Gaian Record International: January 2013

[SkyeGear]

Gaian Record International News Media Corporation, Est. November 2004 by Gear-Richie, All rights reserved.
The views and opinions expressed in these stories do not represent the views and opinions of the Gaian Record International, Gaia Interactive, their respective staff members, or affiliates.

Epidemic!
2012-2013 Flu Season Particularly Potent

Got the sniffles? Maybe a cough or a sore throat? A fever that won't quit? You aren't the only one. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the 2012-2013 Influenza (Flu) season has reached epidemic levels in the United States.

According to a report by ABC News, 47 of the 50 states have reported widespread outbreaks of the flu, backing up emergency rooms, and locking up appointments at doctors' offices.

The actual occurrences and level of danger varies from state to state. On Janurary 9th, the mayor of Boston declared a public health emergency because the flu epidemic was ten times the normal level. Meanwhile, in southwestern states such as Arizona and California, the number of flu victims appears to not have fluctuated from their normal levels, according to Reuters.

What can you do to avoid the virus? There's no surefire way, but there are plenty of methods to improve your chances, according to the CDC and various news outlets:

• Wash your hands. Any medical professional will tell you this first. The easiest way to reduce the spread of germs is to wash your hands regularly, particularly after going to the bathroom, before touching your face, and after making contact with someone else. The CDC even has an entire subsite dedicated to proper time, place, and technique for handwashing.
  
  
• Avoid touching your face. Viral infections like the flu aren't just transferred through the air. If you touch an infected surface, then touch your face, you've given bacteria and viruses an easy in to your body.
  
  
• Keep frequently-touched surfaces clean. Areas that are frequently touched by you and/or friends, family, and coworkers, need to be cleaned often. This includes your keyboard and mouse, doorknobs, light switches, and even your cell phone.
  
  
• Get a flu shot. None of the above tips are a substitute for getting vaccinated each year. The vaccine changes to adapt to the more recent strains of influenza, so it's important to get vaccinated every year before the season starts. According to the CDC, this year's vaccine is reducing patients' need to see a physician for flu-like symptoms by 60%.

If you do get sick, try not to spread the 'love'. Avoid sneezing and coughing in people's direction, or on community items like doorknobs, keyboards, phones, etc. If you have a fever, try not to go to school or work for at least 24 hours after your fever ends to avoid infecting others, and if you can, see a physician for treatment.

Finally, this article is not meant to be used in place of the advice of a physician. For more information on influenza, please visit the sites listed above, particularly the Centers for Disease Control.  

[SkyeGear]

President Obama signs gun controls
Criticized by GOP for improperly assigning blame

On Wednesday, January 16, President Barack Obama signed proposals for orders increasing governmental control over the sale of firearms in the United States, despite increasing pressure from conservatives against the measure. CNN reports that the president signed 23 executive orders, which are special actions the sitting president can take without congressional backing, strengthening gun control laws, and implementing special checks for purchasers that might be in need of mental healthcare.

More curious readers can see the entire proposal here in PDF format, but the key points are outlined below:

• Closing background check loopholes to keep guns out of dangerous hands: the proposal seeks to, amongst other things, "require background checks for all gun sales", "expand the amount of information made available in background checking", and "hold federal agencies accountable for sharing reliable information with the background check system."
  
• Ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines: The ban is actually a reinstatement of a previously-existing ban on assault weapons. The report claims that many firearm manufacturers, however, have sidestepped this ban by making "cosmetic modifications" to certain weapons so they didn't look like assault weapons, while still retaining their destructive power. The order calls to strengthen the ban to eliminate such loopholes, and to limit magazines to hold a maximum of 10 rounds, which would theoretically require shooters, like those at Virginia Tech and Newtown, CT to reload more frequently, offering more chances for victims to fight back.
  
• Make schools safer: The order seeks to offer incentives for schools to hire more personnel as 'resource officers,' counselors, and mental health specialists, as well as improving schools' public safety plans and acquiring "school safety equipment".
  
• Improving mental health services: In the president's own words, "We are going to need to work on making access to mental health care as easy as access to a gun." The report cites that less than half of individuals with diagnosable mental health problems are able to receive treatment, and the possibility that violent offenses like the one in Newtown could have been prevented if the shooter had access to mental health treatment.

The plan signed by the president has been attacked by members of the GOP, who traditionally are against gun controls, and seek to avoid threats to the second-amendment right to bear arms. The private pro-firearm organization known as The National Rifle Association (NRA) released an official response to the plan, stating, "Attacking firearms and ignoring children is not a solution to the crisis we face as a nation. Only honest, law-abiding gun owners will be affected and our children will remain vulnerable to the inevitability of more tragedy."

