Jonathan.. PDP and their campaign of shame
At vaious rallies across Nigeria, ruling
party politicians have continued to cite
Nigeria’s success on the virus as among
the achievements of President Goodluck
Jonathan and the ruling Peoples’
Democratic Party.
“I have heard some stories emanating
from campaign podiums with claims of
conquering Ebola,” said Mr. Fashola.
“The question we must ask is whether
those who make these claims saw Ebola?
“It is women like Stella Ameyo Adedevoh
to whom such a claim rightly belongs.
“It is young Nigerians like Dr. Morris
Ibeawuchi, who first made contact with
the index case patient and continued to
treat him who saw and conquered Ebola.
“He got infected, from doing his job, got
sick, survived and is back to his job.
“It is first responders from the Lagos State
Ministry of Health like Dr. Jide Idris, Dr.
Yewande Adesina, Dr. Wale Ahmed, Dr.
Kayode Oguntimehin who saw Ebola.
“They responded to the call from First
Consultant Hospital. They spent 12
(Twelve) hours daily in the early days
supervising the construction of Ebola
containment facility when the epidemic
broke.
“The Lagos State Infectious Disease
Hospital which later became the epicenter
of Ebola management used to house
tuberculosis patients and patients with
infectious diseases.
“Those patients vented their anger on
these people when they had to be moved
to create room for the Ebola centre. I
know they spat at Dr. Adesina for doing
her job.
“Dr. Abdul-Salam Nasidi of the National
Disease Control Centre in Abuja saw and
conquered Ebola. He helped in no small
way to co-ordinate the containment.
“Dr. David Brett-Mayor of the World
Health Organization saw and conquered
Ebola. He single handedly started the
Ebola isolation ward having cleared and
cleaned the room. He admitted and cared
for the patients before any Nigerian
doctor joined him.
“Professor S. A. Omilabu, the dedicated
virologist at LUTH, saw Ebola and
conquered it. He coordinated the fault
free testing for Ebola and managed all the
samples professionally.
“Peter Adewuyi saw Ebola and conquered
it. He led the contact tracing team of
many dedicated officers for the first 2
(two) weeks.
“Mrs. Funmi Lagbokun, Mrs. Modupe
Aiyedun Davies, Mrs. Basirat Adeoye, Ms
F. O. Bamgboye, Mrs. K. O. Oshisanya,
Mrs. Kazeem Abioye, Mrs. Abiola Lasaki
and Mrs. K. Adeshina all saw and
conquered Ebola.
“They were the dedicated team of nurses,
nursing aid, care giver, health assistant
and hygienist who commenced work
voluntarily in the Ebola containment
ward without any demand other than the
sense of duty.
“Yemi Gbadegesin and Abdulsalam saw
and conquered Ebola.
“They coordinated the de-contamination,
removal and burial of the index case and
other cases, and it is because of them that
First Consultant can re-open for business.
“Dear Lagosians, these were the people
who saw and defeated Ebola. Let no
person tell you otherwise.
“These men and women, who showed
courage, who risked their lives are our
true champions and heroes.
“They showed the spirit of service, the
spirit of Lagos and the spirit of our “good
old days”.
“Nobody should take this credit away
from them.
“They are not celebrating because they
know that the work is not finished. They
are already working with our people and
planning to volunteer to go and give help
in Sierra Leone and Liberia.
“Their reward for hard work will be more
work and they tell me that they are
ready,” Mr. Fashola added.
Wednesday, October 1, 2014
Avocado and the stress on water aquifer leading to lack of water for the poor
We've heard a lot about how the boom in almond
and other nut production is straining California's
dwindling water supplies amid the state's worst-
ever drought. But what about the avocado, another
trendy commodity that grows on trees and delivers
all-the-rage healthy fats?
US consumers certainly love this unctuous tropical
fruit. According to the US Department of
Agriculture, avocado production per capita jumped
from 1.1 pounds annually in 1999 to 4.5 pounds in
2011.
Avocados don't require nearly as much water per
pound as almonds. But they do require
significantly more than other kinds of produce, as
my colleague Julia Lurie shows in this chart:
How Thirsty Are These Fruits and
Veggies?
The amount of irrigated water, in gallons, that it
takes to grow a pound of the following in California
74. 1 Avocados
42. 1 Peaches
12 . 2 Oranges
10 . 8 Tomatoes
9. 8 Strawberries
5. 5 Lettuce
Created with Datawrapper
Source: Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, Get the
data
(Note that the figures in this chart, and the one
later in this post, include only blue water—which
comes from rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers—
and not rainfall or recycled water.)
And as in the case of almonds and so many other
crops, California dominates US production,
accounting for about 90 percent of the US avocado
harvest. Nearly all of it takes place in Southern
California, in a five-county region that straddles the
coast from San Luis Obispo to San Diego.
Like the rest of the state, the southern coastal
region is locked in a drought, and largely cut off
from the flow of surface water from the state's big
irrigation projects. The result has been strife in the
avocado groves— sky-high water costs and a
reliance on water pumped from underground
aquifers.
But overall, California's avocado farms have a
relatively light water impact. Unlike almonds and
pistachios, whose acreage has expanded
dramatically in recent years, land devoted to
avocados has actually shrunk, from a high of
76,000 acres in 1987 to fewer than 60,000 acres in
2012 (although production has held steady,
because yield increases have offset the loss of
acres). Also unlike the state's nut growers,
California's avocado farmers aren't taking
advantage of a boom in demand from Asia.
According to the USDA, US avocado exports are so
small they're "negligible."
Also, avocados are a perishable, seasonal product,
and the California season peaks from May through
August—meaning that for the rest of the year, we
rely on Mexico, Chile, and Peru to satisfy our
guacamole habit. All told, the USDA reports, about
70 percent of the avocados we consume are
imported.
Where Do Avocados Use the Most
Water?
The average amount of irrigated water, in gallons,
that it takes to grow a pound of avocados
96. 8 Chile
74 . 1 California
71. 8 USA
31. 9 Mexico
28. 4 Global average
Created with Datawrapper
Source: Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, Get the
data
And so most of the water impact from our growing
appetite for avocados lands on other places. And
as Eilis O'Neill recently reported in Civil Eats ,
satisfying our demand for off-season avocados is
causing trouble in another drought-stricken region,
Chile's Central Valley—which, like California's, lies
between a snowcapped interior mountain range
and a coastal mountain range.
This valley is the epicenter of Chile's fruit-and-veg
export behemoth that began in the 1980s. As this
US Department of Agriculture report states, Chile's
Southern Hemisphere location gives it a "counter-
seasonal production schedule with the United
States"—that is, Chile's summer starts around the
time that ours ends. The rapid rise of Chilean
produce into the US market is a big reason US
consumers can expect bountiful produce aisles
year-round—it "extended the availability of certain
fruits in the market without direct competition with
domestic production, and gave US consumers fruit
choices beyond the traditional domestic winter
fruits of citrus, apples, and pears," the USDA notes.
Chile now supplies a fifth of US fruit, the USDA
adds.
Avocados were part of that boom. As O'Neill notes,
land devoted to avocados has expanded rapidly—
from about 6,180 hectares (15,270 acres) in 1980
to 27,000 hectares (66,700 acres) in 2006, all the
way to 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres) in 2014,
according to the USDA.
And just as in California, climate change and
drought have meant less surface water flowing
from mountain ranges to irrigate crops—and a shift
to pumping water from underground aquifers. As a
result, producers have "used so much of the
region's waters that small farmers with shallow
wells—and some nearby towns—are left with no
water," O'Neill writes, echoing reports of waterless
towns in California's Central Valley.
Like our Golden State, Chile takes a laissez-faire
approach to groundwater regulation, O’Neill reports
—a legacy of the reign of General Augusto
Pinochet, a free-market zealot who came to power
in a US-backed coup in 1973 and remained
dictator until 1990.
And large, export-minded farm operations have the
wherewithal to drill larger and deeper wells,
squeezing out small farms and nearby
communities, O'Neill reports. Meanwhile, the
profits from Chile's farm export boom remains
pretty concentrated in the hands of large
landowners.
Chile's avocado harvest starts in runs from August
to March—making it a prime supplier during the
football season guacamole blitz.
O'Neill's piece gives us something to think about
as we plunge chips into that delicious dip. "When
you eat an avocado that comes from [a large
producer in] Chile, think about the fact that the
water used to produce it is water that homes in the
country's most humble communities now lack,"
water activist Rodrigo Mundaca tells her.
and other nut production is straining California's
dwindling water supplies amid the state's worst-
ever drought. But what about the avocado, another
trendy commodity that grows on trees and delivers
all-the-rage healthy fats?
US consumers certainly love this unctuous tropical
fruit. According to the US Department of
Agriculture, avocado production per capita jumped
from 1.1 pounds annually in 1999 to 4.5 pounds in
2011.
Avocados don't require nearly as much water per
pound as almonds. But they do require
significantly more than other kinds of produce, as
my colleague Julia Lurie shows in this chart:
How Thirsty Are These Fruits and
Veggies?
The amount of irrigated water, in gallons, that it
takes to grow a pound of the following in California
74. 1 Avocados
42. 1 Peaches
12 . 2 Oranges
10 . 8 Tomatoes
9. 8 Strawberries
5. 5 Lettuce
Created with Datawrapper
Source: Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, Get the
data
(Note that the figures in this chart, and the one
later in this post, include only blue water—which
comes from rivers, lakes, streams, and aquifers—
and not rainfall or recycled water.)
And as in the case of almonds and so many other
crops, California dominates US production,
accounting for about 90 percent of the US avocado
harvest. Nearly all of it takes place in Southern
California, in a five-county region that straddles the
coast from San Luis Obispo to San Diego.
Like the rest of the state, the southern coastal
region is locked in a drought, and largely cut off
from the flow of surface water from the state's big
irrigation projects. The result has been strife in the
avocado groves— sky-high water costs and a
reliance on water pumped from underground
aquifers.
But overall, California's avocado farms have a
relatively light water impact. Unlike almonds and
pistachios, whose acreage has expanded
dramatically in recent years, land devoted to
avocados has actually shrunk, from a high of
76,000 acres in 1987 to fewer than 60,000 acres in
2012 (although production has held steady,
because yield increases have offset the loss of
acres). Also unlike the state's nut growers,
California's avocado farmers aren't taking
advantage of a boom in demand from Asia.
According to the USDA, US avocado exports are so
small they're "negligible."
Also, avocados are a perishable, seasonal product,
and the California season peaks from May through
August—meaning that for the rest of the year, we
rely on Mexico, Chile, and Peru to satisfy our
guacamole habit. All told, the USDA reports, about
70 percent of the avocados we consume are
imported.
