Mutating Viruses Finding Their Replication Home In Us

"[This mutated version] has since then probably been circulating in a region of the world with poor viral surveillance and has now been repeatedly exported to other places in the world."

Professor Francois Balloux, Britain 

"Such a high number of mutations is notable [it is similar to the number of mutations that differed between Delta, one of the early strains of the coronavirus, and Omicron]."

"When Omicron hit in the winter of 2021, there was a huge rise in COVID-19 cases because it was so different from the Delta variant, and it evaded immunity from both natural infection and vaccination." "The other concern is that this strain has been picked up in at least six countries, and the cases are unrelated. This suggests that there is some degree of transmission in the community that we’re not detecting that is happening internationally."

Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Scott Roberts

There is some reason for concern that this variant, unofficially nicknamed “Pirola,” has over 30 mutations to its spike protein. The spike protein is how the coronavirus enters human cells. Getty Images

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Francois Balloux, professor of computational systems biology, director of University College London's Genetics Institute, felt the most plausible origin of this new variant known as Pirola was that an individual with an already-compromised immune system had been infected with an Omicron variant for a lengthy period of time and in that year or so the virus had ample opportunity to mutate until eventually the mutated version emerged, and the world community had yet another version of the original SARS-CoV-2 virus. 

 

A totally new-and-improved (from the perspective of the virus) sub-variant of a COVID variant.

And thus, from an expert's point of view, was BA.2.86 ('Pirola'), the new coronavirus variant born, to be inflicted upon the world's unwilling hosts. The fear lingering in the minds of the medical community, visualizing another sweeping series of global lockdowns, is that the Pirola variant having undergone an unusually large number of mutations on the mutated virus's spike proteins -- over 30 altogether it was determined, in comparison to previous common variants -- that it may be super-efficient in evading immune responses of COVID antibodies.

The virus's ease in penetrating  human cells thanks to mutations on its spike proteins is considered a vital replication strategy with the disease onset. With any possible new advantages in the mutated virus more infections and/or a worse disease emerging would take the world back to a Stage 1 scenario -- with COVID-19 overwhelming hospitals with serious infections and renewed high mortality rates, particularly among the elderly.

In the last short while, epidemiological data indicate the rise of hospitalizations and increased outbreak reports -- a general, still slight uptick in cases at a time when a decline in infections and serious illnesses lulled the world into a sense of complacency. Evidence has not yet arisen, however, that Pirola is a transmissibility and virulence threat. For the time being it has been noted that the strain does not appear to cause particularly severe illness.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stated that: "Based on what CDC knows now, existing tests used to detect and medications used to treat COVID-19 appear to be effective with this variant. At this time, we don't know how well this variant spreads, but we know that it spreads in the same way as other variants." Officially. scientists refer to the new virus as BA.2.86.

Credit: PixabayCCO Public Domain

"Nobody knows right now, but studies are ongoing. The biggest concern has been the number of mutation differences with BA.2.86. When we went from XBB.1.5 to EG.5, that was maybe one or two mutations, and they were expected. With every respiratory virus, as it spreads from person to person, it evolves gradually over time. But these massive shifts, which we also saw from Delta to Omicron, are worrisome."

"The big question is if BA.2.86 will have the same exponential growth that Omicron did—in terms of case numbers—or if it will die out, which is certainly what everyone hopes."

"Since the original version of SARS-CoV-2, many people have gotten infected, and many have been boosted. However, for many of us, it might have been a year or more since we’ve had a booster, so I would encourage everyone to get the updated shot, which is expected to come out in mid-September."

Yale Medicine infectious diseases specialist Scott Roberts 

Beware Unwashed Greens Foraging

"I just thought: 'What is that? It doesn't make an sense. But it's alive and moving."

"It continued to move with vigour. We all [operating team] felt a bit sick."

"I’ve only come across worms using my not-so-good gardening skills … I find them terrifying and this is not something I deal with at all."

Surgeon Hari Priya Bandi, Canberra, Australia

"This patient had been treated ... for what was a mystery illness that we thought ultimately was a immunological condition because we hadn't been able to find a parasite before and then out of nowhere, this big lump appeared in the frontal part of her brain."

"Suddenly, with her [Bandi's] forceps, she's picking up this thing that's wriggling. She and everyone in that operating theatre were absolutely stunned."

"When you operate on someone's brain and you take a biopsy of something, you never expect to encounter something living."

"[It] was certainly something we'll never forget."

"Because this was an unusual case at so many levels, we’re keeping a close eye on her [the patient] and keeping in touch." 

"We were able to send the live wiggling worm to him [animal parasitology expert at a governmental scientific research agency just 20 minutes away], and he was able to look at it and immediately identify it."

"To our knowledge, this is also the first case to involve the brain of any mammalian species, human or otherwise."

Sanjaya Senanayake, infectious diseases physician

A supplied undated combined image obtained on August 28, 2023 shows a live "Ophidascaris robertsi" roundworm found in a 64-year-old Australian woman's brain.  AAP Image/Supplied by Emerging Infectious Diseases via REUTERS

 

As medical 'firsts' go, this one would have been totally unexpected, a ghastly discovery of a parasitic roundworm living in a woman's brain. But researchers at The Australian National University and the Canberra Hospital identified the live eight-centimetre roundworm whose usual victim would be carpet pythons, and so they take first prize in this extraordinary discovery of a new type of human-parasitic infection that no one might ever have imagined could even exist.

