Tuesday, 23. November 2004, 13:05:16
Today’s Good News
Have you noticed that we usually debate only the bad things in life.Well, for a change, I thought I’d introduce this thread where anyone can put down current news that they think is good (can be political but not nasty, please, e.g. not Mr Bush catching a cold please!). We can debate the Good News and then move on when someone else posts some more happiness!
So I’ll start with this gem, which will brings tears of joy to many, I am sure.
Chocolate is Good for you
Yes – it’s official
Dark chocolate may be healthier
It’s good for a cough and it’s good for your heart.
Tuesday, 23. November 2004, 13:16:42
Some good news from NZ
Dolphins prevent NZ shark attack
By Phil Mercer, BBC, Sydney
A group of swimmers has told how a pod of dolphins protected them from a great white shark off New Zealand's coast.
The lifeguards were training at a beach near Whangarei on the North Island when they were menaced by a 3-metre shark, before the dolphins raced in to help.
The swimmers were surrounded by the dolphins for 40 minutes before they were able to make it safely back to the beach.
Marine biologists say such altruistic behaviour is not uncommon in dolphins.
Lifeguard Rob Howes was in the water with two colleagues and his teenage daughter.
It was an uncomfortable experience, as they were circled by a great white shark, which came within a couple of metres.
He said around half a dozen dolphins suddenly appeared and herded the swimmers together. The mammals swam in tight circles to create a defensive barrier as the great white lurked under the surface.
The swimmers said the dolphins were extremely agitated and repeatedly slapped the water with their tails, presumably to try to deter the predator as it cruised nearby.
The drama happened in New Zealand three weeks ago, but only now are the lifeguards telling their story.
It is a day they will never forget, especially for one of the swimmers, who was on her first day as a volunteer.
They have no doubt that the dolphins acted deliberately to protect them.
Researchers have said they are not surprised. A marine biologist insisted that dolphins, which are considered to be one of the most intelligent mammals, "like to help the helpless".
Wednesday, 24. November 2004, 19:45:26
How I hope this thread continues to grow. How I have tried to find a piece of good news to post. So far I have failed. I will keep trying.
Wednesday, 24. November 2004, 20:30:31
Well this is stretching the concept of good news a little bit because mention of war is bound to raise some hairs!
But I thought it showed a nice side of the human character to recognises that we owe something to our fellow Terrans, even in war.
Animal war heroes statue unveiled
Some quotes, which struck me:
"The inscription reads: "Animals In War. This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time.
"They had no choice.""
""It will also stand as a testament to the extraordinary bond that animals share with mankind in times of extreme adversity.""
and one slightly whimsical quote:
"Mary of Exeter, another pigeon, which flew back with her neck and right breast ripped open, savaged by hawks kept by the Germans at Calais."
Dastardly German Messerschmidt hawks no doubt!
But I thought it showed a nice side of the human character to recognises that we owe something to our fellow Terrans, even in war.
Animal war heroes statue unveiled
Some quotes, which struck me:
"The inscription reads: "Animals In War. This monument is dedicated to all the animals that served and died alongside British and allied forces in wars and campaigns throughout time.
"They had no choice.""
""It will also stand as a testament to the extraordinary bond that animals share with mankind in times of extreme adversity.""
and one slightly whimsical quote:
"Mary of Exeter, another pigeon, which flew back with her neck and right breast ripped open, savaged by hawks kept by the Germans at Calais."
Dastardly German Messerschmidt hawks no doubt!
Wednesday, 24. November 2004, 21:36:31
Re: Today’s Good News
Originally posted by string
Have you noticed that we usually debate only the bad things in life...
J.R.R. Tolkien noted in The Hobbit that " Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway."
So true... maybe it's because things that are uncomfortable NEED discussing to avoid them?
Thursday, 25. November 2004, 15:06:20
Girl survives rabies without jab
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4042005.stm
quote
"A team of eight specialists used coma inducing drugs to protect the teenager's brain and a cocktail of drugs to protect her nervous system and boost her immune system.
Dr Rodney Willoughby, an expert in child infectious disease who led the team, said the aim was to protect the brain while the disease ran its course through the rest of the teenager's body.
Previous research has indicated that the virus tends to kill by damaging the brain tissues.
Jeanna lapsed into a coma within an hour of starting treatment.
After a week of treatment tests showed that Jeanna's immune system was creating antibodies to fight the virus."
unquote
An "odd" result but a new approach and one which could lead to other treatments in other areas.
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4042005.stm
quote
"A team of eight specialists used coma inducing drugs to protect the teenager's brain and a cocktail of drugs to protect her nervous system and boost her immune system.
Dr Rodney Willoughby, an expert in child infectious disease who led the team, said the aim was to protect the brain while the disease ran its course through the rest of the teenager's body.
Previous research has indicated that the virus tends to kill by damaging the brain tissues.
Jeanna lapsed into a coma within an hour of starting treatment.
After a week of treatment tests showed that Jeanna's immune system was creating antibodies to fight the virus."
unquote
An "odd" result but a new approach and one which could lead to other treatments in other areas.
Friday, 26. November 2004, 16:01:39
Indeed I hope you (and others) do put some posts in. I'm not going to keep this up by myself. The idea is to provoke a smile.
However, being a cheese lover, particularly of the most atrocious varieties, I consider the following "Good News" and well worth reporting. Of course this Good News may not be to everybody's taste!
[url]http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1358412004
No wonder that it's called "Old Bollocks" (my rough translation of the French).
