'But you’re not a girl'

There are certain guitarists who harbor a certain mystique about them that makes them easy to distinguish in contrast to most; they hold many peculiarities that puts them in a class all their own. David Gilmour, the mastermind behind Pink Floyd’s universal sound, fits that mold perfectly. He’s one of the few guitarists who can play a single note and the listener can easily identify that it’s him playing it; Gilmour is just that legendary. His organic balance between minimalism and an astronomical theater of reverberation is just one of the endless reasons why he’s one of the greatest guitarists The post 15 Brilliant David Gilmour Guitar Solos appeared first on ClassicRockHistory.com.

A food bank in a fast-growing Texas community is building affordable housing next to its bank, to ensure people who have to juggle food and rent are able to with minimal effort. The 51-unit apartment complex hasn’t gone up yet, but planning has begun for facilities that would temporarily house people struggling to afford the […] The post Texas Food Bank Builds Housing for the People Who Need Their Food–Right Next Door appeared first on Good News Network.

The post Why Is My Cat Throwing Up Pink Liquid? Our Vet Explains 10 Reasons by Dr. Marti Dudley, DVM (Vet) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead Reasons Your Cat Is Throwing Up Pink Liquid When to See a Vet Diagnostics Treatment It’s a noise that can’t be unheard. It will wake you up in the middle of the night and rattle your bones. Your cat is retching, and the noise is undeniable. As you race to comfort your cat and protect your carpet, you notice that the vomit is pink in color. What could have caused that? Does your cat need to be immediately seen by an emergency vet? Occasionally, food dye or the food itself could lead to the pink coloration of vomit. However, more than likely, your cat’s vomit is pink in color due to the presence of blood somewhere in the upper gastrointestinal tract. The reasons blood may be seen in vomit are abundant, as pink vomit is more of a clinical sign of illness. Continue reading below as we discuss some of the most common reasons pink coloration may be present in the vomit of cats. The 10 Reasons Your Cat Is Throwing Up Pink Liquid 1. Food Coloration Although most causes of pink-colored vomit are correlated to the presence of blood, there is an exception. Some foods colored with dye may cause vomit to appear pink. As food enters the stomach and mixes with stomach acid, the food begins breaking down. If vomiting occurs during this time, it is possible that the contents may have a pink hue present. 2. Swallowing of Blood As mentioned previously, the ingestion of blood is the most common reason pink coloration is seen in vomit. This can occur due to swallowing blood that has come from the oral cavity, nasal cavity, and respiratory tract. Ingested blood will appear bright pink or red compared to that of digested blood occurring lower in the gastrointestinal tract, which is often described as appearing like coffee grounds. Image Credit: Kamil Zajaczkowski, Shutterstock 3. Esophageal Trauma Irritation of the esophagus can result in inflammation and blood. When this enters the stomach, blood can change the coloration of the gastric fluids. Esophagitis, or inflammation of the esophagus, is a common sequel to repetitive vomiting and can be seen with acid reflux. Additionally, foreign bodies lodged in the esophagus can behave similarly, leading to esophagitis. 4. Gastric Bleeding Although stomach ulcers are more common in dogs, they can occasionally be seen in cats. Ulcerations are often very painful. Animals with stomach ulcers experience gastric bleeds. If a patient with an ulcer vomits, it is very likely blood will be seen. Ulcerations can be treated with gastroprotectants like sucralfate but can also improve with the use of omeprazole, a proton pump inhibitor. You are free to use this image but we do require you to link back to Catster.com for credit 5. Bleeding Disorders Although relatively uncommon, some animals may battle bleeding disorders. These can occur from secondary poisonings, immune-mediated diseases, and genetic abnormalities. Unfortunately, these can be challenging to treat and may be life-threatening. 6. Foreign Bodies Inappropriate foreign bodies, like sewing needles, plastic, bones, and more, can become lodged in the oral cavity or throughout the digestive tract. Blood that occurs secondary to foreign body trauma may lead to pink vomit. Image Credit: josefotograf, Shutterstock 7. Cancer and Tumors Cancer or tumors anywhere along the upper digestive tract, including the oral cavity, could bleed or cause irritation to normal tissue. Once this blood is ingested, fluids within the stomach mix resulting in a pink coloration that can be seen in vomit. 8. Infections Some types of bacterial, viral, fungal, and parasitic infections can lead to vomiting. This is often the result of damage to the tissue lining the gastrointestinal tract. Image Credit: megaflopp Shutterstock 9. Shock If your feline companion is severely ill and experiencing signs of shock, the digestive tract can suffer as a result of low blood pressure. When this happens, the lining of the digestive tract is affected and damaged. Vomiting may ensue and patients may require intravenous fluids and blood transfusions. 