Suspicions rise in Pablo Neruda's death (AP)

ISLA NEGRA, Chile ? The suspicions have lingered for decades.

Pablo Neruda, Chile's Nobel Prize-winning poet, would have been a powerful voice in exile against the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. But that all changed just 24 hours before Neruda was to flee the country in the chaos following the 1973 military coup.

He was 69 years old and suffering from prostate cancer when he died, exactly 12 days after the brutal coup that ended the life of his close friend, socialist President Salvador Allende.

The official version was that he died of natural causes brought on by the trauma of witnessing the coup and the lethal persecution of many of his friends. But doubts remained, even after Pinochet relinquished power in 1990 and Chile became one of Latin America's most stable democracies.

Chilean Communist Party lawyer Eduardo Contreras said he believes the poet was murdered, and he is supported by Manuel Araya, who was Neruda's driver, bodyguard and assistant in the year leading up to his death.

While Neruda's widow and his own foundation have rejected the theory, its resurgence nearly 40 years later reflects the suspicions haunting this nation of 17 million that the full story behind the coup and the dictatorship remains untold.

Araya has long contended that a doctor ? not Neruda's regular one ? gave him a fatal injection at the Santa Maria clinic or ordered somebody to do so. Talking to The Associated Press, Araya described the day of Neruda's death at the clinic, where the poet was being treated for his cancer, phlebitis and a hip problem. Araya had accompanied him as his bodyguard to protect him ahead of his departure from Chile. He himself wasn't there,and says the story was told to him by a nurse whose name he has forgotten.

"Coincidentally," Araya said in sarcastic manner, Dr. Sergio Draper "was passing by in the hallway when a nurse called to him and said that Neruda was in a lot of pain, and this doctor, very considerately, goes and gives him a Dipirona (analgesic), and the Dipirona... killed him."

Adding to the conspiracy theories, it was at the same Santa Maria clinic where another prominent Pinochet critic, former President Eduardo Frei, was allegedly poisoned while recovering from hernia surgery in 1982. A judge in Chile has accused four doctors and two of the dictator's agents in Frei's death. The case is ongoing, and Frei's body has been exhumed. One of the doctors questioned in the case, though not accused: Sergio Draper.

The AP was unable to reach the doctor for comment, after contacting the clinic where Neruda was treated and one of Chile's main medical schools.

However, in an interview published in the Argentine newspaper Clarin in September, Draper strongly denied the allegation. he said he was only following the instructions of Neruda's physician, Vargas Salazar, to help relieve the patient's pain by giving him what he remembers was the drug Dipirona.

"I ordered that he be given an injection prescribed by his physician," Draper said. "I was nothing more than a messenger. It's outrageous that we are constantly under suspicion."

Neruda and Allende symbolized a turbulent, confrontational era in Chilean history, and their deaths following the Sept. 11, 1973 coup have long been shrouded by suspicion. Authorities recently exhumed Allende's body and confirmed that the former president committed suicide rather than be captured as troops moved in on the presidential palace.

Pinochet's dictatorship lasted from 1973 to 1990, and left 3,095 opponents of the military regime dead or missing, according to recent government statistics. There were 37,000 political prisoners. Neruda's fame as a poet and dissident was posthumously heightened by "Il Postino," or "The Postman," a semi-fictional 1994 film about his exile that won several Oscar nominations. He is buried on the Isla Negra estate where he lived.

In December, Chile's Communist Party asked that Neruda's body also be exhumed for testing. The judge investigating his death has not ruled, but veteran forensic expert Dr. Luis Ravanal said it could be difficult to find traces of toxic substances that would confirm poisoning.

"It is one thing is to detect a substance, another to demonstrate that it is there in sufficient quantities to kill him," he told the AP. "It is difficult to determine if it is a lethal or therapeutic dosage."

But Contreras says an exhumation is needed. He said medical records and Araya's account proved to him that Neruda's cancer was under control at the time of his death.

"One thing is clear: Neruda didn't die of cancer," Contreras said.

Contreras said the death certificate issued at the clinic listed the cause of death as cachexia, or extreme malnutrition and weight loss that left him unable to carry out minimal activities. But at the moment of his death, Neruda weighed more than 220 pounds (100 kilograms), according to Araya and Mexico's ambassador to Chile at the time of the coup, Gonzalo Martinez Corbala.

Martinez told the AP from Mexico City that he found no change in Neruda between visits to him before and after the coup.

