Because, let’s face it, socialized medicine / universal health care has been one of Teddy’s raisons d’etre for many years now. What if he had pushed it through, and the US healthcare system was very much like what they have over in England? Not exactly schadenfreude, though it’s hard not to feel a little smirk of “serves ya right” when reading Duane’s post:

Ted rides to the nearest hospital and his ambulance parks outside the building, but he is not unloaded. Instead he sits. And sits. And sits. For nearly five hours, Kennedy waits in the ambulance, “in a holding pattern”, waiting to be allowed in the hospital. He can’t be allowed in because the hospital can’t treat him immediately, and they have a government mandate that says patients have to be treated within four hours of admission. So rather than being treated right away, Kennedy is stacked outside the hospital in an ambulance. During that time, other 911 emergencies are left unattended by his ambulance because it is being used to meet government regulations.

Go over to the All American Blogger and read the rest. And leave a comment. Tell him BMEWS sent you.

Posted by Drew458     on 05/22/2008 at 09:49 PM   
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   Friday - May 09, 2008

hard choices

I haven’t blogged about the disaster in Myanmar/Burma up until now. It’s a terrible tradgedy, even though it’s an expected one. That whole part of the world over there along the shores of the Indian Ocean is subject to terrible seasonal storms. Worse, it’s the arc of abject poverty; one of the poorest areas anywhere, from Bangledesh all the way around and down to Inodnesia. I even took a pass on AlGore’s all-too-expected hissy fit that blamed Global Worming for the storm. Myanmar itself is a hell hole. What could be, and used to be, a great little tropical country has fallen under tyranny and is now nearly a slave state. Google up “blood rubies” if you want more on that. The military junta that runs the country doesn’t like foreigners. We’re all spies ya know.

So while the news reports about this catastrophe have grown increasingly more dire - 10,000 dead, 30,000 dead, 100,000 dead - the other news stories have shown that a huge multinational relief effort has been given a hard time. Cuz they’re all spies too ya know.

Now it looks like a line has been drawn in the mud: the Myanmar government has seized the aid supplies and told the aid workers to take a hike. It’s not like this place is the USA, with endless assets and money, No, this is the place that helps make the Third World the Turd Wurld. They’ll take the stuff, but they don’t want any help, thank you very much. And being a despotism, they really don’t give a shit if more of their people die and lie around rotting.

UN halts aid to Myanmar after junta seizes supplies
YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar’s junta seized U.N. aid shipments Friday meant for a multitude of hungry and homeless survivors of last week’s devastating cyclone, forcing the world body to suspend further help.
The aid included 38 tons of high-energy biscuits and arrived in Myanmar on Friday on two flights from Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates.

“All of the food aid and equipment that we managed to get in has been confiscated,” U.N. World Food Program spokesman Risley said.

“For the time being, we have no choice but to end further efforts to bring critical needed food aid into Myanmar at this time,” he said.

At least 62,000 people are dead or missing in Myanmar, entire villages are submerged in the Irrawaddy delta and aid groups warned that the area is on the verge of a medical disaster.

The U.N. has grown increasingly critical of Myanmar’s military rulers’ refusal to let foreign aid workers into the country while the junta appeared overwhelmed and more than 1 million homeless people waited for food, medicine and shelter.

“The frustration caused by what appears to be a paperwork delay is unprecedented in modern humanitarian relief efforts,” Risley said. “It’s astonishing.”

The junta said in a statement Friday it was grateful to the international community for its assistance — which has included 11 chartered planes loaded with aid supplies — but the best way to help was just to send in material rather than personnel.

Nearly a week after the storm, survivors are now having to contend with rotting corpses of people and animals as they wait for food, clean water and medicine.

“Many are not buried and lie in the water. They have started rotting and the stench is beyond words,” Anders Ladekarl, head of the Danish Red Cross.

So what is it that we have here? Is this merely politics, where a weak country is being trampled by pushy UN folks coming in and taking over? Or will the thugs who run Myanmar just steal the food for themselves or to sell, and leave the citizens to rot? Where does sovereignty draw the line when it comes to disasters far beyond the ability of a country to deal with? Should they be FORCED to open their borders to WorldMed Inc, for their own good? Having been rebuffed, should the world get uppity and say “Well fine. Screw you guys, I’m going home.” and just leave these people to die?

These are hard things to think about, and there are some hard choices to make here. Where do you think the moral line is? If you were the world, what would you do?

