FU ABBOTT

American, Southwest among Texas companies that will defy Abbott and keep vaccine mandates in place



Photo by: AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee

By: Alex Hider
Posted  Oct 13, 2021

Several large companies based in Texas — including two of America's largest airliners — have said they plan to keep COVID-19 vaccine mandates for employees in place, siding with federal authorities in a showdown between the White House and the governor of Texas.

American Airlines, Southwest Airlines and IBM all said Tuesday that they would continue to require their workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19, even though Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed an order on Monday banning private businesses from enforcing such mandates.


In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Fort Worth-based American Airlines said that "we believe the federal vaccine mandate supersedes any conflicting state laws, and this does not change anything for American."

Dallas-based Southwest Airlines issued a similar statement to The Austin-American Statesman.

The company said they were choosing to comply with an order by the Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration — which will require businesses with over 100 employees to ensure their workforce is fully vaccinated — because the White House order "supersedes any state mandate or law."

On Tuesday, Southwest CEO Gary Kelly told CNBC that he is opposed to vaccine mandates but that his company will still require the shots because he is required to by federal law.

"I've never been in favor of corporations imposing that kind of a mandate," Kelly said. "But the executive order from President Biden mandates that all federal employees and then all federal contractors, which covers all the major airlines, have to have a (vaccine) mandate (by Dec. 8)."

IBM told Bloomberg that it would keep in place a vaccine mandate for workers at its Texas office because the company has contracts with the federal government, meaning under Biden administration rules, it must require its employees to be vaccinated.

"IBM is a federal contractor and must comply with federal requirements, which direct employees of federal contractors to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 by December 8th or obtain a medical or religious accommodation," a spokesperson for the company said. "We will continue to protect the health and safety of IBM employees and clients, and we will continue to follow federal requirements."

The resistance from high-profile employers could set up a legal battle, should the state of Texas choose to file a lawsuit.

According to The Associated Press, new cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations linked to the virus have fallen in recent weeks. However, the state has seen more than 67,000 total coronavirus deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Nations reveal ransomware pain at US-led summit

By AFP
Published October 13, 2021

A digital “disaster” in Germany, growing attacks in the United Arab Emirates and even Israel announcing a blitz underway: nations disclosed their struggle Wednesday against cyber-extortionists at a Washington-led anti-ransomware summit.

The United States has convened some 30 countries — with the notable exception of Russia — to boost cooperation in fighting the costly and disruptive attacks that have boomed around the world.

As if on cue, Yigal Unna, director of Israel’s National Cyber Directorate, broke news of the latest incident.

“I can disclose now that Israel is experiencing, as we speak, a major ransomware attack against one of its big hospitals,” Unna said.

If the experiences recounted are any indication, the threat is painful, widespread, and growing.

Germany recalled that this summer, for the first time, a local government in the eastern district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld declared a state of “cyber disaster” after being crippled by a ransomware attack.

The United States has also been hit, especially in the first half of 2021, by numerous ransomware attacks against businesses.

These attacks involve breaking into an entity’s networks to encrypt its data, then demanding a ransom, typically paid in cryptocurrency in exchange for the key to unlock it.

“We talked about… a 70 percent increase year over year in South Korea, 200 percent in the UAE,” said Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber.

Hospitals targeted in Ireland and the Czech Republic as well as severe disruptions to maritime infrastructure in South Africa were among the experiences recounted.

The United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, France, Germany, South Korea, the European Union, Israel, Kenya, Mexico, and others joined in the virtual gathering that opened Wednesday and is set to continue Thursday.

– Russia not invited –

“No one country, no one group can solve this problem,” stressed White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.

“Our governments may have different approaches with respect to the tools… to counter ransomware” he said, but “we recognize the urgency of the ransomware threat.”

In particular, he praised the active participation of Australia, Germany, India, and the United Kingdom in the preparations for the meeting.

