Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by Im_beside_yoU

Alcohol to blame for 13,000 cancer cases a year

Im_beside_yoU — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:36:30 +0800

QUOTE

Alcohol to blame for 13,000 cancer cases a year in UK

Charity urges Europe-wide action to cut consumption after huge study underlines risks of drinking too much

At least 13,000 cancers in the UK every year are the result of people's drinking habits, according to one of the largest studies ever carried out into diet and cancer.

The research, carried out across eight European countries including the UK, has found that thousands of cancers could be prevented if men had the equivalent of no more than two drinks a day and women had no more than one.

Nearly half of the alcohol-related cancers in the UK – nearly 6,000 – were related to the mouth and throat. Alcohol is a key cause of cancer of the mouth, oesophagus, voicebox and pharynx.

But alcohol also causes more than 3,000 colorectal cancers and about 2,500 breast cancers every year, according to Cancer Research UK, which cofunded the study.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

The full extent of the damage is revealed by the Epic study (European prospective investigation into cancer and nutrition), which is monitoring the links between diet and cancer in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Denmark. It finds that 10% of men's cancers and 3% of women's cancers in western Europe are caused by drinking.

Doctors and health groups are already concerned about the rise in liver disease. The British Liver Trust said the study should trigger a Europe-wide effort at preventing alcohol-related harm.

"Once again we are seeing the impact alcohol can have in all areas of health," said the trust's campaigns manager, Sarah Matthews. "While alcohol damage is often linked to the liver, this study highlights the impact alcohol has on the rest of the organs in the body.

"The results are not a surprise as we feel we haven't touched the tip of the iceberg in preventing alcohol health harms in the UK. Substantive measures, such as setting a minimum pricing at an effective level, have been ignored and we continue to employ a half-hearted attempt in protecting the health of society. This study should form the basis of EU action to tackle the four Ps of alcohol marketing – price, promotion, placement and product. Only then will we see a change in how alcohol is viewed and consumed."

The study looked at the past and present drinking habits of nearly 364,000 men and women, mostly aged between 35 and 70 at the time of recruitment in the mid-1990s. They completed a detailed questionnaire on diet and lifestyle when they joined the study. Alcohol consumption was measured by specific questions on the amount, frequency and type of drink.

The study, published by the British Medical Journal, found that thousands of cancers could have been avoided if people had consumed no more than one drink a day for women or two for men.

In 2008, current and former alcohol consumption by men was responsible for about 57,600 cases of cancer of the upper digestive tract, colorectum and liver in Denmark, Greece, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Britain. More than half of these cases (33,000) were caused by drinking more than two alcoholic drinks per day.

There were about 21,500 cases of cancer of the upper digestive tract, liver, colorectum and breast in women in the eight countries in 2008, the study found. Most – 17,400 cases, or 80% – were due to consumption of more than one drink of beer, wine or spirits a day, the researchers say.

Madlen Schütze, first author of the study and epidemiologist at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke, said: "Many cancer cases could have been avoided if alcohol consumption is limited to two drinks per day in men and one drink per day in women, which are the recommendations of many health organisations. And even more cancer cases would be prevented if people reduced their alcohol intake to below recommended guidelines or stopped drinking alcohol at all."

Naomi Allen, a Cancer Research UK-funded epidemiologist based at Oxford University, who was involved with the Epic study, said: "This research supports existing evidence that alcohol causes cancer and that the risk increases even with drinking moderate amounts."

She added that alcohol was probably causing even more cancers than the research suggests. "The results from this study reflect the impact of people's drinking habits about 10 years ago," she said.

Russia Calls for Truce

Im_beside_yoU — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 22:16:41 +0800

QUOTE

Military Campaign in Libya to Ease as Russia Calls for Truce

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the intensity of the military campaign in Libya will ease in the next few days as his Russian counterpart Anatoly Serdyukov called for an immediate cease-fire on both sides.

