Skeleton of 82-foot-long dinosaur found in man's backyard in Portugal
Christopher Brito - Yesterday 

The skeleton of a massive dinosaur was discovered in a man's backyard in Pombal, Portugal, and it could be the largest ever found in Europe, according to a news release published Wednesday.

The property owner noticed fragments of fossilized bones in his yard when carrying out construction in 2017, and contacted a research team, which launched an initial excavation campaign the same year, the news release said.

Earlier this month, paleontologists from Spain and Portugal worked at the site for over a week and they believe they have unearthed remains of the largest sauropod dinosaur to ever be found on the continent, according to the release. Sauropods are plant-eating, four-legged dinosaurs with long necks and tails. This dinosaur measured about 39 feet tall and 82 feet long.


Dinosaur bones were found in a man's backyard in Portugal. It could be the largest one ever found in Europe. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Instituto Dom Luiz (Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon) (Portugal).© Provided by CBS News

"It is not usual to find all the ribs of an animal like this, let alone in this position, maintaining their original anatomical position. This mode of preservation is relatively uncommon in the fossil record of dinosaurs, in particular sauropods, from the Portuguese Upper Jurassic," Elisabete Malafaia, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Lisbon, said in a statement.

The most important elements of the skeleton have been collected from the site, which includes the vertebrae and ribs of a possible brachiosaurid sauropod, or brachiosaurus, the news release said. The dinosaur species roamed the Earth 160 to 100 million years ago.

Due to the dinosaur's preservation characteristics, researchers believe other parts of its skeleton will also be found.


Remains of a possible brachiosaurus were found in a man's backyard in Portugal.  Credit: Encyclopaedia Britannica© Provided by CBS News

Africa: How Africa Increased Its Healthy Life Expectancy

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25 AUGUST 2022

Deutsche Welle (Bonn)

By David Ehl

Most people agree that it's vital to grow old healthily. In Africa, healthy life expectancy has increased by ten years -- more than anywhere else. DW explores the reasons for this and examines how the trend can continue.

The "Margaret Kenyatta" mother-and-child hospital wing in Nakuru, Kenya is the country's second-largest maternity ward. It boasts around 250 beds, where it carries out 20 cesarean sections and 30 natural births every day.

The clinic -- opened in 2018 by its namesake, Kenya's first lady and the wife of outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta -- is one of many examples of measures taken by the government to lower high mortality rates and improve health care.

Previously, for every 100,000 live births, there had been more than 350 cases in which mother or child died, according to government figures.

Many expectant mothers have praised the new facility.

"The treatment was great and I thank the nurses who took care of me," said Janet Ngetich. The 34-year-old gave birth to her daughter at the clinic three years ago -- and was one of the first to benefit from a new program.

Ngetich said that the "Linda Mama" program allows expectant mothers without medical insurance to give birth anywhere in Kenya.

Ten years higher healthy life expectancy

In East Africa, the World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged particularly great progress in the area of healthcare -- in addition to better care for mothers and children -- which includes the treatment of infectious diseases and their prevention.

According to a new WHO report, people on the African continent could expect to live an average of 56 years in good health in 2019, with a general life expectancy of just under 63 years -- ten years more than at the turn of the millennium.

No other region of the world has experienced such a significant increase in the so-called healthy life expectancy -- even if Africans can still expect fewer healthy years of life on average than people from other parts of the world.

After all, anyone born in Rwanda in 2000 could expect only 41 healthy years of life. For those born in 2019, it is already 60.

One of the biggest improvements is that HIV-positive people now often have easy access to anti-retroviral drugs and can therefore often lead a symptom-free life. Vaccinations -- for example against measles -- and better management of tropical diseases can also contribute to a longer lifespan.

On the other hand, there are other challenges to keeping people fit and healthy in old age. Globally, the WHO calculated healthy life expectancy in 2019 to be as high as 63.7 years -- so Africa remains below average.

Construction site: non-communicable diseases

The older people get, the more frequently so-called non-communicable diseases (NCDs) occur. These include cancer, diabetes and a variety of cardiovascular diseases.

Prebo Barango works on the issue of NCDs at WHO's regional office in Harare, Zimbabwe, and sees them as the biggest stumbling block to the continued development of healthy life expectancy.

"There are many reasons why non-contagious diseases are on the rise," Barango explains in an interview with DW: "For example, when an unhealthy diet or lack of exercise leads to obesity or other problems. Tobacco and alcohol contribute, as does environmental pollution. All of this is driving the new epidemic of non- communicable diseases."

