Also in the news

[Alf Bentley]

Just now, fuchsntf said:

What about.......chewing tobacco..!!   

 

That's alright, but smoked food is bad for you, apparently. 

[fuchsntf]

3 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

That's alright, but smoked food is bad for you, apparently. 

So barbecuing with my Havanna's.   Is a No no...!!

 

 

[Alf Bentley]

If this lad's identity is confirmed it will give renewed hope to parents whose kids have been snatched etc.:  https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/04/04/teenager-tells-police-he-is-boy-who-went-missing-at-age-6-in-201/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_cs=bLVrloQPigzRAsV75FsgQw&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW9sLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABjxhoe233MlDxrvdC93-tSKAqs1TszazNln4aUTWPJPHo9-WnaJSB-mcdAzkPQa7VA-Cwpi97vb6Wa3zD6ODRxgfReOIyNoNXOVUA2nkU38gbTsVmU62nCfdtz9nlxI918pG2l0pUrjd_vOJRzlejKPcIMIGq6K8GMal0Zs0qH8

 

"A teenager in Kentucky is claiming that he is a boy who went missing in Illinois in 2011 after his mother was found dead in a motel room. The FBI is now working with authorities in multiple states to confirm his identity. Timmothy Pitzen of Aurora, Illinois, was last seen at a water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. He was last known to be in the company of his mother, who was found dead of what appeared to be a suicide in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, in May 2011, according to a police report. If alive, Timmothy would now be 14. The teenager claiming to be the boy identified himself to authorities in Campbell County, Kentucky, on Wednesday morning. He told investigators he escaped two kidnappers who have held him captive for seven years, according to a Sharonville, Ohio, police report. He said that he was staying at a Red Roof Inn with his abductors and that after he escaped, he ran across a bridge to Kentucky, the police report states. He could not provide the exact location of the hotel, authorities said.

 

An FBI spokesman told NBC News that agents in Louisville and Cincinnati are coordinating with other police agencies in multiple states on a missing child investigation. "There will be no further statement made on this matter until we have additional information," the spokesman said. Police in Aurora, Illinois, said in an emailed statement that two detectives travelled to the Cincinnati area to assist the FBI in the missing-persons case. "We cannot confirm that the person of interest here is Timmothy Pitzen," a spokesman with Aurora police said. "At this time we have no further information to provide." Timmothy's grandmother, Alana Anderson, told NBC News on Wednesday that she has been in touch with Aurora police. Anderson said she never stopped thinking about her grandson. "His mother left me a letter and she said that he would be with people who would love him and take care of him," Anderson said. "She felt that her life had come to an end and she was going to end her life and she didn't want to leave him without good parenting." Anderson said she last saw her grandson when he was 6 years old, adding: "I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us. That was kind of the best I could hope for."

[bovril]

Mark Francois reminds me of Mike from Spaced. 

[fuchsntf]

4 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

If this lad's identity is confirmed it will give renewed hope to parents whose kids have been snatched etc.:  https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/04/04/teenager-tells-police-he-is-boy-who-went-missing-at-age-6-in-201/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_cs=bLVrloQPigzRAsV75FsgQw&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW9sLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABjxhoe233MlDxrvdC93-tSKAqs1TszazNln4aUTWPJPHo9-WnaJSB-mcdAzkPQa7VA-Cwpi97vb6Wa3zD6ODRxgfReOIyNoNXOVUA2nkU38gbTsVmU62nCfdtz9nlxI918pG2l0pUrjd_vOJRzlejKPcIMIGq6K8GMal0Zs0qH8

 

"A teenager in Kentucky is claiming that he is a boy who went missing in Illinois in 2011 after his mother was found dead in a motel room. The FBI is now working with authorities in multiple states to confirm his identity. Timmothy Pitzen of Aurora, Illinois, was last seen at a water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. He was last known to be in the company of his mother, who was found dead of what appeared to be a suicide in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, in May 2011, according to a police report. If alive, Timmothy would now be 14. The teenager claiming to be the boy identified himself to authorities in Campbell County, Kentucky, on Wednesday morning. He told investigators he escaped two kidnappers who have held him captive for seven years, according to a Sharonville, Ohio, police report. He said that he was staying at a Red Roof Inn with his abductors and that after he escaped, he ran across a bridge to Kentucky, the police report states. He could not provide the exact location of the hotel, authorities said.

