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October 02 Kate Bush: Return of the recluseShe has £30m and a reputation as the country's finest female songwriter. She lives quietly, out of sight, by the river or the sea, and has released no music for 12 years, preferring to spend time with her son. She had no need to make another record (some thought she never would) but suddenly a new album is imminent
By Adam SweetingPublished: 02 October 2005Plenty has happened in the 12 years since Kate Bush last released an album. Tory sleaze has morphed into New Labour; mobile phones and iPods have transformed communications and entertainment; reality TV has made us fearful that we live in the most moronic country on earth, and England have won the Ashes. Kate Bush's views on these momentous developments are difficult to gauge, since she has turned the not giving of interviews into an art form, and, it would seem, doesn't even see her closest friends very often. It's possible that the outside world wouldn't have known she'd had a son, Bertie, in 1998, if Peter Gabriel hadn't tactlessly blurted out the news on television. (As it was, Bush had managed to keep the news private for 18 months.) However, ensconced in her Thames-side mansion near Reading or at her wildly romantic bolt-hole on the Devon coast, she has kept abreast of developments on the internet, where her new single, "King of the Mountain", has been made available for download. It's the first concrete evidence that after six years of work in her home studio, she has a new double album, Aerial, ready for release in November. Fans have been gasping for new product ever since 1993's album The Red Shoes. Rock critic John Mendelssohn has even written a novel, Waiting for Kate Bush, about a suicidal superfan poised to leap off a tower block, yet restrained from embracing extinction by curiosity about the singer's work in progress. Artists who disappear for years, ostensibly to create that career-defining masterpiece, tend to deliver only bathos and disillusionment. Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has supposedly been working on a comeback album for the past 15 years, amid rumours that he's gone mad and made himself unrecognisable with round-the-clock plastic surgery, but the appearance of the finished product would assuredly be mere anticlimax. The Stone Roses' second album arrived five years after its "Madchester"-defining predecessor, and the best that could be said for it was that it wasn't bad. But for Kate Bush, the rules have always been different. Having never accepted the standard formula for pop stardom, where albums are delivered at carefully calibrated intervals and supported by touring and a barrage of media appearances, she has won herself unparalleled artistic freedom. She has always refused to submit to the sort of pressures that dictate the behaviour of more run-of-the-mill artists, putting her work first and treating anything else as an unwelcome distraction. "I think creative control is so incredibly important," she has commented. "I became quickly aware of the outside pressures of being famous affecting my work. It seemed ironic that I was expected to do interviews and television which took me away from my work." With a fortune put by some at £30m, she has the luxury of doing whatever she likes for as long as she wants to, but it's indicative of Bush's stature that nobody has assumed that the long hiatus between recordings is due to writer's block or creative atrophy. Happily, "King of the Mountain" is a sly and subtle piece of work, suggesting that Bush's genre-defying musical intelligence burns undimmed. Extended gaps between Bush albums are hardly news. Although at the start of her career she released two albums in the same year (The Kick Inside and Lionheart, both from 1978), the intervals have grown progressively longer, even if 12 years may be stretching a point. Yet 20 years ago, people were already asking her the same questions. "People ask what I really did in the three years between The Dreaming and Hounds of Love," she said in 1985. "I spent it with my family, living a normal home life." As for her recent prolonged absence from the charts or MTV, Bush has observed: "I am just trying to be a good, protective mother. I want to give Bertie as normal a childhood as possible while preserving his privacy." During the interval since The Red Shoes, she has been forced to confront some of the inevitable difficulties of adulthood. Her mother, Hannah, to whose Irish background Kate has attributed her own affinity for music and dance, died just before The Red Shoes was released, but her passing was a calamitous blow to the close-knit Bush clan. Yet that same closeness helped Kate to maintain some kind of equilibrium. Her brother Paddy has been a musical ally since they played in the KT Bush Band together as teenagers, while Kate has been careful to keep her personal and professional affairs within the family. She owns 80 per cent of her various companies, with the other 20 per cent split between her elder brothers Paddy and John. Her father Robert, a doctor, acts as company chairman. Then there was the collapse of her relationship with Del Palmer, her longstanding musical collaborator and sound engineer (though Palmer is still credited as engineer on "King of the Mountain"). Her new partner, and Bertie's father, is another musician, Danny McIntosh. It's as if Bush's wildly imaginative work, which has encompassed such topics as the aftermath of nuclear war, the philosophies of oddballs such as George Gurdjieff and Wilhelm Reich, the fiction of Emily Brontë and the female psyche, drew the confidence to venture so far afield from feeling centred in comforting middle-class stability. Born in Bexleyheath on 30 July 1958, she began to dabble in music by playing the organ in a barn behind her parents' house, and was writing songs by the time she entered her teens. She was a shy and withdrawn pupil at St Joseph's Convent School, but took refuge in her kaleidoscopic creativity. A family friend, Ricky Hopper, was impressed enough by her work to arrange for a demo tape to be recorded, which eventually made its way to Dave Gilmour, Pink Floyd's guitarist. Gilmour could discern Bush's potential, but was shrewd enough to recognise that the tracks were too unpolished to appeal to a record company A&R department, so he paid for Kate to make some better-quality recordings and arranged an introduction to EMI. With a patience and perspicacity tragically absent from today's fast-food record biz, EMI funded her for three years to give her space to develop her writing. "We gave her some money to grow up with," said label executive Bob Mercer. "EMI was like another family to her. She was the company's daughter for a few years." EMI was rewarded by the immediate success of her debut album, The Kick Inside, and the global success of the single "Wuthering Heights", but thenceforth Bush's progress would never be remotely conventional or predictable. Her first tour, in 1979, proved to be her last. If her record company hoped to exert a shaping influence, Bush outflanked them by becoming her own co-producer and building a 48-track home studio where she could create her albums unmolested. If you can judge people by their friends, Bush is pop's own Venus emerging from the waves. She's madly admired by Peter Gabriel, Dave Gilmour and Eric Clapton, can call on Nigel Kennedy and Prince to add virtuoso flourishes to her recordings, and is spoken of with awe by the eccentrically brilliant film-maker Terry Gilliam. Bush happens to work in pop, but pop music can't claim ownership of her. As Kevin Ayers once put it, whatever she brings we sing.
