Sunday, January 22, 2012
Boko Haram’s Deadliest Attack Kills 165 in Northern Nigeria - Businessweek
http://mobile.businessweek.com/news/2012-01-22/boko-haram-s-deadliest-attack-kills-165-in-northern-nigeria.html
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Indonesian arrested for posting on Facebook 'God does not exist'
http://m.digitaljournal.com/article/318276
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Friday, January 20, 2012
Why China Loves Antibiotics a Little Too Much
When Penicillin Pays: - Yahoo! News
Every year when the wet winter weather sweeps through southern Anhui province, Ling Cheng gets a niggling cough that she just can't shake. But instead of heading to the medicine cabinet, Ling, like millions of other Chinese, heads instead to her local hospital for a dose of IV antibiotics. "When the coughing gets annoying, I just go to the clinic two or three days in a row and take a drip" she says, "After that it usually clears up straight away -- it's much more effective than taking pills."
Last month, the country's Ministry of Health revealed that on average each Chinese person consumes 138 grams of antibiotics per year -- ten times the amount consumed per capita in the U.S. Meanwhile, three times as many Chinese people are prescribed Penicillin compared to the international standard. The Ministry also pointed out that 70 per cent of inpatients at Chinese hospitals received antibiotics; the World Health Organization recommends a maximum of 30 per cent. (Read "China's New Healthcare Could Cover Millions More.")
China's thirst for antibiotics has serious consequences. The WHO says the effectiveness of antibiotics is under threat from overuse in China, as diseases mutate to develop immunity. It estimates that 6.8 per cent of Tuberculosis cases in China are multi-drug resistant, compared just 2 per cent in developed countries. Experts believe that diseases as diverse as syphilis and the hospital super-bug MRSA are thriving as they adapt to China's antibiotic-heavy environment." We are now on the brink of losing this precious arsenal of medicines," Dr Michael O'Leary, the World Health Organization's China representative said in a 2011 statement calling for more responsible use of antibiotics. "The speed with which these drugs are being lost far outpaces the development of replacement drugs."
Despite the best efforts of healthcare officials, it is not clear just why the problem has grown so severe -- or exactly what the solution might be. For many years, researchers believed the expectations of patients themselves were to blame: A patient didn't get an injection or a drip would feel that they weren't getting a good standard of care. But research by the World Health Organization suggests that medical practitioners in China will often prescribe antibiotics "to be on the safe side," reasoning that at the very least the drugs won't harm their patients. (Read "In Some Chinese Hospitals, Violence Is Out of Control and It's Doctors Who Are at Risk.")
Financial motivations may also play a role. By some estimates the government subsidies cover just 8 per cent of the running costs of hospitals, leaving the institutions to cover the other 92 per cent by charging for care. At study called 'Patient knowledge and antibiotic abuse' published earlier this year by a team from CEIBS, Princeton and Peking Universities showed that drug sales now account for over 50 per cent of all hospital revenues and antibiotics account for 47 per cent of all drug sales -- and that hospitals were allowed to charge a 15 per cent markup on drug sales. They also found that doctors' incomes were also closely linked to their prescription of certain pharmaceuticals, with both bonuses from their hospitals and kickbacks from companies augmenting their salaries.
Across the country, local administrators are starting to take steps to tackle the problem. In Beijing, the municipal health bureau is currently undertaking a survey of antibiotics usage at 165 hospitals across the city. Those found to be overusing the drugs will have their rankings downgraded -- a move that will directly affect the fees they can charge. Shanghai has rolled out a similar scheme that limits the variety of antibiotics each hospital can prescribe. (Read about China's growing medical boom.)
On the national level, a plan to curtail the use antibiotics through tighter regulation is also in the works. The Ministry of health said last spring that it was drafting new laws, although the details have not been released. It is therefore unclear what effect, if any, the regulations will have, particularly because what seem to be similar measures have been in place for several years.
The team behind the antibiotic study argues that the simplest solution to the problem is patient education about the use and misuse of antibiotics. Their research showed that patients who displayed some knowledge of antibiotics were far less likely to be prescribed the drugs by their physician. "A simple intervention in which patient's display of knowledge about appropriate antibiotic use can dramatically reduce the abuse of antibiotics," the report said. However, it also noted that patients who broached the subject with their doctors faced "a deterioration in the quality of their interactions with the physician." And, really, who wants a grumpy doctor during flu season?
Thursday, January 19, 2012
SOPA and PIPA bills could threaten ALL INDEPENDENT WEBSITES with US government-ordered shutdown
The 4th Media » SOPA and PIPA bills could threaten ALL INDEPENDENT WEBSITES with US government-ordered shutdown by Mike Adams
On Wednesday, January 18, 2012, NaturalNews.com went “dark” to protest SOPA, the “Stop Online Piracy Act” that is actually a thinly-veiled government censorship effort. We are also protesting PIPA, the “Protect IP Act,” which is similarly destructive in its effects. You may have arrived at this page from our mock “seizure” index page which depicts what might happen if SOPA becomes law.
This is crucial for all NaturalNews readers and fans to understand: If SOPA becomes law, NaturalNews.com will be shut down. In fact, the proposed law contains a specific provision — section 105 — which allows the U.S. government to shut down websites it claims “endanger public health.”
