Hot Hardware | NVIDIA White Paper Projects MCM-GPU Future Will Outrun Moore's ... Hot Hardware It's not too often we get the feeling that some of the technology that we regularly use is reaching its upper-limit, but there comes a time when new ideas need to ... |
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NVIDIA White Paper Projects MCM-GPU Future Will Outrun Moore's ... - Hot Hardware
eGov Magazine | Elets | Precision medicine: The unfolding revolution in healthcare eGov Magazine | Elets Healthcare experts say that drivers of precision medicine would be quality patient care, improved quality of life and reduced cost of treatment. Studies have already shown that if treatment strategy is based on patients' molecular profile it leads to ... |
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Precision medicine: The unfolding revolution in healthcare - eGov Magazine | Elets
Last month, The New England Journal of Medicine published an editorial by R. Alta Charo, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin. In the editorial, Charo sharply criticizesDepartment of Health and Human Services (HHS) appointees Valerie Huber, Teresa Manning, Charmaine Yoest, and Katy Talento.Charo takes particular issue with Yoests past assertions that abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. She also criticizes Mannings concerns about the efficacy of contraception programs and Hubers support of abstinence-only sex education.Charo states that these four appointees use alternative facts and are also known for a disregard for rigorous research.
None of these critiques are particularly inventive.Similar attacks onPresident Trumps HHS appointees have been published by a range of left-wing publications, including HuffPost, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. More importantly, none of thesefourwomen have even slightly unreasonable views on public-health issues.
For instance, backing up Yoests view is a body of peer-reviewed research dating back to the 1950s findingthat abortion increases the risk of breast cancer. Skeptics of the abortionbreast cancer link frequently cite the Danish study by Melbye et al.,published in TheNew England Journal of Medicine in 1997,arguing that itis the methodologically strongest study on the topic. But even that studyfound that abortions after 18 weeks of gestation are correlated with a statistically significant increase in the risk of breast cancer.
Regarding contraception, there are many studies in both economics and public-health journals, from a variety of authors, showing that expanded access to contraception by means of legalization, distribution, or subsidies fails to reduce unintended-pregnancy rates. Just this summer, economists David Paton and Liam Wright published a thorough study in the Journal of Health Economics,finding that recent cuts to sex-education and contraception programs in Great Britain led to reductions in teen pregnancy rates.
The notion that these four HHS appointees are anti-science or have policy views outside the mainstream is, to put it charitably, absurd. What is perhaps more disturbing, though, is thegrowing politicization of The New England Journal of Medicine.During the debate over the Affordable Care Act in 2010, the journal published a superficial analysis of abortion trends in Massachusetts to arguethat wider health-care coverage could reduce the abortion rate. In reality, abortion numbers in Massachusetts had been falling for a long time as they are virtually everywhere and the enactment of Commonwealth Care in 2006 had very little effect on the trend.
Additionally, prior to the oral arguments in Zubik v. Burwell overthe HHS contraception mandate, The New England Journal of Medicine released a study analyzing the impact of funding cuts to Planned Parenthood in Texas. The media pounced, claiming that the cuts led to a sharp increase in Medicaid-funded births. However, a closer look at the findings showed that in the affected counties, only 37 additional women had a Medicaid-funded birth.
With Charos latest article, it is unfortunate to see a prestigious journal like The New England Journal of Medicine once again placing a higher priority on scoring political points than publishing high-quality medical research.
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New England Journal of Medicine: Abortion Research Is Incorrect ... - National Review
The paradox that is India is most apparent in its health and pharma sector, which provides life-saving medicines and services to the world but denies the same quality of care to its population of 1.3 billion.
The window-dressing is impressive. Indias strong pharmaceutical sector and 21 major vaccine-manufacturing companies have made it the worlds biggest supplier of quality medicines and vaccines. The high quality of products has ensured that India was the top supplier to the United Nations last year, with sales touching $804 million in pharmaceuticals and medical services.
Health accounted for 80% of the goods and services worth $1.06 billion procured by the UN in 2016, which made India the second largest provider to agencies such as Unicef, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), UNDP and WFP.
All the exported drugs meet stringent unified international standards of quality, safety and efficacy. Those that are sold in India do not.
Substandard drugs
Substandard and contaminated drugs killed five women in Hyderabads Niloufer Hospital in February, concluded an inquiry committee report released this week. Clinically there is a strong case for suspicion on the questionable quality of drugs and sterile nature of intravenous fluids especially dextrose containing solutions, which might be the cause for all the maternal deaths that occurred at Niloufer Hospital from January 28 to February 4, 2017, the report stated.
The committee ruled out hospital infection as a cause of death after culture reports showed all operation theatres were sterile.
Indias drug regulation laws are strong, but implementation often isnt. Over the past year, the Centre has made an effort to improve quality by approving a Rs 1,750-crore scheme to strengthen drug regulatory structures and by notifying the Medical Devices Rules of 2017, which provide for risk-based classification, licensing and regulation of medical devices.
India has banned 344 irrational drug combinations, including popular brands such as Corex, while expanding the National List of Essential Medicines to 376, to be made available free at government hospitals and health centres.
These efforts, however, fall flat when there is poor quality control in manufacturing, packaging, storage and distribution of bulk drugs, about 30% of which are manufactured by small-scale-sector companies.
Fake doctors
People using fake medical degrees to practice medicine makes news every few months, with West Bengal making news most recently for having an estimated 500 unqualified persons working illegally in the public and private sectors. These doctors, said the CBI officials investigating the case, work using fake degrees and registration numbers of doctors who have retired, left the country or died.
Doctors in West Bengal are not the only ones faking it. More than half (57.3%) of Indias allopathic doctors dont have a medical qualification and close to one in three (31%) are educated only up to the secondary school level, said the World Health Organisations Health Workforce in India report for 2016. Among nurses and midwives, 67.1% had studied only up to secondary school level.
Though urban doctors have more education and medical qualifications than rural doctors, the number of those working without a medical qualification is shocking. Only 58.4% allopathic doctors in urban centres have a medical qualification, and only 18.8% of rural doctors.
