Cuba's Castro has put on weight.......Recent picture

Reclusive Castro shown looking well

Agence France-Presse. February 14, 2009.

Feeling all white ... a tracksuited Fidel Castro poses with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet / Reuters

AILING former Cuban leader Fidel Castro is pictured standing, decked out in a white Adidas track suit, in new photos released after he met in Cuba with Chilean President Michelle Bachelet yesterday.

The Chilean Government released the pictures after a meeting in Havana between Mr Castro, 82 and still the head of the Cuban Communist Party, and Ms Bachelet.

In them, Mr Castro is shown standing next to Ms Bachelet but not smiling, wearing a track suit with dark trim. He was last photographed publicly in January during a visit with Argentine President Cristina Kirchner.

Ms Bachelet, whose visit to Cuba continues today said Castro was in "very good condition" following their 90-minute meeting.

"I have met with Fidel Castro, he is in very good condition, we had a long conversation for an hour and a half," Ms Bachelet said.

Her three-day visit to Cuba is the first by a Chilean leader in more than three decades.

Ms Bachelet - a doctor by training - said that Mr Castro was "very active" and was lucid. "He knew all the most important details" about a range of topics she said.
"He was very interested in topics concerning Chile, analysing information, statistics and interested in hearing about areas in which we have had success," she said.

Mr Castro ceded power to his brother Raul in July 2006 during a health crisis. Raul Castro, 77, became Cuba's president officially a year ago.

Fidel Castro has not appeared in public for the past two and a half years following major digestive or intestinal surgery.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25052999-401,00.html)

Obama to host Stevie Wonder at the WH

US President Barack Obama to host tribute to Motown legend Stevie Wonder

From correspondents in Washington. Agence France-Presse. February 14, 2009.

US President Barack Obama will honour Motown legend and high profile supporter Stevie Wonder later this month, in what will likely be the first major cultural event since he moved into the White House.

President Obama and wife Michelle will hold a concert in the ornate East Room of the presidential mansion in honour of singer-songwriter, who is being awarded the second annual Gershwin Award for Lifetime Achievement by the US Library of Congress.

The White House said the February 25 event will be recorded for broadcast the next day by US PBS public television as part of celebrations for African American History month.

Multi Grammy-award winning Wonder was a frequent presence at President Obama's campaign rallies in the 2008 election campaign, and performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver and inaugural festivities in Washington.

Obama often danced along to the Wonder hit Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours after he had wound up his campaign speeches.
(http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25053434-1702,00.html)

Does Jacko suffer from flesh-eating bacteria?

Michael Jackson has a 'flesh-eating superbug'

From BANG Showbiz. NEWS.com.au. February 13, 2009.

Superbug ... Michael Jackson is rumoured to have picked up a disfiguring infection while having plastic surgery / AP

• Michael Jackson rumoured to have superbug
• "It could turn into a flesh-eating disease

THE latest Michael Jackson rumour to hit the tabloids has the star fighting off a potentially "flesh-eating" superbug.

The 50-year-old singer is said to have contracted the skin infection, which is resistant to traditional antibiotics, while having surgery to reconstruct his nose.

"The infection has spread throughout his face and body and is being aggressively treated by doctors," Britain's The Sun quoted a source as saying.

"There's a chance it could turn into a flesh-eating disorder where it begins to kill off his skin, so he’s being very carefully monitored."

Jackson is reportedly receiving treatment for the bug via an intravenous drip and was pictured leaving an LA clinic with inflamed and blotchy skin partly concealed beneath a surgical mask.
"It is possible that Mr Jackson has a staph infection," celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Anthony Youn said.

"In some worse cases surgeons will have to remove the infected tissue if it dies - leaving the patient needing major reconstructive surgery. It is particularly worrying if it’s on the face.”

In December, author and celebrity commentator Ian Halperin claimed Jackson had a potentially fatal lung disease.

However the singer’s spokesman dismissed the claims.

"Mr Jackson is in fine health and finalising negotiations with a major entertainment company and television network for both a world tour and a series of specials and appearances," he said.
(http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/story/0,28383,25048311-7484,00.html)

Most Arthritis complementary therapies USELESS.....