Posted by Drew458     on 05/09/2008 at 08:09 AM   
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   Thursday - April 17, 2008

Baldness not disability, ‘harassed’ teacher told

With all the very serious stuff posted last day or so, I was a bit shy about posting this stupid thing but then I remembered ....
we are on the lookout for Moonbats. Yes?

I think this fellow qualifies and wanna bet politically he’s a libral?

By Auslan Cramb, Scottish Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:26am BST 17/04/2008

Baldness is not a disability, an employment tribunal has ruled, after a former teacher complained he was harassed by his pupils and called “baldy”.

James Campbell argued his baldness had a severe effect on him and his career

James Campbell, 61, said schoolchildren perceived his lack of hair as a sign of weakness and told the hearing that he was a victim of disability discrimination.

But the tribunal in Glasgow decided that being bald could not be regarded as an “impairment”. Robert Gall, the tribunal’s employment judge, added: “It seems to me to take the definition of impairment too far if baldness of itself is to be regarded as being an impairment.

“If baldness was to be regarded as an impairment then perhaps a physical feature such as a big nose, big ears or being smaller than average height might of themselves be regarded as an impairment.”

The retired school teacher, who is also claiming unfair dismissal against Falkirk council, claimed his baldness had a “substantial and long term adverse effect” on his ability to do his job.

(okay folks, all together now. mememe .... clear throat ....  On Top Of Old Baldeeeee .....  oh, never mind.)

Mr Campbell, from Falkirk, added that while baldness might seem unimportant to some people, the effect it had on him and his career was severe.

Mr Campbell told the tribunal said: “How can I stand in front of a class with confidence to get on with my job when I am getting teased and bullied about baldness, when I think they are laughing at me all the time?”

Mr Campbell, who taught at Denny High School, Stirlingshire, said he did his best to avoid corridors, where he would meet pupils who shouted “baldy” at him, and left school late every day to “avoid the kids”.

The teacher claimed that because the children were prepared to call him names to his face he was always concerned that they could also assault him.

But Falkirk council argued that baldness was not a physical or mental impairment and was therefore not covered by the Disability Discrimination Act.

The council also told the tribunal that no depression or other medical condition was said to exist as a result of baldness.

Mr Campbell’s constructive and unfair dismissal claim against Falkirk council will be considered by the tribunal at a later date.

http://tinyurl.com/44s8jy

Posted by Drew458     on 04/17/2008 at 05:21 PM   
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   Saturday - April 12, 2008

HELL WEEK IS ALSO PULLING YOUR OWN TEETH

This story is from, The Hampshire Chronical, Winchester, Englandhttp://tinyurl.com/4s54h6

Gran performs own dentistry
IN agony for days and without a dentist willing to see her, Elizabeth Green felt she had no choice but to pull out her own teeth.

The Winchester grandmother was in such pain with the two front teeth she wiggled them back and forth for several hours with her fingers until they came away.

The 76-year-old widow has spoken of her anger at being forced to become a do-it-yourself dentist due to the lack of NHS dental care in her area.

Mrs Green, a retired chef, of Westman Road, Weeke, said: “The teeth had became loose and very painful. I used Yellow Pages to ring around Winchester dentists, but they all said sorry, we are not taking any new NHS patients’.

“I explained I was in pain and all they said was take painkillers’. The teeth got more painful, and I couldn’t take it any longer. I moved the teeth back and forwards, and twisted them and pulled them out.

“I feel angry. I worked all my life and paid taxes and then when I want something I can’t get it.

“It’s terrible. It’s like something from the past. When I was growing up in Germany my mother would put string around our teeth and say look away’ and pull them out.”

She said throughout her life she had always looked after her teeth, but never been registered with a dentist because of the cost and because she felt there was no need.

“I do regret it, but I needed the money,” she said.

“I was always in debt and never had much to live on,” said the mother-of-five and grandmother of 11.

Helen Clanchy, area director of commissioning (primary care) for Hampshire PCT, said: “We are very concerned to hear that this patient felt they had no option left but to take this drastic action.

“Hampshire PCT has a dental helpline that is able to offer patients who are unable or have chosen not to register with a NHS dentist, same day appointments for emergency treatment.

“Members of the public who use this service would need to pay the usual charges unless they are entitled to free NHS dental treatment.”