10. Chronic Vomiting Disease processes causing recurrent vomiting, like kidney disease or liver disease, can be the underlying cause of pink vomitus. As previously mentioned, stomach acids can be irritating to the esophagus leading to inflammation and blood present in the vomit. Image Credit: Kginger, Shutterstock Signs That Your Pet May Need to See the Vet Recurring vomiting Lethargy Change in appetite Pain Weakness On-going blood noted in vomit Diarrhea Diagnostics Your veterinarian will perform a physical examination on your cat to develop a better understanding of their overall condition. Then, based on the physical examination findings, your veterinarian will suggest diagnostic tests that can be performed that will better pinpoint the cause of vomiting. Common modalities used are radiographs, endoscopy, surgery, and ultrasound. Furthermore, blood work can be useful in recognizing bleeding disorders and infections. Image Credit: Libre, Shutterstock Treatment Treatment of vomiting pink fluid will be heavily dependent on the underlying cause. Remember, vomiting is a sign of the problem, not the problem itself. For example, if vomiting is secondary to a foreign body, removal will be necessary. If vomiting is secondary to an ulcer, the ulcer will need resolution and the underlying cause addressed. Symptomatic care can often be used to help reduce signs of illness and can be beneficial for a variety of disorders. Often, cats with pink-tinged vomit will benefit from off-label use of a medication like sucralfate or Carafate®. This medication helps coat areas of ulceration or irritation in the upper digestive tract. Additionally, anti-vomit medications may be recommended depending on the suspected underlying disease process. Not every patient experiencing vomiting should be treated with anti-vomit medication. This is a treatment decision that will need to be made by your veterinarian. Often, dietary changes may be recommended, and food may be temporarily withheld. Bland, wet diets are often preferable in animals struggling with gastrointestinal issues. In Summary Vomiting in cats deserves to be taken seriously. If your 4-legged companion appears in distress or if the vomiting is persistent, it is time to have them evaluated by a veterinarian. The cause of vomiting can vary, and as a result, treatment varies too. Your veterinarian will recommend different diagnostic tests and supportive interventions and will be prepared to intervene further if needed. Your cat should be closely observed following vomiting for signs of worsening in their condition. If ever in doubt, contact your veterinarian. Sources PubMed:Esophagitis in Cats and Dogs PetMD: Stomach and Intestinal Ulcers in Cats VCA: Ingestion of Foreign Bodies in Cats PetMD: Why Is My Cat Vomiting Blood? PetMD: Shock in Cats VCA: Sucralfate VCA: Vomiting in Cats   Featured Image Credit: Thiti H, Shutterstock The post Why Is My Cat Throwing Up Pink Liquid? Our Vet Explains 10 Reasons by Dr. Marti Dudley, DVM (Vet) appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

Excerpts Fantasy Read an Excerpt From Hana Lee’s Road to Ruin A royal messenger on a high-speed chase across a climate-ravaged wasteland, featuring motorcycles, monsters, and magic… By Hana Lee | Published on May 10, 2024 Comment 0 Share New Share We’re thrilled to share an excerpt from Hana Lee’s gritty debut fantasy novel Road to Ruin, out from Saga Press on May 14th. Jin-Lu has the most dangerous job in the wasteland. She’s a magebike courier, one of the few who venture outside the domed cities on motorcycles powered by magic. Every day, she braves the wasteland’s dangers—deadly storms, roving marauders, and territorial beasts—to deliver her wares.Her most valuable cargo? A prince’s love letters addressed to Yi-Nereen, a princess desperate to escape the clutches of her abusive family and soon-to-be husband. Jin, desperately in love with both her and the prince, can’t refuse Yi-Nereen’s plea for help. The two of them flee across the wastes, pursued by Yi-Nereen’s furious father, her scheming betrothed, and a bounty hunter with mysterious powers.A storm to end all storms is brewing and dark secrets about the heritability of magic are coming to light. Jin’s heart has led her into peril before, but this time she may not find her way back. Chapter One ROCK AND A HARD PLACE Second Age of Storms, 51st Summer, Day 20 The pteropter came shrieking out of the hot blue sky like mana lightning, hell-bent on ruining Jin’s day. Time didn’t do her the courtesy of slowing down. One second she was roaring down the wasteland highway on her magebike, and the next, a demented flying beast had its claws in her shoulder. Right down to the bone, like the leather was nothing. Jin yelped and twisted, which was exactly the wrong thing to do. The handlebars jerked. The bike shuddered beneath her. Wings flapped in her face as she fought to regain control. Then the front wheel hit a rock or a pothole or some stupid shit like that, and the next thing Jin knew, she was sailing through the air. She hit the ground headfirst, flipped a couple of times, and finally skidded to a rest on her side. Not dead was her first hazy thought. Then: That depends. What about the bike? She didn’t dare look. Instead she lay there, battered and breathless, imagining the worst: a shredded, smoking heap of metal in a pool of bright blue mana. A scrapped magebike in the middle of the wastes was a death sentence. First things first: Were her bones broken? Was her skull intact? Could she move? Thank Rasvel for her bonehelm, carved from a saurian’s skull and tougher than steel. She’d rattled her head around good, but she could still think and she wasn’t seeing double. Her throat itched for a mana-cig. Good sign, probably. She confirmed her limbs were working by reaching into her breast pocket for a pack, only to find it empty. Right—she was trying to quit. Finally she made herself look. Relief made her dizzy. The magebike was all right; it lay on its side in the dust, still bike shaped, smoking slightly. The sight lent Jin the strength to push herself upright, then to her feet. Goddamn, her shoulder hurt. Jin glared at the reason she’d crashed. The pteropter was thrashing weakly on the ground next to the magebike. Just a little one, small enough to fit in her bonehelm. Jin limped closer and it screeched, reedy and thin. One of its four leathery wings dragged in the dirt, white bone poking through a mess of violet saurian blood. Beady eyes glared from the triangular head, above a beak lined with sharp teeth. “Don’t look at me.” Jin heaved her bike upright and braced the kickstand on the cracked, pitted surface of the highway. “I was minding my own business. You’re the one who tried to kill me.” Buy the Book Road to Ruin Hana Lee Buy Book Road to Ruin Hana Lee Buy this book from: AmazonBarnes and NobleiBooksIndieBoundTarget The pteropter made a miserable keening sound and fell silent. Jin snuck a glance. The