Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Going Shopping ...

So I thought I'd post a couple pics from the local grocery store.

Mmmm, sushi (you can't see the prices, but you can get 16 small pieces for just over Sing$2.00, which is about US$1.oo).




















And if you can't find anything that suits in the prepared sushi section, you can buy fresh fish that is ready to be made into sushi ...




















And of course, no meal is complete without ooodles of noodles...




















Tons of tofu ...















And this is by far my favorite ... the tofu fountain! You can't really see it, but cool water is pumped into the top of this tofu holding tank (below). After the water fills the top shelf, it spills over into the next shelf, and so on, and so on. I wonder if they light it at night?

In Other News ...

From Associated Press (November 21, 2006 6:07 PM EST) - LOS ANGELES - There is no Kevin Federline-Britney Spears sex tape, Federline's lawyer said Tuesday. Attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan issued the statement in response to "reports rampant in the press and media regarding rumors of alleged attempts by Kevin Federline" to sell a purported sex video.














What did Britney see in this guy anyway?

And ...

Is it just me, or this there something really strange about this wedding photo?


My Thoughts On Avian Flu

For those concerned about us after reading about the avian flu, I thank you.

But I also want to raise a question for you to ponder, as this one impacts everyone around the world, not at some unknown time in the future, but today.

What happens to people after they eat the meat and eggs from chickens who have been vaccinated against the avian flu? Don't know? Well neither does anyone else.

Now that's scary.

Scary

Sun Nov 19, 2006 4:58 pm (PST)
Avian Influenza
How to Prepare for "Sheltering-In-Place"

Health professionals are concerned that the continued spread of a highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1) virus among animals in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe has the potential to significantly threaten human health. If a virus such as H5N1 mutates and spreads easily from one person to another, avian influenza may break out globally. While there are no reports of sustained human-to-human transmission of avian influenza, the U.S. government and international health agencies are preparing for a possible pandemic.

Depending on the severity of a pandemic, commercial airlines might drastically curtail or even cease operations. Travel restrictions could also impede people from returning to the United States or fleeing to other countries. For these reasons, it may make more sense to "shelter-in-place" (i.e., stay home and practice "social distancing" to avoid contagion) for an appropriate period of time.

United States Residents: The Department of Health and Human Services suggests that US residents prepare two weeks of emergency supplies (food, water, medicines, etc.) in order to shelter-in-place during an influenza pandemic.

American Citizens Abroad: Due to varying conditions overseas,
Americans abroad should evaluate their situation and prepare emergency supplies accordingly (non-perishable food, potable water, medicines, etc.) for the possibility of sheltering-in-place for at least two and up to twelve weeks. Water purification techniques such as boiling, filtering and/or adding chlorine to locally available rainwater, swimming pools, lakes, rivers and wells may replace the need to store large quantities of water.

What can you do on a daily basis? Cover your cough. Wash your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds to eradicate viruses and bacteria or apply a hand sanitizer with a minimum of 60% alcohol content when soap and water are not available. Stay home if you are sick. Vaccinate yourself against seasonal flu.

Travel: American citizens living in or traveling to countries with human or animal cases of H5N1 virus should consider the potential risks. Keep informed of the latest medical guidance and practical information and plan accordingly. Consult www.travel.state.gov for the latest tips on international travel.

On-Line Resources: Detailed information about suggested preparations, as well as planning checklists, are available on the U.S. government's one-stop web site on pandemic influenza
(www.pandemicflu.gov), also the World Health Organization
(www.who.int/en/) and the Centers for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) websites.

American Citizen Services
1038 West Nanjing Road, 8th Floor
Tel: (86-21) 3217-4650
Fax: (86-21) 6217-2071
After Hours Emergencies: (86-21) 6433-3936
Open 8:00am - 11:30am and 1:30pm - 3:30pm Monday to Friday.
*Closed on Tuesday afternoons, weekends and holidays.
http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/

Rally Scheduled at Delta Counters

Rally Scheduled at Delta Counters to Protest Treatment of Nursing Mother

Nursing mothers and their supporters will be gathering on Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 10 AM, local time, at Delta airport counters across the country to protest the treatment a nursing mother endured at the hands of a Freedom Airlines flight attendant. Freedom Airlines is owned and operated by Mesa Airlines who is a contractor for Delta in some regional markets.

Emily Gillette was flying with her husband and 22 month-old daughter on October 13, 2006 out of Burlington, Vermont. Their flight had been delayed by several hours and when it appeared they were ready to take off, Ms. Gillette began to nurse her daughter. It was then that a flight attendant approached her and asked her to cover up with a blanket. Ms. Gillette declined and told the flight attendant that she was within her legal rights to nurse where she was without any covering. Ms. Gillette was sitting near the rear of the plane in a window seat with her husband next to her, nearest the aisle when she began nursing.

After Ms. Gillette refused to cover up, the flight attendant then allegedly told Ms. Gillette that Ms. Gillette was offending her. The family was then approached by a Delta gate agent and told that they were being removed by the flight attendant from the flight. Ms. Gillette and her family complied and although a conversation with a co-pilot did take place off the plane and the family requested to be re-boarded, they were not and instead were rescheduled on a different flight the following day.

Ms. Gillette has filed a complaint with the Vermont Human Right Commission regarding the incident. A woman’s right to breastfeed wherever she is legally allowed to be is protected in Vermont under the Public Accommodations Act.

Freedom Airlines has issued several statements, although they give contradictory information. In one statement, Paul Skellon, a spokesperson for Phoenix-based Freedom Airlines, said that they were aware of the incident and that Freedom expects mothers to nurse in a “discreet” manner (which is assumed under a blanket). In a second statement, he recanted and said that Freedom welcomes all nursing mothers and would not expect them to use a blanket in the future.

As well, the second statement issued by Mr. Skellon is full of inaccuracies, including the statement that the family refused to re-board, when they were in fact asking to re-board and were denied that request. Ms. Gillette and her supporters are very upset that Mr. Skellon and Freedom Airlines are both trying to minimize a very grave situation where a woman’s basic civil rights were violated and are attempting to shift the blame from themselves to Ms. Gillette, who did nothing wrong and was perfectly within her rights.

It is well known that nursing infants need to eat at very frequent intervals and traveling with them can provide many challenges for mothers, especially in the current fear-filled travel atmosphere where any passenger fears being removed from a flight for any reason. As well, toddlers and babies are especially susceptible to the cabin pressure changes during take-off and landing and nursing them is a natural and convenient way to help them continually equalize that pressure in their ears.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that “pediatricians and parents should be aware that exclusive breastfeeding is sufficient to support optimal growth and development for approximately the first 6 months of life and provides continuing protection against diarrhea and respiratory tract infection. 30,34,128,178–184 Breastfeeding should be continued for at least the first year of life and beyond for as long as mutually desired by mother and child.185“ The World Health Organization recommends nursing for at least the first two years of a child’s life.

The Nurse-Ins have been coordinated completely by volunteers.