The trawler, the Diasan Shinsho-maru, capsized off Chiba`as its three-man crew was trying to haul in a net containing dozens of huge Nomura's jellyfish. It's The Blob!!
Each of the jellyfish can weigh up to 200 kg and waters around Japan have been inundated with the creatures this year. Experts believe weather and water conditions in the breeding grounds, off the coast of China, have been ideal for the jellyfish in recent months. Anybody seen any stramge meteors in the area?
The crew was thrown into the sea when the vessel capsized, but the three men were rescued by another trawler, according to the Mainichi newspaper. The local Coast Guard office reported that the weather was clear and the sea was calm at the time of the accident.
One of the largest jellyfish in the world, the species can grow up to 2 meters in diameter. The last time Japan was invaded on a similar scale, in the summer of 2005, the jellyfish damaged nets, rendered fish inedible with their toxic stings and even caused injuries to fishermen. Godzirra! We need you!
Relatively little is known about Nomura's jellyfish, such as why some years see thousands of the creatures floating across the Sea of Japan on the Tsushima Current, but last year there were virtually no sightings. In 2007, there were 15,500 reports of damage to fishing equipment caused by the creatures.
Experts believe that one contributing factor to the jellyfish becoming more frequent visitors to Japanese waters may be a decline in the number of predators, which include sea turtles and certain species of fish.
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
11/02/2009 07:39 ||
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#1
hmm. From the title, I figured this was another Obama dithering over Afghanistan story
Posted by: Frank G ||
11/02/2009 8:35 Comments ||
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#2
fight them with peanutbutter fish
Posted by: lord garth ||
11/02/2009 9:14 Comments ||
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#6
Dem FRANKEN/GIANT SQUIDS is also on FREEREPUBLIC artic this AM.
Reminds me of an old WORLD BOOK OF KNOWLEDGE Encylopedia artic describing a bloody battle between a Mama SPERM WHALE [wid baby], versus a LARGE GREAT WHITE SHARK. Despite her injuries, Big Mama finally succeeded in biting the spine + back off of Mr. Nasty Shark.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A man claiming to be 112 married a 17-year-old at a ceremony in central Somalia, his sixth wedding in total but his first in three quarters of a century, he said.
"My wife is ten times younger than me but we love each other so much and I believe that I can give her the kind of love that not any young man can offer," Ahmed Mohamed Dhore told AFP.
"Married life is about love and passion rather than age and beauty," said the centenarian, whose wedding ceremony in the town of Guriel was attended by hundreds last week.
"The first time I got married was so long ago I cannot remember and the last time must have been about 75 years ago, I was still a young man," he said.
Dhore would already been an adult when the nationalist leader "Mad Mullah," Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, who fought the British empire and created the Dervish state died in 1920.
He said the secret to a longevity spanning three different centuries was "healthy food when he was young".
"I'm 112 and can live the life of a youngster... The idea to get married again came from my children and grand-children," he said, explaining that his only other surviving wife was 90 and ailing.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Has anyone thought to interview the bride?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/02/2009 10:58 Comments ||
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Thats 6 1/2 times younger. Obviously math is noy his strong point.
Anyway I would have thought at his age he'd rather have a Talking Frog.
#6
I'd be surprised if he could offer any convincing proof that he's really 112. Does anybody believe they're all that good at keeping records in Somalia?
[Al Arabiya Latest] The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's biggest opposition group, will not attempt to challenge the ruling party in the 2011 presidential election under the existing constitution, its leader told Reuters.
The group is officially banned, forcing supporters to contest elections as independents. But the hurdles set by the constitution make it virtually impossible for any independent to run for president against the candidate backed by President Hosni Mubarak's party.
Brotherhood leader Mohamed Mahdi Akef told Reuters this week that his movement, which seeks to establish an Islamic state by non-violent means, would not make an electoral show of defiance.
"There are a lot of preparations that need to be addressed (before discussing) a presidential nomination, and at the forefront are freedom and a clean constitution," Akef said.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Zimbabwe's diamond industry will be under the spotlight in Namibia tomorrow as more evidence emerges of the murder and violence surrounding President Robert Mugabe's control of the sector.
Members of the international diamond watchdog, the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS), will consider suspending Zimbabwe for at least six months at a four-day meeting after a working party investigated the Chiadzwa fields in the east of the country.
