Saturday 17 December 2011

Cabinet Clahes - Dec16 - a set on Flickr

U.S. Government Licenses Patent for Medical Marijuana

U.S. Government Licenses Patent for Medical Marijuana

Thursday, December 15, 2011

 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is About to Award

Exclusive Rights to Apply Marijuana as a Medical Therapeutic

Deadline for Comment: Monday, Dec. 19

LOS ANGELES, CA – Dec. 15, 2011--The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients has just discovered that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is about to award an exclusive license to KannaLife Sciences, Inc. of New York to develop medical therapeutics based on the chemistry of cannabis. According to the notice in the Federal Register, public comments will be accepted through Monday, December 19.

"We find it hypocritical and incredible that on the one hand, the U.S. Department of Justice is persecuting medical cannabis patient associations, asserting that the federal government regards marijuana as having absolutely no medical value, despite overwhelming clinical evidence," said Union director James Shaw. "On the other hand, the Department of Health and Human Services is planning to grant patent rights with possible worldwide application to develop medicines based on cannabis."

While the Union applauds the U.S. government's efforts into researching the medical value of cannabis, Shaw said, "they should have affirmatively rescheduled cannabis when they discovered it had medical efficacy and, of course, it makes no sense for the government to provide U.S. Patent 6,630,507, which the government owns, to a single company with exclusive rights." He urged medical cannabis patient associations and patients using marijuana for medical reasons to protest this giveaway to one pharmaceutical firm.

Comments need to be submitted in writing by next Monday to Betty B. Tong, Ph.D., Senior Licensing and Patenting Manager, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health, 6011 Executive Boulevard, Suite 325, Rockville MD 20852-3804, fax (301) 402-0220, or tongb@mail.nih.gov.

More information on this issue can be found at www.Unionmmp.org.

Scott Smith
The Union of Medical Marijuana Patients
Los Angeles, CA
310-254-4051

BBC News - Cancer benefit proposals amended after criticism

Cancer benefit proposals amended after criticism

Woman receiving intravenous chemotherapy The government said it now agreed that all forms of cancer treatment were debilitating

Related Stories

The government has rewritten plans to change benefits for cancer patients following criticism from charities.

It said it was clear some patients were "unfairly missing out on support".

Previously, only those receiving non-oral chemotherapy were eligible for unconditional assistance, but now a wider range of drug and radiation treatment will be included.

But Macmillan Cancer said some patients could still be made to undergo medical assessments before receiving benefits.

The government said it had hoped to introduce the amended plans from April, but having failed to secure Macmillan's support, was launching a consultation to obtain a wider range of views.

The dispute centres on the Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) system, which divides claimants into two categories.

Those deemed to have limited capacity for work are placed in the Support Group and are not required to undertake any work-related activity.

Those who are deemed able to perform "work-related activities" which might help them eventually return to work face means-testing after 12 months.

'Debilitating'

Under the government's original proposals, only those patients whose chemotherapy drugs were injected into a vein, the abdomen or the spinal canal would automatically be placed in the Support Group.

Start Quote

[We] remain of the view that automatic entitlement is vitally important for cancer patients receiving treatment”

End Quote Macmillan Cancer

Those receiving chemotherapy drugs orally - perhaps taking tablets at home rather than visiting a hospital - or receiving radiation only would go into the work-related activity category.

The consultation document states: "This was based on a view that invasive chemotherapy is more debilitating in most circumstances than oral chemotherapy. However, this view is no longer supported by the evidence."

It goes on to say that evidence provided by Macmillan "supports the view that all forms of chemotherapy may cause substantial debilitation" and severe side-effects.

The rewritten plans presume that any individual undergoing any form of chemotherapy or site-specific radiotherapy should be in the Support Group, without them having to undergo a medical assessment.

It says that in "a small number of cases, where the evidence indicated that the debilitating effects might be limited" individuals may be invited for a medical assessment to judge their fitness to work.

But Macmillan said it was still not happy with the proposals.

As well as widening the eligibility, guaranteed entitlement to entry into the Support Group has been amended to a "presumption" based on "a paper assessment".

