The Global Gulf In Organ Donation Rates

 Data from the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines and Health Care (EDQM) shows that Spain came out on top for the highest rates of organ donors in 2022, with 47 deceased donors per million population, respectively.

This high rate is often linked to its opt-out system.

Or, in other words, when someone dies, the default will be to donate their organs where possible, unless the person had specifically turned down the option of a transplant.

Relatives can also usually reject the process if they say the deceased person would not have wanted it.

The United States’ organ donation rate is 44.5 deceased donors per million population. This is perhaps more surprising, given that it has an opt-in system.

In its case though, the barrier for registration is relatively low, as in most states, you can register to be a donor when applying for or renewing a driver’s license.

This is a fairly logical, if macabre, step, considering the grim reality that one third of organ donations in the U.S. come from people who have been in fatal vehicle accidents, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/global-gulf-organ-donation-rates

10,000 California Fast Food Workers McFired Thanks To $20 Minimum Wage: Report

 Nearly 10,000 California fast food workers have been fired thanks to the state's new $20 minimum wage, according to the California Business and Industrial Alliance (CABIA), which slammed Governor Gavin Newsom for the law which went into effect April 1.

"California businesses have been under total attack and total assault for years," said Tom Manzo, CABIA president and founder in a statement to Fox Business, adding "It’s just another law that puts businesses in further jeopardy."

According to Manzo, nearly 10,000 fast food jobs have been cut across the state since Newsom signed Assembly Bill 1287 into law last year.

"You can only raise prices so much," he said. "And you’re seeing it. People are not going to pay $20 for a Big Mac. It’s not going to happen."\

CAIOBA took out this full page ad in Thursday's USA Today which includes mock "obituaries" of various fast food chains.

As we noted in April, thanks to the combination of inflation and minimum wage hikes driving up operational costs for businesses across the US, Larger chains raised prices but have also been forced to reduce employees and labor costs through automation, but the layoffs are just getting started. 

"Restaurants are struggling to stay above water, and Democrats just threw them an anvil," California Assembly Republican leader James Gallagher told FOX Business. "We warned Democrats this new mandate would cost jobs. They ignored us, and here we are with the highest unemployment rate in the country poised to get even worse."

The "digital options" that many fast food franchises are referring to are automated ordering systems as well as robot workers which are slowly but surely becoming more cost effective than human laborers.  At least one fast food location in California is testing a fully robotic restaurant with no human workers.

On the other side of the window, fast food has gone up an absurd amount. As FinanceBuzz noted recently:

• From 2014 to 2024, average menu prices have risen between 39% and 100% — all increases that outpace inflation during the given time period (31%).
• McDonald’s menu prices have doubled (100% increase) since 2014 across popular items — the highest of any chain we analyzed.
• Popeyes follows McDonald’s with an 86% increase, and Taco Bell is third at +81%.
• Menu prices at Subway and Starbucks have risen by “just” 39% since 2014 — the lowest among chains we studied. These are also the only restaurants where prices have risen by less than 50%.

McDevastating.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/10000-california-fast-food-workers-mcfired-thanks-20-minimum-wage-report

Germany To Start Forcibly Deporting Dangerous Migrants After Cop Dies In Stabbing

 In response to last weekend's terrorist stabbing at a counter-Jihad meeting in Mannheim which left one officer dead - and a second stabbing of an AfD politician in the same city, (and not years of terrorist attacks, having to close public pools and double-digit increases in crime among non-Germans), Chancellor Olaf Scholz - a leftwing social democrat, announced a new 'zero tolerance' program which will deport criminal migrants or those "who venerate them."

"Anyone who threatens our freedom and disturbs our peace should be afraid," Scholz said in in a Thursday speech at the Bundestag, where he announced that foreigners who commit serious crimes in Germany are no longer welcome - regardless of whether they're refugees or seeking asylum, The Spectator reports.

he Chancellor announced that the German Ministry of the Interior is drawing up plans to make it easier to deport foreign-born dangerous individuals and serious criminals to their home countries, even if they come from warzones or countries controlled by authoritarian regimes such as Afghanistan and Syria. ‘Such criminals should be deported – even if they come from Syria and Afghanistan,’ Scholz confirmed.

