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survivalist-anon · 7 months ago

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Log 4: They're everywhere

The day has been good so far since Jeff had left. I've been caught up on paperwork, organizing the archives and I've helped make some of the wildlife's lunches for the evening. It finally feels like a normal day.

"Daaaaaaaaamn, check it out! That's the fifth one this month.", Ronnie (one of our surveillance experts and wildlife photographers) was checking last night footage.

"You dumbass, that's the same one from last Thursday.", Jonas was watching with him.

"No he ain't, This guys definitely new, see he's got a huge fuzzy pelt on him. The other two have little pelts ", he pointed at the screen.

I come out of the filing room, curious as to what they were talking about. "ugh, what's going on? Anything interesting in the cameras?". I was hoping they were talking about bears or something.

"Hey Lorey, come and see!", he motions for me to come closer to the computer.

As I walk to the computer, watching the footage intently. Ronnie skips a few minutes in as the usual creatures that pop up are obviously of no surprise to us. Than, something in the foreground appears. Three armored individuals. I couldn't believe it.

"you mean to tell me they're in the reserve too? Just walking around?", I rewind the image to get a better look. They're covered in random little charms and ends. The leader had a strange, more anthropomorphic helmet, the other two had similar shaped helmet with markings on them. It was like they're on a hike, walking around.

"Holy sheeze, is THAT what you saw?", Jonas asked nudging my shoulder.

Ronnie turns to Jona and I, "oh it's not just them, check this guy out. Caught him several weeks ago.". Ronnie than shows footage another one, this one had brought with him what looked like to be roadkill, and started chowing down on the carcass, it aesthetically closer to that big black and gold one...but it looked more monstrous, with bigger horns, and messed looking legs. This one was horrific to look at.

Jonas's usual silly antics stopped right there and then when she started to realize the encounter could have gone a lot worse. "Ugh...did...it look like that?", asking in a more candid tone.

"Yeah.... almost.", what shocked me to see was that it was now completely possible to encounter these....Marines...."...do you guys know of these folks?", I had Ronnie the business card Benedict handed to me.

With a squint and an unsurprised sigh, he puts a guard down and continues going through the footage from last night. "Oh yeah I know them, they're just a bunch of Bigfoot enthusiasts that got bored and decided to go for much more bigger fish. Only I heard from my cousin in Chicago that these guys are crazy dangerous. Some of them got claws, got like super strength and shit. Check it out.", he took out his phone to show us socal media footage of a red colored marine, again spikes all over and an even worse attitude.

The footage shows a bunch of teenagers following it through an alleyway, probably to find out where it's going. The marine turned around and charged at one of the teens. The phone dropped and all there was left was the sound of screaming and blood spattering. Kid didn't even scream more than 3 seconds before it got obliterated.

Ronnie then puts the phone away, "the dark web is having a field day. Turns out people get PAID to video tape the dangerous ones. It's like a snuff film or something."

I was mortified, these monsters can't be real....can they? I remember the footage of the three feral looking ones. "Ronnie, are their any examples of...I don't know....not homicidal ones? ".

He thought for a little and then remembered another viral video, "Oh! This one from Philadelphia, he's like a superhero or something. They call him "Big Blue". Check it out.", taking his phone out again, he shows a 60 second click of a robbery in progress, as the culprits bust out and get into the get away truck, some tall blue armored one comes charging in, lifting 3 ton truck! I can see that the robers where shooting him in the face but nothing looked like it wasn't doing anything. As the police come in, do their part, the click cuts to a reporter interviewing the marine.

"Big Blue! You've once again saved the city and stopped a robbery! Witnesses saw that you've shot several times in the face no less, are you ok sir? *Shoves his microphone up the the marine's mouth", the blue marine looked at the reporter and the camera, he seemed rather shy about answering. He than answered the reporter in a very strange form of Latin, it almost sounds like butchered Italian. He than nodded his head, pat the reporter's head and stormed off.

