Free Republic

Teenagers should be given the right to medically assisted suicide and the parents of terminally ill younger children should be able to choose euthanasia under proposals from members of Belgium's coalition government. The plans to extend rules allowing doctors to perform euthanasia on terminally ill people suffering "constant and unbearable physical or psychological pain" comes amid heated Belgian debate on the issue. Under existing Belgian laws, in place since 2002, patients, other than newborn babies, must be over 18 to qualify for assisted suicide, a situation that Bart Tommelein, leader of Belgium Liberals, wants changed. Mr Tommelein, whose party is...

The United Kingdom has been ranked as one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world, beating the United States, France and even Switzerland in a global assessment of every nation’s achievements and standards. A one-year investigation and analysis of 235 countries and dependent territories has put the UK joint seventh in the premier league of nations. The top ten comprise also the Vatican, Sweden, Luxembourg, Monaco, Gibraltar, San Marino, Liechtenstein, the Netherlands and the Irish Republic. The US lies 22nd and Switzerland, normally associated with wealth and untouchable stability, is rated 17th, losing points in the assessment...

Initiatives to encourage people to live healthier, longer lives are just creating a different set of problems. A medical friend once told me that if everybody in the UK were to stop smoking, the NHS would collapse. I thought she was offering that old chestnut about smokers and drinkers handing over billions to the state in tax, but it was more subtle argument than that. Her point was that it's much cheaper to treat a 50-year-old who's taking 18 months to die of lung cancer than it is to treat a 90-year-old who's spent the last 20 years slowly fading...

BORREGO SPRINGS ---- Aiming to place a so-called quality-of-life sales tax on the county ballot in 2010, regional politicians gathered Thursday to discuss whether the measure should target ocean pollution, beach sand replenishment, open space or public transit ---- or all of the above. After a full day of airing ideas on the topic at the San Diego Association of Governments' annual retreat in the eastern San Diego County desert town of Borrego Springs, no clear consensus emerged. Many elected officials attending the three-day workshop, which concludes today, agreed that a new sales tax ranging from a quarter cent to...

For some people, ending a pregnancy is the only way to keep on living Yael Mishali Published: 12.26.07, 00:39 / Israel Opinion Abortion is a type of murder; I have no doubt about that. In this context we can debate over questions such as the duration of a pregnancy and when exactly do several cells turn into a person with a soul, but I have no interest in doing that. I accept the universal assumption that as of a certain moment, we are talking about a real person, and “aborting it” is a type of murder. And still, as a...

Being broke need not mean social death in Sweden - as long as you are well-educated. But for Americans and Russians having a good all-round education is no substitute for having cash, according to a new survey on status symbols in the three countries. The international survey by analysts United Minds asked 1,000 people in each country what values confer status. 'Bling' items such as expensive jewellery and designer clothes come well down the list for Swedes, while featuring more highly for Americans and, particularly, Russians. "Sweden is the only country where you can be penniless but well-read and still...

In bars, restaurants and homes across Sweden champagne is flowing in abundance as Swedes enjoy a seemingly endless thirst for the bubbly beverage, spurred by a gastronomic "revolution" and a rosy economy. Champagne sales at stores run by the alcohol distribution monopoly Systembolaget are expected to hit an all-time high of one million bottles this year, excluding sales in bars and restaurants. That figure can be compared to 738,000 bottles sold last year and 287,000 a decade ago. "Drinking champagne is usual now and it's common not only at the weekend or to celebrate a special event, it's an everyday...

Homeless advocates and the city's leaders need to stop yelling at each other and work toward a solution -- One suggestion to address the chronic inappropriate street behavior in downtown San Francisco is a "sit-lie" law. Versions of such an ordinance are in effect in places like Philadelphia and Portland, Ore. They make it illegal for loiterers to stake out a spot on the sidewalk in front of a business and camp out there for the day.But mention it, and the reaction is immediate and polarizing. Homeless advocates insist that such laws criminalize the homeless. Angry, fed-up residents counter that...

Legalizing doctor-assisted suicide does not lead to a "slippery slope" of excess deaths among the vulnerable poor, uninsured, elderly or other patients, according to a U.S. study in the October issue of the Journal of Medical Ethics. "Fears about the impact on vulnerable people have dominated debate about physician-assisted suicide. We find no evidence to support those fears where this practice already is legal," study lead author and bioethicist Margaret Battin, a distinguished professor of philosophy and adjunct professor of internal medicine at the University of Utah, said in a prepared statement. She and her colleagues analyzed data from The...

