F.D.A. Sees Promise in Alzheimer's Imaging Drug

The F.D.A. has approved a first test - a scan of the brain - which is able to detect Alzheimers in a living person. Over five million Americans suffer from Alzheimers, so this news comes as a confidence booster that we are heading in the right direction when it comes to Alzheimers research. Alzheimers is only present if there is memory loss and a plague in the brain, but the only way to find a plague is to do an autopsy. If a person has Alzheimers, there is still no treatment or cure for the disease.

With this news comes a sliver of hope for Alzheimers patients. Indentifying or ruling out Alzheimers can be very important when diagnosing the problem. This new dye, which is detectable when in contact with a plague via PET scan, is groundbreaking, and is propelling Alzheimers research in a new direction. These steps will hopefully propel research in the Alzheimers even further, hopefully someday uncovering a cure.

Google Co-Founder Takes Over as Chief Executive Officer

After a decade of being CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, will be replaced by one of it’s co-founders Larry Page. Google is one of the largest companies in the world with a current market value of $200 billion. Schmidt will continue to be executive chairman for Google, but with the change in management will hopefully allow Google to grow and expand farther than it has before. Google already is the dominant search engine, and has been successful with its mobile apps. Also new marketing techniques such as display advertising and its new “Google Goggles” have been successful, but there are many areas in which Google could expand to maintain market share and not lose its dominance, for example advertising, social networking, and television. Bringing in Larry Page will hopefully bring a fresh new management style without ruining the great reputation the company has as being the employer of choice. We’ll see in the coming months the repercussions of the switch.
I’m very interested to see how this new fresh perspective impacts Google and it’s users. Hopefully it will be a positive change that maintains the strength in areas that they already have, and then expand and improve on markets they are struggling in and also bring new ideas to the table. It was a bold move changing things so rapidly, but what was seen as “adult supervision” with Schmidt as CEO will hopefully return to its original mission of being a highly innovative corporation.

Coptic Christmas Eve in Cairo

After the recent terrorist bombings on New Year's Eve, security was high-strung. Al-Quaida, in the weeks leading up to the holidays, threatened practicing Christians in Iraq and Egypt. As a countermeasure, the Egytian government assigned heavy police details to provide tight security across the country. Many Egytian citizens have mixed opinions about Muslims, as well as Christians, but the vast majority is highly tolerate and even more accepting. Fortunately the Orthodox holiday went off without a hitch despite high levels of fear.

The idea of tolerance and acceptance is one that needs to be implanted into the heads of individuals on a global scale. Mohandas Gandhi once said, "Each one prays to God according to his own light." By practicing this quote, the world can begin to live in harmony; spread the love.

Safe to Eat? (Issue 3)

The issue over whether or not our food is safe to eat all the time is a large one. Over the last decade, the number of cases of foodborne illnesses (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foodborne_illness) has gone up dramatically. There are reasons for this, experts say. The breach in security, per se, can be attributed to the rise in the consumption of produce in an effort to achieve better health. The problem is that produce is often consumed raw, and bacteria have not been killed because of the lacking cooking process. Another reason is due to the growing number of elderly citizens who are more susceptable to illness. Finally, processing and distribution are large-scale, therefore foodborne illnesses are more present on larger scales. The debate ensues whether there should be more regulation by the FDA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FDA), or should the industry place higher regulations on their own companies. Parties in favor of more government regulation believe that one central agency should be in charge, and say that the growth of foodborne illnesses coincide with cuts in funding to the FDA. Others who are in favor of industry regulation believe that the companies want to stay in business, therefore they will protect their businesses by all means, including stricter safety regulations.

These two perspectives are both agreeable in my opinion. Therefore, why is it out of our power to have a government agency watching over our food industry with enhanced regulations, whilst businesses place stricter regulations upon the food coming out of their facilities. This combined power would ensure safer food standards in our country. A source with views similar to mine is http://www.reliableplant.com/Read/26630/traceability-prevent-recover-foodborne.

