Friday, December 16, 2011

Supreme Court to judge on patents for treating disease

THE long arm of the law may soon reach your doctor's office. In a case before the US Supreme Court, a drug company is fighting for a patent that could hold medical knowledge hostage.

Prometheus Laboratories in San Diego, California, holds a patent on guidelines for treating gastrointestinal diseases. It is battling the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota over claims that the clinic's methods of treating these diseases conflict with its patent, which covers dosage adjustments that tell doctors how much medicine should be prescribed based on metabolites in the body.

Although discoveries can be patented in the US, this claim over natural body processes goes too far, according to a statement by a group of organisations including the American Medical Association in support of the Mayo Clinic. "Long before the patentee drafted his claims, physicians treating autoimmune disorders... recognized the relationship between metabolite levels and therapeutic efficacy of the drugs," they write.

They say that patenting the "utterly conventional steps" will result in poorer patient care. "Higher priced medical care is an inevitable result," they add.

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NJ Nets owner wants to buy Russia media holding

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, looks on as Mikhail Prokhorov signs an agreement, during a Franco-Russian meeting in Rambouillet, France. Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said Monday Dec. 12, 2011, he will run against Putin in the March presidential election. (AP Photo/Alexei Druzhinin, Pool)

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, looks on as Mikhail Prokhorov signs an agreement, during a Franco-Russian meeting in Rambouillet, France. Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said Monday Dec. 12, 2011, he will run against Putin in the March presidential election. (AP Photo/Alexei Druzhinin, Pool)

FILE - In this April 1, 2011 file photo, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, flanked by Russian billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, goes to inspect a new Russian-designed hybrid cars called "Yo" at the Gorki residence outside Moscow, Russia. Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and the owner of the New Jersey Nets basketball team, said Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 he will run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election. (AP Photo/RIA Novosti, Alexei Nikolsky, Pool-File)

FILE In this Monday, Sept. 26, 2011 file photo a woman walks past an election billboard for the All-Russian People's Front, headed by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, right, and election poster depicting former leader of the Right Cause party, Russian tycoon and New Jersey Nets basketball team owner Mikhail Prokhorov in St. Petersburg, Russia. Mikhail Prokhorov announced Monday Dec. 12, 2001 he will run against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March presidential election. Prokhorov has been cautious not to cross Putin's path in the past. But the tycoon's candidacy may now pose a serious challenge to Putin, whose authority has been dented by his party's poor showing in Russia's Dec. 4 parliamentary election and allegations of widespread fraud during the balloting. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky, File)

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and New Jersey Nets basketball team owner, leaves a press conference in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, as he announces his candidacy to run against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March 2012 presidential election. Prolhorov has been cautious not to cross Putin's path in the past, but may pose a serious challenge to Putin, whose authority has been dented by the Dec. 4 parliamentary election and recent massive street protests against alleged vote fraud. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

Mikhail Prokhorov, one of Russia's richest tycoons and New Jersey Nets basketball team owner, speaks at a press conference in Moscow, Russia, Monday, Dec. 12, 2011, as he announces his candidacy to run against Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in the March 2012 presidential election. Prolhorov has been cautious not to cross Putin's path in the past, but may pose a serious challenge to Putin, whose authority has been dented by the Dec. 4 parliamentary election and recent massive street protests against alleged vote fraud. (AP Photo/Misha Japaridze)

(AP) ? The billionaire owner of the New Jersey Nets running for the Russian presidency against Vladimir Putin is expected to make a formal offer to buy a leading media holding Wednesday, his representative said.

Mikhail Prokhorov, who is worth about $18 billion, according to Forbes magazine, announced his candidacy earlier this week for the March presidential election.

Prokhorov will be making a formal offer to buy the Kommersant publishing house from Alisher Usmanov, Prokhorov's spokeswoman Olga Stukalova told The Associated Press. Usmanov, however, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying he doesn't have any plans to sell it.

Usmanov, a metals magnate, bought Kommersant for $200 million in 2006. The holding, which includes Russia's top business daily and other publications, has since expanded into radio and television broadcast.

