Not Good News - Tamilflu resistant Swine Flu reported in North Carolina

Now this could really suck if it becomes prevalent:

Tamiflu-resistant swine flu cluster reported in NC

Four North Carolina patients at a single hospital tested positive for a type of swine flu that is resistant to Tamiflu, health officials said Friday.

The cases reported at Duke University Medical Center over six weeks make up the biggest cluster seen so far in the U.S.

Tamiflu — made by Switzerland's Roche Group — is one of two flu medicines that help against swine flu, and health officials have been closely watching for signs that the virus is mutating, making the drugs ineffective.

More than 50 resistant cases have been reported in the world since April, including 21 in the U.S. Almost all in the U.S. were isolated, said officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The BBC reported another cluster of five Tamiflu-resistant cases this week in Wales, in the United Kingdom.

The CDC has sent three disease investigators to North Carolina to help in the investigation there, said Dave Daigle, a CDC spokesman. CDC testing confirmed the Tamiflu-resistant cases.

All four cases at the hospital were very ill patients in an isolated cancer unit on the hospital's ninth floor, and it is believed they all caught the flu while at the hospital, said Dr. Daniel Sexton, professor of medicine and director of the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network.

Three of the four patients died and one is recovering, he said. Flu seems to have been a factor in each death, but they were very sick so it was hard to say that it was the primary cause, he added....

It is really not good news if one of the two leading antiviral medications (the other being Relenza) becomes ineffective in dealing with the flu.

The Swine Flu Blues 3 - Fever Free and Coughing

Well, woke up today feeling lousy but no fever.

Of course my digital thermometer says I'm 94 degrees so I just may be dead and not know it, or I need a new thermometer.

The cough remains but I'm clearly on the mend. Hopefully it clears up so I can get to work Monday and get out of this house.

In other news, apparently the H1N1 vaccine works well on adults in one dose even if it fails miserably for kids. Natasha after being exposed to all three of us in full flu mode is still 100% fever free. Good to know they got something right with the vaccine.

The only lingering effect so far is a profound belief that Christopher Walken is a horribly neglected and underrated actor. I mean the man has only won ONE Oscar - where's the justice in that?

When in a Hole, Even Ex-Mayors of Detroit should stop Digging

Once again, its not the crime but the cover-up, or in this case an apparent failure to be candid about his financial ability to pay his court ordered restitution that is plaguing the ex-mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick. The story keeps changing and spinning and it may end up with his returning to jail if he can't get his story straight.

Kilpatrick's friends helped pay part of his restitution, hearing reveals

One would have thought that he would have learned after already being caught committing perjury and lying to cover it up. As his former honor keeps trying to brazen it out, its not going to get any better.

New doubts surfaced Wednesday about former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's claim that he doesn't know how his rent is paid on his million-dollar Texas home when an FBI agent testified that Kilpatrick was intimately involved in the lease negotiations.

And Kilpatrick, who testified three weeks ago that he didn't know whether his wife, Carlita Kilpatrick, had a job, said Wednesday on the witness stand: "At this particular time, I have the only income in the home."

Kilpatrick raised more eyebrows during the third day of his restitution hearing when he testified that he has borrowed thousands of dollars from friends to make his restitution payments.

"There's so many different people giving you so much money that you can't even keep it straight, is that what you're telling us, sir?" asked Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas, drawing a rebuke from Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner.

The revelations stood out on a day in which prosecutors sought to convince Groner that Kilpatrick has violated his probation by hiding his assets.

They also tried to prove that a $240,000 loan Kilpatrick received from local business leaders was really a gift that should have been reported to the court.

But the top Compuware attorney who drafted the deal testified that the business leaders always had intended only to lend Kilpatrick the money.
Doubts raised on rent claim

Three weeks ago, Kilpatrick said he didn't know who was paying his rent.

On Wednesday, an FBI agent testified that Kilpatrick approved the deal.

Lying doesn't work because it can be hard to keep your story straight, especially if someone checks up on it. That's why you tell the truth under oath as when its followed up and you're found to be lying, its not going to go well:

Siringas also grilled Kilpatrick on how he pays his monthly restitution to the city.