Given that NaturalNews openly and repeatedly advocates things like natural sunlightandvitamin C– both of which the government has said are dangerous — our website could be seized by the government under SOPA. And that doesn’t even consider our public stance against routine vaccinations, processed food chemicals and dangerous prescription medications (which the government is always trying to push on the public to kill people before they live long enough to collect social security).
If passed into law, SOPA would shut down NaturalNews, InfoWars, Drudge, Lew Rockwell, Reddit and many other alternative news websites
Make no mistake about the seriousness of this issue: If SOPA (or PIPA) becomes law, it will sooner or later result in the government seizure and shutdown of virtually all alternative news websites — especially those that disagree with the criminality of the current corrupt political regime in Washington.
Imagine an internet without NaturalNews.com. Imagine the liberty movement without InfoWars.com. Imagine the entire world wide web being “sanitized” by the government to remove any websites that do not agree with the government’s official position on finance, the war on drugs, the war on terrorism, pharmaceuticals and vaccines. That’s what we’re facing if SOPA becomes law: A virtual wipeout of all truth across the internet, leaving only theliesof “official” government information… the Ministry of Truth, in other words.
The Internet is the vehicle for restoring freedom and crushing tyrann
Why is the U.S. government working so feverishly to crush independent, truthful information on the internet? Because the globalist controllers realize that the internet is the last bastion of freedom in a world run by global elite corporatists.
While the global elite own and run the mainstream (corporate whore) media, and they own Congress, and they own all the influential non-profits such as the wholly corrupt American Cancer Society, they do not yet control the internet! This freaks them out, especially when they see so much truth being produced by liberty-loving individuals who are exposing the neocons, the socialists, and the criminal-minded thugs who run Wall Street and the White House.
They are desperate to crush internet freedom and SOPA is the tool they hope to use to accomplish that. This is why your opposition to SOPA is absolutely crucial. It’s also why internet giants such as Wikipedia and Reddit have joined in this one-day protest against the tyranny of SOPA and what is fast becoming a government-sponsored “information terrorism” campaign against free speech.
Take action NOW – or you will lose internet free speech forever
This is an absolute must:Take action today to voice your opposition to SOPA. Here’s how you can do that:
Click this link to email your Representative:
http://house.gov/htbin/findrep
(Use the little envelope icon that appears to the right of the picture to send them an email.)And click here to email your U.S. Senator:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
(Use the “web form” link.)Send your representatives and Senator a short message that covers the following fundamental points:
* You oppose SOPA.
* You will not support or vote for any candidate that supports SOPA.
* Urge them to vote against SOPA.You can also call the capitol switchboard at: (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected with your representatives.
Obama may sign SOPA even if he says he opposes it
It is crucial that you take action now, because even though SOPA has been “shelved” and Obama has withdrawn his support for it, remember that Obama also promised he would veto the NDAA, yet he quietly and sneakily signed that on New Year’s Eve, stripping Americans of their due process rights (http://www.naturalnews.com/034537_NDAA_Bill_of_Rights_Obama.html).
Just because Obama says he opposes something doesn’t mean he won’t sign it! And believe me, the tactics of all these evil minions in Washington is to operate in darkness, meaning they will delay SOPA when people are paying attention but then, a few months later, after public awareness has waned, they will insidiously attach it to some spending bill and quietly make it law. One day you will wake up and all your favorite websites will simply be GONE. Remember, the government hasalreadyshut down 84,000 websites with no due process (http://torrentfreak.com/u-s-government-shuts-down-84000-websites-by-mista…).
That’s why you need to voice your opposition to SOPA right now and take a stand for internet Free Speech.
If you don’t, you may very well wake up one day and find NaturalNews.com shut down, InfoWars.com removed from the ‘net, and then your only remaining news options will be CNN, Fox, MSNBC and all the other sources of complete mind-controlled drivel that the corporate “sellout” establishment wants to drill into your head.
Finally, share this article on Facebook, Twitter and other social networks. Spread the word about SOPA. Encourage others to take action. Remember: The internet is the last bastion of freedom in our modern world. If we lose the internet, the corrupt criminals and tyrants who run Wall Street and Washington D.C. will have total, unrelenting control over all information, and your freedom will be suffocated under a police state agenda of total disinformation.
Spread the word. Take action. Protect freedom! Protect the People against government censorship!
Learn more about SOPA:
Wikipedia explanation:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Online_Piracy_ActDetails about PIPA:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PROTECT_IP_ActMashable.com: Why SOPA is dangerous:
http://mashable.com/2012/01/17/sopa-dangerous-opinion/Full text of the bill:
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c112:H.R.3261:Sergey Brin, Other Notable Founders Speak Out Against SOPA
http://www.webpronews.com/sergey-brin-other-notable-founders-speak-out-ag…William Gibson Calls SOPA “Draconian”
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/01/17/william-gibson-calls-sopa-draco…The Guardian: Stop SOPA or the web really will go dark
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/jan/17/stop-sopa-…Stop American Censorship:
http://americancensorship.orgReddit.com SOPA page:
http://www.reddit.com/r/SOPA/Infowars: SOPA dead on arrival
http://www.infowars.com/dead-on-arrival-sopa-shelved-indefinitely-obama-s…Boycott against GoDaddy (Victory! GoDaddy pulled their support for SOPA)
http://godaddyboycott.orgSOPA-related videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uz3M2BVA9s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLYgs0xMDm0
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