China develops herbal medication to treat A/H1N1 flu

BEIJING: Chinese medical specialists announced Thursday they had developed a Chinese herbal medication to treat the A/H1N1 flu.

Seven months of scientific and clinical studies showed the remedy, called "Jin Hua Qing Gan Fang," was effective in treating A/H1N1 flu patients, said Wang Chen, president of Beijing's Chaoyang Hospital.

"It can shorten patients' fever period and improve their respiratory systems. Doctors have found no negative effects on patients who were treated in this way," he said.

"It is also very cheap, only about a quarter of the cost of Tamiflu," he said at a press conference held by the Beijing Municipal Government.

China develops herbal medication to treat A/H1N1 flu

A worker in the herbal medicine department of the Beijing University Hospital of Chinese Medicine, weighs and then mixes herbs for packaging December 17, 2009.[Agencies]

Tamiflu, a product of Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding, was recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of the A/H1N1 flu.

"The municipal government has gathered the most outstanding medical experts in the Chinese capital to develop the new medication," Zhao Jing, director of the Beijing Municipal Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, said at the press conference.

Over the past seven months, more than 120 medical specialists, led by academicians Wang Yongyan and Li Lianda from the Chinese Academy of Engineering, had participated in the research, she said.

The municipal government earmarked 10 million yuan (US$1.47 million) for the project, she said.

"Medical experts proved the effectiveness of Jin Hua in treating A/H1N1 flu from both the basic scientific studies and clinical studies," she said.

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The basic scientific studies lasted for almost five months and were conducted by experts from the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Beijing University of Technology.

"In vivo and in vitro, experiments on mice and rabbits show Jin Hua can bring down a fever and resist the A/H1N1 flu virus," said Huang Luqi, vice president of the China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences.

Thursday's Beijing Daily hailed the new herbal medication as the "world's first traditional Chinese medicine to treat the A/H1N1 flu".

Citing medical officials, the paper said "Jin Hua" was picked from among more than 100 classic anti-flu prescriptions based on traditional Chinese herbal medicine.

"Science workers proved its effectiveness through medical experiments on more than 4,000 mice and clinical studies on 410 patients with slight A/H1N1 flu syndrome," it said.

The "Jin Hua" prescription had been adopted in many local traditional Chinese medicine hospitals, it said.

Zhao Jing said 11 hospitals nationwide, including Chaoyang Hospital and Ditan Hospital in Beijing, had conducted clinical studies on "Jin Hua" and gave positive assessments.

"We are applying for patents for 'Jin Hua' both at home and abroad," she said.

"We are further developing the medicine and trying to present it to the whole country and world as soon as possible, thus offering an alternative to treat the A/H1N1 flu," she said.

The Chinese mainland has reported almost 108,000 A/H1N1 flu cases, including 442 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health.

China develops herbal medication to treat A/H1N1 flu

Packets and vials of a Chinese herbal medicine claiming to alleviate the symptoms of H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, can be seen on display at the official launch in Beijing December 17, 2009.[Agencies]



Dr. Cris Tunon, senior program management officer at the WHO Representative Office in China, said Thursday the "WHO welcomes the clinical results," as the traditional Chinese medicine offered a low-cost treatment of A/H1N1 flu.

Catch me if you can - escaper's taunt to police

An Auckland Prison inmate left police a note on a concrete slab before cutting his way through a steel perimeter fence to freedom, taunting them to "catch me if u can".

Kevin Polwart's cartoon rabbit, accompanied by the words, was aimed at investigators, who last night had been unable to find the 49-year-old who broke out on Wednesday.

Detective Senior Sergeant Kim Libby of North Shore police said Polwart was displaying arrogance and confidence, and his amateurish artwork was "a provocative action to taunt police".

Polwart was serving a 16-year term for armed robbery, and news of his escape has prompted one security company he had previously robbed to raise its alert levels.

He committed an armed robbery of a security van in 1999, stealing $600,000.

He was jailed for 10 years for this offence, but escaped in 2001 for 41 days, during which time he held up an Armourguard van in Auckland.

Armourguard general manager Ian Anderson said yesterday the company had quickly set up additional security measures after Polwart's escape.

The safety and protection of staff were paramount, he said.

Polwart was sentenced to a further six years after his 2001 recapture, and was 14 months from parole when he escaped this week.

Police are trying to track him down through his family and associates.

They believe Polwart, who is Maori, is no longer in the area around the prison at Paremoremo.

Mr Libby said it was likely he had help once he escaped and could have been picked up by a car.

He said police believed Polwart would soon start to feel the pressure of being on the run and would seek help from others such as family and associates to avoid capture.