He said he might borrow $1,000, go to the ATM, withdraw money here and there. He said he stockpiles the money.

"Stockpile?" Siringas asked.

Kilpatrick caught himself.

"I shouldn't have said that," he said, chuckling.

Ooops, that had to hurt.

It also seems that Kwame's friends who were appointed to office by him have been generous in helping him out now:

Another surprising development Wednesday came when Assistant Wayne County Prosecutor Athina Siringas divulged that the mother of longtime Kilpatrick friends DeDan and Kandia Milton paid $12,500 toward Kilpatrick's restitution.

Even Kilpatrick was surprised about one aspect of the revelation: He testified that he thought the Miltons' mother, Sandra Ramsey, loaned him only $10,000. He learned from prosecutors that an additional $2,500 he thought DeDan Milton had loaned him had actually come from Ramsey.

Ramsey and her sons were all high-ranking political appointees during Kilpatrick's nearly two terms as mayor.

DeDan Milton was an assistant to Kilpatrick who later represented Kilpatrick on one of the city's pension boards. Kandia Milton had risen to deputy mayor by the time Kilpatrick resigned in September 2008.

Siringas slammed Kilpatrick for borrowing the money from Ramsey shortly after receiving a $150,000 installment of a $240,000 loan from four prominent local businessmen.

Kilpatrick said Ramsey helped him make the payment because "to leave town, to get to my wife and children, I had to pay that. ... She gave me some money."

Nice to have such loyalty.

And the gift/loan from the four Detroit Businessmen continues to be in question, with the loan documents only being created after the IRS and FBI started investigating:

Prosecutors argued Wednesday that a $240,000 loan to Kilpatrick from four prominent businessmen was actually a gift.

As evidence, the prosecution called as a witness Compuware lawyer Daniel Follis, who testified that the repayment terms on the loan -- the promissory notes -- weren't completed until after the FBI and IRS came calling.

Siringas argued that was evidence the loan was a gift.

Schwartz attacked the prosecution's theory that it was a gift with Follis' testimony that not one of the business leaders who made the loan to Kilpatrick ever said to Follis that the money was a gift.

The real question is who put these businessmen up to these "gift/loans" and what were they either promised to receive in return or threatened with to ensure their compliance:

John Rakolta Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of the Walbridge construction company, reiterated Wednesday that he never agreed to lend any money to Kilpatrick.

"I was asked and declined the opportunity to participate in the loan after consulting with my closest advisers. I know Pete, Jim, Roger and Dan very well, and I have the utmost respect for them both professionally and personally. They are men of honor and integrity and have worked tirelessly for the betterment of the city of Detroit," Rakolta said in a statement issued Tuesday.

You'll note it does not identify who asked him for his donation, and curiously there is no follow-up.

You can be sure that Kwame's Kontortions aren't done yet.

Swine Flue Blues 2 - So far So Good

The fever is lower today. No serious complications to report, it just feels as yucky and lethargy inducing as any other flu. Captain Trips this is not.

The only weird effect with this flu so far is that this scene from SNL keeps going through my mind:


Contagious isn't it?

The Swine Flu Blues - A Personal experience with H1N1

Well, I went to bed yesterday feeling pretty lousy and running a fever and felt worse and more feverish this morning.

I was quite sure what I had, thanks to the two lovable little disease vectors in my house.

So I called ahead and then went to the doctor and after they had masked up they started to examine me.

The test for swine flu, for those of you who are curious, involves shoving a swab all the way up your nose until it feels like its stirring your brains. The swab is then put in a test tube and tah da! I've officially got H1N1A, and the case gets reported as a statistic to Oakland County Community Health! Yay me!

The doc told me the CDC is not recommending Tamilflu for my age group and general good state of health, but recommended talking plenty of ibuprofen, zinc and vitamin C, and a prescription anti-cough medication. As long as I don't have trouble breathing it should be just fine. I was also given a N95 mask to wear while walking out of the office to the car. The kids, showing the compassion for which they are famous, have hand drawn a cute pig snout on the mask to recognize my swine flu.

It feels just like any other flu - chills, sweats, coughs, sneezes, general lethargy and wanting to sleep a lot. No going to work until I'm fever free for 24 hours which apparently takes a few days so I'll be working from home for a while. Blogging will be fit in in between bouts of passing out.