However, being a cheese lover, particularly of the most atrocious varieties, I consider the following "Good News" and well worth reporting. Of course this Good News may not be to everybody's taste!
[url]http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=609&id=1358412004
No wonder that it's called "Old Bollocks" (my rough translation of the French).
Friday, 26. November 2004, 16:37:37
Here is some good news for the average person, but bad news for Shrub, Cheney, and his oil cronies!!!
"New Technology Turns Garbage Into Gold"
[url]http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/Pages/gnngod.html#cwt
"New Technology Turns Garbage Into Gold"
[url]http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/Pages/gnngod.html#cwt
Saturday, 27. November 2004, 04:58:56
Ont. court upholds same-sex survivor benefits
CTV.ca News Staff
[url]http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101485461292_96894661?hub=Canada
Gays and lesbians who outlive their same-sex partners are entitled to retroactive pension benefits, Ontario's Superior Court of Appeal has ruled.
In Friday's decision, the court upheld a lower-court ruling that the federal government was wrong to leave the retroactive payments out of its equality rights scheme back in 2000.
"Excluding many of those who were intended to be included is not rationally connected to the objective of the law, which is to end the discriminatory exclusion of same-sex partners from CPP benefits,'' the court said in its written ruling.
For the lawyer pressing the case, Douglas Elliot, the ruling is an indisputable win.
"It is a victory," Elliot told reporters at a news conference. "We are delighted the courts have stood up... and upheld the entitlement of gay and lesbian same-sex survivors to the same pension benefits as every other Canadian."
"No one gave us a gay and lesbian discount when we were paying into the Canada Pension Plan, and so we shouldn't have a gay and lesbian discount when we get paid out."
The ruling affects close to 1,500 widowed gays and lesbians across the country. But Elliot conceded he had not won on all points, since the court sided with Ottawa's decision to withhold retroactive benefits from the estates of approximately 200 claimants who have died since the case was filed.
The case before the court concerned Bill C-23, which became law in 2000. Under that legislation, gays and lesbians whose partners died before Jan. 1998 were deemed to be not entitled to retroactive benefits.
Gay activist George Hislop, 77, decided to pursue a legal challenge of the benefits laws following the death of his same-sex partner in 1986, on whom he had relied as breadwinner for 28 years.
A class action suit was filed to challenge the 1998 cut-off, arguing benefits should be made retroactive to April 1985, when equality on the basis of sexuality was enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a decision that was quickly appealed by the federal and provincial government, Ontario's Superior Court of Justice ruled the 1998 date was discriminatory.
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said he wanted to study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. But he says this is not a case about gay and lesbian rights.
"The implications of this case have to do with the whole question of federal benefits programs and policy,'' Cotler said.
Initially, the amount of retroactivity was pegged at as much as $400 million, but more recent actuarial data suggested it would be closer to $80 million.
Although Ottawa has expressed concern over the potential impact a rush of new payouts, Elliot says that's not a valid concern.
"The uncontested of the federal government itself at trial was that there will be no reduction in anyone else's pension because of this, and there will be no increase in premiums."
Quebec was not part of the lawsuit because it operates a separate pension plan.
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CTV.ca News Staff
[url]http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101485461292_96894661?hub=Canada
Gays and lesbians who outlive their same-sex partners are entitled to retroactive pension benefits, Ontario's Superior Court of Appeal has ruled.
In Friday's decision, the court upheld a lower-court ruling that the federal government was wrong to leave the retroactive payments out of its equality rights scheme back in 2000.
"Excluding many of those who were intended to be included is not rationally connected to the objective of the law, which is to end the discriminatory exclusion of same-sex partners from CPP benefits,'' the court said in its written ruling.
For the lawyer pressing the case, Douglas Elliot, the ruling is an indisputable win.
"It is a victory," Elliot told reporters at a news conference. "We are delighted the courts have stood up... and upheld the entitlement of gay and lesbian same-sex survivors to the same pension benefits as every other Canadian."
"No one gave us a gay and lesbian discount when we were paying into the Canada Pension Plan, and so we shouldn't have a gay and lesbian discount when we get paid out."
The ruling affects close to 1,500 widowed gays and lesbians across the country. But Elliot conceded he had not won on all points, since the court sided with Ottawa's decision to withhold retroactive benefits from the estates of approximately 200 claimants who have died since the case was filed.
The case before the court concerned Bill C-23, which became law in 2000. Under that legislation, gays and lesbians whose partners died before Jan. 1998 were deemed to be not entitled to retroactive benefits.
Gay activist George Hislop, 77, decided to pursue a legal challenge of the benefits laws following the death of his same-sex partner in 1986, on whom he had relied as breadwinner for 28 years.
A class action suit was filed to challenge the 1998 cut-off, arguing benefits should be made retroactive to April 1985, when equality on the basis of sexuality was enshrined in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
In a decision that was quickly appealed by the federal and provincial government, Ontario's Superior Court of Justice ruled the 1998 date was discriminatory.
Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said he wanted to study the ruling before deciding whether to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada. But he says this is not a case about gay and lesbian rights.
"The implications of this case have to do with the whole question of federal benefits programs and policy,'' Cotler said.
Initially, the amount of retroactivity was pegged at as much as $400 million, but more recent actuarial data suggested it would be closer to $80 million.
Although Ottawa has expressed concern over the potential impact a rush of new payouts, Elliot says that's not a valid concern.
"The uncontested of the federal government itself at trial was that there will be no reduction in anyone else's pension because of this, and there will be no increase in premiums."
Quebec was not part of the lawsuit because it operates a separate pension plan.
