Things Noticeable this week

[Devius]

Originally Posted by Devius

Mugabe named as goodwill ambassador by WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as a "goodwill ambassador" to help tackle non-communicable diseases.

New WHO head Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus praised Zimbabwe for its commitment to public health.

But critics say that during Mr Mugabe's 37-year rule Zimbabwe's health services have deteriorated, with staff regularly unpaid and medicines in short supply.

Dr Tedros, who is Ethiopian, is the first African to lead the WHO.

He was elected with a mandate to tackle perceived politicisation in the organisation.

Dr Tedros replaced Margaret Chan, who stepped down from her 10-year post in June.

Details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41702662

What....A....Surprise....

The head of the World Health Organization has said he is rethinking his decision to name Zimbabwe’s president, Robert Mugabe, as a goodwill ambassador after the move provoked global outrage.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the UN health agency, had this week asked Zimbabwe’s 93-year-old authoritarian leader to serve in the role to help tackle non-communicable diseases such as heart attacks, strokes and asthma across Africa.

The decision triggered confusion and anger among WHO member states and activists who noted that Zimbabwe’s health care system, like many of its public services, has collapsed under Mugabe’s regime.

Details:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...ill-ambassador

Methinks the WHO Director General should also "rethink" if he is the right man for the job.

[scoundrel]

Robert Mugabe? Couldn't they have asked Wonder Woman?

[Mal Hombre]

Well obviously Josef Mengele is no longer available..

[rupertramjet]

Originally Posted by Mal Hombre

Well obviously Josef Mengele is no longer available..

Not sure which one has killed the most.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-matabeleland

[Nobody1]

Originally Posted by rupertramjet

Not sure which one has killed the most.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...e-matabeleland

Does anyone know the current highscore for the nobel peace-price?

[Devius]

The World Health Organization has revoked the appointment of Zimbabwe's Robert Mugabe as a goodwill ambassador following a widespread outcry.

"I have listened carefully to all who have expressed their concerns," WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.

He had previously praised Zimbabwe for its commitment to public health.

But critics pointed out that Zimbabwe's healthcare system had collapsed under Mr Mugabe's 30-year rule.

Staff often go without pay, medicines are in short supply, and Mr Mugabe, who has outlived the average life expectancy in his country by three decades, travels abroad for medical treatment (Singapore).

Details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-41713919

I hope this bizarre aberration in judgement by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is a one-off.

[Devius]

Originally Posted by Wendigo

Man in Dubai court over 'hip touch'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...ntral-41544117


I'd love to see their faces if a group of Python fans did this routine in a Dubai bar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol5Dfs7jqFI

Hmmm.....

A Scottish man has been sentenced to three months in jail for touching a man's hip in a Dubai bar.

Jamie Harron, from Stirling, was arrested in July and charged with public indecency.

He claimed he had simply been trying to avoid spilling his drink when he touched the man.

The 27-year-old electrician had already been sentenced to a month in jail for drinking beer and still faces further court proceedings.

The businessman who made the complaint against Mr Harron later withdrew it, but prosecutors in Dubai continued with the case.

News of the three-month sentence was released by campaign group Detained in Dubai, which has been supporting Mr Herron.

Details:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...ntral-41713718

[Roubignol]

My friendly 64 years old farmer neighbour died of cancer on last week.
He always worked with pesticides.
What is actually happening to Swiss farmers surely is happening to all the non-biological farmers in the world.

Agricultural workers are more likely to suffer from neurological diseases and cancers than the rest of the population. But these occupational diseases are poorly identified and rarely recognized in Switzerland
Farmers are at the forefront of the risks of pesticides. Exposed directly and repeatedly to these products, they are more likely to develop certain pathologies than the rest of the population. This issue is of concern to the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which has instructed the French-speaking University Institute for Occupational Health (IST) to examine the issue. This inventory, which will soon be the subject of a scientific publication, reveals important gaps in the Swiss system of toxicological vigilance.
Whether in the preparation of the products, during their application, or during activities in treated plots, agricultural workers regularly come into contact with pesticides, especially at the level of the skin, but also by inhalation, which is not not without consequences for their health. "This exposure can lead to acute intoxication in accidents or mishandling but also longer-term effects on health, including low doses of products," warns Aurélie Berthet, toxicologist at IST.
Cancers and Parkinson's disease
According to a collective expertise published in 2013 by the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm), occupational exposure to pesticides increases the risk of suffering from neurological pathologies such as Parkinson's disease, but also certain cancers, such as that of the prostate and the lymphatic system (lymphomas). "Farmers' children, exposed in utero or during infancy, are also more likely to have cancer than others," says Halshka Graczyk, an epidemiologist at IST.

[tsunamiSD]

O’Reilly Settled New HarassmentClaim, Then Fox Renewed His Contract

Last January, six months after Fox News ousted its chairman amid a sexual harassment scandal, the network’s top-rated host at the time, Bill O’Reilly, struck a $32 million agreement with a longtime network analyst to settle new sexual harassment allegations, according to two people briefed on the matter — an extraordinarily large amount for such cases.
Although the deal has not been previously made public, the network’s parent company, 21st Century Fox, acknowledges that it was aware of the woman’s complaints about Mr. O’Reilly. They included allegations of repeated harassment, a nonconsensual sexual relationship and the sending of gay pornography and other sexually explicit material to her, according to the people briefed on the matter.
It was at least the sixth agreement — and by far the largest — made by either Mr. O’Reilly or the company to settle harassment allegations against him. Despite that record, 21st Century Fox began contract negotiations with Mr. O’Reilly, and in February granted him a four-year extension that paid $25 million a year.
Interviews with people familiar with the settlement, and documents obtained by The New York Times, show how the company tried and ultimately failed to contain the second wave of a sexual harassment crisis that initially burst into public view the previous summer and cost the Fox News chairman, Roger Ailes, and eventually Mr. O’Reilly, their jobs.

[CARLTON BROWN]

Originally Posted by xyzde69

My friendly 64 years old farmer neighbour died of cancer on last week. He always worked with pesticides. What is actually happening to Swiss farmers surely is happening to all the non-biological farmers in the world.

Many men of around the same age who live in my street have been treated for cancer in the last two or three years. I have a sneaking suspicion that Chernobyl may have played a part in what's happened. It's over 30 years now, but I wish I'd hadn't been doing an outdoor house painting job when the initial fallout was drifting across Northern Europe and the UK government played down the risks.