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New Delhi:A countrywide protest against censorship on the Internet saw youngsters join hands at Jantar Mantar in the national capital. Wearing 'Guy Fawkes' masks, synonymous with global protests where protesters prefer to keep their identity concealed, the protesters raised slogans to create more awareness on the new amendments to the IT Act.

The call for demonstrations was given by the Indian arm of international hackers' group 'Anonymous', after a March 29 court order in Chennai demanding 15 Indian Internet providers to block access to file-sharing websites such as Pirate Bay.

The protest was spearheaded by 'Save Your Voice' and planned at various historic monuments in 16 cities, including at the Jantar Mantar.

Holding banners, the members of the group raised slogans like, "Raise your voice, save your voice."

The order has resulted in access being denied to a host of websites that carry pirated films and music among other legal content, including http://www.isohunt.com and http://www.pastebin.com.

On Wednesday, the Anonymous forum fired an opening shot by attacking the website of state-run telecom provider MTNL, pasting the logo of the group - the mask of 17th century revolutionary Guy Fawkes - on http://www.mtnl.net.in.

In an open letter the same day, the group accused the government of trying to create a "Great Indian Firewall" to establish control on the Web and issuing a "declaration of war from yourself... to us."

Concerns about Internet freedom in India go beyond the court order in Chennai, however, and stem from an update to India's Information Technology Act that was given by the IT and communications ministry in April last year.

The new rules regulating Internet companies - providers, websites and search engines - instruct them that they must remove "disparaging" or "blasphemous" content within 36 hours if they receive a complaint by an "affected person".

Groups such as the Centre for Internet and Society, a Bangalore-based research and advocacy group, have waged a year-long campaign for amendments to the rules, which were quietly released in April.

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'Anonymous' protests in Delhi against Internet censorship

PARIS, France, June 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanofi (EURONEXT: SANand NYSE: SNY) announced today that people with early type 2 diabetes uncontrolled on metformin demonstrated superior HbA1c - glycated hemoglobin - reduction with Lantus (insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection) versus sitagliptin. These data from the EASIE (Evaluation of Insulin Glargine Versus Sitagliptin in Insulin-Naive Patients) study were presented at the American Diabetes Association 72nd Scientific Sessions. Results of the study were also published today online in The Lancet.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110624/NY25833LOGO)

"The findings of this study comparing insulin glargine with sitagliptin provide evidence to support the recent ADA-EASD proposal to consider early basal insulin therapy as add-on to metformin to help achieve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes," said principal investigator Pablo Aschner, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Colombia.

In insulin-naive people with type 2 diabetes, who were inadequately controlled by metformin once-daily, insulin glargine produced superior HbA1c reduction (-1.7%) versus once daily sitagliptin (-1.1%; p<0.001). Notably 50% more patients on insulin glargine achieved HbA1c <7% (68 vs. 42%) and <6.5% (40 vs. 17%) compared to sitagliptin (p<0.0001 for both), indicating improved glycemic control for a greater number of insulin glargine patients. Additionally, a statistically significant improvement in fasting plasma glucose (FPG), a key contributor to glycemic control, was observed for patients on insulin glargine compared to sitagliptin. The mean difference in self-monitored FPG was -41.4 mg/dL (95% CI: -46.8 to -36.0 mg/dL) lower with insulin glargine than with sitagliptin (p<0.0001).

Treatment-emergent adverse events were less frequent in patients on insulin glargine (108 patients [46%]) versus sitagliptin (143 patients [54%]). Hypoglycemia rates were higher with insulin glargine (4.21 events per patient year versus 0.50 for sitagliptin; p<0.0001). The number of patients with overall symptomatic hypoglycemia and nocturnal symptomatic hypoglycemia, with plasma glucose (PG) < 56 mg/dL, was 56 with insulin glargine compared to 12 with sitagliptin, and 20 vs. 2, respectively. Severe symptomatic hypoglycemia was reported in 3 patients receiving insulin glargine compared to 1 receiving sitagliptin. Severe nocturnal symptomatic hypoglycemia was reported in 1 patient in each group. Mean body weight slightly increased with glargine (+0.4 kg) and decreased with sitagliptin (-1.1 kg).

"The EASIE study adds valuable data to further strengthen the efficacy profile of Lantus when initiated early in the treatment pathway after metformin," said Pierre Chancel, Senior Vice President, Global Diabetes, Sanofi. "EASIE is a demonstration of the continued commitment of Sanofi to helping people with type 2 diabetes reach their glycemic targets."

The study findings are highlighted at the American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions in the following abstract: Evaluation of Insulin Glargine Versus Sitagliptin in Insulin-Naive Patients (EASIE) With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) Uncontrolled in Metformin (Aschner et al.) [CT-SY22].

About EASIEEASIE was a multicenter, international, randomized, open-label, six-month study that compared once-daily insulin glargine with sitagliptin (100 mg) once daily, as add-on therapy to metformin, in insulin-naive people with early type 2 diabetes (median disease duration after diagnosis: 4.5 years). The primary endpoint was to demonstrate superiority of insulin glargine (n = 227 at study end) over sitagliptin (n = 253 at study end) in change in HbA1c from baseline to study end. Baseline characteristics were similar for both groups.

