Ask a Doc: Keeping your loved one with cancer from wasting away – AZCentral.com

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Dr. Haiyong Han, Special for The Republic | azcentral.com 5:03 a.m. MT Feb. 17, 2017

Dr. Haiyong Han(Photo: Translational Genomics Research Institute,)

Question:

What can be done about my loved wasting away while battling cancer?

Answer: Cachexia, or wasting syndrome, is a condition characterized by a loss of weight, weakening of muscles, fatigue, weakness and significant loss of appetite.

Cachexia (pronounced: kuh-kek-see-uh) comes from the Greek kakos (bad) and hexis (condition)and is evident in a variety of medical afflictions, including pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, congestive heart failure and even hormonal deficiencies.

It really is a bad condition, especially among cancer patients, where it is responsible for more than 20 percent of cancer-related deaths. And cachexia is found in higher numbers in certain types of cancer. For example, more than 80 percent of patients with advanced pancreatic cancer now the No. 3 killer among all cancer types have cachexia.

Thanks to a $175,000 grant from the Hearst Foundations, the Phoenix-based Translational Genomics Research Institute is trying to find ways to prevent, even reverse, cachexia and help cancer patients survive.

TGen researchers have proposed that cachexia is associated with a cancer-caused conversion of white fat (stored fat) into brown fat (energy-burning fat). This brown fat is associated among mammals in circumstances requiring high energy, such as babies maintaining body temperature immediately after birth, for flight in bats, or among bears to initiate the search for food after long periods of hibernation.

If that conversion of white fat into brown fat can be stopped, cachexia could be reversed, eliminating the weight loss, muscle weakness, anemia, loss of appetite and especially among cancer patients help people feel more like living.

If TGen can find a basic way to control cachexia, that concept will be tested in a clinical trial, where it could immediately begin to help patients.

This TGen study proposes to first test potential methods of reversing cachexia in preclinical models of pancreatic cancer. If initial laboratory tests are positive, then a clinical team will move swiftly to try to help patients with pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Haiyong Han is a professor in TGens Molecular Medicine Division. He can be reached at hhan@tgen.org.

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Ask a Doc: Keeping your loved one with cancer from wasting away - AZCentral.com

Marshall Behrens: Love of work – Post-Bulletin

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Marshall Behrens even describes himself as "flamboyant." But it's with the insistence that he's never going for that.

For this referee for all seasons, flamboyance is instead simply a byproduct of passion.

"What might be perceived as flamboyance is just that I care that much," Behrens said. "Not an ounce of that is intentional. It's because I care that much about the kids and the game, and it's just who I am. I guess I wear my emotions on my sleeve."

Spend much time in southeast Minnesota gymnasiums the last 15 years, or baseball and softball diamonds, or football fields, and you know Behrens.

You can't miss the 40-year-old St. Charles native. He's the shortish guy with the close-cropped haircut, the military-styled strut to his walk (especially in tense situations) that he couples with a right arm that he stiffens to a 45-degree angle and rhythmically wags with each quick step. He's also that guy who occasionally stops the action to verbally chastise an abusive fan or coach and who can get from one end of the floor to the other like nobody's business.

Tough to take your eyes off him.

"If there's a play where Marshall maybe got tied up at one end of the court and has to get to the other end, he's like a bottle rocket," said close friend and fellow longtime referee Jeff Wills, who officiates many games with Behrens and raves about him. "He's one of the fastest officials around."

He's also the official who's simply around, and like none other.

Behrens' guess is that out of a year's 365 days, he's officiating 300 of them. There's high school and college football in the fall, high school and college basketball in the winter, high school and college baseball and softball in the spring, then amateur and American Legion baseball in the summer.

Behrens takes Sundays off, when he and his wife of five years Ellie turn to their mutual passion, food.

"We're foodies," Behrens said. "Our dream is to buy a restaurant on a lake, open a bar and grill and retire there. We both like to cook. My best entree is either steamed mussels or prime rib."

Sounds like a wonderful retirement dream. But its definitely for well down the road, when Behrens can no longer put on his striped officials shirts or his baseball/softball chest protector.

Take the whistle out of Behrens' mouth right now and there'd be problems. He is a Molecular Medicine Research supervisor by day at Mayo Clinic. By night, Behrens chooses to be an official. Except on Sundays.

"Officiating has turned into a full-blown addiction for me," Behrens said. "I do it because I care about the (players and coaches) and I enjoy it so much. Even when I have a rare night off, it almost bothers me. I feel like I should be out there."

Behrens was just an OK athlete (his description) growing up in St. Charles, where he played varsity football, basketball and baseball. But he was passionate about all three sports.

That's what's made transitioning to officiating something he got started on with intramural basketball while enrolled at Wisconsin-Stevens Point such a natural.

Not afraid of the limelight and with a keen eye toward the nuances of sports, Behrens took to officiating in a hurry.

Looking back, though, he says he had a long way to go.

"I think I was too naive then to know that I wasn't that great at it," Behrens said. "When you first get started, you think you're a lot better than you are."

But the 57-year-old Wills, himself one of the most respected referees around, sure gives Behrens high marks now.

It's Behrens' zeal for the work that Wills says makes him so special. Behrens never comes close to taking a night off when he's wearing those stripes.

"Marshall treats every game the same," Wills said. "We can be working a ninth-grade game on a Saturday morning, and he gives as much attention, passion and focus to that game as he does to the varsity game we do later that night.

"He is fully loaded every day. He gives it everything he's got."

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7 VR Horror Games to Look Forward to After Playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – UploadVR

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The combination of technology and genre focus that led to the creation of VR horror games feel like a match made in Hell(for horror buffs, thats a good thing). After all, horror games are most effective when you feel immersed in their dark, threatening worlds. And theres no better way to immerse yourself in a game than to strap on a VR headset and just jump right in.

A number of fine horror games are already available, with Resident Evil 7 [Review: 9/10] being the most notable and recent. But maybe youve played through them all by now. Maybe youre itching for another fright-fest you can dive into in VR. Luckily for you, a number of VR horror games are currently in the works. Here are some of the most promising ones youll be able to play in the near future.

Visage is a Kickstarted game from SadSquare Studio that wears its inspiration on its sleeve. That inspiration is P.T., Konamis playable teaser for the doomed game Silent Hills. The difference is that you wont be playing Silent Hills anytime soon (or P.T. for that matter, unless you downloaded it while it was available on the PlayStation Store). Visage, on the other hand, will actually materialize.

Like P.T., Visage promises to make chilling use of horror imagery, jump scares, mystery, and tension as you make your way through an abandoned house thats been the scene of many gruesome deaths. As you progress, the stories of those who died will bubble up to the surface in all-too-horrifying ways.

The developers promise a single play-through of Visage will last between six and seven hours, with replay value added by way of certain randomized events. Look for Visage on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR sometime in 2017.

Developed alongside the horror movie of the same name, Dont Knock Twice is VR game based on an urban legend about a witch who resides in a decrepit old manor. You play as a mother searching the house for your daughter, who made the mistake of you guessed it knocking twice on the front door. As you soon find out, the house contains mysteries youll have to solve and horrors youll have to face before you can come to your daughters aid.

You can play a Dont Knock Twice demo now on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. The full game is set to launch in April on both headsets, as well as PlayStation VR and non-VR platforms.

Its hard to know quite what to make of Get Even, an upcoming VR game from Bandai Namco and The Farm 51. Thats because the trailers dont make a whole lot of sense, and the developers are keeping their lips sealed. What we do know is that you play as Cole Black, a man apparently trapped in a run-down asylum, who has to save a teenage girl with a bomb strapped to her chest.

