Jonathan Dimbleby gets a baby to go with his bus pass

Jonathan Dimbleby gets a baby to go with his bus pass - Telegraph Accessibility links Skip to article Skip to navigation Thursday 30 April 2009 | Mandrake feed | All feeds Advertisement Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport, business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV. Enhanced by Google Home News Sport Finance Comment Travel Lifestyle Culture Fashion A - Z Jobs Dating Puzzles  Offers UK World Politics Celebrities Obituaries Weird Earth Science Health News Education Topics News Video Home News News Topics Mandrake Jonathan Dimbleby gets a baby to go with his bus pass After Jonathan Dimbleby's second wife, Jessica, gave birth to their first child, Daisy, he spoke of how he was more attentive to her than he had been to his two children by his first wife, Bel Mooney.   Tim Walker: Edited by Richard Eden Last Updated: 6:32PM BST 30 Apr 2009 Jonathan Dimbleby and his wife Jessica Now, the distinguished broadcaster tells Mandrake that he is to become a father again, in the same month that he collects his old-age pension. "We are expecting our second child in July," says Dimbleby, 64. "I don't know whether it is going to be a boy or a girl. We didn't want to ask the sex, but it is tremendously exciting."   Related Articles Anne-Marie Duff brushes up on ballet basics Jonathan Dimbleby on his marriage break-up Nick Clegg's third child is born Baby is talking to you ... Pippi Longstocking: the Swedish superhero Mothers who can't bond with their babies Jessica, a 32-year-old publicist, gave birth to Daisy in 2007, three months after they married. The chairman of the Radio 4 programme Any Questions has credited her with rescuing him from despair after the death of his lover Susan Chilcott, the soprano, who died of breast cancer in 2003. The following year, he divorced Miss Mooney, his wife of 36 years, with whom he has two other children, Dan, 35, and Kitty, 29. "While love for your children is unconditional, I find myself being more consistently attentive to this little one, than I was [when I was a father] first time round," he said last month. "Age has definitely helped me achieve a healthier balance. Never confuse wisdom with experience."

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mandrake/5252494/Jonathan-Dimbleby-gets-a-baby-to-go-with-his-bus-pass.html

Football Betting Predictions Experience the difference

Football Betting Predictions Experience the difference - Free-Press-Release.com Register Login

Source: http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200904/1241080864.html

Administration seeks change in crack sentences

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration joined a federal judge Wednesday in urging Congress to end a racial disparity by equalizing prison sentences for dealing and using crack versus powdered cocaine. "Jails are loaded with people who look like me," U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton, an African-American, told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said the administration believes Congress' goal "should be to completely eliminate the disparity" between the two forms of cocaine. "A growing number of citizens view it as fundamentally unfair," Breuer testified. GA_googleFillSlot("news_story_instory"); It takes 100 times more powdered cocaine than crack cocaine to trigger the same harsh mandatory minimum sentences. Sen. Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat who chairs the subcommittee, said, "Under current law, mere possession of five grams of crack—the weight of five packets of sweetener—carries the same sentence as distribution of half a kilogram of powder or 500 packets of sweetener." Durbin said more than 81 percent of those convicted for crack offenses in 2007 were African-American, although only about 25 percent of crack cocaine users are African Americans. Congress enacted the disparity during an epidemic of crack cocaine in the 1980s, but the senator said lawmakers erred in assuming that violence would be greater among those using crack. Breuer said the best way to deal with violence is to severely punish anyone who commits a violent offense, regardless of the drug involved. "This administration believes our criminal laws should be tough, smart, fair," Breuer said, but also should "promote public trust and confidence in the criminal justice system." Walton said, "We were mistaken" to enact the disparity. "There's no greater violence in cases before me." Testifying on behalf of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the policy-making arm of the federal judiciary, Walton added that jurors have expressed an unwillingness to serve in crack cocaine cases because of the disparity. President Barack Obama had called for such a change while campaigning for the White House. Breuer said the government should focus on punishing drug trafficking networks, like the cartels wreaking havoc in Mexico, and those whose crimes include acts of violence. The Obama administration is also seeking to increase drug treatment, as well as rehabilitation programs for felons after they're released from prison. Miami's police chief, John Timoney, also favored ending the disparity, commenting, "It's the same drug. It's just manufactured differently." Cedric Parker, of Alton, Ill., said his sister, Eugenia Jennings, is serving nearly 22 years for trading crack cocaine for designer clothes. If she had been trading powder cocaine, the sentence would have been less than half of the time. "She would be getting ready to come home, probably already in the halfway house. But, because she was sentenced for crack cocaine she will not be released from prison until 2019," Parker testified. While politicians often support laws lengthening prison terms for various crimes, it is rarer to try to reduce sentences, in part out of concern they may appear soft on crime. But recently, some states have been moving on their own to temper long-standing "get tough" laws. In New York last month, state leaders reached an agreement to repeal the last vestiges of the Rockefeller drug laws, once seen as the harshest in the nation. Kentucky enacted changes that would put more addicts in treatment, and fewer behind bars. The Justice Department is working on recommendations for a new set of sentences for cocaine, and Breuer urged Congress to overhaul the current law, written in 1986 at the height of public concern about crack use. Since then, Breuer argued, prosecutors' views of crack cocaine have evolved to a more "refined understanding" of crack and powdered cocaine usage. He also suggested that until such changes are made, federal prosecutors may encourage judges to use their discretion to depart from the current sentencing guidelines. Such departures are rare in the federal courts.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97SC5IG0&show_article=1