Most Arthritis therapies 'ineffective'

Powder made from the 'velvet' on antlers was tested

Most complementary therapies used by people with rheumatoid arthritis are not effective, a study has suggested.

The Arthritis Research Campaign looked at the scientific evidence available for 40 treatments.

Two thirds of treatments for rheumatoid arthritis and a fifth of treatments for osteoarthritis were found to be ineffective by the researchers.

The Arthritis Research Campaign said it wanted people who used the therapies to know what evidence was available.

The message is not 'don't take them' Professor Alan Silman, Arthritis Research Campaign

Rheumatoid arthritis, the most common kind, is caused by inflammation of the lining (synovium) of the joints.

Osteoarthritis is caused by the breakdown of protective tissue called cartilage in the joints. Inflammation results when the unprotected bones of the joint begin to rub together.

It most commonly affects the joints of the fingers, knees, hips, and spine.

In total, 60% of people with arthritis are thought to use some form of complementary medicine.

Antler velvet

The researchers looked at compounds taken by the mouth or applied to the skin.

Effectiveness is measured by improvements in pain, movement or general well-being.

When the researchers examined treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, they found 13 out of 21 complementary medicines were shown to have no or little effect based on the available evidence.

The 13 were: antler velvet powder, blackcurrant seed oil, collagen, eazmov (a herbal mixture), feverfew (herb), flaxseed oil, green-lipped mussels, homeopathy, reumalex herbal mixture, selenium, the Chinese herb tong luo kai bi, vitamins A, C and E, and willow bark.

However, fish body oil was given five out of five in the report, for being effective in reducing joint pain and stiffness.(please check out a detailed scientific data regarding this that will be posted in the next few days).

In addition, six out of 27 treatments for osteoarthritis were shown to have little or no effect based on the available evidence

Capsaicin gel, made from chilli peppers, proved most effective in relieving pain and joint tenderness.

But the effectiveness of glucosamine, a popular supplement used by people with OA which costs around £10 a month, which researchers have previously said was ineffective, again called into question.

For fibromyalgia, which causes widespread pain in muscles and joints, only four products were assessed, none were found to be highly effective with three medicines scoring two out of five, and the fourth just one.

Side effects

The researchers also examined how safe compounds were.

One - thunder god vine, a traditional Chinese medicine - was given a "red" classification, meaning there were serious safety concerns.

A quarter of the compounds were given an "amber" safety classification, because there were some reported side-effects.

The team said they were unable to evaluate the effectiveness of 36 therapies, including basil, green tea, sarsaparilla and St John's Wort because there was insufficient data.

Professor Gary Macfarlane, from the University of Aberdeen, said while different things worked for different people, "it is useful to also have the scientific evidence available and just as important to know how safe we think they are to use."

Professor Alan Silman, the Arthritis Research Campaign's medical director, added: "We didn't start this saying this was our opportunity to knock complementary medicines.

"The message is not 'don't take them'. The message is 'if you are going to take them, be aware of what the level of evidence is'."

Dr Peter Fisher, clinical director of the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital, said the report focused on tablets and preparations applied to the skin, missing out therapies such as acupuncture and osteopathy.

"I think what really comes across in this report is how sorely under-researched this area is," he said.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7875192.stm)

A second similar article
by Rebecca Smith, Medical Editor (Telegraph)

Little evidence complementary medicines work for arthritis: research

Complementary medicines used by millions of arthritis sufferers have been called into question as research finds little evidence to support their use.

There are around 400,000 people in the UK are living with rheumatoid arthritis Photo: GETTY

Two thirds of complementary medicines used for rheumatoid arthritis and one fifth of those used for osteoarthritis were found to have little or no effect based on available evidence, the Arthritis Research Campaign said.

There are around 400,000 people in the UK are living with rheumatoid arthritis which is where the body attacks itself and causes inflammation in the joints.

Around eight million people, mostly the elderly, have some degree of osteoarthritis, where the cartilage between the joints becomes damaged.

