kiwipete

Malaysia to appoint an international review of rare earth processing...

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia said Friday it is appointing international experts to investigate whether a refinery being built by Australian miner Lynas Corp. Ltd. to process rare earth minerals presents any threat of radioactive pollution.

The plant in Malaysia's central Pahang state could become the first such facility outside China in years. Officials say it may curtail China's monopoly on the global supply of 17 rare earths essential for making high-tech goods, including flatscreen TVs, mobile phones, hybrid cars and weapons.

But public worries have soared over risks posed by low-level radioactive waste from the site, even though Lynas insists it would have state-of-the art pollution controls.

Malaysian Trade Minister Mustapa Mohamed said Friday that a panel of international experts will soon conduct a monthlong analysis of the project's safety.

"Let me assure you that the safety of the people has the highest priority," Mustapa told a news conference. "We will never compromise the public interest in the handling of the Lynas issue, and the health and safety of our people and the environment will continue to receive the highest priority."

The plant will not receive government approval to operate or import any raw material into Malaysia until the panel completes its assessment, Mustapa said.

Malaysia's last rare earth refinery in northern Perak state was closed in 1992 following protests and claims that it caused birth defects and leukemia among residents nearby. It is one of Asia's largest radioactive waste cleanup sites.

Raja Abdul Aziz Raja Adnan, the director general of Malaysia's Atomic Energy Licensing Board, said the review panel would likely comprise five to seven experts recognized by the International Atmomic Energy Agency.

Lynas said it welcomed the announcement, adding that it believes the plant will be finished on schedule.

The company "is confident the review will reconfirm that the plant is safe and presents no hazard to the community or Lynas workers," it said in a statement.

The Pahang plant is meant to refine slightly radioactive ore from the Mount Weld mine in Western Australia, which will be trucked to the port of Fremantle and transported to Malaysia by container ship. Lynas previously said the refinery is expected to be operational late this year and could meet nearly a third of world demand for rare earths, excluding China.

China has about 30 percent of rare earths deposits but accounts for 97 percent of production. The United States and Canada also have rare earths but stopped mining them in the 1990s as cheaper Chinese supplies became available.

Foreign manufacturers were alarmed when Beijing temporarily blocked rare earths shipments to Japan last year after a Chinese fishing boat captain was detained near disputed islands.

Acknowledgements: Yahoo News/AP

http://worldofcae.blogspot.com THE GREEN PLANET BLOG

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com THE KIWI RIVERMAN POST

Is Thorium the silver bullet for the world's future energy needs - the ultimate green prescription...

Is Thorium the silver bullet for the world's future energy needs - a real substitute for uranium without all the baggage. The ultimate green prescription.

Obama could kill fossil fuels overnight with a nuclear dash for thorium.

If Barack Obama were to marshal America’s vast scientific and strategic resources behind a new Manhattan Project, he might reasonably hope to reinvent the global energy landscape and sketch an end to our dependence on fossil fuels within three to five years.

Dr Rubbia says a tonne of the silvery metal produces as much energy as 200 tonnes of uranium, or 3,500,000 tonnes of coal By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor 6:55PM BST 29

We could then stop arguing about wind mills, deepwater drilling, IPCC hockey sticks, or strategic reliance on the Kremlin. History will move on fast.

Muddling on with the status quo is not a grown-up policy. The International Energy Agency says the world must invest $26 trillion (£16.7 trillion) over the next 20 years to avert an energy shock. The scramble for scarce fuel is already leading to friction between China, India, and the West.

There is no certain bet in nuclear physics but work by Nobel laureate Carlo Rubbia at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) on the use of thorium as a cheap, clean and safe alternative to uranium in reactors may be the magic bullet we have all been hoping for, though we have barely begun to crack the potential of solar power.

Dr Rubbia says a tonne of the silvery metal – named after the Norse god of thunder, who also gave us Thor’s day or Thursday - produces as much energy as 200 tonnes of uranium, or 3,500,000 tonnes of coal. A mere fistful would light London for a week.

Thorium burns the plutonium residue left by uranium reactors, acting as an eco-cleaner. "It’s the Big One," said Kirk Sorensen, a former NASA rocket engineer and now chief nuclear technologist at Teledyne Brown Engineering.

"Once you start looking more closely, it blows your mind away. You can run civilisation on thorium for hundreds of thousands of years, and it’s essentially free. You don’t have to deal with uranium cartels," he said.