 

An FBI spokesman told NBC News that agents in Louisville and Cincinnati are coordinating with other police agencies in multiple states on a missing child investigation. "There will be no further statement made on this matter until we have additional information," the spokesman said. Police in Aurora, Illinois, said in an emailed statement that two detectives travelled to the Cincinnati area to assist the FBI in the missing-persons case. "We cannot confirm that the person of interest here is Timmothy Pitzen," a spokesman with Aurora police said. "At this time we have no further information to provide." Timmothy's grandmother, Alana Anderson, told NBC News on Wednesday that she has been in touch with Aurora police. Anderson said she never stopped thinking about her grandson. "His mother left me a letter and she said that he would be with people who would love him and take care of him," Anderson said. "She felt that her life had come to an end and she was going to end her life and she didn't want to leave him without good parenting." Anderson said she last saw her grandson when he was 6 years old, adding: "I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us. That was kind of the best I could hope for."

These type of stories...one just hopes to be true,and works out well for the remaining family members...

[Grebfromgrebland]

 

It seems that while world can openly discuss it brexit issues but it's Taboo in this country.

 

You tell people and they say why isn't it in the news? Then you sound like a mad cap conspiracy theorists.

[Grebfromgrebland]

 

 

There's a lot of sickos stealing dogs, torturing them, making them fight then killing them.

 

It makes men so ****ing mad!

 

Please sign the petition x

[Buce]

Theresa May to make written Brexit offer to Jeremy Corbyn

Letter to include proposal to offer MPs vote on second referendum, source suggests

 

Theresa May is expected to write to Jeremy Corbyn to set out the government’s offer on Brexit, with negotiations due to resume in Downing Street on Friday.

With just five days to go before the prime minister must travel to Brussels to request a further Brexit delay from EU leaders, little progress appears to have been made on finding a compromise deal both Labour and the Conservatives can back.

But after the government delegation reported back to May on Thursday, officials began drafting a letter setting out a way forward.

One government source suggested that, in accordance with Labour’s demands, it would include the proposal that a confirmatory referendum on any Brexit deal be offered to MPs as an option in any vote next week.

 

After Thursday’s discussions in Downing Street, Corbyn sent a note to Labour MPs, saying: “Agenda items were customs arrangements, single market alignment including rights and protections, agencies and programmes, internal security, legal underpinning to any agreements and confirmatory vote.”

Technical talks lasted four and a half hours, but both sides emerged cautious about how much progress had been made.

The Guardian understands the Downing Street team of David Lidington, Steve Barclay, Julian Smith, Greg Clark and Gavin Barwell spent much of their time explaining the details of the withdrawal agreement, rather than proposing movement on any of May’s red lines.

Labour’s delegation included Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey. The prime minister’s chief Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, was also present.

Earlier in the week, May had hinted she was open to compromise on issues such as the customs union, with her attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, later saying it was something he could live with.

A deal including a customs union would be explosive in the Conservative party as the majority of Tory MPs oppose such a move.

Hardline Eurosceptic MPs are still furious, with many plotting moves against the prime minister, despite there being no formal Conservative party mechanism to move a motion of no confidence in her until December.

One Brexiter MP said there were moves afoot to destabilise the prime minister including many more letters going to Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, and an orchestrated campaign of letter-writing by Conservative association chairmen.

Another Conservative MP said there could come a point where the feeling against May was so strong that it would end in MPs effectively “storming into Downing Street and hauling her out of it”.

A third Tory MP, Andrew Bridgen, who is holding out against May’s deal, said: “For the sake of the country and democracy and the party we have got to find a way to get rid of her. You’ve either got an international trade policy and a seat at the table or, if you’ve got a customs union, you are on the menu.”

A cabinet source insisted May’s intention in holding the talks with Labour was genuine, but acknowledged they would probably end in another series of parliamentary votes on the options.