The terrifying things you see as you try to figure out whats going on may or may not actually be happening. All you really know is that you have a camera and an array of weaponry on hand to ward back the forces of evil. Or do you?

Whether the developers can turn this mind-bending premise into a killer VR game remains to be seen, but its worth keeping an eye on. Look for Get Evenaround May 26, 2017 for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR.

If you consider yourself a horror fan, youre probably familiar with the Paranormal Activity movies. This game is based in that universe, which is to say that it brings demons into everyday settings. When we tried it last, we saw someone literally throw off their headsetit was so scary.

Like many other upcoming horror titles, Paranormal Activity puts you in a spooky abandoned house and has you wander around, trying to figure out whats going on. Meanwhile, a pall of terror and tension presses down on you as strange things begin to happen. Doors slam, lights flicker, bloody letters spelling out Lucifer appear on the wall. Basically, things start to get weird.

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul will land in Early Access on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive on March 14, 2017, with a final version landing a little later on those headsets as well as PlayStation VR.

Were used to controlling VR games using gamepads, motion controllers, and head movement. Stifled adds another method: sound. The game world is completely black until you either make noise into your microphone, or your character makes noise in the game. When that happens, your surroundings materialize thanks to echolocation. In other words, you experience the world like a bat. We were enamored with how it comes together when we went hands-on with the demo.

Theres a catch, though. Youre not alone in the darkness, and when you make sounds, enemies can hear you, too. It seems like a creative and unique setup for an intense horror experience. Watch the video to see it in action, and look for Stifled on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PlayStation VR (along with non-VR platforms) sometime in 2017.

If you have an Oculus Rift and an appreciation for Hollywood talent in your horror games, Wilsons Heart deserves a spot on your radar. This black-and-white psychological thriller stars Rosario Dawson, Alfred Molina, and Peter Weller (yes, RoboCop himself) as characters in a mysterious hospital in the 1940s.

You play as Robert Wilson, a man who wakes up to discover his heart has been replaced by some kind of strange gadget. Your job is to make your way through a hospital filled with era-appropriate horrors to retrieve your vital organ. Wilsons Heart is slated to release on Oculus Rift with Touch in 2017.

Haunted houses and abandoned asylums are scary and all, but few places on earth are more perilous than the bottom of the ocean. Thats where you find yourself in Narcosis, a game about an industrial diver whos stranded on the seafloor, with nothing but a few tools, a flashlight, and a limited supply of oxygen. The goal is to find a way to the surface before you die or go insane.

The idea behind Narcosis was to create a survival horror game using no supernatural elements. The enemies you encounter are actual deep-sea creatures, and the dangers you face are all too real for divers. Narcosis is scheduled to launch on Oculus Rift sometime this year, and other platforms later.

Tagged with: Don't Knock Twice, PSVR, Resident Evil 7, rift, Visage, Vive, VR, wilson's heart

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7 VR Horror Games to Look Forward to After Playing Resident Evil 7: Biohazard - UploadVR

Eagle Radio – Eagle Radio

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With the recent release of The Lego Batman Movie, we've been catching up with the UK's ONLY Lego certified professional.

His name is Duncan Titmarsh and his workshop, Bright Bricks, is in Bordon.

Last week to mark the arrival of the film, he created a LEGO Batarang standing over three meters tall for London's South Bank.

It consisted of 35,000 LEGO pieces and is 133 times the size of the LEGO piece it is based on.

Duncan started putting together LEGO models nine years ago in his shed and now he's made it his profession which takes him all over the world.

Recent projects at Bright Bricksinclude a 6,000,000 brick model of Tower Bridge (the worlds largest ever LEGO brick model) for Land Rover and recreating John Lewis' iconic Christmas adverts in LEGO bricks.

Duncan has also previously built Lego artworks and sculptures including a room-sized replica of Wembley Stadium, a model of the London Olympic Park as well as a life-size tiger cub commissioned by Stella McCartney.

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Mercy Health joins forces with Michigan Medicine – Grand Haven Tribune

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This new relationship brings together two of the states leading health care providers to offer opportunities for patients to access joint clinical consultations in cardiac surgery; allow immediate access to some of the worlds leading protocols in cardiovascular surgery; provide physicians options for ongoing case discussions and best practices; and enhance patient care, including access to innovative clinical care models, for one of Michigans leading Catholic hospitals.

The professional services agreement includes the appointments of two West Michigan-based physicians, Dr. Richard S. Downey and Dr. Nabeel G. El-amir, to the Michigan Medicine cardiac surgery faculty. This gives them the ability to collaborate with Michigan Medicines heart team on complex cases and non-complex consultations. The two will continue to perform open heart surgery services in Muskegon.

As members of the U-M medical faculty, Downey and El-amir can participate in U-M medical education opportunities and U-M supported clinical trials. They retain their clinical relationships with physicians in West Michigan.

This collaboration is part of our continued commitment to enter affiliations with key health care providers, such as Michigan Medicine, to bring the best care and access to West Michigan, Mercy Health President/CEO Roger Spoelman said. Together, we will continue to strengthen the level of health care in this region. Both organizations share a commitment to excellence and to continue offering care in a complex health care environment.

Dr. Richard Prager, director of the University of MichigansFrankel Cardiovascular Center, said the collaboration will allow Michigan Medicine to provide Mercy Health patients a team of doctors and researchers who make significant advances in cardiovascular surgery.

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Maine’s HealthInfoNet taps Orion Health for precision medicine platform – Healthcare IT News

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Maine's Health Information Exchange, HealthInfoNet, announced that it will deploy Orion Healths precision medicine platform.

Orion's Amadeus platform leverages an open and scalable database to capture, store and align patient information from multiple providers and payers.

The HealthInfoNet deal with Orion is pending final review by the HealthInfoNet Board of Directors, and the financial terms were not released.

HealthInfoNet also plans to incorporate Orion Health's integrated population health applications Coordinate and Amadeus Analytics. The goal is to ensure the timely delivery of insightful patient information to healthcare professionals, HealthInfoNet COO Shaun Alfreds said.

HealthInfoNet's HIE contains 98 percent of all Maine residents' clinical information and is connected to all Maine hospitals and more than 500 ambulatory care sites.

Alfreds said HealthInfoNet chose Orion Health for the precision medicine platform because of its single suite of open source, scalable products that offer in-depth analysis and interoperability at both a population and an individual patient level.

"The precision medicine tools will allow us to bring to fruition a new data exchange that expands beyond the delivery system to incorporate social services, genomics, and other unstructured data that will in turn empower Maine residents to be active participants in their health in a new 'data-informed' ecosystem, Alfreds said in a statement.

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Why the United States is no longer turning up its nose at Caribbean medical schools – STAT

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M

ORENO VALLEY, Calif. Its easy to dismiss the for-profit medical schools that dot many a Caribbean island as scams, set up to woo unqualified students who rack up huge debts, drop out in staggering numbers, and if they make it to graduation end up with an all but worthless degree. Thats been the rap against them for years.

But the schools are determined to change that image. Many are quietly churning out doctors who are eager to work in poor, rural, and underserved communities. Their graduates embrace primary care and family practice, in part because theyre often shut out of training slots for more lucrative specialties.

And they just might help solve an urgent physician shortage in California and beyond.

The deans of two of the Caribbeans medical schools Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica and American University of the Caribbean in St. Maarten are on an aggressive campaign to improve their image. Theyve published a series of editorials and letterswith titles like Why malign overseas medical students? and hired public relations giant Edelman to make the case that their humble, hard-working, and compassionate students may be precisely the kinds of physicians America needs most.

Our students have persevered. They havent had all the opportunities in life and they still want to help people, said Dr. Heidi Chumley, dean of American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. Absolutely we want to get our story out.