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Saturday, 27. November 2004, 05:00:37
Martin offers to host summit on UN reform
CTV.ca News Staff
[url]http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101517757095_30/?hub=World
Prime Minister Paul Martin wants to change the role of the United Nations. And he's invited the leaders of the Francophone nations to a summit in Canada to discuss the issue.
In Burkina Faso, Martin told the annual Francophonie summit that the UN needs to expand its mandate to intervene when countries fail to stop internal violence.
The United Nations' current primary mandate is to protect national sovereignty. But Martin said it's time for the UN to change.
Martin spoke of his visit to Sudan this week and pointed to that war-torn country as proof the UN needs an expanded mandate to intervene when states fail to stop internal violence.
"We must give ourselves the tools to act,'' Martin said.
Martin called for a conference in Canada on the issue, which he formally calls the Responsibility to Protect. He'd like to see a cabinet minister from each Francophonie country there .
"We would be pleased to host this Francophonie conference in Canada. The resulting declaration would go hand in hand with our efforts to consolidate democracy and governance structures in fragile states,'' Martin told a news conference.
"I'm asking foreign ministers to come and meet us so that we can build the consensus that is necessary.
"And I'm convinced that if we can build the nations' consensus that is required, it will eventually be accepted by the United Nations.''
The UN itself is due to publish an interim report on its future role. Martin hopes the report will includes at least a passing reference to the idea the UN should be protecting innocent people.
He plans to spend the next few months drumming up support for his idea.
Martin pitched his proposal to other leaders attending last weekend's APEC summit in Santiago, Chile. He said the United Nations is too slow to move in cases like Darfur, Sudan, and wastes too much time debating whether such situations can be defined as genocide.
Martin proposed that world leaders form an "L-20" group to deal with humanitarian crises around the world. The L-20 would gather the G8 countries and the leaders of 12 other emerging economic powers such as India, China, Brazil and South Korea.
The idea was rebuffed by U.S. President George Bush, but met with favour from European and Asian leaders.
CTV.ca News Staff
[url]http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1101517757095_30/?hub=World
Prime Minister Paul Martin wants to change the role of the United Nations. And he's invited the leaders of the Francophone nations to a summit in Canada to discuss the issue.
In Burkina Faso, Martin told the annual Francophonie summit that the UN needs to expand its mandate to intervene when countries fail to stop internal violence.
The United Nations' current primary mandate is to protect national sovereignty. But Martin said it's time for the UN to change.
Martin spoke of his visit to Sudan this week and pointed to that war-torn country as proof the UN needs an expanded mandate to intervene when states fail to stop internal violence.
"We must give ourselves the tools to act,'' Martin said.
Martin called for a conference in Canada on the issue, which he formally calls the Responsibility to Protect. He'd like to see a cabinet minister from each Francophonie country there .
"We would be pleased to host this Francophonie conference in Canada. The resulting declaration would go hand in hand with our efforts to consolidate democracy and governance structures in fragile states,'' Martin told a news conference.
"I'm asking foreign ministers to come and meet us so that we can build the consensus that is necessary.
"And I'm convinced that if we can build the nations' consensus that is required, it will eventually be accepted by the United Nations.''
The UN itself is due to publish an interim report on its future role. Martin hopes the report will includes at least a passing reference to the idea the UN should be protecting innocent people.
He plans to spend the next few months drumming up support for his idea.
Martin pitched his proposal to other leaders attending last weekend's APEC summit in Santiago, Chile. He said the United Nations is too slow to move in cases like Darfur, Sudan, and wastes too much time debating whether such situations can be defined as genocide.
Martin proposed that world leaders form an "L-20" group to deal with humanitarian crises around the world. The L-20 would gather the G8 countries and the leaders of 12 other emerging economic powers such as India, China, Brazil and South Korea.
The idea was rebuffed by U.S. President George Bush, but met with favour from European and Asian leaders.
Saturday, 27. November 2004, 05:03:53
Two B.C. people give up kidney to save strangers, the first such transplants
Terri Theodore, Canadian Press
Friday, November 26, 2004
[url]http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=8b198af4-c992-4b08-bc62-979125288ad5&page=2
VANCOUVER (CP) - Two British Columbia residents each gave up a kidney to save strangers, becoming the first living people in Canada to anonymously become organ donors.
Their altruism has moved the researcher conducting a study on the feasibility of allowing more people to make such donations, but it has also raised concerns about the ethics of the practice.
Antonia Henderson, research psychologist at the B.C. Transplant Society, said the two were chosen from among 93 people who called the society asking to be allowed to donate one of their kidneys.
Forty-three of them agreed to go through a rigorous interview process to assess their psychological health. The two were chosen from those 43.
The pair underwent surgery to remove a kidney and the organs were transplanted into two recipients who were deemed to be a match and considered most in need because they've exhausted all their options of finding a relative or friend who is a match.
Most kidney patients wait on the list for five to eight years.
"They're pretty special people, that's for sure," Henderson said of the donors.
"It's really restored my faith in the whole idea of altruism. They really are pretty unique."
Another nine potential candidates are being assessed.
Henderson wouldn't say much about the donors, except to note that none of them were looking for any sort of praise.
"It's a very private thing, it's a very intimate thing between them and their spiritual consciousness. They feel that this is something that they're doing between them and their God."
Henderson added: "It's an extremely moving experience for me to have the opportunity to know these people."
In a news release, the transplant society quotes one of the donors: "I'm not the big hero people make me out to be. I went through a minimal amount of discomfort. It was not a huge sacrifice. If I had the chance to do it again, I would."