little saurian wasn’t dead; its three unhurt wings were twitching, like it wanted to take flight. Clearly that wasn’t going to happen. Jin looked back in the direction she’d come. Air shimmered above the highway, hot and dry. Gravelly sand undulated and heaved as far as the eye could see, an infinite expanse broken only by the skyward-reaching teeth of a rock outcropping or the lone many-armed figure of a cactus. The wasteland wasn’t featureless and flat the way city dwellers described, but even Jin had to admit there wasn’t much out here to look at. Except that. Above the western horizon churned the crackling fog of a mana storm. Kerina Sol, her starting point, would have already closed its dome in preparation. Gales of wind and blasts of lightning would batter the city’s shield, testing the limits of the shieldcasters who closed ranks to keep it raised. Jin could imagine the faint blue hum of the shield even if she couldn’t see it from this distance. Everyone in the city would be safe from the storm so long as the shieldcasters held; only outriders like Jin were in trouble. Likely the little pteropter wouldn’t survive once the storm came this way. Even if it did, the wasteland sun would bake it to death—if its own kind didn’t peck it apart first. “Not my problem.” Jin took off her helm and checked it for cracks. The bone hadn’t even chipped. She hesitated, grinding her teeth, and the pteropter had the nerve to let loose a sad chirp that tugged at her heartstrings. “I said, not my… Ugh.” It was her problem, the way sick cats and kids in rags had always been her problem. The wasteland was meant to be her guilt-free zone, a lawless desert where the only person Jin had to worry about was herself. Not fair. What could she even do to help, anyway? She didn’t have anywhere to pack an injured pteropter. Jin glanced at her tank satchel and saddlebags, which were stuffed with expensive—and, for the most part, illegal—goods, including one love letter signed in swooping royal cursive and sealed with rose-scented wax. Prince Kadrin probably wouldn’t appreciate pteropter bloodstains on his latest romantic missive. That left her bonehelm. Fuck. Jin knelt beside the pteropter and held out her hand, slow and careful. You are an idiot, she reminded herself. It’s a miracle you’ve survived this long. The pteropter eyed her hand and clacked its toothy beak. Jin winced in anticipation. “Easy, now—ow, ouch, goddamn fuck—” She lifted the pteropter—its beak clamped down on her gloved palm—and stuffed it into the helm. Then she tore off her jacket and wrapped it hastily around the helm, fashioning a bulky sling. Finally she hung the cursed parcel on her handlebars and stepped back, panting. The parcel shrieked. A sharp beak poked out from one of the orbital openings on the bonehelm and emitted a scratchy hiss. Jin massaged her shoulder. “I’m gonna call you Screech.” She straddled her magebike, worked her hands over the textured grips, and inhaled, long and slow. Power rose from the dwindling store of mana in her blood, a simmer in her veins. It pooled in her hands until the heat grew almost unbearable—then a spark crackled between her fingers and danced over her knuckles. Jin braced herself for the magebike’s familiar roar, the blissful rumble of the engine between her knees. Nothing happened. Trapped in Jin’s helm, the pteropter let out another screech. “No,” Jin said. “No, no, no.” She burned more mana. Sparks flew. Her hands grew hot and slippery, but the magebike made no sound. Jin swore, hopped off the bike, and scanned the exposed machinery under the engine block. The crash must have knocked something loose. Where had that smoke come from? “Oh Rasvel, not the engine. Please not the engine.” Jin pressed her forehead against the warm leather saddle and breathed in, then out. Her throat ached for the cool smoke of a mana-cig. She kept them stashed in her saddlebags now, too far to reach for one on a whim. The sky darkened. Out west, the mana storm had barreled over Kerina Sol without breaking stride and was bearing down on her position. Bolts of blue and violet lightning stabbed down through boiling black clouds; a clap of furious thunder followed each flash. Closer together now. Much too close. Makela’s grasping fingers, she’d wasted too much time on the pteropter. If she didn’t get her bike going, she was toast. Sweating, she bent over the engine. Jin was no mechanic, just a sparkrider, and she didn’t fully understand the bike’s internals. No one did, except the artificers who put the bikes together and kept them running. It was all based on Road Builder technology, science lost to the ages and rediscovered in bits and pieces by scavengers combing the wastes for old ruins. Mana went in the magebike’s fuel tank and sparks went down the ignition line; that was the extent of Jin’s comprehension. The tank was still one-third full, and the ignition line was intact. So what now? A distant roar caught her attention. Not the oncoming mana storm, and certainly not the magebike under her grease-stained hands. Jin tossed sweaty black hair out of her face and glanced north. Her blood froze. Out in the haze rode a half-dozen bikes, shiny and chrome under the darkening sun. Tattered standards flew above the procession; bonehelms gleamed in the last remnants of daylight. Wasteland raiders. Just her fucking luck. They’d be on her in minutes. But what were they doing? Raiders went storm chasing, not storm fleeing. Sucking up the mana that pooled in a storm’s wake was a tenuous way to survive in the wasteland; riding along a storm front was a good way to die. Sure, they were sparkriders like Jin, so they might survive a few minutes in the storm—longer than anybody without the Talent. But there was just no goddamn reason. Jin bent back to the engine and racked her limited knowledge of its workings. Sparks went down the copper wire connecting the grip to a metal box under the engine, which she’d heard mechanics call the mana regulator. Jin touched the regulator, and part of the metal shell came off in her hand, jagged and sharp. Oh. That was probably it. Shit. A busted mana regulator was one of the few things on her bike