ATLANTA — In a powerful testament to U.S. health improvements, the annual number of deaths in the country dropped by about 50,000 in 2004 — the largest such decline in more than 60 years. Drops in the death rates for heart disease, cancer and stroke accounted for most of the surprising development, health officials said. Overall, age-adjusted death rates fell to a record low of 801 deaths per 100,000 population in 2004, down from almost 833 deaths per 100,000 in 2003. ‘These are preliminary data,” said Paul Terry, an assistant professor of epidemiology at Atlanta’s Emory University. ‘But if it holds up, it’s obviously very good news.” The government also said Wednesday that U.S. life expectancy had inched up again, to a record high of 77.9 years. The total number of U.S. deaths recorded for 2004 was 2,398,343, according to preliminary mortality data released by the National Center for Health Statistics. That represents a 2 percent decline from the 2,448,288 recorded for 2003. The last decline in annual deaths occurred in 1997, a modest drop of 445 deaths from 1996, said Arialdi Minino, the statistician who is lead author of the report. The […]
There is a growing shadow being cast over Islam’s holiest site. Only a few metres from the walls of the Grand Mosque in Mecca skyscrapers are reaching further into the sky, slowly blocking out the light. These enormous and garish newcomers now dwarf the elegant black granite of the Kaaba, the focal point of the four million Muslims’ annual Haj pilgrimage. The tower blocks are the latest and largest evidence of the destruction of Islamic heritage that has wiped almost all of the historic city from the physical landscape. As revealed in The Independent last August,the historic cities of Mecca and Medina are under an unprecedented assault from religious zealots and their commercial backers. Writing in response to the article, Prince Turki al-Faisal said that Saudi Arabia was spending more than $19bn (£11bn) preserving and maintaining these two holy sites. ‘[We are aware] how important the preservation of this heritage is, not just to us but to the millions of Muslims from around the world who visit the two holy mosques every year. It is hardly something we are going to allow to be destroyed.’ This rebuttal sits at odds with a series of previously unseen photographs, […]
ISTANBUL, TURKEY – After decades of keeping the Arab and Muslim countries of the Middle East at arm’s length, Turkey is trying to strengthen relations with its neighbors while at the same time recasting itself as a mediator in the region. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech at the opening of the Arab League summit in Khartoum, Sudan, where Turkey for the first time was given the status of ‘permanent guest’ by the organization. The prime minister’s appearance at the summit – the first time a Turkish leader has done so – is the latest in a string of eyebrow-raising foreign policy moves: In February, a top Hamas official visited the capital, Ankara; soon after, Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafaari made a bridge-building trip; and the Turkish government recently announced that it was planning to host firebrand Shiite Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr for an official visit – since put on hold. While the moves have ruffled feathers from Israel and Iraq to the US and European Union (EU) – which Turkey hopes to join – analysts say these aren’t so much blunders as a reflection of a significant change in Turkey’s Middle East foreign policy. […]
BOSTON — Attention all you Aquafina-swigging, Fiji-glugging, Poland Springs-bulk-buying thirst quenchers: You might be feeling hydrated, but all those plastic water bottles you’re leaving behind are choking the environment. Americans chugged down 6.76 billion gallons of bottled water in 2004, and last year we threw away about 26 billion bottles, according to the Earth Policy Institute. The good news: We’re not thirsty. The bad news: We’re pretty cavalier about the ecosystem. ‘Nationally, we are basically draining 70 million single-serving bottles of water every day,’ said Pat Franklin, executive director of the Container Recycling Institute in Washington, D.C. ‘And 60 million of those bottles aren’t getting recycled. And for every one of those we don’t recycle, we make new bottles. Sixty million. Every day.’ And Jen Baker, environmental associate for MASSPIRG, said our infatuation for water-on-the-go is putting a real drain on the state’s recycling numbers. ‘We see an increase in consumer demand for bottled water as slightly problematic because we haven’t established the recycling infrastructure to capture these bottles,’ she said. ‘Most plastic water bottles […]
Japan can’t get no satisfaction. But Austria’s mojo is working. Sex is more satisfying in countries where women and men are considered equal, according to an international study of people between the ages of 40 and 80 by researchers at the University of Chicago. Austria, where 71% of those surveyed reported being satisfied with their sex lives, topped the list of 29 nations studied. Spain, Canada, Belgium and the United States also reported high rates of sexual satisfaction. The lowest satisfaction rate, 25.7%, was in Japan. Sociologist Edward Laumann, considered a top authority on the sociology of sex, led the study. He believes the findings show that relationships based on equality lead to more satisfaction for women, which in turn leads to more satisfaction for men. ‘Male-centred cultures where sexual behaviour is more oriented toward procreation tend to discount the importance of sexual pleasure for women. ‘When mama’s not happy, nobody’s happy.’ The study appears in the April issue of the Archives of Sexual Behaviour. It was funded by Pfizer, which makes the impotence drug Viagra. Researchers surveyed 27,500 people by phone, in person or by mail, depending on local […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