Stockholm is the world's greenest, most livable city, according to a survey carried out by the Reader's Digest magazine. Using a range of sources, environmental economist Matthew Kahn, from UCLA's Institute of the Environment, ranked 72 major international in terms of how 'green and livable' they are. Environmental legislation, energy prices, waste production and disposal and available parkland were among the factors considered. Stockholm was ranked number one, followed by Oslo in second place. "You shouldn't boast, but Stockholm is the world's most beautiful city," said mayor Kristina Axén Olin . "I get happy every time I come back to...

Scandinavia has been rated as the best place to live, that’s according to a ranking by Reader’s Digest. Using a range of environmental and social indicators based in part on the UN’s Human Development Index, the survey rates countries on care of the environment and quality of life for their citizens. Finland tops the 141-nation list, followed by Nordic neighbours Iceland and Norway, with Sweden coming in at fourth place. And the Swedish capital comes top of the Reader’s Digest ranking of 72 world cities when it comes to quality of life. Cities were rated according to quality of public...

New research shows us that people around the world, including in the West, are satisfied with their lives and are enjoying a rising quality of life. So why are westerners so pessimistic, asks Nima Sanandaji, of think-tank Captus. Our planet is a happier place these days. That, at least, is what the Pew Research Center is telling us. Their latest survey of global attitudes in 47 nations has found a number of trends that are worth analyzing. According to Pew, people in the developing world are growing ever more satisfied with their personal and financial situations. In Latin America, 59...

Ready to read about an example of the American dream, and the American reality? Look no further than the June 17 front page of The Washington Post. “Mia Hall just moved into her dream house, a five-bedroom Colonial in Southern Maryland featuring a gourmet kitchen with a center island and a double oven, twin fireplaces and a finished basement, as well as a whirlpool tub and dual shower heads in the master bathroom.” Sounds perfect.

The Intelligence Unit of the Economist magazine has named Norway the most peaceful country in the world. The survey of 121 nations is backed by high profile names such as the Dalai Lama, Desmond Tutu, and Jimmy Carter. New Zealand, Denmark, Ireland and Japan occupy the spots just back Norway. Lowest in the survey are Nigeria, Russia, Israel, Sudan and Iraq. The USA is remarkably low on the Global Peace Index, at 96th.

Harry Gault doesn't think of the small ranch home next door as a hot-button political issue in this year's Fairfax County election or realize how frequently his complaint is heard throughout the region. "I don't mind an Hispanic neighborhood," said Gault, 73. "But they've turned a three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home into a nine-room boarding house..." With the entire Fairfax Board of Supervisors up for reelection this year, this issue, which has raised ire in communities across the Washington area, has taken on a hard edge among voters riled by single homes that have been converted to house eight or 10 adults....

Stroke patients at mercy of postcode lotteryCervical cancer vaccine is '98pc effective' One in six hospitals treat in mixed wardsTelegraph hospital guideBritish cancer patients are substantially more likely to die of the disease than those in other western European countries because of poor access to the latest drugs, according to an authoritative report to be published today.While more than half of patients in France, Spain, Germany and Italy have access to new treatments provided since 1985, the proportion in the UK is four out of 10.French women with cancer are 34 per cent more likely than those in the...

Texas law may change to grant families some of doctors' authority On June 10, 2006, aging and ailing, Edith Pereira was taken by ambulance from St. Dominic nursing home to Memorial Hermann Hospital. It might have been nothing that serious. Urinary-tract infections had sent the 91-year-old with Alzheimer's and diabetes to the hospital often in the previous year, and the St. Dominic's nursing staff thought that likely was the problem this time. But Memorial Hermann doctors found no infection. Instead, they said, her altered state — high blood sugar that made her too drowsy and combative to be fed —...

GLENVIEW, Illinois, March 8, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The leading US authority on palliative care has adopted a position of “studied neutrality” on the issue of physician-assisted suicide, following on the heels of a similar statement released by the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association in November. The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine released a policy statement following approval by the AAHPM board of directors on Feb.14, 2007. “The AAHPM recognizes that deep disagreement persists regarding the morality of PAD,” the document states. “Sincere, compassionate, morally conscientious individuals stand on either side of this debate. AAHPM takes a position...

The UK has been accused of failing its children, as it comes bottom of a league table for child well-being across 21 industrialised countries. Unicef looked at 40 indicators from the years 2000-2003 including poverty, peer and family relationships, and health. One of the report's authors told the BBC that under-investment and a "dog eat dog" attitude in society were to blame for Britain's poor performance. The government says its policies have helped to improve child welfare. Unicef - the United Nations children's organisation - says the report, titled Child Poverty in Perspective: An Overview of Child Well-being in Rich...