she knew how to replace, if she had the part. But out here in the wastes, still most of a day’s ride from her destination, she was fucked. Unless… She could bypass the regulator. Send a spark straight down the intake. It was a stupid thing to do, just like riding without a helm. Even odds that the magebike would either cough back to life or blow to pieces and scramble Jin all over the highway like an egg. What other options did she have? Sit here, let the raiders skin her and strip her bike for parts? Limping into the storm was probably a more merciful end. “This is all your fault,” Jin growled at the pteropter dangling from her magebike’s handlebars. It warbled back, then tucked its beak under an uninjured wing and… went to sleep. How? How? Jin swung her leg over her bike again. If she was going to die, at least she would die in a magebike engine explosion, which was honestly a pretty badass way to go. Her mother’s face flashed through her head, and Jin winced. Eomma would never forgive her for dying out here in the wastes without leaving a husband or wife or even a hush-hush lover to grieve. Organizing Jin’s poorly attended funeral was probably Eomma’s worst nightmare. The thought made Jin’s throat itch for that mana-cig again. She reached awkwardly under the engine block for the intake. Bending over brought her to eye level with the leather satchel strapped to the fuel tank, and her heart skipped a beat. The crash had damaged more than just the mana regulator. Something sharp had sliced open the satchel. Jin was looking at torn leather and empty space where a jewel-encrusted scroll tube should have been safely ensconced. “Shit.” When it came to cargo, Jin had three rules: no drugs, no poisons, no explosives. Those rules were her mother’s condition for taking any of the coin Jin made as a courier. They’d probably cost Jin thousands of mun over her career, which was frustrating, but she knew Eomma had her reasons. So Jin stuck to questionably legal but harmless goods: imported produce, herbal remedies and aphrodisiacs, the latest in sartorial fashions, and, on one memorable occasion, a live prizefighter rooster. It all added up to a decent but unreliable income stream. The letter in that scroll tube was worth more than the rest of her cargo combined. Prince Kadrin and his stupid letters were the only reason Eomma had a bakery and Jin had a paid-off magebike. He was by far her best client. Raiders roared in from the north. Mana lightning raged in the west. Jin hopped off her magebike yet again and scoured the road, heart hammering in her chest. The ancient highway was riddled with enough cracks to hide a legion of scroll tubes. The sunlight was fading fast. Jin’s breath came in short, desperate gasps. There—a ruby glint under the failing sun. The tube was wedged into a deep crack, covered in dust and sporting a dent in its gold-embossed cap. Jin yanked it free, cringing as tiny gems popped off and went pinging over the asphalt. Oh well, they were Talentcrafted anyway. Kadrin could have someone replace them with the wave of a hand. Jin could smell the storm now: a nose-hair-sizzling chemical tang. The raiders were gaining on her, too. Indigo smoke boiled from magebike exhausts as the riders’ eyes glowed hot orange, pulsing with the wax and wane of their Talent. Shit, Jin could see their eyes now—that wasn’t good at all. Jin had a perfect track record of never having come face-to-face with a wasteland raider, thank you very much. And fuck if she was breaking that streak today. She stuffed the scroll tube down her jacket and leaped onto her magebike. “Time to go!” she announced to the sleeping saurian swinging from her handlebars. She thought about muttering a quick prayer to Rasvel before she shot sparks down her intake and blew herself into little Jin-flavored bits, but decided against it. Better if the Giver of Blessings didn’t watch her screw up. Jin had no intention of waking up Talentless in the next life. Power rushed to her fingertips. The engine coughed and roared to life—and more importantly, didn’t explode. “Fuck yes!” She’d been born to be a sparkrider. She’d known it ever since she crested a dune for the first time and went sailing through the air on wings of steel and smoke. Her body and her bike were one, her home was the highway, and all that other sentimental crap. She’d never had to tear ass on a magebike to escape a mana storm and a howling gang of raiders, though. At least, not at the same time. Jin kicked off and fed the engine. It responded at once with a satisfying snarl and charged forward. She threw a glance over her shoulder just as the lead raider hopped the highway shoulder, swerved, and skidded to a squealing halt. Jin’s heart leaped. The raiders weren’t going to chase her. They must have thought she’d make easy prey, stranded on the highway, but a sparkrider on the run was a different beast. Especially a courier, light and swift, unburdened by a knight’s steel and shield. The lead raider took off her helm. Dirty-blonde hair stuck up in spikes from a tanned face that was already too distant for Jin to make out her features. The raider raised her hands. Baffled, Jin kept stealing glances back even as she sped away. The other raiders peeled off into the wasteland, shrinking to little dots as the mana storm boiled closer. Jin still had no clue why they’d ventured so near the storm front; clearly they weren’t eager to face lightning. But the blonde raider stayed put, straddling her magebike and staring after Jin. What was she doing? Rolling thunder and shrieking wind eclipsed all other sound; the sky bled blue to black. The storm was almost upon the raider. Jin kept going. The last time she glanced back—right before the storm bore down on the faraway shape of magebike and rider—the nape of her neck prickled fiercely. Somehow, despite the distance, she knew the woman was smiling. A tiny voice in Jin’s head asked, Don’t I know you? From the book: Road to Ruin by Hana Lee. Copyright © 2024 by Hana Lee. Reprinted courtesy of Saga Press, an imprint of Simon and Schuster. The post Read an Excerpt From Hana Lee’s <em>Road to Ruin</em> appeared first on Reactor.