Barango stressed the value of education and prevention. But health systems must adapt to a growing number of NCD patients and the increasing need for long-term therapies, he said.

"This requires resources," said Josephat Nyagero, research director for the Kenya-based NGO Amref. "Human, financial and so on. Not to mention love."

The COVID factor

The coronavirus pandemic has also played a role. Many experts believe that Africa got off fairly lightly compared to other regions, even taking into account statistical under-reporting of infections.

But the pandemic is likely to rear its ugly head in upcoming healthy life expectancy surveys. WHO's Prebo Barango said that COVID had reversed some progress made by strengthening health systems in some countries -- or at least led to stagnation.

Increased pressure on the health system because of COVID and very strict social distancing measures in some countries often made access to treatment, surgery and medical consultations difficult.

Care structures not affordable for many

In its report, the WHO praised the fact that coverage of health services has improved significantly since 2000. But at the same time, it cautioned that many households still have to spend more than 10% of their budgets on their health. The WHO defines this threshold as "catastrophic."

"Access has improved," Nyagero also said in the DW interview. "But the second question is: Is access also affordable? Here, alternatives should be examined, for example, universal health insurance subsidized by the state. That further improves access."

Rwanda, for example, has been offering universal health insurance for years -- but that is an exception rather than the rule in Africa.

WHO, as well as national health ministries, are also working to bring more treatment options to the countryside, Barango said:

"For rural and poor urban populations, access is limited. Now, we want to work to ensure that facilities at the district level can steer more treatments."

Barango acknowledged that this will require large investments, but that they would ultimately have a big impact.

Amref Research Director Josephat Nyagero expects continued strong growth on the continent: "The gains and improvements can probably be sustained. There may be interruptions, but I expect a situation where Africa visibly continues to catch up with the global average."

Janet Ngetich's daughter is now 3 years old and has already received some free vaccinations thanks to "Linda Mama."

Waiko Mbogho (Nakuru) contributed reporting to this article.

Beagle rescued from research facility finds new home on Long Island

By Patrick Reilly
August 26, 2022

Mandu, a 9-week-old beagle, was adopted by a couple on Long Island.

CBS New York

One of the 4,000 beagle puppies rescued from deplorable living conditions at a research facility in Virginia last month has found her forever home with a newlywed couple on Long Island.

Mandu, a 9-week-old beagle, has moved in with nurse Leigh Cohen Martz in Long Beach after the pup was rescued from the Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland in one of the largest canine rescue efforts in US history.

The puppies were to be sold for use in pharmaceutical and biotech research. But since their rescue, which drew national attention, they have been shipped to animal shelters across the country for adoption.

Mandu was rescued along with 4,000 other beagles from a Virginia research facility.CBS New York

One seven-month-old beagle, Mamma Mia, was adopted by royals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after Markle read about the Envigo lab and wanted to help out.

Beagles rescued from research facility arrive at shelters across the US

“I was actually walking Mandu on our morning walk and a bunch of our neighbors were talking about Meghan and Harry rescuing a puppy from the Envigo lab and we were all kind of giggling because so is Mandu,” Martz told CBS.

Mandu’s mother gave birth to a litter of six the day after she was rescued from the lab, the outlet reported.

At the facility, investigators discovered malnourished, sick and injured beagles, according to a federal complaint. The dogs were locked in cages where feces and food waste piled up. More than 300 puppies died at the facility between January and July of last year, officials said.

“She doesn’t truly know how lucky she is,” said Martz. “She would have been sold for experiments.”

Martz, who is recently married to her husband Jessie, said it was an emotional experience driving hours to pick up the newest member of their family.

“I was crying randomly just out of the excitement,” she said. [Mandu was] wrapped in a baby’s blanket from the hospital, but it had her mom’s scent on it and her litter’s scent. Jessie and I got really emotional.”

The dog’s name is personal and special as well.

“My grandmother is from Korea and Mandu is a Korean dumpling. So we call her our little dumpling,” said Martz.

PA envoy to UN: We are negotiating with Security Council members on full membership

PA officially renews push for full membership in the United Nations, its envoy confirms

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Israel National News
Aug 26, 2022

UN Security CouncilCarlo Allegri/Reuters

The Palestinian Authority (PA) has officially renewed its push for full membership in the United Nations and has turned to the Security Council on the matter, JPost reported on Thursday.

"We are negotiating in good faith with all [UNSC] members," PA Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour was quoted as having told reporters in New York.

"There is cautious optimism in the atmosphere," he added.