Experts from ARC looked at the evidence for commonly used complementary medicines from randomised controlled trials and gave each a score from one to five with five being the most effective at improving pain, general wellbeing and movement.

Almost half of people turn to complementary medicine at some point in their lives, spending over £450 million a year on acupuncture, chiropractic, homoeopathy, hypnotherapy, medical herbalism and osteopathy, the report said.

People with arthritis and similar conditions are particularly attracted to the medicines, with 60 per cent of sufferers admitting they have tried or use a variety of products.

Professor Alan Silman, the Arthritis Research Campaign's medical director, said: "Complementary medicines are widely used by people with arthritis as they seek to avoid taking potentially harmful drugs, preferring natural products. However, natural does not mean they are either safe – or effective. Many people spend hundreds of pounds on these products and they need to know that there is a strong chance of benefit."

For people with rheumatoid arthritis, the medicines researched scored poorly, with 13 out of 21 complementary medicines (62%) scoring just 1 point.

Fish body oil - which is derived from the tissues of fatty fish like sardines, sprat, salmon, and mackerel - scored a maximum 5 for effectiveness among people with rheumatoid arthritis.

It also received a "green light" for safety, according to the study.

For people with osteoarthritis, the therapies fared better, with only six out of 27 (22%) scoring 1 point.

A therapy called phytodolor and the nutritional supplement S-adenosyl-L-methionine (SAMe), both received a 4 for effectiveness.

Capsaicin gel, made from chilli peppers, proved the most effective, scoring the full 5 points.

Glucosamine - one of the most widely taken products - worked in some trials but not others.

The report found that the evidence is stronger for glucosamine sulphate (which scored 3) compared with glucosamine hydrochloride (which scored 1).

Only four products were assessed for fibromyalgia but none of them were highly effective, with three medicines scoring 2 out of 5, and the fourth scoring 1.

:: According to new research in the USA, middle-aged women who take multivitamin pills to guard against heart disease and cancer may be wasting their time.

The Women's Health Initiative, whose findings are published in the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, conducted the largest study of its kind among post-menopausal women and found that multivitamins have no effect on the risk of either killer illness - or the overall chances of dying.

Study leader Professor Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, who tested almost 162,000 women aged 50 to 79, said: "Based on our results, if you fall into the category of the women described here, and you do in fact have an adequate diet, there really is no reason to take a multivitamin."

Osteoarthritis:

Capsaicin gel - 5

Phytodolor - 4

SAMe - 4

Chondroitin - 3

Devil's claw - 3

Ginger - 3

Glucosamine sulphate - 3

Green-lipped mussel - 3

Indian frankincense - 3

Pine bark extracts - 3

Rosehip - 3

SKI 06X - 3

Articulin-F - 2

Cetylated fatty acids (CFAs) - 2

Chondroitin - 2

Collagen - 2

Duhuo Jisheng Wan (DJW) - 2

Gitadyl - 2

MSM - 2

Vitamins A,C,E (anti-oxidant vitamins) - 2

Vitamins D & B complex (non-anti-oxidant vitamins) - 2

Willow bark - 2

Eazmov - 1

Fish liver oil - 1

Glucosamine hydrochloride - 1

Homeopathy - 1

Reumalex - 1

Stinging nettle - 1

Rheumatoid arthritis:

Fish body oil - 5

Borage seed oil - 3

Evening primrose oil (EPO) - 3

Thunder god vine - 3

Biqi capsule - 2

Cannabis oral spray 2

Cat's claw - 2

SKI 06X - 2

Antler velvet - 1

Blackcurrant seed oil - 1

Collagen - 1

Eazmov - 1

Feverfew - 1

Flaxseed oil - 1

Green-lipped mussel - 1

Homeopathy - 1

Reumalex - 1

Selenium - 1

Tong luo kai bi - 1

Vitamins A,C,E (anti-oxidant vitamins) - 1

Willow bark - 1

Fibromyalgia:

Capsaicin gel - 2

Homeopathy - 2

SAMe - 2

Anthocyanidins - 1

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/alternativemedicine/4571134/Little-evidence-complementary-medicines-work-for-arthritis-research.html)

Lip-lock kissing can make you feel dizzy. Really!!!

