Posted by Melanie Nathan:-   So many people go through years of performing their lives in way that will serve the good of all to the fullest bounds of the globe.    They do this without thinking of awards or recognition.  They do it because they have honed their brilliance and special talents to serve humankind, regardless of whom may benefit.  A remarkable number of such people have come from one tiny country and now it yields its first woman.

Such is the story of Israeli and the scientist Ada Yonath, who now at age 70, was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry, sharing the prize worth 10 million Swedish crowns ($1.4 million) with Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz. She is the first Israeli woman to ever win the most prestigious of awards for intellectual achievement.

“As ribosomes are crucial to life, they are also a major target for new antibiotics,” the Nobel Committee for Chemistry at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement.

When Yonath  heard rumor that she had won, she thought it an elaborate practical joke, and her doubts remained until received the official phone call notifying her of the award. “When I saw the +46 Swedish country code on my phone screen, I thought, they’re really taking this prank far,” she said.

A renowned scientist, Yonath serves as the director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly at the Weizmann Institute of Science.  She was a co-recipient of the 2006 Wolf Prize in Chemistry, along George Feher, and in 2008, became the first Israeli to win a lifetime’s achievement award from L’Oréal and UNESCO for her vital work identifying how bacteria become resistant to antibiotics.

Referring to her ground-breaking study she said, “The topic was such that if a breakthrough could really be achieved, it would have Nobel-winning potential. It was considered difficult to the point of impossible.” She added: “People were skeptical and I myself wasn’t sure we would make it – but indeed we did.”

President Shimon Peres called Yonath and congratulated her on the win. “We are so proud of you, it’s hard to describe just how much. You are extremely deserving of the Nobel and the award is an achievement to the entire country, we are all excited together with you,” Peres said. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated her, saying: “I, as all other Israelis, am extremely proud of you. The Nobel Prize is the true Olympics of mankind.”

Opposition Chairwoman Tzipi Livni emphasized the feminine aspect. “I was excited, and I am proud that it’s a woman winning the prestigious prize. I know that when women reach achievements, particularly such an achievement, it gives strength to other women to dare and succeed.

Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said “Her win helps present Israel’s real image as one of the world’s leading countries of science and technology. Prof. Yonath joins an honorable list of Israelis who have won the most important international recognition.

 The State of Israel, which is a tiny country, has a  respectable representation among Nobel Prize recipients.

 Imperative is the importance of this award; it is a newfound light to Israel’s image; a brief interlude from the focus on Middle East Conflict. This compelling image, may be new for most, but  many of us  have been privy to personally witness the accomplishments of an extraordinary country of people.     Maybe a transformation can be found in the work of this Laureatte – as in the words of Livni to Yonath ” it  strengthens Israel’s image beyond the conflict, Israel as a country which nurtures science and manages to illustrate through women like you its contribution to science and humanity.”   Israel’s contributions to the world and its well being is enormous and can no longer go unnoticed.

Mazeltov Professor and Todah Rabah.

Blogged by Melanie Nathan
Nathan@privatecourts.com

10/29/09-by Paula Brooks
NPR is reporting that while most of us were sleeping, President Barack Obama went to look upon the real cost of the war in Afghanistan as he journeyed in the pre-dawn darkness to Dover (Del.) Air Force Base to honor the return of 18 fallen American heroes…. All were killed in Afghanistan this week.

AP is saying that, “The dramatic image of a president on the tarmac was a portrait not witnessed in years. Former President George W. Bush spent lots of time with grieving military families but never went to Dover to meet the remains coming off the cargo plane. Obama did so with the weight of knowing he may soon send more troops off to war.”

The solemn process of transferring remains of 15 soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Agency agents unfolded in four separate movements. Obama took part in all of them. as a chaplain offered prayers for the fallen, the crews that brought them home, the families who lost a loved one, and a nation embroiled in war.

President Obama Pays His Respects As Fallen Americans Return Home – The Two-Way – Breaking News, Analysis Blog : NPR.

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09/30/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
According to the Federal Court which dismissed the lawsuit brought against Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, FL, the hospital has no legal obligation to allow anyone to visit a dying loved one. That statement itself seems less than credible. There are rules regarding highly infectious diseases where it is impossible for a loved one to visit the patient before death, but this case involved the life of a woman who had suffered a hemorrhage in her brain. It is hard to imagine that the staff of the hospital would have done the same for a heterosexual couple with similar documentation as the lesbian couple at the center of this case, nor does it appear that there was any evidence of them having acted in a similar manner in other cases.