Where Do Avocados Use the Most
Water?
The average amount of irrigated water, in gallons,
that it takes to grow a pound of avocados
96. 8 Chile
74 . 1 California
71. 8 USA
31. 9 Mexico
28. 4 Global average
Created with Datawrapper
Source: Mekonnen and Hoekstra, 2010, Get the
data
And so most of the water impact from our growing
appetite for avocados lands on other places. And
as Eilis O'Neill recently reported in Civil Eats ,
satisfying our demand for off-season avocados is
causing trouble in another drought-stricken region,
Chile's Central Valley—which, like California's, lies
between a snowcapped interior mountain range
and a coastal mountain range.
This valley is the epicenter of Chile's fruit-and-veg
export behemoth that began in the 1980s. As this
US Department of Agriculture report states, Chile's
Southern Hemisphere location gives it a "counter-
seasonal production schedule with the United
States"—that is, Chile's summer starts around the
time that ours ends. The rapid rise of Chilean
produce into the US market is a big reason US
consumers can expect bountiful produce aisles
year-round—it "extended the availability of certain
fruits in the market without direct competition with
domestic production, and gave US consumers fruit
choices beyond the traditional domestic winter
fruits of citrus, apples, and pears," the USDA notes.
Chile now supplies a fifth of US fruit, the USDA
adds.
Avocados were part of that boom. As O'Neill notes,
land devoted to avocados has expanded rapidly—
from about 6,180 hectares (15,270 acres) in 1980
to 27,000 hectares (66,700 acres) in 2006, all the
way to 36,000 hectares (88,960 acres) in 2014,
according to the USDA.
And just as in California, climate change and
drought have meant less surface water flowing
from mountain ranges to irrigate crops—and a shift
to pumping water from underground aquifers. As a
result, producers have "used so much of the
region's waters that small farmers with shallow
wells—and some nearby towns—are left with no
water," O'Neill writes, echoing reports of waterless
towns in California's Central Valley.
Like our Golden State, Chile takes a laissez-faire
approach to groundwater regulation, O’Neill reports
—a legacy of the reign of General Augusto
Pinochet, a free-market zealot who came to power
in a US-backed coup in 1973 and remained
dictator until 1990.
And large, export-minded farm operations have the
wherewithal to drill larger and deeper wells,
squeezing out small farms and nearby
communities, O'Neill reports. Meanwhile, the
profits from Chile's farm export boom remains
pretty concentrated in the hands of large
landowners.
Chile's avocado harvest starts in runs from August
to March—making it a prime supplier during the
football season guacamole blitz.
O'Neill's piece gives us something to think about
as we plunge chips into that delicious dip. "When
you eat an avocado that comes from [a large
producer in] Chile, think about the fact that the
water used to produce it is water that homes in the
country's most humble communities now lack,"
water activist Rodrigo Mundaca tells her.
Chat without data
Christophe Daligault hasn't slept in
three days. On the line from San
Francisco at 3.48am his time, Open
Garden's Vice President of Sales and
Marketing describes how the
company's FireChat app has achieved
unprecedented popularity with Hong
Kong's student-led protesters.
"The biggest problem we have is that
so many people are using the app that
the speed of text coming through to us
is too fast to monitor it all," he tells
WIRED.co.uk as he explains that the
app was downloaded over 110,000
times during the 24 hours between
Sunday lunchtime and Monday
afternoon in Hong Kong.
FireChat allows people to communicate
without requiring internet access.
Phones are connected via their own
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals alone in a
peer-to-peer mesh network. This is
particularly useful when large crowds
congregate in small areas, overloading
local mobile towers which can't keep
up with demand.
That's exactly what's been happening
in Hong Kong. Unlike a traditional
mobile network , the more people who
connect to a mesh network, the
stronger and wider it is -- which is why
the app has been praised for allowing
demonstrators to continue
communicating despite the size of the
protest.
However, there's a problem. FireChat
isn't private and for activists
attempting to dodge police attempts at
dispersal, that could be problematic.
Daligault admits he's worried by the
prospect of protesters' chatroom
discussions on FireChat being
monitored by police or government
agents.
Enthusiastic reports in the press have
labelled FireChat as " more clandestine
and less traceable " than internet-based
communications, but Daligault is
emphatic on this point. "Messages are
still public," he says. "You write
something up on FireChat and it's
almost as if you put it on Twitter.
Anybody can read it."
The last big surge for FireChat took
place earlier this year, when Iraqis
flocked to the messaging app in order
to stay in contact with one another
following government restrictions on
internet use. Daligault expressed
similar concerns at the time but now
adds that the stakes today are even
higher. "Iraq now seems very small in
comparison to the scale of what's
happening in Hong Kong," he
comments.
Sukey apps help protesters
avoid police kettles
According to Daligault, the Hong Kong
protesters have been savvy in
associating chat rooms with specific
locations such as street corners where
they plan to meet or organise some
part of their demonstration. The
FireChat team has picked up on
discussions about these meetings as
well as conversations over where to
acquire gas masks, tents and water
bottles. Advice on how to avoid the
police or waterproof electronics in case
they get drenched by water cannon has
also been shared.
Naturally, however, these discussions
are publicly viewable and there could
be some risk to protesters if they aren't
careful with what they type. There's no
clear indication of when encryption
might be coming to FireChat. Though it
is planned, Daligault says a release date
has not been decided. "It may be six
months away," he comments.
#OccupyCentral #HKStudentStrike
Pls remember msgs not encrypted yet. Dont use
your real name.
Nadim Kobeissi, creator of secure
messaging app Cryptocat says that it
wouldn't make sense to encrypt
FireChat chatrooms if anyone could
join, since sharing the encryption key
indiscriminately would again fail to
keep conversations private.
"FireChat can [however] benefit from
encryption by using it to safeguard
message integrity and the identity of
individual chat members, in order to
prevent an attacker from forging or
modifying messages, or impersonating
another user on the mesh network,"
explains Kobeissi via email.
For now, though, if FireChat users in
Hong Kong or elsewhere have
something to say which they want to
keep secure, Daligault has a simple
piece of advice: "Don't type it."
three days. On the line from San
Francisco at 3.48am his time, Open
Garden's Vice President of Sales and
Marketing describes how the
company's FireChat app has achieved
unprecedented popularity with Hong
Kong's student-led protesters.
"The biggest problem we have is that
so many people are using the app that
the speed of text coming through to us
is too fast to monitor it all," he tells
WIRED.co.uk as he explains that the
app was downloaded over 110,000
times during the 24 hours between
Sunday lunchtime and Monday
afternoon in Hong Kong.
FireChat allows people to communicate
without requiring internet access.
Phones are connected via their own
Bluetooth and Wi-Fi signals alone in a
peer-to-peer mesh network. This is
particularly useful when large crowds
congregate in small areas, overloading
local mobile towers which can't keep
up with demand.
That's exactly what's been happening
in Hong Kong. Unlike a traditional
mobile network , the more people who
connect to a mesh network, the
stronger and wider it is -- which is why
the app has been praised for allowing
demonstrators to continue
communicating despite the size of the
protest.
However, there's a problem. FireChat
isn't private and for activists
attempting to dodge police attempts at
dispersal, that could be problematic.
Daligault admits he's worried by the
prospect of protesters' chatroom
discussions on FireChat being
monitored by police or government
agents.
Enthusiastic reports in the press have
labelled FireChat as " more clandestine
and less traceable " than internet-based
communications, but Daligault is
emphatic on this point. "Messages are
still public," he says. "You write
something up on FireChat and it's
almost as if you put it on Twitter.
Anybody can read it."
The last big surge for FireChat took
place earlier this year, when Iraqis
flocked to the messaging app in order
to stay in contact with one another
following government restrictions on
internet use. Daligault expressed
similar concerns at the time but now
adds that the stakes today are even
higher. "Iraq now seems very small in
comparison to the scale of what's
happening in Hong Kong," he
comments.
Sukey apps help protesters
avoid police kettles
According to Daligault, the Hong Kong
protesters have been savvy in
associating chat rooms with specific
locations such as street corners where
they plan to meet or organise some
part of their demonstration. The
FireChat team has picked up on
discussions about these meetings as
well as conversations over where to
acquire gas masks, tents and water
bottles. Advice on how to avoid the
police or waterproof electronics in case
they get drenched by water cannon has
also been shared.
Naturally, however, these discussions
are publicly viewable and there could
be some risk to protesters if they aren't
careful with what they type. There's no
clear indication of when encryption
might be coming to FireChat. Though it
is planned, Daligault says a release date
has not been decided. "It may be six
months away," he comments.
#OccupyCentral #HKStudentStrike
Pls remember msgs not encrypted yet. Dont use
your real name.
Nadim Kobeissi, creator of secure
messaging app Cryptocat says that it
wouldn't make sense to encrypt
FireChat chatrooms if anyone could
join, since sharing the encryption key
indiscriminately would again fail to
keep conversations private.
"FireChat can [however] benefit from
encryption by using it to safeguard
message integrity and the identity of
individual chat members, in order to
prevent an attacker from forging or
modifying messages, or impersonating
another user on the mesh network,"
explains Kobeissi via email.
For now, though, if FireChat users in
Hong Kong or elsewhere have
something to say which they want to
keep secure, Daligault has a simple
piece of advice: "Don't type it."
parent sues sperm bank for mistakenly sending a black man's sperm for her pregnancy
A white Ohio woman is suing a
Downers Grove-based sperm
bank, alleging that the company
mistakenly gave her vials from an
African-American donor, a fact that
she said has made it difficult for her
and her same-sex partner to raise
their now 2-year-old daughter in an
all-white community.
Jennifer Cramblett, of Uniontown,
Ohio, alleges in the lawsuit filed
Monday in Cook County Circuit Court
that Midwest Sperm Bank sent her the
vials of an African-American donor's
sperm in September 2011 instead of
those of a white donor that she and
her white partner had ordered.
After searching through pages of
comprehensive histories for their top
three donors, the lawsuit claims,
Cramblett and her domestic partner,
Amanda Zinkon, chose donor No. 380,
who was also white. Their doctor in
Ohio received vials from donor No.
330, who is African-American, the
lawsuit said.
Cramblett, 36, learned of the mistake
in April 2012, when she was pregnant
and ordering more vials so that the
couple could have another child with
sperm from the same donor,
according to the lawsuit. The sperm
bank delivered vials from the correct
donor in August 2011, but Cramblett
later requested more vials, according
to the suit.