This is not, however, a new infectious emerging threat, and nor would the public generally have to concern themselves over the possibility of acquiring such a bizarre and frightening infection. Not unless, that is their home is close to a habitat for carpet pythons, and they habitually forage for vegetation for their dinner table, a very special treat called Warrigal greens. Which, as it happened, the 64 year-old patient seemed to be fond of.

The woman happened to live close to an area by a lake in southeastern New South Wales inhabited by carpet pythons. There was assumed not to have been direct contact with a snake, but researchers find it likely that when she foraged for Warrigal greens, the native leafy green which she often cooked and ate, the greens were contaminated. A carpet python likely spread the parasite in its feces onto the greens. Usually, it was theorized, other snakes would pick up the parasitical eggs excreted with feces, and they then would be infected in an ongoing cycle.

Drs. Bandi and Senanayake co-authored an article relating to the medical case that was published in the most recent edition of the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases. Surgeon Bandi was performing a biopsy through a hole in the skull of the 64-year-old patient, when she extracted the parasite measuring eight centimetres, with the use of forceps. Now, it's known it was the larva of an Australian roundworm never before known as a human parasite.

Dr. Senanayake explained that in June of last year he was on hospital duty at the time. "I got a call saying: 'We've got a patient with an infection problem. We've just removed a live worm from this patient's brain'." Scans had indicated changes in her brain after being admitted to hospital with symptoms of forgetfulness and worsening depression over a period of three months. The biopsy was expected to reveal an abscess or a cancer.

The patient regained consciousness once the worm was extracted, and no negative consequences were noted. Six months later, her neuropsychiatric symptoms had improved, but not disappeared. The patient was cleared to return home shortly after the surgery, prescribed antiparasitic drugs, and had not since returned to hospital. 

"There’s more opportunities for humans, domestic animals and wild animals to interact with each other and the vegetation that’s out there. So this is just another marker that more new infections will be seen in the future."

"This Ophidascaris infection does not transmit between people, so it won’t cause a pandemic like SARS, COVID-19 or Ebola. However, the snake and parasite are found in other parts of the world, so it is likely that other cases will be recognized in coming years in other countries."

"The other message from this case is about foraging. People who forage should wash their hands after touching foraged products. Any foraged material used for salads or cooking should also be thoroughly washed." 

Sanjaya Senanayake, professor, Australian National University

In a sense, there was a previous, similar incident when a study last year revealed that a 25-year-old Australian woman was found to have tapeworm larvae in her brain after complaining of a headache that lasted for over a week. Doctors believed a tumour might be the cause, after an MRI scan of her brain. However, following an operation to remove the lesion, they  discovered it was actually a cyst full of tapeworm larvae.

Flawed Solutions to Single-Use Plastics

"[Even in situations where straws produced from plant material are not part of growing litter, their most likely destination would routinely be a landfill. There, the paper straws' life cycle will be spent] releasing PFAS [per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances] further into the environment." 

Belgian study

"Straws made from plant-based materials ... are often advertised as being more sustainable and eco-friendly than those made from plastic."

"However, the presence of PFAS in these straws means that's not necessarily true."

Thimo Groffen, environmental scientist, Belgium

Canada is in the midst of an all-out drive to prohibit the distribution of single-use plastics, meaning paper straws now usually replace the plastic variety. Photo by Getty Images

 

There are some countries, Canada among them, that intend to, or have produced legislation for the mandatory adoption of paper straws in a well-publicized and self-congratulatory announcement that single-use plastic will no longer be tolerated for use in their jurisdictions given their wasteful carbon footprint and propensity to end up bobbing in a sea amongst floating islands of plastic detritus, posing a threat to aquatic wildlife and adding to the garbage heaps humanity is responsible for on land and ocean.

 

A just-published study in the journal Food Additives and Contaminants was the result of studying over 20 different brands of plant-based straws, only to discover in their makeup high levels of toxic chemicals. "These 'eco-friendly' plant-based straws are not necessarily a more sustainable alternative to plastic straws", a research team based at University of Antwerp in Belgium concluded.

The straws that were  selected for examination by the researchers were not only made of paper, but other materials as well, including plastic, glass and steel. They were found, on close examination to be largely laden with per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances commonly recognized as 'forever chemicals'. Not only would this mean the straws are not biodegradable, but they would as well act as vectors for chemicals considered hazardous to human and environmental health.

In December of 2022, Canada in its drive to prohibit distribution of single-use plastics singled out plastic straws as one of the most visible ban targets and Environment Canada regulations made it illegal to manufacture or import plastic straws, cutlery and single-use shopping checkout bags. By year's end, the sale of such products will become prohibited. A costly venture overall; with the average Canadian scheduled to pay roughly $50 in the higher cost of acquiring plastic alternatives.

The University of Antwerp research team performed chemical analyses on 39 types of straws commonly sourced from supermarkets in Belgium as well as from fast food outlets: 20 paper, five glass, five bamboo, five stainless steel, and four plastic. The stainless-steel straws alone were found completely PFAS-free, the only type that could be recycled. Even glass straws contained measurable amounts of forever chemicals.

The chemicals' widespread use is attributed to the fact their addition in the manufacturing process produces water-repellent products. It transpires that in its zeal and zest to outlaw the most obvious single-use plastic products, Canada neglected to inspect the environmental effects or potential unintended consequences of replacing single-use plastics with acceptable alternative products.