WASHINGTON, Feb. 5, 2007 – President Bush’s defense budget request for fiscal 2008 includes a 3 percent military pay raise as well as increases for housing, health care and other quality-of-life benefits and programs. Bush’s proposed budget, submitted to Congress this morning, includes $137 billion in pay, benefits and health care for 2.1 million active- and reserve-component troops and their families. That includes $2.1 billion more than this year for military pay, continuing a trend that has boosted military pay an average of 32 percent since 2001. If Congress approves the request, the typical E-6 sergeant or petty officer...

On december 27,2006, kusheland miaskowski' introduced Mr K, a 66-year-old African Ameri­can man who has lived on the streets for nearly 50 years and for most of those years has used heroin and other illicit drugs daily. Mr K was diagnosed with advanced renal adenocarcinoma in February 2002 at a large urban hospital. For unclear reasons, resection was made con­tingent upon cessation of drug use and was not done. There­after, Mr K was lost to follow up for almost a year, until he presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and heroin withdrawal. He was then referred for palliative...

SAN DIEGO ---- Regional planners are polling San Diego County residents to see if they would support a special "quality of life" tax to fund beach-sand replenishment, open-space purchases, habitat restoration and water-quality programs, an agency official said Thursday. The funding source could come in the form of a sales, property, hotel or rental-car tax, and could appear on the county ballot in 2008, said Rob Rundle, principal planner for the San Diego Association of Governments, the county's regional planning agency. Rundle said results of the telephone poll of 2,000 county registered voters will be reported to the association board...

All those baby boomers with aging parents should pay close attention to a recent court decision in California. An appeals court ruling in a nasty divorce in Placer County highlights the little known but significant legal obligation of adult children who, to the extent they are able, should support their indigent parents. In the case before the appeals court, a divorcing wife disputed her husband's right to deduct from the proceeds of her share of community property the $12,000 he had spent to support his elderly, infirm mother. The wife called the support payments "an unauthorized gift of community funds."...

LONDON, August 15, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – This week, a popular BBC radio announcer told the public that she had entered into a “suicide pact” with friends should she be incapacitated by illness. Jenni Murray, the presenter of BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour, a feminist and euthanasia advocate, said that she does not want to be “trapped” into caring for her mother who is ill with Parkinson’s disease. Murray, a member of the Order of the British Empire and a patron of the Family Planning Association, is airing her views tonight on a BBC television program called “Don’t Get Me Started.”...

Planned Parenthood Celebration Jolted by Abortion Survivor    TED HARVEY She sings the anthem to applause, then her secret is revealed to stunned silence. Gianna Jessen I want to share with you an awesome experience I had in the Colorado House of Representatives on May 8. It is a humbling experience to look back and realize that God used me to play a role in His divine orchestration. I was leaving the House chambers for the weekend when our Democrat speaker of the House announced that the coming Monday would be the final day of this year's General Assembly. He...

On June 13th, I will have been a physician for twenty five years. Twenty four of those years, exactly one half of my life, will have been spent as a neurologist. I would like, therefore, to state for the record, how grateful I am to have been allowed to practice as a neurologist, during this, the profession’s best of times.When I first began my neurology residency 24 years ago, the practice of neurology was described to me in the phrase “diagnose and adios”. Neurologists were great at diagnosing, based on history and physical examination, where precisely a lesion in the...

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, MARCH 9, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Many prospective parents are waiting for years to adopt children with Down syndrome, according to a recent article in the Associated Press. So why is there an extended wait for kids with special needs, who are usually more difficult to place with families? The reason might be: the growing acceptance of aborting babies with Down syndrome. Elizabeth Schiltz, law professor at the University of St. Thomas and contributor to "The Cost of 'Choice': Women Evaluate the Impact of Abortion" (Encounter Books), shared with ZENIT how aborting children with Down syndrome has not only become...

Duin: Man takes time to explain life to teenage girl B ecause physician-assisted suicide is a subject that far too often divides families and traumatizes the best of friends, perhaps there is something to be gained in eavesdropping for a moment on a conversation about life and death between total strangers. Caleb Heppner is a retired child-welfare administrator in Salem with terminal cancer, Rebekah Puddington a high school freshman in rural upstate New York. They will, most likely, never meet in person, but their paths crossed one night last October. Bekah was watching the nightly news with her father, a...

SACRAMENTO - Entering a re-election year with his popularity sagging, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger faces a key political test tonight as he delivers a State of the State speech that seeks to strike a more populist stance. The governor is expected to address quality-of-life issues facing Californians - traffic, wages, education and prescription drugs - rather than the less-tangible government reforms he spotlighted last year, which voters ultimately rejected. "If it is successful, it can be a very public turning point," said Tim Hodson, executive director of the Center for California Studies at California State University, Sacramento. The governor also will...

