US policy stays despite mine-ban review

By Andrea

November 30, 2009

Representatives from more than 100 nations met in Cartagena to review a United Nations treaty banning the use of anti-personnel mines. The 1997 Ottawa Treaty was signed by 156 nations with the exception of U.S., China and Russia. According to the Obama Administration, the United States has not changed their policy. Ian Kelly, a State Department spokesman, said on Saturday: "We determined that we wouldn't be able to meet our national defence needs, nor our security commitments to our friends and allies if we signed the convention."

It was no coincidence that Colombia was hosting the second review conference of the treaty. Since 1990 more than 8.000 Colombians have been seriously injured due to the use of landmines. These data put Colombia on the second place, only behind Afganistan.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/world/us-policy-stays-despite-mineban-review-20091129-jyuh.html

Colombia jails death squad general over massacre

By Andrea

A Colombian court has recently sentenced a retired army general Jaime Humberto Uscátegui to 40 years of imprisonment. The former general was found guilty of murdering some 50 civilians in the village of Mapiripán during a five-day period in July 1997. His sentence is considered the longest ever for an army officer in Colombia.


Sources:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/nov/26/former-colombian-general-jailed-massacre
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8380025.stm

The Health Care Reform - "Conflict over Abortion"

The conflict of the White House and the Catholic Church over abortion language in the Senate’s bill has been aggravated by a top Obama administration official who praised the new Senate health care bill's attempt to find a compromise. A conflict with the Catholic Church could be fatal to the health care reform alliance as the Catholic bishops have great strength in the Congress. This was illustrated when they were the key to get backing for the tougher anti-abortion language of the House Bill. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops marked the Senate Bill as “the worst seen so far” on abortion. The Senate bill allows "coverage for abortion in federally subsidized health care plans, provided that private funds are used to pay for the procedure.”

by Lucie

Source: Medical News Today November 23, 2009

President Uribe didn't attend summit in Brazil

By Andrea

On November 26, 2009 Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hosted the Amazon countries' summit, in order to agree a common position before the Climate Change talks in Copenhagen. There had been big expectations connected to this meeting after Lula said he would try to arrange a meeting between Uribe and Chavez, because of the rising tensions between the two neighboring countries. The Colombian President; however, announced that he would not attend the summit.

Source: www.semana.com

Colombia accuses Venezuela of blowing up border bridges

By Andrea

The latest of the incidents causing tensions between the two neighbouring countries happenned on the border of Colombia's Norte de Santander region on November 19, 2009. Colombian Defence Minister Gabriel Silva has accussed Venezuela of blowing up two pedestrian bridges on countries' shared border, which was according to him a clear violation of international law. A Venezuelan official responded by claiming that the army had just blown up an illegal, improvised bridge.

Source: BBC

Swine flu current statistics

According to World Health Organization, swine flu virus mutations are still spreading in Europe. Some of these mutations are also Tamiflu-resistant and they can increase the ability of the virus to affect the respiratory tracks.
There are at least 7,826 deaths worldwide since the virus was first discovered in April and more than 1,000 just in this week.

By Kristýna

Health Care Reform - "How It Can Fail"

On Saturday November 21 the Senate Democratic majority agreed on a start of the debate over health care reform which is being proposed by Harry Reid. However, this might be the last time all 60 votes came in as the health care bill still hold many controversies which make it virtually impossible for Republicans to vote for it which leaves the Democrats dependent on getting all the votes in their camp. The reasons of division are many: the public insurance plan, abortion, tax hikes and cost-cutting. Liberals want a very comprehensive plan and moderates and conservatives fear the enormous budget and the abortion language in the bill.

by Lucie

Source: Politico November 22, 2009

H1N1 virus mutations

The swine flu virus mutations were found all over the world. It is possible that the vaccines won't protect us because vaccines are effective only for the particular strain of virus which was used in their creation. There can be also new types of the virus which will be resistant to the Tamiflu. Fortunately, in current situation we don't have to worry about the effectiveness of this drug but more could appear in the near future.

By Kristýna

Source: http://www.examiner.com/x-29228-LA-Health-Technology-Examiner~y2009m11d24-Bleeding-Lungs-and-Tamifluresistance-Do-H1N1-mutations-make-the-swine-flu-vaccine-less-effective

The Health Care Reform - "$600 Million Spent on Reform Campaigns"

The Democrats are desperate to please president Obama and get the comprehensive health care bill passed and this shows on the amount of money spent to influence the negotiations on bill. Up to this day the total amount spent on lobbyists, ads and political donations exceeded $600 million, an amount that would insure about 45,000 families for a whole year. The major spenders in this case are drug companies, hospitals and advocate groups. The largest amount, almost $400 million went to lobbyists, half of which are spent by drug companies. Furthermore, the price tag of lobbying excludes money spent by the Chamber of Commerce ($60 million) and the AARP ($15 million). Spending on TV ads by health care interests totaled over $165 million, most spending coming from opponents of the reform. Also, political donations for the 2010 elections have already totaled $38 million. Health industry executives defend their spending by pointing towards the importance of the reform – after all, health care accounts for almost 1/6th of the US economy.

by Lucie

Source: CNN Money November 18, 2009

Swine flu vaccine arrived in Czech Republic

Czech Republic has already first 95 thousand doses of vaccine from the GSK company. About the half of vaccines should be distributed by the end of this week to the vaccination centers. The doctors will get the rest of the doses. Persons required to ensure the functioning of the State, police officers and firefighters will be vaccinated in December. The Minister stated that there will be enough vaccines and antivirals.

By Kristýna

Sanitizer stations at Disneyland

Disney officials are trying to prevent the spread of swine flu by placing hand-sanitizer dispensers in the park. The reason are 20 million visitors annually and therefore many opportunities to spread the H1N1 virus. Also employees with regular guest contact have their own sanitizers.

By Kristýna

Source: http://ocresort.freedomblogging.com/2009/11/17/disney-adds-sanitizer-stations-to-prevent-swine-flu/24691/

Chavez's accusation of the Colombian President

By Andrea

Monday, 16 November 2009

During his weekend speech, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez criticized Colombia's President Alvaro Uribe over a new agreement with the U.S. According to The Herald Tribune, Chavez said that from now on, he would have to talk to Washington rather than to the Colombian government, because that is "where the power is." Furthermore, he accused Uribe for being under the control of the U.S. officials, who allegly have certain information about the Colombian President's ties to cocaine traffickers and shady businessmen.

Source: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2009/11/16/Chavez-tees-off-on-Colombias-president/UPI-43441258397269/

Colombia attempts to calm tensions with Venezuela

By Andrea

On Friday, November 13, 2009, Colombia captured four members of the Venezuelan National Guard on Colombian territory. Nevertheless, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe decided that the country would send them home in a gesture aimed at lowering diplomatic tensions with the neighbor country.

Mauricio Romero, political science professor at Bogota's Javeriana University, said that "By sending the four Venezuelans back, Uribe is trying to mark a contrast between himself and Chavez, who looks belligerent by comparison..."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091115/ts_nm/us_colombia_venezuela_3

The Health Care Reform - "House Bill No Chance in Senate"

The health care bill passed by the House of Repersentatives with great media flare on October 29 won't probably have much success in the Senate as the bill is unacceptable to many Democrats and Indpenedents. For Independent Sen. Joe Lieberman, the biggest issue is the public option; he echoes concerns of many that such program would damage private insurers. In addition to the public option there are several differences between the plans: the Senate's bill doesn't require employers to provied coverage, it would probably cost less (under $900 billion) and it would use a variety of new taxes and fees to cover the costs (the House is planning to raise taxes for high income groups). However, the Bill in the Senate is not likely to be voted on as swiftly as in the House because the Congressional Budget Office still has to come up with the costs of the Bill.

by Lucie

Source: AP/Kare11 November 9, 2009

The Health Care Reform - "The Uninsurables"

The question of how to provide insurance for people who are being currently turned down by insurance companies is a question the Democratic lawmakers are trying to solve in their new health care proposals. One of the options how to insure people during the period between now and when the new legislation that includes a clause prohibiting insurers from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions comes into effect in 2013 is to provide coverage through a high-risk pool that would immediately start insuring. However, the patient applying would have to be uninsured for six months to qualify which could be a too long wait for patients with serious conditions. Such a pool has been proposed in September by president Obama during his speech in Congress. In addition to the six-month wait an issue of financing has been raised as well. For such high-risk pool $5 billion were set aside which some say is not enough. The House of Representatives’ does not include the 6 month waiting period but the budget is the same. Several say concerns about the financing are valid; in the words of Thomas Buchmueller, a professor at University of Michigan: "It would seem that ($5 billion) is going to be small relative to the need."

by Lucie

Source: CNS News November 5, 2009

The Health Care Reform - "The Middle Class"

As the middle class was one of the most important factors in the failure of the 1994 health care reform attempt, the concerns of the middle class are not to be taken lightly. The most pressing issue is the cost of the proposal and what it will mean for the middle class. Under the current system health care bills are one of the highest items in the monthly budget. However, concerns from summer are nowhere near to be dispelled as on November 2 the Associated Press came out with information that some middle-class families would still face a big budget hit for health care even with the new proposed reform. The Congressional Budget Office came with a startling number: a family of four making $66,000 and not getting insurance from their employer could have a health care bill of $10,000, after a deduction of $10,500 in government assistance.

by Lucie

Source:
AP/Google November 2, 2009
Bloomberg July 6, 2009

A million cases of swine flu in Ukraine

The new statistics say that more than one million of Ukrainians have been affected by the H1N1 virus a the number could rise dramatically because of the second wave. Schools around the country are closed for three weeks. There was also proposed a delay of the presidential elections.

By Kristýna

Source: http://www.euronews.net/2009/11/10/a-million-ukrainians-hit-by-swine-flu/

Swine flu in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has state emergency because of the swine flu. Schools, universities and other public places are closed and people are wearing masks. There are approximately 800 people with the H1N1 virus and appears to be spreading. The majority of cases are among military personnel.


By Kristýna

Source: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20091110/afghanistan_091110/20091110?hub=TopStoriesV2

Chavez steps up Colombia war talk

By Andrea

SUNDAY, 08 NOVEMBER 2009

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered on Sunday the country's military to prepare for possible armed conflict with Colombia. The presumed reason for this action was his concern over the agreement Colombia signed with the USA. As this contract provides American troops with an access to parts of Colombian territorry, Chavez fears the U.S. soldiers to use these as launching pads for an attack on his country to seize control of its immense oil reserves.

On Thursday, Venezuela has already sent 15,000 soldiers to the border with Colombia, saying the military buildup was necessary to increase security along the border. During his Sunday appearance, Chavez sent a message to the U.S. President saying; "Don't make a mistake, Mr. Obama, by ordering an attack against Venezuela by way of Colombia...". He further added; "If you want peace, prepare for war."

Sources:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6774-chavez-tells-troops-to-prepare-for-war-with-colombia.html
http://www.semana.com/noticias-colombia-in-the-world/chavez-steps-up-colombia-war-talk/131152.aspx

Palace of Justice Siege

By Andrea

WEDNESDAY, 04 NOVEMBER 2009

During these days, Colombia commemorates the Palace of Justice Siege, a tragic event that occurred over November 6 and 7 1985 in Bogota. On this date, members of a guerilla group attacked the Palace of Justice in Bogota and held the Supreme Court hostage. The intention of terrorists was to held a trial against President Belisario Betancur. Several hours later, a military raid was ordered. Consequently, 11 out of 25 Supreme Court Justices were killed.

The Health Care Reform - "House Bill Passed"

The Health Care Bill of the House Democrats was passed by a 220-215 vote on November 7 evening. 39 Democrats were voting against and only one Republican Rep. Joseph Cao, supported it. The Senate now has to pass its own bill and the two bills must then be combined into one and has to be voted on again before the programme can become law. However, there were 2 modifications made to the bill prior to the voting: the scale of the governmental health care program ("public option") was cut and an amendment prohibiting funding for abortion except in cases of rape, incest, and when the mother's life is in danger was added. For pro-choice activists such an amendment means a large setback.

by Lucie

Source: BBC November 8, 2009

New cases of swine flu jump 50% in England

Latest statistics show that there are 78,000 new cases of swine flu in England and 97 people have died. There is also very high level of serious illness in hospitals. Is expected that the second surge of swine flu will hit the children hardest.

By Kristýna

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1223874/New-cases-swine-flu-jump-50-amid-increase-intensive-care-treatment.html

The Health Care Reform - "AARP Supports House Democrats"

The AARP (American Assoiation of Retired Persons) has announced it's support for the Health Care Plan of the House Democrats. They support the main points of the House Bill: preventive care, savings in the system, insurance for pre-existing conditions and for all age groups, affordability of health care. The main plus for the AARP is the prospect of more people age 50-64 to gain insurance. In the words of Bob Gallo, a senior state director of the Illionois AARP, "AARP is proud to endorse H.R. 3962 and H.R. 3961. We urge members of the House to pass this critical plan this year and finally fix our broken health-care system." However, for AARP to back the House bill could be problematic as many retirees are afraid of negative effects of cuts in Medicare.

by Lucie

Sources:
AP/Yahoo News November 4, 2009
Chicago Sun Times November 7, 2009

Colombian-Venezuelan border closed

By Andrea

On Monday, November 2, two soldiers in Venezuela's National Guard have been shot to death near the border with Colombia. The killings of the soldiers were the latest in a string of incidents on the border, including arrests on both sides. Furthermore, this incident has worsened already dire relations between Venezuela's socialist President Hugo Chavez and U.S. ally President Alvaro Uribe of Colombia. The situation escalated in the closure of borders between the countries.

Relations between Colombia and Venezuela have sharpened this summer, when Colombia accused Venezuela of supplying guerrillas with weapons. Last month Venezuelan authorities allegly caught two Colombian spies. Also, the Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez was strongly against the military agreement signed between the United States and Colombia last month, threatening to block trade because of it. Most recently, Venezuelan authorities found eight murdered bodies of men that Colombia described as an amateur soccer team that had been kidnapped near the border. Venezuela; nonetheless, claimed that those murdered were paramilitaries.

Venezuelan authorities closed the border Monday evening and on Wednesday President Chavez has even threatened to close the border permanently.

Source:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/americas/11/03/venezuela.colombia/index.html?section=cnn_latest
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6721-colombians-unable-to-cross-venezuelan-border.html

The Health Care Reform - "The Republican Alternative"

To all the health care proposals nowadays floating around the Capitol, the Republicans are planning to add their own take on health care reform which should be narrower in scope than the 2000 pages long Democratic proposal pushed forward by Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats. Nobody is sure how much it would cost or what it would include, yet. However, the main points were introduced by Rep. Boehner during the Republican weekly address. Their main ideas are: ability to buy insurance in other states, allow individuals and small companies to co-negotiate lower rates, let states to create their own individual reforms, cut number of laws suits that contribute to higher health care costs by increasing the number of medical procedures doctors make to avoid lawsuits.Republicans will not include a clause banning insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and neither will the proposal include tax credits that would help citizens purchase insurance as it would be too costly.

The Democrats criticised the Republican plan as being not thorough enough and not attempting to provide coverage for more people.

by Lucie

Source: Washington Post November 2, 2009

The Health Care Reform - "Democrats in the House Present Their Bill"

On Thursday, October 29, Democrats in the House of Representatives introduced their version of health care legislation which is a Democratic alternative to the proposal currently considered in the Senate. It is a 2000 pages long bill which should cost $894 billion over the next decade. It is supposed to bring insurance to an additional 36 million people, cap annual out-of-pocket expenses, ensure insurance for pre-existing conditions, lower deficit by $30 billion, cut Medicare expenses by 1.3% every year, and it also includes a public option of health care insurance. The finances for such measures are to be taken from tax increases on the wealthy and from cuts in Medicare and Medicaid.

Right after the plan was revealed and given for study to the members of the House of Representatives a wave of disapproval came in. The first criticism came from CNN analysts who found the expected cost severely understated; the real price tag, they say, is more than $1 trillion. The Republicans on the other hand complain about the tax increases and the big increase in regulations that would be imposed on businesses. Another sore point is, as traditionally, the public option; in the words of Representative Mike Pence said:“This really is a government takeover...” In addition to these issues Democrats and Republicans alike are calling for stronger language on abortion in the final bill.

In any case the bill now in the House of Representatives will have to be ultimately merged with the one in the Senate. Finally, before the united bill is signed by the president it will have to be again voted on in both cambers of the Congress.

by Lucie S.

Source: CNN Edition October 29, 2009

FARC guerrilla wanted by US captured

By Andrea

Monday, 02 November

A suspected member of the FARC, wanted by the US on terrorism charges, was captured in Bogota by intelligence officers with the support of Interpol Colombia. Maribel Gallego Rubio supposidly belonged to the guerilla's first front. Also, she's been allegly the girlfriend of Alexander Farfan - the one in charge of holding hostages. She was arrested and acused by the federal court in Washington of providing material support to a terrorist organization.

source: www.colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6675-farc-guerrilla-wanted-by-us-captured.html

The International Criminal Court warning

By Andrea

Recently, Colombia ratified a full cooperation with the International Criminal Court (ICC). As a result, the ICC now has jurisdiction over many crimes committed in the country’s violent conflict including killings, forced displacement, torture, use of child soldiers, sexual violence…Furthermore, on Friday, 30th October 2009 the ICC warned both Colombian illegal armed groups and the country´s government that it will not hesitate to prosecute those responsible for the war crimes.

According to Marcelo Pollack, head of Amnesty International Columbia, "although there has been progress in some emblematic human rights cases, mainly because of international pressure, most abuses remain unpunished." Thus, the ICC will now hear accusations of war crimes that have been committed in Colombia but have never seen justice, in a series of trials beginning on November 1st.

Source: http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/6664-icc-warns-colombian-illegal-armed-groups-and-state-it-will-prosecute.html