These countries have organized workshops, which will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, around four themes: building resilience to the extortion attempts, the role of cryptocurrency in laundering ransoms, law enforcement and judicial action as well as diplomacy.

Asked about Russia’s absence, a senior White House official said in a briefing Tuesday, “in this first round of discussions we did not invite the Russians to participate.”

The source said Washington and Moscow had already established a “separate channel” of communication on the subject.

Although Moscow denies any responsibility, most recent ransomware attacks against the United States have been blamed on Russian-speaking hacker groups or those operating from Russian territory.

US President Joe Biden spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin in July, telling him to “take action” against ransomware groups operating in Russia.

“We’ve seen some steps by the Russian government and are looking to see follow-up actions,” the White House official said Tuesday.

Russia excluded from 30-country meeting to fight ransomware and cyber crime

Nandita Bose
Reuters Staff
Wednesday, October 13, 2021 

(Soumil Kumar / Pexels.com)

WASHINGTON -- Russia was not invited to attend a 30-country virtual meeting led by the United States that is aimed at combating the growing threat of ransomware and other cyber crime, a senior administration official said.

Many ransomware gangs operate from Ukraine and Russia, private sector cybersecurity experts say.

Some U.S. officials and analysts have said Russian ransomware gangs operate with the Kremlin's tacit approval, but are not directly controlled by the government.

Related Stories
Seven in 10 Canadian organizations facing ransomware attack paid demands: survey

The meeting will be held over two days, involve six sessions and include topics such as addressing the misuse of virtual currency to launder ransom payments, prosecuting ransomware criminals, using diplomacy to counter ransomware, and helping nations become more resilient to such attacks, the administration official said.

Along with the United States, India, Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom will lead discussions on topics such as disruption, virtual currency and diplomacy.

Others joining the meeting include Canada, France, the United Kingdom, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, Ukraine, Ireland, Israel, South Africa, the European Union.

"We are having active discussions with the Russians, but in this particular forum they were not invited to participate," the senior administration official said, adding this does not preclude Russia from participating in future events.

The official said the United States engages directly with Russia on the issue of ransomware under the U.S.-Kremlin Experts Group, which is led by the White House and has been established by President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The official said discussions with Russia are ongoing, the U.S. has shared information on specific criminal actors within Russia and that the country has taken initial steps to address the issues being raised.

Addressing the opening session of the meeting on Wednesday, U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the meeting shows governments of participating countries recognize the urgency of the threat of ransomware.

"We view international cooperation as foundational to our collective ability to deal with the ransomware ecosystem, to hold criminals and the states that harbor them accountable, and to reduce the threat to our citizens in each of our countries," he said.

President Joe Biden has elevated the response to cybersercurity to the most senior levels of the administration following a set of attacks this year that threatened to destabilize U.S. energy and food supplies.

Hackers caused fuel disruptions in the eastern United States in May when they targeted a pipeline run by Colonial Pipeline. Sullivan said the U.S. Department of Justice recovered more than US$2 million of ransom paid to criminal actors who attacked the pipeline company.

The Biden administration hopes that their new informal group, which they are calling the Counter-Ransomware Initiative, will bolster their diplomatic push that has included direct talks with Russia as well as the NATO alliance and Group of Seven wealthy nations.

Russia responsible for most devastating ransomware attacks - UK cyber chief

by Vilius Petkauskas

12 October 2021

---

Ransomware attacks pose the most immediate danger to UK businesses, the head of countries' National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), Lindy Cameron, has warned.

Cybercriminals from Russia and its neighbors are behind the largest extortion attacks aimed at UK businesses, Cameron said. According to NCSC's chief, the assessment comes from NCSC and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

"We – along with the NCA – assess that cybercriminals based in Russia and neighboring countries are responsible for most of the devastating ransomware attacks against UK targets," Cameron said during a speech to the Chatham House think tank.

The Head of NCSC added that cybercriminals are increasingly successful and pose a global challenge for nations in ensuring that no place becomes a safe haven.