Mrs Green has since taken her plight to Martin Tod, prospective Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate for Winchester, who has now arranged for her to join a waiting list of a dentist in Andover.

Mr Tod said: “It’s a shocking story, an indictment of the current situation.

“We’ve now reached the point where a pensioner felt forced to pull out two of her own teeth because they can’t get access to a local NHS dentist.

“It’s appalling and it’s a health timebomb. We’re laying down major problems for the future.”

Mr Tod added that a more flexible dental contract was needed to encourage dentists back into the NHS, and urged local primary care trusts to take urgent action.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/12/2008 at 04:31 PM   
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   Thursday - April 03, 2008

Dengue Fever outbreak in Brazil

Dengue fever outbreak in Brazil, tens of thousands infected. This mosquito-borne virus is spreading across the state of Rio De Janiero, and the numbers have been climbing for the last few weeks. Early reports said 30,000 infected, then 47,000, now 67,000. Death tolls are small but climbing; latest reports say 67 dead. Owing to a lack of available doctors, Brazil has called out the Army to help treat the sick.

There is no cure for this hemorrhagic fever, though most people infected with it get better in a couple weeks. Treatment includes ensaids (pain relievers and fever reducers, ie aspirin) and IV drip to replace fluids lost.

US National Institute of Health describes the disease as

Dengue fever is an infectious disease carried by mosquitoes and caused by any of four related dengue viruses. This disease used to be called “break-bone” fever because it sometimes causes severe joint and muscle pain that feels like bones are breaking, hence the name. Health experts have known about dengue fever for more than 200 years.

Symptoms of typical uncomplicated (classic) dengue usually start with fever within 4 to 7 days after you have been bitten by an infected mosquito and include

* High fever, up to 105ºF
* Severe headache
* Retro-orbital (behind the eye) pain
* Severe joint and muscle pain
* Nausea and vomiting
* Rash

The rash may appear over most of your body 3 to 4 days after the fever begins, and then subsides after 1 to 2 days. You may get a second rash a few days later.

Symptoms of dengue hemorrhagic fever include all of the symptoms of classic dengue plus

* Marked damage to blood and lymph vessels
* Bleeding from the nose, gums, or under the skin, causing purplish bruises

This form of dengue disease can cause death.

Symptoms of dengue shock syndrome--the most severe form of dengue disease--include all of the symptoms of classic dengue and dengue hemorrhagic fever, plus

* Fluids leaking outside of blood vessels
* Massive bleeding
* Shock (very low blood pressure)

This form of the disease usually occurs in children (sometimes adults) experiencing their second dengue infection. It is sometimes fatal, especially in children and young adults.

CNN carries a short AP story that Brazil is considering appealing to Cuba for doctors, after the state of Rio got 154 doctors from other parts of the country. They need more.

I think this may be a case for a good spray of DDT, and damn the theoretical environmental reprocussions. This may actually already be taking place:

More than 57,000 people have been infected in a dengue fever outbreak in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro state, with 67 fatalities recorded so far, regional health authorities say.

The tourist city of Rio was worst hit by mosquito-borne epidemic, with 44 of the deaths and 36,600 of the infections occurring there.  Another 58 deaths are being investigated to see if they were caused by dengue fever, whose symptoms are high temperatures and muscle aches.  In extreme cases, haemorrhage and death can follow. Children are especially at risk and no vaccine is yet commercially available.

Rio Governor Sergio Cabral says he may appeal to Cuba for doctors to help treat patients, many of whom have been sent to tent hospitals set-up by the army to cope with the large number of people affected.

Around 1,200 military personnel have joined health service staff in fumigating areas that may contain mosquito colonies. (AFP story)

As is to be expected, some people there are blaming the government, while others blame the poor people. Favelas, or shantytowns, are the unplanned, homemade jury rigged ghettos that surround most urban areas in Brazil. Living conditions there are utterly abhorent, with little or no running water, no sanitation, rampant crime, extreme fire risk, etc.

“I think that the state and municipal governments here were irresponsible in the way they handled this, because they didn’t do anything until the problem was already out of control,” said Isabel Belo, 35, whose ill 11-year-old daughter was hooked up to an IV bag. “Now, everyone is just trying to pass the blame around to someone else.”

According to dengue experts, the outbreak can be largely attributed to the rise of hundreds of unplanned, densely populated shantytowns in Rio.

