http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/nyregion/foreign-parents-in-new-york-prefer-public-schools.html?scp=1&sq=born%20abroad&st=Search
By KIRK SEMPLE
Published: February 14, 2012
Miriam and Christian Rengier, a German couple moving to New York, visited some private elementary schools in Manhattan last spring in search of a place for their son. They immediately noticed the absence of ethnic diversity, and the chauffeurs ferrying children to the door.
And then, at one school, their guide showed them the cafeteria.
“The kids were able to choose between seven different lunches: sushi and macrobiotics and whatever,” Ms. Rengier recalled. “And I said, ‘What if I don’t want my son to choose from seven different lunches?’ And she looked at me like I was an idiot.”
For the Rengiers, the decision was clear: Their son would go to public school.
“It was not the question if we could afford it or not,” said Ms. Rengier, whose husband was transferred to the city because of his job as a lawyer and tax consultant. “It was a question of whether it was real life or not.”
In New York, the affluent typically send their children to private schools. But not the foreign-born affluent. In a divergence, a large majority of wealthy foreign-born New Yorkers are sending their children to public schools, according to an analysis of census data.
[...]
In interviews, affluent foreign-born New Yorkers said that like all conscientious parents, they weighed various criteria in choosing schools, including quality, cost and location. But many said they were also swayed by the greater ethnic and economic diversity of the public schools. Some said that as immigrants, they had learned to navigate different cultures — a skill they wanted to imbue in their children.
“When they go to public school, they’re in a whole new world, a whole world of different people and different values, which is what the world is like,” said Lyn Bollen, who grew up in Birmingham, England, and attended — and taught at — state-run schools. “Shielding them from that is doing them a disservice.”
[...]
Of course, affluent foreign-born New Yorkers tend to live in relatively well-to-do neighborhoods, which often have better public schools.
Still, some said that because they grew up in countries with strong public school systems, they arrived in New York with a more open mind about public education.
Immigrants from Canada and several Western European countries said that back home, private schools were often viewed as places for children with special learning needs. Most of the wealthy families they knew sent their children to public schools, they said.
[...]
Ashima Dayal, a lawyer who arrived from India as a child, said her parents had instilled in her an immigrant’s toughness and resourcefulness. She said this experience had probably made her less demanding of certain amenities and more accepting of some of the public system’s shortcomings.
“Speaking to my American friends, they say, ‘The cafeteria is not nice,’ ” Ms. Dayal said. “I don’t give a damn if the cafeteria is nice! I would like there not to be splinters in the gym.” She paused, adding, “I just come from a different place.”
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Thursday, February 16, 2012
Hip Implant U.S. Rejected Was Sold Overseas
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/business/hip-implant-the-fda-rejected-was-marketed-abroad.html?scp=1&sq=hip%20implants%20sold%20overseas&st=cse
By BARRY MEIER
Published: February 14, 2012
The health care products giant Johnson & Johnson continued to market an artificial hip in Europe and elsewhere overseas after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its sale in the United States based on a review of company safety studies.
During that period, the company also continued to sell in this country a related model, which earlier went on the market using a regulatory loophole that did not require a similar safety review.
[...]
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By BARRY MEIER
Published: February 14, 2012
The health care products giant Johnson & Johnson continued to market an artificial hip in Europe and elsewhere overseas after the Food and Drug Administration rejected its sale in the United States based on a review of company safety studies.
During that period, the company also continued to sell in this country a related model, which earlier went on the market using a regulatory loophole that did not require a similar safety review.
[...]
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Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Ocean warming might hit microbes' carbon storage capacity
The Times of India
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-14/global-warming/31060197_1_ocean-warming-atmospheric-carbon-microbes
Climate change is warming the oceans and preventing water layers from mixing, which could upset the carbon storage capacity of microbes and plankton.
As the ocean surface warms, evidence shows that it will become more "stratified", or confined to layers that mix less than they did in the past.
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http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-02-14/global-warming/31060197_1_ocean-warming-atmospheric-carbon-microbes
Climate change is warming the oceans and preventing water layers from mixing, which could upset the carbon storage capacity of microbes and plankton.
As the ocean surface warms, evidence shows that it will become more "stratified", or confined to layers that mix less than they did in the past.
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Poll Finds Americans, Especially Independents, Overwhelmingly Oppose Subsidies to Fossil Fuels
http://thinkprogress.org/green/issue/
by Daniel J. Weiss Feb 15, 2012 at 11:35 am
As part of the FY 2013 budget released on February 13, President Obama proposed to eliminate $40 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers over the next ten years. Yesterday, the Yale Project on Climate Change reiterated its recent finding that Americans of all political stripes oppose subsidies for “coal, oil, and natural gas companies.” They oppose these subsidies by 70 percent to 30 percent – better than two to one. Republicans oppose these subsidies by 67 percent to 34 percent (reflects rounding of percentages).
