On fixing those hurting feet...

Recently I've been experiencing some major (to me) foot problems. I won't go into all the technical gobbledygook I've been told and learned while trying to fix said problems. Basically, the pad of my foot hurts when I put pressure on it right under the toe area. Bones are pushing a nerve which is swelling and causing a lot of pain. My toes were hurting and cramping, and I was walking on my heel to avoid putting any pressure on the pad as it felt like it was badly bruised.

I tried fixing it myself with padding, soaking, massage but nothing helped so I trekked over to see my fave podiatrist. He's great. He told me the problem, said I needed a cortisone shot to stop the swelling. I said no, we tried pads. No help. Second visit I did the shot with pads and taped toes.

Shot didn't help and it wasn't exactly fun although not as bad as I've heard. I'm a wimp when it comes to needles, will pretty much do anything to avoid a shot, so you should know I was hurting pretty bad to acquiesce to the thing... especially since I don't like anything foreign being pumped into my bod.

When I went back for the next visit we tried the "boot". It holds your foot stable. Hated it.

I had to do a show in Florence, South Carolina --- three days of standing on concrete from 7 something in the morning until after 6 p.m. I spent the day switching shoes. Crocs, the boot, two different sets of tennis shoes... nothing really helped. The boot made me walk lopsided and my knees started hurting and swelling.

My son, who was with me, has bone spurs in his feet and he limps at times from the pain. He was also going back and forth to a podiatrist. 

The second day I was there a couple walked up and we got into a friendly conversation with the husband. At one point he glanced down at my son's feet and said 'bet you have bone spurs'. We both did a double-take. He then said he probably had problems with painful corns and he'd bet he had plantar faciitis. Wow... right on the mark.

We were properly awed. He then looked at my tennis shoe encased feet (no boot at the time) and correctly told me where I was hurting.

Then he told us that we were wearing the wrong size shoes. Ummm... measured at the shoe store, bought the shoes, they seemed to fit... Turns out he owns a shoe store, Jack's Comfort Shoes, and boy did he know feet and shoes!

I won't go into all the stuff he told us, although I'm sure you'd like to know, right? He correctly 'diagnosed' every ache and pain our poor feet shared with us every time we put pressure on them!

We wanted to go to his store and buy some shoes but couldn't due to time constraints. We both spent part of the following week doing some Internet research, verifying the things that he'd told us.

The next week we planned to be in Columbia so we made plans to go early and visit his shoe store, get fitted properly.

Didn't quite work out. However, we did find a place in Columbia that had pretty much the same philosophy. We went there and had them measure and suggest shoes. They didn't quite come up with the same thing the Florence shoe store owner did, so I had them change out my shoes until they worked like the guy from Jack's said they should. They added extra arch supports for my high arches and put in the little med-pads to spread my bones while I walked. We played with it until I knew it was right.

I spent three blissful, pain-free days walking on concrete floors, same hours as the Florence show. I was shocked and amazed. I really didn't quite 100% accept what the Jack's owner had said until I experienced it!

Last week we found a store here in Tucker, Georgia that has a comparable philosophy and "fits" properly. None of the stores, including the one in Tucker mentioned one important thing that the guy in Florence insisted upon --- and that is that you make sure your heel doesn't slide around in your shoe.

See, most of us measure based on length and width. We may find a shoe that fits us in both aspects, but it leaves our heel moving a little to a lot from side-to-side. My son has bad dryness on his heel --- he thought it was dry skin. The guy in Florence (and I'd use his name but I lost the business card, arrrggghhh) said it was due to his foot moving around in the shoe.

My heel didn't slip out of the shoe, but when I fit the width for the top of my foot I always had room to move sideways. If my heel didn't slide back and forth, the top of the shoe would start to pinch after I'd worn it for a while. I'm not talking about slipping up out of the shoe. It's the kind of movement you don't notice until you're paying attention.

I also thought my pronating was due to my legs, knees, posture, etc. After getting fitted and tested, I realized I had high arches. I pronate, slide inward, when I don't have proper arch support. Duh.

I've become a convert and I know when I slip my foot into a shoe whether it 'fits' properly. I picked up some pads at the Village Shoe Service in Tucker and have rigged some of my shoes (including my Crocs) so they have arch support and extra padding where I need it. The guy in Florence said he won't sell Crocs, horrible for your feet. My podiatrist said they're fine to use as slippers around the house. I compromised by adding the supports!

