Monday, March 31, 2008

Your Phone is Killing You

Mobile phones 'more dangerous than smoking'

By Geoffrey Lean
Sunday, 30 March 2008

Mobile phones could kill far more people than smoking or asbestos, a study by an award-winning cancer expert has concluded. He says people should avoid using them wherever possible and that governments and the mobile phone industry must take "immediate steps" to reduce exposure to their radiation.

Fear Tigers, Lawyers

Brothers claim zoo, city negligent in tiger attack


The pair were injured on Christmas Day after a 250-pound Siberian tiger scaled the walls of its enclosure, attacked them and killed their friend, 17-year-old Carlos Sousa Jr. The animal eventually was shot dead by police.

The documents allege the city failed in its duty to provide a safe zoo environment, defamed the brothers by spreading falsehoods about their possible role in provoking the attack and improperly impounded Kulbir Dhaliwal’s car.
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“The Dhaliwal brothers’ attorneys have made clear from the beginning that they intended to sue the city,” said Matt Dorsey, a spokesman for City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Fear Abstinence

Kate Walsh: Abstinence-Only "Not Working"


Walsh, who played a doctor on "Grey's Anatomy" and stars in its spin-off, "Private Practice," is a member of the board of advocates of Planned Parenthood, and went to Capitol Hill Thursday to take part in a congressional briefing on sex education.

She's been lobbying for sex ed to include birth control and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Fear Warrants

Senate Passes Bill to Expand U.S. Spying Powers

This, I believe, is the right way to go for the security of the nation,” said Senator John D. Rockefeller IV, the West Virginia Democrat who leads the intelligence committee and who was a pivotal supporter of the White House-backed plan approved Tuesday.

Beyond the immunity provision, the Senate measure would also widen the executive branch’s surveillance powers by allowing the National Security Agency and intelligence agencies to use broad orders — without getting court orders in advance — to eavesdrop on groups of overseas targets, rather than using individualized warrants.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Homicidal Mania Is Contagious

Defining a deadly virus
Maybe you've decided that the guns laws are too tight. Or too loose. You think the NIU gunman's girlfriend should have reported his increasingly bizarre behavior. You think the system should have flagged a man discharged from the military for psychological reasons—and stopped him from buying a gun.
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Why not apply this epidemiological approach to campus violence—particularly these horrendous murder rampages?
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Will those lessons be heard, as they should be, at every campus across the country? They will, if what happened at NIU marks the start of a broad state effort to treat these terrible attacks for what they are—a deadly virus that is getting stronger.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

Fat People, You Will Soon Be Fat and Crazy

Bulging belly now could mean dementia later
Previous research has shown that having an apple-shaped body increases the risk of diabetes, stroke and heart disease, but this is the first time it has been linked to dementia and Alzheimer’s.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Milk - Got Death?

Fear Milk in Tea

Health experts agree that tea has a number of health benefits, including protecting against heart disease and some cancers (see below). But a recent study conducted by German scientists found that all of the positive health effects of sipping tea are erased if you add milk to your cup.

Researchers at the Charite Hospital at the University of Berlin found that adding milk cancels tea's ability to fight off cardiovascular disease.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Monkeypox

Monkeypox is latest disease to reach America
14 June 2003 From New Scientist by Debora Mackenzie
AS IF West Nile fever, SARS and BSE weren't bad enough, North America now has another new disease to contend with: monkeypox. More than 37 people may have caught the virus from pet prairie dogs, though only four cases have been confirmed so far.