The United Nations General Assembly is expected to vote Friday on one of the worst resolutions to come before that body: One that would confer upon the “state of Palestine” many of the rights and privileges reserved for member states. The U.S. and other U.N. member states should reject it. The resolution is based on false premises, for one thing. It would also invite financial distress on the U.N., throw chaos into the membership process of the General Assembly, and, most importantly, reward terrorism. Considering the ongoing support for indiscriminate violence against Israeli civilians by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, a majority vote of the General Assembly in favor of this resolution is tantamount to encouraging terrorism and endorsing hostility toward a fellow U.N. member state. Among the false premises are the claim that “the state of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations … and should therefore be admitted to membership … .” Although more than 100 governments recognize the state of Palestine, this is a political determination. In truth, the Palestinian territories lack key characteristics of statehood, including a defined territory (its formal borders are subject to future negotiations with Israel) and a government that exercises sovereign authority over that territory. The Palestinian Authority arguably does not control the entirety of the West Bank, much less Gaza. The second false premise in the resolution is the judgment that Palestine is a “peace-loving state” as required by Article 4 of the U.N. Charter for membership in the organization. In fact, the governing authorities of the “state of Palestine,” the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, are the furthest thing from peace-loving. Both are extremist organizations that actively encourage and reward terrorism against civilians. They indoctrinate hate among ordinary citizens to the point where they overwhelmingly support the terrorist atrocities committed on Oct. 7, and their founding documents endorse the destruction of Israel. So much for the U.N. Charter principles and purposes to maintain international peace and security and develop friendly relations among nations. But there could also be other significant broader ramifications for the organization that should give all legitimate U.N. member states pause. The resolution “decides” to confer many of the rights and privileges reserved for member states to the “state of Palestine.” As laid out in an annex to the resolution, among other privileges, the Palestinians would be granted the right to be seated among the member states in alphabetical order, offer proposals and amendments, make statements, raise procedural motions, and stand for and be elected as officers in the General Assembly and its main committees. In effect, the Palestinians would be member states except for the inability to “put forward its candidature to United Nations organs” and vote in the General Assembly. Depending on how the resolution is interpreted, they might, however, be able to vote in U.N. conferences and meetings. This is a dramatic elevation in status for the Palestinians, granting them the same standing as U.N. member states with two, albeit significant, exceptions. Should the resolution be adopted, two U.S. laws prohibiting U.S. funding could be triggered. One, adopted in 1994 in Public Law 103-236, prohibits funding “to any affiliated organization of the United Nations which grants full membership as a state to any organization or group that does not have the internationally recognized attributes of statehood.” This law would likely not apply. Although the resolution would confer many privileges of U.N. membership to the Palestinians, they would not be full members as the U.N. Charter requires the Security Council to recommend new members to the General Assembly. The Security Council has not made such a recommendation. In fact, it has rejected past proposals for Palestinian membership. Thus, while the resolution would confer most rights and privileges of membership to the Palestinians, they would not be called a member state. However, a second law could apply. U.S. Code Title 22, Section 287e states: “No funds authorized to be appropriated by this Act or any other Act shall be available for the United Nations or any specialized agency thereof which accords the Palestine Liberation Organization the same standing as member states.” This law was adopted in 1990 as Public Law 101-246. The Biden administration will seek to continue funding by arguing that the Palestinians don’t have the exact same standing as member states. But what if Donald Trump wins the presidency in November? Regardless, congressional support for the U.N. is eroding for several reasons, including institutionalized anti-Israel bias. It already ended funding to UNRWA over its ties to Palestinian terrorism. Sympathy for the U.N. after a vote granting rights and privileges to the Palestinians might be in short supply. Indeed, Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, and 22 co-sponsors have already proposed amending U.S. law to ensure the funding prohibition applies in this instance. The U.S. provides 22% of the UN regular budget and 25% of the peacekeeping budget—more than $2 billion in 2023. Thus, in one rash moment, the General Assembly could deny the U.N. over one-fifth of its total revenue. The resolution also upends the membership process outlined in the U.N. Charter. In essence, supporters of the Palestinians are attempting an end run around the Security Council to grant the Palestinians quasi-membership. This is an assault on the authority of the Security Council. If this effort is successful, what’s to stop the General Assembly from further infringement of Security Council authority? More immediately, it will introduce potential chaos into the U.N. system. Although the resolution says that conferring these rights and privileges to the Palestinians is being done on an “exceptional basis and without setting a precedent,” the horse will have left the barn. If the Palestinians can gain most membership rights without Security Council approval, why can’t Kosovo or Western Sahara or Somaliland or Northern Cyprus? What is to stop some avaricious country from using the U.N. to recognize the independence of Crimea or Esequibo or Kashmir with an eye toward annexing them in the future? What is to stop governments from seeking to destabilize their adversaries by recognizing Kurdistan or Chechnya and seeking UN recognition? Success would only require enough votes in the General Assembly. But the ramifications of such provocative actions won’t stay in Turtle Bay. If only to protect their authority, this resolution should elicit fierce opposition from the five permanent members of the Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States). However, the potential impact on international peace and security is serious enough to justify opposition even absent selfish motivation. The situation in Gaza has raised many concerns in the U.N., but it’s time for a moment of lucidity. As noted by the U.S. this month, “We also have long been clear that premature actions here in New York, even with the best of intentions, will not achieve statehood for the Palestinian people.” Indeed, conferring membership rights and privileges on the Palestinians would diminish odds for a negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Why would the Palestinians concede anything to Israel if intransigence and extremism leads to rewards rather than condemnation? And why would Israel accept a resolution imposed by the U.N., not reached through direct negotiations? The purported goal of the United Nations is to promote international peace and security. This resolution would instead undermine prospects for peace and reward extremism. If it passes, U.S. funding should be immediately cut. If the Biden administration will not follow through, Congress should—as should the next president. Originally published at RealClearWorld.com The post UN Shouldn’t Reward Palestinians for Oct. 7 appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Xavier University Cancels Commencement Speech by U.N. Ambassador

