Walgreens Offers Free Health Services to Unemployed-Uninsured
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox—Walgreens announced today it would begin offering free health care to uninsured and jobless Americans, at its in-store, walk in Take Care Clinics, available at dozens of Walgreens drug stores throughout the country including, Orlando, Miami, Atlanta, Cleveland and Chicago. A full list of locations is available on the clinic’s website. Walgreens is calling its free program, the Take Care Recovery Plan, and will offer free treatment for illness, injuries and tests by Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants. Read more
Afghan President trying to legalize rape to win re-election
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox) — One more reason why the US and Europe are working to appoint a Afghan ‘prime minister’ to dilute President Hamid Karzai’s power. Many officials are said to be disillusioned with the extent of the corruption and incompetence in the Karzai government, and are faced with the likelihood the Afghan president will win re-election in August. Karzai, has now taken a step to secure his re-election that has created great outrage and wonder if he is any better then Taliban leaders. He signed a law which “legalizes” rape, and critics claim Karzai helped rush the bill through parliament in a bid to appease Islamic fundamentalists ahead of the elections.
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Netanyahu as Israel’s new leader – conciliatory words for Arab World except for Iran
March 31, 2009
“if Obama does not stop Iran’s nuclear program, Israel most certainly will”
(ChattahBox) — Benjamin Netanyahu, taking office as Israel’s new Prime Minister Tuesday, struck a somewhat conciliatory tone promised to seek “full peace” with the Arab and Muslim world, in an address to Parliament, promising negotiations toward a permanent accord with the Palestinians.
“We do not want to exercise our power over the Palestinians,” he said. “Under the final settlement, the Palestinians will have all the rights to govern themselves except those that endanger the security and existence of the state of Israel.”
Netanyahu, the leader of the hawkish Likud Party, stopped short of endorsing a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a potential point of friction with the United States.
Netanyahu praised Islamic culture as “great and rich,” and said Israel and moderate Arab states could find common ground fighting radical Islam and what he called the extremist regime in Tehran.
Netanyahu praised Islamic culture as “great and rich,” and said Israel and moderate Arab states could find common ground fighting radical Islam and what he called the extremist regime in Tehran. He went further to say Iran is Israel’s biggest threat and urged the world to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.
“The greatest danger to humanity, and to our country Israel, stems from the possibility of a radical regime arming itself with nuclear weapons,” he said. “We shall not allow anybody or any country to put any question mark over our existence.”
In an exclusive interview with The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg Tuesday, just before he was sworn in Netanyahu didn’t mince his words: if Obama does not stop Iran’s nuclear program, Israel most certainly will.
“The Obama presidency has two great missions: fixing the economy, and preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu told me. He said the Iranian nuclear challenge represents a “hinge of history” and added that “Western civilization” will have failed if Iran is allowed to develop nuclear weapons.
Netanyahu said he would support President Obama’s decision to engage Iran, so long as negotiations brought about a quick end to Iran’s nuclear ambitions. “How you achieve this goal is less important than achieving it,” he said, but he added that he was skeptical that Iran would respond positively to Obama’s appeals.
In unusually blunt language, Netanyahu said of the Iranian leadership, “You don’t want a messianic apocalyptic cult controlling atomic bombs. When the wide-eyed believer gets hold of the reins of power and the weapons of mass death, then the entire world should start worrying, and that is what is happening in Iran.”
Novartis Secures FDA Approval for Afinitor: New Hope for Kidney Cancer Patients
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox)-Swiss drug maker, Novartis AG secured approval for its promising new cancer drug, Afinitor today, also known as RAD001, which is expected to extend the life of many patients suffering from advanced kidney cancer. The drug was approved for use on kidney cancer patients as a treatment of last resort, after standard treatments have been tried and failed. Read more
Man Gets DUI On Bar Stool
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox) — A man in Ohio was arrested for drunken driving and he never left his bar stool.
