Restaurant Report Card Grades on Antibiotics in Meat Supply

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packaged-meatA new report is sounding the alarm about the use of antibiotics in the meat and poultry supply chains of the 25 largest U.S. fast food and “fast casual” restaurants.

Most top U.S. restaurant chains have no publicly available policy to limit regular use of antibiotics in their meat and poultry supply chains, according to the “Chain Reaction” report by Friends of the Earth, the Natural Resources Defense Council and four other consumer interest, public health and environmental organizations.

“When livestock producers administer antibiotics routinely to their flocks and herds, bacteria can develop resistance, thrive and even spread to our communities, contributing to the larger problem of antibiotic resistance,” the authors wrote in the report, which was released Tuesday. “The worsening epidemic of resistance means that antibiotics may not work when we need them most: when our kids contract a staph infection (MRSA), or our parents get a life-threatening pneumonia.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization have repeatedly warned about the not-far-off public health threat of antibiotic resistance. The CDC estimates at least 2 million Americans contract antibiotic-resistant infections every year, and that 23,000 die as a result.

“A post-antibiotic era — in which common infections and minor injuries can kill — far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century,” the WHO cautioned in a 2014 report. (Read more from “Restaurant Report Card Grades on Antibiotics in Meat Supply” HERE)

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After Banning Confederate Flags, Amazon Decided to Sell This Shocking Item

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635707604186072305-confederate-flag-stockA nationwide law enforcement coalition joined numerous social media activists this week in denouncing Amazon’s policy of selling anti-police merchandise. After stripping its virtual shelves of all items bearing Confederate markings following a fatal shooting in South Carolina, Amazon has come under fire for not similarly restricting access to products that promote hate or violence against cops.

The item that apparently sparked much of the backlash was a black T-shirt bearing the unedited phrase “F–k the Police” and simulated blood splatter.

“Social media has become a major source of propaganda for the anti-law enforcement movement,” wrote Michael Bouchard, president emeritus of the Major County Sheriff’s Association.

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After criticizing Facebook for allowing groups with anti-police messages, he lamented the fact that Amazon sells items “depicting the assassination of law enforcement officials” even as police deaths are occurring at a rate of roughly 10 per month.

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“The MCSA calls upon Facebook and Amazon to support the men and women who risk their lives everyday [sic] for the safety of their communities,” he concluded. (Read more from “After Banning Confederate Flags, Amazon Decided to Sell This Shocking Item” HERE)

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Now Arriving: Airport Control Towers With No Humans Inside

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Photo Credit: AP

Photo Credit: AP

Passengers landing at remote Ornskoldsvik Airport in northern Sweden might catch a glimpse of the control tower – likely unaware there is nobody inside.

The dozen commercial planes landing there each day are instead watched by cameras, guided in by controllers viewing the video at another airport 90 miles away.

Ornskoldsvik is the first airport in the world to use such technology. Others in Europe are testing the idea, as is one airport in the United States. While the majority of the world’s airports will, for some time, still have controllers on site, experts say unmanned towers are coming. They’ll likely first go into use at small and medium airports, but eventually even the world’s largest airports could see an array of cameras mounted on a pole replacing their concrete control towers. (Read more from “Now Arriving: Airport Control Towers With No Humans Inside” HERE)

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Bubonic Plague Case Confirmed in Michigan

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635778451378692012-bubonic-plagueA Michigan resident has contracted the rare, life-threatening bubonic plague — the first documented case in Michigan’s public health history, state officials confirmed.

The Marquette County adult is recovering after apparently contracting the flea-borne illness during a trip to Colorado. Officials are reassuring the public there is no cause for alarm, despite the disease’s connection to the microorganism that caused the Black Death plague in Europe in the 1300s, killing millions and reshaping history . . .

The bubonic plague, in fact, is notably marked by one or more swollen, tender and painful lymph nodes, usually in the groin, armpit or neck.