A suspension would in effect stop the Zimbabwean government importing and exporting rough diamonds. However, the scheme is voluntary and the Zimbabwean authorities would be required to enforce it -- the same authorities that are said to be heavily involved in illegal smuggling and violence at the mines.
Perhaps more importantly, a suspension would also put the onus on reputable traders and governments not to buy Zimbabwean diamonds, which dealers can easily identify by their coarse, pebble-like appearance. Those trading in non-KPCS diamonds risk expulsion from the world's 24 diamond bourses.
A leaked copy of the KPCS working party's report paints a damning picture of violence, smuggling and lawlessness around the Chiadzwa site in Marange district, 60 miles south of the city of Mutare, most of which is owned by the Aim-listed firm African Consolidated Resources (ACR).
The meeting in Namibia comes as human rights workers in Zimbabwe claim that more than 400 people have died in Chiadzwa since the government launched a bloody crackdown on thousands of illegal diamond panners in October last year.
Smugglers, in collusion with military, police and government figures, are said to have earned millions of pounds spiriting the gems across the nearby border with Mozambique, where dealers from Lebanon, Belgium, Iraq, Mauritania and the Balkans buy up the diamonds for export.
In a documentary filmed in Zimbabwe and shown on state television in South Africa last week, victims of the crackdown spoke of killings, beatings, rapes and attacks using dogs.
Men and women pictured on screen said soldiers were mainly responsible, with one woman saying she miscarried after a beating and another man claiming he had been whipped with razor wire. Many said they were too scared to receive treatment at the local hospital through fear that the military would track them down. The local morgue was said to contain 70 bodies from the violence, with relatives too afraid to collect them for burial.
Posted by: Fred ||
11/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Blood diamonds have even showed up in Guyana, plagued with violence, drug, weapons, and human smuggling, and fairly common piracy. The government and Coast Guard are accused of being corrupt and part of the problem, with reports investigated. A stolen cargo ship was recently found floating off Grenada, with three of the four crew were found disemboweled. The focus has been on either drug smuggling or illegal gold mining, but I'm thinking recovery of swallowed gems a more likely scenario, as ritual is improbable.
Source was at http://www.stabroeknews.com
Zimbabwe diamonds being smuggled here -Canada NGO
Posted By Stabroek staff On October 26, 2009
Diamonds from Zimbabwe are being smuggled here, according to a recent report from Partnership Africa Canada (PAC); an Ottawa, Canada-based group fighting for the eradication of blood diamonds around the world.
In a recent report, the international pressure group said that diamonds from Zimbabwes Chiadzwa field are being smuggled as far as Sierra Leone and Guyana. In its report, the group accused the industry watchdog of manufacturing polite fiction to cover up for shortcomings by Zimbabwean authorities. It said that Zimbabwe exhibited a wide variety of serious problems ranging from smuggling and illegal seizure of diamond leases to outright denial of easily verifiable murder and human rights abuse in its diamond fields. In 2009, Zimbabwean industrial diamonds, easily identified by their size and colour, showed up as far afield as Guyana and Sierra Leone,, the agency said in its report titled Other Facets released last week.
It accused the Kimberley Process (KP) of turning a blind eye to the illegal activities taking place in Zimbabwe and other diamond-producing or importing countries. If low-value diamonds like these travel that far and that easily in search of a laundry, it is clear than high value goods have even greater range and speed, the group observed. It said that the KP in particular was not doing anything to stem a thriving illegal diamond market that has emerged in Mozambiques Manica town which is supplied with the precious mineral smuggled out of Zimbabwe by army and government officials.
Guyana is a signatory to the Kimberley Process, a regulatory system backed by the United Nations which seeks to track the international production and movement of diamonds. The Process stipulates that freshly mined diamonds should be sealed in registered containers that certify their country of origin and that diamond exporters do not accept unregistered gems that might profit insurgents or criminals.
The armed forces are said to have carried out "war games" in which nuclear missiles were fired and troops practised an amphibious landing on the country's coast. Documents obtained by Wprost, one of Poland's leading news magazines, said the exercise was carried out in conjunction with soldiers from Belarus.
The manoeuvres are thought to have been held in September and involved about 13,000 Russian and Belarusian troops. Poland, which has strained relations with both countries, was cast as the "potential aggressor".
The documents state the exercises, code-named "West", were officially classified as "defensive" but many of the operations appeared to have an offensive nature.
The Russian air force practised using weapons from its nuclear arsenal, while in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, which neighbours Poland, Red Army forces stormed a "Polish" beach and attacked a gas pipeline.