http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article316516.ece May 17 GraduatesThe Wall Street Journal recently reported that China is graduating four times as many engineers as the United States. (Japan, with less than half our population, graduates twice as many.) Yes, China has a far larger population, but the U.S. supposedly has a far superior educational system. Perhaps we did once, but we’re busy destroying it now. Indeed, the extremist edge of America’s religious right has instituted a war on science. The teaching of evolution, which most scientists accept as the foundation of modern biology, is under assault in classrooms from Kansas to Georgia to Pennsylvania. May 09 Barrett slams U.S. tech and tax policies
Barrett slams U.S. tech and tax policies Published: May 9, 2005, 4:58 AM PDT By Reuters Attacking U.S. government policies on taxes, immigration and Internet access, Intel CEO Craig Barrett warned that the United States could be left behind when technology companies decide where to make their next big capital investments.  Craig Barrett CEO, Intel With less than two weeks left as CEO of the world's largest chipmaker, the outspoken proponent of free trade and low corporate taxes said in an interview that Intel could save as much as $1 billion in taxes over 10 years by building its next factory outside of the United States, in a country such as Malaysia. Such a decision, which would be worth $5 billion or more to the host nation, could come in the next year, Barrett said, unless the company decides to upgrade one of its sites in the United States. "That weighs heavily on our minds, our directors' minds, on our shareholders' minds," Barrett said during a visit to Reuters Times Square offices. Though Intel has been criticized for seeking corporate welfare, Barrett said the company was pushing for the United States to give incentives that lower tax rates for companies that invest in the country. "My opinion is it's unlikely the government will overcome its current position," he said. "There are many locales that you can go to that have much lower corporate tax rates, even tax holidays for a period of time, and capital incentives or training incentives at a national level," he said. The 65-year-old Barrett, who is set to become Intel's chairman on May 18 at the company's annual stockholder meeting, has long highlighted what he views as the shortcomings of U.S. policies. Though based in California, Intel derives most of its revenue from overseas. Heaping scorn on policies that keep green cards out of the hands of foreign graduates of U.S. universities and make truly high-speed Internet access a rare luxury, Barrett minced few words about his distaste for the federal bureaucracy. "I challenge you to find anything coming out of Washington that smells like a digital initiative to increase U.S. competitiveness,'' he said, contrasting that with e-government initiatives in Britain, France and Germany, and smaller places such as the United Arab Emirates. Turning away educated people who want to immigrate to the United States "has to be the dumbest thing in the world,'' he said. "We allow people in the United States who are either here illegally and at the lower level of the value-add or work force chain--the weak, the sick, the infirm,'' he added. "We allow everybody in but the value-add people who have educational capabilities and the ability to contribute to the economy. "If we haven't got it bass-ackward I don't know what we're doing," he said. Saving his kind words for foreign capitals, Barrett said Intel was increasingly looking at India, which he said was becoming an attractive place to set up an assembly and testing facility, the lower tier of Intel's manufacturing operations. Earlier in May, India's information technology minister said he would travel to the United States to meet with Intel about setting up such a factory. Barrett said the comments were news to him. "As far as I know, none of them has an appointment yet with us,'' he said. "That's beside the point,'' he said. "India is actually becoming more competitive as a location for assembly test.'' Europe, meanwhile, is also contributing to what he called the leapfrogging of the United States. "If you were to look at Old Europe--U.K., Germany, France, Italy--each one of those governments has officially announced major programs to increase their compute infrastructure,'' he said. "It's still a very aggressive place to do business.'' Story Copyright © 2005 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. April 02 Sharon is war criminal says Livingstone
Sharon is war criminal says Livingstone In a riposte to criticism from the Board of Deputies of British Jews, the London mayor accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" and said its prime minister should be imprisoned. He also accused Israel of demonising Muslims. Writing in the Guardian, he again rejected accusations of anti-semitism arising from his confrontation two weeks ago with the Jewish newspaper reporter he likened to a German concentration camp guard. But while stressing his steadfast opposition to racism and his regard for the Jewish people, he accused Israel of spreading misinformation about the scale of anti-semitism in Europe, and seeking to silence critics by calling them anti-semitic. Mr Livingstone said: "Israel's expansion includes ethnic cleansing. Palestinians who had lived in that land for centuries were driven out by systematic violence and terror aimed at ethnically cleansing what became a large part of the Israeli state." He added: "Today the Israeli government continues seizures of Palestinian land for settlements, military incursions into surrounding countries and denial of the right of Palestinians expelled by terror to return. "Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, is a war criminal who should be in prison not in office. Israel's own Kahan commission found that Sharon shared responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila [Palestinian refugee camps in Beirut] massacre." Mr Livingstone said the Israeli government presented a "wholly distorted picture of racism and religious discrimination in Europe", so it appeared Jews suffered most discrimination. "The reality is that the great bulk of racist attacks in Europe today are on black people, Asians and Muslims. They are the primary targets of the extreme right." Relations between the mayor and key sections of the Jewish community are tense because of his clash with the Evening Standard reporter Oliver Finegold and his subsequent refusal to apologise, and his invitation to the Muslim cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi to speak at a conference in London last year. One of Mr Livingstone's most high-profile critics following the clash with Mr Finegold was Zvi Heifetz, the Israeli ambassador to London. He said last night: "The mayor is confused once again. Ethnic cleansing was perpetrated in the concentration camps which he should know being such an expert on them. "The dozens of world leaders who attended the London meeting only two days ago [all commend Mr] Sharon, for his courageous steps to achieve peace in the Middle East. Commenting on the row with an article in Wednesday's Guardian, Henry Grunwald of the Board of Deputies said Mr Livingstone must reverse his stance and make amends, adding: "He has let us down. He has let his office down. Oliver Finegold deserves an apology, Holocaust survivors deserve an apology, the Jewish community deserves an apology and most of all, London deserves an apology. Then we can all move on." The Board of Deputies has triggered an investigation into Mr Livingstone's conduct by the local government watchdog, the Standards Board for England. A spokesman for the Board of Deputies last night accused Mr Livingstone of seeking to deflect attention away from his own behaviour by attacking Israel. Special report World news guide Timeline A chronology of events in the Middle East Key speech 25.06.2002: Full text of George Bush's speech on Palestinian statehood The issue explained 04.06.2003: Crisis in the Middle East Interactive guide How the Israelis and Palestinians came to war Weblog The best journalism on the conflict, from around the web Government sites Israeli Knesset (parliament) Media Ha'aretz (Israel)
http://society.guardian.co.uk/governinglondon/story/0,8150,1430414,00.html This is about Israel, not anti-semitismThis is about Israel, not anti-semitism
Racism serves as the cutting edge of the most reactionary movements. An ideology that starts by declaring one human being inferior to another is the slope whose end is at Auschwitz. That is why I detest racism. No serious commentator has argued that my comments to an Evening Standard reporter outside City Hall last month were anti-semitic. So I am glad that Henry Grunwald, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, accepted on these pages that "Ken is sincere when he states that he regards the Holocaust as the worst crime of the last century". The contribution of Jewish people to human civilisation and culture is unexcelled and extraordinary. You only have to think of giants such as Einstein, Freud and Marx to realise that human civilisation would be unrecognisably diminished without the achievements of the Jewish people. The same goes for the Jewish contribution to London today. As mayor, I have pressed for police action over anti-semitic attacks at the highest level, and my administration has backed a series of initiatives of importance to the Jewish community, including hosting the Anne Frank exhibition at City Hall and measures to ensure the go-ahead for the north London eruv. Throughout the 1970s, I worked happily with the Board of Deputies in campaigns against the National Front. Problems began when, as leader of the Greater London Council, I rejected the board's request that I should fund only Jewish organisations that it approved of. The Board of Deputies was unhappy that I funded Jewish organisations campaigning for gay rights and others that disagreed with policies of the Israeli governmen. Relations with the board took a dramatic turn for the worse when I opposed Israel's illegal invasion of Lebanon, culminating in the massacres at the Palestinian camps of Sabra and Shatila. The board also opposed my involvement in the successful campaign in 1982 to convince the Labour party to recognise the PLO as the legitimate voice of the Palestinian people. The fundamental issue on which we differ, as Henry Grunwald knows, is not anti-semitism - which my administration has fought tooth and nail - but the policies of successive Israeli governments. To avoid manufactured misunderstandings, the policies of Israeli governments are not analogous to Nazism. They do not aim at the systematic extermination of the Palestinian people, in the way Nazism sought the annihilation of the Jews. Israel's expansion has included ethnic cleansing. Palestinians who had lived in that land for centuries were driven out by systematic violence and terror aimed at ethnically cleansing what became a large part of the Israeli state. The methods of groups like the Irgun and the Stern gang were the same as those of the Bosnian Serb leader Karadzic: to drive out people by terror. Today the Israeli government continues seizures of Palestinian land for settlements, military incursions into surrounding countries and denial of the right of Palestinians expelled by terror to return. Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, is a war criminal who should be in prison, not in office. Israel's own Kahan commission found that Sharon shared responsibility for the Sabra and Shatila massacres. Sharon continues to organise terror. More than three times as many Palestinians as Israelis have been killed in the present conflict. There are more than 7,000 Palestinians in Israel's jails. To obscure these truths, those around Israel's present government have resorted to demonisation. Initial targets were Palestinians, and have now become Muslims. Take the Middle East Media Research Institute, run by a former colonel in Israeli military intelligence, which poses as a source of objective information but in reality selectively translates material from Arabic and presents Muslims and Arabs in the worst possible light. Today the Israeli government is helping to promote a wholly distorted picture of racism and religious discrimination in Europe, implying that the most serious upsurge of hatred and discrimination is against Jews. All racist and anti-semitic attacks must be stamped out. However, the reality is that the great bulk of racist attacks in Europe today are on black people, Asians and Muslims - and they are the primary targets of the extreme right. For 20 years Israeli governments have attempted to portray anyone who forcefully criticises the policies of Israel as anti-semitic. The truth is the opposite: the same universal human values that recognise the Holocaust as the greatest racist crime of the 20th century require condemnation of the policies of successive Israeli governments - not on the absurd grounds that they are Nazi or equivalent to the Holocaust, but because ethnic cleansing, discrimination and terror are immoral. They are also fuelling anger and violence across the world. For a mayor of London not to speak out against such injustice would not only be wrong - but would also ignore the threat it poses to the security of all Londoners. · Ken Livingstone is the London mayor Special report World news guide Timeline A chronology of events in the Middle East Key speech 25.06.2002: Full text of George Bush's speech on Palestinian statehood The issue explained 04.06.2003: Crisis in the Middle East Interactive guide How the Israelis and Palestinians came to war Weblog The best journalism on the conflict, from around the web Government sites Israeli Knesset (parliament) Media Ha'aretz (Israel)
http://society.guardian.co.uk/governinglondon/comment/0,8146,1430418,00.html February 13 Controversey Over ADHD Drug BanControversey Over ADHD Drug Ban
February 12, 2005
A controversy is brewing over Canada's decision to ban the sale of a popular drug to treat patients with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Canada banned Adderall by Shire Pharmaceuticals after the drug was linked to several sudden deaths and strokes. However, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said there wasn't enough evidence to link Adderall to the deaths, thus, the FDA refused to ban the drug in the U.S.
