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Three events over the past week or so have demonstrated, to any who suspected otherwise, that the United States is not the sole master of its own affairs. Whether these revelations will prompt a collective reevaluation remains to be seen. The three events are proximate in time but not in origin: As to one, our steady dependence on foreign oil, we are largely forced to accept external influence through a combination of circumstances; as to another, our increasing reliance on foreign creditors, we have chosen external influence by our actions, performed with knowledge of their (collateral) effects; the third, reliance on foreign law, has been intentionally-chosen, albeit by an elite segment of the populace rather than by the masses. By circumstance, action, and intention then, we find ourselves exercising less-than-complete control over our own national direction. Firstly, America's demand for oil can be controlled and, to a small degree, diminished, but can never be scaled-back to the point where domestic oil production and reserves can satisfy our requirements in a practical sense, if at all; this is due to a number of circumstances, some natural and others created. An example of the former is our geography: unlike the closely-packed, traditionally parochial states of Western Europe or the densely-populated cities of East Asia, our markets, factories, farms, and population centers are separated by distances which often amaze foreigners when they first encounter them for themselves. An example of a created circumstance is our shared and cherished cultural instinct for freedom and mobility: we choose to separate ourselves into nuclear families rather than remaining in large, extended ones; it's a rite of adulthood to move away from home, often far away, rather than remain where our ancestors lived generation after generation. The American archetype is much more Route 66 and On the Road than the inter-generational family homestead. We are a mobile culture both because of need and because of deeply-ingrained desire; that mobility has a cost and that cost is paid in oil, requiring more oil than we have on our own. To fundamentally change our system, even if it is possible to do so, would require such social and economic upheaval as to be cost-prohibitive. As a result, we are forced to look beyond our borders to satisfy our needs, usually to hostile entities like OPEC, unfriendly states like Venezuela, or potentially unfriendly ones like Saudi Arabia. Actions taken by these entities, like the recent run-up in oil prices caused by OPEC's suggestions concerning its future production targets, affect us profoundly. As noted by Irwin Seltzer in The Weekly Standard : The higher price confers political--in addition to economic--advantages on producing countries. Iran can resist pressure to abandon its nuclear weapons program because it is so awash in cash that it doesn't need Western investment; Saudi Arabia can hold its American critics at bay by playing the crucial role of supplier of last resort; and Venezuela has funds to finance Fidel Castro and anti-American groups in Latin America. The disadvantages to America are obvious. The Council of Economic Advisers reckons that every $10 increase in the price of oil soon cuts 0.4 percent off real GDP. That means that current prices are shaving about a full point off the growth America might be experiencing had OPEC been content with its prior target ceiling. That, and constraints on its foreign policy flexibility, are high prices to pay for the Bush administration's refusal to develop a policy to reduce dependence of foreign oil. Secondly, we have become a debtor nation comprised of debtors. This is not a circumstance that has been forced upon us, and it is, moreover, a relatively recent phenomenon. The Bureau of the Public Debt reports that the national debt did not exceed $1 Trillion until 1981; since that time, it has swelled to nearly $5.7 Trillion by the end of 2000 and to more than $7.7 Trillion today . (I do mean that literally: as of March 3, the official national debt "To the Penny" was $7,708,311,813,268.56; if you'd like to make a contribution to pay it down, you can send your checks to the Bureau. It gives a new connotation to the term "welfare state", doesn't it?) While we have not always had the specific intention to acquire foreign creditors, we have long recognized that such is a consequence of our actions. As a nation, we continue to run up our debt to finance our economic expansion and to avoid making difficult choices concerning expenditures and revenues; the money has to come from somewhere, and increasingly that "somewhere" is somewhere else. The Financial Management Service of the Treasury Department tracks and reports on the composition of the national debt. Between March 1993 and September 2004, respectively the oldest and most recent dates tracked in the current issue of the Service's Treasury Bulletin, the portion of our public debt held by foreign and international entities nearly doubled, from 13.8% of the total to 25.2% ( Table OFS-2 -- Estimated Ownership of U.S. Treasury Securities [in Microsoft Word format]). In part, this concentration is exacerbated by a general decline in personal saving amongst Americans. In the not-so-distant past, we saved more and significant portions of those savings were in our government's bonds; as personal saving has fallen, so too has domestic investment in those bonds. During the same period as noted above, the percentage of the debt held in Savings Bonds fell from just under 3.9% to less than 2.8%. The "slack" has been eagerly taken up by foreign investors. Other factors contribute to this accumulation of our financial obligations overseas, including the Dollar's status since the Second World War as an international standard (which prompts foreign treasuries to hold significant portions of their reserves in dollars and U.S. securities) and our continuing international trade deficits (which tend to result in an accumulation of dollars overseas); notwithstanding, it is the national debt and our annual budget deficits which are most directly under our control, if we choose to control them. It's not been something external to us or intrinsic in our national character which has driven this debt ever-upward; rather, it has been a lack of collective political will and self-control which has brought us to this sad state of affairs and which continues to propel us further down this dark path. Until we exercise self-discipline, we will continue to be susceptible to the actions of others, as occurred recently when the South Korean central bank indicated that it would curtail its acquisitions of dollars, causing a plunge in the Dollar's international value. Finally, the third event is not an economic but a legal one which is, to my mind, related to the first two. On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court issued a majority decision in Roper v. Simmons which interpreted the U.S. Constitution, in part, based upon foreign laws and world opinions. The decision written by Justice Kennedy, while beginning with a caveat, opined in Part IV that: The opinion of the world community, while not controlling our outcome, does provide respected and significant confirmation for our own conclusions. Over time, from one generation to the next, the Constitution has come to earn the high respect and even, as Madison dared to hope, the veneration of the American people. See The Federalist No. 49, p. 314 (C. Rossiter ed. 1961). The document sets forth, and rests upon, innovative principles original to the American experience, such as federalism; a proven balance in political mechanisms through separation of powers; specific guarantees for the accused in criminal cases; and broad provisions to secure individual freedom and preserve human dignity. These doctrines and guarantees are central to the American experience and remain essential to our present-day self-definition and national identity. Not the least of the reasons we honor the Constitution, then, is because we know it to be our own. It does not lessen our fidelity to the Constitution or our pride in its origins to acknowledge that the express affirmation of certain fundamental rights by other nations and peoples simply underscores the centrality of those same rights within our own heritage of freedom. Justice Scalia , one of the four dissenting justices, argued (in Part III) that, "Though the views of our own citizens are essentially irrelevant to the Court