The operation also involved the simulated suppression of an uprising by a national minority in Belarus -- the country has a significant Polish population which has a strained relationship with authoritarian government of Belarus.
Karol Karski, an MP from Poland's Law and Justice, is to table parliamentary questions on Russia's war games and has protested to the European Commission.
His colleague, Marek Opiola MP, said: "It's an attempt to put us in our place. Don't forget all this happened on the 70th anniversary of the Soviet invasion of Poland."
Ordinary Poles were outraged by news of the exercise and demanded a firm response fro the government. One man, identified only as Ted, told Polskie Radio: "Russia has laid bare its real intentions with respect to Poland. Every Pole most now get of the off the fence and be counted as a patriot or a traitor."
Donald Tusk, Poland's prime minister, has tried to build a pragmatic relationship with the Kremlin despite widespread and vocal calls in Poland for him to cool ties with Moscow.
After spending 40 years under Soviet domination few in Poland trust Russia, and many Poles have become increasingly wary of a country they consider as possessing a neo-imperialistic agenda.
Bogdan Klich, Poland's defence minister, said: "It is a demonstration of strength. We are monitoring the exercises to see what has been planned."
Wladyslaw Stasiak, chief of President Lech Kaczynski's office, and a former head of Poland's National Security Council, added: "We didn't like the appearance of the exercises and the name harked back to the days of the Warsaw Pact."
The Russian troop exercises will come as an unwelcome sight to the states nestling on Russia's western border who have deep-rooted anxieties over any Russian show of strength. With a resurgent Moscow now more willing to flex its muscles, Central and Eastern Europeans have warned of Russia adopting a neo-imperialistic attitude to an area of the world it still regards as its sphere of influence.
In July, the region's most famed and influential political figures, including Lech Walesa and Vaclav Havel, wrote an open letter Barack Obama warning him that Russia "is back as a revisionist power pursuing a 19th-century agenda with 21st-century tactics and methods."
Moscow and Minsk have insisted that Operation West was to help "ensure the strategic stability in the East European region".
Such lovely people. But the key question is, how well did the Soviets execute their little exercise? The army has not been good about providing little things like proper clothing and food to the draftees, never mind paying their salaries... which I understand is not conducive to effective performance.
#1
Those aggressive Poles, threatening every country that they border for centuries. It's a wonder that such a dangerous, aggressive nation should be allowed to exist. I propose carving it up into pieces, the majority going to Russia and the worthless parts going to other neighboring countries. I mean, what can you say about a country that would ruthlessly first-use nukes, thus precipitating a predetermined response from a Russian adversary whose policy of retribution is well-documented.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
11/02/2009 11:00 Comments ||
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#3
Here in Estonia, its a time of serious freakout.
This country is also approaching the 70th anniversary of its takeover by the Soviet Union.
Obama pulling out of the missile shield commitment has seemingly given Russia a green light to throw its weight around.
#5
ION WMF > US "GLOBAL STRATEGY " MAGZ: CHINA TO BUILD "AURORA" SUPERSUBMARINE RIVAL TO AMERICA'S "SEAWOLF".
ARTIC > JAPAN by Law [end of WW2 Treatises]]has no STRATEGIC MISSLES, HEAVY BOMBERS, OR ADVANCED SUBS TO EFFEC CHALLENGE CHIN + espec THE PLAN IN UNDERWATER WARFARE ALA "AURORA" SUB CONCEPT. It is in CHINA'S CURR + FUTURE WANNABE SUPERPOWER = GEOPOL INTERESTS VEE USA TO ENSURE THAT JAPAN NEVER WILL ["weak Japan"]???
* SAME > RUSSIA ADMITS IT MUST BEGIN BUYING ARMED FORCES' WEAPONS OVERSEAS BECAUSE IT CANNOT PRODUCE ITS OWN.
#6
OOOOOOPPSIES, forgot to add WMF > CHINESE EXPERTS: SINGAPORE WANTS TO BECOME "ASIA'S ISRAEL".
Read, your fiendly neighborhood NUKULAAR-ARMED KOSHER ECON "PUSAN PERMETER/BEACHHEAD" IN ASIA = FUTURE NUC ISLAMIST ASIA???
