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Washington Times Opinion Piece, Editorial Discuss DOJ Nominee Johnsen
The Washington Times recently published an opinion piece and an editorial discussing President Obama"s nomination of Indiana University law professor Dawn Johnsen to head the Office of Legal Counsel in the Justice Department. Summaries appear below. ~ Mickey Edwards/William Sessions, Washington Times: The Senate should "act expeditiously to approve" Johnsen"s nomination because "her views on the limits of presidential power are precisely what the Constitution envisions and conservatives have long championed," Edwards, vice president of the Aspen Institute and author of "Reclaiming Conservatism," and Sessions, a partner at the law firm Holland & Knight, write in a Times opinion piece. According to the authors, Johnsen "made her views clear" on the limits of presidential power when she joined a bipartisan group of lawyers that declared that the Office of Legal Counsel should promote "presidential adherence to the rule of law." Edwards and Sessions write that Johnsen is being criticized for "being blunt, unserious and critical of presidential policies." However, these attacks are unwarranted, they write, noting that in the legal profession, "a little blunt talk to a client -- in this case, the president of the United States -- might be required." Edwards and Sessions continue, "What is needed in the Office of Legal Counsel is a person with the constitutional understanding to know that even presidents with whose politics she agrees must obey both the Constitution and federal statutes and who has the gumption to say so, even if the advice won"t be well received" (Edwards/Sessions, Washington Times, 5/21).~ Washington Times: The editorial states that Johnsen "is so radical" that 31 Republican Indiana state senators on Monday sent a letter to Sens. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) and Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) asking them to oppose her confirmation. The Republican senators called Johnsen"s views supporting abortion rights "extremely radical" and said she often uses "harsh, sensationalizing rhetoric" in her writings on Supreme Court cases, the editorial states. According to the editorial, Johnsen"s "political advocacy shows a profound disregard for the courts" proper role" because she considers the courts "as making up just another political, policymaking branch of government, not as bodies restrained by the Constitution or existing laws." The editorial continues that Johnsen is "guilty" of "asking judges to impose their own policy preferences" in favor of abortion rights "against the dictates of existing constitutional law." The editorial concludes, "Someone with such contemptuous views of the Constitution should not be the Obama administration"s chief constitutional interpreter" (Washington Times, 5/21).
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GMC Launches Online Tutorials In Medical Ethics
The GMC has launched a series of challenging online tutorials that tackle tricky ethical scenarios.
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Innovative Treatment Approach Offers New Hope For Eczema Sufferers With Moderate To Severe Disease PROTOPIC Ointment Can Help Prevent Eczema Flares
Today sees the European launch of the first topical calcineurin inhibitor to be approved for the maintenance treatment of eczema to prevent flares and prolong flare-free intervals. PROTOPIC ointment (tacrolimus monohydrate) is already licensed to treat moderate and severe eczema (atopic dermatitis), often involving the treatment of flares as and when they occur.* It is now also approved for twice-weekly application to previously affected skin to prevent these exacerbations and prolong flare-free periods in PROTOPIC-responsive patients.ò€  Clinical studies have shown that this new approach brings significant benefits with over 40% of patients with moderate to severe eczema remaining flare-free for at least a year.1 Flares are known to place an enormous burden on patients. The International Study of Life with Atopic Eczema (ISOLATE) found that about 55% of these patients worried about the onset of their next exacerbation and that they spent on average over a third of the year (136 days) with their eczema in flare.2
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Offshore Industry Making Good Progress On Safety, But Sustained Effort Required, UK

18 months on from the landmark KP3 report, a "snapshot" review concludes that though the safety of the UK"s offshore installations is improving, the work is by no means complete and will require sustained effort and investment. The review, carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), warns that the momentum for improvement must continue through the current challenging economic climate. The original Key Programme 3 Report, published in November 2007, followed a major three-year investigation into safety on more than 100 offshore installations. Judith Hackitt, the HSE Chair said: "There are a number of positives to draw from this review, most notably that work has been undertaken to deal with all the issues that posed the most serious concern. We do recognise the serious commitment of the industry in making the improvements and the considerable res that are required. "It is also important that we thank the trade unions, industry trade associations and the workforce themselves in co-operating fully with us to enable us to take forward this review. "But this is still a "work in progress" and the momentum for improvement must continue. "The economic climate does pose a real challenge, but we have been here before. Learning from past mistakes means not squeezing key res at the very time aging installations and infrastructure need investment. "Strong leadership within offshore oil and gas