Swine flu: potential sufferers told to stay at home

Swine flu: potential sufferers told to stay at home - Telegraph Accessibility links Skip to article Skip to navigation Wednesday 29 April 2009 | Swine Flu feed | All feeds Advertisement Website of the Telegraph Media Group with breaking news, sport, business, latest UK and world news. Content from the Daily Telegraph and Sunday Telegraph newspapers and video from Telegraph TV. Enhanced by Google Home News Sport Finance Comment Travel Lifestyle Culture Fashion A - Z Jobs Dating Puzzles  Offers Motoring Technology Health Property Gardening Food and Drink Outdoors Family Lifestyle Video Health News Health Advice Diet and Fitness Wellbeing Expat Health Swine Flu Home Health Swine Flu Swine flu: potential sufferers told to stay at home The guidance on what to do if you think you might be suffering from swine flu is very clear – stay in your home and away from anyone else you think you might infect.   By Caroline Gammell Last Updated: 6:47AM BST 29 Apr 2009 Nurse Ann-Marie Andre-Jonsson shows how to perform a test for swine flu virus with her colleague Anette Forsberg (R) acting as a patient Photo: REUTERS Potential sufferers of swine flu have been told to ring NHS Direct or check their symptoms on the online "flu symptom checker" to see if there is a chance they might have the virus. A careful list of criteria has been drawn up by the Department of Health and is available on its website.   Related Articles Swine flu: NHS orders 30m extra face masks British victims of swine flu are honeymoon couple Swine flu's first victim: A door-to-door researcher Swine flu pandemic 'would infect four in ten Britons' Groom passes swine flu virus to best man Two hospitalised in NY, 'many hundreds' of schoolchildren sick Of interest, is anyone who has been to Mexico or San Antonio, Texas, San Diego, Imperial County or New York City in America in the last seven days. Also of concern, is anyone who has pain in or across their chest, pain in their shoulder, is short of breath, has swelling around the lips, mouth or tongue or has lips, fingernails or toenails which are changing colour. Anyone with such symptoms is urged to call 999 immediately and asked not to leave their homes. The anti-virals Tamiflu or Relenza will be prescribed over the phone either via NHS Direct or from a GP. If someone who is not infected is able to collect your prescription for you, they will be asked to go and collect it from the nearest pharmacy and post it through your letter box. If there is no one suitable to carry out such a task, the prescription will be couriered round to your address and, again, posted through the letter box. The H1N1 virus (swine flu) is not thought to be nearly as dangerous as the H5N1 strain (bird flu)and if caught early on should cause little more discomfort than the normal flu symptoms. Anyone who feels flu-like symptoms and may have been in contact with someone who has been to one of the infected areas, is also advised to stay at home, drink plenty of water and take paracetomol. To try and avoid the spread, people are asked to cover their mouths when coughing, discard of tissues promptly and wash their hands frequently. Anyone concerned about swine flu and its potential symptoms should contact their GP or NHS Direct on 0845 4647.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5237703/Swine-flu-potential-sufferers-told-to-stay-at-home.html

NYC Wine Tasting Event at Old Homestead Features Mark Beringer of Artesa Winery

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Source: http://www.free-press-release.com/news/200904/1240953102.html