Wellington Sun, chief of the dengue branch for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the demographic shifts that turned Latin America from mostly rural to predominantly urban in recent decades have given the dengue-carrying mosquito a perfect environment in which to thrive. The mosquito needs only a tiny amount of standing water to breed—even a piece of crumpled plastic garbage is enough, Sun said. Eliminating breeding pools is very difficult in areas where trash collection is infrequent and water and sewer services are lax.

“The mosquito—Aedes aegypti-- has found a very favorable environment in cities where there has been fast growth without the corresponding infrastructure,” said Jarbas Barbosa, a Brazilian doctor who is the head of health surveillance and disease management for the Pan-American Health Organization. “In a lot of neighborhoods in Rio, for example, they store water on their houses because they don’t have 24-hour, seven-days-a-week water service.”

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva takes a unity approach and says the whole country has to pull together to fight the disease

“It’s the responsibility of the president, the governor, the mayor and each resident of this country,” Lula said. “If we don’t clean up the water in our home, our street, our city, our state, we will all be victims of irresponsibility.”

Dengue fever is not limited to the tropics. There are cases in the US every year, though few, and most are people who have just come back from other countries. But this story is a grim reminder to check your property for standing water and other skeeter breeder areas.

Posted by Drew458     on 04/03/2008 at 10:14 AM   
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   Thursday - January 24, 2008

ANOTHER FREEBE FROM THE NANNY STATE?  WHY NOT?  The Taxpayer has too damn much money anyway.

Check out the link and get a load (no pun) of the photograph but mostly, interesting letters from the citizens on the subject.
They’re talking about spending the equiv. of $100 BILLION on this.

Should fat people be paid to lose weight?Thursday, January 24, 2008
Daily Telegraph

Fat people will be offered cash incentives to lose weight and take exercise as part of a new Government strategy to tackle the obesity epidemic, which could ultimately cost the NHS £50bn a year to treat.

Employers will be encouraged to set up competitions with cash, vouchers and other rewards for people taking up a healthier lifestyle.

Similar schemes have worked in the US, while private medical insurance companies in Britain are already offering discounts to people who regularly go to the gym.

Should the overweight be paid to slim? Should employers monitor their employees’ fitness regimes?

What is the best way to encourage people to lead a healthier lifestyle?

http://tinyurl.com/3dm5kk

Posted by Drew458     on 01/24/2008 at 06:42 AM   
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   Monday - January 21, 2008

IDIOT LUNACY AS USUAL BUT YA HAVE TO LAUGH

A couple of weeks ago I posted my story on the Health and Safety lunacy and it’s extremes here in the UK.

Well, here’s some more.  It never ends.

Put away your arms, drama group is told
By Richard Savill

Last Updated: 1:43am GMT 19/01/2008

A village amateur dramatic group performing Robinson Crusoe has had to tell police about the use of plastic swords because of health and safety fears.

The Carnon Downs Drama Group, at Perranwell, Cornwall, must lock up its two plastic cutlasses, six wooden swords and a toy gun when they are not in use and appoint a “responsible guardian” for them.The group said it informed police about the use of replica weapons after studying new health and safety guidelines and new legislation to crack down on violent crime.

Later this month, about 700 people are due to attend six performances of the group’s pantomime, featuring several swashbuckling sword fights A co-director, Linda Barker, said: “In some scenes pirates hit each other with frying pans and saucepan lids but there’s no problem with them."We have got several wooden and plastic swords, two plastic spears and a gun that cost £2 from a joke shop. But now we need to keep them locked away.

“The National Operatic and Drama Association said it supported the new policy because “it enables weapons to be used safely and legally in theatrical performances”.

http://tinyurl.com/2p5jww

Posted by Drew458     on 01/21/2008 at 12:15 PM   
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   Wednesday - January 16, 2008

Vicious Disease Raises New Health Concerns For Gays

This is really some nasty shiz folks. One of the worst strains of MRSA, a variant known as USA300, has hit the urban gay zones all over the country. Gay men are 13 times more likely to catch it than the rest of the population. In San Francisco health officials think that more than 1 in 600 people in the city’s gayest neighborhood already have the disease. That’s on the edge of a for-real CDC epidemic.

It is suspected that the virus is sexually transmitted.

A strain called USA300 has been a leading cause of MRSA infection in this decade, and an exceptionally drug-resistant variant of it is now on the loose, researchers say.