"....Ok, wise words that will forever remain a mystery! I'm Harold Storm! And you're watching Channel 5 Action News!". The video ends.

"That is so cool! Why do we have the crazy ones though?", Jonas rewinded the video again to see Big Blue again.

"that's because we live in Oregon, the crazies come here because the feds here don't really care actually.", I sit down on the chair next to Ronnie, and take notes on the differences between the two types of Marines on the wildlife footage. I honestly couldn't believe that there was such a distinct difference between them. "I think we better contact the annoying Bigfoot people. They probably have more information on these guys than we do, but we have the equipment to check them.".

Ronnie shoots me a look, "are you saying that we should dedicate a little bit of our time to hunting down these big metal dudes?".

I shoot back a grin, "no, I say we study them. We know nothing about them, there seems to be a clear distinction between the good ones and the bad ones and I think we need to pull our sources. These aren't some invasive species or some weird cryptid that only appears once in a blue moon l, only to be found out it was a hoax. It seems these guys are very real and so is the risks of encountering the wrong one.". I rewind back to the footage of the three fur cladded ones. Something about them emanated some interesting thoughts on me, in considering all that has been happening to me as of late, could one of them have been the proverbial knight in shining armor? I'm starting to get curious.

After a few hours, the rest of us clock out from the center and leave the night shift to their evil biddings so to speak. As with every Friday night, the reserve always goes to a local bar down in downtown. It wasn't the fanciest place but it was the only place with the best booze and was the only place that made cocktails.

"so, you know the guy who gave you that card? I mean the town is pretty small so it ain't going to be that hard to find him.", Jonas asked with zeal.

"oh trust me, you can definitely tell who it is.", I push open the door to the bar, ready for a relatively nice night of drinking.

As me in the afternoon staff walk in, the first thing we notice is all the angry stares that the men are giving at one small group and the corner of the bar.... At least I would consider them small if it wasn't for their size. But there they were, the group of four, extremely well built men. Not too dissimilar to the guy I saw back at the hardware store.

All of them seem to just minding their business, again not acknowledging a single soul in the bar. However another thing I noticed was the amount of women swooned at the sight of them. However, wasn't able to smell that strong hormonal odor anymore, probably because the place is well ventilated enough for that.

I look to my left and I see Jonas with her mouth agape, absolutely stunned at seeing the guys. I look to my right and I see Clara and Shelly (our receptionist and hotline receiver, in case of any wild animal attacks) absolutely drooling over them.

As for me, the smell may have not been as pungent as it was at the hardware store, but it definitely was in the air. "Guys, ugh, we need to find a table soon... preferably as far away from those guys".

Ronnie looked at the men, than looked at me, "why are they dangerous?", than he started to notice the rest of the girls in the group.

Jonas was practically in lala-land, "Oh maaaan, those are some fiiiiiine looking guys.".

"ooooh, y'all's right! I think I'm love.", Clara declared.

"Oh no none yah don't, I'ma bag me a man!", Shelly may have not been the youngest of us, but she's been after a husband for 20 years now, and she isn't giving up. She struts confidently to the table.

As for the four sitting in the corner booth, they begin to notice Shelly heading their direction. One of them noticeably smelling his clothes, the look of mortified realization hits him like a ton of bricks. I could see that he was whispering something to one of them group members and he too starts to realize the same thing.

"Howdy boys, have you guys fallen from heaven because I see four of the Lord's loveliest of angels.", Shelly may not have been lucky, but in the past she has been successful at getting a man's attention.

All four of them were stunned, yet not surprised, they weren't prepared for something like this to happen.

"ugh ... pardon me and my brother miss, but may we assist you in anything?", one with a yellow cap with a unrecognizable construction logo speaks first.

Shelly boldly skoots in to sit with one of them. "Oh you can assist with anything.", she begins to caress the man's impossibly huge bicep.

