Archive for April 12th, 2008
Are 14 year old girls too young for runway?(0)
Yes, according to the Australian Fashion Week (AFW) organizers. After their initial reluctance that followed public outcry, they finally adopted a minimum age of 16 for the show and dropped 14-year old Polish model Monika Jagaciak.
Until now there was no age limit for models in Australia. Only last year, there was a protest when Gold Coast Fashion Week featured a 12 year old model, and the show adopted 16 as the minimum age. The London Fashion Week also adopted the same minimum age for their show last year. However, the AFW founder Simon Lock initially rejected the idea that the 14 year old Monika Jagaciak was too young and said:
“There’s been criticism of the industry in the past for promoting the Lolita syndrome, but that’s something we will not stand for. The designers love these models as coat hangers for their clothes. They don’t want to exploit their sexuality in any way whatsoever.”
Can vaccination cause autism in children?(0)
The question is not an easy one to answer. Epidemiological studies that measure the side effects of vaccines in common population have found no link between vaccines and autism. But that does not rule out all serious side effects for a small group of children that are more susceptible.
The case in point is nine year old Hannah Poling who got five shots when she was 19-month old. After getting the shots she became sick and later diagnosed with autism. Her parents sued, and last year government settled the case, but denied any connection between vaccination and autism. They said the vaccines possibly worsened her already existing rare medical conditions involving mitochondria. Doctors like Hannah’s father believe that mitochondrial disorders are related to autism, and hence vaccines can cause autism. Of course, many others do not share that view and think Poling case does not provide any clue about what causes autism.
On Friday, government started working on developing safety guidelines to be used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for the next five years. However, CDC cannot perform the clinical studies needed to determine any possible link between vaccine and autism. That is usually done by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Are hospital staff stealing your personal information?(1)
Yes, if you are a patient of New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dwight McPherson, who works in the admissions department, is charged with stealing 50 thousands patient records and selling them to identity thieves.
He had access to all the registration information stored at the hospital’s computer. In 2006, when he was approached by ID thieves for records of 38 to 58 year old male patients, he agreed to steal the information for money. He collected the names, addresses, and social security numbers and sold them over the period of two years leading to his arrest on Friday night. Police uncovered his scheme when a print out of the record showed up in Atlanta during a postal investigation. How much did he get for selling those records? About $600 to $700 dollars for a batch of 1000 records. For less than a dollar, our identity can be in the hands of crooks. His lawyer claimed that “He is a hard working, honest man.” Right, stealing people’s personal information is really hard work.
Identity theft is a serious problem - besides the financial loss it can ruin someone’s life. And of all places we would think hospitals, where we need to disclose all our personal information and history, would be a safe place. But as it turns out that is not the case.
Would one of the identical twins kill the other?(0)
According to police that is what happened to Dennis Lewis. His identical twin, Derris, was jailed based on his palm print in the bedroom where Dennis was shot. The family is shocked saying there was no way Derris could have be involved in the murder of his brother.
The incident happened on late in the night of Jan 18, just two weeks before their eighteenth birthday. April Agee, their 47 year old mother who suffers from MS and cerebral palsy, was sleeping on the couch, and Dennis was sleeping in the bedroom. A group of men in black mask entered the house and put a gun to her head and asked her for money. She did not move, but heard Dennis fighting back and then shot in his bedroom. Police charged Derris for being an accomplice to murder, robbery, and kidnapping. The family is angry about the arrest and said he was no where near the house since he moved out a few weeks earlier to live with his girlfriend. Derris, who like his brother is an advance placement student, took his test in jail and hoping to graduate in June and attend Ohio State University.
Though police say there were multiple people who entered the house, no one else was arrested.
