Saturday, December 5, 2009

According to Médecins Sans Frontières the health care system in Sierra Leone causes loss of life because the poor cannot afford medical treatment.The maternal death rate and the child mortality rate in Sierra Leone are the highest in the world.Experiences of Médecins Sans Frontières had shown that free care or low fees lead to a dramatic increase in the number of patients.Nonetheless the national health system of Sierra Leone demands payment for all treatment with simple consultations costing as much as 25 days of income.According to Action Against Hunger the number of children with acute malnutrition has reached almost twice the level of the WHO‘s emergency threshold of 2% in the Moyamba district of Sierra Leone.

The Los Angeles Times writes that Sierra Leone, in spite of decades of foreign aid, has not yet increased the standard of living of its people considerably and 60% of the public spending of Sierra Leone come from other governments and nonprofit organizations.Since 2002 the country received $1 billion in aid but the infant mortality rate is almost the highest in the world, lower than Angola but higher than Afghanistan. The newspaper further reports that the United Nations state that 1 in 8 Sierra Leonean women die giving birth, as compared to 1 in 4,800 in the United States and that life expectancy in Sierra Leone is merely 41 years while in Bangladesh life expectancy reaches 60 years.

The government of Sierra Leone had expressed its intend to abolish user fees for women and children with a new plan for a fairer health care system that was to be revealed on the Sierra Leone Investment and Donor Conference, which was held in London on November 18 and 19.

“The Sierra Leone government has publicly stated its commitment to abolish user fees, and the UK government and other donors have promised to help,” said Seco Gerard, advisor at Médecins Sans Frontières’s analysis and advocacy unit. “What is crucial now is that Sierra Leone actually receives the necessary funding and technical assistance to realise this objective. It is time that words are being followed up by concrete action. If not, people who could otherwise be saved will continue to die needlessly every day.”

The Telegraph reports that president Bai Koroma was also hoping to secure a significant increase in aid donations with his new health plan.While Germany declined to support president Bai Koroma’s “Agenda for Change” and urged to give more consideration to women’s welfare the country received support from the European Union, DFID, UNIPSIL, World Bank, IFAD and the African Development Bank. From the pledges of $850 million the government of Sierra Leone was hoping for only about $300 millions could be secured, with attached conditionalities concerning the use of funding.

In a presentation at the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development in Freetown the Unicef representative for Sierra Leone, Mr. Mahimbo Mdoe, expressed gratitude about a pledge of about $1.3 million conveyed by the Ambassador of Japan to Sierra Leone, His Excellency Mr. Keiichi Katakami, and about earlier donations to UNICEF-Sierra Leone in the past years, amounting to over $20 million.The intended application of the funding is the goal to half child and maternal mortality by 2010, to introduce a social health insurance scheme, to improve equipment and to train health professionals.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The United Nations has halted aid shipments to the Gaza Strip after Hamas’ Ministry of Social Affairs confiscated ten truck loads of flour and rice on Thursday. This is the second seizure of United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) aid by the ministry, which polices the Gaza Strip for Hamas. On Tuesday, UNRWA said that blankets and food were seized at gun-point from a distribution center.

Hamas has acknowledged the seizure and called it a “mistake.”

According to Hamas spokesperson Fawzi Barhoum, Social Affairs Minister Ahmed al Kurd has ordered “the aid to be returned to the agency if it turns out it is indeed its property.”

Barhoum further asserted that neither Hamas nor UNRWA was present when the trucks were loaded and crossed the border at Kerem Shalom. He blamed the drivers for assuming that the supplies must have belonged to Hamas.

Barhoum also said that Hamas appreciates UNRWA’s work and does not like to see its relief work to stop.

Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, through a spokesperson, demanded that Hamas immediately return the food to UNRWA. Ban also called on Hamas “to refrain from interference with the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance in Gaza.”

Michèle Montas, the UN spokesperson, said that Ban “demands that Hamas immediately release the consignment of humanitarian goods it seized last night, in the second such incident this week, and to refrain from interference with the provision and distribution of humanitarian assistance.”

UNRWA said in a statement that aid will be halted until “the Agency is given credible assurances from the Hamas government in Gaza that there will be no repeat of these thefts.”

“They had been imported from Egypt for collection by UNRWA today,” the statement added. “The food was taken away by trucks contracted by the Ministry of Social Affairs. Two hundred metric tons of rice and 100 metric tons of flour were taken.”

Ban’s spokesperson, Montas, was asked whether UNRWA was favoring Fatah supporters over the rival Hamas. She ruled out that there was a political dimension to UN aid activities in Gaza.

“What we do is (to) give assistance to people who need it, regardless of their political affiliation,” said Montas.

According to the UN, the recent Israeli offensive killed 1,300 Palestinians, injured more than 5,300, and destroyed or damaged 21,000 homes amidst widespread damage to infrastructure. It says there is an urgent need for humanitarian aid, and cited Security Council calls for the unimpeded provision and distribution of such aid.

