The arrival of a continental vagrant – Dewick ’ s Plusia
A beautiful immigrant from Southern Europe turned up in our garden last night, attracted to the 40-Watt ultraviolet light of the scientific moth trap. At first glance, I thought it was a confusing aberration of the Silver Y, but it wasn’t quite right, the Y/gamma didn’t have the Y-shape and the other markings and overall shape were wrong. It turns out it is quite a rare vagrant visitor to the British Isles – Dewick’s Plusia, Macdunnoughia confusa (Stephens, 1850).
Dewick’s Plusia, Macdunnoughia confusa (Stephens, 1850)
According to the UK Moth site, it has only occurred here a few dozen times,...
Source: David Bradley Sciencebase - Songs, Snaps, Science - September 13, 2019 Category: Science Authors: David Bradley Tags: Moths Source Type: blogs
Trump ’s “Cakewalk” Fantasy about an Iran War
Although President Trump apparently called off a planned airstrike on Iran at the last minute in late June, he subsequently warned Iranian leaders that the military option was still very much on the table. He emphasized that if the United States used force against Iran, Washington would not put boots on the ground but would wage the conflict entirely with America ’s vast air power. Trump exhibited no doubt about the outcome, asserting that such a war “wouldn ’t last very long, ” and that it would mean the “obliteration” of Iran.His boast was eerily reminiscent of the statement that Kenneth Adelman, a former ass...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 3, 2019 Category: American Health Authors: Ted Galen Carpenter Source Type: blogs
Medicine, Hopscotch, and Hope for Syrian Refugees
BY MECCA MADHUN, DO, & SHAZA AOUTHMANY, MDWe pulled up to the northern Lebanese-Syrian border after a two-and-a-half-hour ride from Beirut across bumpy dirt roads, and heard little voices singing, “Ahlan bil, dakatra!” (Welcome, doctors!)We were dressed in our Syrian American Medical Society (SAMS) vests with stethoscopes around our necks, and made our way to the clinic, long alleys of white tarps covering tin walls and ceilings. It was barren and dark; we left the door open and set up our clinic space near the light from the door. We had six plastic chairs, a small plastic side table, an otoscope, alcohol pads,...
Source: Going Global - April 24, 2019 Category: Emergency Medicine Tags: Blog Posts Source Type: blogs
The Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT) pilot evaluation: final report
Public Health England - In 2016-2017 Public Health England and the Home Office, in collaboration with the International Organization for Migration, conducted a pilot of the Global Mental Health Assessment Tool (GMHAT). The GMHAT is a computerised clinical assessment tool developed to rapidly assess and identify mental health problems in a range of settings. The tool was tested with 200 Syrian refugees aged 18+ years in one clinic in Beirut, Lebanon who were being processed for resettlement to the UK as part of the Vulnerable Persons Resettlement Scheme. ReportMore detail (Source: Health Management Specialist Library)
Source: Health Management Specialist Library - April 14, 2019 Category: UK Health Authors: The King ' s Fund Information & Knowledge Service Tags: Local authorities, public health and health inequalities Mental Health Source Type: blogs
As Refugees, Syrian Women Find Liberation in Working
Syrian refugee women in Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan want opportunities to work, but there are multiple barriers and challenges that limit them from working. Improving the chances of safe and dignified work opportunities for Syrian women in these host countries could yield broad positive social benefits for both the refugee and host communities. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 19, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Louay Constant; Shanthi Nataraj; Fadia Afashe Source Type: blogs
78% of Americans support immigration of highly skilled people
Click on image to enlargeEditor's note:For all the scare mongering the Trumpists do about immigration, most Americans support, 78% support immigration of highly skilled people. Thank goodness! The endodontist who did my last root canal told me he was from Libya. The surgeon who removed my malignant melanoma told me he was from Lebanon. The urological resident I just saw for my prostrate related UTI told me he was from Syria. When he told me he and his family was from Syria I started to weep and told him "I'm sorry." He thanked me and continued very professionally with our consultation. (Source: Markham's Behavioral Health)
Source: Markham's Behavioral Health - February 15, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: David G. Markham Source Type: blogs
Syrian Skills: A Missed Opportunity
Syrian refugees in Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are finding ways to get by. But many refugees are not able to fully use their skills, and that is a lost opportunity both for the Syrians and the host countries. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - February 14, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Shanthi Nataraj; Louay Constant Source Type: blogs
Helping Lebanon Succeed Is More Than About Countering Iran
As tensions increase on the Israeli-Lebanese border the possibility is growing that a confrontation with Iran may move from Syria to Lebanon. For the United States, turning its back on this small but strategically critical country and conflating U.S. interests in Lebanon solely with countering Iran could be short-sighted, and a missed opportunity at a time when the region has few. (Source: The RAND Blog)
Source: The RAND Blog - January 16, 2019 Category: Health Management Authors: Dalia Dassa Kaye Source Type: blogs
From Tribal Fusion Bellydance to Tolstoy
I’ve always been fascinated by extreme opposites working together at the same time. I love the way classical, orderly Enlightenment Europe morphed into its opposite, stormy, histrionic Romanticism. In philosophy, music, poetry, and painting. Late eighteenth century rationalism caves into moody sturm und drang of the early nineteenth century. The symmetry of Mozart into the surprises of Beethoven. Voltaire, Rousseau and then Hegel to Marx.
