[AnNahar] U.S. troops heading to Liberia to help fight the Ebola epidemic will help train health workers but will have no "direct contact" with patients infected with the virus, the Pentagon said Friday.
The 3,000-strong contingent due to deploy to Liberia will be focused on training health workers in the country and setting up facilities to help West African countries tackle the crisis, front man Rear Admiral John Kirby told a news conference.
The troops will carry protective gear but "there's no intent right now for them to have direct contact with patients," Kirby said.
The first U.S. military cargo plane arrived in Monrovia on Thursday as part of the U.S. effort to help fight the epidemic, he said, after President Barack Obama I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody... this week issued an appeal for urgent international action.
"Right now, the effort does not include U.S. military personnel treating Ebola patients," Kirby said. "We're going to be in support of other health care workers that are experts at doing this."
Kirby said a C-17 aircraft with equipment and seven service members landed on Thursday, with two more cargo planes expected this weekend in Monrovia carrying 45 personnel.
The small team will then set up a headquarters for Major General Darryl Williams, who will oversee the U.S. mission to train local health workers and establish additional medical facilities, he said.
Military engineers are due to build new Ebola treatment centers in affected areas, the B.O. regime said this week, while U.S. officials would help recruit medical personnel to work at the units.
The State Department meanwhile said it supported the steps being taken by Sierra Leone to halt the spread of the disease by imposing a three-day nationwide shut-down.
"We are pleased to hear that the campaign is proceeding calmly and that the people of Sierra Leone are overwhelming cooperating by staying at home and engaging with the outreach teams," a State Department official told Agence La Belle France Presse, adding the U.S. embassy had been closed to comply with the campaign.
The Pentagon has spent $30 million so far to help provide a field hospital and other equipment and has requested up to one billion dollars from Congress to combat the outbreak, which would require shifting funds from other department programs, according to Kirby.
Obama unveiled the troop deployment to West Africa earlier this week, issuing an international call to action to prevent the virus from spreading "exponentially."
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has welcomed the U.S. mission and said she hoped Washington's move would prompt other countries to provide more support to address the epidemic, which has killed more than 2,600 people in Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone this year.
#1
"Right now, the effort does not include U.S. military personnel treating Ebola patients," Kirby said. "We're going to be in support of other health care workers that are experts at doing this."
Helping the 'care workers' already exposed. Ok, I understand. Nothing likely to go amiss there. Thanks Admiral.
#2
So, they're there for a vacation? Maybe scout some fairways for the Boss? Shopping opportunities? I'm not seeing any upside here, and the possible downsides are considerable.
(Oh, got it. Gotta look like he's doing something.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/22/2014 7:47 Comments ||
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#3
The timing is about right to claim credit for the cyclic seasonal decline in infections.
[Ynet] Doctors, medicine and medical supplies sent to Africa in effort to assist fight against Ebola virus, which has killed thousands. 'Every country has a role in the struggle,' says Israel's envoy to UN.
Joining international effort to combat the raging Ebola epidemic, Israel has announced it will send medical aid and experts to Africa to treat patients who have tested positive for the virus that has claimed the lives of 2,600 people so far.
Nearly 5,300 people have become ill from Ebola in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Nigeria and Senegal ... a nation of about 14 million on the west coast of Africa bordering Mauretania to the north, Mali to the east, and a pair of Guineas to the south, one of them Bissau. It is 90 percent Mohammedan and has more than 80 political parties. Its primary purpose seems to be absorbing refugees... since it was first recorded in March. Doctors Without Borders says that figure could rise to more than 20,000 and end up costing nearly $1 billion to contain.
The Foreign Ministry has already sent two doctors to Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... , who will help in preventing the spread of the virus. Additional doctors will be deployed in the near future. Later on this week, Israel will also send a shipment of medicine and medical equipment to the affected countries.
Stressing the country's commitment to help Africa fight the virus, Israel's UN Ambassador Ron Prosor stated during a UN Security Council emergency session on Ebola earlier this week that "the international community holds the tools and knowledge to save thousands of lives, yet so far the global response has proved itself to be insufficient.
"As soon as a new treatment facility opens, it immediately fills to overflowing," Prosor said, adding that "patients and families are lining up outside begging for help.
"From Haiti to Ghana and more recently the Philippines, Israel has lent a helping hand to dozens of countries," he further stated.
"The time for global action is now. Tens of thousands of lives and the future of West Africa hang in the balance. Every country, no matter how small, has a role to play in combatting the Ebola epidemic," the Israeli ambassador said.
Five Ebola species
The Israeli aid group IsraAid will also be sending two teams of medical experts to Sierra Leone and Liberia. One team will assist in launching a trauma treatment program which aims to help the population cope with fears of the disease and stress caused as a result of the outbreak.
Another medical team will advise residents on how to maintain personal hygiene in order to prevent the spread of the virus.
There are five known distinct species of Ebola, and the outbreak raging in west Africa stems from the Zaire species.
That species caused the world's first known Ebola outbreak in DR Congo in 1976, which until now was the deadliest on record, with 280 deaths.
