An outbreak of gonorrhea across Alaska that began in 2009 is continuing this year, and health officials say they are trying new ways to curb it.

Between 2008 and 2009, the number of gonorrhea cases in Alaska rose an alarming 69 percent, according to a new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report.

State health officials began calling attention to a spike in gonorrhea cases in Southwest Alaska more than a year ago and highlighted the statewide rise in March.

The new report shows that Alaska ranks ninth in the nation for its rate of gonorrhea, compared with its ranking in recent years in the mid-20s. Alaska also is second in the nation for its high rate of chlamydia, another sexually transmitted disease that often is transmitted along with gonorrhea.

"Hopefully, the high numbers now are more of a success story in that people are coming in and getting tested. Though I am surprised the numbers haven't declined," said Susan Jones, the state's HIV/STD program manager. "It's this continuing rise in numbers that we haven't been able to get under control."


Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2010/11/26/104330/gonorrhea-outbreak-puts-alaska.html#storylink=omni_popular#ixzz16ayPk7cj

Labels: Alaska, sex

Labels: Alaska, American Idiots

Republican Joe Miller has filed his financial disclosure forms with the Senate. The documents, which detail the finances and potential conflicts of all senators and Senate candidates and are a requirement of both, were turned into the Senate public records office Thursday afternoon.

Miller was supposed to turn his form in sometime in April, when he had more than $5,000 in campaign donations in his campaign account. He never turned one in, though – an omission that the campaign said was unintentional. However, both Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Scott McAdams filed their forms. There's more information here about what's in their disclosures.

He could face fines for turning the disclosure form in late; no one with the Senate Ethics office was available for comment Thursday. However, there's a $200 penalty for filing even one month past the due date and failing to file the disclosure forms entirely can result in a fine of up to $50,000.

Miller also has a substantial amount of credit card debt, including between $35,003 and $80,000 on three separate charge accounts: two cards charging 10.24 percent interest with Bank of America and one zero percent interest loan with USAA Federal Savings Bank.

Labels: Alaska, hypocrisy, idiocy, lunacy, Teabaggers

It is easy when we sit hundreds or thousands of miles away, to feel detached from the troubles of a small Alaskan village. If we were able to imagine ourselves living in such an isolated rural setting with these challenges, and were to imagine that we had five children whom we loved, and whose care rested upon us, what would we do? And if we were able to feel the desperation of these parents when the choice came to decide whether to keep their children warm or keep them fed, knowing that they couldn’t do both, and that there was no end in sight, what would we do? In his letter, Nick Turner says:

I am reaching out for these families. Help is needed and cannot be delayed. I cannot imagine so many in this village are in hunger, without fuel, and other essentials and uncertain about their future. What is mind boggling about the whole situation is that they have remained silent, anonymous, suffered, and cried. The four villages in this region are in close proximity to each other and the demography is the same. Is this going on in your village?This is not the time for any debates or questions. The winter-long anomaly in the weather, conditions, and the situation are beyond our control.

There are approximately 200 households of the 847 residents here. In just a day and half, I was able to reach only 25 households. Are as many as 175 more remaining silent? In appearance, the heads of these 25 households look normal. I am devastated from the revelation of these few houses contacted. Additionally, how many of those who are able to work are without jobs? Easily, staggering 400 plus! Some other households are still calling, but I have few hours to print this report for my testimony during today’s fuel summit.

Though it may sound absurd, a massive airlift of food in the months of January, February, March and April will help our people. Any peoples, churches, organizations, associations, and government agencies ought to sent money to our native corporations to offset both the current fuel prices and the airlift presently underway. For over thirty years, we have witnessed in our region that our native corporations are just like people. They have limited income and their expenses have always been high. Why? Our Wade Hampton district has always been the most economically depressed than that of both our nation and state. We are in the most remote area of our state.

So, what is the state of Alaska doing to help its citizens as they face these conditions of scarcity that are beyond what many of us can imagine? The answer is, nothing. According to Mr. Tucker the lack of heating oil and food and the resulting threat to life did not count as an emergency to the State of Alaska.

A question. Where is our Governor? What are her priorities? I have heard her concerns about anonymous bloggers, about media coverage, about the legislature, and the gas line. I have seen a press release come out saying “There you go again” to the Anchorage Daily News. I haves seen lots of time and energy focused on how Sarah Palin feels mistreated by the media. But I have not heard one, single, solitary word about Emmonak. I have seen no press releases about what my state’s government is doing to help its people in harm’s way who are cold and hungry. I have heard big talk about a Rural Subcabinet headed up by our Attorney General, Talis Colberg, and I’ve heard that they’re busy evaluating.

Colberg stated that so far the subcabinet has been in preliminary meetings to look at programs that are already in place and discussing how to gather information, what topics should be focused on, how the group will be structured and what support they could rely on. The group has no fixed meeting time and the date of their next meeting is unknown.

So, if our governor can’t seem to get her eyes off the mirror, and her head out of 2012, and if the State of Alaska doesn’t consider this an “emergency”, then what is to be done?

The answer lies, where many answers lie, with us.

For information on how to help, click HERE.

Labels: Alaska, poverty, Sarah Palin

Labels: Alaska, electronic voting machines

Labels: Alaska, Barack Obama