OK, long post and I didn't cover a fraction of what I learned over the past couple of months about my feet!

I'm still pain-free and am in the process of replacing every single pair of shoes I have (given time and dollars!). Once I learned how my shoes SHOULD fit and feel, it's not necessary for me to spend a small fortune on each pair. However, I'm willing to spend whatever is needed to get good support and continue to walk without pain.

Oh, one quick note --- I'm not wearing clunky medical ugly shoes. I'm in a pair of 'normal-looking' Brooks tennis shoes. And as for dress shoes, there are many, many that are comfortable and stylish, pretty, dainty looking.

Bottom line -- go at least once to a GOOD shoe store, not one where they pull out the old silver thing to measure your foot. Go to one where you get on those machines, can discuss your specific foot issues, get someone with years of experience and training to help you find the right shoes. Go to a store where they'll add the little pads under the cushion to give you the support you need.

And a tip -- never go shoe shopping early in the day. Your feet swell as the day goes on. Shoes that fit in the morning may hurt in the afternoon.

I highly recommend Village Shoe Service in Tucker, Georgia (http://villageshoeservice.com/) and
Jack's Comfort Shoes in Florence, South Carolina 1506 2nd Loop Road, phone (843) 662-4551
(I hope that's the right store! All I remember is that the store had the name "Jack" in it... if you find more than one with Jack in the title, call and talk to them about how they fit shoes).

Noodling on Name Brands

As I was making my first cuppa tea this morning I started making a grocery list. I've thought about it before but something about the list triggered a repeat morning musing on the use of name brands in our vocabulary.

My list has "Tide" on it, "Kleenex", and a few other name brands. I do use some of the name brands on the list, but in most cases I'm happy with whatever is on sale, or I am attached to a new brand. When I go to the "Kleenex" aisle, for instance, I buy Puff with lotion. Before I settled in on Puff I usually bought whatever was on sale. I like Kleenex, but cost usually rules. I got stuck on Puff's with lotion when I had a lingering cold, the kind that keeps your nose red and raw. It was the best. I will also grab a few boxes of a store brand or something on sale to keep in the closet for those who could care less or prefer no lotion.

We also use Tide. I grew up in a Tide family, ditto for my hubby. I had long since moved away from sticking with the brand before we got married, but not so for my husband. I'm fine with using it because that's what he prefers, even though there are others I've found that are less expensive and do just as well. When it's on sale I stock up.

Many of us simply go down the aisles and pick up the name brands. We do it for a number of reasons. It's what we grew up using and we don't even consider changing. We trust the brand. We like it better than others. We get good coupons. We believe the commercials. I guess there are probably some studies that have been done with more insightful and scientific reasons, but those are the ones that popped into my head during my morning tea fixin'.

It is interesting though that whether we actually buy or use the name brands some brands are forever identified with a type of product. Some people don't think peanut butter, they think Jiff and that's what they say.

Soda is 'Coke', 'Pepsi" or... pop, cola or any other number of names. In the south though, home of Coca-Cola, your more apt to hear "gonna grab a coke" even when they're reaching for a Kroger brand knock-off.

I've found that many have loyalty to their mayonnaise brand. It's not real unless it's Helmans... or Duke... For some it's not mayonnaise at all, it's Miracle Whip. Toilet paper? Oh, man, I could probably write a dissertation on toilet paper attachment!

In this day of having a store-full of choices for sneakers (Keds?) it has to be hard if not impossible for a company to garner the kind of loyalty they did in days past. We've gone from one to three TV stations to having hundreds and hundreds. We've learned to ignore advertising because it's in and on everything. Great commercials stick in the old brain, but many times we remember the commercial but the brand doesn't stick. Marketing has become a science.... and a very expensive venture.

Check your vocabulary. How many name brands are a part of your day-to-day thinking and speech? Have your kids picked up the same habits? Do you still use many of those name brands?

A little medical light-hearted fun! Very cool, very good...

Is it me, or are books being dumbed down?

I'll confess right up front that I'm a read-aholic. If I go to your bathroom and you don't have something to read, I'll find a shampoo bottle label to peer at while I do my business... Most people are nice enough to at least leave a magazine laying around so I rarely resort to bottles thank goodness!