The current DR Congo outbreak meanwhile is believed to come from two separate species, the Zaire and the Sudan species, which first surfaced in Sudan, also in 1976.
An Egyptian military aircraft crashed while on a training mission on Sunday after a technical failure, killing six soldiers, the army said. The aircraft crashed in an area about 100 kilometres south of Cairo, an army statement said.
“During military training, a technical failure led to the crash of an aircraft carrying troops in Kom Aushim in Fayoum province... killing six soldiers and injuring one,” the army said.
No further details about the accident, including the type of the aircraft, were immediately available.
Non-WoT unless we hear that someone important was on board...
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Pirates have created a reign of terror by robbing fishermen, kidnapping them for ransom and killing them in the island district Bhola.
Time for the RAB-Coast Guard to step up...
The attacks have increased at an alarming rate led by Jahangir and Farhad Bahini recently on Meghna and Bay of Bengal estuaries.
Last week they kidnapped seven fishermen for ransom and robbed them of their fish, fishing nets and trawlers from the estuary of Shonachar to Kuakata.
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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A policeman (R) from the Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team stands next to a target as his teammate practices shooting with an assault rifle during an anti-terrorism drill in Foshan, Guangdong province September 29, 2013 Saves a great deal of time. No need for the shooter to go down range to check targets. Colleague Xuan Ping can simply shout back the hits to the firing line and quickly post [or hold up] new targets.
So far there has been no news about Chinese nuclear submarine cruising near the US. There has been official confirmation from China that a Chinese nuclear submarine operated in the Indian Ocean for a short period of time.
US nuclear submarine commander Benjamin Person (transliteration from Chinese) recently laughed at China, saying that Chinese nuclear submarines had never been active near the United States. He is happy that his nuclear submarine has been active in the seas near China for a long time.
This qianzhan.com article comments on Person's words, saying that China obviously lags behind the US, but it has been making great efforts to catch up. China has established a coastal anti-submarine network and improved and upgraded the equipment of its anti-submarine aircraft and warships.
Such efforts will soon effectively deter the activities of US nuclear submarines in the East China Sea but not the South China Sea as the latter is vast in area and complicated under water. However China's declamation in key areas in the South China Sea will enable China to set up naval and air bases for anti-submarine aircrafts and warships to contain US nuclear submarines. Therefore, the article believes that US nuclear submarines will not be able to cruise freely in the East and South China Seas for much longer.
The article says that when China's new nuclear submarines have been commissioned and communication technology improved, Chinese nuclear submarines will be able to operate near the US.
Contributor's note: My post in early August mentioned Japanese Yumiuri Shimbun's report that a nuclear submarine of the Chinese navy successfully launched a new-type JL-3 submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in the Atlantic Ocean in late July. The missile hit its target in a desert in Xinjiang. That test proves that China's strategic nuclear submarine can hit anywhere in the United States with its JL-3 SLBMs. Therefore, I believe it is not necessary for a Chinese strategic nuclear submarines to cruise near the US to make American people nervous.
On the other hand, what the qianzhan.com article says about keeping US attack nuclear submarines away from East and South China Seas is in fact senseless. As most major Chinese cities are located near Chinese coast, US attack nuclear submarines can hit those cities with their Tomahawk cruise missiles even if they are not in the seas near China. The missile has a range of 2,800 km. Chinese coast cities remain vulnerable to US attack even if US submarines are not in the East or South China Sea.
China has to make hard efforts to obtain the capabilities of fighting its enemy far away from its coasts to avoid damages to its homeland. That is the common views of Chinese generals.
Posted by: Steve White ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
It's a rational idea. They've copied Russian designs, and feel that if they have to have a core breach, better that it's off our coast rather than theirs.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/22/2014 7:53 Comments ||
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Why do you say that, Lionel Thoth9784? Anything to do with money is my particular weakness, despite Mr. Wife's best efforts, so I'd be very glad for an explanation. I mean, i know that there are help wanted signs at my grocery store and such, while on the other hand, the number of those not employed is the highest its been in a very long time, and of course the horrific deficit spending...But to what do you refer?
#5
tw, the reason for writing that is that if the fed increased the fed funds rate from 0% to 4% then everyone with a variable interest mortgage or home equity loan would see a change in their payments from 2-3 percent to 6-7 percent.
I am not particularly exposed, but it would cost me a few hundred dollars a month that I would rather spend on my college aged children. Many are worse off than me, so those many would be unable to pay and default. Mortgage based securities would fail. The banks would retrench and the economy would collapse. Much like 2008.
So, get a clue. Raising interest rates helps the old and rich and savages the young. Which is fine as long as the old die and give their wealth to the young from whom they have acquired it.
Right now we are in an unusual time when the old don't die and the youth keep paying them. This creates an economic problem needing the intervention of very, very low interest rates until the old begin to die.
