Diabetes Triples Tuberculosis Infection - TB-Diabetes Co-Epidemic Warning

Tuberculosis, the world’s second most deadly infectious disease after AIDS and a disease that killed 1.5 million people last year, has an increased infection rate of 300 percent for sufferers of diabetes, which killed 3 million people last year. The two pose a “looming” threat of a world-wide co-epidemic, warned a report by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and the World Diabetes Foundation. The report was presented at the 45th World Conference on Lung Health in Barcelona Wednesday.

“Diabetes is fueling the spread of TB,” said the report released Wednesday at the conference.

“This is largely because diabetes rates are skyrocketing around the world, and having diabetes increases the risk that a person will become sick with TB.”

Read more: Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Rising to Global Threat – WHO

Health professionals have noted a growing link between the two diseases, but the mechanisms are not fully understood.

“Successfully addressing TB-diabetes therefore requires a coordinated response to both diseases at all levels of the health system.”

Worldwide, 347 million people have diabedes, and nine million people contract TB per year. Three million diabedes die per year, while 1.5 million people died of TB last year. The numbers are on the increase, as drug-resistant and multidrug-resistant TB are increasingly becomming the common forms of the disease.

The report by the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and the World Diabetes Foundation also found that more people live with a combination of TB and diabedes than TB and AIDS–a more commonly-known disease combination, and one which has allowed TB to spread quickly. Of those people infected with HIV, one-fourth die of TB.

The report, the authors wrote, was “a call to action to address this threat before it takes a larger toll in death and disability as well as economic impact–and before we see the gains made against TB in the past decade rolled back by diabetes.

“TB-diabetes is a looming co-epidemic that we need to address now, before it has a chance to take root in countries and cause sickness and death on a large scale.”

By Heidi Woolf

Diabetes Triples Tuberculosis Infection - TB-Diabetes Co-Epidemic Warning

Israel Reopens Mosque Shortly After "Declaration of War" Statement

Al-Aqsa complex, a site holy to Muslims and Jews and the location of Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa mosque, was reopened hours after the site was closed due to security fears after the shooting of a Jewish activist–during which interval Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas had announced that the closure was a “declaration of war.”

“This dangerous Israeli escalation is a declaration of war on the Palestinian people and its sacred places and on the Arab and Islamic nation,” said Abbas, responding to the closure of the third-holiest site in Islam.

“We hold the Israeli government responsible for this dangerous escalation in Jerusalem that has reached its peak through the closure of the Al-Aqsa mosque this morning.

“This decision is a dangerous act and a blatant challenge that will lead to more tension and instability and will create a negative and dangerous atmosphere.

“The state of Palestine will take all legal measures to hold Israel accountable and to stop these ongoing attacks.”

Hours after the closure, the site was reopened, with restrictions.

“It was decided to restore [the compound] to normal… effective immediately,” stated police spokeswoman Luba Samri.

Entry was still restricted for men. Only men over 50 were admitted because of fears of unrest at Friday’s midday prayers. There were no restrictions on female Muslims.

After Abbas’ statements, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu increased police numbers, saying, “I have ordered a significant increase in forces as well as in means (available to them) so we can both ensure security in Jerusalem and also maintain the status quo in the holy places.”

Thursday, American-born ultranationalist activist Yehuda Glick was shot by a gunman on a motorbike as he was leaving a conference. Glick has been an advocate for greater Jewish access to the Al-Aqsa complex.

Glick is currently in hospital in serious condition. The suspect of the shooting died after opening fire on police who had surrounded his home later Thursday.

By Daniel Jackson

Israel Reopens Mosque Shortly After "Declaration of War" Statement

Burkina Faso Parliament Burns

One day before the nation was to vote on a controversial new law, riots erupted in the capital of Burkina Faso. The parliament and government party headquarters were set on fire, the national television headquarters attacked, cars were burned, and the airport was closed. Five people so far have died in the sudden chaos.

Ouagadougou’s National Assembly building was stormed by hundreds of Burkinabe, who then moved on to the presidential palace, but were held back by the presidential guard, who fired warning shots into the air.

Reportedly, many Burkinabe soldiers have joined the protests, including the nation’s former defence minister, General Kouame Lougue.

Opposition leader Zephirin Diabre has called for the military to side with “the people.”

“October 30 is Burkina Faso’s Black Spring, like the Arab Spring,” an official of the opposition Movement of People for Progress, Emile Pargui Pare, was quoted.

The riots broke out just one day before national politicians were scheduled to vote on a controversial law that would allow Burkina Faso’s President Blaise Compaore to run for election next year.

The legislation would allow the president to extend his 27-year rule of the county, which began in 1987 as the result of a coup.

Compare has been re-elected four times. The first two terms were seven years each, and the second two terms were five years each. Constitutional limits on the office were brought in during 2005.

The new legislation could allow Compare to retain power for another 15 years.

Reacting to the riots, Compaore declared a state of emergency and dissolved the government. The president also released a statement saying he was ready to talk with opposition.

The government of Burkina Faso announced that the vote on the legislation had been called off, but did not specifiy whether this was a cancellation or postponement to the vote.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Burkina Faso Parliament Burns

First Artificial Cow's Milk to Hit Market Next Year

The world’s first artificial cow’s milk is being developed by synthetic dairy start up Muufri (“Moo-free”)–a team of Californian vegan bioengineers–and is set to hit the market next year.

The artificial milk, nicknamed “out-of-body udder” milk, produces milk that has the same taste and health benefits as regular milk, but is vegan friendly.

“If we want the world to change its diet from a product that isn’t sustainable to something that is, it has to be identical [to], or better than, the original product,” said Perumal Gandhi, one of the two bioengineers responsible for the project. “The world will not switch from milk from a cow to the plant-based milks. But if our cow-less milk is identical and priced right, they just might.”

The inspiration for Muufri, according to the team, was a perceived need to reduce overcrowded dairy barns, in which cows are often poorly treated and are fed hormones and antibiotics. The barns are also responsible for three percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN.

The market might have a place for a milk alternative that is more nutritious than soy, rice and almond milk, and can be made into ice cream with the same flavor of regular ice cream, the Muufri team said.

Not only that: Because Muufri will not contain bacteria like regular milk does, it will have a much longer shelf-life.

