Pharmageddon (2)
'What drug, involved in the deaths of 51 American and 9 British children since 1999 is 'handed out like sweets.'?
American neurologist Fred Baugham goes on to say " drug companies know it is a huge revenue producer, and school administrators support the practice because medicating students makes them more sedate."
Baugham told a recent meeting of The Council of Europe, "If colourful cereals made from processed sugar and refined grains didn't pass for a 'complete breakfast,' and soft drinks and fruitless 'fruit drinks' weren't standard lunchtime fare, we'd notice a marked improvement in the behaviour and learning ability of our school-aged children."
There's British backing for his views. "I think in 10 years time we will say that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder was too simple an explanation for many children," said Dr Gwynedd Lloyd, head of Educational Studies at the Edinburgh University, adding that many doctors label children as having ADHD and prescribe them the amphetamine Ritalin without investigating other possibilities. "We will ask ourselves what we were thinking giving these children amphetamines,"
There is only sparse research on the long-term effects of such powerful medications on the developing brains of children. The more that researchers learn, the less comfortable many are becoming with Ritalin. Evidence is mounting that it can cause rapid weight gain, diabetes and death.
Following a tenfold increase in its use in the UK an NHS investigation is underway. The results will not be known until 2008.
Still, the Big Pharmas are smiling.
Gordon the bulldog
Gordon Brown is riding a crest of a wave - for the right reasons.
'Not a poodle, but a British Bulldog" was one verdict of the Washington Post. Dafur is the worst slaughter of defenceless people currently on the face of the planet. The post Iraq collapse of self confidence by USA-UK destroyed faith in military intervention. But, like Kosova and Sierra Leone, it's the only thing that will end the massacres.
Gordon deftly put Bush as third on his international visits followed by a genuflection to the United Nations. The swift action on Dafur is a rare political coup. Gordon is acting out of gut conviction, not seeking political advantage.
Dare we begin to believe that he will be a great world statesman?
Youngest
There are pictures available of Newport's 14 year old boy hero and his grave.
Raymond Steed has been officially recognised by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission as the youngest recorded fatality of the British service World War 11 dead. His ship hit a mine in the Mediterranean and he is buried in Morocco. A BBC journalist tells me that there is a copy of his gravestone in the Imperial War Museum in London.
Bert Bale and the Newport Merchant Navy Association hope to raise £15,000 for a memorial. 
As a long standing patron of this very active group, I'll be banging the drum to guarantee that the courage of this worthy Newport hero is properly recorded.
By a strange coincidence, I lived for ten years in the 80s next door to his home in Christchurch. His mother and brother were living there at the time.
Wreath thief
A close relative had a special wreath made for her father's cremation on Monday at Croesyceiliog. He was a very talented musician and the wreath was modelled on a treble clef.
Her hope was to placed the wreath on her grandmother's grave yesterday. All the other flowers were still at the crematorium but her tribute had gone.
A wreath in the shape of a treble clef is close to unique. Has it any value to a florist or anyone else? No explanation is forthcoming so far. Any ideas on why and who?
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