Friday, November 30, 2012

German lawmakers approve Greek bailout despite qualms

BERLIN (Reuters) - German lawmakers approved the latest bailout for Greece on Friday by a large majority despite growing unease about the cost to taxpayers less than a year before federal elections.

The outcome of the vote in the lower house was never in doubt but it was a test of Angela Merkel's authority over her center-right coalition. She did not manage to draw an absolute majority from her own ranks after 23 of her lawmakers rebelled.

But with the main opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens voting in favor with most of Merkel's bloc, the revolt had only symbolic value. Of 584 deputies present in the chamber, 473 voted for the bailout and 100 voted against.

The parliamentary floor leader of Merkel's Christian Democrats, Michael Grosse-Broemer, said he was happy with the result of the vote, adding: "Greece must now continue its efforts to reduce its debts and carry out structural reforms."

The package, which aims to cut Greece's debt load to 124 percent of national output by 2020, coincides with increased talk among German lawmakers and media that euro zone governments will eventually have to write off much of their Greek debt.

Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said in the Bundestag debate that such speculation could undermine the Greek government's reform drive.

"If we say the debts will be written off (Greece's) willingness to make savings is correspondingly weakened. Such false speculation does not solve the problems," he said. "A Greek bankruptcy could lead to the break-up of the euro zone."

The government acknowledged for the first time this week that the bailout will mean lost federal revenues.

All week, German newspapers have reverberated with predictions, including from some coalition lawmakers, that Germany and other euro zone countries will eventually have to write off some of their Greek debt holdings.

Schaeuble said Germany was insisting on strict monitoring of Greece's reforms to ensure it met its fiscal targets, adding that the country's competitiveness was finally improving as a result of the austerity program.

REBELS

Criticism of the Greek bailouts within Merkel's coalition has softened in recent months after she decided the cost of expelling Greece from the euro zone would be far greater.

The SPD has accused the government of deceiving German voters by insisting that no further write-down's of Greek debt will be necessary, but it is difficult for the strongly pro-euro center-left party to make political capital out of this issue.

Merkel's policy of talking tough on austerity in Greece and other heavily indebted euro zone countries while making the necessary concessions to avert a messy default commands broad support in Germany, where the chancellor is as popular as ever.

"We will vote for it because we don't want our reliability as European partners left in any doubt. It has nothing to do with the government," Peer Steinbrueck, the SPD's candidate for chancellor in next year's election, said during Friday's debate.

SPD parliamentary leader Frank-Walter Steinmeier accused the government of putting off the "economically unavoidable" debt haircut for Greece for its own political reasons.

"You can postpone it until after Christmas, until after the Lower Saxony election, the Bavarian election or the federal elections, but it will come."

(Additional reporting by Matthias Sobolewski; Editing by Janet McBride)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/german-lawmakers-approve-greek-bailout-despite-unease-081603815--business.html

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

Microsoft prices Pro version of Surface at $899

(AP) ? Microsoft's Surface tablet running a full version of Windows 8 Pro will start selling in January for $899 and up, the company said Thursday. But you'll have to pay more if you want a keyboard cover and the popular Office suite of software.

The current Surface uses the slimmed down Windows RT operating system. As a result, it runs only specially designed applications from Microsoft and others sold through the company's online store. The Pro version of Surface will also run regular Windows applications written for desktops and laptops.

"It's a full PC AND a tablet," Surface general manager Panos Panay wrote in a blog post Thursday.

The Surface represents Microsoft's first foray into manufacturing its own general-purpose computer. In doing so, the company is competing with some of its partners, the manufacturers of PCs and tablets.

The announced price is in line with Microsoft Corp.'s earlier statements that the Pro version would cost about the same as slim, lightweight laptops known as ultrabooks.

The price includes a stylus and software that disregards touches from one's palm while writing on the touch screen. But the detachable touch-sensitive keyboard cover is sold separately. The Touch Cover with keys printed on it costs $120, while the Type Cover with depressable keys is priced at $130.

The Pro version of Surface will come with Intel's Core i5 processor, which Microsoft said gives it a graphics boost compared with the RT version.

