Dangerous new bugs in new places

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

I’ve been pissing and moaning about this for years now (ask my friends, they think I’m crazy and obsesses). But it’s real, and it sucks:

Lincoln, Neb., February 16th, 2015 — The appearance of infectious diseases in new places and new hosts, such as West Nile virus and Ebola, is a predictable result of climate change, says a zoologist affiliated with the Harold W. Manter Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

In an article published Sunday in conjunction with a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B., Daniel Brooks warns that humans can expect more such illnesses to emerge in the future, as climate change shifts habitats and brings wildlife, crops, livestock, and humans into contact with pathogens to which they are susceptible but to which they have never been exposed.

“It’s not that there’s going to be one ‘Andromeda Strain’ that will wipe everybody out on the planet,” Brooks said, referring to the 1971 science fiction film about a deadly pathogen. “There are going to be a lot of localized outbreaks that put a lot of pressure on our medical and veterinary health systems. There won’t be enough money to keep up with all of it. It will be the death of a thousand cuts.”

Brooks and his co-author, Eric Hoberg, a zoologist with the U.S. National Parasite Collection of the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, have personally observed how climate change has affected very different ecosystems. During his career, Brooks has focused primarily on parasites in the tropics, while Hoberg has worked primarily in Arctic regions.

Even the NYT knows there’s a problem with prosecutors

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

Link:

When prosecutors cheat and lie repeatedly to win convictions, should their office be held accountable?

When a man spends years, or decades, in prison as a result of such prosecutorial misconduct, should he be compensated?

These are not trick questions.

And yet in a bizarre 2011 ruling, five justices of the Supreme Court managed to answer no to both, essentially closing off one of the only ways to hold prosecutors and their offices liable for wrongdoing.

The war on the War on Poverty

~ susie ~ 1 Comment

MORAL MONDAY, RALEIGH NC

I know some great people fighting the good fight in North Carolina. It’s an uphill battle, though, because of Art Pope and his millions.

Closing the Poverty Center wouldn’t stop Nichol from writing, but it would be a further hollowing out of a public university system that used to have high regard for the poor. Former UNC system President Bill Friday was on stage when President John F. Kennedy told UNC students this “great institution … has required great sacrifice by the people of North Carolina. I cannot believe that all of this is undertaken merely to give this school’s graduates an economic advantage in the life struggle.”

Friday, who served on the board of the Poverty Center till the day he died in 2012, later told Nichol’s students, “A million Tar Heels living in poverty paid taxes to support your education. You’ll want to think about what you’re going to do to pay ‘em back.”

The Pope Center for Higher Education Policy sees it differently. Last month, in a 36-page paper unironically titled “Renewal of the University,” it proposed a national effort to replace centers that espouse “philosophies of multiculturalism, postmodernism, and statism” with centers that preserve and promote a “general philosophy of liberty.”

“At times in my life,” Nichol says, “I’ve thought that if we work hard enough, that if we make these issues visible, then the wealthy will do more to help those at the bottom. I think that less frequently now.”

Mozart in the Jungle

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

I’ve had so many people nag me to watch this Amazon series, I finally gave in this weekend. It’s quirky and delightful — it reminded me so much of “I Heart Huckabees,” a film I really like:

Thanks to quirky scripts and a smart ensemble cast – which includes Gael García Bernal as the Symphony’s young-buck new conductor Rodrigo, Malcolm McDowell as its outgoing maestro Thomas Pembridge and Broadway legend Bernadette Peters as the Symphony’s manager, Gloria Windsor – it comes off whimsical without ringing off-pitch. “I liked that we were going to do the inside world of classical music and the fun aspect of it,” García Bernal says when asked why he took his role. “[Classical musicians] all breathe and eat and fart like normal people, but onstage they are quite serious.”

Part of the reason for the fun can be traced to the executive-producer pedigree behind the scenes. Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore) got the idea for the series after reading a review for Tindall’s book and brought in his cousin, filmmaker and frequent Wes Anderson collaborator Roman Coppola, and director Paul Weitz (About a Boy, American Pie) to develop it with him; Tony-nominated Alex Timbers (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, The Pee-Wee Herman Show) also came aboard as Mozart’s co-executive producer.

For Schwartzman – who, despite having drummed for indie rockers Phantom Planet, never sat in an orchestra pit before – Tindall’s book just seemed like an obvious television series right from the start. But by his estimation, it took years of lobbying his friends to get it made. “It’s about a subculture that’s huge and right in front of our eyes,” he explains. “It’s not like a secret subculture of mermaid goths that get together. I would talk to Roman about it forever and then only recently Roman was like, ‘We should try to do this.'”

Just trust us

~ susie ~ 2 Comments

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After all, it’s not as if the TPP establishes corporate rule over international law, or anything crazy like that!

WASHINGTON — A Democratic congressman has accused the Obama administration of dodging his request for “unimpeded” access to two controversial trade agreements — reigniting a dispute over transparency as the president presses legislators for so-called “fast-track” authority, which would block members of Congress from offering amendments to either deal.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, wants to view an unredacted copy of the proposed text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership(TTIP). He wants to bring his chief of staff, who has a top security clearance, and he wants to be able to take notes privately. He also wants to review documents that show the position of each country participating in the agreements, as well how the U.S. position has changed over the course of the negotiations.

In a letter this week, Doggett accused Michael Froman, the United States Trade Representative (USTR), of avoiding his requests since January. “USTR has provided no legal justification for denying such Member and staff review,” wrote Doggett.

The text of TPP is treated as a state secret — to a degree. Access to TPP texts is limited to members of Congress and staffers on the Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee who have an official security clearance. Hundreds of corporate lobbyists and executives are also given access, along with dozens of representatives of labor unions, nonprofits and other consumer groups.

But exactly which congressional offices can see the texts has become a point of frequent contention between the White House and members of the legislative branch — particularly Obama’s fellow Democrats.