Researchers have looked at whether paper drinking straws are as good for the environment as they are thought to be   (PA Archive)

Casting a Wide, Deadly Internet

"[The National Crime Agency is investigating whether any crimes had been committed in the U.K., but] at this early stage there are no confirmed links between the items purchased from the websites and cause of death in any of these cases."

"Our deepest sympathies are with the loved ones of those who have died. They are being supported by specially trained officers from police forces."

U.K. National Crime Agency Deputy Director Craig Turner

"In order to protect the integrity of this complex, multi-jurisdictional investigation, we are not able to release specific details at this time."

"As the investigation progresses, we will provide more details to the public when investigators have deemed it appropriate."

"If we receive information about a potential victim outside of our jurisdiction, our Investigators will communicate with outside police agencies to check on the person's well-being."
"[Peel investigators are working with counterparts] across Ontario, nationally and internationally, as we believe there could be more victims."

Peel Regional Police spokesperson Constable Sarah Patten

Kenneth Law of Mississauga, Ont., was charged with counselling suicide  CBC News

The Times of London had initially reported on a Mississauga, Ontario man, 57-year-old Kenneth Law , who been selling a potentially lethal, but legal, substance online to people invested in ending their lives and reaching out to his various websites to acquire his advertised product. Sodium nitrite is a salt compound or food additive that sees common usage in the curing of meat products. It is a white, crystalline substance that can be lethal, ingested in high concentrations, according to toxicology experts.  

While sodium nitrite is commonly used in food preparation, including for cured meats, Greg Blonder, a Boston University visiting scholar in engineering, explained on enquiry that "typical culinary application levels" are much lower, "at the 100 parts per million level." In his online presence, the now-defunct websites selling sodium nitrite, Law used the "PEng" abbreviation, suggesting a professional engineering background.

 

A man from Liverpool, England, revealed in an interview that his 41-year-old brother Gary Cooper was found dead a year ago July. British police had informed his family that his brother had consumed sodium nitrite that had been ordered and mailed from Canada.

"There's a lot of thoughts, a lot of emotions, but I'm just glad that, although this took a long time, I'm glad it's finally happening."

"[My brother was] brilliant [but was struggling]."

"He was getting help. He was slowly but surely getting there and unfortunately he found this website, this forum before he could get better, so he didn't get a chance to heal."

Lee Cooper, Liverpool, England

A package is shown here from Imtime Cuisine, one of the companies linked to Kenneth Law. (Supplied by Peel Regional Police)

Over 40 countries and 11 Ontario police forces are now involved in the investigation against Law. In Britain police are investigating the deaths of 88 people who had accessed the online sites to order products that offered lethal substances to people at risk of self-harm. The U.K. probe is part of international enquiries. The arrest in Canada of Kenneth Law earlier in the year sparked international enquiries. Mr. Law has been charged with two counts of counselling and aiding suicide.

 

Police in Canada advised that Kenneth Law, living in the Toronto area, made use of a number of websites in marketing and selling sodium nitrite to people who presented as emotionally vulnerable, actively seeking assisatnce in their goal to end their lives. Sodium nitrite, Law advised them, was the perfect medium. He is suspected of having sent 1,200 packages containing the lethal substance to individuals who ordered it, from over 40 countries. 

 

Investigations have been launched by authorities in the United States, Italy, Australia and New Zealand. 

In Ontario alone, eleven police forces are actively taking part in a joint investigation of this man's activities. Peel police arrested Law on May 2, charging him with two counts of counselling or aiding suicide. The Times of London had launched an investigation in April which was the first indication that something dramatically sinister was abroad when the investigation caught Law on tape advising enquirers how to use his products. 

 

Law himself assured The Times reporter that "many, many people" had died with the use of sodium nitrite. As though he found pride in being so helpful to so many people suffering the psychological imbalance that brought them to search for a means by which to end their lives.

 

Clinical Treatment Decisions

"I've got a lot to live for. I have grandchildren, I have children. Like, they're grown men, but they're my kids."

"Taking this vaccine offends my conscience. I ought to have the choice about what goes into my body, and a lifesaving treatment cannot be denied to me because I chose not to take an experimental treatment for a condition -- COVID-19 -- which I do not have and which I may never have."

Sheila Annette Lewis, 58, Alberta resident

Sheila Annette Lewis in an undated photo. Photo by Family handout

"[Should the court order the medical system to allow her a transplant despite her having chosen to spurn its conditions, there would be] significant adverse public policy implications."

"The proposition that Treatment Physicians exercising clinical judgment would be subject to the Charter would result in medical chaos, with patients seeking endless judicial review of clinical treatment decisions."

Alberta Court of King's Bench

 

"While Ms. Lewis has the right to refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Charter cannot remediate the consequences of her choice."

Alberta Court of Appeal

Supreme Court of Canada declines to hear challenge to Covid-19 vaccine mandate for transplant candidates   JCCF

Denied an organ transplant when she refused to receive a COVID-19 vaccine pre-surgery, Sheila Annette Lewis has died. She had been crowdsourcing funding for the purpose of travelling to the United States for an organ transplant. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms announced her death, and that her plan to seek a transplant where she would not be required to be inoculated beforehand was thus rendered immaterial.

Sheila Annette Lewis was diagnosed in 2018 with a terminal illness, placed on the transplant wait list for her province of Alberta. While awaiting a date assigned to her for the transplant, she undertook to update a number of childhood vaccinations, a condition that was a pre-requisite to receive an organ transplant.

