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The Winnipeg streets are silent and black when Joanne Bromilow gropes a weary hand to a glass of water and two turquoise pills on her bedside table. Before her feet hit the floor later that morning, she’ll have taken another kaleidoscopic handful with hues almost as intense and varied as her symptoms:....Bromilow is one of the 75,000 Canadians in the grips of multiple sclerosis. ........ Half a world away in Sydney, Australia, Lynne Berson wakes up in the half-light of early dawn, pads her way to the kitchen to make her kids’ lunches while musing how spoiled she is to...

(10-08) 09:50 PDT Fresno, Calif. (AP) -- Armando Castillo knew he should not attempt the last treacherous stretch up Half Dome with storm clouds looming. But he felt he had come too far not to accomplish his goal. Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2011/10/08/national/a080120D12.DTL#ixzz1aEwT4OCr

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve would react to higher oil prices only if the increases spilled over into broader areas, officials of the U.S. central bank said on Friday, with one policy maker calling the risks "manageable." In a similar vein, an official of the European Central Bank said policy makers should be wary of responding too soon to the recent jump in oil prices as it may be fleeting. Oil prices have risen as political tensions in the Middle East and North Africa have raised fears that the unrest could spread to other major oil-producing countries, stoking...

Brent Rooney is a Canadian researcher and frequent contributor to RFFM.org. For the first time ever there were SYSTEMATIC Reviews of the premature birth risk of prior induced abortions in 2009. 100% of three (3) (aka 'hat trick') SYSTEMATIC APB (Abortion Preterm Birth) studies reported that prior surgical abortions (including 'suction' abortion) elevate future risk of premature delivery. Honorable Rep. Henry Waxman (Democrat, California) has been challenged to find (on or before 1 Feb. 2010) a SYSTEMATIC APB Review that does NOT find that induced abortions boost preemie risk. Here is that OPEN Letter to Hon. Rep. Henry Waxman: 4...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Good news for men who farm U.S. fields. Regular exposure to pesticides used commonly on the farm does not appear to increase the risk of heart attack. As part of the Agricultural Health Study, between 1993 and 1997, researchers asked more than 54,000 male farmers what pesticides they used regularly, how much time they spent using tractors and other farm equipment, and whether they raised poultry or other livestock. Dr. Jane A. Hoppin, of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and colleagues surveyed roughly 32,000 of these men...

alling Koran the 'rantings of a schizophrenic' Sebastian Faulks, the best-selling author, has risked angering Muslims after claiming the Koran has "no ethical dimension" and dismissing the words of Muhammad as the "rantings of a schizophrenic". He said the Islamic holy scripture was a "one-dimensional book" that has little literary value, and added that when compared with the Bible its message seemed "barren". Faulks, who is known for his meticulous research, has recently read a translation of the Koran to help him write his latest novel, A Week in December, to be published in September.

Given California's infinite diversity and its maddeningly diffused governmental apparatus, it's rare for the state's politicians to undertake a comprehensive and expansive change of public policy. The decades-long stalemate on water, the state's perpetual budget crisis and the failure of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's health care plan are merely three examples of the political system's chronic inability to act decisively and effectively. And even on those rare occasions when major new policies are adopted, they tend to fall well short of their purported benefits, a sterling example being the unanimous approval of electric energy "deregulation" in 1996 that became a colossal...

Three walks a week 'cuts heart risk' By Nic Fleming, Medical Correspondent Last Updated: 1:26am BST 15/08/2007 Walking for just 30 minutes three times a week can lower blood pressure and heart disease risk, scientists say. Guidelines from the Chief Medical Officer suggest adults do moderately intense exercise five times a week. However, researchers found that those who take three brisk walks a week had reduced waist and hip circumference and lower blood pressure. The authors of the study, published yesterday in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, said their findings could help those with sedentary lifestyles take up...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 12, 2007 – Air travel is still the safest way to transport troops and supplies in Iraq, despite the recent rash of downed helicopter incidents, a top official there said yesterday. Six helicopters have either been shot down or crashed since Jan. 20, Army Maj. Gen. James E. Simmons, deputy commanding general for support for Multinational Corps Iraq, said. In the past three weeks, two Army UH-60 Black Hawks and two AH-64 Apaches have been shot down, killing 16 soldiers, he said. A Marine CH-46 Sea Knight went down outside Baghdad on Feb. 7, killing all seven...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2007 – Military personnel going to Iraq or Afghanistan are trained, equipped and ready to do their jobs, but there is more to defending the United States and its interests than counterinsurgency operations, the nation’s top military officer said today. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Marine Gen. Peter Pace listens to comments made by the members of the House Armed Services Committee Feb. 7. Photo by Staff Sgt. D. Myles Cullen, USAF  '(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the House Armed Services...

Mom, dad risk arrest if child misbehaves Monday, January 15, 2007 By RENA HAVNER Staff Reporter Bayou La Batre parents can now be arrested and fined $100 if their children misbehave in school or have excessive unexcused absences, according to a recently passed city ordinance. State education officials say Bayou La Batre is the only municipality in Alabama to have such a policy. To that, Bayou La Batre Mayor Stan Wright said: "Shame on all the other cities."In Bayou La Batre, if a student "comes to school and continues to beat the other children up, curses the teacher, mistreats his...