companies remains imperative. Safety has to remain top of the agenda. "HSE made clear at its recent strategy launch that the recession must not become an excuse for cutting back on health and safety in any sector. Nowhere is this more true than in offshore operations where there can be no excuse for another Piper Alpha disaster." Key findings of the review include: - Remedial work has taken place to rectify matters giving serious cause for concern, such as fire doors and deluge systems. - Considerably raised awareness of the need for effective process safety management and major hazard risk controls. - Leadership in integrity management is now firmly on the industry"s agenda and has been effectively promoted through the sector. - Good progress has been made on fabric and general plant maintenance, but aging infrastructure means that this will be an ongoing challenge. - Evidence culture in the industry is changing with more open sharing taking place between organisations. - Issues regarding competence are less acute, with the industry devoting significant res to training and major hazard awareness and with major hazard risk controls and the role of installation integrity better understood by the offshore workforce. - Opportunities remain for further improving involvement by the workforce and safety representatives. Added Ian Whewell, Head of HSE"s Offshore Division: "Though the findings of this review are encouraging, the challenges are ongoing and should not be underestimated. "The offshore infrastructure continues to get older and remedial work in some areas is yet to be completed. Momentum must continue to prevent the assets degrading to the unacceptable levels identified in the 2007 KP3 report. "Though we appreciate that fluctuating demand cycles provide further challenges to the industry in planning and allocating res, this will not be permitted as an excuse for poor asset integrity. "Because of the changing nature of ownership within the UK Continental Shelf, it is also essential that maintenance histories are secured and legacy information on asset integrity passed to new operators. "The benefits of good safety are unchanged even in the current downturn. Good safety is good business and the benefits of well maintained, safe and efficient plant and equipment are not only obvious but vital to ensure the long term future of the UK offshore oil and gas industry." The KP3 review was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions in July 2008: Lord McKenzie, DWP Minister with responsibility for health and safety said: "I am encouraged by the review and the response of industry leaders - there is evidence of good progress in addressing the issues identified by the original KP3 Report. "The review was commissioned on the 20th Anniversary of the Piper Alpha Disaster and I hope that, for those most deeply affected by the Disaster, the review"s findings are at least a step in the right direction. "Of course there is still more to do - although there is increasing workforce awareness of major hazard risks, the review has been useful in identifying areas where improvement is required to strengthen safety culture and a continued effort is now necessary to sustain that momentum. The report findings are based on feedback from industry stakeholders, HSE Offshore Division inspection reports and case studies, work undertaken by the Workforce Involvement Group of the Offshore Industry Advisory Committee (OIAC) and a large-scale survey of the workforce. Notes 1. Judith Hackitt, Chair of the Health and Safety Executive and Ian Whewell, Head of the Offshore Division will be available for interview. A media briefing will be held at 9.30am at Lord Cullen House, HSE"s offices in Aberdeen. 2. A copy of the KP3 review is available from 14 July on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/kp3review.pdf 3. Asset integrity can be defined as the ability of an asset to perform its required function effectively and efficiently whilst protecting health, safety and the environment. Asset integrity management is the means of ensuring that the people, systems, processes and res that deliver integrity, are in place, in use and will perform when required over the whole lifecycle of the asset. 4. Industry stakeholders who provided feedback for the review were Oil & Gas UK, Offshore Contractors Association (OCA), International Association of Drilling (IADC), International Marine Contractors (IMCA), British Rig Owners Association (BROA). Union input was via the Workforce Involvement Group. 5. The Workforce Involvement Group is a tri-partite, cross-industry work group which includes representatives from HSE, the UNITE and RMT unions, three offshore trade associations and individual workforce representatives. 6. The Offshore Workforce Survey was commissioned by HSE to carry out a quantitative survey among the 26,500 offshore workers based on installations in the North Sea. One of the key objectives was to assess the views of both direct employees of oil and gas companies and contractors to gain an insight into how healthy and safety is managed, especially as far as asset integrity and major hazard potential is concerned, and what role the workforce plays in health and safety management. This report can be viewed at http://news.hse.gov.uk/2009/06/19/offshore-workforce-survey-report 7. The original Key Programme 3 Investigation (report published November 2007) was prompted by offshore installation integrity failures which were responsible for significant hydrocarbon releases and two deaths in 2002. These reinforced concerns that the risk of major accidents on the UK continental shelf appeared to be rising, making asset integrity inspections a priority for HSE. The original report can be viewed at http://www.hse.gov.uk/offshore/kp3.pdf Health and Safety Executive


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