of the NHSR visited the airport, they quickly realized that no one had been prepared to take ownership of the problem.

There had been no concerted attempt to contact the sponsors and have the unfortunate housemaids collected. There had been no attempt to resolve the problem by organizing the repatriation of the women to their home countries. And perhaps worst of all, for a country that prides itself on its duty of welcome, there had been no effort whatsoever to make these obviously alarmed and distressed women comfortable and safe, while they awaited the resolution of a problem that was in no way of their own making.

Instead, according to Noorah Al-Towaim and Laila Halwani, the two NSHR members who found dozens of the housemaids in the women’s reception area of the airport, they were having to sleep on the floor in a cramped space. This room was without safety exists and because it had no ventilation, was filled with foul odors. Some of housemaids said that they had been given no food nor anything to drink for days. For others the ordeal was made even more terrible, because they had no space to sleep at all and no bedding either.

 

 

Nails rammed into the leg of a Sri Lankan maid by Saudi employer

This is a shameful and unacceptable saga. Human decency should have impelled someone at the airport to first find decent and safe accommodation and proper nourishment for these women and then to sort out what was to happen to them. Instead it is clear that everyone involved assumed that it was someone else’s problem and averted their gaze from what was an increasingly deplorable situation.

Whatever system that might be in existence for dealing with any arrival at the airport who finds themselves in the same situation, with sponsors who failed to show up, was not implemented. The simple and shameful truth is that no one seemed to care. Hussain Al-Shareef, director general of the NSHR has said that his organization discovered that there was a total lack of coordination between all departments at the airport. He demanded that the Makkah Governorate take steps to guarantee food, water and other basic requirements to anyone who finds themselves in the same situation.

It is hard to imagine what might have happened to these housemaids, who could have been stuck in this wretched limbo for a very long time, had not the NSHR heard of the problem and acted so effectively.

It is surely axiomatic that when someone sponsors an expatriate, that person assumes a duty toward the arriving individual, which includes ensuring that their entry into the country and movement to their place of work is an efficient and trouble-free process.

It should not be forgotten that for many expatriates, their arrival in the Kingdom is often their first experience of another country and they may be filled with considerable anxiety and bewilderment. On that basis alone, the reprehensible treatment of these women by everyone involved, including their sponsors, is unforgivably callous. The sponsorship system needs to be tightened up and sponsors who fail in their duty of care should be punished. In this case if the authorities have to pay for the repatriation of the maids, the sponsors should be pursued and made to pay the costs.

What is happening at the moment is an affront to the practice of Islam and to the hospitality on which the Kingdom prides itself.

 

 

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This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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More Japanese Fishery Exports Found Radiation-Tainted : Videos

The People of Japan need to hold their leaders and TEPCO accountable, stop lying to themselves as Japanese/U.S. governments continue to lie, cover-up real radiation numbers

PRESS TV
03/08/2012

South Korean officials say that an increasing number of Japanese fishery products exported to the country are found to be contaminated with radioactive materials.

Melted-down reactor at Fukushima

South Korea's Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency said on Thursday that in the first two months of the year, the country has detected traces of radioactive materials, such as cesium, in 32 separate shipments of fisheries products from neighboring Japan.

The figure represents an over 50% increase from 21 cases detected in the nine months of last year since the meltdown of a reactor and resulting radiation leak at Japan's Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011.

"The frequency of radiation detection appears to be rising as two reactors at the Fukushima plant are currently leaking radiation," an official at South Korea’s quarantine agency said on condition of anonymity.

He added, "But there has not yet been any case where Japanese fisheries products have been banned as the level of cesium found in the products is still far below the international standard." 

Japanese/U.S. governments continue to lie, cover-up real radiation threat

Following the nuclear crisis in Japan, South Korean authorities have run regular radiation checks on all fisheries imports from Japan but have never blocked shipments.

They say that there are no immediate plans to ban imports as their levels are far below the maximum intake limits.