BRISTOL, August 16, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Kelly Taylor, a 28-year-old woman who is not terminally ill, has ended her attempt to starve herself to death after 19 days because of the pain of the effects of starvation. Mrs. Taylor claimed that she had chosen self-starvation as the only method of suicide that would not leave her husband Richard liable for prosecution. Nevertheless, after 19 days, she said, “It has become too uncomfortable and I would not wish what I have been going through on my worst enemy.” Taylor suffers from a congenital heart condition known as Eisenmenger Syndrome which, despite...

My wife and I are thinking of retiring in Asheville in a couple of years. (We are also considering other places.) We welcome any FReeper comments, opinions, experiences, recommendations, resources, links, etc. about living in Asheville....housing market, services, government competency, churches, medical facilities, cultural life, political environment (red/blue), etc. We are interested in what kind of neighborhoods there are (we have houses in historic districts of two different towns right now, so we have an obvious interest in that) and we prefer established neighborhoods as opposed to new developments. Please feel free to FReepmail any personal comments, but comments in...

...In short, what do we want from our health-care system? As Americans, we expect it all. We expect: (1) The highest standard of care; (2) continued innovation, and (3) broader access to new technologies at a lower cost. It's possible to achieve two of these three goals. Which, then, can we do without? Will we accept less than optimal care? Will we accept a significant slowdown in medical progress? Will we say, implicitly or explicitly, "80 is long enough for a person to live?".... Some critics contend that the largely private system in the U.S. is more costly and less...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. -- A firefighter brain-damaged in a 1995 roof collapse had an "amazing" weekend, recognizing and speaking with his four sons and other family and friends for the first time in years, a family spokesman said Monday. "I want to talk to my wife," Donald Herbert said out of the blue Saturday at the skilled nursing facility where he has lived for more than seven years. Staff members put Linda Herbert on the telephone. It was the first of many conversations he had during a 14-hour stretch, Herbert's uncle, Simon Manka said. "How long have I been away?"...

For years the March of Dimes (MOD) has been boycotted by pro-life groups for its involvement in the abortion industry. Unfortunately, many well-meaning pro-life citizens continue to support MOD, not knowing one of the group's methods of preventing what it calls "Birth Defects" is to promote abortion.MOD was one of the major forces behind the development and widespread use of amniocentesis in the second trimester of pregnancy. Amniocentesis is a test commonly used to determine if an unborn child has a congenital abnormality, knowledge of which can facilitate the decision to abort "defective" children. Pat Robertson of CBN and the...

Chasing the death dividend Viatical agreements match those who want to cash in on life insurance policies with investors willing to buy the rights to those policies. But a lack of regulation leaves the system open to fraud. July 4, 2004 When the U.S. Coast Guard raided a Russian fishing vessel on the Pacific Ocean in 2001, investigators hit a jackpot: more than 12 tons of chalky powder hidden beneath a mountain of frozen squid, the largest haul of cocaine ever intercepted at sea. At the time, they had no idea they also had tapped in to what federal authorities...

Standing in Line My Two Cents on judging “quality of life” By David J. Aland 30 March 2005 For several days recently, I was immersed in a scene which might have only been imagined by Hieronymus Bosch, Edgar Allen Poe, or Dante. I was surrounded by thousands of people, dressed in scraps of clothing, who were standing in long lines, or waiting for scarcely-available for food at usuriously high prices. They were dehydrated, sunburned, querulous, and looked absolutely hopeless. It was the kind of scene you might only see at Banda Aceh after the recent tsunami and earthquakes. Truth is,...

I sit on the board of Dayspring Homes ("Through the tender Mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace." Lk. 1:78), a not-for-profit corporation that runs residential homes for mentally challenged adults. The founder of this organization is a devout, passionate, indefatigable nun. Though Dayspring accepts residents from all religious backgrounds, the atmosphere in the homes is distinctly Catholic. Recently, I attended a Mass for the residents, employees and board members...

It seems that many people hold a vested interest in the destruction of Terri Schiavo. Having finally found a states rights and family rights cause they can get behind, the culture of death has extended its blood lust from unborn babies to indisputably alive adults. While we've come to expect a defense for abortion from the pro-death types, what befuddles pro-lifers are the depths to which their opponents (and they are opponents) have extended this barbarous worldview. No longer content to kill babies, they now embrace destroying people in all stages of life. It seems they've lost all compassion and,...

