Dangerous meds - Douglas

Senior meds linked to pneumonia

Elderly people suffering from conditions like dementia are often pumped full of powerful meds they don't need -- which is bad enough in and of itself. But unfortunately that's just the beginning -- because as it turns out, these drugs can actually increase the risk of potentially deadly pneumonia.

And when it comes to pneumonia in the elderly, even the mildest form can be a death sentence.

When researchers looked at data on nearly 2,000 seniors -- 258 with pneumonia, and 1,686 without -- they found that the patients on antipsychotic meds were twice as likely to get sick.

The higher the dosage, the higher the risk, according to the study in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

But let's face facts here, because that's not the only way these drugs shorten lives.

These are dangerous meds for even the healthiest of people... but force a senior to take them and you're practically killing him yourself -- especially if he didn't need them in the first place.

And believe me, he almost certainly didn't need these meds in the first place. One study last year found that some 80 percent of seniors on these meds don't need them -- and I'd say that's being generous.

Most of the seniors who get these meds live in institutions. The ones that dish out steady doses of antipsychotic meds do so for one reason only: to create quiet, complacent, non-demanding zombified seniors who can be monitored by the smallest possible staff while the owners cash insurance checks.

If you have loved ones in a joint like this, get them the heck out now. If that's not an option, at the very least you need to keep tabs on what drugs they're being given, and why.

And if you're one of the sad sacks behind these pill-pumping operations, find a new line of work... because if I had my way, you'd be in an institution, too: Prison.

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .


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Equalization Is Indeed a Problem: FCPP - Frontier Centre for Public Policy

Equalization Is Indeed a Problem: FCPP - Frontier Centre for Public Policy


A worthwhile read -why are we subsidizing ineffeciency ?

s wants to share this with you!

Hi Proactive,

s thought you may be interested in this!

the winds of change

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Keeping in touch with your community has never been so easy!

Brantford Expositor Team

Business News - Bank report spreads blame wide in Iceland - ArcaMax Publishing

Business News - Bank report spreads blame wide in Iceland - ArcaMax Publishing


Bank report spreads blame wide in Iceland

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (UPI) -- An Icelandic inquiry into the 2008 collapse of its banking system found fault with key bankers, politicians and excessive growth of the industry since 2001. The Special Investigation Commission of Iceland's parliament issued harsh criticism of many officials, including former prime minister Geir Haarde, central bank Chairman David Oddsson, central bank governors and bank regulators, the EUobserver reported Tuesday. The report says underlying the collapse was a growth spurt in the banking industry, which grew twenty-fold in seven years, running far past the point where it could cover its bets. Reflecting the sweeping criticism, Prime Minister Johanna Sigurdardottir said: "The private banks failed, the supervisory system failed, the politics failed, the administration failed, the media failed, and the ideology of an unregulated free market utterly failed." The report said regulators "did not enforce the legal provisions which were at its disposal even when they saw laws being broken." The banks' largest shareholders "had an abnormally easy access to loans in these banks," the report said. The Central Bank of Iceland held only a fraction of the necessary foreign currency reserves needed to protect either of the country's three large banks, Glitner, Kaupthing or Landsbanki. When the collapse occurred, the central bank could not protect one, let alone all three, the report said.

There is a lesson to be learned here . PR

more school choice for parents

More Choice a Good Thing For School Boards


The plan by the Toronto District School Board to allow the creation of specialty schools is a positive development but needs to go much further by embracing a more expanded form of choice. In a new column, Frontier research associate Michael Zwaagstra urges school boards across Canada to imitate Edmonton’s public schools and make school choice a fundamental component of their educational philosophy.
 
 
Another interesting Frontier article

Gmail - The Shape of Tomorrow's Farming - Frontier Online - siegholle@gmail.com

How The Great Recession Concentrated Public Minds Recently announced wage freezes for government employees in New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba will help address the long-term problem of rapid pay escalation in the public sector. Frontier’s Ben Eisen applauds recently-announced wage freezes for government employees as a smart way to fight deficits in the near- and long-term.



Agreed and good evaluation

Cheap fix for refugee problem - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

Cheap fix for refugee problem - Brantford Expositor - Ontario, CA

In 2008, Auditor General Sheila Fraser reported that it was costing up to $228 a day to detain a single refugee claimant in a provincial jail or federal immigration holding facility.
Multiply that by the almost 20,000 failed refugee claimants ordered deported every year -- plus the backlog of 15,000, plus up to another 38,000 who are missing -- and the cost would be staggering.
The auditor general estimated that in 2008 alone, detaining a fraction of all refugee claimants cost taxpayers over $38 million.
Forcing refugees to post cash bonds as an alternative to detention apparently doesn't always work too well, either.

The auditor general reported that about 18% of all those who posted bonds instead of going to jail in 2005 "did not comply with the terms of their release" -- that is, they disappeared.
Half of those were still missing at the time of the audit three years later, including 18 with criminal records. Even when failed refugee claimants show up at the deportation office, taxpayers can be on the hook for a very expensive goodbye.



A bounty of 2000 $ plus one way ticket seems like a good alternative Pr

Fwd: [FAIR Newsletter] UK Celebrates 10 Years Of Whistleblower Protection

Interesting information on accountability and whistleblowers

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: FAIR (Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform) <newsletter@fairwhistleblower.ca>
Date: Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 11:45 PM
Subject: [FAIR Newsletter] UK Celebrates 10 Years Of Whistleblower Protection
To: siegholle@gmail.com

UK Celebrates 10 Years Of Whistleblower Protection FAIR offers sincere congratulations to our sister organization in the UK, Public Concern At Work (PCAW) on what it has accomplished since its foundation in 1993. Thanks to PCAW's efforts the UK has had strong, well-designed whistleblower protection legislation in place for more than 10 years. PCAW recently issued a comprehensive report Where's Whistleblowing Now? which examines the progress made over the past decade and provides a wealth of information. The report paints a picture of a system that is generally working fairly well to ensure that whistleblowers are protected and to help them obtain appropriate remedies if they suffer reprisals. Areas of progress include: greater awareness of employee rights and greater willingness to speak out about wrongdoing; media reporting that is highly supportive of whistleblowers; and public attitudes towards whistleblowers becoming more positive. One striking finding is that in the UK 86% of senior executives employed by multinationals feel free to report a case of suspected fraud or bribery, compared with 54% in mainland Europe. Another notable observation is that there has been a tenfold increase in the number of employees submitting claims of reprisal, rising from 157 cases in 1999 to 1,761 ten years later. This could be in part due to increasing numbers of people blowing the whistle (this statistic is not measured), but it also suggests that many UK employers still do not accept employees' right to speak up about wrongdoing in the workplace. PCAW also notes the need for some improvements. Their main concern is that in spite of the large number of claims being made, serious systemic risks to the public interest probably still remain hidden. This is due to secrecy regarding the nature of claims being made to the tribunal; and also because whistleblowers are often forced to sign gag orders as a condition of receiving compensation for the reprisals they have suffered. Many of of the report's findings invite unfavourable comparisons with Canada. Two examples: UK whistleblowers seem to have a reasonable chance of prevailing in their claims of reprisal: 70% of claims to the tribunal were settled or withdrawn before going to a hearing, and the whistleblower won in 22% of cases that went to a hearing. In contrast, it is almost unheard of for a whistleblower to prevail in Canada. The only notable case in recent memory is that of Saskatchewan whistleblower Linda Merk, who won only after doggedly fighting all the way to the Supreme Court. All 21 million employees in the UK have unrestricted access to an employment tribunal where they can lodge claims of reprisal; and more than 7,000 such claims have been submitted over the past decade. In contrast, the Canadian federal government has legislated whistleblower protection for only 400,000 public servants. Furthermore, our Public Sector Integrity Commissioner acts as a gatekeeper, deciding which cases (if any) to refer to a specially-created tribunal. Remarkably, during three years of operation her office has not yet referred a single case and the tribunal has never sat. The report also provides summaries of 30 selected cases, a chart summarizing the status of whistleblower legislation in 44 countries, and detailed analysis of the calls fielded by PCAW's free confidential help line. See Graphs Of UK Whistleblowing Trends... Download PCAW's 10-Year Progress Report... For anyone with a serious interest in what's happening in other countries, we highly recommend this informative report. David Hutton Executive Director Federal Accountability Initiative for Reform (FAIR) promotes integrity and accountability within government by empowering employees to speak out without fear of reprisal when they encounter wrongdoing. Our aim is to support legislation and management practices that will provide effective protection for whistleblowers and hence occupational free speech in the workplace. FAIR is a registered Canadian charity. Unsubscribe from this newsletter

--
Hollecrest & Associates Inc   -"Turnaround Consultants" http://www.ic.gc.ca/ccc/search/cp?l=eng&e=123456239975 .


Back to Eden communities
Sunridge -261 Oakhill Drive, Brantford
backtoeden.ontario@gmail.com
www.backtoeden.bravehost.com
"Building elder peer communities that are cozy,caring and comfortable" -quality 24/7 care