Initially, 20 officers, supported by dogs and a police helicopter, were involved in the search. About 10 officers are now working on it.

The prison is in a rural area and there are no bus services.

A jacket was found near the prison, but nothing else.

Mr Libby said that although Polwart had "quite a grand mo" when he escaped, he might have shaved it off to change his appearance.

And it was possible he could now be armed.

"We are prepared for that," Mr Libby said. "We won't be putting the public and ourselves in any danger."

Polwart cut through a steel fence around a concrete yard in which he was working, using an angle grinder with which he had been working on concrete panels.

Best Man Rigs Newlyweds' Bed To Tweet During Sex. Not Kidding.

MG Siegler
TechCrunch.com
Saturday, December 12, 2009; 6:54 PM

When a man in the UK was asked to be the best man at his friend's wedding, he was touched. So touched, that he promised not to pull any pranks before or during the wedding. After the wedding though, that's another story.

This man, who is choosing to stay anonymous, has set up this Twitter account for the sole purpose of automatically tweeting when the newlyweds are having sex. I'm not kidding. Read the entire tweet stream from the bottom up if you want the full story. But basically, this guy was watching his friend's house while they went on their honeymoon and he placed a device under their mattress. This device, which is similar to the one found here, is a pressure-sensitive pad that tweets out when sexual activity starts, when it ends, the force of the "action," and a "frenzy" rating.

December 9 saw the first such action. This is the first report:

They?re on the job! #1 ¿ Action commenced at 12.21GMT. Weight: 84KG.

And then it was over ? 3 minutes later:
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They?re off the job! #1 ? Action concluded at 12.24GMT. Duration: 3 m.15 s. Frenzy Index: 8 (scary). Judge?s Comment: "Is that it?"

But alas, that was just a test of the guy jumping on the bed to make sure it would work. It did. So the real first action is as follows:

They?re on the job! #2 ¿ Action commenced at 15.50GMT. Weight: 151KG.

22 minutes later:

They?re off the job! #2 ? Action concluded at 16.12GMT. Duration: 22 m.05 s. Frenzy Index: 4 (easy listening). Judge?s Comment: "Good work!"

Before everyone goes crazy over this, remember that all of this is being done anonymously. Neither the friend nor the couple are known. In fact, who knows if this is even real, and who cares, it's hilarious. Still, the man claims he will let his friend in on the fun soon. "What you will NEVER know is who they are. Or who I am.I figure I?ll tell my mate in due course that he?s had an audience.So spread the word!," writes the anonymous man. Consider it spread.

So why's he doing this? "BTW ¿ he stitched me up something rotten when he was my best man so I reckon this is reasonable payback ," he tweets.

Oh Twitter, the joys never end. What will they think of next?

Girl defies ban on driving to save many lives

JEDDAH: A teenage girl defied a Saudi ban on women drivers to save her father and brother from the Nov. 25 floods. Malak Al-Mutairy took some rope and drove her father’s GMC to the low-lying Qous Valley where water had nearly submerged the car her family was standing on top of.

She parked her car at an elevated position on the road and waded into the water as far as she could before throwing the rope to her brother, Al-Madinah newspaper reported.

The brother tied the rope on the car and then Malak slowly towed the vehicle out of the water. When her brother fell into the water she returned to help him. Her father Fawaz Al-Mutairy, and brother Faiz were overwhelmed by the floods on their way to buy sacrificial animals for Eid Al-Adha.

There were other submerged cars with people inside them crying for help. Despite her father’s pleas not to return, Malak managed to tow eight more cars with dozens of people inside to safety.

“I had to brave the terrifying floods and rain to rescue my father because no one responded to his call for help,” said Malak.

“My father had taught me how to drive cars when we went on picnics to deserts. I am sorry that I could not help more people because by the time I towed eight cars the water was too high.”

Al-Mutairy was proud that his daughter had saved many people.

“My daughter has a strong personality. Nothing, even floods, deters her when she is determined to do something. No ordinary girl would have accomplished what she did in such weather,” he said.

However, the family was forced to live in a tent after their hilltop house in Hazarat district was damaged. When they did not receive any aid,

Al-Mutairy was forced to ask for shelter from the Civil Defense, he said. He added that his wife was still in shock.Hind Al-Doussary, a woman rescued by Malak, said her driver could not do anything to save her and her children. She said if it was not for Malak all of them would have drowned.

Not Even Sorry from Carrefour Brazil After Its Goons Beat Up Man for Stealing Own Car

Unlike the US, Brazil doesn't have two separate social classes, divided between whites and blacks. Though there are very few black people at the top of the social pyramid, they form a part of the Brazilian upper class, despite the fact that the country is far from a racial democracy.

