[DENVER.CBSLOCAL] It's a fairly standard greeting ... the "hello" handshake. Whenever I meet a new patient, I say Hi, introduce myself, and stick my hand out for a shake. And if it's someone I have seen before, there's a Hi, how have you been, with a simultaneous handshake.
But if infectious disease experts from UCLA have their way, my handshake may go the way of leeches and bloodletting -- replaced by a long distance wave or salute.
A commentary in the Journal Of The American Medical Association says it's time to say goodbye to the handshake greeting in a health care setting. Or for that measure, goodbye to the goodbye handshake as well.
Sure, a firm handshake can be seen as a sign of greeting and compassion, but it's also believed to be one of the easiest methods to transmit germs. We've actually believe this for a long time but perhaps there is new urgency in the mysterious new world of diseases like MERS.
So the recommendation is to treat handshakes like smoking. In other words, since there are a lot of places that simply have smoke free zones, it seems like a good idea to have handshake free zones. So what they're saying is that smoking's no more dangerous than a handshake?
That means educational programs, signage (I guess a stencil of a handshake with a big "X" through it), and perhaps penalties for violating the no-handshake policy.
The authors write: "Removing the handshake from the healthcare setting may ultimately become recognized as an important way to protect the health of patients and caregivers, rather than a personal insult to whoever refuses another's hand." Removing all human contact seems to be the way to go. Don't you have to get closer than a handshake to beget children? (It's been so long I'm not sure anymore.)
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#9
Oh, ferchrissakes. If you're that afraid of catching something,
(1) shake hands (unless the other person has an obvious skin disease, in which case he shouldn't be offering his hand)
(2) keep your hands away from your face (particularly eyes and nose)
(3) use hand sanitizer at the first opportunity
(4) GROW UP
Posted by: Barbara ||
05/21/2014 15:55 Comments ||
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#10
I had the opportunity to mention this article to a post-op hospital nurse today (trailing daughter #1 had her wisdom teeth removed this morning). She immediately turned around and washed her hands before putting in her sterile gloves... then removing the bloody gauze from td#1's mouth.
[Ynet] Germany has become the world's second most popular destination for immigrants after the United States, attracting many southern Europeans driven from the ravages of the euro zone financial crisis to overtake Canada and Australia.
Germany soared to second place in the 2012 in a survey of permanent migration published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on Tuesday. It ranked eighth in 2009. "This really is a boom - without any exaggeration ... no other OECD country experienced such a rise," said Thomas Liebig, an expert on international migration at the Gay Paree-based OECD.
For the first time, the founder of an encrypted email startup that was supposed to insure privacy for all reveals how the FBI and the US legal system made sure we don't have the right to much privacy in the first place
--My legal saga started last summer with a knock at the door, behind which stood two federal agents ready to to serve me with a court order requiring the installation of surveillance equipment on my company's network.
My company, Lavabit, provided email services to 410,000 people -- including Edward Snowden, according to news reports -- and thrived by offering features specifically designed to protect the privacy and security of its customers. I had no choice but to consent to the installation of their device, which would hand the US government access to all of the messages -- to and from all of my customers -- as they travelled between their email accounts other providers on the Internet.
But that wasn't enough. The federal agents then claimed that their court order required me to surrender my company's private encryption keys, and I balked. What they said they needed were customer passwords -- which were sent securely -- so that they could access the plain-text versions of messages from customers using my company's encrypted storage feature. (The government would later claim they only made this demand because of my "noncompliance".)
In the first two weeks, I was served legal papers a total of seven times and was in contact with the FBI every other day. (This was the period a prosecutor would later characterize as my "period of silence".) It took a week for me to identify an attorney who could adequately represent me, given the complex technological and legal issues involved -- and we were in contact for less than a day when agents served me with a summons ordering me to appear in a Virginia courtroom, over 1,000 miles from my home. Two days later, I was served the first subpoena for the encryption keys.
With such short notice, my first attorney was unable to appear alongside me in court. Because the whole case was under seal, I couldn't even admit to anyone who wasn't an attorney that I needed a lawyer, let alone why. In the days before my appearance, I would spend hours repeating the facts of the case to a dozen attorneys, as I sought someone else that was qualified to represent me. I also discovered that as a third party in a federal criminal indictment, I had no right to counsel. After all, only my property was in jeopardy -- not my liberty. Finally, I was forced to choose between appearing alone or facing a bench warrant for my arrest.
In Virginia, the government replaced its encryption key subpoena with a search warrant and a new court date. I retained a small, local law firm before I went back to my home state, which was then forced to assemble a legal strategy and file briefs in just a few short days. The court barred them from consulting outside experts about either the statutes or the technology involved in the case. The court didn't even deliver transcripts of my first appearance to my own lawyers for two months, and forced them to proceed without access to the information they needed.
The largest technological question we raised in our appeal (which the courts refused to consider) was what constitutes a "search", i.e., whether law enforcement can demand the encryption keys of a business and use those keys to inspect the private communications of every customer, even when the court has only authorized them to access information belonging to specific targets.
The problem here is technological: until any communication has been decrypted and the contents parsed, it is currently impossible for a surveillance device to determine which network connections belong to any given suspect. The government argued that, since the "inspection" of the data was to be carried out by a machine, they were exempt from the normal search-and-seizure protections of the Fourth Amendment.