The FDA did however issue a public health advisory recommending Adderall products not be used in children or adults with heart problems.
U.S. Senator alleges FDA asked Canadian regulators not to pull the drug.
Senator Charles E. Grassley, a Republican, said the FDA requested Canadian officials not to ban the sale of Adderall because the agency couldn't handle another crisis over drug safety. Grassley indicated his information came from FDA whistle-blowers.
The FDA declined comment on Grassley's accusation.
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder affects about 2 million children in the U.S.
http://www.healthtalk.ca/adhd_drug_ban_021205_23999.php January 15 We're in the era of Jobs II
We're in the era of Jobs II By DAVID AKIN From Saturday's Globe and Mail  E-mail this Article  Print this Article It was no less an expert than Michael Dell who forecast the demise of Apple Computer Inc. In 2001, the chairman and founder of the computer company that bears his name said Apple had sealed its fate by failing to build computers that used Intel Corp. microprocessors and software from Microsoft Corp. In sticking with its own proprietary technologies, Apple could not survive. "We know how the movie ends," Mr. Dell, now 39, said. "It's just a question of what happens in the middle." But three years later, it is Apple — not Dell Inc. — that some say is now the best bet for investors interested in backing a computer maker. Long an ugly duckling for investors, the Cupertino, Calif., company has been the soaring swan of the market for the past year. Its stock is up 176 per cent in the past 12 months (it closed yesterday at $70.10 U.S.), compared with 13 per cent for Dell. Apple already rivals Round Rock, Tex.-based Dell in manufacturing efficiency, and is poised to beat it on profit margins, earnings and revenue growth. On new product innovation, analysts say, Apple is unrivalled. The much ballyhooed iPod digital music player has been an important part of Apple's resurrection story; iPod sales went through the roof during 2004's final quarter. But the bigger story may be Apple's resurgence as a computer maker. According to financial results released this week, sales of Macintosh computers jumped 26 per cent compared with the year-earlier quarter — double the growth rate for the rest of the computer business. For the first time in eons, Apple is gaining market share. "The company could have begun a market share breakout story that could last for the foreseeable future," Steven Fortuna, an analyst at Prudential Equity Group LLC wrote in research note last week. The turnaround is remarkable because many observers had written off Apple as a serious contender. A year ago, its market share stood at a paltry 3 per cent — despite some terrific products such as the iMac consumer desktop. Some Apple watchers speculated that the company was in secret talks to get the Macintosh operating system to run on Intel microprocessors, suggesting that the only way Apple could survive would be if its software worked on the computers that made up 95 per cent of the market. The Street's favourite hardware company, overwhelmingly, was Dell, which made and sold Intel-based computers better than anyone. Many analysts still maintain a 'Buy' recommendation on Dell because they expect it to continue to dominate. And why not? For every 100 computers sold in North America, more than 30 are made by Dell, compared with just three by Apple. Nonetheless, comparing Apples to Dells is a useful exercise, if only because it underlines the transformation that is helping Apple capitalize on what some reviewers are calling near-perfect products. Moreover, Apple finished its most recent quarter with gross profit margins of better than 28 per cent. Dell's margin is about 18 per cent. The outlook is even brighter. Andrew Neff, who covers enterprise hardware stocks for Bear Stearns and Co. Inc., estimates that through 2007, Dell's revenue will grow by an average of 18 per cent compared with any year-earlier quarter. In an industry where overall revenue growth might be 15 per cent in a good year, that's more than respectable. But Mr. Neff says Apple is poised for an even bigger boom, with quarterly revenue set to grow by an average of 38 per cent through 2007. "Apple should continue to exceed results from new product efforts where market opportunities are large and untapped, high-growth from leadership in music, and G5-driven product cycles," Mr. Neff wrote after Apple's latest financial results. In the history of Apple Computer, this is the era known as Jobs II. Jobs I ended in 1985 when Apple co-founder and chief executive officer Steve Jobs quit, to avoid being fired by his own hand-picked board of directors. Twelve years and several horrible miscues later, Apple's board asked Mr. Jobs to return. But the computing world was much different in 1997. As a business, Apple was close to death; as a technology influencer, it was close to irrelevant. With his reputation as an inventor already established, Mr. Jobs, 49, wanted to prove he could run a technology business as well as his long-time rival Bill Gates, also 49, founder of Microsoft. Coincidentally, Mr. Gates, the master entrepreneur, envied Mr. Jobs' reputation for invention. In 2000, he resigned the CEO's job at Microsoft to become its chief software architect, a role that essentially made him Microsoft's inventor. To put Apple back on a healthy footing, Mr. Jobs cleaned up a sprawling product portfolio. Under his renewed stewardship, he said, Apple would make just four computing products: desktops and portables for the professional and consumer markets respectively. The professional machines came first. The G3 line of desktop computers and the PowerBook line of portables not only shored up Apple's reputation; a healthy profit margin was built into each machine. On the consumer front, the company released (in 1998) the iMac, an all-in-one machine (in different colours) that became a monster sales hit. The multihued iBook laptop, another big hit, followed shortly after. Still, Apple could not seem to move the meter on market share, largely because sales to business were soft. Shortly after the Jobs II era began, the company's market share slipped below 5 per cent. It kept falling over the next 24 months, according to an annual survey done by Forrester Research Inc. of Framingham, Mass. In the meantime, Apple retooled its iMacs, once with a base that supported a floating display on a gooseneck and, more recently, with a flat-panel machine in which the entire computer is housed behind a display only a few centimetres thick. Report on Business Magazine reviewer George Emerson called it "the closest thing to a perfect computer on the market." And now there is the Mac mini, a tiny but full-powered computer that Apple will sell without a monitor or keyboard and which will be priced to snare Windows users. "The knock on the Mac has always been that it's too pricey," says John Halblander of Light Computer Centre, an Apple reseller in Hamilton. "Now, for $630, you're getting a computer in line with anything else in the market that has its performance and speed." At the same time, Mr. Jobs has overhauled Apple into a model of efficiency — he standardized the use of parts and components — that analysts say only Dell can match. "We applaud Apple's ability to control costs despite significant revenue upside," says analyst Mr. Fortuna, "as well as the company's ability to drive gross margins above the targeted range, despite [a] much higher iPod mix and significant air-freight costs associated with shipment of the new G5 iMacs." Apple's ability to pare costs pays off in spades. That's because it can — and does — charge a premium for its products, based on brand loyalty. That, in turn, helps the company maintain healthier profit margins than its peers. Meanwhile, users of Windows-based computers have been bedevilled by aggressive and mischievous spyware, viruses and spam. While Mac users must also deal with spam, they've been spared the worst spyware and virus attacks. For all of those reasons — an increasingly dispiriting experience on Windows, a cheap machine (the new Mac mini), and Apple's efficient manufacturing operation — analysts and retailers believe the stars are aligned for Apple to reverse its market share decline. The