She was informed in 2021 that she would require as well the COVID-19 vaccine to enable her to undergo the needed transplant procedure. The medical argument was that in recognition of high risks of death following a transplant and the immunosuppressed condition of transplant patients, the vaccine for COVID-19 was considered to be a crucial requirement.

Unconvinced by the rationality of the experienced scientific view, Sheila Annette Lewis refused the vaccine, and decided to sue Alberta Health Services. In the event, the courts refused to order the medical system to allow her the transplant under her conditions, not that of the medical community. She appealed the judgement of the Alberta Court, but then the Alberta Court of Appeal also ruled against her.

She decided to continue fighting for what she considered her rights under the Constitution and the medical allocation of scarce transplant resources, as an individual requiring the potentially life-saving procedure, and exercising her right as an individual to spurn the medical requirement of a vaccine prior to surgery. The Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear her case, however.

Despite that a libertarian legal group resisting a number of public-health measures and charges in court, had argued persuasively that their client had achieved natural immunity from a prior COVID-19 infection. "If Ms. Lewis does not get her transplant, she will not survive, and her family will lose years of time with their mother, wife, and grandmother", wrote her Justice Centre lawyer.

Once the courts had turned down her appeal, raising funds for an organ transplant in the United States consumed Ms. Lewis's attention. On GiveSendGo, a fundraising website, she wrote that she had located an American hospital that would agree to an organ transplant without the required vaccination. Her page on the site had reached $124,776 in sympathetic donations just before her death.

An Alberta woman who tried to take her fight over COVID-19 vaccine requirements for organ transplants all the way to the Supreme Court has died. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press)

Secret Video of a Sex Act on Pornhub

"[The women's consent was] vitiated by fraud."

"She [the female plaintiff] said finding out the recordings had been posted on Pornhub destroyed her."

"Her privacy was taken away by someone she trusted [and] she now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety and depression."

Ontario court Justice Ann Alder

The Ontario Courthouse in Toronto is photographed on Monday, May 2, 2022. Secretly filming and sharing footage of consensual sex constitutes a sexual assault, according to a recent case in Ottawa, and that is opening up a debate about how courts view the issue of consent when it comes to technology. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov. CKL

"This is a really unique case because this is not something we've seen before." 

"When you have otherwise consensual sexual activity that has been non-consensually recorded, it is not at all settled in Canadian law right now whether that act of recording itself can transform that sexual activity from something that is consensual to something that is non-consensual."

Moira Aikenhead, law professor specializing in technology-based gender violence, University of Victoria

"Consenting to have sex with someone while it's being recorded is a very different type of sexual activity compared to having sex with someone when you are not being recorded." 

"It's incorporating this aspect of technology that's so fundamental to our sex lives in the modern era."

Suzie Dunn, law professor researching technology-facilitated violence, Dalhousie University

"[Secretly  recording someone having sex] should and does [render consent void because of the emotional and psychological harm caused]."

"In a world in which platforms like Pornhub are as popular among some demographics as Facebook, the harm caused just by creating non-consensual sex videos is profound."

"Imagine living with the knowledge that someone has a video of  you having sex, that you did not want created, that could at any moment be distributed globally."

Elaine Brooks-Craig, professor specializing in sexual-assault law, Dalhousie University

Jacob Rockburn, 39, found guilty of two counts of sexual assault in the Ontario Court of Justice. Photo by Gary Dimmock /Postmedia

According to an Ottawa judge's ruling of recent date that sparked a debate over how courts view consent in technology-involved cases, secretly filming and sharing footage of consensual sex constitutes a sexual assault. High-profile cases, in particular those involving teens, of revenge porn and 'sextortion' involving threatening to share evidence of sexual activity unless demands are met represent issues and views that have evolved over recent years.

A Criminal Code charge for the non-consensual sharing of intimate images online was added by the federal government, leading to some provincial legislatures changing their laws in the purpose of offering victims more recourse through civil claims. In this very particular case, Jacob Rockburn was sentenced to seven years in prison less time served, having been found guilty of sexually assaulting two women, and distributing the images online.

Both women had consented to having sex with Rockburn, but on learning later that he had filmed them absent their consent and uploaded videos to Pornhub, a pornography website, using degrading titles, the two women took the matter to court. Their identities are protected by a publication ban, and both women informed the court they would never have consented to sex had they understood they were being recorded. Posting the resulting videos online caused them psychological harm.

In her decision Justice Alder leaned on an analysis from the Alberta Appeal Court in 2021, discussing the notion that secretly recording a sexual encounter could meet the legal threshold for sexual assault. Removing a condom without a partner's knowledge was already ruled by the Supreme court of Canada that that act could void consent. The Supreme Court also ruled that failing to disclose one is HIV-positive with a potential of transmission, can be considered aggravated sexual assault.

The current Liberal government however, in response to advocacy by the LGBTQ+ community moved to limit such prosecutions, citing evolving science. A lawyer with the Women's Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF), Rosel Kim, stated she welcomed the court taking the impact of the crimes seriously, and she expressed interest in how higher courts would handle the issue, since the offence of sharing sexual images without consent was a relatively new social phenomenon.

Images of one of the women were on the Pornhub site for almost a year, and during that time downloaded 912 times. Court also heard that the video of the second woman had been viewed over 9,000 times, leading her to attempt suicide. "She explained how she wondered when someone looked at her whether it was because they saw the video", explained Justice Alder at the Rockburn sentencing.

"It certainly helps if I can say to clients and point to a case and say, 'Look,this is something the courts would take seriously. You wouldn't be pointed out and laughed at."

