McAntibiotics - McDonalds patties causing antibiotic resistant superbugs

revolting

Long time readers here will know that I despise McDonald's food, and haven't been near the place in decades. It appears I was doing the right thing, not only for my health but in not providing them with any money as a customer of theirs.

It's come to light that their "all beef patties" and the like are pumped full of antibiotics. Antibiotics that are used in the medical world for humans. Hence McDonalds food is a major cause of the growing antibiotic resistance in today's world, with some diseases simply becoming untreatable as superbugs take hold.

SumOfUs have a world petition going to pressure the fast food giant to stop taking meat in their supply chain containing antibiotics. What's next, steroid chooks?

A new online campaign is putting pressure on fast food giant McDonald's to impose a global ban on products from animals treated with antibiotics. 

Scientists warn that treating livestock with antibiotics is leading to a rise in drug-resistant superbugs. 

The charity ShareAction has called on consumers to email McDonald's chief executive Steve Easterbrook. 

Last week, the fast food chain stopped using poultry treated with antibiotics - but only in its US restaurants. 

ShareAction has called on McDonald's - which operates in more than 100 countries - to stop using chicken, beef, pork and dairy products that have been given antibiotics in all of its 30,000 stores globally. 

Medical experts warn that the routine use of antibiotics to promote growth and prevent - rather than treat - illness in farm animals contributes to the rise of drug-resistant "superbug" infections. 

They are said to kill at least 23,000 Americans a year and represent a significant threat to global public health. 

Scientists have warned the world is on the cusp of the "post-antibiotic era" after discovering in China in November 2015 bacteria resistant to the antibiotic colistin - the medication used when all others have failed. It appeared to develop in farm animals before also being detected in hospital patients. BBC  

Alex Greenwich against marriage equality plebiscite bill

Sample of the plebiscite debate

Gay independent senator for NSW and head of Australian Marriage Equality gives a report on the plebiscite bill currently before parliament, after waiting 14 months to do so. He tells how complicated and one sided the whole thing is, and calls for simply a free vote in parliament. 

He particularly expresses concern over the gov funding both sides of the argument, in that WTF is the gov funding anyone against a group of Australians. Mostly, that we never asked for a plebiscite, but for politicians to just do their job.

Facebook video of it here.

Mandate is a word that was thrown around a lot during the first week of parliament. Our leaders need to remember mandate means action. The leaders of all major political parties went to the election in support of marriage equality and therefore they have a shared mandate to deliver it together. 

This brings us to the government's complicated plebiscite proposal, which is divisive by nature, and understandably deeply unpopular among the LGBTI community. 

After waiting 14 months for the detail of the legislation, the proposal creates an uneven playing field and provides public funding for opponents of marriage equality who intend to waste it on unrelated campaigns as a distraction. 

Australian taxpayers should never fund campaigns against other Australians. 

Advocates of marriage equality never asked for this plebiscite. We know it will be hurtful, costly and wasteful. 

In an ideal world we would have a parliamentary free vote tomorrow and have gay couples getting married by the summer. 

But no one should ever confuse Australian politics with an ideal world. Sydney Morning Herald

 

12yr old boy stands in way of 11,000 ppl protesting against gays - Mexico

In an iconic image, a 12 year old boy has stood in the way of 11,000 protestors against same sex marriage. He did it because his uncle is gay and he "hates the hate".

We will never give up our fight for equality and to be recognised as equals in society. We will never give up our fight for our love. 

 

School boy bullied over plebiscite debate travels to Canberra - tells Turnbull off

Eddie, traveledto Canberra with his mums over SSM debate

Letter from Eddie to Turnbull

The raging loonies christians have been going about saying all sorts of things simply from the idea of a plebiscite. Some of the Twitter comments have been positively grotesque. For me it's laughable, but I'm not young in a school playground.

So one of these kids, Eddie, traveled to Canberra with his family to watch parliament debate the plebiscite. The opposition took up his cause and used it in question time. Turnbull's reply that it was all political disgusted everyone, including Eddie, who then wrote a letter to Turnbull telling him "That really upset me".

Good isn't it how kids can get straight to the point :)

Eddie, the 13 year-old son of a same-sex couple, became a focal point of plebiscite debate in parliament during question time on Tuesday.

But the community had always been welcoming and Eddie, 13, has never had major problems at school.

"Our family was a non-event," Claire Blewett said.

That was until this year, when Eddie started high school and the bullying started.

"People were saying stuff about my family - that it's not normal, it's not right," Eddie says.

As well as the new school, Neroli Dickson thinks the national debate about a plebiscite on same-sex marriage played a part in the bullying.

"It has given people permission to say things in the playground - to pass on what they've heard at the dinner table," she says.

Things got so bad for Eddie that Claire and Neroli pulled him out of the school and enrolled him at a new one.

