Jonathan Offt

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Critter Crusaders Wants to Help Your Pet

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There is nothing more fearful to a pet owner than being unable to help you pet in its time of need because no one knows what’s wrong. The only thing that might be even worse, is being unable to secure the help and care that you know they need because it’s too far out of your budget and you can’t afford it. Pets are so frequently part of the family that people will go far and above the norm to get them the help they need. And if this help can’t be afforded or found, people will frequently turn to euthanasia to prevent any prolonged suffering that their furry loved ones might have to go through.

jonathan offt and the critter crusaders in cedar rapids, iowa
Jim Slosiarek/The Gazette Dr. Jennifer Feuerbach gives Peanut, an 8-year-old male chihuahua, a brief exam before performing an ultrasound exam Aug. 12 at Frey Animal Hospital in southwest Cedar Rapids. Vet tech Scott Labath is holding Peanut, who is being cared for through Critter Crusaders.

Critter Crusaders, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was founded on the knowledge that people frequently don’t realize that their pets can be treated for serious issues, prolonging life and improving the quality of life of the pet. Critter Crusaders works to raise money for the care and rehabilitation of old and sick animals who have been given up so that they can be readopted and live out the rest of their lives in a home full of love. Started in 2008, Critter Crusaders is usually contacted by animal shelters, rescue groups, or animal hospitals in regards to specific animals that need more care. Their first patient was a 2 year old husky that was going blind due to cataracts and was given up by its owners due to the belief that she couldn’t be helped. The Crusaders took the dog and and gathered donations from Iowa residents, getting the dog the proper care and allowing her to be rehabilitated and readopted only a few months later.

Now, in an attempt to raise more funding and gain more awareness for their cause, Critter Crusaders is holding a benefit concert on September 11th, with all of the money raised going directly towards vet bills for the animals that are being cared for. Last year the group helped and healed 360 animals. This year, they helped that many in May alone and are in need of funds and volunteers. With a 7 member board and active volunteers, this is a small nonprofit that could use your help! Donations can be given all year long at www.crittercrusaderscr.com or PO Box 10111, Cedar Rapids, IA, 52410 and the concert is being held at Kirkwood’s Ballantyne Auditorium and is featuring Alice Peacock.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here. Please feel free to donate or volunteer! Everything will be appreciated by both the staff and the animals they’re caring for.

A Year After Ebola is Found, Lapses Are Happening

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Everyone remembers where they were when ebola was first found in western Africa and how the media exploded in a furor over how we were all going to die miserable and painful deaths as blood spurted from out from our eyes and we were all reduced to living zombies. Now that the initial surge of irrational fear, that was furiously flamed by the catastrophe-loving media, is over and done with, something more sinister is happening. The efforts against ebola are officially a year old and the sense of pervasive doom and gloom has been replaced with optimism. And while optimism isn’t bad, it’s leading to complacency and this is allowing the disease to make a comeback in African countries as nonprofits, medical workers, and governments start resting on their laurels before the fight is over.jonathon_offt_ebola

After the initial success against ebola in both Africa and around the world (in terms of preventing it from leaving the African continent), it seems as though people have gotten lazy and complacent, endangering both themselves and the populations who still need to deal with this disease. Ebola is a virulent disease and preventing it is far easier than curing it. However preventing it means following the instructions placed down to the letter and any deviation from those instructions can lead to further infections and the disease spreading to new, untouched communities who don’t know how to deal with it. Unfortunately the rules in places for fighting ebola are stringent and unbending and it seems as though people are starting to chafe against them and take it upon themselves to break them and try to find shortcuts.

Last week, three doctors in Guinea were diagnosed as being infected with ebola due to a lack of care and ignoring of proper procedures. The fact that theses are doctors who are ignoring the proven medical advice for countering ebola is a worrisome trend that can’t be ignored. Medical professionals, whether they are from hospitals or from nonprofits volunteering, are one the front line against this disease and they need to show others how following the rules prevents further outbreaks. If this trend continues then there’s a chance that ebola might, once again, spiral out of control and threaten the entire region as it once did. Hopefully the rules, including those referring to funeral procedures, will be reinforced and followed so this disease can finally die out again.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