The suit was brought on behalf of Janice Langbehn who lost her partner, Lisa Pond, of seventeen years to an aneurism. According to Ms Langbehn, a social worker would not let her see her partner because Miami is an “anti-gay city in an anti-gay state.” Garnett Frederick, the social worker, has denied making that statement.

Spokeswoman Jennifer Piedra on behalf of Jackson Health System,”we have always believed and known that the staff at Jackson treats everyone equally, and that their main concern is the well-being of the patients in their care. At Jackson Health System, we believe in a culture of inclusion. For more than 90 years, the institution has taken great pride in serving everyone who enters its doors, regardless of race, creed, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. We also employ a very diverse workforce, one that mirrors the community we serve.”

The question is if this statement is true. Would a heterosexual married couple be denied visitation? Would a child of a straight couple be denied visitation?

Jackson Memorial is a non-profit hospital which is supported by the people of Dade County with a half-cent sales tax. It is also affiliated with the University of Miami as a teaching hospital. Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to do things like boycott the hospital since it is largely funded by the county, and it is unlikely that the local government is going to defund the hospital.

The ball is in the court of Jackson Memorial Hospital, though. The lawsuit may have been thrown out, but there is still the probability that this decision can be appealed, especially since the court did not decide on the issue of whether or not the couple were discriminated against. It should be up to the hospital to prove that they have treated straight couples with the same callousness as they did Ms Langbehn and Ms Pond.

A similar incident occurred in Vermont earlier this year with the LGBT Community threatening to take their business into New Hampshire. For many in the southern part of Vermont, it is a roughly equal distance between the two major medical centers.

Court dismisses suit by lesbian who couldn’t see dying partner at Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital

9/6/09-by Paula Brooks
WWL in New Orleans is reporting that Dennis Carter Sr, 50, of Holden in rural Livingston Parish, LA, shot his estranged wife, son and 2-year-old grandson to death and critically wounded his pregnant daughter-in-law in their home, then killed himself as police tried to pull over his car 20 minutes later.

Another 16-month-old boy was in the house during the shootings but was not hurt.

According to the report, Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief of Operations Perry Rushing said deputies were called to the home in Holden, about 30 miles east of Baton Rouge, around 10:30 p.m. Saturday, were they found Donna Carter, 49, and Dennis Carter Jr., 26, dead inside. Dennis Carter Jr.’s pregnant wife, Amber Carter, was badly hurt and their son, Mason Carter, 2, was found dead outside.

Rushing said deputies spotted Dennis Carter Sr. about 20 minutes later driving on a highway. When they tried to pull him over, he shot and killed himself.

”It’s very unusual to have this many victims,” Rushing said. ”This is an anomaly by any stretch of the imagination.”

The shootings appeared to stem from an ongoing dispute between Carter and his wife, 49-year-old Donna Carter, who had a restraining order against him.

As of publication time, there has been no word from the National Organization for Marriage or its spokeswoman, Maggie Gallagher, revealing how same-sex marriage may have caused this tragic breakdown of the Carter family….

Federal grand jury has indicted 89-year-old white supremacist James von Brunn on charges of first-degree murder and hate crimes, in the shooting death of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. DC.

The seven-count indictment was handed down yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, charged von Brunn with first-degree murder, killing in a federal building and bias-motivated crime.

Four of these charges make him eligible for the death penalty.

District of Columbia Law Enforcement Officials say the 89-year-old shot and killed museum guard Stephen T. Johns on June 10 as the guard was opening the door for him. Von Brunn was then shot in the face by other guards in a sequent shootout that sent panicked tourists, including groups of schoolchildren, diving for cover. A note found in his car and signed by Von Brunn that lashes out at Jews said, “Obama was created by Jews. Obama does what his Jew owners tell him to do. Jews captured America’s money. Jews control the mass media.”

Von Brunn survived his wounds and has been in custody at a DC a hospital since last month.

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Michael Jackson was rushed to a Los Angeles hospital where he later died after suffering from cardiac arrest.