American Police Force Story Getting Stranger
September 30th, 2009I really expected this story to die out and blow away pretty fast. Boy, was I wrong. It’s getting weirder by the day. I’ll start posting interesting information on main American Police Force story.
Military to Get Mandatory Swine Flu Shots Within Days
September 30th, 2009Via: AP:
A top U.S. military commander says troops will begin getting required swine flu shots in the next week to 10 days. Active duty forces deploying to war zones and other critical areas are at the front of the vaccine line.
Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart also told The Associated Press that as many as 400 troops are ready to go to five regional headquarters around the country to assist federal health and emergency management officials if needed as the flu season heats up.
The Pentagon has bought 2.7 million vaccines, and 1.4 million of those will go to active duty military. National Guard troops on active duty are also required to receive the vaccine, as are civilian Defense Department employees who are in critical jobs.
Britain: Girl Dies After Receiving Cervical Cancer Vaccine
September 29th, 2009UPDATE: Ambulance Called for Second Girl Who Received Cervarix at Same School as Natalie Morton:
Unfortunately, the source is the Daily Mail.
Via: Daily Mail:
Another schoolgirl at Blue Coat Church of England School needed an ambulance after having the cervical cancer jab, it emerged last night.
The 15-year-old pupil became cold, weak and dizzy less than an hour after the vaccine and only a short time after schoolmate Natalie Morton became fatally ill.
Her symptoms were so severe that paramedics did emergency blood tests and an ECG scan in a back room at the school, the girl’s mother said.
The teenager refused to go to hospital because of a phobia of ambulances so her mother collected her from school on Monday.
The girl remains ill with chronic chest and back aches and loss of appetite.
Her twin sister also had the vaccine on Monday but suffered only a sore arm and tiredness. Neither have any allergies.
Last night the mother criticised Blue Coat School for failing to contact her and check on her daughter’s condition.
NHS Direct advised that she monitor her daughter and wake her during the night to check her responsiveness.
The mother, who has five children including twins, told the Daily Mail: ‘She was and still is really quite ill. I don’t know what caused it but she went to school perfectly healthy and became sick soon after the vaccine.
‘Now she’s completely out of sorts.
Paramedics said she might have been low on blood sugar because she hadn’t eaten lunch. But that’s not true – she did have lunch on Monday.
‘It’s a very anxious time. My daughter knew Natalie from seeing her around school and she’s petrified that whatever killed Natalie might have got to her too.
‘I’m angry that the school sought emergency medical help but haven’t followed it up at all. What happened is tragic for Natalie but where is the help in place for the girls who suffered side effects?
‘The school could face further tragedy unless they look after the victims of what seem to be horrendous symptoms from this cervical cancer vaccine.’
—End Update—
Before we get to the latest murder, let’s review the Ashleigh Cave story:
The mother of a 13-year-old girl who became partly paralysed after being given a cervical cancer vaccination says social workers have told her the child may be removed if she (the mother) continues to link her condition with the vaccination.
…
In the first of those cases, Ashleigh Cave, 13, from Liverpool, began experiencing severe headaches and dizziness half an hour after being inoculated last October with Cervarix, which guards against girls contracting the human papilloma virus.
The schoolgirl was soon collapsing repeatedly; she lost the use of her legs and was admitted to Alder Hey children’s hospital. Nearly 11 months later she is still in hospital and is unable to stand or walk unaided. Her mother, Cheryl, has now been told that doctors believe her condition must be psychosomatic.
“The hospital brought in social workers from the local authority who have told me they are considering putting Ashleigh on an at-risk register,” Cheryl Cave said. She is convinced her daughter’s paralysis was caused by the vaccination.
Cave said that a social worker from Sefton council said she suspected her of having Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy or factitious illness syndrome — controversial conditions in which mothers are said to attribute illnesses falsely to their children in order to gain attention.
Cave said: “The social worker said I should stop believing the injection has anything to do with Ashleigh’s condition because I am putting my thoughts on to her and stopping her getting well.
“Since Ashleigh was in hospital she has become incontinent and had double kidney infections and chest infections. Have I made all these up?”
I guess the doctors won’t say that Natalie Morton is making it all up.
She’s dead.
But hey, that’s what coincidence is for.
Via: BBC:
Health chiefs have launched a “full and urgent” investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl after she was given a cervical cancer vaccine at school.
Natalie Morton died in hospital on Monday after receiving the Cervarix jab at the Blue Coat Church of England School in Coventry.