Meanwhile the man just looked down at her with curious confusion. Something about his interaction felt you're really disconnected. It was two people interacting, it was a person and an animal interacting.

"Shelly you absolute legend!", Jonas egging her on.

"Ooh get'em Shelly!", Clara wasn't helping either.

"More like an absolute mad lass, I've never seen her act this bold before.", I was more concerned if she was going to hurt herself. These guys were all big enough to domestically abuse animals bigger than elephants let alone gently shove a woman away.

"Uhm, Shelly! I'm so sorry about my friend here, we had a few drinks before coming here and she's not taking to tequila shots very well. Shelly say sorry and goodbye to very nice man.", as soon as I finished that thought, the smell came back. Now with four times the strength. Everything was fading, I had no control of what I was doing. I began to practically crawl on the table...all I could see was a pink haze.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Brothers, I am afraid our night has ended. We need to take these women to the local hospital.", one with a mustache and a gnarled scar across his forehead had signaled to the other three to mobilize.

As fasting as efficiently one can see, all four prepared to leave. Picking Shelly and Lorence up, paying the tab with a small pouch.

The bar tender motioned for the busboy to quickly get the pouch before any of the patrons see it.

"Hey wait! Where are you guys taking them?", Jonas tried following the four strangers, hardly believing how big they were.

"Please do not worry, we are taking your friends to the hospital, where they will be taken care.", the mustached man turns around assuring Jonas, and inevitably trying to avoid unsolicited kisses from Lorence.

"Ah wait?! Nah ugh, we're coming with you.", Clara followed them to their vehicle, which in this case an industrial transport truck. "Oh dang ya know what I ain't disappearing into the night like those girls from Forensic Files. She than decided to go back into the bar.

Ronnie ran after them as fast they could but they already started their truck. Taking Lorey and Shelly with them.

"FUCK! Get back here!", he takes his phone out to call the police, but just as he was about press the call button. The sound of howling wolves echoed endlessly throughout the night sky. "...what the hell....", he glaces to where the howls sounded the loudest. The noise of braking branches and wrestling bushes was an unmistakable sign that something big was chasing the truck.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the truck, the driver, an imperial fist named Moors, comfortably drives to town to drop both women off at the hospital.

"How are they?", he shouted from the driver seat in high gothic

One of the men is managing Lorey relatively well, just tightly restraining her in his arms. "This one is doing fine! Practically sleeping, Cahrilo how is yours?"

Cahrilo, the youngest by a hundred years and a neophyte in comparison to his veteran brothers, is having a bit more trouble handling the 40 year old retired police officer gone receptionist. "She's strong for her age!", he tries not to hurt her while getting a better hold of her. She showers him in kisses. "Can someone help?"

The other two, Bilhard and Urtus, were sitting in their chairs watching Cahrilo struggle, laughing hard.

Urtus wiped a tear from his eye from laughing so hard, "It seems we have learned our lesson, we must tell the apothecary to make a stronger suppressor. These mortal women are ravenous!"

Just as the trio were laughing, loud banging could be heard from the walls of the transport truck.

The laughter stops, Bilhard stands up to check the outer side cameras of the truck. "What in the name of the throne?". He sees an unidentified marine clinging on to the side of the truck, ripping the haul. As Bilhard was witnessing this from the camera, Urtus and Cahrilo were seeing it as it was happening in front of them.

Bilhard faintly growled in frustration, now was not the right time for a fight. "By throne what's going on?!", suddenly the truck was hit again, this time from the left by something trying to push truck off the road.

As the passengers were trying to keep their footing, the mystery marine had successfully tore through the side.

Revealing to be a Space Wolf, with a more animalistic helmet. He growled furiously at the Imperial Fists.

"By Dorn!? Why are you attacking us Space Wolf?! Have you been touched by chaos?", as Bilhard was shouting at the transgression, Urtus may have realized what they had done.

"WHICH ONE IS IT!?", he shouted to the wolf.