Being a voracious, and eclectic. reader it seems to me that I'm noticing a trend in books. They're being dumbed down. Authors are making their sentences shorter and they've using fewer "big" words. You know, the difficult words like "voracious" and "eclectic". Sentence structure is 1st - 3rd grade reader level in many books now, or so it seems.

I used to love reading James Patterson. Maybe it's me, but I zip through one of his books in less than an hour now and feel like the meat is missing. Ditto with Stuart Woods. They're entertaining but nothing you can sink your reading teeth into. I won't buy the hardbacks and only pick them up used to read as fillers when the really good stuff runs out.

I've also stopped reading another of my used-to-be-favorites, Patricia Cornwell. I don't know that she has dumbed down her writing style as the last book I bought was the one on Jack the Ripper, but she changed her style and lost me. That's just a peculiarity of mine though, I think she probably got bored writing in the same-old same-old and changed things up a bit. I guess it's time to check her out again to see if she's gone back to her old style.

Another thing while I'm complaining. Is it me or have more of our favorite authors come out of the closet regarding their political leanings? I get really tired of reading the slanted view of conservatives or Republicans in books. If they want to make someone a bogey man, many authors slide in that he's a nasty Republican. They'll talk about a bad character who steals from little children to make a buck and note they've been Republicans for generations.

Sometimes it's not quite that blatant. They just make the good guy a Democrat who loves everyone, saves the day and helps the poor. The liberal President is an almost saint who is so huggable and lovable when they do something questionable.

If you read enough a very clear image of snobby, rich, white Republicans or conservatives comes through in many of our fictional books. Add that to the way many in Hollywood portray conservatives and it's a wonder college kids are surrounding their Republican neighbors houses holding pitch forks.

I always encourage parents to read the books their children are reading. I have read the entire Harry Potter series, the Twilight series and pretty much any book that catches the attention of our kids. Recently I picked up two of the Wicked series books at a book sale. I have to say that for the first time in my entire life I threw a book way. I threw both books in the trash. I'll let you read them for yourself to discover why. I think you should, although I suggest you pick them up used rather than pay face value.

I don't know where the country or the world is heading. I know that the books we read help to shape our view of the world and they are a mirror of all that's happening in the world. It bothers me that authors and editors are seemingly taking the reading level of popular books down a notch or two or ten. It also bothers me that incorrect pictures of certain segments of our population are being painted by popular authors.

I'm thrilled that the majority of books on the best seller lists are written by conservatives. I found it interesting that the Liberal elements were pushing to have a separate conservative best seller list!

Excuse me if I stop with more to write whirling around in my brain... I'm in the middle of a really good book and I must find out what happens next...

Bud Light Clothing Drive... ROFL

Groundbreaking Best Practices Manual from Major Professional Association Replaces 'Mental Retardation' with New Term 'Intellectual Disability'

/PRNewswire/ -- Society's labels have consequences. But no label damages more than being called "mentally retarded". Two pivotal developments in the disability world seek the common goal of replacing the pejorative label of "mental retardation" with the more respectful terminology of "intellectual disability": The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) publishes the 11th edition of its "Definition Manual", renaming it Intellectual Disability: Definition, Classification, and Systems of Supports. In it, the association presents a progressive system of defining and diagnosing intellectual disability as a condition that can be enhanced by providing appropriate supports, rather than a static life-long trait. Close on its heels comes Rosa's Law, a bill recently introduced by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) to eliminate the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" from the U.S. federal law books.

"We understand that people with intellectual disabilities face enough challenges every day that they don't need to deal with a pejorative label. And as medical, educational, and legal professionals, we know that intellectual disability is far more complex than a low score on an IQ test," said AAIDD president Joanna Pierson, Executive Director of The Arc of Frederick County, Maryland.

Intellectual Disability presents an advanced model of defining and diagnosing intellectual disability that includes a combination of IQ, age of onset, and adaptive skills of a person. Rather than look at deficits, the AAIDD system is based on evaluating the supports someone needs in life to reduce the mismatch between the person's capabilities and skills. That way, every person is able to participate in all aspects of life in society, whether it's riding the bus or playing with children.