Macmillan said that was an erosion of the legal protection given to patients and it was unclear what the paper assessment would involve.

"We don't agree with this proposal and remain of the view that automatic entitlement is vitally important for cancer patients receiving treatment," the charity added.

More on This Story

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Authors@Google: Christopher Hitchens - YouTube

Stunning £3,000 'hobbit house' Photos | Stunning £3,000 'hobbit house' Pictures - Yahoo!

The Wrath of The Feminists: A Discussion of Masculinity, Gender, and Feminism — The Good Men Project

Good Feed blog

jenn amanda rosanne

The Wrath of The Feminists: A Discussion of Masculinity, Gender, and Feminism

A Twitter discussion @jennpozner, @TMatlack, @hugoschwyzer @amandamarcotte @shiratarrant, @feministfather, @therealroseanne and others.

photo by uaeincredible

New CDC Study on Sexual Assault: Preteen Boys and Adolescent Girls are Most at Risk

Striking results as to the prevalence of sexual violence for both males and females.

photo by Orange County Archives

Let’s Stop Asking If This is The End of Men

Soraya Chemaly wants us instead to find an equitable way for everyone to be considered genuinely human

More blog

OPERATION BOARDWALK: LIFE-SIZED MONOPOLY GAME

    • When
      Sunday
    • Time
      11:00 until 16:00
  • Description
    Just in time for the holidays the ASO (https://www.facebook.com/asolidarity) is launching Operation Boardwalk on Sunday, December 18th by transforming the Capitol Square into a life-sized game of Monopoly. Complete with over sized dice, deeds, hotels, houses, cards and ga...me pieces!

    The twist?
    Each property will be replaced with the names of the 22 Wisconsin legislators, who brought in the most election funds between 2010 and 2011. For too long money has dominated the political process in our state. That is why during this season that is traditionally set aside for giving, we have decided to take a stand and call out our politicians for the outrageous amounts of money they have to raise to run for office.

    To drive the point home further, we will be pairing each legislator's funding totals with the number of families of four that could have been fed in 2010 and 2011 with the same amount of funding. Since our politicians refuse to take action on the problems facing families in Wisconsin, the ASO will also be collecting toy and food donations for local charities here in Madison.

    WE WILL BE ACCEPTING NON-PERISHABLE FOOD DONATIONS FOR SECOND HARVEST MADISON AND NEW TOYS FOR TOYBRARY. LINKS LISTED BELOW:

    TOYBRARY: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toybrary/233102250041688
    SECOND HARVEST MADISON: http://www.secondharvestmadison.org/

    WE WILL ALSO BE CIRCULATING RECALL PETITIONS DURING THE EVENT. PLEASE CONTACT US TO HELP CIRCULATE.

    What's the catch?
    This is a large undertaking and we can't get it done without your help! That is why we are asking you to help us take a stand against the influence of money in our system and help those in need in our communities.

    What do we need?
    This action, and the donations that will be collected for those in need, won't happen unless we can gather enough volunteers to produce the game pieces. If you have any time at all to help with the production of these pieces, please contact Brel Hutton-Okpalaeke: brel@ASOlidarity.org or https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1219131518


    We are also in need of volunteers for the day of the action to help collect donations, circulate RECALL PETITIONS, distribute information to people passing by, monitor the pieces to make sure they are not vandalized and collect recall petition signatures. If you are willing to help on Sunday the 18th, please contact Bill Fetty: bill.fetty@ASOlidarity.org or https://www.facebook.com/billkilled


    If you are really in the giving mood, we could also use financial donations to help us purchase the art supplies to make this happen. Donations can be made at our site. You could also purchase any of the merchandise available on our site here as 100% of all the profits from these sales goes into actions just like this.

    All other questions can be directed to Ken Dunbeck : ken.dunbeck@ASOlidarity.org or https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=8639603

    Remember this action can not happen without members of the community stepping up to take a stand against the influence of money in our system while at the same time lending a helping hand to those in need.