Armed Maersk Alabama Repels Pirates, International Community Appalled

An interesting example of the ideological fallacy of those who believe that "you don't need a gun the police will save you" on the high seas.

Maersk Alabama repels 2nd pirate attack with guns

Somali pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama on Wednesday for the second time in seven months and were thwarted by private guards on board the U.S.-flagged ship who fired off guns and a high-decibel noise device.

. . .

Pirates hijacked the Maersk Alabama last April and took ship captain Richard Phillips hostage, holding him at gunpoint in a lifeboat for five days. Navy SEAL sharpshooters freed Phillips while killing three pirates in a daring nighttime attack.

Four suspected pirates in a skiff attacked the ship again on Wednesday around 6:30 a.m. local time, firing on the ship with automatic weapons from about 300 yards (meters) away, a statement from the U.S. Fifth Fleet in Bahrain said.

An on-board security team repelled the attack by using evasive maneuvers, small-arms fire and a Long Range Acoustic Device, which can beam earsplitting alarm tones, the fleet said.

The difference in reaction to this successful repelling of pirates by force of arms certainly highlights the tension between the let the navy/police handle it folks and the self-reliant types:

Vice Adm. Bill Gortney of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, said the Maersk Alabama had followed the maritime industry's "best practices" in having a security team on board.

"This is a great example of how merchant mariners can take proactive action to prevent being attacked and why we recommend that ships follow industry best practices if they're in high-risk areas," Gortney said in a statement.

However, Roger Middleton, a piracy expert at the London-based think tank Chatham House, said the international maritime community was still "solidly against" armed guards aboard vessels at sea, but that American ships have taken a different line than the rest of the international community.

"Shipping companies are still pretty much overwhelmingly opposed to the idea of armed guards," Middleton said. "Lots of private security companies employee people who don't have maritime experience. Also, there's the idea that it's the responsibility of states and navies to provide security. I would think it's a step backward if we start privatizing security of the shipping trade."

An interesting parallel, after all its a big ocean out there and the Navy while it does a fantastic job (as was seen in its freeing of the Maersk Alabama in the first encounter) it can't be everywhere at once, and like in America when seconds count the police are at best minutes away - or even hours by sea to get a naval ship in position to intercept an attack.

Unless the Navy forms and orders merchantmen into convoys through the pirate infested waters they will not be able to guarantee their security and leaves the unarmed ships open to attack.

You'll note above that the American admiral on the scene gets it.

Ceratinly the deterrence effect of an armed civillian ship worked:

The owners of the Maersk Alabama have spent a considerable amount of money since the April hijacking to make the vessel pirate-proof, Murphy said, including structural features and safety equipment. The most dramatic change is what he called a security force of "highly trained ex-military personnel."

"Somali pirates understand one thing and only one thing, and that's force," said Capt. Joseph Murphy, who teaches maritime security at the school. "They analyze risk very carefully, and when the risk is too high they are going to step back. They are not going to jeopardize themselves."

The wife of the Maersk Alabama's captain, Paul Rochford, told WBZ-AM radio in Boston that she was "really happy" there were weapons on board for this attack.

"It probably surprised the pirates. They were probably shocked," Kimberly Rochford. "I'm really happy at least it didn't turn out like the last time."

A self-proclaimed pirate told The Associated Press from the Somali pirate town of Haradhere that colleagues out at sea had called around 9 a.m. — 2 1/2 hours after the attack.

"They told us that they got in trouble with an American ship, then we lost them. We have been trying to locate them since," said a self-described pirate who gave his name as Abdi Nor.

Yeah, mess with armed and prepared Americans rather than squishy others and you're probably not going to like what happens dear pirates.

Pirates Of The Situational Irony

Somali pirates hijack ship, 28 North Korean crew

Talk about a corrundrum. The crew from North Korea, the arguably most moserable place on earth being captured by pirates from Somalia, another country that while high on the sucky locale list keeps vying for the top spot but doesn't quite achieve such a dubious distinction. Is their capture a step up for the crew?