That story is unfolding on the ground in places like Moreno Valley, a city of just under 100,000 in Californias Inland Empire, a former agricultural region just east of Los Angeles that grew explosively in the 80s but has since fallen on harder times.

Here, the Riverside University Health System Medical Centerrises from a stretch of largely undeveloped land once slated for luxury housing developments. The health system acts as the countys public safety net for an ethnically diverse, mostly low-income population including patients like retired carpenter Jos Luis Garcia.

On a recent clinic visit, Garcia, 69, came in to follow up on a urinary tract infection and his high blood sugar. He saw Dr. Moazzum Bajwa, 30, a second-year resident and graduate of Ross.

In a crisp white coat and bow tie, Bajwa entered the examining room and pulled up a low stool. Sitting eye to eye with Garcia, he spoke in a steady stream of fluent Spanish. The visit lasted nearly an hour.

In an attempt to keep his patient off insulin, Bajwa had asked Garcia to improve his diet and track blood sugar levels after meals. Nmeros fantsticos!, Bajwa exclaimed, looking at the folded sheet of carefully written numbers Garcia had brought to show him.

This is a very great doctor. Normally, I dont feel important.

Jos Luis Garcia, patient

Bajwa, a former middle school science teacher, then spent 10minutes drawing a careful diagram complete with neurons, intestinal walls, and red blood cells, orclulas rojas to explain to a rapt Garcia exactly why certain foods raised his blood sugar. He then examined Garcia noting he had a harmless but interesting muscle wall abnormality and checked his medical records. Was there a colonoscopy report on file? Retinal photos?

As the visit was ending, Bajwa asked Garcia about stress. Garcia said his wife had recently had surgery for glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most malignant of brain tumors. Wow, Bajwa said quietly as he quickly scanned the medical summary Garcia handed him. Wow. He sat down again on his low stool.

Lo siento mucho, seor, Bajwa said, clearly moved.

Then he gave Garcia a hug.

This is a very great doctor, Garcia said later, through a translator. Normally, I dont feel important.

Bajwa, an American citizen raised inMichigan and North Carolina, is the grandson of Pakistani Nobel physics laureate Abdus Salam and holds two advanced degrees, one in neuroanatomy and one in public health. But he couldnt get into an American medical school. So he attended Ross University in Dominica.

It was the only school that gave me an opportunity, he said.

There are some 70 medical schools throughout the Caribbean, most of them established in recent decades and run by for-profit businesses thatcater to Americans.

These so-called second chance schools accept students with poorer grades and lower MCAT scores, or sometimes no MCAT score at all. Compared to Americanmedical schools, their tuition and dropout rates are higher and their class sizes large: Ross enrolls more than 900 students per year.

Graduates can practice medicine in the United States after passing their Americanmedical licensing exams and completing a residency. But the schools have come under fire for generating a stream of students who dont end up as physicians, but do end up with crushing medical school debt because they flunk out or dont win residency spots after graduating.

Heartbreaking stories abound: One graduate of St. Georges University School of Medicine took a poor-paying job drawing blood to help pay off $400,000 in medical school loans. Another graduate of AUC entered nursing school after failing to get a residency.

Are Caribbean medical schools promising something they cannot fulfill? asked Dr. Glenn Tung, an associate dean at Brown Universitys Warren Alpert Medical School who has studied the schools. What Im concerned about is the cost to the students who dont make it and the cost to the American taxpayer when loans arent repaid.

Illinois Senator Richard Durbin, also concerned, has repeatedly introducedbipartisan legislation to strip the schools of Title IV federal funding for student loans. Three Caribbean medical schools Ross, AUC and St. Georges took in $450 million federal funding via student loans in 2012, Durbin said.

These for-profit Caribbean medical schools need to be accountable to their students and to U.S. taxpayers, he said in a statement.

Dean Chumley and Dr. Joseph Flaherty, the dean of Ross, take strong exception to such criticism.

They allow that many for-profit medical schools which have proliferated in the past few decadesbecause they are proven money makers arent doing a good job training and developing students. But they argue that AUC and Ross, two of the oldest Caribbean schools both owned by for-profit educational juggernaut DeVry Inc. are creating successful doctors.

They say they are also giving a shot to students with humble backgrounds, often minorities, who cant get near American medical schools that focus so heavily on test scores and grades.

Obviously brains help, but judgement, empathy, intuition, thats all part of it, Flaherty said. Our students are gung-ho. They want to practice medicine. Thats their dream.

Just 54 percent of American medical graduates who trained overseas are matched with a residency program for further training in their first year of eligibility. Thats an abysmal record, compared to the 94 percent of graduates of US schools who get residencies. But Ross and AUC say they have a match rates higher than 86 percent. And they say a vast majority of students pass their step 1 licensing exams on the first try.

Obviously brains help, but judgement, empathy, intuition, thats all part of it Our students are gung-ho.

Dr. Joseph Flaherty, dean of a Caribbean medical school

(Critics say the schools manipulate the statistics by dismissing weak students shortly before they are allowed to take the exams. Chumley said the schools do weed out poor students early on to prevent their accumulating debt, but in no way encourage poor students to stay for five semesters and then prevent them from taking the exam. I think thats ethically wrong, she said.)

The schools are also controversial because of their practice of buying their way into hospitals to train students. In 2012, Ross inked a contract beating out rival St. Georges University School of Medicine of Grenada to pay $35 million over a decadeto the cash strapped Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield in exchange for the lions share of the hospitals roughly 100 rotation spots for third-year medical students.

Some critics fear such deals will squeeze American-trained students out of rotations; disputes have flared in New York, where St. George paid $100 million for rotation spots, and in Texas, where lawmakers attempted to entirely ban Caribbean students from training in the state.

But Flaherty, Rosss dean, says the such deals are a win-win. A struggling hospital gets funds. His school, which has no teaching hospital, gets a place to train students. And he gets to show skeptical doctors how good his students really are.

The doctors get to know our students and say, These guys are good, he said. Our students get there early. They stay late and do extra work. They value any opportunity.

And they seize those opportunities where they can find them.

While their numbers are up, its still harder for international medical grads known as IMGs to get residency positions. Theyveheard all the jokes about studying anatomy on the beach with Mai Tais in hand. But when it comes to residency positions, they are deadly serious. For there is no practicing medicine without one.

You have to apply very widely. Theres always a stigma that IMGs dont get as good an education. said Rina Seerke-Teper, 31, a second-year resident who has wanted to be a doctor since she was six, graduated from the University of California at Berkeley and worked in stem cell research before attending AUC.

Many Caribbean graduates dont even apply to residency programs that are filled only with American trained students. Instead, they look for IMG friendly programs like the family practice residency here, run in a busy clinic housed within the county hospital. The program is highly competitive receiving about 800 applications for 12 positions each year and of the three dozen current residents, 29 studied in a medical school outside the US.

Competition for the coveted slots is likely to grow even more as California, which just got one newmedical schools and is slated to soon add another, starts spitting out more locally trained grads.

More doctors are desperately needed: California will need an estimated 8,000 additional primary care doctors by 2030. The United States as a whole is projected to need some 30,000 additional primary care physicians in coming decades.

Dr. Michelle Quiogue works in one of the areas hit hardest by the shortage rural Kern County. A graduate of a prestigious medical school at Brown University Quiogue says shes worked alongside many foreign-trained doctors and would never know what college they graduated from.

Inher mind, the problem is not a lack of medical students but a lack of residency programs to train them. The state recently cut $100 million for residency training, and her organization, the California Academy of Family Physicians, is scrambling to get it replaced.

Medical school hasnt changed much in a century. Here are 5 ways to fix that

Those who do win residency spots say it seems to matter less and less where they went to school as they climb up the medical training ladder. And it seems to matter not at all in clinics where patients are grateful for any medical care they receive.