More importantly for my case, the prosecution also argued that my users had no expectation of privacy, even though the service I provided -- encryption -- is designed for users' privacy.
If my experience serves any purpose, it is to illustrate what most already know: courts must not be allowed to consider matters of great importance under the shroud of secrecy, lest we find ourselves summarily deprived of meaningful due process. If we allow our government to continue operating in secret, it is only a matter of time before you or a loved one find yourself in a position like I did -- standing in a secret courtroom, alone, and without any of the meaningful protections that were always supposed to be the people's defense against an abuse of the state's power.
Between the countless incidents like this one, the cutting off of bank access to gun dealers, to the no-knock dawn raids by "storm-troopers" for non-violent allegations like 3rd party Medicaid fraud, it is clear that freedom no longer exists in this country.
[MAGHAREBIA] Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika ... 10th president of Algeria. He was elected in 1999 and is currently on his third or fourth term. Maybe it's the fifth. He'll likely die in office of old age... promised constitutional reform immediately upon his re-election, but not all political actors are ready to participate in the process.
Last week, some 150 political figures, lawyers, judges and human rights When they're defined by the state or an NGO they don't mean much... activists received a copy of the first draft. But a 13-party opposition alliance on Monday (May 19th) rejected participation in talks aimed at issuing a new constitution. According to the "Forces for Change", the initiative was a diversion from more pressing issues.
Those willing to offer input, however, must review the proposals by next month. Former Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia was tasked with heading the constitutional amendment talks, which are slated to begin in June.
The new version of the constitution introduces several changes.
The future president will not be able to serve more than two terms of office. To be eligible for the post of president, a candidate must hold only Algerian citizenship. The candidate's parents and spouse must also be Algerian citizens.
The text put forward for discussion expands the powers of the prime minister. The draft amendment also establishes freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom of association and the freedom to hold meetings, gatherings and peaceful demonstrations.
The state pledges to guarantee fair trials and to enforce the law on police custody, which must not exceed 48 hours.
And for the first time, the prevention of corruption is explicitly mentioned in the constitution.
However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... the articles of the text do not give Tamazight the status of an official language, as had been demanded by several parties and organizations.
Opposition political figures were quick to comment on the proposed amendments.
"The only real piece of news is that the prime minister can stand in for the head of state during his foreseeable absences by signing executive decrees," Rally for Culture and Democracy leader Said Saidi said.
Mohammed Hadibi from the Islamist Ennahda party was equally critical: "Apart from the part about limiting the number of presidential terms of office, there are no changes."
"We had hoped that the governance system would be overhauled and that the powers of the judiciary and parliament would be strengthened, but these things do not appear in this draft," he added.
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[AnNahar] Egypt's former military chief Abdel Fattah al-Sissi is expected to romp home in this month's presidential election, but his challenge will be fighting poverty and rebuilding the shattered economy.
More than three years after millions of Egyptians demanding "bread, freedom and social justice" ousted strongman Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... , and later his successor Mohammed Morsi ...the former president of Egypt. A proponent of the One Man, One Vote, One Time principle, Morsi won election after the deposal of Hosni Mubarak and jumped to the conclusion it was his turn to be dictator... , nearly 40 percent of the population -- some 34 million people -- live close to the poverty line.
Sisi should easily trounce his sole rival, leftist leader Hamdeen Sabbahi, in the May 26-27 election, to inherit an economy roiled by nearly 12 percent inflation, unemployment of 13 percent, falling investment and sliding tourism revenues.
Expectations from Sisi are high after he ousted Morsi last July following massive street protests demanding the Islamist's resignation.
Morsi, Egypt's first freely elected leader, was accused of ruining a dilapidated economy already hard hit since the 2011 revolt ended three decades of corruption-marred Mubarak rule.
Sisi, who has emerged as a nationalist icon in the mould of the country's revolutionary military ruler, Gamal Abdel Nasser, has called for "strengthening the role of the state which must monitor and remain engaged in the organization and implementation of projects".
"He clearly sees a role for the army and state institutions in the economy which some businessmen consider as competition," said Mustapha Kamel al-Sayyid, professor of political science at Cairo University.
"For Mr Sisi, fighting poverty means depriving the Moslem Brüderbund of its popular support as it provides the poor with social services."
Sisi has warned the private sector that if he is elected the state would intervene to form a "mechanism" for controlling prices of some products to ensure the private sector "reduces its profit margins".
He said he aims to create new markets by providing low-cost products.
Strengthening state control worries many businessmen who spoke to Agence La Belle France Presse on condition of anonymity, despite saying Sisi offered guarantees to protect their interests.
- 'End subsidies' -
In an interview with a state-run newspaper, Sisi urged businessmen to "set up an account for funding projects", insisting "everyone must" contribute.
Such a fund could raise up to 100 billion Egyptian pounds (about $14 billion, 10 billion euros).
Egypt's internal debt is estimated at about $236 billion, or 85 percent of gross domestic product, while the budget deficit is 13 percent of GDP.
The state spends nearly 30 percent of its budget on costly subsidies for bread and energy.
"The only way to cut the huge budget deficit is to end government subsidies on energy supplies to the private sector as it is industry's responsibility to bear the cost," said Sayyid.