Cramblett is suing Midwest Sperm
Bank for wrongful birth and breach of
warranty, citing the emotional and
economic losses she has suffered.
An attorney for Midwest Sperm Bank
said the company would not comment
on pending litigation.
"On August 21, 2012, Jennifer gave
birth to Payton, a beautiful, obviously
mixed-race baby girl," the lawsuit
states. "Jennifer bonded with Payton
easily and she and Amanda love her
very much. Even so, Jennifer lives
each day with fears, anxieties and
uncertainty about her future and
Payton's future."
Raising a mixed-race daughter has
been stressful in Cramblett and
Zinkon's small, all-white community,
according to the suit. Cramblett was
raised around people with
stereotypical attitudes about
nonwhites, the lawsuit states, and did
not know African-Americans until she
attended college at the University of
Akron.
"Because of this background and
upbringing, Jennifer acknowledges
her limited cultural competency
relative to African-Americans and
steep learning curve, particularly in
small, homogenous Uniontown, which
she regards as too racially intolerant,"
the lawsuit states.
Part of that learning curve has
included getting her daughter's hair
cut, which according to the suit
requires Cramblett to travel to a black
neighborhood, "where she is
obviously different in appearance, and
not overtly welcome."
She fears that her "all white and
unconsciously insensitive family,"
which has never been able to fully
embrace Jennifer's homosexuality,
could have a negative effect on her
daughter, according to the lawsuit.
"Though compelled to repress her
individuality amongst family
members, Payton's differences are
irrepressible, and Jennifer does not
want Payton to feel stigmatized or
unrecognized due simply to the
circumstances of her birth," the
lawsuit states. "Jennifer's stress and
anxiety intensify when she envisions
Payton entering an all-white school."
Cramblett's therapists have advised
her that for her and her child's
psychological well-being, she must
relocate to a racially diverse
community with good schools,
according to the suit.
The lawsuit alleges the error occurred
because the sperm bank keeps
handwritten instead of electronic
records, which allowed the donor
numbers to be misread.
A month after Cramblett said she
learned of the mistake, according to
the lawsuit, the sperm bank sent her a
typed letter of apology along with a
refund check for the six vials of
incorrect sperm that were sent to her
in September 2011.
Downers Grove-based sperm
bank, alleging that the company
mistakenly gave her vials from an
African-American donor, a fact that
she said has made it difficult for her
and her same-sex partner to raise
their now 2-year-old daughter in an
all-white community.
Jennifer Cramblett, of Uniontown,
Ohio, alleges in the lawsuit filed
Monday in Cook County Circuit Court
that Midwest Sperm Bank sent her the
vials of an African-American donor's
sperm in September 2011 instead of
those of a white donor that she and
her white partner had ordered.
After searching through pages of
comprehensive histories for their top
three donors, the lawsuit claims,
Cramblett and her domestic partner,
Amanda Zinkon, chose donor No. 380,
who was also white. Their doctor in
Ohio received vials from donor No.
330, who is African-American, the
lawsuit said.
Cramblett, 36, learned of the mistake
in April 2012, when she was pregnant
and ordering more vials so that the
couple could have another child with
sperm from the same donor,
according to the lawsuit. The sperm
bank delivered vials from the correct
donor in August 2011, but Cramblett
later requested more vials, according
to the suit.
Cramblett is suing Midwest Sperm
Bank for wrongful birth and breach of
warranty, citing the emotional and
economic losses she has suffered.
An attorney for Midwest Sperm Bank
said the company would not comment
on pending litigation.
"On August 21, 2012, Jennifer gave
birth to Payton, a beautiful, obviously
mixed-race baby girl," the lawsuit
states. "Jennifer bonded with Payton
easily and she and Amanda love her
very much. Even so, Jennifer lives
each day with fears, anxieties and
uncertainty about her future and
Payton's future."
Raising a mixed-race daughter has
been stressful in Cramblett and
Zinkon's small, all-white community,
according to the suit. Cramblett was
raised around people with
stereotypical attitudes about
nonwhites, the lawsuit states, and did
not know African-Americans until she
attended college at the University of
Akron.
"Because of this background and
upbringing, Jennifer acknowledges
her limited cultural competency
relative to African-Americans and
steep learning curve, particularly in
small, homogenous Uniontown, which
she regards as too racially intolerant,"
the lawsuit states.
Part of that learning curve has
included getting her daughter's hair
cut, which according to the suit
requires Cramblett to travel to a black
neighborhood, "where she is
obviously different in appearance, and
not overtly welcome."
She fears that her "all white and
unconsciously insensitive family,"
which has never been able to fully
embrace Jennifer's homosexuality,
could have a negative effect on her
daughter, according to the lawsuit.
"Though compelled to repress her
individuality amongst family
members, Payton's differences are
irrepressible, and Jennifer does not
want Payton to feel stigmatized or
unrecognized due simply to the
circumstances of her birth," the
lawsuit states. "Jennifer's stress and
anxiety intensify when she envisions
Payton entering an all-white school."
Cramblett's therapists have advised
her that for her and her child's
psychological well-being, she must
relocate to a racially diverse
community with good schools,
according to the suit.
The lawsuit alleges the error occurred
because the sperm bank keeps
handwritten instead of electronic
records, which allowed the donor
numbers to be misread.
A month after Cramblett said she
learned of the mistake, according to
the lawsuit, the sperm bank sent her a
typed letter of apology along with a
refund check for the six vials of
incorrect sperm that were sent to her
in September 2011.
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Deceitful wife
I hid the truth from my husband
October 1, 2014
Three years after I
married, I ’ m yet to take in. The truth is , I
have no womb hence will never be able to
get pregnant . During my second year in the
university , I lost my womb due to
complications I developed during the
process of procuring an abortion.
I became sexually active when I was in JSS
1 and have had series of abortions . Back
then, my friends and I used a mixture of
potassium and blue powder with gin to
procure abortion. We did this many times
until we had the confidence to approach a
doctor through the help of the elder sister of
one of us .
When we entered into the university and one
of us died from abortion related
complications , this doctor warned us
against abortions ; he actually declined to
help us again hence , we switched doctors .
To be fair , before I developed the
complications that led to my losing my
womb , the new doctor warned that I was
walking on very dangerous grounds. He
told me my womb was too weak and that I
should avoid as much as possible ,
unprotected sex . But how can I when on
this day it happened , I had to do a quickie
with one of my lecturers in his office to earn
marks? I really thought I was safe . By the
time I discovered I was pregnant , I was
already in a good relationship with my
present husband so I had no choice but to
terminate it .
To hide the reason for my illness and
operation from him, I had to go home to
avoid his suspicions. None of my friends
told him where I stayed to protect me.
When I came back , I lied it was an
appendicitis operation I went for .
Now my secret is about to be exposed as
his mother is insisting I go to the family
doctor for examination to determine the
cause of my inability to get pregnant ,
especially as my husband has been given a
clean bill of health . She suspects the
medical reports I have been presenting to
the family are false. To cap it all , she said ,
she would accompany me to the hospital
when I go for the tests . I don ’ t know what
to do as I ’ m sure she would push me out of
the house and make her son marry the
woman she has always wanted him to
marry- the girl he grew up with , and dated
until he met me .
She has never hidden her dislike for and
suspicion about my past life . Please tell me
how to get out of this because, if my
husband also finds out the reason for our
childlessness, he will never forgive me. Do I
pretend I forgot the appointment on account
of office pressure on the day of our meeting
or insist my doctor is on top of my case?
Desperate wife
Dear desperate wife ,
Honestly , you are very callous. For how
long were you intending to keep this secret
from your husband? Don’ t you feel anything
inside of you when you both discuss the
issue of your childlessness ? Don’ t you feel
any remorse when he comes from one
medical examination or the other ? If his
mother didn’ t come up with this, be truthful;
were you ever going to tell this man your
womb has been removed as a result of
your moral bankruptcy while growing up ?
Can you imagine the emotional,
psychological and physical torture you have
put this man through in the three years you
have been married to him ?
Can you imagine what dies inside of him
each time he sees his friends who got
married when he did or after your wedding ,
with their own children? Do you know the
kind of things he has had to endure from
family , colleagues and friends whenever the
issue of children, are being discussed? The
fact that he agreed to go for medical
examinations is more than enough proof of
his desire to have children . Many men will
not do what he did; they always leave the
woman to prove her fertility . The fact too
that he gives you the freedom to select your
own doctor is manifestation of his love for
you. If you had a heart, at the point he
made the decision to subject himself to
medical examinations was the perfect time
to open up to him since you couldn ’ t tell
him before you got married. That itself is
too much of a reason for most men to
throw you out of their lives.
Only a woman without a heart can plan to
subject the man she swore to love till death
to such a sentence. The only crime this
man committed is his decision to love you
forever . You have no right whatsoever to
subject him to such a life without at least
confiding in him. To think your only
concern is how to keep concealing the truth
from him and not how to amend the havoc
you have created in his life, leaves me
hollow and extremely pained for your
husband.
Since you left him with no choice when you
made the decision to marry him without
telling him you will never be able to have
children on account of your not having a
womb anymore, you shouldn’ t be afraid to
face the consequences of your action at all .
Had you told him the truth from the
beginning; the marriage and its challenges
would have been a decision he made of his
own free will , and which he would have
defended accordingly . But since you
decided to play smart , don’ t in all sincerity
expect him to waste more of his precious
time nursing an injury he knows nothing
about. So , rather than blame his mother ,
blame yourself for the panorama that is
about to unfold in your home .
In your mother- in-law ’ s shoes, what would
you do ? You make it sound as if your
mother- in-law is the problem here. If for
three years , she didn’ t attempt to come
between you and your husband , and didn ’ t
try to stop the marriage in the first place ,
stop trying to pin whatever problem your
past decisions is going to bring to bear on
your marriage on this woman . Like every
mother who has a son who has been
married for as long as you and her son
have been , without a child to show for it,
she has every right to be worried .
To insist you use the family doctor is out of
concern for both of you. It is also to make
assurances doubly sure that all the medical
reports you have been given by your
doctors actually address the problem that
may be responsible for your inability to get
pregnant . It doesn ’ t mean she is witch
hunting you, or wants you out so her
favorite choice for her son, can come in.