"You wouldn't be told that it was  your fault or that you were stupid, or that ... you were reckless'."

"The biggest fear everyone has is that they won't be believed."

Kathryn Marshall, lawyer advocating for protecting women and girls from violence, Toronto

Will The Real Vladimir Putin Please Come Forward!!

"With 'Putin's appearances at the same time in different places, evident differences in movements and now missing where 'Putin' has his watch, it is time for mainstream media to call Putin out: He uses one or two doubles."

Anders Aslund, economist, adjunct professor, Georgetown University, Washington

 

"You have probably heard that he has very many doubles who work instead of him while he sits in a bunker. Yet another lie."
"You see yourselves what our president is like: he always was, and is now, mega-active -- those who work next to him can hardly keep up with him."

"His energy can only be envied. His health can, God willing, only be wished for."

"Of course, he doesn't sit in any bunkers. This is also a lie."

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov

In this pool photograph distributed by Sputnik agency Russia's President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects via video link in Moscow, on August 22, 2023. Photo by MIKHAIL KLIMENTYEV/POOL/AFP 

Conspiracy theorists would have it that Russia's strongman is mortally ill, perhaps on the brink of death. Of course that might also be wishful thinking. But wishing won't make it so. The dictator that President Putin so admired, Stalin, was the subject of wishful thinking too. After he suffered a stroke and a heart attack those who jostled to become his successor certainly wanted him to get on with his appointment with death. It's entirely possible that Putin, who trusts no one, views everyone around him as a possible assassin. He plans to strike first. And, infamously, he does.

Ill health aside, and covering a serious health condition by having someone (or someones) sit in for him in public -- look-alike decoys -- could also represent barriers between Mr. Putin and any potential assassin. As for lingering behind in a bunker, that too is absurdly unlikely, given Russia's president's personal ownership of multi-million-dollar mansions tailored to his sense of luxurious entitlement and where he can retreat in comfort and security.

Anton Gerashchenko, a senior Ukrainian official and adviser to his country's minister of internal affairs commented on a video where Putin appeared to forget which wrist he wore his watch on, during a meeting of the Council for Strategic Development and National Projects this past Tuesday. "Or that isn't Putin?" he asked. 

 

Mr. Putin's habit of wearing his watch on his right wrist tweaked observers to the fact that in the video he appeared to check the time looking for his watch on his left wrist as someone who habitually wears a watch on the left would do. Finding nothing there, he awkwardly dropped his left arm.

Previous peculiar incidents have given people reason to believe that the Russian president makes use of a body double. Rumours were fuelled when a photograph circulated of the Russian president with Chechen republic head Ramzan Kadyrov, with Putin appearing bloated, his skin mottled. This wasn't the Putin of shirtless horse-back riding, by any measure.

"Kadyrov posted a photo with Putin. Peskov confirmed that the meeting took place yesterday. In the photo, Kadyrov is very large and overwhelms Putin, who looks very small and old. By the way, how many days did Kadyrov spend in quarantine before the meeting? Or is it not…" Anton Gerashchenko

 

Jordan Peterson and Free Opinion, Free Speech

"The order is not disciplinary and does not prevent Dr. Peterson from expressing himself on controversial topics; it has a minimal impact on his right to freedom of expression."

"Dr. Peterson sees himself functioning as a clinical psychologist 'in the broad public space' where he claims to be helping 'millions of people."' 

"Peterson cannot have it both ways: he cannot speak as a member of a regulated profession without taking responsibility for the risk of harm that flows from him speaking in that trusted capacity."

Justice Paul Schabas, Ontario Divisional Court

"I'll comply with their regulations, but I'm not going to do it in secret... And the reason I'm not going to do it in secret is because I don't believe I've done anything wrong."

"The fundamental issue is one of free discourse," he said. "I like to think and we think by talking in large part. And so I'm not willing to suspend my tongue as a consequence of government decree."

"I deserve it [his license]. I earned it. I haven't done anything to justify suspending it, and I don't want to give the hyenas their bones." 

Dr. Jordan Peterson, clinical psychologist, emeritus professor, University of Toronto 

Jordan Peterson, who has gained international fame for his bestselling self-help books and lectures, has refused to pay to undergo a media training course ordered by the College of Psychologists of Ontario. (Jason Franson/The Canadian Press)

"The College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario is pleased with the court's decision confirming that members of regulated health professions are expected to maintain high standards of conduct, which at times may result in some curtailment of their freedom of expression."

"In our view, the decision again confirms that when a regulated health professional breaches expectations set by its regulator, including with respect to public speech, the regulator is best situated to assess and address the potential harm to public trust and confidence in the profession."

Carolyn Silver, Chief Legal Officer, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario

 

"When individuals join a regulated profession, they do not lose their Charter right to freedom of expression. At the same time, however, they take on obligations and must abide by the rules of their regulatory body that may limit their freedom of expression."

"The order is not disciplinary and does not prevent Dr. Peterson from expressing himself on controversial topics."

"Requiring coaching following apparently unheeded advice seems a reasonable next step, proportionately balancing statutory objectives against Charter rights which are minimally impaired, if they are impaired at all, by the [college's decision to require coaching]."

Ontario Divisional Court 18-page court ruling 

"[My client is] disappointed [in the decision]."

"He's obviously very concerned about the way in which the college's actions in this case have the potential to have a chilling effect on free expression by members of a regulated profession."