"We – along with the NCA – assess that cybercriminals based in Russia and neighboring countries are responsible for most of the devastating ransomware attacks against UK targets."

-Lindy Cameron

"Ransomware presents the most immediate danger to UK businesses and most other organizations, from FTSE 100 companies to schools; from critical national infrastructure to local councils," Cameron said.

Last week, Ukrainian police announced they had arrested a 25-year-old man who hacked more than 100 foreign companies and caused damage worth more than $150 million. According to the authorities, the victims included world-famous energy and tourism companies.

Even though it is not the first time Russia has been mentioned among the top culprits behind the cybercrime epidemic plaguing the world, it is one of the first times the UK explicitly named Russia responsible for successful ransomware attacks.

It's hardly a secret that many prominent cyber cartels often operate from Russian territory. On May 7, the Colonial Pipeline facility in Pelham, Alabama. Its operators were forced to shut down their systems, causing fuel shortages in the American Southeast.

The culprit behind the attack was the Darkside ransomware cartel, known to operate in Russia. Darkside cartel was also behind a recent attack against a US farm service provider New Cooperative Inc. A meat supplier JBS was REvil, the same month.

Last December, against SolarWinds was discovered, with the Russia-linked APT29 cyber espionage group (aka Cozy Bear) named as the perpetrator.

Image by NCSC.

Year in turmoil

Cyberattacks are increasing in scale, sophistication, and scope. In 2020, ransomware payments reached over $400 million, more than four times the level of 2019. This year will likely set another record benchmark for ransomware cartels globally.

Pundits talk of a ransomware gold rush, with the number of attacks increasing over 90% in the first half of 2021 alone.

A recent IBM report shows that an average data breach costs victims $4.24 million per incident, the highest in the 17 years. For example, the average cost stood at $3.86 million per incident last year, putting recent results at a 10% increase.

Some ransomware groups went dark for a while, after carrying out major attacks. A cool-off period is likely meant to regroup, and recent developments show that cybercrime cartels are waking up and will likely be on the prowl for the next major extortion scheme.

FREE ALL PALESTINIAN  POLITICAL PRISONERS

Palestinians: 250 prisoners held by Israel go on hunger strike

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, says latest strike is to protest the separation of Islamic Jihad prisoners into designated cells following last month's prison break

Associated Press|
Updated: 10.13.21, 

At least 250 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel have begun a hunger strike to protest their relocation to isolated cells, officials said Wednesday.

The hunger strike, led by the militant Islamic Jihad group, comes amid heightened tensions in Israeli detention facilities following the escape of six prisoners from a high-security prison last month.

The Gilboa prison, where six prisoners escaped last month and later captured, and where hundreds of security prisoners are being held
(Photo: Getty Images)
All six were recaptured within a couple of weeks, but the escape embarrassed Israeli authorities and was hailed as a stroke of defiance by Palestinians.

Israel is currently holding more than 4,600 Palestinians in connection with the Mideast conflict. The prisoners range from senior militants convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis to political activists who took part in demonstrations and teenagers detained for throwing stones at Israeli soldiers.

 
The prisoners organize themselves by political faction and have secured concessions over the years through hunger strikes and other collective action.

The Palestinian Prisoners Club, which represents former and current prisoners, said the latest strike is to protest the separation of Islamic Jihad prisoners into designated cells, isolating them from most other members of the group.

Qadura Fares, the head of the organization, said at least 250 Islamic Jihad prisoners in multiple facilities would take part in the strike, and that 100 of them would begin refusing water after one week.


The tunnel through which six prisoners escaped from the Gilboa Prison
(Photo: AFP)

He called for protests in support of the prisoners and said other Palestinian factions — including President Mahmoud Abbas’ Fatah movement — would also participate in the hunger strike.

Israel’s prison service said it was unaware of any mass hunger strike. It said it has not isolated the Islamic Jihad prisoners, but instead has mixed them with the general population.

