The fur remover is an excellent gift for cat lovers
Monthly Archives: November 2019
New strain of canine distemper virus arrives in North America | Cornell Chronicle
news.cornell.edu
New strain of canine distemper virus arrives in North America | Cornell Chronicle
By Patricia Waldron |
5-7 minutes
A young dog imported from South Korea into western Canada last October brought along a dangerous hitchhiker: the Asia-1 strain of canine distemper virus (CDV), which until then had not been reported in North America.
Scientists at Cornell’s Animal Health Diagnostic Center (AHDC) identified the virus in samples from the dog, which they suspect was part of a shipment of animals rescued from a Korean meat market by an animal welfare organization. Dogs that are already immunized against CDV likely are not at risk from the Asian strain, but if the virus comes into contact with wildlife, it may take a serious toll on wild carnivore populations.
“Well-meaning people are trying to save animals, but when you move animals, you move their infectious disease,” said Edward Dubovi, director of the virology laboratory at the AHDC and a professor of population medicine and diagnostic sciences. “If this particular Asia-1 strain got out into the wildlife population, then it’s here forever, because you can’t get rid of it once it hits wildlife.”
About two weeks after the sick dog’s arrival in Canada, it developed a cough and was lethargic. Ten days later, it developed muscle twitches, then seizures and ultimately was euthanized. The AHDC tested samples collected from the animal; they were negative for canine influenza virus but gave strong positive results for CDV. Genetic analysis by Randall Renshaw, Ph.D. ’92, a research associate at the AHDC, indicated that the virus was nearly identical to the Asia-1 strain of CDV circulating throughout East Asia.
Canine distemper virus is highly contagious and commonly travels between hosts through the aerosols emitted when dogs bark and cough and through urine and feces. The disease starts with respiratory symptoms, such as coughing and pneumonia, and progresses into gastrointestinal illness and neurological problems. Most dogs in the United States receive vaccines for CDV to protect against native North American strains.
Though CDV outbreaks occasionally pop up in animal shelters, the virus persists primarily in wildlife populations, particularly in the Northeast where canine cases of CDV are extremely rare. It circulates among numerous carnivore species, causing die-offs of raccoons, grey foxes, skunks, coyotes, wolves and other animals.
Though Dubovi was unable to find out more information about how the dog arrived in Canada, he expects that it came from a Korean dog meat farm. Animal rescue organizations have worked for years to remove dogs from farms that supply dog meat markets in South Korea and other Asian countries. Due to changing attitudes toward dogs, the demand for dog meat is dropping, which enables animal welfare groups to buy out farms and help farmers to transition to new careers.
Though well-intentioned, these efforts place animals in North America at risk for foreign strains of disease. The United States receives rescued companion animals from all over the world, and any of these animals could be carrying viruses, bacteria and parasites not commonly seen in North America. Animals raised for meat in countries with lax antibiotics regulations are at especially high risk of carrying drug-resistant strains of bacteria.
The canine influenza virus that first appeared in the Chicago area in 2015 was traced back to rescued Korean dogs.
“The genetic analysis clearly linked the virus to recent Korean H3N2 influenza strains,” said Dubovi. “That particular strain of flu had been circulating in Asia, China and Korea for probably 10 years prior to its arrival in the U.S.”
Dubovi estimates that the recent canine influenza outbreak has cost U.S. dog owners up to $75 million nationwide for diagnostic testing and vaccinations.
Keeping new infectious organisms out of the U.S. is challenging because there is virtually no federal oversight of imported companion animals. The U.S. Department of Agriculture oversees only the trade of livestock products to protect U.S. ranching and dairy operations.
For dogs entering the United States and Canada, a rabies certificate is the sole requirement. In some countries, however, people buy fake certificates, as indicated by a handful of rabies-infected dogs that arrived from India, Iraq and Egypt in the last two decades.
Rescue dogs flown in from other countries frequently pass through airports in New York City and Los Angeles. In theory, California and New York could pass regulations for importing companion animals, but these laws would not apply to border crossing in other states.
