The rumored drug abuse, the drastic weight loss... I think it's safe to say this was a ticking time bomb just waiting to go off...



"An immensely talented actress who never quite
got the recognition that she deserved..."
Another needless fuckin' death. This god-forsaken year can't end soon enough.

Rest in peace, young lady.

Tags: anorexia, cocaine, death, drugs, mortality
Current Location: Chicago
Mood: Hollywood Babylon

Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), considered one of very few Republicans who might vote for the Senate health care bill, said Sunday that she would not.

"This process denies us the opportunity to thoroughly and carefully and deliberately evaluate what's at stake," she said on CBS.

She also told the New York Times it was a rushed vote on a "a take-it-or-leave-it package."

Democrats no longer need Snowe's vote -- but the Washington Monthly's Steve Benen points out that they courted her anyway only to have her object over the debate's speed.

I just can't figure out what on earth Snowe is talking about. She voted with Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee reform plan, but now appears to be looking for an excuse to oppose the effort. But to sound even remotely credible, Snowe will have to do better than this.

Snowe has been complaining about the speed of the legislative process since July, but therein lies the point: how could this possible get slower?

 

source

Why I Still Believe in This Bill

Jacob S. Hacker is the Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science at Yale University. An expert on the politics of U.S. health and social policy, he is author, coauthor, or editor of numerous books and articles, both scholarly and popular, including The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream (2006; paperback, January 2008) and Health At Risk: America’s Ailing Health System and How to Heal It (2008).

Now that the core demand of progressives has been removed from the Senate health care bill--namely, the public health insurance option--should progressives continue to support the effort?

For me, the question is particularly difficult. I have been the thinker most associated with the public option, which I’ve long argued is essential to ensuring accountability from private insurers and long-term cost control. I was devastated when it was killed at the hands of Senator Joe Lieberman, not least because of what it said about our democracy -- that a policy consistently supported by a strong majority of Americans could be brought down by a recalcitrant Senate minority.

It would therefore be tempting for me to side with Howard Dean and other progressive critics who say that health care reform should now be killed.

It would be tempting, but it would be wrong.

( Read more )

You could call it a lesson in anatomy.

A Grade 6 health teacher in Richmond Hill was transferred to another school after he inadvertently showed 30-plus students pornography that he had taped over with an educational video about the H1N1 virus.

When the public health segment ended, on came the adults-only video from his personal collection.

It was a matter of seconds before the Beverley Acres Public School teacher rushed to the front of the class and switched the VHS tape off, the school board contended yesterday, about three weeks after the incident.

But the damage was done.

Not until after concerned parents called the Neal Dr. school did the principal speak with the teacher about the incident and commence an investigation, York Region District School Board spokesman Ross Virgo said yesterday.

"The board is satisfied that this was really a video taping accident and that there was no intent on the part of the teacher to show the class these images," Virgo said.

In the interest of the students, school and teacher, Stefano Eudoxie-Wojedubokowski -- who worked at Beverley Acres since he was hired on with the board four years ago -- was transferred to Crosby Heights Public School, just down the street, Virgo said.

Contacted there yesterday, Eudoxie-Wojedubokowski -- known by students as Mr. Stefano -- called the incident "unfortunate," but said he was told by the board and union not to speak publicly about what happened. Virgo denied this.

"The whole principle behind that transfer is to allow the students in Mr. Stefano's Beverley Acres class to move forward with their learning and to enable Mr. Stefano to be able to continue with his career without having to suffer needlessly in this situation," Virgo said.

According to a parent of a student who saw the tape, Eudoxie-Wojedubokowski was seated at the back of the class when the H1N1 video ended and two naked men appeared engaged in a sex act.

"It's difficult to say what the kids saw," the mother said on condition of anonymity. "But the best I can describe it, from what I've heard (from my child), is the beginning of oral sex."

Citing privacy rules, Virgo wouldn't say whether Eudoxie-Wojedubokowski was suspended during the investigation.

Another mother who heard about the incident from her son called the ordeal "foolish," but said it shouldn't cost the teacher more than a transfer.

"Certainly he made mistakes, but I don't think any kids are damaged just by that," said the woman, whose son used to be in Eudoxie-Wojedubokowski's class. "I'm sure they've seen stuff like that on the Internet or on TV anyway."


Fool! This is why you only watch porn on your computer.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – Laura Dekker, the 14-year-old Dutch girl whose bid to sail solo around the world was blocked by a court, has gone missing, leaving behind her boat, police said Sunday.

Dekker appears to have left her father's home on her own, Utrecht police spokesman Bernhard Jens told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. Her boat, Guppy, is still moored at its usual berth.

"We do not believe this is a crime," Jens said.

( Read more... )


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Trust me... hit the play button, sit back and enjoy this masterpiece. Money back guaranteed if not completely impressed:



Many thanks to inibo

Tags: cool links, friends, horror
Current Location: Chicago
Mood: Bravo

Peter Galbraith launches withering salvo at latest government shake-up in Afghanistan

The former deputy UN envoy to Afghanistan has launched a withering attack on President Hamid Karzai's latest effort to reinvent his government, saying the shake-up would do little to ameliorate the country's worsening crisis.

( Read more )

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Tags: afghanistan

Jerusalem mayor cuts health funds for Arab children

By Nir Hasson

Tags: Israel news, Nir Barkat

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat on Thursday rejected municipal recommendations and cut funding for a toddler health-care center in East Jerusalem, while approving aid to a similar center in a Jewish neighborhood.

The funds would have gone to opening a branch of the "Drop of Milk" (Tipat Halav) program, which provides prenatal and toddler health-care services in Silwan, an Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Last year, authorities from the Jerusalem municipal offices recommended to the mayor to open the aid center in Silwan, which would service around 100,000 residents.

Authorities also recommended opening a similar center in a Jewish neighborhood that is home to around 7,000 residents.

During discussions on the 2010 budget, Barkat decided to cut the aid that would open the center in Silwan while simultaneously approving the aid to open the same center in a Jewish neighborhood - a move that outraged residents of Silwan.

"I don't understand why there is a 'Drop of Milk' center in the mayor's neighborhood while there is none in ours?" asked Silwan resident Fakhri Abu Diab. "Why does he deserve one and we don't? Are my children different from his children?

"Soon, Hamas will open a 'Drop of Milk' center and we will go there," Abu Diab added.

Jerusalem city councilwoman Laura Wharton condemned the decision. "This decision is caused by discrimination against the Arab population and I hope that we will succeed to reverse it," Wharton said.

As opposed to most of Israel, the 'Drop of Milk' program in Jerusalem is under municipal authority.

Like other health services in Jerusalem, including toddler care, there is a wide gap in services provided to residents in East and West Jerusalem.

Other Jerusalem areas under public jurisdiction contain a total of 25 'Drop of Milk' centers, while East Jerusalem, with its 250,000 residents, is home to just four Drop of Milk centers.

Many residents of East Jerusalem have difficulty taking their children long distances in order to receive care. This results in many children not receiving vaccinations as well as a delay in services for sick children living in East Jerusalem.

In response, the Jerusalem municipality said that they are working to improve services provided to the residents of Silwan and they still intend to build a 'Drop of Milk' center in the Arab neighborhood in the future.

Source

Senior cleric revered by country's reformists and once in line to succeed Ayatollah Khomeini died in his sleep overnight

Iran's most senior dissident cleric, Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri, who was seen as the spiritual father of Iran's reformists has died aged 87.

( Read more )

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Tags: iran, islam

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