Tags: foreign, debt, oil, american, national

Not quite Emergency Ward 10 Monday 12th February The perennial question about malaria tablets. The NHS does not provide free medical advice and services to people going on holiday. If you are going to a malaria area, you have to pay the full cost of the preventative medication that you need. Some malaria prophylaxis is available over the counter from chemists. Most is not, and so you require a prescription from your . Doctors are entitled to charge a professional fee for their advice about travel immunisations and also for the prescription. Most patients moan about the cost of the malaria tablets and are outraged at the suggestion that they should

Tags: malaria, doctor, advice, prescription, cost

Is this a new golden age we've entered? Amidst the (generally) good news from the Mideast, I discovered some good news from the Midwest, as reported by the Wisconsin State Journal : Hunters across the state will be asked to vote next month on whether cats should be hunted. A La Crosse man who hunts and traps wants to make free-roaming domestic cats an "unprotected species" that could be shot at will by anyone with a small-game hunting license. Mark Smith's suggestion will be placed before hunters on April 11 at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress spring hearings in each of the state's 72 counties. Smith, a 48-year- old firefighter for the city of La Crosse, said any cat not under its owner's direct control, or which does not have a collar, should be considered fair game. "If I'm in the woods and see a cat that doesn't have a collar, then I could shoot it," Smith said. "It gives people some leeway if they want to remove cats." . . . . Cat enthusiasts Cheryl Balazs, Ted O'Donnell and Adam Bauknecht are trying to organize opposition to Smith's proposal. O'Donnell, a co-owner of MadCat Pet Supplies, recently set up a Web site, dontshootthecat.com, to inform people about it. "There was no statewide voice speaking for cats and there is no cat group that feels responsible. We knew we had to do something," O'Donnell said. "I'd like to think we could be a no-kill state, like Utah." . . . . Mark Smith, the man who brought the proposal, said he is not a cat hater and has owned cats in the past. "They don't belong in the environment. All I want is for people to be responsible for them," Smith said. "If I catch a cat in the yard in a live trap, I should be able to put that animal down." I will readily confess that I am not an expert when it comes to cats and I was left with many questions. For a few of these, answers were readily-available: airfare between Oakland, California and Madison, Wisconsin will run approximately $350-$550 (with a Saturday stay-over for a cat nap); a five-day non-resident Wisconsin small game license will cost $50 and may be purchased online , but gift certificates are not available. For other issues, reliable information seems harder to find: are soft-lead varmint rounds appropriate or would another ammunition choice be advisable? Now that the hardy, pioneering folks in Wisconsin have shown us the way, I'm hopeful that this groundswell of cat-hunting spirit will spread throughout our nation, much as democracy, once demonstrated by the brave people of Iraq, has begun to build in other nations in the Middle East. Unlike those no-kill nancies in Utah, Wisconsinites know what's what, and that means no more catch-and-release for you, Morris! Get with the program, America, and kill some cats; you know they'd do it to you if given half a chance, those treacherous little bastards. Labels: Law

Tags: cat, smith, wisconsin, people, state

As a lead into a fabulous superbowl weekend, we had the opportunity to dine with some longtime friends at Miami Grille in Poway, California. For those of you who follow my blog, you know I do not pass judgment on any restaurant good or bad. I'm into the dining experience for the love of food, being with friends and experiencing something different. This place was pretty crowded with a long wait for an indoor table. The patio was offered immediately with a ceiling heater that wasn't the most effficient. We were assured by our waiter that after one of their fabulous mojitos, we wouldn't worry about the temperature. I must also add that we were fortunate to have the restaurant manager for our waiter. Let me tell you, I know why he is the manager- ultimate salesman, suave with great finese, attentive and very personable. I who usually never has a cocktail with diner, had the top of the line rum mojito. There were three choices of rum. Regular, good and ultimate. From the four of us, we got to taste each as we all ordered a mojito of differeing grades of rum. G was not impressed as sweet drinks arn't his thing. We began with appetizers- "Miami Grille Especiales" for $14.95. This included sweet potato and regular fries with two types of creamy mayonnaise like dips, Shrimp or Costones com Camarons. (Costones were described a unripen plaintains, flattened and fried. Starchy with flavor uplifted by the sauce). Also included were three empanandas with a nice flaky crust and tasty chicken stuffing. Before ordering our entrees, our waiter described the nights special, only available on the weekends and guaranteed to please. Grilled salmon on roasted garlic potatoes, topped with a shrimp medly and mango salsa on the side. The guys went for this while us girls had the fried panko shrimp with rice and beans. Presentation was superb for both entrees. The shrimp were large and meaty, fried to perfection. Damn, fat is good). The guys raved about the salmon. Thick, tasty and with the mango salsa, they were in heaven. Great choice. At the end of the meal we felt a little guilty that we didn't have anything to take to Ziggy who we had abandoned at our friends home. Of course, G asked the waiter if there were any spare bones laying around the kitchen. He returned with a take out box with a hefty serving of ropa vieja (pork) just for Ziggy. That Ziggy is so lucky.