[...]
This poll was conducted from October 20 to November 16, 2011, before respondents knew that the profits of the big five oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell – would be a record $137 billion in 2011. In addition, gasoline prices averaged $3.38 to $3.44 per gallon during the survey period. This week the average gasoline price was $3.52 and climbing. Imagine how the anticipated higher gasoline prices combined with big oil’s record 2011 profits will intensify opposition to big oil subsidies.
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by Daniel J. Weiss Feb 15, 2012 at 11:35 am
As part of the FY 2013 budget released on February 13, President Obama proposed to eliminate $40 billion in tax breaks for oil and gas producers over the next ten years. Yesterday, the Yale Project on Climate Change reiterated its recent finding that Americans of all political stripes oppose subsidies for “coal, oil, and natural gas companies.” They oppose these subsidies by 70 percent to 30 percent – better than two to one. Republicans oppose these subsidies by 67 percent to 34 percent (reflects rounding of percentages).
[...]
This poll was conducted from October 20 to November 16, 2011, before respondents knew that the profits of the big five oil companies – BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil and Shell – would be a record $137 billion in 2011. In addition, gasoline prices averaged $3.38 to $3.44 per gallon during the survey period. This week the average gasoline price was $3.52 and climbing. Imagine how the anticipated higher gasoline prices combined with big oil’s record 2011 profits will intensify opposition to big oil subsidies.
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Fake Avastin raises counterfeit drug trade concerns
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46404002/ns/health-cancer/#.TzxbooHW5OY
By MATTHEW PERRONE 2/15/2012
WASHINGTON — The discovery that a fake version of the widely used cancer medicine Avastin is circulating in the United States is raising new fears that the multibillion-dollar drug-counterfeiting trade is increasingly making inroads in the U.S.
The practice has largely been relegated to poor countries with lax regulations. But with more medicines and drug ingredients for sale in the U.S. being manufactured overseas, American authorities are afraid more counterfeits will find their way into this country, putting patients' lives at risk.
The Avastin discovery follows other recent instances in the U.S. of counterfeiting, involving such drugs as Viagra, the cholesterol medicine Lipitor and the weight-loss pill Alli.
[...]
FDA officials said the counterfeit Avastin was imported from Britain and distributed by Volunteer Distribution, a wholesaler based in Gainesboro, Tenn. British regulators notified the FDA about the products in December, but the agency didn't confirm they were fake until last week.
[...]
A vial of Avastin could treat up to four people. But because the treatments are spaced one to two weeks apart, it is not likely that someone would get more than one infusion from the same vial. And because these are people facing a life-threatening disease, it is hard to say whether missing one treatment with the real drug would compromise their care.
[...]
Counterfeiting has become more prevalent as pharmaceutical supply chains increasingly stretch across continents. Over 80 percent of the active ingredients used in U.S. pharmaceuticals are now manufactured overseas, according to a recent congressional report, and experts say this has made it easier to move counterfeit products into this country.
[...]
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By MATTHEW PERRONE 2/15/2012
WASHINGTON — The discovery that a fake version of the widely used cancer medicine Avastin is circulating in the United States is raising new fears that the multibillion-dollar drug-counterfeiting trade is increasingly making inroads in the U.S.
The practice has largely been relegated to poor countries with lax regulations. But with more medicines and drug ingredients for sale in the U.S. being manufactured overseas, American authorities are afraid more counterfeits will find their way into this country, putting patients' lives at risk.
The Avastin discovery follows other recent instances in the U.S. of counterfeiting, involving such drugs as Viagra, the cholesterol medicine Lipitor and the weight-loss pill Alli.
[...]
FDA officials said the counterfeit Avastin was imported from Britain and distributed by Volunteer Distribution, a wholesaler based in Gainesboro, Tenn. British regulators notified the FDA about the products in December, but the agency didn't confirm they were fake until last week.
[...]
A vial of Avastin could treat up to four people. But because the treatments are spaced one to two weeks apart, it is not likely that someone would get more than one infusion from the same vial. And because these are people facing a life-threatening disease, it is hard to say whether missing one treatment with the real drug would compromise their care.
[...]