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > YOUTUBE NEWS - RISING MAOIST INUSRGENCYS IN INDIA; + [Indian Author]INSATIABLE DRAGON [China]:AS CHINA CONTINUES WITH ITS PROVOCATIONS, INDA CANNOT PRETEND THAT AL IS WELL. INDJUH had already lost its buffer state TIBET/NEPAL, it CANNOT NOW LOSE THE HIMALAYAS BUFFER LEST IT FINDS CHIN'S ARMIES ON ITS PLAINS [downslope into India]. India in pres finds itself highly vulnerable or "wanting" agz CHINA in terms of both STRENGTH + CAPABILITY.
* SAME CMF [paraph] > INDIA'S NORTHEAST MINORITIES ARE SUFFERING DISCRIMINATION BECAUSE OF THEIR CHINESE LOOKS.
CHINA'S first swine flu death has triggered fears that 100million people could be infected after the early arrival of winter at the weekend.
Premier Wen Jiabao urged tighter prevention measures as temperatures plunged below zero in Beijing for the first time this year. The capital received 15cm of snow on Sunday.
The Ministry of Health has warned that the flu season could last until March. In the US, President Barack Obama has already declared a state of emergency for the strain of flu, which emerged from Mexico in the middle of the year before heading to the southern hemisphere.
After a decade of deadly bird flu and SARS outbreaks among its population of 1.3 billion, China has more reason to fear the H1N1 flu strain than other countries.
The Chinese mainland has reported six deaths from the flu since October 2. More than 46,000 confirmed H1N1 flu cases had been reported on the mainland. About 75 per cent of sufferers have recovered. Among the 93 cases in a serious condition, 55 were still in hospital, the ministry said.
"Close to 80 per cent of the country's total flu infections are H1N1 flu cases, though the state of the flu was still mild and there was no evidence of virus mutation," Ministry of Health official Liang Wannian said.
While the country has vaccinated 3.75 million people, Mr Liang urged health administrative departments across the country to "prepare for the worst and do the best".
State media said about 390million people on the mainland needed inoculation and groups that had been targeted included the People's Liberation Army and police, medical staff, teachers, students, people working at key public service posts, and patients with chronic or cardiovascular diseases.
But vaccine manufacturing is expected to fall short. Eight domestic vaccine manufacturers are expected to produce a total of 100 million doses of H1N1 flu vaccines by the first quarter of next year, the ministry said.
China: land of the knock-off... especially knock-off medications. Mr. Wife on occasion has hand-carried antibiotics and other meds to expat colleagues over there. Interesting times for the Chinese government, which allowed that criminal scofflaw attitude to develop, coupled with a known 90% shortage of effective vaccine doses.
As of October 31, more than 1500 cases of mass infection had been reported on the mainland, 98 per cent of which were related to schools. At schools in Beijing, three cases of the virus have forced their closure for a week. Beijing's first victim, an unnamed male student at Beihang University, was part of a mass infection in the aeronautic school's military dormitories.
#2
No question about that Chuck. They'll absolutely lie, and they'll allow people in and out of China so their variant of H1N1 will spread around the world.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2009 11:10 Comments ||
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PERSONAL assistants on the other side of the world are doing paperwork and administration for as little as $2 an hour for Queensland small businesses.
Overseas outsourcing is being taken to a new level over the internet, with businesses turning to online contractors to perform everything from IT to bookkeeping and accounting. But the trend towards outsourcing, once the domain of big businesses such as banks, has alarmed unions and academics who fear it will slow wages growth and cost local jobs.
"Australian workers should be concerned by any moves to offshore jobs to cut labour costs, not only because it means fewer job opportunities at home but it undermines wages and conditions here," an Australian Council of Trade Unions spokesman said.
"There are also question marks over whether quality control can be maintained through offshoring, and businesses need to be open with their customers that work is being performed outside of Australia."
Mike O'Hagan, who founded MiniMovers but now runs a small business as an international business speaker and mentor, says he has employed a personal assistant living in the Philippines through website odesk.com for the past year, at first paying $US2 ($A2.21) an hour but recently raising that wage to $US6 an hour.
The PA handles personal correspondence, his calendar and other administrative duties and stays in contact via email.
"That is eight times her local rate of pay," Mr O'Hagan said. "That's equal to about $4000 in Australia. She's one happy little Vegemite.
"This is a job that I would have never employed an Australian to do. Being a worldwide business, I need a worldwide workforce. This is a massive change throughout the world. The world is just one big economy all connected together and that's a good thing, not a bad thing."