Why a hot kiss makes you feel dizzy

London. "Ummmmms" and "aaaahhhs" are not the only co-partners of kissing, for a passionate lip-lock unleashes a chain of chemical changes that really turn your head, claims a new study.

Wendy Hill, professor of psychology

at Lafayette College, Pennsylvania has taken the opportunity to shed light on that most basic of all human expressions of love — the smooch. In her study, Hill has found that a meeting of lips can spark a complex chemical surge into the brain

that makes a lover feel excited, happy or relaxed.

Also, it is being speculated that the hormone release may be triggered directly by an exchange of sexually stimulating pheromones

in the saliva.
"This study shows kissing is much more complex and causes hormonal changes and things we never thought occurred," the Times quoted her, as saying. "We tend to think more about who we are kissing and how it feels, yet there are a lot of other things happening," she added.

To reach the conclusion, the research team looked at the impact of kissing on levels of two hormones, oxytocin and cortisol, in 15 male-female couples before and after holding hands and before and after kissing.

Oxytocin is known to be involved in social bonding so the researchers predicted that its levels would rise, while cortisol, a stress hormone, would fall. The results showed cortisol levels fell in both sexes, although oxytocin levels rose in men but fell in women.
(http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Health__Science/Why_a_hot_kiss_makes_you_feel_dizzy/articleshow/4096065.cms)

Nano-technology and tiny submarines to attack Cancer

Tiny submarines 'can deliver cancer drugs straight to tumours'

Tiny submarines which can be injected into the blood to deliver cancer drugs straight to tumours have been developed by scientists.

Researchers hope that the machines could be used to treat patients within three years.

The news comes just weeks after a team of scientists announced that they had developed similar technology to carry out potentially life saving operations inside arteries.

The machines, part of a growing trend for so-called nano-technology, recall the plots of Hollywood science fiction movies, including 1987's Innerspace with Dennis Quaid, and the 1966 film Fantastic Voyage, starring Raquel Welch.

Sending drugs straight to cancer cells will mean that they do not damage other surrounding healthy tissue, researchers said.

The submarines are 100 times smaller than cells, according to Dr Dan Peer, head of nano medicine at Tel Aviv University in Israel, who has already tested them in mice.

All the materials used to create the tiny machines occur naturally in the body, meaning they will not be attacked by the patient's immune system.

Dr Peer said: "We have tested this on mice and they were all fine and now we are ready to test it on people.

"The important thing is that we only use things that the body recognises, so its immune system won't attack them, as they do with other technologies."

He added: "We will probably start with blood cancers because the cells would be floating around and will be easier to find.

"But cancer is very clever and it will learn to avoid what we are doing and we will have to keep up - it is a war we are in.

"Although the film Fantastic Voyage was made before I was born, I have seen it is the kind of thing that I have dreamed of.

"Now I hope we on the verge of something similar."

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/4527597/Tiny-submarines-can-deliver-cancer-drugs-straight-to-tumours.html)

British terrorists biggest threat to US

CIA warns Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US

Barack Obama has been warned by the CIA that British Islamist extremists are the greatest threat to US homeland security. I came across this article in the Telegraph and thought my readers would be interested and I'll let them make their own opinions.

The CIA has told President Barack Obama that British terrorists are the biggest threat to the US

American spy chiefs have told the President that the CIA has launched a vast spying operation in the UK to prevent a repeat of the 9/11 attacks being launched from Britain.

They believe that a British-born Pakistani extremist entering the US under the visa waiver programme is the most likely source of another terrorist spectacular on American soil.

Intelligence briefings for Mr Obama have detailed a dramatic escalation in American espionage in Britain, where the CIA has recruited record numbers of informants in the Pakistani community to monitor the 2,000 terrorist suspects identified by MI5, the British security service.

A British intelligence source revealed that a staggering four out of 10 CIA operations designed to thwart direct attacks on the US are now conducted against targets in Britain.

