Remixxing the mainstream news one blog post at a time from the shores of Venice Beach. News, politics & conspiracy theories about world issues. All posts are opinions meant to foster comment, reporting, teaching & study under the "fair use doctrine" in Sec. 107 of U.S. Code Title 17. No statement of fact is made or should be implied. Ads appearing on this blog are solely the product of Blogger.com and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Remixx World!
Unfortunately, this book about the destruction of America's education system is no longer in print.
Charlotte Thomson Iserbyt, former Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. Department of Education, blew the whistle in the `80s on government activities withheld from the public. Her inside knowledge will help you protect your children from controversial methods and programs.
I don't usually discuss movies on my site unless they relate to conspiracy theories. However, the Fast and the Furious series is the exception to the rule, because the series includes some of my favorite all-time movies. Check out the trailer for the latest film set to be released on April 29, 2011. Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Ludacris, Tyrese & the Rock will all be in this movie. I can't wait to check out the action.
I certainly hope this is not true, because it would mean that I will have to limit my orange consumption in the near future. I don't know if I want to be eating some Franken-Orange or drinking Franken-juice. Read on for the full press release
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News from the National Academies
Read Full Report
Date: March 23, 2010 Contacts: Jennifer Walsh, Media Relations Officer Alison Burnette, Media Relations Assistant Office of News and Public Information 202-334-2138; e-mail news@nas.edu
WASHINGTON -- Urgency, cooperation, and persistent management are needed among producers, processors, government officials, and scientists while solutions are developed and implemented to combat the citrus greening disease threatening Florida citrus production, says a new report from the National Research Council. Requested by the Florida Department of Citrus, the report lays out a strategic plan to control citrus greening and develop a comprehensive solution to diseases that damage citrus crops.
First detected in Florida in 2005, citrus greening is a deadly bacterial disease that affects all citrus varieties and is spread by an insect, the Asian citrus psyllid. Trees infected with the disease have yellow shoots; blotchy leaf color; reduced amount of fruit; and fruits that are abnormally small, lopsided, or "off" in flavor. After infection, the first symptoms may appear in six to 18 months, with relatively fast progression of the disease throughout an orchard. As the severity of the disease increases, citrus yield drops and could make the orchard's production uneconomical in seven to 10 years after planting. The committee that wrote the report found that citrus greening and measures taken to control it reduced Florida orange juice production by several percent by 2008, and losses will likely increase.
Although there is no cure, three-pronged programs have demonstrated some effectiveness in areas not yet severely affected by the disease, but the number of infected citrus trees in Florida continues to rise. The programs rely on production of mandated propagation material in insect-proof facilities, reduction of the Asian citrus psyllid populations, and visual identification and prompt removal of infected trees. To be effective, this program must be continued vigorously, even if the number of infected trees increases in the first years of the program. However, if the disease advances rapidly and more than a few percent of the trees in a grove must be removed every year, production will not be sustainable in today's citrus industry, the committee concluded.
The most powerful long-term management tool likely will be the cultivation of citrus trees resistant to the bacteria that cause citrus greening and to the Asian citrus psyllid, the committee said. Genetic engineering holds the greatest hope for generating trees with these traits. If bacteria-infected trees can be found and removed sooner than through visual detection, the number of infected Asian citrus psyllids and spread of the disease should drop significantly. The committee recommended research to identify indicators that could more efficiently detect infected citrus trees, especially those that may not show symptoms. Orchard test plots consisting of infected trees that show no symptoms, as well as ones with symptoms, also should be established to evaluate new scouting and therapeutic methods.
Until these approaches can be implemented, the report lays out other high-priority actions that could sustain citrus production, including:
creating "citrus management areas" in Florida to facilitate mitigation of citrus greening and other threats to citrus production,
integrating efforts to improve insecticide control of the Asian citrus psyllid,
expanding extension efforts that emphasize removal of infected trees in groves, and
encouraging homeowners to remove backyard citrus trees, particularly trees infected with citrus greening.
The committee also found that greater use of insecticide sprays, as currently required for successful suppression of the Asian citrus psyllid population, runs the risk of the insect developing resistance to the insecticides, the number of beneficial insects decreasing, and the groundwater being contaminated. More information on Asian citrus psyllid behavior and citrus greening disease are needed to improve the insect's suppression, and research should aim to develop alternative Asian citrus psyllid management strategies.