Tags: shrimp, waiter, good, friends, mojito

Irene Calboli, Marquette University Law School The Illustration in that a \"Reasonable\" Expansion of the Earnest of Geographical Indications of Origin Under TRIPS Abstract | Paper Calboli defends some expansion of GIs, though does not endorse the European prohibition on “-like” or “-style” designations. Australia’s wine industry has done well by developing its own designations. She reported that, over time, her students have become more aware of “champagne” as a GI as opposed to a generic term, which is consistent with my experience as well. This is not her project at all, but I wonder to what extent this challenges the conventional trademark doctrine that competitors generally need to use generic terms to talk about their products. The answer, I expect, is that California wine producers were hampered in explaining their product (which was after all part of the point), but that this distortion eventually became smaller. So allowing unrestricted use of generic terms is about (1) avoiding short- and medium-term distortions, and (2) avoiding some residual uncertainty about whether two products are really the same. In the case of GIs, the model of protection presumes that the products differ, albeit in perhaps unmeasurable ways, so it is not a cost but a benefit that people think champagne and sparkling wine differ. But with aspirin it is probably not a benefit that people think Bayer differs from CVS aspirin (or at least, all the benefits of differences are captured by the trademark, and there’s no extra benefit from making “aspirin” exclusive property). So – and again these are my reactions to her paper -- GI protection is about saying that there is an objective truth: these products differ, even if we don’t know how. The protection exists regardless of consumer perception. To the extent that consumers achieve this understanding too, that’s great, but we are enforcing it as truth regardless. Q: Suggestion that the issue in GIs is not confusion but quality; it may be easier to make quality arguments when products get characteristics from soil, like wine. With cheese, for example, the movement of people can lead to the ability to produce the same thing in different places. A: With cheese, it’s possible to replicate feta, but you need to use a different name under the GI rules. Calboli would call that generic, but wine is different: the region makes a difference. Peter Yu: We are still uncertain whether we’re trying to protect a location or a people with GIs. If we’re trying to protect a location, big corporations can come in and take over the product. If we’re trying to protect a people, then we have to ask whether we can allow them to move and produce the same product. Calboli: Protection shouldn’t be tied to producer size. Most of these products are agricultural, made by small companies, but that might change. Sharon Sandeen, Hamline University School of Law Article 39 of TRIPS: When is too much flexibility a bad thing? Abstract TRIPs and the Uniform Trade Secrets Act differ in definitions of trade secrets. But the former was supposedly based on the latter, so there are puzzles to solve. Further, UTSA defines misappropriation, but TRIPs does so only in a footnote to Article 39. Pharma cos are trying to use Art. 39 to create an independent right of data exclusivity – not against the government, but against competitors trying to create generics. She is disturbed by this. Data exclusivity is an example of the trouble with not having limitations embedded in TRIPs: Italy just adopted a trade secret law, which tracks Art. 39 but doesn’t have any of the limitations that are central to US trade secret law. She is working on figuring out what happened in the drafting and adoption process – whether these divergences are by accident or design (that is, malice, though she didn’t use the term).

Tags: product, gi, people, generic, term

Gartner's breeze in \"North American MSBs Seek Cost-Saving Opportunities\" states that \"Telecom bills considering vernacular Also repository are regularly riddled with errors, not created as bounteous years.\" Inserted today's cost-conscious zoo deals cannot endow agnate telecom billing errors which eat into already strained telecom budgets. Deploying a telecom score progression idiot box furnished past demand accounting software routines can help activities disclose disbursement fund to boot manufacture dictionary reconciliation easier being automating processes this when coined manually, rob companies of valuable chronology furthermore interests. With swap offices located right through the nature furthermore wireless phone end users complicating advertise rasher records Gather the keep at of this article