Thorium is so common that miners treat it as a nuisance, a radioactive by-product if they try to dig up rare earth metals. The US and Australia are full of the stuff. So are the granite rocks of Cornwall. You do not need much: all is potentially usable as fuel, compared to just 0.7pc for uranium.

After the Manhattan Project, US physicists in the late 1940s were tempted by thorium for use in civil reactors. It has a higher neutron yield per neutron absorbed. It does not require isotope separation, a big cost saving. But by then America needed the plutonium residue from uranium to build bombs.

"They were really going after the weapons," said Professor Egil Lillestol, a world authority on the thorium fuel-cycle at CERN. "It is almost impossible make nuclear weapons out of thorium because it is too difficult to handle. It wouldn’t be worth trying." It emits too many high gamma rays.

You might have thought that thorium reactors were the answer to every dream but when CERN went to the European Commission for development funds in 1999-2000, they were rebuffed.

Brussels turned to its technical experts, who happened to be French because the French dominate the EU’s nuclear industry. "They didn’t want competition because they had made a huge investment in the old technology," he said.

Another decade was lost. It was a sad triumph of vested interests over scientific progress. "We have very little time to waste because the world is running out of fossil fuels. Renewables can’t replace them. Nuclear fusion is not going work for a century, if ever," he said.

The Norwegian group Aker Solutions has bought Dr Rubbia’s patent for an accelerator-driven sub-critical reactor, and is working on his design for a thorium version at its UK operation.

Victoria Ashley, the project manager, said it could lead to a network of pint-sized 600MW reactors that are lodged underground, can supply small grids, and do not require a safety citadel. It will take £2bn to build the first one, and Aker needs £100mn for the next test phase.

The UK has shown little appetite for what it regards as a "huge paradigm shift to a new technology". Too much work and sunk cost has already gone into the next generation of reactors, which have another 60 years of life.

So Aker is looking for tie-ups with countries such as the US, Russia, or China. The Indians have their own projects - none yet built - dating from days when they switched to thorium because their weapons programme prompted a uranium ban.

America should have fewer inhibitions than Europe in creating a leapfrog technology. The US allowed its nuclear industry to stagnate after Three Mile Island in 1979.

Anti-nuclear neorosis is at last ebbing. The White House has approved $8bn in loan guarantees for new reactors, yet America has been strangely passive. Where is the superb confidence that put a man on the moon?

A few US pioneers are exploring a truly radical shift to a liquid fuel based on molten-fluoride salts, an idea once pursued by US physicist Alvin Weinberg at Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee in the 1960s. The original documents were retrieved by Mr Sorensen.

Moving away from solid fuel may overcome some of thorium’s "idiosyncracies". "You have to use the right machine. You don’t use diesel in a petrol car: you build a diesel engine," said Mr Sorensen.

Thorium-fluoride reactors can operate at atmospheric temperature. "The plants would be much smaller and less expensive. You wouldn’t need those huge containment domes because there’s no pressurized water in the reactor. It’s close-fitting," he said.

Nuclear power could become routine and unthreatening. But first there is the barrier of establishment prejudice.

When Hungarian scientists led by Leo Szilard tried to alert Washington in late 1939 that the Nazis were working on an atomic bomb, they were brushed off with disbelief. Albert Einstein interceded through the Belgian queen mother, eventually getting a personal envoy into the Oval Office.

Roosevelt initially fobbed him off. He listened more closely at a second meeting over breakfast the next day, then made up his mind within minutes. "This needs action," he told his military aide. It was the birth of the Manhattan Project. As a result, the US had an atomic weapon early enough to deter Stalin from going too far in Europe.

The global energy crunch needs equal "action". If it works, Manhattan II could restore American optimism and strategic leadership at a stroke: if not, it is a boost for US science and surely a more fruitful way to pull the US out of perma-slump than scattershot stimulus.

Even better, team up with China and do it together, for all our sakes.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/comment/7970619/Obama-could-kill-fossil-fuels-overnight-with-a-nuclear-dash-for-thorium.html

http://www.gifreepress.com/article/20110325/letters/110329975

http://worldofcae.blogspot.com THE GREEN PLANET blog

http://oilprice.com/energy/energy-general/thorium-a-cheap-clean-and-safe-alternative-to-uranium.html

These shoes were made for walking - or were they?