Martinez said that before hearing the driver's statements he had suspected nothing unnatural about Neruda's death. "Now I have doubts," he said.

The Pablo Neruda Foundation, which manages his estate, author rights and house/museum, rejects the claims of his driver.

"It doesn't seem reasonable to build a new version of the death of the poet based only on the opinions of his driver," the foundation said in a statement, contending that Araya does not present any credible evidence to support his claims.

"The Sept. 11, 1973 coup, the death of his friend, President Salvador Allende, and the persecution launched against others of his friends, caused his health to deteriorate to the point that ... he had to be transferred in an emergency from his Isla Negra home to the Santa Maria Clinic on September 19," where he died of natural causes, said the foundation in a statement.

Araya says he went at least eight times to Communist Party directors to tell his story, but they paid no attention.

Contreras explained. "We were in a dictatorship; we weren't at the time interested in information different from that given by Matilde," he said, referring to Neruda's widow, Matilde Urrutia, who supported the foundation's conclusion until her death.

Araya, refuses to speak to Chilean media, finally took his story to the respected Mexican investigative magazine Proceso, and the May 2011 article went viral.

That persuaded the party to pay attention.

"Everything indicates that it was a heart attack (that caused his death)," Contreras said. "What caused the attack? The injection... If you read the literature on Dipirona you are going to find that it is lethal when given in excess."

The Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, which backed the dictatorship at the time, reported in its Sept. 24, 1973, edition that Neruda had died in a way similar to what Araya described. It said that the poet died "of a heart attack ... a consequence of a shock. After receiving an injection of a sedative, his condition deteriorated" and he entered a pre-coma state and died.

Draper was one of several doctors called to testify in the possible killing of former President Frei. Frei was recovering from a hernia operation in the Santa Maria clinic when his health suddenly deteriorated and he died in January 1982. Six people have been accused of poisoning him, according to the judicial file.

Neruda's case since May has been in the hands of Judge Mario Carroza, who also investigated the death of Allende. Advised by a team of international forensic experts, he concluded that Allende had committed suicide.

He is also trying to determine how 725 opponents of the dictatorship died.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_chile_poet_s_death

jack del rio fired jack del rio fired made in america made in america icam patrice o neal. osteopathy

US military chief to Israel as Iran tension grows (AP)

JERUSALEM ? The top U.S. military commander is scheduled for talks in Israel this week, Israel said Sunday, at a time when the U.S. is concerned that Israel might be preparing to attack Iran over its nuclear program.

Confirming the visit by Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Israeli Defense Ministry did not give his agenda for talks with Israelis ? but Iran is expected to be at the top.

Israel considers a nuclear-armed Iran to be an existential threat because of its nuclear program, missile capabilities, support for anti-Israel militants in Lebanon and Gaza and frequent references by its president to the destruction of Israel.

Israel has repeatedly hinted it might take military action if international sanctions fail to stop Iran's nuclear development.

The U.S., Israel and other Western nations believe Iran is developing atomic weapons. Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Dempsey's visit will be his first official trip to Israel since he assumed command of the joint chiefs on Sept. 30.

On Thursday President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the Iran situation in a telephone conversation.

The Obama administration is concerned that Iran's recent claim that it is expanding nuclear operations with more advanced equipment may push Israel closer to a strike.

The U.S. still hopes that international pressure will persuade Iran to back down, but the Islamic regime shows no sign it would willingly give up a project that has become a point of national pride.

Last week, an Iranian nuclear scientist was killed in a car bombing in Tehran. There has been no claim of responsibility, but Iran has accused the U.S., Israel and Britain of being behind the killing. Several leading Iranian nuclear scientists have been killed in recent years.

The killing in Tehran came a day after Israeli military chief Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz was quoted as telling a parliamentary panel that 2012 would be a "critical year" for Iran ? in part because of "things that happen to it unnaturally."

Israel has not commented publicly on the scientist's death.

The U.S. and its allies are pressuring Iran to halt uranium enrichment, but Iran appears to be attempting to expand operations.

The U.S. is also angered by an Iranian court's death sentence of a U.S. citizen and its threats to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, the passage for one-sixth of the world's oil.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120115/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_israel_us

dr murray trial take care drake cain accuser aesop rock take care track list michael jackson trial carlos the jackal

Obama promotes 'insourcing,' government reorg (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama is promoting new initiatives to make the government leaner and more efficient and bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas.

He rolled out both election-year ideas this past week and used his radio and Internet address Saturday to talk them up and call on Congress and the private sector to get on board.