…
There have been 4,657 suspected reactions to Cervarix from more than 1.4m doses, according to experts.
The Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency added it had received 2,137 reports between 14 April 2008 and 23 September this year.
However, the risk of severe, potentially life-threatening reactions is estimated at no more than one per million doses of vaccine.
And it is possible that Natalie’s death was due to an underlying health problem, or was a coincidence, and nothing directly to do with the vaccine.
Dizziness and nausea
The batch of the vaccine used has been placed into quarantine as a “precautionary measure”.
The local NHS also confirmed the vaccination programme would continue, but after a “short pause”.
Dr Caron Grainger, joint director of public health for NHS Coventry and Coventry City Council, said their sympathies were with the girl’s family and friends.
She said: “The incident happened shortly after the girl had received her HPV vaccine in the school. No link can be made between the death and the vaccine until all the facts are known and a post-mortem takes place.
“We are conducting an urgent and full investigation into the events surrounding this tragedy.”
A small number of girls at the school had also reported mild symptoms such as dizziness and nausea but were not admitted to hospital.
…
Dr David Elliman, a consultant in community paediatrics at Great Ormond Street Hospital, told the BBC it was important to investigate “very quickly” to allay people’s fears about the safety of the jab.
He said: “Once in a while you will expect someone to have a severe allergic reaction to a vaccine, just as with food or any medication.
“At this stage we don’t know what was the tragic cause of this child’s death, so whether or not it’s linked we cannot say, but these are the sort of things one would look for – a severe allergic reaction or more likely a coincidence.”
Related: Social workers to place paralysed cancer jab girl on “at-risk” register
Research Credit: SW
Solar Panel Theft in California Wine Country
September 29th, 2009Collapse, California style.
Via: NBC News:
Wine Country is experiencing an unusual crime spree. The target of the thieves isn’t an expensive merlot or pinot, but something less fruity: solar panels.
The latest hit happened at an undisclosed winery in Rutherford early Monday morning. The Napa County Sheriff’s Office says 25 solar panels worth $30,000 were stolen.
It is the 16th theft of solar panels in Napa County since January 2008. Ten of the businesses were wine-related. That adds up to about $400,000 worth of panels.
The majority of the thefts happen late at night or early in the morning at rural locations, Capt. Tracey Stuart said. She added that she thinks the panels are probably being resold.
“It’s not something somebody can just throw in the back of a vehicle. It requires some planning, probably more than one person and also to be able to do this when people aren’t around to observe them because it’s not something you can do in five minutes,” Stuart said.
ZD Winery told NBC Bay Area’s Jodi Hernandez they have been hit twice by solar thefts. In response, they’ve made security improvements in hopes of keeping the thieves at bay for a third time including the addition of tamper resistant labels on the panels and covering the bolts in apoxy.
Owner Robert deLeuze called it disheartening because he was doing his best to help out the environment. He said to have somebody come in and shut it down was frustrating.
“The thieves came around from the backside. They cut our neighbors fence. Came back around the property and cut our fence again and entered from our neighbors property. They had to know what they were doing. They had to disconnect the electrical properly and unbolt the panels from the array and get them off the structure and onto their truck and they did it quite efficiently,” deLeuze said.
Other wineries have put up fences or tried to bolt the panels to the ground. So far that isn’t stopping the thieves.
In the latest case, the thieves drove through a field and knocked down two trees on their way to the panels.
Investigators think there is more than one group responsible.
The sheriff’s department is working with the Napa County Vintners Association to help wineries protect themselves.
North Carolina: Panhandling Permits
September 29th, 2009Via: WRAL:
During the down economy, panhandling-related offenses are on the rise in Raleigh. So far this year, police have arrested 212 people on charges, such as panhandling without a permit, loitering and pedestrian interference.
During the same time last year, 162 people had been arrested.
Martin Sansalone said he knows how to panhandle within the city’s guidelines. He has been asking for money on the corner of Interstate 440 and Poole Road for four years.
The 62-year old says, for him, begging is about survival.
“I couldn’t pay the bills,” he said.
Sansalone lives in a homeless campsite in the woods near the intersection.
“We are just gambling out here right now,” he said of life on the streets.
On a good day, Sansalone said he can make $20 an hour panhandling, but he must have a permit from the Raleigh Police Department.
“Oh yeah, I got a permit,” he said Monday afternoon.
The permits last a year and without one, beggars could be arrested and fined.
