(Telegraph) - She was 27 when World War One erupted, 75 when John F. Kennedy was shot and nearly 100 when the Berlin Wall came down.
Now Leandra Becerra Lumbreras is celebrating her latest milestone – becoming the oldest person who has ever lived.
According to relatives and friends, the chocolate-loving Mexican marks her 127th birthday today.
But there will not be any visits from officials at the Guinness Book of Records – she lost her birth certificate while moving house 40 years ago.
Supposedly born on August 31, 1887 – the year Queen Victoria celebrated her Golden Jubilee – she has attributed her long life to eating well, snacking on chocolate, sleeping for days on end and never getting married, according to her family.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Burger King to buy Canada's Tim Hortons for $11.5 billion
#CanadianProblems
Aug 26 (Reuters) - Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW.N) announced plans to buy Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc (THI.TO) for C$12.64 billion ($11.53 billion) in a cash-and-stock deal that would create the world's third-largest fast-food restaurant group.
With roughly $23 billion in combined annual sales, more than 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries and two strong, independent brands, the new entity would have an extensive global footprint and significant growth potential, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The companies had said on Sunday that they were in merger talks, and shares of both soared on Monday.
Aug 26 (Reuters) - Burger King Worldwide Inc (BKW.N) announced plans to buy Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons Inc (THI.TO) for C$12.64 billion ($11.53 billion) in a cash-and-stock deal that would create the world's third-largest fast-food restaurant group.
With roughly $23 billion in combined annual sales, more than 18,000 restaurants in 100 countries and two strong, independent brands, the new entity would have an extensive global footprint and significant growth potential, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.
The companies had said on Sunday that they were in merger talks, and shares of both soared on Monday.
Monday, August 25, 2014
GB: Teenager dies 'after taking ice bucket challenge'
(Telegraph) - A teenager has died after joining in a variation of the latest internet craze, the ice bucket challenge.
Cameron Lancaster is believed to be the first victim of the trend, in which people film themselves having ice water poured over their heads for charity.
The 18-year-old was found dead after jumping into a disused quarry.
Mr Lancaster disappeared under the water at Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Sunday.
He is thought to have jumped feet first off a cliff into shallow water, in response to the internet mania that has swept around the world.
Cameron Lancaster is believed to be the first victim of the trend, in which people film themselves having ice water poured over their heads for charity.
The 18-year-old was found dead after jumping into a disused quarry.
Mr Lancaster disappeared under the water at Prestonhill Quarry in Inverkeithing, Fife, on Sunday.
He is thought to have jumped feet first off a cliff into shallow water, in response to the internet mania that has swept around the world.
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Too Soon? Netherlands Official Calls ISIS A "Zionist Plot"
On Tuesday last week, Yasmina Haifi, an official at the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism in the Netherlands, tweeted: “ISIS has nothing to do with Islam. It is a preconceived plan of Zionists who want to deliberately make Islam look bad.”
For the past ten years, Ms. Haifi has been a senior staff member at the human resources department of the Ministry of Security and Justice. For the past two years she has also worked as a project leader at two of the Ministry's subsidiaries, the National Coordinator for Security and Counterterrorism and the National Cyber Security Center.
The outcry from the general public that followed her remarks initially did little to make her take back her words. The next day, however, she deleted the tweet, saying: “Realise the political sensitivity in relation to my work. This was never my intention.” The same day, Haifi told national broadcast Radio 1 that she had no idea her comments would cause such an upheaval. “I assumed I was living in a democratic country,” she said. “Apparently freedom of speech in the Netherlands applies to particular groups and not to others”...
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Texas Gov. Rick Perry Booked On Abuse-of-Power Charges
(WSJ) AUSTIN, Texas—Gov. Rick Perry was booked in a courthouse here Tuesday after being indicted last week on felony charges that he abused his authority when trying to force a Democratic district attorney from office.
Mr. Perry, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, spoke to reporters outside the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center before and after he went inside for booking, a process that typically includes fingerprinting and a mug shot.
"I'm here today because I believe in the rule of law," a smiling Mr. Perry said before going inside the courthouse. "I did the right thing. I'm going to enter this courthouse with my head held high."
A grand jury indicted Mr. Perry on Friday on two felony counts for allegedly improperly threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which handles political-corruption investigations in Texas, if Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg didn't resign following an arrest for drunken driving.