And a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama told The Sunday Telegraph that the CIA has stepped up its efforts in the last month after the Mumbai massacre laid bare the threat from Lashkar-e-Taiba, the militant group behind the attacks, which has an extensive web of supporters in the UK.

The CIA has already spent 18 months developing a network of agents in Britain to combat al-Qaeda, unprecedented in size within the borders of such a close ally, according to intelligence sources in both London and Washington.

Bruce Riedel, a former CIA officer who has advised Mr Obama, told The Sunday Telegraph: "The British Pakistani community is recognised as probably al-Qaeda's best mechanism for launching an attack against North America.

"The American security establishment believes that danger continues and there's very intimate cooperation between our security services to monitor that." Mr Riedel, who served three presidents as a Middle East expert on the White House National Security Council, added: "President Obama's national security team are well aware that this is a serious threat."

The British official said: "The Americans run their own assets in the Pakistani community; they get their own intelligence. There's close cooperation with MI5 but they don't tell us the names of all their sources.

"Around 40 per cent of CIA activity on homeland threats is now in the UK. This is quite unprecedented."

Explaining the increase in CIA activity over the past month, Mr Riedel added: "In the aftermath of the Mumbai attack the US and the UK intelligence services now have to regard Lashkar-e-Taiba as just as serious a threat to both of our countries as al-Qaeda. They have a much more extensive base among Pakistani Diaspora communities in the UK than al–Qaeda."

Information gleaned by CIA spies in Britain has already helped thwart several terrorist attacks in the UK and was instrumental in locating Rashid Rauf, a British-born al-Qaeda operative implicated in a plot to explode airliners over the Atlantic, who was tracked down and killed in a US missile strike in November.

But some US intelligence officers are irritated that valuable manpower and resources have been diverted to the UK. One former intelligence officer who does contract work for the CIA dismissed Britain as a "swamp" of jihadis.

Jonathan Evans, the director general of MI5, admitted in January that the Security Service alone does not have the resources to maintain surveillance on all its targets. "We don't have anything approaching comprehensive coverage," he said.

The dramatic escalation in CIA activity in the UK followed the exposure in August 2006 of Operation Overt, the alleged airline bomb plot.

The British intelligence official revealed that CIA chiefs sent more resources to the UK because they were not prepared to see American citizens die as a result of MI5's inability to keep tabs on all suspects, even though the Security Service successfully uncovered the plot.

MI5 manpower will have doubled to 4,100 by 2011 but many in the US intelligence community do not think that is enough.

For their part, some British officials are queasy that information obtained by the CIA from British Pakistanis was used to help target Mr Rauf, a British citizen, whom they would have preferred to capture and bring to trial.

Sensitivities over the intelligence arrangement formed a key part of briefings given to Mr Obama, since they are central to what is often called "the most special part of the special relationship" and could complicate his dealings with Gordon Brown.

Tensions in transatlantic intelligence relations which were laid bare last week during the High Court battle over Binyam Mohamed, the British resident held in Guanatanamo Bay. British judges wanted to publish details of the torture administered to Mr Mohamed, an Ethiopian national, in US custody. But key paragraphs were blacked out after American officials threatened it could damage intelligence sharing between the two countries.

Intelligence experts said that a trusting intelligence relationship, in which one country does not publish intelligence data obtained by the other, is vital to both countries' national security.

Patrick Mercer, chairman of the House of Commons counter-terrorism sub-committee, said: "The special relationship is a huge benefit to us. It clearly works to our advantage and helps keep the people of the UK and the US safe.

"There is no doubt that a great deal of valuable intelligence vital to British national security is procured by American agents from British sources."

Mr Riedel added: "The partnership between the two intelligence communities is dynamic; it is one of great intimacy. We overuse the term special relationship, but this is an extraordinarily special relationship.

"Since September 11 the philosophy on both sides has been to err on the side of telling each other more rather than less. It is in everyone's interests that that continues."

(http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/barackobama/4550144/CIA-warns-Barack-Obama-that-British-terrorists-are-the-biggest-threat-to-the-US.html)