herding cats
herding cats's JournalFDA Strengthens Heart Safety Warnings on Painkillers
Source: NBC
The Food and Drug Administration is strengthening its warnings about painkillers like ibuprofen, saying they do raise the risk of heart attack or stroke.
People should think carefully about taking these drugs, both over-the-counter versions and prescription pills, the FDA says. It's asking manufacturers to change the labels.
"They used to say they might cause risk of heart attack or stroke. Now we are saying they do cause increased risk of heart attack and stroke," FDA spokesman Eric Pahon told NBC News.
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"FDA is strengthening an existing warning in prescription drug labels and over-the-counter (OTC) Drug Facts labels to indicate that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) can increase the chance of a heart attack or stroke, either of which can lead to death," the agency said in a statement.
"Those serious side effects can occur as early as the first few weeks of using an NSAID, and the risk might rise the longer people take NSAIDs. (Although aspirin is also an NSAID, this revised warning doesn't apply to aspirin.)"
Read more: http://www.nbcnews.com/health/heart-health/fda-strengthens-heart-safety-warnings-painkillers-n389516
Exxon knew of climate change in 1981, email says – but it funded deniers for 27 more years
Source: The Guardian
A newly unearthed missive from Lenny Bernstein, a climate expert with the oil firm for 30 years, shows concerns over high presence of carbon dioxide in enormous gas field in south-east Asia factored into decision not to tap it
ExxonMobil, the worlds biggest oil company, knew as early as 1981 of climate change seven years before it became a public issue, according to a newly discovered email from one of the firms own scientists. Despite this the firm spent millions over the next 27 years to promote climate denial.
The email from Exxons in-house climate expert provides evidence the company was aware of the connection between fossil fuels and climate change, and the potential for carbon-cutting regulations that could hurt its bottom line, over a generation ago factoring that knowledge into its decision about an enormous gas field in south-east Asia. The field, off the coast of Indonesia, would have been the single largest source of global warming pollution at the time.
Exxon first got interested in climate change in 1981 because it was seeking to develop the Natuna gas field off Indonesia, Lenny Bernstein, a 30-year industry veteran and Exxons former in-house climate expert, wrote in the email. This is an immense reserve of natural gas, but it is 70% CO2, or carbon dioxide, the main driver of climate change.
Rockefeller family tried and failed to get ExxonMobil to accept climate change
Read more
However, Exxons public position was marked by continued refusal to acknowledge the dangers of climate change, even in response to appeals from the Rockefellers, its founding family, and its continued financial support for climate denial. Over the years, Exxon spent more than $30m on thinktanks and researchers that promoted climate denial, according to Greenpeace.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/08/exxon-climate-change-1981-climate-denier-funding
EU Tells Tsipras the Party’s Over as Euro Exit Door Swings Open
Source: Bloomberg
After five months of drama, false dawns and unpleasant surprises, Europes leaders are finally ready to show Alexis Tsipras the exit.
Behind the doors of the Justus Lipsius building in the heart of the political district in Brussels, the euro-regions leaders rounded on the Greek prime minister for destabilizing the currency union before Germanys Angela Merkel emerged to deliver an official ultimatum.
In a tense and at times emotional meeting, Tsiprass European peers told him hed failed to appreciate the efforts the continents voters and taxpayers had made to help the Greek people and blamed him for escalating tensions across the region. Six officials agreed to share their knowledge of the private talks while asking not to be named because of the sensitivity of the historical moment.
Party time at the expense of others in Greece has come to an end, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite said. Europe and the euro area are surely unprepared to pay for the irresponsible behavior of the new Greek government.
Afterward in public comments, the leaders competed to find the harshest language to describe Tsiprass approach and its likely consequences. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said a miracle would be needed to keep Greece in the euro-region, while Maltas Joseph Muscat said the 40-year-old had created an enormous trust-gap with his European counterparts.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-08/eu-tells-tsipras-the-party-s-over-as-euro-exit-door-swings-open
There's quite a lot more at the link above. The Bloomberg article authors seems to be of a mind the Grexit is to be the end, and sooner rather than later.
China stocks tumble again after premier Li Keqiang fails to mention crisis
Source: The Guardian
Hundreds of Chinese companies suspended dealings in their shares in a bid to arrest a frenzy of selling on Chinas main stock markets, which have lost more than a quarter of their value since June.
The move, considered by many analysts to be another stumbling response to a full-blown share price crash, sparked a nervous reaction in commodity markets and sent copper prices to a six-year low.
Beijing has supported a series of market operations to halt a sharp decline in share values on the Shanghai and Shenzen exchanges over the past four weeks, but each one has been criticised for failing to restore market confidence.