On Tuesday, Usmanov fired an editor and a senior manager after the Kommersant Vlast weekly published an article about alleged fraud in Russia's Dec. 4 parliamentary election. Among the accompanying photos was a picture of a ballot which contained vulgar words directed at Putin, and the weekly's editor, Maxim Kovalsky, said he was told that it had served as a reason for his ouster.

The election saw a sharp drop in support for Putin's United Russia party, and widespread allegations against ballot-stuffing and other violations in the vote drew tens of thousands to a protest across the river from the Kremlin ? the largest show of discontent since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union.

Usmanov explained his decision by saying that some recent reports in Vlast "bordered on petty hooliganism."

But Kovalsky's deputy, Veronika Kutsillo, said the photograph with the swear words was just a pretext behind the move by Usmanov, who previously had expressed his dissatisfaction with the magazine's contents.

"This isn't merely a punishment of an obstinate editor, it's a signal that the magazine's course must change," Kutsillo said in an e-mailed message, adding that she decided to resign.

More than 50 Kommersant journalists have signed an open letter to protest Kovalsky's firing. "We view this firing as an intimidation effort aimed at preventing any criticism of Vladimir Putin even if this concerns photographs," the letter said.

Putin has enjoyed blanket positive coverage from state-controlled television networks, and some of the print media, which have remained independent and often been critical of the government, have faced pressure from owners fearing their business interests could be hurt because of the criticism.

Prokhorov's presidential bid follows his botched performance before the parliamentary election when he formed a liberal party with the Kremlin's tacit support but abandoned it under what he described as Kremlin pressure.

Some observers said that Prokhorov may have made amends with the Kremlin and might be running to accommodate voters unhappy with the authorities.

But Prokhorov rejected the accusation in his blog on Wednesday.

"Naturally, my candidacy is good for the Kremlin. Naturally, they want to play democracy and show that people have 'some kind of a choice'," he wrote. "But we must absolutely use the authorities too if we don't want to just make some noise and disappear, but to change our lives for the better."

__

Associated Press writer Sofia Javed contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2011-12-14-EU-Russia-Prokhorov/id-6253efe5e0b74e4980f4d088a6d416e7

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Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Science leads the fight for free speech

Science thrives on freedom of expression and must be at the forefront of defending it

THE words "science" and "censorship" do not sit easily together. And yet over the past decade, science has come to occupy an increasingly important role in debates over free speech.

This is partly due to public clashes between science and politics, from the censoring of climate science in the US under the Bush administration to David Nutt's dismissal as the UK government's adviser on drugs after voicing his views on the safety of ecstasy.

But it also reflects a revolution in access to information which has exposed every sector of society to an unprecedented level of scrutiny. From WikiLeaks to phone hacking, the tension between openness, privacy and confidentiality has become one of the defining issues of our time. Scientists have unexpectedly found themselves at the heart of this debate, as the latest round of leaked climate emails makes abundantly clear.

In recognition of this trend, the award-winning magazine Index on Censorship, which explores challenges to freedom of speech, has dedicated its latest issue, "Dark Matter", to science.

One well-documented clash between science and censorship is in the use of libel actions to try to silence scientists and science writers; the journal Nature and Richard Dawkins are among the most recent to face suits. Scientists and science writers have emerged from some of these battles as free speech champions and martyrs, notably the writer Simon Singh, cardiologist Peter Wilmshurst and NASA climate scientist James Hansen.

There have also been striking incidents within science itself, perhaps most notoriously during the original "climategate" scandal at the Climate Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in Norwich, UK. The hacked emails revealed a reluctance to comply with freedom of information requests and possible attempts to conceal data. The information commissioner recently ruled that UEA should release its data, and partly in response to climategate, the UK's Royal Society has set up an investigation into openness.