Interim premier Ibrahim Mahlab has said that subsidies on oil cost the exchequer $22 billion, against an annual education and health budget of $9.8 billion.
A key concern for Egyptians is near daily power cuts triggered by the government's inability to buy fuel given its falling foreign reserves, rising population and low power generation.
Foreign exchange reserves have halved since 2011 to $17 billion in April, despite receiving almost $13 billion from Gulf allies in aid since Morsi's ouster.
External debt has risen to $45 billion as of December, while tourism minister Hisham Zazou told Agence Frsnce Presse revenues from tourism which employs more than four million people slipped to $5.8 billion in 2013 from $12.5 billion in 2010.
Foreign direct investments have also dried up, official estimates show. Before Mubarak's overthrow they stood at $12 billion but have since fallen to about $2 billion annually.
Sisi has expressed "confidence in the continuation of local and foreign investment and aid from Arab countries" to fund new projects that would help start a recovery.
The interim government has begun implementing plans to cut the budget deficit to 5.6 percent by 2017, led by new tax plans and reduced energy subsidies.
It is working on a proposal to widen the tax base and levy a five percent tax for three years on those with an annual income of more than a million Egyptian pounds, the finance ministry says.
It's not WoT if they're fighting among themselves, but still useful to keep an eye on.
[AnNahar] Urban fighting between government and militia forces killed several people in Sudan's Darfur on Tuesday, sources said, ending an uneasy calm after the region's worst unrest in a decade.
"They are fighting inside El Fasher town -- heavy fighting," one resident told Agence La Belle France Presse by telephone, adding that he could not identify the combatants, although some were in uniform.
Continuous gunfire was audible over the phone line as he spoke.
One source familiar with the incident said six faceless myrmidons were killed along with four government troops.
A medical source -- who asked not to be further identified -- said the bodies of four people were brought to hospital in the town.
Three of the dead were "soldiers," but it was not clear from which force. The other victim was a woman, the medical source said.
Government forces were trying to "flush out a militia" active in one of the town's neighborhoods, a humanitarian source said.
"This is an area which has seen quite some criminality," including shooting around a U.N. warehouse, said the source, asking for anonymity.
The authorities apparently "decided that it was enough... and they needed to bring this part under control again."
Over the past two years, Sudan's deteriorating economy has led to worsening crime and intercommunal festivities in Darfur, a February report by U.N. chief the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon ... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan... said, adding that some cash-poor paramilitaries had joined tribal militia fighting over gold and other resources.
Another El Fasher resident said the shooting started at about 4:00 am (0100 GMT) in the east of the town, and continued after day-break.
"I heard the sound of heavy weapons," the resident said.
"I am in my house and I'm not going out to work."
Fighting had also been reported in El Fasher on Monday.
In early April, people in El Fasher said the town had been gripped by fear for a month, since government-linked paramilitaries arrived.
They said the hard-faced men were "shooting for no reason" and had a strong presence in El Fasher's east side.
Residents claimed some were from the Rapid Support Forces, a counter-insurgency unit that the head of the UNAMID peacekeeping mission in Darfur said had "perpetrated attacks on communities."
The RSF were of "particular concern", but rebel offensives, criminal activity and intercommunal fighting over access to resources also contributed to an "alarming escalation of violence" in Darfur, UNAMID chief Mohammed Ibn Chambas said in early April.
Violence throughout the region, which is about the size of La Belle France, was at its worst in 10 years, and had displaced about 300,000 people from late February to mid-April before unrest began to ease.
Commanders of the RSF last week denied committing abuses in Darfur and said the unit was "on holiday" after completing its Darfur mission.
Similar government-linked units and militias remain in the region, but Khartoum has had difficulty controlling them in the face of mounting economic problems since South Sudan broke away in 2011.
Rebel-government battles are no longer the main source of violence in Darfur, where hard boyz from ethnic minority groups launched an uprising against the country's Arab elites in 2003.
[Iran Press TV] Millions of Malawian people are going to the polls to choose their next president amid allegations of fraud and vote-rigging.
Eleven candidates are vying to unseat incumbent President Joyce Banda who is also seeking re-election.
Her main challenger is Lazarus Chakwera, a conservative evangelical pastor who retired to lead the Malawi Congress Party. Banda became southern Africa's first female head of state two years ago.
Most analysts believe she is very likely to win because of her popularity in rural areas where the government has been rolling out development projects and farm subsidy schemes.
However, some people are alive only because it's illegal to kill them... Banda's popularity has been marred by austerity measures and a corruption scandal.
Up to USD 100 million of state funds were allegedly stolen by using a central government computer payment system to transfer money to non-existent firms for fake services. The companies' information was later deleted off the system.
The cashgate scandal has led to the suspension of USD 150 million in foreign aid pending further investigation.
Although not directly linked to Banda, the corruption scandal may dent her chances of retaining power.
"The fact that `cashgate' happened on my watch, I take full responsibility,'' said Banda while campaigning, adding, "But the mere fact that it broke means we're seriously tackling corruption.''
The southeast African country has 7.4 million registered voters in a population of 16 million.
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[Canada MSN News] MANILA, Philippines - Vietnam's prime minister on Wednesday called on the world to condemn China for causing what he called an "extremely dangerous" situation in the disputed South China Sea, citing Beijing's recent deployment of an oil rig near an island that both countries claim. I condemn thee, I condemn thee, I condemn thee. There, how as that ?