By George there's a phrase I'm going to learn to use.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2009 12:13 Comments ||
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That outsourcing thing works until it doesn't. Like many things it seems to be a great thing until something goes wrong. I suppose it depends how tolerant one is to an "Oh S**t" situation.
In this case it seems as though this guy is a one man operation that would not have hired a PA locally in the first place.
Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman has pulled into a 17-point lead over Democrat Bill Owens in the congressional race in New York's 23rd District, according to a new survey by Public Policy Polling.
Posted by: ed ||
11/02/2009 09:40 ||
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Don't get too excited. The unions (and dead folks) haven't weighed in yet.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/02/2009 9:54 Comments ||
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#2
Agreed, but it's a traditionally Pub district.
Posted by: Steve White ||
11/02/2009 11:12 Comments ||
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#3
Still don't trust 'em after the Minnesota "Frankenfurter Fiasco®" plus a few other locales.
Plus, I live too close to Chicago and my 'world-view' is tainted.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/02/2009 11:30 Comments ||
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#4
Outside of the Mohawk Indian Reservation, the highest concentration of minorities for ACORN to canvas in the district for votes is probably Fort Drum & 10th Mountain Division. Now Mickey Mouse, Ron Jeremy, Britney Spears, and the like showing up to vote on election day is another matter.
#6
Plus, I live too close to Chicago and my 'world-view' is tainted. Posted by Mullah Richard
I live too close to Atlanta and my 'world-view' is also tainted. Our neighborhood is in transition. Our new community high school is no longer desireable, and my property values continue to decline.
#9
Well the Forsyth schools are still decent. I am looking at some land near Cleveland but have to wait until the kids graduate or take over the place at Lake Oconee when my parents kick.
#10
Everything within a 50k radii of Georgia Tech has gone tribal. Shootings, bank robberies, the like. I'm a pid up member of the Decaders Concealed Carry Club but my eyesight is failing and aim is wobbly. Time to ruck-up and move on while my luck is still holding.
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/02/2009 14:34 Comments ||
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#12
Thanks for the referral Richard. Very kind of you. I rally wanted a nice big dog. You know, old man - old dog thing. Vetoed by the RSM however. She went on and on about garden clean-up, boarding, vet bills etc. I guess I could avoid all of that with the 870.
#13
I figure that if the fit hits the shan (and I can't run) everything will happen so close that the .380 pocket pistol will do. Past that the Mossberg w/ #2 or #4 lead shot (don't want to over penetrate).
If there is time, most of the long range stuff has glass or red dot. I'm ready for those rabid squirrels or raccoons or whatever.
#14
Some years ago, Kennesaw, GA passed an ordinance requiring every household to have a firearm. What ever happened to Kennesaw's ordinance. I like the mindset of this city.
A 12 guage Mossberg 500 is a good alternative to the Remington 870. Might have to spackle and repaint your walls after using. Good to know where the family is (and dog if you have one) prior to using one for home defense.
#15
.380 is a great little device and the Mossberg would certainly work well, too. I'm still kinda partial to the Remington 870MCS in "Breeching weapon" configuration, with 10" barrel and no buttstock. Easier to 'conceal carry'.
Nice photo at http://www.remingtonmilitary.com/870mcs.htm
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
11/02/2009 16:59 Comments ||
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#16
Besoeker, may I make a suggestion? Move somewhere extremely rural & far away from a city. I did and I've never regretted it.
#17
Excellent idea Secret Master. Along those lines, would you be so kind as to have a word with Mrs. Besoeker on the finer points of rural living. I've made little progress over the years. Something to do with convenience, shopping mall commute, my dentally impaired country kin, etc.
#18
Tell her to have a look at this: http://www.midianranchblog.blogspot.com/
This is my ranch's blog. It's not political or anything, but more of a chronicle of my family's life since we moved to the Black Rock Desert 130 miles north of Reno. Lately, it's been mostly baby stuff. She may find reasons to change her mind.
#20
Besoeker, may I make a suggestion? Move somewhere extremely rural & far away from a city. I did and I've never regretted it.