    Autonomous Solidarity Organization, Inc.
    PO Box 260236
    Madison, WI 53726-0236

    Press: press@asolidarity.org
    General inquiries: info@asolidarity.org


    See more

Friday 16 December 2011

Facebook announced its goal to unfriend coal and run on clean, renewable energy. We did it - thank you!

Hello friends,

After nearly two years of pressure from you, Facebook announced its goal to unfriend coal and run on clean, renewable energy. We did it - thank you!

The company has agreed to work with Greenpeace to promote clean energy, and encourage major utilities to develop renewable energy generation.

It will also develop programmes to enable Facebook users to save energy and engage their communities in clean energy decisions.

You made this possible! It's only with your support that we can change how huge companies like Facebook use energy. If we can make Facebook go green, why stop there?

Please make a donation if you can - with your help, we can build on our success with Facebook and make others switch to clean energy.

The amount of electricity used by major IT companies to power their energy-hungry data centres is set to triple by 2020. So other IT giants like Apple, Microsoft and Twitter need to follow Facebook's lead and drive a green energy revolution in the industry.

It's time to tell these companies they need to move towards clean energy.

Your donation will help us push for an energy revolution, moving us away from dirty fuels like coal towards cleaner, greener energy. Please donate now.

Thanks again for your support!

Jamie Woolley

Greenpeace UK

BBC News - Christopher Hitchens on life, death and lobster

Christopher Hitchens on life, death and lobster

Christopher Hitchens - essayist, drinker, smoker, atheist and freedom of speech campaigner - has died.

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Hitchens: 1949-2011

He led a picaresque, bohemian life of intellectual enquiry, literary criticism and many long lunches and late nights.

Contrariness and controversy were never far away.

He began his journalistic career firmly on the left but in later life was attacked by former comrades for becoming a strong supporter of President George W Bush's wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For Hitchens there was no contradiction - his new target was "Islamo-fascism" a term he is thought to have coined.

But as well as his essays, he will be remembered as much for his pithy aphorisms, wise reflections and wounding one-liners.

On religion:

"(The New Testament) is a work of crude carpentry, hammered together long after its purported events, and full of improvised attempts to make things come out right."

"Religion is man-made. Even the men who made it cannot agree on what their prophets or redeemers or gurus actually said or did."

"[Mother Teresa] was not a friend of the poor. She was a friend of poverty. She said that suffering was a gift from God. She spent her life opposing the only known cure for poverty, which is the empowerment of women and the emancipation of them from a livestock version of compulsory reproduction."

"To terrify children with the image of Hell, to consider women an inferior creation - is that good for the world?"

"One must state it plainly. Religion comes from the period of human pre-history where nobody - not even the mighty Democritus who concluded that all matter was made from atoms - had the smallest idea what was going on."

"Everything about Christianity is contained in the pathetic image of 'the flock'."

"Owners of dogs will have noticed that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they will think you are God. Whereas owners of cats are compelled to realise that, if you provide them with food and water and shelter and affection, they draw the conclusion that they are gods."

When a Christian claimed that God had given him "throat" cancer to punish the "one part of his body he used for blasphemy", he replied: "My so-far uncancerous throat... is not at all the only organ with which I have blasphemed."

Describing heaven: "Endless praise and adoration, limitless abnegation and abjection of self; a celestial North Korea."

On drinking and other vices:

"The best blended Scotch in the history of the world - which was also the favourite drink of the Iraqi Baath Party, as it still is of the Palestinian Authority and the Libyan dictatorship and large branches of the Saudi Arabian royal family - is Johnnie Walker Black. Breakfast of champions, accept no substitute."

"At about half past midday, a decent slug of Mr Walker's amber restorative, cut with Perrier water (an ideal delivery system) and no ice. At luncheon, perhaps half a bottle of red wine: not always more but never less. Then back to the desk, and ready to repeat the treatment at the evening meal. No 'after-dinner drinks' - ​most especially nothing sweet and never, ever any brandy. 'Nightcaps' depend on how well the day went..."

"The four most over-rated things in life are champagne, lobster, anal sex and picnics."

