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To: zeta1961 who wrote (5232)	11/28/2006 4:37:19 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

"let them marinate for a while.." Me too.

To: zeta1961 who wrote (5232)	11/29/2006 11:06:11 AM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

Suicide watch. In Japan (of the people who die) over 25% of people who have their credit reduced are committing suicide. ================================================== One in four deceased borrowers from five major consumer credit companies committed suicide, the government regulator of the industry said. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) investigated the causes of the deaths of borrowers from major consumer credit companies following revelations that Promise Co. falsely reported data on life insurance policies it took out on all of its borrowers. The results have shown that 25.5 percent of debtors with the five firms, whose causes of deaths are known, took their own lives. The figure for Promise came to 26.9 percent, more than twice the figure it had earlier reported to the FSA. In September, Promise falsely reported to the agency that 11.2 percent of borrowers who died killed themselves. However, it later proved that the causes of death of 4,287 borrowers that the company claimed died from illness were not actually known. As a result, the number of those confirmed to have died of illnesses sharply decreased, causing the ratio of those who committed suicide to more than double, agency officials said. The issue was raised in a session of the House of Representatives Committee on Fiscal and Financial Policies on Tuesday. Akira Nagatsuma, an opposition Democratic Party of Japan member, urged the FSA to check the exact number of consumer credit firm borrowers who committed suicide. "Data has suggested that the number of those who killed themselves is much larger. Can't you check the exact number of those who committed suicide based on information held by the Federation of Credit Bureaus of Japan?" Nagatsuma said. Yoshimi Watanabe, senior vice minister for financial services, responded that the agency will consider the request even though it is difficult. (Mainichi) November 29, 2006 mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp

To: zeta1961 who wrote (5232)	12/5/2006 12:08:12 PM
From: one_less	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10087

A first step in addressing corruption in science... Profit motive, especially when associated with government and politicalization of scientific study is a huge threat to our generation. ======================================== Government Scientist Faces Ethics Charge By RITA BEAMISH Associated Press Writer With a rare criminal case against a senior federal researcher, prosecutors are sending a message to scientists on the government payroll: Making money from companies on the side can land you in big trouble. Dr. Trey Sunderland, a leading expert on Alzheimer's disease at the National Institutes of Health, found that there was no wiggle room in his outside work for a pharmaceutical company, even in a time when rules were far more lax than today. The U.S. attorney in Baltimore charged Sunderland with felony conflict of interest Monday for his private consulting with Pfizer Inc., that earned him $285,000 and improperly overlapped his official duties. Sunderland was researching early indicators of Alzheimer's both as an NIH collaborator with Pfizer and a paid Pfizer consultant on work "directly related" to his government job, according to the court papers filed with U.S. District Court in Baltimore. The scientist failed to obtain the proper approvals from his supervisors or disclose the work to NIH as was required, the prosecutors said. Last year, NIH banned such outside work for drug and biotechnology companies following its own internal probe that was prompted by congressional investigations and disclosures in the Los Angeles Times. The probes revealed some researchers took advantage of a permissive environment which was designed to encourage public-private collaborations that might speed disease cures. Lucrative moonlighting was still allowed during Sunderland's 1998-2003 deal with Pfizer, but the prosecutors allege his consulting gave him a financial interest in the work he did at taxpayer expense. "This should put other federal officials on notice that you can't disregard the rules," said Vera Sharav, president of the nonprofit Alliance for Human Research Protection. She and other critics contend that weak enforcement feeds conflicts even when ethics rules are in place. After NIH's internal investigation, most of the 44 researchers found to have breached ethics rules got written or verbal reprimands or were permitted to retire. An agency survey found that many scientists consider the new rules so restrictive that they are considering leaving NIH. The felony charge against Sunderland, with a maximum sentence of one year in prison and a $100,000 fine, was contained in a criminal information rather than indictment, a route that often precedes a plea deal. Sunderland did not return a telephone message and his attorney, Robert Muse, declined comment Monday. He remains on the government payroll although he asked to retire after House investigators began unraveling his Pfizer financial ties two years ago. Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee which launched the probe called Monday for Sunderland's dismissal from his post at the NIH's National Institute of Mental Health. Otherwise, Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., said in a statement, "We can only conclude that no one is being held accountable, the system is broken and the public trust has been violated." "Will a criminal conviction for conflict of interest be enough to get someone fired from NIH?" said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich. NIH officials declined to comment. The court documents allege Sunderland participated as a government employee "in a particular matter in which, to the defendant's knowledge, he had a financial interest." The conflict began in 1998 when Sunderland was making arrangements for NIH to work with Pfizer on Alzheimer's research. At the same time, he began negotiations to be a paid consultant on the same project, prosecutors allege. Sunderland, 55, is to appear Friday for arraignment. The case is believed to be the first conflict prosecution against a federal scientist since 1992 when NIH researcher Prem Sarin was convicted of embezzling a drug company payment to NIH that was intended to help with AIDS research.