RUSH: Condoleezza Rice was officially sworn in today at the State Department, and President Bush was there. She was sworn in, by the way, by Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and the president had some interesting things to say to the State Department staff on the day after Condi threw down the gauntlet to the State Department staff, and I would like for you to hear what President Bush said. We have three bites. The first bite here, he rattles the liberals and the State Department bureaucrats by declaring that freedom is on the march. PRESIDENT BUSH: On Sunday,...

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Norway, Sweden, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands ranked as the best five countries to live in but Africa's quality of life plummeted because of AIDS (news - web sites), said a U.N. report released on Thursday. The United States was ranked in eighth place, a drop of one position from 2003 in the report that rates not only per-capita income but also educational levels, health care and life expectancy in measuring a nation's well-being. The Human Development Index, prepared by the U.N. Development Program, is issued annually and includes every country for which statistics are available....

Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - An Australian woman who committed suicide two years ago surrounded by supporters and euthanasia activists was not dying of cancer at the time of her death, an official post-mortem report has confirmed. The country's leading euthanasia campaigner -- who knew ahead of Nancy Crick's death that she was cancer-free but did not make that public -- said in response to the report's release that the point was immaterial. "To Nancy's mind it didn't really matter and I guess to my mind it didn't matter either," Dr. Philip Nitschke told a commercial television channel. Nitschke advised...

Doctors will apply to the High Court to turn off the life-support of a London student who has been in a coma since an Israeli soldier shot him. Tom Hurndall, 22, has been in a permanent vegetative state for more than six months after being shot in the head while taking pictures with a human shield group in the West Bank. His family, from north London, have been told there is no hope of him recovering. Anguish: Tom's parents Anthony and Jocelyn Other stories: Bosnich held over 'attack' No full Northern line 'until March' Tory plotters choose Howard Courtney Love...

Home Peter Singer: Architect of the Culture of Death    DONALD DEMARCO The new tradition that Peter Singer welcomes is founded on a "quality-of-life" ethic. It allegedly replaces the outgoing morality that is based on the "sanctity-of-life." Peter Singer "After ruling our thoughts and our decisions about life and death for nearly two thousand years, the traditional Western ethic has collapsed." On this triumphant note, Professor Peter Singer begins his milestone book, Rethinking Life and Death. It conveys an attitude of revolutionary confidence that brings to mind another atheistic iconoclast, Derek Humphry, who has said, "We are trying to...

O.K. folks. In two weeks I am interviewing for a postions in Galveston. I need info on the area.

<p>Editor's Note: Making cocktails is straightforward to some, a mystery to others. That's why the Wine section today begins a regular column on the ins and outs of mixing perfect drinks -- all with a dose of fun. Author Gary Regan is a widely recognized expert on spirits and is writing this column exclusively for The Chronicle. .</p>

You struggle up to consciousness. What’s wrong? What time is it?PYEW PYEW PYEW PYEW OOOOOOO? OOOOOOO?Your heart’s racing, blood pressure spiking up. Adrenaline-charged, you’re bolt awake. It’s 4:00 AM. That $!@# car alarm!WOMP! WOMP! WOMP! WOMP!OOOOEEEE; OOOOEEEE; OOOO.In imagination, you become bazooka-wielding Arnold Schwarzenegger and blast the wretched car to Kingdom Come, alarm and all.WEEEUWEEEUWEEEUWEEEU.Why do we have to have these damned $!@# things? We don’t. New York City should entirely ban their use within its five boroughs. Car alarms don’t do a nickel’s worth of good, the evidence overwhelmingly shows. But they do plenty of bad. Not only do...

Here's my situation: Within the next year I will be getting and making a PCS move. I am considering a bunch of different bases at this time, and trying to figure out what my top choices should be. Could some of you vets or military family members please tell what you think about the following locations:1. Colorado Springs, CO2. Fairbanks, AK3. Anchorage, AK4. El Paso, TX5. San Antonio, TX6. Ft. Drum, NY7. Ft. Irwin, CA8. Fayetteville, NC9. Columbia, SC10, Ft. Stewart, GA11. Ft. Hood, TX

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) - Over 18 years, Parkinson's disease stole Jack Goldman's ability to drive, write and speak on the telephone. Because of shaking hands, he couldn't eat without spilling his food. He couldn't zip his pants. At times his joints were frozen. Other times, his medicine caused his body to squirm and jerk violently, throwing him out of his chair. "I had gotten to the point where life was barely worth living," he recalls. So three months ago he said yes to a grueling, even terrifying, operation. Wide awake with only local anesthesia, Goldman lay on an operating...