Study links marijuana smoking to gum disease

By Will Dunham
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Smoking marijuana, much like smoking tobacco, may increase a person's risk for gum disease that can lead to tooth loss, researchers said on Tuesday.
A study of 903 New Zealanders found that people who smoked marijuana frequently had triple the risk for severe gum disease and a 60 percent higher risk for a milder form of it compared to people who did not smoke the drug, also called cannabis.
People who smoked marijuana less frequently had a smaller increased risk for gum disease, the researchers said.
Gum or periodontal disease is an infection of the tissues surrounding and supporting the teeth. In advanced stages, the gums and bone that support the teeth can become seriously damaged and the teeth can become loose, fall out or have to be removed.
"While it has been known for a few years that tobacco smoking is bad for the periodontal (gum) tissues, no one has investigated whether any other type of smoking is also a risk factor," W. Murray Thomson, a professor of dental public health at the University of Otago in New Zealand, said by e-mail.
"We suspected we would indeed find that cannabis smoking was a risk factor, but what surprised us was the strength of the relationship," added Thomson, who led the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
His team tracked a group of people in Dunedin, New Zealand, since their births in 1972 and 1973. They were age 32 when the researchers identified the "strong association" between marijuana use and gum disease.
The researchers defined heavy marijuana users as those who reported smoking it an average of 41 or more times annually between ages 18 and 32 -- almost once a week

Source : reuters.com

Many Indonesians cheer Obama in Democrat race

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The 2008 U.S. presidential election is being watched closely by millions around the world but few are more fired up than Indonesians, who can lay claim to Democratic hopeful Barack Obama as nearly one of their own.In the capital Jakarta where Obama, 46, spent part of his childhood, U.S. expatriates and Indonesians crowded around television sets on Wednesday to watch the results of nominating contests across 24 states thousands of miles away pouring in.At the end of the biggest day of U.S. presidential voting before the November election, Obama won 12 states to Clinton's eight in a hard-fought duel for the Democratic nomination.On the Republican side, John McCain won nine states but failed to knock out rivals Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney."I think it's exciting being in Indonesia at this time. A lot of Indonesians are fired up about Obama," said Barry Dols, 41, an Obama supporter and teacher based in Jakarta from New Jersey."They think he knows the region."The senator from Illinois spent part of his childhood in Indonesia after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Muslim Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Obama's Kenyan father.Soetoro brought his new family to Jakarta in 1967 when Obama was six. Four years later Obama left Jakarta to live with grandparents in Hawaii."I prefer Obama because he is from a minority. So far, there is no leader coming from a minority," said Samuel Moeloek, 28, a management graduate at Parahiyangan University in the West Java city of Bandung.In Asia, few events were organised for locals interested in watching the outcome of "Super Tuesday" live, since the final results came in the middle of the working day.Image Americans living overseas could vote at special polling booths set up in selected areas of their countries, or they cast ballots online -- for the first time ever.An estimated 6 million expatriates are eligible to vote.Democrats abroad can vote online through Feb 12 and 22 delegates representing them will go to the August convention in Denver."If this super Tuesday does not generate a clear leader, then going into the convention without a nominee ...That's hardly ever happened," said Lisa Lumbao, a member of Democrat party in Manila. "So if that happens, then our votes, our 22 delegates ...could make a difference. We're like the 51st state."Many expatriates who had gathered at the U.S. Ambassador's residence in Jakarta -- decked out with red, white and blue curtains -- hoped the eventual president, whether Democrat or Republican. would improve their nation's image in the regionand beyond."I think the president has to be incredibly internationally aware and bring global stability and improve relations and the image of the U.S.," said Richard Mau, a hotel marketing executive based in Jakarta, who is backing Obama."He needs think about how the U.S. is perceived. The U.S. is not perceived as well as it could be in this region."Jakarta has close security ties with Washington, but many policies of President George W. Bush's administration, particularly in the Middle East, are unpopular in the predominantly Muslim nation.Ari Bassin, a Clinton supporter, said he was just happy with the strong interest in the election."In a country where apathy runs so deep in politics, it's heartening to see this kind of passion," Bassin told Reuters."You have a lot of first-time voters, especially minority voters, and that can change the face of politics in the U.S." (*)


