Infant Mortality up 45% in Philly!

Yet another reason to breast feed on a couch next to a HEPA filter!

Is Iodine-131 Killing Babies In Philly?: MyFoxPHILLY.com

Debtors Prisons In The USA!!!

Supposedly debtors prisons were abolished long ago in the 19th Century. However many US citizens are being sent to jail for having debt! People have been imprisoned for not paying back payday loans, car loans and credit cards. Most of the time they are caught by collection agencies and arrested for not paying a debt to a different business. This may be a result of the failing economy and business taking less than moral tactics to get every dime they can.
Star Tribune

Vancouver B.C. Riots

According to a resident of Vancouver, Canada the drunken chaos is to be expected following the Stanley Cup hockey final considering that the Canucks lost. The police reaction however was not expected to be violent and oppressive. The violation of civil liberties did not subdue the rowdy crowd of hockey fans but instead added fuel to the fire and instigated an all out riot in the streets of downtown Vancouver. The police entered the scene trying to get rowdy but non violent fans to leave. The police began throwing teargas not just affecting the masses of hockey fans but also gassing residents of apartments in the area. The violence and looting that occurred was not being prevented by the police but instead the violations of civil liberties instigated assaults and vandalism. The media of course would never provide a beam of light illuminating the police as harbingers of destruction but here is a news report on the hockey riots.

Puyehue-Cordón Caulle Volcanic Complex in Chile Has Not Stopped Yet!

Steaming rivers filled with hot ash, rocks, and rain threatened to overflow their banks in southern Chile on Friday and ash clouds from a volcano that began erupting nearly a week ago kept some airports closed across much of the southern part of the continent. In towns bordering the Cordon Caulle volcano, authorities warned that rivers were about to flood due to the large amounts of ash and volcanic rock that have fallen in them and heavy rains that have doused the area of southern Chile. About 3,500 residents had been evacuated, and 500 of them were still in shelters Friday. Authorities were seeking legal permission Friday to evacuate a dozen more who refused to leave their property and animals behind. The flow of the Nilahue and GolGol rivers near the volcano had increased from 1,000 cubic feet (30 cubic meters) per second to 5,600 cubic feet (160 cubic meters) per second, Chilean Public Works Minister Hernan de Solminihac said on state television Friday. "It's important that people leave their homes for their own security, because the volcano has not ceased to erupt," he said.

According to official reports in recent days, continuous seismic activity observed in the Puyehue Volcano Complex area. Based of report SERNAGEOMIN the National Disaster Management Office Pocura, Pichico, Los Venados, Contrafuerte, El Zapallo en la Región de Los Ríos y El Retiro, Anticura, El Caulle, Comaco Forestal, Anticura Pajaritos en la Región de Los Lagos and Con una region ordered the evacuation of the population. The affected population is 700 people present. Strength of the quakes was 3.0 and 5.0 on the Richter scale, the number of quakes was 230. The eruption is expected in the next hours.

Information and images atRSOE EDIS Volcano Ativity

Popocatepetl Volcano Eruption near Mexico City

The Popocatepetl volcano, 60 kilometres southeast of Mexico City, on Friday erupted with a 3,000-metre-high cloud of ash. Civil protection authorities said the ash was not dangerous for the population. People were warned not to get within 12 kilometres of the volcano. The 5,400-metres-high Popocatepetl gave off ash after shaking for several minutes early Friday, and it remained to be seen whether that ash would settle in nearby towns like Amecameca, or the city of Puebla. Civil protection coordinator Laura Gurza said the volcano's activity was stable but that the cloud out was the largest 'in several years.' The Popocatepetl regularly gives off small amounts of ash and gases. Video from ThinkMexican

Cow MRSA can infect humans

Scientists have found cows carrying a superbug in Britain. This superbug is medically known as Meticillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MSRA). "The Lancet Infectious Diseases" British medical journal, states that cows are collective source of the new type of MSRA infection in humans. However, the authors of the journal want to stress that pasteurization of milk will prevent any risk of MSRA infection. The main worry is people who are surrounded by cows since they act as a pool of bacteria. The standard test to detect MSRA works by searching for the gene that is responsible for making the bug resilient to antibiotics. The problem is the gene allows the new variant to be resilient to drugs which means that the standardized test does not work. There is a high concern for hospitals being infected by MSRA, especially in India. MSRA can easily infect surgical wounds or people with weaken immune systems. The University of Cambridge states that tests of the new variant can be misdiagnosed as meticillin-susceptible and given improper medication. Professor David Coleman from the University of Dublin states: “The results of our study indicate that new types of MRSA that can colonize and infect humans are emerging from animal reservoirs in Ireland and Europe. It is difficult to correctly identify them as MRSA”. guardian.co.uk

Oregon Cat Biological Hazard

A cat named Meow was diagnosed with the bubonic plague in Prineville Oregon. This is the fourth report since January in the Pacific North West. Despite the common cat falling victim to the bubonic plague, only three cases have been contracted by humans in over a decade. The plague is carried by rodents and if a pet is bitten by a flea that feasted off a contaminated rodent the pet can contract the disease from the flea. Fleas are the vector that carries this wildlife disease into the domestic setting. Dogs however have a natural resilience to the plague and do not show symptoms of the disease although they can carry it. However antibiotic treatment is successful in both people and pets and the cat Meow is expected to make a full recovery. Oregon Live