To: zeta1961 who wrote (5232)	12/5/2006 1:28:56 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

Pricing a Pandemic Dr. Harvey Feinberg, the president of the Institute of Medicine, once told me that a serious flu pandemic was a bit like an asteroid hitting the Earth—in any given year there was a very low probability cosmic disaster would strike, but if it did, the consequences for the world would be, well, catastrophic. The problem is that human beings and the governments they run aren't very good at preparing for low-probability, high-consequence events. That might be why it's been so hard for the global health community to raise the necessary funds to really combat avian influenza, and prepare for the pandemic that will be coming one day. Today the World Bank reported that an additional $1.2 to $1.5 billion would be needed over the next two to three years to fight avian flu as it spreads through Asia, parts of Europe and perhaps most dangerously, Africa, which will need an additional $466 million alone. This comes on top of $1.9 billion pledged by the international community in Beijing last January. Much of that funding—assuming it is ever delivered—will be used to compensate poultry farmers whose flocks need to be culled because of infection. Ensuring that farmers are willing to cooperate with anti bird-flu efforts is the best way to slow the spread of the disease among animals—and they only way to do that, is to make sure they get paid. But is it really worth spending so much to control a disease that, for all the hype, has only killed 154 people since 2003—less than the number who die every three minutes from AIDS? There's a legitimate argument to make that we shouldn't let avian flu crowd out funding in developing countries for more regular killers, like diarrhea or malaria. But that's where the asteroid analogy comes in handy. If a severe pandemic does strike, the World Bank has warned it could cost the global economy up to $2 trillion, with human damages that would be incalculable. A little insurance might be worth it. time.blogs.com

To: zeta1961 who wrote (5232)	12/8/2006 4:18:57 PM
From: one_less	Respond to of 10087

Well le'see here ya gocher bird flu then there's the perfect microbial storm a loomin on the horrizon... "These could come together to create what the experts are calling 'the perfect microbial storm'," he said. =============================================== BAMAKO (Reuters) - Bird flu may be the tip of the iceberg. Experts meeting in Mali say the deadly H5N1 virus is just one of a plethora of diseases threatening animals and people around the world as global warming, intensive farming, increased travel and trade help dangerous microbes breed and spread. "Avian flu is just one of many diseases that are impacting the continent (of Africa). The experts are telling us that other diseases are going to emerge or re-emerge," said Francois Le Gall, the World Bank's lead livestock specialist for Africa. "Almost every year there is a new disease appearing, and 75 percent of these emerging or re-emerging diseases are coming from animals; 80 percent of those have zoonotic potential," he said in an interview. Le Gall said such zoonoses -- animal diseases that humans can also catch -- included Rift Valley fever, rabies and anthrax. "These could come together to create what the experts are calling 'the perfect microbial storm'," he said. But Le Gall said progress being made to tackle the current bird flu outbreak by strengthening veterinary and human health monitoring systems around the world would temper the risk of an apocalyptic conflagration of diseases. "All the measures we are using now are going to be useful to control all these emerging or re-emerging diseases -- like veterinary services, public health services," he said. What singles out bird flu is the potential of the virus to mutate into a human form of influenza capable of passing from person to person, not just from infected animals. International health experts were winding up a three-day meeting in Mali, the fourth global bird flu summit since late last year, aimed at plotting strategies to halt the spread of the disease and seeking donor funds for this campaign. GLOBALISATION, CLIMATE CHANGE "Remember that with globalisation, and unprecedented movements of merchandise, of people, there is a continuous transfer of pathogens," Bernard Vallat, director general of the World Organization for Animal Health, told Reuters. "This is made worse by climate change. Many disease vectors have colonised new territories," Vallat said. Some diseases were being spread by mosquitoes or other insects whose larvae were previously killed off by cold winters, but who now survive in temperate zones, he said. "Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples. There is a disease called blue tongue, which infects sheep, which for the first time in history has attacked northern Europe, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, and by a vector that is capable of spreading the virus in this region, which is unprecedented." Blue tongue spreads via biting insects, but does not affect humans. But West Nile Disease, which affects birds and was first found in Egypt and is spread by mosquitoes, has killed hundreds of people in the United States since it first spread there in 1999 -- probably via an imported pet bird, Vallat said. "Now the United States is completely infected, as well as southern Canada and Mexico. In a few years this disease which was completely unknown (there) has colonised all the eastern United States via a mosquito vector," he said. "Microbes can cross the world in a few hours," he said. "The globalisation of exchanges of people, merchandise and commodities is a phenomenon that affects the whole planet more and more each year. It's a good thing, but it brings with it new risks. We have to be prepared."