The Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Oct. 7

It’s going to be a fine mess of a flu season. Maybe the record inability to give influenza shots will shake the federal government into addressing America’s dangerously weak ability to assure vaccines to ward off a variety of illnesses.

The latest trouble occurred just as the flu season nears. British officials shut down a Chiron Corp. plant over concerns about contamination, cutting off nearly half the vaccine doses for the United States this year.

Health authorities are asking most healthy people to refrain from vaccination so high-risk people get shots. Mandatory rationing should be imposed if necessary.

Britain’s suspension of flu-shot deliveries caught U.S. health authorities by surprise. But these kinds of problems are becoming regular occurrences with many vaccines.

The breakdowns raise grave questions not just about America’s ability to deal with routine preventable illnesses but also about preparedness for a flu pandemic or bioterrorist attack. …

Reeve really was a super man


Journal Star, Peoria, Ill., Oct. 12

Superman died Sunday. No, not the comic action hero, but the real one, actor and activist Christopher Reeve. Reeve, who achieved fame by playing “Superman” in four movies, severed his spine and was paralyzed from the neck down in a horse-riding accident in 1995. Nine years of physical complications resulting from that injury eventually took their toll, as he went into cardiac arrest on Saturday, then lapsed into a coma. He was 52. …

Though confined to a wheelchair and dependent on a respirator, the 6-foot-4-inch actor actually grew in stature following his injury. He continued to work and make movies. He lobbied Congress for improved insurance protection regarding catastrophic injury. He helped raise millions for research. Where there was once no hope for people who suffered injuries like his, he regained sensation in some parts of his body, won back movement in a finger, learned to breathe on his own without the ventilator for short periods of time. …

Most of all Reeve proved that life need not end with serious disability, that you can function with dignity, that you can continue to laugh and cry and love. This terrible thing happened to him, and yet he made the very, very best of it. Remember that the next time some minor irritation seems the end of the world. …

And remember Christopher Reeve, a super man and an inspirational one.

Throwing away an education

Star-Gazette, Elmira, N.Y., Oct. 13

… If only parents and students would take the time, they would find thousands of dollars in aid available through the federal government. Yet a study by the American Council on Education indicates that moms, dads and their college-bound children are shrugging off the federal aid forms under two main misconceptions: middle-income families believe they make too much money to qualify for aid; and low-income families believe students need high SAT scores to qualify.

Those were some of the findings of the study that reached a number of startling conclusions, including one that said an estimated 850,000 low-income students were eligible for federal Pell Grants – free money – but failed to apply. …

The point is nothing ventured, nothing gained. Families who are too lazy to fill out the forms or give up under the assumption they don’t qualify could be throwing away a golden opportunity to afford a college education. It just doesn’t make sense.

Return our treasures, sir’

Daily Nation, Kenya, Oct. 17

British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived on his African visit yesterday – and straight into the minefield of the Darfur crisis in Sudan.

After a quick visit to Khartoum where he unveiled his proposals for Darfur peace, Blair was expected in Addis Ababa to chair a meeting of the Commission for Africa.

The British-funded body aims to tackle issues such as AIDS, conflicts, weak governance and corruption in the continent.

Yet even as Blair plays the benevolent statesman to help resolve Africa’s myriad problems, he is expected to face demands for the return of ancient Ethiopian treasures looted by Britain more than a century ago.

The treasures and artifacts include religious books and manuscripts, a gold crown and a chalice belonging to Emperor Tewodros II.

The most valuable items is one of the only two original copies of Kebra Negast – Ethiopia’s holy book.

The British royal family holds six religious manuscripts that are the finest examples of Ethiopian workmanship in the world.

Blair can demonstrate his commitment to Africa by handing back the looted treasures. Such an act would set an example for other Western governments that hold priceless treasures stolen from the continent.