In every health-worker category except ancillary health professionals, women are more educated and better qualified medically than men, found the WHO report. Among allopathic doctors, 67.2% of women have a medical qualification compared to 37.7% of men. Among nurses and midwives, 11.3% of women have a medical qualification compared to just 2.9% of men.
Apathetic providers
Thirteen women died and many more were hospitalised because negligence resulted in their getting infected during sterilisation surgeries at a makeshift camp in Chattisgarh in November 2014. The surgeon who did the laparoscopic tubectomies was qualified but used the same gloves, syringes and sutures to operate on 83 women in an unsterilised, abandoned building.
Keen to set a record, he abandoned infection-control protocols and spent less than 3 minutes on each patient.
The Chattisgarh tragedy made news because of the high number of deaths, but such deaths are not at all uncommon in India. The Clinical Establishment Act that prescribes infrastructure and services standards and provides for the registration and regulation of all clinical establishments has been adopted by all UTs and only 10 states since 2010. Unless states get serious about providing quality care, people will continue to die of avoidable causes.
As it is, most of us are struggling to stay healthy. If resistant bacteria and devious viruses dont get you, heart disease, diabetes and cancers might. We cant escape infection and disease, but we can minimise their impact and improve treatment outcomes by following quality standards in healthcare at home as stringently as we do when we are dealing with the rest of the world.
sanchita.sharma@hindustantimes.com
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We're a global leader in pharma, medicine. So why do we let down our own? - Hindustan Times
I would have written something lighter or something funny for today, but moral medicine is necessary if we are to solve the shameful inadequacy of our medical system. Giving a few rooms for poor patients in big hospitals is not enough. These are palliatives and will never solve the problem. An entire system has to be changed with new values and principles.
Let us hear from the poor countries that adopted the Cuban way and why it works.
When I heard the Cubans were participating, I expected something quite different a form of supervision or control by them, one Salvadorian health promoter said. I did not expect a team in which we were all fully integrated, working side by side as we went door-to-door together advising people about the means of eradicatingdengue.
We do not have a system that would cultivate such at attitudes and work habits. What is the key to Cubas success? The system is based upon medical training in which ethical considerations and the responsibilities of professionals are emphasized far more than in medical schools of the industrialized world.
Cuban medical personnel serving abroad go where the need is greatest, and where the host government assigns them responsibilities. The result is that the Cuban system has developed a cost-effective, pragmatic, highly ethical and sustainable system of public healthcare. It is this basic framework which is shared with the host country, and which has been remarkably successful fordecades.
Cubans have shown what it means to offer relief beforepolitics.
Opinion ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1
Cubas medical internationalism program gained its reputation when the country offered to send 1,500 medical professionals to support the disaster relief effort after Hurricane Katrina pounded New Orleans in 2005. But US President George W Bush rejected the offer.
Other countries saw the virtues of what the authors called moral medicine and what they could gain from it. Little by little it came to be known that Cuba has been sending medical teams abroad since 1960, when an earthquake occurred in Chile. This was followed by a large medical delegation sent to Algeria in 1963 to help the construction of the national healthcare program following its independence from France.
Paradoxically it was at the time of its greatest need that Cubas moral medicine came about.
The revolutionary government headed by Fidel Castro came to power on 1 January 1959 after the authoritarian Batista regime was overthrown. By 1961 almost half of Cubas medical personnel had fled, most to Miami; approximately 3,000 were left. Yet despite the pressing situation in Cuba, the government saw the need to provide internationalist support. Since then, medical contingents have been sent around the globe to help in emergency situations regardless of ideological differences with the hostcountry.
Several hundred Cuban medical personnel are working in Honduras, for example, despite Havanas protests against the coup which overthrew democratically elected president Zelaya in 2009. Likewise, while Havana condemned the removal of President Fernando Lugo in Paraguay in June 2012, Cuban doctors remain there. Perhaps no greater enemy of the Cuban revolutionary process in the region was Nicaraguas Anastasio Somoza. Yet when a massive earthquake occurred in Managua in 1972, the Cuban contingent was among the first to arrive. In 1998 the disastrous impact of Hurricane Mitch in Central America (over 20,000 were either killed or declared missing) led to a number of missions. Significantly, Cuba did not have diplomatic relations with the countries that were worst affected, yet did not hesitate in sending large delegations to the affected areas (424 specialists arrived within days, peaking at 2,000).
Humanitarian considerations rather than political sympathies remain key to Cubasapproach.
A major initiative came from Cubas role in Central America the foundation in 1999 of the worlds largest medical university, the Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), in Havana. The national naval academy was converted into a medical school, principally for students from the regions devastated by Hurricane Mitch. The idea was simple to provide enough medical personnel for theregion.
Students were generally selected from impoverished backgrounds, as it was thought that they would have more buy in to their local under-served communities than their wealthier peers, and would want to assist after graduation. The plan was to develop a policy of brain gain rather than brain drain, and to have medical support where it was needed. There is, however, a basic stipulation: students make a moral commitment to work with the underprivileged and those most in need of medical care aftergraduation.
From this significant contribution a variety of other medical education initiatives has grown. The largest is in Venezuela, where over 25,000 students are being trained as doctors by Cuban medical professors. The first graduating class of some 8,000 comprehensive community doctors (77 percent of whom are women) finished their training in February 2012. Cuban professors have helped to found medical schools in Yemen, Guyana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Ghana, Gambia, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti, Guinea Bissau andTimor-Leste.
Sam Loewenberga journalist who covers the intersection of global health, business, government and politics asksif Cuban medicine can help solve American inequality? His website iswww.samloewenberg.com.
American doctors may have the expertise but its system addresses the needs of patients with money or insurance. The example of Cuba was developed for poor folk. It was not focused on expertise but primary care.
Nearly a hundred Americans are studying medicine at Cubas Latin American School of Medicine (ELAM), where they are taught preventive medicine to treat the underserved.
Globally, the need for doctors is urgent. We will need some seven million doctors, nurses, and other health care workers in developing countriesand that number is expected to nearly double in the next 20 years. The WHO warns that the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, like reducing maternal and infant mortality, will not happen without more health care workers.