I have never heard a patient ask where a physician is trained, said Carly Barruga, a third year medical student at nearby Loma Linda University who said she is getting excellent training in her rotation here from Caribbean-trained doctors like Dr. Tavinder Singh.

Singh, 30, is chief resident here and also a graduate of Ross. While he traces his interest in medicine to the open heart surgery his grandmother had when he was a boy, Singh didnt apply to American medical schools because his MCATs werent as strong as they should have been. He didnt want to wait a year to retake them.

I had the goal in mind I was going to be a doctor, said Singh, a California native. Nothing was going to stop me. Hes loved his residency, especially the chance to work in needy communities where medical zebras unlikely and rare diagnoses can be common. You see chronic disease that have never been treated, he said. You see rare diseases like Zika.

While Singh was once the one begging for a chance, the tables have turned. In a state hungry for family practice physicians, hes now fielding numerous job offers.

Bajwas future is bright as well.

For now, though, hes just happy to be practicing medicine, thrilled to be delivering babies and focusing on preventative care. He loves helping patients like Wendy Ocampo, a 19-year-old with limb girdle muscular dystrophy. During an appointment this month, Ocampo came in to see Bajwa with respiratory symptoms.

New medical schools aim to fix Americas broken health care system

It was supposed to be a quick visit, but he ended up spending a half hour with her once he discovered bureaucratic hurdles had left her waiting seven months for the wheelchair she needs for her job and college. (Bajwa credits his clinic staff and nurses for working through lunch and juggling his schedule so he can offer longer visits.) Ocampo also hasnt been able to get the physical therapy she needs for her ankle.

It burns me up that these things are falling through the cracks, said Bajwa, after taking a few minutes to compliment Ocampos impressive new shoes and ask if she was growing out her hair.

Though sick, Ocampo beamed. Honestly, hes great, she said. He calls me to check on me. I have, like, 30 doctors and none of them have ever done that.

Usha Lee McFarling can be reached at usha.mcfarling@gmail.com Follow Usha Lee on Twitter @ushamcfarling

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Why the United States is no longer turning up its nose at Caribbean medical schools - STAT

Ex-Baylor AD helps Liberty move up to FBS-level, big-time football – Washington Post

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When Ian McCaw was hired by Liberty in November as its athletic director, he said, We want to build this program to compete at the highest level nationally and the goal of FBSfootball is very much at the forefront.McCaw got his wish Thursday, as Liberty announced that theNCAA had approved its request to move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, the top college level of the sport.

Liberty, which has been competing at the Football Championship Subdivision level as a member of the Big South conference, will begin FBS play as an independent in 2018,and it will be bowl eligible starting in 2019. We look forward to continuing our upward trajectory of success and meeting the level of competition in FBS, McCaw said in a statement Thursday.

McCaw served as Baylors AD until stepping down last year amid an ongoing sexual-assault scandal. The Texas school, which maintains a strong link to the Baptist faith, as does Liberty, has been hit with several lawsuits, including one in January that allegedthat at least 31 football players at Baylor committed at least 52 acts of rape over four years.

[Ex-Baylor AD isnt sure why God led him to Liberty University. Neither are some students.]

More recently, a group of Baylor regents filed a lengthy court document, in responses to libel lawsuits brought by fired head coach Art Briles and another former football assistant, that depicted McCaw, as well as former school president Ken Starr, as having encouraged or actively helped Briles to try to cover up numerous offenses committed by players. The document cited examples collected by an outside law firm hired by Baylor to investigate its programs compliance with Title IX and other statutes, including one in which a player was arrested for assault and threatening to kill a nonathlete, [after which] a football operations staff official tried to talk the victim out of pressing criminal charges. Briles allegedly texted to McCaw that Waco police told the player that they were going to keep it quiet, to which the AD replied,That would be great if they kept it quiet!

In November, Baylor issued a statement claiming that in 2013, several senior members of its athletics department, including Briles and McCaw,were informed of a female student-athletes allegations of a gang rape committed by five football players, and none passed along that information to the proper authorities, as required by federal law.The victims coach went back to McCaw, who incorrectly told the coach it was up to the victim to take action, the regents said in the court filing. McCaw told the coach that if the student did not press charges there was nothing else they could do.

In response to that allegation, Liberty issued a statement in whichMcCaws attorney, Tom Brandt, said (via the Waco Tribune),Mr. McCaw was faced with a complex situation wherein he desired to honor the wishes of the alleged victim, who was unwilling to speak to the police according to her coach, and a request from her coach for guidance as to where he should go with information he had obtained in 2013 about this incident.

Mr. McCaw responsibly directed the head coach to the Office of Judicial Affairs, which handles student conduct matters, and was the appropriate venue to take such an allegation.

Liberty also released an email from an unnamed Baylor regent to Jerry Falwell Jr., the private Virginia schools president.[McCaw] is a trustworthy man who will do the right thing, the email stated. In my opinion, his circumstance was very different from the others who were affected by this tragedy. My personal view is that the Lord has moved Ian from Baylor to Liberty through this sad chapter in Baylors history.

Ians success really speaks for itself, Falwell said when McCaw was hired. You look at what Baylor was able to do during his tenure, it fits perfectly with where we see our sports programs going. This is an exciting time for us.

[Jenkins: If NCAA ignores Baylor rape scandal, it deserves the death penalty]

On Thursday, Falwell said in a statement,Today is truly historic for Liberty University. This university aspired to compete at the highest levels of NCAA competition and began working toward that dream and vision from the day of its founding in 1971. We are deeply grateful to NCAA leadership and staff for considering this request and for acknowledging Libertys readiness and the appropriateness of Liberty now moving to FBS football status as an independent. Congratulations to Athletics Director, Ian McCaw and Coach Turner Gill!

This is truly a blessed day from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior for allowing the vision of our late founder Jerry Falwell, Sr., along with the hard work of President Jerry Falwell to come to fruition! Gill said. It gives our university great national exposure to build Champions for Christ!

This is a very exciting day for Liberty Athletics and our football program, McCaw said. We are grateful for President Falwells vision and leadership in spearheading Libertys move to FBS football.

Big South Commissioner Kyle Kallander said Thursday that his conference is aware of the NCAAs approval in granting Liberty University a waiver to move its football program to the Football Bowl Subdivision as an independent. He added that the Big South remains in great health with the addition of Campbell University in 2018 and the University of North Alabama in 2019.

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Ex-Baylor AD helps Liberty move up to FBS-level, big-time football - Washington Post

Clovis East girls edge Liberty 1-0 in OT – The Bakersfield Californian

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One bounce, then another, and the soccer ball found the feet of Clovis Easts Catalina Villegas, who knew what to do with it.

Villegas buried her shot into the top of the net for an overtime goal and the Timberwolves went on to beat Liberty 1-0 in a Central Section Division I quarterfinal game Thursday night.

Thats the sport we play; one single moment can decide everything, said Liberty coach Boog Powell, whose third-seeded team had twice narrowly missed the winning goal in the final minutes of regulation.

Clovis East, the No. 6 seed, moves onto next weeks semifinals against No. 7 Fresno-Bullard, which beat Clovis-Buchanan for its second consecutive overtime win.

Meanwhile, Liberty (15-5-3) is left to wonder what might have been, just one night after its fifth-seeded boys team lost in a shootout to No. 12 Clovis West.

One win or loss doesnt define us as a program, Powell said. We won our first league title in six years, and thats a testament to the players. And really, anybody who doesnt win the Valley is left with this feeling sooner or later. We just had to do it two games early.