“It’s a 50-state free-for-all with regard to companion animals,” Dubovi said. “It’s a very unsatisfactory situation if you’re trying to control infectious diseases in our domestic cats and dogs.”
Concerned pet owners could also pressure rescue groups to enact better testing and quarantine protocols when transporting foreign animals to the United States, Dubovi said.
It is not yet known whether the Asia-1 strain of the canine distemper virus has been contained or if it is here to stay in North America. This case is “the canary in the mineshaft,” Dubovi said.
“There’s probably a whole host of other things we haven’t tested for,” he said. “If we aren’t looking for it, we aren’t going to find it until it’s too late.”
Patricia Waldron is a freelance writer for the College of Veterinary Medicine.
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2019/03/new-strain-canine-distemper-virus-arrives-north-america#
UK Environment Agency Allowing for Increasing Radioactive Discharges to the Irish Sea by Sellafield in Violation of OSPAR: Comment Deadline 1st December 2019
17,000,000,000,000 (17 trillion) radioactive shots per second (Bq) of Caesium 137 (Cs-137) is the lower limit of what the UK Environment Agency proposes to allow Sellafield to send out to the Irish Sea per year. The upper limit is 24,000,000,000,000 Bq. Any one of these shots could cause genetic damage leading to life-shortening cancers or other disabilities. This is but one type of radioactive material which Sellafield Nuclear Site is discharging to sea and air, which we are using as an example. The impacts upon fisheries beyond the Irish Sea are made clear by the map, further below. Caesium 137 (Cs-137) discharges to the Irish sea have actually increased by 69% from 2014-2018. Between 2017-2018, alone, they have increased by 33%. The proposed limit would allow an increase in discharge more than five times greater than the current discharge – in violation of the OSPAR convention, as is the increase…
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ACT HERE 👉 Demand sanctuary for survivors of live export disaster
secure.animalsaustralia.org
These animals were destined for the Middle East, where they would be slaughtered while fully conscious, but their nightmare started minutes into their journey. Only moments after departing Romania, the ship began to sink, drowning many who were trapped under water, and crushing thousands more as the vessel lay stricken on its side in the water.
Capsized live export ship – causing unimaginable pain and suffering.
While the crew all escaped unharmed, the sheep were left stranded on board. The fear and panic these animals would have experienced is unimaginable.
After international outcry, welfare groups were finally allowed to return. A dedicated and painstaking rescue effort saw 254 survivors rescued from the wreckage.
Rescued but grievously injured sheep in a lifeboat.
But as the rescue mission wraps up, the future of these sheep remains uncertain.
Help save the survivors from being sent back to a live export ship.
The live export trade is cruel, unnecessary and inherently risk-laden – as this appalling disaster has once again revealed.
For an industry who sees animals as nothing more than ‘cargo’, it is a tragic but familiar scene. Left to sink with the ship, these gentle animals didn’t stand a chance from the moment they were sold into the live export trade.
With your help, we will call for justice for these animals, and hold those responsible to account.
Rescued and terribly injured sheep resting on the dock.
This tragedy occurred only a few months after the Romanian government approved a shipment of thousands of sheep to the Middle East – despite searing summer temperatures that put these animals at risk of cooking alive.
Over 14,000 sheep were trapped and drowned.Cooking alive: The heat these gentle sheep are forced to endure onboard live export ships is unimaginable and excruciating.Deaths onboard ships and trucks are commonplace for the animal victims of the live export trade.
Cooking alive: The heat these gentle sheep are forced to endure onboard live export ships is unimaginable and excruciating.
Every one of the animals who has suffered and died on board this ship, deserves a voice. Because unless this industry is stopped, these ‘ships of death’ will continue to sail, and animals will continue to suffer in the very worst ways imaginable.
For now, we must ensure the surviving sheep are given a life of safety – they’ve endured too much suffering already. Beyond this disaster, our work remains to prevent more animals suffering this cruel fate, or worse, in the live export trade.