Counterfeiting has become more prevalent as pharmaceutical supply chains increasingly stretch across continents. Over 80 percent of the active ingredients used in U.S. pharmaceuticals are now manufactured overseas, according to a recent congressional report, and experts say this has made it easier to move counterfeit products into this country.
[...]
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Stranger than fiction
http://clatl.com/atlanta/dont-let-georgia-power-derail-solar-power/Content?oid=4818565
Say you own a coffee shop. You'd like to install solar panels on your roof but can't afford them. A company offers to install and lease you the equipment, provided you sign a long-term contract. The company will sell you energy at a cheaper rate than you already pay Georgia Power. No longer would you be so susceptible to spikes in electricity prices. Nor would your money be helping to support burning coal or nuclear power.
Sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's also not allowed in Georgia.
Last week, however, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers introduced a bill that would make these types of third-party arrangements possible — much to the aggravation of Georgia Power. Sponsored by state Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, the legislation would make it easier for residents, businesses, and schools to strike deals with solar companies to install photovoltaic panels on their roofs to help offset some of their power bills.
[...]
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Say you own a coffee shop. You'd like to install solar panels on your roof but can't afford them. A company offers to install and lease you the equipment, provided you sign a long-term contract. The company will sell you energy at a cheaper rate than you already pay Georgia Power. No longer would you be so susceptible to spikes in electricity prices. Nor would your money be helping to support burning coal or nuclear power.
Sounds kind of cool, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's also not allowed in Georgia.
Last week, however, a bipartisan group of state lawmakers introduced a bill that would make these types of third-party arrangements possible — much to the aggravation of Georgia Power. Sponsored by state Sen. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, the legislation would make it easier for residents, businesses, and schools to strike deals with solar companies to install photovoltaic panels on their roofs to help offset some of their power bills.
[...]
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Alabama Legislators Might Allow Corporations to Keep Employees’ Income Taxes
http://blog.locustfork.net/2012/02/afl-cio-opposes-legislation-to-allow-corporations-to-keep-employees-income-taxes/
February 15th, 2012
by Glynn Wilson
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama branch of the AFL-CIO is mounting an opposition campaign to try and stop passage of bills in the state Legislature that would create another amendment to the state’s already overburdened constitution that would allow corporations to keep their employees income tax withholdings.
“The Alabama AFL-CIO is very much in favor of job creation in the state, even if incentives are required to get them,” state AFL-CIO president Al Henley said. “But we believe taking money from the Education Trust Fund and denying our children as good an education as possible to get the jobs is a horrible idea.”
If passed by both houses and signed into law by the governor, House Bills 159 and 160 would have to be approved by voters at the polls in November to become law.
“It is a sorry state of affairs when Alabama taxpayers have to give the wealthiest corporations in the world money to stay in the state,” Henley said.
He compared the proposals to organized crime forcing business owners to pay for protection from the mob.
“What they’re doing is saying ‘if you don’t give us some money, we’ll pack up our plant and take away your job.’ It’s nothing less than extortion,” Henley said.
[...]
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February 15th, 2012
by Glynn Wilson
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The Alabama branch of the AFL-CIO is mounting an opposition campaign to try and stop passage of bills in the state Legislature that would create another amendment to the state’s already overburdened constitution that would allow corporations to keep their employees income tax withholdings.
“The Alabama AFL-CIO is very much in favor of job creation in the state, even if incentives are required to get them,” state AFL-CIO president Al Henley said. “But we believe taking money from the Education Trust Fund and denying our children as good an education as possible to get the jobs is a horrible idea.”
If passed by both houses and signed into law by the governor, House Bills 159 and 160 would have to be approved by voters at the polls in November to become law.
“It is a sorry state of affairs when Alabama taxpayers have to give the wealthiest corporations in the world money to stay in the state,” Henley said.
He compared the proposals to organized crime forcing business owners to pay for protection from the mob.
“What they’re doing is saying ‘if you don’t give us some money, we’ll pack up our plant and take away your job.’ It’s nothing less than extortion,” Henley said.
[...]
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Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Human Cognitive Performance Suffers Following Natural Disasters
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120211095351.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2012) — Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors -- some serious- in their daily lives. In their upcoming Human Factors article, "Earthquakes on the Mind: Implications of Disasters for Human Performance," researchers William S. Helton and James Head from the University of Canterbury explore how cognitive performance can decline after earthquakes and other natural disasters.
[...]
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ScienceDaily (Feb. 11, 2012) — Not surprisingly, victims of a natural disaster can experience stress and anxiety, but a new study indicates that it might also cause them to make more errors -- some serious- in their daily lives. In their upcoming Human Factors article, "Earthquakes on the Mind: Implications of Disasters for Human Performance," researchers William S. Helton and James Head from the University of Canterbury explore how cognitive performance can decline after earthquakes and other natural disasters.