The incursion of citrus greening disease has been more effective than any prior event in bringing industry, government, and universities together in the defense of citrus production in Florida, the committee stated. However, unifying research efforts on the national and international levels, with an emphasis on strategic planning, would probably produce usable results to help mitigate citrus greening disease more rapidly. Information transfer could be enhanced by establishing an annual international research meeting and increasing Internet-accessible data banks. Coordination of research funding and project monitoring could be improved by allowing an organization, preferably an existing one, to have oversight responsibility for research and development efforts. In addition, an analysis of the economic impacts of citrus greening disease, including a cost-benefit analysis and the potential of new technological developments, should also be completed.
The report was sponsored by the Florida Department of Citrus. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are independent, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under an 1863 congressional charter. Committee members, who serve pro bono as volunteers, are chosen by the Academies for each study based on their expertise and experience and must satisfy the Academies' conflict-of-interest standards. The resulting consensus reports undergo external peer review before completion. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org/studycommitteprocess.pdf. A committee roster follows.
Copies of STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE FLORIDA CITRUS INDUSTRY: ADDRESSING CITRUS GREENING DISEASE are available from the National Academies Press; tel. 202-334-3313 or 1-800-624-6242 or on the Internet at HTTP://WWW.NAP.EDU. Reporters may obtain a copy from the Office of News and Public Information (contacts listed above).
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL Division on Earth and Life Studies Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources
COMMITTEE ON STRATEGIC PLANNING FOR THE FLORIDA CITRUS INDUSTRY: ADDRESSING CITRUS GREENING DISEASE
GEORGE BRUENING 1 (CHAIR) Professor Emeritus Department of Plant Pathology University of California Davis
JOSEPH-MARIE BOVE Professor Emeritus Genomique Diversite Pourvoir Pathogene Universite Victor Segalen Bordeaux 2 France
PAUL CITRON 2 Vice President Technology Policy and Academic Relations Medtronic Inc. (retired) New Brighton, Minn.
PHILIP W. MILLER Vice President for U.S. Product Management Monsanto Co. St. Louis
LOWELL R. NAULT Professor Emeritus Department of Entomology Ohio State University Wooster
MARYLOU L. POLEK Vice President of Operations California Citrus Research Board Visalia
HOWARD-YANA SHAPIRO Global Director Plant Science and External Research Mars Inc. Davis, Calif.
ANTHONY M. SHELTON Professor and International Professor Department of Entomology Cornell University Geneva, N.Y.
LAVERN W. TIMMER Professor Emeritus Citrus Research and Education Center University of Florida Lake Alfred
JAMES H. TUMLINSON III 1 Ralph O. Mumma Professor of Entomology, and Director Department of Entomology Center for Chemical Ecology Pennsylvania State University University Park
RAYMOND K. YOKOMI Research Plant Pathologist Crop Diseases, Pests, and Genetics Research Unit U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Parlier, Calif.
I didn't say the previous statement. That statement was allegedly made by Henry Kissinger. I cannot say the below emergency food guidance program has a nefarious purpose. However, despite its private nature, the program's State-affiliation gives Pennsylvania the opportunity to control the food system through the State's private food merchants and retailers in cases of emergencies.
MEDIA CONTACT: Monday, December 6, 2010 Randy St. John; (717) 760‐5912
Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association and Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council Partner with Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture On Emergency Preparedness Guidance
Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance Created for Emergency Managers, Wholesale Distributors and Retail Food Merchants
CAMP HILL – The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association (PFMA) and Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council (PCSC) have partnered with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) to create Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance for wholesale distributors and retail food merchants that can be leveraged during times of emergency.
This guidance establishes a foundation upon which Pennsylvania’s food distribution network and PDA as well as the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) can build an ongoing and mutually beneficial relationship. This state‐level initiativeassists with on‐going efforts between the private food sector and county and local emergency authorities.
In times of emergency, supplies such as rapidly distributable food, over‐the‐counter (OTC) drugs and pharmaceuticals, as well as other consumer products, are critical, and depending on the scope of the emergency, can also be in short supply. Keeping our critical distribution systems moving in an emergency maintains stability, public health and confidence for the state’s 12 million residents.
PFMA and PCSC members understand that the mission of PDA, and ultimately PEMA, is to ensure the safety of its citizens by working to develop and coordinate a unified, all‐hazards planning and response effort for any emergency event.