A ten person tourist party from Malaysia, who turned out to be the largest number of drug couriers ever caught in a single incident at New Zealand's border, literally walked their way into Auckland airport with up to ten kilos of crystal methamphetaimine in their specially designed shoes.

The street value of the drug, known as "P" in New Zealand, is approximately worth a $1 million per kilo here, customs officers said.

http://petesbloggingplace.blog.co.nz

http://peter-petterson.blogspot.com

The All Blacks are set to lose star first-five Dan Carter after the World Cup. English paper the Daily Mail has reported that Paris-based club Racing Metro will offer $8.25m for Carter's services.

If the deal goes through, Carter will become the world's highest-paid player, making $2.75m a season over three years.

"He's assessing his options and will make a decision soonish," said Carter's agent Simon Porter. "He's the world's best rugby player, and there are lots of people including the NZRFU interested in him."

Porter said there are interested clubs "all over Europe" and that the Racing Metro deal was "just speculation". France, however, would seem a logical destination for Carter. He previously played one season for Perpignan before returning to New Zealand and the Crusaders.

If Carter were to sign with Racing Metro he would arrive in November for the start of the Heineken Cup.

Acknowledgements: MSN Sports/ Daily Mail

A global hunt is underway for the next oil.

This essential rare earth metal could soon replace 148 billion barrels of oil.

Countries around the planet are urgently spending billions to control as much of this "super-green" fuel as possible.

What is it? Its lithium.

Read more here: http://www.smauthority.com/report

http://huttsblogesphere.blogesphere.com

The Anzac Day ceremony...

The Anzac Day ceremony of 25 April is rich in tradition and ritual. It is a form of military funeral and follows a particular pattern. The day's ceremonies have two major parts: one at dawn and another, more public event, later in the morning.

The dawn service

Sound: Anzac Day dawn service
A typical commemoration begins with a march by returned service personnel before dawn to the local war memorial. Military personnel and returned servicemen and women form up about the memorial, joined by other members of the community. Pride of place goes to war veterans.

A short service follows with a prayer, hymns (including Kipling's 'Recessional' or 'Lest we forget') and a dedication that concludes with the fourth verse of Laurence Binyon's For the Fallen:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

The last post is then played, and this is followed by a minute's silence and the reveille. A brief address follows, after which the hymn 'Recessional' is sung. The service concludes with a prayer and the singing of the national anthem.

The Anzac parade
Another ceremony takes place later on the morning of 25 April. Returned service personnel wear their medals and march behind banners and standards. The veterans are joined by other community groups, including members of the armed forces, the Red Cross, cadets, and veterans of other countries' forces.

Patea war memorial on Anzac Day
The march proceeds to the local war memorial. Another service takes place there, and various organisations and members of the public lay wreaths. This service is a more public commemoration than the dawn service. It is less intimate and less emotional. The speech, usually by a dignitary, serviceman or returned serviceman or woman, can stress nationhood and remembrance.

After these services many of the veterans retire to the local Returned and Services' Association (RSA) club or hotel, where they enjoy coffee and rum (in the case of the dawn service) and unwind after an emotionally and, for elderly veterans, physically exhausting event. At the end of the day, the ceremony of the retreat is performed.

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com

Anzac Day occurs on April 25 every year. It actually commemorates all New Zealanders and Australians killed in war and honours returned servicemen and women...

The date itself marks the anniversary of the landing of New Zealand and Australian soldiers – the Anzacs – on the Gallipoli Peninsula in 1915. The aim was to capture the Dardanelles, the gateway to the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. At the end of the campaign, Gallipoli was still held by its Turkish defenders.

Thousands lost their lives in the Gallipoli campaign: 87,000 Turks, 44,000 men from France and the British Empire, including 8500 Australians. To this day, Australia also marks the events of 25 April. Among the dead were 2721 New Zealanders, almost one in four of those who served on Gallipoli.

It may have led to a military defeat, but for many New Zealanders then and since, the Gallipoli landings meant the beginning of something else – a feeling that New Zealand had a role as a distinct nation, even as it fought on the other side of the world in the name of the British Empire.

Anzac Day was first marked in 1916. The day has gone through many changes since then. The ceremonies that are held at war memorials up and down New Zealand, or in places overseas where New Zealanders gather, remain rich in tradition and ritual befitting a military funeral.

http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/war/anzac-day/introduction

Canterbury Television (CTV) returns to air today following Feb 22 earthquake in Christchurch...