Just a few days after the PAGCOR board approved the building of more health care centers, a group of Chinese businessmen (nottaipans) and doctors came forward to offer their help. Like the Cuban model, their work will concentrate on primary care to reach as many rural communities. Their approach, they told us, would be on preventive rather than curative medicine. With them were trainers for the program. It could be a good start of moral medicine, the Cuban way in the Philippines.
I was finishing this column when I received a text from Louie Sarmiento of Philippine Mines Safety and Environment Group asking for volunteers for the Leyte quake disaster. We can start making the list for studying primary care in ELAM.
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NEWS RELEASE
ROYAL VICTORIA REGIONAL HEALTH CENTRE
************************* Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) continues its important work of training new family doctors as another group of family medicine resident physicians begin their final two years of training in the health centres Family Medicine Teaching Unit (FMTU). The program, which is affiliated with the University of Toronto Department of Family and Community Medicine, recently welcomed nine new residents, which helps to ease the burden of a shortage of family physicians in the area as many stay and open their own practices in this community once they are finished their residency.
Since the program began in 2009, 54 family medicine residents have trained at RVH, with 31 staying in the area to set up their own practices, provide temporary coverage for area physicians or work in the health centres Emergency and Hospitalist departments.
As a teaching hospital we merge education and healthcare excellence in such a way that we have a significant, positive impact on our community, says Janice Skot, RVH president and CEO. Many physicians who have completed their training at RVH have gone on to establish practices in the area which has helped meet some of the demand for family physicians. As we focus our efforts on increasing the teaching and research opportunities available at RVH, we plan to continue growing, and hopefully keeping, exceptional physicians in this region.
RVH welcomes Drs. Stephanie Duquette, Mouhanned El-Youssef, Jeremy Gross, Rong Amy Huang; Terence Lynd, Anastasiya Nelyubina, Cameron Spence, Joshua Yuen and Laura Zuccaro.
In addition to welcoming the new residents, RVH also extends congratulations to the residents who graduated from the program this year including Drs. Chris Blake, Emilie Beyls, Lauren Fruchter, Sarah Foohey, Pinky Gaidhu, Jacky Lai, Damien Yohn, Natasha Stribbell and Caitlin Moran.
When the program first began we talked a lot about it being the opportunity for us to grow our own doctors, and now with more than 30 physicians staying in this area to practice medicine, we are definitely reaping what we have sown, says Dr. Stuart Murdoch,Academic Chief of Family Medicine and newly appointed Director, Postgraduate Education, University of Toronto, Department of Family & Community Medicine.
In fact, last year five FMTU residents Drs. Chris Blake, Caitlin Moran, Emilie Beyls, Pinky Gaidhu and Sarah Foohey all received awards throughUniversity of Torontos Department of Family and Community Medicine (DFCM).
We have seen some exceptional new doctors come through the FMTUs doors and as faculty, we are so proud to play a part in shaping their careers and passing along our knowledge and skills. And the residents bring such enthusiasm and passion for their patients and their work - it is contagious and they remind us of why we became physicians, says Dr. Murdoch.
*************************
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Laren Tan, MD (center), and members of the Hyperbaric Medicine Service staff celebrate accreditation.
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society recently awarded full accreditation to Loma Linda University Medical Centers Hyperbaric Medicine Service, signaling that the facility meets or exceeds the highest standards of care and patient safety within the medical specialty.
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves the use of medical oxygen administered in a sealed chamber at levels higher than atmospheric pressure, enabling oxygen to dissolve more rapidly into the blood. Its used as part of a multi-disciplinary approach to the management of wounds and other conditions, such as pressure-related scuba diving injuries, arterial obstructions due to blood clots or air bubbles, and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Participation in Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society accreditation is voluntary. Laren Tan, MD, medical director for hyperbaric medicine at Loma Linda University Medical Center, said the accreditation demonstrates the organizations commitment to the highest standards of practice and patient safety.
We are proud of our team members for achieving this significant milestone and for their commitment to our patients, Tan said. It could not have been achieved without the concerted effort of our physicians, respiratory care practitioners, critical care nursing staff, technicians and management team working together.
Tan said Loma Linda University Medical Center is one of only two accredited academic hyperbaric oxygen centers in all of California. Roughly 200 of the approximately 1,500 hospitals in the United States offering hyperbaric oxygen therapy have earned the right to display the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society accreditation seal.
Hyperbaric treatment has become more user-friendly in recent years. Instead of the claustrophia-inducing metal chambers of the past, the clear acrylic chambers of today allow patients to look outside, recline in comfort, watch their favorite TV shows or movies on a large, flat-screen TV with its own DVD player, or take a nap throughout the two-hour treatment. A specially trained chamber operator is present at all times throughout the procedure.
Hyperbaric medicine first came to the Medical Center in 1981 under the vision and supervision of the late Valerie Molzahn, MD. In the ensuing years, Drs. Dick Sheldon, Takkin Lo and now Tan expanded the program from a single chamber to four chambers today, including one that can accommodate patients up to seven feet in height and 400 pounds in weight. Tan said Loma Linda University Health is the only regional center in the Inland Empire that performs routine and critical care hyperbaric treatments.
The Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society is an international nonprofit association serving health professionals in the fields of hyperbaric and dive medicine in more than 50 countries. Accreditation certifies that all aspects of a hyperbaric medicine program have been certified to ensure the utmost quality within the medical specialty.
Lori Scott, MBA, RCP, RRT, executive director of the department of respiratory care, says the goal of the accreditation process is for patients to have the highest confidence in the safety of the program as well as the care offered to them.
The accreditation is our way of telling patients that we take our responsibilities as their care providers seriously, Scott said.
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Hyperbaric Medicine Service receives accreditation - Loma Linda University Health
Miami Herald | The lights are finally on at Liberty City basketball courts Miami Herald At long last, the lights illuminating the basketball courts at Charles Drew K-8 Center in Liberty City have been repaired and kids are playing summertime hoops. It was a slow, frustrating process, but the lights are working, the kids are having fun ... |
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The lights are finally on at Liberty City basketball courts - Miami Herald
The Liberty Bell in Philadelphia came to be a symbol of the nation's newfound freedom.