Thomas Mills was charged Friday with begging without a permit, according to an arrest warrant. The 38-year-old homeless man was taken into custody on the corner of I-440 and Hillsborough Street.
“If they are going to be panhandling, begging in the city of Raleigh, they are expected to have that permit,” said Raleigh police spokesman Jim Sughrue.
The permits are free, but a photo ID is needed to apply.
“Once it is made certain they are not people who are wanted for anything, then a permit can be issued to them,” Sughrue said.
The permits are designed to help police identify the panhandlers, while also pointing out guidelines. The permit asks that there be no aggressive begging and no blocking traffic. Panhandlers are also advised to stay away from ATM machines and to operate between the hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
When Farming Is Just About Money: New Zealand’s Biggest Dairy Farmer Allows Calves to Starve to Death
September 29th, 2009If you’re outside of New Zealand, chances are that this isn’t all over your mainstream media. In New Zealand, this is a very big story.
Anytime food production is turned into an industrial process that involves commoditization and absurd commitments to international bankers, there are going to be atrocities.
Predictably, much of the outrage is directed at Allan Crafar. And yes, clearly, the guy lost the plot and his miscalculations finally resulted in… this.
In what kind of environment can something like this happen, and who’s actually benefiting from the financial arrangements that are making these large scale farms possible?
This is much bigger than Allan Crafar and a bunch of dead calves.
Dairy farming is a strategic component of New Zealand’s economy. Fonterra is the corporation that moves the milk around, makes lots of products out of it, and sells all of that stuff domestically and abroad. Fonterra is largest corporation in New Zealand and it alone is responsible for about 25% of New Zealand’s exports. Fonterra is responsible for about 40% of the global trade in dairy products.
Farmers have gone “all in” with mostly Australian and Dutch banks to borrow the huge sums of money required to establish dairy operations. The result is that ninety five percent of the milk that’s produced in New Zealand is exported. (Most of the profits earned by the banks are exported as well.)
What’s the real cost of producing this much milk on pasture?
People are jumping up and down over the dead calves in this ugly incident. Yes. That’s definitely horrible. However, look at the mouth of a river in a region where intensive dairying is underway. See that brown water? That’s the dirt washing out to sea. Too many animals. Not enough trees (cleared to make cow pastures). Lots of rain. All of this adds up to soil erosion.
In New Zealand, we’re proud of the fact that animals are raised on pasture, but most people don’t stop to think about what it takes to grow all of that grass.
HAHA. Nuts.
Now, why not just back it off a bit, run fewer animals over larger areas, etc.? Why are such high levels of intensity required for agricultural production in New Zealand?
Remember the part above about absurd commitments to international bankers?
I need to be VERY careful about what I say here because New Zealand is a village, and somebody’s auntie will know someone who will know someone, but let’s just say that I know some dairy farmers. When I learned what these people were paying in interest to the bank on a weekly basis, I took a step back in disbelief and my jaw hung slack. If a farmer has taken out a loan to buy a dairy farm, that guy is now engaged in a white knuckle death match between everything that happens on the farm, good and bad, and the bank.
Price of milk solids down?
“Pay me,” says the bank.
Fertilizer price triples in two years?
“Pay me,” says the bank.
Price of diesel fuel keeping farmers awake at night?
“Pay me,” says the bank.
Etc. It goes on and on, and on and on.
Obviously, farmers wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t worth it, and when times are good, that’s fine, but… what happens when the situation tightens up?
There is no government teat in New Zealand for farmers. There are no subsidies at all. New Zealand plays by free trade standards that few other countries abide by. New Zealand is the only country in the developed world that has totally dismantled farm subsidies. (I think farm subsidies are very bad, but I also think that very large scale farming is very bad.) The point is: At the end of the day, either a farmer can make his loan payments, or he can’t.
Eventually, in the process of going for broke, something usually breaks. In this particular case, there was a pile of calf carcasses on New Zealand television in prime time. There might be international economic implications for New Zealand because of this. However, the maximum-extraction-to-pay-interest-to-bankers reality that’s driving this kind of thing won’t come up.
People, in general, don’t want to hear about it. They’re too busy trying to come up with interest payments.
Via: Interest New Zealand [WARNING: Graphic images and video.]:
New Zealand’s biggest privately held dairying operation allowed dozens of calves on one of its massive farms on North Island’s central plateau to slowly dehydrate to death earlier this month, triggering a MAF investigation but no prosecution.