Rosa's Law and Intellectual Disability share the same spirit of "passion for social justice and compassion for the human condition" as Senator Mikulski puts it. "Rosa's Law represents a critical step forward in ending societal discrimination and it will help create a path toward full inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities in our country," said Doreen Croser, Executive Director of AAIDD. "Furthermore, the bill is particularly timely as the new AAIDD Definition Manual provides essential information on intellectual disability for policy makers and for professionals."

The 11th edition of Intellectual Disability is an invaluable resource for many professionals, including:

-- Physicians to diagnose a child or an adult
-- Teachers and school psychologists to determine special education
services and eligibility
-- University professors and students as a key reference in health and
medicine
-- Lawyers and public defenders in the criminal justice system while
handling cases involving people with intellectual disabilities


The 11th edition of Intellectual Disability is written over by a committee of 18 experts based on seven years of work synthesizing current scientific information and best practices as well as critiques of the previous edition. To listen to interviews with authors, read FAQs, and purchase Intellectual Disability, www.aaidd.org/intellectualdisabilitybook.

Founded in 1876, AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices and universal human rights for people with intellectual disabilities. Learn more at www.aaidd.org.

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'Doomsday Clock' Moves One Minute Away From Midnight

/PRNewswire/ -- Citing a more "hopeful state of world affairs" in relation to the twin threats posed by nuclear weapons and climate change, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) is moving the minute hand of its famous Doomsday Clock one minute away from midnight. It is now 6 minutes to midnight. The decision by the BAS Science and Security Board was made in consultation with the Bulletin's Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates.

BAS announced the Clock change today at a news conference in New York City broadcast live at http://www.turnbacktheclock.org/ for viewing around the globe. The new BAS Web platform allows people in all nations to monitor and get involved in efforts to move the Doomsday Clock farther away from midnight.

In a statement supporting the decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock, the BAS Board said: "It is 6 minutes to midnight. We are poised to bend the arc of history toward a world free of nuclear weapons. For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals and secure all nuclear bomb-making material. And for the first time ever, industrialized and developing countries alike are pledging to limit climate-changing gas emissions that could render our planet nearly uninhabitable. These unprecedented steps are signs of a growing political will to tackle the two gravest threats to civilization -- the terror of nuclear weapons and runaway climate change."

Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock has been adjusted only 18 times prior to today, most recently in January 2007 and February 2002 after the events of 9/11. By moving the hand of the Clock away from midnight -- the figurative end of civilization -- the BAS Board of Directors is drawing attention to encouraging signs of progress. At the same time, the small increment of the change reflects both the threats that remain around the globe and the danger that governments may fail to deliver on pledged actions on reducing nuclear weapons and mitigating climate change.

The BAS statement explains: "This hopeful state of world affairs leads the boards of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists -- which include 19 Nobel laureates -- to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock back from five to six minutes to midnight. By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration among the United States, Russia, the European Union, India, China, Brazil, and others on nuclear security and on climate stabilization."

The statement continues: "A key to the new era of cooperation is a change in the U.S. government's orientation toward international affairs brought about in part by the election of Obama. With a more pragmatic, problem-solving approach, not only has Obama initiated new arms reduction talks with Russia, he has started negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program, and directed the U.S. government to lead a global effort to secure loose fissile material in four years. He also presided over the U.N. Security Council last September where he supported a fissile material cutoff treaty and encouraged all countries to live up to their disarmament and nonproliferation obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty ..."

Lawrence Krauss, co-chair, BAS Board of Sponsors, foundation professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration and Physics departments, associate director, Beyond Center, co-director, Cosmology Initiative, and director, New Origins Initiative, Arizona State University, said: "The time to begin to free ourselves from the terror of nuclear weapons and to slow drastic changes to our shared global environment is now. We encourage scientists to fulfill their dual responsibilities of increasing their own, as well as the public's understanding of these issues and to help lead the call to action. We urge leaders to fulfill the promise of a nuclear weapon-free world and to act now to slow the pace of climate change. Finally, we call on citizens everywhere to raise their voices and compel public action for a safer world now and for future generations. Even though we are encouraged by recent developments, we are mindful of the fact that the Clock is ticking. "