The space wolf was staring at him the hardest. Now he's gotten his answer. "savage..." Urtus leaves the dazed Lorey in a seat next to him, "..if you harm this mortal, our agreement is void!"., his other brother, stunned at what he had just done.

The wolf picks her up gently in his arms, content with her safety. Lorey, still dazed is now currently becoming more delirious, as the pleasant aphrodisiac effects of the hormones have now become akin to breathing in toxic inhalants. He leaves a threatening glance at Urtus, now having having earned his ire. He leaves through the hole he had entered, and runs with the rest of his pack into the night.

Bilhard turns to Urtus, "YOU FOOL! THAT SPACE WOLF COULD HAVE BEEN CORRUPTED BY CHAOS AND YOU JUST LET HIM TAKE A HUMAN GIRL?!"

Urtus was calm, but he should have known something like this would happen. "Brother, he may have had eyes on the girl before we even perceived her existence, we were the ones that have cross a rather difficult line. You know how territorial another Astartes can be of their chosen mate. You of all people should know better.", Urtus sat back down.

Bilhard, tired from what can be perceived as a failed mission. Walks up to the driver. "To the hospital. Now.", goes back to sit back down.

Moors had been keeping an eye on the road, but a ear to the back. "You boys know this is going to have to be reporting to the chaplain right?"

The three of them had a collective groan.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile, the late night had gone from loud, undefined chatter and drumming of metal to soft croaking of tree frogs, the crunching of leaves under heavy foot prints and the quite whispers of unrecognizable voices. Lorey had now time to take in fresh air for the past hour, but something in her had taken much of her strength as if she had drunk heavily. She looks up at whom every was holding her, but her heavy eyelids could only preview the dark sky, the bright crescent moon, and a dark shape gently cradling her. Everything from that point on, had went dark. Diving into a deep sleep.

End of log 4

@kit-williams

#space marine #space marine husbandry #warhammer 40k #imperial fists #space wolves #Ultramarine #world eater #word bearers

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bioodorange · 4 years ago

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||Proxy Headcanons||

Yes, I know two different fandoms and blah blah blah but we all had that phase where we wanted to marry cheese cake uwu waffle boy so let me have this

©@waywardcolorzombie

Thanks to Toby's CIPA he can't sweat so overheating and passing out/having seizures becomes an issue so there's a little roster chart of who hoses him down after missions to keep him cool

Cody is not allowed on missions alone with Tim after he played with the kids science kit as Masky got his ass beat by some middle aged ex marine Brian is mom™ and done with everyone's shit, he's like a calming goat for Masky

Brian works most missions alone

Kate has the most freedom of the proxies and travels around loosely reporting back to Slender, she monitors the woods and surrounding area

Research and paperwork actually has to go into killing, stalking, information gathering and etc.

Proxies are a lot weaker then normal pastas

The nicest "Operator" (someone with proxies) is puppeteer

Operators include Puppet, Slender, Jack and Zalgo

Slender is the only operator with different categories of proxies (sleeper, hallowed, agents etc)

Each proxy he's they're own mark, places depending on their personality

Slenders is a physical scar, hidden somewhere

Zalgos is a sigil type thing only visible to powerful, in human beings

EJ works sort of under Slender and Puppeteer keeps to himself

It's rare that the proxies actually run into each other

Slender has many proxies, most of which are sleepers who end up dying anyway

People often suffer cancer from Slenders high levels of radiation

Slender sickness has a more intense effect on the mentally ill

Proxy training is intense and many die just going through it

Operators are linked to their proxies different ways, Slender alters memories, Zalgo is like an infection

EJ prefers a more physical approach, his marks his proxies who do patrol but not those who work in the hospital

Jacks proxies don't respect him because he can't see shit and they can get away with a lot