#7
BY various MSM-Net Perts + Bloggers, it would appear both the US + China are using similar tactics, i.e. THE CHINESE ARE PICKING DISPUTED ISLANDS WHERE US-SPECIFIC MUTUAL DEFENSE OBLIGATIONS BY TREATY ARE AMBIVALENT, SUBJECTIVE, OR IN THE CASE OF VIETNAM NON-EXISTENT.
Meanwhile, PHIL Govt Officials-Politicos proclaim the US is not obligated under EDCA to come to the PHIL defense as per Chinese contruction on PHIL-claimed Mabini Reef + Other, or IIUC even iff China attacks Luzon, etc. in retaliation for any PHIL-only milaction in defense of its claims on Mabini Reef, etc???
ALL THINGS EQUAL, AS IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ASSAD, + UKRAINE-CRIMEA CRISIS IT COMES DOW TO THE PERSONAL LEADERSHIP, ACTION-VS-NON-ACTION, OF THE POTUS CURRENTLY IN THE US WHITE HOUSE.
Again, OWG GLOBALISM + CO-SUPERPOWERISM = OBAMA-THE-ANTI-US-GLOBALIST = HOW MUCH OR HOW FAR CAN THE US = GREAT POWERS SAFELY GIVE UP, RETREAT OR OTHERWISE FALL BACK GEOPOL ACROSS THE WORLD WIDOUT BEING EXISTENTIALLY THREATENED OR DESTROYED - HOW MUCH IS "TOO MUCH", HOW FAR IS "TOO FAR", ETC. WIDIN THE GLOBALIST AGENDA!?
Espec by MilPol aggressive, former Geopol enemies rivals, or protagonist wannabes whom are now, desired, or soon-will-be OWG PAR NUCLEAR CO-SUPERPOWERS, VEE THE NEVER-ENDING "GREAT GAME" = SUBSTITUTION/REPLACEMENT OF NATION(S) + WEALTH BY ANOTHER.
It is unknown numbers of East Asians, etal. whom will be killed or seriously wounded in these mighty War(s) for OWG Globalism + Co-Superpowerism - RELATIVELY FEW OR NO AMERICANS = AMERIKANS WILL DIE BECAUSE OBAMA-THE-GLOBALIST WILL BE GEOPOL "RETREATING" OR FALLING BACK ACROSS THE WORLD, OR AT MINIMA STAYING PUT, NOTSOMUCH DIRECTLY INTERVENING OR FIGHTING OR ... ...???
Reagan-Bush 41 era "Peace thru Strength" is now post-Cold War, post-9-11's "Leading from Behind" aka "Peace thru Weakness".
Or as I liked to put it back in the 1990's Net > "D *** NG IT, SUPPORT YOUR VICHY AMERIKA + OUR SACRED NATIONAL COMMUNISM" [you know - FASCISM], + "GOOD OWG AMERIKANS DEMAND THEIR RIGHT TO BE ATTACKED + DESTROYED"!
[VOA] WASHINGTON -- The United States' top naval officer said the Navy's growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region is beginning to show results and shape events, but acknowledges it will be 'a long-term effort.' Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, said he hopes the U.S. Navy will be able to expand cooperation with India once its new government takes its place. It might help if you offer Modi a Visa.
Speaking Monday at the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Greenert said the growing military-to-military dialogue with China is beginning to show results, especially in the South China Sea, where maritime tensions between China and its neighbors are on the rise.
He said China was among the Asia-Pacific powers that joined the United States last month in adopting a Code of Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES) during a meeting in Qingdao.
"They have had situations where they (China's navy) have intervened on our behalf, where one of our ships was being approached by a non-navy Chinese ship and being kind of harassed, and the commander of the [Chinese] warship said, I've spoken with this guy (U.S. ship commander), he's on constant course and speed, get out of the way, and actually positioned himself [between the ships]. And, there are a few examples of this. We are starting to shape events. We have got to manage our way through this, in my opinion, through this East China Sea and South China Sea [tensions]. We're not leaving. [emphasis mine]
They know that. They would be the leadership of the Chinese navy. We believe that we have to manage our way through this," said Greenert. China doesn't want to take on everybody at once.
The Philippines and Vietnam are among the nations that have territorial disputes with China. During President Obama's Asia trip last month, the United States signed a 10-year security agreement with Manila.
Greenert said navy-to-navy "interoperability" with the Philippines today is "reasonably good," but how the two countries build on that, he said, is a matter of discussion and could involve a status of forces-type agreement (SOFA). The U.S. Navy has also requested more port calls in Vietnam. Greenert also said he would like to see more cooperation with Hanoi "in a deliberate manner."
Speaking at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the admiral also expressed the hope the United States could renew a strategic partnership with India, a relationship he said the two navies once enjoyed.
"Stable mil-to-mil relations are there, they've been there with India. We need to improve our communications and our interoperability. Currently, we do exercise with the Indian navy. It's a lot of humanitarian assistance, search-and-rescue, [and] medical. But, my goal would be to get back to where we were in the mid-2000s. We were doing very comprehensive events in an exercise called Malabar, which is an annual exercise we have with the Indian navy. We were doing carrier operations together, very, very complex, integrating air wings, and I think it would be great if we could get back to that level," said Greenert.
