JVR denuncia publicación de agenda fantasma

Caracas, 10 Jun. Venpres (Miyeilis Morales Flores).- El vicepresidente ejecutivo de la República, José Vicente Rangel denunció la puesta en circulación en medios de comunicación privados de una agenda falsa presuntamente elaborada por su despacho, la cual, incluye reuniones con líderes de la oposición.
Con copia de la referida agenda fantasma y varias notas de prensa mostradas a los periodistas como pruebas, el vicepresidente Rangel emitió su posición al respecto. “Esta semana algunos medios de comunicación publicaron un cronograma de mis actividades incluyendo reuniones con dirigentes políticos de la oposición. Se trata, debo decirlo de una agenda falsa, puesta a circular no sé con qué propósito”.
Al desmentir el supuesto encuentro con representantes de la oposición, consideró normal que en realidad se celebre este tipo de actividad en una democracia. “No tengo inconveniente alguno en reunirme con quien sea y donde sea. Mi condición demócrata privilegia la práctica civilizada del diálogo como mecanismo fundamental para regular diferencias y dar respuestas civilizadas a la confrontación”, afirmó.
Por tal razón, alegó que quienes rechazan “tajantemente esa posibilidad, ponen en relieve, cuando menos inmadurez política para no entrar en otras calificaciones”.
Insistió que con agenda o sin agenda, “privilegio el diálogo y hago un llamado a mis compatriotas a serenar los espíritus y hablar de paz en vez de violencia”.
Con serenidad declaró que no le preocupa el hecho informativo y que algunos hayan caído por inocentes. “Me preocupa, sí, la reacción primitiva de algunos de los supuestos interlocutores que figuran en la agenda fantasma. Su reacción es reveladora del sentimiento de intolerancia que políticamente los mueve, y que explica actitudes de una intolerancia demencial como la del grupo de vecinos de El Cafetal en contra de una presunta visita del diputado Juan Barreto el pasado fin de semana, y los muñecos con boinas rojas colgados en postes, acto que confirma la existencia de una peligrosa desviación delictiva”.
Preocupado por este tipo de manifestaciones, Rangel advirtió que estos hechos demuestran que “todas las conductas ubican la relación entre venezolanos en un terreno de la irracionalidad inaceptable, totalmente contrario al espíritu que motivó la reciente firma del Acuerdo de la Mesa de Negociación y Diálogo”.

Toronto: New SARS outbreak provokes nurses’ protest

By Lee Parsons
10 June 2003

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Several hundred nurses demonstrated June 4 outside Scarborough General Hospital in Toronto’s east end to demand better protection for health care workers treating suspected SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) patients. They also demanded that Ontario’s Tory government order a public inquiry into the handling of the Toronto SARS outbreak.

Outside of the Asian-Pacific region, no city has been more adversely affected by SARS than Toronto. At least 32 persons have died of the disease in the Toronto area since last March and there continue to be more than 60 active SARS cases.

Last month, government officials and medical experts announced that all transmission of SARS in Toronto had ceased. But on May 22 and 23, they were forced to concede that a new cluster of SARS carriers had been discovered and that this fresh outbreak was due to undetected cases of SARS infection within Toronto’s hospitals.

Amongst the complaints raised by the Ontario Nurses’ Association is that hospital administrators brushed aside the suspicions of several nurses that some of their patients had contracted SARS. Several of the persons in question later proved to be SARS carriers.

The medical rationale for dismissing the nurses’ suspicions was that no link could be established between the patients they suspected of having SARS and any person known to have contracted the disease. But given the fever-pitch campaign that Canadian, Ontario and Toronto politicians and business leaders mounted to overturn a World Health Organisation (WHO) advisory against travel to Toronto and then declare the city “open for business,” there is little doubt that there was an official mindset against—if not outright resistance to—entertaining the notion the SARS crisis might not be over.

Nurses from North York General where the disease re-emerged three weeks ago, told the Toronto Star they were admonished by the hospital’s SARS management team co-chair for overreacting. Dr. Barbara Mederski is alleged to have said, “There was no reason to keep alerting public health” of individuals the nurses thought could be SARS carriers “because we [don’t] have a problem.”

Wednesday’s protest also demanded that those nurses coming in contact with SARS patients be given better equipment, including protective suits.

The heightened concern over contracting the disease is well founded according to health care experts. Ugis Bickis, a consultant on environmental hygiene at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., says health care officials ignored warnings from him and others that the surgical masks being dispensed to Toronto nurses and other health care workers would not protect them from a highly contagious disease like SARS.

Surgical masks are estimated to remove up to 50 percent of airborne contaminants, while the more expensive N95 can block up to 95 per cent. Although Health Canada has now stipulated that N95 masks should be used when there is a danger of SARS infection, union officials report that some health workers are still being given the lower-quality masks.

It also has come to light that at least one quarter of the Toronto hospitals designated to treat SARS patients do not have negative-pressure rooms. Such rooms contain air in a given area and are considered the only safe method for limiting the spread of infection in a hospital facility. Dr. Colin D’Cunha, chief medical officer of health for Ontario, had previously said, “No patient will be moved to a hospital that doesn’t have one.” Yet this week, many hospitals were still in the process of converting rooms to negative-pressure. According to Dr. Ted Boadway, the Ontario Medical Association’s health policy director, “What you can’t say is that anybody was ready for this because nobody was.”