SAVE THE SHEEP: Please, take action now on their behalf, and urge the Romanian Prime Minister and Romanian Veterinary Authority to end live animal exports.
Updated 29/11/2019
Please Do Not Support the Ivory Trade‼️
The Life of Nicholas Winton and How He Saved the Life of 669 Children
Do Not Disturb 🐝
Stolen from the wild
A warm hug is always welcomed
How to Make a Christmas Cat Movie – Katzenworld
Christmas is the season to have some festive fun and try your hand at a Christmas cat movie. Nubia is already road-testing cat toys for Katzenworld, and I wonder if you know how easy it would be to film your own cat at Christmas? Let’s find out!
Don’t worry about being an ‘expert’ at making movies on your smartphone, just grab a coffee or a glass of wine and check out these cool tips for making your own Christmas cat movie.
🍁 HAPPY THANKSGIVING 🍁
Two Powerful Storms Hammering the U.S.
A powerful storm will move from the Central Plains into the upper Midwest bringing a swath of heavy snow, damaging winds and significant travel impacts today, warns the National Weather Service.
The Western U.S. is also being impacted by another powerful storm with heavy mountain snow and strong winds continuing into Thursday.
Heavy snows, reaching 30 inches (75 cm) in some areas, disrupted travel across the center of the United States, stranding thousands of travelers at airports, and forcing closure of stretches of major highways due to near-zero visibility.
Heavy snow has been falling across Colorado since Tuesday morning, with 10 to 14 inches already reported in parts of the state and a blizzard warning was issued for the Eastern Plains.
The strong winter storm was expected to drop up to a foot (30 cm) of snow in parts of Colorado and Wyoming and prompted the National Weather Service to…
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Super-Easy Vegan Pumpkin Pie in 3 Easy Steps | PETA
Three-Step Vegan Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients
1 15 oz. can puréed pumpkin
3/4 cup full-fat coconut milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. salt
1 store-bought vegan pie crust, prepared according to package directions
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a bowl, combine the puréed pumpkin, coconut milk, brown sugar, cornstarch, maple syrup, vanilla extract, pumpkin pie spice, and salt and blend using a hand mixer until smooth.
Pour into the pie crust and follow the baking instructions on the pie crust package.
Makes 6 to 8 servings
Give Thanks for These Store-Bought Vegan Pie Crusts | PETA
You don’t have to sacrifice convenience to make a decadent, animal-friendly dessert this holiday season. We’ve done the research for you to find the best store-bought vegan pie crust brands for a sweet end to your Thanksgiving dinner.
Vegan Thanksgiving to Go! 5 Places That Offer Takeout | PETA
Not a cook? That’s okay. For Thanksgiving you can get prepared vegan foods from grocery stores, order takeout, or use these meal-delivery services. Interested? Then pursue these options:
Someone cares if you’re happy today
Have a wonderful holiday🌟
“Someone cares if you’re happy today,
If your day is cheery and bright.
Someone cares if you’re lonely today,
If everythings not going quite right.
So here we are in a warm hearted way
Knocking away at your door,
Wishing you love and wishing you peace
and friendship for ever more.xxxx”💜
Hugs and smiles across the mile…
– Wendy Mcfarlane
Artist unknown
Text and image source: Snowwolfs Woodland Nook https:www.facebook.com/Snowwolfswoodlandnook/
Electrical Safety Foundation offers these safety tips for holiday decorating
Electrical safety must be a priority as families decorate for the holidays, according to the Electrical Safety Foundation International.
“Decorations account for one-in-four holiday fires,” explains ESFI President Brett Brenner. “Taking simple precautions such as not overloading outlets and watering the Christmas tree daily could help minimize the risk of tragedy.”
Brenner notes that ESFI offers free educational resources including helpful safety videos, infographics, checklists and other resources to keep families safe during the holidays. He points to one example, an infographic titled “Prevention: It’s the Gift that Keeps on Giving,” which provides tips on avoiding electrical hazards while decorating the home during the holiday season.