Greenert said with the new Indian leadership coming to power, perhaps they would be willing to have a greater presence in the western Pacific. He said it will depend on what the political ramifications are and where they are willing to go.
The chief of naval operations said the Navy is fully committed to the Asia rebalance. Today, 51 of the Navy's 289 ships are deployed in the Asia-Pacific region, and that presence will grow to 58 ships next year and 67 by 2020.
Greenert says 23 nations are to take part in Rim of Pacific war game exercises off Hawaii, running June 26 to August 1, involving hundreds of aircraft, 40 warships and 25,000 military personnel, including army and navy forces from China for the first time.
#1
"...We are NOT leaving" > OTOH it is the view of certain PHIL Govt. leaders that the US isn't serious or truly defending the PHIL either.
To wit,
* ABS-CBN NEWS > [US-PHIL] EDCA USELESS, WON'T PROTECT PHIL TERRITORY: BELLO, who also believes the US is cheating the PHIL on not paying rent on the PHIL Milbases it uses ala Turkey [US$500.0M per annum], + it is the PHIL whom must pay the US for any improvements or upgrades made by the US to PHIL Milbases.
Akbayan Representative Walden Bello.
> No defense iff China attacks Luzon or widin PHIL territorial waters.
> EDCA applicable only to specific defense of Scarborough Shoal [Panatag Shoal], nine Spratly islands, + PHIL continental shelf.
> EDCA USELESS AS PER CHINA'S NEW CONTRUCTION ON MABINI REEF.
* RELATED PHILIPPINES NEWS > [Ferdinand Marcos, JR]BONGBONG: PHIL IN LOSING END OF [EDCA] DEFENSE DEAL WID US.
* Also from PHILIPINES NEWS > NO, BEIJING'S SOUTH CHINA SEA OFFENSIVE ISN'T ABOUT OIL + FISH.
* WORLD NEWS > [SCMP] SOUTH CHINA SEA CLAIMANTS MUST STEEL THEMSELVES AGZ MORE AGGRESSIVE CHINA.
* SAME > [VOA] CHINA'S SCS STRATEGY UNMOVED BY VIETNAM PROTESTS.
* SAME > [PHIL Sun-Star] VALDERAMA: CHINA MAY GROW LARGER.
Which gener speaking is what OBAMA-THE-GLOBALIST + ANTI-US GLOBALISTS desire as per their OWG Co-Superpowers - HOWEVER ROUGH, GEOPOL + NUCLEAR "PARITY" WID THE USA AT MINIMA, NOT "INFERIORITY".
CHINA = RUSSIA = IRAN = BRAZIL? = ???? = AS THESE GROW LARGER, CONVERSELY THE US MUST VOLUNTARILY OR FORCIBLY SHRINK.
Again, SEVEN [more?] US-STYLE PAR OWG CO-SUPERPOWERS FOR SEVEN GLOBAL FED UNIONS [more?] ON SEVEN CONTINENTS.
At least for starters.
* VOICE OF RUSSIA > US NOT CAPABLE OF CONFRONTING RUSSIA + CHINA AT SAME TIME - POLITICAL ANALYST.
#3
You can always drag some of those soon to be broken/mothballed ships out there and sink them. Give notice of future territorial claims to the 'reef'.
#4
I seem to recall a rather inhospitable departure from Subic Clark and other bases when it seemed that the USN was not viewed fondly. What, you want us back committed to your existence? Gee, maybe we should think about it.
#7
BELLO, who also believes the US is cheating the PHIL on not paying rent on the PHIL Milbases it uses ala Turkey [US$500.0M per annum], + it is the PHIL whom must pay the US for any improvements or upgrades made by the US to PHIL Milbases.
That's right. Harass Uncle Sam about rent. That should make the US more inclined to risk blood and treasure to defend the PI.
#8
China at this time would like to remind ASEAN + Japan that they have NucWeapons, + more Ships + PLanes + Tanks, etc. than they do.
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > BEIJING: US "MUST USED TO CHINA'S RISE" | WASHINGTON'S ENGAGEMENT IN TERRORIAL ISSUES "COMPLICATES [already pre-existing?] PROBLEMS".
* TOPIX > [BNN] CHINA PRESIDENT SAYS ASIA NATIONS SHOULD AVOID MILITARY TIES OUTSIDE OF REGION.
China = Xi means the USA - however, XI is seemingly hypocritically also proposing a new Asia-only security structure which can include Russia + Iran + CENTASIA states.
* RELATED SAME > [American Thinker] CHINA + RUSSIA AGREE TO CONTAIN THE USA.
* RELATED BIGNEWSNETWORK > EURASIAN ECONOMIC UNION SOON TO BE REALITY.
Russia, Belarus, + Kazakhistan.
* BIG NEWS NETWORK > [VOA News] VIETNAM: CHINA OIL RIG "SERIOUSLY THREATENS [regional]PEACE", + stability + martime safety + freedom of navigation.
* SAME > JAPAN PROPOSES MILITARY PRESENCE IN REMOTE ISLANDS, i.e. Amami Oishima, Miyakogima, + Ishigakijima NEAR nANSEI + Senkaku Islands.