PA officials have spoken with their American counterparts about the matter, Mansour said, adding that this includes US President Joe Biden and US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Mansour said late last month that the PA leadership is conducting talks at the highest levels with the aim of demanding full membership of “the State of Palestine” in the United Nations.

On Thursday, the PA envoy said that given that the peace process has been frozen for eight years and that there is no initiative on the table, the issue of full UN membership should move forward.

Full recognition of “Palestine” as a member state is a way to salvage the two-state solution, Mansour stated, adding that such a measure would be an investment in peace.

His comments come a day after US and PA sources told Barak Ravid of Axios that the Biden administration has urged the PA not to pursue a vote at the UN Security Council on gaining full UN membership, stressing it will likely veto any such move.

Related articles:

US warns PA against full membership bid at UN
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In 2012, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the de facto recognition of the “state of Palestine” when it upgraded the PA’s UN observer status to non-member state.

The PA previously announced in 2019 it would launch a bid to become a full member of the United Nations.

Two weeks later, however, Mansour announced the PA was dropping its bid to become a full member of the UN, likely due to the fact that US would more than likely have vetoed any Security Council resolution granting the PA full membership of the global body.

The Supreme Court is 'smelling blood' and on 'a collision course with democracy itself': journalist

Alex Henderson, AlterNet
August 25, 2022

WHAT EVIL LOOKS LIKE

Justice Samuel Alito / Italy's embassy in America.

Although Democrats have won the popular vote in seven of the United States’ last eight presidential elections, the U.S. Supreme Court certainly doesn’t reflect that. Six of the High Court’s nine justices were appointed by Republican presidents, and three of those six were appointed by one-term former President Donald Trump — who lost the popular vote in 2016 and lost both the popular vote and the electoral vote in 2020. Moreover, the Court’s socially conservative supermajority is way to the right of such GOP-appointed justices of the past as Sandra Day O’Connor and libertarian Anthony Kennedy.

It was this socially conservative majority that, on June 24, 2022, overturned Roe v. Wade after 49 years with its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. And journalist Cristian Farias, in an article published by Vanity Fair on August 25, warns that the worst may be yet to come from the High Court’s radical-right supermajority.

“Power,” Farias writes, is the “only sensible explanation for the “present course” of a Supreme Court that overturned a decision that was not only handed down in 1973, but also, was upheld 19 years later with the Planned Parenthood v. Casey ruling of 1992.

READ MORE: Former Obama speechwriter explains why most Americans now hold the High Court in such low regard

“The seismic end of Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, two pillars of a much larger structure of unenumerated constitutional rights the High Court has erected over almost a century, was neither legally necessary nor a product of profound changes in American society,” Farias explains. “Instead, five justices tore these precedents off the law books, ushering in a new era of abortion criminalization and second-class citizenship for half the nation, simply because they could — and had the numbers to do so…. As radical and destabilizing as the fall of Roe is for our most intimate personal decisions, beyond just abortion rights, its ripples will extend to other areas where the conservative justices are already smelling blood.”

Farias continues, “Not satisfied with the erasure of just one constitutional right, (Justice) Clarence Thomas, writing separately in Dobbs, indicated that contraception and same-sex marriage could be next. That future begins now. These actions and other signals make abundantly clear what (Justice Thurgood) Marshall foresaw: The Supreme Court is on a collision course with democracy itself. Dobbs merely sets the stage.”

Two of the justices who voted to uphold Roe in Planned Parenthood v. Casey 30 years ago were Ronald Reagan appointees: Kennedy and O’Connor. And Justice David Souter, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, upheld Roe as well in that 1992 ruling. But Farias emphasizes that the three justices appointed by Trump are “more extreme” and are “lacking the moderation of Republican appointees of the past, including those who made Roe and Casey possible.”

“To the Trump justices, plus Thomas and (Justice Samuel) Alito, this shock to the nation could not come soon enough,” Farias laments. “Nominated by a president who lost the popular vote and narrowly confirmed by a Senate plagued by minority rule, these justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — were all groomed for this moment. All of them were grown in the test tube of the Federalist Society, the conservative legal brain trust that, for decades, has been a judicial pipeline for Republican administrations and state governments, which since the time of Ronald Reagan, have made the fall of Roe a white whale of their politics.”

READ MORE: With Roe overturned, Clarence Thomas is now preparing for a full-frontal assault on contraception, gay rights

Farias also slams the High Court for its recent ruling in West Virginia v. EPA, which, he points out, “sharply curbed the government’s power to regulate carbon emissions from power plants.” And one of the pending cases he is worried about is Moore v. Harper, which addresses a far-right legal doctrine known as the “independent state legislature doctrine” — an idea that, in its most extreme form, argues that state legislatures, not governors, judges or state supreme courts, should have sole authority over how a state governs its elections.