"Right now, we have a 21st century economy, but we've still got a government organized for the 20th century," Obama said. "Over the years, the needs of Americans have changed, but our government has not. In fact, it's gotten even more complex. And that has to change."

On government reorganization, Obama wants a guarantee from Congress that he could get a vote within 90 days on any idea to consolidate federal agencies, provided it saves money and cuts the government. His first order of business would be to merge six major trade and commerce agencies into one ? eliminating, among others, the Commerce Department.

The proposal is in part a challenge to congressional Republicans since it embraces the traditional GOP goal of smaller government, and Obama called on Congress to back him.

"These changes will make it easier for small-business owners to get the loans and support they need to sell their products around the world," he said.

Obama is also promising new tax incentives for businesses that bring jobs to the U.S. instead of shipping them overseas, and he wants to eliminate tax breaks for companies that outsource.

"You've heard of outsourcing - well, this is insourcing," said Obama. "And in this make or break moment for the middle class and those working to get into the middle class, that's exactly the kind of commitment to country that we need."

Obama went so far as to bring several U.S.-made products to display in his weekly video ? a padlock, a candle, some socks and a pair of boots ? to demonstrate his commitment to made-in-America manufacturing.

Republicans used their weekly address to promote the Keystone XL project to carry oil from Canada to Texas Gulf Coast refineries. Under a GOP-written provision Obama signed into law just before Christmas as part of an unrelated tax bill, the president faces a Feb. 21 deadline to decide whether the $7 billion pipeline is in the national interest.

The GOP is pounding Obama over the issue, saying it's a question of whether he wants to create jobs and import energy from a close friend and ally ? or lose jobs and see Canadian oil go to Asia instead.

"If the Keystone XL pipeline isn't built, Canadian oil will still be produced and transported," said Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D. "But instead of coming to our refineries in the United States, instead of creating jobs for our people, instead of reducing our dependence on Middle Eastern oil and keeping down the cost of fuel for American consumers ? that oil will be sent to China."

Obama had sought to delay the project and the State Department has warned the deadline doesn't leave it enough time for necessary reviews. Hoeven accused Obama of turning his back on American workers if he fails to approve it.

___

Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120114/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama

corso james arthur ray james arthur ray elisabeth shue avastin avastin robert wagner

New member here ^^v Hello.

Hey there, MewSheri! Welcome to RolePlayGateway!

I'm a long-time member of the website, and let me tell you, if you're looking for a great community to roleplay and tell stories, then look no further! Great to have an experienced RPer joining our ranks, here. You'll find RolePlayGateway to be a bustling place, so don't be afraid to jump right in!

Nyahaha. Zelda, huh? I confess, I don't have much experience with the game, but I'm sure it's as timeless as hear people saying. I'm dating a video game student, so I don't hear the end of those old classics.

Anyways! Don't forget to check out the RPG Rules. There are only five of them, and they're quick to read. It's always good to know what standards we hold ourselves to as a community.

As you embark on your quest here, you're gonna want to get your first ten forum posts made so that you can unlock your inbox! That link will explain a bit on why you need this, and give you a helpful index of threads to get that done!

That's about it from my end. Hope that helps!

Remember, if you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to ask.

-VV

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/jf4w-BKpEg4/viewtopic.php

dragonfly courtney stodden drake take care herman cain accuser herman cain accuser election day joe frazier

DNA Damage From Chemo May Help Spur Leukemia's Return (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Jan. 12 (HealthDay News) -- The chemotherapy used to treat a form of adult leukemia sets a trap that can result in the return of the disease within years, a new study suggests.

The finding confirms the suspicions of specialists who thought chemotherapy drugs could disrupt DNA through mutations and ultimately allow tumor cells to avoid the effects of the medications.

"Chemotherapy drugs are absolutely necessary to get leukemia patients into remission, but we also pay a price in terms of DNA damage," study co-author Dr. Timothy Ley, a professor of oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a university news release.

These drugs "may contribute to disease progression and relapse in many different cancers, which is why our long-term goal is to find targeted therapies based on the mutations specific to a patient's cancer, rather than use drugs that further damage DNA," Ley added.

The type of leukemia in question is known as acute myeloid leukemia. While chemotherapy treatment can send the cancer into remission, 80 percent of patients die within five years. In the United States, about 13,000 cases of acute myeloid leukemia are diagnosed annually, most often in people age 60 and older.

