AdamSmith

Again...

And/or a human face.

Well, just what we need. A squirrel in California has the plague. Should you be worried? The Black Death is popping up in wild animals and pets in the Western United States By Adrianne Jeffries on July 25, 2013 01:57 pm The Verge aThis patient has symptoms of septicemic plague including necrosis of the fingers caused by gangrene. Health officials in Los Angeles County announced yesterday that a squirrel found covered in fleas has tested positive for bubonic plague, the scourge that develops into the deadly pneumonic plague known as the Black Death and wiped out an estimated 200 million people in Europe during the 14th century. Last month, two pet dogs in New Mexico were also discovered with the disease, which is genetically very similar to the strain from the 1300s. "It is the plague," Dr. Mark Dimenna, deputy of the Environmental Health Department, told local TV reporters from KOAT 7. "It is the bubonic plague, the Black Death. It’s the same organism that it always has been." Is the US facing an outbreak of the ancient epidemic? That’s unlikely, according to public health officials. Scattered cases of the plague in wild animals, domesticated pets, and humans happen every year. The plague was introduced to the new continent around 1900, long after the devastating outbreak in Europe. Between 1990 and 2010, there were 999 cases of probable or confirmed plague found in humans in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In recent decades, the US sees about seven cases of human plague a year. The plague can be successfully treated with antibiotics in most cases — an option our Medieval ancestors didn’t have — but the disease can still be deadly if allowed to progress. Most cases are seen in the Western US in rodents, which get the disease from fleas. New Mexico typically sees about half of all plague cases in the country. Last year the state had one human case, one dog case, and one cat case; so far this year it's seen four dog cases. We’re actually in the middle of plague season now, as the majority of cases occur between late spring and early fall. The plague is caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis. It typically spreads from fleas to rodents to humans as bubonic plague, which causes swelling of the lymph nodes in humans and results in the characteristic bumps or "bubos" in the groin, underarm, or neck. Those infected may also experience sudden fever, muscle aches and headache, chills, and extreme weakness. Some animals, including cats and dogs, may not exhibit symptoms at all, however. This squirrel infected with the plague has a petechial rash indicating hemorrhaging beneath the skin. If allowed to progress, the bacteria can spread to all the major organs in between one and six days. It can cause rapid blood poisoning and gangrene, known as septicemic plague. Once it reaches the lungs it becomes highly contagious and can spread through the air, at which point it its known as pneumonic plague. It can cause human death in three days, although antibiotics have reduced the mortality rate to 11 percent. The situation is much worse outside of the US. The World Health Organization estimates there are thousands of cases of human plague a year in central, eastern and southern Africa, South America, and in large areas of Asia, and mortality rates are much higher in some areas with poorer access to health care. There is a vaccine available, but it is rare and only available to professionals who are at high risk of exposure. The plague does have a habit of suddenly reappearing after not being heard from in years. There was a minor outbreak in Libya in 2009, after the disease had not been seen for 25 years; similarly, in Algeria, plague was recorded in the 1940s, remained absent for around 50 years, and then reemerged in 2003. Despite the resilience of the bacillus, the vast improvements in public health have made it near impossible for the plague to spread the way it did in the Middle Ages. However, because it is so contagious, the plague is often cited as having potential as a tool for bioterrorism. In 2009, there were reports that some 40 al-Qaida fighters had died in a failed attempt to weaponize the disease. The WHO denied this report, but fears remain. "A bioweapon carrying Y. pestis is possible because the bacterium occurs in nature and could be isolated and grown in quantity in a laboratory," the CDC acknowledged. "Even so, manufacturing an effective weapon using Y. pestis would require advanced knowledge and technology." The government has been repeatedly criticized for not sufficiently addressing vulnerability against the threat of a highly contagious biological weapon such as the plague. Officials in Los Angeles County have shut down three campgrounds for at least a week for flea extermination in order to prevent the plague from spreading further there. In the meantime, don’t pet any wild squirrels. http://www.theverge.com/2013/7/25/4556658/a-squirrel-in-california-has-the-plague-should-we-be-worried

Dan Savage is a good guy, and you can't argue with the gesture. (Especially given what RA1 notes. ) But as for impact, it reminds me of an old Beetle Bailey cartoon... Gen. Halftrack: "Have we had an answer from the Pentagon yet?" Old secretary: "Still nothing, sir." Gen. Halftrack: "All right, I've had it with them. Begin Plan X immediately." Young secretary: "What's Plan X?" Old secretary (rolls eyes): "He's crossing them off the Christmas card list."