Source : antara.co.id

Clinton, McCain take early leads in voting

By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton scored early "Super Tuesday" wins and Republican John McCain swept to three convincing victories as 24 U.S. states voted in contests that could help pick the presidential nominees of both parties.
Clinton and Obama took two states each in their hard-fought duel for the Democratic presidential nomination. Clinton won Oklahoma and Tennessee, while Obama won Georgia and his home state of Illinois.
McCain, an Arizona senator looking to score a knockout blow on rivals Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee, rolled to easy wins in Connecticut, New Jersey and Illinois on the biggest day of U.S. presidential nominating contests ahead of November's election.
Huckabee, a Baptist preacher and former Arkansas governor, won in Alabama and at a convention in West Virginia. Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, won that state.
All three Republicans were running close in Georgia in early returns, with the result too close to call, U.S. television networks projected.
More than half the total delegates to the Democratic party convention in August and about 40 percent of the delegates to the Republican convention in September were up for grabs. The candidates battle for delegates who vote in those party conventions to pick their candidates for the November 4 election.
Economic worries -- plunging housing values, rising energy and food prices, jittery financial markets and new data showing a big contraction in the service sector -- have eclipsed the Iraq war as voters' top concern, opinion polls showed.
Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, was battling a wave of momentum for Obama, an Illinois senator who would be the first black U.S. president. Obama has almost caught her in national polls and taken leads in several states taking part in the coast-to-coast voting.


Source : reuters.com

India buys Lockheed planes, US sees breakthrough

Washington (ANTARA News) - India has agreed to buy six Lockheed Martin Corp C-130J military transport planes in a breakthrough deal with the United States worth about $1 billion that opens a door to closer strategic ties, U.S. officials said on Tuesday.India and the U.S. signed an agreement on Jan. 31 for Lockheed to start delivering the four-engine Super Hercules turboprop aircraft in 2011, said Bruce Lemkin, who handles U.S. Air Force international affairs.The deal marks a major shift in weapons-buying policy by India, which for decades has relied heavily on Russian arms and transport aircraft.The United States has been eager to boost strategic ties with India as a hedge against China's military clout.Nicholas Burns, the No. 3 U.S. State Department official whose retirement was announced last month, wrote late last year that in reaching out to India, the United States was betting the planet's future lay in democracy and market economicsrather than "despotism and state planning," an apparent swipe at communist-ruled China."It really provides the centerpiece of a growing relationship between our two air forces," Lemkin, a deputy undersecretary of the Air Force who had been working on thematter for almost two years, told Reuters in a telephone interview.James Clad, deputy assistant U.S. secretary of defense for South and Southeast Asia, said the deal dwarfed all U.S. defense sales to New Delhi since Indian independence from Britain in 1947."This kind of puts us in a new environment," he said in an interview. "With this sale, India is telling us it's ready to buy top-quality U.S. equipment on its merits.""It positions us to be in the Indian defense market for years to come," he said.Lemkin said the agreement provided for U.S. logistics support, training and spare parts as well as the aircraft.Indian airmen would start training in the U.S., probably in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 2010, the year before deliveries start, he said.The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which handles government-to-government arms sales, notified Congress of the possible sale last May, putting its potential value at $1.06 billion if all options were exercised.Lockheed, the Pentagon's No. 1 supplier by sales, and Boeing Co, its next-biggest supplier, are bidding against Russian and European rivals for a potential $10.2 billion deal to sell the Indian air force 126 new multirole fighter aircraft.Bethesda, Maryland-based Lockheed said it was pleased to see the acquisition process moving forward in India."The C-130J Super Hercules will provide the Indian Air Force with a highly advanced, flexible platform that will meet the range of missions unique to India," said Cheryl Amerine, a company spokeswoman.Officials at the Indian embassy in Washington did not return phone calls seeking comment.


