Australian Greens introduce territories euthanasia

[cruise4]

Australian Greens introduce territories euthanasia bill
September 17, 2008 - 8:33AM
Source: ABC

Bob Brown will introduce the euthanasia bill in the Senate today.

Greens leader Bob Brown says he is confident Federal Parliament will pass a bill he is introducing in the Senate today to give the territories the right to make euthanasia laws.

Senator Brown has called on the major parties to allow a conscience vote but he says it is not yet clear if that will happen.

The bill would not restore the original Northern Territory euthanasia law but instead give the NT and ACT the power to make new legislation if they choose.

Senator Brown is calling for the major parties to allow a conscience vote.

"I think Kevin Rudd may be inclined that way but that's not clear yet and we have a new leader of the Opposition, Malcolm Turnbull so I'll be approaching [him], so that we have the legislation hopefully pass the Senate and then go to the House of Representatives," he said.

Senator Brown says that would restore the territories' democracy.

"It's constitutionally sound, it's democratically right, and it may have very very profound positive social outcomes," he said.

"I feel confident that this will get through the Senate and am very hopeful it will also get through the House of Representatives before Christmas."


Bad News day or what... martial law preparations taking place, economy tanking, euthanasia being touted... the plan is clear.

[cruise4]

Australia in biosecurity 'hotspot'
By Dani Cooper for ABC Science Online
September 16, 2008 - 5:41PM
Source: ABC
Australia is "encased by a ring of fire" with modelling by international experts showing Asia to be the most likely source of the next global infectious disease outbreak.

The panel of biosecurity and infectious disease experts also warn that a "fortress Australia" approach is not enough to stop bio-threats entering the country.

Instead Australia must also help develop the region's capacity to deal with and prevent infectious disease outbreaks, they say.

The presentation came ahead of today's launch, by the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre, of the Biosecurity Risk Intelligence Scanning Committee.

Committee chair Professor John Edwards, Dean of the School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Murdoch University, says the group aims to predict emerging threats and inform research priorities.

"Australia has some of the best biosecurity systems in the world," Professor Edwards said.

"But biosecurity is something you can never do well enough."

Professor Edwards says greater attention needs to be given to animal viruses as up to 70 per cent have zoonotic potential, meaning they can be passed to humans.

Priority assessments

He says the new committee will as a priority assess the risk of bat-borne viruses such as the Hendra-like Nipah virus, the dengue-like Chikungunya virus and Bluetongue virus. The later is spread by a biting midge and causes serious disease in livestock, particularly sheep.

Dr Peter Daszak, executive director of the Consortium for Conservation Medicine, says modelling of the likely areas where new viruses will emerge shows the region to the north of Australia to be most at risk.

"Australia is surrounded by the hotspot for emerging diseases and they are areas with incredibly low surveillance effort," he said.

"To understand the risk of new viruses we have to know what viruses wildlife carry, and of course we don't.

"We need to understand what makes them emerge and deal with that before they emerge."

'Hottest of hotspots'

Dr Daszak says more than half of all emerging disease come from wildlife, yet estimates suggest 99.8 per cent of viral diversity is unknown.

While it is hard to predict what the next pandemic will be, Dr Daszak says "we can get a handle on where the next one will come from".

"The countries that border Australia are becoming the hottest of the hot spots," he says, adding we are "encased" by a biosecurity "ring of fire".

"The networks of trade and travel mean we are extremely connected to areas where diseases are emerging and therefore [Australia is] at high risk," Dr Daszak says.

His view is supported by the World Health Organisation deputy regional advisor for communicable disease surveillance and response, Dr Julie Hall.

Dr Hall says the Asia-Pacific region has all the "drivers that enhance or create an environment" where new disease can emerge.

This includes high population density, significant poultry populations, and natural disasters and climate change causing large migrations of population.

'One new disease a year'

Dr Hall says 70 per cent of new emerging diseases are expected to come from animals and globally during the past 30 years on average one new disease a year has emerged.

She says the emerging threats in the region at present come from vector-borne disease, spread by mosquitoes.

This includes Dengue fever and Chikungunya virus.

However, Dr Hall warns the most serious threat to the nation's biosecurity is "influenza fatigue" where interest wanes in the field because the threatened pandemic does not arrive.

This would mean a cut in funding to safeguards and the erosion of systems that prevent the pandemics from occurring.

[cruise4]

Sydney company licensed to clone human embryos
September 17, 2008 - 7:00AM
Source: ABC

Licence to clone: A Sydney firm has been granted permission to clone human embryos

A Sydney company has been granted the first Australian licences to create cloned human embryos to obtain stem cells.

The National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has issued the licences to Sydney IVF.

The company is allowed to derive human embryonic stem cell lines from embryos using clinically unusable human eggs.

The NHMRC says it will closely monitor the company's work.

The chairman of the Council's Embryo Research Licensing Committee, Professor Jock Findlay, says if the company is successful, its research could lead to several medical breakthroughs.

He also says there are strong checks in place to ensure the research is done properly.

[lizzy]

Thanks cruise 4.:)...so there's a Murdoch University....:rolleyes: OMG. ..

they cook up some real evil there no doubt, no escape , it's everywhere........

they will have us believing it a priveledge to be cloned oneday.

[rixxmixxhell]

Thanks for posting Cruise.

Zoonotics (as mentioned in your posts) are up my street....will post anything if i find anything suitable to add to your posts.

I also have some stuff to post on zoonotics and also animal chipping, - and how it is taught in universities and colleges that completely fools the students - of course hiding the real agenda...

Rick