Much ado has been made about the growth of the Brazilian middle class, which has included an increase in middle class blacks, as well as the simultaneous boom of consumerism. But as you'll see from this terrible story - which has not made headlines in a single mainstream newspaper or TV program, while the sole "official" publication mysteriously was shut down Sunday night - things aren't that simple.

Januário Alves de Santana, age 39 and originally from Bahia, is a family man who lives in Osasco, a suburb of São Paulo. He works as a security guard at the University of São Paulo, where he has been employed for eight years.

His wife, who works at the Museum of Modern Art at the university, decided to buy a Ford EcoSport for the couple to share two years ago. Considered a luxurious car, the couple are paying 789 Brazilian reais (US$ 427) installments in a set of 72 installments to pay off the purchase.

Note: Januário and his wife are black.

Last Friday, the couple, their two year-old daughter, five year-old son, and Januário's sister and brother-in-law headed to Carrefour to go food shopping. The toddler fell asleep in the car, so Januário arranged with his wife to stay in the car with his daughter while the others went shopping. Shortly after, he noticed two suspicious men running away as a nearby motorcycle alarm went off.

The motorcycle's owner came over, and Januário commented that it looked like the men were trying to steal the bike. Standing outside of the car, he noticed more suspicious men approaching him. Then one - who was actually a security guard - approached him and took out a gun. He attacked Januário without identifying himself, and Januário didn't know if it was a mugger or a cop.

While they struggled, passersby called for help, and Januário thought he was saved. Several security guards from Carrefour approached, and he explained that it was a misunderstanding - he was not in fact trying to steal the motorcycle nearby. The security guards grabbed him and took him inside to a small room to "work out" what had happened. "So," they said, "you stole an EcoSport and were trying to take a motorcycle, too?"

The five security guards then proceeded to beat Januário senseless, in what the original report called "a torture session," hitting, punching, headbutting, and pistol-whipping him, knocking out his teeth and leaving him bleeding heavily.

Januário says he tried to explain that the car was his, and that his baby daughter was inside while his family was shopping. His attackers ignored him. "Shut up, n*****. If you don't shut up, I'll break every bone in your body," one of them yelled. They laughed when he insisted it was his car. The beating lasted around twenty minutes, before the police arrived.

But the torture wasn't over yet.

One of the military policemen, by the name of Pina, didn't buy Januário's "story." "You look like you've been in jail a couple of times. Come on, fess up, it's ok," the police officer said. Another police officer didn't believe he was a security guard, and started quizzing him about security rules.

Finally, the police went to Januário's car and confirmed it did in fact belong to him and his wife. His family was there, shocked to see him bleeding with cracked teeth, and his daughter was still asleep in the car.

Instead of helping the couple or offering to send an ambulance, the police left. "If you want to write up a report, you'll have to go to the station. You can sue Carrefour." The family first went to the hospital, where Januário was treated for shock and lacerations.

Meanwhile, Carrefour released a statement saying the incident was nothing more than a fight between a few shoppers. The family registered a complaint with the local police, but it's not clear what will happen next.

It's not the first time Carrefour's security guards have been violent. Earlier this month, Carrefour security guards in São Carlos, interior of São Paulo state, beat a construction worker in the store's bathroom after he was caught stealing 26 reais (US$ 14) worth of groceries. After a brutal beating, the security guards locked the man in a closet until closing time at 10 pm. He died several days later of head trauma and internal bleeding.

So what will happen with this sickening race crime? Will the security guards be charged? Will they be sent to jail? Will they even lose their jobs? Will Carrefour get sued? Will Januario get a reasonable settlement? For context, in Rio last week, a woman won 25,000 reais or US$ 12,500, after she sued the state government for being mistakenly shot by a military policeman in 1999.

Or will Carrefour, one of Brazil's largest retail chains and one of its most profitable foreign retail companies, go unpunished?

Rachel Glickhouse, born in 1984, spent two years living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil after graduating from college in 2007. She now lives in New York with her Brazilian husband. She has also lived in Spain, the Dominican Republic, and Argentina and has traveled through Latin America. You can find more about her in her blog: http://riogringa.typepad.com.

Security cameras on trains being considered to reduce groping

TOKYO —

The National Police Agency plans to consider ways to reduce the occurrence of groping on trains, such as installing security cameras inside carriages, after a recent spate of acquittals in groping cases has raised questions about how to investigate them, agency officials said Monday.

A study group to be set up in fiscal 2010 with railway operators and outside experts will discuss the matter, the officials said, but whether the plan to install cameras will be put into place remains to be seen as the discussions will be held under a new administration led by the Democratic Party of Japan.

