youth in asia ...or belgium

I was born with a severe deformity which, under this law, would allow some poorly trained doctor to off me without a pause. Since then, I grew, went through public schools in the regular classrooms, went to a very large well known private university, graduated on time, proceeded to medical school, practiced pediatric critical care for a full career, and now sit here responding to this folly !! http://www.news24.com/World/News/Belgium-close-to-agreeing-euthanasia-for-children-20131127 During my clerkships in belgium at the pediatrics ward I witnessed with my own eyes euthanasia performed by a senior preceptor using a massive dose of morphine IV ...so what's with the sudden need for this law that appears, to me, to signal a "go" for more mercy killing by physicians who have no training for this ...should those who do partake in this act not be trained and certified as competent so a troika of 3 GPs don't get away with private murder? ==================================================================================================================== Text of above link: Belgium close to agreeing euthanasia for children 2013-11-27 18:15 Brussels - Belgium, one of only a few countries to allow euthanasia, on Wednesday moved a step closer to extending mercy-killing to terminally-ill children. A proposed draft bill to extend the practice some experts say already takes place outside the law was approved by the Senate's justice and social affairs committee after months of discussion held alongside a heated public debate. The committee's approval enables the draft bill to be put to the vote in the two houses of parliament in the coming months. The proposed legislation would allow the euthanasia of terminally-ill minors so long as they are judged capable of deciding for themselves and are in pain that is "unbearable and cannot be alleviated". They would be advised by a medical team and their parents' approval would be required. A recent poll shows three quarters of Belgians approving the move. Earlier this month, 16 paediatricians called on lawmakers to approve the legislation. "Why deprive minors of this last possibility," they said in an open letter carried in the press, arguing that under-18s were able to make an informed and mature decision when facing death. "Experience shows us that in cases of serious illness and imminent death, minors develop very quickly a great maturity, to the point where they are often better able to reflect and express themselves on life than healthy people." But a group of Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders have opposed the legal change. "We express our deep concern at the risk that such a grave subject will be increasingly trivialised," said the group. "The euthanasia of fragile people, be they children or incapable, is totally inconsistent with their condition as human beings." A 2002 law made Belgium the second country in the world after The Netherlands to legalise mercy killings for those suffering from incurable illnesses. Unlike Belgium, however, the Dutch law allows euthanasia for children over 12. In 2009, Luxembourg also approved euthanasia, for adults only. In Switzerland, doctors can assist a patient seeking to die but euthanasia itself is illegal. The issue is hugely controversial and raises a host of ethical problems but a majority of Belgian lawmakers is thought to favour the change. Belgium logged a record 1 432 cases of euthanasia in 2012, up 25%. There are strict conditions for euthanasia including that patients must be capable, conscious and have to present a "voluntary, considered and repeated" request to die. - AFP ==================================================================================================================== some hesitation inasmuch as the link "-AFP" at the foot of the news24 article links to "Associated Fruit Processors" and not to AgenceFrancePress as one would think ...so---

wachit !!

As for the issue of surveillance of government officials and in specific reference those of flemmings, I hold the neonazioid rants flemmish nationalists regurgitate to be reminiscent of events leading toward the disastrous wars of the last century; someone, SOMEONE needs to eyeball them & the germans & the rest lest we wind up with them in our lap again, god forbid... ...further, I hold those who would foment the hatred and marginalization of their own countrymen would thusly invite such scrutiny by outing their very own dastardly thoughts such very thoughts be, as history teaches, the roadway to deeds including but...See More ...& am I alone to see this? I have been fortunate to stand at the edge to hold the children back from the abyss... At least for a time albeit too brief... But, I have been loath to shirk that role... Passing the baton is not a facile task for me, but I am thrilled to see some few of my countrymen take up the burden... I wish I could have done a little more a little longer...

perfection ...NOT !!