So once the matter is resolved do the North Korean crew press for asylum in Somalia or elsewhere? Did the pirates just unwittingly and unintentionally free a bunch of North Koreans from having to return to a life of misery under a super-totalitarian regime? How much can the North Koreans offer the Somalis to not be released back to North Korea? Time will tell, and hopefully they'll be released unharmed and not returned to North Korea.

One Vaccine shot doesn't do it - Kids now with Swine Flu

Yes, even with the vaccination extravaganza and their each getting a shot, both my kids have now been diagnosed by their doctor with swine flu.

Apparently one shot for kids is insufficient and only gets them a 63% resistant to not getting the flu. A second shot increases that to 75%.

Of course they're diagnosed 11 days after getting the flu shot, so no time to get a second shot even if we could have found one.

Basically it is a pandemic and it sucks. The pediatrician's usual caseload is 17 patients per day, today she had 34 many with the flu.

At the moment the kids are a bit cranky, tired and cold with fevers and bundled up in blankets watching Dora. They'll be at home the next 7 days so they don't spread it to anyone else.

On the upside the doctor prescribed Tamilflu for them and Meijer, showing an amazing example of good corporate citizenship, was giving away the pediatric Tamilflu dosages for free. Good on Meijer for this, and yes, good corporate citizenship like this should be rewarded. It didn't hurt as a start that my wife then spent about $107 shopping in Meijer while waiting for the prescriptions to be made (each pediatric dose is specially mixed and takes time to be mixed to fill the script.).

Hopefully, this too shall pass with no lingering effects and we'll all look back on it as no big deal beyond a case of the cruds and an inconvenience.

How low can he go (and take his country with him?)? The Obama Bow.

First was the bow to the King of Saudi Arabia:

Now comes news of the extra-deep bow to the Emperor of Japan:

You know it's bad when even the LA Times raises some criticism of Obama's extra obsequious bending: How low will he go? Obama gives Japan's Emperor Akihito a wow bow

You'll note it is not mandatory to bow before the emperor, nor necessary to do the inferior to superior bow.

The bow Obama gave was without question one of the inferior to a superior. It is the "here's my neck, you may cut it off if you wish master" bow.

There's a time and appropriate place for it: typically this is the polite bow of a student in a dojo bowing before a master. This was not dojo and Obama is not the Emperor's student. (We could get some fun Star Wars themes going here of Darth Obama bowing before the Emperor..... nah.)

Obama seems by his words and deeds to believe that he has to grovel and scrape to 'restore' America's image in the world, but this is getting ridiculous. Sadly it gives the impression to both our allies and our enemies of weakness, and Obama's acts on the world stage only seems to confirm this impression.

Obama Says he's the First Pacific President - No, But He's a Shoe-in for First Pacifist

He's not the first Pacific President (Good read at Ed Driscoll.com via Instapudit.)

But if he meant first pacifist president, insofar as his pacifism involves his surrender of America's interests abroad, he certainly qualifies.

He's shown his pacifism by throwing Eastern Europe's missile defense under the bus for an ethereal promise from Russia to impose sanctions on Iran,eventually, sometime, maybe.

Then dithering on Afghanistan, as if he wants that effort to fail as well.

Now he proposes to have Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other 9/11 terrorists tried as civilians in a civil court setting in New York of all places. Oh and he's now only an alleged terorist. Brilliant. For a number of reasons beginning with the stupidity of fighting a war against terrorists by using criminal courts, to issues with evidence and the circus such a prosecution will bring it shows Obama to be profoundly unserious and pacifistic in dealing with the threats facing the USA.

A Glock and Crimson Trace Lasergrips - A Great Combination

As I await my new/used Detroit PD Glock 22 to arrive at my friendly neighborhood FFL, and given Lagniappe's Keeper's positive review of it, I'm looking forward to it.

I already have a couple Glocks, one of which now has a Crimson Trace Lasersight on it.

For quite some time I was skeptical of laser sights on firearms, considering them a gimmick and unnecessary. But I had the opportunity as an NRA instructor to obtain one for a discount as a training tool and decided to see what the pros and cons were for myself.

Installation was quite simple and the assembly instructions easy to follow. The sight comes with a Glock disassembly tool that is embossed with the Crimson Trace logo. One pin is removed from the rear of the frame and the lasergrip is slid into place and a pin supplied with the sight locks it in place.