In April 2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture began the process of drafting the document. The Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance for Pennsylvania’s food retailers and wholesale distributors was approved for dissemination in November.
“When disaster strikes, the food system is often impacted, therefore partnerships built before a disaster strikes are key to the state’s short and long‐term response and recovery and PDA’s work on this project was essential in creating the guidance,” said Randy St. John, senior vice president of Association Services at PFMA.
This Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance details the appropriate processes, procedures and communication protocols that the state can use to integrate the private food distribution sector into a coordinated all‐hazards emergency response plan by:
Utilizing procedures and communication protocols to support real‐time, two‐way sharing of situational awareness and incident management between the private fooddistribution sector and state government during an incident of state or national significance. Situational awareness may include but is not limited to: power outage projections; major road closure information; critical weather service alerts; and general two‐way coordination;
Streamlining paperwork for calls for emergency assistance and Hours of Service (HoS) waivers;
Conducting coordinated response plan training with private food sector, emergency response and sector specific agencies at the state, county and local levels and more.
The Emergency Preparedness and Response Guidance is available to any food retailer or distributor in Pennsylvania. The guidance is not limited to the PFMA and PCSC membership. To request copies of the guidance and to get involved in the two‐way communication network, please contact Annette Knapp at aknapp@pfma.net.
The Pennsylvania Food Merchants Association/Pennsylvania Convenience Store Council is a statewide trade association representing more than 1,100 retail food and convenience stores, wholesale distributors and other associated business members throughout Pennsylvania.
Public Health taking steps to reduce the risk of the illness spreading
LOS ANGELES – Today the Department of Public Health announced that an employee of Jerry’s Deli in Westwood, located at 10925 Weyburn Ave., has been diagnosed with acute hepatitis A. The hepatitis A virus is spread by close physical contact and through fecal contamination of food or drink, so Public Health recommends that patrons who ate sandwiches at the restaurant or who ate catered sandwiches from this location on November 18, 21, 23 or 24 should receive an immune globulin (IG) shot or a hepatitis A vaccination no later than 14 days after their exposure to prevent or reduce illness.
“So far, we have not received notice of any cases resulting from exposure at this establishment, and the risk of transmission from this patient is considered low,” said Jonathan E. Fielding, MD, MPH, Director of Public Health and Health Officer. “We are actively investigating the situation and working with the management of Jerry’s Deli to prevent any possible spread of the disease.” Health officials recommend that patrons who ate hot or cold sandwiches at the Westwood location of Jerry’s Deli or who ate catered sandwiches from this location on the dates specified above receive an IG shot or hepatitis A vaccination to prevent or reduce illness. No other food or drink is considered to be at risk. IG is a shot of concentrated antibodies made from donated blood, providing temporary protection; while the hepatitis A vaccine helps your body develop its own antibodies, providing longer-lasting protection.
Shots must be received within 14 days of exposure in order to reduce or prevent illness. Only those patrons ate sandwiches at the restaurant or who ate catered sandwiches from this location on November 18, 21, 23 or 24 need to take steps to protect their health.
Please note that only the Westwood branch of Jerry’s Deli is affected by this Health Alert.
Persons who have been vaccinated against hepatitis A or have received IG within the last three months or have ever had laboratory confirmed infection with the hepatitis A virus also do not need an injection of IG.
Affected residents are encouraged to seek IG or vaccine through their personal physicians. The Department of Public Health will make IG and vaccine available through certain clinics through December 8. A list of these Public Health clinics, dates and locations can be found on the DPH website at www.publichealth.lacounty.gov or by calling the LA County Info line at 211 from any landline or cell phone within the county.
Persons who had sandwiches from Jerry’s Deli in Westwood between November 12 and November 17 may have been exposed to hepatitis A but it is too late to receive IG or vaccine to prevent illness. If you experience any of the symptoms of hepatitis A, please contact your doctor. There is no risk to any person who ate food prepared after November 24. Signs and symptoms of hepatitis A
Persons who had sandwiches from Jerry’s Deli in Westwood between November 12 and November 17, or those who had sandwiches between November 18 and November 24 and did not receive a protective shot, may develop hepatitis A. The incubation period for hepatitis A is two to seven weeks. If you may have been exposed, watch for the following symptoms:
jaundice (a yellow color to the eyes or skin)
nausea
loss of appetite
vomiting
fever
abdominal cramps
dark-colored urine
fatigue and light-colored bowel movements
If you experience these symptoms, contact your physician.