Clovis East (12-6-1) controlled play for the first 15 minutes of the game, but Liberty sharply reversed that script, creating most of the chances for the rest of the first half. The second half was back-and-forth, with each team coming close to a goal in the opening minutes and then not again until Libertys close calls late.

In overtime, Villegas scored her team-leading 15th goal when the ball bounced around in the Liberty penalty box. She shielded a defender from the ball with her body and then beat goalkeeper Bri-Leigh Snow with a high shot.

We knew 25 (Villegas) was their best player, and they did a good job of pushing her up top, Hearron said. She used her size and finished. It was a good goal.

Elsewhere, Ridgeviews girls, seeded seventh in Division III, beat No. 2 Independence 4-3 in overtime.

The Falcons had gone unbeaten in South Yosemite League play, including two wins against the Wolf Pack.

In Division I, No. 4 Clovis North beat No. 5 Frontier 3-1, and in Division IV, Bakersfield Christian routed Fresno-McLane to advance to the semifinals.

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Clovis East girls edge Liberty 1-0 in OT - The Bakersfield Californian

ALLAN POWELL: Some words about liberty – Herald-Mail Media

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Because On Liberty was published in 1859, it is obvious that the ideas of John Stuart Mill regarding the freedom of citizens was not available to those who wrote our Constitution. It is not certain how much On Liberty influenced thought since publication, but it is on record that the book had at least five reprints. However, if anyone is interested in the topics of liberty of thought, liberty of individuals or the limits of the authority of society, this book will be helpful.

Not much is revealed about the life of Mill, but what is shared might shed some light on his character. He is reported to have said that the exclusive cultivation of the habit of analysis destroyed in him all capacity for emotion. For six months, he continued in a near suicidal state of depression. Eight years later, Mill suffered another breakdown.

For a while, he had a great sense of loneliness that lasted until he met an incomparable friend who changed his life. She happened to be the wife of a prosperous merchant and the mother of two small children. Mill surely must have developed a sense of his own liberty under this circumstance. He was strong on liberty while ignoring social obligation.

In the perpetual struggle between liberty and authority, we must be alert that the tyranny of the majority must be taken into account. As Mill sees it, Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties, its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them.

With regard to the limits of social control over the individual, Mill is blunt in asserting: The object of this essay is to assert one simple principle, as entitled to govern absolutely the dealings of society with the individual in the way of compulsion and control, whether the means used be physical force in the form of legal penalties or the moral coercion of public opinion.

That principle is that the sole end for which mankind are warranted, individually or collectively, interfering with the liberty of action of any of their number is self-protection. That the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.

It is human to accept custom and go with what ideas and values are popular at the moment. There will be no clashes about liberty and what is accepted. But Mill declares that the way to make life rich is to develop habits and skills to maintain a worldview.

Mill declares: He who lets the world, or his portion of it, choose his plan of life for him has no need of any other society than the ape-like one of imitation. He who chooses his plan for himself employs all his faculties. He must use observation to see, reasoning and judgment to foresee, activity to gather materials for decision, discrimination to decide, and when he has decided, firmness and self-control to hold on to his deliberate decision. This is a lot to ask of whole communities.

Mill is well aware that people who live by the foregoing program will be regarded as odd. Mill suggested that this is the price you pay for being a complete citizen. One should be proud for being odd.

Mill closes his book with this warning: A state which dwarfs its men in order that they may be more docile instruments in its hands even for beneficial purposes will find that with small men no great thing can really be accomplished.

Mill deserves some respect for his thought and energy in bringing our attention to such an important issue.

We have lived in a period of history in which we have seen dictatorships that have started and been destroyed. Indeed, Mill lived in a country in which kings were losing their power and liberties to whole societies were expanding. We, too, must be active and alert in protecting our liberties if we have hopes of keeping them.

There are recurring attempts of some groups to take away the rights of others on the basis of religion, race or political reason. Liberties lost are very hard to recover. It took a world war to stop the advance of the idea that some races are superior to others and deserve special rights.

Allan Powell is a professor emeritus of philosophy at Hagerstown Community College.

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ALLAN POWELL: Some words about liberty - Herald-Mail Media

TRAFFIC: More Liberty Bridge restrictions on Monday; Highland Park Bridge ramp closed today – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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A crash along Route 28 inbound has been backing up rush-hour traffic this morning.

The crash was reported near the Ohio Street exit.

Another traffic restriction is coming Monday on the Liberty Bridge, adding to the restrictions already in place on the span and for the tunnel.

Single-lane restrictions are planned in both directions Monday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,on the northern end of the bridge in the area between the Boulevard of the Allies overpass and the ramps to and from the Boulevard of the Allies.Crews will conduct painting operations and material delivery.

READ MORE: Spring-like weather moving into Pittsburgh region this weekend

Also, survey work and platform installation continues through the end of the month with these restrictions:

Inbound (northbound) Liberty Tunnel as needed weeknights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Single lanes closed on Liberty Bridge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays in each direction.

On Second Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays in each direction between Municipal Court Drive and Ross Street.

Lane restrictions on the Liberty Bridge will be coordinated with events at the PPG Paints Arena.

Other traffic restrictions:

Washington Boulevard Northbound ramp to the Highland Park Bridge closed today from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. for road work. Detour will be posted.

Emsworth Bridge The bridge on Center Avenue in Emsworth is closed for rehabilitation thats expected to last until early early 2018. As part of the project, there will be intermittent delays of 5 to 10 minutes between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. today on Camp Horne Road so crews can place concrete barriers for the project.

Mosites Construction Co. has a $3.65 million contract to upgrade the bridge, which is owned by the Port Authority. The work will include replacing the concrete deck, repairing or replacing structural steel and painting.The bridge has had a 5-ton weight limit since 2010, limiting traffic to vehicles no heavier than an ambulance. Center Avenue parallels Route 65/Ohio River Boulevard as it passes through the borough and is a direct link to Ben Avon.

Freeport Road, Aspinwall/Sharpsburg Lane closures along Freeport Road/Main Street and ramps at the Highland Park Bridge interchange for drilling work. Single-lane and shoulder restrictions as needed on Freeport Road between Western Avenue and 23rd Street weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Feb. 24. Also, restrictions on various ramps at the Highland Park Bridge interchange.

Clifton Road, Bethel Park Gas line work will restrict the road to single-lane, alternating traffic between Kings School Road and Brush Run Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through Aug. 15. Also single-lane alternating traffic on Irishtown Road/Braun Road during the same period.

Scenery Drive/Route 48, Elizabeth and Forward Single-lane alternating traffic between Round Hill Road and Weigles Hill Road weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Feb. 17. Crews will excavate utility test holes.

Gilkeson Road, Mt. Lebanon Gas line work causing single-lane restrictions between Route 19 and Old Gilkeson Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays through April 28. One lane in each direction will be maintained at all times. Crews from M. OHerron Co. will conduct the work.

West Carson Street -Daytime lane closures and traffic shifts are in place on West Carson Street (Route 51) weekdays. The traffic changes will be in effect from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. between Earl Street and the West End Circle so crews can adjust manholes. A single-lane in each direction will be maintained. Flaggers will assist motorists through the work zone.

West Deer Lane closure on Russellton-Dorseyville Road between Saxonburg Boulevard and East Union Road from today through March 1, weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Crews from Carmen Paliotta Contracting are relocating utility poles and a gas line.

Glenwood Bridge interchange The next phase of the Glenwood Bridge interchange rehabilitation project is underway in the Hays/Homestead and Hazelwood areas of Pittsburgh. Detours are posted.

Southbound Route 837 traffic from Route 885 will be shifted into the northbound lanes. Single-lane traffic in each direction will be maintained in the northbound lanes.