The highest level of radiation detected in Japanese seawater and marine products this year is 6.24 becquerel, about 1.7 percent of the maximum intake limit of 370 becquerel, according to South Korea's Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection Agency. 

MP/JR

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This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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Obama Desperate for Excuse to Attack Iran: VIDEOS

Obama and crew know the clock is ticking down on them as Americans become more aware of machinations, bullshit behind illegal Afghanistan and Iraq invasions and details behind looting of the U.S. Treasury and who pocketed the money

GRTV
03/08/2012

Israel says it is unlikely Iran will give up its controversial nuclear activity without "a real military alternative." The statement comes from the PM's top adviser after the six powers agreed to resume talks with Iran over its nuclear program.

"It should be clear that without a real military alternative, the Iranians will not relent in the negotiations. And without there being a serious alternative, they will not enter the negotiations, and in any event there has to be readiness for the negotiations failing," Netanyahu's national security adviser, Yaakov Amidror, said on Wednesday. 

Criminally insane:  Netanyahu believes he can survive attack on Iran

Although he added that there "will be no one happier" than Israel "if it emerges that in these talks Iran will give up on its military nuclear capability."

Speaking during a news conference in the White House, US President Barack Obama said there is a "window of opportunity" to solve the tension around Iran's nuclear program peacefully.

However, some, like global affairs researcher Benjamin Schett, are skeptical about this. He believes the U.S. could be waiting for an excuse to attack.

"It seems to be some kind of theater that the Israeli or American officials are playing," Schett told RT.

He adds that "Obama's soft power that he is using to meddle in Iran's interior affairs probably will not succeed, not with economic sanctions. Although they will hit Iran hard, there are still countries like China, India, even Japan and South Korea and others who are still importing Iranian oil. " 

Obama has shelters built and stocked with taxpayer money - but no room for you

"So, probably at some point the American administration will say well, we tried everything in diplomacy and they will of course support Israel's attacks," Schett speculates.

On Tuesday the EU foreign policy head, Catherine Ashton, said that the six big powers, the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, had agreed to resume talks on Iran's nuclear program and hope negotiation will help to restore "international confidence in the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program, while respecting Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy."

Also on Tuesday Tehran said it would also allow nuclear inspectors to visit a secret military Parchin site, which is yet to be arranged.

"It is not the first time Iran tries to find some kind of compromise with the West. Iran always tried to please the US side," Schett concluded.

Previous visits by UN atomic officials could not reach any conclusion on the existence of weapons because they were denied access to key facilities.

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This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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New York City Child Dies from Herpes Following Hasidic Circumcision; Investigation Opened

Right about the time you think you have seen everything this comes along - this is, at the very least, child abuse

Associated Press
03/08/2011

New York City authorities are investigating the death of an infant who died after contracting herpes last year through a controversial circumcision ritual.
 

No comment

According to The New York Times ( http://nyti.ms/yU09C5 ), the Brooklyn district attorney confirmed Wednesday the investigation into the September death was continuing.

The medical examiner's office determined the cause of death was Type 1 herpes due to "ritual circumcision with oral suction."

The ritual is almost exclusively practiced in ultra-Orthodox communities. The city has tried to work with the Hasidic community to alert it of its potential health risks.

The oral suction ritual involves removing the foreskin of the penis and then sucking the blood from the wound to clean it.

The city reported three cases of Type 1 herpes linked to the ritual in 2003-2004. One resulted in death.

Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com

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This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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UPDATED : United States Marine Sergeant Gary Stein Exercises Right to Free Speech

Once again Marines step up to the plate in defense of Constitution, Right to Freedom of Speech; Marines do not waive Constitutional rights upon enlistment; Stein misquoted, actually said “I said I wouldn’t follow the orders,” Stein acknowledged. “But what I also said — and what wasn’t included in the complaint that was sent -  is that I said I wouldn’t follow unlawful orders, such as taking away weapons from U.S. citizens or orders to kill Americans...”

