anyway yeah DELETE YOUR FUCKING ADVERTISING IDS

Android:

Settings ➡️ Google ➡️ all services ➡️ Ads ➡️ Delete advertising ID

(may differ slightly depending on android version and manufacturer firmware. you can't just search settings for "advertising ID" of course 🔪)

iOS:

Settings ➡️ privacy ➡️ tracking ➡️ toggle "allow apps to request to track" to OFF

and ALSO settings ➡️ privacy ➡️ Apple advertising ➡️ toggle "personalized ads" to OFF

more details about the process here via the EFF

I reblogged a comic the other day about a doctor watching House, MD and diagnosing toxoplasmosis, tagging it with "you're more likely to get toxoplasmosis from a salad than a cat". There's a story behind that.

I used to work in the kennel at a vet clinic. One day one of the vet techs came into the kennel in a tearing hurry, handed me two cat carriers, and said, "Find a cage for these two. Don't know how long, but you can put them together." And then she left.

This was not how that was supposed to happen. I had no cage cards--no names, no feeding instructions, no health information--they weren't on the schedule, and techs didn't usually intake boarders. Medical cases had a separate kennel, so a tech shouldn't be bringing me an animal in during office visit hours. But I had a cage in the cat room, so I tucked them in--two adult females, very friendly, apparently healthy.

Half an hour later the tech came back--with cage cards--and said, "It's okay, they're staying overnight and going home tomorrow." She slumped against the kennel wall and told the cats' story.

They had been brought to the clinic to be euthanized, to die.

These healthy, friendly, beloved cats had been brought in to be killed, because a woman's doctor, her obstetrician, had told her that they had killed her unborn baby. He told her if she ever wanted a child she had to get rid of the cats. He told her they should be euthanized before they killed any other woman's unborn child.

He said, with no evidence, that they had toxoplasmosis. He said that toxoplasmosis caused her miscarriage.

The woman was distraught. She had just lost her baby, she was dealing with the hormonal changes of the pregnancy loss, and now she had to euthanize her beloved cats. Fortunately no vet I've ever worked for will euthanize healthy animals brought in by a sobbing client without asking why!

The vet spent almost an hour talking to the woman, educating her on toxoplasmosis, telling her all the reasons her doctor was wrong.

So basically the vet told the woman that 1) her miscarriage probably wasn't toxoplasmosis, 2) even if it was, she probably didn't get it from her cats, 3) even if her cats had given her toxoplasmosis, they weren't infectious anymore.

The woman kept her cats and got a new obstetrician.

Human doctors get a few lectures on zoonotic diseases--diseases transmitted from animals to humans or vice versa. Veterinarians get semesters. If a doctor ever tells you your animals have given you a disease, get a second opinion from your vet!

girls I know this isn’t at the top of the concerns list but you’re gonna want to stop eating commercially produced meat real soon

this got more attention than I thought. if you’re confused:

he had promised to fully deregulate and privatize food safety inspections in his second term. this is to favor massive producers and reduce their costs at the expense of public health and safety. the reason why I make immediate mention of this is because anything that can be construed as “culture war” makes the news and everyone finds out about. these things, however, happen quietly because they aren’t sensational stories for the media to profit off of clicks with. the recent numerous recalls can be tied back to these first term rollbacks, which went over so quietly and discreetly no one demanded reinstatement during the Biden admin.

I worked for Hormel (which owns Jennie-O) for 4 years and I will tell you that anything they produce is going to be fine. They still have the USDA in their plants.

Remember, always wash your produce before eating, but don't wash raw meat as it will spray contaminants.

Keep meat refrigerated until just before cooking

Cook all meat to 180°F minimum but 210°F is better

Wash your hands before cooking and eating, if somthing touched the ground it is dead to you unless you can sanitize it.

Your more likely to get salmonella from raw flour, and listeria is a pathogen that thrives in water regardless of temp which is why it is so dangerous. You can't taste botulism, but any bulging or dented cans, you do not eat.! I had meat in my fridge in its originally packages and that started to ballon out, if that happens, treat it like a old lithium battery, wrap it in as much plastic bags as possible throw it out and wash your hands after!