smartest thing Apple did to win over PC users was to release a version of iTunes that ran on the Windows operating system. When it made its debut, Mr. Jobs said it was the best application ever written for Windows, a dig at his old friend Mr. Gates, implying Microsoft had yielded poorly designed applications. Mr. Jobs' boasting about iTunes proved justified. Critics loved it, calling it superior to Microsoft's own Windows Media Player, and better than any other music player application on the market. (Both Windows Media Player and iTunes are available as free downloads.) And by making iTunes available on the PC, Apple opened the market for the iPod to millions of Windows users, all of them new customers for Apple. A percentage of those customers apparently enjoyed their Apple music experience enough to start buying Apple computers — a phenomenon since dubbed the iPod "halo effect." Now, with the mini, Apple is trying to mute criticism that its hardware is so much more expensive than a Windows computer. At $630, the mini, to go on sale in Canada on Jan. 29, will still be more expensive than the cheapest Windows-based computer, but the price is probably low enough to entice new customers. "I think now [with the mini], you'll see even more people jumping onto Mac," Mr. Halblander says. The risks — for both retailers and investors — are the same ones that have plagued Apple since it went public in 1980. For all its innovation and renewed focus on business efficiency and profitability, Apple still constitutes a very tiny part of the overall computer market. But investors can take heart from the company's balance sheet. Apple's cash increased by $1.5-billion in its most recent quarter and now stands at $6.5-billion or a whopping $15.40 per share — all with no debt. Moreover, the ability to control costs adds to the cash coffers. In the last quarter, revenue rose 74 per cent, year over year, while expenses increased by just 28 per cent. Apple's management has said those margins are unsustainably high. In future quarters, it projects increased expenses — new retail stores, more advertising and more research and development. The ultimate compliment perhaps has been Michael Dell's attempt to do what Steve Jobs did long ago: turn his product into a name brand. Marketers say the goal of the "You're getting a Dell, dude" ad campaign was to differentiate the Dell brand from others. Perhaps Michael Dell has acknowledged Steve Jobs' contention that consumers don't always want the cheapest computer. Sometimes, they just want to buy what's cool. David Akin is a CTV correspondent and a contributing writer to The Globe and Mail. Brown calls for £5.5bn Aids fund
 Mr Brown wants rich nations increase aid to poorer nations to $50bn On the fourth day of his six-day tour of Africa, the UK chancellor predicted a vaccine could be found by 2012 if the world stepped up its funding pledges. Doubling the £400m being spent yearly on finding such a vaccine could advance it by three years and save six million lives, Mr Brown said on Thursday. He hopes to use the UK's G8 presidency to push the issue forward.  Existing financial commitments on their own will not stop the pandemic  UK chancellor Gordon Brown "I believe that the generation that provided the finance to combat, cure and eradicate the world's deadliest disease of today - and today the world's least curable disease - HIV/Aids - will rightly earn the title 'the great generation'," Mr Brown said in a speech during his African tour. The problems of HIV/Aids were inseparable from poverty, he added. "At least $10 billion per annum (£5.5bn) is needed to address the HIV/Aids crisis in low and middle income countries. "Existing financial commitments on their own will not stop the pandemic. "The UK's proposal for an International Finance Facility is so important - increasing world aid flows by over $50 billion (£27bn). A doubling of world aid to halve world poverty." Mr Brown also said he had agreed with the Italian finance minister Domenico Siniscalco to push forward with plans for the world-wide sharing and co-ordination of research into the disease. 'Inducement' Currently the private sector was only spending £60m a year on seeking an inoculation and the market needed boosting, Mr Brown said. He called on industrialised nations to commit themselves to buying the first 300m vaccines at a cost of $20 each, thereby boosting the market for inoculations. This would be a "large enough inducement to create much stronger interest from both large and small pharmaceutical firms", Mr Brown added.
 Mr Brown is visiting four African nations on a six-day tour More must also be done to finance the treatment and care of those living with HIV/Aids and their families, he said. But Aid charity Actionaid criticised Mr Brown's preoccupation with finding a vaccine and called on G8 nations to fund HIV/Aids treatments. The charity's head of HIV/Aids in Britain, Simon Wright said: "While encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to discover an HIV vaccine is important, a failure to provide any funding for HIV treatments condemns a generation of people to death. "HIV is decimating African countries, killing the most productive adults who should be working, caring for children and building the economy. An HIV vaccine is probably at least 10 years away. Treatments are needed now." On Wednesday, Mr Brown visited slums in the Kenyan capital Nairobi . He will visit an HIV/Aids orphanage in Tanzania and a women's credit union in Mozambique before chairing a meeting of the Commission for Africa in Cape Town. The chancellor has already unveiled proposals for a G8 aid package which he has likened to the Marshall Plan used by the United States to rebuild Europe after World War Two. Brown's £1bn Africa debt pledge
Brown's £1bn Africa debt pledge  Mr Brown is on a six-day tour of Africa Gordon Brown has signed a debt relief deal with Tanzania - and he said the UK would make similar offers to 70 poorer nations around the world. Under the plan - which could cost the UK £1bn - countries must spend the cash saved on health, education and welfare. "We make this offer unilaterally but we are now asking other countries to join us," the chancellor said. Mr Brown, on a week-long tour of Africa, spent two days in Tanzania before heading on Friday evening to Mozambique, a country where more than half of the 17-million population lives below the poverty line. There he is expected to strike a similar debt relief pact. The chancellor said he hoped other G8 and European countries would follow suit. "Our wish is to have 100% debt relief and we hope that America, Japan, France and other European countries will follow Great Britain in this effort," he told reporters on his arrival in the capital Maputo. "We hope that we are in a position to get all other countries to sign up to a new package of debt relief," he added. Burden The UK has already cancelled its bilateral debts - money the UK alone is owed - with the world's poorest nations including Tanzania. Mr Brown said action was now needed to tackle debts with lenders such as the IMF and World Bank. What we offer to Tanzania today we offer to the whole developing world tomorrow Gordon Brown, UK chancellor But his proposals have met with a mixed reaction, with some critics, including former international development secretary Clare Short, questioning the effectiveness of debt relief as a means of tackling poverty. Mr Brown said Britain would agree to pay 10% of Tanzania's repayments to the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank, which amounts to about £3.5m a year. "What we offer to Tanzania today we offer to the whole developing world tomorrow," he told reporters in Tanzania. "Although there is no international agreement yet, Britain will relieve those countries still under the burden of this debt by paying our share - 10% - of their payments to the World Bank and African Development Bank in their stead." The chancellor, who is on a week-long tour of Africa, arrived in Dar-es-Salaam on Wednesday, where he has visited education and health projects. If debts to the World Bank are written off, there is less money to give to others Clare Short, former international development secretary He also travelled to the country's capital Dodoma where he visited a centre for people with HIV/Aids.