Henderson wasn't even looking for such people when she began the study.
In the beginning, the transplant society was simply asking people hypothetically whether they would be willing to give up a kidney to a stranger and if so, why.
"But at the same time, we had people calling up the transplant centre of their own volition, right out of the blue, not knowing that we were researching this and just saying 'I have two kidneys, I don't need them both and would you like to have one.' "
Henderson's research will follow the donors' physical and psychological health for the next year.
Arthur Schafer, a medical ethicist at the University of Manitoba, said research shows that living donor transplants are more successful than those done from dying donors.
However, the ethical minefields are huge.
In Canada, it is a criminal offence for someone to sell part of their body and organ donations from living people by anyone other than relatives or spouses isn't common. Even in family situations, doctors worry there may be peer pressure for a family member to donate, Schafer said.
While people only need one kidney to survive and live healthy lives, donating one is still a medical procedure with risks and donors aren't left with a backup if something goes wrong with the kidney remaining.
Anonymous living donors sidestep all the concerns about pressure, provided the donors are found to be mentally sound.
But Schafer added: "I think we shouldn't request health sacrifices from the living unless there's no other available alternative."
"So many people with healthy organs are cremated or buried without the organs being transplanted when they could be used to save the life of someone struggling with a terrible disease or they could dramatically improve the live of someone."
He said doctors need to make more of an effort to ensure families have the opportunity to turn tragedy into something positive by donating organs.
Henderson was also unwilling to suggest that live anonymous donors could help solve the organ shortage problem.
"I don't think people are going to be breaking down our doors to do this. It's a big deal and it's long and it's painful and it's hard and I think it takes a very, very unique kind of individual to want to do that."
Terri Theodore, Canadian Press
Friday, November 26, 2004
[url]http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=8b198af4-c992-4b08-bc62-979125288ad5&page=2
VANCOUVER (CP) - Two British Columbia residents each gave up a kidney to save strangers, becoming the first living people in Canada to anonymously become organ donors.
Their altruism has moved the researcher conducting a study on the feasibility of allowing more people to make such donations, but it has also raised concerns about the ethics of the practice.
Antonia Henderson, research psychologist at the B.C. Transplant Society, said the two were chosen from among 93 people who called the society asking to be allowed to donate one of their kidneys.
Forty-three of them agreed to go through a rigorous interview process to assess their psychological health. The two were chosen from those 43.
The pair underwent surgery to remove a kidney and the organs were transplanted into two recipients who were deemed to be a match and considered most in need because they've exhausted all their options of finding a relative or friend who is a match.
Most kidney patients wait on the list for five to eight years.
"They're pretty special people, that's for sure," Henderson said of the donors.
"It's really restored my faith in the whole idea of altruism. They really are pretty unique."
Another nine potential candidates are being assessed.
Henderson wouldn't say much about the donors, except to note that none of them were looking for any sort of praise.
"It's a very private thing, it's a very intimate thing between them and their spiritual consciousness. They feel that this is something that they're doing between them and their God."
Henderson added: "It's an extremely moving experience for me to have the opportunity to know these people."
In a news release, the transplant society quotes one of the donors: "I'm not the big hero people make me out to be. I went through a minimal amount of discomfort. It was not a huge sacrifice. If I had the chance to do it again, I would."
Henderson wasn't even looking for such people when she began the study.
In the beginning, the transplant society was simply asking people hypothetically whether they would be willing to give up a kidney to a stranger and if so, why.
"But at the same time, we had people calling up the transplant centre of their own volition, right out of the blue, not knowing that we were researching this and just saying 'I have two kidneys, I don't need them both and would you like to have one.' "
Henderson's research will follow the donors' physical and psychological health for the next year.
Arthur Schafer, a medical ethicist at the University of Manitoba, said research shows that living donor transplants are more successful than those done from dying donors.
However, the ethical minefields are huge.
In Canada, it is a criminal offence for someone to sell part of their body and organ donations from living people by anyone other than relatives or spouses isn't common. Even in family situations, doctors worry there may be peer pressure for a family member to donate, Schafer said.
While people only need one kidney to survive and live healthy lives, donating one is still a medical procedure with risks and donors aren't left with a backup if something goes wrong with the kidney remaining.
Anonymous living donors sidestep all the concerns about pressure, provided the donors are found to be mentally sound.
But Schafer added: "I think we shouldn't request health sacrifices from the living unless there's no other available alternative."
"So many people with healthy organs are cremated or buried without the organs being transplanted when they could be used to save the life of someone struggling with a terrible disease or they could dramatically improve the live of someone."
He said doctors need to make more of an effort to ensure families have the opportunity to turn tragedy into something positive by donating organs.
Henderson was also unwilling to suggest that live anonymous donors could help solve the organ shortage problem.
"I don't think people are going to be breaking down our doors to do this. It's a big deal and it's long and it's painful and it's hard and I think it takes a very, very unique kind of individual to want to do that."
Sunday, 28. November 2004, 17:16:55
Please see The Give-and-Take At the Book Thing Exchange
at
[url]http://my.opera.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74093
at
[url]http://my.opera.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=74093
Tuesday, 30. November 2004, 07:34:56
In December's Scientific American
some snippets of good news
A method for making flu vaccines quickly
A retinal implant for treating macular degeneration
There is a non-profit U.S. drug firm
some snippets of good news
A method for making flu vaccines quickly
A retinal implant for treating macular degeneration
There is a non-profit U.S. drug firm
Tuesday, 30. November 2004, 14:58:15
Stem Cells - Umbilical cord cells 'allow paralysed woman to walk'
and some people would ban this type of medical advance!
and some people would ban this type of medical advance!