You won ’ t be thinking this way if you didn’ t
have something as serious as a damaged
womb to hide . The best thing is not for you
to antagonize her or try to wriggle out of
the arrangement she has come up with ; to
do that would only make her very
suspicious of your reason for avoiding her
doctor. For a woman seemingly anxious
about her inability to have a child ; your
excuse would sound poor and completely
out of place . To insist your doctor is on top
of the matter is to make her more curious
as to the kind of relationship between you
and the doctor. If you are not careful , you
will be offering her the opportunity on a
platter of gold to query your faithfulness to
your husband who when he finds out about
your condition would come to the very
logical conclusions that you have been
having an affair with the doctor to
manufacture the fake results. By then, it
would be almost impossible for you to
salvage whatever chance your marriage has
of surviving the mess your past life has put
it. Furthermore, it could also compromise
the license of your doctor eventually.
The best thing for you at this point is to
come out with the truth . If your husband
can go against his mother’ s wishes to
marry you instead of the lady he has dated
for a long time, he loves you. Though that
is no guarantee that he will ever be able to
forgive you for keeping the state of your
womb a secret from him , you have to tell
him the truth now before it is too late .
To avoid any unpleasantness, let there be
someone strong enough to prevent him
from injuring you or himself . Frankly , don’ t
expect a marriage after you tell him the
truth because your conduct frees him of any
such considerations or obligations to you.
Even when he offers, insist he takes his
time to consider the implications of staying
with you since yours isn ’ t just the normal
case of infertility but that of a permanent
disability.
He would know how to present the matter
to his parents without you having to face
the shame of your past life becoming public
knowledge .
October 1, 2014
Three years after I
married, I ’ m yet to take in. The truth is , I
have no womb hence will never be able to
get pregnant . During my second year in the
university , I lost my womb due to
complications I developed during the
process of procuring an abortion.
I became sexually active when I was in JSS
1 and have had series of abortions . Back
then, my friends and I used a mixture of
potassium and blue powder with gin to
procure abortion. We did this many times
until we had the confidence to approach a
doctor through the help of the elder sister of
one of us .
When we entered into the university and one
of us died from abortion related
complications , this doctor warned us
against abortions ; he actually declined to
help us again hence , we switched doctors .
To be fair , before I developed the
complications that led to my losing my
womb , the new doctor warned that I was
walking on very dangerous grounds. He
told me my womb was too weak and that I
should avoid as much as possible ,
unprotected sex . But how can I when on
this day it happened , I had to do a quickie
with one of my lecturers in his office to earn
marks? I really thought I was safe . By the
time I discovered I was pregnant , I was
already in a good relationship with my
present husband so I had no choice but to
terminate it .
To hide the reason for my illness and
operation from him, I had to go home to
avoid his suspicions. None of my friends
told him where I stayed to protect me.
When I came back , I lied it was an
appendicitis operation I went for .
Now my secret is about to be exposed as
his mother is insisting I go to the family
doctor for examination to determine the
cause of my inability to get pregnant ,
especially as my husband has been given a
clean bill of health . She suspects the
medical reports I have been presenting to
the family are false. To cap it all , she said ,
she would accompany me to the hospital
when I go for the tests . I don ’ t know what
to do as I ’ m sure she would push me out of
the house and make her son marry the
woman she has always wanted him to
marry- the girl he grew up with , and dated
until he met me .
She has never hidden her dislike for and
suspicion about my past life . Please tell me
how to get out of this because, if my
husband also finds out the reason for our
childlessness, he will never forgive me. Do I
pretend I forgot the appointment on account
of office pressure on the day of our meeting
or insist my doctor is on top of my case?
Desperate wife
Dear desperate wife ,
Honestly , you are very callous. For how
long were you intending to keep this secret
from your husband? Don’ t you feel anything
inside of you when you both discuss the
issue of your childlessness ? Don’ t you feel
any remorse when he comes from one
medical examination or the other ? If his
mother didn’ t come up with this, be truthful;
were you ever going to tell this man your
womb has been removed as a result of
your moral bankruptcy while growing up ?
Can you imagine the emotional,
psychological and physical torture you have
put this man through in the three years you
have been married to him ?
Can you imagine what dies inside of him
each time he sees his friends who got
married when he did or after your wedding ,
with their own children? Do you know the
kind of things he has had to endure from
family , colleagues and friends whenever the
issue of children, are being discussed? The
fact that he agreed to go for medical
examinations is more than enough proof of
his desire to have children . Many men will
not do what he did; they always leave the
woman to prove her fertility . The fact too
that he gives you the freedom to select your
own doctor is manifestation of his love for
you. If you had a heart, at the point he
made the decision to subject himself to
medical examinations was the perfect time
to open up to him since you couldn ’ t tell
him before you got married. That itself is
too much of a reason for most men to
throw you out of their lives.
Only a woman without a heart can plan to
subject the man she swore to love till death
to such a sentence. The only crime this
man committed is his decision to love you
forever . You have no right whatsoever to
subject him to such a life without at least
confiding in him. To think your only
concern is how to keep concealing the truth
from him and not how to amend the havoc
you have created in his life, leaves me
hollow and extremely pained for your
husband.
Since you left him with no choice when you
made the decision to marry him without
telling him you will never be able to have
children on account of your not having a
womb anymore, you shouldn’ t be afraid to
face the consequences of your action at all .
Had you told him the truth from the
beginning; the marriage and its challenges
would have been a decision he made of his
own free will , and which he would have
defended accordingly . But since you
decided to play smart , don’ t in all sincerity
expect him to waste more of his precious
time nursing an injury he knows nothing
about. So , rather than blame his mother ,
blame yourself for the panorama that is
about to unfold in your home .
In your mother- in-law ’ s shoes, what would
you do ? You make it sound as if your
mother- in-law is the problem here. If for
three years , she didn’ t attempt to come
between you and your husband , and didn ’ t
try to stop the marriage in the first place ,
stop trying to pin whatever problem your
past decisions is going to bring to bear on
your marriage on this woman . Like every
mother who has a son who has been
married for as long as you and her son
have been , without a child to show for it,
she has every right to be worried .
To insist you use the family doctor is out of
concern for both of you. It is also to make
assurances doubly sure that all the medical
reports you have been given by your
doctors actually address the problem that
may be responsible for your inability to get
pregnant . It doesn ’ t mean she is witch
hunting you, or wants you out so her
favorite choice for her son, can come in.
You won ’ t be thinking this way if you didn’ t
have something as serious as a damaged
womb to hide . The best thing is not for you
to antagonize her or try to wriggle out of
the arrangement she has come up with ; to
do that would only make her very
suspicious of your reason for avoiding her
doctor. For a woman seemingly anxious
about her inability to have a child ; your
excuse would sound poor and completely
out of place . To insist your doctor is on top
of the matter is to make her more curious
as to the kind of relationship between you
and the doctor. If you are not careful , you
will be offering her the opportunity on a
platter of gold to query your faithfulness to
your husband who when he finds out about
your condition would come to the very
logical conclusions that you have been
having an affair with the doctor to
manufacture the fake results. By then, it
would be almost impossible for you to
salvage whatever chance your marriage has
of surviving the mess your past life has put
it. Furthermore, it could also compromise
the license of your doctor eventually.
The best thing for you at this point is to
come out with the truth . If your husband
can go against his mother’ s wishes to
marry you instead of the lady he has dated
for a long time, he loves you. Though that
is no guarantee that he will ever be able to
forgive you for keeping the state of your
womb a secret from him , you have to tell
him the truth now before it is too late .
To avoid any unpleasantness, let there be
someone strong enough to prevent him
from injuring you or himself . Frankly , don’ t
expect a marriage after you tell him the
truth because your conduct frees him of any
such considerations or obligations to you.
Even when he offers, insist he takes his
time to consider the implications of staying
with you since yours isn ’ t just the normal
case of infertility but that of a permanent
disability.
He would know how to present the matter
to his parents without you having to face
the shame of your past life becoming public
knowledge .
Olive oil could help to reverse heart failure
Olive oil could help to reverse heart
failure, scientists claim
But animal fats appear to make the
disease worse
A man grabs an olive oil bottle.
By KASHMIRA GANDER
Tuesday 30 September 2014
Olive oil could help reverse a patient’s
heart failure "immediately", scientists
have claimed.
Oleate - the fat found in the golden liquid
- could help a diseased heart pump blood
more effectively and use body fat as fuel,
researchers at the University of Illinois
have found.
The most common reason a person may
suffer from heart failure is when the
muscle becomes damaged, including after
a heart attack, through drug or alcohol
abuse, and high blood pressure.
Shortness of breath, both during activity
or rest; swelling of the feet, ankles,
stomach and lower back; and fatigue are
all symptoms of heart failure.
Currently, there is no way to reverse heart
disease, and a combination of medication
and lifestyle changes help patients
manage their symptoms and keep their
condition stable.
Animal fats, found in butter, were found to make
heart disease worse (Getty)
Scientists made their findings based on
previous studies which show that a
healthy heart absorbs fat to keep
pumping, but if damaged the muscle can
no longer process or store far – starving it
of energy.
This means the heart is unable to work
hard enough, and toxic fat deposits are
left to clog up arteries.
Scientists believe that oleate helps the
body produce enzymes which break down
fat so the heart is once again able to
absorb it.
"These genes are often suppressed in
failing hearts," Douglas Lewandowski of
the University of Illinois in Chicago told
the Telegraph .
"So the fact that we can restore beneficial
gene expression, as well as more balanced
fat metabolism, plus reduce toxic fat, just
by supplying hearts with oleate is a very
exciting finding.
"This gives more proof to the idea that
consuming healthy fats can have a
significantly positive effect on cardiac
health."
To make their findings published in the
journal ‘Circulation’, researchers analysed
how rats hearts responded to oleate or
aplmitate, the fat found in animal fats and
dairy products.
When oleate was pumped through a
failing heart, scientists saw an
“immediate” improvement in how the
heart contracted and pumped blood, Dr
Lewandowski explained.
But, when animal fats were pumped
through the heart, the heart disease
worsened and more toxic fat was
produced.
The study is backed by previous research
which shows a diet high in olive oil can
have the same affect as statins in reducing
the risk of a heart attack
failure, scientists claim
But animal fats appear to make the
disease worse
A man grabs an olive oil bottle.
By KASHMIRA GANDER
Tuesday 30 September 2014
Olive oil could help reverse a patient’s
heart failure "immediately", scientists
have claimed.
Oleate - the fat found in the golden liquid
- could help a diseased heart pump blood
more effectively and use body fat as fuel,
researchers at the University of Illinois
have found.
The most common reason a person may
suffer from heart failure is when the
muscle becomes damaged, including after
a heart attack, through drug or alcohol
abuse, and high blood pressure.
Shortness of breath, both during activity
or rest; swelling of the feet, ankles,
stomach and lower back; and fatigue are
all symptoms of heart failure.