Follow these basic safety guidelines to help prevent serious electrical and fire hazards as you decorate your home this season:
Decorating Safety Tips
When purchasing a live tree, check for freshness. A fresh tree will stay green longer and be less of a fire hazard than a dry tree. Water your Christmas tree daily.
When purchasing an artificial tree, look for the label “fire-resistant.”
Use only electrical decorations and lights that have been approved for safe use by a nationally recognized testing laboratory.
Carefully inspect each electrical decoration before use. Cracked or frayed sockets, loose or bare wires, and loose connections may cause a serious shock or start a fire.
Keep all decorations 3 feet away from heat sources, including space heaters and fireplaces.
Turn off all indoor and outdoor electrical decorations before leaving home or going to bed.
Avoid using candles when possible. Consider using battery-operated candles in place of traditional candles.
Never connect more than three strands of incandescent lights together, and consider purchasing LED lights, which use less energy and run cooler than traditional incandescent lights.
Match power needs (amperage) of electrical products with an amperage rating of extension cords.
Follow the use and care instructions that accompany electrical decorations, and always unplug electrical decorations before replacing bulbs or fuses.
Keep young children away from holiday lights, electrical decorations, and extension cords to prevent electrical shock and burn injuries.
Avoid plugging too many holiday lights and decorations into a single outlet. Overloaded outlets can overheat and cause a fire.
Make sure that cords are not pinched in doors, windows, or under heavy furniture, which could damage the cord’s insulation.
Keep these post-holiday tips in mind as you wrap up the holiday season:
Post-Holiday Safety Tips:
With time, Christmas trees continue to dry out making them increasingly flammable. Trees decorated with holiday lights have an increased risk because they’re in direct contact with an electrical source. Check with your local community to find a recycling program through which to dispose of your tree early in the new year.
Always unplug decorations by using the gripping area. Pulling on the cord could damage the wire and present a shock or fire hazard.
As you take down holiday lights, inspect the wiring and discard any that have cracked, frayed, or appear to have damaged wire insulation.
Make sure to label or store indoor decorations separate from those intended for outdoor use.
Store electrical decorations in a dry area that is not accessible by children or pets.
Donald Trump signs bill targeting ‘sadistic’ animal ‘crush’ videos
dailymail.co.uk
By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor For Dailymail.com 23:44 25 Nov 2019, updated 00:08 26 Nov 2019
Donald Trump signs landmark animal cruelty bill into law, making sadistic killing of animals a felony in some cases
New law is an extension of an Obama-era statute that targeted ‘crush’ fetish videos, which depict animals being killed for sexual gratification
New law carries a maximum of 7 years in prison
Lara Trump: ‘Our companion pets are family members, and our working dogs are our heroes’
Donald Trump signed the first animal cruelty bill of his presidency on Monday, outlawing narrow types of egregious violence usually committed for the purpose of videotaping them.
The Senate unanimously passed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act this month after a similar House vote in late October. It applies to non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, building on a 2010 law that criminalized the distributon of so-called ‘crush’ videos—footage meant to satisfy an unusual sexual fetish—by also outlawing the production of the films.
Producing a crush video typically consists of filming a small animal being killed by stomping on it. But the new law expands the definition to include animals that are ‘purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.’
President Trump said the bill would stop people from sharing footage of animal cruelty. ‘It is important that we combat these heinous and sadistic acts of cruelty,’ he said.
President Donald Trump signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act in the Oval Office on Monday
The bill signing came on thesame day the president gave a military dog named Conan a medal
Animal welfare advocate Lara Trump told DailyMail.com on Monday that she is proud her father-in-law put his Sharpie signature on the legislation.
‘I could not be more excited for President Trump to take this historic step today, publicly signing into law a bill tackling the nefarious and unacceptable world of animal cruelty,’ she said in a statement.
‘Our companion pets are family members, and our working dogs are our heroes, and any movement to signal and enforce a positive environment for these great animals is a step in the right direction,’ Ms. Trump said.