Ms. Lehmberg declined to quit, and Mr. Perry carried out the veto in June of last year.
The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Mr. Perry faces felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The first charge carries a maximum punishment of five to 99 years in prison, while the second could lead to two to 10 years behind bars.
Following the booking Tuesday, Mr. Perry called the prosecution a "chilling restraint on the right to free speech," and he vowed to prevail in the case. "This indictment is fundamentally a political act that seeks to achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the ballot box." Read more Here
Mr. Perry, a potential 2016 Republican presidential candidate, spoke to reporters outside the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center before and after he went inside for booking, a process that typically includes fingerprinting and a mug shot.
"I'm here today because I believe in the rule of law," a smiling Mr. Perry said before going inside the courthouse. "I did the right thing. I'm going to enter this courthouse with my head held high."
A grand jury indicted Mr. Perry on Friday on two felony counts for allegedly improperly threatening to veto $7.5 million in funding for the Travis County Public Integrity Unit, which handles political-corruption investigations in Texas, if Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg didn't resign following an arrest for drunken driving.
Ms. Lehmberg declined to quit, and Mr. Perry carried out the veto in June of last year.
The longest-serving governor in Texas history, Mr. Perry faces felony counts of abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant. The first charge carries a maximum punishment of five to 99 years in prison, while the second could lead to two to 10 years behind bars.
Following the booking Tuesday, Mr. Perry called the prosecution a "chilling restraint on the right to free speech," and he vowed to prevail in the case. "This indictment is fundamentally a political act that seeks to achieve at the courthouse what could not be achieved at the ballot box." Read more Here
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Ebola is a hoax: Mob Destroys Ebola Center In Liberia Two Days After It Opens
Via BCF:
Thursday, August 14, 2014
Nearly 1 in 4 US workers go without paid time off
(bostonglobe) - Every summer, coworkers around the country ask each other the same exhilarating question: “Where are you going on vacation?”
But many of them aren’t going anywhere — not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t.
Nearly a quarter of the American private-sector workforce, some 26 million workers, doesn’t get paid time off, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — compared with less than one-fifth in the 1990s.The United States is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation and one of only 13 countries in the world not to do so, according to the World Policy Analysis Center at the University of California Los Angeles
In this regard, the United States falls in line with India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and a handful of island nations that don’t require employers to offer workers paid time off. France, on the other hand, mandates 30 paid vacation days a year for all workers; Scandinavian countries offer 25. US citizens in Puerto Rico get three weeks off a year.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, and Sweden even require employers to pay vacationing workers extra to help with expenses.
In the United States, low-wage earners disproportionately work without paid vacation. Only 49 percent of those in the bottom fourth of earners get p aid time off, compared with 90 percent among the top quarter of earners.
But many of them aren’t going anywhere — not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t.
Nearly a quarter of the American private-sector workforce, some 26 million workers, doesn’t get paid time off, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics — compared with less than one-fifth in the 1990s.The United States is the only advanced economy that doesn’t guarantee paid vacation and one of only 13 countries in the world not to do so, according to the World Policy Analysis Center at the University of California Los Angeles
In this regard, the United States falls in line with India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and a handful of island nations that don’t require employers to offer workers paid time off. France, on the other hand, mandates 30 paid vacation days a year for all workers; Scandinavian countries offer 25. US citizens in Puerto Rico get three weeks off a year.
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Greece, and Sweden even require employers to pay vacationing workers extra to help with expenses.
In the United States, low-wage earners disproportionately work without paid vacation. Only 49 percent of those in the bottom fourth of earners get p aid time off, compared with 90 percent among the top quarter of earners.
Ferguson, Missouri Riots: Palestinians have some advice for the people regarding police brutality.
IT'S A ZIONIST CONSPIRACY! END THE OCCUPATION OF MISSOURI!
..And Palestinians half a world away, protesting the Israeli occupation of Gaza, have noticed similarities between armed military police in Ferguson and Israeli Defense Force soldiers. One reason for the similarities? The US military is responsible for arming them both. The Pentagongave the Ferguson police department military-grade weapons. It's part of a program where the Pentagon unloads its surplus supplies — including heavy armored vehicles like the ones used in Afghanistan and Iraq — on local police departments.
So Gazans expressed solidarity and some began sharing tips for dealing with soldiers and tear gas.
So Gazans expressed solidarity and some began sharing tips for dealing with soldiers and tear gas.
Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Bee, snake, scorpion venom to fight cancer?
Cancer has already been cured, give it a rest..
(FINANCIALEXPRESS) — Bee, snake and scorpion venom could be used in fight against cancer after lab trials by an Indian- origin scientist-led team showed that the toxins can kill tumours.
According to a paper presented at the American Chemical Society conference this week, Dipanjan Pan and his team from the University of Illinois said they may have found a way to stop cancer cell growth.
The work is in very early stages, but has shown success in stopping breast cancer and melanoma cell growth in lab tests.
Pan’s technique uses nanotechnology to deliver a synthesised element similar to the venom found in bees, snakes and scorpions.
Read the full story ›
(FINANCIALEXPRESS) — Bee, snake and scorpion venom could be used in fight against cancer after lab trials by an Indian- origin scientist-led team showed that the toxins can kill tumours.
According to a paper presented at the American Chemical Society conference this week, Dipanjan Pan and his team from the University of Illinois said they may have found a way to stop cancer cell growth.
The work is in very early stages, but has shown success in stopping breast cancer and melanoma cell growth in lab tests.
Pan’s technique uses nanotechnology to deliver a synthesised element similar to the venom found in bees, snakes and scorpions.
Read the full story ›
Anonymous' "Op Ferguson" Says It Will ID the Officer Who Killed Michael Brown
- Anonymous has obtained and posted St. Louis police dispatch tapes from the day of the shooting.
The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, says he is withholding the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, out of concern for the safety of the officer and his family. But that might be easier said than done. Just a few hours later, the hacktivist group Anonymous announced on Twitter that it was now "making a final confirmation on the name of Mike Brown's murderer," adding: "It will be released the moment we receive it." Read More
The police chief of Ferguson, Missouri, says he is withholding the name of the officer who shot Michael Brown, an unarmed African American teenager, out of concern for the safety of the officer and his family. But that might be easier said than done. Just a few hours later, the hacktivist group Anonymous announced on Twitter that it was now "making a final confirmation on the name of Mike Brown's murderer," adding: "It will be released the moment we receive it." Read More
Sunday, August 10, 2014
Nebraska Same-Sex Marriage Ban Unwavering
Nebraska should declare independence from the US.
(ABCNews) - As state bans on same-sex marriages fall across the country, some Nebraska officials are holding strong to that state's status of having one of the nation's most restrictive laws, which affects some of the most basic aspects of gay couples' lives — from driver's licenses to parenting rights.
Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2000 banning same-sex marriages, civil unions or even legalized domestic partnerships, and it has withstood all legal challenges. The state's hard-line stance is especially jarring when compared to neighboring Iowa, which was one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009, says Charlie Joughin, spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.
"If you live in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and work in Omaha, just driving across the (Missouri) river, you immediately lose any and all legal connection to your spouse and your family," he said.
Federal appeals courts covering nearly half the United States will soon hear arguments on gay marriage, after numerous bans were struck down in the last eight months. A federal judge ruled Nebraska's ban was unconstitutional in 2005, but an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed the decision a year later.
Nebraska voters passed a state constitutional amendment in 2000 banning same-sex marriages, civil unions or even legalized domestic partnerships, and it has withstood all legal challenges. The state's hard-line stance is especially jarring when compared to neighboring Iowa, which was one of the first states to legalize same-sex marriage in 2009, says Charlie Joughin, spokesman for Washington, D.C.-based Human Rights Campaign.
"If you live in Council Bluffs, Iowa, and work in Omaha, just driving across the (Missouri) river, you immediately lose any and all legal connection to your spouse and your family," he said.
Federal appeals courts covering nearly half the United States will soon hear arguments on gay marriage, after numerous bans were struck down in the last eight months. A federal judge ruled Nebraska's ban was unconstitutional in 2005, but an 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel reversed the decision a year later.
Missouri: Teen Michael Brown Was Unarmed When Shot & Killed during altercation, Police Say
(wallstreetjournalonline) - FERGUSON, Mo.—A black teenager shot multiple times by a suburban St. Louis police officer was unarmed when he died, police said Sunday, as hundreds of local residents protested and a civil-rights leader expressed outrage at the killing.
Michael Brown, 18 years old, had graduated from high school and was about to enter a local college, said his mother, Lesley McSpadden.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shooting occurred after an officer encountered two people—one of whom was Mr. Brown—on the street near an apartment complex Saturday afternoon in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb a few miles north of downtown St. Louis.