An alternative could be for May to extend an offer of formal talks to Labour MPs who want a Brexit deal. Around 25 Labour MPs wrote to Corbyn on Thursday urging him to “go the extra step” to secure a better Brexit deal with the prime minister without the need for a referendum.

The MPs who have signed the letter, many of them from leave-voting seats, include the former minister Caroline Flint, backbenchers Sarah Champion and Gareth Snell and leftwing Eurosceptics such as Dennis Skinner, Ronnie Campbell and Kevin Barron.

“A second referendum would be exploited by the far right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election,” they said in the letter.

The MPs said Corbyn could achieve many of Labour’s objectives in the talks, referring to his party conference speech where he said Labour could support a “sensible deal” with a customs union, no hard border in Northern Ireland and one that protected jobs, workers’ rights and environmental standards.

 

“We believe you are close to achieving that in the coming days,” the MPs said. “At the general election we were clear about respecting the 2016 vote and about securing those Labour goals. Therefore we feel if compromise is necessary to achieve this deal and avoid fighting the European elections, we should go the extra step to secure this.”

The group said that the party’s conference policy “does not require a confirmatory ballot on any deal that meets those conditions”.

However, the Labour leader received an opposing missive from 12 MPs including Corbyn allies and shadow ministers Clive Lewis and Marsha de Cordova, as well as the former shadow cabinet minister Kate Osamor, which urged him not to sign up to a deal unless it was subject to a public vote.

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, also wrote to frontbench colleagues insisting that a deal not subject to a referendum would breach Labour’s conference policy and would need to be put to a shadow cabinet vote.

[Grebfromgrebland]

 

Like a Windows 95 screen saver

[bovril]

I still can't believe I'm reading stories about avoiding hard borders in Ireland and the EU granting visa free travel to Britons. The whole thing is quite surreal, and completely depressing. 

[Guest MattP]

5 minutes ago, Buce said:

Theresa May to make written Brexit offer to Jeremy Corbyn

Letter to include proposal to offer MPs vote on second referendum, source suggests

 

Theresa May is expected to write to Jeremy Corbyn to set out the government’s offer on Brexit, with negotiations due to resume in Downing Street on Friday.

With just five days to go before the prime minister must travel to Brussels to request a further Brexit delay from EU leaders, little progress appears to have been made on finding a compromise deal both Labour and the Conservatives can back.

But after the government delegation reported back to May on Thursday, officials began drafting a letter setting out a way forward.

One government source suggested that, in accordance with Labour’s demands, it would include the proposal that a confirmatory referendum on any Brexit deal be offered to MPs as an option in any vote next week.

 

After Thursday’s discussions in Downing Street, Corbyn sent a note to Labour MPs, saying: “Agenda items were customs arrangements, single market alignment including rights and protections, agencies and programmes, internal security, legal underpinning to any agreements and confirmatory vote.”

Technical talks lasted four and a half hours, but both sides emerged cautious about how much progress had been made.

The Guardian understands the Downing Street team of David Lidington, Steve Barclay, Julian Smith, Greg Clark and Gavin Barwell spent much of their time explaining the details of the withdrawal agreement, rather than proposing movement on any of May’s red lines.

Labour’s delegation included Keir Starmer and Rebecca Long-Bailey. The prime minister’s chief Brexit negotiator, Olly Robbins, was also present.

Earlier in the week, May had hinted she was open to compromise on issues such as the customs union, with her attorney general, Geoffrey Cox, later saying it was something he could live with.

A deal including a customs union would be explosive in the Conservative party as the majority of Tory MPs oppose such a move.

Hardline Eurosceptic MPs are still furious, with many plotting moves against the prime minister, despite there being no formal Conservative party mechanism to move a motion of no confidence in her until December.

One Brexiter MP said there were moves afoot to destabilise the prime minister including many more letters going to Graham Brady, the chair of the 1922 Committee, and an orchestrated campaign of letter-writing by Conservative association chairmen.

Another Conservative MP said there could come a point where the feeling against May was so strong that it would end in MPs effectively “storming into Downing Street and hauling her out of it”.

A third Tory MP, Andrew Bridgen, who is holding out against May’s deal, said: “For the sake of the country and democracy and the party we have got to find a way to get rid of her. You’ve either got an international trade policy and a seat at the table or, if you’ve got a customs union, you are on the menu.”