"Nothing optional - from homosexuality to adultery - is ever made punishable unless those who do the prohibiting (and exact the fierce punishments) have a repressed desire to participate."

"The one unforgivable sin is to be boring." (A favourite saying of his mother's that he often quoted.)

On politicians and royalty:

"Reagan is doing to the country what he can no longer do to his wife."

"(George W Bush) is lucky to be governor of Texas. He is unusually incurious, abnormally unintelligent, amazingly inarticulate, fantastically uncultured, extraordinarily uneducated, and apparently quite proud of all these things."

He described Bill Clinton as a "habitual and professional liar."

Christopher Hitchens Hitchens was vehement and amusing to the end

On Sarah Palin: "I think she's a completely straightforward cynic and opportunist and I think she's cashing out... She's made a fortune and she'll make another. But she's not actually going to do the hard work of trying to lead or build a movement."

On David Cameron: "People ask: 'What do you think of him?' and my answer is: 'He doesn't make me think.'"

"Prince Charles, subjected to a regime of fierce paternal harangues and penitential cold-shower boarding schools, withdrew into himself, was eventually talked into a calamitous marriage with someone he didn't love or respect, and is now the morose, balding, New Age crank and licensed busybody that we flinch from today."

On the royal wedding: "I suppose this must be the monarchical 'magic' of which we hear so much: by some mystic alchemy, the breeding imperatives for a dynasty become the stuff of romance, even 'fairytale'."

Advice to Kate Middleton: "If you really love him, honey, get him out of there, and yourself, too. Many of us don't want or need another sacrificial lamb to water the dried bones and veins of a dessicated system. Do yourself a favour and save what you can: leave the throne to the awful next incumbent that the hereditary principle has mandated for it."

On Iraq and Afghanistan:

"Will an Iraq war make our al-Qaeda problem worse? Not likely."

"The death toll is not nearly high enough... too many [jihadists] have escaped."

"Cluster bombs are perhaps not good in themselves, but when they are dropped on identifiable concentrations of Taliban troops, they do have a heartening effect."

(On Afghanistan) "I will venture a prediction. The Taliban/al-Qaeda riffraff, as we know them, will never come back to power."

"If waterboarding does not constitute torture, then there is no such thing as torture."

George Orwell and other heroes:

"North Korea is a country that still might give us a lot of trouble and it is, believe me, it is exactly like a 1984 state, it is as if it was modelled on 1984, rather than 1984 on it. It is extraordinary, the leader worship, the terror, the uniformity, the misery, the squalor. And in Zimbabwe recently, the opposition press reprinted Animal Farm as a satire on Mugabe and that's also, that for us in this country it's not a small example, it's an important one."

"He (Orwell) was in a certain way, incorruptible, a lot of people are honest in one way, say intellectually, then they get a little bit shady on the other and it compromises them... the idea of him becoming... a sell out... runs counter to everything we know about him as a person and a writer."

"Who are your favourite heroines in real life? The women of Afghanistan, Iraq, and Iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Azar Nafisi as their ideal feminine model."

Reflections on life:

"History is more of a tragedy than it is a morality tale."

"A life that partakes even a little of friendship, love, irony, humour, parenthood, literature, and music, and the chance to take part in battles for the liberation of others cannot be called 'meaningless' except if the person living it is also an existentialist and elects to call it so. It could be that all existence is a pointless joke, but it is not in fact possible to live one's everyday life as if this were so."

"Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay."

"Beware the irrational, however seductive. Shun the 'transcendent' and all who invite you to subordinate or annihilate yourself. Distrust compassion; prefer dignity for yourself and others. Don't be afraid to be thought arrogant or selfish. Picture all experts as if they were mammals. Never be a spectator of unfairness or stupidity. Seek out argument and disputation for their own sake; the grave will supply plenty of time for silence. Suspect your own motives, and all excuses. Do not live for others any more than you would expect others to live for you."

"Literature, not scripture, sustains the mind and - since there is no other metaphor - also the soul."

On cancer and dying:

"I burned the candle at both ends and it often gave a lovely light."