Mr. Belmar said one of the men pushed the officer back into his squad car and a struggle began. Mr. Belmar said at least one shot was fired from the officer's gun inside the police car. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said authorities were still sorting out what happened inside the police car. It wasn't clear if Mr. Brown was the man who struggled with the officer.
The struggle spilled out into the street, where Mr. Brown was shot multiple times. Mr. Belmar said the exact number of shots wasn't known, but "it was more than just a couple." He also said all shell casings found at the scene matched the officer's gun. Police are still investigating why the officer shot Mr. Brown, who police have confirmed was unarmed.
Michael Brown, 18 years old, had graduated from high school and was about to enter a local college, said his mother, Lesley McSpadden.
St. Louis County Police Chief Jon Belmar said the shooting occurred after an officer encountered two people—one of whom was Mr. Brown—on the street near an apartment complex Saturday afternoon in Ferguson, a predominantly black suburb a few miles north of downtown St. Louis.
Mr. Belmar said one of the men pushed the officer back into his squad car and a struggle began. Mr. Belmar said at least one shot was fired from the officer's gun inside the police car. Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson said authorities were still sorting out what happened inside the police car. It wasn't clear if Mr. Brown was the man who struggled with the officer.
The struggle spilled out into the street, where Mr. Brown was shot multiple times. Mr. Belmar said the exact number of shots wasn't known, but "it was more than just a couple." He also said all shell casings found at the scene matched the officer's gun. Police are still investigating why the officer shot Mr. Brown, who police have confirmed was unarmed.
Friday, August 8, 2014
Antisemitism on rise across Europe 'in worst times since the Nazis'
Damn them Assyrians!
(theguardian)- Across Europe, the conflict in Gaza is breathing new life into some very old, and very ugly, demons. This is not unusual; police and Jewish civil rights organisations have long observed a noticeable spike in antisemitic incidents each time the Israeli-Palestinian conflict flares. During the three weeks of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in late 2008 and early 2009, France recorded 66 antisemitic incidents, including attacks on Jewish-owned restaurants and synagogues and a sharp increase in anti-Jewish graffiti.But according to academics and Jewish leaders, this time it is different. More than simply a reaction to the conflict, they say, the threats, hate speech and violent attacks feel like the expression of a much deeper and more widespread antisemitism, fuelled by a wide range of factors, that has been growing now for more than a decade.
(theguardian)- Across Europe, the conflict in Gaza is breathing new life into some very old, and very ugly, demons. This is not unusual; police and Jewish civil rights organisations have long observed a noticeable spike in antisemitic incidents each time the Israeli-Palestinian conflict flares. During the three weeks of Israel's Operation Cast Lead in late 2008 and early 2009, France recorded 66 antisemitic incidents, including attacks on Jewish-owned restaurants and synagogues and a sharp increase in anti-Jewish graffiti.But according to academics and Jewish leaders, this time it is different. More than simply a reaction to the conflict, they say, the threats, hate speech and violent attacks feel like the expression of a much deeper and more widespread antisemitism, fuelled by a wide range of factors, that has been growing now for more than a decade.
Working Class Poor: Cafe charges customers .35 cent "minimum wage fee"
Que Ulra right wing conspiracy outrage..
(cnnmoney) - A Minnesota restaurant is passing along the cost of the state's minimum wage hike to customers, and the move has sparked outrage.
Diners at the Oasis Cafe in Stillwater, Minn., recently noticed a "MIN WAGE FEE" tacked on to the bottom of their receipts, beneath more mundane items like burgers and fries.
The increase hiked the minimum wage to as high as $8 an hour for some workers.
At least one diner, Jean Murra, noticed the fee on her check on August 1.
"I was shocked," Murra wrote in an email. She said that she wouldn't mind if the restaurant raised prices a bit, but felt that the owners put the fee on the receipt "to make a political statement."
"We will not go back there," she wrote. Hundreds of other commenters on the restaurant's Facebook and Yelp pages in the past few days felt similarly. Most of the comments are negative -- even unprintable -- and assume that the owners added the fee as a protest against the law.
(cnnmoney) - A Minnesota restaurant is passing along the cost of the state's minimum wage hike to customers, and the move has sparked outrage.