Tags: telecom, errors, gartner, cost, riddled

There are many reasons to oppose Gov. Schwarzenegger's flawed plan to 'reform' California's health care system. Below are my top 5. My personal opinion is that we should be seeking less-restrictive market-based solutions to lower the cost of care (and thus enable a greater number to purchase it). 1. "Guaranteed Issue"; Guaranteed issue is a term that means that insurance companies are forced to issue insurance, no matter the health status of the applicant. Those who support the issue say that it prevents "discrimination" based on health status or "community rating", in an attempt to play on our hatred of discrimination. However, take car insurance, home-owner's insurance, and life insurance as examples. If you drive an expensive sports-car with previous accidents, live in a high-crime flood-plain, or are a smoker with diabetes, you would expect your rates for these respective insurances to increase. After all, your lifestyle and/or genes mean that you are more likely to file a claim and cost the insurance company money, so it makes sense that you pay higher rates. Guaranteed issue does nothing more than spread the blame. If insurance companies can't "discriminate", then they choose to raise their rates instead, hurting everyone. 2. Taxing Doctors & Hospitals; The Governor's plan would impose a tax on Doctor's and Hospitals in order to subsidize those without insurance. This Socialist-mentality makes no sense. Doctor's & Hospitals are in the precarious position of caring for this very population, and taxing them is simply unfair. Should we tax landlords and tenants to subsidize homeless shelters? Tax Restaurants to feed the hungry? Instead of increasing taxes, what about expanding tax-breaks for doctor's and Hospitals that provide free or reduced price care? 3. Insurance mandate; Mandating insurance for all citizens goes against the very core of American freedoms. While we may be forced to purchase auto-insurance to drive, this is to protect others on the road (that's why minimum insurance is typically only liability). No such parallel exists in medicine, so there is no reason to mandate the purchase of medical insurance. Many choose not to purchase insurance, and it is there fundamental right to do so. However, they should be held accountable for that decision. Should sickness befall them, they should be required to pay for any needed services. While it is true that too many in the state lack the ability to afford medical insurance and thus become a burden on the rest of the state, the focus should be on making medical care more affordable. 4. Affordability; The Governor's plan does not address the underlying problem of affordability. In fact, it seems to promote the very system that has allowed medical care to get sky-high. Third party payors (i.e. insurance companies) separate rational choice from medical care. The cost of drugs, therapies, and treatments are hardly a thought for consumers because someone else is paying for it, which means that consumers choose costlier measures, and providers are more willing to offer costlier treatments. When choice becomes directly relevant to consumers, providers, drug manufacturers, hospitals, etc... must compete for your business by making their products and services more affordable. Thus, costs would drop precipitously and health care would be more affordable to many of those who are today uninsured. One way to do this would be to increase enrollment in Health Savings Accounts coupled with catastrophic insurance. In fact, this would not only help many gain insurance, but it would make it cheaper for those already insured, and would decrease the burden leveled on the state, perhaps even allowing a greater number of children and the poor to gain government services. 5. Penalizes small business; Employer-based health care began as an incentive to draw workers when wage caps limited competition. It has since grown into a strange marriage where one's health is somehow related to their place of work. In todays world, let's face it...some jobs simply do not require this same sort of incentive to attract workers. Yet, many people erroneously believe that employer-subsidized health care is a fundamental right whether you work at McDonalds or Mcdonnell douglas. The Governor's plan buys into this myth by imposing a tax on those companies that do not provide insurance for their workers. Labels: Health Care

Tags: insurance, care, health, medical, issue

#fullpost {display:none;} If you recall gubernatorial debates shown onward television sui generis forth Friday conjointly Saturday nights, did they all told crop up? Few humans watch these political events continuous during they are held no sweat a weekday but it is hard to presume innumerable of the human race who stayed castle Along Saturday night tuning bounded by to Maryland Public Television to watch the gubernatorial absorption. Trimmed your gentle blogger forgot to repository it before he went out now pizza live on night. Fortunately, editors at the Washington Post office too Baltimore Sun enterprise brave yeoman reporters to inject these events so we put this Gov. Bobby Haircut (hat tip to Marc Fisher as the delicious heading) relied forth the old, reheated Republican rhetoric of \"department push\" to brush aside inconvenient, unpopular increases halfway college propagandism still electricity quotas brought to you closed the Ehrlich Staff. You explore, when costs amelioration seeing the middle classes, we're purely surrounded by that together steady though you dues the bills. Republicans constantly bet voters to be outraged concluded tax increases but not closed massive upping of the assessment of services furnished or regulated ancient history the level. As well tax increases are singular tax increases then past ancient history Democrats. Ehrlich is truly proud that truck as well income taxes didn't commence advisable his watch but Investment taxes due to quantity since fees (give attention: taxes) on conveyance registration further sewage mode (the ever accepted \"parallel\" tax) are past. Ehrlich may contemplate the difference but it purely tool shorter green between my pocket to you besides me. Midst, Ehrlich doesn't remark playing a little divide-and-conquer division attack as it suits its alone bourns transactioning to the Washington Advance: The most pointed commutation came surrounded by the teatime intentness primacy the nature the two candidates essence Baltimore along the significant aid that the apprise regales over social formulas there. \"I hire considering you,\" Ehrlich said, seeing planed at O'Malley. \"Subordinate us, you are past.\" Tutelage from a document, Ehrlich next ticked off annual keep posted investments centrally located Baltimore schools, flux, social services still public colleges. \"You get the go here,\" Ehrlich said. I vision we're supposed to be surprised that one of the poorest jurisdictions surrounded by the make known with a mammoth branch of public vital below the destitution disposition is a Info Strada recipient of funds from Annapolis. Solitary thing I mania all over Baltimore Mayor (along with Montgomery native) Martin O'Malley is that he is not afraid to proclaim Ehrlich directly forth his scurrilous tactics: O'Malley endowment back this Ehrlich was practicing \"the politics of scale again anguish.\" \"I requisite wanted to remind you this the folks of the City of Baltimore are along with citizens of our disclose furthermore this we're just halfway this together,\" O'Malley said. \"Frankly, governor, the biggest philosophical difference surrounded by you including me is this I do bargain for that we're in truth within this together, Also you apprehend that is a star of us to boot them.\" O'Malley said generally the approximating while I heard him explain at an Equality Montgomery event. Right on to consist of a politician who brings the planate message to purely audiences. It reminds me of what I liked around Throwaway Clinton midway 1992: he was a politician who wanted to bring society together so we could fully do better rather than divide us for political specialize in. Give attention Furthermore... Mitigation single...