Wednesday, 1. December 2004, 04:23:09
Originally posted by string
Stem Cells - Umbilical cord cells 'allow paralysed woman to walk'
and some people would ban this type of medical advance!
Ya, boggles the mind doesn't it.
Wednesday, 1. December 2004, 08:20:14
Originally posted by string
Stem Cells - Umbilical cord cells 'allow paralysed woman to walk'
and some people would ban this type of medical advance!
Some people would ban getting pissed because they have never experienced it. Nuff said!
Wednesday, 1. December 2004, 08:40:17
Originally posted by minutiae
Some people would ban getting pissed because they have never experienced it. Nuff said!
I may start a thread on the theraputic advantages of getting pissed, not for just falling over, but for the absense of inhabisions involving intense thought. You may benefit from this. Politicians use it as a matter of fact. Make sure you keep up your vitamin B.
Who amongst you is not under the influence of a drug...Let him throw the first stone.
Wednesday, 1. December 2004, 08:47:23
While minutiae sinks slowly into the horizon, I thought I'd introduce a note of Christmas Cheer into the proceedings (or is it brainwashing for the very young?).
Santa 'teaches kids to be good'
Santa 'teaches kids to be good'
Friday, 10. December 2004, 04:52:57
Sharon wins key party vote
CBC News
[url]http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/12/09/sharon041209.html
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a key party vote Thursday to begin coalition negotiations with the opposition Labour party, a move that could avert new elections and strengthen his bid to withdraw from Gaza.
The Likud Central Committee voted 62 per cent in favour of entering talks to create a majority coalition.
Although some Labour members had opposed joining Sharon, Labour party leader Shimon Peres was a strong supporter of the move.
The committee also voted on bringing Orthodox Jewish parties to join his government.
Sharon was forced to reshuffle his minority coalition after suffering a major political defeat earlier this month when parliament voted against his state budget.
Sharon's main coalition partner, the secular rights Shinui party, voted against the budget in the first of three votes. Sharon dismissed the party from his coalition.
Sharon's Likud party controls 40 of parliament's 120 seats.
With Labour in the coalition, Sharon would have a parliamentary majority of about 66 seats. Sharon has needed the backing of the Labour party to push forward his unilateral disengagement plan to withdraw 8,200 settlers from Gaza.
Many members within his own party reject the disengagement plan.
Written by CBC News Online staff
CBC News
[url]http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2004/12/09/sharon041209.html
JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon won a key party vote Thursday to begin coalition negotiations with the opposition Labour party, a move that could avert new elections and strengthen his bid to withdraw from Gaza.
The Likud Central Committee voted 62 per cent in favour of entering talks to create a majority coalition.
Although some Labour members had opposed joining Sharon, Labour party leader Shimon Peres was a strong supporter of the move.
The committee also voted on bringing Orthodox Jewish parties to join his government.
Sharon was forced to reshuffle his minority coalition after suffering a major political defeat earlier this month when parliament voted against his state budget.
Sharon's main coalition partner, the secular rights Shinui party, voted against the budget in the first of three votes. Sharon dismissed the party from his coalition.
Sharon's Likud party controls 40 of parliament's 120 seats.
With Labour in the coalition, Sharon would have a parliamentary majority of about 66 seats. Sharon has needed the backing of the Labour party to push forward his unilateral disengagement plan to withdraw 8,200 settlers from Gaza.
Many members within his own party reject the disengagement plan.
Written by CBC News Online staff
Friday, 10. December 2004, 04:57:42
New Drug Shows Promise in Cutting Risk of Breast Cancer Recurrence
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 9, 2004; Page A03
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49564-2004Dec8?language=printer
A new type of drug shows growing promise as a more potent way for many breast cancer patients to significantly cut their risk of a recurrence, researchers reported yesterday.
The latest findings from a large international study also found that the drug, called an aromatase inhibitor, appears to sharply reduce the chances that many breast cancer patients will develop a new cancer in the other breast or have the cancer spread elsewhere.
The results were so strong that the researchers recommended that most postmenopausal women struck by breast cancer should immediately begin taking an aromatase inhibitor as soon as they are done with the standard regimen of surgery, radiation and, often, chemotherapy, instead of first going on an older drug.
Other experts praised the findings as confirming that aromatase inhibitors should play an important role in treating breast cancer patients, but they said it remains unclear whether all eligible women should immediately start with an aromatase inhibitor. Some patients might still first try the older drug, tamoxifen, they said.
"This is a very large study, and it confirms there is a benefit and that aromatase inhibitors should become part of standard therapy," said JoAnne Zujewski of the National Cancer Institute. "But the exact timing of how one should use them remains unclear."
Before the development of aromatase inhibitors, women whose breast cancers were promoted by the hormone estrogen -- which is true of most -- were given tamoxifen to reduce their risk of a recurrence. Tamoxifen blunts estrogen's effects. But tamoxifen can be taken for only five years, and it increases the risk of blood clots, which can cause strokes, and uterine cancer.
Aromatase inhibitors block the formation of estrogen in the first place and carry none of those risks. They do not, however, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, as tamoxifen does.
It has been unclear whether women should take tamoxifen first and then switch to an aromatase inhibitor, or simply take an aromatase inhibitor from the start.
The new findings are from a study involving 9,366 postmenopausal women with early, estrogen-sensitive breast cancer who took either tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor called Arimidex (known generically as anastrozole).