The new law carves out a broad variety of activity for exemptions, including slaughtering livestock, hunting, trapping, fishing, and medical or scientific research.
‘[C]ustomary and normal veterinary, agricultural husbandry, or other animal management practice[s]’ are also nestled in a loophole, along with predator control and pest control.
Anything ‘necessary to protect the life or property of a person’ or done as part of euthanizing an animal is also exempt.
Lara Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and a longtime animal welfare advocate, said ‘[o]ur companion pets are family members, and our working dogs are our heroes’
Lara is a seniot Trump 2020 campaign adviser and the wife of the president’s second-eldest son Eric
The president asked rhetorically on Monday ‘why hasn’t this happened a long time ago?’
‘Because Trump wasn’t president,’ he said.
The new law has a maximum penalty of fines and seven years in prison.
Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch of Florida, one of its cosponsors, said Monday that ‘[t]he torture of innocent animals is abhorrent and should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Signing this bill into law is a significant milestone for pet owners and animal lovers across the country.’
Federal prosecutors have brought cases against producers of ‘crush’ videos in the nine years since President Barack Obama signed the original bill into law.
One woman who filmed herself torturing and maiming small animals for viewers’ sexual gratification pleaded guilty to federal charges in 2015.
In the films, a scantily clad Ashley Nicole Richards, then 24, could be seen stabbing helpless animals including a puppy, a kitten and a chicken.
She would sometimes chop off their limbs and urinate on them while making sexual comments to the camera.
Ashley Nicole Richards from Houston admitted to four counts of creating animal crush videos and one film distribution charge in one of the first cases of its kind in the United States, just a few years ago
The Houston Chronicle reported at the time that one video seen by authorities featured Richards puncturing a cat’s eye with a shoe heel.
Richards and Brent Justice, 54, were the first two people to be charged under the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act.
Richards was already in state custody in Texas, serving a 10-year animal cruelty sentence.
Federal Judge Sim Lake had dismissed five counts of animal cruelty video creation and distribution against Richards and Justice, citing the films as protected free speech under the First Amendment.
But the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reinstated the charges, noting that the First Amendment allows limited restrictions on some speech, including obscenity, and that the federal law was constitutional because of the ‘secondary effects’ of the videos.
Herbal Recipes for Thanksgiving – Urban Moonshine
It’s the time of year when many of the simple joys of life become the heart and center of this season; spending time with family and friends, the coziness of winter, warm fires, mugs of mulled wine, and lovingly prepared meals.
So much of herbalism is about celebrating the life and benefits of the plants, and the way they support us throughout the seasons. Autumn, especially around Thanksgiving, is our time to enjoy the gifts of this year’s harvest.
Classic holiday meals can be enhanced by adding herbs to support your health. These dishes are sure to be crowd-pleasers with your nearest and dearest.
Enjoy, and cheers to good health!
MEDICINAL HERBAL STUFFING
A classic holiday stuffing recipe made with rye bread and medicinal herbs and mushrooms.
Servings: fills two casserole dishes, about 15 servings.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 loaf of good dark rye bread
- 1/2 cup sage, minced
- 1/2 cup rosemary,
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Tell Amazon To Stop Polluting Our Planet With Single-Use Plastic Packaging
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Tell Amazon To Stop Polluting Our Planet With Single-Use Plastic Packaging
If you are one of Amazon’s 100 million+ customers you have probably received your fair share of unnecessary plastic packaging from the ecommerce giant. From polystyrene packing peanuts to non-recyclable bubble wrap to plastic-wrapped pouches of air, nearly every Amazon order arrives buried in heaps of wasteful single-use plastic packaging.
And all of this pointless plastic packaging that is designed to be used once and then tossed will plague our planet for generations to come.
As Black Friday and Cyber Monday (two of Amazon’s biggest money-making days of the year) approach, we are calling on the ecommerce giant to STOP polluting our planet with pointless plastic packaging.
Plastic pollutes across its lifecycle, from extraction to use and disposal. More than 8 million metric tons of plastic pollution ends up in our oceans each year, and plastic packaging is a huge contributor.