New York Health Workers: Get Vaccinated or Get Fired
September 29th, 2009There are many people reading this who work in health care. How hard would it be to “obtain” a sample of the actual H1N1 vaccine and have it analyzed?
What I mean is: A sample from the stuff that is actually distributed to clinicians and meant for use on the public. Assuming that a sample of the vaccine could be obtained, what would be the (approximate) cost to have it analyzed and what types of organizations could do that properly?
Is it possible that this would be done as a matter of routine? If so, where do we look to find that information?
Via: Newsday:
Despite a planned rally in Albany Tuesday to protest a state regulation requiring health care workers be vaccinated against influenza — both seasonal and swine flu — New York’s top public health official predicts dissenters will ultimately extinguish their anger and roll up their sleeves.
The regulation, which was approved in August, comes with a stinging addendum: Get vaccinated or get fired.
But some nurses and many other health care providers say the regulation violates their personal freedom and leaves them vulnerable to vaccine injury. And they cite deaths associated with the last federal government swine-flu vaccination program in 1976.
Bank of England Calls Emergency Meeting Over Sterling
September 28th, 2009Via: Telegraph:
The Bank of England has summoned the City’s leading economists to an unprecedented meeting in Threadneedle Street, as the pound plunges amid growing confusion over its radical Quantitative Easing (QE) policy.
The Bank will host a seminar of all London’s major economists next Tuesday – the first time it has invited them in en masse in recent memory – in what has been construed as a sign that it fears market participants are starting to lose faith in its efforts to pump cash into the economy. The move has also sparked speculation that it is poised to announce a major change to the monetary policy framework, although insiders dismissed such suggestions.
It came after the minutes from the Bank’s latest Monetary Policy Committee meeting revealed that the idea of cutting the interest rate banks are paid on the reserves they hold there was not discussed this month. The pound has lurched lower in recent weeks, thanks in part to speculation that the Bank will impose charges on banks for holding excessive amounts of cash in reserve at its vaults. Under QE, it is pumping £175bn into the economy, but much of this cash is sitting in banks’ reserve accounts rather than being recycled and flowing around the broader economy.
The suspicion that the Bank will soon take action to mitigate this has pushed down market interest rates sharply and contributed to an almost 5pc fall in the pound against other leading currencies. It has caused gilt prices and short-term interest rates to fluctuate wildly in recent weeks.
The Bank’s seminar, chaired by deputy Governor Charlie Bean, alongside chief economist Spencer Dale and markets director Paul Fisher, is intended to clear up this confusion. It sparked anticipation in the City not merely because the Bank has a reputation for extreme secrecy, but because some suspect it may come alongside an announcement over the Bank’s reserves policy. Others suspect the Bank is concerned that many think either that QE amounts to printing money, much as Zimbabwe and Weimar Germany did, or that it simply is not working.
However, insiders insisted that although the meeting was unusual, it is merely intended to mark six months since the policy began.
Spain: More Bad Economic News
September 28th, 2009Via: Telegraph:
Spain is sliding into a full-blown economic depression with unemployment approaching levels not seen since the Second Republic of the 1930s and little chance of recovery until well into the next decade, according to a clutch of reports over recent days.
The Madrid research group RR de Acuña & Asociados said the collapse of Spain’s building industry will cause the economy to contract for the next three years, with a peak to trough loss of over 11pc of GDP. The grim forecast is starkly at odds with claims by premier Jose Luis Zapatero, who still says Spain’s recession will be milder than elsewhere in Europe.
RR de Acuña said the overhang of unsold properties on the market, or still being built, has reached 1,623,000 . This dwarfs annual demand of 218,000, and will take six or seven years to clear. The group said Spain’s unemployment will peak at around 25pc, comparable to the worst chapter of the Great Depression.
Escalator Fall Kills Hedge Fund Manager
September 28th, 2009Via: NBC News:
A hedge fund executive died early Sunday morning after falling three floors from an escalator at The Pier Shops at Caesars, according to police.
Atlantic City police said James Vellanti, 40, fell from the third to the first floor. Vellanti lived in Clinton, Hunterdon County and was Chief Operating Officer for the hedge fund JNF Asset Management, LLC in New York. His LinkedIn profile says he went to West Chester University in the 1980s.
This is the second incident at The Pier. In August, Frank Gilbert, of Galloway Township, plunged about 40 feet and died of head injuries. Witness said Gilbert, 25, sat on the moving handrail and fell backward, according to Press of Atlantic City.
