Thursday, August 18, 2016

The game of "Justice for personal politics" is the USA's favorite national blood sport.

This is one for the US State Department. I think we owe the gas station owner a door.

August 18, 2016
By Ben Rohrbach

...During multiple interviews (click here) with members of NBC’s Today show, Lochte has stood by the robbery story.
“We got pulled over in our taxi and these guys came out with a badge, a police badge,'” Lochte told the Today show’s Billy Bush in a taped interview Sunday. “No lights, no nothing, just a police badge. They pulled us over, they pulled out their guns. They told the other swimmers to get down on the ground. They got down on the ground. I refused. I was like, ‘We didn’t do anything wrong,’ so I’m not getting down on the ground. And then the guy pulled out his gun, he cocked it, put it to my forehead and said ‘get down. I put my hands up. I was like ‘whatever.’ He took our money, he took my wallet.”
Speaking with Today host Matt Lauer Wednesday, Lochte reiterated, “We wouldn’t make this story up. We’re victims in this and we’re happy that we’re safe.” However, the six-time Olympic gold medalist altered details about his original story during Wednesday’s conversation with Lauer, saying the they stopped at the gas station to use the men’s room and the gun was pointed in his “general direction.”
Gutman’s report on Thursday morning appears to contradict Lochte’s account of the alleged robbery.
Bentz, Conger and Feigen are all cooperating with Brazilian police, according to the USOC. Meanwhile, International Olympic Committee spokesman Mario Andrada issued the following strange statement:
Official statement (click here) from IOC spokesman Mario Andrada on #LochteGate. It's amazing.

"I do not regret for having apologized. No apologize for him or the other athletes are needed. We have to understand these kids came here to have fun. Let's give these kids a break. Sometimes you make decisions you later regret. They had fun, they made a mistake, life goes on." 

Counting the dead and finding genocidal killers can be accomplished enough to reign in such aggression at the Hague.

London — In barely a generation, air power has shifted from indiscriminate to discriminating. Thanks to advances in precision guidance, American bombs and missiles now generally get to where they’re intended. But human or machine error, bad luck or faulty military math still lead to unforeseen civilian deaths. And as the United States and its allies continue their bombing campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, many more noncombatants are perishing than they seem prepared to admit.

During July, the number of reported civilian casualties from coalition airstrikes reached the highest level since the air war began in August 2014. On July 19, 78 or more civilians were reported killed near the Islamic State-occupied city of Manbij, Syria, many of them women and children. In the successful battle for Manbij alone, at least 200 civilians were reportedly killed.

The United States and its allies have taken care to mitigate harm to civilians, and the United States Central Command is investigating the July 19 incident. But with the fight moving deeper into the towns and cities of Iraq and Syria — where millions remain under the Islamic State’s thumb — the risk is rising. Denmark, a member of the coalition, recently warned that civilian deaths might be “unavoidable” in this new phase of the war. Yet the allies appear poorly equipped to properly assess the numbers already being killed....

War is not a mistake or accident, it is a deliberate act. The militaries involved should do everything possible to prevent and end the deaths of civilians, but, war requires only reparations after the surrender.

The invasion into Iraq never had an accurate body count of the civilians involved. There never will be one. If there are still official records of birth certificates before the invasion, those lost before their time could be discerned, but, it is my guess the official birth records were housed in a building that would be destroyed early on in the invasion.

The Geneva Conventions (click here) do not spell out a formula for war and counting the dead to the first decimal (1.0), but, it allows for a country to have assistance returning from the conflict. A peace treaty must be signed and honored. The USA is directly responsible for the issues that exist today in Iraq and Syria, but, not in it's entirety. The Iraqi people have to maintain their own defense forces and deploy them when needed. 

I have stated this before. If the coalition of countries bombing Daesh's strongholds, training facilities and oil tankers expect to be able to prevent civilian causalities, they are delusional. There is no turning back. Every person should be given every affordable chance to leave the war zone, but, where there are people acting as human shields there is no good way to avoid those deaths. 

The clock can't be turned back. The danger of Daesh is being felt everywhere. It has to be destroyed. There is no alternative. If there was an alternative the global community has already tried it. When someone enters a home with intent of killing the occupants they have already determined their own fate.

The body count in Syria and Iraq will be known only when civilization takes on the effort after the war ends. 

There was a time when the USA did not issue birth certificates to all Americans and the family kept track of their family members inside a bible. There are ways of finding the truth. Population trends in Iraq and Syria before the wars began can be discerned and the actual trajectory known. The difference between the two numbers will begin the knowledge the global community may seek. In both these countries the ethnicity populations were known as well. 

The question sincerely is, "Was there genocide?" And, who is being held responsible? The Hague has the capacity to decide in absentia. 

Money isn't going to solve the problem, a resolve to the cholera to save lives is the first priority.

Case management (click here)

Efficient treatment resides in prompt rehydration through the administration of oral rehydration salts (ORS) or intravenous fluids, depending of the severity of cases. Up to 80% of patients can be treated adequately through the administration of ORS (WHO/UNICEF ORS standard sachet). Very severely dehydrated patients are treated through the administration of intravenous fluids, preferably Ringer lactate. Appropriate antibiotics can be given to severe cases to diminish the duration of diarrhoea, reduce the volume of rehydration fluids needed and shorten the duration of V. cholerae excretion. For children up to five years, supplementary administration of zinc2 has a proven effective in reducing duration of diarrhoea as well as reduction in successive diarrhoea episodes. In order to ensure timely access to treatment, cholera treatment centres should be set up among the affected populations whenever feasible.
I take it this occurred through contaminated food. Was there a crime committed here by intentional contamination? I am surprised the United Nations would be so remiss to allow contaminated food into any mission in the world, yet alone Haiti.

I suggest strongly the United Nations have transparency of this occurrence. The cholera first needs to be contained through quarantine and victims administered treatment.

The WHO and the UN know what to do. I suggest they carry out a mission to end the spread of cholera. The families with lost members need to be recognized and compensated to allow their well being to continue. The sad issue here is the fact there may be entire families effected with many dead. The Haiti government needs support in ending this and to bring resolve to the people.

If this is an oversight failure, it has to be dealt with in a way that eliminates those most responsible.

Compensation to the families that have lost cholera victims is required. The United Nations will maintain it's mission and purpose only by allowing itself to recognize this tragedy and rightful compensation to the victims. The 10,000 dead have to be recognized financially, but, the treatment of the cholera is the primary focus.

New formulation of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) with reduced osmolarity (click here)

Background: Two decades ago diarrhoea was responsible for around 5 million deaths annually. Through major public health efforts primarily aimed at preventing and treating dehydration this figure has decreased to around 2 million deaths. Prevention of dehydration is primarily achieved by ensuring that children with diarrhoea are provided with more fluids than usual, and/or increased frequency of breastfeeding, during the acute episode. The combination of increased home fluids and the use of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) for the treatment of dehydration have proven to be a very powerful intervention for the prevention of childhood deaths from diarrhoea.