Bush vows to stabilise US economy

President George W Bush has promised Americans their government is working “aggressively” to steady the economy.

Speaking from the White House, Mr Bush said recent market turmoil was being driven by “uncertainty and fear”.

He spoke as world markets tumbled amid rising fears of a global recession, despite interest rate cuts and huge cash injections by central banks.

He also defended a recent $700bn (£410bn) rescue plan for Wall Street, saying that it was big enough.

Mr Bush said the bail-out package he signed into law a week ago would “take time to have its full impact”.

Offering no new remedies, he said: “We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We are using these tools aggressively.”

Acknowledging mounting worry among people about their retirement and investment accounts, he pledged: “Fellow citizens: We can solve this crisis, and we will.”

He said the US was working “closely with our partners from around the world” to stabilise the panic-stricken markets.

“Through these efforts, the world is sending an unmistakable signal. We’re in this together and we’ll come through this together,” said Mr Bush.

The White House later dismissed suggestions that US markets would be suspended so international financial rules could be rewritten amid the turmoil. The idea had been raised by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

“There are absolutely no plans or discussions to interfere with the functioning of markets in the United States,” White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.

-www.news.bbc.co.uk-

Obama leaps ahead of McCain

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama has opened up a commanding lead in Minnesota over Republican John McCain, according to a new Star Tribune Minnesota Poll.

The poll, conducted last week among 1,084 likely voters, found that 55 percent support Obama, while 37 percent back McCain.

That’s a huge difference from the last Minnesota Poll, conducted in September, which showed the race dead even, with each candidate backed by 45 percent of likely voters. The new poll shows that Obama’s surge in the state can be attributed to voters’ belief in his ability to deal with the nation’s worsening economy, his performance in the first presidential debate and an increase in the number of Minnesotans who call themselves Democrats.

Obama appears comfortably ahead among men, women, and voters of all ages and educational attainment.

The poll’s findings come at a time when polls in several other battleground states and nationally are showing a sudden and significant shift to Obama. Gallup’s daily national tracking poll released Friday showed Obama leading McCain by 7 percentage points.

Statewide polls conducted last week show Obama overtaking McCain in such key battleground states as Ohio, Virginia and Florida. In Florida, for example, the last four polls have shown Obama with leads of between three and eight percentage points; in the weeks prior, Obama trailed by as many as 10 points.

In Minnesota, for decades the most reliably Democratic state in presidential elections, a CNN/Time poll conducted last weekend showed Obama ahead, 54 percent to 43 percent. However, a Survey USA poll conducted last week showed McCain ahead among the state’s likely voters, 47 percent to 46 percent.

-www.startribune.com-

Poisonous Foods

Fruit seeds (Cyanide)

What are they found in? Apple seeds, cherry stones, and the kernels inside the pits of apricots, nectarines, peaches, and plums.

Why are they poisonous? The American Medical Association (AMA)’s Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants states that eating a large quantity of apple seeds (and other seeds) can be fatal due to the presence of the toxin cyanogenic glycoside, or cyanide. The exact lethal dose is unknown, although swallowing the seeds of a single apple is generally harmless for an adult. Children are more vulnerable: 15 apricot kernels are sufficient to kill them.

What are the symptoms? Excessive sweating, abdominal pain, vomiting, and lethargy. In severe cases, convulsions, incontinence, coma, and even death.

How to avoid them: Avoid eating any fruit seeds or kernels. If you are juicing or baking apples, remove the core first.

Pufferfish (Tetrodotoxin)
What are they found in? Fish that are members of the Tetraodontiformes order, particularly pufferfish. Although not commonly consumed by humans, toadfish, parrotfish, angelfish, and xanthid crabs can cause the same type of poisoning.

Why are they poisonous? Although the flesh of pufferfish may not be dangerous, their liver, intestines, skin, and gonads can cause a more violent poisoning than any other marine species. This is due to the high levels of the poison tetrodotoxin contained in these organs.

What are the symptoms? Pufferfish poisoning can cause paresthesia (a numbing, burning, tingling, or crawling sensation on the skin), paralysis, convulsions, and death within 4 to 6 hours.

How to avoid them: Although pufferfish is generally not allowed into the United States, be careful if you happen to be fishing in the Indo-Pacific ocean regions, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Gulf of California. If you are in Japan, avoid the delicacy known as fugu , which is pufferfish from which the viscera has been removed to reduce risks of poisoning.

Mushrooms & fungi (Mycotoxins)
What are they found in? Poisonous mushrooms, as well as mold on corn, peanuts, barley, wheat, oats, and beans.

Why are they poisonous? Poisonous mycotoxins are naturally present in poisonous mushrooms and can be produced by molds on many types of cereals, nuts and grains.

What are the symptoms? Different types of poisonous mushrooms can cause a variety of symptoms including hallucinations, profuse sweating, vomiting, abdominal cramping, convulsions, coma, and even death. Mycotoxins produced by molds can also cause a wide range of afflictions, including esophageal and liver cancer, loss of appetite, diarrhea, inhibition of immune system, and death.