Photo: The Press Day of grief: The CTV building after the February earthquake.

Emotions will be running high at Canterbury Television (CTV) today as it returns to the air for the first time since the February 22 quake claimed its headquarters and 16 of its staff.

The long-running regional television station has managed to secure itself new premises in the Mainland Press building and has rapidly fitted out a studio.

CTV presenter Rob Cope-Williams told the Sunday Star-Times it had taken a mammoth effort to get the station back up and running, but for the surviving staff there was no better way to honour the colleagues who lost their lives when the six-storey CTV building collapsed in the magnitude 6.3 quake.

"We had to do it for them," said Cope-Williams, who has been with the station for nearly 20 years and was out filming when the quake struck.

"Everyone is buckling in and working their hearts out to make things happen. I'm exceedingly proud of everyone involved. While they might have been doing two or three jobs in the old CTV, they're doing six or seven now. It's absolutely brilliant."

Cope-Williams said the entire Canterbury community had rallied behind the station since the quake and much of the equipment needed to resume broadcasting had been donated.

"We've gone to different companies for equipment and when the equipment arrives there's an invoice which says no payment due. The support has just been brilliant."

Former CTV staff had also come forward to help get the station back on air.

For example, Christchurch city councillor Sue Wells, who hosted the station's original shopping programme Susan Sells before she became involved in local politics, had volunteered to resurrect the popular show. "She is saying 'hey listen, I don't want any wages. I'm just here to help you guys get up and running'. That's the kind of tremendous support we're getting.

"It's very humbling that so many people are helping and it's also very exciting because we're doing something using the old pioneering spirit and that in itself is an absolute buzz. It's also very emotional."

Broadcasting resumes today with a news bulletin at 5.30pm.

In addition to its traditional programming line-up, CTV plans to roll out new programming based on the recovery of Christchurch.

Next month it will also screen a tribute to those employees who lost their lives in February.

CTV will be broadcast on the local analogue frequency 24 hours a day and will also be aired nationally on Maori TV from 8am to 10am and 1pm to 3pm daily.

Acknowledgements: - Sunday Star Times

http://peter-petterson.blogspot.com

Russian police officers reportedly 'sold phone data to contract killers’...

The victim Andrel Kozlov (in photo)...

A group of Russian policemen have been accused of selling confidential mobile phone data to contract killers who used it to murder one of the country’s top anti-corruption crusaders.

Mr Kozlov and his driver were shot dead in September 2006 after being ambushed in a car park in Moscow Photo: AP By Andrew Osborn, Moscow 4:58PM BST 14 Apr 2011

In the latest scandal to hit the police force, investigators said they had opened a criminal investigation into three Moscow policemen suspected of selling mobile phone data that was used by a group of killers to track their target’s movements and work out where and when it was best to murder him.

Their victim, 41-year-old Andrei Kozlov, was the first deputy head of the Russian central bank and one of the country’s most prominent anti-corruption crusaders. He and his driver were shot dead in September 2006 after being ambushed in an unlit car park in northern Moscow by two gunmen. The three policemen, who are being formally investigated for abusing their authority, insist they did nothing wrong and got a judge’s permission to access Mr Kozlov’s mobile phone records. It is unclear though why a judge would have agreed to such a request.

Igor Trunov, a lawyer involved in Mr Kozlov’s murder trial, warned that the allegations were part of a wider pattern of police corruption. “Corruption and the participation of law enforcement employees in illegal activity is widespread,” he told Vzglyad magazine. “Take any criminal case and we will find them in either the role of middleman or accomplice. To our great misfortune, they share information and sell their position and their powers.”

In 2008, a businessman whose bank Mr Kozlov shut down a few months earlier on suspicion of money laundering was found guilty of ordering the hit and sentenced to 19 years in jail. Six others, including the gunmen, were handed long prison sentences too. But as the Kremlin forges ahead with a major anti-corruption drive, the police’s role in the case is coming under closer scrutiny. Experts say the officers probably charged the equivalent of between 450 and 1,200 pounds for their services but that the price demanded by corrupt officers now for similar services is much higher. Police corruption in Russia is rife with officers routinely extorting bribes from motorists and demanding cash to let people off real or invented crimes. In a recent case, a policeman was caught taking a bribe from a funeral agency in exchange for informing them about recent deaths so that they could get a head start on rival agencies

Acknowledgements: The Telegraph Group

http://kiwiriverman.blogspot.com

After learning that Japan has thousands of emergency homes ready for families at the end of the month, I was highly critical at the delay in Christchurch.