Heralded as the “missing evolutionary link” that proved modern-day birds evolved from feathered dinosaurs nearly three decades ago, the Archaeoraptor liaoningensis fossil was a discovery thought to change how the world saw evolution. The fossil, so-named in its unveiling, appeared to be a combination of a bird and theropod, or two-footed dinosaur. On publication, the turkey-sized fossil was described as "a missing link in the complex chain that connects dinosaurs to birds” that captured “the paleontological 'moment' when dinosaurs were becoming birds." The article, written by Chris Sloan, was published with a photograph of the fossil slab. In the photo's caption, a name was put to it for the first time. Except, it was all a fake. After a public outcry by scientific community members, National Geographic conducted an investigation that revealed the Archaeoraptor fossil was essentially two separate fossils glued together. In 2001, paleontologist Timothy Rowe published research in Nature that further confirmed through computed tomography (CT) that “sadly, parts of at least two significant new specimens were combined in favor of the higher commercial value of the forgery, and both were nearly lost to science.”In effect, the newly dubbed Archaeoraptor name appeared scientifically legitimate, “yet it referred to a fake,” Rowe told IFLScience. The “intentional forgery,” as it was later found to be, was smuggled out of China and into the US, where it sold on the commercial market for $80,000 at the time, roughly $150,000 in 2024. “New, persuasive evidence of the link between dinosaurs and birds”Rowe describes the 1990s as a time when the scientific community reexamined whether birds had derived their ancestry from dinosaurs. Following suit, the National Geographic Society announced on Oct. 15, 1999, the discovery and interpretation of Archaeoraptor. IFLScience found an archived version of the press release announcing the fossil’s discovery that reported the fossil, alongside the discovery of two other birdlike dinosaurs, provided “new, persuasive evidence of the link between dinosaurs and birds and of the belief that feathers were widespread among meat-eating dinosaurs, maybe even Tyrannosaurus rex.” National Geographic published without peer-reviewed evidence what they believed to be the ‘missing link ‘between birds and dinosaurs.Dr Jingmai O'ConnorIFLScience contacted National Geographic for a copy of the article, but our request went unanswered. Rowe, however, sent our newsroom a copy of a part of the article, which read, in part: With arms of a primitive bird and the tail of a dinosaur, this creature found in Liaoning Province, China is a true missing link in the complex chain that connects dinosaurs to birds. Scientists funded by National Geographic studied the animal, named Archaeoraptor liaoningensis, under ultraviolet light above) and used CT scans to view parts of the animal obscured by rock…Stephen Czerkas, who led the study of the specimen, reconstructed the new animal… “This fossil is perhaps the best evidence since Archaeopteryx that bids did, in fact, evolve from certain types of carnivorous dinosaurs,” said Czerkas. A so-called “bird-dinosaur controversy to the detriment of other research”  Paleontologist Jingmai O'Connor, who also serves as the associate curator of fossil reptiles at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History, told IFLScience that at the core of this issue is that “National Geographic published without peer-reviewed evidence what they believed to be the ‘missing link ‘between birds and dinosaurs.” National Geographic had presented for the first time a scientific name for a supposed new species before publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Storrs Olson, renowned ornithologist and former curator of birds at the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of Natural History, wrote a letter to National Geographic calling the article an “all-time low for engaging in sensationalistic, unsubstantiated, tabloid journalism.” (Smithsonian confirmed to IFLScience that Olson died in 2021). In an April 2000 issue of the Smithsonian newsletter Backbone, Olson called the Archaeoraptor a “bird-dinosaur controversy to the detriment of other research.”Archaeorapter is not located in the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, which ensures that each described animal has a “unique and universally accepted scientific name.” Nor had the name previously been published and was only known in the scientific nomenclature by the National Geographic article “with Sloan as its author”. Olson wrote that the article did not inform its readers that “contrary viewpoints exist.”A fossilized slab shattered to resemble “an Oreo cookie pulled apart”In October 2000, National Geographic published the results of an investigation by American journalist Lewis Simons, who concluded the fossil was a composite. According to Simons, an unnamed farmer “hacked out a thin, buff-colored slab measuring roughly a foot square” in Juily 1997 while digging in a shale pit in Xiasanjiazi, China's northeastern Liaoning Province. For the record, Simons never met the supposed farmer and based his report on witness statements made by fellow villagers. Upon their first discovery, the farmer found a fossil specimen described as “extraordinary,” as it contained “the fossilized bones of what seemed to be a bird, including a faint aura of feathers and a beak lined with tiny teeth.” As the farmer dug with a pick and shovel, he shattered the slab to resemble “an Oreo cookie pulled apart.” Continuing to dig, the farmer “uncovered another, smaller slab a couple of yards away” that “contained a tail, rigid and about the size of a crocheting needle, a skull, a foot, and some other parts.”