19 March 2007
USA - Smoking Marijuana Harms Lungs
People who smoke marijuana for a long time face many of the same kinds of respiratory problems - such as phlegm, coughing and wheezing - as long-term cigarette smokers, say researchers at the Yale School of Medicine. They reviewed studies from 1966 to 2005 that examined the association between marijuana and pulmonary function and respiratory complications. Some of the studies found a link between short-term marijuana use and relaxation and opening of the air passages. However, other studies identified an association between long-term marijuana use and increased risk of respiratory symptoms, suggestive of obstructive lung disease. Their study is published in the current issue of the Journal Archives of Internal Medicine. ...[more]
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United Kingdom - Crime Reduction: Free Heroin For Junkies?
Junkies are set to be given free heroin, in a controversial plan to cut drug-related crime. A secret Home Office report has recommended supplying addicts with their fix at an annual cost of £12,000 per addict to the already cash-strapped NHS. The report marked “Restricted” says free heroin would cut the number of crimes committed by users to feed their habit and speed them along the road to a recovery. There are at least 56,000 registered heroin addicts in Britain and if all of them took up the offer of prescribed heroin, it would cost taxpayers more than £670million a year. Tory former Home Office Minister Ann Widdecombe said: “It's all very well talking about stopping people committing crime. The question is, are you going to help people come off drugs?” Some people may consider becoming junkies in order to next year's house installments.
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South Africa - Plan To Cut HIV Infections And Boost AIDS Treatment Announced
Acting South African Health minister Jeff Radebe will address the draft HIV & AIDS Strategic Plan at the National Consultation conference in Johannesburg. The government said the country needs to better address the stigma associated with the disease which discourages many people from being tested, and promised to expand its treatment and care program to cover 80 per cent of people with AIDS. Poor co-ordination and lack of clear targets and monitoring has helped AIDS become a major cause of premature death in South Africa, with mortality rates increasing by about 80 per cent in 1997-2004, with a higher increase among women, the report said. About 5.54 million people were estimated to be living with HIV in South Africa in 2005, with 19 per cent of the adult population affected. Women in the 25-29 age group were the worst affected, with prevalence rates of up to 40 per cent. ...[more]
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Australia - Euthanasia Bill Pushed to Referendum
South Australia's Democrat leader, Sandra Kanck, said a Newspoll showed 80% support for voluntary euthanasia and that she will push for a referendum on the issue. “Until we have voluntary euthanasia legislation, hopelessly ill South Australians are in the terrible situation of having to take their own lives… I intend to amend legislation.” ...[more]
France - Trial Opens on French Euthanasia Case
The euthanasia trial of a French doctor and nurse charged with killing a terminally ill cancer patient has begun, in a case that has fuelled debate over the issue in the country. Each could face 30 years if found guilty. More than 2000 French doctors and nurses signed a petition to say that they've performed similar actions and appeal for a change in the law. Opponents of the proposition, including the Catholic church, say the sanctity of life overrides all other considerations, adding that giving doctors the right to kill would open a gateway to abuse. ...[more]
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USA - Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexuality Immoral
Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing homosexual personnel to serve openly. Gen. Pace likened homosexuality to adultery, which he said was also immoral. "I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way," Pace said in an interview. He said he supports the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell policy" in which homosexual men and women are allowed in the military as long as they keep their sexual orientation private. The policy, signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, prohibits commanders from asking about a person's sexual orientation. ...[more]
USA - NY Supreme Courts Upholds Same-Sex Marriage
The New York Supreme Court has upheld a county official's recognition of a same-sex marriage performed outside the state. In 2006, Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano issued an order giving privileges to same-sex couples that had been available only to heterosexual couples. Brian Raum, senior counsel for the Alliance Defense Fund, predicted the Supreme Court would overturn the decision. ...[more]
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United Kingdom - Stem Cells Pioneer Treatment for Rare Disease