On this day in 1776, a 2,000-pound copper-and-tin bell that came to be known as the Liberty Bell was said to have rang out from the tower of the Pennsylvania State House, now Independence Hall, in Philadelphia, calling people to the first public reading by Col. John Nixon of the newly minted Declaration of Independence.
The document had been adopted by the Second Continental Congress four days earlier, but the bell ringing was allegedly deferred until the declaration returned from the printer.
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The steeple was in poor shape at the time. Many historians doubt that the bell rang in that setting. Nevertheless, within a few decades, its association with the Declaration of Independence became fixed in the nations folklore. It remains so today.
The Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly had ordered the bell built in 1751 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Pennsylvanias Constitution. After being cracked during a test and recast twice, the bell was hung from the Statehouse steeple in 1753.
Rung to proclaim meetings of the Pennsylvania Assembly and to rally people for singular events and special occasions, such as King George IIIs 1761 ascension to the British throne and, in 1765, for them to denounce the British Parliaments passage of the Stamp Act. It also rang in 1775 to announce the battles of Lexington and Concord, the opening skirmishes of the Revolutionary War.
As British troops advanced toward Philadelphia in the fall of 1777, the bell was hidden in Allentown to save it from being melted down by the British and used to forge cannons. After the British defeat in 1781, the bell was returned to Philadelphia, which served as the nations capital from 1790 to 1800. The bell was tolled annually to celebrate George Washingtons birthday on Feb. 22 and Independence Day on July 4. The name Liberty Bell was coined in an 1839 poem in an abolitionist pamphlet.
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The bell acquired its distinctive large current crack sometime in the early 19th century possibly when it was rung to mark the death of Chief Justice John Marshall in 1835. It acquired further fame after an 1847 story alleged that an aged bell ringer rang it on July 4, 1776, upon hearing of the congressional vote for independence. That tale became widely accepted as being factual, even by some contemporary historians.
In the aftermath of the Civil War, many Americans sought ways to venerate symbols of unity. The U.S. flag became one such symbol; the Liberty Bell became another. To help heal the wounds of the war, the Liberty Bell traveled across the country, being welcomed by huge crowds.
In preparation for Americas bicentennial celebration in 1976, the Liberty Bell was moved to a newly built pavilion about 100 yards from Independence Hall. It was relocated on the same block in 2003. The bell remains there today, viewed by upward of a million visitors annually.
SOURCE: http://WWW.USHISTORY.ORG/TOUR/LIBERTY-BELL.HTM
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Liberty Bell rings out in Philadelphia, July 8, 1776 - POLITICO - Politico
With Silverstone poised to announce next week that it will activate a break clause to terminate its British GP deal beyond 2019 so it can renegotiate terms, the fate of the event has been thrown into doubt.
One of the key issues that has threatened its future is a heavy escalator in its F1 rights fee which will make it impossible to break even in the future.
While there has been talk of the British GP finding a new home potentially with a street race in London the financial reality is that a reduced rights fee for Silverstone over the long-term would help pave a better way forward.
But Brown, who is executive director of McLaren and recently met with Liberty to discuss the future of F1, thinks perhaps the best way forward would be for F1's new owners to take over Silverstone from the British Racing Drivers' Club.
"My view is Liberty should buy Silverstone," said Brown. "Much like the NFL which is a pretty successful sport - they own their own Super Bowl which moves around.
"I think Silverstone is a great track. I sympathise if, with the escalator, it cannot make money, so we need to figure out a way for them to make money. So we either create new revenue streams or re-cut the deal."
Brown thinks that a way to make Silverstone more financially attractive would be for it to become an F1 hub, featuring museums, more testing and other attractions for fans.
"You could do an F1 Hall of Fame, you could do racing schools, and eSports.," added Brown. "If you owned the property yourself there is a lot of incremental activities.
"Testing too. Maybe instead of it all being in Barcelona for eight days, you could do it at Silverstone and really open it up to the fans. Personally I think it would be a great acquisition."
Brown said he had voiced his opinion to Liberty's chiefs, and suggested that it had not been rejected.
"I have voiced my views on that," he said. "They listen. They will be quick to tell you if they disagree, and they didn't disagree with the logic.
"But I wouldn't want to put words in their mouth that they are going out to buy it. The nice thing about Liberty is that you can just share your views, take them on board, see them register and they have a lot of stuff going on. It is easy for me to say just go buy it."
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Liberty should buy Silverstone to secure future, says Brown - Motorsport.com, Edition: Global
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Contractor to reduce time Liberty Bridge is restricted to motorists ... Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has reached an agreement with the contractor responsible for the Liberty Bridge fire that will offset monetary ... Prepare yourself for more Liberty Bridge and tunnel closures next ... Liberty Bridge closures scheduled | Washington County News ... PennDOT waives $3 million fine for Liberty Bridge fire |
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Contractor to reduce time Liberty Bridge is restricted to motorists ... - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Stubbs live music venue and barbecue restaurants are changing their name to settlea trademark lawsuit that dragged on for nearly two years but their ownerhasnt said just yet what that new name will be.
Documents filed with the Texas Secretary of States office, though, indicate it will be a name near and dear to longtime Austinites.
In a filing made Friday,one day after the settlement was announced, Stubbs Austin Restaurant Co. applied to reserve theLiberty Lunchname.
Liberty Lunch was a legendary live music venueat 405 W. Second St. in downtown Austin that shut down in 1999 and was later demolished to make way for redevelopment. The site is now part of the Second Street District, a mixed-use project featuring shops, restaurants, offices and apartments.
Social media lit up Thursday with speculation that the Liberty Lunch name would be used, but an attorney for the restaurants wouldnt confirm those rumors when contacted by the American-Statesman.
In addition to the original Austin Stubbs location on Red River Street, there are smaller Stubbs outposts at Mean Eyed Cat, Graceland Grocery and Lalas Little Nugget. All four locations will change their name, although Stubbs Austin Restaurant Co. hasnt indicated when that change will occur.
While the name will change, it will still be the same owner/operator, same live music, same cold beer and great food for years and years to come, the company said in a statement Thursday.