“Pleased with the day's finds, the farmer scooped up the fragments, shouldered his tools, and walked the two miles or so back across the red dirt fields to his tiny brick house,” wrote Simons. “Using a homemade paste, he glued the slab of the tail to the lower portion of the birdlike body. With counter slab pieces from the body itself – and possibly other scraps he'd kept over time – he glued in missing legs and feet. Aware that fossil fanciers, unlike paleontologists, prefer specimens assembled and suitable for display, the farmer was following basic market economics.” Simons added that it’s not clear whether the farmer knew he was forging a new species or if he was just “gluing pieces he thought belonged together.” Either way, Archaeoraptor was smuggled and taken to the US, selling for $80,000 at the time.A dealer, whose name was intentionally retained, bought the fossil from the farmer in 1998. The following year, Stephen A. Czerkas, director of a nonprofit dinosaur museum in Utah, came across the fossil at a “bazaar-style gem and mineral show in Tuscon.” Making a chimera fossil “more presentable”Using high-resolution X-ray CT, Rowe and his team further confirmed that the Archaeoraptor specimen was composed of at least two species built in three layers and grouted together.  A single, unbroken plate of shale was used for backing. The first layer contained a heterogenous mosaic of 88 separate pieces, some containing bone, indicating an “articulated bird skeleton.” A second phase contained 26 pieces with bones along the skeleton's rear half to “complete it.” A third phase included the placement of 39 shims not made of bone or to be naturally associated with either of the first two groups of bones, probably added to secure the chimera skeleton and make it “more presentable” It was deemed by researchers in 2002 that Archaeoraptor was a “chimaera formed of bird and dromaeosaur parts,” which included fossils from a primitive “fish-eating bird” known as Yanornis and a small, winged raptor known as Dromaeosaur, according to their study published in Nature.Two of the known components that made up "Archaeoraptor".Image credit: Entelognathus CC BY-SA 4.0An “ever-growing toolkit” to verify the ethical collection of specimens“In the case of Archaeoraptor, the tail and legs were added to make it more complete, and that greater completeness commanded a greater price on the commercial market” explained Rowe, adding that this monetary influence begs the question of whether fossil extractors are working for scientific or commercial value. This presents a greater issue examining the import and export of fossils under ethical means, O’Connor notes. Many institutions prohibit staff from accepting specimens not legally collected or sent from their country of origin. Based on Simons’ investigation into the origins of the Archaeoraptor, however, the fossil appears to have been obtained through unethical means. [F]orgeries are not that common and usually not all that well done. With experience, they are pretty easy to identify these days. The oddities stand out.Dr Jingmai O'Connor“Scientists generally look down on the commercial marketplace” for these reasons, Rowe added. International protective measures are in place to protect fossils from being illegally collected in most nations and from being smuggled out of others. But these protections vary from country to country. To combat this, Rowe refers to an “evergrowing toolkit” of ways to determine whether something is authentic or collected under ethical circumstances. There are standards for extraction, preparation, and reparation by which researchers continue to build today. “One of the things we try to do with students and recognize on our own is that there has been this varied history of how fossils have been treated once they find their way into human hands,” said Rowe. So, while some have argued that the Archaeoraptor forgery invalidates the scientific process, others suggest its correction strengthens peer review. Regarding the Archaeoraptor, the scientific community stepped in to correct an egregious error. O’Connor notes that there are many tools for finding a fake, but simply being careful and using the power of observation will “usually do the trick.” “The forgeries are not that common and usually not all that well done. With experience, they are pretty easy to identify these days. The oddities stand out, in my experience,” said O’Connor.

Have you heard that it's illegal to die in the cold distant reaches of Svalbard, Norway? The reasoning is that, due to the permafrost, bodies laid to rest in this Arctic territory will not decompose and so present a biological risk for future generations. However, this is not really true, especially the part about dying being outlawed. Nevertheless, the myth has spread quite far and is often reported as fact. But this raises an obvious question: is there anywhere else on Earth where it actually is illegal to die?The short answer is a kind of dubious shrug. Over the years, various places have “outlawed” dying, but the act has been less an effort to legally punish those unhelpful people who die (anyone), and more an effort to draw attention to some subtle political or social issue.For instance, in August 2015, the mayor of the Italian hillside town of Sellia signed an ordinance that forbade people to get “ill within the municipality” and made it clear that they were not allowed to die there either. Anyone caught defying this law by not getting regular health checks could be fined €10 a year.On the face of it, this is a ludicrous rule that demands the impossible, but the law was passed with the aim of promoting healthier lifestyles for local residents. The logic behind it was that Sellia was struggling with a shrinking population, and so the law was introduced to encourage citizens to take better care of their health or face higher taxation.  Similarly, in 2000 and 2008, two villages in France forbade their residents to die. In both instances, the local authorities could not get permission to expand their graveyards, so in protest, they decided to make the issue go away by discouraging death itself. The same tactic was adopted by the authorities of Biritiba Mirim, in Brazil in 2005, and Falciano del Massico, in Italy, in 2012.As you can imagine, the unreasonable nature of these bylaws eventually resulted in them gaining permissions to expand their graveyards.Then there’s the ban on dying for purity reasons. Although this is not something that is practiced too frequently these days, there are some historical instances where death has been forbidden for religious reasons.In Ancient Greece, the island of Delos, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was considered so sacred that efforts were taken to keep it free from death and birth – basically anything related to the messiness of human existence. In the 6th century BCE, the Athenian leader, Peisistratus, ordered the graves on the island to be dug up, and later, anyone who was likely to die or about to give birth was escorted off the island.The same need to preserve sanctity influenced the history of the Japanese island of Itsukushima (now Miyajima), which is considered sacred in Shinto lore. For some time, the only people allowed to live on the island were Shinto priests and priestesses. If pilgrims visited, they were prohibited from dying or giving birth there, a rule that reflected Shinto ideas about pollution, blood, and decay. Contrary to what is often thought, this rule was actually abolished in 1868 (it is often cited as the start date of the law), but even today, burials and cremations are not allowed on the island.What is clear from these examples is that the prohibition of death, when unrelated to religious rules, has all been an effort to challenge local issues around health or the availability of burial spaces. So while they may be absurd on the face of it, it is proof that sometimes the ridiculous can be very practical.[H/T: The Guardian]

US presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr, known to many as RFK Jr, hit headlines this week after a decade-old deposition emerged in which he talked about “a worm that got into my brain and ate a portion of it and then died.” No prizes for guessing that brain worms are not a great thing to have, but you might be surprised/horrified to learn just how common these parasites are. Now that RFK Jr is tweeting that he’d happily “eat five more brain worms” and still fancy his chances in the 2024 electoral race, here’s all you need to know about where these parasites come from, and how you get infected.What type of parasite did RFK Jr have?In a deposition from 2012, recently reviewed by the New York Times, Kennedy describes neurological symptoms that he had as far back as 2010. After experiencing memory issues and brain fog, he reportedly sought advice from medical experts, who noted a “dark spot” on scans of his brain.A number of medics concluded that this was a sign of a tumor, but even as he was preparing to undergo surgery, Kennedy received a call from a doctor with a different opinion: that the dark spot on his brain was the corpse of a parasitic worm.The New York Times has since spoken to several independent experts who say the symptoms would fit with a diagnosis of a pork tapeworm, although all were speaking in a general capacity and have not directly dealt with RFK Jr’s case.What are pork tapeworms?The pork tapeworm (Taenia solium) is a cestode worm responsible for the human diseases taeniasis and cysticercosis. Three species of Taenia worms can infect humans, but T. solium is the most devastating by far.Taeniasis occurs when someone eats undercooked pork from an infected pig containing worm larvae, called cysticerci. Over the course of a couple of months, the worms attach to the inside of the small intestine and mature. Adult T. solium can reach lengths of up to 8 meters (26 feet) – you’d think it couldn’t get much worse, but with this particular tapeworm, the adult is actually the least of your problems.As the 20-foot unwelcome visitor happily chills in your intestines, sometimes for years, it develops up to 1,000 segments called proglottids, and each of these can contain a staggering 50,000 eggs. These eggs are passed in feces. Like other diseases that can pass via the fecal-oral route – i.e. via food contaminated by traces of fecal matter or poor hand hygiene – it’s possible to then reinfect yourself, or infect someone else, with the parasite’s eggs.This is far more serious than the initial tapeworm infection. The eggs hatch in the intestine, and the resulting oncospheres can pass through the intestinal wall and reach lots of other areas of the body – including the brain. There they develop into cysticerci, and that’s how you get the disease known as cysticercosis, or neurocysticercosis if it affects the brain. The T. solium lifecycle is one of the more complex among human parasitic diseases, but it’s this ability for reinfection with one’s own tapeworm eggs that makes the pork tapeworm so much more dangerous than the similar beef tapeworm, for example.How common are pork tapeworms?According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), neurocysticercosis caused by the pork tapeworm is considered a Neglected Parasitic Infection in the US, with around 1,000 new hospitalizations each year, and is a leading cause of adult-onset epilepsy worldwide. This is a global parasite found across places where pork is commonly eaten, mainly in rural regions where pigs and humans may come into close contact.Higher rates of taeniasis from T. solium have been recorded in rural communities in Latin America, Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Asia. Both taeniasis and cysticercosis are thought to be underreported. Studies have found high rates of infection among communities in Madagascar, Eastern and Southern Africa, and parts of China, among others, with researchers calling for better surveillance and monitoring around the world.In the US, taeniasis is most frequently seen in people who have immigrated from Latin America.Cysticercosis arises most commonly in people who already have T. solium taeniasis, via the process of autoinfection described above. However, it’s possible to develop cysticercosis through contamination – for example, eating food prepared by someone with taeniaisis if scrupulous hand hygiene has not been observed – even if you have never consumed undercooked pork and have not personally been exposed to the adult tapeworm.Can pork tapeworms be prevented or treated?Both taeniasis and cysticercosis caused by T. solium are preventable. Your best defense is to make sure that any pork products are cooked thoroughly before consumption. The CDC cites the recommendations of the US Department of Agriculture when it comes to preparing pork. Whole cuts should be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 63°C (145°F) and left to rest for three minutes. Ground pork should be cooked to a minimum of 71°C (160°F) but does not require resting. A meat thermometer will be your best friend here.A 2020 study also looked at other cooking methods, and found that for boiled pork dishes, cooking for 10 minutes at 80°C (176°F) was sufficient to kill T. solium larvae. At 50°C (122°F), a cooking duration of over 40 minutes was required. They concluded that the majority of boiled pork dishes would meet safety requirements, but suggested that deep-frying pork could be an issue due to the shorter cooking times involved. T. solium larvae can also be thwarted by freezing meat at -20°C (-4°F) – slightly colder than most commercial freezers) – for one to three days.Other control methods targeting the pigs themselves, such as attempting to detect the parasite before animals are slaughtered and efforts to keep pigs and humans apart, have had varying degrees of success.Once someone is infected with T. solium, there are some treatment options, but these can be costly and may not be accessible. The most common medication used for taeniasis is called praziquantel, which is taken orally. However, both praziquantel and another drug that can be used, albendazole, may not be suitable for people with cysticercosis, as they’ve been linked with possible seizures. With neurocysticercosis, treatment starts by tackling symptoms like seizures and brain swelling before targeting the parasites themselves. Antiparasitic treatments can also make symptoms worse at first, so steroids may be given at the same time to help dampen down the inflammatory response.The brain damage caused by extensive neurocysticercosis can be permanent. In RFK Jr’s case though, the New York Times reports that his memory loss may be down to a different condition he reportedly had at the time, one with less terrestrial origins. The report explains how he was diagnosed with mercury poisoning, caused by eating excessive amounts of fish. That’s not one you can prevent by cooking it, unfortunately.All “explainer” articles are confirmed by fact checkers to be correct at time of publishing. Text, images, and links may be edited, removed, or added to at a later date to keep information current.  The content of this article is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.