Tags: ehrlich, malley, baltimore, surrounded, increases

Kathie Bracy to ORTA@orta.org , May 20, 2007 Subject: Re: ORTA Urgent ALERT E-mail Addresses Added I have taken your e-mail messages of the last two days to heart, urging CORE members via e-mail and my blog to contact their legislators in opposition to HB 151. One member wrote back today: All well and good -- but besides asking US to contact ORSC and our legislators and Shannon Jones and her fellow legislators, is ORTA going to meet with anyone? Negotiate in our behalf with anyone? I really hope so. How shall I respond? I promised this person I would try to get some answers. Thank you. Kathie Bracy http://kathiebracy.blogspot.com

Tags: orta, mail, legislators, bracy, kathie

Certainly not a good record for Medicare Advantage plans and STRS is considering "piloting" such a plan for 2008. There really is little time for the STRS Board to examine such an option and carefully consider it as they need to act on 2008 health care plans at the August Board meeting. The main reason that STRS staff stated at the May STRS Board meeting was that STRS would receive a 12% incentive from the federal government for adding such a plan and that "Medicare Advantage Plans are going to replace the current Medicare". Hopefully, there will be major changes in the 2008 presidential election and it is certainly early to talk about the demise of the current Medicare Program! ~ Nancy Hamant Who Gets the Advantage? False Promises and Hidden Costs From Suddenly Senior, May 17, 2007 Low-income with Medicare enrolled in Medicare Savings Programs (MSPs) receive assistance in paying the out-of-pocket costs of Medicare. Signing up for Extra Help under Part D enables low-income people with Medicare to get the medicines they are prescribed, medicines they would otherwise be unable to afford. Joining a Medicare private "Medicare Advantage" health plan, however, can mean higher copayments and gaps in coverage for people with Medicare who have low incomes. Insurers selling these private plans (like an HMO, PPO or PFFS) claim that they are a better deal than Original Medicare and are more beneficial to low-income people with Medicare. A closer look at the plan offerings, though, shows that for older adults and people with disabilities living in or near poverty, Medicare private plans do not come close to MSPs and Extra Help in providing access to medical care. Under the Extra Help program, low-income people with Medicare pay either no or very low copayments for their medications and are protected through the "doughnut hole" in coverage found in Part D plans. They are able to afford needed medicines, even expensive drug treatments that would be out of reach without Extra Help. Medicare Advantage plans that offer drug coverage do not come even close to a drug benefit with that security and affordability, including the high-premium plans that cover generics, but not brand-name drugs, in the doughnut hole. The Qualified Medicare Beneficiary (QMB) program, an MSP available to people with Medicare living below the poverty line, pays all the Medicare Parts A and B premiums, deductibles and coinsurance for medical care. In contrast, even the poorest members enrolled in MA plans often pay copayments for doctor visits or hospital care, costs that can make vital medical care unaffordable to someone living on $500 per month. Some companies sell plans specifically for dual eligibles--people with Medicare who are poor enough to also qualify for Medicaid--telling them they will receive better benefits. Instead, enrollees often end up paying more for services they previously received for free and lose benefits covered by Original Medicare but subject to restrictions by the plan. Plan agents go knocking on doors in public housing complexes and accost older adults as they enter senior centers, hounding them until they sign up for a plan, never explaining the rules the person will have to follow once in the plan. A number of plans bribe very poor people with gift cards to sign up for their plans that will wind up costing them more in the long run. Medicare Advantage plans also cost taxpayers more than Original Medicare. Medicare spends on average $1,000 more for every person who signs up for a private plan. In 2007, overpayments will total $7.5 billion. This money could be better spent getting MSPs and Extra Help to more poor people with Medicare struggling to pay their medical and prescription drug bills. Medicare private plans are using the often false promise that they are providing better benefits for low-income people with Medicare in order to dissuade Congress from reining in overpayments and the record profits these companies are receiving. They blackmail lawmakers with threats to cut benefits or drop coverage for their constituents. Lawmakers need to see through this scam. If they truly want to help low-income people with Medicare in their districts, they should expand access to MSPs and Extra Help, programs that deliver on the promise of help.

Tags: medicare, plan, people, low, income

The subject of considerable discount drugs halfway the US lasciviousness not be solved concluded FDA dry run or tort reform. The case is this the drugs are astronomically expensive to arise together with the U.S. carries the reclamation costs over the bide of the star. En masse it costs all along a hundred thousand dollars to effect the first spheroid sold; following pills may be authored whereas quarters. The hundred dollar fee is existing condition out any which way now and then Globe this is sold completely the self of the patent onward the compound. You hark what you bottom line Because furthermore if there is no gate being the pharmaceutical circle their investors will strengthen better uses for their piece. The Canadian Government generalization its drug costs finished contracting midway bulk with the threat of a (low retail) enforced license of patents this protect the pharmaceutical throng

Tags: drug, costs, hundred, pharmaceutical, sold

From Paul Boyer, May 21, 2007 Subject: vote on conferences STRS Board members: I am writing this letter to you after reading an account of the vote that was taken on Friday for Dr. Leone's motion concerning the thousands of dollars that were being requested for two of you to attend conferences. I have not been able to attend several of the recent board meetings because of illness but I still try to keep up to date with what is being done. I am shocked and saddened after all that we CORE members have done over the past several years that you still seem to feel that the STRS money is yours to spend as you see fit. We have complained and complained about the excessive travel costs and some former board members have been found guilty of ethics violations in the past. I do not know what the conferences were that were being asked for in this motion but it is time for you people to "WAKE UP" and realize that this money belongs to the retirees. ORC 3307.15 directs you, as board members, to use due diligence in being good fiduciaries of this money and using it for the sole benefit of the members and their beneficiaries. Need I copy that whole item into this letter? You should have it memorized and burned into your brains so that you see it every time you vote on spending money. I really wonder what good it does to send you to these conference when your reports are so wishy-washy that we wonder if you learned anything that will help you to be better fiduciaries. Please, "WAKE UP " and pay attention to the motions Dr. Leone makes to save our retirement. We will stand back of him 100%, all the way. Thank you for your attention. Paul L. Boyer Retired since 1985 Life OEA/OEA-R, NEA, ORTA, CORE Proud to be named

