Redheaded men seeking a quick $500 best not turn to the Cryos sperm bank: It’s full-up with carrot top donors and is turning them away. “There are too many redheads in relation to demand,” director Ole Schou tells the Telegraph . Only women who have an infertile redhead boyfriend or who…
Continue reading …Lottery winner hits back at the school bullies with rock musical Stand Tall
September 17, 2011 No Comment
Anti-bullying musical to open in London next month after £20,000 investment from one-time victim Charmaine Watson Charmaine Watson makes an unlikely theatrical impresario. At the age of 31, she lives in a modest home in Eynsham, a backwater of Oxfordshire. Yet this year the quietly spoken woman, who has never been abroad, has decided to step into the backstage world of the musicals she has always loved. Watson’s daring move has been made possible by a large lottery win that has given her a new purpose in life. A victim of sustained bullying during her school days, Watson is now using a large chunk of the money she won to finance a rock musical with an anti-bullying message that opens in London next month. “The songs in this show make you feel you can achieve anything you want to,” she said. “I have always been one to go to every show I can and I’m really hoping that this will change some of the lives in the audience. If one child watches it and feels able to tell their parents or teachers about bullying, this will be the best lottery money I could ever have spent.” The show, Stand Tall , is directed by Simon Greiff, who took the hit Queen musical We Will Rock You on tour, while the musical supervisor is Peter White, who directed the orchestra for the anniversary production of Les Misérables at the Barbican last year. Like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , Stand Tall started as a show for schools, based on the David and Goliath story. “We are living the dream now because of all the interest,” said the show’s publicist, Michael Dove. “I approached Charmaine to see if she was interested in investing, partly because she was local to us in Oxfordshire. She really bought into the show when she heard the music and that’s why we made her associate producer.” Written by Lee Wyatt-Buchan, Aldie Chalmers and Sandy Chalmers, the musical has already won a Princess Diana anti-bullying award for its message. The author Philip Pullman was one of its early fans and West End producers became interested two years ago. Watson’s decision to invest £20,000 in Stand Tall was due to the bullying she endured at secondary school, an experience that caused her to suffer a complete loss of confidence, she says. “I was just the wrong face in the crowd. I was shy and they made fun of me for living in a council house, for my weight, my height, my hair colour – everything. They picked on me every day for five years and I hated going to school so much that I would make myself physically sick. One day I just ran home crying into my mother’s arms and she contacted the school. It took years for me to recover.” Watson’s £2.3m lottery win came six years ago when she was struggling to bring up her first child, Ryan, on her own. “My grandad started buying me a lottery ticket every Wednesday after my 16th birthday, but that week he checked the wrong numbers,” she said. “On Friday, my phone was ringing from about five in the morning because my grandmother had checked them again. I went round to their house with my son and they held up the numbers to show me.” Watson still feels shocked by her luck. “Even now it hasn’t sunk in. I am overwhelmed that I can give my children things I never had. I bought a home for my son and me, and I bought my mother her home too.” Just before her big win, Watson began a relationship with an old friend, Robby, and the couple, now married, have two children together, Georgia and Daniel. She has recently trained as a florist and hopes to open a shop in the area. “I spoke to my bank manager about investing in Stand Tall and he explained the risks, but I decided to take it into my own hands,” she said. Watson plans to attend the premiere at a south London theatre next month. But if the show goes on to tour abroad, like We Will Rock You or Les Misérables , she will have to get her first passport. Musicals Theatre Bullying Vanessa Thorpe guardian.co.uk
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Funds dry up as scientists pinpoint effective treatment for cystic fibrosis A last-ditch effort to save a £36m UK project that is developing a revolutionary treatment for cystic fibrosis is to be launched. Researchers and campaigners say they need to raise £6m in the next six weeks. If they fail, the project, which has involved more than 80 scientists working in Edinburgh, Oxford and London, will be abandoned, dashing the hopes of thousands of young people with the incurable wasting illness. The treatment perfected by the consortium’s scientists involves putting genes into the lungs of patients and has passed early clinical trials. But the recession has badly damaged the income of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust , the charity that has funded the 10-year programme. As a result, the funds that are needed to complete the work have dried up – just as scientists have closed in on their goal of an effective treatment. “Unless we raise the last £6m by the end of October, we will have to lay off staff,” said Professor Eric Alton, the consortium’s co-ordinator. “In addition, the medicines we have developed to treat patients have a limited storage life and will have to be thrown away. We will have to disband – with our target in sight.” Cystic fibrosis affects around 9,000 people in the UK and is caused by a mutant gene that prevents cells from producing healthy digestive juices, sweat and mucus. Individuals who carry a single copy of this gene are unaffected but those who inherit two copies – one from their father, one from their mother – are affected. Their bodily fluids become thick and sticky, clogging up lungs