Diners at the Oasis Cafe in Stillwater, Minn., recently noticed a "MIN WAGE FEE" tacked on to the bottom of their receipts, beneath more mundane items like burgers and fries.
The increase hiked the minimum wage to as high as $8 an hour for some workers.
At least one diner, Jean Murra, noticed the fee on her check on August 1.
"I was shocked," Murra wrote in an email. She said that she wouldn't mind if the restaurant raised prices a bit, but felt that the owners put the fee on the receipt "to make a political statement."
"We will not go back there," she wrote. Hundreds of other commenters on the restaurant's Facebook and Yelp pages in the past few days felt similarly. Most of the comments are negative -- even unprintable -- and assume that the owners added the fee as a protest against the law.
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Hawaii braces for Hurricane Iselle, with Julio right behind
(yahoonews) - HONOLULU (Reuters) - Hurricane Iselle barreled west across the Pacific Ocean toward the Hawaiian Islands on Wednesday, where officials warned residents and tourists of possible flooding and mudslides and ordered schools closed.
The storm was about 700 miles (1,130 km) east of Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii, at 7 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time on Wednesday and heading west-northwest at 15 miles per hour (24 km per hour) with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
Iselle was expected to weaken into a tropical storm before reaching the islands sometime on Friday morning but forecasters said it could still bring high winds and 10-to-15-foot (three-to-4.5-meter) surf to the tourist haven.
The storm was about 700 miles (1,130 km) east of Hilo, on the Island of Hawaii, at 7 a.m. Hawaiian Standard Time on Wednesday and heading west-northwest at 15 miles per hour (24 km per hour) with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph (137 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center.
Iselle was expected to weaken into a tropical storm before reaching the islands sometime on Friday morning but forecasters said it could still bring high winds and 10-to-15-foot (three-to-4.5-meter) surf to the tourist haven.
Squirrel kick video: £10,000 reward offered to track down 'heartless' French men who kicked squirrel into Arizona Grand Canyon
(independent.co.uk) - A £10,000 reward has been offered to anyone who helps police track down two men who were filmed kicking a squirrel into the Grand Canyon.
The two men, who are believed to be French, lured the animal to the edge of the canyon using a trail of breadcrumbs before one of them kicked it off.
They are now wanted by the US authorities – but park officials fear their chances of finding the pair are remote.
Launching an appeal to track down the “heartless thug” who carried out the kicking, the US, UK and French branches of animal rights group Peta have joined together to put forward a possible reward of £10,000 ($16,870).
Ben Williamson, a spokesperson for Peta UK, said those who abuse animals are a “danger to everyone” and must be stopped “before they act again”.
The two men, who are believed to be French, lured the animal to the edge of the canyon using a trail of breadcrumbs before one of them kicked it off.
They are now wanted by the US authorities – but park officials fear their chances of finding the pair are remote.
Launching an appeal to track down the “heartless thug” who carried out the kicking, the US, UK and French branches of animal rights group Peta have joined together to put forward a possible reward of £10,000 ($16,870).
Ben Williamson, a spokesperson for Peta UK, said those who abuse animals are a “danger to everyone” and must be stopped “before they act again”.
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Wisconsin: Girl charged in Slenderman stabbing deemed incompetent
(CNN) -- One of the 12-year-olds charged with stabbing a friend to impress the fictional Internet bogeyman Slenderman was deemed incompetent to stand trial Friday -- at least for now -- according to court documents.
After debate between prosecutors and the defense over whether a competency test would violate Morgan Geyser's rights, the judge asked the girl whether she was competent.
"Court finds the defendant is standing mute," court documents show.
Dr. Brooke Lundbohm told the Waukesha County, Wisconsin, court that Morgan believes she has mind-control capabilities and can talk to Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort, according to CNN affiliate WITI. She believes in unicorns, Lundbohm told the court.
After debate between prosecutors and the defense over whether a competency test would violate Morgan Geyser's rights, the judge asked the girl whether she was competent.
"Court finds the defendant is standing mute," court documents show.
Dr. Brooke Lundbohm told the Waukesha County, Wisconsin, court that Morgan believes she has mind-control capabilities and can talk to Harry Potter villain Lord Voldemort, according to CNN affiliate WITI. She believes in unicorns, Lundbohm told the court.
US: Man Enters Hospital for Routine Surgery Goes Home with a Vagina – Lawsuit Filed.