"Sobering in one way and exhilarating in another... it has given me a more vivid idea of what makes life worth living, and defending."

On living with cancer: "It's a malady like any other and it will yield to reason and science. (Battling cancer) is a subversion of the pathetic fallacy. I rather think it's battling me, it's much more what it feels like. I have to sit passively every few weeks and have a huge dose of kill-or-cure venom put straight into my veins... It doesn't feel like fighting at all, possibly resisting. You feel as if you're drowning in passivity... I prefer resistance to battling."

"My main fear is of being incapacitated or imbecilic at the end. It's not something to be afraid of, it's something to be terrified of."

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," the commission reportedly said.

Bert Smeets, an abuse victim who attended the presentation of the report, said it did not go far enough in detailing precisely exactly what happened.

"What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated," Mr Smeets told the Associated Press news agency. "It remains vague. All sorts of things happened but nobody knows exactly what or by whom. This way, they avoid responsibility."

According to AP, prosecutors say the inquiry referred 11 cases to them - without naming the alleged perpetrators. They opened only one investigation based on those reports, saying the other 10 did not contain enough detailed information and appeared to have happened too long ago to prosecute.

Last month the Dutch branch of the Catholic Church set up a sliding compensation system based on the severity of abuse suffered, offering compensation of between 5,000 and 100,000 euros (£4,200-84,000; $6,500-130,000).

Mr Deetman, a former government minister, headed the commission, which also includes a former judge, university professors and a psychologist.

Its findings have been keenly awaited by the Dutch population, 29% of whom are identified as Catholic, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from The Hague.

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

Start Quote

What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated”

End Quote Bert Smeets Abuse victim

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

The report also estimates that one in 10 Dutch children have suffered some form of abuse, rising to one in five among those who had attended an institution - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," the commission reportedly said

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

Most of the cases involved mild to moderate abuse, such as touching, but the report estimated there were "several thousand" instances of rape.

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

The report estimates that 10,000-20,000 minors were abused in the care of Catholic institutions between 1945 and 1981, when the number of Church-run homes dropped. In the years between 1981 and 2011, several more thousands suffered at the hands of priests and others working for the Church.

BBC News - Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

Institutional Dutch Catholic abuse 'affected thousands'

Catholic prayers - file pic Allegations of abuse in Dutch Catholic institutions multiplied after ex-pupils at a school came forward

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Tens of thousands of children have suffered sexual abuse in Dutch Catholic institutions since 1945, a report says.

The report by an independent commission said Catholic officials had failed to tackle the widespread abuse at schools, seminaries and orphanages.

But the report also found that one in five children who attended an institution suffered abuse - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

"This episode fills us with shame and sorrow," said a bishops' statement.

The commission, which began work in August 2010, sought to uncover what had gone on and how it had happened, and examined what kind of justice should be offered to victims.

It was triggered by allegations of abuse at a Catholic school in the east Netherlands, which prompted other alleged victims to come forward.

It studied 1,800 complaints of abuse at Catholic institutions, identifying 800 alleged perpetrators, just over 100 of whom are still alive.

It also conducted a broader survey of more than 34,000 people, to gain a more comprehensive picture of the scale and nature of abuse suffered by Dutch minors.

Start Quote

The problem of sexual abuse was known... but the appropriate actions were not undertaken”

End Quote Commission report

The report estimates that 10,000-20,000 minors were abused in the care of Catholic institutions between 1945 and 1981, when the number of Church-run homes dropped. In the years between 1981 and 2011, several more thousands suffered at the hands of priests and others working for the Church.

Most of the cases involved mild to moderate abuse, such as touching, but the report estimated there were "several thousand" instances of rape.

'Widespread in Dutch society'

"The problem of sexual abuse was known in the orders and dioceses of the Dutch Catholic Church," the commission says, according to news agency AFP, "but the appropriate actions were not undertaken."

A taboo on discussing sexuality in society until the 1960s and the Catholic Church's "closed" administrative structure were some of the reasons for the official failure to respond effectively to the problem, the commission said.