The $899 version will come with 64 gigabytes of memory, while $999 gets you 128 GB of memory. It was not immediately clear how much memory would be used up by the operating system and pre-installed apps. For the RT versions, the 32 GB model has only 16 GB of usable memory, while the 64 GB model has 45 GB available.

The RT version of Surface, which starts at $499, comes with the popular Office programs Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote included. The Pro version does not, according to the specifications listed on a Microsoft website. The cheapest version of Office available is priced at $120.

The RT versions went on sale Oct. 26, the same day Windows 8 was out.

The RT versions are available only at Microsoft's stores and websites. The Redmond, Wash., did not say whether the Pro versions will be sold elsewhere as well.

All versions of Surface come with a slot to expand memory and a USB port for peripherals. The Pro version of Surface comes with a newer, faster USB 3.0 port, while the RT version has 2.0.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-11-29-Microsoft-Surface/id-f95e1ba2745f4b0ba750f373ba757ec2

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Home Improvement That Improves Lives Habitat For Humanity ...

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Source: http://www.coestervms.com/blog/real-estate-q-a/home-improvement-that-improves-lives-habitat-for-humanity-restores/

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Obama promotes tax agenda, Congress in stand-off

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Tuesday launched a public relations push for his bid to raise taxes on wealthy Americans, but U.S. lawmakers remained deadlocked over dramatic, year-end tax increases and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff."

At the White House, small business leaders emerged from a one-hour meeting with Obama to voice support for his goal of extending low tax rates for the middle class beyond the end of the year, while letting rates rise for wealthier taxpayers.

The business owners urged Obama "to fight to keep the middle-class tax cuts," said Lew Prince, co-founder of Vintage Vinyl, an independent music store in St. Louis, Mo.

"What grows jobs in America is consumers spending money, and the average person needs that two or three thousand dollars a year in his pocket to help drive the economy," Prince told reporters at the White House.

Republicans want to extend low tax rates - enacted a decade ago under the administration of former Republican President George W. Bush - for all taxpayers, including households earning more than $250,000 a year.

Raising tax rates on the wealthy would discourage investment and hiring at a time of high unemployment, Republicans say.

Congressional Democrats allied with the president showed no sign of backing down from his stance on raising taxes for the wealthy. But both sides have softened on some long-held positions: Republicans have been showing a willingness to consider new revenue increases while Democrats have relaxed their hard line against new savings to the costly government-run Medicare and Medicaid healthcare programs.

With just a month left before the Bush tax cuts expire and automatic spending cuts begin to take hold, markets were anxious about predictions that falling off the "fiscal cliff" could trigger another recession.

"There remains no clarity on the ultimate status on the Bush tax cuts, which have to be resolved before you can move forward with the remainder of the fiscal cliff," said Chris Krueger, an analyst at Guggenheim Securities' Washington Research Group.

MARKETS DOWN MODESTLY

Stock prices declined modestly despite government reports that planned U.S. business spending rose again in October and that single-family home prices rose again in September.

Despite a mild sell-off in stocks, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at about 12,878, up 14 percent from a year ago.

Brian Gardner, an analyst at financial firm Keefe Bruyette & Woods, said a limited deal would likely be struck to avert the fiscal cliff, with larger fiscal issues pushed into 2013.

"Fiscal cliff headlines could have the biggest impact on the market," he said. "Over the coming weeks, we expect many headlines that will raise and then dash investors' hopes ... The next three weeks could be a bumpy ride."

Fresh from his November 6 re-election, Obama was set to hold another meeting with business executives from larger companies on Wednesday and then to travel to a toy factory in Pennsylvania on Friday to press his case on taxes.

Chief executives from Goldman Sachs, Deloitte LLP, Caterpillar Inc, Yahoo Inc, and Comcast Corp were among the group of leaders set to meet with the president, the White House said.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell ripped into Obama for planning to take his agenda on the road. "Rather than sitting down with lawmakers of both parties and working out an agreement, he's back out on the campaign trail," McConnell roared on the Senate floor.