Source : antara.co.id

QTRAX V.2 Beta launches - sees 61,000 unique users per hour

New York, (ANTARA News/PRNewswire-AsiaNet) - MIDEM CONFERENCE - QTRAX (www.QTRAX.com) - the world's first free and legal peer-to-peer music service announced that at today's V.2 Beta launch, its ground-breaking service had approximately 61,000 unique users per hour (between 7am and 1pm EST). This translates to approximately 1,464,000 unique users per day.QTRAX believes that a significant percentage of users were unable to access the site due to this massive demand and has now dramatically increased its download capacity."The response to the service is clearly unprecedented. We launched at MIDEM, the leading music industry conference, precisely because of the degree of support we have had and continue to enjoy from rights holders," said QTRAX President and CEO Allan Klepfisz."We believe the exact nature of that support will be publicly clarified within a very short time. As the world's first free and legal P2P service that has chosen to spend 4.5 years on licensing and not to violate IP rights, we have decided that we will provide activation keys shortly upon final execution of all pertinent contracts."In the meantime, users will be able to enjoy all other functionalities of the QTRAX browser including importing and playing their existing music, browsing the vast and rich content, purchasing artist merchandise and tickets, and, for the first time, enjoying a fully integrated browsing and music experience.The activation keys will enable users to experience full QTRAX V.2 Beta functionality, including search, download, access content, and play.QTRAX has created a dynamic new music distribution model that represents a paradigm shift in the way people consume music, how the industry can monetize their catalogs and how artists get paid.The application download is available immediately at www.QTRAX.com About QTRAX QTRAX (www.QTRAX.com) is the world's first legal and free peer-to-peer music service. Showcasing an innovative ad-supported downloading model that easily directs revenue back to artists and rights holders, QTRAX is the first P2P to be embraced widely by the music industry. QTRAX is a subsidiary of Brilliant Technologies Corporation (OTC: BLLN.PK), a publicly traded technology holding company.SOURCE QTRAXCONTACT: Justin Kazmark, +1-212-561-7466, justin.kazmark@morris-king.com, or Jennifer Moses, +1-315-212-4408, jennifer.moses@morris-king.com, both of The Morris + King Company; or Rich Schineller of Perception Management, +1-941-726-9090, rich@prmgt.com; or Shamin Abas of Shamin Abas PR, +1-561-366-1226, Shamin@shaminabaspr.com; or Deborah Gray of Big DGPR, +1-646-247-3094, +61(0)414-911-111, debjgray@hotmail.com/Web site: http://www.qtrax.com/


Source : antara.co.id

Malaysia Minta Pekerja Asing Melapor ke Polisi

Kuala Lumpur (ANTARA News) - Malaysia akan meminta seluruh pekerja asing di negeri itu untuk melaporkan diri ke kantor polisi terdekat, untuk memastikan mereka tidak terlibat kegiatan kriminal dan memudahkan pemantauan oleh aparat keamanan.Wakil Menteri Keselamatan Dalam Negeri Fu Ah Kiow mengatakan kepada Berita Harian, Rabu, langkah itu diusulkan penduduk kawasan perumahan guna membantu mengurangi tingkat kriminal yang melibatkan pekerja asing di Malaysia."Ada penduduk mendakwa (menuduh,red) kehadiran pekerja asing dalam jumlah besar di kawasan perumahan menimbulkan masalah sosial serta kriminalitas," kata Fu Ah Kiow. "Jadi pendaftaran ke kantor polisi adalah langkah awal bagi memudahkan polisi melakukan pemantauan terhadap aktivitas mereka, selain mengetahui tempat tinggal serta pekerjaan mereka di kawasan terkait," katanya. "Dengan sistem itu, polisi dapat mengetahui lokasi mana banyak pekerja asing, terutama di kawasan perumahan dan kita akan memberi perhatian lebih di kawasan itu," kata Fu Ah Kiow. Ia akan mengajukan rencana itu kepada Departemen Dalam Negeri untuk membangun suatu sistem pemantauan dan penegakan hukum yang teratur dan baik. Jumlah pekerja asing di Malaysia mencapai lebih 2.6 juta orang, atau sekitar 10 persen dari jumlah total rakyat Malaysia. Berdasarkan, statistik imigrasi setempat tercatat rekrutmen pekerja asing bertambah 7,000 orang setiap bulan.Menurut data Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Malaysia, sejak tahun 1999, porsi terbesar tenaga kerja asing di Malaysia beradal dari Indonesia.Dan pada 2006, pekerja asing asal Indonesia di negara itu mencapai 1,2 juta orang atau 64 persen dari total pekerja asing yang berjumlah sekitar 1,89 juta orang.(*)