"Then again, people simply could not believe that a religious person could do that," commission chief Wim Deetman told a news conference.

Start Quote

What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated”

End Quote Bert Smeets Abuse victim

The report also estimates that one in 10 Dutch children have suffered some form of abuse, rising to one in five among those who had attended an institution - regardless of whether it was Catholic.

"Sexual abuse of minors is widespread in Dutch society," the commission reportedly said.

Bert Smeets, an abuse victim who attended the presentation of the report, said it did not go far enough in detailing precisely exactly what happened.

"What was happening was sexual abuse, violence, spiritual terror, and that should have been investigated," Mr Smeets told the Associated Press news agency. "It remains vague. All sorts of things happened but nobody knows exactly what or by whom. This way, they avoid responsibility."

According to AP, prosecutors say the inquiry referred 11 cases to them - without naming the alleged perpetrators. They opened only one investigation based on those reports, saying the other 10 did not contain enough detailed information and appeared to have happened too long ago to prosecute.

Last month the Dutch branch of the Catholic Church set up a sliding compensation system based on the severity of abuse suffered, offering compensation of between 5,000 and 100,000 euros (£4,200-84,000; $6,500-130,000).

Mr Deetman, a former government minister, headed the commission, which also includes a former judge, university professors and a psychologist.

Its findings have been keenly awaited by the Dutch population, 29% of whom are identified as Catholic, the BBC's Anna Holligan reports from The Hague.

More on This Story

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BBC News - Dementia care: your voices

Dementia care: your voices

Hospitals are overlooking some of the most basic needs of patients with dementia according to the first national audit of care in England and Wales.

The Royal College of Psychiatrists' review of 210 hospitals - the first of its kind - says while services are safe, they are lacking in other areas.

Two-thirds of the staff surveyed said they have not had enough training to care for people with dementia.

BBC News website readers have been getting in touch with their views, with many saying they are not surprised by the findings.

Stuart Hurst, Heysham, Lancashire

Ernest Barradell Ernest Barradell's dementia changed his life

My father-in-law Ernest Barradell lives with us and has vascula dementia.

For two years, he was treated with antibiotics as he kept getting infections, but was unable to properly communicate his issues.

When I was looking after him one day, I realised that something was wrong, called the doctor and he was admitted to hospital.

They initially thought he had a strangulated hernia but they then discovered he had a septic cyst which had to be removed.

But in essence, the ward staff both on the surgical ward and the geriatric rehab ward were not capable of looking after him at all.

Due to his inability to form coherent sentences, he was often left misunderstood and frustrated.

In the rehab ward, they would often leave him in a chair for the day, knowing that he couldn't get out of it due to his lack of strength.

This left him angry and he would lash out at people verbally and sometimes physically.

In a nutshell, without our persistence at insisting he was brought back home (which in itself was a major battle), the "treatment" he received would have killed him.

The staff were ill-equipped to deal with him as they had no training to deal with patients with dementia.

Due to the cuts, and the way hospitals are run with a skeleton staff, there was no time given to any patients with dementia, despite the fact that they need reassurance and time spent with each of them.

Very often, he would be looking around wondering where he was (in hospital) and be crying as he didn't want to be left there.

When he went in, he was able to walk about with the assistance of a walking aid.

But the three months he was immobile in hospital has robbed him of the ability to walk now and, as a result, his quality of life is diminished.

Clare, Wales

I am a neurosurgical nurse with experience in mental health caring.

For the past three years I have been a carer for Alzheimer's disease sufferers. I have personal experience as my mother has the condition too.

While I agree with what the report says, nothing can be achieved until funds are released for specific training.

Start Quote

In an ideal world every hospital would have a dedicated dementia link nurse”

End Quote

We are chronically understaffed, underpaid, poorly motivated and badly managed - we absolutely lack the specific skills, training and time to deal with this sadly neglected patient group.

We want to provide the best care possible to everyone but simply cannot - there is a chronic lack of time and staff.

After three years in nursing I already feel burnt out.

