US man is HIV-free after stem cell transplant

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101216/hl_afp/healthusgermanyresearchhiv

By Kerry Sheridan Kerry Sheridan – Wed Dec 15, 9:36 pm ET

An American man inflicted by the AUIDS virus, is still “aids free” following having received a stem cell transplant after three years. Although the doctors believe that the cure used on the American man might not work for 33 million people, the research shows important ‘progress” towards the cure and eradication of HIV. In fact, the man was injected bone marrow cells by his German doctor and the process was not easy whatsoever as the bone marrows had to be matched properly. After the transplant was done, the patient slowly started to recover from HIV and after three years, the symptoms have not returned yet.

Having read this article, I feel more hopeful and confident with regards to the cure of different diseases that have been known to be incurable for years. In fact, when HIV was discovered at first in the 1970’s, researchers started working hard in order to come up with an accurate cure; however, the disease was quite fatal and resistant and no doctor was able to come up with a cure. HIV had always been known as the most incurable disease in the world but according to this article, there ahs been a cure found for this deadly disease. This remarkable development towards the cure for AIDS foreshadows cures for other deadly diseases as well and gives and spreads hope amongst everyone. In fact, we have to be thankful to all the doctors and researchers who work quite diligently to come up with cures for different diseases in order to save their patients.

West Vancouver Police dog captures suspect:

By James Weldon, North Shore News December 15, 2010

At about 3: 30 am on December 6^th, a Vancouver man passed a “WVPD patrol car in the 1600-block of

Marine Drive

” and as the license plate was unattached, the police commanded the man to stop through emergency lights; however, the driver ignored the command. A while later, the police dog spotted the driver and started to chase him until the man got out of the car and started running away. When the officer ordered the men to the ground, one of them kept running who was later forced to the ground by the police canine. The man was shortly charged with “breach of probation, possession of stolen property and flight from police”.

Having read this article, I am quite surprised of the way some people act; for instance, I would never expect to witness what happened in this article in real world, as it seems like what happens in the movies. In fact, this article proves the fact that some people tend to be quite inconsiderate and ignorant of the others as they steal the others’ property and even ignore the police command. In fact, having the ability to steal from someone is not held by everyone; it is not easy for everyone to use someone else’s belongings and not give it back to them.

Moreover, having read this local article also makes me more aware of what is going on in my surroundings; this article reminds me again that just because we live in North America, does not necessarily mean that we are always safe. In fact, we always have to be cautious of our surroundings and do not assume that we live in a safe place.

Canada’s jobless rate falls but not as much as expected by economists:

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/Canada+jobless+rate+falls+much+expected/3922571/story.html

By Derek Abma, Postmedia News December 3, 2010 8:23 AM

According to economists, the unemployment rate in Canada dropped during last month; however, the drop was not as high as it had been estimated and expected. For instance, “there were 15,200 people employed in Canada” in November, although ’20,000 job gains” had been expected. Furthermore, most of the job gains were initiated in Ontario last month due to its highly developed industry.

The news regarding the growth of employment in Canada spreads hope amongst everyone; in a big and developed country such as Canada where the standards and as a result expenses of living are high, more and more people are required to take on jobs in order to be able to sustain their families; in fact, the expenses of living keep rising, which leave most families with a very low income which results in a lack of proper education, nutrition, and other factors which result in harming our society in the end.

In addition, although the economists are not entirely happy with the meager rates, I still believe that the drop in unemployment represents and foreshadows a greater drop in the rate in a very near future, as growth is always better than steadiness and not growing at all; hence, we must be happy with regards to these results and keep on hoping that the rates keep dropping.

Moreover, the unemployment rate in British Columbia in the past month was 6.9%, which means that only 6.9% of our province’s population was unemployed last month; this must be great news for all of us as it indicates that 93.1% of our population was employed and had income. Now, what we must aim for is to turn the unemployment rate number to as low as possible, maybe even zero in a near future.

B.C.’s serial killer murders his cellmate in prison:

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Feared+serial+killer+cellmate+found+murdered/3924132/story.html

By Brian Hutchinson, National Post December 3, 2010 10:13 AM

One of Canada’s “most heinous and prolific serial killers” murders his cellmate in prison; Michael Wayne, who considers killing “almost a hunger” had initially warned the police that “just because [he is] locked up in prison, doesn’t mean he can’t kill”. However, no charges have been laid against him in the murder yet, but he appears to be an important suspect as he shared the cell with the victim and as the victim was found dead in the cell the following morning. Currently, there is a debate on whether to transfer him to another prison or not.