About Lantus (insulin glargine [rDNA origin] injection)Prescription Lantus is a long-acting insulin used to treat adults with type 2 diabetes and adults and children (6 years and older) with type 1 diabetes for the control of high blood sugar. It should be taken once a day at the same time each day to lower blood glucose.

Do not use Lantus to treat diabetic ketoacidosis.

See more here:
Lantus® Initiation after Metformin Achieved Superior Glycemic Control versus Sitagliptin in Type 2 Diabetes

THE May 30 mass shooting in Seattle that claimed the lives of five innocent victims, plus the 40-year-old gunman by his own hand, sent shock waves through the city. And the fact that this latest episode followed on the heels of an apparent short-term spike in homicide by gunfire has intensified the levels of anger, fear and concern among the residents of Seattle.

Understandably, politicians and pundits alike are calling for stiffer gun-control measures, particularly at the state level. As City Councilmember Nick Licata put it, "The problem isn't in Seattle, but in Olympia." Actually, the problem is far greater than what the Washington state Legislature can address, and the solution far broader than any Band-Aid gun-control measures.

While violence, and gun violence in particular, is sadly all too common on the streets of Seattle, as it is elsewhere, mass murder remains a rare and unpredictable event. In fact, the only predictable thing about mass murder is that it will generate a surge of anti-gun rhetoric that will dissipate as soon as residents, politicians and the media inevitably turn their attention to other matters.

Since the mid-1970s and up until this recent incident, Seattle has endured five episodes of mass murder, cases in which at least four victims were killed (not counting the assailant). One incident involved a disgruntled family member, but the remainder implicated acquaintances or strangers. All involved firearms, as it is difficult though not impossible to slaughter large numbers of people by means of stabbing, bludgeoning, beating or strangling.

The kinds of proposals being advanced in the press and over the airwaves closing the gun-show loophole, enhancing background checks, aggressively prosecuting gun crimes may be reasonable and well-meaning; but when it comes to preventing mass murder, they are meaningless.

Would Kyle Huff, who in 2006 killed six and wounded two others at a Capitol Hill address just before committing suicide, have been deterred by state restrictions on gun purchasing when his shotgun was brought from his hunting-rich home state of Montana?

Would the three assailants Kwan Fai Mak, Wai-Chiu Ng and Benjamin Ng in the 1983 Wah Mee Club massacre have needed to find a gun show to secure the weapons they used to rob and murder 13 people?

Would Ian Stawicki, implicated in the latest mass murder, have been concerned about violating laws that punish gun crimes when he was apparently prepared to end his own life rather than be captured by the police? And would Stawicki, known for being belligerent and quick to anger, have been disqualified from gun ownership no matter how restrictive the qualifications?

The answers to these questions are strikingly similar, all ranging from probably not to definitely not.

Gun-control measures that work to reduce single-victim homicide would be ineffective against mass murder.

Originally posted here:
Gun control is a good crime-prevention measure but not for mass murder

By Linda Mckay

PUBLISHED: 06:49 EST, 8 June 2012 | UPDATED: 10:50 EST, 8 June 2012

I am planning a backpacking trip round the Greek islands this summer and had hoped to supplement my holiday with some bar work.

With the financial crisis in the country reaching epic proportions will this still be a good time to go? IM, via email.

Greece: Is now still a good time to go?

Linda McKay of This is Money replies: Greece has hit the headlines in the city pages for the troubled financial state and the parlous state of the nation as a whole.

If you decide to go ahead with your plan you will be welcomed, as tourism is still accounts for 15 per cent of total output and one in five jobs in Greeces 170billion economy, but strikes and riots have spooked visitors and many have been put off by fears of serious difficulties if Greece is pushed out of the euro.

Holidaymakers like you will be put off travelling leaving thousands of small Greek pensiones empty and their owners desperate for business.

The strength of the pound will take you further but everything in the Greek islands themselves has to be imported so you may find prices in the tavernas higher than even last year as restaurateurs struggle to break even.

Original post:
I'm planning a trip around the Greek islands this summer. Is this still a good time to go?

When city health inspectors swung by the Quinnipiack Club, they didnt stop for the power-lunch grilled chicken salad. Instead they popped in on the cockroaches.

The elite private club (picture above) on Church Street failed its latest health inspection with a score of 61 out of 100. Most food establishments inspected over the past two weeks passed.

City sanitarians inspect all of New Havens restaurants, groceries, and bars between one and four times a year. Establishments that score less than 80 have two weeks to make the recommended corrections. The health department can also close a restaurant, regardless of its score, if the sanitarians suspect an immediate danger to public health.

The Q Club has been active since 1871. It has elegant dcor, continental cuisineand unlabeled toxic products, according to its latest inspection.

Carla Curzoni, the clubs new general manager, explained that the more serious-sounding violations are due to the fact that the club is currently undergoing renovations.

Theres a lot of construction going on. Thats where the cockroaches were, she said. Weve actually moved our dinning room to the second floor, which means that none of the violations were close to the food.

She went on to say that the clubs age makes it harder to keep up to health standards while renovations are underway.

Its an old building, she said. When you tear walls open, things come out.

Curzoni added that the club has already scheduled an exterminator.

On the other side of the health inspection spectrum, the New Worthington Hooker School on 691 Whitney Avenue got a perfect 100 over 100 score.

Originally posted here:
Q Club Scores 61