With the bubonic plague, people are most often infected by bites from infected fleas or when they have direct contact with the tissues or body fluids from an infected animal. The highest risk is in settings that offer food and shelter for rodents — campsites and cabins, for example, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

The Michigander’s case did not develop into the more contagious pneumonic form of the plague. Pneumonic plague may be passed between humans, infecting the lungs and causing a rapidly developing pneumonia that can lead to respiratory failure and shock, according to the CDC. (Read more from “Bubonic Plague Case Confirmed in Michigan” HERE)

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American Airlines Accidentally Flew the Wrong Plane From L.A. To Hawaii

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american-airlines-unitedIn late August, American Airlines accidentally flew the wrong plane from Los Angeles to Hawaii, a mix-up that violated Federal Aviation Administration regulations.

The mistake, first reported by aviation blogger Brian Sumers, occurred on Aug. 31 — just days after the airline began flying Airbus A321 planes on the L.A. to Hawaii route (other planes in American Airlines’ fleet have long flown this route).

A spokesman for the airline confirmed to The Washington Post that a version of the A321 plane that was not certified to make long flights over water — as on the route between Los Angeles and Hawaii — was accidentally flown that day.

The mistake was caught midway through the flight, Sumers reported, but a decision was made to continue to Hawaii. The airline canceled the return flight and the empty plane was flown back to Los Angeles.

“Immediately when we realize what happened, we notified the FAA and we are working and fully cooperating with them,” spokesman Casey Norton said. “We also have an ongoing, thorough review of our policies and procedures.” (Read more from “American Airlines Accidentally Flew the Wrong Plane From L.A. To Hawaii” HERE)

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Latest Military Lab Concerns Involve Plague Bacteria, Deadly Viruses

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081228-bacteria-art-02The Pentagon’s most secure laboratories may have mislabeled, improperly stored and shipped samples of potentially infectious plague bacteria, which can cause several deadly forms of disease, USA TODAY has learned.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention flagged the practices after inspections last month at an Army lab in Maryland, one of the Pentagon’s most secure labs. That helped prompt an emergency ban on research on all bioterror pathogens at nine laboratories run by the Pentagon, which was already reeling from revelations that another Army lab in Utah had mishandled anthrax samples for 10 years . . .

Moreover, officials point out that continuing testing has shown the suspect samples of plague contain a weakened version, and not the fully virulent form that was of concern to lab regulators at the CDC.

There is no danger to the public from the plague and encephalitis specimens found in the labs, said Army spokesman Dov Schwartz. After extensive testing, no danger has been found to scientists and researchers who have worked with the vials, he said. Final test results are expected by the end of the month.

However, for the first time since the scandal broke in May about an Army lab’s botched handling of anthrax, the Pentagon is now acknowledging that worries now extend to other lethal agents that it studies. In addition to the plague samples and some additional anthrax specimens, the CDC has raised concerns about military labs’ handling of specimens created from two potentially deadly viruses that are also classified as bioterror pathogens: Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus, which can cause rare but serious illnesses in people, including deadly inflammation of the brain. (Read more from “Latest Military Lab Concerns Involve Plague Bacteria, Deadly Viruses” HERE)

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Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Infectious, Study Suggests

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alzheimers-getty3-v2The “seeds” of Alzheimer’s disease may be transmitted from one person to another during certain medical procedures, scientists have found.

A study into people who died of a separate kind of brain disease after receiving injections of human growth hormone suggests that Alzheimer’s may also be a transmissible disease.

The findings have raised questions about the safety of some medical procedures, possibly including blood transfusions and invasive dental treatment, which may involve the transfer of contaminated tissues or surgical equipment.

The investigation has shown for the first time in humans that Alzheimer’s disease may be a transmissible infection which could be inadvertently passed between people.

Scientists emphasised that the new evidence is still preliminary and should not stop anyone from having surgery. They have also stressed that it is not possible to “catch” Alzheimer’s by living with someone with the disease. (Read more from “Alzheimer’s Disease May Be Infectious, Study Suggests” HERE)

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Scientists Are Waking up “30,000-Year-Old” Giant Virus

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virus_1Bringing a 30,000-year-old virus back to life sounds like the plot of a real-life horror movie. So if you were scared by the incurable virus in the movie “28 Days Later,” you might want to stop reading right now.