This is a very sublimated list. You can view more details at the PDF above, or at the official White House website dedicated to this topic. This article strives to be impartial and report only the facts. Any perceived slant or opinion is unintentional, and strictly related to its writer, and does not reflect the views or opinions of the GRI as a whole, or any affiliated or unaffiliated party.

A burger's a horse
Of course, of course

An interesting report came in from The Food Safety Authority of Ireland on the 15th of Janurary. According to their findings, of 27 ground beef products tested, 37% tested positive for horse DNA, and 85% tested positive for the presence of pork. Most levels of horse meat were low, though in one sample of hamburger, horse meat made up 29%. They have no official explanation as to why these meats were detected, but claim that there is no threat to public health as a result. They will, however, work to find the source of the contamination, and remove it.

The GRI was unable to find any explicit information as to whether or not this finding poses a risk to those with food allergies, however, there may be religious and cultural implications, as many cultures do not eat pork out of principle.  

[SkyeGear]

Fallout: The Series?
Recent trademarking leads to questions about potential TV series

Erick Todd

To all my #Fallout3 and #ThreeDog fans: There may be more of the Dog coming! Fingers crossed!

The preceding tweet is brought to you by voice actor Erick Todd, known for voicing Three Dog in the acclaimed post-apocalyptic open sandbox game, Fallout 3. At first glance, it seems to confirm the existence of Fallout 4, but the US Trademark office tells us something different.

According to their records, Bethesda (the publisher and developer of the Fallout series) recently filed a trademark for "Entertainment services in the nature of an on-going television program set in a post-nuclear apocalyptic world" according to Forbes. This, by no means, confirms anything (Nuka-Pedia points out that this trademark has been renewed before with no action), but is definitely food for thought for Fallout fans. The GRI will follow this development and keep you informed.

Pokémon: Genetics Edition
Nintendo announces new generation of Pokémon for 3DS

On Tuesday, January 8th, Satoru Iwata, incumbent president of Nintendo, made an announcement that one of Nintendo's most successful series, Pokémon, would see a new release in 2013.

The sixth generation of Pokémon, dubbed "Pokémon X and Y Versions" is slated for a worldwide near-simultaneous release in October of 2013. This will be the first main-series title to be released on the 3DS (this does not include peripheral software, like Pokémon Dream Radar or Pokédex 3D, which work in conjunction with earlier games). The possibility of a Pokémon game being released for the 3DS was called into question when the fifth generation of games, dubbed Pokémon Black and White, and their sequels Black 2 and White 2, were released for the DS, the 3DS' predecessor. They were the first games in the Pokémon series to be released on the same platform as their predecessors', as up to that point, each new set of games was released on a different console.

Pokémon X and Y is touted to have a more dynamic animation style than previous titles. Pokémon names have been revealed in multiple languages already, to include the starters Chespin, Fennekin, and Froakie, as well as the mascot legendaries, Xerneas and Yveltal. Bulbapedia, a comprehensive Pokémon wiki, covered the story, but viewership had been declined because of a recent attack on their site by malicious software.

Pokémon, which is a portmanteau of "Pocket Monsters," is a long-standing Nintendo RPG series centered around the collection, training, and battling of monsters though a complex battle system. The first games, released in 1996 in Japan and 1998 in English-speaking countries, gained worldwide popularity almost overnight, and the series has continued to perform well since. Pokémon X and Y stand as the sixth iteration of the games' main series.  

[SkyeGear]

Can porn and school mix?
Teacher awaits potential loss of pay because of history of pornographic video

Stacie Halas, a 32 year-old living in California, has been dismissed from her teaching position because of her participation in a pornographic video, The L.A. Times reports. Now, it seems her pay could be in jeopardy.

Halas was teaching eighth-grade science at Haydock Intermediate School when the Commission on Professional Competence deemed her unfit to teach because she had starred in pornographic videos between 2005 and 2006, prior to her teaching career. However, her termination was argued by the board to be distracting to students, and therefore she would not be able to teach effectively.

Now they may withhold pay on the argument that she failed to disclose this information upon her hiring - information that would have surely cost her any chance at the job initially in an over-religious and intolerant educational system. Her attempt to teach and better the lives of students is now being taken away from her because a group of people find her distasteful, and lack any true legitimate reason, other than the taste of a group of easily offended individuals.

That's one science class I'm sure almost no boy would skip a day of. Do you have an opinion on this? Tell the GRI what you think in the comments.  

[SkyeGear]

Thanks for reading! This is obviously a very truncated version of the paper, but there's only so much one person can do. If you want to participate, feel free to send in articles to be considered for submission. Also, tell your friends about the guild. If you have comments or questions, feel free to reply to this thread. See you next month!