"We already know the president is a very good campaigner. What we don't know is whether he has the leadership qualities necessary to lead his party to a bipartisan agreement."

Obama last met with congressional leaders on November 16. A follow-up session was not expected this week, but could come next week, congressional aides said.

In the interim, little progress was made over the holidays in meetings between the staffs of the White House and Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner, aides said.

LEADERS CANVAS RANKS

Ron Bonjean, a former aide to Republican leaders in the House and Senate, said leaders were still checking with their rank-and-file members to gauge what concessions they might be able to stomach. In a week or so, Bonjean said, "the level of intensity will go up" with more meetings.

Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said he was disappointed there has been "little progress" on a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff" and warned that "we only have a couple weeks to get something done.

Despite frustration, Reid said he was optimistic lawmakers would avoid plunging off the "cliff," a convergence of an estimated $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts. "I'm extremely hopeful, and I do not believe that the Republicans are going to allow us to go over the cliff," he said.

While Republicans have not shifted from their opposition to tax rate increases, a few have publicly disavowed a no-new-taxes pledge to which most of them have adhered for years, putting tax revenues, if not higher rates, on the negotiating table.

Also on Tuesday, Dick Durbin, a senior Senate Democrat and close Obama ally, urged fellow liberals to consider reforming Medicare and Medicaid, signaling possible compromise in an area where Democrats have steadfastly resisted change.

"Progressives should be willing to talk about ways to ensure the long-term viability of Medicare and Medicaid" for the elderly and poor, Durbin said in excerpts from a speech.

But he added that Medicare and Medicaid should not be part of the current negotiations on averting the fiscal cliff. On that front, Durbin stood firmly with Obama, urging extension of middle-class tax cuts for 98 percent of Americans.

(Additional reporting by Thomas Ferraro, Kim Dixon, Patricia Zengerle, Lucia Mutikani and Mark Felsenthal, with Adam Kerlin in New York. Writing by Kevin Drawbaugh. Editing by Karey Wutkowski, Jackie Frank, Vicki Allen and Paul Simao)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-promotes-tax-agenda-u-congress-stand-off-020557101--business.html

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Netflix Android app updated with tweaks to the player UI, 4.2 compatibility

Netflix Android app updated with tweaks to the player UI, 42 compatibility

Netflix just refreshed the front end of its Android app a few weeks ago, and is now tweaking the look and functions of the player itself again after previously making changes back in April. As seen above, version 2.1 brings a look that's closer to the one we've seen on iOS since the spring, with large red buttons, a bigger volume slider, 10 second skip back and stills that change in the background as the user moves the scrub bar. The changelog also notes added support for Android 4.2 plus other unspecified playback and stability bug fixes, grab the newest edition at the source link to try it out for yourself.

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Source: Google Play

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/11/27/netflix-android-update/

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Health & Fitness News | Premier Training International's Official Blog ...

In this second part of our sports conditioning series, we?re going to take a closer look at the differences between sports conditioning and personal training. The first distinction starts with the qualification. There are a number of ways of becoming qualified to be a gym instructor or personal trainer. However, in addition to holding these qualifications, a sports conditioning coach would also hold a relevant governing body accreditation for strength and conditioning ? for example, through organisations such as the UK Strength and Conditioning Association (UKSCA) or the National Strength Conditioning Association (NSCA) in the USA.

You can also go to university and gain a degree in a number of areas to enhance your knowledge and skills such as sports science, performance analysis, human movement/biomechanics and strength and conditioning.

In addition to qualifications, the focus of a sports conditioning coach is different to personal training. Whereas a PT may predominantly deal with those looking to improve fitness for general health and recreation, the sports conditioning coach will work with fit healthy athletes whose goal is to improve sports performance. The attainment of these objectives will invariably involve a deeper understanding of not only the sport itself, but the various demands that the sport places on the athlete.

The aims of the sports conditioning coach are to:

  • develop correct exercise skill or technique
  • improve the strength base of all athletes
  • individualise programs to address specific strengths and weaknesses
  • improve athletes' sports specific movements and techniques?
  • improve athletes' physical conditioning
All this would be done in liaison with the athlete?s technical/skills coach, physio/medical team, and psychologist ? with the common objective of working together within a set timeframe.