The researchers had previously reported data from three years of study that showed Arimidex prevented more recurrences than tamoxifen. The new data showed that the benefits continued after five years and appeared to be even greater, the researchers said. Tamoxifen cut the recurrence risk by about 50 percent; Arimidex appeared to reduce the recurrence rate by an extra 26 percent, the researchers said.
"We think women should start right away with an aromatase inhibitor," said Anthony Howell of the Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, who presented the findings at a scientific meeting in San Antonio. The Lancet, a British medical journal, released a paper detailing the findings early to coincide with the presentation.
"We think the benefit justifies offering this treatment as early as possible," Howell said.
Other research presented at the meeting found that switching to Arimidex or another aromatase inhibitor, called Aromasin, was more effective than staying on tamoxifen for five years.
"This data strengthens the thinking that tamoxifen is tending to die out as a treatment and is being replaced by these aromatase inhibitors," Howell said.
But other experts said the data simply confirmed the study's earlier findings and that the results of other ongoing studies are needed before changing the standard recommendations.
"I would say that these results generally provide confirmation of what was previously seen in this trial but are not strikingly different," said Eric P. Winer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Winer chaired a panel for the American Society of Clinical Oncology that recommended last month that aromatase inhibitors should become part of the standard arsenal of drugs used to treat breast cancer, but noted that the exact strategy of how to use them remains unclear.
"We still should be careful not to rush to judgment as to what the best way should be to use these drugs," Winer said.
The new study was funded by AstraZeneca, which makes Arimidex, but Howell said the researchers had complete independence.
By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, December 9, 2004; Page A03
[url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49564-2004Dec8?language=printer
A new type of drug shows growing promise as a more potent way for many breast cancer patients to significantly cut their risk of a recurrence, researchers reported yesterday.
The latest findings from a large international study also found that the drug, called an aromatase inhibitor, appears to sharply reduce the chances that many breast cancer patients will develop a new cancer in the other breast or have the cancer spread elsewhere.
The results were so strong that the researchers recommended that most postmenopausal women struck by breast cancer should immediately begin taking an aromatase inhibitor as soon as they are done with the standard regimen of surgery, radiation and, often, chemotherapy, instead of first going on an older drug.
Other experts praised the findings as confirming that aromatase inhibitors should play an important role in treating breast cancer patients, but they said it remains unclear whether all eligible women should immediately start with an aromatase inhibitor. Some patients might still first try the older drug, tamoxifen, they said.
"This is a very large study, and it confirms there is a benefit and that aromatase inhibitors should become part of standard therapy," said JoAnne Zujewski of the National Cancer Institute. "But the exact timing of how one should use them remains unclear."
Before the development of aromatase inhibitors, women whose breast cancers were promoted by the hormone estrogen -- which is true of most -- were given tamoxifen to reduce their risk of a recurrence. Tamoxifen blunts estrogen's effects. But tamoxifen can be taken for only five years, and it increases the risk of blood clots, which can cause strokes, and uterine cancer.
Aromatase inhibitors block the formation of estrogen in the first place and carry none of those risks. They do not, however, reduce the risk of osteoporosis, as tamoxifen does.
It has been unclear whether women should take tamoxifen first and then switch to an aromatase inhibitor, or simply take an aromatase inhibitor from the start.
The new findings are from a study involving 9,366 postmenopausal women with early, estrogen-sensitive breast cancer who took either tamoxifen or an aromatase inhibitor called Arimidex (known generically as anastrozole).
The researchers had previously reported data from three years of study that showed Arimidex prevented more recurrences than tamoxifen. The new data showed that the benefits continued after five years and appeared to be even greater, the researchers said. Tamoxifen cut the recurrence risk by about 50 percent; Arimidex appeared to reduce the recurrence rate by an extra 26 percent, the researchers said.
"We think women should start right away with an aromatase inhibitor," said Anthony Howell of the Christie Hospital in Manchester, England, who presented the findings at a scientific meeting in San Antonio. The Lancet, a British medical journal, released a paper detailing the findings early to coincide with the presentation.
"We think the benefit justifies offering this treatment as early as possible," Howell said.
Other research presented at the meeting found that switching to Arimidex or another aromatase inhibitor, called Aromasin, was more effective than staying on tamoxifen for five years.
"This data strengthens the thinking that tamoxifen is tending to die out as a treatment and is being replaced by these aromatase inhibitors," Howell said.
But other experts said the data simply confirmed the study's earlier findings and that the results of other ongoing studies are needed before changing the standard recommendations.
"I would say that these results generally provide confirmation of what was previously seen in this trial but are not strikingly different," said Eric P. Winer of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Winer chaired a panel for the American Society of Clinical Oncology that recommended last month that aromatase inhibitors should become part of the standard arsenal of drugs used to treat breast cancer, but noted that the exact strategy of how to use them remains unclear.
"We still should be careful not to rush to judgment as to what the best way should be to use these drugs," Winer said.
The new study was funded by AstraZeneca, which makes Arimidex, but Howell said the researchers had complete independence.
Friday, 10. December 2004, 08:50:00
Originally posted by bgoodman4
Why is it an ill wind?
Hi Barry - I seem to have out obscured myself!!
Have a look at this useful site
[url]http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsi.htm
where it says
"It's an ill wind - someone profits from every loss
Said comfortingly of misfortunes that may bring some benefits. The full saying is 'It's an ill wind that blows nobody good', the emphasis being 'it is indeed a harsh wind if it damages everybody'. It was already proverbial when recorded by Thomas Tusser in Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry (1580) as 'It is an ill wind turns to good' (... if it makes nobody turn to doing something worthwhile), a version that makes better sense in implying that misfortune brings out the best in people."