Not surprisingly there are debates about the proper course of action. Our special issue explores two opposing views. Fred Pearce, the leading chronicler of climategate, makes the argument for open access for the benefit of science and public discourse. Michael Halpern of the US Union of Concerned Scientists warns about freedom of information being deployed as a form of harassment. He is calling on legislators to consider whether there is sufficient protection of academic free speech.

This view has been echoed in the UK by Royal Society president Paul Nurse, as well as in the House of Lords during a debate on the proposed Protection of Freedoms legislation. The bill includes an amendment to the Freedom of Information Act which will oblige public authorities to release data sets in reusable electronic form and extend the range of FOI to the wider public sector.

Two of the academics in the Lords, historian Paul Bew and philosopher Onora O'Neill, raised concerns about the consequences for research. Bew has suggested including an exemption for unpublished research (which already exists in Scottish FOI legislation), warning of the possible harm that may be caused if data is released before it has been peer-reviewed.

However, even if an exemption is included in the bill, the combination of hackers, leakers and the sheer momentum of the open-access movement is likely to limit its scope, particularly for politically sensitive research. The leak of a further 5000 climategate emails last week is a case in point. So there may be no other choice but to embrace full transparency.

Any discussion about access to information cannot ignore the suppression of data within the drugs and medical devices industry. Lack of transparency in drug trials has left doctors dangerously ignorant of potential side effects. This is nothing new, but the demand for openness here too may become irresistible. As Deborah Cohen reports in our issue, Thomas Jefferson of the Cochrane Collaboration believes that open access should be the default setting for drug trials once a drug is registered. Yet despite the backing of all the most eminent scientific institutions for openness there has been limited success.

For now the focus remains on libel. The pressing need for reform has resulted in an unprecedented campaigning alliance between free speech groups and science. For the past two years, the organisation Index on Censorship has been working on this with Sense about Science and the writers' association English PEN.

There is no doubt that libel's chilling effect on scientific research and discourse has been a pivotal factor in the success of the campaign. While politicians are suspicious of giving any further freedom to the media, when presented with evidence of the extent to which scientists and science writers have been silenced and bullied by individuals, interest groups and industry, they have found it impossible to ignore.

Reform that makes it less easy to use the law as a tool of intimidation and that introduces a robust public interest defence will be of critical importance for the future open discussion of issues of scientific concern.

As Wilmshurst and Singh have demonstrated in their own costly and exhausting libel battles, all too often the fight for free speech depends on the courage of individuals. Both the law and the culture within the science establishment have to change in order to safeguard open debate. Freedom of expression depends on it.

Jo Glanville is editor of Index on Censorship, the magazine of the London-based campaigning organisation of the same name. Index on Censorship is hosting a debate called Is transparency bad for science? at Imperial College London on 6 December. To attend email eve@indexoncensorship.org

If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.

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Sunday, December 4, 2011

George Lucas, 'Star Wars' Stars Lend Support To Auction For Ailing Infant (omg!)

George Lucas, Leah Esquenazi -- Getty Images

Members of the loyal "Star Wars" community - including the master himself, George Lucas - are lending their support to the family of 9-month-old Leah Esquenazi, as the infant fights for her life.

Lovingly dubbed "Princess Leah," the baby - daughter of avid "Star Wars" fans Francesca and Zev Esquenazi - is suffering from an as-of-yet undiagnosed neurological condition that causes her tiny body to shake uncontrollably, along with extreme difficulty breathing, cataracts and other symptoms.

PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Olivia Munn Beatboxes & Explains Her Super Sexy Princess Leia Costume

In and out of hospitals for the last eight months, the Esquenazi family told Access Hollywood they are $2.5 million in debt due to Leah's mystery illness (which continues to baffle a team of over 60 doctors) - a burden the "Star Wars" community is attempting to ease with the auction of two "Clone Wars" helmets signed by over 40 "Star Wars" actors, directors, editors, writers and artists, including George Lucas, Seth Green and Peter Mayhew (who played Chewbacca in the famed films).

The auction ends Sunday -- you can bid on the Republic Commando helmet HERE and the Clone Trooper helmet HERE!