The traffic signal at the temporary intersection of Route 837 and Route 885 will be eliminated.

The northbound Route 837 ramp to northbound Route 885 (Glenwood Bridge) will remain closed.

The ramp from northbound Route 885 to southbound Route 837 (Homestead) will remain closed.

Traffic from northbound Route 885 will be able to access southbound Route 837 at the temporary intersection. Traffic from southbound Route 885 to southbound Route 837 will return to the normal configuration.

Andy Warhol Bridge Closed to vehicular and pedestrian traffic through November as part of $25.4 million rehabilitation project. The Rachel Carson Bridge (9th Street) will be used as a detour. The detour also will reroute about 350 Port Authority buses a day to Carson, according to the Port Authority. The detoured routes will be routes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17 and the O5. The Carson Bridge is expected to be rehabbed in 2018 and the Clemente Bridge in 2020.

Wabash Tunnel The HOV temporary waiver has been extended to allow vehicles with fewer than two occupants to use the tunnel during peak hours, alleviating possible congestion on other roads caused by the Liberty Bridge rehabilitation project. The Wabash Tunnel, which opened as a commuter tunnel in December 2004, provides a shortcut for motorists from Route 51 to the South Side and Downtown Pittsburgh.

East Pennview Street, Shaler Closed for bridge replacement. Pine Creek Bridge No. 11, about a quarter mile west of the intersection of Pennview and Route 8, through the spring.

Liberty Bridge/Tunnel Single-lane restrictions in both directions Monday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.,on the northern end of the bridge in the area between the Boulevard of the Allies overpass and the ramps to and from the Boulevard of the Allies.Crews will conduct painting operations and material delivery.

Also, survey work and platform installation continues through the end of the month with these restrictions:

Inbound (northbound) Liberty Tunnel as needed weeknights from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m.

Single lanes closed on Liberty Bridge from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. weekdays in each direction.

On Second Avenue, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. weekdays in each direction between Municipal Court Drive and Ross Street.

Lane restrictions on the Liberty Bridge will be coordinated with events at the PPG Paints Arena.

Travel tools:

511PAConnect Provides information updates to motorists via automated phone or text message in the event of a long-term road closure due to accidents on the Pennsylvania Turnpike or other state roadways. Only activated during prolonged, emergency roadway stoppages that are expected to last four or more hours. Also gives emergency crews a clearer picture of who is in a trapped vehicle and where they are, so agencies can better plan use of resources.

Affected travelers will be instructed to visit 511PAConnect.com to register for closure updates by providing their phone number and other information such as the type of vehicle and number of occupants.

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TRAFFIC: More Liberty Bridge restrictions on Monday; Highland Park Bridge ramp closed today - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Blasphemy Controversy Plagues Jakarta Gubernatorial Election – Being Libertarian

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Jakarta,Indonesia, held an election Wednesday to elect a new governor to succeed the current governor who is on trial after being indicted for violating blasphemy laws.

Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, or Ahok, is the first Christian and ethnically Chinese governor of Jakarta in the last 50 years, and is currently on trial for insulting Islam after accusing his opponents of using it as a means to mislead the electorate. He was elected in 2014 when then-governor Joko Widodo stepped down from the role to run for president.

Purnama was seen as the clear favorite to win re-election, until he was charged with blasphemy a criminal offense in Indonesia in late 2016. If convicted, Purnama faces up to five years in prison for his actions.

This election is seen as a test of religious tolerance in a country whose laws dont support the liberty to be blasphemous. Indonesias blasphemy laws were enacted in 1965,and in 2012 a public servant was imprisoned for two and a half years on the charge of outing himself as an atheist on Facebook.

If Purnama wins the election, this could be seen as an clear rejection of blasphemy laws, given that 85% of Indonesias population is Muslim. This election gives the people of Jakarta the ability to freely voice a rejection to these kind of laws that limit freedom of speech especially political speech and freedom of religion.

The results of the election are expected some time during late February.ccr

Some voters have spoken out in favor of Purnamas re-election despite the controversy.I am a devout Muslim but I dont care about the religion of our leaders, said Lip Purwantara, a voter I am voting for someone who can make our city greener, cleaner and better place to live.

BBC reportsthat they witnessed people telling those queuing to make sure they vote for a Muslim, before being warned by officials not to intimidate voters.

Despite the controversy, Purnama has been credited with many successful policy decisions, including efforts to improve the the citys traffic situation, tackling corruption, turning a red-light district into a public park, and favoring greater education and healthcare access.

Private exit polls suggested that Purnama still maintained a slight lead overformer education minister Anies Baswedan, but doesnt have enough support to reach the required 50% threshold to win. This suggests the likely possibility of a run-off election, which would occur some time in April.

Photo Credit:Kompas / Kurnia Sari Aziza

This post was written by Nicholas Amato.

The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.

Nicholas Amato is the News Editor at Being Libertarian. Hes an undergraduate student at San Jose State University, majoring in political science and minoring in journalism.

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Maybe it’s time to be more libertarian – LancasterOnline

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Recently, I went to an ice cream place in New Holland, and the owners there were explicitly Christian. They had signs asking people to maintain a modest dress, and if customers were not modestly dressed, to please limit their time at the farm.

After our visit there, we went into Lancaster city. This happened to be on the day of the Womens Marches around the country. We ate at a cool place and saw some stragglers still holding signs. Within the windows of the cafes and bars, you could see young hipsters who would probably recoil in disgust at the signs found at the Christian ice cream place.

At the same time, those farmers at the ice cream place probably would have recoiled in disgust at the values articulated on some of the signs being carried around and the alcohol being consumed.

It struck me that we all live in our own bubbles, and thats OK. We just shouldn't be forcing each other to comply and support our lifestyles. We can engage and try to persuade, but force should be removed from the equation. Maybe we shouldn't force those dairy farmers to pay for birth control with their tax dollars, but maybe we also shouldn't be forcing young urbanites to adhere to a religious practice by forbidding gays to marry, or prohibiting them from smoking marijuana.

Maybe we should stop using the government as an instrument of force in general and start leaving each other alone to live the lives that we feel are best for ourselves. When you use the government to enforce your beliefs, you are willing to send a man with a gun to enforce them. Perhaps its time to start being a bit more libertarian.

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Maybe it's time to be more libertarian - LancasterOnline

New Zealand Is Not Just A Small Bunch Of Islands – It’s The Lost Continent Of Zealandia – Forbes

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Forbes
New Zealand Is Not Just A Small Bunch Of Islands - It's The Lost Continent Of Zealandia
Forbes
A group of geologists is making a new push to add an eighth continent to the accepted list, known as Zealandia. The scientists have been working for two decades gathering data to support their claim that New Zealand is just the tip of a huge submerged ...
New Zealand actually sits on a continent called Zealandia, it's just that most of it is under waterStuff.co.nz
Newly Discovered 8th Continent Is Called ZealandiaTravelersToday

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New Zealand Is Not Just A Small Bunch Of Islands - It's The Lost Continent Of Zealandia - Forbes

Russia Renames Disputed Japanese Islands After Russian Historical Figures – Breitbart News

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The Russians have named the five islands after Andrei Gromyko, a Soviet diplomat, Igor Farkhutdinov, a former governor of the Sakhalin region, Anna Shchetinina, a female captain of a merchant ship, Gen. Kuzma Derevyanko, who signed the Japanese Instrument of Surrender with the Allies in 1945 and Gen. Alexei Gnechko, who led the occupation of the Kuril Islands in the same year.

The Russians want to name one of the islands after the general who led their occupation when Russia was at war with Japan. Thats not exactly a subtle message.

