US Experts Warn US Not Prepared to Contain Ebola, US Officials Reject Travel Restrictions

While experts in the US warned that the US was not prepared to contain an Ebola outbreak, citing mistakes and missteps in the handling of the first US Ebola case which resulted in the death of Thomas Duncan last week, US officials and US President Barack Obama rejected increaseing calls for travel restrictions to and from the affected areas of West Africa.

“It is America–our doctors, our scientists, our know-how–that leads the fight to contain and combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa,” said Obama in rejecting travel restrictions, stressing his faith in US doctors and health facilities.

CDC Director Tom Friedman also dismissed calls for travel restrictions and isolation of the West African nations where the Ebola outbreak has claimed thousands of lives.

Friedman rationalized his position by saying that isolating the outbreak regions may cause the disease to spread more widely and cause greater risk to America.

“It’s a tough question that’s coming up and will keep coming up,” Frieden said. “Our perspective–very much like the situation with regard to the individual–is to take actions that seem like they may work. The approach of isolating countrie–it’s harder to get help into that country and it may enable the disease to spread more widely there and potentially become more of a risk to us here.”

However, Friedman admitted that the risk was not controlled.

“The bottom line here is the plain truth that we can’t make the risk zero until the outbreak is controlled in West Africa,” said Friedman.

Several US politicians have made public calls for travel restrictions.

Rep. Ted Poe (R-Humble) requested that the president restrict travel to Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea.

“I believe that the recent Ebola case in Dallas highlights the fact that non-essential travel to the affected region is putting Americans at unnecessary risk,” Poe wrote in his request.

Texas US Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) sent a letter to the Federal Aviation Administration questioning the measures it was taking to protect America from Ebola.

“Due to the Obama administration’s unclear approach to addressing the threat of the Ebola virus, Americans–particularly the Texans who have possibly been exposed–deserve specific answers to how the administration is addressing travel to and from the countries impacted by the disease,” Cruz wrote.

US Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Upper St. Clair) also warned of a need to increase health security. “The propensity of people coming out of those countries may be to get out of there as fast as possible,” said Murphy. “Even if that means lying on their records. We can’t necessarily just use that verbal screening process. CDC and NIH are going to tell us how they are adapting and changing this, because the current process apparently is not effective.”

Experts in the US have also called for restrictions.

Gavin MacGregor-Skinner, an assistant professor of public health at Penn State University, who helped set up an Ebola clinic in Nigeria weeks ago, said of the outbreak, “This is a Category 5 hurricane. It just happens to be viral.”

Phenelle Segal, president of Montgomery County-based Infection Control Consulting Services and a former infection prevention analyst for the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Authority, warned, “Unless the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention take extreme measures to prevent the universal spread of the disease, we could possibly end up with a pandemic.

“I think as soon as we started seeing West Africa go out of control with Ebola, that was the time [to impose travel restrictions.]”

In West Africa, the disease has claimed 3,300 lives with no end in sight. The UN has said of the outbreak that it is surging “beyond control,” and warned of a worldwide disaster.

Ebola cases in West Africa have doubled every three weeks. In Sierra Leone 121 people died of Ebola Sunday.

UN officials have stated that a total air quarantine would not stop the spread of Ebola, but would delay it.

By Day Blakely Donaldson

US Experts Warn US Not Prepared to Contain Ebola, US Officials Reject Travel Restrictions

What would you pay for a glass, transparent toaster so you could watch toast toast, and even steak toast?

You’d know how toasted your bread was before you popped it out.

At EuroCucina 2014 tradeshow in Milan, kitchenware brand Bugatti showed off a new glass toaster that uses semiconductors inside glass to heat everything from toast to meat.

From FoodBeast:

“The toaster is made from glass and chrome, reheating and cooking food via semiconductors embedded in the glass. Using heat-resistant cooking bags, the toaster is designed in a way that allows you to cook consistently and without those bulging hot coils which always threaten to burn your hand off.”

“The Noun, which is operated through a smartphone app, allows you to search for recipes and send the proper time and temperature directly to the toaster via Bluetooth connection. The Bugatti Noun toaster is set to debut in Europe, with the US to follow at the beginning of 2015.”

The price tag?

Around $1000.00

 

What would you pay for a glass toaster that you could watch toast toast?

How to Properly Store All Your Fruits and Vegetables

Ever wondered how to properly store bananas? strawberries? cauliflower? carrots?

Information: Melissa’s Produce

Source: Photographs by David Bertozzi/BuzzFeed. Design by Jenny Chang/BuzzFeed

How to Properly Store All Your Fruits and Vegetables

Kazakhstan-China Immigration Surprising, Expert Finds

Several unexpected trends were reported by international migrations specialist Elena Sadovskaya, who is based at the Moscow Institute for Economic Forecasting, regarding immigration patterns between China and neighboring Kazakhstan. Among those findings were that many less Chinese are working in Kazakhstan than commonly thought, and that many of those migrants counted as Chinese are in fact other ethnicities.

“Chinese migration to Kazakhstan is not especially ‘Chinese,’” Sadovskaya stated. “[It includes] not only ethnic Chinese [Hans] but also Kazakhs, Uyghurs, Dungans, Uzbeks, Koreans and even [ethnic] Russians.”