Last Wednesday’s demonstration also demanded that nurses be given double pay in light of the danger that they run of contracting SARS. Nurses were outraged when they learned that nurses hired through temporary agencies to deal with the staffing shortage produced by the SARS crisis have been given such premiums, while those with full- or part-time jobs, and who have borne the brunt of the fight against SARS, have continued to be paid at the regular rate.

Ontario Tory Health Minister Tony Clement has since agreed to pay the higher rate to “front-line” workers at four affected hospitals in the Toronto area: Scarborough General, North York General, St. Michael’s and William Olser Health Centre. He drew the line, however, at raising pay rates for health care workers not specifically designated to deal with SARS patients.

An underlying issue for nurses is the drastic staffing cuts that Ontario hospitals have made over the past five years. In the late 1990s, more than 10,000 nursing positions were eliminated; and today, half of all nurses have only casual or part-time jobs. The “casualisation” of nursing was a major factor in the initial spread of SARS, as nurses who are forced to work at two or more hospitals to make ends meet unwittingly carried the infection from one hospital to another.

The SARS outbreak has exposed the damage wrought to Ontario’s public heath and hospital systems by the massive cuts imposed by the federal Liberal and provincial Tory governments. That the Tories themselves recognise this is underscored by their categorical rejection of the nurses’ call for a public inquiry. According to Premier Ernie Eves and Health Minster Tony Clement, an inquiry would be too “adversarial” and would result in “finger-pointing.” Instead, the government is proposing to have medical experts conduct a “review” of how the crisis was handled.

No doubt, the government fears a repeat of the public inquiry into the Walkerton water contamination tragedy. It found that Tory cuts to the Environment Ministry and privatisation and deregulation of water-testing had contributed to the deaths of seven people.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/jun2003/sars-j10.shtml

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Source, quoting Bush: 'We have a problem with Sharon'

By Akiva Eldar, Haaretz Correspondent



Behind-the-scenes exchanges between President George Bush and Prime Minister Ariel Sharon at last week's Aqaba summit may hint at a certain shift in the American stance, from the Israeli to the Palestinian side, according to a participant in the three-way meeting of the delegations.
		The source quoted Bush as telling his National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice that "I see that we have a problem with Sharon," while saying of the Palestinians led by Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, "We can work with them." At one point, an irked Bush
reportedly rebuked Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz, telling him "Oh, but I think that you can [help the Palestinians]. And I think that you will." At the advance request of Israel at the summit, Bush's aides had put security problems at the top of the agenda for discussion. "The first thing that Bush was required to talk about was security," the participant said, adding, "It was a request of the Israelis. So [Bush] asked Dahlan to give a briefing." According to the source, Dahlan gave an excellent five-minute synopsis of the situation, and concluded by saying to Bush: "There are some things we can do and some things we cannot. We will do our best. But we will need help." Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz burst in at the end of Dahlan's presentation and said: "Well, they won't be getting any help from us; they have their own security service." You could see that Bush was irritated, the participant said, and Bush turned on Mofaz angrily: "Their own security service? But you have destroyed their security service." Mofaz shook his head and said: "I do not think that we can help them, Mr. President," - to which Bush said: "Oh, but I think that you can. And I think that you will." Then Bush turned to Abbas - again according to a script insisted on by the Israelis - and said: "Mr. Prime Minister, perhaps you could give an overview of the situation in the West Bank and Gaza." Abbas outlined the increasingly dire situation of the territories, saying that the humanitarian crisis was deepening, and that while recent actions of the finance minister had eased the problems, the insertion of new funding was necessary. Sharon then interrupted and said: "The insertion of new funding must be dependent on your good behavior." Bush was again visibly irritated: "You should release their money as soon as possible. This will help the situation." Sharon shook his head: "We have to deal with security first, and we will condition the release of their monies on this alone." Bush peered at Sharon: "But it is their money ..." Sharon said: "Nevertheless, Mr. President ..." and Bush interrupted him: "It is their money, give it to them." After that meeting, Bush turned to National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice and said, "We have a problem with Sharon I can see, but I like that young man [Dahlan] and I think their prime minister is incapable of lying. I hope that they will be successful. We can work with them." Bush was also pleased with the determination with which Abbas rebuffed pressure from his ministers, Nabil Sha'ath and Yasser Abed Rabbo, to toughen the language of the Abbas speech, which he had agreed upon with the American delegation before the summit. They said it would cause trouble in the Palestinian Authority. They argued heatedly with Abbas about his comments, at one point in front of the president. But Abbas insisted that his remarks follow the outlines set out by Bush. Bush watched the interplay and was pleased that Abbas agreed to the American president's suggestions on the draft remarks: "If you will just do this, I pledge to you we will get where your colleagues want you to go. But we are going to take one step at a time."

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/302079.html

*** Toronto: New SARS outbreak provokes nurses’ protest

Toronto: New SARS outbreak provokes nurses’ protest

By Lee Parsons 10 June 2003

By Lee Parsons
10 June 2003