Mr Brown's pledge was welcomed by Clare Short but she said it was a "controversial" policy not backed by every country. "If debts owing the World Bank are written off, there is less money to give to others and there are some very poor countries without debt, so you have got to be careful about being fair." Debt relief was increasingly being seen as a "mystical solution" to poverty, "when in fact it is just the equivalent of giving aid. "It is a good thing, but it is not world-changing," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme. 'Marshall Plan' Ms Short, who quit the government over the war in Iraq, said the biggest cause of poverty in Africa were "failed states" such as Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. "Debt relief and aid alone without really strong action to end conflict, arms supply, start building order, the basic institutions of a state, leave the poor outside the whole development system," she added. Mr Brown is also due to visit South Africa, where he will attend a meeting of Commission for Africa, Tony Blair's organisation to boost development in the continent. The chancellor has already unveiled proposals for a G8 aid package which he has likened to the Marshall Plan used by the United States to rebuild Europe after World War II.
January 05 Dear Members of the U.S. SenateTuesday, January 4th, 2005 P.S. My whereabouts this week: I will be on the Today Show Thursday morning, Jay Leno on Friday night. And... the People's Choice Awards are this Sunday night, live on CBS at 9pm! Can we defeat the superheroes Spiderman, Incredibles and Shrek for best picture? A documentary??? Whoa... tune in... January 04 Troops stationed in Iraq turn to gaming'Half-Life 2', 'Madden NFL 2005', 'Halo', 'Sims' among favorites
Jobard/Sipa / Sipa Press Soldiers play a video game at their camp in Baqubah, Iraq. The Associated Press Updated: 1:52 p.m. ET Jan. 3, 2005 Painkiller risk to gut revealed
 NSAIDS have been linked to stomach problems Doctors found small intestine damage in more than 70% of patients who took non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug painkillers for more than three months. Previously it was thought the risk of gut problems was low. The study, by Houston's Baylor College of Medicine, is published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.
NSAIDS aspirin ibuprofen naproxen Some 71% of the NSAID patients showed signs of small bowel injury, compared to just 10% of the controls. Researcher Dr David Graham said: "We have always known that NSAIDs can cause potentially deadly stomach complications, but the extent of the impact on the small intestine was largely unknown until now." "We saw some ulcers and we saw lots of erosions. "Anybody who takes aspirin or (other) NSAIDS for a year has a 1% to 4% risk of serious gastrointestinal complications." Use sparingly Dr Madeleine Devey, medical director of the Arthritis Research Campaign said: "For many patients, arthritis pain can be controlled over the long term with much safer drugs such as a paracetamol - or paracetamol plus codeine - and indeed many, many may befit by using techniques that help them cope with their pain. "There is of course a place for NSAIDs - but they should be taken over short periods of time and not over years." Nick Henderson, of the International Ibuprofen Foundation, told the BBC News website: "This is the first experience we have had of this particular effect and we will have to study the data carefully before responding." The latest study follows separate research raising concerns that another class of painkillers, called COX-2 inhibitors, can raise the risk of heart death. One of these, Merck's Vioxx, was pulled from the market in September. In December the US Food and Drug Administration issued an advisory telling doctors to limit their prescribing of other COX-2s, and in the UK patients taking the drugs have been advised to seek a consultation with their GP. Another study, published in December, indicated that an over-the-counter NSAID called naproxen might also raise the risk of heart attack and stroke. January 02 W messes it up again.What is it with the White House under Bush? They are messing up, the relief aid to SE Asia is the prime example. Initial offering $15m Aid, the cost of moving the ships in the following article will cost that. They should have said we are formulating a package and will get back to you SOON. The real cost will be $500m plus. See Navy 'Angels' Delivering Relief Supplies to Indonesia - http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Jan2005/n01012005_2005010101.html This is what America does best, so why does the WH constantly mess up and give the wrong impression? Navy 'Angels' Delivering Relief Supplies to IndonesiaNavy 'Angels' Delivering Relief Supplies to Indonesia By Jim Garamone WASHINGTON, Jan. 1, 2005 – U.S. Navy helicopters "appeared like angels" as they delivered supplies to Aceh province, Indonesia, according to the provincial governor. Navy Capt. Rodger Welch told reporters during a teleconference that provincial officials appreciate the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Battle Group now afloat off the island of Sumatra. Carrier Air Wing 2 helicopters are delivering supplies to the most badly damaged area following the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit on Christmas. Officials in the region said the death toll is approaching 150,000. Millions more across the Indian Ocean are homeless. News reports said the death toll in Indonesia alone may exceed 100,000. Thailand, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, the Maldives, India and Somalia were hit by the tsunamis spawned by the earthquake. Welch said U.S. military assessment teams report that Thailand is handling the unprecedented situation well. Sri Lanka is making progress with supplies backing up at the main airport in the capital of Colombo. India has a well-developed infrastructure and is dong well. Indonesia, however, was the hardest hit, and the infrastructure in Aceh province effectively was destroyed. "There is like one road in Aceh," Welch said. American helicopters are delivering relief supplies to the tens of thousands of people who need them. The helicopters are also transporting those in need of medical care. The sailors are working with the Indonesian military, relief organizations and other governmental groups to get the supplies to those most in need, Welch said. The sailors aboard the ships in the battle group are readying relief supplies for delivery. "They are baking and freezing bread, for example," Welch said. He said the carrier group also can provide medical support, water desalination capabilities, bedding and other capabilities the Indonesians need. Other assets are moving into the region. The Air Force has sent 10 C-130 Hercules transport aircraft to lift supplies around the nations. Two to four Air Force C-17 Globemaster III cargo jets are available for heavy lift capabilities. In addition to the Lincoln Group, the Bonhomme Richard Expeditionary Strike Group will move into the area as soon as Jan. 2, Welch said. The sailors and Marines bring a lot of capabilities to the region. Originally, the group was due to sail to Sri Lanka, but that may change, Welch said. The Navy also is sending Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 6 from Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, to Indonesia, Welch said. The unit – with a full laboratory – will help the Indonesian medical establishment monitor water quality and check for the presence of disease. Joint Task Force 536 at Utapao, Thailand, now has about 350 personnel and is coordinating the U.S. military effort in the region. Welch said the speed of the build-up is encouraging. "Remember, this disaster struck just a week ago," he said. Pre-positioned ships have left Japan, Guam and Diego Garcia to deliver water, food, medical supplies, trucks and heavy equipment. Those ships should arrive in a week, Welch said. The Indonesians in Aceh are grateful for the U.S. help, Welch said. Aceh province has a long, festering Muslim revolt against the government in Djakarta, and news reports in the past said al Qaeda terrorists had found a welcome there. Welch said U.S. forces will take whatever precautions they need to operate in the area. But, in the aftermath of the disaster, U.S. personnel are not seeing any hostility, he added. Welch said this is the largest U.S. military effort of this type he can remember. The scope of the disaster -- it is 1,500 miles from the base at Utapao to Sri Lanka, for instance -- and the devastation requires a worldwide response. The U.S. military has the unique lift capabilities to deliver relief supplies quickly. U.S. personnel also have experience working with allies. The effort in the region now has forces from Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, India, South Korea and Canada, among others. December 24 Poll reveals world anger at BushPoll reveals world anger at Bush Eight out of 10 countries favour Kerry for president Alan Travis, home affairs editor Friday October 15 2004 The Guardian George Bush has squandered a wealth of sympathy around the world towards America since September 11 with public opinion in 10 leading countries - including some of its closest allies - growing more hostile to the United States