The Islamic State Might Be Harvesting Organs

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The Islamic State has proved time and time again that it is a bastion of horror and brutality that hasn’t been rivaled in the terror it inspires in years. Between the stories of kidnapping and executions cushioned between the sieges, slave markets, and mass rapes, it would have been reasonable to think that there wasn’t much more ISIS could do to provoke horror in the eyes and minds of those opposed to it. It turns out that people are wrong; new reports from Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations (UN) show that ISIS might be harvesting organs to help finance its cause. If this turns out to be true, it would not only be unprecedented, but would also be just one more thing the people living under ISIS control need to fear.Emblem_of_the_Islamic_State_of_Iraq_and_the_Levant

There are two main sources of evidence for this new story of organ harvesting to be true. The first is that of dozens of reports of Mosul doctors being executed for not following through with the orders to harvest organs. The second is the fact that there have been multiple bodies found with surgical incisions who are missing kidneys, livers, and other vital organs that are frequently sought after for a number of medical reasons and procedures. The good news is that the bodies that were missing organs were found in mass graves which means that the people are dead. However that doesn’t mean that they were dead when the organs were harvested and knowing how ISIS operates, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they very well might have been alive at the time of extraction.

The executing of doctors for refusing to take part is another sign that points to the victims being alive. While a doctor might not want to harvest from a corpse, it would be difficult to imagine doctors willing to die for that reason. Harvesting from a live victim is a much more reasonable excuse for refusal until death, especially if religious reasons are taken into account. Either way, the news is incredibly disturbing and points to how savage ISIS is and will be in regards to reaching its goals.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

Al-Qaeda in Yemen Claims France Attack

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Even though it was days ago, the world is still reeling and in shock from the sudden brutality of the terrorist attack the French satire magazine Charlie Hebdo’s office. 2 masked men who were heavily armed with AK-47s and had military training stormed the office and sought out some of France’s most beloved and esteemed cartoonists by name before executing a total of 12 people and 2 police officers while wounding another 11 (including 4 who were seriously wounded). As the world watched and waited, France underwent its most intense anti-terrorism efforts in recent years as it tracked down the shooters and finally killed them after a standoff. While the shooters had told a witness before they fled the magazine office that they were working for Al-Qaeda in Yemen, no one knew if this was true because no one had taken any claim for the attack until now.

Today a spokesman for Al-Qaeda in Yemen backed up the claims of the terrorists and said that Al-Qaeda in Yemen had ordered the attacks due to Charlie Hebdo’s constant mocking of the Prophet Muhammad and Islam in general. The main offense was taken at the magazine’s publishing of photos of the prophet, something that certain interpretations of Islam forbid. Nasr al-Ansi, the leader of Al-Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula, announced that his group had chosen the target, financed the attack, and planned the entire thing after Charlie Hebdo made it onto a list of enemies that it would attack.

Terrorism experts now believe that the Charlie Hebdo attack points to a shift in tactics from terrorist organizations as they focus less on attacking high-security targets and more on commando-style attacks on softer targets. With airports and hotels so secured, attacking places like magazines that anger them is a more effective way to get their message out there and in front of people all around the world. Hopefully this isn’t the case though or else people in all occupations will be under threat.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.

Kurds Have Recaptured Key Kobane Hill

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Possibly the most important battle in the war against ISIS is going on right now in and around the Syrian town of Kobane on the Turkish-Syrian border. ISIS fighters have been battling Kurdish Peshmerga and defense forces for over 3 weeks in defense of the town that, if it falls, will give ISIS unfettered control and access to a large and uninterrupted Turkish-Syrian border. This would be a terrible situation because it would allow ISIS to move fighters, equipment, and money over the border with little to no opposition. While airstrikes from foreign powers have started just recently, the Kurds have been fighting against insurmountable odds for the past weeks and were facing certain defeat.

It seems as though the Kurds have struck a blow against the seemingly inexorable progress of ISIS fighters when they took back a key hill right outside of Kobane with the help of airstrikes from United States fighter planes. Tall Shair hill was taken by ISIS forces over 10 days ago during heavy fighting on the outside of the town. Now that Kurds have taken it back, it seems as though the tide might begin to turn in their favor. The Kurds have put up with the brunt of fighting in the area and breaking the siege of Kobane would both lessen the stress they’re feeling as well as convincing foreign powers to add more support and airstrikes to the battle.

Ideally this most recent victory will force Turkey to either join the war or at least allow Kurds who want to fight through it’s borders. Turkey seems to be the one hitch in the international effort to defeat ISIS and if they were to actually join the fight and stop killing Kurds who want to fight then the war on the ground might change faster than we expect. That being said, the battle for Kobane is probably the most important battle in this war to date and if it falls, things will quickly get worse.

If you’d like to read more, the link is here.