Secondhand smoke, hearing loss linked

Compared to teens with non-smoking parents, adolescents who are exposed to secondhand smoke are two times more likely to develop levels of hearing loss in the long run.

New York University School of Medicine researchers studied any possible relationship between exposure to tobacco smoke at home and the risk of developing hearing loss in 11,533 US teenagers.

The teens with higher blood levels of cotinine, a metabolite of nicotine, were more likely to have sensorineural hearing loss -- a condition most often caused by problems with the cochlea, the snail-shaped hearing organ in the inner ear.

About 12 percent of the exposed kids had mild to severe hearing loss in one ear, compared to less than eight percent of kids without smoke exposure, according to the findings published in the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery.

"More than half of all children in the U.S. are exposed to secondhand smoke, so our finding that it can lead to hearing loss in teenagers has huge public health implications," said study co-author Anil Lalwani.

Researchers believe children may need to be screened more regularly for hearing problems because more than 80 percent of the affected teens in the study were not aware of having any hearing problems.

Further studies are needed to determine how exactly exposure to tobacco smoke causes hearing difficulties, the scientists added.

Vegetarian diet prevents diverticulitis

People who follow a high-fiber and meat-free diet are in much lower risk of common bowel disorder called diverticular disease, a new study says.

Oxford University researchers found that those who follow vegetarian diets are about 30 percent less likely to develop diverticular disease than their meat-eating peers.

Diverticular disease occurs due to development of pouches or diverticula in the intestine, usually the large intestine or colon. The condition is more common in countries such as the US and the UK where people's diet is generally low in fiber.

Diverticula usually cause no symptoms but when becoming inflamed, they are called diverticulitis and may cause symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, fever, irregular bowel habits, and bloating.

Dr. Francesca Crowe and his colleagues recorded dietary habits of more than 47,000 adults, and followed them for 12 years to detect those who might develop diverticular disease.

According to the new findings published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), individuals who consumed around 25 grams of dietary fiber each day were less likely to be admitted to hospital or die from diverticular disease than people whose daily meals included less than 14 grams of fiber.

However, the researchers did not recommend people to adopt a solely vegetarian diet to lower their risk of diverticular disease but urged them to follow a healthier diet including more fiber and less meat.

"Overall the opportunity for preventing the occurrence of diverticular disease and other conditions, such as colorectal cancer, probably lies in the modification of diet, at either a population or an individual level," the researchers suggested.

The new research adds new evidence to previous findings about possible benefits of vegetarian or high fiber and less meat diets.

However, it is not strong enough to show a cause and effect relation between the studied dietary choices and lower risk of diverticular disease, which needs more sophisticate studies.

MOSCOW, July 29 (Itar-Tass) — Russian media writes about possibility of worsening of relations between Russia and the USA. Features of a possible coolness in the Russian-American relations are emerging, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. After the information about the sanctions against officials on the Magnisky list, American media spoke about possible involvement of Russia’s special services in explosions in Georgia. Russia’s permanent representative at NATO Dmitry Rogozin made it clear on Thursday that the anti-missile system in Europe is aimed against Russia. Experts warn about an attempt of the USA’s conservative circles to go back to the times of the Cold War.

MOSCOW, July 29 (Itar-Tass) — Russian media writes about possibility of worsening of relations between Russia and the USA. Features of a possible coolness in the Russian-American relations are emerging, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta writes. After the information about the sanctions against officials on the Magnisky list, American media spoke about possible involvement of Russia’s special services in explosions in Georgia. Russia’s permanent representative at NATO Dmitry Rogozin made it clear on Thursday that the anti-missile system in Europe is aimed against Russia. Experts warn about an attempt of the USA’s conservative circles to go back to the times of the Cold War.

Commenting on the situation around the Magnitsky list, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said that the Russian side will not leave without a response “the unfriendly steps” of the USA and “will undertake adequate measures to protect sovereignty of the country and rights of Russian citizens against illegal actions of foreign states.”

The Washington Times newspaper launched another sensation. Officials of the presidential administration told reporters anonymously about the CIS secret report, where the Russian intelligent service /GRU/ is claimed as involved in organisation of the explosion by the USA’s Embassy in Tbilisi in September of 2010 and in several other similar incidents.