The study estimated that 1 in 588 residents living within the Castro neighborhood 94114 ZIP code area is infected with that variant, which is resistant to six types of commonly used antibiotics. The risk of contracting this difficult-to-treat bug is 13 times greater for gay men than for the rest of the city’s population, researchers found.

“We probably had it here first, and now it is spreading elsewhere,” said Binh An Diep, a researcher at San Francisco General Hospital and lead author of the report. “This is a national problem, and San Francisco is at the epicenter.”

The germ typically causes boils and other skin and soft-tissue infections and, despite its resistance to some drugs, is still treatable by surgical drainage and several classes of antibiotics. What is unusual in this case is the high percentage of infections - up to 40 percent - occurring in the buttocks and genitalia.

Although researchers have stopped short of declaring this form of staph a sexually transmitted disease, the infections are found where skin-to-skin contact occurs during sexual activity.

Most of the infections are limited to the skin surface, but the bacteria can invade deeper tissues or disseminate through the bloodstream. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, various forms of MRSA are causing 95,000 of these more costly and potentially life-threatening infections - and 19,000 deaths - annually in the United States.

Read about it at FoxNews
Read about at the NYT
Read about it at SF Gate
Read about it at Med Page

It has already been proven to be resistant to many antibiotics.

As if it wasn’t hard enough for these folks, now they’ve got this to deal with. Stay healthy people, and Wrap That Rascal^tm, or else!!

Posted by Drew458     on 01/16/2008 at 11:55 AM   
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   Saturday - December 29, 2007

ARE WE ANY BETTER WITH THIS?  DON’T THINK SO.

I know there are companies that do this in USA and have done as far back as 20 yrs ago.  What I think I know doesn’t count, but I always thought it was a gross invasion of a person’s private space.  Good grief Charlie Brown.  Yer own freekin car?  Damn nannies watching over us.
What next?

Smoking in cars used for work to be banned
By David Millward, Transport Editor
Last Updated: 2:55am GMT 29/12/2007

Motorists could be banned from smoking behind the wheel of their own cars while driving them as part of their job, it has emerged.

Around five million people use their own cars for work but the current law covering smoking in such vehicles is complex.

Cigarettes are banned in company cars when passengers are carried, which means taxi drivers cannot smoke. However, sales representatives still can light up if they are the only person using the vehicle.

There is greater confusion when it comes to private cars. Smoking is banned if the vehicle is mainly used for work - but not if it is mainly private.

How the boundary between personal and business use is defined is unclear, so the Government is considering closing this loophole, which can leave some non-smokers exposed to cigarette fumes, despite the ban on smoking in the workplace.

A review of the smoking ban legislation is set for 2010 when ministers will consider whether the law should be tightened.

Health campaigners believe a complete ban when a car is used for work would make the law clearer and provide protection for non-smokers.

Action on Smoking and Health welcomed the idea. “There is an acceptance that passive smoking is harmful,” said Amanda Sandford, ASH’s spokesman.

“The vast majority of smokers would not want to inflict their tobacco on others against their will.

“Further restrictions would be welcome and we would like it to be extended to children when they are passengers.”

The review will be carried out against a hardening of Whitehall’s attitude towards smoking at the wheel, which was deemed a distraction in the updated Highway Code.

This means smokers could be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention.

Prof Richard West, the Government’s leading smoking adviser, has called for a complete ban on smoking at the wheel.

He said: “It may seem draconian but the Government should legislate.”
- 30 -

http://tinyurl.com/32lo29

Posted by Drew458     on 12/29/2007 at 02:29 AM   
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   Friday - November 30, 2007

Doctor who killed is free to work

Doctor who killed is free to work

I wasn’t gonna post anything this early but, going thru this mornings paper (and much thanks Drew for reminder re. Google it) there is this very scary story.  Hey,,, this is in my back yard.  Whoops, Brits say garden, not yard.  Whatever ... this is beyond the fringe.  I would hate to fall ill and find myself in hands like these.  Reading further we find this doc doesn’t even pass medical tests.  But he’s free to carry on business as usual.

A doctor convicted of killing a patient through gross negligence has been told that he can return to work in the NHS.

Amit Misra, 37, fled to India after being found guilty of the manslaughter of Sean Phillips, a 31-year-old sales executive, who died from a common infection while recovering from routine knee surgery.

A court was told that the trainee surgeon had failed to diagnose the infection and was “too proud” to ask senior doctors for help until it was too late. He was suspended from working for a year and avoided a jail term after his barrister pleaded that his career was in ruins.