"In such cases, Germany’s security interests outweigh the interest of protecting the perpetrator," Scholz declared, adding "Anyone who takes advantage of our protection, like the perpetrator in Mannheim, has forfeited our protection. There is zero tolerance for that’. They must ‘feel the full force of the law."

What's more, Scholz added that "Anyone who glorifies terrorism is going against all of our values ​​and should be deported."

Of course, in January Scholz slammed an alleged suggestion by an Austrian politician at an AfD meeting that Germany should deport "unassimilated" migrants (which AfD has made clear is not party policy)," calling it a "diabolical plan," and saying "The thought of it sends shivers down one's spine."

Scholz, Sunak and... Trump?

Germany's new policy echoes that of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's deportation scheme which will send Rwandan asylum seekers back to their country to have their claims processed. While Sunak's plan is aimed to broadly deter migrants from Rwanda, Scholz is only focusing on migrants who have, or want to, or support committing crimes.

Meanwhile, after the Biden administration welcomed what's estimated to be in the tens of millions of illegal migrants into the United States, former President Trump says that if he wins the November election, he'll begin mass deportations - including those trying to "bring jihadism or anti-Americanism or antisemitism to campuses,"

That said, according to Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Trump will "deport hundreds of thousands of people" living illegally in the United States.

Back to Germany

According to The Spectator, Scholz' policy has been in the works since at least early 2023 following a terror incident in Brokstedt, North Germany in which a Palestinian man attacked passengers on a train in Brokstedt, northern Germany, killing two teenagers and injuring several others.

Germany spox Maximilian Kall went further into detail on the new policy, saying that there are currently 480 individuals classified as 'dangerous' by the German government who would be eligible for deportation. He did not elaborate on how many criminals will now fall under the new policy at this stage.

Kall clarified that it would not be a case of deciding whether to either deport or imprison criminals of foreign nationality in Germany. These individuals would still be required to serve most of their sentences in Germany first before being deported.

Scholz’s policies will reverse current German law which, in line with the Geneva convention on human rights, prohibits the deportation of individuals to their home countries if they are warzones or if they are at risk of death, torture or inhumane treatment upon their return. Germany ceased deportations to Afghanistan in 2021 following the Taliban’s take-over of the country. -The Spectator

According to the report, Scholz's new plan will take some time to implement (shocker!), because among other things, it will 'require the cooperation of foreign governments and regimes such as the Taliban to accept their nationals back.'

What's more, Scholz did not elaborate on the logistics of his plan when pressed by the Green party.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/zero-tolerance-germany-start-forcibly-deporting-dangerous-migrants-after-cop-dies

Cargo Ship Hit By Missile In Gulf Of Aden In Suspected Attack By Houthis

 More than six months since the Biden administration launched Operation Prosperity Guardian to defend the critical maritime chokepoint Bab al-Mandab Strait from Iran-backed Houthis and ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, we're witnessing yet another alarming development. Late Saturday, rebels targeted a Western-linked cargo ship with missiles. This underscores the ongoing threat to the shipping lane and the utter failure of Biden's disastrous foreign policies. 

AP News cites a report from private security firm Ambrey, which said the Antigua and Barbuda-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden was struck by a missile on its forward station, sparking a fire. A second missile missed the vessel, and rebels "on board small boats in the vicinity opened fire on the ship during the incident," the security firm said, adding no crew on the vessel was hurt in the attack. 

"The Master reports that the vessel was hit by an unknown projectile on the aft section, which resulted in a fire. Damage control is underway, the Master reports no casualties and the vessel is proceeding to its next port of call," the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations wrote on X. 

AP notes, "Suspicion for the attack immediately fell on the Houthis. The rebels did not immediately claim the assault, though it can sometimes take hours or even days for them to acknowledge their attacks." 