Surprisingly, up until now, it thought people can only be addicted to food, drugs, sex, and other things that do not harm people extensively as opposed to killing; however, having read this article, I found out that some people may also have addictions to murdering people; this article shocked me quite a lot in the fact that the murderer considers killing as “something [he] needs”, while most of us are terrified to even hear murder stories; this article, clearly reflects the contrast between human beings.

Moreover, the fact that the murderer lives in the same city as my family, friends, and I do also terrifies me as I feel unsafe due to the potential of him or other serial killers wanting to commit murder just to quench their thirst. In fact, I believe serial killers and other people who have unhealthy and inappropriate addictions must be treated as sick people who require treatment rather than criminals who need punishment; hence, they must be kept on a ward or a place where they can receive emotional treatment.

Good News: Global warming is slowing down!!

http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/global+warming+slower+thanks+pollution/3889079/story.html

By Louise Gray, Daily Telegraph November 26, 2010 9:03 AM

According to Britain’s meteorological office, global warming has slowed in the past decade; in fact the main reason as to why global warming is slowing down is due to the fact that “the world is pumping out so much pollution, it is reflecting the sun’s rays and causing a cooling effect”. Moreover, although the temperatures are higher than ever, “the gradual rise in temperatures over the past thirty years is slowing slightly “.

This article spreads hope amongst the readers; however, we, as the residents of this planet must try to reduce the amount of pollution; although, it has been said that the rise in temperature is slowing down which indicates a remarkable improvement in people’s behavior towards nature.

In fact, we will not be the only residents of this planet; more and more people are born everyday and thus we must try to preserve this planet with its resources for the next generations; we must be thoughtful and considerate of the others’ rights as well.

Furthermore, reducing pollution will be in our benefit too as pollution causes numerous damages to our lives including diseases, failure of crops, causing acid rains, and extreme weather. By reducing pollution, we can also reduce all the draw backs caused by it which will create a better world for all of us; we can also slow down the rate of global warming even more as the main cause of it is pollution. moreover, by reducing pollution and as a result slowing down the rate of global warming, we will save other creatures as well; for instance, global warming is damaging the habitat of many polar animals such as polar bears due to the melting of glaciers resulted by the high temperatures; thus, the reduction in temperature will result in the reduction of this devastating damage.

   

North Vancouver police officer charged with assault after excessive force complaint:

http://www.vancouversun.com/North+Vancouver+police+officer+charged+with+assault+after+excessive/3888723/story.html

Vancouver Sun November 26, 2010 8:05 AM

A North Vancouver police officer is accused of using excessive force during an arrest in June and is charged with assault as a result; the arrest took place on June 18^th, 2010 upon a liquor act investigation on lower Lonsdale and the complaint was filed on June 21^st, 2010.

In fact, this article is a good example of the fact that power often tends to corrupt people and the person who is in power often tends to abuse people as authority brings along confidence. However, I believe that one’s morals must hinder him/her from abusing the others through their power, although people’s morals differ extensively from one another.

Moreover, I believe that if I was in the arrested man’s shoes, I would have done the same thing as he did and filed a complaint against the abusive police officer in order to maintain consistency in the law and prevent people with authority from abusing their power. Furthermore, having read this article I really hope that the complaint against the police officer is properly considered and appropriate punishment be faced by the police officer.

Most importantly, I really hope to not hear any of these types of stories again as we live in a rich country where human rights must matter the most and must be upheld by everyone, even the police; therefore, we must maintain our good reputation in the world and not allow controversial stories to come up and ruin this prestigious reputation.

British Columbia woman charged with fraud due to faking cancer:

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Another+accused+cancer+faker+charged+with+fraud/3861588/story.html

The Vancouver Sun, written by Katie Derosa, November 20, 2010

A woman from the Victoria suburb of Langford was arrested on Thursday due to having faked cancer and collected $300,000 as a result in order to pay for the supposed cancer treatments set by the hospital; in fact, she lied to her own and her husband’s family members regarding her fake disease in order to collect money from them. Moreover, a close friend of her has stated that she is likely to have had an addiction to gambling as she was seen at the “view royal casino “and this might have been the result of her faking cancer.

This article seems to be a very surprising and unexpected one as we usually tend to care about our family and friends and their losses could be felt as ours as well; however, the fact that the lady is easily able to fake such a mortal disease in order to collect money from HER own family shocks me.

In fact, I believe that if one is in a financial poor state he/she must try to be honest with her family and ask for money rather than deceive and use them in order to collect money; I believe that if the lady in this article had asked her family for financial help, she would have been more successful in collecting money than she was otherwise, as she is clearly currently facing charges. On the other hand, I am informed that addiction to gambling is a real problem that forces the involved person to do whatever it takes in order to continue on doing it. Similarly, I suspect that the main cause of the lady’s temptation to fake cancer may have been her urge to continue on gambling; however, this does not free her from legal and moral charges as she deceived and used her family in order to achieve her goal.