Currently, there is no way to reverse heart
disease, and a combination of medication
and lifestyle changes help patients
manage their symptoms and keep their
condition stable.
Animal fats, found in butter, were found to make
heart disease worse (Getty)
Scientists made their findings based on
previous studies which show that a
healthy heart absorbs fat to keep
pumping, but if damaged the muscle can
no longer process or store far – starving it
of energy.
This means the heart is unable to work
hard enough, and toxic fat deposits are
left to clog up arteries.
Scientists believe that oleate helps the
body produce enzymes which break down
fat so the heart is once again able to
absorb it.
"These genes are often suppressed in
failing hearts," Douglas Lewandowski of
the University of Illinois in Chicago told
the Telegraph .
"So the fact that we can restore beneficial
gene expression, as well as more balanced
fat metabolism, plus reduce toxic fat, just
by supplying hearts with oleate is a very
exciting finding.
"This gives more proof to the idea that
consuming healthy fats can have a
significantly positive effect on cardiac
health."
To make their findings published in the
journal ‘Circulation’, researchers analysed
how rats hearts responded to oleate or
aplmitate, the fat found in animal fats and
dairy products.
When oleate was pumped through a
failing heart, scientists saw an
“immediate” improvement in how the
heart contracted and pumped blood, Dr
Lewandowski explained.
But, when animal fats were pumped
through the heart, the heart disease
worsened and more toxic fat was
produced.
The study is backed by previous research
which shows a diet high in olive oil can
have the same affect as statins in reducing
the risk of a heart attack
WIFE CAUGHT RED HANDED
I want to kill my wife. Imagine the
pretentious unfaithful woman I married. I've been
shattered and broken since Friday. I'm a man but
I've cried.
Where did I go wrong?
I've tried to be a loving. Caring and faithful
husband and father but what did I get?
We seemed a happy family na Stella, we've had
our shortcomings as a couple, like every other
couple but we were happy.
My wife has always been very God fearing and
churcheous,or so she made me believe.
On Friday,like most others,she told me she was
going for a Vigil after work. She had left the
house before I got in from the office, the kids
dropped off with grandma. I was therefore hone
alone when my friends called to hang out with
them at a Bar in Ikeja, i reluctantly did because in
usually not the hanging out type.
We were at the bar having fun over drinks and
generally catching up on school days when we
noticed a car's flash on another car thereby
exposing the people inside,a man and a woman
obviously smooching and all. We laughed nd
made little gossip of it but it caught our attention
anyways and from time to time we looked towards
the car monitoring the event, at a point we noticed
the woman was bent low in what seemed like a
blow job and a friend mentioned In passing" you
go surprise say na person wife be dat o", my
voice was the loudest in condemning the woman
if indeed she's someone's wife while I thanked
God openly for giving me a God fearing
responsible wife who would never stoop so low to
indulge in such.
About an hour later, show over, the couple in the
car stepped out of the car coming towards the
bar, Li and behold,to the full glare of my friends,
that woman was my wife,my own wife, my God
fearing responsible wife. What a public shame,
ridicule and disgrace.
Why are women like this? What did she want? I
thought we had it all. I feel do bad,so depressed.
She hasn't been home since but has sent
everyone we hold in high esteem to beg but
walahi , if I catch that woman I will kill her''
pretentious unfaithful woman I married. I've been
shattered and broken since Friday. I'm a man but
I've cried.
Where did I go wrong?
I've tried to be a loving. Caring and faithful
husband and father but what did I get?
We seemed a happy family na Stella, we've had
our shortcomings as a couple, like every other
couple but we were happy.
My wife has always been very God fearing and
churcheous,or so she made me believe.
On Friday,like most others,she told me she was
going for a Vigil after work. She had left the
house before I got in from the office, the kids
dropped off with grandma. I was therefore hone
alone when my friends called to hang out with
them at a Bar in Ikeja, i reluctantly did because in
usually not the hanging out type.
We were at the bar having fun over drinks and
generally catching up on school days when we
noticed a car's flash on another car thereby
exposing the people inside,a man and a woman
obviously smooching and all. We laughed nd
made little gossip of it but it caught our attention
anyways and from time to time we looked towards
the car monitoring the event, at a point we noticed
the woman was bent low in what seemed like a
blow job and a friend mentioned In passing" you
go surprise say na person wife be dat o", my
voice was the loudest in condemning the woman
if indeed she's someone's wife while I thanked
God openly for giving me a God fearing
responsible wife who would never stoop so low to
indulge in such.
About an hour later, show over, the couple in the
car stepped out of the car coming towards the
bar, Li and behold,to the full glare of my friends,
that woman was my wife,my own wife, my God
fearing responsible wife. What a public shame,
ridicule and disgrace.
Why are women like this? What did she want? I
thought we had it all. I feel do bad,so depressed.
She hasn't been home since but has sent
everyone we hold in high esteem to beg but
walahi , if I catch that woman I will kill her''
War in my house
Please help me resolve the crisis brewing
among my children. I have four children ,
two boys and two girls. Since the death of
my husband , I have tried my possible best
to be a good mother to them all .
I honestly thought I had succeeded until
this recent development among them.
Recently , my second son, a replica of my
late husband took certain money from my
wardrobe. When I discovered the money
was missing , I thought it was my eldest son
and didn ’ t hesitate to accuse him of
stealing my money. I know both of them are
in the habit of pilfering, but this amount was
too much for me to endure . It was the first
time they would take as much as N 10, 000
from my room.
Besides , the money wasn ’ t mine. It
belonged to someone in the office, and
since I didn ’ t have money from anywhere to
replace it immediately , I cried out.
I had already called the attention of my
younger brother , whom I call frequently to
effect discipline when they become too
difficult for me to handle , upon the
discovery that my second son actually took
the money . By the time my brother came
the whole matter had become too messy, as
my other children had taken a stand against
my second son and me. They didn ’ t stop at
accusing me of favouring him more than the
rest, but also think I am the cause of their
bad behaviour , a position my brother agreed
to.
The issue is so bad now that my eldest son
took away the DVD machine at home to
sell. And when I asked him, he said since I
didn’ t do anything to my second son when
he took my money, he being the eldest
reserved the right to do what he liked . He
has threatened to dispose of the house we
reside , the only thing their father left behind
for them .
Please help me resolve this crisis among
my children by telling me what to do . I
have asked my eldest son to return the DVD
machine he sold but he is adamant . Don ’ t
know what to do to him .
Worried Mother .
Dear Worried Mother ,
If your children are divided against
themselves, it is because you didn’ t do your
job as a good mother . If your eldest son is
selling off the property , it is because you
licensed one of your sons to steal on
account of him taking after your late
husband in looks .
The sad truth is , if you don’ t begin to play a
fair game with all your children, not only
would you be the doom of your sons but
the girls too , who from the examples of their
brothers either take to stealing or do other
things to scandalise you the more .
To prevent the surprise of you coming
home to meet the house already in the
hands of its new owners , remove every
document that has to do with the house to
a place of safety. Your eldest son may not
intend selling it, but could do so out of a
sense of hurt as well as perceived injustice
actually carry out his threat . Again , he may
not be serious about selling the house ,
whereas your second son who seems able
to get away with anything where you are
concerned could wake one day and decide
that the money he steals from you isn ’ t
enough and that selling the house would be
the only way he can raise the kind of
money he needs . It is always best to err on
the side of caution than to be caught on the
wrong side napping.
Candidly, you need to apologise to your
children because you wronged them as well
as pushed them into situations they
ordinarily wouldn ’ t have crossed their
minds. There is no substitute to fairness in
everything we do. Being fair means allowing
the will of God to prevail at all times.
Much as I disapprove of what your eldest
son did, why should he return the DVD
machine when you are silent on the crime
of stealing N 10, 000 by your second son
took? What makes your second more of a
son to you than your first? There is no way
he would return that machine until you
learn to be fair to all of them . Seeing that
you are willing to condone and conceal
murder as long as your second son is
happy and protected while you demand for
justice when it concerns the rest would
prevent the return of your DVD machine .
If I were you, I won ’ t press too hard , rather
would look for ways of ensuring that it
never occurs again by disciplining the
second son severely for his audacity to go
into my room to take money not meant for
him. It is the only way you can buy back
your integrity as a mother and the head of
the home . Since you lack the strength to
apply sanctions , call in your brother to do it
for you. The punishment should be such
that the others would see that actually
justice being done and also the process of
your second ’ s recovery programme . The
danger of allowing things to continue this
way is the possibility of him joining up with
other criminally minded persons in the
society. By then, it won ’ t just be your
brother and children witnessing your
shame , but the whole society who would
question your sense of judgement as a
mother.
Yes, he is like your husband , but the
question you should ask is , would he be
happy at the way you are bringing up this
child ? Would he support you turning his
child into an armed robber? That you
discipline a child doesn ’ t mean you hate a
child . The Bible is very explicit on
discipline. Nobody is saying you should not
pamper a child , but when it becomes
unreasonable you expose the child to
man’ s natural vile . When this child
becomes too large for you to manage , it
won ’ t be because you love him too much
but that you are an irresponsible and very
careless mother .
For this reason , you must do everything to
beat him back into shape. Show him that
he can ’ t always have everything in life . That
life is about choices of what you want and
what you need . He may want the whole
world, but does he need the things he is
asking for , stealing your money to buy?
Because you have allowed him to escape
with the idea that he can always get what
he wants, he won ’ t stop at stealing your
things, but also those of other people
around too when he doesn ’ t get anything to
take in the house .
Asking your children for forgiveness would
first of all douse the tension generated by
your levity in handling the matter. At the
meeting, be humble enough to admit your
mistake as well as discuss how you intend
moving the family forward.
If you are honest and your other children
see you are serious about changing the
situation in the house , they would begin to
change for the best . And on those days you
make mistakes , they will understand that it
is part of life and offer you their support to
succeed.
As a mother who loves her children , always
go to God day and night because parenting
isn ’ t an easy task . There is a fine line
between love and indulgence . You need His
presence to constantly remind you when to
draw the line , to remind you when to laugh
and when to frown at them , when to joke
and when to scold them . Always commit
them into the able hands of God who has
the ability to control the excesses of the
youths.
among my children. I have four children ,
two boys and two girls. Since the death of
my husband , I have tried my possible best
to be a good mother to them all .
I honestly thought I had succeeded until
this recent development among them.
Recently , my second son, a replica of my
late husband took certain money from my
wardrobe. When I discovered the money
was missing , I thought it was my eldest son
and didn ’ t hesitate to accuse him of
stealing my money. I know both of them are
in the habit of pilfering, but this amount was
too much for me to endure . It was the first
time they would take as much as N 10, 000
from my room.