The researchers came to their conclusions after studying the genomes -- the entire DNA, both healthy and cancerous cells -- from eight patients with acute myeloid leukemia. They watched to see what happened after the patients received chemotherapy.

The investigators found that tumors essentially reappeared, according to the report published in the Jan. 11 advance online edition of Nature.

"It's the same tumor coming back but with a twist," co-author Richard Wilson, director of university's Genome Institute, explained in the news release. It "comes back with new mutations that give the cells new strategies for surviving attack by whatever drugs are thrown at them. This makes a lot of sense but it's been hard to prove without whole-genome sequencing."

Commenting on the report, Louis DeGennaro, executive vice president and chief mission officer of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, said the study "demonstrates the critical need to identify disease-causing mutations in acute myeloid leukemia so that therapies targeted specifically at these mutations can be developed."

Ultimately, he added, "that would allow us to avoid the use of chemotherapy, which may contribute to cancer relapse."

For now, DeGennaro said, "while current chemotherapy regimens have liabilities, they represent the best treatment currently available and may result in complete remission, which would allow eligible patients to receive a stem cell transplant, the only treatment capable of curing acute myeloid leukemia."

More information

For more about acute myeloid leukemia, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20120113/hl_hsn/dnadamagefromchemomayhelpspurleukemiasreturn

carrier iq linda perry world aids day horse slaughter horse slaughter kristin cavallari world aids day 2011

Young voters propelling Ron Paul's campaign (AP)

MANCHESTER, N.H. ? A 76-year-old great-grandfather who gives eye-glazing speeches on monetary policy, displays a crotchety streak and disappears from the Republican campaign trail for days at a time to rest is captivating young voters.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul's libertarian message of less government, personal liberty and ending U.S. military involvement overseas clicks with young people, who are supplying zest for his stronger-than-expected presidential campaign. Nearly half of all voters under 30 went for Paul in the first two states to vote, helping to propel him to a second-place finish in the New Hampshire primary and third place in Iowa's leadoff caucuses.

Why would young people gravitate to the oldest guy in the field?

"Freedom is a young idea," says Eddie Clearwater, a 22-year-old Des Moines photographer who attended a Ron Paul party in Ankeny, Iowa, earlier this month. "All of his policies are such a good, radical change. It's what we need."

Paul's campaign events are charged with an energy that any politician would love, attracting an eclectic band of youthful activists ranging from preppy college students to blue collar workers to artists sporting piercings and dreadlocks. At his party after the New Hampshire primary, there were spontaneous chants of "Ron Paul Revolution! Give us back our Constitution" and "President Paul! President Paul!"

A tickled Paul told the cheering crowd: "Freedom is a wonderful idea, and that's why I get so excited. But I really get excited when I see young people saying it."

"We are dangerous to the status quo of this country," said Paul, who seems to relish making political mischief and has taken on the role of a feisty attacker in some of the GOP debates.

While Paul is unlikely to win the GOP nomination and young voters make up a relatively small slice of the electorate ? 12 percent in the New Hampshire primary and 15 percent in the Iowa caucuses ? their lopsided support has made Paul a force to be reckoned with in the 2012 campaign. And it could prompt a more serious consideration of his views by Republicans and Democrats alike.

"Ron Paul is bringing unorthodox ideas to the marketplace that don't fit with the conventional pillars of either political party," said Matthew Segal of OurTime.org, a nonpartisan group that promotes political participation among young people. "And because young people today are a uniquely independent-minded generation, he's resonating with them."

According to polling-place interviews conducted for The Associated Press and the television networks, 53 percent of under-30 voters in New Hampshire and 35 percent in Iowa identified as independents or something else. They are not establishment Republicans, and not as supportive of the tea party movement as their elders.

Paul's critics sometimes poke fun at his popularity with that age group, suggesting they are mainly attracted to his anti-war message and support for liberalizing drug laws, which are both far outside the Republican mainstream.

But the stereotypes belie the reality facing young people.

Polling-place interviews in New Hampshire and Iowa found younger voters in both states were just as likely as older voters to cite the economy as their top concern. Paul won among younger voters who said the economy is the most important issue. Overall, he drew 46 percent of under-30 voters in New Hampshire, beating front-runner Mitt Romney by a full 20 percentage points in that age group. In Iowa, he got 48 percent of the youth vote, 12 points higher than top-two-finishers Romney and Rick Santorum combined.