Allied strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi’s forces are consistent with the United Nations Security Council resolution on protecting civilians, Gates said during joint remarks with Serdyukov in Moscow today. Gates is scheduled to meet President Dmitry Medvedev later today.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Libyan bombing 'unconstitutional'

Im_beside_yoU — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 18:05:31 +0800

QUOTE

Libyan bombing 'unconstitutional', Republicans warn Obama

US public opinion split as Republicans claim Obama's use of military force in Libya is 'an affront to our constitution'

Republican members of Congress are claiming the conflict in Libya is unconstitutional because Barack Obama failed to seek Congressional approval.

President Obama sent a letter defending the Libya intervention to members of Congress on Monday in an effort to quell a growing rebellion over his failure to consult the Senate and the House of Representatives before embarking on the third major military action of his presidency.

In the letter, Obama attempted to address criticism that he had failed to either brief or discuss his decision in detail with both Democrats and Republicans. Under the US constitution, Congressional approval is required for declarations of war.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Fukushima 50

Im_beside_yoU — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 16:58:44 +0800

QUOTE

'Fukushima 50' risk lives to prevent meltdown

We do not know their names, their faces, their families or their personal stories. Nobody really does. They are strangers, in a faraway land, doing the unthinkable. In Japan they have a name: The Fukushima 50. A coterie of nuclear plant employees - some reports indicate 50, others suggest four working rotations of 50 - who stayed behind while 700 of their co-workers were evacuated from the stricken Fukushima-Daiichi facility on the Japanese coast.

Five have been killed. Two are missing. Twenty-one have been injured in a struggle where, in the words of Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan, "retreat is unthinkable." The men understand the stakes. They know there is no turning back. One worker told a departing colleague he was prepared to die - that it was his job. Another informed his wife he wouldn't be coming home anytime soon.

And so they battle on, a weary bunch of managers, operators, technicians, soldiers, firemen, amid rumours, worst-case scenarios and startling television footage.

They are mid- and low-level employees. They are men with no names, cast into extraordinary circumstances, battling fires, explosions, the threat of explosion and the invisible menace: dangerously high levels of radiation no protective suit can deflect, and one that threatens to seep into the atmosphere if they fail.
[YOUTUBE]n_wCwgGV_RQ&[/YOUTUBE]
[YOUTUBE]JuEm6O3843o[/YOUTUBE]

HEROES

11 years old talk about genetic modified food

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:18:23 +0800

[YOUTUBEWIDE]nndEZBQ9bds&[/YOUTUBEWIDE]

100 yearsOld color photos

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 15:35:21 +0800

QUOTE

Russia in color, a century ago
With images from southern and central Russia in the news lately due to extensive wildfires, I thought it would be interesting to look back in time with this extraordinary collection of color photographs taken between 1909 and 1912. In those years, photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) undertook a photographic survey of the Russian Empire with the support of Tsar Nicholas II. He used a specialized camera to capture three black and white images in fairly quick succession, using red, green and blue filters, allowing them to later be recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show near true color images. The high quality of the images, combined with the bright colors, make it difficult for viewers to believe that they are looking 100 years back in time - when these photographs were taken, neither the Russian Revolution nor World War I had yet begun. Collected here are a few of the hundreds of color images made available by the Library of Congress, which purchased the original glass plates back in 1948.

Gadhafi slams Western media

Im_beside_yoU — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 20:10:58 +0800

QUOTE

Gadhafi slams Western media casualty reports

Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has accused international media of misleading people about events taking place in Libya, saying they're not reporting the broad support enjoyed by his government.

In an exclusive interview with France 24 on Sunday, Gadhafi maintained that al-Qaeda is behind the chaos in his country, and denied there have been mass killings.

The United Nations has estimated that as many as 1,000 people have died in the past three weeks during the violent uprising in Libya.

Gadhafi told the French TV news channel that the unrest is the work of al-Qaeda, and claimed Western media have overstated the extent of the political crisis as well as the number of casualties.

“There have been at most 150 to 200 people killed. People should come here and see how many people have been killed. They can come and check among the population, and among the police and the army,” Gadhafi told Khalil Beshir.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Gadhafi was making his comments the same day Reuters reported that forces loyal to Gadhafi had advanced east of the recaptured town of Bin Jawad, heading towards the rebel-held oil town of Ras Lanuf, about 60 kilometres away, according to witnesses.