Join me next week, where we will be discussing the pathway to becoming a sports conditioning coach. And don?t forget to post your comments below!

Garrath Pledger?
Course Lead for Sports Conditioning Instructor

Source: http://blog.premierglobal.co.uk/2012/11/expert-corner-part-2-how-is-sports.html

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The Five Best Books On Menopause

Since there?s a good chance that you?re wondering the same thing, I thought I?d share my recommendations for five books, that in my opinion, do an excellent job of explaining, in a thorough and unbiased way, the many medical and emotional issues that occur during the menopause years.

Do what I do and check these books out of your local library to first see which one you like the best, then purchase it for your own personal library. That way, you?ll always have good, reliable information at your fingertips for years to come.

Our Bodies, OurselvesThe first?Our Bodies, Ourselves?was?written for us in the early 70s. It was a landmark book that helped fuel the women?s liberation movement with its frank discussion of a woman?s body. The publishers, the?Boston Women?s Health Book Collective, caught up to us again six years ago with this edition on Menopause, which I find equally progressive. They cover the basics of Menopause (?What?s Happening in Our Bodies?), which I think women just entering the perimenopausal phase will find particularly helpful.

What makes this book stand out??I like the way the authors have included a discussion of non-medical, emotional issues that have to do with our ?changing selves,? in chapters on body image, sexuality, and family life and the workplace.

You can read excerpts from this book and view additional content on the?publisher?s website.

The Smart Woman’s Guide to Midlife and BeyondThe Smart Woman?s Guide to Midlife and Beyond: A No Nonsense Approach to Staying Healthy After 50
is authored by Drs. Janet Horn, a gynecologist and Robin Miller, an internist who specializes in integrative medicine.? They?re both in their 50s and have been friends since their med school days, so their close rapport is reflected in the way they provide information and advice. They talk about their own experiences, share patient stories and conclude each chapter with a ?chat? that makes you feel that you?re among friends who are dealing with the same mid-life changes as you.

What makes this book stand out?? What?s especially interesting, and valuable to the reader, is the fact that one of the authors takes hormones and the other doesn?t and ?never will!? so their ?conversations reveal the issues of the HRT debate in a way that?s not didactic. It?s a brilliant way to show that there?s more than one way to get through menopause and every woman has to decide what works best for her.

The Everything Health Guide to Menopause?is chock full of information about the mid-life transition beginningInformative book on menopause with a thorough explanation of the initial, peri-menopausal phase. It?s written by? Kate Bracy Kalb RN, a women?s health care practitioner, with a technical review by a gynecologist,?Kathryn Arendt, MD.? It?s quite extensive, but well organized and easy to read. I?d bet that whatever question you have about the changes you?re experiencing will be answered in these pages.

What makes this book stand out?? I applaud the author for bringing up the need to find a doctor whose qualifications match your?new?needs.? This one thing can make a big difference in how well you navigate the menopause years. In her chapter titled, ?A Partner on the Path ? Choosing a Health Care Provider,? Ms. Kalb encourages readers to explore your options early in the menopausal process and then, once you?ve found the right practitioner, take charge.

Menopause, Ellen Dolgen

Since it?s publication date two years ago, I?ve been recommending Ellen Dolgen?s book,?Shmirshky: the pursuit of hormone happiness?to my younger friends in the sputtering stage of menopause (aka perimenopause), who don?t have a clue about what?s happening to their bodies or what to expect in the years ahead. The author covers a lot of ground ? from HRT and hot flashes to memory lapses and vaginal dryness ? in an intimate, girlfriend-to-girlfriend voice that makes this book instructive and engaging.

What makes this book stand out? ?Like Kate Bracy Kalb in her book (above), Ellen Dolgen writes about the need to find a great gynecologist who specializes in women?s midlife health, who can be your partner in this decade-long journey. She offers suggestions for how to research and then interview prospective candidates for this important job. (She also offers a directory on her website.)