I've kinda compromised there, I live on the outer edge of a vey small outer town near a big city, (Montgomery AL) 5 miles in any direction will put you in either the heart of downtown, or in the almost empty boonies, seems a good decision, I can go to "Town" and get anything I need, or vanish into dense woods and be very hard to find, either in a half hour.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/02/2009 20:42 Comments ||
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#21
I'm still kinda partial to the Remington 870MCS in "Breeching weapon" configuration, with 10" barrel and no buttstock. Easier to 'conceal carry'
You just reminded me of a skit years ago based on "Gunsmole" where Matt dillon's in trouble and Festus shows up, pulls a double barrel out of his pants and blasts the bad guys, Marshal Dillon says, "I thought you were lame"? and festus replies Nope, just nearsighted.
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
11/02/2009 20:52 Comments ||
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LONDON -- Elton John has been hospitalized after suffering from a case of E. coli bacterial infection and the flu, his spokesman said Monday. Gary Farrow said the pop star hopes to be released soon but has been forced to cancel concerts in England, Ireland and the United States.
John intends to rejoin the "Face2Face" tour later in the month when he and Billy Joel play concerts in northern California.
Farrow said 62-year-old John is suffering from a "bad case of the flu and a minor case of E. coli." His Web site says he was advised by his doctor to postpone dates in Seattle and Portland.
The Daily Mail's Web site quoted John's partner, David Furnish, as saying "He's OK -- he's fine," after leaving a London hospital.
Farrow says the singer has rescheduled previously canceled dates during the European leg of his world tour. Purposefully filed under Olde Tyme Religion.
Ukraine made an urgent appeal to world powers for help battling swine flu on Sunday, after 60 people died from respiratory problems in a week.
President Viktor Yushchenko wrote to the United States, the European Union, NATO and Ukraine's neighbours to ask for drugs and equipment to fight the spread of the A(H1N1) virus, according to a statement released by his office.
"The threat weighing on Ukraine's national security which we cannot fight alone forces me to ask our close friends and strategic partners for urgent help," Yushchenko wrote.
Ukraine has also ordered 16 tonnes of antiviral drug Tamiflu from Switzerland, the president's office said.
The health ministry said 60 people had died from respiratory problems in the past week, without indicating how many had succumbed to H1N1.
The former Soviet republic has so far reported four fatalities from more than 190,000 cases of swine flu, with nearly 8,000 needing hospital treatment.
Poland and Slovakia responded to Yushchenko's appeal on Sunday night, sending protective masks and supplies of Tamiflu.
Swine flu has become a political issue in Ukraine as the country gears up for January's presidential election.
Both Yushchenko and his rival, Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, have tried to take the lead in managing the crisis prompted by the epidemic. Information is increasingly fragmented, with the borders sealed, the WHO arriving in force, and some unofficial reports of as many as 1500 people dead. This is so unlike influenza that many are calling it a viral pneumonic plague.
#2
This does not sound good, and should be watched closely. Does everyone have Tamiflu courses for their families?
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
11/02/2009 5:39 Comments ||
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#3
Is this possibly just an opportunistic infection riding along with the flu, or could this be just the same ol' piggy virus, but on steroids this time?
Also, any idea if this is concentrated in one area of Ukraine, or is it more widespread? (My father in law in Moscow is sick, and they've got lots of flu there, too. Am really hoping this is contained, for his and my mother in law's sake.)
According to the operative data of the Ministry of Health on 1 November, recorded throughout the country more than 191,000 patients with unknown disease of lungs. Of these, 83,000 are children. Total number deaths recorded - 60, with 123 people expected to die soon.
According to unofficial information, the death rate in Ukraine from the alleged pneumonic plague is far higher than officially announced. Authorities are cautious because of wildly different symptoms.
According to unofficial data, in Ukraine over the past week about 1500 people have already died. As noted by some doctors, the reason - pneumonic plague. High temperatures from the first day, a burning sensation in the chest, the desire to drink cold and nausea - all of these symptoms are frightening. Mild symptoms followed by coughing up blood, a few days before death.
All the doctors throughout Ukraine say that this is pneumonic plague. 300,000 doses of Tamiflu expected to arrive Monday."
The doctors say that the lungs of the dead were black.
"The disease has spread to Poland. Streets of western Ukrainian city of Lvov are deserted."
#7
Ukraine has a population of about 40 million. Sixty people, out of 40 million, dying of respiratory problems in a week is not a very large number. Forgive me if I don't join in on the panic.
#8
My finance works in the Estonian health ministry, and is well connected to the WHO.
I showed her this article, and she thinks that it's Ukrainian tabloid journalism at work here.
As Biff said, 60 out of 40 million ain't a lot. More Ukranians died in a vodka stupor last week than that.