It said the group was not happy with the move and acknowledged there has been “tension.”

Five of the six escapees were Islamic Jihad members, and the militant group was the driving force behind rioting that broke out in some prisons as Israel tightened security and relocated prisoners to prevent other breakouts.

Islamic Jihad has carried out scores of deadly attacks over the years and Israel and other countries consider it a terrorist organization.


Four of the Six escaped prisoners from the Gilboa prison after they were captured

Nearly every Palestinian family has a relative who has spent time in an Israeli prison, and the Palestinians consider all prisoners to be heroes of their national cause.

Israel says it only locks up those who threaten its security and that Palestinians are given due process in its military courts. The Palestinians and many rights groups say the trials are inherently unfair.

Most Palestinian prisoners are from the West Bank, which Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War and which the Palestinians want to form the main part of their future state. Israeli settlers in the West Bank have full citizenship and are subject to civilian courts.

First published: 21:59, 10.13.21

GREEN POWER GLOWS IN THE DARK
France unveils nuclear power overhaul – with an eye on China
Issued on: 13/10/2021 - 

France's President Emmanuel Macron speaks during the presentation of "France 2030" investment plan at the Élysée Palace in Paris, October 12, 2021. 

© Ludovic Marin, AFP
Text by:Sébastian SEIBT
4 min
Listen to the article

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a shift to small modular nuclear reactors on Tuesday as he unveiled his €30 billion, five-year strategy to bolster France’s high-tech sectors, building on the country’s history as a pioneer of nuclear energy. Analysts hail the technology as highly promising, especially in the face of Chinese competition.

Macron announced that the “number one priority” for his industrial strategy was for France to develop “innovative small-scale nuclear reactors” by 2030.

This marks a sea change in France’s approach to nuclear energy. The 1974 Messmer plan (named after then PM Pierre Messmer) poured colossal investment into nuclear power after the previous year’s oil crisis caused by the OPEC embargo exposed the fragility of France’s reliance on imported oil. The strategy allows France to source more than 70 percent of its energy from nuclear power – the highest proportion in the world. Until now, this huge nuclear sector has been built around ever-larger reactors.

“The small modular reactors each generate less than 300 megawatts (MW) of energy; far less than most reactors currently in service, which tend to produce between 950 and 1300 MW, with some of them including the Flamanville plant [on the English Channel] capable of as much as 1600 MW,” said Giorgio Locatelli, an expert on the engineering of nuclear power stations at Milan Polytechnic.

The components of these smaller reactors are usually built in a factory assembly line and then transported for assembly on site, where they can be easily adapted to the plant’s particular needs – making them nuclear power’s answer to Ikea furniture.

This approach is expected to make it easier to build nuclear plants – especially after construction delays in Flamanville’s reactor 3 during the last decade demonstrated that putting in place a huge new reactor can be a tricky process.

In the grand sweep of the history of French nuclear power, the shift towards smaller reactors looks like a step back, Locatelli suggested, because France “started with small reactors in the 1960s before switching to larger ones to develop economies of scale”.

However, this trend has now reached its limited, he continued. “Reactors like the one at Flamanville are not only very expensive, but also it’s a long and complex process to build them.” It takes billions to create such plants, and often it is difficult for governments to find investors willing to wait up to a decade before their returns start coming in.

Competition with China

Most countries lack the means to pull of these massive reactors, noted Nicolas Mazzucchi, an energy specialist at France’s Foundation for Strategic Research: “The financing models they require – not to mention the capacity to really mobilise a country’s savoir-faire in this domain – are increasingly rare, except in nations like Russia and China where energy companies have total state backing.”

Consequently, switching to small modular reactors is a strategic pivot to allow France to deal with competition from countries like China, which has increasingly big ambitions when it comes to nuclear power.