while he has been in office. According to a survey, voters in eight out of the 10 countries, including Britain, want to see the Democrat challenger, John Kerry, defeat President Bush in next month's US presidential election. The poll, conducted by 10 of the world's leading newspapers, including France's Le Monde, Japan's Asahi Shimbun, Canada's La Presse, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Guardian, also shows that on balance world opinion does not believe that the war in Iraq has made a positive contribution to the fight against terror. The results show that in Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Japan, Spain and South Korea a majority of voters share a rejection of the Iraq invasion, contempt for the Bush administration, a growing hostility to the US and a not-too-strong endorsement of Mr Kerry. But they all make a clear distinction between this kind of anti-Americanism and expressing a dislike of American people. On average 68% of those polled say they have a favourable opinion of Americans. The 10-country poll suggests that rarely has an American administration faced such isolation and lack of public support amongst its closest allies. The only exceptions to this trend are the Israelis - who back Bush 2-1 over Kerry and see the US as their security umbrella - and the Russians who, despite their traditional anti-Americanism, recorded unexpectedly favourable attitudes towards the US in the survey conducted in the immediate aftermath of the Beslan tragedy. The UK results of the poll conducted by ICM research for the Guardian reveal a growing disillusionment with the US amongst the British public, fuelled by a strong personal antipathy towards Mr Bush. The ICM survey shows that if the British had a vote in the US presidential elections on November 2 they would vote 50% for Kerry and only 22% for Bush. Sixty per cent of British voters say they don't like Bush, rising to a startling 77% among those under 25. The rejection of Mr Bush is strongest in France where 72% say they would back Mr Kerry but it is also very strong in traditionally very pro-American South Korea, where fears of a pre-emptive US strike against North Korea have translated into 68% support for Mr Kerry. In Britain the growth in anti-Americanism is not so marked as in France, Japan, Canada, South Korea or Spain where more than 60% say their view of the United States has deteriorated since September 11. But a sizeable and emerging minority - 45% - of British voters say their image of the US has got worse in the past three years and only 15% say it has improved. There is a widespread agreement that America will remain the world's largest economic power. This is underlined by the 73% of British voters who say that the US now wields an excessive influence on international affairs, a situation that 67% see as continuing for the foreseeable future. A majority in Britain also believe that US democracy is no longer a model for others. But perhaps a more startling finding from the Guardian/ICM poll is that a majority of British voters - 51% - say that they believe that American culture is threatening our own culture. This is a fear shared by the Canadians, Mexicans and South Koreans, but it is more usually associated with the French than the British. Perhaps the endless television reruns of Friends and the Simpsons are beginning to take their toll. · ICM interviewed a random sample of 1,008 adults aged 18 and over by telephone between September 22-23 2004. Interviews were conducted across the country and the results have been weighted to the profile of all adults. Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 17 Reasons Not to Slit Your Wrists...by Michael Moore11/5/04 Dear Friends, Ok, it sucks. Really sucks. But before you go and cash it all in, let's, in Here are 17 reasons not to slit your wrists: 1. It is against the law for George W. Bush to run for president again. 2. Bush's victory was the NARROWEST win for a sitting president since 3. The only age group in which the majority voted for Kerry was young adults 4. In spite of Bush's win, the majority of Americans still think the 5. The Republicans will not have a filibuster-proof 60-seat majority in the 6. Michigan voted for Kerry! So did the entire Northeast, the birthplace of 7. Once again we are reminded that the buckeye is a nut, and not just any 8. 88% of Bush's support came from white voters. In 50 years, America will 9. Gays, thanks to the ballot measures passed on Tuesday, cannot get married 10. Five more African Americans were elected as members of Congress, 11. The CEO of Coors was defeated for Senate in Colorado. Drink up! 12. Admit it: We like the Bush twins and we don't want them to go away. 13. At the state legislative level, Democrats picked up a net of at least 3 14. Bush is now a lame duck president. He will have no greater moment than 15. Should Bush decide to show up to work and take this country down a very 16. There are nearly 300 million Americans -- 200 million of them of voting 17. Finally and most importantly, over 55 million Americans voted for the Feeling better? I hope so. As my friend Mort wrote me yesterday, "My But it needs us. Rest up, I'll write you again tomorrow. Yours, Michael Moore What does your father do for a living?More English humor, it makes us feel Great again – Empire and all… What does your father do for a living?
Christmas news from Australia, where a family of rugby supporters headed out last Saturday to do their Christmas shopping. While in a sports shop, the son picked up an England rugby shirt and said to his sister: "I've decided to be an England supporter and I would like this for Christmas." "Mum?" "Dad?"
Behind Slow Growth in Europe: Citizens' Tight Grip on WalletsBehind Slow Growth in Europe: A Thicket of Laws to Protect Better Things to Do Than Shop By MARCUS WALKER BRUSSELS -- Giuseppe Ivaldi has a few ideas about why Europeans consume so little. An Italian who opened a men's clothing store here nine years ago, Mr. Ivaldi closes his doors in the chic Espace Louise mall each weeknight at 7 p.m. He puts items on sale only in January and July, and the rest of the year marks up a hefty profit margin even though he's sure that drives many customers away. He wishes he could do business differently -- stay open late and offer some items below cost -- more like shops in the U.S. But in the Belgian capital, as in much of Europe, retail laws require that shops close early to save staff from long hours. And tax laws require that he makes a comfortable profit on each item, to limit price competition and protect small stores. "I would like to be more flexible," says Mr. Ivaldi. "Europe is very paternalistic." While American consumers devour goods from around the world and fuel global economic expansion, thrifty Europeans are contributing far less to growth. The strong euro -- up more than 10% since September against the dollar -- should enable consumers in the euro zone to buy more. But rules designed to save citizens from harm have conspired with economic cautiousness to close wallets in continental Europe. A thicket of laws to protect employees ensnares retailers, keeping prices high and store hours short. Among other regulations, Greece bans non-Greek store names, and Italian supermarkets cannot have gas pumps. Limits on consumer finance protect borrowers from indebtedness -- and stifle the use of credit cards. Western Europe has only 0.27 credit cards per person, compared with 2.23 in the U.S. State pension systems are running out of funds, so people save extra for their retirement. Moreover, many affluent Europeans just don't want to spend their free time shopping. Residents of the 12 countries using the euro save 10.5% of their disposable income compared with 0.8% for Americans, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. (The British, who don't use the euro, are bigger spenders and save less than Continentals.) In the past three years, the gap has widened. U.S. consumers have increased their spending more than three times as fast as euro-zone residents. This year, overall euro-zone consumption is set to grow at only around 1.2%, the OECD says, compared with 3.6% in the U.S. "People have an urge to spend nothing," says Rolf Kunisch, chief executive of Beiersdorf AG, one of Germany's largest makers of household items, including Nivea skin creams. In the days when the German economy was growing fast, "we had about 5% growth a year in domestic sales. Now it's zero." Weak consumption in the euro zone -- the world's second-biggest consumer market after the U.S. -- means one less source of growth for U.S. exporters. It has thus contributed to the ballooning U.S. deficit in the trade of goods and services, and is weakening the dollar: European companies that export to America are paid in dollars, which they then sell to buy euros. But because Europeans aren't consuming as many American products, U.S. exporters don't receive many euros to balance things out. Eventually, the falling dollar will mean Americans won't be able to afford as much from Europe, which will threaten Europe's meager, export-reliant growth. Much of the red tape is designed to preserve continental Europe's quality of life. Europeans tend to see themselves as workers first and consumers second, and they elect governments that protect them from long, irregular