In the past, the U.S. Supreme Court dismissed the independent state legislature doctrine as nonsense. But Farias fears that the High Court of 2022 won’t see it that way.

“When the justices return to the bench from their summer recess in October, (Chief Justice John) Roberts’ first order of business will be to give a warm welcome to (Justice Stephen) Breyer’s replacement, Ketanji Brown Jackson, and then get right down to the real business: a docket that already has advocates of voting rights, racial justice, and democracy on high alert. In the justices’ sights, among other targets, are the future of affirmative action in higher education, the power of Black voters under what’s left of the Voting Rights Act, and an esoteric legal question that could well give cover to Trump-friendly Republican-led state legislatures wishing to contest the results of the next presidential election — or, at the very least, wreak electoral mischief at the expense of voters.”

Farias continues, “‘Women are not without electoral or political power,’ wrote, without irony, the five justices who ended their right to be full and equal citizens before the law in Dobbs. In asserting power rather than reason over what remains of our less than perfect union, the Supreme Court may well unravel democracy with it, taking us down a path from which there is no return.”

SCOTLAND
Bin strikes to continue despite 'constructive talks' as John Swinney calls for 'dialogue' between unions and Cosla

The Deputy First Minister and acting Finance Secretary met with unions and the local government body on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the dispute.


Peter Davidson

Live Politics Editor

08:56, 25 AUG 2022

John Swinney has said "intense dialogue" needs to take place between unions and Cosla to end the current bin strikes across Scotland.

The Deputy First Minister and acting Finance Secretary met with unions and the local government body on Wednesday in a bid to resolve the dispute.

Both sides have failed to reach a deal on pay which led to bin workers in 13 local authorities, including Aberdeen, Glasgow and Dundee, walking out for a seven-day strike on Wednesday.

Cosla 's five per cent offer has been rejected by unions. Following talks between the pair on the eve of the industrial action union bosses called for a meeting with the SNP minister.

Which council areas will be affected by bin strikes in Scotland beginning today?

Swinney told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "There needs to be intense dialogue and negotiation between the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities ( Cosla ), as the employers and the trade unions.

"I encouraged that in meetings yesterday with the president of Cosla Cllr Shona Morrison who came to see me yesterday and we had a very constructive discussion in which I encouraged Cosla to enter into discussions with the unions."

Cleansing staff in Edinburgh have been out on strike since August 18, with the action timed to coincide with the summer festivals.

Festival goers have been met by mountains of rubbish with Swinney saying it was "deeply concerning" for public health.

Union chiefs welcomed the meeting with Swinney saying it will continue to work with him and Cosla in order to solve the dispute over pay.

Deputy First Minister John Swinney urged both sides to get together and negotiate (Image: PA)

Johanna Baxter, UNISON head of local government said: "We have held detailed constructive talks with Deputy First Minister this evening at St Andrews House.

"We welcome that he listened to UNISON concerns and was keen to explore how he could support getting council pay talks pay back on track.

"We were clear that we need to rethink not only the construction of the pay offer, so that those on the lowest incomes are fairly treated, we also need to explore ways in which we can increase the overall cash available to come to a fair offer.

"There was a general agreement that only two negotiating meetings in eight months on pay was not acceptable, and better processes need to be put in place to facilitate finding speedier solutions on pay.

"Although we do not have an offer today UNISON will continue to work with the Deputy First Minister and Cosla to find a way forward towards a solution that benefits all our members."

SCOTTISH POLITICS

New bin strikes announced in Scotland

While, Wendy Dunsmore, Unite industrial officer, said: "Constructive talks have now finished involving the trade unions and the Deputy First Minister, John Swinney.

"The trade unions were informed that the DFM would now engage Cosla on a mechanism which could facilitate funding but that this would not come directly from the Scottish Government.

"It would include examining fiscal flexibilities and areas of ring-fenced funding. We acknowledge that this is movement but there is no new offer on the table and the strikes continue.

"The trade unions are requesting that the Scottish Government directly engage in these negotiations involving Cosla and ourselves in an effort to resolve this dispute."
When will strikes take place and which unions are taking industrial action?

Unite

Unite members from Aberdeen City, Angus, Dundee, East Ayrshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Glasgow, Highland, Inverclyde, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, West Lothian councils will all go on strike from August 24 to 31.