Yet despite failing to prove himself in a series of medical assessment tests, the General Medical Council has ruled that Dr Misra should now be allowed to return to Britain to work, seven years after Mr Phillips’s death.

Under the law all cautions and convictions given to doctors have to be examined by the governing body, but in many cases the GMC allows those convicted of serious crimes or unprofessional conduct to work again.

http://tinyurl.com/27tu5c

Posted by Drew458     on 11/30/2007 at 04:10 AM   
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   Friday - November 02, 2007

Public Service Announcement

Just received this through the Emergency Email System and wanted to pass it along.

Breaking Health: E. coli warning Prompts Massive Frozen Pizza Recall

414,000 Cases Affected
Health Risk: High

Public health officials are urging consumers to throw away any Totino’s or Jeno’s brand frozen pizzas that contain pepperoni in the wake of a multi-state outbreak of E. coli O157:H7 infections.

“We took action on that basis as a precaution, because of the possibility that a link might exist,” said General Mills spokesman Tom Forsythe.

The company is asking people to throw away any pizza that they may have purchased that is being recalled.

The manufacturer, General Mills, has recalled all frozen pepperoni pizzas produced at their Wellston, Ohio, plant. More than 120 million of these pizzas have been distributed since the beginning of July.

Public health investigators in Tennessee and elsewhere have linked a growing number of people infected with E. coli O157:H7 to pizzas produced at the Ohio plant. The investigation is ongoing, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture and other agencies are working with General Mills to identify the source of the problem.

To date, at least 21 lab-confirmed cases have been identified in 10 states—Tennessee, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, Illinois, Wisconsin and South Dakota. At least 10 people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

“If you have any of these pizzas in your freezer, we recommend you throw them out,” said William E. Keene, Ph.D., M.P.H., senior communicable disease epidemiologist at the Oregon Department of Human Services Public Health Division. “No cases have been reported in Oregon or other Western states, but this is a national recall. We don’t want anyone to risk serious illness.”

The specific products covered by the recall are as follows:

*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Pepperoni, 10.2 oz.
*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Classic Pepperoni, 10.2 oz.
*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Pepperoni Trio, 10.2 oz.
*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Three Meat Sausage, Canadian Style Bacon & Pepperoni, 10.5 oz.
*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Combination Sausage & Pepperoni, 10.7 oz.
*Totino’s Original Crisp Crust Party Pizza, Supreme Sausage & Pepperoni with Green Peppers & Onions, 10.9 oz.
*Jeno’s Crisp ‘n Tasty Pizza, Pepperoni, 6.8 oz.
*Jeno’s Crisp ‘n Tasty Pizza, Combination Sausage and Pepperoni, 7.0 oz.
*Jeno’s Crisp ‘n Tasty Pizza, Supreme Sausage and Pepperoni With Green Peppers and Onion, 7.2 oz.


Any consumers concerned about an illness should contact a physician. Anyone diagnosed by a physician as having an illness related to E. coli O157:H7 is also urged to contact state and local public health authorities.

Consumers can contact Totino’s / Jeno’s for product replacement by clipping the UPC (bar code) symbol from each pizza box and sending their UPC’s, along with their name and address to:

Totino’s / Jeno’s
P.O. Box 200 - Pizza
Minneapolis, MN 55440-0200

The product itself should be thrown away.  Consumers with additional questions about the relall should contact the company at (800) 949-9055

About E. Coli
E. coli O157:H7 is a potentially deadly bacterium that can cause bloody diarrhea and dehydration. The very young, seniors and persons with compromised immune systems are the most susceptible to foodborne illness.

When one of my daughters was four, she contracted E. Coli 157 poisoning and contracted what is called H.U.S. (for Hemolytic-uremic syndrome) Her kidneys just about shut down and she required a number of blood transfusions.  It was a scary time and something we don’t mess with.  If we are at a resturaunt and a hamburger comes back pink, it gets sent back with a stern warning and explanation of why burgers need to be fully cooked, especially with kids.

Posted by Mr. Christian     on 11/02/2007 at 09:20 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine •  
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   Wednesday - October 31, 2007

Deputies Seize Baby From Parents

From Wardmama.

Deputies Seize Baby From Parents

By: Anna Jo Bratton
Associated Press Writer

OMAHA, Neb.—A nearly 7-week-old baby is home after sheriff’s deputies seized him from his parents so doctors could perform a mandatory blood test that the boy’s parents object to on religious grounds.