Ex-family doctor fined for posting nasty comments about his former wife on face book and YouTube:

http://www.vancouversun.com/health/doctor+fined+Facebook+comments/3858765/story.html

The Vancouver Sun, written by Lori Culbert, November 20, 2010

A former maple ridge family doctor and a father of a daughter waged an online battle against his former wife due to custody issues with regards to their daughter and due to the fact that the mother was given primary care; apparently, the former wife “sued for defamation and breach of privacy” against her former husband and as a result the family doctor has been fined $40,000 due to his illegal deed.

Clearly, internet abuse is becoming more and more popular among fighting families and friends and people tend to release their anger by insulting each other online through communication sources such as face book and you tube. Thus, I feel like there should be more restrictions about the comments or opinions posted on these communicatory websites and people should not be legally allowed to express their anger openly and blatantly against someone on the internet.

However, due to the lack of a proper restriction method on these websites, I would expect people to be mature and morally reasonable enough to hinder themselves from posting such nasty comments against their friends, family or even acquaintances; especially, in this specific case, one would expect more from a family physician who has gone through quite a few years of education and who is naturally expected to be a caring and responsible human being due to the scope of his job. Even so, I believe that releasing your anger by blatantly and disrespectfully talking behind one’s back is not a polite and effective way; rather, I believe it would be more helpful to actually talk to the person that is causing your anger and try to come up with a decision that works best for both parties involved.

Recent savage assault on the streets of North Vancouver followed by a road rage:

http://www.nsnews.com/news/Road+rage+escalates+brutal+assault/3854646/story.html

North Shore News, November 19, 2010-11-19

Written by James Weldon

Recent savage assault on the streets of North Vancouver followed by a road rage:

Just before 11 pm On November 18, 2010, a 21 year old man and a companion were crossing the street down on third street On Lonsdale avenue when a vehicle almost struck them; having become terrified and angry at the driver, the victim yells at the careless driver who then gets out of the car, claims to have a gun , demand them to empty their pockets, uses a can spray in order to prevent them from seeking help, and savagely beats them up, which later results in brain injuries.

Having read this article, I have come to the conclusion that no matter where in the world we live, we MUST be cautious and vigilant of our surroundings at all times and always be prepared to defend ourselves if attacked or mugged by thieves; for instance, many of us may think that since we live in north America and more specifically a rich neighbourhood such as on Lonsdale, we are free of hazards, thieves, and any sort of danger; however, this realization must change.

Moreover, the savage act of the vehicle’s driver in terms of beating the innocent victims indicates that anywhere in this world, there are obnoxious human beings who would do anything in order to gain money that does not belong to them; in this case, the driver almost murders the victims only to obtain the money in the victims’ pockets.

However, I am hoping the police be able to find the alleged criminal as “the North Vancouver RCMP are hoping public can help them track down the alleged assailant”. I believe that with the help and assistance of the witnesses who were present upon the crime, the police will be able to identify and accordingly punish the assailant; thus, the police are asking any witnesses of the crime to step forward and “call the North Vancouver RCMP at 604-985-1311”

Is the school district doing enough for kids with learning disabilities such as dyslexia ?

http://www.nsnews.com/health/Dyslexia+fight+Supreme+Court/3806382/story.htmlYSL

A north Vancouver father who has a kid with dyslexia believes that his kid did not receive enough help and support while he was going to a north Vancouver elementary school; moreover, he claims that his son was discriminated against by the north Vancouver school district due to his disability; as a result, he extended his complaint against the school district to the supreme court of Canada.

Having read this article in North Shore News written by Jane Seyd on November 10th over and over again in order to come up with my best opinion about this article, I believe that the school district does have some responsibilities for every single child that attends school, either with disabilities or without; however, public schools do not have a substantial budget to spend extra money on kids with disabilities such a s hiring special teachers for them or having special types of assignments; at a public school with a limited budget, kids with learning disabilities may have to be in the same classes as the other normal kids without disabilities; thus, they will be restrained from a more convenient learning strategy or environment suited to their disability.

Again, we have to consider that public schools have a limited budget that they receive from government and they try their best to suit everyone’s learning type; hence, I would not blame this case on the school district; I believe, that they have done all they could to provide Moore, the kid in the article with dyslexia, with the best learning environment he required; in fact, I believe that the father may have had unrealistic requests from the school district such as expecting the school to provide his son with a special tutor; although he claims that “it’s always been about the other kids. It’s never been just about Jeff”, said Moore, however, the school district has promised him to improve the learning environment for kids with learning disabilities which foreshadows a potential remarkable development in the school district.