Matthew Gourlay, a Peterson lawyer

Dr. Peterson posted a 56-page document online in January 2023 outlining the complaints that were made against him, to the College of Psychologists of Ontario, claiming many had been produced by former clients, which initiated an investigation from the College of Psychologists of Ontario, responsible for governing the actions of psychologists in the province. The findings attained led the college to ask Dr. Peterson to undergo social media training, or he would face disciplinary proceedings.

When Dr. Peterson refused the order, he turned to the courts to review whether such authority was vested in the college, maintaining that his speech was outside the purview of the college authority since it was political. Furthermore, he added he had his own team of advisers to monitor his conduct. In their response the college noted that those people around Peterson were not analyzing his public communications from the perspective of whether he was violating obligations to the college.

The court agreed with the college, that it "recognized D. Peterson's 'right to freedom of expression', but expressed concern about the significance 'impact risks' in this case given that 'public statements that are demeaning, degrading, and unprofessional may cause harm, both to the people they are directed at, and to the impacted and other communities more broadly."

This entire situation arose years ago when Dr. Peterson declared his refusal to use the pronouns mandated by the Liberal government through Bill C-16 legislation, Canada's gender identity rights bill. The purpose of which was to act as a stepping stone in the promotion of 'safety and self-determination of trans and gender non-conforming people' making their identities and experiences legally explicit through the addition of “gender identity” and “gender expression” as grounds for protection within the country's human rights protection guidelines.

His opposition to the legislation expanding gender identity protections in Canadian human rights legislation, coupled with the huge popular success of his self-help book, 12 Rules for Life, has propelled Dr. Peterson in the public sphere as an authority celebrity figure. He has since gone on extensive speaking tours abroad to popular acclaim, and he has become a regular commentator on public affairs whose views continue to inspire controversy.

In one instance he commented on a plus-sized model's photograph in a popular publication, as "not beautiful". He was banned temporarily from Twitter for expression his opinion that a celebrity trans person "had her breasts removed by a criminal physician", both of which comments would make sense to quite a large audience. He has become a popular and noticeable guest on various social media sites and podcasts popular with the public often referred to as 'right-wing'.

The college, responding to the court decision stated its intention to review the decision and would "undertake next steps in accordance with our mandate and any appropriate legal processes" in view of Dr. Peterson's legal team planning to seek leave to appeal the court decision.

"Bill C-16 has been controversial, raising many concerns among its opponents and giving rise to heated debate.  Jordan Peterson, psychology professor at the University of Toronto, was one of the main opponents of the legislation.  Peterson says that gender neutral pronouns are  “constructions of people that have a political ideology.”  (Genders, Rights and Freedom of Speech, The Agenda with Steve Paikin, TVO (Oct. 26, 2016).)   He also believes that the new law will compel the use of gender neutral pronouns in private speech, an argument that the Canadian Bar Association strongly rejected.  (Sarah Reid, Everything You Need to Know About the Transgender Rights Bill, TVO (May 30, 2017); Justin Ling, Canada’s Transgender Rights Bill Could Become Law Before the Summer, Despite Some Controversial Opponents, VICE (May 17 2017).)"

Library of Congress 

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau takes part in a Pride flag-raising ceremony on Parliament Hill. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Deathly Suspense and Timely Rescue

"I had heard stories about miracles, but I saw a miraculous rescue happening with my own eyes."

"We suddenly felt a jolt, and it all happened so suddenly that we thought all of us are going to die."

"They were telling us don't worry, help is coming,"

"We cried, and tears were in our eyes, as we feared the cable car will go down."

Osama Sharif, 15, rescued schoolboy

 

"I thought I was the smallest and I would die before anyone. I had no hope when I did not see any help and failed the attempt till 4pm [….]"

"I became hopeful when the army rescued Irfanullah and I lost hope again when it became dark and the army halted heli operations. I regained hope when a local man rescued the second boy."

Ibrar Ahmed, 13

 

"After four hours, the first military helicopter hovered over our heads and he tried his best but it did not succeed."

"The second heli returned with no success as well. It made me very worried that helicopters were not succeeding and we will die soon."

"I was hell scared and all the children started screaming. We started holding each other as it kept dangling. I thought I was dead now."

Attualah, 16

"I could see death in front of my eyes."

"The wind pressure was too fast and the cable car was dangling and it had no doors from one side for over a year."

"Everyone was crying."

Rizwanullah, 15

 

"To be honest, no matter how I was making children calm and telling them we would survive, I did not see any chance that we would."

"It was a chaotic situation. But I was struggling to find ways and my phone saved us."

Gul Faraz, 24, local man

From left: Niaz, Attaullah, Usama, Ibrar Ahmed, Rizwanullah, Gul Faraz and Sher Nawaz, after their rescue. Photograph: Shah Meer Baloch/The Guardian

Pakistan suffered a day of suspense praying for the rescue of six children and two adults on a makeshift chairlift that regularly transported people living in the area over a deep and wide ravine, that had suddenly malfunctioned, losing one of its guideropes, a cable that had broken, leaving the car dangling hundreds of metres above the canyon in a remote part of Pakistan. 

The passengers, in a routine method of transportation for the area and many others like it in geologically mountainous terrain where these makeshift chairlifts act as the sole means of travel and communication, became trapped early in the day on Tuesday. They were crossing a river canyon in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Battagram district. The six children, all adolescents on the car, were on their way to school.