In its policy package released in July, the DPJ, which won a landslide in Sunday’s general election, raised concerns about the ‘‘harmful effects of an unlimited expansion of police authority, such as the abuse of investigative authority and the invasion of privacy.’’

It also vowed to ‘‘firmly lay down with human rights in mind the rules of administration when new investigative techniques are to be used.’’

The planned study group is also expected to discuss such possible measures as increasing train cars solely for women and deploying security guards on trains based on the results of questionnaires answered by molestation victims and public opinion surveys, the officials said.

The agency filed a request with the Finance Ministry for an 8 million yen budget for the year starting in April next year for the planned study, they said.

In April, the Supreme Court acquitted a college professor of the charge of groping a high school girl on a packed Odakyu Line train, and called on courts to make ‘‘a careful judgment’’ in cases involving molestation because victims’ depositions tend to serve as the only evidence.

Following the ruling, the NPA instructed nationwide police departments to make thorough efforts to gather evidence to back up the victims’ statements, secure contact with witnesses to the arrests of alleged gropers, and promote preventive measures along with railway operators such as installing security cameras on station premises.

9-year-old Japanese guitar whiz dazzles U.S. audiences

NEW YORK —

It is not every day that you see the frontman of a rock group flanked by band mates who are twice his height and age.

At a recent concert at the Highline Ballroom in New York City, lead singer Yuto Miyazawa is busy tuning his guitar. His drummer, Steve Grossman, taps his drumsticks for the next song, but Yuto turns and waves at him to stop, drawing a laugh from the audience and band mates who wait for him to get ready.

‘‘The command he has at 9 years old is scary,’’ said band member Randy McStine to the matinee crowd.

It is a summer vacation to remember for Yuto, the Guinness Book of World Record’s youngest professional guitarist. The fourth grader has been performing in the United States and appearing on TV shows since gaining an online following for his rock videos. His rendition of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s ‘‘Freebird’’ was viewed over 1.5 million times on YouTube and mentioned on message boards and blogs as he became the latest meme in an era of instant Internet celebrities.

The interest attracted the attention of U.S. media and promoters. Yuto has spent his summer learning about America by touring the country playing classic American rocks songs and sharing the stage with some of rock music’s biggest legends.

‘‘My friends are like, ‘Oh really?’ They think I’m just boasting,’’ Yuto said in an interview with Kyodo News.

Steve Bernstein, president of Zenbu Media, discovered the young rocker in Japan at the Bau Haus, a popular live concert venue in Tokyo. It was Bernstein who suggested Yuto learn the oft-requested ‘‘Freebird’’ and uploaded the performance online.

‘‘When I saw Yuto play so effortlessly at 8 years old and so smooth, I felt he had to be shared on a much bigger stage with the world,’’ said Bernstein. ‘‘I believe he will be one of the best guitarists in the world some day and the number one Asia rock star. He might already be that.’’

Originally from Tokyo, Yuto started playing when he was 3 years old, taking after his father, Tsuneo, who also plays the guitar and is an avid rock fan. But Yuto, who has a penchant for guitar solos, quickly surpassed his father’s talents.

‘‘My dad doesn’t play that much anymore,’’ he said. ‘‘He can’t keep up with me. He has different interests now.’’

Yuto cites his influences as Randy Rhoads, Eric Clapton and Metallica. He has already shared the stage with legendary guitarists like G.E. Smith and Les Paul, who passed away recently. But his favorite so far is Ozzy Osbourne, whom he met for the first time this year on the Ellen DeGeneres Show.

‘‘I was surprised. I didn’t really talk to him much, but I asked him to come to Japan,’’ he said.

Nowadays he only practices guitar for less than an hour a day and takes half-hour lessons once a week. He polishes his singing by taking weekly English lessons, making it easier for him to converse with fans asking for his autograph and pictures.

Despite minimal preparation and sharing the stage with band mates who are much older, Yuto said he does not have any pre-performance jitters. He effortlessly performs Black Sabbath’s ‘‘Crazy Train,’’ Jimi Hendrix’s ‘‘Purple Haze’’ and of course, ‘‘Freebird.’’ He also debuted an original song with English lyrics titled ‘‘Ikimashou’’ (Let’s Go), though currently he said there are no plans for an album.

For his encore, Yuto played ‘‘The Star-Spangled Banner’’ in a manner similar to Jimi Hendrix’s famous performance at Woodstock in 1969.

For the rocker, who has an interest in history, his performance at a New York Mets game on Aug 18 could not have been more fitting as he played the U.S. national anthem in front of the home crowd at Citi Field.

‘‘I know a little about American history now,’’ he said.