work hours. Regulators here have limited price competition between stores to stop out-of-town malls from wiping out the small shops that enrich the character of European cities. But low consumer spending is impeding Europe's already slow growth -- the region's economy will likely have expanded an annual average of just 1.1% from 2002 to 2004, compared with more than 3% expected for the U.S. Stagnant domestic demand is driving European manufacturers to invest outside their own borders, where they can increase sales faster. Beiersdorf, for example, recently expanded its factory in Shanghai and launched its skin creams in Vietnam. "We will continue to live off globalization, thankfully," says Mr. Kunisch. Such moves hold back hiring and wage growth in Europe, and so further discourage spending. The only way out of this cycle: shopping. "It is time for you to consume," Jean-Claude Trichet, head of the European Central Bank, told the citizens of the euro zone at a news conference several months ago. Anke Hemmann isn't ready to heed that advice. A psychologist from Plauen, Germany, Ms. Hemmann thinks the country's state pension will be severely reduced by the time she retires. As in much of continental Europe, German pensions are almost entirely paid for by levies on current earnings, instead of by investing money over time. But a low birthrate will reduce the working-age population while the ranks of pensioners are swelling. Experts say this will result in drastic future cuts to pension payments. "I'm not relying on there being anything," says Ms. Hemmann, 27 years old. "If there is something, that's a bonus." So she puts 12% of her disposable income in a life-insurance policy that will serve as a private pension. That doesn't leave much for shopping, which -- like many Europeans -- she's not that interested in anyway. She buys shoes three times a year and an item of clothing roughly every six weeks. Despite having a steady job, Ms. Hemmann doesn't like to spend with her credit card. She mainly uses it for convenience when vacationing abroad, and her current balance is zero. "I know it's probably bad for the economy," she says of her prudent lifestyle, but adds: "Debt is disreputable. I was brought up to spend only what I have." Cautionary Tales In France, the evening news repeatedly broadcasts features on the dangers of over-indebtedness, and regulations discourage borrowing to consume. For example, the French central bank requires credit cards to display clearly the words "Carte de Credit," to distinguish them from more popular, less-stigmatized debit cards, which draw directly on a checking account. "The consumer doesn't want to show to the retailer that he is paying on credit," says Herve Kergoat, MasterCard International Inc.'s country manager for France. "In France there is a culture strongly averse to credit." David Thesmar, an economics professor at the École Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Économique in Paris, doesn't even have a credit card. He and his wife want only enough money to meet their spending needs, and he would rather spend his free time with his kids than go shopping, he says. "I'm not a very big shopper," says the 32-year-old. "I don't feel bad when I buy cultural things like books or CDs, but it feels bad to buy futile things, especially when I buy clothes." Even Europeans who want more consumer credit find it restricted. In Belgium, people can borrow only as much as about $1,600, unless they sign a lengthy written contract and their bank scrutinizes their debt history. Most customers stick to the cap instead, which also applies to overdrafts on bank accounts. "It's to protect the consumer from himself," says Jacques Zeegers, secretary general of the Belgian Banking Association. As a result, while the average American spends more than $5,500 a year using credit cards, the equivalent figure for Germany is only $64, and for France just $30, according to Euromonitor International, a market-research company. In most of continental Europe, banking regulations don't allow borrowing backed by home equity, as in the U.S. In Montclair, N.J., Alex and Gail Ciecierski's family home has more than doubled in value since they bought it 13 years ago, and the Ciecierskis have taken out a $205,000 home-equity loan. They used this and another mortgage to buy three properties in Florida, entirely with borrowed money. With this arrangement, Mr. Ciecierski, a 48-year-old technical manager at a television studio, is financially secure even though he saves little from his salary and the family spends more than he earns. His savings-account balance is just $1,000, while his credit card is $13,700 in the red. His wife Gail considers shopping "a sport," he says. "I'm living the American dream: no cash in pocket." But in Italy, for example, home loans are restricted to 80% of a property's initial purchase price, and Italian law and banking practice make it difficult to increase borrowing against the value of a house. "I can't imagine that Italians would link their spending to capital gains instead of their income," says Tito Nocentini, head of retail at Banca di Roma. "When Italians think of home loans, they think of buying a home. Unlike Anglo-Saxons, they don't think of doing it to buy something else, like a car." Luca Tardella, a 37-year-old statistician, bought a house in Rome five years ago. Since then, its value has more than doubled. But he doesn't like being in debt, and chose the shortest possible mortgage-repayment time, 10 years, in case Italy reverts to its double-digit interest rates of the past. He wouldn't want to take out home equity for consumption even if his bank allowed it. "If I consumed the capital gains today I wouldn't be able to use them to buy a bigger house as my family grows," he says. "I don't have the mentality of borrowing to consume. I buy things little by little from the money I have, to preserve peace of mind. It was the way in my family: Never owe a debt to anyone." European policy makers have tried to boost consumer spending. In July, France's parliament enacted a tax credit worth 25% of any interest paid on consumer loans this year and next. Then-finance minister Nicolas Sarkozy also cajoled supermarkets to reduce by 2% the price of hundreds of branded goods from yogurt to shampoo. And Mr. Sarkozy proposed loosening a French law that stops retailers from selling goods for less than they paid for them -- but his plan only let them reduce their prices by a limited amount, as he feared complete liberalization would spark a price war favoring the biggest retailers. Despite all these moves, French household spending has stalled. The European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has pushed unsuccessfully since 2001 for a liberalization of laws on sales promotion, to cut through national rules that inhibit cross-border competition. France, for example, bans promotional games like lotteries, while Austrian law prohibits the advertising of free gifts if they exert "psychic pressure to buy." But national governments, which have the final say on pan-European laws, couldn't agree on the proposed liberalization in September. Objectors, such as France, claimed it would leave consumers vulnerable to misleading offers. Restricted Hours European store hours are often restricted to protect staff from working late. French labor law keeps most stores closed all day Sunday, and they can only open for 10 hours on other days because staff can't be required to work longer. Over the past few years, vending machines offering milk, cereals and toilet paper have sprung up on Parisian streets to meet a demand that shops can't. In Germany, after years of tortuous debate between government, retailers and unions, stores were in 2003 allowed to remain open until 8 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, instead of 6 p.m. on weekdays and 4 p.m. on Saturday as before. But when Belgium's biggest supermarket chains demanded longer open hours in the evenings last spring, retail unions threatened to strike, and the chains gave up, says Frederic Lernoux, a policy adviser for Belgium's small-enterprises ministry. "There is no more social life for the self-employed if they have to open 24 hours a day to compete," says Mr. Lernoux. These laws stop Mr. Ivaldi, the Brussels shopkeeper, from staying open until 10 p.m., as he would like to some nights, for clients who work late. He also wants to offer promotional packages, such as a suit and tie with shoes, and discounts for goods that aren't selling well. But the law forbids promotional discounts outside the official sales in January and July -- and stores can't even advertise coming special offers in the run-up to these sales. Mr. Ivaldi's discounts even are limited during the authorized sales, because the tax authorities expect him to sell his wares for an average margin of 50% over purchasing cost. Belgium's finance ministry says the rule is designed to simplify the calculation of value-added tax. But even if retail restrictions were swept away, many Europeans would carry on saving to supplement their future pensions -- Mr. Ivaldi among them. "If I had less sense, I would be a spender," he says. "I would love that. I would go to boutiques and buy clothes, I would buy cars, I would buy a sailing boat." ---- Sarah Nassauer in Paris contributed