Close contacts, including household and sexual partners, are at risk for acquiring hepatitis A from an infected person. It is important to be diagnosed promptly to ensure that treatments with IG or vaccine are effective. Routine vaccination and thorough handwashing with soap and hot water after using the toilet and before handling food are the most effective factors in preventing the spread of the disease.
The Department of Public Health is committed to protecting and improving the health of the nearly 10 million residents of Los Angeles County. Through a variety of programs, community partnerships and services, Public Health oversees environmental health, disease control, and community and family health. Public Health comprises more than 4,000 employees and has an annual budget exceeding $750 million. To learn more about Public Health and the work we do, please visit http://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov, visit our YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/lapublichealth, or follow us on Twitter: LAPublicHealth.
The U.S. Air Force's mysterious X-37B robot space plane made a successful return to Earth today, landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Click the picture above to view the video or click here to view it.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to COP16, welcome to CMP6! Welcome to the land of the ancient Mayan goddess Ixchel!
Next to being the goddess of the moon, Ixchel was also the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving. May she inspire you - because today, you are gathered in Cancún to weave together the elements of a solid response to climate change, using both reason and creativity as your tools.
I do not care if Ms. Figueres idolizes Ixchel in her spare time, but she needs to keep her fictional characters to herself especially in when she is in a official capacity. Ms. Figueres, you are an idiot!
CLEAR CHANNEL Black Talk WDIA-A/MEMPHIS has been pumping out 50,000 watts of good will for decades. Now, according to OM/morning host BOBBY O’JAY, "It’s time for an upgrade." According to O’JAY, the station is scheduled to simulcast on sister station Urban AC KJMS’s HD2 side channel, which is 100,000 watts.
The above document is a legal research paper I did in law school back in 2001. I never published the above document, so I figured that I might as well dust off the digital archives and post it for the world to see (or not).
I do not remember "Black Friday" being so crazy when I was a kid. I remember parents fighting over Cabbage Patch Kids dolls in the 1980s, but I don't recall if that occurred the day after Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, this is consumerism at its very worst - ugh!
Homeland Security is seizing websites at its sole discretion. This is a slippery slope that is probably better handled by the U.S. Marshals or the FBI instead of Homeland Security.
The Homeland Security Department's customs enforcement division has gone on a Web site shutdown spree, closing down at least 76 domains this week, according to online reports.
Unless Al-CIA-da is dealing in bootleg MP3s and home videos, this is yet another ridiculous waste of government resources. I recognize that willful & intentional copyright infringement is a crime. However, except in very rare, egregious cases, I do not feel copyright infringement poses a serious threat to the health, safety and general welfare of the community - at all!
If you ever happen to open up your favorite browser, click to Remixx World! and it's no longer available, then you will know that Homeland Security (and/or Google) has/have targeted it for elimination!
I wonder if these GMO mosquitoes in the Grand Cayman Islands are having an unknown effect on the environment. For my Malaysian readers, don't think you're safe from the GMO mosquitoes. Where in the hell are the Prius-drivin' environmentalists? They get mad at a cowboy driving a Hummer and eating a triple cheeseburger, but they say nothing about all the GMO creatures being introduced throughout the environment that will likely cause chaos before it is all said and done. But I guess if a scientist says it is all cool, then the GMO manipulation is "good" for the environment.
Gimme a break, I don't believe this is a natural outbreak. Dengue didn't really pop up in the news until the last few months. Now, it is all over the news and it has even killed a famous surfer. Coincidentally or not, a company announces that it has introduced GMO mosquitoes to the region around the same time the infection it is supposed to counteract explodes.
Oxitec and the Mosquito Research and Control Unit of Grand Cayman (MRCU) today announced, at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene annual meeting in Atlanta, the results of their open field trial. This was the first field demonstration of the use of Oxitec’s RIDL strain OX513A to control the dengue carrying Aedes aegypti mosquito.
This genetically sterile mosquito strain has been developed to help combat the dengue carrying mosquito Aedes aegypti. This sterility can be suppressed with a dietary antidote, allowing the strain to be reared in large numbers. Sterile males are then released to seek out and mate wild females, competing for mates with the wild males. If a female mates with a sterile male she will have no offspring, thus reducing the next generation's population. Repeated releases of sufficient numbers of sterile males will result in a reduction in the target mosquito population below the minimum level needed to support dengue transmission.
