Tuesday, April 30, 2013

‘Medical receiver J. Clark Kelso ordered the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to exclude black, Filipino and other medically risky inmates from Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons because those groups are more susceptible to the fungal infection, which originates in the region’s soil.’

Through Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs, taxpayers cover a large percentage of the valley fever bill. An estimated 60 percent of valley fever-related hospitalizations — resulting in charges of close to $2 billion over 10 years in California alone — are covered by government programs,


So is it Valley Fever or Rift Fever?


Molecular biology and genetic diversity of Rift Valley fever virus

Abstract

Fig. 2. Distribution of RVF as of 2011. Countries that have experienced substantial epizootics and epidemics are shown in dark blue, while those with serologic evidence or virus isolation are marked with light blue. Years of major outbreaks are shown. Based on ( and ).
read link>>>Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV), a member of the family Bunyaviridae, genus Phlebovirus, is the causative agent of Rift Valley fever (RVF), a mosquito-borne disease of ruminant animals and humans. The generation of a large sequence database has facilitated studies of the evolution and spread of the virus. Bayesian analyses indicate that currently circulating strains of RVFV are descended from an ancestral species that emerged from a natural reservoir in Africa when large-scale cattle and sheep farming were introduced during the 19th century. Viruses descended from multiple lineages persist in that region, through infection of reservoir animals and vertical transmission in mosquitoes, emerging in years of heavy rainfall to cause epizootics and epidemics. On a number of occasions, viruses from these lineages have been transported outside the enzootic region through the movement of infected animals or mosquitoes, triggering outbreaks in countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Mauritania and Madagascar, where RVF had not previously been seen. Such viruses could potentially become established in their new environments through infection of wild and domestic ruminants and other animals and vertical transmission in local mosquito species. 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The federal official who controls medical care in California prisons on Monday ordered thousands of high-risk inmates out of two Central Valley prisons in response to dozens of deaths due to Valley fever, which is caused by an airborne fungus.

Medical receiver J. Clark Kelso ordered the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to exclude black, Filipino and other medically risky inmates from Avenal and Pleasant Valley state prisons because those groups are more susceptible to the fungal infection, which originates in the region’s soil.
Aside from the racial minorities, high-risk inmates include those who are sick, infected with HIV, are undergoing chemotherapy or otherwise have a depressed immune system. In addition to the deaths, the fungus has hospitalized hundreds of inmates.
The order will affect about 40 percent of the more than 8,200 inmates at the two prisons, said Joyce Hayhoe, a spokeswoman for the receiver’s office.
“The state of California has known since 2006 that segments of the inmate population were at a greater risk for contracting Valley fever, and mitigation efforts undertaken by CDCR to date have proven ineffective,” she said in an emailed statement. “As a result, the receiver has decided that immediate steps are necessary to prevent further loss of life.”
That creates problems for the corrections department, which faces a December deadline to reduce overcrowding in prisons statewide by an additional 9,000 inmates as part of a federal court order to improve medical and mental health care.
The department must file a plan with the federal courts by Thursday outlining what steps it will take to reduce the prison population by year’s end. Corrections Secretary Jeffrey Beard has said the department still wants to bring home more than 8,400 inmates who currently are being housed in private prisons in other states.

 Valley fever costs mount for patients and taxpayers

Berenice Parra was sick for eight months before doctors realized she had a severe form of the fungal disease valley fever.
“I was literally dying without a cure,” said Parra, a 25-year-old mother of three from Arvin.
Desperate for relief and concerned that doctors in the Bakersfield area weren’t taking her illness seriously, she drove 245 miles to Tijuana, three times, to see a doctor recommended by relatives.
Her health insurance wouldn’t cover those visits, so she paid out of pocket about $2,000.
Parra and her husband missed so much work that the family sank into debt.
With valley fever cases soaring in the southwest, more and more people’s lives and finances are being upended. Misdiagnosis of the disease adds to the costs for doctor’s visits, hospitalizations and long-term treatment with drugs. At more than $100,000 for a typical hospital stay, valley fever, on average, is more costly to treat than any of California’s 25 most common conditions requiring hospitalization, according to a state analysis of 2010 data.
It’s harder to pay those hospital bills when you’re out of work. Valley fever forces people to miss about three weeks of work, on average, according to recent studies, and that lost productivity is costly for businesses, too.
Above all, valley fever is a drain on taxpayers.
Through Medicare, Medicaid and other government programs, taxpayers cover a large percentage of the valley fever bill. An estimated 60 percent of valley fever-related hospitalizations — resulting in charges of close to $2 billion over 10 years in California alone — are covered by government programs,

