Has chemo weakened Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez on Monday accused his opposition of using his cancer treatment to depict him as incapable of governing, in order to gain an advantage in next year’s presidential election.

They are trying “to generate uncertainty in the country and take advantage of my illness from the political point of view,” he said by telephone in a live television interview.

First elected in 1998, Chavez said he is recuperating from his fourth (and last) dose of chemotherapy and ramping up for re-election next year.

The self-described revolutionary finished treatment in Cuba last week.

“I’m recovering completely,” he said.

Describing his opponents, he said “They are talking about the theory that I’m in grave condition.”

“A country cannot be governed by remote control,” opposition legislator Julio Borges said Sunday, referring to the president’s absences of late.

Chavez had surgery in Cuba in June to extract a tumor from his pelvis. He has not announced what type of cancer he has, sparking criticism from political opponents who maintain he should be more open with details about his illness.

Chavez has previously claimed that tests show no signs of a recurrence.

While he remains Venezuela’s most popular politician, Chavez has gained critics after his failure to resolve problems including a shortage of housing for the poor,  frequent violent crime and the highest inflation rate in Latin America.

On Monday he vowed to win next year’s election and rule Venezuela for six more years — or longer.  Chavez is drafting a national development plan that would run through 2030.

The company said the product will…READ MORE HERE.

President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

The brazilian government plans to invest $ 215 million dollars on campaigns, treatment and suppression of trafficking.  President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed on Thursday (20) a decree establishing the Comprehensive Plan to Combat Crack. In the event that signed the decree, Lula said he was especially concerned with the scope of the drug that,  according to the president, left the big cities and came to small towns.
The anti-crack plan is divided into areas such as health, security and social assistance to former addicts, and a national campaign of prevention and awareness about the risk of the drug. 
The main chapters of the plan are the following:

Combating trafficking
The Justice Department will lead the installation of 11 border posts that will help in combating trafficking in crack. According to the Minister Luiz Barreto, drugs, mostly coming from outside, and what the country wants is to prevent it from reaching Brazil. Baker pointed out that Brazil is not considered a drug producing country but a country of “transit”. Five of these stations will be installed by 2010.

 
Health
By the end of the year the Ministry of Health wants to double the number of beds that could be used by addicts. Today there are 2500 beds , and the plan will expand it up to 5,000. The ministry estimates that the cost of these specialty beds will reach $100 million per year. The plan also provides for the installation of over 136 specialized centers for alcohol and drugs, the CAPS-AD.   The Ministry also wants to expand the project Offices Street, offered to lead teams of health – social workers, nursing assistants and professionals in mental health – to the places where drug users gather. This is one of the main mechanisms for achieving the socalled “cracolândias”. 14 today are financed municipal projects. This new plan provides for 35 more.
The plan also foresees the construction of 60 houses of passage – structures designed to house alcohol abusers at risk, and also host the users of crack and other drugs. In these places, people who wish they can feed, bathe or rest.
Education
Besides advertising campaign, which will not name the federal government and will be available to all media, the plan presented on Thursday by the team of Lula’s government plans to invest in the training of specialized manpower in the fight against drugs and assistance to users.
Will be offered specialized courses and professional master’s degree in management from the treatment of crack users and other drugs. The courses will be offered in five federal universities for professionals working in the network of health care and social protection.

The synthetic cell looks identical to the 'wild type'

Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first synthetic living cell.

The researchers constructed a bacterium’s “genetic software” and transplanted it into a host cell.

The resulting microbe then looked and behaved like the species “dictated” by the synthetic DNA.

The advance, published in Science, has been hailed as a scientific landmark, but critics say there are dangers posed by synthetic organisms.

The researchers hope eventually to design bacterial cells that will produce medicines and fuels and even absorb greenhouse gases. READ MORE HERE.

As Brazilians race to meet today’s filing deadline, the federal government this year for the first time will allow taxpayers to deduct the cost of boob jobs, tummy tucks and any other type of cosmetic surgery. The measure, retroactive to procedures performed since 2004, may spur the 3 billion reais plastic surgery market, the world’s second-largest after the U.S., according to Brazil’s Plastic Surgery Society.

“It’s a medical expense like any other and it’s only fair to allow taxpayers to deduct it,” said Pires, 38, adding that she is considering a lipo touch-up this year because of the tax incentive. She had her first plastic surgeries in 2004. READ MORE HERE

UFC Lightweight Champion BJ Penn knows this first hand. Penn uses Force Factor, a cutting-edge natural supplement that helps unlock his body’s raw power. “Force Factor is the best new product to hit the market in years,” comments Penn.

Vernon Davis, pro football player and San Francisco team captain, agrees. “I’m proud to represent the most effective new sports supplement on the market. Force Factor has proven results. I believe in results.” READ MORE HERE.

Colorized_transmission_electron_micrograph_of_Avian_influenza_A_H5N1_viruses

Within five days of last year’s April 23 flu announcement, Mexico City would essentially shut down, streets empty of traffic and almost every business shuttered by government order. Only a few wary, masked silhouettes plied the streets, and a pall of fear and mistrust settled over the city.

One year later, the fear is gone but Mexico still is feeling the human and economic consequences of swine flu.

The pandemic killed 1,185 people in Mexico — out of 17,700 deaths worldwide. Tourism revenues, Mexico’s largest source of income after oil and remittances, have yet to recover to pre-flu levels. READ MORE HERE.

Mushroom

Scientists at John Hopkins medical school  are taking a new look at hallucinogens like psilocybin (psychoactive ingredient found in certain mushrooms) , which became taboo among regulators after enthusiasts like Timothy Leary promoted them in the 1960s with the slogan “Turn on, tune in, drop out.” Now, using rigorous protocols and safeguards, scientists have won permission to study once again the drugs’ potential for treating mental problems and illuminating the nature of consciousness.The results are incredible. READ MORE HERE.

Hillary tried it during the Clinton´s years facing strong opposition, but President Obama did it: a new health care system for the U.S.

New Health U.S. Care Bill Summary: Pros and Cons Of The Historic Health Care Bill

This is a historic moment for the american people. the Health Care Bill will bring them more security, better health care, better treatment and better health care and improved life style for the weak in society.

Here are the Pros of the New Health Care Bill:

1. Everybody has a option to have a health insurance, more security.
2. Even if a person loses their jobs while they are sick, insurers cannot stop paying the sick
3. People who cannot afford a health insurance wont have to pay as much money.
4. Healthcare is also eligible for people who are already sick
5. In the long run it significantly reduce the medical costs
6. There will be an increased competition in the insurance market.

New Health Care Bill – Cons:

1. In 10 years for the first time, it will cost about $100 billion a year – A yearly cost of the Iraq War.
2. They might be an increase in the cost of health insurance
3. The one Individual Mandate. If you do not have an health insurance, you will have to buy it or have a 2% tax increase.
4. This insurance will be subsidized—but there is no guarantee that the subsidy will suffice for your specific situation.
5. On high income group people there will be a tax increase. For eg. If you are making more than half a million (or maybe a full million) you will have about a 1% tax increase.

READ MORE HERE.-

New York Downtown Hospital

Critics have alleged that the health care reform bill set to be voted on by the House Sunday is a job killer. What’s the reality? It could affect some businesses heavily but many others not at all

Maybe you own a dry cleaning shop. Or a restaurant. Or a small factory that makes, oh, bearings for wind turbines. Maybe you’re the CEO of a larger firm – a utility, or a toolmaker, or even Google.

What would the health care reform bill mean for your business?  Quite a bit. It could affect business decisions on health coverage for employees at tens of thousands of firms.

Let’s start with a caveat: that dry cleaner, and probably the restaurant, might be too small to be affected by some of the most important business-related elements in the bill. Employers with 50 or fewer workers would be exempt from coverage provisions.

But for top executives at firms with 50 workers or more, the most important question may be this: would the health care reform bill require us to offer health insurance to our employees?

The answer to that is…. READ MORE HERE