(NationalReport) - A Massachusetts man awoke from a routine circumcision Wednesday to find doctors had mistakenly performed a vaginoplasty. Robert Merkin, 26, of Provo, Utah, had entered the University Medical Center (UMC) in Boston for a routine circumcision, a procedure deemed necessary for an unspecified medical reason.
When Merkin, woke Wednesday following the procedure he learned he had a vagina. Outraged by the news Merkin caused such a commotion arrangements were made for him to spend his recovery time in another facility. On Friday morning his attorney Belinda Banks filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court against the hospital for negligence and seeks unspecified damages.
The National Report spoke with Wendy LaChapelle, spokeswoman for UMC who states Merkin’s suit is baseless but could not comment further on any matter pending litigation.
Banks spoke briefly with reporters outside the courthouse Friday morning. She reported her client is devastated and experiencing severe depression. Banks added, “The hardest thing my client has had to deal with since the surgery is the so-called ‘support’ he has received from the LGBT community who’ve welcomed him as one of their own and have offered to help him settle into his new life as a woman.”
Two similar lawsuits were brought in similar cases. In 2011 a Kentucky filed suit after his penis was partially amputated when a doctor found potentially deadly cancer while performing a circumcision surgery. In that case the jury ruled in favor of the doctor.
And nine days ago 56 year-old Johnny Lee Banks Jr., and his wife Zelda, filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Birmingham, Alabama, against the Princeton Baptist Medical Center, whom Banks claims mistakenly amputated his penis during a routine non life-threatening circumcision procedure, and further claims to date the hospital has never provided a reason to explain why the amputation was performed.
- See more: HERE
When Merkin, woke Wednesday following the procedure he learned he had a vagina. Outraged by the news Merkin caused such a commotion arrangements were made for him to spend his recovery time in another facility. On Friday morning his attorney Belinda Banks filed suit in Suffolk County Superior Court against the hospital for negligence and seeks unspecified damages.
The National Report spoke with Wendy LaChapelle, spokeswoman for UMC who states Merkin’s suit is baseless but could not comment further on any matter pending litigation.
Banks spoke briefly with reporters outside the courthouse Friday morning. She reported her client is devastated and experiencing severe depression. Banks added, “The hardest thing my client has had to deal with since the surgery is the so-called ‘support’ he has received from the LGBT community who’ve welcomed him as one of their own and have offered to help him settle into his new life as a woman.”
Two similar lawsuits were brought in similar cases. In 2011 a Kentucky filed suit after his penis was partially amputated when a doctor found potentially deadly cancer while performing a circumcision surgery. In that case the jury ruled in favor of the doctor.
And nine days ago 56 year-old Johnny Lee Banks Jr., and his wife Zelda, filed suit in Jefferson County Circuit Court in Birmingham, Alabama, against the Princeton Baptist Medical Center, whom Banks claims mistakenly amputated his penis during a routine non life-threatening circumcision procedure, and further claims to date the hospital has never provided a reason to explain why the amputation was performed.
- See more: HERE
French hospital to open wine bar to cheer up terminally ill
(Reuters) - A hospital in the French city of Clermont-Ferrand is to open a wine bar where terminally ill patients will be able to enjoy a "medically-supervised" glass or two with their families.
"Why should we refuse the charms of the soil to those at the end of their lives? Nothing justifies such an prohibition," the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital Center said in statement.
The center's head, Dr. Virginie Guastella, said terminally ill patients had the right to "enjoy themselves".
The bar will be the first in France to offer such a facility for patients and their families. Staff will be specially trained before it opens in the hospital's palliative care center in September.
"Medically supervised tastings will help brighten what is often a difficult daily life," the hospital said.
Although some researchers have long held that an antioxidant found in red wine is good for the heart, some recent research has determined that wine's health benefits are exaggerated
"Why should we refuse the charms of the soil to those at the end of their lives? Nothing justifies such an prohibition," the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital Center said in statement.
The center's head, Dr. Virginie Guastella, said terminally ill patients had the right to "enjoy themselves".
The bar will be the first in France to offer such a facility for patients and their families. Staff will be specially trained before it opens in the hospital's palliative care center in September.
"Medically supervised tastings will help brighten what is often a difficult daily life," the hospital said.
Although some researchers have long held that an antioxidant found in red wine is good for the heart, some recent research has determined that wine's health benefits are exaggerated
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