Stephen Schneider, member, BAS Science and Security Board, professor of environmental biology and global change, Stanford University, co-director, Center for Environment Science and Policy of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, and senior fellow, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, said: "We can no longer prevent global warming -- it is upon us. Rapidly melting polar icecaps, acidification of the oceans, loss of coral reefs, longer droughts, more devastating wildfires, and sea level rise that threatens island nations and seacoasts everywhere are clear signs of change in Earth's climate. Disruptions of the monsoon seasons in India and China already threaten crop yields resulting in more frequent and severe food shortages than in the recent past ... If we continue 'business as usual' our habitat could be disrupted beyond recognition, with consequences for our way of life that we cannot now foresee. Without vigorous and immediate follow-up to the Copenhagen conference and well-conceived action we are all threatened by accelerating and irreversible changes to our planet ..."

Jayantha Dhanapala, member, BAS Board of Sponsors, president, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and chair, 1995 UN Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Conference, said: "In the saga of human history civilizations have been threatened both by natural causes and by man-made folly. Some have survived by making the necessary rational responses to the challenges. Others have gone under leaving only their ruins. Today it is the entire planet that stands imperiled by the danger of nuclear weapons and the real risk of climate change inexorably threatening our ecosystem. Both impending disasters are within our capabilities to remedy. The opportunity must be seized now out of a recognition that these are global dangers that transcend national boundaries."

Pervez Hoodbhoy, member, BAS Board of Sponsors, professor of high energy physics, and head, Physics Department, Quaid-e-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan, said: "We may be at a turning point, where major powers realize that nuclear weapons are useless for war-fighting or even for deterrence. Threats to security are more likely to come from economic collapse, groups bent on terrorizing civilians, or from resource scarcity exacerbated by climate change and exploding populations, rather than from conflict between nuclear-armed superpowers. Against these new threats, nuclear weapons are a liability because their possession by a few countries stimulates desire in other countries and complicates things immensely."

Kennette Benedict, executive director, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, said: "The emerging trends in international cooperation will provide a basis for collaborative problem-solving for a safer world. But a handful of government officials, no matter how bold their vision, will not be able, on their own, to deal with the threats to civilization that we now face. Leaders and citizens around the world will need to summon the courage to overcome obstacles to nuclear security and climate protection. That is why we have created TurnBackTheClock.org to allow citizens around the world a means by which to get involved and to inspire leaders to take action."

RECOMMENDED ACTION STEPS

The BAS statement outlines the need for action on the following:

-- Developing new nuclear doctrines that disavow the use of existing
nuclear weapons, reduce the launch readiness of U.S. and Russian
nuclear forces, and remove them from the day-to-day operations of
their militaries;
-- Finishing the job of consolidating and securing military and civilian
nuclear material in Russia, the United States, and elsewhere and
continuing to eliminate the excess;
-- Completing negotiations, signing and ratifying as soon as possible the
new U.S.-Russia treaty providing for reductions in deployed nuclear
warheads and delivery systems;
-- Upon signing of the treaty, immediately embarking upon new talks to
further reduce the nuclear arsenals of Russia and the United States;
-- Completing the next review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in
May 2010 with commitments to weapons reduction and nuclear
nonproliferation by both the nuclear haves and have-nots;
-- Implementing multinational management of the civilian nuclear energy
fuel cycle with strict standards for safety, security, and
nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, including eliminating
reprocessing for plutonium separation;
-- Strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency's capacity to
oversee nuclear materials and technology development and transfer;
-- Adopting and fulfilling climate change agreements to reduce carbon
dioxide emissions through tax incentives, harmonized domestic
regulation and practice;
-- Transforming the coal power sector of the world economy to retire
older plants; and
-- Vastly increasing public and private investments in alternatives to
carbon-emitting energy sources, such as solar and wind, and in
technologies for energy storage, and sharing the results worldwide.

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On Call International Opens Haiti Earthquake Emergency Hotline

/PRNewswire/ -- Medical and travel assistance company, On Call International, has set up a national, emergency hotline for the family and friends of travelers visiting Haiti, who might have been affected by the 7.0-magnitude earthquake striking the area 15 kilometers (10 miles) west of the capital of Port-au-Prince.