The newspaper addressed Director of the Institute of USA and Canada of Russia’s Academy of Sciences Sergei Rogov for comments on the present Russian-American relations. He said that the political situation in America is changing and, following the victory in the Congress elections last November, the republicans – opposing the rebooting – undertook a counterattack.

“They start saying that it is time to finish the rebooting and to start pressing Russia regarding human rights, democracy and other issues of home policy. At the same time, they demand from the administration reconsidering of the START and refusing from any cooperation on anti-missile systems,” the expert explained. He added that there are circles in the USA, which are still adamant that Russia remains the major enemy and that it is necessary to build up pressure on it, and not to reach agreements.

Sergei Rogov said that absence of further progress in the Russian-American relations will emerge the situation, where there are forces seeking to ruin all achievements.

This comment, the Nezavisimaya Gazeta reports, confirms Dmitry Rogozin’s words, published on Thursday, about his meetings in the USA with representatives of the Republican Party. For example, he named Senator Kail as “monster of the Cold War” and warns that if such people come to power, it will end the “rebooting.”

The Novye Izvestia, in its turn, stress that Moscow’s response to America’s Magnitsky list turned out to be tough.

“I can confirm that at the order of the president the foreign ministry is working out measures against the USA citizens, which are analogous to those announced by the Department of State,” the newspaper quotes Russia’s presidential Press Secretary Natalia Timakova as saying. “The Russian side is bewildered at the Department of State’ s decision to undertake unusual functions, to actually announce guilt and to introduce any measures against Russian citizens before the investigation is over and a verdict is announced by the Russian justice.”

At the same time, Chairman of the presidential Permanent Chamber on human rights Valery Borshchev doubts the foreign ministry will be able to make up a list of the kind. “I do not think that it will be so easy to spot people in the USA, who are accused of serious crimes and at the same time travel across the world without problems,” he said.

S'pore cannot do without foreign talent

SINGAPORE: Former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore would not be able to punch above its own weight if it were to depend on talent from its own population.

He was speaking at a dialogue to wrap up the two-day South Asian Diaspora convention in Singapore on Friday.

DBS Bank's CEO Piyush Gupta posted a question to Mr Lee, asking just how big the issue of attracting foreign talent in Singapore is, having noted that it was a hot topic during the recent General Election.

Mr Lee felt it was an issue among Singaporeans even before the election.

Mr Lee said: "For some time, the Singaporean has felt the competition from talented foreigners. But these are people who have come here to become our citizens and I am a firm believer that the more talent that you have in a society, the better the society will grow.

"If Singapore depends on the talent it can produce out of three million people, it's not going to punch above its weight.

"It's because we have been drawing talent from across the globe - South Asia, Northeast Asia, China, India and beyond that - you have a vibrant economy which is way beyond what three million Singaporeans with the talent they can produce can do.

"So you've got to accept the discomfort, which the local citizens fear that they are competing unequally for jobs. (It) cannot be helped.

"But without them, the jobs will not be there to begin with. So welcome talent and we'll continue to welcome talent."

When asked how the political problem associated with the foreign talent issue could be managed, Mr Lee said: "You just have to assuage it.

"What is the choice - slow growth with no input of talent or faster growth with input of talent and the feeling that some of the top jobs are going to the foreigners? You may get no jobs at all if there were no growth."

Several participants at the convention also took the opportunity to tap Mr Lee's views on the importance of governance and meritocracy for the success of a country. One common question raised during the dialogue was how Mr Lee would have governed India, if the country was handed to him.

Mr Lee replied: "First, what sort of Indian would I be? A northern Indian? A southern Indian? That identifies you with the interest of a particular group.

"Or a Bombay Indian, which is the most cosmopolitan of all. But it may well be that a Bombay Indian doesn't represent Indians at all, so it's a problem India has to face.

"It is important whoever leads India should find acceptance with the widest group of Indians possible. But I think it is very difficult for any Indian leader to find more than 40 per cent of Indians believing he represents them."

Mr Lee also noted that Indians speak nearly 300 different languages, but in China, 90 per cent of the people speak the same language and that makes it a much easier country to lead than India.

- CNA/ck

Asean visa free travel moves closer

Asean has reaffirmed its commitment to accelerate the easing of visa requirements for Asean nationals traveling within the region, as outlined in the Master Plan on Asean Connectivity.

The commitment to relax visa conditions in the region was stipulated in the Joint Communiqué of the 44th Asean Foreign Ministers Meeting in Bali, Indonesia recently.

Changing entry require-ments for Asean nationals will allow more freedom of movement within the region, allowing people to travel more easily whether for business or pleasure. Over time this can only enhance the understanding and solidarity that people within the region feel towards neighbouring states and peoples.

Asean leaders agreed to task a Senior Official Meeting (SOM) with the relevant immigration authorities and foreign affairs officials from the respective countries to study the implementation of a progressive visa relaxation.

They will also discuss the possible establishment of an Asean common visa for non-Asean nationals and report to the 19th Asean Summit. The leaders also noted the Asean Tourism Ministers' discussions in January 2011, which included talks on a single visa being included in the Asean Tourism Strategic Plan for 2011-2015.

Director General of the Lao Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Asean Department Dr Khiane Phansourivong told Vientiane Times this week that bearers of diplomatic passports and official passports don't need visas when traveling to other Asean nations.

Currently, Lao citizens still require a visa to visit Indonesia but are exempt for the remaining nine Asean countries. However, when the bilateral agreement takes effect Lao citizens will be exempted from visa requirements in Indonesia.

Dr Khiane said if the Asean visa free area and the Asean common visa for non-Asean nationals eventuate it will attract more trade, investment, and international tourists to the region; as well as strengthen business investment and cross-border relations within the region itself.

However Dr Khiane said that the timeframe for the implementation of the visa free project was far from clear, as officials have to examine the laws and regulations of each member-state, and consider the possible ramifications it could have on the different countries in the region.

Asean nations aim to establish an Asean Community by 2015, with the concept based on three separate pillars which will help to integrate the region – an Asean Security Community (ASC), an Asean Economic Community (AEC) and an Asean Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC).

The ASC aims to maintain regional peace and stability by developing a cooperative framework to deal with both conventional and unconventional security threats.

The AEC is aimed at enhancing regional economic cooperation to ensure Asean's prosperity and well-being.

The ASCC promotes harmonious regional relationship and cultural understanding.
Asean is home to nearly 600 million people and its aggregate GDP was US$1.9 trillion in 2010.
The Asean member states are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

By Times Reporters (Latest Update July 29, 2011)

back to pre-war condition of 1939

NATO is significantly increasing its military presence in the Black Sea basin. According to the head of the European Command of the Armed Forces U.S. Admiral James Stavridis, U.S. Marine Corps will expand its activities in the Black Sea region. According to the official version of Stavridis, who, incidentally, at the same time holds the position of Supreme Allied Commander (OER) of NATO in Europe, the increase in the number of U.S. Marines is due to the need for training of the allied forces for their further deployment to Afghanistan. According to Stavridis, in 2011 the U.S. has planned various kinds of interaction with as many as 14 Black Sea region countries, to include the preparation of the Armies of partner states for deployment to Afghanistan and training their sergeant staff. However, he did not specify which countries he had in mind. Even if we were to include Moldavia in the list of the countries of the Black Sea region, there would not be as many as 14 states. Russia, Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia have full access to the Black Sea. The interaction with the Russian side is obviously not planned. Perhaps, Stavridis had in mind the countries of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation that include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Greece, Serbia and Albania? In this case we have only 11 potential partners of America in the region. Moreover, Armenia and Serbia are reluctant to send their troops to the Afghan war. Stavridis may have included Poland to the list of the Black Sea region countries. According to his confession, along with two Georgian battalions, his subordinates have prepared a couple of Polish brigades. Given the old dream of the Polish elite to be stretching "from one sea to another," it is clearly not opposed to be among the Black Sea region countries. Yet, this does not give an exhaustive answer about Washington's plans in the region. Even more questions arise concerning the preparation for the Afghan operation. First, the Georgian military will be prepared for operations against the Taliban not in Afghanistan but at home, although the terrains of the two countries differ markedly. Second, according to Stavridis, the parties have already commenced joint exercises. In the course of the exercise the forces of the U.S. Navy practiced the use of unmanned aerial vehicles that ran on board the ships, and other maneuvers. A key role was played by warships that clearly practiced strikes at the coast. It also seems a bit strange, because even if they wanted, they would not be able to send the fleet to Afghanistan. At the same time, the Royal Marines of the British Royal Navy are conducting strange trainings with their Ukrainian counterparts near the main base of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The trainings are held in the Old Crimea, at the base of the Black Sea Marine Corps training center of coastal defense troops of the Ukrainian Navy. According to the legend of the maneuvers, they represent "workshops to share experiences in carrying out peacekeeping missions." What are the real objectives pursued by NATO countries in the region? A captain of 1st rank, 1st Vice-President of the Academy of Geopolitical Issued answered this question for Pravda.ru: "The Americans, in addition to the preparation of cannon meat from the satellite countries for participation in the punitive operations against Afghanistan, are preparing for combat action in the Black Sea area. This time it will no longer be a local conflict like the war of 2008, but a large-scale war. It suffices to recall the statement made by head of the Academy of Military Sciences Gareev on March 26 where he touched upon this topic. In addition, this same conclusion can be drawn from the available data on building groups of NATO in the Black Sea basin and at Russia's western borders. The U.S. is starting to deploy new military bases in Poland and upgrade existing ones to receive a much larger number of troops. The military buildup of NATO to Russian borders clearly indicates that the preparation for aggression is in full swing. We must pay tribute to U.S. troops by saying that the preparation for a strike against a possible military adversary is in all respects conducted at the highest professional level. The fact that the British, with the approval of our Ukrainian brothers, are honing the skills of warfare in the Crimea near Sevastopol, too, speaks volumes. These are the links of one chain, because since the establishment of the Rockefeller, International oligarchic capital has adopted a common policy of aggression against other countries. In fact, if we draw historical parallels, the world is in a state of 1939, i.e., before the start of a global war, whose precursor is the aggression of the U.S. and its satellites against Iraq and Afghanistan, and this time against Libya. The only question is when this "Black Sea Libya" happens. It is not that the Americans and their European satellites are the bad guys, it's just that the prosperity of their economies depends on the control of the world's raw materials resources. In a crisis, they have no other choice. With regard to the outbreak of the conflict with Russia, there are more than enough reasons for it." For example, the Georgian scenario may be played out again, or the Libyan scenario may be attempted as well. The West is very sensitive to terrorist groups operating in the North Caucasus. A look at the western press is sufficient to understand how these events are covered. After another successful raid carried out against militants, NATO can submit a voice in defense of the "revolutionaries and guerrillas," and further continue to operate under the planned scenario.

Reason for war? Gaddafi wanted to nationalise oil

The Libyan leader proposed the nationalisation of U.S. oil companies, as well as those of UK, Germany, Spain, Norway, Canada and Italy in 2009. On January 25, 2009, Muammar Al Gaddafi announced that his country was studying the nationalisation of foreign companies due to lower oil prices. "The oil-exporting countries should opt for nationalisation because of the rapid fall in oil prices. We must put the issue on the table and discuss it seriously," said Gaddafi. "Oil should be owned by the State at this time, so we could better control prices by the increase or decrease in production," said the Libyan leader. These statements have worried the main foreign companies operating in Libya: Anglo-Dutch Shell, British Petroleum, U.S. ExxonMobil, Hess Corp., Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum and ConocoPhillips, the Spanish Repsol, Germany's Wintershall, Austria's OMV , Norway's Statoil, Eni and Canada's Petro Canada. In 2008, the Libyan state oil company, National Oil, prepared a report on the subject in which officials suggested modifying the production-sharing agreements with foreign companies in order to increase state revenues. As a result of these contract changes, Libya gained 5.4 billion dollars in oil revenues. On February 16, 2009, Gaddafi took a step further and called on Libyans to back his proposal to dismantle the government and to distribute the oil wealth directly to the 5 million inhabitants of the country. However, his plan to deliver oil revenues directly to the Libyan people met opposition by senior officials who could lose their jobs due to a parallel plan by Gaddafi to rid the state of corruption. Some officials, including Prime Minister Al-Baghdadi, Ali Al-Mahmoudi and Farhat Omar Bin Guida, of the Central Bank, told Gaddafi that the measure could harm the country's economy in the long term due to "capital flight." "Do not be afraid to directly redistribute the oil money and create fairer governance structures that respond to people's interests," Gaddafi said in a Popular Committee. The Popular Committees are the backbone of Libya. Through them citizens are represented at the district level. "The Administration has failed and the state's economy has failed. Enough is enough. The solution is for the Libyan people to directly receive oil revenues and decide what to do with them," Gaddafi said in a speech broadcast on state television. To this end, the Libyan leader urged a radical reform of government bureaucracy. Despite this, senior Libyan government officials voted to delay Gaddafi's plans. Only 64 ministers from a total of 468 Popular Committee members voted for the measure. There were 251 who saw the measures as positive, but chose to delay their implementation. Given the rejection of the Committee, Gaddafi affirmed before a public meeting: "My dream during all these years was to give the power and wealth directly to the people." So...another big LIE falls by the wayside, the false image of Ghaddafi the dictator who robs from his people. So far we have had pictures of pro-Ghaddafi demonstrations being portrayed as being against him. The professional, foreign and Photoshop nature of anti-Ghaddafi posters being bandied about were noted, along with signs being held upside down by people not knowing the alphabet placed on the signs. We have had pictures of one sided battles where heavily armed terrorists are "fighting" with nobody. We have had reports, glaringly false, that Ghaddafi was fleeing the country. We have had more than enough reports of bombings against his own people that never happened, as well as attacks against "unarmed civilians" that proved to be incorrect. It is patently obvious that there are no "unarmed civilians" involved in these actions against Ghaddafi, but CIA and other intelligence service mercenaries, foreign elements and Al Qaeda. It has been brought to light that the living standard in Libya is the highest in Africa and that Libya was to be commended for its human rights record. How many lies do we have to catch them in before somebody in charge buys a clue? It's no sale! They try to portray Ghaddafi as crazy when he speaks of fighting Al Qaeda and now they have to admit it's true.Two documents strongly back Gaddafi on this issue, according to the findings of Alexander Cockburn. "The first is a secret cable to the State Department from the US embassy in Tripoli in 2008, part of the WikiLeaks trove, entitled, "Extremism in Eastern Libya," which revealed that this area is rife with anti-American, pro-jihad sentiment. The second document, or rather set of documents, are the so-called Sinjar Records, captured al-Qaeda documents that fell into American hands in 2007. They were duly analysed by the Combating Terrorism Center at the US Military Academy at West Point. Al-Qaeda is a bureaucratic outfit and the records contain precise details on personnel, including those who came to Iraq to fight American and coalition forces and, when necessary, commit suicide. The West Point analysts' statistical study of the al-Qaeda personnel records concludes that one country provided "far more" foreign fighters in per capita terms than any other: namely, Libya." So who is the crazy one? Obviously that gang of lunatics savagely launching attacks on Libya based on the worst collection of lies in the history of the world. If you want to know where they are headed, just look at their track record, littered with genocide, theft and destruction. More and more evidence is surfacing that this entire operation has been planned from outside (read U.S. and EU) for quite some time. First surround (Egypt and Tunisia), then invade. Wesley Clarke revealed the laundry list which included Libya. In the U.S., there is a particulary motley group of interventionist war mongers who don't know what they're doing: Susan Rice, Hillary Clinton and Samantha Power, obviously sexually frustrated and repressed man hating lesbians who want to prove they are he-men. We are also seeing attacks on residential areas, many civilians being killed. There have been attacks on Ghaddafi's living area, a clear attempt at assassination. Today intelligence also reports they plan a ground invasion. The fascists of the west never change. The term "humanitarian bombing" reminds of George Orwell doublespeak. One can only heartily agree on Gaddafi's statement: They are "a group of crazy fascists that will end in the garbage dump of history." History will surely judge them on the same page as Adolph Hitler