Abe risks China fury over war comments By Colin Joyce in Tokyo (Filed: 07/10/2006) The new prime minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe, risked outrage yesterday when he stated that Japanese war criminals were not guilty under domestic law and should have been pardoned when Tokyo regained self-government. Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe: revisionist Mr Abe's comments were a direct reference to 28 Japanese "Class A" Second World War criminals at the trial staged by the Americans in Tokyo from 1946 to 1948. They were deemed to bear the most responsibility for starting the war in the Pacific and for atrocities....

Italy Weighs the Risks of Leading UN Mission Tony Barber in Rome Updated: 10:41 p.m. ET Aug. 24, 2006 With 8,600 soldiers deployed in 28 security and peacekeeping operations around the world, Italy will have a wealth of experience to call upon, should it be asked to lead a United Nations mission in Lebanon.But the closer that Italy's centre-left government gets to committing itself in Lebanon, the more opposition politicians – and some army generals, too – are warning that it may be a step fraught with dangerous consequences. The concerns centre on whether Italian troops will find themselves caught...

Biotech company executives in the Bay Area met Tuesday to begin working with California's sputtering stem-cell research institute, which was jump-started last week by the $150 million boost it got from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. ``I feel we are at a very important point in history here,'' said Michael West, chairman and chief scientific officer of Advanced Cell Technology of Alameda. He added that it was essential ``do do everything we possibly can to see that money is well spent.'' Still, the executives who met in San Francisco with officials at the stem-cell institute, created in 2004 when California voters passed...

U.S. Marine Corps 1st Lt. Rick Posselt Lieutenant Risks Life to Save Another in Iraq By Sgt. Roe F. SeigleRegimental Combat Team 7 HADITHA, Iraq, June 27, 2006 — Marines here say a lieutenant who was leading Marines and Iraqi soldiers through the volatile streets of Haditha, Iraq, June 14, showed uncommon valor when he ran into a barrage of enemy gunfire to pull a wounded Marine to safety. 1st Lt. Rick Posselt, a 25-year-old from Crystal River, Fla., said he is not the Marine who deserves the recognition. Cpl. Michael Estrella, who was killed by sniper fire during...

Hamas risks Israeli action by making 'rocket man' security chief By Tim Butcher in Jerusalem (Filed: 21/04/2006) Hamas defied the international community and risked provoking a violent response from Israel yesterday when it appointed a notorious militant as Palestinian security chief. Jamal Abu Samhadana, who is responsible for a continuing wave of rocket attacks on Israel, will occupy a new position overseeing the dozen or so police forces and security services operating in the Palestinian territories. The Islamic organisation stated its determination to bring order to "end the security chaos", but it is hard to imagine a move more inflammatory...

Cat bird flu risks 'overlooked' Cats who eat infected chickens can contract the deadly H5N1 virus It is vital to restrict the spread of bird flu in cats in order to protect human health, scientists warn. Writing in Nature, scientists from Erasmus Medical Centre, Rotterdam, say the risk is being overlooked. They say cats can contract the virus by eating infected chicken or through close contact with other cats - both new ways of mammals becoming infected. However, animal health experts said there was a "limited risk" to humans from infected mammals with H5N1 flu. The first report of domestic...

Former top judge says US risks edging near to dictatorship · Sandra Day O'Connor warns of rightwing attacks · Lawyers 'must speak up' to protect judiciary Julian Borger in Washington Monday March 13, 2006 The Guardian (UK) Sandra Day O'Connor, a Republican-appointed judge who retired last month after 24 years on the supreme court, has said the US is in danger of edging towards dictatorship if the party's rightwingers continue to attack the judiciary. In a strongly worded speech at Georgetown University, reported by National Public Radio and the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Ms O'Connor took aim at Republican leaders...

Straw risks US fury over 'gulag' Guantanamo By George Jones (Filed: 22/02/2006) The confusion within the Government over Britain's attitude to the Guantanamo Bay detention camp deepened yesterday when Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, compared it to a Soviet-style "gulag". It was the most critical description yet by a member of the Cabinet of the camp where terrorist suspects are held indefinitely by the United States authorities. Jack Straw: comments are likely to anger the US Peter Hain, the Northern Ireland Secretary, called last week for its closure, but Tony Blair said only that it was an "anomaly" which would...

CAMP AL ASAD, Iraq (Jan. 9, 2006) -- Retired Marine Maj. Gene Duncan once defined Navy hospital corpsmen as, “Usually a young, long haired, bearded, Marine-hatin' Sailor with certain medical skills, who will go through the very gates of Hell to get to a wounded Marine.” Though “long haired” is open to subjective interpretation, beards have officially gone the way of bell-bottomed dungarees in the Navy and levels of disdain for their brothers in green vary from Sailor to Sailor, most Marines and corpsmen find a level of truth in Duncan’s definition. Take, for example, Petty Officer 3rd Class William...