"I went to Bin Jawad and about 20 kilometres beforehand I saw Gadhafi forces, a large truck and army vehicles, and a fighter jet. They were coming slowly in this direction," Ahmed al-Araibi, a driver, told Reuters.

A BBC reporter also showed Reuters footage taken on Sunday of a truck and warplane near Bin Jawad, heading towards Ras Lanuf.

For his TV interview, Gadhafi wore a long tunic and matching brown headscarf.

On its website, France 24 said at times Gadhafi appeared to harbour resentment for the criticism and sanctions from international leaders.

“Libya has very good relations with the United States, with the European Union and with African countries, and Libya plays a crucial role in regional and world peace,” Gadhafi said.

He compared the clampdown on dissidents to what he described as Israel’s crackdown of al-Qaeda terrorists in Gaza.

“Even the Israelis in Gaza, when they moved into the Gaza Strip, they moved in with tanks to fight such extremists. It’s the same thing here. We have small armed groups who are fighting us. We did not use force from the outset … armed units of the Libyan army have had to fight small armed al-Qaeda bands. That is what’s happened.”
'There is no problem here'

The interviewer asked the Libyan leader about the situation in Benghazi, the country's second-largest city reportedly now under rebel control.

“These armed terrorists in Benghazi, including members of al-Qaeda, did not have clear political demands,” he said.

Gadhafi rejected the suggestion Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez would play a mediating role between the Libyan leader and the National Libyan Council.

“There is no problem here," he said. "This mediation does not exist for the moment. What we need is to get rid of these armed gangs.”

Gadhafi told the TV channel that the African Union was sending a fact-finding committee that would show reports about problems were a lie.

He said he is in regular contact with African states.

"I said to them that there is nothing that calls for the situation to be exaggerated, as if there were a problem. Everything is normal."

The Arabic channel Al-Jazeera also carried excerpts from the French television interview.

Sex education

Im_beside_yoU — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 14:55:29 +0800

QUOTE

Northwestern to investigate controversial sex demonstration

"I was basically interested to see how it works," Lowe said. "There wasn't anybody who was angry or expressed disgust. They asked questions about the lives of the presenters. It was very informational, I feel, about the sexual diversity that exists."

Northwestern University, fielding a torrent of criticism after a professor allowed students to view a live sex demonstration after his Human Sexuality class, is now grappling over the long cherished tenets of academic freedom and its boundaries.

The university initially supported the actions of psychology professor J. Michael Bailey, saying in a statement released Wednesday that, "the university supports the efforts of its faculty to further the advancement of knowledge." But by Thursday morning, Northwestern President Morton Schapiro announced that the school would investigate amid an unfolding scandal.

Schapiro said he is "troubled and disappointed" by the live sex toy demonstration in a campus auditorium last week, and that it was not in keeping with Northwestern's mission.

On Monday more than 100 students watched the optional after-class demonstration, during which a woman got undressed, lay down on a towel and allowed her fiance to penetrate her with a device that looks like a machine-powered saw with a phallic object instead of a blade. The demonstration followed a discussion about kinky sex and female orgasm.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

""I have directed that we investigate fully the specifics of this incident, and also clarify what constitutes appropriate pedagogy, both in this instance and in the future," Schapiro said in a prepared statement. "Many members of the Northwestern community are disturbed by what took place on our campus. So am I."

At issue is whether the demonstration is protected by the long-standing principle of academic freedom that allows faculty to teach controversial subjects — from religious views to denial of the Holocaust. Questions center on whether the demonstration offered any educational value.

In a prepared statement Wednesday, Bailey acknowledged hesitating before allowing the couple to perform the sex act. He said that he decided to say yes after realizing his "inability to come up with a legitimate reason why students should not be able to watch such a demonstration."

Bailey, in the syllabus for the Human Sexuality course that ends with a final exam next week, noted that the class would be "skewed toward controversial and unusual aspects of sexuality."

But Lance Gravlee, who teaches a human sexuality course at the University of Florida, said Bailey crossed the line of what could be considered pure academic pursuit.

"This case is so far on the other side of the line that it doesn't strike me as difficult to figure that out," Gravlee said. "I can't imagine, I just can't imagine doing something like this in a classroom.