[...]
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In Older Adults, Fluctuating Sense of Control Linked to Cognitive Ability
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213134137.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — Everyone has moments when they feel more in control of their lives than at other times. New research from North Carolina State University shows that this sense of control fluctuates more often, and more quickly, than previously thought -- and that this sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities.
[...]
Researchers also found that participants who normally reported having a low sense of control performed much better on inductive reasoning tests during periods when they reported feeling a higher sense of control. Inductive reasoning is a type of problem solving. For example, being shown a series of letters and being able to determine which letter should come next in the sequence.
Further, the researchers found that people who normally reported feeling a high sense of control scored higher on memory tests when feeling more in control than usual.
Based on modeling, researchers say it appears that the improved cognitive functioning stems from the feeling of improved control, not vice versa. "This wasn't part of the experimental design, so we can't say for sure," Neupert says. "But it is a first step toward determining which comes first -- sense of control or improved cognition."
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ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — Everyone has moments when they feel more in control of their lives than at other times. New research from North Carolina State University shows that this sense of control fluctuates more often, and more quickly, than previously thought -- and that this sense of control may actively affect cognitive abilities.
[...]
Researchers also found that participants who normally reported having a low sense of control performed much better on inductive reasoning tests during periods when they reported feeling a higher sense of control. Inductive reasoning is a type of problem solving. For example, being shown a series of letters and being able to determine which letter should come next in the sequence.
Further, the researchers found that people who normally reported feeling a high sense of control scored higher on memory tests when feeling more in control than usual.
Based on modeling, researchers say it appears that the improved cognitive functioning stems from the feeling of improved control, not vice versa. "This wasn't part of the experimental design, so we can't say for sure," Neupert says. "But it is a first step toward determining which comes first -- sense of control or improved cognition."
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Ignorance is not bliss
There are people living in the Atlanta area who don't know that this area has high air pollution. How they make good decisions in their personal lives, or when they vote?
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Even Moderate Air Pollution Can Raise Stroke Risks
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213185119.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — Air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal regulations, increases the risk of stroke by 34 percent, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers have found.
Writing in the Feb. 14, 2012 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers who studied more than 1,700 stroke patients in the Boston area over a 10-year period found exposure to ambient fine particulate matter, generally from vehicle traffic, was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic strokes on days when the EPA's air quality index for particulate matter was yellow instead of green.
[...]
"The link between increased stroke risk and these particulates can be observed within hours of exposure and are most strongly associated with pollution from local or transported traffic emissions," says Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH, the study's senior author, a physician in the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
[...]
..
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — Air pollution, even at levels generally considered safe by federal regulations, increases the risk of stroke by 34 percent, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center researchers have found.
Writing in the Feb. 14, 2012 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine, researchers who studied more than 1,700 stroke patients in the Boston area over a 10-year period found exposure to ambient fine particulate matter, generally from vehicle traffic, was associated with a significantly higher risk of ischemic strokes on days when the EPA's air quality index for particulate matter was yellow instead of green.
[...]
"The link between increased stroke risk and these particulates can be observed within hours of exposure and are most strongly associated with pollution from local or transported traffic emissions," says Murray A. Mittleman, MD, DrPH, the study's senior author, a physician in the CardioVascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
[...]
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Air Pollution Linked to Cognitive Decline
This study was done on women, since there was a large database on women's health over a long period of time that was available for study. It seems likely that men are also affected.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120213185121.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 13, 2012) — A large, prospective study led by a researcher at Rush University Medical Center indicates that chronic exposure to particulate air pollution may accelerate cognitive decline in older adults. The results of the study will be published in the Feb. 13 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
[...]
Jennifer Weuve, MPH., ScD, assistant professor of the Rush Institute of Healthy Aging and the principal investigator of the study, along with her colleagues, evaluated air pollution, both coarse and fine, in relation to cognitive decline in older women using a study population from the Nurses' Health Study Cognitive Cohort, which included 19,409 U.S. women ages 70 to 81 for a 14-year period going back as far as 1988.
[...]
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Short-Term Exposure to Most Major Air Pollutants Associated With Increased Risk of Heart Attack
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120214171040.htm
ScienceDaily (Feb. 14, 2012) — Short-term exposure (for up to 7 days) to all major air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies appearing in the February 15 issue of JAMA.
[...]