As more and more people turn to the internet for their shopping needs and as Amazon’s share of the ecommerce market steadily grows the tidal wave of pointless plastic packaging polluting our planet will only continue to mount.
Unless we as consumers DEMAND CHANGE.
Sign our petition to join us in telling Amazon to STOP polluting our planet with single-use plastic packaging.
https://p2a.co/plasticfreeamazon
Ⓒ 2019. All rights reserved. Subject to Privacy Policy.
Twitter for Android is at risk
14600 Sheep are in this cargo ship that capsized in the Black Sea off the coast of Romania
Reminder from police: As holidays approach, beware of ‘porch pirates’
fox43.com
LANCASTER COUNTY — The Manheim Township Police Department is reminding Central Pennsylvania residents to beware: with the approaching holidays, Porch Pirate Season is upon us once again.
As holiday shoppers begin having online purchases shipped to their homes, this time of year is traditionally when police departments see an increase in activity from “porch pirates” — nefarious suspects who troll neighborhoods looking for unattended packages left on front porches. They then steal the items, leaving the victims with no gifts.
Manheim Township Police have created the following tips for residents to protect themselves from porch pirates:
Have packages delivered to where you are, not to where you aren’t. Consider having packages delivered to your place of employment instead of your home.
Use tracking numbers and delivery notifications. Most major shipping companies offer this service for free, and may also send you a text or email when your package arrives.
Ask family members, trusted neighbors, and/or friends to accept deliveries on your behalf or ask them to pick up your packages for you.
Request packages to be placed in a less conspicuous spot, such as a side door, or behind a planter or garbage can.
Many shipping companies now allow you to request a delivery time or time-frame. Schedule packages for when someone is home.
Install a smart security camera or doorbell camera, like Ring® or Nest®, at your front door. Our police agency has solved numerous residential property crimes using these systems and collaborating with our citizens.
Request signature on delivery of packages, if possible. Some companies and shippers offer locker services for packages to be held at the distribution center for pick up by the customer. Similarly, you can have an item shipped directly to an area store where you can safely pick it up.
Keep an eye out for suspicious vehicles and people in your neighborhood. Be sure to report suspicious activity to your local police department as it is occurring. Calling after the fact makes it much harder to thwart potential criminal activity.
Additionally, residents should be aware of a secondary scam where thieves will order items and have them shipped to unaware third parties and use their front door as a drop location. If you received a package you did not order, please call the shipping company and your local police department to file a report.
https://fox43.com/2019/11/19/reminder-from-police-as-holidays-approach-beware-of-porch-pirates/
10 ways to protect yourself against scams during Black Friday and Cyber Monday | CNBC
“The holidays are a bonanza for cybercriminals,” security expert Dave Baggett says.
About 75% of Americans plan to do at least half of their holiday shopping online this year, according to TransUnion’s 2019 Holiday Retail Fraud Survey.
But while online shopping helps you skip the crowds at the mall, it can be a cybersecurity minefield. “The holidays are a bonanza for cybercriminals,” Dave Baggett, co-founder and CEO of anti-phishing start-up Inky tells CNBC Make It. “People are buying a lot of things over a short period of time, and they are hurried about it. This presents opportunities for crooks.”
Here’s a one-stop guide on how to best protect yourself while shopping this holiday season.
1. Don’t click links in emails
Emails are a particularly common way for fraudsters to gain access to your credit card information or identity. Hackers send what’s called a phishing email, in which they copy…
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The CDC Says Not To Eat Romaine Lettuce From A California Region After 40 Reported Cases Of E. Coli
delish.com
Kristin Salaky
US-HEALTH-FOOD
ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDSGetty Images
The CDC issued a food safety alert on Friday advising people not to consume romaine lettuce from the Salinas, CA, region following 40 reported cases of E. coli.
In the alert, the CDC advised that people not eat and businesses not sell any romaine products that have been labeled as created in (or partly in) Salinas. This includes all types of whole heads of romaine, hearts of romaine, and packages of precut lettuce and salad mixes which contain romaine. If your romaine does not include a region or you aren’t sure if it’s romaine, the CDC advises throwing it away.
