Tag Archives: health

Fukushima

Pacific Ring of Fire & Japan Modern Day Atlantis round 5: Southern Honshu could suffer Tsunami even larger than the one that hit in March 2011

A team of researchers from University of Tokyo, and Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), have discovered that southern Honshu will get hit by a much larger tsunami, than the one that hit north eastern Honshu in March, 2011.

Their reason is that they’ve discovered, off the Kii Peninsula, a deep ocean fault cliff that’s 200 km (124 miles) long and 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) tall!

The Kii Peninsula is on the Central Tectonic, or Japan Median Tectonic, fault line, which runs from eastern Honshu down through Kyushu.  On the south side of that line is the highly unstable Philippine Plate.

Professors are now warning local officials that they need to draw up new earthquake/tsunami survival plans in light of the discovery.

JAPAN MODERN DAY ATLANTIS ROUND 4: MINAMISANRIKU, HOMETOWN OF HEROINE MIKI ENDO IS BECOMING THE ATLANTIS I PREDICTED

Business/Economics, International, Technology, U.S.

Are you a health care worker who wants to get out of the United States? Japan wants you!

Japan is facing a major shortage of health care workers.  Partly because millions of Japanese have left the country due to the ongoing nuclear disaster, but also because Japan’s national qualification test for health care workers is too tough.

Most foreign health care workers, in Japan, come from Philippines and Indonesia.  For the latest exam the Japanese government tried to make it easier by adding Hiragana alphabet and English equivalents for technical terms.

The pass rate for foreign health care workers is only 2.6%!!!  But don’t blame it on the fact that they might not understand the Japanese language, half of all Japanese who take the test, fail!

Don’t worry, if you go to Japan for a new life as a health care worker, you’ve got four years (after you’ve arrived in Japan) to practice your Japanese, along with three years of official training, before you have to take test.

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Pale Green Horse, Radiation & Global Food Crisis: Japan to increase radiation detectors in food industry, sets new contamination standards

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.

Japan’s food industry is being required to install more cesium detectors in their factories, and the Health Ministry says it can pay for only half of them.  Japan’s food  producer will have to find a way to pay for the rest.

Japan’s Health Ministry has also changed contamination guide lines.  They’ve actually made them stricter when it comes to cesium.  Beginning April, 2012, general food products will be allowed 100 becquerels of cesium per kilogram, which is an 80% reduction from the current “safe” level.

Also, baby food and milk will be allowed to contain 50 becquerels.  However, drinking water will be allowed only 10 becquerels.  I wonder why they think it’s OK to have 50 becquerels in milk but only 10 in water?

To question, even more, the 10 becquerel drinking water limit is the fact that the new cesium detection equipment can not detect any cesium below 25 becquerels!  So how can they test the water accurately?

Business/Economics

How would you like your Coffee? Black, White or Asian? Or, Would you like some Cancer with your Tea or Energy Drink?

A small study was done on women who drank beverages with caffeine. The results showed that it mattered if the woman was Caucasian, black-African, or Asian.

Regarding coffee, Asian women had a jump in estrogen levels.  Caucasian women had a huge drop in estrogen, and black-African women had very little change.

The study also suggested that women of child bearing age are not affected by coffee: “For women of reproductive age, drinking coffee will not alter their hormonal function in a clinically significant way.”-Enrique Schisterman, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development

However, caffeinated soda pop, and black teas, caused an across the board increase in estrogen for all women in the study!  The researchers are concerned because some cancers are linked to high levels of estrogen.

The study did not look at how caffeine affects women older than 44 years.  It was released online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

2010: ALCOHOL IN ENERGY DRINKS? NOT MANY.

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: India reporting new strain of 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.

According to the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), a new strain of H5N1 is responsible for the deaths of more than 500 crows.

The crows died three months ago, and test results have finally come in.  It’s an H5N1 strain never seen in India before, and might have come from Vietnam: “We have compared it to the strains from Vietnam, Indonesia and other places in Asia and found similarities with the Vietnam strain.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

The last version of H5N1 that hit India is called Clade 2.2.  This new Vietnam like strain is called Clade 2.3.2.1.  Understanding the versions are important: “Since the strain is a new form of bird flu, we have to be very careful. Once the virus is characterized and gene sequencing done we will be able to gauge the impact on bird health and then label as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

In Vietnam H5N1 has already killed one Vietnamese man this year.

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: H5N1 first 2012 deaths in Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia

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.

Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam are reporting the first human deaths due to H5N1, for 2012.  Unlike the Chinese cases, in these cases the people were in contact with sick birds.

As I wrote before, a two year old in Cambodia got sick with H5N1, he died last week.

Vietnam reported the death of an 18 year old man, who worked on a duck farm.  But the government of Vietnam is now trying to downplay it by issuing official reports saying their anti-Avian Flu program is a success.  Vietnam recently killed off thousands of poultry after finding some infected with H5N1.  Vietnamese officials say the family of the man who died is now under health watch.

Indonesia reports two deaths, and they might be human to human infections.  A 23 year old man, and his five year old relative, died from H5N1.  They lived with an extended family on a poultry farm.

Including the deaths in China, between December 31, 2011, and January 23, 2012, six people have died from H5N1.

 

 

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: H5N1 takes life of Second Chinese man who had no contact with birds

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.

For the second time in less than four weeks, a man in southern China died after getting sick with H5N1.

On December 31, 2011, a bus driver died after getting H5N1, a little more than one week after getting sick.

That also followed an outbreak of H5N1 in poultry in Hong Kong.  Both deaths in China happened in southern provenances.  Many of the poultry sold in Hong Kong comes from southern Chinese provenances.  However, the bus driver never came into contact with birds, and it looks like the same might be true for the man who just died.

The man who just died got sick on January 6, was admitted into hospital, then died on January 22/23.  Like the bus driver, relatives say he had no contact with birds.

 

 

 

Fukushima

Pale Green Horse & Government Evil: Japan breaks own laws and destroys Nuclear Disaster meeting records!

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 Japanese news media agency, NHK, has discovered that the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has destroyed (or never kept) records of at least 21 nuclear disaster meetings, in direct violation of Japanese law!

NHK discovered the illegal act when it demanded to see the public records of the meetings.  What NHK got was a list of items discussed at the meetings, but no detailed minutes.

NHK was told no records of the actual discussions were kept.  NHK says Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency officials told them they were too busy to keep records!

The meetings took place after the General Electric designed Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant went critical following the 11 March 2011, earthquake and tsunamis.

Also missing are records of government meetings with the operator of Fukushima Daiichi, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCo).

NHK says they wanted to see the documents because they were part of the government’s disaster reaction decision making.  Both the Japanese government, and TEPCo, have been accused of dragging their feet, taking too little action in dealing with the ongoing nuclear disaster.

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & Government Incompetence: Idaho inspectors tip off schools before “surprise” food safety inspections. Do you know what your kids are being fed? Idaho health districts not on the same page when it comes to inspections.

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.

Lincoln Elementary School, in Twin Falls, Idaho, has several complaints about food safety violations, however, state health officials actually tipped off school officials before their so called “unannounced” inspection.  As a result, no violations were found.

Current Idaho regulations state that food inspections must be “unannounced”, yet health inspectors for Idaho’s South Central Public Health District violated their own rules, warning Lincoln Elementary officials of the inspection, saying it was common “courtesy”: “We want to maintain a good partnership with the schools.”-Melody Bowyer, South Central Public Health District

That’s your taxpayer dollars at work!  The whole idea of surprise inspections is to catch the food service off guard, to see how they really operate on a day to day bases. It’s even more important when you get several complaints from the taxpaying public!

But Idahoans should be concerned even more, because even with the “courtesy” warnings of inspections dozens of schools have failed inspections (according to a Times-News report)!

Another problem is school officials. Take Wendell School District, they hired a new food service director a month ago, but when asked by local media she revealed that she was not aware that the school had food safety violations in the recent past.  She’s not concerned because: “Schools have to hold themselves to a higher standard. In my experience, that’s what I’ve seen and that’s what we’re going to do in Wendell.”-Michelle Shady

Parents don’t know who they can trust: “Knowing the schools are clean is important, it would be foolish to say otherwise, but I don’t know who to contact to make sure. I guess it’s one of those things you don’t talk about until a problem comes up.”-Jerry Evers, children attend Wendell High School

If you live in Idaho you can go here to find your Public Health District.  There are links to each of the seven districts in Idaho.  However, I found it hard to find the so called public food inspection reports alluded to in a Times-News article.  In fact there is no standardized presentation of each of the seven health districts’ websites.

The Times-News (covering South Central Idaho, District 5) article said food inspections are to be unannounced, yet, on the Central Idaho (District 4) website they said only one unannounced inspection per year was required.

It’s the Central Idaho District 4 website that is the most helpful, as they do make access to their food inspections easy.  You click on “Environmental Health”, then click on “Food”, then click on “Inspections”.  You then get to a page that has links to recent District 4 inspection results.  However, this is not possible on most of the other districts’ websites!!!

Southwest Idaho’s District 3 asks you to conduct a search by name or city, in order to find out inspection results.

Idaho’s Panhandle District 1 has a Quick Link titled “Restaurant Inspections” on the Environmental Health page, requiring a search by name or city.

For Districts 2 (North Central), 5 (South Central, so I wonder where the Times-News got their info), 6 (Southeastern) & 7 (Eastern) there were no links to local public food inspection reports under the “Environmental Health/Food” section.

Business/Economics, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & Medical Incompetence: FDA says blood from American Red Cross still not safe to use

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.

Yet again, the American Red Cross (ARC) has been fined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for continued violations of blood safety rules.

“Since the FDA and American Red Cross’s 2003 agreement, the Red Cross has been previously fined $37 million, but the substandard performance of critical Red Cross blood handling functions continues.”-Sidney Wolfe, Public Citizen’s Health Research Group

In an official letter made public on January 13, the ARC was fined $9.59 million for failure to correct violations.  This is not the first time, the ARC has been cited at least 14 times, and fined at least $37 million since 2003!

The ARC insists that the country’s blood supply is “safer today than ever before”, yet implied a confrontational attitude towards the FDA: “We don’t discuss our relationship with the FDA.”-Stephanie Millian, Red Cross spokeswoman

Problems listed include improper training of ARC volunteers in handling blood, and lack of staffing due to consolidation (downsizing?) of facilities in Philadelphia and North Carolina.