Finally, I highly recommend Dr. Susan Love?s Menopause and Hormone Book.?It?s an important book that, besides the basics, covers weighty issues such as the medicalization of menopause, understanding research when it comes to prevention and risk of disease, and women?s cancers.menopause, hormone therapy, HRT

What makes this book stand out??Dr. Love is one of the most respected women?s health specialists in this country. ?With this book, she can be a trusted resource for evidenced-based, unbiased information.

I?d love to know about books that you have found particularly helpful in your menopause journey and welcome your suggestions in the comment box below.

Source: http://www.menopausetheblog.com/2012/11/28/the-five-best-books-on-menopause/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-five-best-books-on-menopause

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Meet UCOP Communications and the new UC brand | Welcome to ...

Meet UCOP Communications and the new UC brand

You?ve seen the new UC systemwide logo on websites, brochures and even T-shirts and tote bags. It?s part of a new initiative to establish ? for the first time in UC?s 143-year history ? a genuine visual identity for the University of California system.

To demonstrate what the new brand is all about and how to use it, the UCOP Communications department is holding two more information sessions as follows:

  • Thursday, Nov. 29: 9:30 to 10:30 am, Franklin Lobby 1 Conference Room
  • Monday, Dec. 3: 2 to 3 pm, Franklin Lobby 1 Conference Room

Vanessa Correa, UCOP Communications award-winning creative director, will talk about the creation of the new identity system and brand-related resources available to help OP staff with their print, web and multimedia communications. Get a preview by checking out the new UC brand website and the UC branding video.

In addition to learning about the new identity, you will also hear more about the new UCOP website, which launched Nov. 9. The site has a completely new look, structure and navigation, designed to make it easier for users to find the people, information and resources they seek and give departments greater control over their content.

The sessions will also cover how to work with UCOP Communications regarding your communications needs, including whom to contact for various projects and how you can get help publicizing your local events and activities to the UCOP community through Link, UCOP?s weekly online newsletter.

There will also be totes, pens and other free swag featuring the new visual identity.

Source: http://link.ucop.edu/2012/11/27/meet-ucop-communications-and-the-new-uc-brand/

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Causes of Anxiety | Care2 Healthy Living

  • Health Guru
  • November 27, 2012
  • 3:32 pm
  • 2 comments
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Anxiety can develop for many reasons. For some people, anxiety leads to serious health problems. Learn how anxiety disorder develops and how mental health experts treat it. Related: Alternative Anxiety Treatments

Read more: Anxiety, Videos

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Source: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/causes-of-anxiety.html

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Tuesday, November 27, 2012

What If Religious Fanaticism Killed Someone You Love? - Care2 ...


Kit B. (294)
Sunday November 25, 2012, 9:01 am
(photo credit - alternet)

Last week, a young Indian man in Ireland went public about the death of his wife, Savita Halappanavar. A week later, her name, picture, and tragic story are known by millions. Now the husband, Praveen, has launched a fight to ensure that no woman ever again is refused a lifesaving abortion. Her parents have requested that the Indian government bring diplomatic pressure to bear. Their goal is to clarify and, if need be, to amend Irish abortion law: ?We lost our only daughter due to this illogical law?. If that law is changed, we will think that our daughter was sacrificed for a good cause.? ?Maybe Savita was born to change the laws here,? says Praveen. It is, perhaps, the only possible sense in her otherwise senseless death.

Savita was 31 when she died after being denied an abortion during a second trimester miscarriage. As a dentist, she not only felt the infection in her body, she understood it. According to her husband she asked repeatedly for the medical staff at her Irish hospital to end the failed pregnancy that was poisoning her blood and would ultimately cause her organs to fail. She was told, ?This is a Catholic country.? She had wanted a baby. Then she merely wanted to have less pain and to live. Instead, thanks to what Catholic ethicists call their ?culture of life? she is dead.