to this article. Officials urged doctors - CelebrexWASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials urged doctors on Friday to consider prescribing alternatives to Pfizer Inc.'s arthritis drug Celebrex while regulators weigh new data on heart risks. "We do have great concerns about this product and this class of products," Acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Lester Crawford told reporters. Celebrex is part of the same family of drugs as Merck & Co Inc.'s Vioxx, which the company pulled from the market Sept. 30 because it raised heart attack and stroke risk. The FDA is "keeping all options open" on Celebrex, including adding a strong warning about safety risks or asking Pfizer to limit consumer-directed advertising for the widely used painkiller, Crawford said. The agency could ask Pfizer to pull Celebrex from the market. Pfizer said Friday it had no plans to recall the drug. Crawford said the FDA would have more announcements about Celebrex in the next few days. New concerns arose Friday after the National Institutes of Health halted a trial testing Celebrex for cancer prevention, because the drug more than doubled heart-attack risk compared with placebo. Patients in the trial took Celebrex for 33 months on average, the FDA said. The NIH said it was reviewing all government grants for studying Celebrex and other COX-2 inhibitors. If doctors do consider Celebrex appropriate for certain patients, they should prescribe the lowest possible dose, FDA officials said. Celebrex and other COX-2 inhibitors were designed to relieve pain with a lower risk of life-threatening stomach bleeding than older, over-the-counter drugs. Celebrex has been shown to cut the risk of stomach ulcers but has not been proven to reduce the chances of serious gastrointestinal bleeding, said Dr. John Jenkins, head of the FDA's Office of New Drugs. The FDA has been under fire in recent months as being slow to respond to serious drug side effects, and the Celebrex news prompted more criticism. "Right now, we have a situation where the public is left wondering when the next shoe might drop when it comes to drug safety," said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, an Iowa Republican. Consumer group Public Citizen said the FDA should remove Celebrex and Pfizer's other COX-2 inhibitor, Bextra, from the market immediately. The House of Representatives Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to Pfizer asking for documents related to Celebrex and Bextra. The letter said the committee was concerned about recent Pfizer statements regarding the safety of Celebrex. Jenkins said the government had acted properly in its oversight of Celebrex. Pre-approval reviews are not designed to catch all side effects, making post-approval monitoring important, he said. No earlier studies had suggested a significant heart risk with Celebrex, Jenkins said. "I don't see this as a failure of the system. This is how drug development, drug approval and post-marketing monitoring is done, not only in the United States but in all other countries who have a regulatory system," Jenkins said. Increased health risks linked to high doses of CelebrexIncreased health risks linked to high[JSC1] doses of Celebrex Josephine Marcotty, Star Tribune December 19, 2004 LEDE1219
Celebrex, the most widely prescribed[JSC2] pain killer for arthritis, increases the risk for heart attacks and strokes when taken at high doses, federal health officials said Friday. Pfizer, Inc., which makes Celebrex, has no plans to pull what is one of its most profitable drugs from the market -- as competitor Merck & Co. did with Vioxx in September after it was linked to similar health problems. Pfizer said the findings are preliminary and have not been found in other studies. But those taking the drug should check with their doctors, and, if possible, doctors should prescribe something else for them, federal health officials said Friday. The announcement was the latest blow against a class of drugs taken by millions of people to control inflammation and pain from arthritis and other illnesses with fewer stomach problems and a lower risk of ulcers than from over-the-counter pain-relievers. Earlier this month Bextra, the third-largest seller, was found to pose a greater risk for patients who recently had heart bypass surgery. "We have great concerns about this product and the class of these products," said Dr. Lester Crawford, acting Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner. "We do not have a decision on the fate of the product." Since over-the-counter drugs such as Advil, Aleve and even aspirin are just as effective in controlling pain, patients -- especially those with heart disease -- should try to find other alternatives, said Dr. Tom Raya, a cardiologist at United Hospital in St. Paul. [JSC3] Celebrex, Vioxx and Bextra, called Cox-2 inhibitors, were developed because they cause less stomach upset and carry a lower risk for ulcers than the standard over-the-counter pills, he said. Franz Eisenbauer, 68, of Plymouth, had taken Vioxx for three years before switching to Celebrex on his doctor's orders a few weeks ago. He has rheumatoid arthritis and took the prescription medications because Advil and other over-the-counter medications gave him stomach problems, he said. Celebrex didn't work as well as Vioxx to control his arthritis pain, he said, and now he may have to find something else. "But you have to live with it," he said. Pfizer officials said the increased risk for Celebrex showed up in one of two long-term trials that tested Celebrex as a treatment for colorectal cancer. It showed that patients taking very high doses of 400 to 800 milligrams a day had 2.5 to 3.4 times higher risk of heart attack and stroke compared to patients who were not taking it. The second trial, in which patients were taking standard doses of 400 milligrams or less, showed no increase in risk, Pfizer said. The rate of heart attacks and strokes in the Celebrex study was low -- 2.2 to 3 percent depending on the dose, health officials said. Yet that compared to a rate of less than 1 percent for those taking a placebo, they said[JSC4] . Dr. Marie Griffin, an epidemiologist and drug safety expert at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, said the findings on Celebrex are worrisome evidence suggesting that all Cox-2 drugs have similar risks[JSC5] . However, she noted that the study tested 400- to 800-milligram doses -- four times the usual dose -- and that the safety problem may not exist at lower doses. "What this means for people who have heart disease is it's best to avoid these drugs," she said. At a telephone news briefing Friday, top officials from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the FDA said patients taking Celebrex in another ongoing cancer study of equal size showed no increased risk. Earlier studies of the drug suggested that it might even protect against heart attacks, officials said. Nonetheless, federal officials said they have halted the cancer trials and plan to study the data further[JSC6] . Celebrex is the most-prescribed drug for treating arthritis. In the nine months ending in September, worldwide sales more than doubled from the same period a year earlier to $2.29 billion, accounting for 6 percent of Pfizer's total sales of $37.59 billion. In releasing the study's findings, Pfizer Chairman Henry McKinnell said in a statement that the company wanted to "rapidly communicate new information to regulators, physicians and patients around the world." Pfizer's stock price dropped nearly 11 percent Friday, closing at $25.80. The withdrawal of Vioxx has been a financial and public relations disaster for its manufacturer, Merck & Co., in part because the company has been accused of muzzling news about the drug's side effects. Its legal liabilities are estimated at up to $18 billion[JSC7] , and its shares have dropped by nearly one-third since the recall was announced in late September. Earlier this month, the FDA said it was adding a warning to the labels of Bextra, also made by Pfizer. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Josephine Marcotty is at marcotty@startribune.com[JSC8] [JSC9] .
[JSC1]Didn’t know you could take 800mg! I thought 400mg was it? [JSC2]If this is the most widely prescribed, they isn’t there live data, never mind trial studies? [JSC3]Please try to find an alternative!!! “They’re are just as effective’, now read the next line THEY CAUSE ULCERS AND STOMACH UPSET. This is the useless dumb monkey (Bush) syndrome, small minded dumb Americans. [JSC4]You got to be kidding me! A 2% increase on 800mg, a person taking 800mg is in some pain and the risk of heart attack is not probably that important compared to getting through today with less pain. [JSC5]This is what worries me, they are looking at ALL COX2’s. [JSC6]WITCH HUNT [JSC7]People want MONEY. SHOW ME THE MONEY, SHOW ME THE MONEY. [JSC8]This is the problem with these dumb monkeys – lack of critical thinking. This ‘reporter’ is dumb and her report contradicts her own report. She doesn’t ask any critical questions nor expand the thinking. DUMB DUMB DUMB! [JSC9]Maybe we should be doing a PhD on the lack of critical thinking in the US. That’s more of danger and will kill more people that contaminated water! |
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