Male mosquitoes do not bite or spread disease and will mate only with females of the same species, hence the release of sterile male mosquitoes presents a safe alternative to insecticides.
Dr William Petrie of MRCU said ‘Dengue is a debilitating disease one can only get from the bite of an infected mosquito. There are around 100 million cases per annum globally and we need new tools against this mosquito’, a view supported by the World Health Organisation; ‘the only way to prevent dengue virus transmission is to combat the disease-carrying mosquitoes.
The field trial took place in Grand Cayman with sterile male releases from May to October and additional pre- and post-trial monitoring. This followed a successful smaller trial in 2009 that demonstrated that released RIDL males mated successfully with their local counterparts in the open environment. Eggs were supplied from Oxitec’s facilities in the UK and the sterile male mosquitoes were hatched and released by MRCU. After initial production and release testing, releases of male sterile mosquitoes reached the required release level in July. A significant reduction in the local mosquito population was observed from August. All of the trial objectives were successfully met, including the main goal of suppressing the local Aedes aegypti population.
Dr Luke Alphey, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder of Oxitec added ‘Oxitec considers that this approach could be used in many countries to help control the Aedes aegypti mosquito and hence prevent dengue fever. We have been working on this for many years to ensure the approach is both effective and safe. This trial represents the first demonstration in the open field and we are delighted with the results.’
Dengue is the world’s fastest growing mosquito borne viral disease for which there is neither medication nor vaccine. Existing control methods centre on the use of insecticides together with practical methods to reduce the number of likely mosquito breeding sites. Despite this, dengue fever has grown rapidly over the last decades as Aedes aegypti has spread to new countries and, according to the WHO, two fifths of the world’s population, some 2.5bn people, are now at risk.
About Oxitec Oxitec is a pioneer in controlling insects that spread disease and damage crops. Oxitec has developed RIDL technology that allows the development of sterile males of a target insect species as a control method. This approach is safe, environmentally friendly and sustainable.
About MRCU The Mosquito Research & Control Unit (MRCU) was established in 1965 and provides mosquito control on Grand Cayman and its sister islands. MRCU also performs leading research into mosquito behaviour, insecticide resistance and control methods and is internationally renowned for its public health contribution.
For further information contact: Dr Luke Alphey +44 1235 832393 Camilla Beech +44 1235 832393
Yikes, this is not a good sign. The world is slowly weaning itself of its dollar fix. In the past decades, many of the world's major transactions had to pass through the U.S. financial system, because of the world's usage of the dollar. Now that Russia and China are making bilateral deals with their own respective currencies, the dollar's value in the world may soon decrease.
China and Russia have decided to renounce the US dollar and resort to using their own currencies for bilateral trade, Premier Wen Jiabao and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin announced late on Tuesday.
Chinese experts said the move reflected closer relations between Beijing and Moscow and is not aimed at challenging the dollar, but to protect their domestic economies.
I bought my 1st set of turntables back in 1993. They were a cheap belt drive system that I bought pre-Internet from some DJ store in Brooklyn I saw in a magazine advertisement. I later updated to a decent Gemini direct drive system and while that lasted me for a decade, these tables weren't Technics 1200. However, as much as I wanted to own my own Technics 1200s, I never had the money to spend on such luxury. Nevertheless, I promised myself that I would get me a set of these turntables one day no matter how old I was.
It is funny how time has a way of slipping away from us if we don't seize the moment. I gave my Gemini turntables to charity back in 2005 when Lindsey Lohan and other celebrity "DJs" with their iPod mix sets came on the scene. For five (5) years, I haven't thought much about DJing as I became an iTunes head myself. Last weekend, I went to my storage facility and saw the crates of my old records. Now that I'm a little older and a tid bit wiser, maybe I'm now in a position where I can finally realize my dream and buy some Technics 1200.
Unfortunately, I just found out that Panasonic has discontinued its analog turntable production line including all the Technics 1200 (see above picture). I believe that this is a recent announcement, so there are probably still various units in the marketplace. However, the cost of the these turntable units will inevitability rise as supplies diminish. I better scramble and make a purchase before that happens.
R.I.P. Technics 1200. You will never be gone with the number of units still in use and production today.
I'm not a Moslem, but I learned more about Islam from the below comics than I ever have from the mainstream media. It does seem one-sided in its pro-Islam view, but informative nonetheless. I wish all the major classical books were available in comic book form.