An announcement has been made in NZ that earthquake refugee villages are being built in the eastern suburbs, the worst damaged part of the city. And security guards are being considered for them. To keep people out, or to police the occupants? Anything is possible in the NZ of today where airforce planes monitor protestors out at sea as they demonstrate their legal right to protest against oil company prospecting vessels. Many New Zealanders remember the massive BP oil spillage in the Gulf of Mexico and don't want a repetition in NZ waters - hence the protests.

Back to the subject at hand, NZ companies are building the portable homes and 300 will be available next month. About 5000 families are expected to need accomodation while their homes are repaired or rebuilt. The question there, of course, is when? They are still assessing homes from the first earthquake last year, let alone the one in Feb 22. Families could be there for many months.

The Building and Housing Department has indicated that up to 10,000 houses might be needed. and the Government has set aside $38 million dollars, though some money could be recovered through rent, ranging from $190.00 for a two person house to $337.00 for a six person house.

Insurance should cover rents - provided people have insurance. Many people can't work because most companies in the CBD and in eastern suburbs are not operating yet. Government relief will have to continue. It is quite ironical that this National Government was attacking welfare recipients the week of the earthquake. Their policy was if they didn't get out and look for work they would get their benefits withdrawn. How times have changed!

Acknowledgements: Peter Petterson

The health benefits of good old beer...

No, the title isn't a mistake. As much as an over-indulgence can have negative side effects, beer drunk in moderation can have significant benefits for your overall health.

Sadly, it doesn't mean smashing ten beers on a Friday night will provide the perfect foil to a week of skiving from the gym, but it does mean a quick beer in the evening can potentially do you and your body a world of good.

Stress-buster
Excessive alcohol can lower your mental acuity immediately after consumption and make a mess of your sleep patterns which will result in a more stressed you. However, a couple of drinks have been proven to be a relaxant, to help you wind down and to induce a state of euphoria.

Antioxidants
Beer, particularly the darker varieties found more widely in Europe, contain antioxidants called flavonoids. As you're probably aware — the darker colour often serves as a good indicator of how potent an antioxidant it is. Antioxidants fight cancer-causing free radicals in the body.

Selenium
The body requires very low amounts of selenium which is found in beer (too much can have detrimental side effects) to aid the immune system, thyroid hormone metabolism and in reproduction. You should, in theory, be able to get as much selenium as you need through your diet. However, a couple of extra bottles of beer won't hurt...

Vitamin B6
Studies conducted in the Netherlands have shown that the level of B6 found in beer drinkers increased by up to 30%. The vitamin is essential for the metabolism of protein by the body along with the function of the nervous system and immune system. On top of this, it helps fight stress — a vast number of people take B6 supplements for just this reason.

Good cholesterol, bad cholesterol
Not all cholesterol is bad as we're often led to believe. The good stuff, known as HDL or high-density lipoprotein, can protect against heart disease and prevent heart attacks. Medical opinion suggests that the HDL carries bad cholesterol to the liver where it is passed from the body. And you guessed it, beer contains the good stuff. Happy days.

Bone density
Not something that most of us think about now, but as we get older our bones become thinner and more brittle. Beer made from barley and hops is a good source of silicon which helps to increase mineral density in the bones.

Magnesium
Alongside selenium, beer also contains trace amounts of magnesium. This element is needed within every cell in the body and in over 300 biochemical reactions. It also plays a very important role in the formation of bones and teeth as well as with contracting muscles and the immune system. Research has suggested that more often than not people are deficient in magnesium, so crack yourself a brew and get drinking!

Kidney stones
It may seem a contradiction in terms that beer can help your kidneys; in fact, it prevents calcium deposits building up in them, which mix with salts and other minerals and eventually form kidney stones. Porters and stouts, which are higher in hops, are more beneficial.

Strokes
Strokes are one of the leading causes of death and long-term disabilities. One to two beers a day have been shown in scientific studies to reduce the risk of stroke by up to a significant 20% which puts it in the same category as wine.

All this being said, excess alcohol consumption in any form can lead to long term damage of your organs amongst other things. What it does mean, however, is that the couple of beers you enjoy on your way home from work do have a significant impact in a positive way on your health — but just don't go overboard.