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Celebs Who Give Back

In a phone interview on Saturday, Access spoke with an active member of "Princess Leah's Angels" - a private Facebook group dedicated to garnering support for the struggling family - who spoke for the Esquenazis, as Leah had suddenly developed severe breathing difficulties and was being rushed back to the hospital.

"They have been overwhelmed," the member, who wished to remain anonymous, told Access of the continuously heartwarming outpouring of support from the "Star Wars" community and social media users. "The response from not only the 'Star Wars' community, but Facebook [and] the world has been overwhelming."

The member said Leah's parents were repeatedly cautioned that due to our fast-paced society, the public's interest would inevitably wane, and Facebook groups would become idle.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Hollywood Dads & Their Adorable Little Ones!

However, the Esquenazis have experienced quite the opposite.

"They've been finding that it's been growing stronger... [even] people with very limited means are still finding ways to help them," the member shared.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Fan Candy: Superheroes, Sci-Fi & Beyond!

For more information on baby Leah's condition, visit http://www.princessleahdiaries.blogspot.com, or visit her public Facebook group, "May the Force be with the Princess Leah" for updates and information on how to help.

Copyright 2011 by NBC Universal, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Saturday, December 3, 2011

UN: Syria now in a civil war with 4,000 dead

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, center, studies a document with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, left, and an unidentified delegation member, prior to the start of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The British foreign minister is accusing Iran's government of supporting repression in Syria as EU foreign ministers are expected to impose more sanctions on both countries. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, center, studies a document with French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, left, and an unidentified delegation member, prior to the start of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The British foreign minister is accusing Iran's government of supporting repression in Syria as EU foreign ministers are expected to impose more sanctions on both countries. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, center, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, left, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, second left, and Italy's Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi di Sant' Agata, second right, listen as British Foreign Secretary William Hague speaks, prior to the start of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The British foreign minister is accusing Iran's government of supporting repression in Syria as EU foreign ministers are expected to impose more sanctions on both countries. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton addresses the media, prior to the start of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The British foreign minister is accusing Iran's government of supporting repression in Syria as EU foreign ministers are expected to impose more sanctions on both countries. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle, center, Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal, left, Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn, second left, and French Foreign Minister Alain Juppe, second right, look at British Foreign Secretary William Hague prior to the start of an EU foreign ministers meeting at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011. The British foreign minister is accusing Iran's government of supporting repression in Syria as EU foreign ministers are expected to impose more sanctions on both countries. (AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

In this photo taken during a government-organized tour for the media, relatives of Sari Saoud a 9-year-old boy who was shot dead in Homs three days ago while he was buying cookies from a shop, shout pro-Syrian regime and unity slogans, in the village of Kfarbo in Hama province, Syria, on Thursday Dec. 1, 2011. Georgina the mother of Sari blamed "armed terrorists" for killing her son. Syria's opposition called a general strike Thursday over President Bashar Assad's deadly crackdown on an 8-month-old revolt, ramping up efforts to persuade the country's business elite to abandon their long-standing ties to the regime. (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi)

(AP) ? Syria has entered a state of civil war with more than 4,000 people dead and an increasing number of soldiers defecting from the army to fight President Bashar Assad's regime, the U.N.'s top human rights official said Thursday.

Civil war has been the worst-case scenario in Syria since the revolt against Assad began eight months ago. Damascus has a web of allegiances that extends to Lebanon's powerful Hezbollah movement and Iran's Shiite theocracy, raising fears of a regional conflagration.

The assessment that the bloodshed in Syria has crossed into civil war came from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay.

The conflict has shown little sign of letting up. Activists reported up to 22 people killed Thursday, adding to what has become a daily grind of violence.

"We are placing the (death toll) figure at 4,000 but really the reliable information coming to us is that it's much more than that," Pillay said in Geneva.

"As soon as there were more and more defectors threatening to take up arms, I said this in August before the Security Council, that there's going to be a civil war," she added. "And at the moment, that's how I am characterizing this."