Monday, May 21, 2012

The placement for first and second place at the 2012 Preakness Stakes could have been a replay of the Kentucky Derby earlier this month as I’ll Have Another came in first with Bodemeister behind in second. In this race, Creative Cause finished third.

By winning the Kentucky Derby and the 137th Preakness Stakes, I’ll Have Another has a chance at winning the US Triple Crown of thoroughbred horse racing. The final race I’ll Have Another would have to win is the Belmont Stakes, which will be held on June 9.

I’ll Have Another was not favored to win the Preakness Stakes and his odds were set at 3-1. Bodemeister, who was the favorite at 2-1 odds, was the speed horse again as he led the field for most of the race just as he did at the Kentucky Derby. This time, Creative Cause was following close behind in second by the time the field of horses reached the far turn. Just as in the Kentucky Derby, I’ll Have Another pushed faster in the final leg of the race. However, the Preakness Stakes finish was closer with I’ll Have Another squeezing by the pacesetter at the very end to win the race in 1:56.9.

Mexican jockey Mario Gutierrez has won his last four races with I’ll Have Another. He gave I’ll Have Another the credit for the finish, “No one put him in this race. He put himself into the race,” he said. Gutierrez said all he had to do was signal to the horse that it was time to challenge Bodemeister and the horse did the rest.

The winning horse is owned by financier J. Paul Reddam and trained by Doug O’Neill.

The Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland was filled with a crowd of 121,309 to watch the Triple Crown hopeful. The last horse to win the Triple Crown was Affirmed in 1978.

THE HORSES

According to the official Pimlico website, the horses that competed this year in the Preakness Stakes by starting position include:

1. Tiger Walk is owned by Sagamore Farm, trained by Ignacio Correas IV, and was ridden by Ramon A. Dominguez.

2. Teeth of the Dog is owned by J.W. Singer. The thoroughbred is trained by Michael Matz and the jockey was Joe Bravo.

3. Pretension was the winner of the 2012 Canonero II Stakes. The horse is owned by Kidwells Petite Stable, trained by Christopher W. Grove, and was raced by Javier Santiago.

4. Zetterholm is owned by Winter Park Partners, trained by Richard E. Dutrow, Jr., and ridden by Junior Alvarado.

5. Went The Day Well is owned by Team Valor International and is trained by H. Graham Motion. His jockey was John Velazquez. This team won last year’s Kentucky Derby race with Animal Kingdom, and they took Went The Day Well to the 2012 Kentucky Derby.

6. Creative Cause is owned by Heinz Steinmann and trained by Mike Harrington. His jockey was be Joel Rosario. Creative Cause was part of the field at the Kentucky Derby, too.

7. Bodemeister, winner of the Arkansas Derby at Oaklawn Park, is trained by Bob Baffert. He is owned by Zayat Stables and his jockey was Mike Smith.

8. Daddy Nose Best was the winner of the Sunland Derby at Sunland Park and the El Camino Real Derby at Golden Gate and raced in the 2012 Kentucky Derby. He is owned by Cathy and Bob Zollars, trained by Steve Asmussen. His jockey was Julien Leparoux.

9. I’ll Have Another was the winner of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. He is owned by financier J. Paul Reddam, trained by Doug O’Neill and ridden by jockey Mario Gutierrez.

10. Optimizer is trained by D. Wayne Lukas, owned by tobacconist Brad Kelley of Bluegrass Hall LLC and ridden by Corey Nakatani. This horse raced also raced in the Kentucky Derby.

11. Cozzetti is trained by Dale Romans and was raced by Jose Lezcano The horse is owned by Albaugh Family Stables.

Sunday, February 5, 2006

A BHP Billiton nickel mine at Leinster, 645Km northeast of Perth, Western Australia has halted operations after the death of a mine worker. WA Police say Mark Quinn, 32, an employee of mining contractor MacMahon’s, working about 900 metres underground, was killed in an explosion.

The cause of the explosion is not yet known. Department of Community and Employment Protection investigators have travelled to the site from Kalgoorlie to conduct an inquiry.

Global resources giant BHP Billiton Ltd./Plc, says employees are being briefed and counselled over the incident. The mine will remain closed until the investigation is complete. Police will prepare a report for the coroner.

According to media reports, no-one else was injured in the explosion – the cause of which is not yet known. The accident comes almost two years after a BHP Billiton worker died in a gas explosion at the Boodarie iron plant in Port Hedland, WA. The plant was then abandoned after the incident in May 2004.

In April 2004, a man was killed at BHP Billiton’s Nelson Point facility, also at Port Hedland in WA. In May 2000 a truck driver was killed at a BHP Pilbara iron ore operation in WA. BHP Billiton employ some 37,000 people at over 100 operations in 25 countries.

Coal mines in the United States’ West Virginia district were also suspended earlier this week, due to increased amounts of miners’ deaths.

Sunday, November 9, 2008

Voters in California, Florida and Arizona voted on Tuesday to ban gay marriage, bringing about a victory for conservatives on a day which did not bring many conservative wins.

Meanwhile, voters in Colorado, South Dakota and California voted on measures which would have restricted abortion in those states. In Massachusetts and Michigan, voters passed measures that loosen marijuana laws. Finally, in the state of Washington a measure was passed that allows physician-assisted suicide.