The Stubbs name will be retained by the line of marinades, sauces and rubs sold by One World Foods, which wasacquired by Maryland-based McCormick and Co. in 2015 for $100 million.
One World said Thursday it was pondering opening its own Stubbs-branded restaurants.
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Is Stubb's changing its name to Liberty Lunch? Documents say 'yes' - Austin American-Statesman
Sara Barr, BYU
Brett Scharffs, director of BYU's International Center for Law and Religion Studies, speaks at the university's Religious Freedom Annual Review on Thursday, July 6, 2017.
PROVO More faiths were represented at BYU's Religious Freedom Annual Review this week than in the conference's previous three years, but on Friday that diversity revealed the complexity of issues religious people believe they face.
While presenters on one panel all praised increased interdenominational unity of purpose in defense of religious expression, clear differences emerged about how to move forward.
Several championed an effort to forge a federal version of the Utah Compromise, a 2015 law based on the idea of a "fairness for all" approach, which passed with the direct backing of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The law protected LGBTQ people from discrimination in housing and hiring while also providing renewed safeguards for people of faith to exercise their religious beliefs.
Others said the compromise went too far.
"There is a real split in religious communities now about how best to advance religious freedoms," said Elizabeth Clark, associate director of the BYU law school's International Center for Law and Religion Studies, the conference sponsor.
For example, John Jackson said he has at times tearfully apologized to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people in regular meetings with Equality California for the way some have been treated in the name of Christ. But the president of William Jessup University, an evangelical Christian college, said he can't be party to a federal version of the Utah Compromise.
"I remain very dubious," he said, because a national compromise would enshrine civil liberty protections for LGBTQ people. He predicted his comments would be the fireworks between the Fourth of July and Utah's Pioneer Day on July 24.
"I'm unwilling and unable to support any legislation that normalizes gender fluidity or gender inconsequentiality or that normalizes same-sex sexual behavior," he said. "Please know that I am unequivocally for civil protections for all persons in our constitutional republic regardless of status or standing. Simultaneously, I'm biblically, theologically, parentally and pastorally unable and unwilling to affirm any view of gender which suggests that maleness or femaleness are arbitrary, self-selected, fluid or inconsequential."
During a question-and-answer session, Patrick Reilly, president of the Cardinal Newman Society, expressed worry about attempts to preserve religious institutions by compromising on "basic human anthropology." He said surrendering the belief that man-woman marriage is the foundation of society "goes too far" and is incorrect from a Catholic point of view.
Both men drew some applause. While the conference organizers back the fairness for all approach, they welcomed the diversity of opinion.
"We don't come together expecting to agree with everything we say," said Brett Scharffs, director of BYU's International Center for Law and Religion Studies.
Other than drawing those clear lines, Jackson and Reilly built bridges.
Reilly outlined what he called serious threats to religious higher education. Those challenges extend to health plans, accreditation, academic associations and athletic leagues. He said Catholic schools face an increasing number of lawsuits from students and faculty who wish to force them to give up their Christian missions. He expected a trickle to turn into a downpour in the near future and offered a solution.
"Legal experts repeatedly ensure us," he said, "that when religious institutions comply with internal policies that are clearly presented and rooted strongly in their religious belief, First Amendment protections are likely to prevail."
Alarmingly, he said, many schools have vague, inconsistent polices and practices.
"Unpreparedness leads to fear," he said, backing religious educators into corners from which they mount weak defenses or compromise their religious identity.
Without different legal and public relations tactics, "we're going to lose," said Shapri LoMaglio, vice president for government relations and executive programs at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities.
She argued for freeing religious liberty from the culture wars and doing away with dramatic speech, outraged postures and circular logic.
LoMaglio backed the federal version of a Utah Compromise/Fairness for All. She said it polls well because it speaks to values held by both conservatives and liberals.
"We hope it will be an effective mechanism nationally," she said.
Steven M. Sandberg, BYU's deputy general counsel, advised conferencegoers that they can make a long-term difference with courage, hard work and connecting one-on-one with others, saying the best protection is friends who defend believers because they know them.
He told the story of a Christian psychologist whose relationships on a national psychology accreditation board averted a negative change in accreditation standards for religious schools.
Clark, the center's associate director, said the conference's presenters also included a Unitarian pastor and a woman who is an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
"We can learn so much from each other," she said.
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At BYU conference, differences emerge on protection for religious ... - Deseret News
A section of the cover of Hobbes Leviathan with engraving by Abraham Bosse, 1651. Image via Wikipedia.
At first glance the fact that Donald Trump and Theresa Mays neo-Conservative agenda mixes a libertarian ideology with a strong authoritarian streak seems contradictory. In the United States we see Trump using an autocratic executive order to mandate that two rules for business must be repealed for each new one enacted in Congress. In Britain a similar mantra of a bonfire of red tape is accompanied by the attempt to use the Royal Prerogative to force through Brexit decisions. But autocracy was built into Libertarianism when it first appeared centuries ago!
It is not just in religious texts that people die and get buried only to be resurrected and live a far more celebrated second life; or at least their works do. It happened to the composer J.S. Bach, whose music disappeared for over a century before it was resurrected by Felix Mendelssohn in the mid Nineteenth Century. It also happened to a man who died just before Bach was born, the seventeenth century political philosopher Thomas Hobbes.
Ironically for one of the founders of liberal and libertarian thinking, (along with John Locke) a primary aim of Hobbes was a defence of sovereign power and autocratic government. Hobbes works include Leviathan, published in 1651 in which he developed his Social Contract Theory.
His efforts were largely aimed at opposing the radical politics which emerged during the English Civil War of the previous decade (partly as a result of the radical Leveller group) and the theories of the High Republicans during the English Commonwealth of the early 1650s (1).
Strangely, although Hobbes ideas were applicable to a Royalist settlement as well as the Council of State of their bitter opponent Parliamentarian Oliver Cromwell, both sides found his views unpalatable. So, just like the work of the composer Bach, Hobbes theories fell into obscurity for over a century to be revived during the debate over American Independence in the 1770s.
So what lay behind Hobbes insistence on an absolute monarch? It comes from Hobbes concept of society which viewed people atomistically, in perpetual motion trying to gain economic advantage and influence over each other. From this a natural structure to society emerges with individuals all seeking their own best interests.
But if society is of this nature, what stops it falling apart in some kind of anarchic fight for ultimate power? Why, none other than a universally accepted absolute sovereign charged with passing and enforcing laws to ensure the continued health of the competitive system.
To keep the sovereign above the throng he or she would have the power to appoint their successor (what better than the eldest son!). Importantly, the Sovereign was not necessarily an individual in the Hobbes system, but could also be an elite ruling group or even, surprisingly, a democratically chosen chamber. What concerned Hobbes was not so much the source of the power but the absolute manner in which it was wielded.
Hobbes claimed that the legitimacy for his theory came from the freedoms which man possessed in the state of nature. But as C. B. MacPherson showed in his book Possessive Individualism, this was a fallacy.
What Hobbes did was to take the contemporary mid-seventeenth century English economic structure of small traders and freelancers and hypothesize how they would behave if laws were removed. Crucially, his version of liberty rested on the fact that a person is free to the extent that he/she is not constrained by laws; the Sovereign is there merely for the stability of society and the health of a free market.
For Hobbes, so-called freedom by non-interference was key and as freedom is maximised when the number and extent of laws are minimised, it is actually irrelevant whether the laws are passed by an elected chamber or an absolute monarch. The idea of liberty through non-interference, also expounded by John Locke, was later developed by Jeremy Bentham and became the prevalent view which still dominates today.
But it turns out that this idea of liberty is not nearly strong enough and not only must there be non-interference, but there must be no possibility of interference (so-called non-domination). Furthermore, the state itself must also be free, prevented from being subverted by individual or sectarian interests. In this view a sovereign must be restrained from creating arbitrary laws to their own advantage or blocking new laws to extend liberty in some facet of society.
Thus to a modern day British Republican (and more widely to any real Democrat as a believer of rule by the people) the mere existence of the Royal Prerogative along with Royal Assent (though not used since 1707) and Queens Consent which can be used to prevent debate in the House of Commons is unacceptable. As Philip Pettit in his book Republicanism writes:
Liberty as non-domination republican liberty had not only been lost to political thinkers and activists; it had even become invisible to the historians of political thought.
As activists we need to recover this idea of republican liberty. Remember that the theory calls for the wielding of absolute power (or as close as we can get in the form of Prerogative or Executive Order). Although Hobbes can be seen as the progenitor of the concept, modern Libertarians are actually critical of Trump and May, viewing the size of the Government they propose as being far too large. Nevertheless the autocratic Libertarian elements of both leaders must be opposed for a compassionate and fair society with effective individual rights to survive. The recent debacle suffered by Theresa may in this General Election greatly increases the chances of a successful outcome in the near future. But the ideology is as old as the hills and we can be certain that sooner or later it will flourish again.
Notes
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As of July 7, 2017, there is a new party in the Classic City. The Libertarian Party of Athens hosted its inaugural meeting from 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Zombie Coffee and Donuts.
The newly formed party will function as a local affiliate of the Georgia Libertarian Party, and will focus on supporting local libertarian candidates as well as spreading the partys message throughout the community. Approximately 20 people were in attendance at the event, in addition to local event coordinators and state party officials.
Slated to begin at the 7:00 p.m., the meeting did not start in earnest until about 7:20 p.m., as officials set up boxes of donuts for the attendees and allowed people to trickle in, making small talk about their personal Libertarian ideologies.
April Brown, the newly elected chairwoman of the Athens affiliate, hosted the meeting in conjunction with Nathan Wilson, the executive director of the state party.
The two were joined by Ted Metz, chairman of the state party, Ryan Graham, the partys field development director, and David Bright, a personal friend of Browns who aided her in coordinating the meeting.
The meeting had a comprehensive agenda, with topics ranging from future activism and pillars of the organization, to specific bylaws of the organization, detailing the requirements and responsibilities attached to membership.
According to Brown, her plans to start a Libertarian party affiliate began after the election, when Graham approached her online about a Facebook page she ran titled Libertarians of Jackson County, where Brown then resided.
Nothing really came of it, you know we would share memes, but after the election it just kind of went dead, Brown said.Ryan approached me on Facebook and said, Hey, Im from the state party, would you be interested in starting an affiliate in Jackson County or maybe in Athens since its a larger city? and I was like, Actually, I just moved to Athens.
Brown said the state party was instrumental in setting up the meeting, drumming up interest and guiding her through the process of starting the Athens affiliate. Wilson said local affiliates such as these are equally instrumental to expanding the state party and the Libertarian platform in Georgia.
Affiliates are the lifeblood of the state party, Wilson said. They provide the eyes and ears and local stuff ... the affiliates supply us with candidates, with information, whats going on; we literally cannot do anything without them.
All Libertarian affiliates decide on three main pillars of focus for their activism, championing issues such as marijuana legalization or the Fourth Amendment on a local level. While these interests were discussed, nothing was set in stone for the local platform aside from the core libertarian values of small government and expanded personal freedoms.
The major order of business handled at the meeting was the election of officers. The three essential positions in the organization were filled in the unopposed election of Brown to chairwoman, Chris Nekvinda to vice chairman and Bobby Dominy to secretary.
Once regular meeting times, bylaws and membership numbers are established, Brown said the party will begin an extensive outreach plan, aiming to work with large local events such as LGBTQ pride events, AthFest, farmers markets and many others to coordinate volunteer work and tabling to spread the word of the Libertarian party while helping the community.
Once established, the partys main goal will be the promotion of Libertarian candidates to local offices as well as working with the state party for larger elections.
Any statewide race we are going to have in 2018, well have a candidate filling in that slot. No one is going to unchallenged in those seats, Wilson said.
The Libertarian Party of Athens, now having elected its officers and filled out the appropriate paperwork, awaits approval at the monthly meeting of the state party, after which point it will begin operating as an official affiliate of the Libertarian party of Georgia in Athens. Though the road ahead to the 2018 elections is long, The Libertarian Party of Athens is ready to bring Libertarianisms core message to the Athens community.
We want to get the government out of your private life and out of your pockets, Brown said.
Link:
Libertarian Party of Athens holds inaugural meeting - Red and Black
The Oklahoma Libertarian Partys most successful candidate to date, Chris Powell, is seeking the nomination for Governor. Powell, of Bethany, received more than 89,000 votes running for county office in 2016, besting Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnsons statewide total of 83,481.
Powell will formally announce at the State Capitol at 1 p.m. July 8.
Powell, active in the OKLP since 2000 including a term as chairman, contrasts his greater depth of political experience as compared to the other Libertarian candidates for the states highest office. In regard to those seeking the Republican and Democrat nominations, Powell says, My life is far more representative of the vast majority of Oklahomans than that of the members of the political establishment in those other two parties. I understand the daily problems of regular people in ways those politicians never can.
Powell intends to focus on empowering local school boards and teachers, elimination of special interest tax credits, state agency consolidation, criminal justice reform, and working to reduce divisions in the Legislature, all of which will help address the ongoing budget problems.
He said, Each vote I get on Nov. 6, 2018, will be a clear message to every elected state official to put aside partisan differences and enact real solutions for our state.
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Powell enters race for Libertarian Party gubernatorial nomination - Edmond Sun
Flooding along Lake Ontario is still causing problems in Toronto, the biggest city in Canada, particularly for the picturesque harbor islands.
Julian Ganton owns Toronto Islands SUP, which stands for stand up paddleboard. He looks like a typical water sports guy in flip flops, board shorts, and sunglasses.
Normally, this time of year, Ganton would be giving tours or lessons, but instead, he is filling his time by paddling with his friends.
Were gonna go check out some of the flooded areas of the island, and just take a tour through some of the lagoons, he said.
The Toronto Islands are a huge pull for tourists. They are just a short ferry from downtown Toronto, with beachy cottages, boardwalks and bicycles there are virtually no cars on the islands.
But right now, theres almost no one there. Restaurants and other businesses are suffering.
Undeterred, Ganton sees the opportunity for a new marketing strategy.
"It's been slower, of course," he said. "But we do feature in showing people the natural phenomenon and what it means to the natural landscapes: showing them flooded areas, touring the lagoons Theres definitely more to paddle.
The islands were hit hard by the heavy spring rains that raised the level of Lake Ontario by two-and-a-half feet. This spring they lost a lot of their beaches, water is pooling in people's yards, and their sewer systems are overwhelmed.
Currently, the islands are technically closed. Theres even a white piece of paper taped to the window of the ticket counter in the ferry terminal which says: Toronto Islands Closed until July 31. But, if you say youre headed over for a day trip, you can get a ticket anyway.
Thats how Aviva Wade says she got over. She says she told the guy selling tickets she was visiting the islands for lunch with a friend.
And to check out whats been going on after this unbelievable springtime weve had.
As a visitor, she says shes not particularly bothered by the lack of people on what would usually be a busy summer day.
Its kind of nice, Wade said. Youre going to have the place to yourself.
Besides restaurants and beaches, the islands have another draw, their main attraction the Centre Island Amusement Park.
Its part theme park, part petting zoo, part event space for parties and weddings. The theme park has a log flume, a little Ferris wheel and roller coaster a lot geared for smaller children.
This year the park turns 50. Usually, it would be full of people in the swan boats, eating funnel cakes or taking pony rides. Some would be putting their heads in those plywood cutouts painted like pirates and mermaids and making faces.
But now it's empty. It is here that the islands' closure feels the most dramatic, maybe because abandoned amusement parks are already kind of eerie.
The islands are scheduled to re-open in late July, assuming they dont have any unforeseen problems or lingering health concerns. Workers are worried about standing water breeding mosquitos, or E. coli in the water from sewage problems.
But so far so good. The water continues to go down, and more of the beach is visible every day.
Right now crews are cleaning up the park, getting ready for summer visitors hoping they come back.
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Toronto harbor islands hurt by Lake Ontario flooding - WRVO Public Media
TOKYO, July 8. /TASS/. Japan's government says the trip of the country's delegation of officials and businesses to South Kuril Islands on June 27 - July 1 would favor greatly signing of a peace treaty with Russia, Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Hiroshige Seko said in an interview with TASS on Saturday.
"Between June 27 and July 1, a Japanese delegation for the first time made research related to the cooperation on the four islands," the minister said. "This trip complied with agreements on the top level; from the point of details for the cooperation, this trip was very fruitful in terms of its objectives, scales and contents."
"A direct impact on improvement of trust and understanding (between Japan and Russia - TASS) has the fact that we continue discussions about joint cooperation, without affecting each other's positions, and the Japanese and Russians are working together on future of the four islands," he said. "I am confident, this favors signing of the peace treaty, and leaders of our countries confirm this."
"During this research, we received information, including opinions of our experts, our partners," he continued. "Based on this data, we shall analyze thoroughly what projects could be implemented without conflicting legal positions of the countries, and still picking the projects which we shall promote first of all."
Besides, the minister said, "on July 7, leaders of our countries touched upon this topic."
"As for the Japanese side, we shall study results of that trip at the upcoming meeting of the Council on cooperation, which will feature Foreign Minister [Fumio] Kushida," he said. "We shall analyze the received information and shall continue working on the projects."
Japanese delegations visit
The delegation featured members of the Japanese government office, officials from the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, as well as from the Hokkaido Prefecture. They visited 64 facilities, including hospitals, electric power plants, sports centers, as well as a hotel complex under construction.
On December 15-16, 2016, the Russian president visited Japan for the first in eleven years. The peace treaty issue and the South Kuril Islands issue topped the agenda, while bilateral cooperation was also discussed. Vladimir Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe adopted a joint statement saying that consultations on joint economic activities on the South Kuril Islands could become an important step on the way to a peace treaty.
Russia and Japan have been holding consultations since the mid-20th century in order to clinch a peace treaty as a follow-up to World War II. The Kuril Islands issue remains the sticking point since after WWII the islands were handed over to the Soviet Union while Japan has laid claims to the four southern islands.