In an ideal world every hospital would have a dedicated dementia link nurse.

The people with this condition are often disorientated and frightened but such a nurse would help provide them with dedicated care and some stability.

We are sitting on a Alzheimer's disease timebomb which is only going to get worse unless someone intervenes and agrees to take action now.

My mother has dementia and we are trying to do what we can for her.

She is registered with a psychiatrist and at one point, she even volunteered herself for trials and tests so more research could be done on the condition.

Malcolm Weston, Fareham, Hampshire

Malcolm Weston Malcolm Weston thinks there is too much expectation placed on carers

My 87-year-old father Victor is currently in hospital and trying to negotiate between social services within the hospital and social services in the community is proving a nightmare.

They don't understand and they don't seem to care, but they expect relatives and carers to be able to cope.

The worse problem I find is listening. Nobody wants to listen. All they are doing is protecting their own policies and procedures.

My father was originally diagnosed with prostate cancer five years ago and then, gradually, he developed dementia.

There is a problem with the word diagnosis when it comes to dementia because it infers that people are paying attention to the condition of these people - that is not the case in my experience.

He has been in hospital for a few weeks and they are trying to discharge him. However he is asked questions like "do you own your home; can you make a cup of tea" etc.

He doesn't know what he is saying. He doesn't own his own home, yet when they asked him to try to gauge his finances, he said "yes".

Caring with someone who has dementia can drive you to despair. They think by sending him back, he will be with those who are suitably qualified. How do you train for this? You can't.

The NHS is driven by cost - it costs them too much to keep him in hospital where he would get the specialist care that he needs. But we as carers get much less money - £57 a week - to try to deal with this.

We're at the stage where we have to go to work, despite the fact he can't be left alone - because if we don't, we'll lose our house.

Kathy Wardley, London

My mum - Daisy Arter, 91, passed away in September.

She was diagnosed with dementia about four years ago, after suffering an incidence of Clostridium difficile. She caught it at the hospital and they put her into an isolation unit. But with no-one to really interact with, she started suffering from dementia.

I would go to visit her and she would ask how her mum (my nan) was. I had to break it to her that her mother had died years ago and she would be so upset.

Start Quote

If you don't want to do the role, but are doing it just as a "job", it will have consequences for those you are supposed to be caring for”

End Quote

The old are ignored despite their vulnerability. My mum was left to sit in her own mess sometimes and, during all that time in the hospital, her room was barely cleaned.

It broke my heart to see her like that.

When she was moved to a care home she came out of her shell again and started interacting because people interacted with her. But there was one incident where a woman who also had dementia acted violently. This petrified my mother and the condition overtook her as she became introverted once again.

It was only in the final months of her life, when we put her in another nursing home where they were so dedicated and were so passionate about their jobs, that she had a good end.

This is the issue. It's the people who are doing the job without having the vocation for it. They are not natural carers.

If you don't want to do the role, but are doing it just as a "job", it will have consequences for those you are supposed to be caring for.

Whereas those who love the job and have always wanted to do it, are in my experience, the best ones.

More comments

Dementia sufferers are, in most cases dealt with very sympathetically by all nurses, carers and hospitals.

The simple fact is that patients' relatives expect such people to be at the beck and call of their mum, dad or loved one, 24 hours a day, usually to the detriment of other patients. That is selfish.

But are these same relatives who shuffle their demented old mum or dad off to the care home or hospital in the first place prepared to pay the going rate for such care? No - they are not. That's why they get rid of them, (yes, get rid of them)... and then moan about the people who do their level best to look after them.

If it's so easy to look after somebody with dementia... then keep them at home... But they won't do that will they, because they have had a small taste of what professionals have to put up with daily.

Relatives often feel that they shouldn't have to lift one finger to help the staff who are, after all, looking after their loved ones. They should get off their backsides and help, instead of constantly criticising nursing staff.