Myanmar opposition mulling whether to participate in 2010 elections+

YANGON, April 28 (AP) - (Kyodo)—Myanmar's main opposition party, the National League for Democracy, opened a two-day meeting at its headquarters in Yangon on Tuesday to decide whether to take part in next year's general elections proposed by the junta. More than 150 NLD delegates from across the country, including 93 NLD members elected to parliament in the country's last democratic elections held in 1990, attended the meeting, party spokesman Nyan Win said. GA_googleFillSlot("news_story_instory"); In an opening address, NLD Chairman Aung Shwe said his party will decide on whether to participate in the 2010 elections after deliberating on the political situation and the new Constitution drafted by the junta. Aung Shwe said the party will also wait for the announcement of the Party Registration Law and the Election Law before making a final decision. "We have to see whether the laws are based on democratic principles," Aung Shwe said. The junta adopted the new Constitution that gives the military a dominant political role after a nationwide referendum last year. The NLD, led by Aung San Suu Kyi, who is under house arrest, and other opposition forces have rejected the Constitution saying its main objective is to perpetuate military rule in Myanmar and denounced the referendum as a sham.

Source: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97RCD280&show_article=1

Swine flu confirmed in Britain

Twenty two other people who have been in close contact with the patients – a man and a woman – since their return are receiving anti-viral drugs as a precaution and seven of them are showing mild symptoms of influenza. The seven with symptoms have been told to stay at home and will be tested to see if they have swine flu.   Related Articles VIDEO: Rebecca Smith explains swine flu Mexican authorities accused of initial cover up Swine flu: your questions answered Families of Mexico's swine flu sufferers hold vigils for loved ones Swine flu: Drug companies on stand by to release drugs Conflicting travel advice for Britons heading to Mexico Fears were growing that the virus could cause a flu pandemic as a series of countries confirmed cases. Officials in Mexico – the centre of the outbreak – said there were 1,455 probable cases and 149 confirmed deaths. Cases have also been confirmed in Spain, Canada, and several states in the USA. More are suspected in New Zealand, Israel and Colombia. Four people in the Irish Republic were being tested for the virus. The two British patients, from the Falkirk area of Scotland, returned from holiday last Tuesday and on Saturday developed symptoms and contacted doctors. They are being kept in isolation at a hospital in Airdrie. They are being treated with anti-viral drugs and are said to be ‘‘recovering well’’. Senior civil servants met in an emergency session in Whitehall to discuss the threat posed by the disease. Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish Health Minister, said every precaution was being taken to prevent further spread of the virus. She said: “The seven displaying, and I stress, very mild symptoms will now be given anti-virals as treatment. The 22 that are not symptomatic will be given very extensive advice about minimising the spread. “The focus is on the immediate contacts. Effectively, what we are trying to do is put a ring around this. We are trying to contain this as effectively as we can.” Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government’s Chief Medical Officer, had earlier said that it was “inevitable” that the infection would reach Britain. “Hopefully, if we identify those early and treat people and their contacts, we might be able to reduce the spread,” he said. Alan Johnson, the Health Secretary, told MPs there had been 25 suspected cases so far in Britain. Eight of them had subsequently tested negative for the disease. A Canadian woman was taken to hospital in Manchester showing symptoms of flu, but officials said it was highly unlikely she had swine flu. Mr Johnson added that Britain was – with France – one of the two best-prepared countries in the world to deal with a potential flu pandemic. The Government had imposed “enhanced” port health checks in an attempt to identify passengers arriving in Britain with symptoms of the illness, he said, and measures were in place to allow the swift nationwide distribution of the drug Tamiflu, which can reduce the severity and length of flu illnesses. In the Government’s pandemic plan the worst case scenario suggests that if half the population contracted pandemic flu there could be around 709,000 deaths. Schools, sports events and concerts could be shut down to limit the spread of the illness. Doctors who come into contact with suspected cases should wear face masks, gloves and aprons, under protocols issued by the Health Protection Agency. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said the disease has ‘‘pandemic potential’’ and work has already begun on a vaccine against the potentially lethal virus – a variation of H1N1 swine flu – although this is likely to take months before it is ready for use. Mr Johnson said: “Everywhere outside Mexico the symptoms have been mild and all the victims have made a full recovery.” People who suspect they may have been infected should stay at home and seek medical advice over the telephone, he added. The WHO increased the pandemic alert level from level three, where experts have identified little or no human to human transmission to level four indicating that it was spreading much more easily between people across large areas. A pandemic is declared at level six. Since the alerts were introduced in 2005 it has never been higher than level three. The WHO has a team of experts in Mexico to try to establish why the disease seems to be more severe there than elsewhere. The Department of Health pandemic plan says that a likely scenario during a pandemic is that businesses should expect repeated waves of one in four employees being off work. Stephen Alambritis, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said that this could be disastrous during a recession. Anyone who feels unwell and suspects they have flu is advised to visit the NHS Direct website at www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk or call them for advice on 0845 46 47.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5232846/Swine-flu-confirmed-in-Britain.html