Authorities in Newark, 30 miles east of Columbus, say when they responded to a report of a crash with injuries on March 4, they found a man who had crashed his motorized bar stool powered by a deconstructed lawn mower.
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Ore Rich Russia Calls for Return to Gold Standard, as G20 Talks Begin
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox)– Arkady Dvorkevich, Russia’s chief economic adviser, called for a return to the gold standard to anchor the global financial system. This comes as the G20 Summit begins this week, a meeting between the world’s leading economies to discuss financial matters and the current economic crisis sweeping across the globe. Dvorkevich said Russia favors the inclusion of gold bullion in the basket-weighting of Special Drawing Rights, reserve currency issued by the International Monetary Fund.
Russia of course, has unlimited ore deposits and is a major gold producer. China has intimated recently of replacing the current U.S. dollar backed reserve currency with an international Special Drawing Rights currency.
The Russians and the Chinese are expected to band together during the G20 Summit to push for a change in the current backing of reserve funds. China is also proposing a system based on currency from 30 commodities. Dvorkevich says such a new currency should include the rouble and the yuan, as well as the U.S. dollar.
The gold standard to back paper currency, has not been used since 1971, when it was abolished by then, President Nixon, during a time of high inflationary spending.
A change in backing for reserve currency from the current U.S. dollar to another currency or combination of currencies is going to be a major topic of discussion in the G20 talks this week. It’s not expected that the participating world leaders will agree to such a drastic change to the current Special Drawing Rights system.
Iran Pledges to Help Reconstruct Afghanistan
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox)—A report from the New York Times this morning says, Iran pledged its support to help with the reconstruction of Afghanistan on Tuesday at a meeting between other nations at The Hague. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister, Mohammed Mehdi Akhondzadeh joined 80 other countries and international organizations, to discuss global solutions to combat the growing violence and drug problems in Afghanistan. Iran also stated it plans to join in efforts by other countries in its region of the world, to stop Afghanistan’s increasing opium poppy production and drug trafficking, which is spilling into Iran’s borders. Read more
Penis pranking leads to revenge raping
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox) — A man raped his friend’s wife as revenge for a malicious prank pulled on him while drunk last year. His 40-year-old victim said that she was attacked on March 19th, as she was riding to the market to sell vegetables. After the attack, the 30-year-old unidentified man hid in the forest for two days. Using the the victim’s mobile phone, he called to ask his family if the police had been looking for him. Hearing that no police had visited the house, he returned home where he was promptly arrested. Pol Col Natthanon Prachum, Deputy Superintendent of the Police Region 4 Crime Investigation Center, said investigators monitored usage of the victim’s stolen mobile phone following the attack.
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Taliban Leader Threatens US With Attack on DC
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox)—Notorious Taliban commando, Baitullah Mehsud, threatened the United States with an attack on DC, our nation’s capital, which he claims will “amaze” the world. The United States has a $5 million bounty on his head. Mehsud made these threats during a telephone interview with the Associated Press and other news outlets.
He also claimed responsibility for Monday’s deadly armed attack on the Pakistani Police Academy, near the City of Lahore, leaving seven policemen and two civilians dead, with more than 90 policemen and security officers wounded. Three of the attacking Taliban militants blew themselves up to avoid capture. Read more
Polypill Study Shows Great Promise to Prevent Heart Disease and Stroke
March 31, 2009
(ChattahBox)–A recent study conducted in India by British researchers, shows great promise for the prevention of heart disease and strokes in middle aged patients. The study, led by Dr SalimYusuf of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, treated 2,053 individuals, free of heart disease with a “polypill ” containing five medicines in one pill. The study patients all had heart disease risk factors, such as high blood pressure or a history of smoking.
The results of the study showed a substantial reduction in both blood pressure and cholesterol levels. These results show promise for the polypill to potentially reduce strokes and heart attacks by an average of 50 percent in middle-aged people, saving millions of lives in the process. Read more