Friday 20 November 2009: With entrepreneurship education taking precedence in the EU policy agenda, ETF and its partners from sixteen pre-accession and Southern Mediterranean countries will gather at the University St. Kliment Ohridski in Bitola, in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to consider the outcomes of the first phase of an ETF pilot project which aims to determine the feasibility of policy indicators to promote entrepreneurship in higher education. The project is prompted by policy recommendations by the European Commission for promotion of entrepreneurship education beyond the business school, encompassing all faculties. About the ETF: The European Training Foundation (ETF) is an agency of the European Union that helps EU partner countries to reform their education and training systems, and so bring out the full potential of their people.
Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou said: "Over the years, microbes have evolved and have become stronger thus making available treatments less effective. Serious diseases that were believed to be under control are re-emerging with a vengeance. The document published today, on the European Antibiotic Awareness Day, offers good food for thought. It lays the foundations for an open discussion that I hope will lead to concrete measures to combat AMR, which has turned into one of the most serious health risks in Europe." ... Since the 1990s, when AMR recognised as a serious threat to public health, the Commission has launched different initiatives has developed tools to monitor the effect of these actions. In June 2008, the Health Council adopted conclusions on AMR calling the Commission to promote mutual cooperation between all Directorates General and concerned Agencies and to facilitate cooperation between the Member States on aspects of AMR. The full text of the staff working paper can be found at: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/salmonella/antimicrobial_resistance.pdf For more information please visit: http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/salmonella/index_en.htm
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Since the 1990s, when AMR recognised as a serious threat to public health, the Commission has launched different initiatives has developed tools to monitor the effect of these actions. In June 2008, the Health Council adopted conclusions on AMR calling the Commission to promote mutual cooperation between all Directorates General and concerned Agencies and to facilitate cooperation between the Member States on aspects of AMR.
The full text of the staff working paper can be found at:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/salmonella/antimicrobial_resistance.pdf
For more information please visit:
http://ec.europa.eu/food/food/biosafety/salmonella/index_en.htm
News that former KISS drummer Peter Criss, he of the Catman persona, suffered breast cancer has provoked new interest in the subject of male breast cancer, a rare but potentially fatal tumor. Men have only a small amount of breast tissue concentrated in the area immediately behind the nipple, probably the main reason that they account for only about 1% of all breast cancers. Nonetheless, about 1,990 men will develop the disease this year, and 480 will die from it (compared with more than 40,000 deaths in women), according to the National Cancer Institute. Male breast cancer carries about the same risk of death as the female version, but because it is generally detected at a later stage of progression, the perception is that it is more deadly. The disease is most common in men between the ages of 50 and 60. The lifetime risk of developing it is less than 1% for the average man, but for those carrying the breast cancer gene BRCA2, the risk increases to about 6%. Family history is particularly important: One in every five men with breast cancer has a relative who's also had it.
Men have only a small amount of breast tissue concentrated in the area immediately behind the nipple, probably the main reason that they account for only about 1% of all breast cancers. Nonetheless, about 1,990 men will develop the disease this year, and 480 will die from it (compared with more than 40,000 deaths in women), according to the National Cancer Institute. Male breast cancer carries about the same risk of death as the female version, but because it is generally detected at a later stage of progression, the perception is that it is more deadly. The disease is most common in men between the ages of 50 and 60. The lifetime risk of developing it is less than 1% for the average man, but for those carrying the breast cancer gene BRCA2, the risk increases to about 6%. Family history is particularly important: One in every five men with breast cancer has a relative who's also had it.
D.A. chides L.A. council, says he'll target pot dispensaries With the Los Angeles City Council poised to take up a medical marijuana ordinance after two years of contentious debate, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley warned Tuesday that he intends to prosecute dispensaries that sell the drug even if the city's leaders decide to allow those transactions. Cooley's broadside came a day after two council committees rejected the city's attorney's advice to ban sales. The ordinance they recommended would allow dispensaries to accept cash contributions as long as they comply with state law, a provision Cooley derided as "meaningless" and said reflected "Alice-in-Wonderland thinking." Cooley and City Atty. Carmen Trutanich maintain that recent court decisions clearly indicate collectives cannot sell marijuana over the counter, although members can be reimbursed for the cost of growing it. .... Some prosecutors and law enforcement officials argue the decisions bolstered their long-held view that neither Proposition 215, which voters approved in 1996, nor the state's Medical Marijuana Program Act, which the Legislature passed in 2003, specifically allow for sales. In September, Trutanich sent the council a nine-page review of the case law. "This is an area where the intent of the law is very clear. Collectives are allowed to grow this and distribute it amongst themselves," he said Tuesday. "Not one sentence says sales are allowed." Lawyers for medical marijuana advocacy groups have countered with their own analyses. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients recently delivered a 23-page legal review to council members. "We're really disappointed because we have been thinking that the district attorney would have respect for what the City Council would come up with," said James Shaw, the group's director. "We're taking his threats as real." Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, said that properly organized collectives can sell marijuana, citing guidelines issued last year by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. "The idea that a nonprofit collective can't sell things is just a bizarre interpretation of the law," he said.
With the Los Angeles City Council poised to take up a medical marijuana ordinance after two years of contentious debate, L.A. County Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley warned Tuesday that he intends to prosecute dispensaries that sell the drug even if the city's leaders decide to allow those transactions.
Cooley's broadside came a day after two council committees rejected the city's attorney's advice to ban sales. The ordinance they recommended would allow dispensaries to accept cash contributions as long as they comply with state law, a provision Cooley derided as "meaningless" and said reflected "Alice-in-Wonderland thinking." Cooley and City Atty. Carmen Trutanich maintain that recent court decisions clearly indicate collectives cannot sell marijuana over the counter, although members can be reimbursed for the cost of growing it.
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Some prosecutors and law enforcement officials argue the decisions bolstered their long-held view that neither Proposition 215, which voters approved in 1996, nor the state's Medical Marijuana Program Act, which the Legislature passed in 2003, specifically allow for sales. In September, Trutanich sent the council a nine-page review of the case law. "This is an area where the intent of the law is very clear. Collectives are allowed to grow this and distribute it amongst themselves," he said Tuesday. "Not one sentence says sales are allowed."
Lawyers for medical marijuana advocacy groups have countered with their own analyses. The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients recently delivered a 23-page legal review to council members. "We're really disappointed because we have been thinking that the district attorney would have respect for what the City Council would come up with," said James Shaw, the group's director. "We're taking his threats as real."
Joe Elford, chief counsel for Americans for Safe Access, said that properly organized collectives can sell marijuana, citing guidelines issued last year by California Atty. Gen. Jerry Brown. "The idea that a nonprofit collective can't sell things is just a bizarre interpretation of the law," he said.
Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a Houston lawyer and Democratic candidate for attorney general, says that a 22-word clause in a 2005 constitutional amendment designed to ban gay marriages erroneously endangers the legal status of all marriages in the state. The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares: "This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
The amendment, approved by the Legislature and overwhelmingly ratified by voters, declares that "marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman." But the troublemaking phrase, as Radnofsky sees it, is Subsection B, which declares:
"This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
Poor white boys now do worse in primary school tests in England than any other main group, latest figures show.Only 48% of white British boys eligible for free school meals achieved the expected level in English and maths. The average for all pupils was 71.8% - and that gap, 23.8 percentage points, was up from 23.1 points last year. Attainment continued to vary between ethnic groups with Chinese, Irish, Indian and mixed white and Asian children doing best. It was known already that nationally, attainment in both English and maths in the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests - commonly known as "Sats" - had fallen this year.
Poor white boys now do worse in primary school tests in England than any other main group, latest figures show.
Only 48% of white British boys eligible for free school meals achieved the expected level in English and maths.
The average for all pupils was 71.8% - and that gap, 23.8 percentage points, was up from 23.1 points last year.
Attainment continued to vary between ethnic groups with Chinese, Irish, Indian and mixed white and Asian children doing best.
It was known already that nationally, attainment in both English and maths in the Key Stage 2 national curriculum tests - commonly known as "Sats" - had fallen this year.
Only a few weeks after the Dutch Internet service provider UPC decided to discriminate Internet traffic1, Vodafone announced yesterday2 that it will prioritize Internet access for its mobile subscribers who are ready to pay an extra fee when the 3G network is congested. This means that instead of equally sharing the network capacity between all users, Vodafone will discriminate against the subscribers who do not pay the extra fee, and deliberately slow them down. Such a business model based on organizing a scarcity of resource instead of investing in more infrastructure is in total contradiction with the nature of Internet as we know it3. While mobile operators face greater capacity constraints than fixed-line Internet providers, reasonable network management practices must be narrowly defined to exclude such abusive and discriminatory practices. This is yet another breach to network neutrality, which proves that mere political statements4 will not suffice to protect citizens against arbitrary restrictions of their access to the Internet.