In the global economy, the continued Red Sea disruption is generating a supply shock. Containerized shipping costs for several major shipping lanes are exploding. 

Meanwhile, Houthis continue to claim a successful attack on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower Nimitz-class supercarrier in the Red Sea last week despite US CENTCOM denying any such attack. 

Houthis also mentioned that their attack coverage expanded into the Mediterranean Sea. The terror group claimed a successful attack last month on an Israeli-linked ship in the Mediterranean area. 

And there's news just days ago from AP that Houthis unveiled a solid-fuel missile that "resembles aspects of one earlier displayed by Iran that Tehran described as flying at hypersonic speeds." 

With Israel recently mentioning the war against Hamas could last another seven months, there's reason to believe the Red Sea area will become hotter. What's also concerning was Biden's 'greenlighting' of Ukraine to attack Russian territory with US-made weapons.

All of this is a sign that the world continues to fracture into a multipolar state, full of conflict and danger. The investment theme in this period is defense. 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/damage-control-underway-cargo-ship-hit-missile-gulf-aden-suspected-attack-houthi-rebels

Pattern of blood plasma protein levels reveals development of sepsis in patients

 A large, international team of medical researchers has found patterns developing with certain blood plasma protein levels that can lead to the development of sepsis in patients. In their study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the group analyzed the plasma profiles of hundreds of ICU patients who had developed sepsis.

Sepsis is a condition that arises when the body responds in an extreme way to an infection. It is almost always considered to be life threatening because it can quickly lead to multiple organ failure. It is responsible for approximately 50,000 deaths in the U.K. every year.

Sepsis often comes on suddenly, leading to a medical emergency. If it is not reversed quickly, the patient can suffer permanent harm or death. In most cases, sepsis arises due to a bloodstream infection, often after a patient has been hospitalized for another reason.

In this new effort, the research team wanted to know if there might be any markers associated with the condition that could help doctors diagnose an infection before it develops to such dangerous levels. To that end, they obtained plasma samples from 16,000 patients, some of whom had experienced sepsis while being treated in an ICU and others who had not for comparison.

The researchers measured protein levels for the plasma proteome—all the proteins found in a given plasma sample—using tandem mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography on 2,600 samples. They created a map of the proteome showing how it changed in the time leading up to the onset of sepsis, while it was occurring, and after it had passed, which allowed them to generate general profiles that could be used to identify patients at risk.

They then compared these results with data from another 649 patients. The team discovered that there were three unique subgroups of sepsis patients that had differing plasma proteome profiles, one of which included a group that developed the most severe symptoms. They conclude that some markers may be used to determine if a patient is likely to develop sepsis before it becomes an emergency.

More information: Yuxin Mi et al, High-throughput mass spectrometry maps the sepsis plasma proteome and differences in patient response, Science Translational Medicine (2024). DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adh0185

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-pattern-blood-plasma-protein-reveals.html

'Socially connected older adults hit harder by pandemic than isolated peers'

 Socially connected older people had a sharper drop in their quality of life and life satisfaction and a greater increase in loneliness during the pandemic than their more isolated counterparts, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers.

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), looked at survey responses from 4,636 people in England (with an average age of 67) between 2018 and the end of 2020.

Co-author Professor Andrew Steptoe, of the UCL Department of Behavioural Science & Health, said, "It might be expected that older people who were already socially isolated would be particularly vulnerable to the disruptions and restrictions of the pandemic.

"In fact, our study suggests the opposite—that isolated older people were somewhat protected from the negative aspects of pandemic restriction, perhaps because they had less to lose in terms of social connections."

The researchers analyzed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, a nationally representative population study in England. Participants were interviewed in 2018-19 and twice in 2020—in June/July and November/December.

Just under a third (29%) of respondents were classed as socially isolated, depending on frequency of contact with friends and family, whether they lived with a partner and whether they participated in clubs, organizations or societies.