Valley fever

Treatments and drugs

Rest 
Most people with acute valley fever don’t require treatment. Even when symptoms are severe, the best therapy for otherwise healthy adults is often bed rest and fluids — the same approach used for colds and the flu. Still, doctors carefully monitor people with valley fever.
Antifungal medications
If symptoms don’t improve or become worse or if you are at increased risk of complications, your doctor may prescribe an antifungal medication, such as fluconazole. Antifungal medications are also used for people with chronic or disseminated disease.
In general, the antifungal drugs fluconazole (Diflucan) or itraconazole (Sporanox, Onmel) are used for all but the most serious forms of coccidioidomycosis disease.
All antifungals can have serious side effects. However, these side effects usually go away once the medication is stopped. The most common side effects of fluconazole and itraconazole are nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhea.
More serious infection may be treated initially with an intravenous antifungal medication such as amphotericin B (Abelcet, Amphotec, others).
These medications control the fungus, but sometimes don’t destroy it, and relapses may occur.


Germany’s Bayer to pay $1.1 billion for California-based birth control firm Conceptus; (basically a form of in office sterilization)



Essure is a permanent, non-surgicatranscervical sterilization procedure for women developed by Conceptus Inc. It was approved for use in the United States on November 4, 2002.[1]  Two economic studies, one of which implemented Essure as an in-office procedure, suggest that Essure could be more cost-effective than laparoscopic bilateral tubal ligation.[2]


FRANKFURT, Germany — German drug company Bayer AG says it has agreed to buy California-based Conceptus for around $1.1 billion to expand the kinds of birth control it offers.
Bayer said Monday it would launch a public offer to pay $31.00 per share for all the stock in Conceptus, Inc., which is based in Mountain View.
Conceptus makes Essure, an irreversible birth control method in which small metal and polyester coils are inserted to block a woman’s fallopian tubes. The procedure can be done in 10 minutes in a doctor’s office.
Bayer already markets birth control pills and intrauterine devices. CEO Marijn Dekkers said that the deal represented a “strategic bolt-on acquisition” and that it was an “excellent fit in the United States,

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Iraqi Refugees Resettle in Atlanta, Georgia?



First and foremost, Sarmad Edrees is a family man. Second, he is a businessman. Third, he is a relative newcomer to the United States after fleeing his homeland.
Edrees ran a large and profitable poultry farm in Abu Ghraib, just a short drive outside of Baghdad, Iraq, until 2000.Currently, he co-owns a cab company with his cousin, Hilal, with headquarters off Elbert Street near the Athens Perimeter.

Threatened by dictator Saddam Hussein, Edrees fled by boat to Australia. There he lived far away from his wife and four children until the toppling of Hussein’s regime compelled him to return. But his country, difficult to live in under a military dictatorship, exploded with ever-present violence following the arrival of U.S. troops.
Before the U.S. invasion, if Hussein’s regime had a problem with you, Edrees explained, it was only with you. By fleeing the country, he could save his family from harm.
The situation deteriorated following Hussein’s ouster.
No one was safe, Edrees said.
Covert aggressors attempted to kidnap his youngest brother, he said, and torched his sibling’s car. To make matters worse, he said, they had no clue who was threatening them.
“They all have uniforms,” he said. “You can buy a uniform for $20.”
After a year back in Iraq, Edrees and his family fled to Jordan, where they applied for refugee status and eventually made their way to the U.S.
In 2009, Edrees joined his brother already living for more than a year in Athens. Now settled in Oconee county, the Edrees family doubled in November when Sarmad’s brother, Mohaned, arrived with his wife and four children. They all share a modest home off Highway 78.
“In 16 years, we’ve never placed people in Watkinsville,” said Mike Hoffer, a case manger with World Relief, one of the many agencies that help resettle refugees in Georgia. Hoffer is assigned to Mohaned and his family.
Organizations like World Relief, Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Services of Atlanta, and the International Rescue Committee help refugees adapt to life in Georgia in many ways, including basic assimilation, but do so immediately by finding housing and jobs for new arrivals.
Sarmad, however, has been Mohaned’s caseworker, Hoffer said, explaining that Sarmad’s presence meant World Relief needed to fill far fewer of Mohaned’s needs.
Resettlement agencies prefer to place new refugees close to family or existing ethnic communities to ease the transition to life in the U.S. Family ties and communities are often bundled around resources – agency offices, English language classes, jobs – necessary to acclimation.MORE
  • 58,179: Total refugees who came to U.S. in 2012
  • 21,292: Refugee children who entered the U.S. in 2012
  • Main source countries in U.S.: Bhutan, Burma, Iraq, Somalia, Cuba
  • Refugee arrivals by County 2004-2013
  • Clarke: 25
  • Oconee: 6
  • Jackson: 21
  • Madison: 145
  • Walton: 63
  • Barrow: 25
  • DeKalb: 14,968
  • Gwinnett: 1,125
  • Georgia refugees by Origin 2004-13
  • Burma: 5,137
  • Bhutan: 4,379
  • Somalia: 3,145
  • Iraq: 1,737
  • Ethiopia: 889
  • Federal Funding for refugees:
  • Incoming,
  • $12,210,949 in total federal funding
  • $979,993 in private and corporate donations
  • Outgoing,
  • $5,450,000 in cash and medical assistance
  • $2,652,963 in social services
  • $1,632,980 in targeted assistance
  • $152,790 refugee preventative health grant
  • $550,000 refugee school impact grant
  • $4,006,200 match grant program
  • Sources: U.S Office of Immigration Statistics, Georgia Coalition of Refugee Stakeholders, U.S Office of Refugee Resettlement