Selamat Tahun Baru Imlek 2559

(Suara Merdeka) - Kamis, 7 Februari besok dicatat sebagai Tahun Baru Imlek 2559. Sudah beberapa tahun terakhir ini tahun baru China itu dikategorikan sebagai hari libur nasional. Bukan hanya kaum tionghwa saja yang bergembira, masyarakat kita secara keseluruhan bisa menerimanya dengan lega hati tanpa syakwasangka. Kenapa ? Karena realitas masyarakat kita memang beragam, satu dan lainnya diberikan kesempatan yang sama untuk mengekspresikannya. Kita tidak usah memutar jarum jam ke belakang karena di sana yang ada hanyalah catatan-catatan buruk. Sebaliknya, kita membuka lembaran baru yang lebih putih untuk kemudian kita isi dengan catatan-catatan penuh kegembiraan, kebaikan dan kebajikan.
Besok kita menyaksikan para sahabat, tetangga dekat dan jauh, dan juga kerabat merayakan hari penuh dengan kegembiraan itu. Ada kue keranjang yang nikmat dan lezat, ada pembagian angpao, ada pasar tiban, ada pernik-pernik lampion yang semuanya memberikan gambaran tentang kegembiraan. Seperti juga tahun baru yang lain, apakah tahun baru Masehi, Islam, atau pun Jawa selalu memunculkan harapan akan datangnya keadaan yang lebih baik dari sisi kehidupan masyarakat, melimpahnya rejeki, dan dijauhkannya dari masalah dan malapetaka. Datangnya tahun yang lebih baik bagi kehidupan di bumi dan langit tentu ditunggu oleh siapa pun.
Tahun Baru Imlek juga bernuansa seperti itu. Setiap individu yang merayakannya pastiklah akan memohon kepada Thian agar diberikan keselamatan dan dilimpahkan rejeki yang lebih baik dari tahun sebelumnya. Permohonan seperti itu akan selalu ada pada setiap individu berkesadaran yang merasa dirinya butuh akan kehadiran "kekuatan lain" yang bukan berasal dari dirinya. "Kekuatan lain" itulah yang dimohon bimbingannya agar manusia tidak terjerumus dan terjerat oleh masalah demi masalah, tetapi diberikan berkat agar terhindarkan marabahaya di samping diberikan kesentausaan hidup yang lebih baik. Itu sebabnya kenapa di saat Imlek, orang merasa perlu bergembira dan berbagi untuk sesama.
Berbagi kepada sesama bisa dalam banyak bentuk, apakah berbagi kue, angpao, makan bersama yang semuanya sebenarnya berpangkal pada kesadaran hidup bersama. Manusia berkesadaran seperti itulah manusia yang bijaksana. Sedangkan manusia bijaksana adalah manusia yang selain bisa melihat realita sejati dan dengan demikian memiliki pengetahuan sejati, juga kesadaran dan keyakinan sejati. Oleh sebab itu manusia harus berpengetahuan karena itulah yang akan membawanya pada kesadaran dan keyakinan sejati. Bentuk akhir dari kesadaran hidup bersama itu kemudian diwujudkan dengan amal kebaikan, berbagi kebajikan dan memahami keberadaan dalam masyarakat.
Amal kebaikan, berbagi kebajikan dan memahami keberadaan itu sebuah bentuk kesadaran yang bisa diaktualisasikan ke dalam keluarga kecil, keluarga besar, tetangga dan keluarga bangsa. Jika kesadaran seperti ini ada pada setiap individu dalam masyarakat, maka secara niscaya akan sumrambah dan mengejewantah dalam kehidupan bersama yang rukun, damai sekaligus sejahtera. Kehidupan tata, titi, tentrem karta tur raharja itu tidak bisa berdiri dengan bersandar pada egoisme yang diekpsresikan dalam sikap-sikap nggugu benere dhewe. Untuk itu, setiap kita perlu merasa terus mengasah diri agar hati nurani senantiasa menuntun kita pada kehidupan bersama.
Kita tentu berharap, Tahun Baru Imlek 2559 ini memberikan inspirasi baru dan segar untuk kehidupan bersama yang lebih baik. Kehidupan bersama yang terus dipersegar, diberi isi, dan diaktualisasikan secara konsisten akan memberikan dampak yang luar biasa dalam menjaga keutuhan rumah tangga besar yang bernama Indonesia. Kini kita dengan lega hati dan penuh kegembiraan bisa menyaksikan perayaan Imlek di berbagai sudut kota secara terbuka. Tidak ada lagi batasan dan syakwasangka. Dan, kita pun percaya mereka yang merayakan akan menggunakannya sebagai momentum untuk terus melakukan perbaikan diri pribadi dan masyarakatnya. Selamat Tahun Baru Imlek 2559.