Anyone attempting to connect with family members or friends traveling or living in the region should call the On Call International hotline: 800-576-5172. Or, they can call On Call International collect at 603-328-1924. Callers should have as much information as possible readily available at the time of call, including tour operator name, itineraries, hotel information or cell phone numbers.

On Call International is a leading provider of customized medical, security and travel assistance for international business and leisure travelers, as well as expatriates, students and others away from home. Operating 24/7/365, On Call International specializes in emergency evacuations from any point on the globe, assisting more than seven million travelers. The U.S.-owned and trained assistance company serves the travel, insurance and maritime industries. On Call is a member and the U.S. representative of the 26-partner International Assistance Group, a global network of independent assistance companies. For more information, visit www.oncallinternational.com.

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Medical Specialists Petition Congress to Preserve Access to Care for Millions of Medicare Patients

/PRNewswire/ -- The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) sent a petition to Congress today signed by 1,325 AACE members, non-AACE member physicians, allied health professionals and patients opposing a new Medicare policy which would eliminate consultation codes for specialists. Overturning this policy would preserve access to care for millions of Medicare patients seen by a medical specialist.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) new policy, which went into effect on January 1, 2010, no longer allows endocrinologists and other cognitive specialists to bill for consultations provided for patients referred to them by primary care physicians.

In December, AACE surveyed its members. The results of that survey indicated that if consultation codes are eliminated, four out of five endocrinologists would be forced to drastically reduce or eliminate the number of Medicare patients seen in their practices.

AACE is also extremely concerned about the hasty implementation of this new policy. Guidance on how to comply with the new policy was only made available to health care professionals and Medicare contractors less than two weeks before the January 1st implementation date. The new policy will severely restrict patient access to specialty care, and the expedited implementation of this policy will cause major disruptions in the health care system in the weeks ahead as new Medicare claims are processed.

As a result, AACE is urging Members of Congress to adopt Senate amendment 3163, introduced by Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA), as part of the final health care reform agreement or as part of any legislative vehicle that is expected to imminently pass Congress. The Specter amendment would delay the new CMS policy for one year to allow more time to adequately prepare for this policy change and fully consider its impact.

"The result of CMS' decision will be a significant reduction in the quality of care received by older Americans," AACE President and Chief of Endocrinology at Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates, Dr. Jeffrey R. Garber said. "AACE applauds the continued efforts of Senator Specter to delay this flawed (CMS) policy."

In addition to AACE, the Specter amendment has been endorsed by numerous societies representing medical specialists. AACE is encouraging all medical specialists and their patients to write their Members of Congress asking them to support the Specter Amendment.

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January 14 is the Date the Doomsday Clock is Reset

RJ Note: Here I was thinking the doomsday clock was about the end of the world as we know it to be. The clock was brought into existence in 1947. And now, climate change is included? Just what did those scientists of the Manhatten Project know?

Hands of 'Doomsday Clock' To Be Moved in New York City and Seen Live on Web For First Time Ever

Factors In Change to Include Nuclear Proliferation, Weapon Stockpile Shifts, and Climate Change; Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Will Open Event to World With Real-Time Streaming Web Broadcast.

The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) will move the minute hand of its famous "Doomsday Clock" at 10 a.m. EST/1500 GMT on January 14, 2010 in New York City. For the first time ever, the event will be opened up to the general public via a live Web feed at http://www.turnbacktheclock.org/.

The last time the Doomsday Clock minute hand moved was in January 2007, when the Clock's minute hand was pushed forward by two minutes from seven to five minutes before midnight.

The precise time to be shown on the updated Doomsday Clock will not be announced until the live news conference in New York City takes place on January 14, 2010. Factors influencing the latest Doomsday Clock change include international negotiations on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, expansion of civilian nuclear power, the possibilities of nuclear terrorism, and climate change.

Founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists subsequently created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as way to convey both the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero). The decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock is made by the Bulletin's Board of Directors in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world's vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences.

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U.S. Report: Rape, Sexual Abuse Rampant in Juvenile Corrections Facilities

/PRNewswire/ -- A long-awaited report from the Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) finds that youth in juvenile corrections facilities are sexually abused at alarming rates and are victimized significantly more often than adult inmates.

A shocking 12.1 percent - or almost one in eight - of the detained youth who participated in the survey reported sexual abuse at their current facility during the previous year. On any given day, there are approximately 93,000 youth confined in juvenile facilities, more than half of whom are 16 or younger.

"These figures are unconscionable, and even more so when you consider that the survey did not include youth locked up in adult facilities, where many are at even greater risk for abuse," said Lovisa Stannow, Executive Director of Just Detention International.

The study - "Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-09" - is based on a survey given to 9,198 youth detainees in 195 facilities from all fifty states and the District of Columbia. The BJS report also included these findings:

-- 80 percent of the reported abuse was perpetrated by a member of the
facility's staff.
-- 95 percent of youth who alleged abuse by staff reported at least one
female perpetrator.
-- Victimized youth usually endured repeated sexual abuse, often more
than ten times, and frequently by multiple perpetrators.
-- 65 percent of youth who had previously been sexually assaulted at
another facility also reported having been sexually abused in their
current facility.
-- Youth with a sexual orientation other than heterosexual reported being
sexually abused by another inmate at a rate more than ten times higher
than that of youth who identified as heterosexual.


In June 2009, as mandated by Congress, the National Prison Rape Elimination Commission issued a comprehensive report on sexual violence in U.S. detention facilities. The bipartisan Commission, led by U.S. District Court Judge Reggie B. Walton, found that many corrections facilities do a poor job preventing, identifying, and responding to the sexual abuse of those in their custody.

The Commission's report emphasized that sexual abuse is an especially complex problem for younger inmates, explaining that "juveniles are not yet fully developed physically, cognitively, socially, and emotionally and are ill-equipped to respond to sexual advances and protect themselves."

"The BJS study confirms the Commission's findings, underscoring the fact that young people are a particularly vulnerable population needing special protections," said David Kaiser, chair of the board of Just Detention International. "Abused youth emerge from what ought to be a rehabilitative experience deeply traumatized, hindering their reintegration into society and limiting their development and future prospects."

The Commission's report includes proposed standards - which Just Detention International helped develop - for addressing and preventing the sexual abuse of inmates, including detained youth. By law, the Department of Justice has until June 2010 to codify final standards based on those recommendations.

"The Attorney General needs to issue comprehensive, zero-tolerance standards, and he can't do so a moment too soon," Stannow said. "Every day without them is another day in which incarcerated children are getting raped. No matter what crime a person may have committed, rape should never be part of the punishment."

The BJS report, "Sexual Victimization in Juvenile Facilities Reported by Youth, 2008-09," is available online at: http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/index.cfm?ty=pbdetail&iid=2113.

Just Detention International works to ensure government accountability for prisoner rape; to change ill-informed public attitudes about sexual violence in detention; and to promote access to resources for those who have survived such abuse.

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Writers Ask Congressional Authors: Do You Know What Google and the Authors Guild Want to Do with Your Copyright?

/PRNewswire/ -- The National Writers Union, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America have written to their author peers in Congress, seeking their support in encouraging the Department of Justice to continue its opposition to the Google Books Settlement.

The Google Books Settlement is being negotiated between Google and several parties that sued it in 2007 for copyright infringement. Among those groups is the Authors Guild, which purports to represent the interests of all authors in the Settlement. In its letter to Congressional authors, the groups assert that their interests are not being fairly represented by the Authors Guild.

Award-winning author Ursula K. Le Guin's recent resignation from the Authors Guild highlights the growing tensions between the organization and its constituency. In her letter of resignation, Le Guin commented, "You decided to deal with the devil, as it were, and have presented your arguments for doing so. I wish I could accept them, but I can't. There are principles involved, above all the whole concept of copyright; and these you have seen fit to abandon to a corporation, on their terms, without a struggle."

In their letter, the author groups criticize the Settlement for the lack of notice to authors, the complexity in opting out, a new regulatory board that overrides individual contracts, the exception for publisher plaintiffs to have private side deals, the mockery of existing copyright law, and its attempt to supplant efforts to pass orphan works legislation.

"Opposition to this sweetheart commercial deal from the Department of Justice and nearly 400 other interested parties radically changed the course of this debate. However, the amended version of the settlement still creates a de facto monopoly for Google at the expense of all Americans," reads the letter. "The Constitution says copyright is essential and gives Congress responsibility for it, not Google and a gaggle of lawyers."

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