 

Pakistani military and local rescue workers bring people from the dangling cable car to safety using ropes and harnesses. (Pakistan Rescue Military/The Associated Press)

 

Nearby residents watched in horror as the cable car was suspended on its single cable, hoping it too would not break and send those clinging to it to certain death, as they awaited a government response that would bring the trapped people to safety. Throughout the country Pakistanis in their offices, shops, restaurants, homes and hospitals crowded around televisions in the grip of drama, clasping hope of rescue.

"Relieved to know that ... all the kids have been successfully and safely rescued", commented caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar as he congratulated the military and other rescuers for that ultimate success of their endeavours. "Great team work by the military, rescue departments, district administration as well as the local people."

The rescue helicopters were  unable to fly after sunset, and it was feared that the wind created by the helicopter blades might further weaken the remaining cable. That concern resulted in rescuers shifting from an airborne rescue effort to an operation with high risks involving the use of one cable still intact to approach the car with the chairlift.

The commandos' rope was seen swaying in the wind against the mountainous landscape on footage played on television stations showing a child in a harness pulled to safety. Helicopter rescues in these circumstances described by an expert, are extremely delicate, emphasizing wind generated by helicopter blades threatening to weaken the remaining cable, it alone holding the car aloft.

 

People watch as an army soldier slings down from a helicopter during the rescue mission. (AFP/Getty Images)

 

Most of the rescued children, handed over to their families burst into tears. "Everyone was praying for this moment" commented Nazir Ahmed, a senior police officer in the area where the rescue mission took place. Before the rescue was completed those on the stranded, swaying car were provided with food and water. Some of the trapped were enabled contact by cellphone with their families.

The cable cars are often poorly maintained to the extent that yearly people die or become injured while using them. They are a necessity in the region however, frequently used by villagers to get around the mountainous regions of Pakistan. After this heart-stopping episode that garnered the bated breath of the wider public, the president stated his intention that safety inspections be undertaken for the country's cable cars and chairlifts.

The group of eight, the two adults and six children, were marooned in those dangerous conditions for six hours, suspended precariously 350 metres above ground, even before the helicopters were dispatched after appeals were sent for an emergency response to a potentially deadly situation. In the event, the disaster management authority rose to the occasion.

 

Youngsters who were trapped in a broken cable car receive first aid following their rescue, in Pashto village, a mountainous area of Battagram district in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Tuesday. (Nazir Mahood/The Associated Press)

 

 

Cautionary Lifestyle Approach to Tinnitus Avoidance

"[Tinnitus is] a condition characterized by experiencing sound in one or both of your ears when there is no external source causing that sound."

"Tinnitus sufferers describe it as ringing, whistling, buzzing, hissing, whooshing or other similar sounds, to varying degrees of intensity."

"It can be temporary or chronic and is typically a symptom of an underlying condition."

Mayo Clinic

"As we prepared for a take, the engineer hit the talkback button and inadvertently sent a high pitched tone through my left headphone at a massive volume. It knocked me clean off my seat."

"The sound of chirping birds and light breezes would soon become a distant memory."

"So began my experience with tinnitus, described by professionals as a 'constant ringing clicking, hissing, buzzing, whistling or roaring'."

"...I recently took a giant step and got some hearing aids. The devices are as discreet as a hearing aid could be. They do little to help with the tinnitus, but now I don't have to pretend I understand what people are talking about in restaurants and bars."

Tony Horkins, drummer, musician, band member

Harvard Health

The condition of tinnitus is held to affect roughly ten to fifteen percent of any population, one or two percent of whom find the condition just about intolerable. For most people the condition arrives gradually, with age. There is no cure for tinnitus, but a team at University of Minnesota recently published a large-scale study for treatment. The trial, headed by professor Hubart Lim, evaluated the efficacy of Lenire, a "non-invasive bimodal neuromodulation approach" using sound combined with electrical stimulation.

After twelve weeks of treatment, up to 80 percent of study participants experienced reduced symptoms of their tinnitus condition. At the Mayo Clinic, experts explain the many ways that tinnitus can become part of daily life; one of the most common introductions to the condition is brought about by exposure to loud sounds. A sudden blast of noise or prolonged exposure to loud sounds; i.e., music concerts, construction equipment, or explosives, can damage the delicate structures of the inner ear.

Age-related hearing loss commonly may lead to tinnitus since sensory cells in the inner ear may deteriorate during a lifetime, causing both hearing loss and tinnitus. Medical conditions also, such as high blood pressure, and medications that include antibiotics and antidepressants, can lead to tinnitus. The elderly are most susceptible to developing tinnitus. Obesity, cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and a history of arthritis or head injury can increase risk.

If tinnitus is a symptom of a medical condition, according to experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine, treating the condition may help to reduce or eliminate tinnitus effects. Symptoms can be alleviated with sound therapy which aims to mask or distract from the sounds through the introduction of different, external sounds such as white noise machines, fans or specific tinnitus masking devices (sound machines or sleep-focused earbuds). Relief can be found for some sufferers by listening to soft music or nature sounds; streams, wind, rain or birdsong.

There is as well, tinnitus retraining therapy which combines sound therapy with counselling, to aid individuals to acclimatize to the tinnitus sound and reduce its intrusion. People can alter emotional and behavioural responses to tinnitus through cognitive behavioural therapy techniques. Anxiety and stress can be reduced around the problem. No medication has yet been developed specifically to effect a cure of tinnitus, but medications may be prescribed to alleviate specific symptoms such as anxiety or depression.

