From CDC: (the numbers at the bottom of the graph refer to the year followed by the week (by week number)).  Even in the midst of summer, there are about 100 positive tests reported per week, similar to today. From CIDRAP:  Though the flu season hasn’t started in the United States, media reports are starting to…

From yesterday’s Japan Times comes a sobering piece quoting the last chairman of the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (Jaczko only stepped down in 2012) suggesting there isn’t any way to safely manage nuclear power in a world of earthquakes and natural disasters. The ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 plant is a sign that the world…

From the CSM, citing leaked diplomatic correspondence it had acquired: … According to leaked diplomatic correspondence, Iran has been warning Washington since July 2012 that Sunni rebel fighters have acquired chemical weapons, and called on the US to send “an immediate and serious warning” to rebel groups not to use them.  In a letter acquired by The…

No proof has surfaced to assign blame for Syria’s sarin attack of August 21.  The US government document that was supposed to lay out the proof was simply a litany of assertions, absent any evidence.  Robert Parry discussed the details, or lack thereof.  He points out that Bush’s Iraq war ‘dodgy dossier’ had a lot…

You can hire mobile units to destroy chemical weapons (including those in munitions) from Eisenmann Corp. near Stuttgart, Germany if the US Army won’t share its mobile units with Syria or with its own chemical weapons activities in Blue Grass, Kentucky and Pueblo, Colorado.   The US stockpile could be destroyed within a year if these…

You may have noticed that some flu shots are “stronger” this year, there are more brands available, and the newer ones cost more.  What should you know? Stronger flu shots This year the newer shots contain 4 antigens instead of 3 (2 each for influenza A and influenza B), although you can get shots with…

 From the BBC:  US and UK insist UN chemicals report ‘blames Syria’ The US, UK and France say a UN report confirming a chemical weapons attack in Damascus has vindicated their stance that Syria was to blame. The US and UK ambassadors to the UN said technical details showed only the regime could have been…

The Independent says sales were approved in 2012.  UK officials tell BBC that although sales were approved, approval was later revoked and no CW precursors went to Syria from the UK: SNP Westminster leader Angus Robertson said: “This is utter hypocrisy from the UK government – deploring chemical weapons in public whilst approving the sale…

The US government acknowledges that chemical weapons remain at two US sites, where they will be destroyed by 2023. The sites are Kentucky’s Blue Grass Army Depot and Colorado’s Pueblo Chemical Depot.  Army documents reveal that Pueblo houses 2,611 tons of mustard agent.  The Blue Grass Army Depot houses 523 tons of sarin, VX and mustard agent. According…

From McClatchy, a discussion of discrepancies in what the USG has asserted.  Read it all.  Here is just the beginning: The Obama administration’s public case for attacking Syria is riddled with inconsistencies and hinges mainly on circumstantial evidence, undermining U.S. efforts this week to build support at home and abroad for a punitive strike against…

According to the US Army: “The Blue Grass chemical weapons stockpile comprises more than 500 tons of blister and nerve agent in weapons.”   This stockpile includes sarin, VX and mustard, enough to (theoretically) kill millions of humans, packed into weapons and presumably ready for deployment.  The weapons are being held pending construction of a…

Finally, a knowledgeable former state department insider deconstructs the Syria situation. Read William R. Polk’s entire article in the Atlantic, or just this crucial portion, part 4. Who Are the Possible Culprits and What Would be Their Motivations?             Since such information as we have is sketchy and questionable, we should…

Kerry persists today in making outsize claims that he fails to support.  My comments are in parentheses. Secretary of State John Kerry, in his remarks before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, urged Congress to vote in favor of the president ordering a military strike and argued that “the risk of not acting is greater than…

There are many types of chemicals that have been designated as chemical weapons by the international body established by the UN to prevent the use of chemical weapons. It is called the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and is headquartered in the Netherlands.  Only seven nations are not parties to the OPCW.  Israel and…

Washington Post today:  Sarin gas used in Syria attack, Kerry says That’s great, John.  But — does that mean you were trying to drum up support for an attack before you could prove chemicals weapons were used? Come on, John, you know this is not the real question that needs to be answered.  What we need…

     From Fox News comes this piece from progressive Democratic member of Congress Raul Grijalva: Now that President Obama has made up his mind about taking America to war with yet another Muslim country, he wants Congress to get on board.  To his credit, he’s seeking congressional authorization, as required by the War Powers Act…

Meantime, new research by US government scientists confirms what Canadian (and some other) researchers have been saying for years:  flu shots can actually increase your risk of developing influenza.  In a piece titled Swine study suggests flu vaccination may sometimes backfire, researchers found that vaccinating pigs for flu could also give them a more severe disease: During the…

Vaccinate your children for flu asap, say the experts.  From NBC News: “Get your kids their flu vaccines now, pediatricians advise.” “With the exception of children less than 6 months of age, everybody should go out and get their influenza vaccine as soon as the influenza vaccines are available,” Dr. Michael Brady of Nationwide Children’s…