The authors suggest a number of possible mechanisms for the associations found. "The first potential mechanism is inflammation. Studies have shown that levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein are higher as a result of exposure to air pollution. The second potential mechanism is abnormal regulation of the cardiac autonomic system. Several observational studies have linked high levels of air pollution with increased heart rate and decreased heart rate variability. The third possible mechanism is an increase in blood viscosity as a result of air pollution. This association can promote thrombus [blood clot] formation, accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis, and weaken the stability of atherosclerotic plaques."
The researchers acknowledge that the magnitude of association found in this study is relatively small compared with those of classic heart attack risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, or diabetes. "Nevertheless, the population attributable fractions of each pollutant is not negligible because the majority of the population, including young and disabled patients, is exposed to air pollution, particularly in urban settings, and thus an improvement in air quality could have a significant effect on public health."
[...]
..
ScienceDaily (Feb. 14, 2012) — Short-term exposure (for up to 7 days) to all major air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack, according to a review and meta-analysis of previous studies appearing in the February 15 issue of JAMA.
[...]
The authors suggest a number of possible mechanisms for the associations found. "The first potential mechanism is inflammation. Studies have shown that levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein are higher as a result of exposure to air pollution. The second potential mechanism is abnormal regulation of the cardiac autonomic system. Several observational studies have linked high levels of air pollution with increased heart rate and decreased heart rate variability. The third possible mechanism is an increase in blood viscosity as a result of air pollution. This association can promote thrombus [blood clot] formation, accelerate the progression of atherosclerosis, and weaken the stability of atherosclerotic plaques."
The researchers acknowledge that the magnitude of association found in this study is relatively small compared with those of classic heart attack risk factors, such as smoking, hypertension, or diabetes. "Nevertheless, the population attributable fractions of each pollutant is not negligible because the majority of the population, including young and disabled patients, is exposed to air pollution, particularly in urban settings, and thus an improvement in air quality could have a significant effect on public health."
[...]
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Internet - the time gobbler :)
The internet can be very useful, but it can be a big time gobbler. I was hoping to find someplace where I could listen to or buy the songs from the musical "Mother Earth", with music by Toni Tennille (as Toni Shearer), produced in 1972. I found info on broadway musical sites, but the closest I came to actual music was a listing of where a vinyl cast recording was sold last year on ebay.
I would have been interested in any event, music and the environment being two of my passions, but I am even more interested because I have written several songs for an environmental musical. I don't know if I will ever find a playwright to do the book (spoken part), but I can dream.
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I would have been interested in any event, music and the environment being two of my passions, but I am even more interested because I have written several songs for an environmental musical. I don't know if I will ever find a playwright to do the book (spoken part), but I can dream.
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Monday, February 13, 2012
Shocking video shows sea lions strangled by debris
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46375000/ns/technology_and_science-science/#.TznKaoHW5OY
By Wynne Parry 2/13/2012
The images aren't pretty: Sea lions with shiny fishing lures protruding from their mouths or with their necks tightly bound, even deeply cut, by packing bands once used to secure boxes. Seals with necks tightly encircled by pieces of fishing net.
The scientists who study these animals know that becoming entangled with items such as these can injure or even kill the unlucky animals.
A video, put together by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, documents the effects of loops, fishing gear and other debris, including a tire and a wind sock — which drowned a sea lion by pinning her flippers to her body.
[...]
"The probability of it seems so remote given how big the ocean is, yet it still happens. I think it has to do with convergence zones." Ocean debris collects in these zones where currents converge forming islands of debris, which attract fish seeking shelter, and in turn, their predators, including seals, Williams speculates.
[...]
There are a number of ways to address the problem. The "Lose the Loop" slogan encourages people to simply cut any loop that could be thrown into the trash or modify gear so it doesn't contain loops. However, the cut bands can still create problems if they are ingested by animals, note the authors of the Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Other solutions include reducing litter from boats and on land, and using materials that don't need loops, according to experts.
[...]
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By Wynne Parry 2/13/2012
The images aren't pretty: Sea lions with shiny fishing lures protruding from their mouths or with their necks tightly bound, even deeply cut, by packing bands once used to secure boxes. Seals with necks tightly encircled by pieces of fishing net.
The scientists who study these animals know that becoming entangled with items such as these can injure or even kill the unlucky animals.
A video, put together by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, documents the effects of loops, fishing gear and other debris, including a tire and a wind sock — which drowned a sea lion by pinning her flippers to her body.
[...]
"The probability of it seems so remote given how big the ocean is, yet it still happens. I think it has to do with convergence zones." Ocean debris collects in these zones where currents converge forming islands of debris, which attract fish seeking shelter, and in turn, their predators, including seals, Williams speculates.