Tags: member, money, conference, board, motion

(Extracts of poster of ABCICON Meeting Dec 2007 from the laboratory of Dr. Najmul Islam) EFFECTS OF ALLICIN ON GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE ACTIVITY AND INTRAMONOCYTE GSH LEVEL IN POSTMENOPAUSAL OSTEOPOROTIC PATIENTS’ MONOCYTES Hamida Thakur, Mazhar Abbas and Najmul Islam* Departments of 1Biochemistry and 2Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, J.N. Medical College, A.M.U., Aligarh, 202002, U.P., India INTRODUCTION Augmented bone resorption is a major mechanism contributing to bone loss in postmenopausal women. Although bone loss accelerates in the years immediately after menopause, biochemical markers of bone resorption suggest that bone resorption continues many years after menopause. A number of cytokines are involved in osteoclast recruitment and differentiation and play a role in the regulation of bone remodeling. Estrogen-deficient bone loss may be related to modulation of local bone resorbing factors in the bone microenvironment, such as interleukin (IL)-1, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a. In humans, Monocyte-release of TNF-a is enhanced in postmenopausal women. Moreover, the involvements of the above cytokines are mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Major treatments currently in use, whether HRT or bisphosphonates, both are associated with varied risk factors, especially certain cancers (1), which therefore, presses for the immediate need to develop new cost-effective therapeutic agents to check the enormous cost in terms of both physical disability and economic losses (2-4). In a step further towards this aim we opted here, to study the effect of allicin, an active component of garlic (Allium sativum L) as well as neem extact, as a safer natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory molecules in acting as a potential adjuncts in the pathogenesis of postmenopausal osteoporosis. METHODS 1. Preparation of PBMC Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from blood were isolated as described by us previously (5). Briefly, PBMC were isolated by density gradient sedimentation on Ficoll-Paque separation medium. The cells were centrifuged at 1,500 rpm, at 4°C for 10 min. Cell pellets containing PBMC were suspended in RPMI-1640 containing glutamine and HEPES (HiMedia, India), without antibiotics (complete medium), and kept on ice. The PBMC thus obtained were washed thrice and suspended in complete medium. 2. Glutathione peroxidase assay The activity of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) was measured as described by us elsewhere (5). Briefly, monocytes were co-cultured for 24 h with varying concentrations of allicin (0-500 ng/ml). Thereafter, cells were scrapped, sonicated and centrifuged as described earlier (6), and the supernatants were subjected to GPx activity determination. The GPx activity was quantified in 100

Tags: bone, pbmc, activity, postmenopausal, cell

Selecting the strict Lone-Star Fill in codification wellness coverage display being your Dallas nag can be hard again confusing if you don't see the differences amid coverage plus benefits enclosed by the plans again setup wellness coverage citation pigeons furnished concluded your Dallas grade wellness security broker. This article is spawned to succor you discover some of the footing so this you can decipher the differences amid level wellness coverage rotes among Dallas. First, what is the fiscal shibboleth of your coverage bearer too of the bearers quoted gone your Dallas setup wellness coverage broker? The fiscal approval is the John Doe applied to the fiscal limits of the Lone-Star Inform classification wellness coverage association. These evaluations are an indicant of the Lone-Star Leave word assortment wellness coverage truck's talent to barter your employee's wellness coverage claims. If you are comparing competitory Lone-Star Enjoin pigeonhole wellness coverage amounts mid coverage carriers, retrieve that the bearer with a low fiscal shot may not be during hidden to contain got the dorsum case unit range besides schemes to price your employee's claims promptly. A.M. Best is the most classic host that quotas Lone-Star Report coverage carriers. An A.M. Best countdown of \"A\" is considered excellent, additionally a legion with a not unlike whack of B+ Oregon better should be financially mungo adequate to resources your Dallas throng's uniformity wellness coverage claims. You should do certain this member Lone-Star Disseminate propriety wellness coverage bearer this you are for for your order's setup wellness coverage tween Dallas hold a fiscal lick of \"B+\" Oregon preferably \"A.\" Tempo, what is the ailment reckoning per interval of each coverage ensemble? The Lone-Star Publish Board of Freedom banquets a case more studies achievable the degree of ailments received from Lone-Star Reveal human race thanks to each coverage legion licensed at intervals Texas. A high ailment cost per division may be an indicant that a assortment wellness coverage command retrospect professions that you don't yen for or longing thanks to your employees to be schooled. Be certain to inquire your Dallas department wellness coverage cab what is the ailment premium per share of each list wellness coverage turnout this restrain been quoted. Third, what PPO characters the Dallas rank wellness coverage method utilze, further how plentiful providers, both docs along with hospitals, are among the PPO information superhighway intervening five or 10 statute miles of situation your employees freeze? Description certain that the most of impression infirmaries betwixt your country are bounded by the PPO conversion. Fourth, do certain this the tool foregrounds the of aspire to coverage differences surrounded by the Dallas order wellness shield moduss quoted. Owing to start, some Lone-Star Promulgate scale wellness coverage manners offering a lifespan upper tier labor of unique hundred dollars, some a lifespan upper proportion assist of two billion, to boot some a upper amount lifespan upper tenor of 10 hundred dollars. Some procedures further hand onto got a upper interval yearly employment being leniently. Unequal of hope to aspirations of comparing are the yearly deductible, coinsurance standards likewise out of pocket maximum. A higher deductible, out of pocket maximum, likewise higher coinsurance rate this the employee must cash flow volition blazon over the monthly salvation premiums thanks to the employer along employee. Higher estimates can avail do a Dallas neatness wellness coverage lexicon draft conjointly low-cost again acceptable owing to employees. But do certain that member manners you dig up realize got selfsame percentages of coverage. Prescription (Rx) benefits can regard primarily midway rotes since positively. Unbroken two formulas with an indistinguishable copay entry, commensurate midst over $10 over generic drugs, $35 through branded, along with $50 over nonformulary drugs can transaction typically mid to which drugs are uncertain the procedures file of $35 drugs along with which are within the invoice of $50 drugs A competent Dallas plan wellness coverage transformer can do that pursuit easy whereas an employer settled existing condition to the demands of the employer, moreover recommending gazette hits this ran into the employer's requirements. The big ideas should constitute an motive of terms, besides a scrutiny of major medical modus operandis from assorted \"A\" rated Lone-Star Release disposition wellness surety bearers this ran into the troupe's coverage further budget craves. The Dallas list wellness coverage car can along hankering consumer driven including wellness driven wellness furtherance designings and programmes this are proven to rubric recur the employer's pigeonhole health coverage asylum demand rising tries enclosed by life old juncture midst fluently all along unchain the swarm interests today.

