Saturday, March 7, 2009
Children seriously affected when parent suffers from depression
Excerpt:
The results show how the family’s daily life changes and becomes more complicated when a parent is suffering from depression. Uncertainty about what is happening has an effect on the daily life of the entire family. Depression also means that the parent becomes tired and exhausted, which then affects and weighs heavily on the children’s daily life. Depression changes the relationship between a parent and his/her children, since they no longer communicate with each other as they used to. Family interplay and reciprocity decrease. The depressed parent withdraws from the family, and the children feel that they have been left to themselves.
Friday, March 6, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Illegal marketing by Eli Lilly led to deaths
On January 15, 2009, Lilly pled guilty to charges that it had illegally marketed its blockbuster drug Zyprexa for unapproved uses to children and the elderly, two populations especially vulnerable to its dangerous side effect. Lilly plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreed to pay $1.42 billion, which included $615 million to end the criminal investigation and approximately $800 million to settle the civil case.
One of the eight whistle-blowers in this case, former Lilly sales representative Robert Rudolph, says the settlement will not completely change Lilly's business practices, and he wants jail time for executives. "You have to remember, with Zyprexa," said Rudolph, "people lost their lives."
Rudolph is not exaggerating. Zyprexa, marketed as an "atypical" antipsychotic drug, has been promoted as having less dangerous adverse effects than "typical" antipsychotic drugs such as Thorazine and Haldol. However, on February 25, 2009, the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the rate of sudden cardiac death in patients taking either typical or atypical antipsychotic drugs is double the death rate of a control group of patients not taking these drugs.
Health warning about soft drinks
The estrogen-mimicking chemical BPA, already banished from baby bottles and frowned upon in water jugs, has now shown up in significant levels in soft drinks.
Tests by Health Canada scientists revealed the highest levels were in energy drinks, the often caffeine-loaded beverages that have become popular with teenagers seeking a buzz and athletes chasing a quick pick-me-up. But the study also found the controversial compound in a wide variety of ginger ales, diet colas, root beers and citrus-flavoured sodas.
Bisphenol A was detected in 96 per cent of soft drinks tested, in quantities below regulatory limits. But a growing body of science suggests the chemical may have harmful effects at levels far below those limits.
Health Canada did not disclose the brand names of the beverages it evaluated, but estimated that the survey covered at least 84 per cent of canned soft drinks sold in Canada.
Election or ... prorogue again?
Wonder Woman movie musings by Lynda Carter
Former Wonder Woman Lynda Carter has given her blessing to Dollhouse's Eliza Dushku to take on the satin tights and red boots of Wonder Woman if the movie ever happens. But what's this about Whedon?
Carter recently told the World Entertainment News Network that she knows exactly what should be done with any potential Wonder Woman movie:
I've always liked Joss, and Eliza would make a great Wonder Woman.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Harper admits we wasted lives and money in Afghanistan
In the final analysis, it has been clearly and definitely established that Harper and his Harpies are nothing but the very chickenhawk poseurs I previously called them out to be.
And in their wake, we have lives of our soldiers, and those of their families, utterly wasted - not counting Afghan lives and the billions spent - for nothing more than an empty political excercize aimed at stirring patriotic frenzy and dishing out fearmongering in order to have the power of elected offices.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Conservative Party proposes harsh penalties for pot
The Conservative Party of Canada has proposed draconian new drug legislation that includes mandatory prison sentences for non-violent offenders. If passed, the laws would significantly increase jail time for adults caught possessing, selling, or growing marijuana, and would introduce outrageous penalties like six-months imprisonment for producing as little as a single plant.
Israeli Apartheid Week at UBC
Israeli Apartheid Week will bring you a series of events (mentioned below) aimed at raising awareness about the reality, nature, and consequences of racist and discriminatory Israeli policies which have led to a complete disenfranchisement of the Palestinian peoples. Apart from raising awareness, one of the main objectives will be to offer suggestions on required measures to halt grave and continual violations of Palestinian human rights and to provide practical mechanisms on how best to organize and campaign against the powers and policies denying Palestinians these very basic rights.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Eat less to diet
Keep eating a healthy balance, but just eat a little less.
Porn in the USA
However, there are some trends to be seen in the data. Those states that do consume the most porn tend to be more conservative and religious than states with lower levels of consumption, the study finds.
"Some of the people who are most outraged turn out to be consumers of the very things they claimed to be outraged by," Edelman says.
Canada's Number One!
The report says Canada has become the No. 1 source of ecstasy south of the border.
Now, just imagine if recreational drugs were legalized and regulated. Big savings in the judicial system and policing, big income for the government in tax revenues, and better quality and safety of drugs supplied and produced. And, as with all jurisdictions where prohibition ends, a reduction in users.
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Windows 7 will have .mov support built-in
While this may delight owners of cameras which output in the .mov format, it's also good news for anyone who enjoys watching movies on their PC, as movie trailers, particularly those on Apple Movie Trailers, come in .mov format, and so require QuickTime (or a freeware player such as VLC) to view.
Windows users who install QuickTime are then nagged with pop-ups from the Apple update software prompting them to install other Apple software such as iTunes and Safari.
And while this move brings wider camera support, and rids Windows users of those annoying nag screens, it also has the added benefit for Microsoft of making one Apple application less necessary to download.
I've always used Quicktime Alternative to play .mov files and movie trailers on-line.The Decline of Handwriting
When was the last time you actually hand-wrote more than a sentence?