IMO the US = USDOD should be doing the same thing ala the CNMI + Bonins.
* WORLD NEWS > [PHIL Star] FEW BARRIERS TO CHINA'S PUSH IN SOUTH CHINA SEA.
* SAME > TAIPEI: SEA DISPUTES AFFECT TAIWAN SECURITY.
* SAME > [Malaysia Business Insight] CHINA ANSWERS ASEAN + OBAMA.
ARTIC = ...
> China is exploiting historical regional divisions + rivalries = lack of unity.
> China next target could be PAGASA ISLAND = CHINA-CLAIMED ZHONGYE ISLAND, a scenario which will liley de facto mean war wid the PHIL + invocation of the US-PHIL mutual defense treaty???
[The Peninsula] A JP Morgan technology expert who fell to his death from the bank's tower in London's Canary Wharf financial district, killed himself, an inquest concluded on Tuesday.
Gabriel Magee, 39, a vice president with the corporate and investment bank's technology arm, plunged from the building in January, hitting a lower, 9th-floor roof. He was pronounced dead at the scene. His body was visible for hours to workers overlooking the JP Morgan tower in Canary Wharf.
"I am wholly satisfied that Gabriel jumped off the 32nd floor with the intention of killing himself," senior coroner Mary Hassell said in her conclusion.
She also said it was clear that work performance issues he had previously faced were consequences of personal troubles.
The inquest got written evidence from a senior toxicologist that Magee, an American, had an alcohol level nearly three times the legal driving limit. An empty bottle of tequila was found among his possessions.
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#1
The inquest got written evidence from a senior toxicologist that Magee, an American, had an alcohol level nearly three times the legal driving limit.
Making matters much worse, alcohol levels were literally off the legal charts for unassisted human flight.
#2
At the end, he was impressed by the gravity of the situation.
Leapers endanger other people. Guess we should circulate 'How To' among the financial community to go home, take your liquor, and retire to run your Bentley in the garage with all the doors and windows closed so as not to present a projectile threat to everyone else.
#4
..there are still enough vintage models still in demand among the likes of many potential jumpers to cover the issue. However, with government mandates and trendy status eco-alternatives, that will be problem damn soon. The government missed that opportunity to fine the estate for illegal CO2 emissions.
[Dhaka Tribune] The United States is ready to work closely with newly-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, its Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State... has said.
John Kerry congratulated Narendra Modi on becoming the Prime Minister of India and his party for a win in Lok Sabha election in a statement issued on Tuesday.
"The US stands ready to work closely with Prime Minister Modi and the new government to promote shared prosperity and strengthen our security."
"The friendship between world's oldest democracy and the world's largest democracy is absolutely vital and the US is deeply invested in our strategic relationship."
Kerry said the vote in India was "nothing short of remarkable: more voters cast their ballots freely and fairly than any other in world history."
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[Ynet] The upgrade of the commercial crossing will mean a 30% increase in the goods passing through it, boosting the Paleostinian economy.
This week, the Office of the Quartet ... The Quartet are the UN (xylophone), the United States (alto), the European Union (soprano), and Russia (shortstop). The group was established in Madrid in 2002 by former Spanish Prime Minister Aznar, as a result of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Tony Blair is the Quartet's current Special Envoy.... (of Middle East peacemakers) Representative will visit Amman to further discussions with the Jordanian government on the upgrade of the commercial crossing at Allenby Bridge between Jordan and the West Bank, aiming to increase the volume of containers passing through it.
The vast majority of the Paleostinian export market is with Israel. According to the Paleostinian Bureau of Statistics, some 70% of imports (worth some $4.7 billion) and 80% of exports (worth around $800 million) come from Israel or through it each year.
These figures have long troubled Paleostinian economic leaders, and they are looking for ways to diversify the Paleostinian export market and open up other markets.
Israel is also unhappy with these figures. Research carried out by the Office of the Quartet Representative and the Ministry for Regional Cooperation in Jerusalem found that if Allenby Bridge was equipped with a scanner capable of checking containers, it would see a 30% increase in the goods bring processed. Similar scanners are now being used in Haifa and Ashdod ports.
But Allenby Bridge is more important to the Paleostinians than Ashdod or Haifa, as this is the passing point for their exports to the Arab states to the east, mainly the rich Gulf states and Jordan.
There is no passage for Israeli goods at Allenby - it serves only the Paleostinians. There is currently no scanner at the bridge, and so no containers pass through, only trucks carrying crates of goods. This creates a problem as international companies, particularly in the Gulf, demand modern standards for goods and container packaging to make the transfers much more efficient.
At present, 1,400 trucks pass through Allenby each month. The vast majority of them are for import (raw materials, household items and food) and very few are used for export (such as agricultural produce and building materials). Furthermore, the Paleostinians import used cars, which are in high demand in the West Bank, via a special terminal at the bridge.
Some two years ago, the Quartet Representative Tony Blair and the Dutch foreign minister visited the bridge. Following a recommendation and encouragement by then-Paleostinian prime minister Salam Fayyad ...Fayyad's political agenda holds that neither violence nor peaceful negotiations have brought the Paleostinians any closer to an independent state. The alternative to both, violent negotiations, doesn't seem to be working too well, either... , the Dutch government announced that it would donate 8 million shekels to purchase a container scanner for the bridge.