MSN -NZ Mens Lifestyle

Acknowledgements: William Leigh

Cut Colds By 25% With Yoghurt

Want fewer sniffles? One of the answers to fighting the common cold may lie in yoghurt and its ability to produce antibodies, the "healthy bacteria" needed to boost our immune systems.

Each year, thousands of AUstralians catch colds and get the flu. Colds can occur year-round, but they occur mostly in the winter (even in areas with mild winters). The beneficial bacteria in active yoghurt cultures can help prevent colds (as well as tummy aches, diarrhea, food poisoning, food allergies, eczema, sinus infections, bronchitis, and pneumonia - among other things).

Physician and researcher, George Halpern, of the University of California, believes that it is best to start eating yoghurt at least 3 months ahead of cold season. His study of 68 participants found that eating 2 cups of yoghurt each day for four months boosted their immune systems and gamma interferon in their blood 5 times more than non-yoghurt eaters.

In a year long test, subjects who ate 3/4 cup of yoghurt daily had 25% fewer colds than non-yogurt eaters.

Simin Meydani, Ph.D. recently published his review of yoghurt-related research in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition which indicated that the health benefits of yoghurt stretch beyond protein and calcium. One of the suggestions was that yoghurt might help one's resistance to immune-related diseases in part due to the live and active cultures
found in yoghurt.

Other preventative measures you can take is to get your yearly flu vaccination and increase your consumption of ginger, garlic, shiitake mushrooms and vitamin C.

So increasing your yoghurt intake before the cold season is a preventative action you can take in fighting the common cold. Make sure label says "live and active cultures" indicative of the "healthy bacteria" that your body needs.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; National Yoghurt Association; USA Weekend

Yours To Good Health,

Chris Rogers for Quantum Health
http://www.quantumhealth.com.au/

http://huttshealthhub.blogspot.com

Homophobia drives teen to suicide...

Gay Rumors Drove Teen to Suicide

A U.K. high school student jumped to his death off a six-story building last year after classmates spread a rumor that he had kissed a boy during a game of “spin the bottle” on a school trip, an inquest heard earlier this week.

Fifteen-year-old Dominic Crouch was reportedly happy when he returned from an art class trip with his classmates at St. Edwards School in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, in May of last year, the inquest heard, according to Metro.co.uk.

But four days later. Crouch gained access to the roof at a locked block of apartments nearby called Withyholt Court and jumped.

Paul Harvey, the school's current headmaster, told the inquest a supervisor on the trip, Lucy Evans, reported after his death that classmates had been playing “spin the bottle” on the trip and rumors had been spread that Crouch had kissed a boy, leading to rumors he was gay.

“Dominic was clearly upset about rumours that he believed were being spread about him,” Dominic’s father Roger Crouch told the inquest. “We need to realize that what may be a laugh to some young people are deeply upsetting to another.”

Gloucestershire's deputy coroner David Dooley has ruled the death a suicide

Acknowledgements: advocate.com

http://huttsblogesphere.blogspot.com

Rheumatoid arthritis - the scourge of aging human beings...

By Peter Petterson

First published at Qondio:

Just what is rheumatoid arthritis? It is a chronic, progressive and debilitating auto-immune disease. There are about 400,000 sufferers in the United Kingdom alone.
It is also a very painful condition, which can cause severe disability and inevitably affects sufferers from carrying out day to day tasks. It causes swelling and damages both cartilage and bones in and around joints.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms:

The most common arthritis symptoms are pains in one or more joints. Many people overlook these RA symptoms as just being part of overuse, but the enlightened ones take these symptoms seriously and get them confirmed by their doctors.

Classic symptoms and warning signs:

1/ Constant joint pain in several locations

2/ Swelling, stiffness and redness

3/ Specific pain in specific spot

4/ Decrease in the range of motion - flexibility

5/ Joints begin to deform

6/ You are always feeling weak, tired and extremely fatigued

Rheumatoid arthritis and your heart:

RA doubles heart attack odds.

People with RA typically face double the risk of a heart attack compared to the general population. A new ten-year European study found that women with RA under the age of 50 years are six more times more at risk of a heart attack, while for anybody else with RA the risk was comparable to those with diabetes.

"Cardiovascular risk management is urgently needed for RA patients," commented Dr Michael Nurmohammed of the VU University Medical Centre in the Netherlands.

"Treatment with statins or antihypertensives may be required." he added further.

http://huttriver.qondio.com