Besides , the money wasn ’ t mine. It
belonged to someone in the office, and
since I didn ’ t have money from anywhere to
replace it immediately , I cried out.
I had already called the attention of my
younger brother , whom I call frequently to
effect discipline when they become too
difficult for me to handle , upon the
discovery that my second son actually took
the money . By the time my brother came
the whole matter had become too messy, as
my other children had taken a stand against
my second son and me. They didn ’ t stop at
accusing me of favouring him more than the
rest, but also think I am the cause of their
bad behaviour , a position my brother agreed
to.
The issue is so bad now that my eldest son
took away the DVD machine at home to
sell. And when I asked him, he said since I
didn’ t do anything to my second son when
he took my money, he being the eldest
reserved the right to do what he liked . He
has threatened to dispose of the house we
reside , the only thing their father left behind
for them .
Please help me resolve this crisis among
my children by telling me what to do . I
have asked my eldest son to return the DVD
machine he sold but he is adamant . Don ’ t
know what to do to him .
Worried Mother .
Dear Worried Mother ,
If your children are divided against
themselves, it is because you didn’ t do your
job as a good mother . If your eldest son is
selling off the property , it is because you
licensed one of your sons to steal on
account of him taking after your late
husband in looks .
The sad truth is , if you don’ t begin to play a
fair game with all your children, not only
would you be the doom of your sons but
the girls too , who from the examples of their
brothers either take to stealing or do other
things to scandalise you the more .
To prevent the surprise of you coming
home to meet the house already in the
hands of its new owners , remove every
document that has to do with the house to
a place of safety. Your eldest son may not
intend selling it, but could do so out of a
sense of hurt as well as perceived injustice
actually carry out his threat . Again , he may
not be serious about selling the house ,
whereas your second son who seems able
to get away with anything where you are
concerned could wake one day and decide
that the money he steals from you isn ’ t
enough and that selling the house would be
the only way he can raise the kind of
money he needs . It is always best to err on
the side of caution than to be caught on the
wrong side napping.
Candidly, you need to apologise to your
children because you wronged them as well
as pushed them into situations they
ordinarily wouldn ’ t have crossed their
minds. There is no substitute to fairness in
everything we do. Being fair means allowing
the will of God to prevail at all times.
Much as I disapprove of what your eldest
son did, why should he return the DVD
machine when you are silent on the crime
of stealing N 10, 000 by your second son
took? What makes your second more of a
son to you than your first? There is no way
he would return that machine until you
learn to be fair to all of them . Seeing that
you are willing to condone and conceal
murder as long as your second son is
happy and protected while you demand for
justice when it concerns the rest would
prevent the return of your DVD machine .
If I were you, I won ’ t press too hard , rather
would look for ways of ensuring that it
never occurs again by disciplining the
second son severely for his audacity to go
into my room to take money not meant for
him. It is the only way you can buy back
your integrity as a mother and the head of
the home . Since you lack the strength to
apply sanctions , call in your brother to do it
for you. The punishment should be such
that the others would see that actually
justice being done and also the process of
your second ’ s recovery programme . The
danger of allowing things to continue this
way is the possibility of him joining up with
other criminally minded persons in the
society. By then, it won ’ t just be your
brother and children witnessing your
shame , but the whole society who would
question your sense of judgement as a
mother.
Yes, he is like your husband , but the
question you should ask is , would he be
happy at the way you are bringing up this
child ? Would he support you turning his
child into an armed robber? That you
discipline a child doesn ’ t mean you hate a
child . The Bible is very explicit on
discipline. Nobody is saying you should not
pamper a child , but when it becomes
unreasonable you expose the child to
man’ s natural vile . When this child
becomes too large for you to manage , it
won ’ t be because you love him too much
but that you are an irresponsible and very
careless mother .
For this reason , you must do everything to
beat him back into shape. Show him that
he can ’ t always have everything in life . That
life is about choices of what you want and
what you need . He may want the whole
world, but does he need the things he is
asking for , stealing your money to buy?
Because you have allowed him to escape
with the idea that he can always get what
he wants, he won ’ t stop at stealing your
things, but also those of other people
around too when he doesn ’ t get anything to
take in the house .
Asking your children for forgiveness would
first of all douse the tension generated by
your levity in handling the matter. At the
meeting, be humble enough to admit your
mistake as well as discuss how you intend
moving the family forward.
If you are honest and your other children
see you are serious about changing the
situation in the house , they would begin to
change for the best . And on those days you
make mistakes , they will understand that it
is part of life and offer you their support to
succeed.
As a mother who loves her children , always
go to God day and night because parenting
isn ’ t an easy task . There is a fine line
between love and indulgence . You need His
presence to constantly remind you when to
draw the line , to remind you when to laugh
and when to frown at them , when to joke
and when to scold them . Always commit
them into the able hands of God who has
the ability to control the excesses of the
youths.
Nigeria: North west and voodoo population
Everything turns upside down in Nigeria.
Logic becomes illogical. Wisdom
becomes foolishness. Two plus two
becomes seven. Hospitals become
mortuaries. Stealing is not corruption.
Education is a sin. In Nigeria, so many
things fly in the face of simple
commonsense.
One major example is the ridiculous idea
that, by some inexplicable freak of
nature, more people live in the arid less-
developed Northern part of Nigeria than
in the wet, coastal, more-developed
South.
Insult to intelligence
The larger population of the North is an
elephant in the Nigerian living-room.
According to the last disputed census of
2006, there are 75 million Nigerians living
in the North and 65 million in the South.
This is balderdash! As long as we
continue to accept such blatant lie, there
can be no true democracy in Nigeria.
Electoral results must continue to be
falsified to conform to it. As long as we
continue to entertain such outright
falsehood, we shall continue to be
subjected to a “born to rule” mentality on
the part of some mischievous Northern
politicians.
The assertion that there are more people
in the North than in the South is an insult
to intelligence and commonsense. All
over West Africa, the coastal states are
more densely and highly populated than
the arid desert hinterlands. Nobody has
been able to come up with a reasonable
reason why Nigeria would be the only
exception to this rule. Most of the people
in Egypt live on a strip along the Nile
River. But in Nigeria, we are meant to
believe most of the people live in the
desert.
Some make the case that Northern
polygamy leads to more births. If so,
why are there only 30 million people in
Saudi Arabia, a country more than twice
the size of Nigeria? The Saudis are also
polygamous. If there are so many more
live-births in the North than in the South,
this should be reflected in children
immunization programs: but it is not.
Everything we know about demographics
contradicts the inflated population of the
North relative to the South. The
economic opportunities in the South far
outweigh those in the North. That means
economic migration is bound to be
southward and not northward. The
states with the highest internally
generated revenues all come from the
South; while eight of the last ten are
from the North. No Northern state
features in the top ten.
Mythical Kano
The North regularly trots up Kano as the
largest state of the federation, but there
is no doubt that this is also pure fiction.
There is no way that there can be more
people in Kano State than in Lagos State
or even Oyo State. Let me be even more
categorical. Kano cannot be as populous
as Ibadan. Kano cannot even have half
the population of Lagos.
We were told Kano State was bigger in
population than Lagos State. Then Jigawa
State was carved out of Kano in 1991. But
lo and behold, the remaining rump of
Kano was still bigger than Lagos. In 1991,
we were told there were 5.8 million
people in Kano State, while 5.7 million
were in Lagos. In 2006, Kano was
awarded a population of 9.4 million;
more than Lagos which was given 9.1
million.
In the meantime, Jigawa was awarded 4.3
million people in 2006. If this were to be
believed, it would mean Kano (including
Jigawa) had outpaced Lagos by more than
four million people by 2006. That is
impossible. Moreover, Kano was
awarded 44 local government areas;
Jigawa 27 and Lagos only 20.
Why any right-thinking person would
believe Kano State has more people than
Lagos State is beyond me. For years, the
total amount of internally generated
revenue in Kano was less than 6 billion
naira a year. In the last year or so, it is
now averaging 20 billion. But get this:
the internally generated revenue in Lagos
is 219 billion naira. So why would people
be moving to Kano instead of Lagos?
Where are the jobs in Kano to attract
them relative to Lagos?
Why would more people keep moving to
Kano where there is insurgency; from
Maitasine to Boko Haram, relative to
Lagos where there is none? The answer
is simple. The large population of Kano
relative to Lagos is bogus. It is pure
fiction! If there were more people in
Kano than in Lagos, it would show up, for
example, in waste-generation. How
much waste does Kano produce relative
to Lagos? The answer is only a fraction.
How many houses and physical structures
are there in Kano relative to Lagos?
There is no comparison. Google satellite
maps show a concentration of people and
houses in Kano city centre. Everywhere
else is sparsely populated. This is not the
case with Lagos. It is not the case with
Ibadan. It is not the case with Aba. If
there are so many people up North,
where are the people? Where do they
live? Which vehicles take them from A
to B? How many of these vehicles are in
Kano relative to Lagos? Only a fraction!
Magical Zamfara
Precisely because we have accepted the
lie of Northern population supremacy
over the South, Attahiru Jega and his
INEC cohorts decided to sneak further
falsehood past us. Having discovered far
more double-registration of voters in the
North than in the South, INEC still went
ahead to create additional polling units,
allocating a disproportionate number of
these to the North. However, the very
audacity of INEC in the attempted
perpetration of this fraud has brought to
light certain anomalies in the 2011
elections, especially as it relates to the
North-West.
INEC’s recent cleanup exercise of the
voters register is a big indictment of the
North. INEC discovered that there are far
more double-registration of voters in the
North than in the South. The greatest
fraud in this regard is committed in the
North-West, and the most fraudulent
state in the country turns out to be
Zamfara.
Sokoto and Zamfara states border the
Republic of Niger. Niger Republic is 19
times bigger than Sokoto and Zamfara put
together in land area. And yet, we are
meant to believe that in 2006, Sokoto and
Zamfara had a combined total population
of 6.9 million; more than half of Niger
Republic’s population of 12.9 million.
Zamfara’s fictitious population in the
2006 census was 3.2 million.
Nevertheless, INEC registered 2 million
voters for Zamfara for the 2011 elections.
That means 62.5% of the people in
Zamfara registered to vote. (This is
roughly equal to the 64% of people who
registered to vote in the 2012 elections in
the United States; a country of far higher
voter-awareness and socialisation). This
is fraud of the highest order for the
simple reason that 62.5% of the
population of Zamfara cannot be eligible
to vote.
The voting age in Nigeria is 18 years.
According to U.N. demographics, 44% of
Nigerians are below the age of 15. This
means under no circumstances can 50%
of the population anywhere in Nigeria be
said to have registered to vote in any
election. It is not surprising therefore
that although INEC registered 2 million
voters for the 2011 elections in Zamfara,
the same INEC discovered in its clean-up
exercise this year that 1.1 million of those
voters (over 50%) were fraudulent; the
result of double registration.
Voodoo results
That means only 914,886 of the names on
the Zamfara register could be verified as
not pertaining to double registration.
(This does not tell us how many of the
remaining names are fictitious). But then
get this: according to INEC records,
927,219 people voted in Zamfara in the
2011 presidential election; mostly for
Buhari. That means more votes were cast
in Zamfara than the total number of
legitimately-registered voters, according
to the revelation of INEC’s clean-up
exercise.
Let us put this in stark terms. It means,
according to INEC, over 100% of the
Zamfara electorate voted in 2011. What
malarkey! By the time we factor in the
fictitious names that must have been in
the register, we can see that the figures
coming out of Zamfara have nothing
whatsoever to do with reality. In
Zamfara, there is procedural inflation of
figures pertaining to population and
elections.
This gives us an idea of how fraudulent
the North-West of Nigeria is with regard
to population and electoral figures. This
is not to say that manipulation and
falsification of figures is not standard
operational procedure in other states of
the federation, but INEC revealed that it
is most exaggerated in the North in
general and in the North-West in
particular.
It is not surprising therefore that, in the
2011 presidential election, there were
10.6 million “voters” from the North-
West alone; twice the number of voters
from either the South-West (4.6 million)
or the South-East (5 million). This is
preposterous, and is nothing but one big
lie!
Back to Jega
It is on this fictitious super-structure of a
larger population in the North relative to
the South that Jega’s INEC based its
outrageous allocation of 21,000 additional
polling booths to the North, relative to
8,000 to the South.
In defense of this regional-chauvinism,
Hakeem Baba-Ahmad added insult to
injury by saying: “Jega admitted that
many states in the south did not even
deserve the number of units they got, but
for the inclusion of the principle of
fairness and equity. In other words, if
INEC had been strict in sharing out the
units in accordance with voting
population and geography, the north
would have received even more.” What
poppycock!
In what appears to be the triumph of
commonsense and logic, the Senate has
advised Jega to suspend the allocation of
new polling units until after the 2015
general elections. That should be the end
of the matter. People who don’t
understand how the Nigerian political
system works feel Jega can ignore this
advice. He cannot! The legislative
branch of the government has oversight
powers over the executive branch. Such
a directive from the legislature to an arm
of the government is not subject to
debate. It must be obeyed otherwise Jega
will be sanctioned
Logic becomes illogical. Wisdom
becomes foolishness. Two plus two
becomes seven. Hospitals become
mortuaries. Stealing is not corruption.
Education is a sin. In Nigeria, so many
things fly in the face of simple
commonsense.
One major example is the ridiculous idea
that, by some inexplicable freak of
nature, more people live in the arid less-
developed Northern part of Nigeria than
in the wet, coastal, more-developed
South.
Insult to intelligence
The larger population of the North is an
elephant in the Nigerian living-room.
According to the last disputed census of
2006, there are 75 million Nigerians living
in the North and 65 million in the South.
This is balderdash! As long as we
continue to accept such blatant lie, there
can be no true democracy in Nigeria.
Electoral results must continue to be
falsified to conform to it. As long as we
continue to entertain such outright
falsehood, we shall continue to be
subjected to a “born to rule” mentality on
the part of some mischievous Northern
politicians.
The assertion that there are more people
in the North than in the South is an insult
to intelligence and commonsense. All
over West Africa, the coastal states are
more densely and highly populated than
the arid desert hinterlands. Nobody has
been able to come up with a reasonable
reason why Nigeria would be the only
exception to this rule. Most of the people
in Egypt live on a strip along the Nile
River. But in Nigeria, we are meant to
believe most of the people live in the
desert.
Some make the case that Northern
polygamy leads to more births. If so,
why are there only 30 million people in
Saudi Arabia, a country more than twice
the size of Nigeria? The Saudis are also
polygamous. If there are so many more
live-births in the North than in the South,
this should be reflected in children
immunization programs: but it is not.
Everything we know about demographics
contradicts the inflated population of the
North relative to the South. The
economic opportunities in the South far
outweigh those in the North. That means
economic migration is bound to be
southward and not northward. The
states with the highest internally
generated revenues all come from the
South; while eight of the last ten are
from the North. No Northern state
features in the top ten.
Mythical Kano
The North regularly trots up Kano as the
largest state of the federation, but there
is no doubt that this is also pure fiction.
There is no way that there can be more
people in Kano State than in Lagos State
or even Oyo State. Let me be even more
categorical. Kano cannot be as populous
as Ibadan. Kano cannot even have half
the population of Lagos.
We were told Kano State was bigger in
population than Lagos State. Then Jigawa
State was carved out of Kano in 1991. But
lo and behold, the remaining rump of
Kano was still bigger than Lagos. In 1991,
we were told there were 5.8 million
people in Kano State, while 5.7 million
were in Lagos. In 2006, Kano was
awarded a population of 9.4 million;
more than Lagos which was given 9.1
million.
In the meantime, Jigawa was awarded 4.3
million people in 2006. If this were to be
believed, it would mean Kano (including
Jigawa) had outpaced Lagos by more than
four million people by 2006. That is
impossible. Moreover, Kano was
awarded 44 local government areas;
Jigawa 27 and Lagos only 20.
Why any right-thinking person would
believe Kano State has more people than
Lagos State is beyond me. For years, the
total amount of internally generated
revenue in Kano was less than 6 billion
naira a year. In the last year or so, it is
now averaging 20 billion. But get this:
the internally generated revenue in Lagos
is 219 billion naira. So why would people
be moving to Kano instead of Lagos?
Where are the jobs in Kano to attract
them relative to Lagos?
Why would more people keep moving to
Kano where there is insurgency; from
Maitasine to Boko Haram, relative to
Lagos where there is none? The answer
is simple. The large population of Kano
relative to Lagos is bogus. It is pure
fiction! If there were more people in
Kano than in Lagos, it would show up, for
example, in waste-generation. How
much waste does Kano produce relative
to Lagos? The answer is only a fraction.
How many houses and physical structures
are there in Kano relative to Lagos?
There is no comparison. Google satellite
maps show a concentration of people and
houses in Kano city centre. Everywhere
else is sparsely populated. This is not the
case with Lagos. It is not the case with
Ibadan. It is not the case with Aba. If
there are so many people up North,
where are the people? Where do they
live? Which vehicles take them from A
to B? How many of these vehicles are in
Kano relative to Lagos? Only a fraction!
Magical Zamfara
Precisely because we have accepted the
lie of Northern population supremacy
over the South, Attahiru Jega and his
INEC cohorts decided to sneak further
falsehood past us. Having discovered far
more double-registration of voters in the
North than in the South, INEC still went
ahead to create additional polling units,
allocating a disproportionate number of
these to the North. However, the very
audacity of INEC in the attempted
perpetration of this fraud has brought to
light certain anomalies in the 2011
elections, especially as it relates to the
North-West.
INEC’s recent cleanup exercise of the
voters register is a big indictment of the
North. INEC discovered that there are far
more double-registration of voters in the
North than in the South. The greatest
fraud in this regard is committed in the
North-West, and the most fraudulent
state in the country turns out to be
Zamfara.
Sokoto and Zamfara states border the
Republic of Niger. Niger Republic is 19
times bigger than Sokoto and Zamfara put
together in land area. And yet, we are
meant to believe that in 2006, Sokoto and
Zamfara had a combined total population
of 6.9 million; more than half of Niger
Republic’s population of 12.9 million.
Zamfara’s fictitious population in the
2006 census was 3.2 million.
Nevertheless, INEC registered 2 million
voters for Zamfara for the 2011 elections.
That means 62.5% of the people in
Zamfara registered to vote. (This is
roughly equal to the 64% of people who
registered to vote in the 2012 elections in
the United States; a country of far higher
voter-awareness and socialisation). This
is fraud of the highest order for the
simple reason that 62.5% of the
population of Zamfara cannot be eligible
to vote.
The voting age in Nigeria is 18 years.
According to U.N. demographics, 44% of
Nigerians are below the age of 15. This
means under no circumstances can 50%
of the population anywhere in Nigeria be
said to have registered to vote in any
election. It is not surprising therefore
that although INEC registered 2 million
voters for the 2011 elections in Zamfara,
the same INEC discovered in its clean-up
exercise this year that 1.1 million of those
voters (over 50%) were fraudulent; the
result of double registration.
Voodoo results
That means only 914,886 of the names on
the Zamfara register could be verified as
not pertaining to double registration.
(This does not tell us how many of the
remaining names are fictitious). But then
get this: according to INEC records,
927,219 people voted in Zamfara in the
2011 presidential election; mostly for
Buhari. That means more votes were cast
in Zamfara than the total number of
legitimately-registered voters, according
to the revelation of INEC’s clean-up
exercise.
Let us put this in stark terms. It means,
according to INEC, over 100% of the
Zamfara electorate voted in 2011. What
malarkey! By the time we factor in the
fictitious names that must have been in
the register, we can see that the figures
coming out of Zamfara have nothing
whatsoever to do with reality. In
Zamfara, there is procedural inflation of
figures pertaining to population and
elections.
This gives us an idea of how fraudulent
the North-West of Nigeria is with regard
to population and electoral figures. This
is not to say that manipulation and
falsification of figures is not standard
operational procedure in other states of
the federation, but INEC revealed that it
is most exaggerated in the North in
general and in the North-West in
particular.
It is not surprising therefore that, in the
2011 presidential election, there were
10.6 million “voters” from the North-
West alone; twice the number of voters
from either the South-West (4.6 million)
or the South-East (5 million). This is
preposterous, and is nothing but one big
lie!
Back to Jega
It is on this fictitious super-structure of a
larger population in the North relative to
the South that Jega’s INEC based its
outrageous allocation of 21,000 additional
polling booths to the North, relative to
8,000 to the South.
In defense of this regional-chauvinism,
Hakeem Baba-Ahmad added insult to
injury by saying: “Jega admitted that
many states in the south did not even
deserve the number of units they got, but
for the inclusion of the principle of
fairness and equity. In other words, if
INEC had been strict in sharing out the
units in accordance with voting
population and geography, the north
would have received even more.” What
poppycock!