In order to install and operate the system, a further investment of NIS 35 million was needed. In October 2013, Israel, at the initiative of Minister Silvan Shalom, took the decision to fund and carry out the infrastructure work needed to install the system. The scanner will be owned by the PA, but operated by Israel.
Those responsible for installing the container scanner and the necessary work on the Allenby Bridge will complete the project within approximately two years. At the same time, the Office of the Quartet Representative is working with the Jordanian authorities to upgrade the arrangements on the Jordanian side of the bridge, as well as at the port of Aqaba, which is vital for the passage of the goods.
[Ynet] Paleostinian Information and Technology Incubator, based in Gazoo City, helps small business by providing office space, advice, and financial support.
Let us hope it works, giving the people something to do besides dig tunnels and wait to blow themselves up.
Gazoo City, Gazoo Strip -- At Alsisy's women's apparel store, customers who spend more than $15 leave with tickets for a lottery offering prizes ranging from electronics to a new car. Part of a new campaign called "Buy from us", the idea is to help the densely-populated Gazoo Strip battle a growing recession.
"When we thought of 'Buy from us', we took in consideration the slowing economy here in the occupied Paleostinian territory," Ishaq Alewady, 27, the founder of Golden Bird, a consulting company, told The Media Line.
Golden Bird is housed at the Paleostinian Information and Technology Incubator, PICTI, in Gazoo City. PICTI is funded by several international organizations, including the US Agency for International Development, AID, and the British-based Oxfam. The idea is to provide office space and support to small companies to help get them off the ground.
The Gazoo Strip, with about one-third of its 1.8 million residents living under the poverty line, and unemployment at 28 percent, seems a strange place for a technology incubator.
There are growing shortages of certain goods since Egypt closed off hundreds of underground smuggling tunnels that brought goods, from cement to spare cars, into Gazoo. Electricity blackouts are frequent, and hundreds of small businesses have closed down, because of Israeli restrictions on export from Gazoo.
But it is precisely here that PICTI is investing its energy, hoping that firms will use their services and then become independent.
"We stayed here at PICTI for one year, and now we have our own small office in Gazoo City," Alewady of Golden Bird told The Media Line. "For our current initiative of 'Buy from us' we have an angel investor paying for the campaign, including the grand prize of a new Hyundai Accent car."
The coupons encourage shoppers to spend more and stimulate Gazoo's economy.
"Our investor for the initiative lives here in Gazoo and he is keen to help and promote our idea," Mohammad Alherbawi, one of Alewady's partners in Golden Bird told The Media Line. "The more coupons we sell to shopkeepers here, the more our chances for success are. We have carried out a deliberate advertising campaigning throughout Gazoo."
Since 2008, the Paleostinian Information and Technology Incubator, PICTI, has been supporting and funding new creative technological ideas in the Gazoo Strip. PICTI's main branch is in the West Bank.
At its office in Gazoo City, PICTI hosts a series of small technology companies. For example, one university professor hopes to make electricity using radio waves.
"Last year, we funded 45 small initiatives like Golden Bird, each for an average of $5000, Abdallah Altahrwi, chief of programs with PICTI, told The Media Line. "This year, we are already funding 25 such projects. We plan to expand our office space, very soon, in order to host some other new programs."
Seed funds for youth
Fadi Alesawi, PICTI's director general, says the incubator offers help for recent university graduates and the unemployed in Gazoo.
the Gazoo Strip.
"We provide a seed fund along for creative youth and help them connect with other companies," Alwsawi said. "We never fund commercial businesses here -- we only support ideas that are unique and that could open up new horizons."
He said the goal is not necessarily to bolster Gazoo's economy overall. It is more to help Gazoo's youth become entrepreneurs.
[Dhaka Tribune] Thailand's army has declared martial law on Tuesday to restore order after six months of anti-government protests.
But the army denied that it was staging a military coup, reports Rooters.
The surprise announcement was made on telivision at 3am (4pm EDT on Monday).
The caretaker government led by supporters of self-exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra was still in office, military officials and the country's justice minister said.
Army chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha later said the military was taking charge of public security because of violent protests that had claimed lives and caused damage.
Nearly 30 people have been killed since the protests began in November last year.
"We are concerned this violence could harm the country's security in general. Then, in order to restore law and order to the country, we have declared martial law," Prayuth said.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/21/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
I have news from the home front. My younger bro teaches ESL in Bangkok, and say it is life as usual. There is no difference in day to day activities there .
#2
The protests had been winding or slowing down already - personally, I'm intrepreting this action by Thailand's army as a covert "safe" response to the still-escalating China-vs-Vietnam-n-PHIL brouhaha occurring over in the South China Sea.
Tailand doesn't need these mass proests to be taking place at the same time a major shooting war breaks out in the SCS.
[AnNahar] More than a million Iranians out of a population of 77 million drink alcohol, a participant in the country's First World Congress on Alcohol Abuse was quoted Tuesday as saying.
The ISNA news agency attributed the comments to Dr. Reza Afshari, president of the Asia Pacific Association of Medical Toxicology, based on a year-long study that ended in March 2013.
"More than a million Iranians drink alcohol. Thirty percent of drinkers are women and 70 percent men," Afshari said.