"I don't think that an act like this could be justified by principles of academic freedom," he continued.

Gravlee said he tried to suspend judgment and think about whether it could have been an educational experience. The people involved in the demonstration said they were trying to disprove misconceptions about female orgasm.

"In my own teachings I have discussed myths and misconceptions about female orgasm. You can do that and stop well short of bringing it into the classroom," he said. "They would have a hard time convincing me that this was an appropriate way to challenge misconceptions."

Sarah Lowe, 19, a sophomore communications major, said she witnessed the demonstration and was not disturbed by it. But she said she was glad that it took place in an auditorium, rather than a smaller classroom, which would have been too close and awkward.

She said that the warnings could have been more explicit, as she didn't really understand what she was about to see until the woman began removing all her clothes except for her bra.

"I was basically interested to see how it works," Lowe said. "There wasn't anybody who was angry or expressed disgust. They asked questions about the lives of the presenters. It was very informational, I feel, about the sexual diversity that exists."

She said that lectures given earlier in the semester dealt with animals, evolution and mating before moving on to human topics. More recently, the lectures focused on human sexual behavior, "good and bad."

This quarter, 567 students had registered for Bailey's class; all were required to take a prerequisite psychology course. In addition to the class, Bailey hosts after-class lectures, such as the one last week, and student attendance is optional.

The university provides Bailey with extra funds to pay for costs associated with the after-class activities. Ken Melvoin-Berg, a speaker on kinky sex who brought the couple to class, said he expected to get paid $300 to $500. The couple who demonstrated the device were not paid, Melvoin-Berg said.

i want to confess...

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 22:17:47 +0800

i like her outfit.

that pants shes wearing what name?

Facebook will soon share users phone numbers

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 20:37:38 +0800

QUOTE

Facebook will soon share users’ phone numbers and addresses with 3rd parties

It's been a while since we've had an uproar over Facebook's handling of its users personal information, so we suppose the time is ripe.

So cue the online outrage: Facebook announced today in a letter to Congress that the social-media platform is moving forward with plans to give third parties access to user information, such as phone numbers and home addresses.

In a letter to Reps. Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Tex.), who both expressed concerns over Facebook's plan to make such data available, company officials reiterated their now-familiar pledge to leave it up to users to decide whether they want their personal contact information to go out to app developers and outside websites. Markey has previously said that "Facebook needs to protect the personal information of its users to ensure that Facebook doesn't become Phonebook."

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Hi Henry

Im_beside_yoU — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 17:04:50 +0800

QUOTE

Hi Henry
I understand that cleanliness was not high on the agenda in Tudor times. Who were the best environmentalists?

I was very clean; I washed three times per day and burnt my clothing every three days after only wearing each piece for about 12 hours. The people however were rather dirty. The best environmentalists were the farmers and the priests. Farmers would recycle waste as a form of natural fertiliser; the priests in the monasteries had to find a method of removing their waste away from their stone built buildings. I have compiled a picture showing a 1,000 year old plumbing system for taking away rain water, notice the following things:

A. There is a catchment pool carved on every step to stop the running water splashing over where you walk!
B. The channel is turned so the running water comes out of the wall at 90 degrees and so misses the wall.
C. The end of the water system has a long reach stone nozzle to make sure the water misses their own wall. They obviously didn’t bother about the village below.

Hi Henry
Most of the monasteries I have seen are quite tall, which is the tallest and how did they get the supplies up to the entrance?

I don't know which is the tallest, although there are a few on the top of mountains and I've just been to see quite a tall one this week, Mount St. Michel on the Brittany/Normandy border. Luckily your question was on my RV browser so I went back and took these pictures for you. I would have just walked past without a second glance, so thanks for focussing my attentions.

http://www.henrytudor.co.uk/page25.htm

The South Korean Job.

Im_beside_yoU — Sun, 27 Feb 2011 14:20:57 +0800

QUOTE

North Korea to shoot at South Korea if campaign continues

(Reuters) - North Korea has warned the South Korean military it will shoot at South Korea if the South continues its recent psychological campaign, the North's official media said on Sunday.