and digestive tracts which then become infected. Around 150 babies a year are born with the disease in Britain. James Fraser Brown, the four-year-old son of Gordon Brown, is one of them. In the past, people with cystic fibrosis would die in childhood. The development of antibiotics has helped to keep them alive, but even today few live beyond their late 30s. Patients survive only by going through long daily physiotherapy sessions, the consumption of dozens of vitamin and digestive enzyme tablets, and the constant use of antibiotics and asthma inhalers. Scientists at the Cystic Fibrosis Gene Therapy Consortium, which has centres in Edinburgh, London and Oxford, decided to tackle the disease at a genetic level. Backed by funding from the trust, they isolated the healthy version of the cystic fibrosis gene and coated it in a special fatty chemical known as a liposome. Patients could then inhale droplets of these liposome-coated genes which would be taken up by cells in their lungs to replace faulty genes. It sounds straightforward. In fact, it took dozens of researchers working for more than a decade to pinpoint the best section of DNA to isolate and to create the best liposome coating. “I was involved in the first trials of this treatment,” said cystic fibrosis patient Alix Stredwick, 33, who lives in Hackney, London, with her partner, Richard. “That was a safety trial. It proved the treatment caused no harm. In addition, doctors found that when they studied what was happening in my lungs – at a cellular level – they could see the effect they were hoping for. The gene was being incorporated into cells in my respiratory system and appeared to be making healthy proteins. It was a fantastic feeling being involved in that.” Now scientists are ready to carry out a second phase of clinical trials which will compare the effects of the gene therapy treatment with a placebo. A group of 130 patients has been enrolled and the toxicology tests completed – just as the consortium’s money has run out. As a result, the trust is launching a special CF Sprint campaign to raise money from the public. At the same time, the consortium scientists have applied to pharmaceutical companies for aid as well as to a number of government grant bodies. “I cannot believe that all this work we have done, after the herculean efforts that have been made, will be allowed to collapse,” said Matthew Reed, chief executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust. “In the scheme of things, £6m is not a vast sum though it is a very tough goal for a charity to raise in such a short space of time. We have to succeed, however.” This point was endorsed by Toby Smith, a cystic fibrosis patient. “This is a chance to turn a disease that was once a death sentence into a manageable condition like diabetes. It is not just this generation of patients who will benefit but all future generations.” Medical research Genetics Charities Health Robin McKie guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Three notable obituaries from the wires today: Kara Kennedy , 51, the oldest child of the late Ted Kennedy, died at a Washington health club, reports AP . She had battled lung cancer since 2002. “She’s with dad,” said brother Patrick. “Her heart gave out.” She has a son and daughter, both…
Continue reading …Homeless being turned into ‘modern slaves’ by criminal gangs, says charity
September 17, 2011 No Comment
Gangs are preying on vulnerable people sleeping rough in UK cities and forcing them to work for nothing Rough sleepers are being turned into “modern-day slaves” by criminal gangs operating across the country, according to one of the UK’s leading charities helping people living on the streets. Thames Reach says it is aware of reports that gangs are targeting homeless people in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Southampton, Dover, Leicester and Luton. The revelation comes after a raid on a travellers’ site in Bedfordshire by police last weekend that led to the arrest of four men and a woman on suspicion of slavery offences. Police said the alleged “slaves” were mostly English, but some were of eastern European origin. Detectives said they were all vulnerable and were either homeless people or alcoholics who had been recruited by “gangmasters” offering money. But according to Thames Reach this was not an isolated incident. The charity said it has been contacted by 22 central and eastern European rough sleepers who had run away from gangs this year. It said some were fearful for their lives. “We have been coming across some extremely disturbing reports from homeless people who have been ‘enslaved’ by criminal gangs across the UK,” said Mike Nicholas, a spokesman for the charity. “Increasing numbers of rough sleepers, many from central and eastern Europe, have told us how they have been held against their will, beaten and forced to work without wages before escaping and ending up on the streets of London.” Earlier this year Thames Reach staff found a group of six rough sleepers linked to a slavery ring operating out of London’s King’s Cross that sparked a police investigation. The charity said the men had come from the Czech Republic and were being exploited by a Czech family based in Birmingham. One of the men, “Michal”, told the charity he had been lured to the UK on false promises of paid work. He claimed that before flying he was drugged with what he now suspects was a sedative, which the gang claimed was a painkiller to help with his bad back. He was then driven to a house in Birmingham where he lived alongside nine other victims of the four-strong gang who were taken each day by minibus to work at a bakery in Luton. Michal told Thames Reach staff that he worked as a “slave” and all his money was taken from him by the gang who beat him regularly. He claims he was given poor food such as bread and butter once a day and that the gang stole his ID and opened a credit card in his name. Another man from the Czech Republic, Wojtek, told Thames Reach he was living on the streets of London, relying on handouts, when he was approached at a soup run near Victoria with the offer of a job and accommodation. He was given a coach ticket to Leicester where he claims a gang stole his ID and bank and credit card accounts. He was told that if he tried to escape he would be caught and beaten. The claims shine new light on the influx of eastern European immigrants to the UK. While the number of rough sleepers from the UK is falling in London, the number of people from central and eastern Europe has steadily risen. Thames Reach has helped over 1,000 central and eastern European people return home since early 2009. It says another 1,000 were counted on the streets last year. It says some of those who returned were victims of violent assaults by gang leaders. “We need to alert homeless services and the people using them to the threat,” Nicholas said. “The embassies and police also need to take the issue more seriously, ensuring the victims get assistance and that this recently exposed menace is tackled. Life as a rough sleeper can be extremely dangerous but the sheer criminality and brutal nature of these gangs has taken the threat of living on the streets to a new level.” Slavery Homelessness Immigration and asylum Communities Housing European Union Jamie Doward guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Measures to stop litigation culture will have opposite effect, warn experts
September 17, 2011 No Comment
Lawyers say government moves to stop ‘spurious’ personal injury claims will lead to cases increasing Government plans to end Britain’s burgeoning litigation culture will achieve the opposite result, according to legal experts who warn that the measures will trigger an increase in the number of individuals pursuing “spurious” personal injury claims. The embarrassing claim threatens to undermine the government’s case for overhauling Britain’s legal aid system, which ministers say is long overdue and is necessary to save the taxpayer some £400m a year. The justice secretary, Ken Clarke, has said the measures are necessary because the “civil justice system has got out of kilter”, resulting in “spiralling legal costs, slow court processes [and] unnecessary litigation”. However, the Consumer Justice Alliance, an umbrella body comprised of charities, law firms and insurers, warned that key proposals to transform the personal injury claims system, outlined in the legal aid, sentencing and punishment of offenders bill, will backfire. Under the current system, legal costs are borne by the losing party. The system works because a claimant takes out “after the event” (ATE) insurance that pays the defendant’s costs if the claim fails. But under the new scheme, known as “qualified one-way cost shifting”, the defendants will bear their own legal costs whatever the outcome. In addition, under the new system the claimant does not have to obtain a lawyer to make a claim, nor do they need to obtain ATE insurance. The alliance warns that this combination will result in a “chancer’s charter”. It argues that defendants will find themselves under pressure to settle small personal injury cases – often disparagingly referred to as “slips and trips” in the legal profession – based on economic realities rather than merit. The alliance quotes a typical example of a local authority who could take the view that it is better to pay out £2,000 in compensation to settle a spurious case where someone has slipped on a wet floor, rather than pay £10,000 in legal costs which they will face whether they win or lose. Robert Khan, head of Law Reform at the Law Society, warned that once introduced “many defendants including public authorities will be worse off”. The society has launched a campaign, Sound Off For Justice, against the reforms. Khan warned that the reforms to the way that personal injury claims are funded will result in many becoming uneconomic for solicitors to take on. “This will lead to a major increase in accident victims representing themselves without the benefit of legal advice,” he said. The alliance argues that the current system works well by ensuring lawyers and insurers will take on only cases that have a reasonable chance of success, a system that “filters out” the majority of claims. But it claims the new system removes this filter. “The government is seeking to tackle a compensation culture,” said Nigel Muers-Raby, the alliance’s chairman. “Astonishingly, their remedy – qualified one-way cost shifting – to this non-existent problem will almost certainly result in a significant increase in bogus claims that it will be financially sensible for defendants to settle even if they are not at fault. This is a chancer’s charter.” A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Justice defended the reforms saying that the current system encouraged “excessive, costly and unnecessary litigation”. She said that the government acknowledged that as a result of reforming no-win no-fee agreements, it was necessary to protect personal injury claimants from having to pay the other side’s costs if they lost, otherwise genuine claims would not be brought. Instead claimants will have to make a minimum payment to initiate their claim in a bid to block spurious claims being brought. The government has yet to set a level for the payment. Concerns about the impact of the government’s legal aid reforms are threatening to cause divisions within the coalition. A number of Lib Dem MPs are known to have reservations which are expected to be aired when the party holds its conference this week. Alistair Webster QC, chair of the Liberal Democrat Lawyers’ Association, has described the bill as “dire”. Consumer rights Consumer affairs Legal aid Jamie Doward guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Details are emerging from the deal for a four-year contract struck last night by GM and the UAW. Both sides seemed pleased with the deal, the first since the government bailout and one that will serve as a model for the UAW’s talks with Ford and Chrysler, notes the Wall…
Continue reading …Battle lines drawn as Dale farm travellers brace for eviction face-off
September 17, 2011 No Comment
Supporters pour in as police numbers swell ahead of tomorrow’s day of reckoning, when authorities will try to evict some 50 caravans from the Basildon site Under a banner reading “no ethnic cleansing”, the entrance to the Dale Farm Travellers’ site was a hive of activity yesterday. Supporters arrived by car, bicycle and on foot, and those residents who work in other parts of the country returned to be with their families and prepare for the bailiffs tomorrow. A police presence was also building up in the area ahead of the eviction targeting some 50 caravans and small chalets at the site near Basildon, Essex. Many of the Travellers were in tears as women huddled together in caravans, anxious at the impending action by Basildon council, which comes after years of legal wrangling over the travellers’ right to stay on what has become the most disputed piece of privately owned land in Britain. Ann Livingstone, 70, from Norwich, was one of those who arrived on Saturday at what has been named “Camp Constant”, the protest camp where around 100 to 150 people have come to give their support to the gypsies. “I came to represent reasonable people who feel this country has come to such a silly point where £18m of taxpayers’ money can be spent in pushing people out of their homes on land they own. Where do they go now? On to someone else’s land?” she said. Livingstone said she intends to stay until tomorrow to show solidarity with other protesters, and is prepared to be arrested. The travellers have been giving up their beds to the supporters, who are of mixed age and background. Mamie Slattery, 57, said they appreciated the support. She was moving her valuables out of her static home into a small caravan. “I
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Road safety officers have found that most seats are wrongly installed, including many put in by the shops that sell them Two-thirds of child car passengers are being put at risk of injury or death because of poorly fitted seats, the Observer has learned. At least 66% of car seats for babies and young children are wrongly fitted, according to figures supplied by local authority road safety officers around the country. Many were poorly fitted by parents, but a separate investigation by consumer group Which? found that almost half those installed by retailers’ own fitting services were also done incorrectly. Problems included seatbelts routed wrongly and harnesses that were too high or too loose. In Portsmouth, of 141 seats tested over the summer, only 41 (29%) passed the safety check. Thirty-four (24%) failed on a major point: of these, six were the incorrect stage of seat for the child; five were too old to be used; and seven were condemned by the council’s road safety officers. Data from Wirral council showed a similar number of problems, with 37 out of 47 seats (79%) not fitted properly. Of these, road safety officers were able to adjust 33, but four were not suitable for the child who was using them. In Oxfordshire, problems were found in 77% of cases, with badly routed seatbelts accounting for 29% of mistakes. An Observer campaign is being launched to highlight the problem of badly fitted car seats and to encourage retailers and parents to ensure they are using seats properly. Research given exclusively to the Observer by Which? shows that even parents who have made use of a retailers’ fitting service may be transporting their children in unsafe seats. Testers from Which? who shopped incognito at 43 stores around the country – including branches of John Lewis, Mothercare, Babies R Us and seven independent retailers – found mistakes made in almost half the cases. The retailers all offer fitting to parents who buy child car seats in their stores or on their websites, and most claim to have trained staff doing the job. However, Which? said that in 49% of the stores it visited assistants failed to install seats correctly. A similar number recommended seats that were incompatible with the tester’s car. Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, said: “Major retailers made serious and potentially dangerous mistakes when advising parents on child car seats. This just isn’t good enough.A child’s safety will depend on having the right seat correctly fitted, and parents expect to be able to rely on the advice they’re offered in-store. Retailers have got to raise their game and train their staff properly.” Although some of the faults are minor and may not lead to additional injuries, some are bad enough to prevent the car seat offering the protection it should. Statistics do not exist to show how badly fitted seats contribute to accidents – police are not required to collect this data – but research suggests that putting a child in a badly fitted car seat could have dangerous consequences. “Seats that are incorrectly fitted can lead to worse outcomes in an accident,” says Duncan Vernon, road safety manager for England at the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.” Travel safety advice Children Retail industry Hilary Osborne guardian.co.uk
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HS2 opponents have fought threat to areas of outstanding natural beauty, but now they say the economic case is flawed too The government faces an uphill battle to win the argument for one of its most controversial infrastructure projects, High Speed 2, with an increasing number of backbench MPs set to join the chorus of voices coming out against it. The £32bn rail link connecting London to Birmingham and the north is to be granted a full parliamentary debate that will see the row over its potential impact stretch far beyond the constituencies through which it will run. Following a concerted campaign by Tory MPs, parliament’s backbench business committee has slated a debate for 13
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