Tag Archives: health

International, U.S.

Europe to be hit with new version of H3N2, Norway sees steady increase in cases

Norway’s Public Health Institute is warning of a possible H3N2 outbreak, after seeing an increase in cases since December 2011.

On the other side of the world, Japan is already dealing with at least 1.74 million cases!

H3N2 is an older type of “Swine Flu”, not to be confused with H1N1 swine flu (as the main stream media usually does).  However, in December 2011, U.S. health researchers warned of a possible outbreak of a new mutation of H3N2.

Back in Norway, public health officials are urging Europeans to get flu shots.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Black Horse & Poverty: 2 million people homeless in the United States! Homeless children increasing fast. HR 1734 & Private property developers part of the problem. Hey Mitt Romney, where are those safety nets?

“Many of the families with children are now homeless, having to live out of cars and things like that. We believe today that 40% of the homeless, in Washington [DC] are women with children, or families with children!”-David Treadwell, Central Union Mission

The National Law Center of Homelessness and Poverty (NLCHP) says that more than two million U.S. citizens are now homeless!!!

Most federal and state (in those states that have their own social programs separate from federal) government social programs have been gutted (mainly by those compassionate Republicans, like in Idaho), and privately run charities say they are getting swamped by more and more people needing help every year: “…it’s a big problem, and it’s a bigger problem in 2012 than it was in 2008! It is not going away…”-David Treadwell, Central Union Mission

To make matters worse, the U.S. Congress is considering a bill that would actually create more homeless people.  The bill, called HR 1734 in the House, would give power to private property developers to take over public land, and buildings, now used for low income and homeless people!

The federal government is so desperate for cash that they want to sell off federal property, including that used to help poor people, in order to raise the cash to pay the government’s debts.  The irony of HR 1734 is that it will actually cost the federal government an estimated $82 million to implement!  Sounds like more Mitt Romney style capitalism to me.

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

 

Business/Economics, International

Pale Green Horse & Global Food Crisis: Nepal hit by H5N1

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

The tiny country of Nepal has been hit with H5N1.

“We sent samples for investigation to London after chickens started to die of a mysterious disease in commercial poultry farms. We have received the test reports today that confirms infection of bird flu in poultry farms…”-Ram Krishna Khatiwada, Directorate of Animal Health

Some people reported feeling strange, but Nepal’s health officials say it is caused by fear, and that they don’t think any people have become infected.  At least 4,000 poultry will be killed in an attempt to stop the spread of H5N1 in Nepal.

 

 

International, U.S.

1.7 million Japanese infected with H3N2

February 5, 2012

Japan’s National Institute of Infectious Diseases has revealed that 1.73 million Japanese are infected with H3N2, a subtype of influenza A (aka Swine Flu, not to be confused with H1N1 Swine Flu).  The last time Japan was hit with H3N2 was five years ago!

According to a report from December, 2011, there were only ten cases of H3N2 reported worldwide, now Japan has 1.73 million!  All ten 2011 cases were in the United States.

There is a problem in dealing with H3N2 as there is actually two H3N2 viruses; one that is human to human, the other is pig to pig.  Back in 2011, health officials tracking H3N2 raised a warning because of the ten cases in the U.S. (mostly in Iowa).  They suspected that a new outbreak of human to human H3N2 was looming.

They were right, at least for Japan, as the 1.73 million people with H3N2 seem to have been infected just within the past month!  Japanese officials say schools have seen the most rapid spread of H3N2.  Many young people between the ages of five and 14 are infected.  All of Japan’s 47 prefectures are dealing with the infection.  So far no deaths are being reported.

 

 

 

International, U.S.

What Global Warming? Europe & Asia suffer freezing WX, at least 420 Europeans freeze to death, even North Africa affected

“It’s awful. I had to walk two hours through freezing temperatures just to get to the metro. The area is full of trees that have fallen on cars but no one’s come to help us.”-Federico Maneski, Rome, Italy

While North America is experiencing a warmer than normal winter, Europe and Asia are breaking records.  From record snowfall in Japan and Korea, to record low temps in Europe.

Japan and South Korea had reported record snowfall, and record freezing temps, but not as freezing as the temps in Europe.

As of February 6, at least 420 Europeans, mostly homeless people, have frozen to death!  Finland has hit -40 Celsius (-104 Fahrenheit)!   The deaths of people who do not have access to heat sources range from France, Italy, Poland, Romania to Ukraine.