Prior to the pandemic, these socially isolated older adults had worse quality of life and life satisfaction and greater loneliness, but during 2020 their decline in these areas was less than their more socially connected peers. Life satisfaction declined about half as much, leading to isolated older adults having similar satisfaction with life during the pandemic as adults who were more socially connected.

Lead author Claryn Kung, a senior researcher at the UCL Department of Behavioural Science & Health, said, "It is likely that socially connected older men and women experienced a greater disruption in their habitual routines and rhythms. In contrast, more isolated individuals may have experienced relatively fewer changes in their daily lives, with their usual routines and arrangements possibly being less prone to disruptions by restrictions during the pandemic.

"Our findings highlight the need to care for isolated older adults, but also to be attentive in times of crises to the impact of major disruptions in social activity."

In contrast to these effects, the study found that isolated adults experienced a greater decline in their levels of physical activity, widening the gap between the two groups, and remained more likely to be worried about their future finances. They did not on average change their likelihood of internet use, whereas more socially connected peers used the internet more.

The study received support from the UK's National Institute for Health and Social Care Research (NIHR) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as well as the US National Institute on Aging.

More information: Claryn S. J. Kung et al, Changes in well-being among socially isolated older people during the COVID-19 pandemic: An outcome-wide analysis, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2308697121

https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-06-socially-older-adults-harder-pandemic.html

European Parliament poised for rightward shift after final voting

 Voters in 21 EU countries including France and Germany will conclude a four-day election for the European Parliament on Sunday, which is expected to shift the assembly to the right and boost the numbers of eurosceptic nationalists.

The election will shape how the European Union, a bloc of 450 million citizens, confronts challenges including a hostile Russia, increased industrial rivalry from China and the United States, climate change and immigration.

The election began on Thursday in the Netherlands and in other countries on Friday and Saturday, but the bulk of EU votes will be cast on Sunday, with France, Germany, Poland and Spain opening the polls and Italy holding a second day of voting.

The European Parliament has said it will issue an EU-wide exit poll at around 2030 CET (1830 GMT) and then a first provisional result after 2300 CET when the final EU votes, in Italy, have been cast.

Opinion polls predict the pro-European liberals and Greens will lose seats, reducing the majority of the centre-right and centre-left and complicating efforts to push through new EU laws or increase European integration.

Many voters have been hit by the cost of living crisis, have concerns about migration and the cost of the green transition and are disturbed by rising geopolitical tensions, including the war in Ukraine.

Hard and far-right parties have seized on this disquiet and offered the electorate an alternative to the mainstream.

European Greens, facing a backlash from hard-pressed households, farmers and industry over costly EU policies limiting CO2 emissions, look set to be among the big losers.

Forecasts for the liberal group Renew Europe are also grim, given the expectation that Marine Le Pen's far-right Rassemblement National will trounce French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance in France.

EXIT POLLS

In the Netherlands, exit polls from Thursday already showed nationalist Geert Wilders' anti-immigration party was set to win seven of the 29 Dutch seats in the EU assembly, from zero in 2019, following up on his large win in last year's national election.

His Freedom Party will be just one short of the combined seats of a Socialist Democrat-Greens alliance.

In Belgium, voters will also get to elect federal and regional chambers and are forecast to back the far-right Flemish separatist party Vlaams Belang in record numbers, although it could still be kept from office by other parties.

The government of Prime Minister Alexander De Croo will likely stay in office in a caretaker capacity for many months until a new multi-party coalition is formed.

The centre-right European People's Party is forecast to remain the European Parliament's largest group, putting its candidate to head the European Commission, incumbent Ursula von der Leyen of Germany, in pole position to be appointed for a second term.

However, she may need support from some right-wing nationalists, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's Brothers of Italy, to secure a parliamentary majority, giving Meloni and allies more leverage.

Parliament as a whole will also vote and often amend a slew of legislation expected in the next five years. The rightward shift means it may be less enthusiastic on climate change policies and the reforms required for EU enlargement, while eager on measures to limit immigration.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/european-parliament-poised-rightward-shift-000608486.html