Globalizing torture : CIA secret detention and extraordinary rendition

Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the Central Intelligence Agency embarked on a highly classified program of secret detention and extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects. The program was designed to place detainee interrogations beyond the reach of law. Suspected terrorists were seized and secretly flown across national borders to be interrogated by foreign governments that used torture, or by the CIA itself in clandestine 'black sites' using torture techniques. This report is the most comprehensive account yet assembled of the human rights abuses associated with secret detention and extraordinary rendition operations. It details for the first time the number of known victims, and lists the foreign governments that participated in these operations. It shows that responsibility for the abuses lies not only with the United States but with dozens of foreign governments that were complicit. More than 10 years after the 2001 attacks, this report makes it unequivocally clear that the time has come for the United States and its partners to definitively repudiate these illegal practices and secure accountability for the associated human rights abuses.UT Librarie

Cost Control in the Age of Health-Care Reform

The U.S. is spending approximately $800 billion a year on health-care. To combat the rising increase in expenditures, the President has proposed a plan of "pay or play." The plan is based on the theory of "managed competition." The goal of the theory to "foster the purchase of thrifty health plans ... " The plan would require all employers to provide health insurance to their full time employees or to pay a portion of the cost of obtaining coverage for workers and their dependents through newly created purchasing pools. The President will also appoint a National Health Board to set an annual "global" budget governing health expenditures and devise a standard health-care package that all insurers will be required to provide. Even though employers will be required to insure their full-time employees, there are ways that they could reduce their health-care expenditures. They could be more selective and hire healthy employees, start a preventive medicine program, and/or implement an early retirement program. Employers could increase their product prices to cover the expenditures. They could also reduce the amount of full-time individuals. Employers could pick inexpensive insurance programs or help their employees become more aggressive and knowledgeable purchasers of medical services. In addition, they could start an incentive program to reward individuals who stayed healthy.B.A. (Bachelor of Arts

Glycyrrhizin: A Review

Glycyrrhizin is a triterpenoid saponin found in Glychyrrhiza glabra (licorice). Chemically, glycyrrhizin is a sulphated polysaccharide. It is considered to the active constituent of the drug and the standardization of licorice is based on glycyrrhizin content. The standardized extracts of licorice sold in the market contain 20% of glychrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin is converted into glychyrrhetic acid by an enzyme, glycaronidase

Salicin -A Natural Analgesic

Medicinal herbs constitute important source of drugs. Treatment of diseases with medicinal herbs is called phytothrepary. The study of chemistry of plant derived drugs is known as phytochemistry. Medicinal herbs have given us a number of important drugs, which are mainstays of treatment in synthetic system of medicine. Ayurveda, Siddha, Homeopathy and Herbalism are completely dependent on plants for formulations. Salicin, a glycoside isolated from Salix alba attracted the researchers in the 19th century and it provided us with most potent weapon, Acetyl-salicylic acid for killing pain. The article highlights the historical usage and pharmacogonosy of medicinal herbs containing salicin