In Serbia, an area of 70,000 people has been cut off by record snowfall.  Police and military units have to use helicopters to fly in supplies.  In Croatia, a woman gave birth to a daughter with the help of her neighbors in her village, because the road to the hospital was blocked by snow. She named her daughter Snjezana, which means Snow White in Croatian.

The freezing temps have even hit the North African country of Algeria.  16 people were killed when their cars slid off ice covered roads.

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Pale Green Horse & H5N1: Vietnam has second 2012 human death caused by Bird Flu

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

On February 1, 2012, the Vietnamese Health Ministry announced that a 26 year old woman died from H5N1.  It’s the second human death , for Vietnam, since the beginning of 2012.

Until now, Vietnam hasn’t had any human deaths caused by H5N1 for the past two years.

At the end of 2011, Vietnam killed off thousands of poultry, due to H5N1.  In January 2012, an 18 year old man died of H5N1.  The 26 year old woman is said to have worked on one of the poultry farms that was infected with H5N1.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & H5N1: More wild birds found dead in Honk Kong. Bangladesh dealing with full blown epidemic.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

In the past few weeks several wild birds have turned up dead, in Hong Kong, of H5N1.  On January 26, a dead goose tested positive for H5N1.  Of interest is that it was not from a poultry farm, and was no where near poultry when it was found.  Then on January 30, a dead peregrine falcon was found.  It died of H5N1, and was no where near any poultry farms.  Also on January 30, a black headed gull was found dead of H5N1, however it was found within three km (1.8 miles) of chicken farms.

In Bangladesh, officials have revealed they’ve been dealing with a full blown epidemic involving a dozen poultry farms.

From November to January 31, 67,327 birds and 69,390 eggs were destroyed, in an effort to stop the spread of H5N1.  Officials pointed out that normally the height of the H5N1 season is usually January/February, but they’ve been dealing with this latest outbreak since November!

Farmers in Bangladesh suffered such drastic poultry culling through the winter of 2009/10 as well.

Bangladesh was first hit with H5N1 in March 2007.  Many Asian countries have killed hundreds of thousands of farm birds, in an effort to stop H5N1.  Such action has to adversely affect food supply, and prices.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Black Horse & World War 3: China makes big, secret, gesture of support for new North Korean leader

…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

A South Korean spy group, who posed as tourists in North Korea, say they have photos of convoys of trucks from China, heading into North Korea.

They asked a truck driver what they were hauling and he said it was rice.  North Korea is known to have trouble with not enough food for its people, but China’s shipment of tons and tons of rice is unusual.

The South Korean group said the trucks came and went for 10 days.  Normally China does not send any rice shipments until spring or fall, not in winter.

Analysts think the early rice shipment is a sign to the new North Korean leader that he has the full support of China.  Also, North Korea has recently asked for resumption of food aid from the United States, as part of returning to negotiations, so maybe China is telling him not to worry about food from the U.S., good old Uncle Sino will take care of that.  And who knows, maybe what was in the trucks wasn’t rice?

Fukushima

What Economic Recovery? 130,000 Japanese flee 11 March 2011, disaster areas!

The Tohoku region, which has three of the prefectures hit hardest by the 11 March 2011 disasters, saw 129,385 people leave.

The prefectures affected are of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima.  Fukushima had the most people leave; 31,381.

Believe it or not, people did actually move into the region.  88,159 people moved in, making the net loss of population 40,000. According to Japan’s Internal Affairs Ministry, that’s still the biggest decline in population, in that region, since 1970.

Fukushima

Pacific Ring of Fire & Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 6: NE Honshu to be hit by another magnitude 8+ quake

Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC) is reporting that the March 11, 2011, magnitude 9 earthquake has created conditions for another large magnitude quake in the same region.

JAMSTEC studied the fault lines off the north east coast of Honshu and concluded that the March 11 quake changed the dynamics of the Pacific Plate, which subducts under Japan.

Normally aftershocks take place when established, or even new, fault lines are compressed.  The aftershocks that have continued since March 11, 2011, are not happening that way, they are the result of the faults being pulled apart.

This type of aftershock action can result in a huge earthquake.  The last time Japan suffered a magnitude 8+ quake, as a result of faults being pulled apart, was 80 years ago.

JAMSTEC says the chances of such a quake have greatly increased, as well as the chances of more massive tsunamis.  This follows a recent report about a huge fault cliff discovered off the southern end of Honshu.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 5: SOUTHERN HONSHU COULD SUFFER TSUNAMI EVEN LARGER THAN THE ONE THAT HIT IN MARCH 2011