Monday, April 29, 2013

What are the Penalties for Treason? WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CAUSE OF WAR? zio-something


from the Legal Dictionary.com
The betrayal of one’s own country by waging war against it or by consciously or purposely acting to aid its enemies.

The Treason Clause traces its roots back to an English statute enacted during the reign of Edward III (1327–1377). This statute prohibited levying war against the king, adhering to his enemies, or contemplating his death. Although this law defined treason to include disloyal and subversive thoughts, it effectively circumscribed the crime as it existed under the Common Law. During the thirteenth century, the crime of treason encompassed virtually every act contrary to the king’s will and became a political tool of the Crown. Building on the tradition begun by Edward III, the Founding Fathers carefully delineated the crime of treason in Article III of the U.S. Constitution,narrowly defining its elements and setting forth stringent evidentiary requirements.

Under Article III, Section 3, of the Constitution, any person who levies war against the United States or adheres to its enemies by giving them Aid and Comfort has committed treason within the meaning of the Constitution. The term aid and comfort refers to any act that manifests a betrayal of allegiance to the United States, such as furnishing enemies with arms, troops, transportation, shelter, or classified information. If a subversive act has any tendency to weaken the power of the United States to attack or resist its enemies, aid and comfort has been given.

The Treason Clause applies only to disloyal acts committed during times of war. Acts of dis-loyalty during peacetime are not considered treasonous under the Constitution. Nor do acts of Espionage committed on behalf of an ally constitute treason. For example, julius and ethel rosenberg were convicted of espionage, in 1951, for helping the Soviet Union steal atomic secrets from the United States during World War II. The Rosenbergs were not tried for treason because the United States and the Soviet Union were allies during World War II.



. ”Photo taken at the instant bullets from a French firing squad hit a Frenchman who collaborated with the Germans. This execution took place in Rennes, France.” Himes, November 21, 1944. 111-SC-196741.

Treason is an act of disloyalty or betrayal of trust to a person’s own government. Examples include assassination of a state figure, fighting against his or her own nation in a war, assisting enemy combatants, or passing vital government information to the enemy. Historically, this crime has been severely punished, because an act of treason can destroy a nation. In the modern day, a conviction is accompanied at a minimum by a long jail sentence and a heavy fine, and may merit the death penalty under certain circumstances.

A man claiming to be an American fighting for the Taliban was videotaped in Mazar-e-Sharif on Saturday.
There were conflicting news accounts of the man claiming to be an American.
In an interview posted on Newsweek magazine’s Web site Sunday night, his parents identified him from photos as John Philip Walker Lindh, 20, of Fairfax, Calif.
CNN reported that Walker, a convert to Islam, had suffered grenade and bullet wounds. Newsweek said Walker had identified himself as Abdul Hamid.
In the Newsweek interview, Marilyn Walker described her son as “sweet, shy kid” who had gone to Pakistan with an Islamic humanitarian group to help the poor. She said the reports of his capture were the first news she had received of her son’s whereabouts since he left a religious school in Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier Province, where he had been studying the Quran, seven months earlier.
“If he got involved in the Taliban, he must have been brainwashed,” Marilyn Walker, a home health care worker, said. “He was isolated. He didn’t know a soul in Pakistan. When you’re young and impressionable, it’s easy to be led by charismatic people.”
The mother said Walker was born in Washington, D.C., and his father was Frank Lindh, a lawyer. Lindh and Marilyn Walker are divorced.
Foreign militants — mostly Arabs and Pakistanis — have fought alongside the Taliban against the northern alliance, some of them members of the al-Qa’eda network of Saudi exile Osama bin Laden, the chief suspect in the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.
The Taliban and foreign fighters who revolted at Qalai Janghi had been brought to the fortress after surrendering the northern Afghan city of Kunduz.