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Visit of Japan's delegation to Kuril Islands favors treaty with Russia - Japanese minister - TASS
Tattooed hunk who tried to woo Camilla shares a joke with famous cousin Amy from Towie as they meet up in Brentwood
LOVE Island hunk Craig Lawson enjoys a stroll and a chat with his Towie cousin Amy Childs after returning to the UK.
The tattooed Essex lad, who bagged himself a snog with Camilla Thurlow on the ITV2 show, grinned as he joked about with new mum Amy.
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Flynet Pictures Tel : +44 (0)20 3551 5049 Email :
Tanned glamourpuss Amy and walking work of art Craig hardly looked like birds of a feather during their walk on the streets of their native Brentwood in Essex.
But dad-of-three Craig,who angered his ex-girlfriend by going on Love Island, seemed delighted to be in the stars company, four days after being kicked off the programme with Nathan and Danielle who are now dating each other.
Red-haired Amy only revealed herself to be the cousin of Craig after hed gone into the Love Island villa, a few weeks into the 2017 series.
She wished him all the best on Twitter, writing:Good luck to my cousin Craig that has just entered the Love Island villa.
At the moment it sounds like Amy might need a spell on the island of love herself, though.
The reality TV favourite recently split from ex-convict boyfriend Bradley Wright, the father of her baby daughter, six weeks after giving birth.
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But Amy, who seems to have lost a lot of weight since the birth, has ruled out moving on from Bradley as she says hes being a great dad to their daughter Polly.
Amy left Towie in 2011 and went on to major career success in other TV shows and in retail career success which Craig may now be aspiring to.
He certainly made his mark in the Love Island villa, doing some serious grafting to impress Camilla Thurlow after her heart was broken by Jonny Mitchell.
ITV
In the end Camilla who had a fling with Prince Harry didnt think their romance had a future and all they shared together was a snog before Craig was driven to the airport.
Viewers werent all conviced that Craigs feelings for Cam were genuine, but after leaving the show he hit back, saying: For me I had a very strong connection with her before I went in there because I felt I could understand her.
ITV Picture Desk
Im 100 per cent in or nothing. I werent going to go in there and play hard to get and mess around with her emotions, he added.
However, it seems Craig was anticipating a big TV future for himself and Camilla as hed signed up to an agency to get them both their own TV show BEFORE going into Love Island.
He also raised suspicions among viewers by saying he and Camilla could be the next Pro Green and Millie Mackintosh, something that had been mentioned on social media as soon as he arrived on the programme.
Got a story? email digishowbiz@the-sun.co.uk or call us direct on 02077824220
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Love Island's Craig Lawson spends some quality time with his cousin Amy Childs in Essex - The Sun
Jeannie Conway, of Vinalhaven, handed a surprise over to Kevin Waters, owner of Penobscot Island Air, at the Knox County Regional Airport. It was July 5, and Owls Head was humming, but her gift stopped him in his tracks. It wasnt just from Conway. The modest package represented the gratitude and good will of residents on Vinalhaven, North Haven and Matinicus. It was a book full of heartfelt comments written by islanders. And stuffed in the back, $3,600 in cash.
But its not about the money, Conway was quick to point out.It was about showing him how much he means to us, and how the islands are behind him 100 percent.
Two days later, and Waters was still overwhelmed by the kindness.
I got to tell you, its old school, he said, over the phone, and in between talking on the radio with pilots who were delivering cargo to islands before weather moved in.Its unbelievable the support of those guys over there. It totally amazes me. When youre down, the islanders really rally. Ididnt expect it, and I didnt know it. They are very special folks.
After one of PIAs planes went down on Vinalhaven June 26, during a routine morning mail run to the island, first responders rushed to the scene to help the pilot, Ted Westlake. While the plane was demolished in a stand of trees, Westlake miraculously walked away from the crash, uninjured.
As the Federal Aviation Administration and insurance companies continue to investigate the crash,Penobscot Island Air, familiar to all islanders and citizens of the Midcoast, continues to do what it does best get people and cargo to and from the islands every day, responding to all kinds of personal situations at all hours of the day.
He flies my donuts in every weekend, said Conway, who according to Vinalhaven resident Carol Thompson, is a fundraiser extraordinaire. Conway owns the Islands Closet. She works for the ferry service, and is a firefighter with the Vinalhaven Fire Department. And she doesnt hesitate to help others through rough patches.
Hes a real good friend, she said.He has flown me out of here when my dog was sick, and took me to the vet. He gave me his van [on the mainland] when a family member was in the hospital. If I dont call him to bum something, hell call me and saywhat do you need?
This time, Conway intuitively sensed itwas Waters and Penobscot Island Air that needed something. Support, encouragement, appreciation, a pat on the back. She saw Waters the day after the crash, and noted he was feeling down.
She decided, as community-minded organizers like her often do, that the situation required action.
Were going to have a bake sale, she said.
That snowballed fairly quickly into a raffle, and various Facebook pages, including the North Haven community page, picked up on the effort.
Pretty soon, all manner of raffle items appeared. Conways son works for the Sea Dogs, so the team contributed season tickets, a signed ball, even the last ball pitched in the 2004 World Series. Artist Eric Hopkins donated a print. Nebo Lodge, on North Haven, kicked in, as did approximately 60 other residents and business owners.
At the July Fourth parade on Vinalhaven, a table was set up to sell tickets. A guest book was created, and everyone jotted down individual messages to Waters, and the crew at PIA. Just to express their appreciation,for everything they do, which is not just flying, said Conway.
The money followed, and still does.
Someone just handed me a $20 as I was walking by, she said, two days after she visited Waters at the Owls Head Airport.
So many people depend on him for so many different things, said Conway.At Christmas, I told him about a family that could use help. He loaded his plane with presents for them. Hes a giver, but hes a silent giver. Hes a teddy bear.
The feeling is likewise.
Its a year-round deal, said Waters, choking up just a little.We care very much about them.
Related story
Pilot transported to Rockport hospital following Vinalhaven plane crash
Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657
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Penobscot Bay islands rally for their plane service, send donations and big love - PenBayPilot.com