...ok, nothing is perfect ...in belgium, it was the common practice in years past to pee against the wall or even along the roadside ...there is even a famous statue of a little boy peeing in brussels ...tourists jostle to see him and on holidays he is dressed in colorful garb ...but, I digress... recently, a law was put in place with a 250€ ($335+) fine for peeing in public ...yet, despite efforts, most public establishments (bars, restaurants) won't let you pee unless you buy something ...further, a handicapped accessible restroom is so rare as to be virtually nonexistent in daily life in most places... even the public meeting rooms in my town are inaccessible (meeting with the tax consultant to fill out my annual tax forms had to be done on the hood of my car)... & along the limited access highways the restrooms are often nonexistent or inaccessible... to add insult to injury, they frequently put a monitor in the entrance to the restrooms requiring a payment or lately a coin machine to open the door to the loo ... so, noplace to go and a fine if you do it here and there ...my car has kleenex and a wide mouth bottle in hopes I will not land up in jail !!

die baby, die !!

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/babies-dont-need-to-die-like-this-the-argument-for-child-euthanasia-8815627.html I have a congenital birth defect and appeared horribly deformed at birth but with a supportive family & a progressive public school system that placed me in ordinary classrooms rather than "special ed" I was able to achieve my dreams of becoming a physician, pediatrician, & neonatologist ...had the principles promoted in the above mentioned piece been applied to my shocking presentation in the delivery room, no doubt I would have received a bolus of morphine & soon been in the morgue... Euthanasia ...the "final solution" ...sounds a little too easy to me... You?

banter

...banter about what to do about proven use of sarin gas is one thing, but retaliation threats is another ...it would be redundant to retort that we would bomb that country back to the stone age if they carried out such threats since they are already backward that far and more... certainly, mutually assured destruction of the cold war era worked with a strong adversary (the soviet union) who was also strong enough to do the deed at the negotiating table (shoes included) rather than the battlefield ...with Assad, the story is different; here we have, if guilty of launching the gas attacks, a war criminal worthy of the hague and the hangman's noose, and if not guilty but willing to saber rattle in the face of such a disproportionately stronger adversary (the US, the UN, NATO, & all those who would join if he carried out any such thing), then we are clearly dealing with a moronic megalomaniac of sidereal proportions who is capable of inciting his ilk to do harm to many just as he has done to his own. This news is not good, and is certainly not to be "dismissed." http://news.yahoo.com/-white-house-dismisses-assad-retaliation-threat--135220624.html

near?

...as it stands, I have blurry vision left eye which varies (detatched retina, macular degeneration, cataract, all?), my right leg is twice to thrice diameter of the left and oozes serum frequently with discomfort, I fell backwards while turning to get out of my car around 2 weeks ago and strained a muscle in area of right hip (or else broke it) with dull pain and stiffness thereabouts, I am certain to have passed gravel periodically per urination with transient blood (stones, cancer?), sudden onset of dysphagia (solids only, sometimes severe with dry foods, choking... (stroke, tumor, zenker?) my teeth are not doing so well ...the end is near and may not be pretty.

...listen !! ...congress should try to find & fund more research as to why this society is so fraught with gun violence which spills out of the inner cities into the plush 'burbs to everyone's great astonishment ...and the 12 bullet clips and hard to find expensive ammo will give rise to another ATF and ICE enforcement nightmare where crack-cocaine & hollow-points & banana-clips will be sold in the hood prepackaged !!

so, what happened...

update: 60% reduction in swallowing difficulty with sore throat persisting but 80% reduced in intensity... swallowing improvement could be partially or wholly atributed to adaptation (chewing food better and wetting down the mouthfull) ...I am not certain where this is going, but I suspect there may remain a reasonable need to get some sort of imaging done even if complete resolution is achieved in the short term...

...for the record, around 1 week ago I suddenly, from one moment to the next, developed swallowing difficulty (liquids OK, solids not OK) with repetitive swallow attempts and some coughing and choking... there has been a low level sore throat... my Dx≠ would be tumor or stroke ...we'll see !!