The name-calling has now stopped. But they are worried a plebiscite campaign would make other kids to go through what Eddie did. Sydney Morning Herald  

Eddie with his two mums

I am really scared about the #marriageequalityaus plebiscite. We need to talk about it, so I made this video. 🌈 pic.twitter.com/4oZTifuzil

— 🌷 nic kelly 🌷 (@nicwkelly) September 13, 2016

 

 

Bumped into my daughter today

We ran into each other at the shops. She was remarkably congenial. Even seemed like she'd missed me in all the time without communicating. Even gave a hug after a brief chat. Perhaps life out in the big wide world has taught her something.

Discussed this last time with the psychologist. Said I thought it was better that we spend time apart (despite the way it happened) and lived our own lives for a while. We were just too close to each other, if that makes sense. So close that we were hurting each other all the time.

Maybe she finally realises that dear old dad isn't going to be around forever. You only have one father after all. 

She'll be 26 this year. 

The christians are in hate mode over plebiscite - Twitter

Good grief. They're coming out of the woodwork darlings in total panic mode, as their little baby plebiscite looks about to be shot down in flames in the senate. I've had rather a day of gobsmacked hilarity as I see the feathers fly all over the place on Twitter. All they appear to have however is talking points.

As I said to one before blocking this morning, "I have a life, all you have is talking points". This was during him calling me a troll and fake, and accusing me of intolerance. Typical....

Here's a sample of late. This is what we're supposed to put up with in a plebiscite because the gov won't do it's job?

How would you know? https://t.co/VSj5CyGzsr

— Peter Hiv (@HivPeter) September 12, 2016

This is what the Lieberals think of us - picture

*click for full view

This was today in parliament as opposition leader Bill Shorten introduced Labor's marriage equality bill. 

I think the inference is obvious. This gov doesn't give a fuck about the LGBT. In fact by this picture you'd have to say almost hostile.

How can we in the LGBT community take this any other way than personally? This is what they think of us. This is what they think of David and I being married. 

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten introducing legislation for marriage equality into Parliament pic.twitter.com/pUF8p81wys

— ellinghausen (@ellinghausen) September 12, 2016

“The government had no bills ready for debate.”

How about passing a marriage equality law? Just saying. https://t.co/Wa7XDFWJn6#auspol

— Senthorun Raj (@senthorun) September 12, 2016

  Where the fuck is the gov?

 

Labor, Greens introduce marriage equality bill - videos

Both Bill Shorten from Labor and Adam Bandt of the Greens have introduced marriage equality bills into federal parliament today. It remains to be seen what response will come from the Lieberals still being dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

Shorten is scathing of a plebiscite saying it's "a discriminatory step driven by hostility" and "a straw poll".


 

Bacterial anti-biotic resistance time delay - video

Bacterial mutations breaking through and competing with each other

A fascinating experiment showing anti-biotic resistance develop over a few days. On a large dish you can actually see mutations break through the next barrier as the bacteria evolves.

Similar to what can happen with the HIV virus if medications aren't taken correctly. The HIV virus can get to a large enough level in the bloodstream to where mutations against the medication will occur and you can end up with an HIV virus resistant to many of the more common treatments. This is why they tell us to take the pills every day at the same time, so the virus doesn't get a chance to build up.

For those that may not be aware, in the HIV world "undetectable" means the HIV virus is at such a low level in the blood that current methods can't detect it. The pills keep it that way if taken properly. One doctor explained it to me that it was like tying a rag around a dripping pipe. Each day you have to replace the rag or it'll start dripping.

Video of the experiment is here; NPR Health News.

   

Courtney Act does the Bee Gees "Stayin Alive" - video :)

Wow. I never heard a version of it like this before.

Watch as Courtney Act does the most beautiful rendition of the Bee Gees song Staying Alive, from Sat Night Fever. I've put the original video below hers :)

Of course old farts like me remember when Sat Night Fever was released in the '70's. That and Grease were absolutely massive hits at the time. How refreshing to see something like this giving new life to the music.


 
 

"Equality is our birthright, not a slogan" - Colton Haynes

Recently out to the world actor Colton Haynes has been awarded the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. He gives a very emotional speech in accepting it.

 

The death of David's PC

Actually I'm not surprised. He's used the thing to death. For someone who wasn't into PC's when I met him it's been surprising how fast he took to it. That and the internet is our main source of entertainment. Torrents aplenty... what are adds? It's excellent for those days when we've got no money and just sitting around at home.

But alas David's Dell PC has died a particularly fatal death. We're talking the dreaded blue screen of death, with no chance of resuscitation. It says the hard drive isn't installed, so it may very well have been corrupted somehow.

He can get another one for the replacement value so that's OK. However he's a bit of a procrastinator at times and hasn't gotten around to going to the shop to get a new one. Which means his PC habit has been temporarily transferred to mine. Cripes, I can't get near mine half the time! Although I have been very tired and run down lately so the sleep is doing me good.

Haven't been impressed with Dell at all. The thing's had hiccups ever since he bought it. My one's a full year older than his was and haven't had any issues at all. Is an HP. Won't be getting another one.

On this occasion it started going really slowly for no reason. I suggested a system restore, which it did but was never able to restart.

Carers allowance on the chopping block - Lieberals

The gov chopping block (via Greens email)

Good grief. Is there no end to this gov's inhumanity?

Now that they've booted a whole bunch of people off the Disability Support Pension and put them on the dole and told them to get a job, they're now looking at the measly pittance payment called the Carers Allowance. All of about $120 a fortnight. Fuckin penny pinching Scrooges.

The Carers Allowance was bought in by the Howard gov and is paid to people who look after the ill at home. It saves the gov much money in otherwise providing services for care. Again, it's only $120 a fortnight. 

It seems they're wanting to do to the Carers Allowance what they did to the DSP, by linking it to the mind boggling disability tests that were bought in the other year. 

By Labor BTW. I claimed the DSP a few months after the new tests came in. The gov is now applying that new criteria to those under 35 who have gotten the DSP before that. Hence the reason why many have been chucked off the DSP and put on Newstart. Some of those people are in wheelchairs FFS. Apparently being in a wheelchair isn't disabled enough :s

The government began a ­review of these payments last year, looking at the test of what and how much caring was involved because “the current asses­sment process may not be targeting payments ­appropriately”. 

Government sources have told The Australian there was “clear room to move” in the area. 

Any changes to the payment would be similar to those brought to bear on the Disability Support Pension when impairment tables were reformed under Labor and more stringent medical tests ­applied under the Coalition, changes that have significantly slowed the growth in value. The Australian (Lieberal bugle)

 

Share your story marriage equality for the senate - Greens Janet Rice

The Greens want to hear our stories on marriage equality and a plebiscite, so they can compile them and present them to the senate as they debate for a parliamentary vote.

Share you're story here. 

I'm deeply opposed to a plebiscite. It's an insult to the LGBT to have our rights voted on as to whether we are to remain second class citizens or not. Given the likes of the Australian Christian Lobby, the debate will also very likely descend quickly into a shit fight with vulnerable LGBT bearing the brunt of christian hate and intolerance in the public sphere. 

My story:

 David and I have been together for nearly 4 yrs after falling deeply in love. I feel lucky, privileged, to have found love twice in one lifetime.

The first time was with my wife of 17yrs who died at 49 after a long illness. I stood by her to the end, saying goodbye as she passed away in the nursing home. Some have described that sort of love as almost sacred.

I love David  just as much as I loved my wife. Whatever happens I know we'll be there for each other to the end as I was with my wife. Indeed there's no difference to our love, apart from simply David being a man.

The wedding day with my wife was a wonderful experience, full of family, fiends, and best wishes. I breaks my heart that I can't express that same love now with David in marrying him.

I'm deeply opposed to a plebiscite. It's an insult to the LGBT to have our love voted on as to whether we are to remain second class citizens or not.

Given the likes of the Australian Christian Lobby, the debate will also very likely descend quickly into a shit fight with vulnerable LGBT bearing the brunt of christian hate and intolerance in the public sphere.

Why us? Why the LGBT the only group in Australia to have our rights voted on? No other group has. Why us?

As citizens of this country we demand our public servants do their job. Give us the respect we deserve, and have a free parliamentary vote to end this inequality.

 

World suicide prevention day Sat - Movember Foundation video

For some of us it's a struggle to stay alive. Not because of physical illness perhaps but because of mental illness and the constant pain that can be caused by that. The emotional pain of life can lead us to want to end it, in much the same way as physical pain can. This is a fact of life that people struggle with every day, but rarely speak of.

If you're in such a situation I offer myself as an example of struggle but survival. The disasters of my life are probably equal to about ten bloody life's disasters. Even my psychologist is amazed at times that bad things just keep seeming to happen to me. 

In the worst times a few years back it was a daily struggle, the psych making me promise I'd not do anything until he saw me again in a few days. I think it was about 6 months after I started seeing him that I actually got through a whole session without crying. I remember so as he announced it at the end, like a milestone.

Today I remain with permanent mental illness. Post traumatic stress, anxiety, clinical depression and all the nightmares that come with that (literally). When the christians proclaim god won't give you more than you can bear, my answer is what happened to me then? But life has gone on. The carpet bombing can't go on forever. Things got better.

I found love, by chance, for the second time in life with David. Some people never find it even once. I get treatment for my illness's both mental and physical. Am getting by in the social safety net. Things aren't perfect and they never will be, but they're certainly better than those very dark days.

You have to talk about suicide if you're feeling that way. Suicide notes talk too late......