Scientists who discovered a prehistoric virus called Mollivirus sibericum in the Siberian permafrost plan to give the virus its first wakeup call since the last Ice Age (after first verifying that it can’t harm humans and animals, thankfully). It’s hoped the study could shed insight into ancient dormant viruses that could, it’s feared, get another chance at spreading as permafrost retreats due to ‘climate change’.

The team, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, announced its plans in a study published Tuesday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.

The virus is classified as a “giant” virus because it’s visible by light microscopy. Mollivirus sibericum carries a complex genetic structure that houses more than 500 genes, according to the study’s abstract. The influenza virus, in comparison, has only 8 genes.

The same team that discovered Mollivirus sibericum found another 30,000-year-old virus, Pithovirus sibericum, in the same Russian permafrost. As described in PNAS last year, those scientists revived a sample of Pithovirus sibericum in safe lab conditions and determined it was still infectious, though it only affects amoebas. (Read more from “Scientists Are Waking up 30,000-Year-Old Giant Virus” HERE)

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Here Come the Wearables That Aim to Save Your Life

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AAe3pylRejoice, asthmatics, paranoiacs and even the merely sun-conscious! Soon there may be a wearable just for you.

Australian engineers are working on patches that can detect all sorts of environmental hazards, like UV radiation and toxic gas. Stretchy and transparent, the sensors would stick to the skin, like a nicotine patch, or be sewn into clothing. From there, they’d send you a smartphone alert to seek shade when the sun’s UV rays are too strong or when pollution levels get too high. And then the data could be uploaded to a cloud-based monitoring system to flag environmental no-go zones. “We’ve shown in the lab they work,” says Philipp Gutruf, who led the research at RMIT University in Melbourne.

Besides potentially preventing skin cancer, lung cancer, asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, the invention could save lives from gas leaks that sometimes occur in mines and power plants, the RMIT University engineers say. Although such places already have portable gas detection systems, they’re clunky — about the size of a shoe box. A sensor stitched into workers’ uniforms would be more user friendly. And by using zinc oxide, which can detect gas at room temperature, the Australian engineers got a side benefit: The metal can measure UV radiation too.

The first test: the sensor’s ability to detect hydrogen — a colorless, odorless gas that can explode if left to leak — and nitrogen dioxide, a brownish gas that contributes to smog. The engineers then measured its resistance to an electric current. As expected, the sensor’s resistance changed depending on whether it detected hydrogen, nitrogen dioxide or UV light. What’s more, the stretchy sensor beat out its stiff counterparts in speed and sensitivity. (Read more from “Here Come the Wearables That Aim to Save Your Life” HERE)

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Wikipedia Exposed as a Blackmail Racket That Does This to Small Businesses

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Wikipedia-Logo-on-BlackNatural News has long documented the scandal, debauchery and bogusness surrounding the “online encyclopedia” known as Wikipedia – and each time we’ve been proven correct that the media giant is little more than a corrupt operation that has always attempted to downplay or hide its seedy, shady side.

As reported by the UK’s Independent newspaper, hundreds of small British businesses and minor celebrities have been targeted by a high-level blackmail scam that was orchestrated by “rogue editors” at Wikipedia. (Side note: We at Natural News believe if this is happening in Britain, it’s a safe bet to assume it could be happening in others in other nations – just saying.)

The Independent further reported:

The victims, who range from a wedding photographer in Dorset to a high-end jewellery shop in Shoreditch, east London, faced demands for hundreds of pounds to “protect” or update Wikipedia pages about their businesses. A former Britain’s Got Talent contestant was among dozens of individuals targeted.

Wikipedia officials say they have taken action against what the media entity described as the “co-ordinated group” of fraudsters by blocking 381 accounts. They also said that the accounts were controlled by Wikipedia users who had offered to change some articles about companies and private individuals in exchange for money. In some of those cases, requests for money were veiled blackmail threats, Wikipedia said.

(Read more from “Wikipedia Exposed as a Blackmail Racket That Does This to Small Businesses” HERE)

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