All that this constant criticism of healthcare workers will do, is ensure that there are fewer and fewer of them to deal with dementia patients. Retired Healthcare Assistant, Devon

Maybe if we had basic staffing levels on shifts, we would be able to provide the best care, which is what we all strive for. Unfortunately most general wards have a mixture of dementia patients, mental health patients and other complex/end of life patients. There are never enough health care assistants, nurses or allied heath professionals and that's what relatives and visitors see.

This ultimately reflects on their view of the care given. What they don't see is staff routinely missing their breaks, because it's unsafe to leave patients, with dementia particularly. They don't see people doing double shifts at the drop of a hat, and not being able to have simple comforts such as a drink of water, because it promotes a lazy image of staff to the general public. Sarah, Manchester

My granddad is currently in hospital - he has been shunted around a number of wards, which must be confusing and distressing. The standard of care varies vastly within the same hospital, from excellent to non-existent. He requires thickened fluids and a pureed diet, and is unable - due to communication difficulties - to explain this.

On nearly every ward I have had to explain his needs repeatedly, and politely, and then finally complain. The need is life threatening and recorded throughout his notes. What more can I do to keep him safe? There are many lovely and hardworking people, but the procedures and policies within the hospital for vulnerable individuals beggar belief. Michelle Middleton, Newcastle

I have a close grandparent who was cared for to an excellent standard in an NHS cottage hospital. The staff were caring and sincere, giving us confidence that she was receiving the best possible care while recovering from a fall. I've had to move away because of work, and as my grandparent had declined further community care, this has meant a great deal of stress pushed onto close family who are themselves very ill and are at the point of tears caring for my grandparent.

With an ageing population, it needs to be accepted and addressed that too many individuals slip through the net. Who's to say how many countless unnecessary hospital admissions could be averted by proper social and community care? Mat, Carmarthen

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APP OF THE DAY: djay (iPad) #djay #appoftheday http://t.co/GVMQOAVn

about an hour ago

Facebook Timeline: How to Enable it With One Click

Facebook Timeline: How to Enable It With One Click [PICS]

When Facebook first started experimenting with its radical new (and I think, sensational) Timeline interface back in late September, we showed you an 8-step way to get a sneak preview. Now, it’s a whole lot easier: You can enable the timeline with one click, and then publish it for all to see with one more.

Follow this quick slide show, and before you know it you’ll have the Facebook Timeline enabled on your own account. The best part is, after you click the “Get Timeline” button, you have seven days until it automatically goes live, but until then, you’re the only one who will see it until you authorize it to be published. However, if you don’t want to wait seven days, you can publish it any time by clicking “Publish Now.”

SEE ALSO: Facebook Timeline: The Complete Guide

So until Dec. 22, you can go through and edit whatever you’d like to hide from all your Facebook friends and followers, making sure your privacy is intact. Once you’ve pruned your Facebook Timeline to your comfort level, click the “Publish Now” button, and all your timeline goodness is immediately displayed for all to see.

Here’s a step-by-step guide for enabling Timeline now, and you’ll notice the process is a whole lot easier than it was before. If you’d rather have a simple list to show you how to do this, you can see that just below this slideshow:


Easy Method, No Editing:


  • Go here.

  • Click “Get Timeline.” There. It’s enabled, but not published yet.
  • Click “Publish Now.” You’re done.

Still Easy, Edit Before Anyone Sees It:


1. Be sure you’re logged into your Facebook account.

2. Go to the About Timeline page.

3. Click on “Get Timeline.”

4. Scroll down on your timeline and edit or remove any items you don’t want shown. Do that by holding your cursor over the upper right of the item you want to edit, and then make your choice on the drop-down list.

5. From that list you can change the date of the item, add a location, hide it from the timeline, delete the post altogether, or report it/mark it as spam.

6. If you’d like to “feature” any of the posts, click on the star icon to the left of that pencil icon, and that item will be expanded all the way across the page, made larger for all your friends to see.

7. Once you’re satisfied with all the edits you’ve made, either go back to the top of the Timeline and click “Publish Now,” or do nothing and it’ll be automatically published on December 22.


Mashable’s Complete Facebook Timeline Coverage


Facebook Timeline Essentials

Timeline Resources

Flickr - projectbrainsaver

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