[...]
There are a number of ways to address the problem. The "Lose the Loop" slogan encourages people to simply cut any loop that could be thrown into the trash or modify gear so it doesn't contain loops. However, the cut bands can still create problems if they are ingested by animals, note the authors of the Marine Pollution Bulletin.
Other solutions include reducing litter from boats and on land, and using materials that don't need loops, according to experts.
[...]
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Flu season finally arrives, CDC reports
I finally got my flu shot a couple of weeks ago. I kept getting those colds that have been going around, I learned thru a bad experience not to get a flu shot if I'm already under the weather. I think it was a case of the combination revving up my immune system in hyperdrive.
http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10399564-flu-season-finally-arrives-cdc-reports
By Linda Carroll 2/13/2012
The flu season may finally be picking up steam after the slowest start in nearly three decades, a new government report suggests.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports an uptick in the number of samples testing positive for the virus -- 10.5 percent in the first week of February versus 7.6 percent the week before.
That suggests that the flu season is just off to a late start, CDC researchers say. Interestingly, it’s only the second time in 29 years that the percentage of respiratory samples testing positive remained under 10 percent through January.
"The peak of flu cases most commonly occurs in January or February, but the timing can vary significantly year to year," says Dr Otto Yang, professor of medicine, division of infectious diseases, at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Flu season generally hits as early as October and can continue as late as May.
[...]
If you still haven’t gotten your flu shot this year, get vaccinated right away, the CDC recommends, and Zimmerman agrees.
“This is really the last chance to get vaccinated,” he says. “It takes anywhere from one to two weeks for the vaccine to become effective.”
[...]
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US nuclear watchdog questions oversight of safety enforcement
http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/13/10399062-us-nuclear-watchdog-questions-oversight-of-safety-enforcement
By M. Alex Johnson 2/13/2012
The federal government's nuclear watchdog has faulted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to follow through on safety agreements with nuclear facilities, saying its system for tracking corrective action raises questions about its oversight of nuclear safety and security.
After an eight-month audit, the NRC's Office of Inspector General concluded last week that the commission has no centralized way to oversee or follow up on documents confirming that a nuclear facility has committed itself to address "significant concerns regarding health and safety, the environment, safeguards or security."
[...]
The problem is one of red tape, not willful inaction or neglect, the report says. But the weaknesses — which include lack of consistent guidelines for regional NRC offices, regional offices' failure to comply with those guidelines and some offices' lack of any tracking system whatsoever — "degrade" the agency's accountability, it says.
A spokesman for the NRC said the agency believes "the CAL process has been effective" and that it would have a formal reply "in the near future." In an informal meeting last month, the NRC generally agreed with the inspector general's recommendations to update its main enforcement manual, centralize tracking and submit to occasional audits of the action letter system, the report said.
If the NRC is to do that, it will not be with added staff or money. In its fiscal 2013 budget request, the agency notes that it's asking for about $128 million less than it got last year, including what it called a "cost-conscious" reduction of 25 jobs.
And those cuts are coming as concerns are rising over the safety of America's aging nuclear infrastructure.
Until last week, the NRC hadn't licensed any new reactors for more than 30 years. Consequently, many of the nation's 104 nuclear plants are operating under licenses that the NRC has extended for up to 20 years beyond their original 40-year lifespans.
[...]
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By M. Alex Johnson 2/13/2012
The federal government's nuclear watchdog has faulted the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for failing to follow through on safety agreements with nuclear facilities, saying its system for tracking corrective action raises questions about its oversight of nuclear safety and security.
After an eight-month audit, the NRC's Office of Inspector General concluded last week that the commission has no centralized way to oversee or follow up on documents confirming that a nuclear facility has committed itself to address "significant concerns regarding health and safety, the environment, safeguards or security."
[...]
The problem is one of red tape, not willful inaction or neglect, the report says. But the weaknesses — which include lack of consistent guidelines for regional NRC offices, regional offices' failure to comply with those guidelines and some offices' lack of any tracking system whatsoever — "degrade" the agency's accountability, it says.
A spokesman for the NRC said the agency believes "the CAL process has been effective" and that it would have a formal reply "in the near future." In an informal meeting last month, the NRC generally agreed with the inspector general's recommendations to update its main enforcement manual, centralize tracking and submit to occasional audits of the action letter system, the report said.
If the NRC is to do that, it will not be with added staff or money. In its fiscal 2013 budget request, the agency notes that it's asking for about $128 million less than it got last year, including what it called a "cost-conscious" reduction of 25 jobs.