At the end of last year, Iran opened its first detoxification center for alcoholics, whose number the Iranian authorities estimate at 200,000 nationwide.
Drinking, possessing and selling alcohol have been illegal since the 1979 revolution, and only the Christian minority has the right to produce it.
Because of the scale of the problem in Iran, police often mount roadside breath-test checks, with offenders being fined two million rials ($60, 44 euros).
Much of the alcohol consumed in Iran is smuggled in from Iraqi Kurdistan, but Iranians can buy locally made alcohol cheaper.
Media reports often speak of people dying after drinking adulterated alcohol.
#1
All wishful thinking. The Iranians are unhappy, true. So some drink. But that is only because they are pious Moslems who truly believe in the pure Truth of the Koran. Ask one.
There are also a lot of people who do hard drugs. Most of the Poppy crop in Afghanistan that is processed in Pakistan is distributed through Sistan Province in Iran. Dope is cheaper than a pint of milk, in Iran. But then the Iranians like rose water flavored Ice cream too.
I don't know what the Prostitution levels are among Moslems coming out of the Madrassas, but if you look at the lines in some secluded graveyards....
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
05/21/2014 7:31 Comments ||
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#2
A lot of people drink in supposed "dry" Islamic countries. Their laws worked about as well as ours did during the Prohibition era.
I see this as an opportunity. Cultural understanding and peace promotion. Kill the clerics and have a huge kegger with the people.
[MEDIA] Fox News military analyst Ralph Peters defended embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary General Eric Shinseki Wednesday morning, ahead of a White House meeting that may very well bring an end to Shinseki's tenure. Peters said Shinseki had been a "whipping boy" despite years of progress made on clearing the Veterans Affairs' backlog. No worries, Champ just doubled down on failure, cites decades of VA problems [read that, Bush's fault too], sending his new man to Phoenix, articulates numerous successes, FLOTUS and Biden's efforts, his concern.
#1
No worries, Champ just doubled down on failure, cites decades of VA problems [read that, Bush's fault too], sending his new man to Phoenix, articulates numerous successes, FLOTUS and Biden's efforts, his concern.
#2
He got the internal memo, just like champ did. Only it was his job to take care of it. Shinseki fail us all. But then as a general he was really nothing more than a bureaucrat as well. His claim to fame was a uniform change, the beret....
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
05/21/2014 15:20 Comments ||
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More people may be visiting hospital emergency departments this year as health benefits from Obamacare went live, according to a survey of physicians published Wednesday.
The American College of Emergency Physicians polled more than 1,800 emergency room doctors last month, and 46 percent reported increases in patients coming through their doors since Jan. 1, the day coverage took effect for millions under Obamacare. Twenty-seven percent said the number hadn't changed and 23 percent had seen a decline since Jan. 1. Over the next three years, 86 percent of these doctors believe emergency room use will increase.
The survey findings underscore the challenges beyond extending health coverage to more people, including improving access to primary care and changing the habits of patients accustomed to using the emergency room as a one-stop-shop for medical care. One of Obamacare's selling points was its potential to reduce costly emergency room visits for care that could more efficiently be delivered in a doctor's office or other setting, especially for patients who previously were uninsured. Increases in ER visits may provide critics fodder to contend the law isn't fulfilling that promise.
"Coverage does not equal access," said Rebecca Parker, an emergency room doctor in Chicago who is on the board of directors at the Irving, Texas-based American College of Emergency Physicians. "Just because you gave somebody Medicaid doesn't mean that there's a place for them to go in terms of a primary care, outpatient facility," she said.
According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, there will be nearly 30,000 too few primary care physicians in the United States to meet patient demand next year, and that gap will widen in the future as more people gain coverage and the population ages.
Patients with and without health insurance seek care from hospital emergency departments for a variety of reasons, including knowledge that hospitals offer a wider array of services than a doctor's office.
A federal law dating to 1986 forbids hospitals from turning patients away from emergency rooms regardless of their ability to pay, which attracts individuals who lack the means to afford medical care elsewhere. In addition, emergency departments lure patients who don't have access to a nearby doctor, or when physician offices are closed at night and on weekends. And patients don't have the medical expertise to tell whether symptoms like chest pains mean they're having a heart attack or indigestion.
#1
Triage. This is where the gate-keepers of the death panels will gain their foothold.
See the VA waiting lists. O'care will soon require that gov't. regulators control the way in which, and when, primary care access is doled out. If you have to wait for the diagnosis then you may just die first, no?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[DENVER.CBSLOCAL] It's a fairly standard greeting ... the "hello" handshake. Whenever I meet a new patient, I say Hi, introduce myself, and stick my hand out for a shake. And if it's someone I have seen before, there's a Hi, how have you been, with a simultaneous handshake.
Bouteflika
the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon
[VOA] WASHINGTON -- The United States' top naval officer said the Navy's growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region is beginning to show results and shape events, but acknowledges it will be 'a long-term effort.' Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the Chief of Naval Operations, said he hopes the U.S. Navy will be able to expand cooperation with India once its new government takes its place.
[Dhaka Tribune] The United States is ready to work closely with newly-elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government, its Secretary of State 
Quartet
[Dhaka Tribune] Thailand's army has declared martial law on Tuesday to restore order after six months of anti-government protests.