This isn't Captain Trips we're dealing with, at least yet.
#9
250,000 infected, several thousand in hospital. In one region, 30% of health care workers are infected. 67 dead, 250 in critical condition not expected to survive. Disease is "atypical", with some SARS-like symptoms, but is not SARS.
#10
Allow me to correct my comment above: According to the CIA Factbook the population of Ukraine is about 46 million as of July, 2008.
Now, lets look at the numbers Anonymoose has posted. 250,000 infected out of a population of 46 million equals about ½ of one percent. That seems to be a rather low number for an epidemic.
Several thousand hospitalized out of 250,000 infected. That sounds like about 2% of the infected. That's hardly alarming.
Sixty-seven dead out of a population of 46 million works out to one death per 686,000 head of population. Keep in mind the seasonal flu kills an average of 36,000 Americans each year according to the CDC. So the regular seasonal flu kills about 1 per 8,333 head of population in the U.S. annually. Again, the numbers coming out of Ukraine are not the least bit alarming even if all of those in critical condition do indeed perish.
#13
Right on Cornsilk Blondie. Panic mode has set in. Viral at first but could turn bacterial later. In my area if you have an emergency the hospital emergency room is full up with upper respiratory aliments. People should just stay home and treat it as a flu. S.o.b. (short of breath) is cause for concern however etc..
#14
#3 Contained? Not with the current flow of people.
Airplanes, all clusters of people. Shopping, eating, paying a bill, money, touching a shopping cart, or anything someone else has touched. Just a breath of air of someone else who has exhaled. I boil vinegar to kill air borne germs in my home to prevent the spread in my home. Bleach will work well on cleanup as this is what is used in many hospitals. Drinking apple cider vinegar with water to taste is all I do to stop flu. Drink allot till you are running to the bathroom as it works like a fluid pill, a natural pain killer, kills germs on contact. Like frost on a plant you nip the bug at its weakest and flush the trash out. Hopefully before bacteria gets started at that point you must get medical care. This is all I do and it has worked for me for about 30 years. I travel with a premix just in case. Like an ankle sprain with swelling its the swelling that retards healing. Flush the garbage out and you recover faster. With sinus you must go three months without symptoms to have beat it. So your not done till you have that cleared up as well. I am not a doctor but had I am proactive as I have been sick most of my life and I am symptom free at this time.
#15
Biff Wellington: You're quite correct as far as raw numbers go. The concern is not what is happening now, but what is about to happen. The WHO is entering Ukraine in force because of one word: "atypical".
Influenza has certain symptoms and a course of progression. Rules it follows. But something is wrong here. The symptoms and timetable of the disease means that it either is not influenza, or it has mutated into a form never before seen.
Typically, pneumonic plague is bacterial, though in rare instances it can be viral. But the symptoms are different. The same with SARS. It shares some things in common with SARS, but it isn't SARS.
In short, this is one for the medical detectives, and ASAP. Because until the rules are known, whatever is going on here is a very serious threat. It could stay as it is now, or suddenly it could become a nightmare.
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PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > NEW SHOWDOWN OF NATO WID RUSSIA IN EASTERN EUROPE [East Euro + Black Sea-Caspian regions]. Oer MOLDAVIA'S ADMISSION INTO NATO WIDOUT EFFEC RESOLUTION OF ITS DISPUTED, RUSS-STRATEGIC, RUSS-DISALLOWED, NO-WAY-JOSE-CAN-DNIESTER-BE-IN-NATO TRANS-DNIESTER REGION WITHIN MOLDAVIA.
Malaysian legislators in the poor conservative Muslim northeastern state of Kelantan should marry single mothers to help care for their children, a state representative suggested.
The state's family and health committee chairwoman Wan Ubaidah Omar said that legislators should be awarded prizes for increasing their "quota" of wives.
"What I mean by quota is adding to the number of wives," Wan Ubaidah, a female legislator said, according to Thursday's Star newspaper.
Polygamy is legal in Malaysia for Muslims, who account for 55 percent of the 28 million population.
According to the Star there are 16,500 single mothers under 60 years of age.
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.
[Al Arabiya Latest] A man claiming to be 112 married a 17-year-old at a ceremony in central Somalia, his sixth wedding in total but his first in three quarters of a century, he said.
Zimbabwe's diamond industry will be under the spotlight in Namibia tomorrow as more evidence emerges of the murder and violence surrounding President Robert Mugabe's control of the sector.