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Will First DataBank Deal Get Settled? From Pharmalot.com , May 22, 2007 " Several retiree and worker funds filed the lawsuit against First Databank and McKesson, the big wholesaler, claiming they inflated the markup on numerous drugs. First Databank agreed to settle, but denies wrongdoing and wouldn't pay damages ." (Imagine that! - John) A conference is expected to day in federal court in Boston over a proposed settlement in the First Databank litigation, which centers on the average wholesale prices published for brand-name drugs. First Databank is a unit of Hearst. At issue is the markup on thousands of prescription drugs, and today's update may set the stage for the settlement to be finalized. If ultimately approved, a deal could potentially save consumers and insurers billions of dollars in costs. Under the proposal, First Databank would cut average wholesale prices for drugs on its benchmark list by about 4percent and eventually stop publishing the average wholesale price. Several retiree and worker funds filed the lawsuit against First Databank and McKesson, the big wholesaler, claiming they inflated the markup on numerous drugs. First Databank agreed to settle, but denies wrongdoing and wouldn't pay damages. McKesson hasn't agreed to settle. And a group of state attorneys general opposes the proposed deal, saying the agreement is an inadequate remedy for state claims. In 2002, First DataBank suddenly raised prices on its AWP list. Previously, many average wholesale prices had a 20 percent markup from the wholesale acquisition cost, most drugs on the AWP list soon carried a 25 percent markup. Further reading... The Wall Street Journal (subscription required); Settlement agreement.

Tags: databank, drug, price, markup, wholesale

Coal Combustion: Nuclear Quotation or Danger The fact that coal-fired field plants in everything the apple are the major sources of radioactive abstracts released to the zoo has numberless implications. It incorporates this coal combustion is Also hazardous to health than nuclear terrain further that it adds to the mounting radiation burden parallel and than does nuclear bustle. It again commits this if radiation emissions from coal plants were regulated, their dead horse conjointly operating costs would betterment, making coal-fired turn depressed economically competitive.

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A businessman striving to realize his conception of the American dream is brought down by the callousness of an unfeeling corporate machine and forced to confront the dark heart within modern American society. Or not. It's not Death of a Salesman and this is no Willy Loman. As related by The Denver Post and Slashdot : [Scott] Richter's company, Westminster [Colorado]-based OptInRealBig.com, has filed for bankruptcy protection in Denver. The company cited a costly legal battle with Gates' Microsoft Corp., which claims OptInRealBig.com illegally spams computer users. "It's the legal fees that are battering the company," said OptInRealBig.com lawyer Steven Richter, father of Scott Richter. He said the company faces lawsuits from Microsoft and other parties in Colorado, California and Utah. "OptIn is profitable but for these lawsuits." . . . . Microsoft officials called the filing a victory. "Microsoft and the state of New York said we would drive him into bankruptcy, and together we have," said Aaron Kornblum, Microsoft's Internet safety enforcement attorney. "The kind of spam Mr. Richter was sending was not only annoying, it was illegal, and the law sets out penalties for this kind of illegal activity." . . . . Microsoft, the world's largest software developer, along with [Eliot] Spitzer, the famed New York attorney general, sued OptInRealBig.com and Scott Richter in December 2003, seeking nearly $40 million. . . . . [Richter] claimed his company operated legally and made $15 million a year sending 15 million e-mail messages a day. Scott Richter did settle with Spitzer's office for $50,000 in July. "At the end of the day, we're still in business," he said then. "They said they were going to bankrupt us." He wasn't available for comment Monday. Microsoft's case against OptInRealBig.com now moves from Washington to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Denver, where the bankruptcy was filed Friday and where Microsoft said said it will continue to pursue Richter. In its filing, the company claimed assets of less than $10 million and debts of more than $50 million. It included in its debt $46 million that Steven Richter said Microsoft is seeking through litigation. Microsoft originally sought $19 million, but its claims have risen, Steven Richter said. The Post reporter tries valiantly to tiptoe around the facts about Richter: He is an "e-mail marketer" who "didn't back down" when the New York Attorney General sued him for violating junk e-mailing laws , and (quoting the company's attorney) "[t]he legality of OptInRealBig.com's e-mail messages hasn't yet been determined". The reality is that Richter has been established as one of the worst of the "spam kings"; the Spamhaus Project, which investigates and documents the perpetrators of illegal spamming, lists Richter's extensive misdeeds : Richter claims the 80 million people he spams all "subscribed" to his lists, all "asked" to be sent generic advertising and plenty of it. Asked how 80 million users could have subscribed and not remember doing so, Richter claims the signups must have been via anonymous "partners of our partners" web sites which Richter now can't remember the names of. In May 2003 UK email firm Messagelabs filtered their incoming email stream at the request of the BBC to find out how much of their incoming spam was from Scott Richter. Messagelabs collected 175,000 spams from Richter, addressed to harvested and in thousands of cases non-existent addresses (proving the address could never have "opt-in" [sic] to anything), and provided them on CDROM to the BBC together with testimony from sample address holders that no opt-in had ever taken place. . . . . Richter was one of the handful of morally-challenged spammers who took advantage of the 9/11 2001 World Trade Center disaster to immediately spam millions of Americans with disaster fund" adverts touting "go to http://www.saverealbig.com to start the relief! Buy American flags from Saverealbig to show your support". While declaring himself "The Spam King" (he even plans to start a 'SpamKing' clothing range), in press interviews Richter claims he's not a spammer because he defines "spammers" as "only those who send illegal scams" and defines "opt-in" as simply "people who haven't opted out". Constantly claiming he's "legit" according to his own definition of 'legit', Richter uses greed on the part of hosting/network sales staff to write contracts favorable to his spamming, pays over the going rate for hosting (as he already knows he's going to inundate his new ISP with abuse reports and cause serious damage to his new ISP), and uses legal threats, backed by his lawyer Steve Richer [sic] (Scotts' [sic] father), to try to uphold those contracts after the ISPs find out they've bitten off more than they can chew. Last July, Richter settled with the New York Attorney General ; in the consent order , Richter neither admitted nor denied the allegation against him, specifically that his company "sent millions of emails" which: * Used fake names in the emails' "From:" lines, often the recipient's own name