Mary and Josue Anaya of Omaha say their due process rights were violated and they’re considering legal action against the state and county, which decided to “grab the baby and ask questions later,” said their attorney, Jeff Downing of Lincoln.

The Douglas County attorney’s office says it only did what was necessary to protect the baby’s health. The blood test—usually performed within 48 hours of birth—screens for dozens of rare diseases, some of which can cause severe mental retardation or death if left undetected.

“Our job is to uphold the law and provide for the safety of a child that’s at risk,” said Nicole Brundo Goaley, a deputy Douglas County Attorney. “We wanted to make sure the testing was going to get done.”

It’s the first time in Nebraska a child was taken from parents to draw the drops of blood from the baby’s heel for the screening, said Marla Augustine, spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services. Nebraska is one of four states—South Dakota, Michigan and Montana are the others—that doesn’t offer a religious exemption for parents who don’t want the test performed.

Health officials say the newborn screening is one of the state’s most cost-effective public health programs. Last year, out of 26,819 babies tested, 537 tested positive for one of the dozens of diseases, and 43 of those results were confirmed, according to the state’s Newborn Screening Program.

The Anayas and some other families say the screening is not only unnecessary for them, it may be dangerous to their children’s physical and spiritual well-being.

The Anayas believe that the Bible instructs against deliberately drawing blood and that ignoring that directive may shorten a person’s life.

Now I don’t necessarily agree with these parent’s stance, but what does that have to do with anything?  They have a conviction about the way they provide for the health of their child.  Is it the state’s right to override that?

Posted by Mr. Christian     on 10/31/2007 at 11:46 AM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine • Philosophy • Religion •  
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   Monday - September 03, 2007

Voluntary Mandatory Care

Amazing

Edwards backs mandatory preventive care

TIPTON, Iowa - Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for preventive care.

“It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care,” he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. “If you are going to be in the system, you can’t choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK.”

Nothing like a little home-grown American Socialism for the start of Fall.

So, of course, since this is America, land of the free and home of the brave, we can choose whether or not we want to participate in this little ponzi scheme, right?

Edwards said his mandatory health care plan would cover preventive, chronic and long-term health care. The plan would include mental health care as well as dental and vision coverage for all Americans

Oh, and I loved this part.  How does Silky plan on paying for all of this care?

Edwards said his plan would cost up to $120 billion a year, a cost he proposes covering by ending President Bush’s tax cuts to people who make more than $200,000 per year.

Let me get this straight.  President Bush puts tax cuts into place and the left cries about how we can’t afford it and the deficit goes down.  In fact, revenue is so high, the projected defisit into the future is cut by a large margin.  So the way to generate even more revenue is to put those taxes back on the backs of people?

And they wonder why we laugh at them and just shake our collective heads in amuzement.

Posted by Mr. Christian     on 09/03/2007 at 10:10 PM   
Filed Under: • Democrats • Health-Medicine •  
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   Thursday - August 09, 2007

So, You Want Hillary-Care?  Part II

Saw this over at LawDog’s, and frankly, it was a little too much to believe.  So I checked it out for myself.

Damn.

Nevada’s Most Infamous Brothel, Mustang Ranch, Back In Business

PATRICK, Nev. — It made Nevada the only state where prostitution is legal. In its checkered history, it was burned down, rebuilt, shut down by the IRS and sold on eBay for the price of a modest home.

Now it’s back.

In its 40 years, the self-proclaimed World Famous Mustang Ranch has seen the murder of a heavyweight boxing contender and an owner who skipped the country to dodge the feds. It has heard countless stories that never will be told and knows names that never will be uttered.

Like the phoenix rising out of the ashes, the gaudy pink stucco buildings housing the cribs of its prostitutes are in a new location, under new management and looking better than ever.

That in itself is interesting, but this is what blows my mind:

By 1990, the IRS was fed up with his tax shenanigans and seized the ranch, putting the federal government in the unique position of running a brothel. It failed and the ranch was padlocked for the first time.

Read that again.

The US Government does not even have the financial prowess to run a brothel and make a go of it.

And they want to run our health care system?

As LawDog says:

Then kick them in the nuts.

Posted by Mr. Christian     on 08/09/2007 at 01:34 PM   
Filed Under: • Health-Medicine • Humor • Outrageous •  
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