P.S.
The title of the piece is "Americans bad at Maths is good news for Indians".
I was referring to the fact that, in the reference I quoted, something may have been bad for Americans, but it was good for Indians, in other words reflecting sentiment of the saying I quoted.
P.S. I don't agree that the "more recent" meaning of 1580 is better - I use it in the sense of the original meaning. I suspect that most, if not all, do.
Friday, 10. December 2004, 20:16:12
Always good to see a monopoly (GPS) bite the dust
edit:
A quote from that article, just to rattle a few cages:
"The final constellation of 30 satellites will more than double the spacecraft providing the American Global Positioning System, greatly improving the quality of signals users can receive.
The idea of the Europeans developing their own network had irked the US Department of Defense, which controls GPS, because of the potential of Galileo's signals interfering with those intended for use by the American military."
edit:
A quote from that article, just to rattle a few cages:
"The final constellation of 30 satellites will more than double the spacecraft providing the American Global Positioning System, greatly improving the quality of signals users can receive.
The idea of the Europeans developing their own network had irked the US Department of Defense, which controls GPS, because of the potential of Galileo's signals interfering with those intended for use by the American military."
Friday, 10. December 2004, 22:04:16
Originally posted by string
A quote from that article, just to rattle a few cages:
"The final constellation of 30 satellites will more than double the spacecraft providing the American Global Positioning System, greatly improving the quality of signals users can receive.
The idea of the Europeans developing their own network had irked the US Department of Defense, which controls GPS, because of the potential of Galileo's signals interfering with those intended for use by the American military."
I think they're just miffed because an alternative to GPS means a loss of power for them.
Saturday, 11. December 2004, 01:11:13
Today's Saturday paper has local and overseas news that is, by and large, reliable. There are book reviews, film reviews, drama reviews, opinions from every facet of society, investigative pieces that skewer our elected representatives and their minions. A bit of fiction, heart-felt essays to make you think and funny bits to have you falling about. Forums to give you a chance to vent your grievances and opinions. There was a similar paper last Saturday and there will be another next Saturday. And this is true, more or less, in all the world's free, great cities.
And the best news? We take it for granted.
And the best news? We take it for granted.
Saturday, 11. December 2004, 05:40:49
Originally posted by string
Hi Barry - I seem to have out obscured myself!!
Have a look at this useful site
[url]http://users.tinyonline.co.uk/gswithenbank/sayingsi.htm
Thanks for the clarification string
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 09:11:41
Briton's death sentence quashed
Whenever I hear a story like this I think, “Better for 100 guilty men to avoid justice than for one innocent person to be punished for a crime he did not commit.” Since everyone must inherit the results of his own actions, and live with the truth of what he has done, there is no one who escapes justice in the next life. Even in this life the evil-doers do not enjoy peace and happiness. Goodness is its own reward and evil is its own punishment.
Punishing evil-doers is a wicked doctrine. That doesn't mean that criminals shouldn't be imprisoned or restrained, just that any idea of vengeance is rooted in hatred and enmity, which is wicked. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
If you haven't already seen it, check out the Shawshank Redemption
If you haven't read it, check out Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.
Whenever I hear a story like this I think, “Better for 100 guilty men to avoid justice than for one innocent person to be punished for a crime he did not commit.” Since everyone must inherit the results of his own actions, and live with the truth of what he has done, there is no one who escapes justice in the next life. Even in this life the evil-doers do not enjoy peace and happiness. Goodness is its own reward and evil is its own punishment.
Punishing evil-doers is a wicked doctrine. That doesn't mean that criminals shouldn't be imprisoned or restrained, just that any idea of vengeance is rooted in hatred and enmity, which is wicked. An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
If you haven't already seen it, check out the Shawshank Redemption
If you haven't read it, check out Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky.
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 09:16:01
Prosecution Dan Gershutz said, "Even though this new evidence may establish Mr Richey's innocence, the Ohio and United States constitution nonetheless allow him to be executed because the prosecution did not know that the scientific testimony offered at the trial was false and unreliable."
The Crime that Never Was
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 09:21:10
Nice post, Pesala, and Good News indeed.
I suppose that gobbledegook by Dan Gershutz, that you quoted above, simply means that people make mistakes.
I suppose that gobbledegook by Dan Gershutz, that you quoted above, simply means that people make mistakes.
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 09:30:28
If you read some of the evidence the prosecution's case seems very weak.
1. It would be unrealistic rational for any learned person to think Kenny climbed onto this sharp-angled & slanted roof (it was alleged he climbed the shed drunk & disabled - with a 5 gallon gas can (petrol tin), & 1 tin of paint-thinner), keeping the cans and himself balanced whilst drunk, then crossing the approximate 153cm (5ft) space (between the shed and the balcony) - onto the balcony whilst intoxicated, one hand disabled, and doing so without making a sound.
2. Examination shows a distance of approximately 153cm (5ft) between the Shed Roof and the Balcony, and the spacing of the Balcony banisters, is approximately 10cm (4").
3. When he allegedly got to the Balcony, how did he fit these alleged 3 items through a 10cm (4") space? Take a look next time at a 5-gallon gas can. A paint-thinner can. Could you get - from a 45 degree angle, stretched across an approximate 153cm (5ft) space - these 3 items squeezed through a 10cm (4") space? With one hand balancing yourself, so you do not fall, and the other hand disabled and unable to maneuver?