Jeff helps out both Slender and EJ not really a proxy but not really a pasta

Toby is the same way but more proxy then pasta

Kate is the strongest of the proxies and is somewhat content with her life

Tim and Brian are unhappy with their lives but Brian fears death and Tim seeks validation

X-Virus is pretty free as a proxy, he can do more but not wander as much as kate

#slender verse #slenderverse #creepypasta #slenderverse headcanons #creepypasta head canons #creepypasta headcanons #proxy #proxy headcanons #slender proxy #x virus #x virus Headcanons #ticci Toby #ticci toby headcanon #kate the chaser #kate the chaser Headcanon #hoodie #hoodie headcanons #tim wright #masky headcanons

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shirlleycoyle · 5 years ago

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She Blew the Whistle on Pathogens That Escaped From a Government Lab. Now She’s Being Fired

A career scientist who works for the U.S. government is alleging that her supervisors have retaliated against her for sounding an alarm about biosafety and workplace hazards. Her lawyers claim that she has been unfairly targeted for complaining about a litany of issues at a government science research center since 2017, including requesting an investigation after an unknown quantity of pathogens were released from her organization’s biosafety laboratory into the second-largest body of water in Washington State.

Evi Emmenegger worked at the Western Fisheries Research Center (WFRC) in Seattle since 1996 until this January, when she was placed on administrative leave and served with a notice of proposed separation. The center is a branch of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which studies natural resources and environmental and ecosystem health, water use, and Earth science.

Emmenegger managed an aquatic biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) lab, one of the few in the U.S. built for studying aquatic pathogens that pose a high risk to the environment. She also conducted research on fish diseases in a BSL-2 facility and the BSL-3 lab contained within it.

There are four biosafety levels for laboratories; BSL-4 is the highest security. BSL-4 labs have been used to study Ebola, variola (which causes smallpox), novel bird and swine flus, and other highly dangerous pathogens. BSL-3 labs have been used to study anthrax, SARS, MERS, West Nile virus, and yellow fever. Currently, the CDC is allowing BSL-2 labs to study the current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus outbreak. To be clear, the WFRC studies pathogens that affect fish and other marine life.

“We allege that what's happened to Evi is a pretext to basically shut her up, and that that pretext is illegal retaliation in violation of the Whistleblower Protection Act,” said Jeff Ruch, the Pacific director for Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). The organization is representing Emmenegger in a whistleblower challenge to her proposed removal.

“She's worked at the lab now for almost 28 years, and prior to 2017, had a spotless personnel record. After she started making these reports in 2017, as a report details, there were a whole series of things where it appeared to be a downward spiral,” Ruch said.

Internal correspondence and official documents from the WFRC reveal internal strife and a decline in facility conditions to the point of malfunction and danger to personnel. Emails between Emmenegger and other WFRC employees, as well as the results of the scientific integrity investigation into the 2017 pathogen leak obtained via a public records request, were shared with Motherboard. [All documents used to report this story can be found here.]

In a statement, USGS Western States Communications Chief Catherine Puckett wrote, “The USGS is aware of the PEER allegations and treats all employees’ concerns related to animal welfare, biosafety as well as occupational health and safety seriously. The USGS investigated these allegations thoroughly and determined there was no violation of scientific integrity regarding the complaint associated with the Western Fisheries Research Center. Even though there was not a loss of scientific integrity, several recommendations were made to improve the biosafety program, quarantine procedures for animals, and automated building control systems. These recommendations have been or are in the process of being implemented.”

USGS did not make employees available for interviews, including Emmenegger. In an email, USGS Acting Public Affairs Officer Karen Armstrong said that the organization does not comment on personnel matters.

The WFRC is considered “a national and international resource for research on fish disease,” according to the center’s website. The facilities contain two large BSL-2 labs and a smaller BSL-3 lab where scientists study aquatic pathogens and raise fish and amphibians.