In interviews, Paul's young supporters say they fear a bleak future of joblessness, steep college loan payments, pandering politicians and a government made sluggish by debt. Paul's pledge to adhere to the Constitution and shrink government appeals to many young voters looking to get back to basics, as does his promise to focus on problems at home.

"We're in such a crisis right now we should focus on us, not choose which country we aid and which country we invade next," said Nick Wright, a 23-year old volunteer at a Paul campaign event in Meredith, N.H.

Jeff Popek, of Meredith, said he believes Paul's plan to slash taxes would spur job creation.

"A lot of us are graduating with a lot of college debt and we can't pay for it unless we get jobs," the 18-year old said.

Many of Paul's younger supporters say they believe the government is overly intrusive and encroaching on civil liberties. They like his pledge to overturn the Patriot Act, which Congress passed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks to allow law enforcement greater access to people's email, telephone and other records.

The heavily wired generation of younger voters also responds to Paul's warning that the federal government is poised to limit Internet privacy. He often rails against a bill pending in Congress called SOPA, the Stop Online Privacy Act, that Paul insists would allow the government to snoop on people's Internet searches."They want to take over the Internet," Paul said to boos at a campaign stop in Iowa. "Can you imagine how much we're going to be curtailed in the spreading of our information if we lose the Internet?"

Paul does part ways with younger voters on some issues. He opposes abortion rights, even as polls show that a majority of young people support a woman's right to have an abortion. He says the subject of gay marriage should be left to the states. Polls show young people strongly support same sex marriage, much more so than older voters.

After the presidential race shifted to South Carolina this week, Paul decamped to Texas for a few days of rest. His young supporters say age matters little to them. His message, they say, is what matters.

President Barack Obama "should be the poster child for why you shouldn't vote for someone for their age or because they look presidential," said Anthony Mazaka, a 27-year-old architect who voted for Paul in New Hampshire. "People have to realize Obama isn't the president he said he was going to be."

Obama won 66 percent of young voters in 2008 and is working hard to reclaim them. But Obama's popularity has dipped with young voters, as it has with many other groups amid a weak economy and persistent high unemployment.

Paul's young supporters may choose not to back either Obama or the Republican primary victor. And Paul hasn't ruled out a third party candidacy, which could keep many young voters in his camp.

"Any political operative in either party would be stupid to ignore Ron Paul's appeal," Segal said.

___(equals)

News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius in Washington and Luke Meredith in Ankeny, Iowa, contributed to this report.

Follow Beth Fouhy on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/bfouhy

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120112/ap_on_el_pr/us_paul_young_voters

regis philbin regis and kelly reno fire regis philbin last show regis philbin last show ray lewis crystal cathedral

Griffin and Crayola unveil new lineup of kid-friendly apps and accessories

Griffiin and Crayola unveiled their new lineup of kid-friendly apps and accessories this morning at CES 2012, in Las Vegas. We’ll be getting some hands-on time with the acessories later

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/syQj1P8HRtA/story01.htm

blago mumia abu jamal mumia abu jamal pearl harbor alec baldwin alec baldwin rock and roll hall of fame

Child in stroller swept into sewage system

Police in a provincial Russian city say an 18-month-old child was swept into the underground municipal sewage system when a sidewalk collapsed because of a ruptured pipe.

  1. Only on msnbc.com

    1. Romney under fire at NBC News-Facebook debate
    2. Image: General Motors dealer in Shanghai AFP - Getty Images The most popular American companies in China
    3. Dead man walking? Perry envisions a SC miracle
    4. Meet the Press debate transcript
    5. Image: Le Notre Dame, Paris  Courtesy Hotel Notre Dame Fashion legends put stamp on suites, hotels
    6. Celebrate your mini-goals with non-food rewards
    7. Image: Mae Jemison NASA file Skipper chosen for 100-year starship effort

The mother, a 26-year-old policeman's wife, was pushing the child in a stroller in the city of Bryansk when the ground caved in underneath them.

Police say the woman was rescued, but the child was swept away by the current into a collecting tank for the sewage system and was presumed dead.

Investigators say they are working to determine the cause of Sunday's accident, but suspect faulty construction of the system may be to blame.

Underground pipes carrying hot water occasionally burst in Russia, causing the ground above them to suddenly collapse to the peril of those walking above.

Advertise | AdChoices Advertise | AdChoices Advertise | AdChoices

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45918120/ns/world_news-europe/

google music willis mcgahee willis mcgahee 2013 ford escape stop online piracy act protect ip act spear of destiny