4. It was a hot, humid night, and the bedroom window of Kenny's ex-girlfriend was only 5ft from the shed, it had been left open. The young woman and her new boyfriend, both of whom stated they were light sleepers, heard no sound.
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 17:07:33
Yes it does seem weak - it's bad that it took so long for the court system to admit a mistake. Maybe the Prosecutor's work ethic contains too much of the "Winning" element and to little of the "Justice" element.
The following is somewhat unconventional Good News, but it is Good news for who is about to be promoted again. Nils Olav the second.
If I understand the terms of his employment, it is only a matter of time before the Norwegian Military is under the command of a Penguin!
The following is somewhat unconventional Good News, but it is Good news for who is about to be promoted again. Nils Olav the second.
If I understand the terms of his employment, it is only a matter of time before the Norwegian Military is under the command of a Penguin!
Wednesday, 26. January 2005, 17:20:47
Again, not Good News of the very serious kind, but I cannot resist this - it made the headlines in one or two national newspapers here.
You will all be relieved to know that Great Britain is now safe from apple-eating-women-drivers.
You will all be relieved to know that Great Britain is now safe from apple-eating-women-drivers.
Friday, 28. January 2005, 20:53:58
Serious stuff.
Iraqis voting around the world
The start of a perilous process and the rebirth of democracy in Iraq.
Good luck to Iraq
Iraqis voting around the world
The start of a perilous process and the rebirth of democracy in Iraq.
Good luck to Iraq
Friday, 4. February 2005, 18:10:28
U.N.: Efforts on Course to Eradicate Polio in Asia by End of 2005
"GENEVA (AP) - The number of polio cases reported in Asia fell by almost half last year, meaning that efforts to eradicate the disease on the continent by the end of 2005 are on course, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Africa, however, remains a problem.
Total cases in the three Asian countries that still have polio - Afghanistan, India and Pakistan - fell to 186 last year from 336 in 2003, after those nations' political leaders lent personal support to mass campaigns to immunize 210 million children.
"Similar momentum this year should put an end to the transmission of polio in this particularly crowded corner of the world, which has proven a challenge to global eradication efforts," WHO said.
The health ministers of the three Asian countries met at WHO headquarters this week to work out a plan to wipe out the crippling disease.
They decided to initiate two immunization campaigns in the six states and provinces where polio is present, to be followed by more widespread vaccination efforts throughout the rest of their countries, which are free from the disease, WHO said.
"It's looking very good for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan," Dr. David Heymann, who is overseeing WHO's effort to eradicate polio, told The Associated Press.
"Hopefully this will do it," Heymann said, adding that the immunization campaigns "will be phenomenal."
WHO has set a target to wipe out polio worldwide by the end of this year, but a vaccine boycott in Nigeria hampered WHO's efforts. The boycott spawned a resurgence of the disease across Africa, infecting children in formerly polio-free countries.
Muslim clerics led the boycott, saying the polio vaccine was a U.S.-led plot to render Nigeria's Muslims infertile or infect them with AIDS. Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in July 2004 and WHO also boosted immunization across Africa.
The number of new cases in Africa rose to 1,040 last year from 389 the previous year. Despite the setback, WHO still plans to eradicate the disease on the continent.
"I think we'll have good progress. Whether or not it can be completely wiped out, we don't know, but we're hoping so," Heymann said. "The target is the end of 2005, and there's never been a greater engagement of top-level people than right now."
Polio is a waterborne disease that usually infects young children, attacking the nervous system and causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death."
"GENEVA (AP) - The number of polio cases reported in Asia fell by almost half last year, meaning that efforts to eradicate the disease on the continent by the end of 2005 are on course, the World Health Organization said Friday.
Africa, however, remains a problem.
Total cases in the three Asian countries that still have polio - Afghanistan, India and Pakistan - fell to 186 last year from 336 in 2003, after those nations' political leaders lent personal support to mass campaigns to immunize 210 million children.
"Similar momentum this year should put an end to the transmission of polio in this particularly crowded corner of the world, which has proven a challenge to global eradication efforts," WHO said.
The health ministers of the three Asian countries met at WHO headquarters this week to work out a plan to wipe out the crippling disease.
They decided to initiate two immunization campaigns in the six states and provinces where polio is present, to be followed by more widespread vaccination efforts throughout the rest of their countries, which are free from the disease, WHO said.
"It's looking very good for India, Pakistan and Afghanistan," Dr. David Heymann, who is overseeing WHO's effort to eradicate polio, told The Associated Press.
"Hopefully this will do it," Heymann said, adding that the immunization campaigns "will be phenomenal."
WHO has set a target to wipe out polio worldwide by the end of this year, but a vaccine boycott in Nigeria hampered WHO's efforts. The boycott spawned a resurgence of the disease across Africa, infecting children in formerly polio-free countries.
Muslim clerics led the boycott, saying the polio vaccine was a U.S.-led plot to render Nigeria's Muslims infertile or infect them with AIDS. Vaccination programs restarted in Nigeria in July 2004 and WHO also boosted immunization across Africa.
The number of new cases in Africa rose to 1,040 last year from 389 the previous year. Despite the setback, WHO still plans to eradicate the disease on the continent.
"I think we'll have good progress. Whether or not it can be completely wiped out, we don't know, but we're hoping so," Heymann said. "The target is the end of 2005, and there's never been a greater engagement of top-level people than right now."
Polio is a waterborne disease that usually infects young children, attacking the nervous system and causing paralysis, muscular atrophy, deformation and sometimes death."
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