Unison

Unison members from Aberdeenshire, Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Stirling and South Lanarkshire will walk out on August 26 to 29 then from September 7 to 10.

 Death toll tops 900 as Pakistan reels from 'abnormal' rain, glacial lake outburst floods

Stranded people carry their belongings as they wade through a flooded area after heavy monsoon rainfall in Rajanpur district of Punjab province on August 25, 2022. — AFP

• Pakistan receives international aid; govt declares national emergency.
• PM Shehbaz cancels London trip; will visit Sukkur tomorrow.
• ISPR says people are fleeing flooding triggered by monsoon rains.

---

Pakistan continues to reel from the “climate-induced humanitarian disaster" as climate change has directly affected the South Asian nation in the wake of above-normal rains, glacial lake outburst flood (GLOF) and cloudburst.

The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) revealed that the residents of the four provinces of Pakistan — Balochistan, Sindh, Punjab (south), and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — are fleeing flooding triggered by record monsoon rains.

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On the appeal of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, international organisations Thursday decided to donate $500 million for the relief of Pakistani as record monsoon rains have caused a "climate-induced humanitarian disaster", as it killed over 900 people since June.

A report released by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) showed nearly 73 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, 82,033 houses were damaged, and 710 cattle were dead

According to NDMA, due to incidents related to heavy monsoon rainfall and floods nearly 400 people, including 191 women, lost their lives. While over 1,000 people suffered injuries. Residents are fleeing flooding triggered by record monsoon rains.

Govt declares national emergency

Addressing a press conference today, Climate Change Minister Senator Sherry Rehman said the country had so far received an average of 166 millimetres of rainfall during the month of August, which was 241% above normal, whereas its southern parts particularly Sindh, got 784% more than normal average rain of the season which was “alarming”.

The Met Office statistics were startling, she said, adding the flash floods caused by massive rains had swept away bridges and communication infrastructure in various areas of the provinces.

The current deluge in the Indus River was even more than the super flood of 2010, Sherry remarked.

The minister said a national emergency had been declared in the country as Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari had postponed their official visits abroad.

“We are in the eighth spell of monsoon rains with southern Pakistan receiving heavy rains, including 23 districts of Sindh declared as calamity-hit.”

A stranded man carries a goat as he wades through a flooded area after heavy monsoon rainfall in Nawabshah district of Sindh province, southern Pakistan on August 25, 2022. — AFP

She said as half of the country in the south was inundated, the armed forces and NDMA along with provincial governments were actively engaged in rescue and relief activities.

“Almost 30 million people are without shelter, thousands of them displaced and have no food. As needs assessment is underway and will be completed soon, which will help in approaching donor agencies for relief and rescue as the crisis has surpassed the capacity of the government.”

‘Alarming’: Forecast of monsoon activity in Sept

The minister underlined that there was a forecast of extended monsoon activity in September, which was again "alarming".

She said the Sukkur and Taunsa barrages had high water flow and all available machinery and other resources were being utilised in the affected region. At present all the departments were focused on flood-hit areas to cope with any evolving situation.

Sherry said some 913 people had perished in rain-related incidents, with a greater number of deaths of the children in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. However, the number of the injured was also reported high, she added.

She said it was now time for donors and the world to support Pakistan, which had always volunteered to assist nations, including its neighbours during natural disasters.

PM Shehbaz cancels London trip

PM Shehbaz has cancelled his London visit in view of floods in the country. On his return home from Qatar, he chaired a meeting regarding the flood situation and relief activities.

The premier had to leave for London from Qatar due to the ailment of his granddaughter who is under treatment at the British capital. In view of the flood situation, the prime minister, however, decided to immediately return to the country.

PM to visit Sukkur tomorrow

Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said that PM Shehbaz will visit Sukkur tomorrow (Friday) to review flood rescue and relief activities.

“PM chaired international partners meeting for cooperation in flood rescue, relief, rehabilitation right after reaching Islamabad at the Economic Affairs Division,” she said in a tweet on Thursday.

Marriyum said the NDMA chairman and the representatives of provinces briefed the prime minister on flood relief and rescue, and cash distribution updates.

Imran Khan to visit flood-affected areas

As heavy rain continued to pound much of Pakistan, PTI Chairman Imran Khan decided to visit the flood-affected areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab.

Speaking to journalists, former information minister Fawad Chaudhry said Khan will visit flood-hit areas tomorrow, adding that relief operation will be conducted in DG Khan and Rajanpur on priority basis.

“The state has distanced itself from the issues of the people as they are more focused on registering ‘false’ cases against PTI chief,” he said, criticising the authorities concerned for their negligence.

Breakdown of international funds for flood-relief 

According to the notification, World Bank Country Director for Pakistan Najy Benhassine informed the prime minister about immediate assistance worth $350 million. It was learnt that the funds will be fully disbursed by the end of this week.

Meanwhile, the other assistance include:

• $110 million — World Food Programme
• $20 million — Asian Development Bank
• 1.5 million pounds — UK aid
• Over 30 million pounds for projects related to flood-affectees — UK aid

It should be noted that Pakistan is eighth on a list of countries deemed most vulnerable to extreme weather caused by climate change, according to the Global Climate Risk Index compiled by environmental NGO Germanwatch.

WATCH: China tests fishes, crabs for COVID-19 amid rise in cases

Fish and crab being tested for CIVID-19 in the Chinese city of Xiamen. — Screengrab/Twitter

Over five million people in the coastal Chinese city of Xiamen have been directed to get themselves tested for COVID-19 this week after a rise in cases.

However, the tests are not just limited to humans. The authorities have decided to test some forms of sealife as well, according to an official notice.

A notice was issued by the Xiamen's Jimei Maritime Pandemic Control district committee recently, according to which "both fishermen and their seafood must be tested" after the fishermen return to their ports, BBC reported

A video, shared by South China Morning Post on Twitter, has been going viral and has triggered a number of reactions from the netizens.

The video shows the health workers giving live fish and crabs PCR tests for the virus.

The health workers could be seen wearing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits and inserting swabs inside the mouths of fishes and crabs.

"Videos of pandemic medical workers giving live seafood PCR tests have gone viral on Chinese social media," said the caption.

The video received above three million views.

"Seems weird but oh well, there's no other way of knowing without testing. Everybody already knows the animal/human human/human transmission - don't think it would make the jump to marine life but weirder things have happened. So yeah, test away," wrote a user.

"Thought it was a joke. But in fact, it’s consistent with the ideological trap that’s led to cascading and insane misdirection of resources! Quite scary!" wrote another.

"Definition of insanity," wrote one of the users. 

DoD’s civilian harm reduction plan lacks specifics


By ALEXANDER WARD and LARA SELIGMAN
08/25/2022 


The Defense Department just released its much-anticipated plan to reduce civilian casualties during military operations and more accurately report incidents if they happen. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images

With help from Connor O'Brien

The Defense Department just released its much-anticipated plan to reduce civilian casualties during military operations and more accurately report incidents if they happen — nearly a year after a botched drone strike killed 10 people, including seven children, in Kabul.

The idea is to bake in expertise on reducing civilian harm to operations from the very beginning of mission planning, said a senior defense official, speaking to reporters ahead of the plan’s release.

“We would envision having somebody or probably a group of people who are experts in the civilian environment that are sitting next to the operators, the threat-focused intel folks, the lawyers as they are really developing whether it’s an individual operation or a campaign, and building in this component of civilian harm throughout the overall process,” the official said.

But there are also a lot of questions left unanswered, for instance, the timeline for implementing the changes, how many people will be needed, and the rank of those experts sitting next to the military planners.

According to a memo signed by Defense Secretary LLOYD AUSTIN attached to the “Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan” — which officials are short-handing as CHMRAP, pronounced “chim-wrap” — the Pentagon will:

— Establish a CHMR Steering Committee to implement the plan across the whole of DoD.

— Create a Civilian Protection Center of Excellence “to expedite and institutionalize” ways to reduce civilian harm. It will be stood up in the next fiscal year, though it will take a few more years to set it up fully.

— "Incorporate deliberate and systemic measures to mitigate the risks of target misidentification.”

— Establish procedures to assess and investigate incidents of civilian harm.

— Review how DoD response to incidents, including “condolences and the public acknowledgement of harm.”

There’s more, but you get the idea. The senior defense official said the plan was meant to be “systemic” and be “implementable immediately.” The plan will cost “tens of millions of dollars” to execute, though the final number depends on a manpower study and negotiations with lawmakers, the official said.

Importantly, there’s nothing in the plan about punishment — as in, what to do if someone inappropriately makes a decision that kills civilians. No one was reprimanded following the Kabul strike because the Pentagon said everyone followed the right procedures. How those procedures will be addressed, or what happens to an official who breaks them, is still unclear.

Furthermore, it appears the Pentagon has charted a middle course. The report doesn’t go far enough to make civilian harm a top component in military decision-making — they just want the issue to be “baked in” — which will anger activists. But it also adds extra layers of bureaucracy, which will concern commanders who want to make quick, life-or-death decisions.

Some, though, found the announced changes to be sweeping. “This is a sea change,” MARC GARLASCO, who investigated U.S.-caused civilian deaths caused for the United Nations, told The New York Times. “It doesn’t mean civilians won’t be killed in war anymore. They will. But if this plan is implemented and properly resourced, it will ensure fewer people will die and create a way for the Defense Department to respond when civilians are killed.”

In January, Austin directed a review and creation of a plan to minimize civilian casualties on the battlefield. It came after a string of Pulitzer Prize-winning stories in The New York Times about how the Pentagon consistently downplayed harm to civilians during the planning of military operations and even after incidents occurred. The August 2021 strike that killed 10 people was initially labeled “righteous” by Gen. MARK MILLEY, the Joint Chiefs chair, when he believed an ISIS militant had been killed. The Times soon showed that civilians were killed, not terrorists.

It does seem like the Pentagon is learning some lessons already, though. Two retaliatory strikes against Iran-backed militants in Syria were called off over concern about killing civilians .

Pentagon Shares Plan to Lower Civilian Deaths, a Year After Botched Airstrike Killed 10

Mimi Nguyen Ly Aug 26, 2022

A relative of Ezmarai Ahmadi, stands next to a vehicle that was damaged on Aug. 29 in a U.S. drone strike that killed Ahmadi, seven children, and two other adults in the Kwaja Burga neighborhood of Kabul, Afghanistan, on Sept. 18, 2021. (Hoshang HashimiAFP via Getty Images)


The U.S. Department of Defense on Aug. 25 unveiled a plan to mitigate and respond to civilian injuries and deaths that result from U.S. military operations, coming almost a year after a botched U.S. drone airstrike killed 10 civilians.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in January ordered top civilian and military officials in the Pentagon to develop the “Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response Action Plan.” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters during a briefing on Aug. 25 that Austin approved the plan earlier this week.

Its release on Aug. 25 comes almost a year after a botched U.S. drone airstrike on Aug. 29, 2021, caused the deaths of 10 innocent Afghan civilians, including seven children, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Pentagon didn’t acknowledge that the drone strike killed innocent civilians and didn’t kill any terrorists until more than two weeks later, on Sept. 17, 2021.

Congressional testimony by three top officials from the U.S. military on Sept. 29, 2021, contradicted earlier military statements about what the government knew in the aftermath of the incident. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) in February this year said he doesn’t understand why U.S. military officials seemingly attempted to deny killing civilians for weeks in the wake of the Aug. 29 strike.

The release of the new action plan also comes after a report in November 2021 by the New York Times that detailed a U.S. airstrike that killed at least 64 civilians in Baghuz, Syria, in 2019, which, until the report, had not been made known to the public.
New Central Hub

Ryder told reporters during a briefing on Aug. 25 that the new action plan involves putting people “who are trained to have an understanding of civilian harm, the aspects of civilian harm mitigation, and operational planning” at all operational levels throughout the military.

These people will work for the Civilian Protection Center of Excellence, which is established under the new plan.

“The Center of Excellence will be sort of the hub that will provide expertise at a centralized location, but then that will be dispersed throughout the Department of Defense, at the [U.S. Central Command] level, at the component level,” Ryder said. “We estimate this will be approximately 150-plus individuals that will have special training and understand this.”

“The other piece of this will be incorporating it into doctrine, into instructions, into operational planning as a factor. So, that eventually will inculcate itself into the force down to the from the lowest echelon up to the highest level here at the Pentagon,” he added.

“What it does, especially at the combatant command level, is it provides someone who’s trained who understands who can advise at a level that has not always been consistent across the department,” Ryder noted. “And it’s not that we haven’t taken civilian harm or mitigation into account in the past. It’s just trying to apply a consistent approach across the department.”

‘Flexible Plan’

According to the Pentagon, the new plan aims to “improve strategic outcomes, optimize military operations, and strengthen [the Defense Department’s] ability to mitigate civilian harm during operations.”

The department characterizes it as “a flexible plan that advances the ability of [the Pentagon] to mitigate civilian harm and achieve strategic success across the full spectrum of conflict.” The 36-page document detailing the plan (pdf) says it is inherently scalable, meaning it is “relevant to counterterrorism operations as well as high intensity conflict,” and “relevant to both kinetic and non-kinetic activity.”

The plan prioritizes “the protection and restoration of the civilian environment as a critical factor in the planning and conduct of military operations,” among other things that will achieve its aims.

Actions set out in the plan “will facilitate continued learning throughout” the Pentagon to improve its approach, including in assessing and investigating previous U.S. combat operations; and improve the department’s ability to “effectively respond” in the case of civilian harm. It will also include learning about how these approaches “can be tailored to different types of conflicts, operations, and operational theaters.”

The department also said the new civilian harm mitigation plan “will enhance [the Department of Defense’s] ability to identify instances where institutional or individual accountability may be appropriate for violations of [the Department of Defense Civilian Harm Mitigation and Response] policies and applicable law.”

Action points in the plan are also aimed at improving accountability and transparency related to civilian harm as a result of U.S. military operations, according to the Pentagon release.

The action plan will also “enhance the [Department of Defense’s] ability to identify instances where institutional or individual accountability may be appropriate for violations of DoD CHMR policies and applicable law,” the document reads.

The Pentagon will begin implementing the plan immediately, but certain actions “will require additional time to properly implement,” it noted.

Ken Silva contributed to this report.

From The Epoch Times

Director at powerful Texas Right to Life anti-abortion group is fired from his job and arrested after he 'tried to arrange sex with a child online'

Lucas Bowen was arrested for the online solicitation of a minor when a sting operation caught him

Bowen worked as a political director and treasurer for anti-abortion rights titan Texas Right to Life
A spokesperson for the group said he was terminated from his position on August 3

The group is one of the premier anti-abortion groups in the country and is known for setting anti-abortion goals and agendas for other states

By JOSEPH MICHALITSIANOS FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 26 August 2022 

A man who worked as a political director at one of Texas' biggest anti-abortion advocacy groups, Texas Right to Life, has been arrested after being trapped by an online sting targeting pedophiles, cops say.

Bowen allegedly 'knowingly' solicited a minor online 'with the intent' of engaging 'in sexual contact or sexual intercourse or deviate sexual intercourse.'

His attempts to meet with the child were actually part of an undercover police sting, and there was never any danger to any underage person, cops say.

Authorities said Lucas 'Luke' Bowen was arrested 'on scene,' meaning they had enough evidence from his online exchanges they could arrest him without a warrant.

Bowen has since been fired from Texas Right to Life, which has also begun scrubbing mentions of him from its website.

While the former political director and treasurer participated in programs aimed at encouraging college students to become pro-life advocates, a spokesperson for the organization said 'he was not involved with minors in our youth programs.'

Bowen was charged on August 3 with the second-degree felony, and could face up to 20 years in prison.

 


Lucas Bowen, a political director for Texas Right to Life, was arrested on charges of soliciting sex from a minor online after a sting operation was conducted



Bowen, who is still seen in seen on the group's website in pictures like this, also served as a treasurer before he was terminated on August 3 following his arrest


Along with serving as a political director, Bowen gave speeches on behalf of Texas Right to Life and participated in youth programs

Bowen's lawyer reportedly defended his client by saying 'this investigation revolves around a fictitious alleged minor created by law enforcement and posted on the Internet. There is not a real victim in the case.'

Court records show that Bowen pleaded not guilty to the solicitation charge on August 16 and will appear before the court again on September 22.

A spokesperson for the group said he was terminated from his position on August 3.

Bowen was caught and charged after a sting operation run by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force program, said Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Mike Holley.

Holly said Bowen's arrest happened 'on the scene,' which means Bowen's actions when talking to officers posing as children provided enough evidence to arrest him without a warrant.

ICAC calls itself a "national network of 61 coordinated task forces, representing over 5,400 federal, state, and local law enforcement.

Texas Right to Life is known to donate heavily to anti-abortion candidates and encourages youths to volunteer for campaigns


Bowen spoke to college-age students and encouraged them to get involved in campaigns for anti-abortion candidates

Bowen was a vocal higher-up at Texas Right to Life, giving speeches and interviews on behalf of the organization and also served as the organization's treasurer.

The group is one of the premier anti-abortion groups in the country and is known for setting anti-abortion goals and agendas for other states as well as donating large sums to anti-abortion candidates.

Last year, they set up a website urging people to secretly become 'pro-life whistleblowers' and report on suspected illegal abortions they could then sue over. -

The pro-life outfit is known to run 'boot camps' for budding anti-abortion activists, and Bowen was reported to have been involved in these.

A now-deleted press release from 2018 says Bowen spoke to college-age students and encouraged them to get involved in campaigns for anti-abortion candidates.