France’s change of approach could also allow it to win lucrative new markets. “By 2025, nearly a quarter of the world’s existing nuclear capacity will be exhausted because the reactors will have become too old,” Mazzucchi continued.

A further reason why small nuclear reactors could be a French export bonanza is that they can be used for crucial purposes other than energy generation. “It’s a very flexible form of technology,” Locatelli said.

“These reactors can be used for water desalination – a highly important task in places like the Middle East and even India – as well as to produce hydrogen to heat homes in colder parts of the world,” Mazzucchi pointed out.

In theory, small reactors are also likely to be safer than traditional large reactors. Japan’s Fukushima accident in 2011 dented nuclear energy’s reputation for safety – then the Taishan incident in China in July showed that technical problems can also assail the most modern reactors.

By definition, small reactors “contain less nuclear material, which in theory gives them the potential to be safer”, noted Karine Herviou, deputy director in charge of nuclear safety at France’s Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety. This can “limit” the release of radioactive substances in the event of an accident – in addition to the safety measures that will be in place, Herviou continued.

In particular, procedures tailored to small reactors can allow operators to “get rid of the residual power produced by the reactor after a shutdown”, Herviou added. It was this residual power that caused the reactor cores to melt at Fukushima and during the Three Mile Island incident in the US in 1979.

‘Lack of experience’

But that is just a theory. The people in charge of reactors using cutting-edge technology “will have to justify their safety”, Herviou said.

So far, the theoretical advantages of small modular reactors have not been confirmed in practice. Some 70 such reactors are currently in development throughout the world – and the vast majority of these projects are still in the early stages.

“The main concern with this technology is the lack of a track record,” said Locatelli. What is more, he continued, nuclear power’s “chicken-and-egg problem is still there: Is it better to start building reactors first to win over buyers or is it best to find the investors first?”

Although the race for small modular reactors has only just got under way, France is “starting late” compared to the US, Mazzucchi said. Across the Atlantic, regulators have already given the green light to at least one such project – with an entire ecosystem of start-ups emerging to develop this technology.

Nevertheless, France has every chance of succeeding. “Its big advantage is that its energy sector has already proven itself when it comes to nuclear technology, while controlling the entire supply chain from uranium mining to designing reactors,” Mazzucchi said. And the country will have around a decade to develop its expertise in small nuclear reactors before it can reap the rewards in exports. From 2030 there will be a “real market for this type of reactor”, according to France’s Atomic Energy Commission.

This article was translated from the original in French.

Namibia court grants citizenship to gay couple's son

Issued on: 13/10/2021 -

Luehl with his twin daughters, who still have not been granted Namibian citizenship 

LUCA SOLA AFP/File

Windhoek (AFP)

A Namibian court Wednesday granted citizenship to a gay couple's two-year-old son, ending a legal battle over surrogacy and same-sex parents.

The interior ministry had denied citizenship to the boy because he was born through surrogacy in South Africa.

Yona's South African birth certificate listed Namibian Phillip Luehl and Mexican partner Guillermo Delgado as his parents -- which Namibian authorities refused to accept.

In a brief ruling, High Court Judge Thomas Masuku granted Namibian citizenship to Yona, overturning the decision of the interior ministry.

"This ruling is an acknowledgement that families are diverse," Luehl told reporters after the five-minute hearing. "We can celebrate this diversity of families and that the nation will give them the support and protection that is needed, per the constitution."

The couple is still in a legal battle over citizenship for their infant twin daughters, who were born in April, also through surrogacy in South Africa.

Their lawyer, Uno Katjipuka-Sibolile, said the twins should now also be granted citizenship.

"It is very important to win because it recognises citizenship by descent for children born via surrogacy to Namibian citizens," the lawyer said. "It is very important to children born by same-sex couples because this court recognised them both as parents."

The couple also has a pending case at the Supreme Court for Delgado, to establish his residency in the country based on his South African marriage to Luehl.