All water used for animal rearing or experiments is collected in a large tank, where it is meant to be chlorinated for about an hour to kill the pathogens, then dechlorinated and released into wetlands that lead into Lake Washington. The chlorine levels were checked on January 17, 2017. The next time they were checked on June 19, 2017, there was no chlorine in the wastewater, indicating the water had not been adequately treated to kill any pathogens in it.

“The point of these containment labs is to contain the pathogens. The fact they weren't being contained is as basic as you could get,” Ruch said.

Findings of a scientific integrity report

Emmenegger first heard about the pathogen leak in August—two months after it was reported at an animal care meeting—but she first raised concerns over the wastewater, or effluent, over a year earlier.

At a July 2016 biosafety and biosecurity training, Emmenegger told WFRC Director Jill Rolland and others present that current standard operating procedures (SOP) for monitoring chlorine levels should be reevaluated.

According to the action items from that 2016 meeting, Emmenegger said, “I believe monitoring the post-treatment chlorine levels every 3-months is not enough and puts us at a greater risk for having an accidental environmental/pathogen release that could directly impact the adjacent wetlands that receives our de-chlorinated treated effluent.”

When she found out about the pathogen release in the summer of 2017, Emmenegger confronted her supervisor, Fish Health Section Chief Maureen Purcell. The next day, Purcell sent Emmenegger an email about the incident from her perspective.

“In summary, the problem was identified, actions were taken, appropriate personnel and committees were informed and the issue was documented,” Purcell wrote. “Yesterday in the hall you made several comments that I will paraphrase as: ‘That is good that you have covered your ass.’ and ‘This is going to look bad when it gets out’. I do not understand why you are making these statements as I feel the center’s response to this issue was in line with our policies.”

In an email sent the same day, Emmengger replied, “I never stated you needed to ‘cover your ass’. I did state that this chlorination shutdown is going to look bad if it wasn't handled properly.”

On August 3, 2017—the next day— Emmenegger asked about resources for whistleblowers in an email to Christopher Cox, an administrative officer at the time. She wrote in part, “I need someone's help and advice, I've been so stressed and hardly sleeping because of these recent incidences [sic]. The whistle blower paperwork is overwhelming and I still need to run the BSL-3 laboratory. I'm scared and feel like I've got no one turn to.”

Lake Washington. Image: Getty Images

Two weeks before the six-week statute of limitations to make a complaint about the pathogen release would expire, Emmenegger began working with PEER, which helped her submit a complaint with the USGS Office of Science Quality and Integrity. The complaint alleged that Purcell and other managers engaged in scientific misconduct in their handling of incidents including the pathogen release. Over the next two years, PEER also filed public records requests for WFRC documents concerning the release and pressed for the Department of Interior to investigate the incident.

Ruch said that Emmenegger did not know the identities of the pathogens that other researchers in the BSL-2 lab were studying, but that some of the ones she worked with were “deadly.”

In the scientific integrity investigation report shared with Motherboard, an employee who worked in the BSL-2 lab whose name was redacted told investigators that only pathogens endemic to the Pacific Northwest were released, although their identity and quantity were unknown. In a write-up of their interview from January 2018, the employee is quoted as saying:

“RE: What happened when effluent got out? So the pathogens are endemic to west coast. If something new or different showed up in Lake Washington – everyone would have found out.”

USGS Scientific Integrity Officer Christopher Johnson closed the internal investigation into the pathogen release requested by Emmenegger in June 2019, concluding in his report that there was no loss of scientific integrity. In the determination section, though, he wrote that “the degradation of laboratory systems at WFRC happened gradually over the span of several decades. …The quality of science may have been adversely affected, but this does not appear to have been intentional or reckless.”

The pathogen release was not the only facility issue from 2017 onward that Emmenegger took to administrators, nor the only issue about which she clashed with Purcell. She also alleged that the working conditions inside the aquatic BSL-3 lab she managed were dangerous to researchers. This complaint was corroborated in emails by other scientists who worked in the lab.