Associated Press
By Julie Watson
03/08/2012

SAN DIEGO (AP) — 

Marine Sgt. Gary Stein first started a Facebook page called Armed Forces Tea Party Patriots to encourage service members to exercise their free speech rights. Then he declared that he wouldn't follow orders from the commander in chief, President Barack Obama.

While Stein softened his statement to say he wouldn't follow "unlawful orders," military observers say he may have gone too far.

Marine Corps Sergeant Gary Stein

The Marine Corps is now looking into whether he violated the military's rules prohibiting political statements by those in uniform and broke its guidelines on what troops can and cannot say on social media. Stein said his views are constitutionally protected.

While troops have always expressed their views in private, Stein's case highlights the potential for their opinions to go global as tech-savvy service members post personal details, videos and pictures that can hurt the military's image at home and abroad.

"I think that it's been pretty well established for a long time that freedom of speech is one area in which people do surrender some of their basic rights in entering the armed forces," said former Navy officer David Glazier, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles.

"Good order and discipline require the military maintain respect for the chain of command," Glazier said. "That includes prohibiting speech critical of the senior officers in that chain of command — up to and including the commander in chief."

According to Pentagon directives, military personnel in uniform can't sponsor a political club; participate in any TV or radio program or group discussion that advocates for or against a political party, candidate or cause; or speak at any event promoting a political movement.

Commissioned officers also may not use contemptuous words against senior officials, including the defense secretary or the president.

In January, an Army reservist wearing camouflaged fatigues got into trouble on stage during a rally in Iowa with Republican presidential candidate and Texas congressman Ron Paul.

Stein was first cautioned by his superiors at Camp Pendleton, north of San Diego, in 2010 after he launched his Facebook page, criticizing Obama's health care overhaul. Stein volunteered to take down the page while he reviewed the rules at the request of his superiors.

He said he determined he was not in violation and relaunched the page under the shortened account name Armed Forces Tea Party. Last week, he said his superiors told him he couldn't use social media sites on government computers after he posted the message stating he would not follow unlawful orders of the president.

Stein said his statement was part of an online debate about NATO allowing U.S. troops to be tried for the Quran burnings in Afghanistan.

In that context, he said, he was stating that he would not follow orders from the president if those orders included detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights.

Another Marine alerted his command about the statement, Stein said.

Obama doing his best to strip Constitutional Rights of Americans

Stein said he respects the office of the president, but he does not agree with Obama's policies. He said he is within his rights to speak up.

"Just because I'm a Marine doesn't mean I don't have free speech or can't say my personal opinion about the president or other public official just like anybody else," Stein said. "The Constitution trumps everything else."

Stein said it's positive when service members are well-versed on the Constitution and what's going on in government.

"When we know what we're fighting for, we fight harder," he said.

The Marine Corps said Stein is allowed to express his personal opinions as long as they do not give the impression he is speaking in his official capacity as a Marine. Spokesman Maj. Michael Armistead said the Corps is taking a closer look to ensure Stein has not crossed that line.

"At this time, he has not been asked to take down the statement on his page," he said.

Stein appears in a dress shirt and tie on his Facebook page but he also describes himself as "a conservative blogger, speaker, the founder of the Armed Forces Tea Party and active-duty, eight-year Marine Corps veteran."

Marine Sgt. Jerret Wright, who liked Stein's page, said Stein "probably skirted the line a little bit" with his latest message about not following Obama's orders, but his boldness in expressing his views has been refreshing in a community that often feels silenced.

"People assume that we're zombies with an on-and-off switch, and that we listen to orders and do nothing else," Wright said.

Military observers say it's not that simple. They say it is bad form to lash out at the commander in chief. Experts also say his Facebook postings appear to link his professional standing with his political views.

They also point out that the Pentagon policy is necessary in preventing political and religious debates that could divide a unit and disrupt the strong working relationship that is needed to carry out missions, Glazier said.

"There are plenty of examples in the world of militaries heavily involved in influencing political events that have shown that is not conducive to civilian rule of law," he said.

Any opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The 5^th Estate.

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This news site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc.  We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.

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