The California ballot measure, Proposition 8, overturns the recent June ruling by the California State Supreme Court in the case In re Marriage Cases which reversed a 1977 statute passed by the California State Legislature and a 2000 ballot measure, Proposition 22, which also banned same-sex marriage by defining marriage as between a man and a woman. The wording of Proposition 8 is identical to Proposition 22. It was noted that many of the African-Americans and Latinos who cast their votes for Obama, also voted for the measure. The measure passed at 52% to 48%.

Lesbian comedian Ellen DeGeneres noted, “This morning, when it was clear that Proposition 8 had passed in California, I can’t explain the feeling I had. I was saddened beyond belief. Here we just had a giant step toward equality and then on the very next day, we took a giant step away.”

Singer Melissa Etheridge, who is also a lesbian, stated that she would no longer pay taxes due to the passing of Proposition 8, announcing in a blog post, “Okay, so I am taking that to mean I do not have to pay my state taxes because I am not a full citizen.”

Also in California, voters rejected a measure which would require parental notification for a minor to receive an abortion. The measure was rejected with the same percentage as Proposition 8, 52% to 48%. Meanwhile in Colorado, voters rejected a measure that would define life as beginning at conception. While the measure did not specifically mention abortion it would have required legislators and courts to confront legal rights for fetuses – effectively preventing abortion. The measure was defeated in a wide margin, 73% to 27%

In South Dakota, voters also defeated an anti-abortion measure which would have outlawed abortion in all cases except in the case of rape, incest or if the mother’s health was in serious question. If passed, the law would most likely have been challenged as unconstitutional.

In Michigan, voters approved a measure which legalizes medical marijuana. Meanwhile, in Massachusetts, voters approved a ballot question that decriminalizes possession of small amounts of marijuana in which the possession of an ounce or less would be punishable by a $100 fine. The measure will also require minors under the age 18 to participate in and complete a drug awareness program and do community service. Failure to do so, would net the minor a $1,000 fine.

“Tonight’s results represent a sea change. Voters have spectacularly rejected eight years of the most intense government war on marijuana since the days of ‘Reefer Madness,'” said Rob Kampia, executive director of the Marijuana Policy Project. “The people were ahead of the politicians on this issue; they recognize and want a more sensible approach to our marijuana policy,” said Whitney Taylor, the chair of Committee for Sensible Marijuana Policy, which backed the Massachusetts proposition.

Also, in Massachusetts, voters overwhelmingly, in every single Massachusetts city and town, rejected a ballot measure which would have eliminated the state income tax by 2010, the ballot measure was sponsored by the Committee for Small Government, which is headed up by two libertarians, Michael Cloud, a Libertarian Party candidate for U.S. Senate in 2002 and Carla Howell, Libertarian Party candidate for governor in the 2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election.

The last time the income tax elimination measure was on the ballot was in 2002, where it was defeated, narrowly by 45.3%. This stunned supporters of the income tax, who mounted a fierce campaign against the measure this time warning Massachusetts residents that repealing the income tax would have drastic effects on the state’s finances, leading to cuts in services, education and local aid.

Finally, voters passed a question which bans dog racing in Massachusetts, which will lead to the closure of Massachusetts’ two greyhound racing tracks, Raynham-Taunton Greyhound Park and Wonderland Greyhound Park.

The campaign against dog racing was headed up by the Committee to Protect Dogs and endorsed by GREY2K USA and the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals along with other animal protection organizations who claimed that dog racing was inhumane as the dogs were stuffed into cramped cages and endured injuries. The measure was opposed by the park owners including George Carney who owns the Rayham-Taunton park and Charles Sarkis, a restaurateur who owns Wonderland.

“We did it. We did it for the dogs,” said Carey Thiel, executive director of GREY2K USA. “For 75 years, greyhounds in our state have endured terrible confinement and suffered serious injuries. We’re better than that,” Thiel added.

One campaign supporter, Sandy Bigelow noted, “It means everything. We’ve worked so hard for the dogs and they heard us. It feels so good. Oh, God, it feels so good.”

George Carney said of the results, “It’s not a very pleasant thing right now. Some of these people have been here 40 years. Here’s a company that did nothing wrong, paid their federal taxes on time, paid the town on time. The town is going to be a severe loser, and a lot of people here dedicated their life to the company.”

Both sides used emotionally-charged advertisements, the anti-racing side showing “sad-eyed greyhounds,” while the pro-racing side highlighted the workers who would be out of work when the tracks close.

Both measures must now come before the Massachusetts Governor’s Council for approval.

A ballot initiative approved by voters in the north-western state of Washington will make it the second state to permit physician-assisted suicide. Initiative 1000 follows the ten-year-old example of the Death With Dignity Act of neighboring Oregon, and will allow physicians to prescribe a lethal dose of medication for a terminally ill patient to administer themselves. It was approved by a margin of 16%, and the ‘Yes’ campaign outspent the ‘No’ campaign by more than three-to-one. The law comes into effect in 2009.