On a Saturday in April 2017, months before she learned of the BSL-2 wastewater issue, Emmenegger fainted in the BSL-3 lab after working for many hours uninterrupted in the space. She later wrote that she may have also been dehydrated at the time.

The lab was built to handle exotic and invasive fish pathogens that could pose a risk to native species if released into the environment. As a BSL-3 lab, it possessed an airlock and a ventilation system that pumped more air out than it let in, creating negative air pressure in the room.

But the tightly controlled environment in the lab led to air quality issues, and researchers reported dizziness, headaches, and respiratory ailments beginning in 2017.

Scientists Gael Kurath and Douglas McKenney felt unwell while conducting a full-day experiment in the aquatic BSL-3 lab in November 2017. According to notes that Kurath took on the day following the incident, their symptoms worsened when they sprayed bleach in the lab as part of a decontamination procedure.

“Air seems stagnant? Stale.” she wrote. “Doug – light headed, a little fuzzy, hard to describe, tired. Gael – need fresh air, needed a break, head dull. By 6:30 after bleaching, felt very ‘spent’, more tired than seemed appropriate for physical work. Head tired, dull.”

Inspectors from the University of Washington Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee mentioned the “moderate to significant” issue of poor air quality inside the BSL-3 lab in their 2017 report of routine lab inspections.

Due to the air quality, as well as another facility issue relayed by Emmenegger to her supervisor Purcell, then-USGS Regional Director Rich Ferrero decommissioned the aquatic BSL-3 lab in March 2018, prohibiting further experiments in it until the issues were resolved. To date, the lab has not been recommissioned. The USGS would not make Purcell available for an interview nor respond to specific questions sent by Motherboard.

Purcell sent a notice of proposed separation to Emmenegger on January 29, 2020 because Emmenegger did not submit a scientific manuscript for publication in the 2019 fiscal year, which was one of her job duties.

Ruch, one of the PEER lawyers representing Emmenegger, said that the notice was “incredibly flimsy and passive aggressive.”

“It's fair to say that the details laid out in this case show a sick management culture at USGS,” he said.

Emmenegger and Purcell clashed since Purcell’s appointment as Fish Health Section chief in 2017, and Emmenegger requested that all their correspondence be written or in person only with a third party present.

In communications with Purcell and Rolland, Emmenegger said that she was “stressed and anxious” in Purcell’s presence and “scared to voice [her] concerns.”

Later that year, in August, Emmenegger emailed Rolland to request another supervisor, the second time she had done so. She said that she hid in a bathroom stall the prior week to avoid having a one-on-one dialogue with Purcell.

Rolland denied Emmenegger’s request, writing “I acknowledge that there is interpersonal conflict between you and Dr. Purcell from what I believe are differences in perspective rather than true managerial issues. I expect employees to treat each other professionally and with respect regardless of whether or not you like each other.”

Based on their fraught relationship, PEER responded to the proposed separation and argued that Purcell used Emmenegger’s annual evaluation as a pretext. Her Employee Proposal Appraisement Plan had been altered for that fiscal year where previously it had remained constant since 2009. After failing to meet the subtask of a critical component in her plan, Emmenegger was given 20 days to prepare a scientific manuscript and associated metadata; PEER’s response claims that this timeline set her up for failure.

Ruch said that Emmenegger will find out the result of her appeal within 30 days.

In an October 2019 email to leaders at USGS, Emmenegger said that she had been experiencing ongoing harassment by WFRC senior staff after reporting biosafety violations and animal welfare issues.

“I didn't want to be a whistleblower, but this situation was forced upon me after years of trying to communicate biosafety/animal welfare concerns. I would to like serve my last five years before I retire in supportive working situation doing research in the BSL-3 lab.”