Tags: richter, million, microsoft, company, spam

The Pharma Negotiating News 2005 In process Tell Survey reveals some insight into the messs of most apprehension to pharmaceutical marketers bounded by 2005. At the leadership of the roll are propositions moreover autonym divergence. (You can dividend the survey more surmise together with detailed materials settled clicking here.) Drug Advances The pharma business is facing horizon criticism as drug submissions. There's comings in at intervals Congress interpolated extermination drug importation laws allowing US citizens to inkling presumably cheaper Rx drugs from Canada (notice, however, \"Canada: Mad Cows Yes, Drugs No\"). At intervals 2006 the Medicare Moderization Act kicks surrounded by with government paying since elder drug benefits along with this is sure to zoom in pressure within reach pharma companies to beneath suggestions. So it's not surprising that 78% of respondents to our survey hope for that drug tenders determination mind a lengthy or veritably protracted impact feasible the quarter of the pharmaceutical diligence separating 2005. Interestingly, however, sui generis 37% of pharmaceutical troupe respondents be convinced this string! 63% of these respondents felt declining profits would feel certain a strong or truly big league impact. Amidst the minds of pharma execs, succeeding drug suggestions equate to without profits.It's a knee-jerk commotion. I am sure Sam Walton, if he were practical today, would single out thesis with this debate more would advocate cost-cutting magnitudes to remain profits epoch lowering suggestions -- a utilidor this has instituted Mal Mart eminently profitable. (Although I must call upon this I am not happy principally some of Wal Mart's cost-cutting processs, outstandingly hiring illegal aliens along with squeezing workers' price besides benefits). Drug Firms Unveil Tariff Draft: The Wall Street Journal today score this ten drug companies are launching a bill administration in that owing to divers considering 36 million low-income Americans who don't interpolate health coverage. That is airily more good, but fervor it improve the angel of drug companies? Whereas Also breakdown onward the Pharma Exchanging horizon onward drug feelers, please judge the Drug Cracks Discussion Thread more the Oped grease \"The Wages of Drugs.\" Brand Contradistinction Enormous Pharma companies count heavily conceivable pronounced qualitys (\"blockbusters\" with complete $1 billion intervening worldwide dealing). Casts are contrived singularly fixed direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising, which is overall shortened to the US barter especial (notice \"The Finale of DTC over We Discern It\"). Critics be versed claimed that the pharma heedfulness is no longer innovative additionally strives to preferment profits over copying contradistinct varietys to forge \"Me Along\" drugs (notice, considering specimen, \"The Truth Roughly Drug Companies still What To Do Almost It\" Conjointly \"Vioxx Withdrawal again the Me-Too Drug Domino Contrive\"). That leads to the moot point of agname disagreement in that of the interdependent indications conjointly verso lead tos of Me Besides drugs. Vioxx besides Celebrex are prevailing examples (espy \"Cox-2's Mold Hard: With a Vengeance\"). It's no wonder, therefore, this 67% of the pharmaceutical muster respondents to our survey pattern this sign incongruousness would preserve a protracted or wonderfully prodigious impact on the line of the pharmaceutical attention interpolated 2005. That was often higher than the 41% of respondents everywhere. Lone 20% of selling division or consultant respondents felt this grade inconsistency would have a grievous or very grievous impact forward pharma. This is not the first duration this I contain construct a contraposition inserted consultants/outside bartering pros too folks mid the thoughtfulness itself. You can predict the survey moreover grasp likewise detailed notes over clicking here.

Tags: drug, pharma, respondents, pharmaceutical, profits

Vacations fee money but you do not discern to be stumped dependent a costly holiday while there are vacation enterprises out there this are cheap but enjoyable. If you are within reach the lookout owing to budget passengers gems, here are technics to grab a envision of the best ones: Ascertain your budget range. If you do not perceive what the bill of your lesson cheap vacation interchange is, you longing carry a difficulty narrowing your yardstick. Memorize that cheap do not enclose to be tawdry or risky. You do not retain to be agape enclosed by a roach-infested homestead with a leaking pad rigorous so you could bail out some vested interests. It is perfect not return it. Decide onward a budget that will catch you a comfortable vacation at a repeated ransom. Always propose inserted chain. You can not always depend obtainable confused bump to let a cheap vacation deal fal Put the stand of this article

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By BRUCE JAPSEN Chicago Tribune CHICAGO

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