Chinese shares fell on Tuesday after premier Li Keqiangs failure to mention the deepening market crisis in a statement on the economy. Before the market opened, Li said in comments on a government website that China had the confidence and ability to deal with challenges faced by its economy. But he had nothing to say about the three-week plunge that has knocked about 30% off Chinese shares since mid-June.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/07/china-stocks-tumble-again-after-premier-li-keqiang-fails-to-mention-crisis
IMF says Greece needs extra €60bn in funds and debt relief
Source: The Guardian
The International Monetary Fund has electrified the referendum debate in Greece after it conceded that the crisis-ridden country needs up to 60bn (£42bn) of extra funds over the next three years and large-scale debt relief to create a breathing space and stabilise the economy.
With days to go before Sundays knife-edge referendum that the countrys creditors have cast as a vote on whether it wants to keep the euro, the IMF revealed a deep split with Europe as it warned that Greeces debts were unsustainable.
Fund officials said they would not be prepared to put a proposal for a third Greek bailout to the Washington-based organisations board unless it included both a commitment to economic reform and debt relief.
According to the IMF, Greece should have a 20-year grace period before making any debt repayments and final payments should not take place until 2055. It would need 10bn to get through the next few months and a further 50bn after that.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/jul/02/imf-greece-needs-extra-50bn-euros
Another Historically Black Church in South Carolina Burns
The Clarendon County Fire Department said shortly before midnight ET that the fire was under control, but it released a photo showing the church with its roof apparently completely collapsed.
Williamsburg County Fire Chief Randy Swinton told NBC News it wasn't known whether the fire was intentionally set, noting that a lightning storm passed through the area about the same time the blaze was reported.
No injuries were immediately reported, but The Kingstree News of Williamsburg County reported that the church was "gutted."
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/another-historically-black-church-south-carolina-burning-n384876
The last time (1995) it was burned to the ground by two Ku Klux Klan members. 20-years later and it's burned once again There's so much I would like to add here, but I don't yet know if this is an arson. I will say this could well be a catalyst to garnering the media attention to the recent burnings of black churches. I understand two of those churches were possible accidents (a tree limb falling on electrical wires, and one a possible lightening strike), but that does not take anything away from the other four which last I knew of were being investigated as arson. There may be more I've missed this week. I've been trying to stay on top of the issue, but it's not as readily reported in the media as the things they think they can twist about to lure in hordes of "shocked" readers/viewers.
Black Churches being burnt again
Jeanette Dudley, the associate pastor of God's Power Church of Christ in Macon, Georgia, got a call a little after 5 a.m. on Wednesday, she told a local TV news station. Her tiny church of about a dozen members had been burned, probably beyond repair. The Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco got called in, which has been the standard procedure for church fires since the late 1960s. Investigators say theyve ruled out possible causes like an electrical malfunction; most likely, this was arson.
The very same night, many miles away in North Carolina, another church burned: Briar Creek Road Baptist Church, which was set on fire some time around 1 a.m. Investigators have ruled it an act of arson, the AP reports; according to The Charlotte Observer, they havent yet determined whether it might be a hate crime.
Two other predominantly black churches have been the target of possible arson this week: Glover Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Warrenville, South Carolina, which caught fire on Friday, and College Hill Seventh Day Adventist, which burned on Monday in Knoxville, Tennessee. Investigators in Knoxville told a local news station they believed it was an act of vandalism, although they arent investigating the incident as a hate crime. (In two other cases of fires at Southern black churches this weekat Fruitland Presbyterian Church in Gibson County, Tennessee, and the Greater Miracle Temple Apostolic Holiness Church in Tallahassee, Floridaofficials suspect the blazes were caused by lightning and electrical wires, respectively, but investigations are still ongoing.)
These fires join the murder of nine people at Charlestons Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church as major acts of violence perpetrated against predominantly black churches in the last fortnight. Churches are burning again in the United States, and the symbolism of that is powerful. Even though many instances of arson have happened at white churches, the crime is often association with racial violence: a highly visible attack on a core institution of the black community, often done at night, and often motivated by hate.
http://nation.com.pk/international/28-Jun-2015/black-churches-being-burnt-again
Check out the White House Twitter icon today.
Isn't it beautiful!
https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/614438061817114624
U.S. to pre-position tanks, artillery in Baltics, eastern Europe
Source: Reuters
The United States will pre-position tanks, artillery and other military equipment in eastern and central Europe, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced on Tuesday, moving to reassure NATO allies unnerved by Russian involvement in Ukraine.
Carter, during a trip to Tallinn, said the Baltic states - Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia -- as well as Bulgaria, Romania and Poland had agreed to host elements of this heavy equipment. Some of the equipment would also be located in Germany.
The U.S. decision to stage heavy equipment closer to Russia's borders aims to speed deployment of rotating U.S. forces as NATO steps up exercises in Europe following Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region last year.
Neighboring NATO countries, especially the former Soviet Baltic states with their Russian minorities, fear Russia could foment trouble on their territories. Moscow denies any such intention.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/23/us-usa-europe-defense-idUSKBN0P315620150623
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