Parademic Notes Week Ending 180520

Read This First, Heuristics (1), Glossary (A-H), Mini Lessons (2)     

-1. The End is Nigh, 1.1. Science Reputation, 1.2. Activism, 1.3. High Fiber Immunity, 2. Pett Cartoons, 3. Biological Synchrony, 3.1. HIV Stigma, 3.2. Colonial America Endangered Species Protection, 4. Dilemma Context, 5. We had Paris, 6. Incremental Planning Ahead, 7. Chernobyl Aftermath, 8. Epidemic Impact on Culture, 9. BioTerrorism Preparedness Blog, 10. Simple Sounding Question, 11. Contra Indicators of Humor. <ADDED> VCP,  >1. Irish Referendum, >2. Cyber Security Cuts, >3. Congo Ebola >4. Evacuation and Pele’, >5. Forest Regeneration, >6. Trying Again, >7. Smithsonian Outbreak Exhibit, >8. San Diego Hepatitis A Lessons.

Other Topics: BioTrumpism, BioPolitics, Vaccine, Biosphere, Disaster, Humor, Climate Change, Anthropocene, Anthropogenic, Communication, Anti-Science, Fraudulent Science, Science Journalism, One Health, Language Change, Decision Making, Scenarios vs Real World, Pruitt, Ebola Vaccine, Conservation, Magical Behavior, Sacred Land, Sea Level Rise, Environmental Crime, Ozone, Henrietta Lacks, Charles Dickens, Museum Exhibits, North Dakota Tribes, Small Pox Outbreaks, Census, Immigration, GMO, Neologisms, Absolutely Against Absolutism.

-1. One reason I believe most doomsday predictions made by scientists never come to pass is because they made the prediction that if current trends continue then the result will be _____. By making the statement one creates the motivation for change of the trend and so the consequence doesn’t happen, [Cartoon]. Hope that is the case with Human Parasitology and Parasitic Diseases: Heading Towards 2050. By 2050 our civilized planet may be comprised predominantly of networked megacities embedded in warm subtropical and tropical climates, and under stress from climate change and catastrophic weather events. Urban slum areas in these cities -180513-1.1*¶2A↓, including those found in wealthier middle and high income nations (blue marble health), will be especially vulnerable to disease. Moreover, regional conflicts fought over shifting and limited resources, including water, will collapse health systems infrastructures to further promote disease emergence and reemergence. Our best hope to counteract the parasitic diseases emerging in our steaming 21^st century megacities is to develop new and innovative technologies through gene editing, systems biology, and immunology, and the new single celled omics. However, success on this front will require our ability to contain the globalization of antiscience beliefs and sentiments. [Cartoon].

            -1.1. Perhaps fraudulent science was part of what gave the rise to anti-science. Repeat Offenders: When Scientific Fraudsters Slip Through the Cracks. Amid the silence attending a formal investigation, scientific fraudsters too often thrive. Students and researchers struggling for limited grant funding all suffer when institutions simply let someone with a troubled history and a trail of bad data hop from post to post – and continue injecting that bad data into the literature. Is there a better way to balance privacy and transparency. Other times science journalism can hurt the reputation of science, Newsweek Writes Tabloid Worthy Article on Stem Cells for Erectile Dysfunction, 180513-1.2, 180408-5.3, 180318-4, <ADDED 171001-170806-6.2>10, 170924-7.1 -*, <ADDED 170827-170305-C.1, 170820-5¶, 170101-C.1, 161225-3.1, 161211-1.4, 161106-1.3, 161009-3A -5*, 160918-5, 161211-1.4. This includes actual medical sciences sources, PLOS ONE Publishes a Howler of a Bad Acupuncture Network Meta Analysis, not to mention the infamous Lancet Retracts 12 Year Old Article Linking Autism to MMR Vaccines -VCP•Japan↓. I’ve wondered if this article continues to be cited by anti-vax because of the slow process to refute and then retract it. | There are also complete apophenia speculations or epistemic arrogance*, or at least I have not idea one accesses ASD of an artist 30,000 years ago, or how it links to ASD art of today. How Our Ancestors with Autistic Traits Led a Revolution in Ice Age Art *Fooled by Randomness, Glossary.

            -1.2. Have been thinking about science political activism. Though I am inclined to agree I still see it as willingness to impose ones ideas on others because you are sure you are right, (said by every tyrant ever). As a scientist I am also inclined to always consider that I may not be right subject based on evidence. In anycase what is right for me may not be right for others. Too often there is a correlation of being absolutely sure of a policy or action and causing iatrogenic social damage. 170212-T2 Does Activism in Social Science Explain Conservatives’ Distrust of Scientists, Separating Social Science Research on Activism from Social Science as Activism, Is Social Science Politically Biased, The Value and Risk of Activism, Scientists Are Standing Up to Trump Because They've Always Stood Up to Bullshit*, Why Some of the Worst Attacks on Social Science Have Come From Liberals. Personally I do not consider myself an activist. I don’t have the confidence (or arrogance) to believe that what I know so much that I am fated to impose that on others. I am OK with advocacy, but largely follow the world’s greatest philosopher and theologian, Snoopy [Panel**, Cover, Cover] Health Activism, Balancing My Work as a Doctor and My Work as an Activist Is Getting Harder and Harder. I can however see the attraction at this time No Time for Silence: An Urgent Need for Political Activism Among the Medical Community. A Little Less Science for EPA’s Science Advisory Boards, 180429-3¶1. Scientists Denounce Pruitt's Effort to Block Secret Science at EPA. Remember way back when some thought that Scientists Scramble to Save Climate Data Before Trump Can Delete It was being overly alarmist. 170205-T4, 161120-6. *Why Bullshit Hurts Democracy More than Lies. On Bullshit. **Actually Oliver Cromwell.

            -Quote: Science makes no pretension to eternal truth or absolute truth; some of its rivals do. – Eric Temple Bell. [Meme].

            -1.3. An article like this could be picked up by a nutrition as health network and one will see an associated rise in fiber in their diet. Among antivax networks this will be provided as a clinically proven method to prevent getting the flu. A High Fiber Diet Protects Mice Against the Flu Virus. Dietary fiber increases survival in influenza infected mice by setting the immune system at a healthy level of responsiveness. A high fiber diet blunts harmful, excessive immune responses in the lungs while boosting antiviral immunity by activating T cells. These dual benefits were mediated by changes in the composition of gut bacteria. ¶ Drug Companies Selling More 'Lifestyle,' less 'Symptom', promoting how certain medications can improve a user's lifestyle rather than curing symptoms and the negative emotions connected to their health condition. ¶ False Story Ties Clintons to Doctor’s Death.

            -Quote: Don't sell the steak, sell the sizzle. – Elmer Wheeler, Testing Sentences That Sell.

-2. A sampling of the multiple forms of anthropogenic behavior via political cartoons. I’ve used Joel Pett’s cartoons in Parademic, but this is the first I noticed that he has several related to biocalamity. Chagrined because I do have some familiarity with the editorial slant and interests authors, but have not been quite so diligent with cartoonists. [Cartoon Dengue], [Cartoon Extinction], [Cartoon Sacred -180429-5¶‡↓], [Cartoon Going Green], [Cartoon Ocean Garbage], [Cartoon Cancer Awareness], [Cartoon Ebola], [Cartoon Borders], [Cartoon Food Safety], [Cartoon GMO -10, -180513-9‡↓], [Cartoon Anti Science], [Cartoon Climate Change], [Cartoon Population], [Cartoon Ocean], [Cartoon Coal], [Cartoon Animal Migration], [Cartoon Anthropogenic], [Cartoon Ozone], [Cartoon Contagious Virus], [Cartoon Consequences], [Cartoon Deforestation], [Cartoon Security]. Worst Man Made Disasters in History.

-3. #Linguistics Introduction of a new term and concept that has bearing on biocalamity and parademic, the flip side of loss of biodiversity. Climate Extremes Are Putting Species in Sync — and in Danger. Biological synchrony is a deceptively nice sounding situation that’s putting species in sync. Ecological stability requires having a diverse portfolio of responses or behaviors. The idea is that if one population gets wiped out by a local event. If a wildflower goes locally extinct because of drought, nearby populations might be able to recolonize the community, perhaps by sprouting at a lusher time in future. But with increasing synchrony, there’s less and less of a diverse portfolio that helps spread the risk. Everyone is tied to the same fate. One of the characteristics of a parademic is there will be changes to a language. Usually small things like a word becoming more frequently used, such as a previously rare disease becoming a large outbreak, and related sequella. Biological Synchrony will likely become abbreviated to Bio Synchrony/ Sync if it become a commonly used term. Moreover it represents a deeper understanding of why decreasing bio diversity is a threat. -180429-5>1, Population IsolationPredicts the Severity of Historical Human Epidemics. The word Ebola is an example of language change. A barely known word a few years ago is now known globally, is multivocalic, and have variations, Ebowla, Ebolaphobia, E Bull La, Ebola Handshake, Eeeeebollaaaaa. -180513-1.1*¶2A>

            -3.1. Stigma may be a greater problem than panic, though separating the two is not always easy. Blurring of categories, concepts and meaning of words, is also characteristic of parademic in the face of biocalamaties that bring into question the assumptions and paradigms people believe explain the world. If far enough of a threat to a worldview that is also a personal identity one is likely to see denial. What's Behind The Alarming Spike In HIV Infections In Panama. People fear that others will simply hear the word 'HIV' spoken around them, and they automatically shut down and don't talk. The greatest discrimination that exists for a person with HIV is in their own family. Another term for stigma is dehumanizing to create distance for negative behavior toward the stigmatized, justifying the behavior. This is usually associated with terminology or changing the meaning of a word to create a euphemism, Trump Rants, Calling Some Unauthorized Immigrants Animals, Trump on Deported Immigrants: They’re Not People. They’re Animals, [Cartoon, Cartoon]. Donald Trump and the Disturbing Power of Dehumanizing Language. Other stigmatizing terms include Trumper, Trumvangical, Trumpitized, Trump Land, Tumpillusion, biotrumpism. Commentary: The Left’s Dehumanizing of President Trump and His Supporters Is Un American and Dangerous. | An impact on demographic information collection that is vital for public health decisions that stems from statements, treatment of those crossing the border, and activity such as ICE Arrests of Noncriminal Immigrants Double under Trump. Many Noncitizens Plan to Avoid the 2020 Census, Test Run Indicates, Congress Wanted to Grill the Trump Official Responsible for the Census Citizenship Question. He Didn’t Show up, 180415-3.2. Director of Census Bureau Calls for Updated Population Report after Realizing He Forgot to Count Himself. [Cartoon].

            -3.2. May 19, 1715, The Early Years of Species Protection. The colony of New York passes a law making it illegal to gather, rake, take up, or bring to the market, any oysters whatsoever between the months of May and September. This regulation was only one of many that were passed in the early days of America to help preserve certain species. In recent years, endangered species laws have been enacted in order to criminalize poaching for the protection of animals. However, earlier versions of these laws were more concerned with insuring that hunters would have a steady supply of game.

-4. People Make Different Moral Choices in Imagined Versus Real Life Situations. Researchers often use hypothetical scenarios to understand how people grapple with moral quandaries, but experimental results suggest that these scenarios may not always reflect real life behavior. The findings showed that people tend to focus more on the outcome of their decision and less on absolute moral principles when faced with a real life scenario as opposed to a hypothetical scenario. This doesn’t mean the exercise scenarios are worthless, but it is true that decisions and choices made can differ markedly from the seemingly same situation. A training scenario may be the first time that a dilemma is encountered, and one would hope that people think more about something after a first encounter, possibly coming to a different conclusion. Real world situations may provide more or less information about the dilemma than the exercise, a completely different background of information, and different loads of misinformation. People carry information, experience and knowledge of the people involved in the dilemma, and the dilemma may occur in a different context than its hypothetical counterpart. Just like the meaning of a word, a different context can change its perception and interpretation, and therefore the behavior is response. It is also important to consider that exercises are evaluations, and people tend to behave differently when aware they are being observed and judged. [Cartoon].

-5. It’s not just Paris [Poster]. It is not unusual for a law or agreement to be ignored if there is profit, ease and lack of consequence. Sometimes it is easier to do something illegally if following the law is onerous, or one is convinced that there is no harm (especially to themselves). Rising Emissions of Ozone Destroying Chemical Banned by Montreal Protocol. Emissions of one of the chemicals most responsible for the Antarctic ozone hole are on the rise, despite an international treaty that required an end to its production in 2010; Someone, Somewhere, Is Making a Banned Chemical that Destroys the Ozone Layer, Emissions of a Banned Ozone Pollutant Are on the Rise, and Scientists Say a Secret Manufacturer Is the Most Likely Culprit, Mysterious Rise in Banned Ozone Destroying Chemical Shocks Scientists [Map, Chart]. Again not a unique case: How VW’s Cheating on Emissions Was Exposed. Changzhou Pollution Scandal Highlights Holes in China’s Environmental Enforcement. We’re Ignoring the Biggest Pruitt Scandal: He’s Making Pollution Worse [Cartoon]. Common Chemicals Are a Way Bigger Source of Air Pollution Than We Thought. Uncertainty in Long Run Economic Growth Likely Points Toward Greater Emissions, Climate Change Costs. | With Government in Retreat, Companies Step Up on Emissions (2017). Actually some of the private sector had already set their own goals, 200 Companies Commit to Science Based Targets, Surpassing Expectations for Corporate Climate Action (2016), 114 Companies Commit to Set Ambitious Science Based Emissions Reduction Targets, Surpassing Goal (2015). Would be an interesting if all carbon produces set goals that are more stringent than government, and when government has relaxed goals, possibly insisting on more pollution to build the economy. ¶ I see that in 180506-2.1 I didn’t answer a question that should have been, that is what exactly is (was) the US commitment to the Paris Accord, both in real numbers, and in relative numbers. The US commitment was the largest in the world, but the relative amount compared to its economy might put is way lower. Reality Check: What Do Countries Spend on Climate Fund.

            -Quote1: The two trips I took, were all in advancement of air quality issues, environmental issues to this country. – Scott Pruitt [Cartoon].

            -Quote2: I've been offered a lot for my work, but never everything. Yul Brynner, Video, [Cameo].

-6. Rising Tide Has Southern California City Thinking Ahead. The consensus is that sea level rise will occur in Southern California, but how much and when are questions that complicate developing mitigation plans. It is impossible to foresee the future 50 to 100 years from now, and that makes planning for eventualities that far in advance a crap shoot. So you do it incrementally. That’s why the city is putting plans into place – incremental ones with pauses to see that works and what unintended consequences may crop up. he planning that we’re doing should be directed to 10, 20, 30 years out and done incrementally. Incremental defenses and learning from these projects as we go, so as they get bigger, we have a better clue on what the heck we’re doing. Since the city is 100 percent built out and there is no political will for a managed retreat of properties <ADDED 170924-170917-1.3*>2 (actually -1.1*), 170402-5. Maybe there will be a big El Nino in 2040 in Southern California and that will raise awareness, but until then it’s fruitless to talk about massive retreat and things like that on the West Coast because it’s not politically feasible. More seawalls need to be built, more cliffs are getting armor. It’s also important to know what the consequences of armory are. It stops erosion, but that cuts the sand off from the beach. During a major flood event, the rising tide will destroy staircases. It’s one product nobody has talked about, fixing the staircases, which could be a ton of money. Be prepared for that because it’s what happens with high tide. GOP Member of Science Committee Thinks Falling Rocks Are Causing Rising Sea Levels.

-7. At least some immigrants are still permitted into the US. Chernobyl Puppies Going Up for Adoption in the U.S. The pups have a heartbreaking story, as The Guardian’s Julie McDowell detailed earlier this year. During the evacuation, more than 120,000 people were herded onto buses to escape the meltdown of the Unit 4 reactor, leaving most of their valuables and their pets behind. Many dogs tried to follow their owners onto the buses but were kicked off. People left notes on their doors asking authorities not to kill their animals, but Soviet Army squads were dispatched to put down as many contaminated animals as they could find. Some of the dogs survived the army and the radiation, rebuilding their community as a pack. The 250 dogs living on the grounds of the former power plant were likely driven out of the surrounding forests by wolves and a lack of food. Another 225 dogs roam Chernobyl City and hundreds of others live and scrounge at security checkpoints and throughout the woods and abandoned communities in the Exclusion Zone. Most of the dogs around the plant are under the age of 4 or 5, and clean up workers at the site sometimes feed and tend to sick animals. 180408-10, 170924-1, 180204-2.1, 171015-3‡, 171008-1, 180513-2, <ADDED 171022-171001-2.1 et al>4, 170917-3, 170312-2.4*. | Climate Threatened Animals Unable to Relocate.

-8. Holding on to Culture: Effects of the 1837 Smallpox Epidemic on Mandan and Hidatsa. Located in modern day North Dakota these people have a rich history characterized by elaborate social and religions structures and trade based economic systems; however, because of their stationary lifestyles and increased European and American trade, they faced substantial loses during the 1837 smallpox epidemic.

-9. Preparedness Blog: Weekly Preparedness Blog is posted every Friday. This informational blog combines past historical events and personal experiences, with current readiness threats and assessments, presented in serial groups of singular blogs presented over many weeks addressing one general topic. Week 1 Overall Bioterrorism Threat Assessment. 2 Bioterrorism History and Source Threats. 3 Bioterrorism Beginnings. 4 Bioterrorism 1870 to 1918. 5 Psychological Comparison of Military and Civilian Preparedness. 6 Lessons Learned from Bioterrorism during World War I. 7 Japan's World War Two Bioterrorism Program, 180422-1. 8 Great Britain's World War Two Bioterrorism Program. 9 Germany's World War Two Bioterrorism Program.  10 United States World War Two Bioterrorism Program. 11 United States Bioterrorism Program 1945 - 1959. 12 United States Bioterrorism Program 1960 thru 1969. 13 Soviet Union World War Two Bioterrorism Program. Not part of this series is the  #Book Dirty War: Rhodesia and Chemical Biological Warfare 1975-1980, [Cover].

-10. If the reader has read just a few Parademics they at least know that there are no simple questions, no simple answers. The interpenetrating pedology (both the child development and geological definitions) of the biosphere and anthopospheres are multilayered; that these layers are mixed, folded and blended to the point of being unstratified tills; the resulting eutrophication and aggregates are confusing, complex, complicated, dynamic, evolving and uncertain, [Strip]. How GMOs Cut the Use of Pesticides – and Perhaps Boosted it Again, is an example -2↑, -180513-9‡↓. Pesticides include both insecticides and herbicides. Backers of GMOs point to the example of crops containing new genes that fight off insect pests, so farmers don't have to spray insecticides. Biotech critics point to the example of crops that have been altered to tolerate specific weed killers, like glyphosate, thus encouraging farmers to rely more heavily on those herbicides. Scientists attempted to answer this question. It's based on the most detailed data ever assembled to examine the issue. That information allowed detailed comparisons of pesticide use on fields planted with GMO corn and soybeans, compared to non-GMO fields. Unfortunately, this study probably won't settle the debate. It's that complicated. Genetically modified, insect protected corn has allowed farmers to reduce their use of insecticides to fight the corn rootworm and the European corn borer. There is, however, concern that this effect won't last. Corn rootworms have evolved resistance to one of the genes that has been deployed against them. Complicating the picture, however, is the fact that the war on weeds involves many different herbicides, and they vary tremendously in their environmental effects. | Can a Genetic Weapon Combat One of the World’s Major Crop Destroyers. Using a strategy called gene drive, which can spread genes rapidly through a population of fruit flies. When coupled with a lethal cargo gene the approach could kill the flies in their tracks when exposed to a specific chemical compound, or just simple summertime heat.

-11. Humour May Not Be So Good for Your Health after All. There is a widely held belief that humour is good for your health. The benefits of humour and laughter are linked to every imaginable health outcome. It is claimed that a good old giggle can help reduce pain, boost the immune system, is good for the heart and lowers blood pressure. The most robust studies on humour and health usually show just a short relief from pain due to exposure to humour – by watching a comedy film, for example – or that humour merely helps mitigate symptoms of a disease. No study has shown convincingly that humour can help a person recover from a serious illness. While it is often claimed that humour can prolong life, research has actually found the opposite to be true. One study found that comedians and humour writers, as well as serious entertainers, actually die younger compared to other famous people who are not entertainers. Performing comedy not only doesn’t help your immune system, it may actually be detrimental to your health. Conclusion: Humor may not be good or bad for health, but a humor profession is likely to be bad for health. [Meme, Meme].

<ADDED 180520>

>. VCP. News Archive↕: {Not in VCP}

• Denmark: Conspiracy Theories Gaining Ground Amongst Danes, New Research Indicates. None of these are new, so the question is not what but why after so long is resistence to their appeal eroding among the Danes. Why are these basically the same everywhere, that there are rarely a cultural unique conspiracy theory but a global homogeneity of beliefs and percentage who believe .
• ECDC: Measles in Europe – Significant Outbreaks Continue. Measles↓↓. {Monthly Measles and Rubella Monitoring Report, May 2018. The highest number of cases to date in 2018 were in Romania (2712), France (2173), Greece (1948) and Italy (805) respectively. Twenty two deaths have also been reported by these countries in 2018. There is an ongoing outbreak in England with 440 confirmed measles cases reported this year. Most of the cases have been in individuals over 15 years. Young adults need to check their vaccination status and get vaccinated. [Cartoon]}.
• Indonesia: Jakarta Rules out Compulsory Vaccination for School Admission. A not widely circulated change from previous mandatory policy with the reasoning that is could interfere with education access and could be done after enrollment (but not mention if it is mandatory to stay in school). I don’t have access to the information sources to determine if there is an actual correlation of {Doctors Say Haram Vaccine Hoax Contributing to Extraordinary’ Diphtheria Outbreak in Indonesia That’s Killed at Least 32 this Year & Indonesia’s Rising Tide of Intolerance}. Have only seen separate matching shallow climbing trends over the years, but correlations are not causation or indicate other links between the two. *{Parents Still Believe Hoaxes about Measles, Rubella Vaccines, Health Ministry Debunks Haram Vaccine Claims 2015, Vaccination Permissible, but with Conditions: Ulema, Muslim Health Watch is an antivax blog}.
• DRCongo: Ebola Outbreak Enters New Phase as it Spreads to Large City. -180513-1.1*¶2A↓.
• UK: Free Costa Coffee Vouchers for NHS Staff Who Have Jabs. Nurses have been given free Costa Coffee vouchers as bribes to have the flu jab. One said they felt coerced to have the vaccination, as they described efforts by NHS trusts to boost uptake. There is a good point that not everyone should get it, or they should delay getting a vaccination when immune compromised, but having to bribe medical personnel to be vaccinated in the first place is not a good sign. Besides doesn’t NHS know that coffee causes cancer 2 , 180408-4.
• Pakistan: Immunity Against Poliovirus Increases in Pakistan. Those who gave their lives to achieve this did not die in vain. {Security Tight as Pakistan Starts 5 Day Anti-Polio Drive}.
• Japan: Journal Retracts Controversial Paper Questioning Safety of HPV Vaccine. Controversial Paper Claiming HPV Vaccine Causes Brain Damage Finally Retracted, why did it take so long. A year and a half after it was published, isn’t that long compared to a decade ago. -1.1↑.
• Australia: Pneumonia Death Fears over Declining Vaccination Rates in Older Australians. I’m confused. Anti-vax is defacto support to depopulation by increasing vulnerability to vaccine preventable disease, but why then is anti-vax using Agenda 21 as the reason to not vaccinate. {No Room for Science and Facts with the Anti Vaccination Mob Who Are Putting Young Lives at Risk [Meme, Meme]}.
• India: When Rumour Threatens Vaccine Drive that its intent is to limit size of Muslim population. Misinformation about Vaccinations Come in the Way of Campaigns. One can go back a few years are read the same thing, but in other countries. Is no one taking advantage of other countries experience and waiting until the problem arises in their own backyard. Might be worthwhile to see if gender neglect is correlated higher mortality and morbidity from vaccine preventable disease, or that the misinformation is used as justification for not vaccinating girls. My SWAG is that non vaccination is equal between genders. Withheld from girls and not being worth the expense, withheld from boys as not being worth the risk of something of value; {Gender Discrimination Results in the Deaths of Extra 239,000 Girls per Year in India}. {Davida Coady, Physician Who Treated Refugees and Helped Eradicate Smallpox in India, Dies at 80}.

-180513-1.1¶1>1. Facebook, Google to Block Ads Ahead of Ireland Abortion Referendum. Following our update around election integrity efforts globally, we have decided to pause all ads related to the Irish referendum on the Eighth Amendment, Google statement. Pro Life groups say that if repealed, there will be no laws to protect the unborn at all. These groups describes the tech companies' bans as an attempt to rig the referendum. They claim that the internet was the only platform available to the NO campaign to speak to voters directly, that is now being undermined.

-180513-1.1¶2>2. White House Cuts Critical Cybersecurity Role as Threats Loom, and the threat is to everything form anywhere, Idaho Legislature Website Hacked by Italian Hacktivist Group. Internet Insecurity. No amount of spending on defenses will shield you completely from hackers. It’s time for another approach, and adaptation of these concept to biothreats/ biosecurity.

-180513-1.1*¶2A>3. Early in an Outbreak, Everything Is Questions.... Nothing is usually clear in the early days of an outbreak of any infectious disease. Numbers, the source of the outbreak, place names and maps, estimates of severity and declarations of doom and gloom wax and wane. While we wait to hear more detail passed on from those on the ground who are best able to gather accurate information, this post is just a very rough summary of where we might be at. Nigeria's Lassa Fever Outbreak Contained, but Continued Vigilance Needed. With six weeks of declining numbers and only a handful of confirmed cases reported in recent weeks, the critical phase of Nigeria's largest-ever Lassa fever outbreak is under control, according to the World Health Organization. However, Nigeria is endemic for Lassa fever and people could be infected throughout the year, making continued efforts to control any new flare ups crucial. FG Set to Prevent Importation of Ebola in Nigeria. Ebola Is Back and the Top White House Official in Charge of Pandemics Is Gone. America, traditionally a global health leader, isn’t ready for a pandemic right now, but there is no reason to think there will be an Ebola outbreak in the US. As Ebola Flares Once Again, a Rapid Global Response Invites Cautious Hope, H5N1 Comment. Congo Warns of New Phase in Ebola Outbreak after First Urban Case VCP↑, Ebola Reaches an Urban Area in Congo. What Now, Major, Major Game Changer: Ebola Spreads to Big Congo City, Nearly 300 People Reportedly Had Contact with Ebola Patients in Mbandaka, In Congo City Where Ebola Resides, Fear but Not Panic, <ADDED 180513-VCP>DR Congo. Ebola in Congo Not Yet a Global Health Emergency, WHO Says, -1, -3↑. The Quiet Return of Ebola. It's easy to forget how worried people were about Ebola during the outbreak in West Africa four years ago. While most of the 11,000-plus who died of the disease lived in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the story dominated headlines and seemingly caused panic the world over. Over the past few days, Ebola has made a (relatively) quiet comeback. Ebola Outbreak: How Worried Should We be, The Ebola Superhighway: Why the New Outbreak Terrifies Public Health Authorities. | Ebola Threatens to Infect Congo's Presidential Elections when it has been hit by a cycle of tribal conflicts and political instability that claimed many lives and forced millions of people to flee their homes. With only seven months until general elections, the virus reemerges at critical point, making the government over stretch its resources. Those elections have been delayed for two years. Ebola jeopardizes the vote yet again.

            -1¶. Congo Approves Use of Experimental Ebola Vaccine. Frequently Asked Questions on Ebola Virus Disease Vaccine, Can the New Ebola Vaccine Stop the Latest Outbreak, We Finally Have an Ebola Vaccine. We’re about to Use it in an Outbreak, Can an Experimental Ebola Vaccine Put a Stop to the Latest Outbreak. Experimental Drugs Poised for Use in Ebola Outbreak, -180311-2↓. Ethics of Randomized Trials in a Public Health Emergency. The outbreak of Ebola in West Africa claimed over 11,000 lives and laid bare the challenges of responding to a large scale, swiftly evolving public health emergency. Prominent among these difficulties was disagreement about the ethics of conducting clinical research during epidemics and whether clinical trials of vaccines and therapeutics should employ randomization and concurrent controls. In Congo Outbreak, Ebola Vaccine Faces Reality Tests. In Encouraging Sign, Ebola Vaccine Appears to Provide Long Lasting Protection, April 16, 180318-3. Congo to Begin Vaccinating Against Ebola on Monday.

            -¶2. U.S. Plans to Provide Several Million Dollars for Ebola Outbreak in Congo. But wouldn’t it have better to spend less and avoided the whole thing. Ebola Is Back, and Trump Is Trying to Kill Funding for it, the only possible motive for ending America's anti-Ebola program is that Obama started it. Ebola Returns Just as Trump Asks to Rescind Ebola Funds. The Trump Administration Is Fully Prepared for Another Ebola Outbreak. Right, Ebola’s Back, and it Could Be Worse Thanks to Trump, As DRC Ebola Outbreak Reaches City, Trump's Slashing of Global Health Funds Decried as Crazily Short Sighted, 180513-1.1*¶2 -3.1, 180204-1.1‡, 180301-2.1†. CDC to Cut by 80 Percent Efforts to Prevent Global Disease Outbreak. White House Hails Success of Disease-fighting Program, and Plans Deep Cuts. Trump vs. Disease X, setting up the US to botch a pandemic response. Because there were so many articles since January 2016 of the administration’s cuts to domestic and international health, they are not in the weekly notes. If someone really needs them I can provide them, but adding manure to a large pile of manure changes nothing but the size.

-180513-9>4. Not evacuating is a common behavior. Huge Fissures Open on Hawaiian Volcano, Some Defy Evacuation Order*. [Photo, the lava took about an hour to cross the road and then pile up on this car]. We also see magical behaviors. Even among people who think they are being silly, but even so. The Mysterious Reason Tourists Keep Mailing Rocks Back to Hawaii, Hawaii Residents Leave Offerings for Volcano Goddess Pele as Lava Destroys Homes, After Volcanic Eruption, Some Hawaiians Wondering If Destruction's the Work of Pele, Goddess of Fire, When Lava Erupts in Your Backyard, Consider it a Message from Pele, Pele's Curse, Pele and Lava Rocks. Who is the Fire Goddess Pele [Art, Art, Photo, Dance]. [Photo, the crater floor used to be a bit more than a third of the way down from the top of the picture. It is now two thirds of the way down where the glowing lava is. I walked out on the previous crater floor which is now gone. However this is not my fault, I mailed back the volcanic rock years ago]. How to Return Lava Rocks to the Islands of Hawai'i. *Lessons from Montecito: Science's Credibility Is at Stake. An Evacuation Order Can Mean Life or Death. Issuing One Isn't Simple. [Meme]. Something not mentioned is sometimes people will not evacuate due to a spiritual connection to the land -180429-5¶‡↓. U.S. Military Defends Controversial Decision to Test Kilauea Volcano on Hawaiian Civilians. Hawaii Lava Evacuees Grow Weary as Uncertainty Drags on.

            -‡. There are other common social (parademic), health and environmental issues associated with biocalamity that are illustrated by the volcanic activity: As Lava Destroys Hawaii Homes, Owners Ask: Am I Covered. Hawaii Volcano Eruption Costs Tourism Industry Millions. Hawaii Volcano’s Sulfur Dioxide Threatens Health. Lava Threatens Hawaii Exit Routes and Could Spur More Evacuations. It's Not Just Hawaii: The US Has 169 Volcanoes That Could Erupt. Kilauea’s next Eruptions May Mirror a Big One in its Past. Surrounded by Lava: Missing Dogs Saved by Rescue Group in Hawaii. Note also the large uptick in news stories about Hawaii. Parademic itself has only noted Hawaii about sunscreen 180506-6.1, false missile alert <ADDED 180114-171119-2>4, invasive species 171210-2.2‡, GMO fruit to protect food industries -2, -10↑ <ADDED 171001-170917-1.3*>3, continuing to be part of the Paris agreement 170723-3‡, Zika 170514-4, Climate Change 170319-9, and other topics such as quarantine, leper colonies, plague 16+↓↓. One can focus on any one jurisdiction in the world and eventually will cover every from of biocalamity and parademic. Being familiar with Hawaii as it was one of the states in my region when I was a pandemic planner and analyst, I am nearly certain that is at least true for Hawaii. The intent of Parademic though is to be global, one health, holism connections. Interest is in behavior, activity, conditions, not geographic areas smaller than earth, and not limiting time frames except that I have no choice but be constrained by the age of the universe. There is a definite skew toward open sources that are in English, and the US, but that is due to my limitations as only one person and the Internet as an information source. | This is not to say that focusing on a geographic, jurisdiction, biome or anthrome is wrong. Quite the opposite. As long keeps in mind that a biocalamity takes place in the context of the local area (Earth), that biocalamaties do not recognize boundaries, and one keeps track of events with neighbors that could impact on your area (that is share the same atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithicsphere) one will be fine. In fact having people how are familiar with the history, people, point of contacts, politics, issues, funding, worldviews, conflicts, industries, attitudes, populations (not just human ones), communities (not just human ones) ....., that can be an invaluable local resource for when there is an accelerated biocalamity (a disaster so large the outside resources have to be brought in) that can inform the outside assistance and experts on how to best respond and operate in an area. With luck they arrogant outsiders may even listen before too many people get hurt, too much effort is wasted, and the community becomes uncooperative.

-180429-5>5. Natural Regeneration or Tree Planting. Study Points to Bias in Forest Restoration. At a time when countries are pledging to restore millions of hectares of forest, research argues that recent studies on forest regeneration techniques are flawed. Sites used to evaluate natural regeneration were secondary growth forests, whereas sites chosen to evaluate artificial regeneration ranged from abandoned coal mines to cattle trampled fields. Authors of the new study suggest elements of both techniques should be considered, depending on the objectives for a site and its current state. [Photo]. Regeneration Methods: Introduction, Forest Regeneration Handbook. ¶ Sacred Sites Can Also Be Hotspots of Conservation. Protecting burial grounds, temples and churchyards can bolster wildlife and forests. -2↑.

            -‡. Religious Following in Biodiversity Hotspots: Challenges and Opportunities for Conservation and Development, Spiritual Commons: Sacred Sites as Core of Community Conserved Areas in Kyrgyzstan, Sacred Sites as Hotspots for Biodiversity: The Three Sisters Cave Complex in Coastal Kenya, Global SOS: Save Our Sacred Sites , Global Map of Religious Forests to Protect Biodiversity Hotspots, Sacred Sites for the Conservation of Biodiversity. | What is a Sacred Site. A place that is just “spiritual” or “culturally important” rather than “sacred” may not be deemed by those outside the community as important enough to protect. The Challenge of Protecting Sacred Land. This concept of sacred space would also include hospitals and other places of healing. As we have observed with attacks on medical facilities and personnel this respect and neutrality of the sacred, of ecological systems, are frequently violated if there are other agendas by those who can afford to ignore others. -180513-9↑.

-180311-2>6, <ADDED 180429>4. Right to Try Bill Headed for Vote Puts Bigger Burden on FDA to Protect Patients, Gottlieb Says. I would want to check fully first but I am getting the impression that current government efforts to lower costs and streamline processes are having the general result as previous government. Things still get more expensive, processes get more complicated, health access decreases and becomes more inequitable. -180513-1.1*¶2A↑.

-171119-2.1>7, <ADDED 171210>3. New Smithsonian Exhibit Spotlights One Health to Reduce Pandemic Risks. Opening May 18, 2018 through 2021. When people move into or change an environment, pathogens – microbes that cause illness – can jump from wildlife to humans and cause disease outbreaks that spread internationally. Tracking down and responding to outbreaks requires coordinated detective work from people in many professions. What Causes Disease Outbreaks. How Can We Stop Them. [Logo]. The 1918 Flu Pandemic: Photos From a Century Ago. ¶ Henrietta Lacks' Lasting Impact Detailed in New Smithsonian Portrait. Her cells have been used, without her consent, to find medical breakthroughs in the decades since her death. Lacks is associated with racist medical abuse and previous museum exhibits were opposed 171008-3‡, 170827-5.3, 170305-14. ¶ The Case for Charles Dickens, the Science Communicator, the exhibition dives into the Victorian novelist’s passion for science. Because the Victorian novelist’s writings are so associated with the plight of the poor, the sick, the homeless, the elderly, the overworked and the underpaid, scientific observations in his writings have become obscured. His brilliant essay on A New Ology describes how a science moves from its first tentative steps to mature general concepts, when they are often transformed into other areas of science and human understanding - a very modern perspective. Dickens’ descriptions of medical ailments in his writings are so precise they often predated the formal description of some diseases. Concerns like medical treatment, malnourishment, and sanitation were his scientific preoccupations. He wanted to demonstrate that these problems weren’t due to moral failings or the corrupt character of individuals, but rather were products of a poorly designed society that had inadequate safeguards for its most vulnerable, linking modern urban life and the social structure of the city with disease. You don’t get disease just because you’re living a dissolute lifestyle, it’s because you’re living in a slum that’s been neglected. It’s a social responsibility.

-170924-3>8, <ADDED 171224>8. Report Faults Response to San Diego’s Hepatitis A Outbreak. There needed to be better coordination and communication when the outbreak was first identified. The biggest lesson is that a community can’t put off difficult decisions on homelessness because it makes the problem worse. The report commended officials for effectively contacting at risk residents (homeless) and getting them vaccinations. Grand Jury Faults Local Response to San Diego's Hepatitis Crisis, San Diego Union Tribune, 180311-3.1‡. Correction: Hepatitis A San Diego Story reported erroneously that the outbreak was the worst in the U.S. in 20 years. An outbreak of Hepatitis A in Michigan in late 2017 was larger.