America on the Ropes
Read this interesting take on the Death Penalty from David Rothkopf called “America on the ropes: First GM goes bankrupt and now this…”
Cameron Gets It Right
David Cameron seems to have got a reasonable result over the EU budget today. Ten countries, including France and Germany have backed him over the size of the budget increase and that is probably the best he could have hoped for!
I think that this might be a bigger victory, than we think, as I think it is something that Blair or Brown couldn’t have done because of their stance as America’s poodle. I think it is terue to say that Mrs. Thatcher wouldn’t have got this result, without creating a lot of acrimony and bad feelings.
But Cameron seems to have axhieved his objectives, by pringing nine other countries round to his views, although I think Chancellor Merkel was thinking on similar lines.
As someone who is pro-Europe on the personal things, let’s hope that this marks the start of Europe working together to sort out its formidable problems of the jobs, poverty, agriculture, finance and fraud.
Some Good News on Pancreatic Cancer?
I think this article on the BBC web site may prove to be a glimmer of hope in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.
Pancreatic cancer may lurk in the body for many years before patients fall ill, US scientists say
Research hints at earlier opportunities to spot and treat the disease, which is fatal in 95% of cases.
Genetic analysis of tumours by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Johns Hopkins University suggested the first mutations may happen 20 years before they become lethal.
UK survival rates for the disease have not improved in the past 40 years.
The disease is often aggressive and unresponsive to treatment by the time it is diagnosed.
The study, published by the Nature journal, found that tumours appear to be slow growing.
In other words if we could find a test for pancreatic cancer, we might be able to catch people suffering from the disease very early in the growth of the cancer. I know of pancreatic cancer survivors, who were caught very early, so perhaps something might work.
I know that my old University of Liverpool is looking for such a test amongst other pancreas research, so perhaps they are on the right track, if not for a complete cure, but for something that might help.
Let’s hope so, as I wouldn’t want anybody to suffer the same death as my son did from an uncureable cancer.
Bury St. Edmunds Guildhall
The Trust that owns it is trying to raise money and decide what to do with building according to this report on the BBC web site.
They should at least use the building to house the Mary Beale pictures, which are hidden away in Moyses Hall Museum.
The Anonymous Widower 