Homosexuality is illegal in Namibia under a rarely enforced 1927 sodomy law dating back to its period of South African rule.

South Africa is the sole African nation which allows gay marriage, legalised in 2006.

© 2021 AFP

Brazil doctors accuse company of forcing unapproved drugs to treat Covid-19

Issued on: 13/10/2021 - 

Doctors and patients of the Brazilian healthcare company "Prevent Senior" testified on Thursday before a special Senate committee on the use of unapproved drugs to treat Covid-19 in elderly people. Shocking testimonies detailed how the company and its doctors pushed specific therapies to save money and support unproven drugs promoted by President Jair Bolsonaro's government. FRANCE 24's Tim Vickery reports from Rio de Janeiro.

Death threats, law suits: Covid experts targeted

Issued on: 13/10/2021 -

A poll shows scientists who speak in the media about Covid-19 are often subject to harassment as a result 

Daniel MIHAILESCU AFP/File


Paris (AFP)

Marc Van Ranst, a virologist famous in Belgium for providing expertise about the Covid-19 pandemic, was at home for his first afternoon off in months in May, unaware that his life was under threat and that he would soon be forced to go into hiding.

Jurgen Conings, a soldier aligned with right-wing extremist movements who had stated his intent to harm Van Ranst was sitting in a car nearby armed with four rocket launchers.

It wasn't until the following day Van Ranst learned he was in danger.

"They called me at noon and half an hour later they came with heavily armoured cars," Van Ranst told AFP.

"They took my son from school and my wife from the hospital and me... to a safe house. We were in several safe houses over the course of about a month."

Van Ranst has given hundreds of interviews on Covid-19 since the pandemic began and says he has a file of over 150 threats related to his pandemic expertise.

"Some are minor -- they compare you to Hitler or Mengele," he said. "And then some are death threats."

He is one of dozens of scientists harassed over the pandemic, according to a survey by scientific journal Nature.

Of 321 experts who responded to the journal, 81 percent reported some experience of "trolling or personal attacks after speaking about Covid-19 in the media".

Fifteen percent reported receiving death threats and over half had their credibility attacked.

- 'They find different ways' -

In its article on the survey, Nature said it reached out to scientists in the US, the UK, Brazil, Canada, Taiwan, New Zealand and Germany who had given interviews about the pandemic.

The prestigious journal acknowledges that harassment of scientists speaking on hot-button issues such as gun violence, vaccines and climate change is not new.

But they say even experts who were already prominent noted a rise in abuse related to the pandemic. The survey's respondents described threats by email, online comments, phone calls and more.

French virologist Karine Lacombe rose to prominence during the pandemic for her expertise lent during regular television and radio appearances and in articles.

The abuse 'was totally new to me and extremely violent,' said Lacombe Anne-Christine POUJOULAT AFP

She told AFP that attacks on her -- largely driven by French right-wing media supportive of controversial doctor Didier Raoult -- began in earnest once she spoke out publicly against Raoult's advice to use hydroxychloroquine to treat Covid.

She describes being insulted in the street, getting anonymous letters threatening rape, and having her inbox flooded with disparaging personal messages.

"It was totally new to me and extremely violent," she told AFP.

She left Twitter and even spent several days with friends, imagining people might be waiting for her in front of her home.

"I had a kind of breakdown," she said.

Court battles with his critics have taken up 400 hours of his time, says Van Ranst NICOLAS MAETERLINCK Belga/AFP

Both Lacombe and Van Ranst report being targeted by right-wing extremists in their countries, which are often aligned against pandemic measures and vaccines.

Van Ranst describes being repeatedly summoned to Belgian court by anti-vaxers.

"They find different ways of harassing us," Van Ranst said.

He says he makes a point of defending himself at the mandatory court appearances and that he has never lost -- but fighting the suits has taken over 400 hours of his time.

"They’re not keeping me from my job but I have literally no free time," he said, "This is the third one and they said they would keep doing it."