South Korea's military has been dropping leaflets into North Korea about democracy protests in Egypt, a legislator said on Friday. As part of the psychological campaign, the South Korean military also sent food, medicines and radios for residents in a bid to encourage North Koreans to think about change.

"South Korea is driving the Korean peninsula to overall confrontation, with beefing up anti-republic, psychological plots," KCNA news agency said.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Food prices at 'dangerous levels'

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 08:07:04 +0800

QUOTE

World Bank: food prices at 'dangerous levels'

World Bank President Robert Zoellick says global food prices have hit "dangerous levels" that could contribute to political instability, push millions of people into poverty and raise the cost of groceries.

The bank says in a new report that global food prices have jumped 29 per cent in the past year, and are just 3 per cent below the all-time peak hit in 2008. Mr Zoellick says the rising prices have hit people hardest in the developing world because they spend as much as half their income on food.

The World Bank estimates higher prices for corn, wheat and oil have pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty during the year.

Mr Zoellick said he expects food prices to continue to rise, and that export bans and weather disruptions are partly to blame.

Which hairstyle is nicer

Im_beside_yoU — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 13:04:55 +0800

vote n thx u

Hero granny

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 17:09:12 +0800

QUOTE

'Hero granny' explains why she took on jewel thieves with her handbag

Mother's instinct kicked in

[YOUTUBE]PYoyhEdCW6Q[/YOUTUBE]

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

Woman dies after buttock injection

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 16:55:05 +0800

QUOTE

Woman dies after buttock injection

US police investigate death of 20-year old British woman who had a silicone injection to enlarge her buttocks

US police are investigating the death of a woman who had a silicone injection in her buttocks at a hotel in Philadelphia.

Detectives said the woman and three companions travelled from London and were staying at the Hampton Inn near Philadelphia airport.

Two of them had travelled to the city in November to have their buttocks enlarged and, on Monday, one received another injection while the other had a hip augmentation.

Detective Joseph Murray said the 20-year-old woman who had the buttocks injection later complained of chest pains and difficulty breathing. Paramedics were called, and she was taken to Mercy Fitzgerald hospital where she died.

Her name and the results of an autopsy have not been released.

Police are seeking two people involved in the cosmetic procedures, which they believe were arranged over the internet.

"We're not quite sure right now if the person performing that procedure is licensed," Lieutenant John Walker said. "We're still working on that information." He said detectives were awaiting test results to determine the substance used in the procedure.

Year Of Rabbit Cartoon

Im_beside_yoU — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 13:18:32 +0800

QUOTE

Bunny Ban: Year Of Rabbit Cartoon Censored

As China gears up for the Year of the Rabbit, the nation's Communist authorities have censored a bunny cartoon with political overtones.

[YOUTUBE]m2qbWctMx9w[/YOUTUBE]

The Chinese New Year - which falls this year on February 3 - is the country's biggest holiday. Families come together for several days of feasting and gift-giving.

But, this year, a New Year-themed cartoon posted on a popular Chinese website seems to have rankled officials.

Censors have deleted the video, in an apparent reaction to its biting political satire.

The three-minute animation begins with rabbit babies being poisoned, a blatant reference to a recent toxic milk scandal that left six children dead.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «

World's largest cave discovered in Vietnam

Im_beside_yoU — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 23:10:44 +0800

QUOTE

The worlds largest cave discovered in Vietnam

There’s a jungle inside Vietnam’s mammoth cavern. A skyscraper could fit too. And the end is out of sight.

Fill Our Minds, Not Your Pockets

Im_beside_yoU — Sun, 19 Dec 2010 08:15:40 +0800

QUOTE

Students protest against rise in fees.

LONDON, ENGLAND - Student Demonstration against fee rises and budget cuts in Parliament Square

News

If Japan was a person, it would be in its 50s

Im_beside_yoU — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 17:03:45 +0800

QUOTE

If Japan was a person, it would be in its 50s: poll

(Reuters Life!) - If Japan was a person, it would be in its 50s. By contrast, China would be a little over 30, slightly younger than India and more than a decade younger than Italy, a survey conducted in Japan showed.

» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «