Two a penny

Winner of the American Library Association Gay & Lesbian Book Award and the Lambda Literary Award. Woman or man? This internationally acclaimed novel looks at the world through the eyes of Jess Goldberg a masculine girl growing up in the “Ozzie-and-Harriet” McCarthyite era and coming out as a young butch lesbian into the pre-Stonewall gay drag bars of a blue-collar town. “Stone Butch Blues traces a propulsive journey powerfully evoking history and politics while portraying an extraordinary protagonist full of longing vulnerability and working-class grit. This once-underground classic takes the reader on a roller-coaster ride of gender transformation and exploration and ultimately speaks to the heart of anyone who has ever suffered or gloried in being different. Leslie

A handsomely repackaged version of an award-winning debut novel that won the 1990 Lambda Literary Award for Best Lesbian Fiction and was a Finalist for the American Library Association Gay and Lesbian Book Award. Out Paula

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AFP – French charity Zoe’s Ark faces trial as an organisation for fraud related to the adoption under false pretences of 103 Chadian children in 2007, a court source said Friday.

The group’s head Eric Breteau was brought before judges Thursday to have the charges which also include assisting in the illegal immigration of foreign children with a view to adoption read out to him.

Breteau and his partner, Emilie Lelouch, have already been charged personally on similar counts following complaints from five former volunteers who claimed to have been duped by the association.

Chad’s government accused the organisation of kidnapping, while its members argued they were helping orphans from the war-ravaged Darfur region in neighbouring Sudan.

The five were sent to Chad in September 2007 and told they were on a mission to help Darfur orphans, but returned to France shortly before six members of the organisation were arrested on October 25 that year.

Zoe’s Ark’s managing director Eric Breteau, his assistant Emilie Lelouch, doctor Philippe van Winkelberg, logistics operators Alain Peligat and Dominique Aubry and nurse Nadia Merimi were all originally sentenced to eight years of hard labour in Chad. .

Under a deal with Chad, they were repatriated to France and had their sentences adjusted to jail time there, before finally being pardoned in March 2008 by President Idriss Deby Itno.3 million euros (nine million dollars) in damages and interest due to the victims’ families remains tangled up in legal argument.

However, the Chadian award of 6.

The six suspects complain they have been lynched by the media and the authorities.

Under the charges laid against by the French authorities, Breteau, Lelouch, van Winkelberg and Peligat could face 10 years in jail and a 750,000 euros fine each.

In a book published in 2008, Breteau said that both the French foreign ministry and the French president’s office had known about his mission beforehand and backed it. Their French lawyers argue that the French case is purely political.

Chad – France – justice – Zoe&#039s Ark

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AFP – French charity Zoe’s Ark faces trial as an organisation for fraud related to the adoption under false pretences of 103 Chadian children in 2007, a court source said Friday.

The group’s head Eric Breteau was brought before judges Thursday to have the charges which also include assisting in the illegal immigration of foreign children with a view to adoption read out to him.

Breteau and his partner, Emilie Lelouch, have already been charged personally on similar counts following complaints from five former volunteers who claimed to have been duped by the association.

Chad’s government accused the organisation of kidnapping, while its members argued they were helping orphans from the war-ravaged Darfur region in neighbouring Sudan.

The five were sent to Chad in September 2007 and told they were on a mission to help Darfur orphans, but returned to France shortly before six members of the organisation were arrested on October 25 that year.

Zoe’s Ark’s managing director Eric Breteau, his assistant Emilie Lelouch, doctor Philippe van Winkelberg, logistics operators Alain Peligat and Dominique Aubry and nurse Nadia Merimi were all originally sentenced to eight years of hard labour in Chad. .

Under a deal with Chad, they were repatriated to France and had their sentences adjusted to jail time there, before finally being pardoned in March 2008 by President Idriss Deby Itno.3 million euros (nine million dollars) in damages and interest due to the victims’ families remains tangled up in legal argument.

However, the Chadian award of 6.

The six suspects complain they have been lynched by the media and the authorities.

Under the charges laid against by the French authorities, Breteau, Lelouch, van Winkelberg and Peligat could face 10 years in jail and a 750,000 euros fine each.

In a book published in 2008, Breteau said that both the French foreign ministry and the French president’s office had known about his mission beforehand and backed it. Their French lawyers argue that the French case is purely political.

Chad – France – justice – Zoe&#039s Ark

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France defence minister, Herv&eacute Morin, presented a long-awaited bill on reparations for nuclear victims on Wednesday. Victims and their representatives were quick to condemn the eligibility criteria foreseen by the minister.

The bill provides for civilians or veterans who have suffered from radio-induced diseases after living or staying near test sites in Algeria or French Polynesia to be financially compensated. None of the associations will be represented in the committee, whose members will be nominated by several French ministries. . We will submit an amendment for associations to be represented in a national compensation oversight committee.

We completely disagree, says H&eacutel&egravene Luc, a former senator and member of pressure group V&eacuterit&eacute et justice (Truth and Justice) which demands reparations for test victims, speaking to them.

‘Restrictive’ reparations criteria

Victims’ associations have also criticised the list of radio-induced diseases (lung, breast, blood and thyroid cancer, etc) the defence ministry said it would base itself on to determine which victims receive compensation. It doesn&rsquot take into account new types of cancers and heart diseases that have appeared [among veterans], she explains. According to Luc, the list drawn up by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR ), used as a basis for the bill, is too restrictive. Doom maintains the bill does not take into account all French Polynesian zones affected by nuclear tests.

John Doom, coordinator of the association Moruroa e Tatou , denounces a fool bargain given the compensation eligibility criteria. According to the French defence ministry, residents in the capital Papeete are excluded from the reparations plan.

In Tahiti, for example, only local residents from the eastern peninsula of the island will be considered for damages. This, he said, is despite the fact that all of Tahiti suffered 23 nuclear fallouts from nearby tests. This, he said, is despite the fact that all of Tahiti suffered 23 nuclear fallouts from nearby tests. But aid associations say far more people have been badly affected by the tests. At the time, he said 10 million euros had been earmarked in 2009 for compensation.

Anticipation for the new bill increased last Friday, when the Paris court of appeals rejected compensation requests submitted by twelve former soldiers suffering from skin, blood or kidney cancer.

The French government body in charge of following the health impact of the tests, the (CSSEN), estimates that nearly 150,000 civilian or military personnel participated in the 210 nuclear tests conducted by France in the Sahara Desert and in the Pacific Ocean between 1960 and 1996.

France has carried out a total of 210 nuclear tests over a 36-year periodBetween 1960 and 1966, 17 tests were carried out in the Algerian Sahara desertBetween 1966 and 1996, 193 tests were carried out in the Pacific Ocean

&raquo TIMELINE: Four decades of French nuclear testing

France – justice – nuclear power
. Only five are still alive, the others are now represented by their families

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Planting the nation flag is usually an honour soldiers recall with pride, but for Gerard Dellac, a French former service member in Algeria, it a moment he&rsquod rather forget. In February 1960, Dellac was ordered to plant a French flag in ground zero of France first nuclear test, Gerboise Bleue, in the Algerian desert.

Nobody said it would be dangerous, we were told nothing, said Dellac in an interview with them.

Today, Dellac suffers from skin cancer, an illness he believes was caused by his exposure to nuclear radiation. While working at the test site, he says he wore a cloth suit, rubber gloves and a Second World War gasmask.

We expected [this decision] but still I didn&rsquot think it was going happen, said Dellac. However, his latest plea for reparations at the Paris appeals court was rejected today. It difficult to live through this. We are angry about this scandalous decision, said Michel Verger, President of the Association that represents nuclear test victims, including the plaintiffs and their families.

On Friday, the French court also refused to award reparations to eleven other former French service members. About 150,000 people participated in either a civilian or a military capacity in these tests.

The judgment comes just days before the French government discusses a new bill to organise reparations for the victims of 210 nuclear tests carried out in Algeria and in French Polynesia between 1960 and 1996.

French servicemen had pleaded for compensation on the grounds that the CIVI had granted reparations to civilian employees who had suffered severe illnesses following their exposure to asbestos and that some of those cases had occurred before 1976.

A long legal battle

Friday court decision upholds the initial ruling of the Commission for the Indemnification of Victims of Penal Infraction (French acronym: CIVI), which had rejected the plea in February 2009 on the basis that the events in question occurred prior to 1976, when the law was created. (The state had failed to change asbestos standards to protect the health of French citizens, French courts had ruled. (The state had failed to change asbestos standards to protect the health of French citizens, French courts had ruled.

The plaintiffs, seven of whom are now deceased, demanded a total of approximately five million euros. Employees are compensated in most cases, while service members are left out, it unacceptable, said lawyer Fran&ccedilois Lafforgue who represented the veterans at the trial. . Diseases suffered include cancers of the skin, blood, and kidneys.

A military report of the army shows that I received 1,500 milirams of radiation, says Dellac. However, very few former servicemen have received reparations after bringing their case to military tribunals.

But according to his lawyers, the criteria of the French army are outdated and do not take into account the long-term effects of radiation. The military has refused to grant him reparations on the grounds his exposure to radiation was too low, he says.

If the bill is passed, French veterans will no longer be required to prove that nuclear tests caused the illnesses they suffer.

Veterans unconvinced

All eyes are now focused on the French government ahead of discussion, next Wednesday, on new legislation , which earmarks some 10 million euros for reparations.

However, veterans say they have yet to be convinced by the new legislation.

However, veterans say they have yet to be convinced by the new legislation. French Defense minister Herv&eacute Morin said only several dozens or several hundred of veterans would obtain reparations.

According to Dallac, Morin underestimates the number of people who will need reparations. Our association numbers some 450 widows, that not nothing, he said.

France – justice – nuclear power

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More elderly dying after surgery, study finds

– Thursday, 26 February 2009

More elderly are dying or being readmitted to hospital within a month of surgery, a Canterbury study shows.
Researchers from the Christchurch branch of Otago University's School of Medicine studied elderly who had surgery for common, and typically non-fatal ailments, including hip and knee replacements, removal of gall bladders and hernias.
Grey Power health spokesman Dick Stark said the findings demonstrated the health sector's increasing inability to care for patients, particularly the elderly.
The study compared patient records in 2001-02 and 2003-04 and found a probable increase of 13 per cent of patients over 65 readmitted to hospital or dying within a month of surgery. .
The aged-care political group says it may be because patients are discharged too early to clear beds or community care is poor.
However, more research was needed to determine how much the complexity of a patient's condition affected the outcomes, Rumball-Smith said.
The study could show a decline in care nationwide. Staying in hospital too long could have a negative effect on some, he said.
Canterbury aged-care expert Dr Jeff Kirwan said in most cases the elderly were not discharged too soon in order to free up hospital beds.

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Kiwi shoppers in scramble for eggs

By LOIS WATSON – Sunday, 22 February 2009

CRACKING FEED: New Zealanders are now eating an average 227 eggs each a year.

Eggs flying off supermarket shelves as budget-conscious Kiwis turn to low- cost meal options. That means on average every man, woman and child is consuming around 227 eggs a year.
Industry statistics show New Zealanders are eating a record number of eggs, with more than 80 million dozen sold in the last year.
Michael Brooks, executive director of the Egg Producers Federation, said the increase in egg consumption reflected the changing economic climate and the growing demand from consumers for inexpensive but nutritional food.
The demand for eggs is now so high that commercial egg producers are struggling to fill orders and the country's two major commercial hatcheries are importing extra fertile eggs from abroad so they can hatch more layer hens. They are protein-packed and can be used in so many ways.
"Eggs are a good value- for-money product.
Last week a dozen eggs cost $3. Consumers are very budget-conscious at the moment," Brooks said.95 a dozen (about 58c each) for the highest-priced free-range eggs.62 in supermarkets – just over 30c per egg – although the figures rises to around $6.
This month the British Nutrition Foundation released a medical research paper extolling the virtues of eggs as a nutrient-dense food, neither high in saturated fatty acids nor in energy.
The belief that eggs are bad for your cholesterol levels has been largely dispelled and most health and heart advisory bodies no longer set limits on the number of eggs people should eat, provided they are consumed as part of a healthy diet.
Heart Foundation nutritionist Parul Dube said eggs were a good option for people on tight budgets.
"In the current difficult financial climate, eggs can play a useful role as a relatively inexpensive source of nutrition for all and especially for people on low incomes," the research paper concluded. "A boiled or poached egg is perfect – what you can't have is bacon and eggs every morning. On their own they were highly nutritious.

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Kiwi shoppers in scramble for eggs

By LOIS WATSON – Sunday, 22 February 2009

CRACKING FEED: New Zealanders are now eating an average 227 eggs each a year.

Eggs flying off supermarket shelves as budget-conscious Kiwis turn to low- cost meal options. That means on average every man, woman and child is consuming around 227 eggs a year.
Industry statistics show New Zealanders are eating a record number of eggs, with more than 80 million dozen sold in the last year.
Michael Brooks, executive director of the Egg Producers Federation, said the increase in egg consumption reflected the changing economic climate and the growing demand from consumers for inexpensive but nutritional food.
The demand for eggs is now so high that commercial egg producers are struggling to fill orders and the country's two major commercial hatcheries are importing extra fertile eggs from abroad so they can hatch more layer hens. They are protein-packed and can be used in so many ways.
"Eggs are a good value- for-money product.
Last week a dozen eggs cost $3. Consumers are very budget-conscious at the moment," Brooks said.95 a dozen (about 58c each) for the highest-priced free-range eggs.62 in supermarkets – just over 30c per egg – although the figures rises to around $6.
This month the British Nutrition Foundation released a medical research paper extolling the virtues of eggs as a nutrient-dense food, neither high in saturated fatty acids nor in energy.
The belief that eggs are bad for your cholesterol levels has been largely dispelled and most health and heart advisory bodies no longer set limits on the number of eggs people should eat, provided they are consumed as part of a healthy diet.
Heart Foundation nutritionist Parul Dube said eggs were a good option for people on tight budgets.
"In the current difficult financial climate, eggs can play a useful role as a relatively inexpensive source of nutrition for all and especially for people on low incomes," the research paper concluded. "A boiled or poached egg is perfect – what you can't have is bacon and eggs every morning. On their own they were highly nutritious.

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Petrol prices cut after Government gee-up

– Monday, 29 December 2008

Petrol prices too high – minister

LATEST: Shell has led a round of petrol and diesel price cuts earlier today, after the Government accused petrol companies of dragging the chain to cash in on the holiday period.
Shell's Ultra 91 and V-Power are now 135.9 and 140. .9 cents per litre respectively while diesel drops to 107.9 and 107.
BP's prices for 91 and diesel are also 135.9 cents per litre respectively though the cost of 95 is 141.
Gull said they were in the process of dropping their prices and a decrease would be in place shortly.9 cents per litre.
Shell said the drop was due to the falling cost of refined product, which had not dropped at the same rate as crude oil. Caltex said they would be reviewing their prices later today.
Shell said it reviewed its prices daily, even in the holiday season.
The move comes after energy minister Gerry Brownlee accused oil companies of holding prices to capitalise on the peak holiday driving period and called for petrol companies to make immediate price cuts.