#1
But despite the denials, last month President Vladimir Putin bestowed one of Russia’s highest awards, the Order of Suvorov, on the division. He cited 76th Guards Air Assault Division’s “successful completion of military missions” and “courage and heroism” — odd words for a country that claims it is at peace.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/22/2014 13:08 Comments ||
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#3
If true, then Putin and whichever commanders ordered those troops in can be prosecuted. Back in the 1990 the Duma passed a law that no Russian troops may be deployed in a combat zone without specific authorization from the Duma.
The law was passed as a direct result of the debacle in Grozny in 1995
#4
On a separate note, I find it hard to believe that Putin committed his front line Cat 1 troops to battle. Up until this year,he has deployed his second string.
[DAWN] A 16-year-old girl suffered horrific injuries as two men threw acid in her face in a row over a failed marriage proposal, officials said Sunday.
S was attacked late Saturday at her home in the village of Qaim Bharwana in western Pakistain's Punjab province.
"Two men, Muhammad Tauseef and Asmat Ullah, climbed the wall of a house while family members were asleep and threw acid on the face of S, "police investigating officer Ejaz Hussain told AFP.
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Two new cases of polio ...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set... have been confirmed by Polio Virology Laboratory at the National Institute of Health (NIH).
An official of the Ministry of National Health Services said that one case was reported from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted to feeling doubts over the existence of God. Then he should resign and allow somebody who believes in God to take the job.
In a recent interview at Bristol Cathedral, Archbishop Justin Welby said on a recent morning run with his dog he had questioned why God had failed to intervene to prevent injustice.
"The other day I was praying over something as I was running and I ended up saying to God 'Look this is all very well but isn't it about time you did something -- if you're there.'"
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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2 John (NLT) 9 For if you wander beyond the teaching of Christ, you will not have fellowship with God. But if you continue in the teaching of Christ, you will have fellowship with both the Father and the Son.
Canterbury for has been out in left field for quite a while. No, He ain't listenin, sorry Archy.
#4
I will confess that for years I've had doubts about the existence of the Church of England.
So we're even then, right?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
09/22/2014 7:39 Comments ||
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One sort of expects that sort of thing from Episcopalians. No clue sort of theology. About as advanced in Prayer as what they see on the Telly. Wandering around in big Cathedrals. The box with nothing in it.
Their Book of Common Prayer is a pure literary gem, of course. But other than that: Clueless.
Very British, Church of England rational and proper. Clean underwear. Old Ladies with umbrellas theologically.
Profoundly without direct experience.
Mothballs.
Posted by: Big Thromoth3646 ||
09/22/2014 8:26 Comments ||
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#6
Will be survive the expected firestorm in the press?
#8
He's more willing to question than several hundred thousand Warmists. The former is a question of 'faith', the latter just ignores (non-SJW) classical scientific methodology.
#9
Citing his love for the Psalms, especially Psalm 88, which is “full of doubt” Archbishop Welby defended his comments about faith, saying: “It is not about feelings, it is about the fact that God is faithful and the extraordinary thing about being a Christian is that God is faithful when we are not.”
Yet another breathless reporter glomming onto a dramatic-sounding headline without thinking about the rest of her own article. Some of the greatest saints have had doubts about God. It's called "the dark night of the soul". It's where you keep on obeying God even when it doesn't feel like you're getting any results.
Also, see Puddleglum in C. C. Lewis' The Silver Chair, when he stomps out the witch's fire.
I have a lot of gripes with the Church of England, but I'm not going to slam Welby for saying he has his moments of doubt. I do too. But I'm going to keep on, remembering that faith is a fact, not a feeling.
[NEWS.YAHOO] Pope Francis has ordered a review aimed at simplifying the Church's procedures for annulments, the Vatican said on Saturday, a move that could make it easier for Catholics to end marriages.
A statement said Francis had appointed an 11-member commission of canon lawyers and theologians to propose reform of the process, "seeking to simplify and streamline it while safeguarding the principle of the indissolubility of marriage".
An annulment, formally known as a "decree of nullity," is a ruling that a marriage was not valid in the first place according to Church law because certain pre-requisites, such as free will, psychological maturity and openness to having children, were lacking.
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Posted by: Fred ||
09/22/2014 00:00 ||
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Oh, now he gets around to it.
Posted by: Henry VIII ||
09/22/2014 9:40 Comments ||
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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.
[Chicago Tribune] 
[AnNahar] U.S. troops heading to Liberia to help fight the Ebola epidemic will help train health workers but will have no "direct contact" with patients infected with the virus, the Pentagon said Friday.
[Ynet] Doctors, medicine and medical supplies sent to Africa in effort to assist fight against Ebola virus, which has killed thousands. 'Every country has a role in the struggle,' says Israel's envoy to UN.
.jpg)
[DAWN] Two new cases of 
[INDEPENDENT.CO.UK] The Archbishop of Canterbury has admitted to feeling doubts over the existence of God.
[NEWS.YAHOO] Pope Francis has ordered a review aimed at simplifying the Church's procedures for annulments, the Vatican said on Saturday, a move that could make it easier for Catholics to end marriages.