Avoidance is a good first step to tinnitus awareness in the awareness of loud noises, reduced exposure to implicating foods, medications and chemicals, along with managing stress levels. Regular exercise and adequate sleep are additional lifestyle-quality steps to routinely take with an ear to the future.

Miracle Drug? No

"This could all be not a real issue, but when you're talking about perioperative aspiration that can cause death, I think we need to act out of an abundance of caution."

"Urgent and high quality research [needs to be done to figure out what the problem is, if any]."

"The reason why people come to the operating room fasted is for an important reason: we want the stomach to be empty to reduce the chance of aspiration."

"[The drugs are of] potential enormous public health importance [taking into account staggering rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes]."

"[If there is a] legitimate [link between the weight loss drugs and suicidal ideation] it is undoubtedly rare."

Dr. Philip Jones, professor of anesthesiology, Mayo Clinic

Deputy editor-in-chief Canadian Journal of Anesthesia

"[My concern is that the] vigorous  advertising on U.S. television that shows Ozempic users happily doing yoga or playing pickle ball [could obscure the fact that they're] serious medications with a variety of possible side-effects."

"It's not a miracle drug as so many social media sites claim. There are no miracles in science."

Dr. Joe Schwarcz, director, Office for Science and Society, McGill University

Whether they're plastered over streetcars or displayed at Toronto Blue Jays games, advertisements for Ozempic — a diabetes drug that's increasingly being used for weight loss — seem to be everywhere.

Over 3.5 million prescriptions to the value of close to $1.2 billion were dispensed in Canada in 2022 for Ozempic. It is so popular as a weight-loss drug that its manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, announced a temporary shortage of its one milligram Ozempic injection pen for the Canadian market to commence late August and continue to early October; the global supply constraints and increased demand for the product as a guaranteed money-maker for the pharmaceutical company. 

With the growing popularity of these drugs, reports of possible adverse reactions are emerging. Among them recent stories including a possible increased risk of "gastroparesis", a condition affecting nerves and muscles of the stomach, and as well, suicidal ideation in users. Experts feel no evidence exists of cause-and-effect relationships. Should there be a "legitimate" link between weight loss drugs and suicidal ideation "It is undoubtedly rare".

A small number of people who have taken Ozempic have reported developing suicidal thoughts. Chelsea Stahl / NBC News; Getty Images

The drugs are typically taken through once-weekly injections of a pre-filled pen. The medication works partially through delaying gastric emptying, where food remains in the stomach longer before it reaches the intestines, and thus having the effect of making people feel well fed for a longer period of time. The issue of pulmonary aspiration, leading to pneumonia, respiratory distress and possibly death has arisen as a concern among American and Canadian anesthesiologists, as a "signal of concern".

Which is to say, a potentially life-threatening complication for patients undergoing surgery; the risk specifically of such patients regurgitating stomach contents under sedation, and inhaling food into their lungs. A smattering of case reports and small observational studies have arisen relating to patients taking Ozempic or related drugs among whom significant amounts of food remained in their stomachs while under anesthesia, even after 18 hours of fasting.

In a recently published editorial, Dr. Philip Jones who joined he Mayo Clinic recently, following 20 years at Western University, recommend along with his co-authors, that people taking the drugs for weight loss consider halting them for a three-week period prior to undergoing sedation. Three weeks appears to be how long a time it would take for the  body to clear 90 percent of the pharmaceuticals.

These drugs are in the class known by the name glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonists, which mimic a natural hormone serving to delay transit of food through the stomach. Semaglutide is the active ingredient in Ozempic and Wegovy. For over 15 years, semaglutide has been used in the treatment of diabetes. The drug decreases appetite at  higher doses by affecting the brain's hunger centres, and slowing "gastric emptying".

 

According to Dr. Jones and his colleagues' editorial published in the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia, the "gastric emptying" effect explains the common complaints of nausea, diarrhea, vomiting and other gastro-related issues with use of the drug. It is that very delayed gastric emptying that may pose a serious threat to surgery patients "by increasing the risk of pulmonary aspiration of regurgitated gastric contents" they wrote.

The drug is undergoing an assessment as well, by Health Canada, as to whether there is any association between the GLP-1 class and increased risk of thoughts of suicide or self-harm.Drug regulators in the United States and United Kingdom along with the European Medicines Agency launched similar probes. The European agency last month stated it is in the process of analyzing some 150 reports of possible cases of self-injury and suicidal thoughts in people taking GLP-1 receptor antagonists, that include Ozempic, Wegovy and Saxenda.

In addition to which, some reports have surfaced about severe gastroparesis -- paralysis of the stomach where the muscles of the stomach fail to move normally. Contractions become weaker and slower than what is required to digest food and propel it through the digestive tract. A Louisiana patient who used Ozempic for a year before switching to a newer, related drug in July claims to have suffered excessive vomiting from gastroparesis to the extent that her teeth fell out.

Ozempic, which is used to treat Type 2 diabetes and obesity, is among medications containing GLP-1 receptor agonists that are under review by Health Canada over concerns of suicide risk. (Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images)

"Patient safety is of utmost importance to Novo Nordisk and we take all reports about adverse events from use of our medicines very seriously."

"Our team is continuously monitoring the safety profile of our products and collaborating closely with health authorities to ensure patient safety information, including adequate information on side-effects, are included in the product monograph."

"[We] remain confident in the benefit risk profile [of our drugs]."

Kate Hanna, director of communications, Novo Nordisk Canada