How to avoid them: Never eat wild mushrooms you aren’t absolutely certain are safe. Buy grains and nuts from a reliable source, store them in a cool, dry place, and don’t keep them for more than a few months.

Histamines (Scombrotoxin)
What are they found in? All foods that contain high levels of histamines, like Swiss cheese or certain types of spoiled foods such as fish, particularly tuna or mahi mahi.

Why are they poisonous? Scombroid (or histamine) poisoning occurs when foods that contain high levels of histamine are ingested. You may have heard of histamine in relation to allergies. In fact, histamine is an amine that is released by our immune system when we have an allergic reaction, and which dilates blood vessels and stimulates gastric secretions. Histamine is formed by the growth of certain bacteria and their interactions with amino acids in food. This can occur during the spoilage of foods like fish or the production of foods such as Swiss cheese.

What are the symptoms? Tingling or burning feeling in the mouth, drop in blood pressure, appearance of a rash on the upper body, itching, headache, as well as possible nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

What are the symptoms? It is one of the most common types of fish poisoning in the United States, but you can get scombroid poisoning from a wide range of foods.

How to avoid them: There is not much you can do to avoid it besides steering clear of the most common culprits, namely tuna, mahi mahi, sardines, mackerel, and Swiss cheese.

Marine finfish (Ciguatera)
What are they found in? Subtropical and tropical marine finfish, such as barracudas, groupers, mackerel, snappers, jacks, triggerfish, and many other species of warm-water fishes.

Why are they poisonous? Not all these fish are poisonous, but those who have consumed naturally-occurring toxins found in many dinoflagellate (algae) species can cause what is known as ciguatera (pronounced see-gua-terra) fish poisoning.

What are the symptoms? Symptoms include a variety of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular and neurological disorders. A few examples are paresthesia (numbness and tingling of skin), nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, increased sensitivity to extreme temperatures, arrhythmia, and reduced blood pressure.

How to avoid them: Only buy these types of fish from reliable sources.

-www.askmen.com-

Biden and Palin Clash in Debate

The two US vice-presidential candidates have traded blows on the financial crisis, climate change and foreign policy in their only TV debate.

Democrat Joe Biden sought to link Republican presidential candidate John McCain to the policies of President Bush, saying he was “no maverick”.

Republican Sarah Palin defended herself against claims of inexperience and said the McCain ticket would bring change.

Voter polls suggested Mr Biden had won but Mrs Palin did better than expected.

The debate at Washington University in St Louis, Missouri, was seen as particularly crucial for Mrs Palin, whose poll ratings have fallen.

The BBC’s Jane O’Brien in Washington says Mrs Palin played to her strengths and her image as a mother in touch with ordinary Americans.

For the most part she spoke fluently but simply about the economy, climate change and the war in Iraq, our correspondent says, and there were few of the stumbling gaffes that have become the staple of late-night comedy shows.

Two polls conducted after the debate, by US networks CNN and CBS News, judged Mr Biden the winner. However, it is found that a large majority thought Mrs Palin had done better than expected.

-www.bbc.co.uk-

China’s dairy products contain melamine

China have shocked the world because current research has found that many of its dairy product contain melamine. Melamine is rich in nitrogen, and relatively cheap. Adding it to sub-standard or watered-down milk makes the milk’s protein level appear higher. Standard quality tests estimate protein levels by measuring nitrogen content. Melamine was linked to the deaths of cats and dogs in the United States last year after it was added to wheat gluten and other pet food ingredients exported from China, in another attempt to boost the products’ apparent protein content. Little scientific information exists about the compound’s effects on humans. However, even if victims who have developed have kidney stones due to tainted milk consumption have these removed, the melamine could crystallize in small kidney tubes and block connecting ducts, resulting in kidney damage or even renal failure, health experts fear.

So far four infants have died in China, and about 13,000 more have been hospitalized after drinking the contaminated milk. Four Hong Kong children have also become sick after consuming toxic Chinese milk powder. More than 80 percent of the sick are under two years old. Young babies that depend solely on milk are most vulnerable.More than 20 mostly Asian and African countries like Bangladesh, Bhutan, Britain, Brunei, Burundi, Canada, China, France, Gabon, Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Vietnam, and Yemen are affected. These countries have all pulled products off shelves, banned China dairy imports, or stepped up their tests.

Paul Newman has passed away at 83

Paul Newman dies at 83. The 10-time Academy Award nominee, star of such classics as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Sting, won the Oscar in 1987 for his role in The Color of Money. He also was the recipient of two honorary statues.

The actor’s career spanned six decades, including roles in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Cool Hand Luke (1967), and Fort Apache: the Bronx (1981). Newman retired from acting in 2007, saying he was no longer able to perform as well as he would like. His most recent work includes his supporting actor Oscar-nominated role in 2002’s Road to Perdition, a Tony-winning turn in 2002’s Broadway production of Our Town, an Emmy- and Golden Globe-earning performance in the 2005 miniseries Empire Falls, and voicing a character in 2006’s Pixar animation feature Cars.

He leaves behind his wife, Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward, five children, two grandsons, and his older brother, Arthur.

-www.ew.com-