U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner declined to call it a civil war.

"The overwhelming use of force has been taken by Assad and his regime," Toner told reporters. "So there's no kind of equanimity here."

Toner said Assad's government has taken Syria down a dangerous path, and that "the regime's bloody repression of the protests has not surprisingly led to this kind of reaction that we've seen with the Free Syrian Army."

The Free Syrian Army, a group of defectors from the military, has emerged as the most visible armed challenge to Assad. The group holds no territory, appears largely disorganized and is up against a fiercely loyal and cohesive military.

International intervention, such as the NATO action in Libya that helped topple longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi, is all but out of the question in Syria. But there is real concern that the conflict in Syria could spread chaos across the Middle East.

Syria borders five countries with whom it shares religious and ethnic minorities and, in Israel's case, a fragile truce.

Recent economic sanctions imposed by the European Union, the Arab League and Turkey were aimed at persuading Assad to end his crackdown. On Thursday, the EU announced a new round of sanctions against Syrian individuals and businesses linked to the unrest.

The new sanctions target 12 people and 11 companies, and add to a long list of those previously sanctioned by the EU. The full list of names of those targeted will not be known until they are published Friday in the EU's official journal.

The 27-member bloc also imposed some sanctions on Syria's ally Iran in the wake of an attack this week by a mob on the British Embassy in Tehran, the Iranian capital.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague accused Iran of supporting Assad's crackdown, saying "there is a link between what is happening in Iran and what is happening in Syria."

The sanctions are punishing Syria's ailing economy ? a dangerous development for Damascus because the prosperous merchant classes are key to propping up the regime.

Syrian business leaders have long traded political freedoms for economic privileges. The sanctions, along with increasing calls by the opposition for general nationwide strikes, could sap their resolve.

A resident of the flashpoint city of Homs said businessmen are growing impatient.

"The sanctions against the regime are harming them," he told The Associated Press by telephone, asking that his name not be used for fear of reprisals. "Merchants only care about their interests. Many merchants are complaining that their business is dropping."

Activists also are trying to peel the business elite away from their allegiance to Assad. On Thursday, opposition groups called for a general strike, but it was difficult to gauge how widely Syrians were abiding by the strike. The regime has sealed the country off from foreign journalists and prevented independent reporting.

Residents in Syria's two economic powerhouses ? the capital of Damascus and the northern city of Aleppo ? reported business as usual Thursday.

But a video posted online by activists showed mostly closed shops in the Damascus suburb of Zabadani, which also has seen large anti-government protests. And a resident in Homs said most of the shops were closed, except for those selling food. Homs has been one of Syria's most volatile cities, with increasing clashes between troops and army defectors.

Syria has been the site of the deadliest crackdown against the Arab Spring's protests.

Deaths in Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have numbered in the hundreds. Libya's toll is unknown and likely higher than Syria's, but the conflict there differed because it descended early on into an outright civil war between two armed sides.

Since the revolt began in Syria, the regime has blamed the bloodshed on terrorists acting out a foreign conspiracy to divide and undermine the country. It has laid bare Syria's simmering sectarian tensions, with disturbing reports of killings like those seen in Iraq.

Syria is an overwhelmingly Sunni country of 22 million, but Assad and the ruling elite belong to the minority Alawite sect. Assad, and his father before him, stacked key military posts with Alawites to meld the fate of the army and the regime ? a tactic aimed at compelling troops to fight to the death to protect the Assad family dynasty.

The leader of the Free Syrian Army, breakaway air force Col. Riad al-Asaad, acknowledges nearly all the defectors under his command ? some 15,000 ? are low-level Sunni conscripts. The men are armed with rocket-propelled grenades, rifles and guns they took with them when they deserted, as well as light weapons they acquired on the black market, he says.

Until recently, most of the bloodshed was caused by security forces firing on mainly peaceful protesters. There have been growing reports of army defectors and armed civilians fighting Assad's forces ? a development that some say plays into the regime's hands by giving government troops a pretext to crack down with overwhelming force.