Never. Except ... it is fascinating, even when disgusting; maybe because of. Like Bourdain's best seller Kitchen Confidential, etc.

Why was it that, when someone had to take a dump in middle school, they never flushed?

Yet more progress... AP/ July 23, 2013, 9:13 PM N.C. lawmakers pass sweeping changes to gun laws RALEIGH, N.C. North Carolina lawmakers have approved a bill greatly expanding where concealed handguns are legally allowed. The Republican-backed bill approved by both the House and Senate on Tuesday allows concealed-carry permit holders to take firearms into bars and restaurants and other places where alcohol is served as long as the owner doesn't expressly forbid it. The measure will also allow concealed-carry permit holders to store weapons in locked cars on the campus of any public school or university. Guns will also now be allowed on greenways, playgrounds and other public recreation areas. The final bill dropped a controversial provision that would have repealed the long-standing law requiring a background check and permit issued by county sheriffs for handgun purchases. The measure now heads to Republican Gov. Pat McCrory's desk. http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57595186/n.c-lawmakers-pass-sweeping-changes-to-gun-laws/

Also not a joke.

Not a joke in the least. Carthage Man Latest Local Resident Arrested in Raleigh Protests Posted: Tuesday, July 23, 2013 11:48 am John Chappell, Special to The Pilot Robert Plummer is 83 and a veteran of the Korean War. On Monday he was arrested along with 72 other protesters in the legislative building. Nearly a thousand have been cuffed and taken to jail over a dozen “Moral Monday” demonstrations. Each weekly protest has focused on a different issue and this past Monday’s fought new measures the NAACP and others say are designed to make voting harder, especially for minorities, the elderly and the poor. Plummer, who lives in Carthage, had been out of town recently and hoped the rallies would continue in time for him to participate. Local NAACP chapter president O’Linda Gillis picked Plummer up at the airport Friday. “She asked me was I a man, or was I just talking like a man,” Plummer said. He went to Raleigh this week and came home exhilarated once again from a Movement experience. “I walked across the Pettis Bridge with Martin Luther King,” Plummer said. “I am a former secretary of our NAACP chapter. Don’t like to say ‘past’ because past people are all dead.” Plummer is very much alive, though he suffers from Parkinson’s, has back trouble, and walks with a cane. During his arrest, officers treated him with great kindness and courtesy, offering water, cuffing his hands in front, and checking on him throughout the booking procedures, he said. “We fought for democracy and voting rights all over the world and are still fighting,” he said. “We see them being taken away by the legislature right down here in North Carolina. I am an old war veteran who was willing to give his life for his country. That was a United Nations war. In a way I was blessed, because I became the first black underwater demolition man.” Gillis had picked him up Monday afternoon and they rode to the church for the 3 p.m. training session. Then they headed to Halifax Mall across from the General Assembly for the rally. Plummer joined a group who would refuse to leave “the people’s house” on command. Like all the others from Moore County who’ve been arrested, Plummer praised officers for the way they handled his arrest. “I must say law enforcement treated us so nicely. I have never seen such courtesy from law enforcement. I was a union president and marched with King across the Pettis Bridge. There was a difference of 180 degrees.” He feels differently about the present General Assembly. “Just the opposite,” Plummer said. “I have never seen anything done in the dark so much. It takes me back to the 1960s.” http://www.thepilot.com/news/article_5474c9ae-f3af-11e2-8619-001a4bcf6878.html

Yes!! It ought to be illegal to speak or make the least sound out in public before say 8am. Bad enough to have to be out & about in their presence first thing in the day.

Yuck. Eww. http://www.cnn.com/2013/07/24/travel/luxury-cruise-inspection/index.html?c=homepage-t

Hmm. I bet hito has a pair of shoes with balls on them!?

What I was thinking was that an earlier George lost the Colonies -- wonder if this George will get the crown before the monarchy itself is at last lost to the republicanising (small 's'!) sentiment ever asimmer in the UK?

Grandpa is of course Prince Charles, who famously showed his toffness by ordering a cherry brandy his first-ever time out at a pub.

Another one I missed! So in honor of new Georgie's grandpa...