And those cuts are coming as concerns are rising over the safety of America's aging nuclear infrastructure.
Until last week, the NRC hadn't licensed any new reactors for more than 30 years. Consequently, many of the nation's 104 nuclear plants are operating under licenses that the NRC has extended for up to 20 years beyond their original 40-year lifespans.
[...]
..
'Woolly Mammoth' Video a Hoax, Original Footage Proves
news.yahoo.com/woolly-mammoth-video-hoax-original-footage-proves-163403105.html
By Benjamin Radford | LiveScience.com – 2/13/2012
Last week, a new video surfaced claiming to show a live woolly mammoth — an animal scientists think has been extinct for at least four millennia — crossing a river in Russia. The suspiciously blurry footage was allegedly "caught by a government-employed engineer last summer in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia," according to a story in The Sun newspaper.
[...]
Some suspected the video is an outright hoax — a computer-generated mammoth digitally inserted into a real river scene. Many others, however, were convinced that the animal was real: not a mammoth, but instead a bear with a large fish hanging from its mouth. That would explain its relatively small size, the shape of the "trunk" on its head, and the color. Experts cast doubts on the video's authenticity; Derek Serra, a Hollywood video effects artist, concluded that it "appears to have been intentionally blurred."
Serra isn't the only expert who can shed some light on this mystery: another person is Ludovic Petho. His name may not be familiar to most people, but his work has been seen by millions; he filmed themammoth footage at the Kitoy River in Siberia's Sayan Mountains in the summer of 2011.
He's not an anonymous government engineer, but instead a writer and videographer. Petho filmed the river scene during a 10-day solo hike in the mountains as part of a video project he's working on about his grandfather's escape from a Siberian POW camp in 1915 and his walk across Siberia to Budapest, Hungary. The footage may end up being used in a documentary film — but there's one big difference between the video he shot and the woolly mammoth video.
"I don't recall seeing a mammoth; there were bears, deer, and sable," he said in an interview with Life's Little Mysteries. "But no woolly mammoths. I had no idea my footage was used to make this fake sighting." Petho noted that his original video had been available on YouTube since July 2011, depicting an exactly identical scene — minus the faked woolly mammoth, of course.
..
By Benjamin Radford | LiveScience.com – 2/13/2012
Last week, a new video surfaced claiming to show a live woolly mammoth — an animal scientists think has been extinct for at least four millennia — crossing a river in Russia. The suspiciously blurry footage was allegedly "caught by a government-employed engineer last summer in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug region of Siberia," according to a story in The Sun newspaper.
[...]
Some suspected the video is an outright hoax — a computer-generated mammoth digitally inserted into a real river scene. Many others, however, were convinced that the animal was real: not a mammoth, but instead a bear with a large fish hanging from its mouth. That would explain its relatively small size, the shape of the "trunk" on its head, and the color. Experts cast doubts on the video's authenticity; Derek Serra, a Hollywood video effects artist, concluded that it "appears to have been intentionally blurred."
Serra isn't the only expert who can shed some light on this mystery: another person is Ludovic Petho. His name may not be familiar to most people, but his work has been seen by millions; he filmed themammoth footage at the Kitoy River in Siberia's Sayan Mountains in the summer of 2011.
He's not an anonymous government engineer, but instead a writer and videographer. Petho filmed the river scene during a 10-day solo hike in the mountains as part of a video project he's working on about his grandfather's escape from a Siberian POW camp in 1915 and his walk across Siberia to Budapest, Hungary. The footage may end up being used in a documentary film — but there's one big difference between the video he shot and the woolly mammoth video.
"I don't recall seeing a mammoth; there were bears, deer, and sable," he said in an interview with Life's Little Mysteries. "But no woolly mammoths. I had no idea my footage was used to make this fake sighting." Petho noted that his original video had been available on YouTube since July 2011, depicting an exactly identical scene — minus the faked woolly mammoth, of course.
..
Whale design
I designed this afghan for my great nephew. I'll be crocheting it with granny squares. It could also be used as a quilt or other needle work design. If anybody would be interested in buying the chart of the pattern, with a grid with the rows and columns numbered, please leave a comment, and we'll figure out how to handle this.
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The Big Money Behind State Laws
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/opinion/the-big-money-behind-state-laws.html?_r=1
Published: February 12, 2012
It is no coincidence that so many state legislatures have spent the last year taking the same destructive actions: making it harder for minorities and other groups that support Democrats to vote, obstructing health care reform, weakening environmental regulations and breaking the spines of public- and private-sector unions. All of these efforts are being backed — in some cases, orchestrated — by a little-known conservative organization financed by millions of corporate dollars.
The American Legislative Exchange Council was founded in 1973 by the right-wing activist Paul Weyrich; its big funders include Exxon Mobil, the Olin and Scaife families and foundations tied to Koch Industries. Many of the largest corporations are represented on its board.
ALEC has written model legislation on a host of subjects dear to corporate and conservative interests, and supporting lawmakers have introduced these bills in dozens of states. A recent study of the group’s impact in Virginia showed that more than 50 of its bills were introduced there, many practically word for word. The study, by the liberal group ProgressVA, found that ALEC had been involved in writing bills that would:
¶Prohibit penalizing residents for failing to obtain health insurance, undermining the individual mandate in the reform law. The bill, which ALEC says has been introduced in 38 states, was signed into law and became the basis for Virginia’s legal challenge to heath care reform.
¶Require voters to show a form of identification. Versions of this bill passed both chambers this month.
¶Encourage school districts to contract with private virtual-education companies. (One such company was the corporate co-chair of ALEC’s education committee.) The bill was signed into law.
¶Call for a federal constitutional amendment to permit the repeal of any federal law on a two-thirds vote of state legislatures. The bill failed.
¶Legalize use of deadly force in defending one’s home. Bills to this effect, which recently passed both houses, have been backed by the National Rifle Association, a longtime member of ALEC. [We already have to right to defend ourselves. It sounds like this would make it legal to shoot someone toilet papering your yard.]
[...]
Similar efforts have gone on in many other states. The group has been particularly active in weakening environmental regulations and fighting the Environmental Protection Agency. ALEC’s publication, “E.P.A.’s Regulatory Train Wreck,” outlines steps lawmakers can take, including curtailing the power of state regulators.
There is nothing illegal or unethical about ALEC’s work, except that it further demonstrates the pervasive influence of corporate money and right-wing groups on the state legislative process. There is no group with any comparable influence on the left. Lawmakers who eagerly do ALEC’s bidding have much to answer for. Voters have a right to know whether the representatives they elect are actually writing the laws, or whether the job has been outsourced to big corporate interests.
..
Published: February 12, 2012
It is no coincidence that so many state legislatures have spent the last year taking the same destructive actions: making it harder for minorities and other groups that support Democrats to vote, obstructing health care reform, weakening environmental regulations and breaking the spines of public- and private-sector unions. All of these efforts are being backed — in some cases, orchestrated — by a little-known conservative organization financed by millions of corporate dollars.
The American Legislative Exchange Council was founded in 1973 by the right-wing activist Paul Weyrich; its big funders include Exxon Mobil, the Olin and Scaife families and foundations tied to Koch Industries. Many of the largest corporations are represented on its board.
ALEC has written model legislation on a host of subjects dear to corporate and conservative interests, and supporting lawmakers have introduced these bills in dozens of states. A recent study of the group’s impact in Virginia showed that more than 50 of its bills were introduced there, many practically word for word. The study, by the liberal group ProgressVA, found that ALEC had been involved in writing bills that would:
¶Prohibit penalizing residents for failing to obtain health insurance, undermining the individual mandate in the reform law. The bill, which ALEC says has been introduced in 38 states, was signed into law and became the basis for Virginia’s legal challenge to heath care reform.
¶Require voters to show a form of identification. Versions of this bill passed both chambers this month.
¶Encourage school districts to contract with private virtual-education companies. (One such company was the corporate co-chair of ALEC’s education committee.) The bill was signed into law.
¶Call for a federal constitutional amendment to permit the repeal of any federal law on a two-thirds vote of state legislatures. The bill failed.
¶Legalize use of deadly force in defending one’s home. Bills to this effect, which recently passed both houses, have been backed by the National Rifle Association, a longtime member of ALEC. [We already have to right to defend ourselves. It sounds like this would make it legal to shoot someone toilet papering your yard.]
[...]
Similar efforts have gone on in many other states. The group has been particularly active in weakening environmental regulations and fighting the Environmental Protection Agency. ALEC’s publication, “E.P.A.’s Regulatory Train Wreck,” outlines steps lawmakers can take, including curtailing the power of state regulators.
There is nothing illegal or unethical about ALEC’s work, except that it further demonstrates the pervasive influence of corporate money and right-wing groups on the state legislative process. There is no group with any comparable influence on the left. Lawmakers who eagerly do ALEC’s bidding have much to answer for. Voters have a right to know whether the representatives they elect are actually writing the laws, or whether the job has been outsourced to big corporate interests.
..
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