As the violence continues, the 22-member Arab League in Cairo unveiled this week a list of top officials it wants to prevent from traveling to Arab countries ? a humiliating affront to a country that prides itself on Arab nationalism.

The 17 officials who face the ban include the defense and interior ministers, and close members of Assad's inner circle. Assad's millionaire cousin, Rami Makhlouf, who has controlled the mobile phone network and other lucrative enterprises in Syria, and the president's younger brother, Maher, are on the list.

Assad himself was not named.

___

Jordans reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Albert Aji in Kfarbo, Syria, Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Bradley Klapper in Washington and Don Melvin and Raf Casert in Brussels contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-01-Syria/id-2cf64170f8bc42fdbd0ffd0edc93f56a

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Foster Care Children Fall Victim to Drug Companies (ContributorNetwork)

COMMENTARY | I always suspected that the government wasn't too spectacular at parenting children. But a November 30 report by ABC News shows that when it comes to protecting the foster children in their care, the government is spectacularly failing.

According to the report, a yearlong investigation by the Government Accountability Office has revealed that the government is not doing enough to oversee the treatment of foster children with powerful psychotropic drugs. The study of five states including Florida, Massachusetts, Michigan, Oregon and Texas shows children in the states' care receiving psychiatric medications at doses higher than the maximum levels approved by the FDA, with many children being prescribed multiple medications simultaneously. Additionally, the prescriptions of these drugs were occurring five times higher for foster children than non-fostered ones, with one third of the foster child population one at least one psychiatric drug.

Time Healthland, in its own report on the matter, stated that one quarter of children in foster care who receive disability benefits take these drugs. Though many children in the foster system do have psychiatric illnesses and behavioral issues brought about by a pattern of abuse and neglect, the major manufacturers have all been fined by the FDA for illegal marketing strategies that include marketing psychiatric drugs for unapproved use in children. There is not yet a clear picture as to what the long term impacts of this medication will be on these children.

Dr. Bruce Perry, founder of ChildTrauma Academy, says that there are many non-pharmacological interventions that have proven effectiveness in treating psychiatrically ill children. However, he says, "No one is spending billions to push them."

I am inclined to agree with his assessment, and further inclined to say that this is an issue that needs to be addressed immediately. We live in a society where children are taken away from abusive parents only to be further abused by the system. Where they're quietly turned into test cases for the drug companies. Where they're used in the process of illegal marketing strategies not to help the children themselves, but to help companies help themselves. This, we allow. And we should all be ashamed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111201/hl_ac/10572637_foster_care_children_fall_victim_to_drug_companies

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Friday, December 2, 2011

Evangelist Billy Graham again diagnosed with pneumonia (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Evangelist Billy Graham has been diagnosed with pneumonia for the second time this year, officials at the hospital treating him said on Thursday.

The confirmation of the 93-year-old Graham's latest illness came a day after he was admitted to Mission Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina, with suspected pneumonia.

"He is responding well to antibiotic treatment and is in stable condition," Dr. Mark Hellreich, the pulmonologist treating Graham, said in a statement.

Graham was treated in May for a previous bout of pneumonia. That was also at Mission Hospital, which is near his home in Montreat, North Carolina.

Graham has preached the Christian gospel to millions worldwide and given spiritual advice to numerous U.S. presidents.

His wife, Ruth, died in June 2007.

(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis: Editing by Greg McCune)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111201/us_nm/us_billygraham

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Monday, November 28, 2011

'Small Business Saturday' Looks To Boost Mom & Pop Shops ? CBS ...

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) ? If Black Friday wasn?t enough for you, today is Small Business Saturday, a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.

American Express launched the campaign last year, asking customers to spend their money at their favorite local shops to help the economy.

KRLD?s David Ranken Reports:

If you use your AMEX card at qualifying businesses, you can even get a $25 credit. More than 2 million people have liked the event on Facebook.

Source: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2011/11/26/small-business-saturday-looks-to-boost-mom-pop-shops/

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