Whew. That was a long time ago, in history and in my life. I thought those interests of mine had gone underground in the last few decades of my life, disappearing into autism advoca...
Source: Susan's Blog - January 8, 2019 Category: Child Development Authors: Susan Senator Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: blogs
45,000 “Special Interest Aliens” Caught Since 2007, But No U.S. Terrorist Attacks from Illegal Border Crossers
ConclusionSo far, there have been zero people murdered or injured in terror attacks committed by illegal border crossers on U.S. soil. This includes those who entered as illegal immigrants and those who entered illegally and then applied for asylum. Only seven terrorists from special interest countries, all of whom entered prior to the government putting those countries on a list, even entered the U.S. illegally by crossing a land border. Two of them were arrested within hours of doing so, two other received asylum, and none of them crossed the Mexican border. Our above evidence is based on past events. The futu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - December 17, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: David Bier, Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Does the Migrant Caravan Pose a Serious Terrorism Risk?
Yesterday, President Trumptweeted that “unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in” with themigrant caravan approaching the U.S. border. Vice President Pencelater tried to justify President Trump ’s comment by arguing that, “It is inconvincible that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people advancing toward our border.” Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studieswrote that “the president was obviously referencing … ‘special interest aliens’ … U.S.-bound migrants moving along well-established Latin America smuggling routes from [Muslim] countries.” Perhaps...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 23, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Does the Migrant Caravan Pose a Terrorism Risk?
Yesterday, President Trumptweeted that “unknown Middle Easterners are mixed in” with themigrant caravan approaching the U.S. border. Vice President Pencelater tried to justify President Trump ’s comment by arguing that, “It is inconvincible that there are not people of Middle Eastern descent in a crowd of more than 7,000 people advancing toward our border.” Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studieswrote that “the president was obviously referencing … ‘special interest aliens’ … U.S.-bound migrants moving along well-established Latin America smuggling routes from [Muslim] countries.” Perhaps...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - October 23, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Reflections after finishing the first year of medical school
I am both relieved and nervous because they say that the first year is the worst, but now I have the overarching cloud of doom following me around during second year: Step 1.
Now that I’m home, I constantly am wondering how I made it this far — in disbelief that I passed all my courses pretty well. I constantly ask myself if exams were too easy and if I’m just getting lucky. Then I remember the countless obstacles I had to overcome while living alone in medical school, and I realize that the potential of human beings is absolutely remarkable. I lost my entire world and my best friend in my first semester. I didn’t ...
Source: Kevin, M.D. - Medical Weblog - October 17, 2018 Category: General Medicine Authors: < a href="https://www.kevinmd.com/blog/post-author/batoul-harissa" rel="tag" > Batoul Harissa < /a > Tags: Education Medical school Psychiatry Source Type: blogs
Gulf States Are Still Sponsoring Many Syrians
A persistent myth surrounding the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis is that the wealthy Gulf States are not sponsoring Syrian refugees. As Iwrote in late 2015, the Gulf States did not host refugees but they were sponsoring almost 1.4 million Syrian emigrants in 2013 – about a million more than they were sponsoring in 2010 before the Syrian civil war began. The recently releasedWorld Bank bilateral migration index for 2017 shows that Gulf Countries are still sponsoring about 1.2 million Syrians, a 12 percent decline relative to 2013 (Table 1).Table 1: Syrians Living in Gulf StatesThese Syrians are technically not “refu...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - July 5, 2018 Category: American Health Authors: Alex Nowrasteh Source Type: blogs
Celebrating the Commonwealth Fund: An Interview with a Public Health Leader in the U.S. and Abroad
A 1971 Commonwealth Fund fellowship brought Haroutune Armenian, M.D., Dr.P.H., now at the University of California, Los Angeles, from the American University in Beirut (AUB) to the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health in Baltimore. We interviewed him about his fascinating and long career in academia and government in the U.S., Lebanon, and Armenia, among other countries.
(Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog)
Source: The Commonwealth Fund: Blog - April 20, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: blogs