- 'They want to silence us' -

Nature describes a "chilling effect", with experts who experienced the most harassment also reporting the biggest influence on their willingness to speak to the media.

While Lacombe says she has heard similar feedback from colleagues, that it is not the case for her.

For with support from psychologists and groups fighting bullying and disinformation online, she says she was able to return to Twitter after a month and a half.

"It has reinforced my convictions," she said.

"They want to silence us, we who have the knowledge and expertise. I'm trying not to give in."

Van Ranst feels the same.

"I'm not more careful," he said, "I'm equally outspoken against anti-vaccination messages or fake news or whatever.

"Otherwise they win."

© 2021 AFP

US sets new lower salt target for food industry

Issued on: 13/10/2021 - 

US authorities announced new guidelines to reduce the amount of salt in food 

JUSTIN SULLIVAN GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File

Washington (AFP)

US health authorities on Wednesday announced a new push for the food industry to slash the salt in its products, a serious public health problem in a country where half the population suffers from hypertension.

The voluntary guidelines call for reducing average sodium consumption by about 12 percent by early 2024 -- from 3,400 to 3,000 milligrams per day.

Susan Mayne, a food safety expert with the Food and Drug Administration, said the change would translate to consuming roughly 60 teaspoons less salt every year.

According to the FDA, the US food safety regulator, Americans consume 50 percent more sodium than what is advised, and 95 percent of children aged two to 13 are over the recommended limit.

Such overconsumption leads to hypertension, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and diabetes.

The problem disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities and the Covid-19 pandemic has further amplified these health disparities, acting FDA chief Janet Woodcock told reporters.

"We know that even these modest reductions made slowly over the next few years will substantially decrease diet-related diseases," the FDA said.

The agency will monitor how the guidelines are being implemented with the long-term goal of cutting consumption to the recommended daily intake of 2,300 mg of sodium per day for people aged 14 and over.

The FDA says the 2024 deadline gives manufacturers enough time to develop new recipes and allows consumers to change their food habits.

"Sodium is playing a role in food technology and food safety, we recognize this change won't happen overnight," said Woodcock. "This approach will also allow consumers' taste to adjust."

More than 100 countries have sodium reduction programs and many multinational corporations are already selling food products under brands available on the US market, but made with less sodium.

"They already know how to do it," said Mayne.

© 2021 AFP

Humans enjoyed beer and blue cheese 2,700 years ago, study finds

Issued on: 13/10/2021 - 
Scientists have found evidence to prove the human love of beer and blue cheese in the Austrian Alps. © Jamie McDonald, AFP/ File photo
Text by: NEWS WIRES

Humans’ love for cheese and beer goes back a long way. But according to a scientific study published Wednesday, workers at a salt mine in Austria were already enjoying blue cheese and beer as far back as 2,700 years ago.

Scientists made the discovery by analyzing samples of human excrement found at the heart of the Hallstatt mine in the Austrian Alps. The study was published in the journal Current Biology on Wednesday.

Frank Maixner, a microbiologist at the Eurac Research Institute in Bolzano, Italy, who was the lead author of the report, said he was surprised to learn that salt miners over two millennia ago were advanced enough to “use fermentation intentionally”.

“This is very sophisticated in my opinion,” Maixner told AFP. “This is something I did not expect at that time.”

The finding was the earliest evidence to date of cheese ripening in Europe, according to researchers.

And while alcohol consumption is certainly well documented in older writings and archaeological evidence, the salt miners’ feces contained the first molecular evidence of beer consumption on the continent at that time.

“It is becoming increasingly clear that not only were prehistoric culinary practices sophisticated, but also that complex processed foodstuffs as well as the technique of fermentation have held a prominent role in our early food history,” said Kerstin Kowarik of the Museum of Natural History Vienna.

The town of Hallstatt, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has been used for salt production for more than 3,000 years, according to Maixner.