The CDC also reported 40 confirmed cases of E. coli from 16 states associated with the recall, 28 of which have been hospitalizations. There have been no deaths. You can find a map of reported cases here.
The alert listed the recent salad recall from Missa Bay, LLC which saw thousands of pounds of pre-packaged salad recalled over E. coli fears.
“We are concerned about the potential for contaminated lettuce on store shelves and in people’s refrigerators,” Director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases Dr. Robert Tauxe told USA Today in a statement: “Heading into the Thanksgiving holiday, it is critically important to avoid buying or eating romaine lettuce from the Salinas growing area so you can protect yourself and your family.”
If you have any of the romaine lettuce in question in your home, you should dispose of it and wash any surfaces it may have touched.
Romaine lettuce has been linked to several outbreaks in recent years and this most recent health alert said that this outbreak was caused by the same strain of E. coli that caused outbreaks linked to lettuce in 2017 and 2018.
News Editor Kristin Salaky is the news editor at Delish.com covering viral foods, product launches, and food trends.
Roadrunners
Tell the U.S. Forest Service to drop the fee plan for Wilderness in the Central Cascades!
Tell the U.S. Forest Service to ‘take a hike’ and drop the fee plan for Wilderness in the Central Cascades!
The U.S. Forest Service (FS) is proposing to charge people for simply walking in the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness areas in the Oregon Cascades. Specifically, the FS wants to require fees for all overnight access to these Wildernesses – plus for day use at 19 trailheads – claiming hiking is a “specialized recreation use.”
The proposed fees violate the intent and purpose of the Wilderness Act, including protecting Wilderness from commercialization and commodification. It is simply unjust to charge people to visit Wilderness areas, which belong to all Americans. They are our irreplaceable birthright as citizens, open to all, not just those wealthy enough to pay fees.
The proposed fees are illegal under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, which prohibits charging fees for parking at, hiking through, horseback riding in, or camping in undeveloped federal sites such as Wildernesses. Despite Forest Service claims, traveling on foot or horseback through a Wilderness is not a “specialized recreation use,” which applies to group activities, recreation events, and motorized recreational vehicle use.
The fees are tied to the Forest Service’s limited-access permit system starting next summer for the Mount Jefferson, Mont Washington, and Three Sisters Wildernesses to prevent overcrowding and resource damage. While Wilderness Watch supports quotas to protect Wilderness areas from being over-run by people, we are adamantly opposed to the federal government charging hikers a fee simply to take a walk in the Wilderness. The fees are another part of the effort to commercialize Wilderness, and would exclude the public from accessing and enjoying their public lands.
This fee proposal is unprecedented, with the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests implementing fees across 450,000-plus acres in three Wildernesses for all overnight users plus day use at 19 trailheads. This fee system would set a horrible national precedent for other Wilderness areas around the country.
Please submit your comments to the U.S. Forest Service by November 25th.
Subject: Recreation Fees
Message:
Dear U.S. Forest Service:
I’m adamantly opposed to your proposal to charge people for simply taking a walk in the in the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness areas in the Oregon Cascades.
Your proposed fee violates the intent and purpose of the Wilderness Act, including protecting Wildernesses from commercialization and commodification. Wilderness areas belong to all of the American people. They are an irreplaceable birthright to all our citizens, open to all the public and not just those wealthy enough to pay additional fees. All citizens across the nation already own the Wildernesses in the National Wilderness Preservation System and we have paid for them with our taxes. It is simply unjust to charge people to visit the Wilderness they already own.
These fees would also be illegal under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act and would exclude the public from accessing and enjoying their public lands.
The Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness Areas already plan to require limited-access permits starting next year to prevent overcrowding and resource damage. While I support quotas to protect Wilderness areas from being over-run by people, I’m adamantly opposed to the federal government charging hikers a fee simply to take a walk in the Wilderness.
This fee proposal is unprecedented as the Willamette and Deschutes National Forests would be the first national forest in the U.S. to implement a fee system across three Wilderness areas that will charge for all overnight use plus day use at 19 trailheads across 450,000-plus acres of Wilderness.
The USFS is incorrectly claiming authority for charging such fees under a clause in the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) that allows a fee for “specialized recreation uses” such as group activities, recreation events, and motorized recreational vehicles. Congress never meant that to apply to private individuals who are hiking, walking, horseback riding and camping in a completely undeveloped part of a national forest.
Such fees would set a horrible national precedent for other Wilderness areas around the country and I urge you to abandon your fee scheme for the Mount Jefferson, Mount Washington and Three Sisters Wilderness areas.
Thank you.
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It’s simply unjust to charge people to visit Wilderness areas, which belong to all Americans. They are our irreplaceable birthright as citizens, open to all, not just those wealthy enough to pay fees.
Pelosi ceremoniously signs bill to make animal cruelty a federal crime with unanimous support from Congress
washingtonexaminer.com
by Ellie Bufkin | November 16, 2019 11:22 AM
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ceremoniously signed the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act that will make many versions of animal cruelty a federal crime.
The bill, introduced and co-sponsored by Florida Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch, passed unanimously in the House in October and the Senate last week. The bill now only needs the signature of President Trump to become law.
“Today, I was honored to sign @RepTedDeutch’s #PACTAct to make animal cruelty a federal offense,” Pelosi tweeted Friday along with photos from the signing. “Our furry friends, Milo and Prudence, were on hand to help me enroll this bipartisan legislation that will now go to the President’s desk!”
The PACT Act specifically targets crimes against animals considered “crushing,” which is described in the legislation as protecting animals from being “purposely crushed, burned, drowned, suffocated, impaled, or otherwise subjected to serious bodily injury.” The bill follows a 2010 law that prevented such activities from being published on video.
GOP Sen. Pat Toomey, a co-sponsor of the bill, lauded its impact after its unanimous passage in the upper chamber on Nov. 6.
“Passing this legislation is a major victory in the effort to stop animal cruelty and make our communities safer,” he said. “Evidence shows that the deranged individuals who harm animals often move on to committing acts of violence against people. It is appropriate that the federal government have strong animal cruelty laws and penalties.”
Animal crushing videos typically include women in stilettos or other spiked shoes crushing small animals to death. The videos were initially banned in the United States in 1999, but that decision was overturned by the Supreme Court citing concerns about free speech. The 2010 law addressed the concerns espoused by the court and passed with bipartisan support.
White Wine Roasted Vegetables
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Veggies Save The Day » Vegan Side Dish Recipes » White Wine Roasted Vegetables
White Wine Roasted Vegetables get a boost of flavor while using less oil. Combine your favorite seasonal vegetables with dry white wine, garlic, and rosemary for a delicious side dish perfect for the holidays or any night!
Do you ever cook with wine? Adding your favorite wines to recipes adds extra flavor along with moisture. And forget about buying “cooking wine”.
I highly recommend cooking with wine that you would actually drink.
For this recipe, I recommend purchasing a dry white wine, such as a Chardonnay
White Wine Roasted Vegetables is a perfect dish for holiday entertaining and are flavorful and tender.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 6
Calories: 197kcal
Ingredients
1/2 bunch broccoli, cut into florets
3 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
3 yellow potatoes, cut into chunks
2 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed
8 Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 red onion, sliced
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine, (such as Chardonnay)
1 Tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a large bowl, toss the vegetables with the olive oil, white wine, rosemary, salt, and pepper to coat.
Spread the vegetables in a large baking dish (or two) in a single layer.
Roast the vegetables for 45-50 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until they are tender and lightly browned, and the wine is evaporated.
Adjust the seasonings to taste and enjoy!
Nutrition
Calories: 197kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 57mg | Potassium: 938mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 10570IU | Vitamin C: 90.3mg | Calcium: 106mg | Iron: 4.1mg
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