Synthesizing cow’s milk is a relatively simple process. Cow’s milk has only 20 components, and is 87 percent water. Muufri will contain six proteins for structure, and eight fatty acids for flavor.

Similar to insulin production, DNA extracted from dairy cows is inserted into yeast cells. The cells will then be grown in industrial-sized culture into milk for harvesting.

“Although the proteins in Muufri milk come from yeast, the fats come from vegetables and are tweaked at the molecular level to mirror the structure and flavour of milk fats,” said National Geographic’s Linda Qui of the new product. “Minerals, like calcium and potassium, and sugars are purchased separately and added to the mix. Once the composition is fine-tuned, the ingredients emulse naturally into milk.” Artificial milk could potentially be even better for you than regular milk.

When Muufri hits the shelves next year, it will be more expensive than regular milk, but if sales allow the company to scale up, prices will decrease, the team said.

By Heidi Woolf

First Artificial Cow's Milk to Hit Market Next Year

Fox News Will Reveal Identity of Soldier Who Killed Osama bin Laden

Fox News Channel (FNC) will reveal the identity of the killer of Osama bin Laden in a two-part documentary.

The program will be hosted by Fox’s Washington correspondent Peter Doocy, and will feature an interview with “The Shooter,” as Fox is referring to the US Navy SEAL who shot dead Osama bin Laden in May 2011 in Pakistan.

“The Shooter” will, according to the news network, reveal his identity and speak publicly for the first time.

The SEAL “will share his story of training to be a member of America’s elite fighting force and explain his involvement in Operation Neptune Spear, the mission that killed Bin Laden,” according to FNC. “The documentary will provide an extensive, first-hand account of the mission, including the unexpected crash of one of the helicopters that night and why SEAL Team 6 feared for their lives.

“It will also touch upon what was taking place inside the terrorist compound while President Obama and his cabinet watched from the White House.”

“The Shooter” will offer never before shared details, Fox has said, including his “experience in confronting Bin Laden, his description of the terrorist leader’s final moments as well as what happened when he took his last breath.”

The documentary will also show a secret ceremony at New York’s National September 11 Memorial Museum, at which event “The Shooter” donated the shirt he was wearing during the 2011 mission.

“The Man Who Killed Usama Bin Laden” (sic) will air on Fox News Nov. 11 and 12 at 10 p.m.

By Joseph Reight

Fox News Will Reveal Identity of Soldier Who Killed Osama bin Laden

UK "Under Siege" From Immigration - UK Defense Secretary

Britain is “under siege” from immigration, according to UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon. The cause is EU migrants coming to the UK from other parts of the EU, competing for jobs and claiming benefits.

“In some areas of the UK, down the east coast, towns do feel under siege, (with) large numbers of migrant workers and people claiming benefits,” Fallon said in an interview.

“We are looking at changing that to make sure there is some control. We are fully entitled to say this is making a difference to us, that now needs to be dealt with.”

The immigration issue has risen to the fore of UK politics recently. British Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservative Party, feeling mounting electoral pressure from the anti-EU UK Independence Party in the face of next year’s general election, has promised the UK public a referendum by 2017 on whether to maintain EU membership.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned Cameron, however, not to “tamper with the fundamental principles of free movement in the EU.” Such interference would not be tolerated by Britain’s EU partners, Merkel said.

“The Germans haven’t seen our proposals yet and we haven’t seen our proposals yet, and that’s still being worked on at the moment to see what we can do to prevent whole towns and communities being swamped by huge numbers of migrants,” Fallon said.

Currently, under EU regulations, citizens of most EU countries are guaranteed the right to live and work in any EU country.

By Dan Jackson

UK "Under Siege" From Immigration - UK Defense Secretary

Ethnic Massacre Kills 540 in Ethiopia

In Ethiopia’s western Gambella region, 540 people–mostly ethnic Amhara–were killed during a massacre that began in the town of Meti, Godere Zone.

The massacre took place September 10, and was not reported until Voice of America’s (VOA) Amharic Service covered the killings last week.

The massacre began after the Ethiopian government began to forcefully evict Mezenger people from their ancestral land as part of a plan to redistribute the land to recently retired TPLF Generals.

In the government program, the land is handed over to the retired servicemen for “investment” purposes. The effect of the plan has included an illegal campaign of selling lands, accompanied by the arrival of hundreds of “Tirgrayans’ as ‘workers’ for the TPLF land developers.

Read more: Ethnically Targeted Violence in Ethiopia Uncovered by Amnesty International

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Ethnic Massacre Kills 540 in Ethiopia

Dubai Twin Towers to Be World's Tallest

Plans for the world’s tallest twin towers have been unveiled by Emaar Properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). The oil-rich Persian Gulf city will construct the towers as part of its Dubai Creek Harbour project.

The twin towers will be the centerpiece of the project, and will be developed in three phases by Dubai Holding. The design of the towers resembles two rocket launchers.

“The story of Dubai and the history of the creek are intertwined, it really tells us where it came from and which way we’re going,” said Mohamed Alabbar, chairman of Emaar, the company currently building Dubailand and Dubai World Central. “This is the greatest spot in the world and it deserves something creative and special.”

“Planned on an open site, Dubai Creek Harbour will combine the city with the natural contours of the creek,” Emaar said in a statement. “With no legacy ties to infrastructure, this new Dubai will leapfrog many of the world’s other global cities. The master plan is an order of magnitude larger than Downtown Dubai and will support its commercial and cultural development.”

The start date for the construction of the twin towers has not been decided.

“When planning a project like this, you can’t look at 2015,” said Alabbar. “It’s about the fundamentals of the city.”

But the plan has not been impeded by the recent worldwide financial crisis which reached Dubai around 2010.

“I think all the stakeholders in Dubai in this business learnt their lessons and they have matured,” said Alabbar. “What it boils down to is supply and demand.”

By Joseph Reight

Dubai Twin Towers to Be World's Tallest

ethiopia, oromo, oromos, human rights, ethiopia oromos, ethiopia oromo human rights, ethiopia human rights violations, amnesty international ethiopia, claire beston, ethnic violence ethiopia

The government of Ethiopia is guilty of ethnically targeted human rights violations, according to Amnesty International. The violence is directed against Ethiopia’s largest minority group, the Oromos, and is motivated by political fear. Thousands have been tortured, according the Amnesty’s report.

Amnesty based its report on 200 testimonies gathered in Ethiopia. “We interviewed former detainees with missing fingers, ears and teeth, damaged eyes and scars on every part of their body due to beating, burning and stabbing–all of which they said were the result of torture,” said Claire Beston, Amnesty International’s Ethiopia researcher.

The testimonies included extensive reports of torture and abuse, including prolonged detainment, detainment without charge, detention in unofficial military camps, mutilation using bayonets, hot coals, and hanging by wrists. Beatings, electric shocks, mock executions, burning with metal or molten plastic, rape and gang rape were common abuses reported.

The reason for the targeted abuse, according to Amnesty, is political. The government fears political opposition, stemming particularly from the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF), a regional armed group. Ethiopia will hold general elections in 2015, and Amnesty expects human rights abuses will continue or increase.

“The Ethiopian government’s relentless crackdown on real or imagined dissent among the Oromo is sweeping in its scale and often shocking in its brutality,” said Beston.

“This is apparently intended to warn, control or silence all signs of ‘political disobedience’ in the region.”

Numerous reports detailed arrests without cause or with only suspicion, arrests without charge or without trial, and arrests and retribution against uninvolved family members.

“People are arrested for the most tenuous of reasons: organizing a student cultural group, because their father had previously been suspected of supporting the OLF or because they delivered the baby of the wife of a suspected OLF member. Frequently, it’s because they refused to join the ruling party,” said Beston.

In April and May 2014, ethnic conflict in Ethiopia received international attention after security forces opened fire during a series of peaceful protests, and beat hundreds of protesters and bystanders. Dozens died and thousands were injured.

“These incidents were far from being unprecedented in Oromi,” said Beston. “They were merely the latest and bloodiest in a long pattern of suppression. However, much of the time, the situation in Oromia goes unreported.”

Approximately 5,000 ethnic Oromos have been arrested between 2011 and 2014 for political reasons, according to Amnesty.

Amnesty stated that it believed there was an urgent need for intervention in Ethiopia by regional and international humanitarian organizations that could conduct independent investigations into human rights abuse allegations in Oromia.

“The Ethiopian government must end the shameful targeting of thousands of Oromos based only on their actual or suspected political opinion. It must cease its use of detention without charge, torture and ill-treatment, incommunicado detention, enforced disappearance and unlawful killings to muzzle actual or suspected dissent,” said Beston.

Amnesty’s report, “‘Because I am Oromo’ – Sweeping repression in the Oromia region of Ethiopia,” was published on the Amnesty International website in late October.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Photo: Rod Waddington

ethiopia, oromo, oromos, human rights, ethiopia oromos, ethiopia oromo human rights, ethiopia human rights violations, amnesty international ethiopia, claire beston, ethnic violence ethiopia

Isolating Ebola Cases Best Chance of Eradicating Ebola - Report

A recent study by Yale University has found that isolating Ebola victims within four days of symptom onset could achieve disease elimination in Liberia. Setting out to determine how to best use scare resources to combat the Ebola outbreak overwhelming West Africa, and after analyzing the incidence and case fatality of the outbreak, the team concluded that the best hope for ending the spread of Ebola was isolation of Ebola victims very early in the progression of symptoms–although the time window suggested by the research was smaller than current time to hospital reporting in West Africa.

“The Ebola outbreak in Western Africa is spiraling out of control. The need to determine how to deploy scarce resources to end this crisis is urgent,” the authors framed the study.

The goal of the study was to “evaluate the contribution of disease progression and case fatality to transmission and to examine the potential for targeted interventions to eliminate the disease,” the researchers wrote.

Distribution of secondary cases per infected individual among survivors and nonsurvivors

The team used both clinical and epidemiological data–incidence and case fatality records–from the Liberian Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, and found that secondary infections occurred during the infectious period of an Ebola victim at an average rate of 1.73. That is, each infected person passed on Ebola to 1.73 healthy individuals.

Ebola victims who did not survive passed the disease on to 0.66 people, while nonsurvivors passed the disease on to 2.36 people. Survivors of Ebola, the study found, infected at least one healthy person in 32 percent of cases. Nonsurvivors infected at least one healthy person with a 67 percent probability rate.

Average number of secondary cases per day of symptomatic disease

“Consequently, nonsurvivors, who made up 63% (CI, 60% to 64%) of the population, were responsible for 86% (CI, 63% to 98%) of transmissions,” the researchers found.

Left alone, the disease would double every 20 days, the researchers calculated.

The conclusion reached by the team was that isolation of infected individuals offered a chance of eliminating the disease. Isolation of 75 percent of nonsurviving infected individuals within four days after symptoms began created a 74 percent chance of disease elimination, Adding isolation of all infected offered a marginal reduction beyond the 74 percent.

The researchers pointed out, however, that it was impossible to predict survival at the onset of symptoms, so isolation would have to be for all or most infected individuals who are in critical condition within four days of onset.

Further, the researchers noted that the current average period from symptom onset to hospitalization in Liberia was approximately 5 days–significantly beyond the requirements suggested by the study.

“These results underscore the importance of isolating the most severely ill patients with Ebola within the first few days of their symptomatic phase,” the researchers wrote.

The researchers also evaluated the effectiveness of self-quarantine–a pragmatic strategy in areas where there were not sufficient isolation units. Self-quarantine of 75 percent of all infected could eradicate Ebola with 78 percent probability.

Probability of disease elimination for different intervention strategies and coverages

Self-quarantine would require reducing contact by 60 percent, however, and this was found to be beyond the normal occurrence.

The researchers concluded that the assistance offered to address the Ebola outbreak “should be directed towards expanding the capacity of hospitalized case isolation.”

“Targeted isolation may offer the best hope of ending the Ebola epidemic.”

The report, “Effect of Ebola Progression on Transmission and Control in Liberia,” was authored by Dan Yamin, PhD; Shai Gertler; Martial L. Ndeffo-Mbah, PhD; Laura A. Skrip, MPH; Mosoka Fallah, PhD; Tolbert G. Nyenswah, MPH; Frederick L. Altice, MD, MA; and Alison P. Galvani, PhD, was published in Annals of Internal Medicine, and was funded primarily by the National Institute of Health.

By Andrew Stern

Photo: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Isolating Ebola Cases Best Chance of Eradicating Ebola - Report

Brain Cells Created From Skin Cells in Landmark Study

A team of researchers from Washington University School of Medicine has converted human skin cells directly into brain cells. This breakthrough research is complimented by other landmark findings within the study–including that the cells were able to form neurological connections, both axonal and dendritic. The research holds promise for sufferers of neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington’s disease.

“Our study shows that the transplanted human cells derived by direct conversion of skin cells could actually behave like normal neurons,” Dr Andrew Yoo, assistant professor of developmental biology at the Washington University School of Medicine’s Department of Developmental Biology and lead researcher on the study, told The Speaker.

Dr Andrew Yoo

“We have evidence for both dendritic and axon growth,” Yoo told us.

“For dendritic growth, we found the transplanted cells could elicit spontaneous postsynaptic potentials, meaning that the cell were wired into the existing neural circuit and receive inputs from neighboring cells.”

The transplanted cells also formed axonal projections from the transplanted skin cells. “These cells are known to extend projections into certain brain regions. And we found the human transplanted cells also connected to these distant targets in the brain. That’s a landmark point about this paper,” said Yoo.

The team used a particular combination of microRNAs and transcription factors to reprogram the skin cells to become a particular type of brain cell known as medium spiny neurons.

Human skin cells (top) can be converted into medium spiny neurons (bottom) with exposure to a combination of microRNAs and transcription factors

Yoo’s team had found in previous research that exposing skin cells to two small RNA molecules–miR-9 and miR-124–could transform the cells into different types of brain cells.

The team is not certain how the transformation takes place, but has hypothesized that the two small RNA molecules open up the DNA inside the cells. That DNA holds the instructions for making brain cells. The team achieved transformation of a skin cell into a particular type of brain cell by adding molecules called transcription factors that the team knew were present in the region of the brain where medium spiny neurons are abundant.

“They are priming the skin cells to become neurons,” said co-author Matheus B. Victor of the small RNA molecules. “The transcription factors we add then guide the skin cells to become a specific subtype, in this case medium spiny neurons. We think we could produce different types of neurons by switching out different transcription factors.”

The spiny neurons produced by the team are the main type affected by the neurodegenerative disease Huntington’s disease, an inherited disease that causes a gradual decline of mental ability, accompanied by involuntary movement.

The team plans to achieve further understanding of how their results could help people suffering from Huntington’s disease.

Yoo lab

“We are currently doing experiments to figure out how these transplanted cells send out axons to proper sites,” Yoo told us.

Next for the team is research that will use cells from patients with Huntington’s disease. Whereas the current research transformed human skin cells into mouse brain cells, the next step will aim to convert skin cells from humans with Huntington’s into mice with the same disease, again trying to create medium spiny neurons.

“For any future implications of using reprogrammed cells for cell replacement-based therapeutic approaches, it is imperative to show that the human neurons directly converted from fibroblasts could integrate into the brain circuit,” Yoo told us.

The report, “Generation of Human Striatal Neurons by MicroRNA-Dependent Direct Conversion of Fibroblasts,” was authored by Matheus B. Victor, Michelle Richner, Tracey O. Hermanstyne, Joseph L. Ransdell, Courtney Sobieski, Pan-Yue Deng, Vitaly A. Klyachko, Jeanne M. Nerbonne, and Dr Yoo, was published in Neuron Magazine, and was funded by various bodies including the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

By Daniel Jackson

Photos: Yoo Lab, Dierk Schaefer

 

Brain Cells Created From Skin Cells in Landmark Study

The third Orbital Sciences cargo mission to the International Space Station was set to launch Monday, but was prevented by a stray boat which had entered restricted waters southeast of the launch pad in Wallops Island, Virginia. The launch was postponed until Tuesday due to public safety concerns, according to officials.

The Monday launch window was just 10 minutes long, restricted by the orbit of the space station.

The sailboat carried a single passenger without a radio, reportedly.

The Antares exploded seconds after launch Tuesday.

The Antares carried over 5,000 pounds of supplies for the space station, including 32 mini research satellites, a meteor tracker, crew provisions, and a tank of high-pressure nitrogen to replace that used by astronauts during spacewalks. It also carried, according to the launch director, some high-priority “classified crypto equipment” thought to be for secure communications.

The Antares suffered “a catastrophic anomaly” a short distance above the launch platform, lost power, fell back to the earth and exploded on contact with the ground.

“Parts were sent flying everywhere, and then the vehicle fell back to the pad, exploding in an even larger fireball, setting the entire area on fire,” commented eye-witness Robert Pearlman, editor of the space history news website collectSPACE.com.

The cause of the explosion is not known, according to NASA officials.

By Daniel Jackson

Antares Rocket, Which Exploded Tuesday, Was Set to Fly Monday But Was Delayed by Stray Boater

John Lennon Letter Praising Yoko Ono Fetches $28,000

A letter, penned by former-Beatle John Lennon to radio and television host Joe Franklin and praising the music of Yoko Ono, has sold for $28,171. The two-page handwritten letter was dated December 13, 1971, and was written in an attempt to get Ono onto Franklin’s New York TV show.

“I know you’re a musician at heart!” Lennon writes in the letter. “And especially I know you dig jazz. Well, Yoko’s music ain’t quite jazz but to help you get off on it, or understand it, please listen to a track on the Yoko/Ono/Plastic Ono Band, called ‘AOS,’ which was recorded in 1968 (pre Lennon/Beatles!) with Ornette Coleman at Albert Hall London, you could call it free form, anyway Yoko sits in the middle of avant-garde, classic, jazz—and now through me and my music—rock ‘n’ roll!”

The songs referred to by Lennon were on Ono’s solo album, “Fly.”

The letter also included a thumbnail sketch Lennon drew of himself and Ono, and was written on official Apple Records letterhead–the label started by the Beatles in 1968.

The letter was successful, reportedly.

“Yoko was on my show nine times,” Franklin commented recently on the events of 1971. “John Lennon was on three times. Yoko was only with him one of those times. Part of his whole thing was to convince her to be confident enough to do it on her own.”

The letter sold for $28,171–far above its presale estimate of $15,000-20,000–at the RR Auction in Massachusetts.

By Joseph Reight

John Lennon Letter Praising Yoko Ono Fetches $28,000

Chola Outbreak on the Rise in Western Africa

The Western African nation of Niger is experiencing an outbreak of cholera. To date, 51 people have died of the disease this year–deaths are on the rise, with 38 deaths taking place in September alone.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported that 1,300 people have been infected with cholera so far this year in Niger. The high rate of infection has been caused in part by the heavy flooding which has existed in Niger since June.

The outbreak involves four of Niger’s eight regions, and UNOCHA is taking steps to contain the illness and prevent it from appearing in new places, according to officials.

Cholera is a food- and water-borne disease, like salmonella, polio, hepatitis A, e. coli, and transmissible spongiform enephalopathies–although cholera is a particularly aggressive infection–and is prevalent in Asia, Africa and South America.

The ingestion of food or drink contaminated with human waste is the common means of cholera transmission. Symptoms include diarrhoea and dehydration, and death can result within 24 hours if the disease remains untreated.

The world is currently experiencing its seventh recorded cholera pandemic. Each has been devastating.

There are currently 100 active strains of cholera in the world, which makes development of an effective vaccine difficult, as each vaccine can only target one version of the bacterium.

The current outbreak in Niger involves the special concern of 105,000 refugees from Boko Haram and the Nigerian army have settled in Diffa, southeastern Niger. Many of these refugees have settled on the islands of Lake Chad where there is limited access to drinking water and hygiene and sanitation are precarious.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Photos: Oxfam East Africa, barth1003, mashroms

 

Chola Outbreak on the Rise in Western Africa

Obama Administration: "We Have Concerns With the Unintended Consequences of Policies Not Grounded in Science

[BRIEF] The Obama administration is questioning the validity of current policy regarding Ebola. A senior White House official was quoted Sunday saying that the government was now working on new guidelines that would respond to Ebola in ways that would protect the American people.

“We have concerns with the unintended consequences of policies not grounded in science,” Tweeted CNN Senior White House Correspondent Jim Acosta Sunday, quoting a senior official. “We are working on new guidelines for returning healthcare workers that will protect the American people.”

By Day Blakely Donaldson

 

Obama Administration: "We Have Concerns With the Unintended Consequences of Policies Not Grounded in Science

Ebola "Family" Over 16 Million Years Old

The Ebola Virus and the related Marburgvirus have been diverging for over 16 million years, according to a recent study by the University of Buffalo. Although filoviruses were once thought to date back only 10,000 years, new research using more reliable dating methods has shown that the origins of the virus go much deeper than the beginnings of large-scale human agriculture.

“An understanding of the timescale of evolution is critical for comparative virology but remains elusive for many RNA viruses,” wrote the authors of the report.

Experts had at one time believed that filoviruses came about around 10,000 years ago, and coincided with the rise in human agriculture.

According to the research of Professor Derek Taylor and others at the University of Buffalo, the viruses date back to the Miocene Epoch–16 to 23 million years ago.

“Filoviruses are far more ancient than previously thought,” said Taylor. “These things have been interacting with mammals for a long time–several million years.”

The science of measuring the age of diseases is still developing. Previous dating relied on mutation rates.

“Age estimates based on mutation rates can severely underestimate divergences for ancient viral genes that are evolving under strong purifying selection,” the researchers wrote in their report.

“Paleoviral dating, however, can provide minimum age estimates for ancient divergence, but few orthologous paleoviruses are known within clades of extant viruses.”

“For example, ebolaviruses and marburgviruses are well-studied mammalian pathogens, but their comparative biology is difficult to interpret because the existing estimates of divergence are controversial.”

The researchers looked at the paloviral elements of two genes in the ebolavirus family, and found that ebolavirus diverged from marburgvirus in the early Miocene.

The scientists searched within the viral genes in rodents preserved through fossilization.

“These rodents have billions of base pairs in their genomes, so the odds of a viral gene inserting itself at the same position in different species at different times are very small,” Taylor said. “It’s likely that the insertion was present in the common ancestor of these rodents.”

The knowledge may help scientists create better vaccines for Ebola victims. It could also help create programs that better identify emerging pathogens by providing insight into which host species serve the virus as “reseviors” for related pathogens.

“When they first started looking for reservoirs for Ebola, they were crashing through the rainforest, looking at everything–mammals, insects, other organisms,” said Taylor. The more we know about the evolution of filovirus-host interactions, the more we can learn about who the players might be in the system.”

By Andrew Stern

Photo: NIAID

Ebola "Family" Over 16 Million Years Old

ACLU Files on Behalf of Sex Offenders

The American Civil Liberties Union and the ACLU of Florida have filed suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections, seeking a permanent injunction against a housing ordinance that, the ACLU alleges, makes normal life extraordinarily difficult for former sex offenders, and actually causes the former offenders to become and remain homeless, a violation of their constitutional rights.

“As public policy, the Miami-Dade ordinance is a disaster,” said Brandon Buskey, Staff Attorney at ACLU’s Criminal Law Reform Project, of the 2010 ordinance that has made finding normal accommodation a challenge for former sex offenders. “It has created a homeless population living outdoors in squalor, while doing nothing to serve public safety.”

“Disease, exposure to the elements, no drinkable water–these conditions make it extremely difficult to find and maintain stable employment and psychological treatment, which are the only two factors proven to reduce the likelihood of reoffending. We know from decades of research that housing restrictions like Miami-Dade’s have no impact on reoffending and, are more likely to increase it,” said Busky.

The ACLU says that the ordinance has left about fifty former offenders with nowhere to live besides an outdoor area along railroad tracks on the outskirts of Miami-Dade county.

The railroad tracks are frequently recorded by probation officers as the “address” of the former offenders, the ACLU says, because finding affordable housing for former offenders is futile.

“Sending someone just out of jail into homelessness makes no sense, not for the person and not for the public. The Miami-Dade ordinance is not just unworkable, it’s unconstitutional,” said Nancy Abudu, Legal Director of the ACLU of Florida.

The ordinance is unconstitutional, according to ACLU, because the housing ordinance makes it so difficult for former sex offenders to obey without becoming homeless.

The ordinance prohibits former offenders from living within 2,500 feet from any building that the county labels a “school.” The category has been used to include shelters and other buildings, in addition to actual institutions of learning. The label has been used arbitrarily, according to ACLU.

The ACLU and the ACLU of Florida are seeking a permanent injunction against what they allege is an unconstitutional housing ordinance, and have directed their suit against Miami-Dade County and the Florida Department of Corrections.

By Cheryl Bretton

Photo: Ed Yourdon

ACLU Files on Behalf of Sex Offenders

China to Send 100,000 Troops to Xinjiang - Rights Group

China is expected to send 100,000 troops into its restless western province of Xinjiang to reinforce the People’s Armed Police force already there, according to a Hong Kong based rights group. Hundreds of people have died in recent months in Xinjiang’s ethnic unrest.

The Chinese Communist Party’s 18th Congress discussed a number of problems facing the government in its ongoing Fourth Plenary Session. The problems were both internal and external, and included the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, problems associated with the ouster of former security chief Zhou Yongkang, and the recent ethnic violence in the western province of Xinjiang.

Several bomb attacks and riots have left hundreds dead in Xinjiang over recent months.

According to Hong-Kong based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy, the Chinese government is to deploy 100,000 troops to Xinjiang to assist local police already there.

The decision to send the troops is expected to be made at the ongoing Forth Plenary Session.

By Daniel Jackson

Photo: Andrew An

China to Send 100,000 Troops to Xinjiang - Rights Group

World Bank-Backed Corps and Small-Scale Fishers Fight Over Fishing Rights

Enclosures of water are being dispossessed from small-scale markets in a rising trend of so-called “ocean grabbing,” according to a recent report by Transnational Institute (TNI) and Afrika Kontakt. Claiming that seas and shores must be taken from common fisher people in order to preserve sustainability, the World Bank is backing corporate interests and a rise in large-scale aqua-industry market-based fishing policies.

“Ocean grabbing is occurring in varied ways,” stated TNI in their report. “One common denominator is the exclusion of small-scale fishers from access to fisheries and other natural resources and access to markets through the adoption or reinterpretation of laws, regulations or policies affecting fisheries governance.”

“Throughout the world, legal frameworks are emerging that undermine the position of small-scale fisheries producers and systems, while strengthening or reinforcing the position of corporate actors and other powerful players. Such ‘perfectly legal’ reallocation processes may or may not involve coercion and violence, but are far from being considered as socially legitimate. They typically involve three types of mechanisms.”

Some key examples offered by the report were used to illustrate the variety of ways in which common access to fishing was being blocked. Luxury beach-resorts occupying long swathes of coastal land, destruction of mangrove areas for purposes of promoting export-oriented shrimp farms, and the rise of Rights Based Fishery (RBF) policies were some of the “technically legal” ways listed by which fisher people were dispossessed or their waters were destroyed in Sri Lanka, Ecuador, Europe, Canada and elsewhere.

The World Bank enabled “ocean grabbing” through legal frameworks such as its Global Partnership for Oceans (GPO), the report found. GPO enabled the spread of private property rights over the ocean’s fish resources, and was justified by the lack of economic and environmental “sustainability” in the world’s fisheries.

Growing populations around the world are placing stress on fish resources, according to the justification for GPO. For example, in South Africa, access to fish was curtailed for over 60,000 fisher people when a similar privatization program was passed.

The numbers of fisher people wanting access to water resources worldwide is in the billions.

“FAO estimates that 58 million people are engaged in the actual fishing and harvesting in wild-capture fisheries and aquaculture, and that more than 800 million people worldwide depend on fisheries in various ways,” stated TNI. “In addition to these figures, a large number of rural peasants and other people working in rural areas also depend on fishing as a supplement to their main livelihoods.”

By Sid Douglas

World Bank-Backed Corps and Small-Scale Fishers Fight Over Fishing Rights

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Rising to Global Threat - WHO

Tuberculosis is a disease that is seldom heard about these days, but the WHO and MSF have said that forms of TB known as multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) have risen to the level of a global threat. TB is already carried in a latent form in approximately one-third of the global population, and MDR-TB is increasingly the form that is being passed from person to person. Additionally, an even more dangerous form of the disease–extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB)–has been reported in 100 countries.

Tuberculosis has faded into the background of threatening diseases in the West. It saw renewed interest in 1991 when MDR-TB became epidemic in New York–nearly one-fifth of cases did not respond to treatment. That epidemic cost over $1 billion and several years of effort to bring under control.

Today in the US only 1.4 percent of an annual 9,500 TB cases are drug resistant, but the threat remains, according to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global TB program director, Dr Mario Raviglione.

“They believe that TB is an extinct disease,” Raviglione said of the threat. “I don’t know why.”

WHO released a report this month that reported that nine million people became sick with TB in 2013–half a million more than previously thought. Of these, 3.5 percent of new cases were drug resistant.

“In many settings around the world the treatment success rate is alarmingly low,” WHO stated. “Furthermore, extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which is even more expensive and difficult to treat than MDR-TB, has now been reported in 100 countries.”

Some countries currently have very high rates of MDR-TB. Belarus, for example, has a rate of 35 percent.

It is estimated that one-third of the global population harbors TB bacteria, but most are not aware that they carry the latent disease. The virus, however, continues to transmit to others while in its latent phase.

When TB enters its active phase–commonly when a person’s immune system is lowered–it becomes dangerous.

Children can be protected from TB–even its worst forms–by a widely distributed vaccine. Adults are usually protected by the same vaccine.

DR-TB is treatable, but the treatment requires long, expensive, painful side-effects to the antibiotics, including psychosis, deafness and constant nausea. The treatment takes around two years, and 50 percent of patients die. When it comes to XDR-TB, 80 percent of patients die.

Drug resistant TB is created by humans. Incomplete treatment allows the TB to adapt to antibiotics. When a person develops DR-TB they pass that form of TB on to others.

Of the TB cases that have been documented by the WHO worldwide, 3.5 percent are DR-TB cases passed on from people who have DR-TB.

“We think that drug-resistant TB is really becoming an epidemic in its own right,” said Dr. Grania Brigden, TB adviser for Médecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Photos: Gates Foundation and Microbe World

Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis Rising to Global Threat - WHO

Cambodian Land Grabbing Is "Crime Against Humanity" - British Lawyer Files with International Court

Cambodian land-grabbing constitutes a “crime against humanity,” British lawyer Richard Rogers has told the International Criminal Court (ICC). The lawyer is officially representing 10 Cambodian victims of the alleged abuse in the suit.

“I am confident,” said Rogers, who is a member of the Global Diligence LLP as well as the Cambodian Nation Rescue Party’s (CNRP) international counsel. “The law is very clear.”

Rogers has filed for the International Criminal Court to investigate a wave of violent land-grabbing in Cambodia which has displaced approximately 770,000 people. The land grab has been carried out by Cambodia’s ruling elite, Rogers alleges, and constitutes a crime against humanity.

The land grab has been “widespread and systematic” over the past 14 years, Rogers has stated. The elite classes have perpetuated mass rights violations in pursuit of wealth and power, “include murder, forcible transfer of populations, illegal imprisonment, persecution and other inhumane acts,” according to Rogers, who says that the acts amount to international crimes.

The elite has accomplished the land grab by exploiting land tenure insecurity in post-war Cambodia (particularly when the Khmer Rouge abolished land titles) and exploiting a corruptible judiciary and state security forces.

“The question for the ICC is, at what point do these types of human rights violations become so grave that (when taken together) they amount to an international crime and meet the gravity threshold? Do we wait until 5 percent of the population has been affected, or 10 percent?” Rogers said.

“The communication contends that senior members of the Cambodian government, its security forces, and government-connected business leaders carried out an attack on the civilian population with the twin objectives of self-enrichment and preservation of power at all costs.”

Individual perpetrators are not specifically indicated in the complaint, but it does recommend that court prosecutors investigate the role played by specific police and military units involved in evictions. “Deportation or forcible transfer of populations” falls under the ICC’s definition of crimes against humanity, Rogers has pointed out.

Approximately 770,000 people–6% of the Cambodian population –have felt the effects of land grabbing since the year 2000, according to Rogers’s evidence.

More than 145,000 people have been forcibly relocated from Phnom Penh.

Dissent and criticism have also been silenced through human rights abuses, Rogers contends. Lawyers, activists, journalists, unionists and opposition members have been silenced through threats and violence in order to protect the interests of the ruling elite.

“I am confident that the ICC will initiate a preliminary examination. The law on this is very clear. The definition of crimes against humanity does not require an armed conflict.” Rogers said.

The actions of land grabbers in Cambodia represent “widespread and systematic attack against the civilian population” and are “pursuant to state policy”, according to Rogers’s complaint.

Cambodian officials are attempting to discredit Rogers’s claims.

Government spokesman Phay Siphann called the complaint “a joke”–the complaint was not only exaggerated, but politically motivated as well, Siphon stated.

“It’s polarised by politics. We might know who sponsors or who pays money for him and who belongs to whom. I understand [opposition deputy leader] Kem Sokha’s daughter is also involved in the complaint… It was [started] during the [post-election] campaign and related to the political deadlock.”

CNRP spokesman Yim Sovann countered Siphan’s criticisms, stated that although Rogers was CNRP counsel, the complaint was not politically motivated.

“Because Cambodian courts have proved unwilling and unable to deal fairly with human rights violations raised in the ICC complaint,” said Sovann, “we support the request for an investigation by the ICC prosecutor.”

By Sid Douglas

Photo: Luc Forsyth

Cambodian Land Grabbing Is "Crime Against Humanity" - British Lawyer Files with International Court

New Cash Transfer Program to Send 73,000 African Girls to School Over Next Two Years - UNICEF

A new UNICEF program is helping tens of thousands of African girls to get an education. The initiative is a cash transfer program–the most effective type of program in promoting development that includes the poor, according to UNICEF officials, and the current phase of the program will help send 73,000 girls to school over the next two years.

“There is substantial evidence from around the world that investing in girls’ education has the highest economic rate of return of any kind of intervention a government can implement,” said Michael Samson, Director of Research at the South Africa–based Economic Policy Research Institute, which is collaborating with UNICEF on the project.

“The idea that girls should not go to school belongs to the past,” said a Nigerian father of three school age daughters who were forced to leave school when the family’s economic ability decreased and books, uniforms and other costs became unaffordable.

His three daughters are now back in school under the UNICEF program. “I am now the happiest man in the world,” said Umar.

“With education, my daughters will not be a liability to their husbands. They will be earning money, and they will not be relegated to the background,” said Atika Adamu, a mother of 12- and 13-year-old daughters who are also now attending school under the new program.

Under the UNICEF Girls’ Education Programme (GEP), Nigerian parents receive quarterly payments of 5,000 naira ($US31) for each girl to help cover costs associated with sending the girls to school.

GEP is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

“This kind of programme is among the most effective in promoting pro-poor, inclusive development,” said Samson.

“This intervention is part of what the Nigeria at the state and federal levels is trying to do in terms of setting up a full social protection system, so that people can lead a life of dignity and opportunity,” said Enrique Delamonica, who heads UNICEF Nigeria’s Social Policy and Gender Equality unit.

Under GEP, 23,000 girls will be helped to attend school in the Sokoto and Niger states of Nigeria this year, and next year another 50,000 will be helped.

The program is expected to be expanded to reach other states of Nigeria.

Improvements in the education of girls has been found to be one of the most important factors in improving economic rates. Evidence has also shown that educated girls more frequently grow up to have healthier children and contribute more to their family’s income.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

Photo: Pierre Holtz for UNICEF

New Cash Transfer Program to Send 73,000 African Girls to School Over Next Two Years - UNICEF

Deforestation Now Driven by "Globalization and Commercialization" - Report

The nature of deforestation has changed dramatically in recent years, according to a new study by Chalmers University Scientists. Deforestation today is driven by globalization and commercialization to a large and increasing degree–international trade is contributing to deforestation through a demand for beef, soy, palm oil and timber.

“From having been caused mainly by smallholders and production for local markets, an increasing share of deforestation today is driven by large-scale agricultural production for international markets,” said Martin Persson, lead researcher on the study.

Persson’s team looked at seven major deforestation case countries–Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea–and found that one-third to one-half of deforestation could be attributed to overseas trade.

Martin Persson

“More than a third of global deforestation can be tied to rising production of beef, soy, palm oil and wood products,” said Persson. “If we exclude Brazilian beef production, which is mainly destined for domestic markets, more than half of deforestation in our case countries is driven by international demand.”

“The trend is clear, the drivers of deforestation have been globalized and commercialized.”

The study was commissioned by the Center for Global Development (CGD) and was completed by Martin Persson of Chalmers University of Technology and colleagues in Linkoping, Sweden, and Vienna, Austria.

In addition to their findings about market trends, the research team found that 1.7 billion tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be linked to production of the commodities analyzed in the study–and one-third of that amount was due to commodity exports.

The research also found trends in the response of companies to the negative publicity associated with deforestation.

“Another key trend is that more and more corporations have pledged to rid their supply chains from deforestation,” said Persson. “Pushed by environmental organizations and seeing the risks of being associated with environmental destruction, companies like Unilever and McDonalds are pressuring their suppliers to stop expanding production on forest land.”

The countries on the receiving end of the commodities produced through deforestation were China and EU nations. It was not enough, Persson said, to blame the nations in which deforestation occurs.

“Today both public and private consumers, be it individuals or corporations, have the possibility to contribute to the protection of tropical forests by holding suppliers accountable for the environmental impacts of their production,” Persson concluded.

By Sid Douglas

Photo: gillyan9

Deforestation Now Driven by "Globalization and Commercialization" - Report

China: Experimental Spacecraft Successfully Launched for Moon Mission [Video of Launch and Deployment]

China launched an experimental unmanned spacecraft Friday–the country’s first return moon mission. The craft, which had a successful launch atop an advanced Long March-3C rocket and is currently travelling along its planned trajectory, will spend eight days in space before returning to Earth.

The craft successfully entered its expected orbit shortly after launch, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense, the developers of the craft.

The lunar orbiter was launched from the Xichang Satellite Center in the southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan, atop a Long March-3C rocket, according to Xinhua news.

The flight is expected to take eight days, during which time it will half orbit the moon before returning to Earth and landing in Inner Mongolia.

The purpose of the mission is to test technologies that will be used on a future space vessel, Chang’e-5, which will be sent to collect samples on the moon in 2017. Chang’e-5 will be the final of three phases in China’s moon probe project. Chang’e-1 and Chang’e-2 were completed in 2007 and 2010. Chang’e-3–China’s first moon rover, called Yutu–completed a soft landing on the moon in December 2013. Chang’e-4 is a backup probe for Chang’e-3.

The experimental craft launched Friday will gather data and validate re-entry technologies such as guidance, navigation and control, heat shield and trajectory design.

By Daniel Jackson

China: Experimental Spacecraft Successfully Launched for Moon Mission [Video of Launch and Deployment]

Hong Kong Protest Art Still Stands, Protected by Art Guardians

Wary that Hong Kong police might move into protest areas and destroy the array of art created inside the grounds of the democracy movement, a band of “art guardians” have been standing by in case they are needed.

The protests have extended over a month, calling for greater democracy within Hong Kong. The Chinese government continues to deny the calls.

Within the kilometer-long stretch of highway opposite the government headquarters that is the site of the ongoing protest, many pieces of protest art have been created–including the famous “Umbrella Man,” a 12-foot tall wooden sculpture. The umbrella is symbolic of the defense of the people against police batons as well as rain and tropical heat.

New works are constantly being made. Demonstrators sketch chalk art on roads and fold origami umbrellas. Almost all of the walls and pillars is now decorated with art.

The art guardians are ready to protect this art, should police be called in, according to the members.

“Their job is to call me,” Meaghan McGurgan, who runs a theatre blog and founded the Umbrella Movement Art Preservation group. “I can then mobilise the rescue teams standing by.”

This is a people’s art, according to McGurgan. “Everyone can see it, everyone can go, everyone can participate.”

There is currently nowhere for the art to go, however.

“We phoned the museums,” McGurgan said. “They either didn’t get back to us, or said they wouldn’t take the art as it was political. I thought that was really sad.”

A dozen art galleries have offered to take the works temporarily.

Even the “Lennon Wall”–a wall covered in thousands of sticky notes posted by both supporters and detractors of the movement–will be reassembled, according to McGurdan.

“We’ve taken large-scale photographs from far away and gridded them off into sections. If necessary we can put it all together again like a puzzle later on.”

As a last resort, the art guardians will allow the art to be destroyed, McGurdan said. If the police move in and the guardians can’t safely get the art out, they will do their best to document “the destruction of something beautiful”.

By Sid Douglas

Hong Kong Protest Art Still Stands, Protected by Art Guardians

Chinese President Xi Jinping Takes Direct Control of Key Law Enforcement Agency

Chinese President Xi Jinping has taken direct control of a key law enforcement agency, according to Communist Party state-run media outlets.

In order to focus concern on the reform of China’s legal system, Xi took direct charge over China’s Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC). Xi’s taking charge was an “upgrade” of the government’s control of the agency, according to media outlets–members of the Politburo Standing Committee had been in charge of PLAC in times past.

Xi criticized government corruption harshly at a Central PLAC meeting early this year, and vowed to eliminate corruption and corrupt officials with “the strongest will and the strongest action.”

Xi’s government put former PLAC leader Zhou Yongkang–a top ally of former Chineseleader Jiang Zemin–under formal investigation in July. Under Zhou, PLAC had become a highly powerful organization in charge of all law enforcement authorities, including the Ministry of Public Security, the Armed Police, the courts, the Procuratorate, and prison and labor camps.

Religious practitioners such as Falun Gong members were persecuted under PLAC’s authority, after being banned in 1999. Practitioners were detained, tortured and brainwashed under Zhou.

Petitioners and rights defenders were also suppressed under PLAC and Zhou.

By Sid Douglas

Chinese President Xi Jinping Takes Direct Control of Key Law Enforcement Agency