In another breakthrough for adult stem cell research, British experts are pioneering a treatment using stem cell therapy to improve the sight of people born with the rare genetic eye disorder called aniridia; a condition where people are born with no iris and later develop problems with the surface of their eye, resulting in pain and loss of vision. Stem cells taken from dead donors' living relatives or even the patients themselves are grown in a laboratory until they form sheets, which are then transplanted on to the surface of the cornea. Four patients have so far received the treatment successfully in one eye and reported an improvement in their comfort and vision, and now await treatment in their other eye. ...[more]
Israel - Scientists Create Heart Tissue from Embryonic Stem Cells
Israeli scientists have found a way of persuading the different types of cell which form the heart to grow and work together using embryonic stem cells. The result was a tiny piece of heart muscle - less than one centimetre square - but threaded with minute blood vessels and closely resembling the complex tissue of the human heart. While stem cells have been coaxed into heart tissue before, this is the first time scientists have succeeded in creating tissue that contains all the vital cells. DFL's spokesperson on the subject, Dr Albu van Eeden, expressed his concern over the questionable ethics of embryonic stem cell research; pointing out that similar breakthroughs have been achieved using acceptable adult stem cell research. ...[more]
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USA - Undercover Agent Helps Nab Website Operator
A man who operated several prostitution websites has been arrested after a 2-year investigation. In previous years, 'circuit girls' prostitutes travelled from city to city on a circuit around Salt Lake City. These circuit girls are now internet girls, of whom over 90% have pimps. Williams, however, was not charged as a pimp as he didn't appear to profit from the prostitutes on his website. The investigation has also led to the arrest of at least 18 women, for sex solicitation. ...[more]
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USA - Abortion Linked to Higher Rates of Child Abuse, Study Finds
A history of abortion is associated with more frequent acts of physical aggression toward subsequent children, according to a new study published in the Internet Journal of Pediatrics and Neonatology. The authors of the study concluded that there can no longer be any doubt that abortion significantly impacts the health of women and their families. "For years, abortion was construed to be a benign medical procedure carrying little if any potential for lasting adverse effects," they wrote. "However... the last several years have brought greater understanding that abortion for many women is an issue with profound physical, psychological, spiritual and lifestyle dimensions that are intimately tied to many aspects of their lives." ...[more]
Italy - Baby Boy Dies When Doctors Do Erroneous Abortion After Bad Test
A baby boy became the victim of an abortion after doctors misdiagnosed a disability test on him. Physicians advised his mother to have an abortion after they had misdiagnosed a physical deformity but the boy survived the procedure. Doctors at the teaching hospital Careggi performed two ultrasound examinations on the boy and said he had a defective esophagus, a disorder that surgery may have corrected after birth. However, when they attempted to abort the baby boy, they discovered he was healthy and desperately tried to resuscitate him. The baby weighed 500 grams (less than 18 ounces) at birth but physicians say that he had a brain hemorrhage during the abortion and he died six days later. Pro-life groups in South Africa are also pushing for greater care for infants born accidentally alive after a botched abortion. ...[more]
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Australia - Fifty jailed for child pornography
Operation Auxin, a wide crackdown on cyber perverts, identified more than 180 suspects who had hoarded up to 12,000 images of child-porn each. All were men. Victoria had the highest number of suspects of any state during the inquiry. Among them were: a policeman, a school principal, a child-care centre director, a youth worker, a prison guard and a priest. Police are preparing for another major offensive on child porn with the state's first unit, created within the sexual crimes squad, dedicated solely to fighting the scourge. Thirty-six Victorian suspects scooped up in Auxin are still to face court. ...[more]
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South Africa - Survivors Set To Testify Against Traditional Healers Gang
Two more survivors who were terrorized and tortured at the hands of an alleged serial killer-gang operating on KwaZulu-Natal's South Coast have been identified. The gang that terrorized the KwaMakhutha, Umbumbulu, Folweni and Adams Mission communities for months is, believed to be responsible for brutally killing 10 young women. Seven people, including a witch doctor, have been arrested for the murders. A 63-year-old female traditional healer, who was the last suspect arrested two days ago, had been buying body parts from the group. Traditional healers and residents have reacted angrily to the killings. “People are starting to believe that traditional healers use human parts for muthi medicine and this is not true," said Sazi Mhlongo, president of the KZN Traditional Healers Association and chairman of the Traditional Healers in South Africa.
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