The community “is a very particular place, it’s located in the Alps, in the middle of nowhere,” he explained. “The whole community worked and lived from this mine.”

The miners spent their entire days there, working, eating and going to the bathroom right there, at the mine.

It is thanks to the constant temperature of around 8C (46F) and the high concentration of salt at the mine that the miners’ feces were preserved particularly well.

Researchers analyzed four samples: one dating back to the Bronze Age, two from the Iron Age, and one from the 18th century.

One of them, about 2,700 years old, was found to contain two fungi, Penicillium roqueforti and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Both are known today for their use in food making.

(AFP)

North Carolina Lt. Gov says the agenda of LGBT activists is to molest children
Sky Palma
October 13, 2021


After refusing to apologize for his comments where he called members of the LGBT community "filth," Right Wing Watch has unearthed additional video of North Carolina's Republican Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson making similar comments.

During an event at Shining Light Baptist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, back in July, Robinson suggested that people who push for transgender rights and inclusion actually want to molest children.

"You're a man who thinks you're a woman or you're a woman that thinks you're a man, you can go have surgery, do whatever you want to do. It's your business," Robinson said. "But here's what you're not going to do: You're not going to force it on my children. You're not going to teach it in our classrooms. And I'm sorry, but you can't be on the women's team if you're a man."

"You know, there's freedom, and there's liberty, and then there's pure lunacy," he continued. "And lunacy is turning on the Olympics and seeing a man lifting weights against a woman. Lunacy is turning on the television and seeing a story in the local news about a man wearing a rainbow dress with horns in his head, his faced all painted up, dressed like a woman, sitting and reading to children."

"We had them kind of folks back in the day," Robinson added. "Back when I was a kid, my momma used to tell me about them. She'd say, 'When y'all go down to the playground, if y'all see anybody hanging around in a raincoat and you don't see no pants hanging under his raincoat, y'all get y'all stuff and come on home because that's what we call a pervert.'"

"There is somebody somewhere right now on the internet grooming somebody's child to put their hands on them. You ain't got no reason to be teaching these children those kinds of concepts unless you got—like the old folks used to say—some ideas about putting your hands on them."

Watch the video below, via Right Wing Watch:

America is in a spiritual war against ‘Satan liberal evil communist socialist’ Democrats says GOP House candidate

David Badash, The New Civil Rights Movement
October 13, 2021

Pastor Mark Burns (Screen Shot)

A GOP candidate for a U.S. House of Representatives seat from South Carolina is attacking Democrats as being a "Satan liberal evil communist socialist" party, and proclaiming America is "absolutely" in a spiritual war.

Pastor Mark Burns is a "fanatical Christian nationalist," according to Right Wing Watch (tweet below) and a televangelist who was dubbed "Donald Trump's Top Pastor." Like the former President he is wielding his Twitter account like a sword.

He announced his run one week ago Wednesday:

Days later he was calling himself a fighter "bold enough to deal with the radical Marxist policies that's destroying our country

There are no radical Marxist policies in the U.S

After attacking "RINOs," Burns told anti-vaxx conspiracy theorist and streaming talk show host Stew Peters Republicans have to stop letting the "Satan liberal evil communist socialist government called the Democrat Party overtake this amazing country we call the United States of America."

In 2017 Burns was one of Roy Moore's defenders, insisting the nine allegations of sexual assault, child sexual assault, attempted rape, and inappropriate behavior with teenaged girls were false.

"We're letting these communists run our country by simply letting it happen," Burns told Peters.

"We've been too quiet," Burns claimed, falsely insisting that Democrats are a "weak minority of people."

He also falsely insisted America "is a God nation. This is a Christian nation. This nation belongs to the great I Am, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. This nation was founded on Judeo-Christian principles."

In 2016, as NCRM reported, Burns admitted to “overstating" significant details of his biography, including that he serves in the Army Reserve, holds a bachelor's degree and is working toward a master's.

Watch, via Right Wing Watch: