Tag Archives: vietnam

International, U.S.

World War 3: Afghans attack Bagram again, civilians continue anti-U.S. demonstrations, more foreign fighters captured in Afghanistan

March 10, 2012, “Taliban” claim they’ve launched two rockets against Bagram airfield. As usual the rockets didn’t do much damage.  Bagram is under almost continuous attack from rockets, suicide bombers or other forms of attack.

Hundreds of unarmed Afghans continue to protest the United States.  The latest rally took place in the town of Tagab in Kapisa Province. This comes after a U.S. terror drone attack in the same province earlier in the morning.

March 9, 2012, Afghan officials admitted that U.S. led commandos, from the 9th Commando Kandak, were ambushed by “Taliban”.  It happened on March 6, near Sakharai village, Murghab district.  But this case is a great example of overkill by U.S. led forces.  The commandos were first attacked by only two freedom fighters.  Under the guidance of U.S. troops they called in an air strike, for just two insurgents!

But that only made the locals more angry and six more insurgents showed up! Afghan and U.S. officials say they called in another air strike and killed the six new insurgents.   A second air strike to handle six people?  This makes the Vietnam War look efficient.

On March 8, 2012, U.S./NATO/ISAF officials announced they captured two “Taliban” who were actually from Uzbekistan.  They say both were involved in planning suicide attacks.

 

 

 

Influenza

Pale Green Horse & H5N1: Another death in Indonesia, more cases in Vietnam and Bangladesh

05 March 2012, Indonesian officials announced the death of the fifth 2012 victim of H5N1 bird flu.

A 48 year old man died on 03 March, after being treated at a local hospital.  Doctors at the hospital say the man died from multiple organ failure. They are conducting tests to confirm the H5N1 infection.  The man had already been to two other hospitals.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health says another man is sick with H5N1.  He got sick on 17 February, went into the hospital on February 21.  The H5N1 was confirmed on 25 February.  The 22 year old man is still in the hospital.

Vietnamese officials confirmed the man worked with domesticated ducks.

In Bangladesh, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) said it confirmed three more H5N1 cases. The three people both work in poultry markets. They say one of the workers has already recovered.

Bangladeshi officials say that you should not only fully cook poultry meat and eggs, but wash off the egg shells (and your hands) before cracking them open.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Influenza

Vietnam claims success with new H5N1 & H1N1 vaccine

A Vietnamese company is claiming to have created a successful vaccine, to fight the latest mutations of H5N1 bird flu, and H1N1 swine flu.

VABIOTECH officials say they developed the vaccines by using people who were already infected. The first batch of vaccines showing positive results on volunteers.

Vietnam’s Ministry of Health is praising the company’s efforts.

International, U.S.

Already suffering from H5N1, Vietnam confirms first human case of H3N2 (H3N2v)

Vietnam has already had two people die from H5N1 ‘bird flu’ this year.  Now health officials confirm a two year old girl has H3N2v ‘swine flu’, and she’s had it since April 2011!

Vietnam’s Department of Preventive Health announced on February 15, 2012, that a two year old girl has been sick with H3N2v since April 2011.   The girl had classic flu like symptoms and then appeared to get well.

However, she has been suffering strange symptoms ever since, and the Ho Chi Minh Pasteur Institute sent samples of her infection to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for more testing.

Vietnam’s officials are blaming the epidemic of flu in their country, partly on unusually cold weather.  Tropical Vietnam has recently seen temperatures as cold as minus 39 Fahrenheit, and has seen at least 7,000 water buffalo freeze to death!

 

International

Global Warming, Ice Age? U.S. study says Ice Age caused by particulate matter. Japan study shows Warming starts inside the Earth. Tropical Vietnam hits 25 Fahrenheit!!!

At the end of January 2012, the Christian Science Monitor published a story about a study done in the U.S. and Canada, which said, in a round-about way, that particulate matter in the air causes Ice Ages, not global warming.

A few days ago the Japanese Meteorological Agency reported the results of their  a study, which said ocean temperatures have increased.

I’ve been following the research on supposed global warming, with doubts about most of the claims, because traditional scientific hypothesis always said that large amounts of particulate matter in the air, either from volcanoes or man made pollution, causes cooling.

The latest study in the U.S. backs that up, but they found more than one cause.  What the researchers discovered is that changes in the weather are caused by  ‘triggers’.  Regarding Ice Ages; they found that it’s a combination of major triggers such as decreased activity from the Sun, increased particulate matter in the air and the depletion of the ozone in the upper atmosphere.

Although we’ve certainly had increased particulate matter in the air (from both pollution and volcanoes) the Japanese study showed that temps deep in the ocean have been rising about 0.02 Celsius (32.036 Fahrenheit) per year over the past decade!  They say the deep ocean temps are now an average of 0.15 C (32.27 F) warmer than 60 years ago.

But note that it’s deep ocean temperatures, not surface level.  The temp readings were taken at about 700 meters (2,297 feet) depth.  This means, to me, that the latest Japanese study says global warming originates inside the Earth.

Can there be warming and cooling happening, seemingly at the same time? Yes. There are hypothesis that say they are interactive cycles, one leading to the other.  This would mean that humans have nothing to do with it.

Studies have shown that decreased ozone in the upper atmosphere leads to a cooling of the atmosphere.  Everyone should know that there are now huge holes in the ozone above the North and South Poles.  Scientists say this is why ice forms at those regions, and why most of the Ice Age glaciers originate from the Poles.

Some scientists also say that ozone depletion is connected to Sun activity (not just pollution).  Is the Sun taking a break? Back in summer 2011, astronomers reported that Sun activity was declining.  Now, parts of Europe are being hit with a micro ice age (have you seen the pics of cars and buildings covered with inches of ice, which formed overnight?).

Another interesting thing is that even though South America is in the middle of summer right now, Peru’s mountainous areas have been hit with record cold temps and snowfall (at least 3,000 Alpacas froze to death)!

There are other reports that show a connection between depletion of ozone and the weakening of the Earth’s magnetic field.  A few years ago PBS did a report that showed the magnetic poles have become extremely weak, and that mini poles were popping up in other parts of the world (specifically one near south western Africa).

Sun activity was high in the past decade, which just happens to be when many people were crying “Global Warming”.  But increased Sun activity can only account for surface warming, and atmospheric warming, and it’s obvious now that many parts of the surface of the Earth are cooling.

Increased ocean temperatures, at more than 2,000 feet down, can only be caused by activity within the Earth.  Yes, there is an increase of earthquake and volcanic activity.  Especially around the Pacific Ring of Fire. Already there have been seven “significant” (magnitude 6.5 or higher) earthquakes in the first month of 2012, and all seven have happened around the Ring of Fire (or adjacent to it).

In total there have been more than 500 earthquakes around the Pacific Ring of Fire, since January 1, 2012!

Activity inside the Earth also affects the magnetic field.  One scientists described the core of the Earth more like an old wind up watch spring.  As it spins it releases energy such as the magnetic field, and like a watch spring it winds down weakening the magnetic field.  As it slows down it’s actually winding itself back up, eventually to spring back the other way, releasing the built up energy when it was winding up.

When you compress a spring, it builds up energy, and heat.  Scientist know that the Earth’s core is about to spring back into action, sometime soon.  The core is winding up, building up energy and heat, which could explain the deep ocean temperature increases.

Increased ocean temps would melt the fresh water polar glaciers faster than warm air temps.  Realize that the oceans are now full of fresh water, which floats on top of salt water.

The atmosphere of Earth is cooling and drying.  Anyone who’s lived in a freezing, yet dry, environment knows that you still have lots of evaporation (I’ve even seen what I call freeze dried snow and ice).

Ice that is evaporating, but not melting, is recognizable by the cavities forming inside.  It melts but that ice melt is almost instantly evaporated into the air.

Other studies have shown that it doesn’t take much of a surface temperature change to effect radical weather changes.  Only about 3 degrees Fahrenheit, plus or minus, over about ten to 20 years. Scientist have also realized that radical weather changes happen fast, not slowly as once thought.  Again, anyone notice how much the ice built up in the micro ice age that’s hitting parts of Europe right now?

What about tropical Vietnam?  Vietnam is partly blaming an outbreak of H5N1 influenza on unusual cold weather. On top of that, on January 15, 2012, Vietnamese media reported that 7,000 water buffalo froze to death, after temps in tropical northern Vietnam hit minus four degrees Celsius (25 Fahrenheit)!!!

So we now have a situation with lots of fresh water in the oceans and an extremely dry, and cool, atmosphere.  A dry atmosphere, even though cool, will suck up as much water as it can. When it gets saturated it’ll dump out the excess water.  If overall temps are still warm, we could see tropical weather almost everywhere.  But if temps are cold…Ice Age.

What we are seeing now, is an Earth that is in between major cycles. An Earth whose watch spring core has wound down, and is winding back up for the next run. Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows.  Maybe the Mayans are correct about 2012?

Influenza

Pale Green Horse & Global Food Crisis: Don’t blame wild birds, modern H5N1 human caused! Chicken feed contaminated with crap! Remember Mad Cow?

The earliest form of H5N1 was discovered in Scotland in 1959, where it killed off a couple of flocks of poultry.  That’s the thing, H5N1 bird flu seems to target domesticated birds, poultry, not wild birds.

Since 1959 H5N1 has mutated into more than 700 versions (depending on your source), and the main target is still domesticated poultry.  In some U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention studies, it was noted that many wild birds who died from H5N1 became infected after eating chicken feed!

By 2008 global health officials felt secure, because vaccines against several types of H5N1 had been developed and seem to be working.  But now, just two months into 2012 and several Asian countries are dealing with epidemic sized outbreaks, killing tens of thousands of poultry, and at least two people in Vietnam.

In regards to Vietnam, back in the summer of 2011, Vietnamese health officials stopped their vaccination program.  They discovered it wasn’t working, due to the fact that they were dealing with a completely new version of H5N1!

I noticed that part of the culling of poultry involves the feed itself.

Some bloggers have posted stories and pics of catfish farms in Jakarta and Java, that regularly feed dead chickens, chicken manure and chicken feed to their catfish!  The bloggers’ concern is over the spread of H5N1 from the chickens through the catfish to humans who eat the catfish.  There is apparently no health organization in the world investigating this.  Health officials do say that cooking the food long enough will kill the virus.

Since H5N1 spreads only through domesticated poultry, how in the hell does it get from Scotland, all the way ’round the world to Asia?  Poultry products are normally eaten in the country that produces them.  Apparently wild birds don’t get too far once they get infected (it makes you wounder why health officials seem to be so concerned over migratory birds).

Here’s another problem, H5N1 doesn’t spread well in the air, so it’s hard to get it from someone coughing or sneezing.  The World Health Organization has postulated that humans get it from being in very close contact with poultry.  It might be kicked up in the dust as they walk, or it actually sticks to something that the human brings near their face, or it gets into cuts on the skin.

So how is it spreading so fast and so intensely? Vietnam admits that their latest outbreak is due to a new version of H5N1, and, poultry being brought into their country illegally.  They don’t know where the domesticated birds came from!

Australia does not have a problem with H5N1 cases. But it’s not because Australia shoots down all the migratory wild birds, it’s because they have a strict quarantine policy on importing domesticated birds!  (and another very important reason you’ll read at the end of this article)

Again, it’s domesticated birds, mainly poultry that’re the target of H5N1.

As an example of how concerned some governments are getting over domesticated birds catching H5N1, in 2006 Germany went on a domesticated bird hunt, arbitrarily killing not only poultry, but pets like homing pigeons.  Two German free range farmers, who had their entire uninfected flocks culled, killed themselves in protest.  This brings up another issue; Germany used the H5N1 scare to shut down free range poultry farms, favoring the bigger corporate factory poultry farms!

What about the feed?  Health officials say don’t let the feed and water get contaminated.  But which really comes first?  Since it’s been proven that the 1959 H5N1, and it’s subsequent hundreds of mutations specifically target domesticated poultry, then it’s not wild birds that’re contaminating the feed and water (as some governmental health organizations insist).

Health officials claim that the feed and water gets contaminated when an infected bird craps in it.  That works if you don’t know where your getting your poultry from, like in Vietnam.  But what about places that have created more  rules like Hong Kong? Hong Kong is dealing with a new outbreak of H5N1, they know where the chickens came from; southern China.  Yet China seems to be dealing mainly with human cases of H5N1.  Two people died between December 2011, and January 2012, and one of them had no contact with birds of any kind.

I wonder if the guy who died without being around birds, got it from poultry feed?  He was a bus driver, could have been transporting chicken feed.

A December 2011 Journal of Virology report said there was a direct link between human H5N1 cases and poultry markets.  It is the first report to do so: “Among these 69 samples, we isolated a total of 12 highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza viruses from four of the six live bird markets….the genetic sequence of the environmental and corresponding human isolates was similar (with a sequence identity of greater than 99%), demonstrating a solid link between human infection and live poultry markets.”-Yuelong Shu, author of study

They also studied 38 human H5N1 cases and found they “…were consistent with those identified in poultry outbreaks or in live poultry markets.”  In other words humans don’t get H5N1 from wild birds, they get it from poultry raised in close quarters (too bad Germany shut down their free range farmers).

Again, if wild birds are not the true source of the H5N1 virus, then how are the chickens getting it?

Check out this statement: “H5N1 is mainly spread by domestic poultry, both through the movements of infected birds and poultry products and through the use of infected poultry manure as fertilizer or feed.”

The use of manure as feed?   The above quote might have originated with the United Nations’ World Health Organization, but it’s being used by many health organization and on medical information websites.

Yes indeed, crap is used in farm animal feed, like feed for cows: “Recycled animal waste, such as processed chicken manure and litter, has been used as a feed ingredient for almost 40 years [Mmmm, this was posted in 2001, and the first H5N1 case was in 1959, that’s 42 years, mmmm]. This animal waste contains large amounts of protein, fiber, and minerals, and has been deliberately mixed into animal feed for these nutrients. Generally, animal waste is used within the State where it is produced because the bulk and weight of the product makes interstate shipment uneconomical. Normally, this animal waste is used by small farmers and owners of beef and dairy herds as a winter supplement for mother cows and weaned calves.”-U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Veterinary Medicine

In the United States most farm animal feed is augmented with chicken crap.  But the FDA says strict rules are followed.  It might explain why H5N1 isn’t a big deal in the U.S., yet (remember Mad Cow disease?).  It could also explain why Asian countries are having such a bad time with H5N1. What are their regulations regarding the use of chicken crap in their chicken feed?   Have they created a vicious cycle with unregulated chicken feed that’s full of infected chicken crap?

I wonder why Germany shut down their free range poultry farmers in favor of corporate factory farmers who feed their chickens their own crap?   Is the chicken crap industry that powerful?

Oh, and what about Australia?  It turns out that the real reason Australia is not having a problem with H5N1 is that chicken crap is banned from use as animal feed in Australia!!!

The Aussie law is called the Ruminant Feed Ban: “Farmers need to take precautions to ensure that poultry litter and poultry manure are not fed to any livestock species, and that poultry feed is not fed to ruminants [cows, goats, deers, ie plant eaters]. This is important both for guaranteeing the safety of our food and for ensuring that Australia can continue to demonstrate ongoing freedom from BSE  [aka Mad Cow, hello!] for the protection of vital export markets for meat and livestock.”

It looks like the best way to avoid getting some form of H5N1 is to raise your own chickens, or support free range poultry farming, or move to Australia.   Would you eat crap?

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

 

Business/Economics, International, Technology

Pale Green Horse & Global Food Crisis: Nepal, India & Vietnam getting hit hard by H5N1. Vietnam says What Global Warming?

The H5N1 virus isn’t just killing people, it’s killing off the food people eat.

A week ago Nepal said it would have to kill off 4,000 poultry because of H5N1.  Well, already 8,000 poultry have died, because the virus is spreading so fast!

India says yet another poultry farm there has been hit with H5N1.  The virus itself killed off more than 5,000 birds at one farm!  Local officials have ordered the killing of all poultry within a three kilometer (1.8 miles) radius of the farm, that means tens of thousands of birds meant to feed humans will be gotten rid of.

In Vietnam, officials there are blaming the unusually cold weather on the spread of H5N1, as well as the undocumented importation of poultry.

So far nearly 300 birds died from the virus, while nearly 4,000 where put down.  At least two people in Vietnam have died from H5N1.

Vietnamese officials say they can not trace where most of the imported poultry are coming from.  They say many of the birds were brought into Vietnam, illegally, during the Lunar New Year celebrations.

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Business/Economics, International

Pale Green Horse & H5N1: Vietnam has second 2012 human death caused by Bird Flu

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

On February 1, 2012, the Vietnamese Health Ministry announced that a 26 year old woman died from H5N1.  It’s the second human death , for Vietnam, since the beginning of 2012.

Until now, Vietnam hasn’t had any human deaths caused by H5N1 for the past two years.

At the end of 2011, Vietnam killed off thousands of poultry, due to H5N1.  In January 2012, an 18 year old man died of H5N1.  The 26 year old woman is said to have worked on one of the poultry farms that was infected with H5N1.

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: India reporting new strain of H5N1

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

According to the Indian National Institute of Virology (NIV), a new strain of H5N1 is responsible for the deaths of more than 500 crows.

The crows died three months ago, and test results have finally come in.  It’s an H5N1 strain never seen in India before, and might have come from Vietnam: “We have compared it to the strains from Vietnam, Indonesia and other places in Asia and found similarities with the Vietnam strain.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

The last version of H5N1 that hit India is called Clade 2.2.  This new Vietnam like strain is called Clade 2.3.2.1.  Understanding the versions are important: “Since the strain is a new form of bird flu, we have to be very careful. Once the virus is characterized and gene sequencing done we will be able to gauge the impact on bird health and then label as highly pathogenic or low pathogenic.”-A C Mishra, Director of NIV

In Vietnam H5N1 has already killed one Vietnamese man this year.

International, Technology

Pale Green Horse: H5N1 first 2012 deaths in Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Cambodia, Indonesia and Vietnam are reporting the first human deaths due to H5N1, for 2012.  Unlike the Chinese cases, in these cases the people were in contact with sick birds.

As I wrote before, a two year old in Cambodia got sick with H5N1, he died last week.

Vietnam reported the death of an 18 year old man, who worked on a duck farm.  But the government of Vietnam is now trying to downplay it by issuing official reports saying their anti-Avian Flu program is a success.  Vietnam recently killed off thousands of poultry after finding some infected with H5N1.  Vietnamese officials say the family of the man who died is now under health watch.

Indonesia reports two deaths, and they might be human to human infections.  A 23 year old man, and his five year old relative, died from H5N1.  They lived with an extended family on a poultry farm.

Including the deaths in China, between December 31, 2011, and January 23, 2012, six people have died from H5N1.