Issue 1: http://briansoccer77.blogspot.com/2010/11/issue-one-comprehensive-vs-incremental.html
Issue 2: http://katieireneiverson.blogspot.com/2010/11/issue-2-ensuring-quality-care-for.html

Rhino Killed by Poachers

Stumpy, the 41-year-old black rhino, was a staple in the Lewa Conservancy in Kenya. Poachers snuck onto the wildlife refuge in the early hours of the morning and encountered the unfortunate victim. The conservation officers heard gunshots around 3:45 a.m. and when the sun began to rise, they discovered the foot prints of four poachers. They followed the tracks and discovered their worst fears - the carcass of the black rhino. On a happier note, the calf accompanying the slaughtered animal escaped with minor gun shot wounds. The poaching of rhinos has increased dramatically as of late due to increased demand the horns of the animals in Asia for medicinal purposes.

News such as this is saddening in the worst degree - the barbarism men utilize is inhumane. Poaching animals is wrong - killing in general is wrong, but certain animals are justified in dying for reasons I will never understand - but, these animals, whose numbers exceeded 20,000 in Kenya, are now on the brink of being wiped clean from the country with less than 300. Another sad statistic is that, on average, one poaching occurs daily. Without the protection of these conservancies, the situation would spiral out of control. Thank the world for those who care about the creatures that we coexist everyday with.

Pakistani Problems 10/7

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39555858/ns/world_news-south_and_central_asia/

Thursday's suicide attacks on Karachi, Pakistan's Sufi shrine has left seven dead, and 65 more wounded. The attack came at a time of tension between Washington and Islamabad over the recent NATO helicopter incursions that have resulted in the closing the border crossing at Torkham - a main supply line that crosses into Afghanistan in which many NATO supplies are run - and also the death of two Pakistani soldiers. The U.S. has expressed its condolences over the death of the two soldiers, but Pakistani officials are still inconclusive on when to re-open the border crossing. Trucks and tankers stranded in the backed up traffic became sitting ducks for further terrorist attacks which led to the ignition of seventy tankers. The closure of the Torkham pass has not had a major effect on the number of supplies which  have reached soldiers in Afghanistan, because of various other routes by which the means travel.

The sitution in this U.S.-allied country is deteriorating at a hasty rate. Islamic extremists have been pummeling the region as of late with suicide bombings and such, because of Pakistani allowance of NATO supply lines within the region. These supplies are then used to cast destruction upon the Islamic militants. With an increasing number of missle strikes in the Northern region, I believe that things are going to get even uglier in the Middle East.

War: What is it Good For? (Issue #1)

In 2008 - during the Bush Administration - the amount of United States dollars being put towards the War in Iraq were astronomical. The issue arises because the President is the Commander in Chief - who is the leader of the military - but, Congress has the Power of the Purse, and can bar federal funding of the war. That's where much debate ensues: to side with Congress and its ability to control federal spending; or, with the Executive branch and side with the ideology that President and his Administration are best suited to run a war campaign. The number of dollars spent on the War in Iraq add to the national deficit (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_deficit) every year, driving our national debt (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt) higher and higher - digging a deeper and deeper grave for future generations.

There has been a public out-cry, as of late, to end the War in Iraq. Far too much money has been spent on on-going - and seemingly ineffective - liberation of the region, and our future generations are going to feel it in the worst way. By inheriting this huge ever-accumulating debt, we will be at a crossroads with no where to turn. The borrowed money is going to have to be paid back eventually, and the task would be much easier if billions of dollars and human lives were not involved in a war effort. By Congress denying federal funding towards the war, or even to tie any military funding to certain conditions or benchmarks for progress.

This site, Institute for Policy Studies, shares a similar opinion, but expands further with the idea of creating more jobs with that money. (http://www.ips-dc.org/articles/more_jobs_less_war)


Issue #2: http://maxineannec.blogspot.com/2010/10/issue-2-spnding-what-we-can-afford.html
Issue #3: http://theresasocial.blogspot.com/2010/10/issue-3-social-insecurity.html