Praveen carried Savita?s body home to India then returned to Ireland where he works as an engineer for Boston Scientific, a manufacturer of medical devices. Is he haunted, I wonder, by the irony as well as the loss? An engineer is devoted rigorously to evidence, to questions of what works and what doesn?t, to understanding the real world effects of decisions. His ability to apply the scientific method carried him and Savita out of India to a place where ideology rather than science ultimately dictated medical practice. Had they been in Mumbai or Delhi or Bangalore when her fetus started dying, she probably would have lived. Instead, Indians woke up to headlines proclaiming, ?Ireland Murders Pregnant Indian Dentist,? and the evening news in their home state of Karnataka ran a banner that said, ?Faith over Life.?

For years now, the Catholic Bishops have been trying to draw a moral equivalence between embryos and persons, as if self-replicating human DNA were what made us precious. If ever there was a story that exposes the vast chasm of difference between a fetus and a person, it is this one. Savita and her fetus lay in the same hospital dying. The fetus simply slipped out of existence, as embryonic humans do; in fact, as most embryonic humans do. Savita died like a woman dies. She felt pain, and pleaded for it to be relieved. She knew she existed, was afraid, and expressed her fear. She argued against the authorities who refused to terminate her failing pregnancy: ?I am neither Irish nor Catholic.? And when she died, she tore asunder a whole community of people into whose lives she had woven the fabric of her own. Her mother struggled to comprehend: ?In an attempt to save a 4-month-old fetus they killed my 30-year-old daughter.? The Hindu community in Galway cancelled the Diwali festival she had been helping to organize, and where she had performedclassical dance with Praveen in past years. And when Praveen when public with their story, thousands of people took to the streets in a cry of anguish that rang across Ireland and India.

This is what is real: A woman feels pain. A woman feels fear. A woman knows she exists. A woman wants to live. She will fight and plead even when she is being poisoned to death by toxins in her blood or in our culture. A woman is a daughter, a friend, an organizer, a lover. Sometimes she is a dentist. Sometimes a man loves her enough to carry her broken body halfway around the globe.

Praveen returned from India alone and empty handed and went to the press, determined that his wife?s death have meaning. In the weeks after Savita died, Catholic Bishops in the U.S. doubled down on their commitment to the very same priorities that killed her. Although Catholic directives allow some room for abortion to save the mother?s life, the most orthodox believers balk at this exception. They are deadly serious. In 2009, a Phoenix nun approved an abortion to save the life of a 27-year-old mother of four. When the local bishop found out, the nun wasexcommunicated. Numerous conservative Catholics subsequently opined that the young mother should have been allowed to die.

The primary mechanism for the bishops imposing their will in the U.S. is through mergers between Catholic and secular health care systems. Any merger or partnership gives the bishops an opportunity to insert their ?ethical? directives into the contract negotiations process. The result? More and more, American families have no way of knowing whether they are being offered state-of-the art medical best practices or only those approved by some church.

The time has come to question a system that funnels public money into medical institutions where the overriding principle is not science but religious ideology. Today, religious charities keep themselves afloat by administering public funds and providing services to the general public. In 2010 only three percent of the funds that flowed through Catholic Charities in the U.S. actually derived from the offering plate. And yet that small percent buys an enormous amount of influence. In a modern medical center it can give the bishops a decisive vote in our most private decisions. The bishops may get to decide whether an old woman exits this world with peace and grace or is forced to wait until God overrides every modern life support system. They may get to decide whether a young mother with a malformed fetus is saddled with a lifetime of heartache or has the opportunity to grieve and start again. They may get to decide whether another young mother lives or dies. That they have such power is wrong. A friend of the Halappanavars, orthopedic surgeon C. R. Prasad, visited Savita in the hospital while she was alive. Now he is speaking out: ?This should never happen to another woman. Religion and medicine should never mix.? As one of the many women blessed by an abortion that let me start again, I could not agree more.

Savita Halappanavar?s father described his daughter as a ?bold and intelligent woman with big dreams.? Bold, intelligent women with big dreams sometimes change the world. Savita?s chance to do that in her life is gone. Now that chance is held by those who loved her and by the many in Ireland and abroad who continue to wrestle with painful issues raised by her life and death. ?Maybe Savita was born to change the laws here,? said Praveen. But maybe she was born to help change laws that kill and bind women everywhere.
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By Valerie Tarico | alternet |

Why is this inappropriate?