Traditionally, the families of traitors were punished along with the traitors themselves, to act as a deterrent to committing treason or participating in treasonous acts with family members. In addition to being sentenced to death, all of the traitor’s property would be confiscated, and his or her family members might be forced to forfeit property as well in punishment. Traitors could not will property to other family members, and individuals related to someone who had committed this crime faced serious social stigma. Many family members fled to other countries with what wealth they could salvage.
Often, the method of death imposed was also particularly macabre. Traitors were rarely simply hung — they could anticipate being drawn and quartered or tarred and feathered, and gibbeted as an object lesson. Gibbeting refers to the public display of a criminal, alive or dead, usually with a sign detailing his or her crimes. Individuals were hung along roadways and at the entries to towns, so that travelers would constantly be reminded of the punishments in store for serious crimes. Many gibbets were left until the body had decayed entirely, and the family of the criminal was not permitted to bury the deceased in holy ground.  MORE

Colleen Renee LaRose (Courtesy of San Angelo, Tex., Police Department)

JihadJane, an American woman, faces terrorism charges 

A petite, blond-haired, blue-eyed high school dropout who allegedly used the nickname JihadJane was identified Tuesday as an alleged terrorist intent on recruiting others to her cause, as federal prosecutors unsealed criminal charges that could send her to prison for life.


Colleen Renee LaRose, 46, has been quietly held in U.S. custody since October on suspicions that she provided material support to terrorists and traveled to Sweden to launch an attack, according to federal officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the case is continuing to unfold.
LaRose, who lived in suburban Philadelphia, allegedly recruited men and women in the United States, Europe and South Asia to “wage violent jihad,” according to an indictment issued in Pennsylvania. She fueled her interests on the Internet over the past few years and used Web sites such as YouTube to post increasingly agitated messages, the court papers said.  As an American citizen whose appearance and passport allowed her to blend into Western society,

The Iran-Contra Affair

 This is rather interesting and I am in no way defending Obama and his current actions, or throwing any past Presidents ‘under the bus’  or accusing them of Treason;  but this crap has been going on for YEARS.   I remember when the Iran hostage thing was going on, I was in elementary school.   I just look at the whole specturm of things and draw conclusions from that.  shera~

clip. . .The foreign-policy scandal known as the Iran-contra affair came to light in November 1986 when President Ronald Reagan confirmed reports that the United States had secretly sold arms to Iran. He stated that the goal was to improve relations with Iran, not to obtain release of U.S. hostages held in the Middle East by terrorists (although he later acknowledged that the arrangement had in fact turned into an arms-for-hostages swap). Outcry against dealings with a hostile Iran was widespread. Later in November, Attorney General. Edwin Meese discovered that some of the arms profits had been diverted to aid the Nicaraguan “contra” rebels at a time when Congress had prohibited such aid. An independent special prosecutor, former federal judge Lawrence E. Walsh, was appointed to probe the activities of persons involved in the arms sale or contra aid or both. . . . clip
clip. . . On December 24, 1992, President George H.W. Bush pardoned all the principals charged in the scandal. Walsh’s eventual report, released in 1994, criticized Presidents Reagan and Bush for their roles in events related to the scandal but did not charge either with criminal wrongdoing. . . . clip

The Question Of The Jews – Imam Khomeini

20 September 2010
Any criticism of Israel is automatically censored by Zionist accusations of anti-Semitism. Nowadays this has limited mileage, as even ordinary people question this and begin to realise its just a ruse to cover Israel’s crimes. So for example they refuse to believe that Richard Goldstone who headed the UN fact finding mission on Operation Cast Lead is an anti-Semite or that former US President Jimmy Carter who wrote the book ‘Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid’ is an anti-Semite. Unfortunately due to the prevalence of islamophobia in society and a general negative media portrayal of Islam and in particular ‘political Islam’ this clear-sightedness is lost when it comes to accusations against Muslims. So it is that the recent Al-Quds Day demonstration, and in particular the founder of Al-Quds Day – Imam Khomeini – are still marred by such baseless accusations. In an attempt to clear this myopia, here we ask the question: What was Imam Khomeini’s view on the Jews?

The Iran-Contra Affair

From the Jewish Virtual Library

According to the Report of the Congressional Committees Investigating the Iran-Contra Affair issued in November 1987, the sale of U.S. arms to Iran through Israel began in the summer of 1985, after receiving the approval of President Reagan. The report shows that Israel’s involvement was stimulated by separate overtures in 1985 from Iranian arms merchant Manucher Ghorbanifar and National Security Council (NSC) consultant Michael Ledeen, the latter working for National Security Adviser Robert McFarlane. When Ledeen asked Prime Minister Shimon Peres for assistance, the Israeli leader agreed to sell weapons to Iran at America’s behest, providing the sale had high-level U.S. approval.

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