28.3.08

ABC News: Generals Tell Bush Troops Are Exhausted by Iraq Deployments

ABC News: Generals Tell Bush Troops Are Exhausted by Iraq Deployments: "Behind the Pentagon's closed doors, U.S. military leaders told President Bush they are worried about the Iraq war's mounting strain on troops and their families."

BBC News | SCI/TECH | GM pollen 'can kill butterflies'

BBC News | SCI/TECH | GM pollen 'can kill butterflies': "Pollen from one of the most successful genetically modified (GM) crops in the US can kill the larvae of monarch butterflies, scientists say.

Their study, published in the journal Nature, shows how the new GM technology might have unwanted consequences for biodiversity."

27.3.08

Regulators Stamp Copper as a Germ Killer - New York Times

Regulators Stamp Copper as a Germ Killer - New York Times: "The market for antimicrobial doorknobs, hospital fixtures and other products that kill germs on contact may be about to take on a coppery sheen.

The Copper Development Association, a trade group for copper companies, said Tuesday that federal regulators had approved its application to market a group of copper alloys, including brass and bronze, as capable of killing bacteria and microbes effectively enough to protect human health."

BBC NEWS | Business | Credit crunch 'at $1.2 trillion'

BBC NEWS | Business | Credit crunch 'at $1.2 trillion': "The credit crunch will globally cost $1.2 trillion (�600bn) according to a report from the bank Goldman Sachs."

Study Links Middle-Age Belly Fat to Dementia - washingtonpost.com

Study Links Middle-Age Belly Fat to Dementia - washingtonpost.com: "People who have big bellies in their 40s are much more likely to get Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia in their 70s, according to new research that links the middle-aged spread to a fading mind for the first time."

BBC NEWS | Business | Tata buys Jaguar in �1.15bn deal

BBC NEWS | Business | Tata buys Jaguar in �1.15bn deal: "Car giant Ford has sold its luxury UK-based car brands Jaguar and Land Rover to Indian company Tata."

TED | Talks | Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight (video)

TED | Talks | Jill Bolte Taylor: My stroke of insight (video): "Neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor had an opportunity few brain scientists would wish for: One morning, she realized she was having a massive stroke. As it happened -- as she felt her brain functions slip away one by one, speech, movement, understanding -- she studied and remembered every moment. This is a powerful story about how our brains define us and connect us to the world and to one another."

26.3.08

Why we're against the war | Iraq Veterans Against the War

Why we're against the war | Iraq Veterans Against the War: "Why we're against the war

Q: Why are veterans, active duty, and National Guard men and women opposed to the war in Iraq?

A: Here are 10 reasons we oppose this war:"

The world is a better place for the Iraq War, says President Bush - Times Online

The world is a better place for the Iraq War, says President Bush - Times Online: "President Bush today marked the fifth anniversary of the start of the Iraq war with the message: 'The world is better, and the US is safer.'

In a bullish speech at the Pentagon, in which he repeatedly linked the conflict in Iraq with the worldwide war against Islamist terror, Mr Bush said any rapid drawing down of troops would risk emboldened terrorists launching a 'repeat' of the September 11 attacks."

Medicine's Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs, The Future Is Here: Regenerative Powder, Ink Jet Heart Cells And Custom-Made Body Parts - CBS News

Medicine's Cutting Edge: Re-Growing Organs, The Future Is Here: Regenerative Powder, Ink Jet Heart Cells And Custom-Made Body Parts - CBS News: "(CBS) Imagine re-growing a severed fingertip, or creating an organ in the lab that can be transplanted into a patient without risk of rejection. It sounds like science fiction, but it's not. It's the burgeoning field of regenerative medicine, in which scientists are learning to harness the body's own power to regenerate itself, with astonishing results."

24.3.08

BBC NEWS | Business | OECD slashes US growth forecast

BBC NEWS | Business | OECD slashes US growth forecast: "The US economy is on the brink of recession, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)."

Eliot Spitzer - Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime - washingtonpost.com

Eliot Spitzer - Predatory Lenders' Partner in Crime - washingtonpost.com: "In 2003, during the height of the predatory lending crisis, the OCC invoked a clause from the 1863 National Bank Act to issue formal opinions preempting all state predatory lending laws, thereby rendering them inoperative. The OCC also promulgated new rules that prevented states from enforcing any of their own consumer protection laws against national banks. The federal government's actions were so egregious and so unprecedented that all 50 state attorneys general, and all 50 state banking superintendents, actively fought the new rules.

But the unanimous opposition of the 50 states did not deter, or even slow, the Bush administration in its goal of protecting the banks. In fact, when my office opened an investigation of possible discrimination in mortgage lending by a number of banks, the OCC filed a federal lawsuit to stop the investigation."

Crucifixion not good for your health | The Australian

Crucifixion not good for your health | The Australian: "PHILIPPINE health officials have warned people taking part in Easter crucifixions and self-flagellation rituals to get a tetanus shot first and sterilise the nails to avoid infections."