Advice from a cis female friend of mine: if you've been considering an IUD, get it now

There is too much good information in the tags and replies to screenshot and boost it all, but its worth reading through the reblogs and replies on this post to get more information!

Information from Planned Parenthood about it here

Banging on the walls chanting "OPEN ENROLLMENT FOR ACA THRU JAN 15" like some deranged town crier. Election results aside, you have options to access healthcare as a RIGHT through the ACA. NO one can dismantle the Affordable Care Act in less than 4 years, so SIGN UP! GET YOUR CARE! USE THE SYSTEM!

You have options RIGHT NOW that will be stable thru the next year, the one after that, and I'd be shocked to see them shrink even the year after that. That means RIGHT NOW you can get signed up for next year to gain 100% covered preventative care (your annual check ups, pap smears, dental cleaning, vision check). You have the option to get checked and screened as you need, do NOT be dissuaded from exploring ACA choices. They are SOLID, LEGISLATED, and WORK BEST WHEN PEOPLE USE THEM.

I can't change most things around me, BUT I CAN tell everyone I know that THEY CAN GET LIFE SAVING CARE. THEY CAN GET PRESCRIPTIONS. THEY CAN GET PREGNANCY CARE. THEY CAN GET CANCER CARE. AND THEY WILL GET THAT CARE!!!!!!

SIGN UP BY DECEMBER 15, 2024 FOR COVERAGE TO BEGIN ON JANUARY 1, 2025. ENROLLMENT AFTER 12/15/24 WILL HAVE COVERAGE BEGINNING FEBRUARY 1, 2025.

Free & Discounted Election Day Rides 2024

Election Day is nearly here, and if you haven’t already mailed in your ballot or gone in for early voting, you might need a ride come November 5.

Here’s a roundup of some of the freebies, discounts, and information on getting to the polls that organizations are offering.

Lyft

Lyft announced that riders can preload the code VOTE24 for a half-price discount of up to $10 on rideshare, bike-share, or scooter rides on or before Nov. 5. The code is only valid between 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. every time zone.

Uber

Uber also announced it will offer half-off rideshare costs of up to $10 on Election Day for users in most states.

Using a new "Go Vote" tile displayed on the app, users can book a ride to the nearest poll with the discount unless they are in California or Georgia. The offer works between 4 a.m. and 11:59 p.m. local time on Nov. 5. The company will also offer 25% off food orders up to $15 with a minimum order of $25.

Lime

Lime is offering free rides to and from your polling place to vote early or on Election Day. Riders can use the promo code VOTE2024 to get two free 30-minute rides in the U.S.

Bird & Spin

Bird and Spin are also offering two free rides as part of their Roll to the Polls initiative. Riders can use the code RockTheVote2024 in the app.

Rideshare2Vote

Rideshare2Vote helps voters in need of a ride get to their local polling facilities for free. Ridshare2Vote is available in seven swing states (Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin), as well as Alabama, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. If you live in one of these states and have a car, you can also volunteer to drive others to the polls. Go to Rideshare2Vote.com or call 888-977-2250 for more information.

Rides to the Polls (Georgia Only)

The New Georgia Project's Rides to the Polls program will give free rides to voting sites for Georgia residents on Nov. 5 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Go to newgeorgiaproject.org/rides or call 800-874-1541 for more information.

Moovit

Moovit has integrated tens of thousands of polling locations from 130 counties across 11 states into its trip-planning app. The app also provides users with quick access to voter registration information and which transit agencies are offering free rides.

Transit Agencies / Public Transportation

There are countless transit agencies offering free rides on Election Day — everywhere from Detroit to Des Moines to Durham — so be sure to check with your local authority.

Please share any additional resources you’re aware of. Let’s make it easy for people to get to the polls!

Can someone please transcribe this?  He talks way too fast for me to do it.

I've got you:

“So, let’s just give you some general tips for your own reproductive health today. Just as an upfront thing, a lot of what I’m gonna tell you might sound very conspiratorial right now or even extreme: it’s not. In fact, you can find criminal cases where following some of these tips might’ve actually prevented prosecutors from bringing a case against someone. It’s that bad.

[By] the way, a lot of the research from this video I pulled out of this report [“Pregnancy Panopticon; Abortion Surveillance After Roe” by Albert Fox Can, Esq. Eleni Manis, PhD, MPA, May 24, 2022] by the S.T.O.P. organization. Go read it, I promise you it is worth your time.

As many smarter people than me have said right now, delete your period tracking apps. Do it. If you expect your cycle to be disrupted for any reason whatsoever, use cash to buy any medicines. If possible leave your phone at home while buying those medicines.

If you do buy contraceptives, make sure not to horde them. 1. They have a shelf life 2. That can attract suspicion, and 3. Frankly, a lot of people need them right now. Speaking of; use cash for everything, every purchase related to your reproductive health. Crypto is nowhere near as safe as you think it is and I don’t need to tell you not to trust Amazon or third party retailers with your purchase data.

Communications is extremely important here because prosecutors can and will pull the search data of people they are trying to prosecute. For all searches related to your reproductive health use a VPN and use TOR, I promise you DuckDuckGo and Incognito mode are simply not enough. For one-to-one communications you need to use something that is end-to-end encrypted: For text messaging that’s an app like signal for email that’s an app like proton mail. Make sure that the data from those apps is not stored locally on your phone or in the cloud; enable disappearing text messages or regularly delete that data, especially if you’re crossing state lines, borders, or anywhere else where someone might want to watch you.

Your phone can still get pings and be tracked even if you turn it off, so if you really want to be safe enable Airplane mode and [disable] any kind of NFC [near-field communication] or bluetooth, and if you want to be extra double secure you can buy small Faraday cages that physically block electromagnetic radiation. Be sure to test them on your phone when you get them.

If you’re traveling, you need to be extremely careful about who you tell the reasons for your travel. Don’t post about it on social media at all. Don’t tell anyone who doesn’t need to know. By the way, that very much includes your doctor or nurse. Because yes, while your data is protected by HIPPA, HIPPA is not an absolute defense, and if a state is trying to conduct a criminal investigation your personal health information can be subpoenaed. There are some limits to that but they won’t necessarily be enough to protect you. If you want to know more about this, you can look at Connecticuts Reproductive Freedom Defense Act which seeks to protect people who travel to the state to get abortions.

And lastly, be very careful. You need to approach this with the same level of caution that you would approach a drug deal, because the fact is either today or in the next few weeks for over 80 million Americans abortion will now be an illegal medical procedure. You need to be careful, and for what it’s worth there are clinics in Ontario, Canada, that provide abortions at low cost and without asking for permanent residency or for any kind of ID or Passport. Avail yourself of them.

Stay safe, you can do this.”

Two notes from me:

Another note: just using Signal and Proton Mail doesn't immediately mean your messages are encrypted. You can use these tools to send messages, but if the recipient isn't also taking proper steps to encrypt their messages, anything you send them will be in plaintext and fully readable to anyone listening. This means you need to coordinate in advance with anyone you want to communicate with and make sure you're both using Signal/Proton/etc. and have both configured your devices to send encrypted data BEFORE you start sending each other messages with sensitive information.

(Source)

If you live in Oregon or Washington state, you can track whether election officials received your mail-in ballot: Oregon Link, Washington Link

[checks notes]

also around Las Vegas, also in Arizona, also in Texas

hey, folks: if your vote didn't matter they wouldn't be trying so hard to disenfranchise you

Can you spot the danger?

Tom the Dancing Bug, January 30, 2019. source: X

McDonald's Quarter Pounders Linked to Multistate E.coli outbreak

October 22, 2024

49 Sick, 1 dead

E.coli symptoms: Severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, fever, nausea, and/or vomiting.

The preliminary traceback indicates that the source of contamination was likely from the slivered onions.

what do you mean the CDC just announced a deadly e. coli outbreak linked to mcdonald's quarter pounders

october 22nd, 2024

the united states centers for disease control and prevention (CDC) has linked a deadly e. coli outbreak to mcdonald's quarter pounder burgers.

right now, 49 infections have been linked to this outbreak. this includes 10 hospitalizations and 1 death. these numbers are expected to rise, and only represent infections that have been linked to this outbreak. the CDC expects the true number of infections to be much higher, because most people recover from e. coli without medical intervention within around a week. and it can take weeks for a confirmed case to be officially associated with an outbreak.

it typically takes e. coli 3-4 days after exposure to cause illness. in some cases, such as those already associated with this outbreak, e. coli can cause death or disability.

so far, the cases associated with this outbreak were from september 27th to october 11th, 2024. infections may have occurred before or after this date range.

the ten states with confirmed cases so far (this list might expand, do NOT rely on this list to keep you safe): wisconsin, oregon, montana, wyoming, utah, colorado, nebraska, kansas, missouri, iowa.

mcdonald's has pulled the ingredients for quarter pounders in some states while they investigate, and quarter pounders may not be sold in those states for a while as a result.

as with all foodborne illness outbreaks, if you think you are affected by this, talk to your healthcare provider. even if just to record and report that you got sick.

as of when I am posting this, it is not yet known for sure which mcdonald's ingredient is contaminated, but the FDA thinks it might be onions. there is currently no list of which specific mcdonald's locations received the suspect onions, or what other restaurant chains, if any, also get their onions from the same source.

this outbreak investigation is ongoing and moving quickly. there will be better answers and more information soon.

why in the world would anyone NOT cook onions, anyhow? the fact that fast-food joints serve raw onions on their burgers is disgusting to begin with (and makes people like me suffer), not to mention uncooked food is a major source of e. coli

The original post I saw seems no longer rebloggable, but here. Current as of October 18, 2024.

20mg capsules from lot number 220128. Check your meds.

Duloxetine 20mg Delayed Release, 500 count bottle, lot 220128, expiration December, 2024. Post from October 2024

Frozen waffles are being recalled in the USA due to listeria risk. Stay safe American friends.

edit. It's a Canadian problem too.

listeria outbreak spreads (October 19, 2024)

Remember to check your registration often! They're increasing their efforts to cheat and disenfranchise.

"It's a fair election" they say, while making sure hundreds of thousands of people can't vote.

IF YOU ARE AN OKLAHOMA RESIDENT CHECK YOUR VOTER REGISTRATION STATUS!

RE-REGISTER, AND CHECK THE DEADLINES FOR ABSENTEE BALLOTS IF YOU ALREADY KNOW YOU WON'T BE IN TOWN ON ELECTION DAY!

HELP FRIENDS AND FAMILY TO RE-/REGISTER AS WELL, IF NEED BE

Hey, friends, there's a BIG recall going on in the US of ready-to-eat meat and poultry products that are potentially contaimated with Listeria. The products in question were sold to restaurants and other commercial institutions, but a lot of them were used in products like ready-to-eat salads or freezer meals — HEB, Trader Joes, and Fresh Express are just some of the companies that have been identified so far.

FSIS, the branch of the USDA that regulates these items, has a list of products that would have been sold in groceries and convenience stores, though I recommend checking back since it looks like the list is a work in progress. https://www.fsis.usda.gov/recalls-alerts/brucepac-recalls-ready-eat-meat-and-poultry-products-due-possible-listeria.

Look for "51025" or "P-51025" on the USDA inspection stamp that should be on the packaging.

I am begging people to put dates on these sorts of posts. This is current as of 10/11/2024

clickable version of the fsis link ->

Thanks to both of you for those additions! Note that FSIS has added more products to their list - which is still being added to - and there's some ready-to-eat Dole salads as well as salads from Walmart's Marketside brand.

If anyone else has issues navigating the site, here is a direct link to the PDF with product recall info:

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/food_label_pdf/2024-10/Recall-028-2024-Labels.pdf

Friday Sept 27:

Millions are without power this morning and underwater.

Do not go into floodwaters. It is not safe. There is debris, animals, pathogens, and god knows what else in the water.

Friday morning:

There is IMMINENT FAILURE of the Lake Lure Dam in North Carolina. You MUST get to higher ground immediately before the dam fails. EVACUATE NOW.

There have already been flooding deaths, including a child.

From Partnership for Inclusive Disaster Strategies:

ID: Disabled, impacted by Hurricane Helene, need help? Discapacitade impactade por Helene y necesita ayuda?

Call/text (llame) Disability & Disaster Hotline 800-626-4959 or [email protected]