Once installed it is activated by simply holding the firearm as the switch is in the rear of the grip.

The downside to this arrangement is that together with no off switch, the laser is on every time you hold the gun in a firing grip. You can cover the laser port with your finger to block it while holding it but it doesn't work as nicely as a dedicated off switch. The laser of course has two points of light - from the emitter on your firearm and on your target.

The other downside to the sight was the zeroing instructions. They were quite unclear as to which adjustment socket adjusted vertical as opposed to horizontal positioning of the laser, not to mention which direction you turned the adjustment screw with the supplied mini Allen keys moved the direction of the point of impact. It took a bit of fiddling to get it on target for as supplied it would hit the 7 ring to the right and high when lasing the x ring at 7 yards -- way, way off in other words. Now after multiple rounds spent zeroing, it is right on target.

The benefits - very quick target acquisition and amazing accuracy. With the laser new zeroed and placed on the X, 5 shots hit the X with all rounds touching each other - quite impressive. Target-focused shooting is simple indeed -- put the laser on the target, practice good trigger control and the target is hit. The laser works great indoors and at night. Outdoors during the day the laser washes out after a relatively short distance.

The laser has also been helpful teaching students trigger control and sight alignment - have them shoot without it, explain why they are missing what they are aiming at by jerking the trigger, then let them use the laser to practice trigger control. The same goes for sight alignment. There was an immediate improvement even after using the lasergrips when they went back to the non-laser sighted firearm. You can tell someone what they need to do to improve but when you show them, and then they can immediately try it themselves, it makes learning a lot quicker.

The lasersight also makes a great kitten play toy, as Sabrina ran all over following the little red dot tonight when I got back from the range. Lots of kitten fun.

I strongly advise removing the slide entirely from the gun if you use the laser in this manner. It still works well as a laser this way and you avoid the possibility of a cat-astrophe. A cat only laser is now on the shopping list.

Lasersights are another tool in your defensive toolbox, not a cure-all nor perfect for all situations, but definitely an excellent tool that does have a place on a defensive handgun for self defense. Given the ease of installation and use of the Crimson Trace Lasergrips, I'd recommend them.

CPR Recertification and Michigan's "Good Samaritan" law

Today I completed my Red Cross CPR and AED recertifications offered through my law firm.

Surprisingly, while quite a number of secretaries and paralegals attended the recertification sessions I was the only lawyer.

It's important that once you've received first aid training that you attend the annual receetifications to get the latest updates in technique and review and refresh your training - a necessary task indeed as its easy to forget and thankfully I have not needed to administer CPR or use an AED on anyone this year.

It is also important to keep your certifications up-to-date because failure to do so may open yu to liability if you do administer first aid.

Michigan has a "good samaritan" statute that essentially relieves you from civil legal liability if you render first aid with a very important exception.

The statute, MCL 333.20965 states:

333.20965 Immunity from liability.

(1) Unless an act or omission is the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct, the acts or omissions of a medical first responder, emergency medical technician, emergency medical technician specialist, paramedic, medical director of a medical control authority or his or her designee, or, subject to subsection (5), an individual acting as a clinical preceptor of a department-approved education program sponsor while providing services to a patient outside a hospital, in a hospital before transferring patient care to hospital personnel, or in a clinical setting that are consistent with the individual's licensure or additional training required by the medical control authority including, but not limited to, services described in subsection (2) or consistent with an approved procedure for that particular education program do not impose liability in the treatment of a patient on those individuals or any of the following persons:
. . .

(2) Subsection (1) applies to services consisting of the use of an automated external defibrillator on an individual who is in or is exhibiting symptoms of cardiac distress.

Thus in Michigan you need not fear being sued for rendering first aid so long as you are not grossly negligent nor committing willful misconduct.

There's a darn good argument to be made that if you cause an injury while providing first aid with an expired certification for administering such aid, your actions do amount to gross negligence or willful misconduct.

Keep your first aid certifications current, apply care with consent and in accordance with your training, get the professionals there as soon as possible, and you'll be ok legal-wise, and hopefully you will help someone in distress be ok as well.