Hon. Mike Olscamp,
MLA, Tantramar

Mr Olscamp;

I recently learned of the premier’s intention to pay for MS patients’ so-called “liberation treatment” (N.B. will fund MS vein-opening treatment). This is unfortunate.

While I understand that the premier is acting with the best of intentions and seeks only to alleviate suffering, he is not equipped to second-guess medical professionals who have yet to determine the safety and efficacy of this expensive and controversial technique.

Emotional stories from old friends should not carry undue weight — if any — when making expensive healthcare funding decisions. Scientific journals are not filled with articles containing “I heard from somebody that this works great”, or “wouldn’t it be just wonderful if this worked?”.

Intervening politically in this way undermines the healthcare profession and places the health of New Brunswickers in the hands of people with a vested financial interest in promoting unproven surgical procedures. Is the province prepared to cover possible lawsuits, should the technique prove to be dangerous, since it has endorsed it and funded it?

I hope to learn that the premier has reconsidered his position, and thank you for taking the time to read this; I know how busy you must be.

Regards,

Christopher Mackay

PS — I will be posting this on my blog at cbmackay.ca

Boy, he covers a lot of ground in this 6-minute bit, but he speaks the truth.

Follow-up to part 1.

These are excellent suggestions. I constantly see violations of:

5. Tables should be level without anyone asking. Fix it before guests are seated.

12. Do not touch the rim of a water glass. Or any other glass.

17. Do not take an empty plate from one guest while others are still eating the same course. Wait, wait, wait.

20. Never refuse to substitute one vegetable for another.

23. If someone likes a wine, steam the label off the bottle and give it to the guest with the bill. It has the year, the vintner, the importer, etc.

This one goes for coffee, water, etc., not just wine — especially in this day of H1N1 hysteria concern:

30. Never let the wine bottle touch the glass into which you are pouring. No one wants to drink the dust or dirt from the bottle.

Looking forward to the next 50…

(Via @zeldman.)

Good news for Jobs, for Apple, and for everyone tired of the morbid speculation surrounding the Macworld keynote.

Potato Fest & Maritime Brunch @ Cape Jourimain Nature Centre

August 23 & 24, 2008

Celebrate the potato with us and learn about many of the varieties we can get locally. What are CSA’s, what is organic agriculture? Have some fun trying out new potato dishes!

Our Brunch on the 24th will focus on the potato and will be a Maritime Brunch with food only from the Maritimes, with most of it grown within 100 miles of the Centre!

For more information call Sabine at 506-538-2336″

(Via ACORN Organic.)

Experts Revive Debate Over Cellphones and Cancer, by Tara Parker-Pope, June 3, 2008:

What do brain surgeons know about cellphone safety that the rest of us don’t?

Last week, three prominent neurosurgeons told the CNN interviewer Larry King that they did not hold cellphones next to their ears. “I think the safe practice,” said Dr. Keith Black, a surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, “is to use an earpiece so you keep the microwave antenna away from your brain.”

Worth a read.

(Via FARK.com, of course.)

.)

I threw out three expensive water bottles late last year — models which the manufacturer has since replaced with bottles featuring a different plastic — and switched to metal bottles by SIGG.

The thing that annoys me most about this sort of threat — however small it may be — is that manufacturers are automatically given a pass until something is proven, at someone else’s great expense, to be harmful.

Don’t look for this to change soon. And kudos to NBC for showing some of their sponsors’ products in this piece: I’ll bet someone took some heat for that.