In what appears to be the triumph of
commonsense and logic, the Senate has
advised Jega to suspend the allocation of
new polling units until after the 2015
general elections. That should be the end
of the matter. People who don’t
understand how the Nigerian political
system works feel Jega can ignore this
advice. He cannot! The legislative
branch of the government has oversight
powers over the executive branch. Such
a directive from the legislature to an arm
of the government is not subject to
debate. It must be obeyed otherwise Jega
will be sanctioned
Monday, September 29, 2014
Five things doctors do that they shouldn't do
Five things doctors do that
they shouldn’t
A new campaign hopes to persuade
doctors from carrying out unnecessary –
or even harmful – procedures and tests.
Here are some you should watch for
A campaign, Choosing Wisely, to help
doctors to cause less harm is gaining
momentum across the world. It began in
the US two years ago, with the American
Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
helping specialists to compile lists of
unnecessary or harmful medical
interventions in their field. In the UK, the
National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (Nice) drew up its own list of
“do not do” guidance for doctors . But old
habits die hard and doctors still routinely
prescribe tests, drugs and procedures
that are useless to you. Here are five do-
not-dos that doctors continue to flout.
1. Do not scan for lower back pain
Lower back pain usually gets better
within a month. People who have x-rays,
CT or MRI scans are more likely to end
up having an operation than those who
don’t have the tests. But, on average,
both groups recover in the same time
period. Around 99% of people with lower
back pain who go to their GP have a
mechanical problem that will usually sort
itself out. But how do you know whether
you’re part of the unlucky 1%, with a
serious underlying condition that needs
urgent attention? Doctors are trained to
identify the danger signs, or red flags,
which should trigger intervention. These
include a previous cancer diagnosis,
osteoporosis, or a recent bad fall. You
can find the red flags on the NHS Choices
website .
Bottom line: Don’t have a scan or x-ray
for mechanical lower-back pain in the
first six weeks.
2. Do not prescribe cough medicines to kids
Most coughs and colds in kids are caused
by viruses – symptoms typically last for a
few days, then get better. Paracetamol or
ibuprofen are OK to give for a high fever.
Antibiotics don’t work against viruses –
and remedies for tickly or dry coughs,
runny or blocked noses and sore throats
shouldn’t be prescribed either, says the
American Association of Pediatrics (AAP)
in its contribution to the Choosing Wisely
campaign. “Many coughs and cold
products for children have more than
one ingredient, increasing the chance of
accidental overdose if combined with
another product.”
Bottom line: Wipe their noses by all
means, but go easy on the cough syrup.
3. Do not do random allergy tests
A huge variety of symptoms are
attributed to “food allergies”, though
people are often unsure what they might
be allergic to. But attributing symptoms
like bloating, abdominal pains and
weight loss to “allergy” can be
misleading, and could mean a serious
underlying condition is missed. If you
suffer an allergic reaction, the key is to
identify the culprit by recalling what
you’ve eaten. Usually, there’s little doubt.
If you vomit, swell up or nearly stop
breathing when you eat poppy seeds, you
don’t need a test to tell you you’re
allergic. And if a blood test tells you that
you’re allergic to peanuts but you can eat
them with impunity, then you don’t need
to avoid them. In fact, 8% of the
population test positive to peanuts on
allergy testing, but only 1% are truly
allergic and get symptoms when they eat
them.
Bottom line: Allergy tests are for people
who have “proper” allergic reactions.
4. Do not medicate “happy spitters”
Babies are messy creatures. They spit up
their milk, burp and cry. Some are
diagnosed as having gastroesophageal
reflux or GER. But if they are gaining
weight and breathing OK, there is no
need to medicalise or medicate them.
“Parents should be counselled that GER
is normal in infants and not associated
with anything but stained clothes” says
the AAP. Further investigation is only
warranted if the baby is not thriving or
has respiratory problems. Drugs that
block acid (such as ranitidine ) and act on
the gut (such as metoclopramide ) are
commonly prescribed by paediatricians,
especially in the private sector. But the
experts says infant GER rarely causes any
long term harm and that these drugs
don’t help either in the short or long
term.
Bottom line: Possetting (regurgitating
milk) is normal for babies.
5. Do not advise taking St John’s wort for
depression
According to Nice , there is evidence that
St John’s wort (SJW) may help mild or
moderate depression. Nevertheless,
doctors should not prescribe it or even
advise its use, because it is hard to be
certain of the correct dose, there’s no
standardised preparation and its effects
can last variable lengths of time. SJW
also interacts with lots of other drugs,
including the contraceptive pill and
blood-thinning drugs, such as warfarin.
Bottom line: Just because it works,
doesn’t mean you should take it.
The problem with all these is that old
habits die hard: doctors can go on a
course to learn about new evidence, but
it’s harder to change actual practice. For
instance, Choosing Wisely says patients
and doctors should question giving
antibiotics to kids with ear infections if
they’re not seriously unwell – the
potential harm outweighs the benefits.
But faced with a screaming kid and
sleep-deprived parent, many GPs
routinely prescribe antibiotics.
The campaign also says that there’s no
need for a vaginal examination before
starting the contraceptive pill. Routine
but intrusive examinations are taught in
medical schools but often have no real
rationale. And several screening
programmes also need to be challenged
as they cause unecessary anxiety, and
don’t really help. For instance, routine
screening for prostate cancer by blood
test or a digital rectal examination is of
questionable value and men should only
opt for screening if they’ve been fully
informed about the pros and cons. So
before tolerating a a needle in your arm
or taking a prescription to the chemist,
have a proper chat. It might just be one
of those “do not dos”
they shouldn’t
A new campaign hopes to persuade
doctors from carrying out unnecessary –
or even harmful – procedures and tests.
Here are some you should watch for
A campaign, Choosing Wisely, to help
doctors to cause less harm is gaining
momentum across the world. It began in
the US two years ago, with the American
Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
helping specialists to compile lists of
unnecessary or harmful medical
interventions in their field. In the UK, the
National Institute for Health and Care
Excellence (Nice) drew up its own list of
“do not do” guidance for doctors . But old
habits die hard and doctors still routinely
prescribe tests, drugs and procedures
that are useless to you. Here are five do-
not-dos that doctors continue to flout.
1. Do not scan for lower back pain
Lower back pain usually gets better
within a month. People who have x-rays,
CT or MRI scans are more likely to end
up having an operation than those who
don’t have the tests. But, on average,
both groups recover in the same time
period. Around 99% of people with lower
back pain who go to their GP have a
mechanical problem that will usually sort
itself out. But how do you know whether
you’re part of the unlucky 1%, with a
serious underlying condition that needs
urgent attention? Doctors are trained to
identify the danger signs, or red flags,
which should trigger intervention. These
include a previous cancer diagnosis,
osteoporosis, or a recent bad fall. You
can find the red flags on the NHS Choices
website .
Bottom line: Don’t have a scan or x-ray
for mechanical lower-back pain in the
first six weeks.
2. Do not prescribe cough medicines to kids
Most coughs and colds in kids are caused
by viruses – symptoms typically last for a
few days, then get better. Paracetamol or
ibuprofen are OK to give for a high fever.
Antibiotics don’t work against viruses –
and remedies for tickly or dry coughs,
runny or blocked noses and sore throats
shouldn’t be prescribed either, says the
American Association of Pediatrics (AAP)
in its contribution to the Choosing Wisely
campaign. “Many coughs and cold
products for children have more than
one ingredient, increasing the chance of
accidental overdose if combined with
another product.”
Bottom line: Wipe their noses by all
means, but go easy on the cough syrup.
3. Do not do random allergy tests
A huge variety of symptoms are
attributed to “food allergies”, though
people are often unsure what they might
be allergic to. But attributing symptoms
like bloating, abdominal pains and
weight loss to “allergy” can be
misleading, and could mean a serious
underlying condition is missed. If you
suffer an allergic reaction, the key is to
identify the culprit by recalling what
you’ve eaten. Usually, there’s little doubt.
If you vomit, swell up or nearly stop
breathing when you eat poppy seeds, you
don’t need a test to tell you you’re
allergic. And if a blood test tells you that
you’re allergic to peanuts but you can eat
them with impunity, then you don’t need
to avoid them. In fact, 8% of the
population test positive to peanuts on
allergy testing, but only 1% are truly
allergic and get symptoms when they eat
them.
Bottom line: Allergy tests are for people
who have “proper” allergic reactions.
4. Do not medicate “happy spitters”
Babies are messy creatures. They spit up
their milk, burp and cry. Some are
diagnosed as having gastroesophageal
reflux or GER. But if they are gaining
weight and breathing OK, there is no
need to medicalise or medicate them.
“Parents should be counselled that GER
is normal in infants and not associated
with anything but stained clothes” says
the AAP. Further investigation is only
warranted if the baby is not thriving or
has respiratory problems. Drugs that
block acid (such as ranitidine ) and act on
the gut (such as metoclopramide ) are
commonly prescribed by paediatricians,
especially in the private sector. But the
experts says infant GER rarely causes any
long term harm and that these drugs
don’t help either in the short or long
term.
Bottom line: Possetting (regurgitating
milk) is normal for babies.
5. Do not advise taking St John’s wort for
depression
According to Nice , there is evidence that
St John’s wort (SJW) may help mild or
moderate depression. Nevertheless,
doctors should not prescribe it or even
advise its use, because it is hard to be
certain of the correct dose, there’s no
standardised preparation and its effects
can last variable lengths of time. SJW
also interacts with lots of other drugs,
including the contraceptive pill and
blood-thinning drugs, such as warfarin.
Bottom line: Just because it works,
doesn’t mean you should take it.
The problem with all these is that old
habits die hard: doctors can go on a
course to learn about new evidence, but
it’s harder to change actual practice. For
instance, Choosing Wisely says patients
and doctors should question giving
antibiotics to kids with ear infections if
they’re not seriously unwell – the
potential harm outweighs the benefits.
But faced with a screaming kid and
sleep-deprived parent, many GPs
routinely prescribe antibiotics.
The campaign also says that there’s no
need for a vaginal examination before
starting the contraceptive pill. Routine
but intrusive examinations are taught in
medical schools but often have no real
rationale. And several screening
programmes also need to be challenged
as they cause unecessary anxiety, and
don’t really help. For instance, routine
screening for prostate cancer by blood
test or a digital rectal examination is of
questionable value and men should only
opt for screening if they’ve been fully
informed about the pros and cons. So
before tolerating a a needle in your arm
or taking a prescription to the chemist,
have a proper chat. It might just be one
of those “do not dos”
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