The islands are part of a decades-long feud between Russia and Japan, stretching back to World War II. This is not a minor diplomatic altercation. To this very day, Japan and Russia have not signed a peace treaty and formally ended hostilities after the Second World War.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe caused a stir by pushing for negotiations with Russia to sign a peace treaty just last year. He and Russian President Vladimir Putin talked about the Kuril dispute at a meeting in Japan just two months ago.

The Kuril Islands are the reason for this remarkable delay in putting the 70-year-old war to bed once and for all. Vice News explained the situation last year when Abe called for renewed negotiations:

Russia and Japan have, over the centuries, scrimmaged up and down the island chain; by time the fallout had settled over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Soviets had scampered all the way down to the very end of the Kurils, poised to begin their invasion of the Japanese home islands with a hop onto the northernmost main island, Hokkaido. Japan gave up fightingbefore that could happen.

Despite the fairly conclusive end to fighting that went with their surrender to the allies in 1945, the Japanesewere pretty adamant about maintaining sovereignty over at least some of the Kuril Islands. The Soviets, recognizing that possession is nine-tenths of the law, essentiallytold the Japanese to get lost.Now, to be fair, theres a bit more to the Cold War politics, but the long and the short of it is that the Japanese werent in a position to refuse the Soviets. Even so, the Japanese never gave up on the idea that those four southernmost Kuril Islands were properly part of Japan, and not some later imperial acquisition.

With the 1956 treaty, the Japanese and Soviets agreed, more or less, to disagree and signed a statement ending their state of war. A solution to the Kuril Island dispute was put on the To Do list they needed to get through before they would sign an official peace treaty, which allowed them to bank their respective diplomatic gains and call it a day.

So, weeks turned into decades, the Soviet Union fell, the Russian Federation rose, and still there was no resolution to the dispute and no peace treaty between Moscow and Tokyo. Which, except for ardent nationalists on either side, should firmly plant this in the category of things nobody caresabout.

Those nationalists are still ardent. Professor Atsushi Tago of Kobe University explained to CNN that Abe is supported by right-wing nationalists, so he cant be weak on the disposition of the Kurils.

Accordingly, Cabinet Secretary-General Yoshihide Suga declared on Tuesday:This is unacceptable and runs counter to Japans position. We sent a note of protest to Russia through diplomatic channels.

As for the Russians, they want control over the Kurils to ensure the security of the Sea of Okhtoskand to benefit from the sizable oil and natural gas deposits discovered around them. Abe was reportedly willing to accept the Russian missile systems deployed on the southern Kurils but not willing to cede the sovereignty of the island chain entirely.

There was some consternation in Russia at the beginning of February when Japanese media reported that Russia had proposed giving temporary use of the islands to Japan as part of the long-delayed peace treaty, but the Kremlin insisted these reports were not accurate.

Japans position is well known. We highly appreciate the new positive dynamics of our bilateral relations. But still the Kuril Islands, of course, remain the territory of the Russian Federation. So, in this case, it is the sovereign right, said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday, after Japan lodged its protest over the naming of the islands.

Last August, a Japanese man working as a translator for a tour group was detained by Russia as he was preparing to depart from the Kuril Islands. The Russians said this occurred because the man was traveling with a suspiciously large amount of cash. Japan protested the detention, and the man was declared innocent and released after a few days. There was some speculation Russia released him because didnt want his case to interfere with the talks between Abe and Putin over the disposition of the islands.

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Cayman Islands lure South Africans with tax-free pay, opportunities – Moneyweb.co.za

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UK, Australia remain most popular destinations for chartered accountants.

JOHANNESBURG If you pushed your trolley down an aisle of the main supermarket in Grand Cayman, youd be forgiven if you thought you were in South Africa.

Ive heard and spoken more Afrikaans here in the past year than I ever did back in Johannesburg. That should give you some sort of indication of how many South Africans are here, South African-born chartered accountant Alon Berger (pictured below) tells Moneyweb.

After completing his articles at EY in Johannesburg in 2015, Berger headed to the Cayman Islands for the hedge funds, beaches and tax-free pay. While he expected to be challenged in his new role at PwC, the number of South Africans living and working on the island caught him off guard.

Due to the large expat community, the islands main supermarket has an aisle with dedicated South African products and it is not unheard of for the local watering hole to host a South Africa day.

Berger says during a three-month period last year he was contacted by 18 different CAs(SA) mostly newly-qualified or with one to three years experience through Facebook or LinkedIn hoping to work on the island. The competition is fierce and many people dont get an interview without a strong reference.

The decision to work abroad was not informed by fears about South Africas prospects but rather an opportunity to get exposure to some of the largest hedge funds in the world. Moving to the Caymans offered exciting career prospects, travel opportunities but also the ability to earn a foreign salary.

While pessimism around South Africas prospects may play a role in some peoples decision to move abroad, Berger says it did not fundamentally govern his decision to go to the Caymans, but made the allure of non-rand earnings that much more attractive.

The initial set-up costs were significant, but the move was informed by a desire to challenge himself.

In South Africa we have such a good base and foundation educationally in terms of our CA(SA) designation. I think that is why it is so highly regarded on this side of the world.

While the broader South African expat community in general seems to be significant, statistics from the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants (Saica) show that the number of CAs(SA) on the island remain relatively small.

Nazeer Patel, regional executive for international members CPD and the contact centre at Saica, says it has increased by between 2% and 5% annually, which is not significant. Currently, 183 of their members work in Grand Cayman.

However, there is a huge appetite for CAs(SA) across the globe, he adds.

At the beginning of 2017, Saica had 41 362 CA(SA) members. Almost 20% of these members work abroad. The UK and Australia remain the two territories with the largest chartered accountant contingent.

The past year has been a difficult period for South Africa economically and politically, but Patel says this does not necessarily play a role in chartered accountants decisions to leave South Africa.

Some of our members get seconded for two years by their firms overseas as part of their training after which most return to South Africa with international experience and flavour, which enriches the South African work environment.

This may differ from member to member, though.

One of the benefits of the designation is that it is a well-recognised and respected brand throughout the world, he adds.

For Berger, whose initial plan was to stay in the Caymans for two years (his contract runs out at the end of 2017), the idea of staying indefinitely has become more attractive, although he is keeping his options open.

In the meantime, he can find comfort in the fact that finding a little familiarity on the island wont be a problem.

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Cayman Islands lure South Africans with tax-free pay, opportunities - Moneyweb.co.za

Islands see rare mid-winter business – 13abc Action News

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Lake Erie is only 8% ice covered And so for one of the first times in several decades, the Miller Boat Line is back open for business, in the dead of winter. Including for a record setting weekend.

"With the weather turning like spring, we're going to have a lot of people going over there," Steve Rose said. Rose is a captain for the Miller Boat Line.

Miller has four ferries running daily, each way. If the ice between Catawba and Put-In-Bay hits a quarter inch, they'll stop. For now, they're months ahead of schedule.

"Usually stuff starts closing down around October," Rose said.

In regular winters, a plane is your only option back to the mainland. We took you up in the skies during a colder stretch. Now islanders can break the cabin fever.

"Most of the people coming to the boat line have been like the islanders coming this way to restock their supplies and just to get off the island," Rose said.

"They come in after they've been out on the lake, or before they go out. That happens everyday. Everyday," Paul Matthews told us. Matthews is the director of operations for North Coast.

North Coast runs Nagoya and Ciao Bella, both nearby the docks. They're one of the few running year-round restaurants.

"For everyone in the area and tourists," Matthews added.

Warm weather hurts the ice fishing rush, but it's a boon for the lunch rush..

"It's been great. It's been great," Matthews said. "You know, we've seen double digit increases across the board. So it's very nice. We're very fortunate."

"It's like a fluke right now," Rose said.