Sadovskaya’s analysis was reported in the current issue of Karavan, a Kazakhstan weekly.

Different ethnic groups dominate different parts of the migratory flows in and out of Kazakhstan, Sadovskaya reported.

Most immigrants to Kazakhstan that are counted as Chinese are actually non-Han ethnic groups from the restless Chinese-controlled land of Xinjiang, and include ethnic Kazakhs.

Most migrants coming to Kazakhstan for work, however, are Han Chinese. Around 6,000 to 7,000 Han relocate to Kazakhstan per year for work, and form about one quarter of Kazakhstan’s guest workers. This finding has been remarked as surprising because of a widespread belief that Han workers in Kazakhstan are a much larger group.

Although most job-seekers coming to Kazakhstan are Han, those coming for business include Hans, Dungans, Uyghurs and Kazakhs, and those seeking permanent resident are primarily ethnic Kazakhs, known as “Oralmany,” who are returning to their homeland from a period of residence in China.

Sadovskaya pointed out that a large number of these returning Oralmans have not become Kazakhstan citizens–only about half of those who return from China have done so. The reasons for this range, Sadovskaya said, from partiality to Oralmany government benefits to language barriers.

Within Kazakhstan, recent polls have shown that locals are increasingly hostile towards Chinese immigrants. Those expressing some hostility toward Chinese immigrants rose from 18 percent in 2007 to 33 percent in 2012.

Immigrants to China from Kazakhstan, on the other hand, are largely students to are relocating to study at Chinese higher learning institutions. About 10,000 Kazakhstani students are studying in China in the current academic year–eight to 10 times the number of Chinese studying in Kazakhstan.

The two nations mirror each other’s deficits, Sadovskaya commented. Official corruption in Kazakhstan has led to a large number of illegal immigrants, while poor education in Kazakhstan has led to Kazakhs moving to China to study.

“It is possible to call Chinese migration a mirror image of the problems which exist in Kazakhstan,” said Sadovskaya.

By James Haleavy

Kazakhstan-China Immigration Surprising, Expert Finds

The Ostrich Pillow. By Studio Banana Things.

“Seeing as we all spend more and more time at work, in front of a computer screen or in transit, we thought why not create something that helps us nap, disconnect and dream?” explained designer Ali Ganjavian.

Ostrich Pillow offers a micro-environment in which to take a warm and comfortable power nap at ease. It is neither a pillow nor cushion, bed or garment, but a bit of each, all at the same time. Its soothing cave-like interior shelters and isolates both your head and hands, perfect for a power nap.

You can use the Ostrich Pillow at your desk, on a bench, on the train or while you wait at the airport to catch a flight. In fact, you can use the Ostrich Pillow whenever and wherever you feel like a nap is needed.

The Ostrich Pillow’s ergonomic design and comfort makes it both very easy to use and store. Designed to fit every head, it’s made from light materials that make it easy to take with you wherever you go.

“We released our prototype online and discovered that everyone loves the Ostrich Pillow just as much as we do, so we decided to make Ostrich Pillow a reality. We chose Kickstarter – a funding platform for innovative designs to support our dream and produce our product. We designed the Ostrich Pillow with our users in mind and we wanted to use a platform where our fans can help build and share the dream with us.”

Studio Banana

Ostrich Pillow

Silly or Sleep Anywhere? With the Ostrich Pillow Mini?

The Ostrich Pillow Mini.

It was unleashed on the world by Studio Banana Things.

Is it silly? Would you use one?

With an Ostrich Pillow Mini, you are supposed to be able to sleep anywhere.

“Some of our customers had been asking for a smaller product to fit comfortably into a bag or pocket,”stated Shadi Ganjavian-Connor of Studio Banana Things, previously known as Kawamura-Ganjavian.

“Also we have been observing people’s sleep postures and thought wouldn’t it be great to enable more napping positions through engaging our hands and arms. Last but not least we wanted a really good pillow fight and thought this product would fit the bill!”

A grey exterior and a lining in a choice of four colors, was developed in response to user feedback on the original Ostrich Pillow.

The cushioned pads are filled with silicone-covered micro-polystyrene balls to mould the pillow to the shape of the user’s head.

The Ostrich Pillow Mini is currently raising funds on Kickstarter and reached 105 per cent of its $15,000 (£10,000) target within just 48 hours.

“We have truly been overwhelmed by the reception – we did not expect it at all,” said the studio. “Our fans stretch across the globe and many of them have supported all four of our Kickstarter projects.”

Source: http://www.studiobananathings.com/product/ostrichpillow-mini/?lang=en, http://www.dezeen.com/2014/10/02/ostrich-pillow-mini-studio-banana-things-travel-nap-sleep/

Silly or Sleep Anywhere? With the Ostrich Pillow Mini?

DIY Ombre Curtains

Spice up any living room, dining room, bedroom or patio with these super fun and easy dip dye ombre curtains! Inexpensive and adorable, these are sure to help decorate any window!

Just cut the fabric to desired length, dip dye (be sure to leave the ends in the longest for that ombre effect!), hang in the sun to dry, and then hang them up in desired location!

DIY Ombre Curtains