She Blew the Whistle on Pathogens That Escaped From a Government Lab. Now She’s Being Fired syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

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myfoxny · 8 years ago

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Trump predicts all Cabinet picks will win confirmation

NEW YORK (AP) -- Facing a week of high-profile tests for his administration-in-waiting, President-elect Donald Trump predicted Monday that all of his Cabinet picks would win Senate confirmation even as Democrats charged that Trump's team was ignoring standard vetting protocol. "I think they'll all pass," Trump said of his would-be Cabinet, describing them as "all at the highest level" in between private meetings in his Manhattan sky rise. Trump's confidence comes as lawmakers in both parties eagerly await the submission of background material from Cabinet picks, including billionaires whose extensive personal financial dealings have never faced public scrutiny. Senate Democrats urged GOP leaders to slow their aggressive hearing schedule, which includes Trump's picks for the nation's top diplomat, lead law enforcement officer and head of homeland security, among others. "Bear in mind President-elect Trump's nominees pose particularly difficult ethics and conflict-of-interest challenges," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York said. "They come from enormous wealth, many have vast holdings and stocks, and very few have experience in government." One wealthy Trump pick official who won't require Senate confirmation: son-in-law Jared Kushner, who transition officials confirmed Monday would serve as a senior adviser in the new administration. Kushner, a New York real estate executive, is expected to exert broad sway over both domestic and foreign policy, particularly Middle East issues and trade negotiations. While not subject to Senate approval, White House staff must publicly disclose personal financial information. Addressing the Cabinet selections, Trump's incoming press secretary Sean Spicer insisted Monday, "Everyone who has a hearing this week has their paperwork in." It's unclear, however, whether each had submitted the extensive list of requirements that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell requested of President Barack Obama's nominees eight years ago. Those include an FBI background check, detailed questionnaires and financial disclosure statements that include tax returns, according to a 2009 letter from McConnell that Schumer read Monday on the Senate floor. "Everybody'll be properly vetted as they have been in the past," McConnell told reporters Monday after meeting privately with the president-elect in Trump Tower. On Friday, however, Office of Government Ethics Director Walter Shaub said in a letter to congressional leaders that his office "has not received even initial draft financial disclosure reports for some of the nominees scheduled for hearings." Among the committees that haven't yet received the forms was the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has scheduled a hearing this week for Betsy DeVos, Trump's pick to lead the Education Department. The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee said it had also not received the forms for Trump's pick for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, though a spokeswoman said they're expected soon. Committee aides said they had received ethics forms for Sen. Jeff Sessions, Trump's pick for attorney general; Rex Tillerson, Trump's choice for secretary of state; former Marine Gen. John Kelly, his pick for homeland security secretary; James Mattis, his pick for defense secretary; Rep. Mike Pompeo, his choice for director of the Central Intelligence Agency; and Elaine Chao, his pick for transportation secretary. The committee handling Ben Carson's nomination for housing secretary declined to comment on the record. McConnell said he's hopeful that up to six or seven of Trump's picks, "particularly the national security team," will be "in place on Day One." The Senate cannot vote on any Cabinet pick until after Trump is sworn in on Jan. 20. Trump's selections, meanwhile, have been going through extensive preparation in the days leading up to the hearings. Transition officials said the nominees have spent more than 70 hours participating in full-blown mock hearings, with volunteers playing the role of senators asking questions. "They're listening, they're learning, they're preparing," Spicer said. As his Cabinet prospects prepare to disclose their personal business dealings, Trump insisted Monday that there is a "very simple, very easy" way to disentangle himself from his global business empire before he takes office. The details, he said, would have to wait until Wednesday, when he holds his first formal news conference in nearly six months. Trump has pledged to step away from the Trump Organization during his time in office, but amid warnings from government watchdogs and officials in both parties, he has yet to say specifically how he would do that. Trump continues to own or control some 500 companies that make up the Trump Organization and has said he intends for his two oldest sons and company executives to run the business while he's gone. ___ Peoples reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Julie Pace, Mary Clare Jalonick and Andrew Taylor in Washington contributed to this report. http://dlvr.it/N4Mpfv

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