The Miller Boat Line is your main option to Put-In-Bay right now, since the Jet Express won't open until May 5th.

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It is the policy of NJ TRANSIT to promote equal opportunity by providing service and employment through practices that ensure the full realization of equal opportunity without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, affectional or sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, atypical hereditary cellular or blood trait, national origin, age, ancestry, creed, marital status, familial status, domestic partnership status, civil unions, veteran (including liability for service in the armed forces), disability or genetic status, including refusal to submit to a genetic test or to make available the results of a genetic test.

To implement these policies, the Company:

Equal Opportunity is not only the law, but is a principle of NJ TRANSIT's operation and as such is evaluated and monitored as any other major goal of our company. All management personnel share in the Company's EEO goals and will be evaluated on the success of the EEO program the same way as their performance is evaluated on other company goals. Additionally, violations of the company's equal opportunity policy are a form of employee misconduct that undermines the integrity of the employment relationship and that may be unlawful. Accordingly, it will not be condoned, and any substantiated violations of this policy will result in discipline up to and including termination of employment.

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Human genetics center opens in Greenwood – GSA Business

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The Clemson Center for Human Genetics is open on the campus of Greenwood Genetic Center in Greenwood.

The new 17,000-square-foot facility, known as Self Regional Hall, will allow Clemson Universitys genetics program researchers and students to work closely with research teams at GGC, according to a news release. The center will initially focus on discovering and developing early diagnostic tools and therapies for autism, cognitive developmental disorders, oncology and lysosomal disorders.

Opening Self Regional Hall means that we will be able to do even more to help children with genetic disorders, and their families, and to educate graduate students who will go out into the world and make their own impact, said Clemson University President James P. Clements during the opening of the facility on Feb. 15. As the parent of a child with special needs the kind of research that you are doing here is especially meaningful and important to me and my family.

The building will house eight laboratories and several classrooms, conference rooms and offices for graduate students and faculty. Mark Leising, interim dean of the College of Science at Clemson, said the facility provides the resources our scientists need to understand the genetic underpinnings of disorders.

This facility, and its proximity to the Greenwood Genetic Center, elevates our ability to attract the brightest scientific talent to South Carolina and enhances our efforts to tackle genetic disorders, Leising said, in the release.

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Genetically Modified Humans Are Coming: US Scientists Just Backed Permanent Gene Editing In Humans – Collective Evolution

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Genetically modified humans sounds like a term that belongs inHollywood, but its actually a very real possibility, and one thats being heavily discussed in the scientific community. Contributing to one of the most controversial topics to date, a panel of science experts in the U.S. just examined and gavetheir support for germline editing. This means that in the future, parents will likely be able to tamper with the genetics of their children pre-birth.

Germinal choice technology refers to reprogenetic technologies that enable parents to alter the genetic constitutions of their children.One of the ways this can be done is through germline editing, which is a fancier term forhuman genetic engineering. Germline editing alters the genes of a sperm or an egg, but itthen changes the future DNA of every single cell in the embryo. This means that the genetic changes made to the embryos will then affect all future generations within that family lineage.

The panels were made up of experts from two of the most prestigiousscientific institutions in the U.S., both of which recommended that germline editing be viewed as a serious option in the future and not be prohibited outright (source).

This is a dramatically different stance than the last assessment given in December 2015 by aninternational summit of scientists, who stated that it would beirresponsible to proceed with germline editing given the controversy surrounding thesubject and thesafety issues involved, all of which have yet to be resolved.

The panels discussions can be further analyzed in areportreleasedearlier this week by the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. The panel recommendedthat germline editing of early embryos, eggs, or sperm should only be permitted to prevent serious disease or disability iftheres significant scientific evidence illustrating that the procedures are safe.

Human genome editing holds tremendous promise for understanding, treating, or preventing many devastating genetic diseases, and for improving treatment of many other illnesses. . . . However, genome editing to enhance traits or abilities beyond ordinary health raises concerns about whether the benefits can outweigh the risks, and about fairness if available only to some people, explained Alta Charo, co-chair of the study committee and Sheldon B. Lubar Distinguished Chair and Warren P. Knowles Professor of Law and Bioethics, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

One of the illnesses the panel specifically mentionedthat germline editing could be used to prevent is Huntingtons disease, a progressive brain disorder that can result in uncontrollable movement, emotional issues, and loss in cognition, mostcommonly appearing in a persons thirties or forties. However, the panel was quick to note that withthese alterations could come some very serious side effects.

One of the potential risks includes developing new conditions, diseases, or mutations. If this happened, parents would have no idea until their babies are born and begin to mature.

Perhaps the most obvious risk is the societal implications associated with the genetic engineering of humans. If its an expensive process, meaningit will likely only be made available to upper class citizens who canafford it, it could create a designer class of babies with preferred qualities and genes.

These kinds of scenarios used to be science fiction; they used to be seen as far-off hypotheticalsBut actually, right now, I think theyre urgent social justice questions, said biotechnologist Marcy Darnovsky from the Center for Genetics and Society toRob Stein at NPR.

[W]ere going to be creating a world in which the already privileged and affluent can use these high-tech procedures to make children [with] biological advantages, she continued. And the scenario that plays out is not a pretty one.

Previously, it was easy for people to say, This isnt possible, so we dont have to think about it much, said MIT researcher Richard Hynes, who helped lead the committee, toThe New York Times. Now we can see a path whereby we might be able to do it, so we have to think about how to make sure its used only for the right things and not for the wrong things.

Transhumanism is a futuristic ideology which purportsthat humans willbe altered and improved usingsophisticated technologies in the future to upgrade ourintellectual, physical, and mental capabilities.Many scientists are actually in favour of this, especially as we become more technologically advanced, making this seem more realistic.

Elon Musk supportsthis movement, in fact, as he believes that human beings will eventuallyuse technology toenhance our inherent natural capabilities.

Over time we will see a closer merger of biological intelligence and digital intelligence. It is all about the band width of the brain, Musk said.

Some high band width interface to the brain will be something which helps achieve symbiosis between human and machine intelligence, which solves a control and usefulness problem, he continued.

Musk has spoken about this topic on several occasions. For example, last year he explained that we should considergetting brain implants in the futurebecause, without them, we may not be able to compete with artificial intelligence (AI). He also has strong opinions about AI, arguing it could pose a threat to us if we become too dependent on it (source).

I believe that genetically engineering human beings could serve us in a way, but it could also do more harm than good. Germline editing could seriously improve the lives of many if it could prevent certain diseases, but at what cost?

In addition, the fact that a man and a woman can mate and create offspring together thats made up of a mixture of their genes is trulybeautiful. Do we really want to altersomething thats already such an incredible gift in nature?

I dont think theres a right or a wrong answer here. However, there are certainly some risks involved with genetically modifying humans.Its easy to imagine how the elite could use this to further manipulate the general population, or howit could create an even greater divide between high income and low income families. The idea of creating an Aryan or superior race could even be proposed again, which would only further perpetuate the illusions of separatism and hierarchy.

Then again, it could potentially help us further advance our consciousness and awaken our inner capabilities, especially if the technology or alterations have absolutely no health risks (zero radiation/EMF exposure, no increased risk in disease, etc.).

In either case, I believe our time would be better spent further advancing our collective consciousness.If that can be done through AI, then thats incredible and Im all for it. However, we must remember that, if we truly dial in and get in touch with ourselves energetically, we have the power to heal ourselves from within. We dont need to rely on technology to save us and prevent diseases. Yes, technology plays an important role in society, but that doesnt mean we should let it overshadow our own capabilities as spiritual beings.

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Genetically Modified Humans Are Coming: US Scientists Just Backed Permanent Gene Editing In Humans - Collective Evolution