A cabinet source insisted May’s intention in holding the talks with Labour was genuine, but acknowledged they would probably end in another series of parliamentary votes on the options.

An alternative could be for May to extend an offer of formal talks to Labour MPs who want a Brexit deal. Around 25 Labour MPs wrote to Corbyn on Thursday urging him to “go the extra step” to secure a better Brexit deal with the prime minister without the need for a referendum.

The MPs who have signed the letter, many of them from leave-voting seats, include the former minister Caroline Flint, backbenchers Sarah Champion and Gareth Snell and leftwing Eurosceptics such as Dennis Skinner, Ronnie Campbell and Kevin Barron.

“A second referendum would be exploited by the far right, damage the trust of many core Labour voters and reduce our chances of winning a general election,” they said in the letter.

The MPs said Corbyn could achieve many of Labour’s objectives in the talks, referring to his party conference speech where he said Labour could support a “sensible deal” with a customs union, no hard border in Northern Ireland and one that protected jobs, workers’ rights and environmental standards.

 

“We believe you are close to achieving that in the coming days,” the MPs said. “At the general election we were clear about respecting the 2016 vote and about securing those Labour goals. Therefore we feel if compromise is necessary to achieve this deal and avoid fighting the European elections, we should go the extra step to secure this.”

The group said that the party’s conference policy “does not require a confirmatory ballot on any deal that meets those conditions”.

However, the Labour leader received an opposing missive from 12 MPs including Corbyn allies and shadow ministers Clive Lewis and Marsha de Cordova, as well as the former shadow cabinet minister Kate Osamor, which urged him not to sign up to a deal unless it was subject to a public vote.

The shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, also wrote to frontbench colleagues insisting that a deal not subject to a referendum would breach Labour’s conference policy and would need to be put to a shadow cabinet vote.

If there is any truth she has seriously offered any form of second referendum the whole of the cabinet apart from her and Hammond should be out the door by midday tomorrow.

 

She'd do less damage to the Conservative party among its voters legalising noncing and calling it the Jimmy Savile party.

[bovril]

Just now, MattP said:

She'd do less damage to the Conservative party among its voters legalising noncing and calling it the Jimmy Savile party.

Nothing would surprise me anymore.

 

"I have made it perfectly clear that noncing means noncing and is firmly in the country's interest."

[Guest MattP]

Newport West by-election tonight after the sad passing of Paul Flynn (one of the most polite men in parliament)

 

I can't see it happening but I'd love UKIP to finish second ahead of the Tories - not to deliver any great victory for Batten and his mob but to get the message across to the Tories just how unpopular current course of action is.

Edited 4 April 2019 by MattP

[urban.spaceman]

8 hours ago, Alf Bentley said:

If this lad's identity is confirmed it will give renewed hope to parents whose kids have been snatched etc.:  https://www.aol.co.uk/news/2019/04/04/teenager-tells-police-he-is-boy-who-went-missing-at-age-6-in-201/?guccounter=1&guce_referrer_us=aHR0cHM6Ly9uZXdzLmdvb2dsZS5jb20v&guce_referrer_cs=bLVrloQPigzRAsV75FsgQw&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuYW9sLmNvLnVrLw&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABjxhoe233MlDxrvdC93-tSKAqs1TszazNln4aUTWPJPHo9-WnaJSB-mcdAzkPQa7VA-Cwpi97vb6Wa3zD6ODRxgfReOIyNoNXOVUA2nkU38gbTsVmU62nCfdtz9nlxI918pG2l0pUrjd_vOJRzlejKPcIMIGq6K8GMal0Zs0qH8

 

"A teenager in Kentucky is claiming that he is a boy who went missing in Illinois in 2011 after his mother was found dead in a motel room. The FBI is now working with authorities in multiple states to confirm his identity. Timmothy Pitzen of Aurora, Illinois, was last seen at a water park in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. He was last known to be in the company of his mother, who was found dead of what appeared to be a suicide in a motel room in Rockford, Illinois, in May 2011, according to a police report. If alive, Timmothy would now be 14. The teenager claiming to be the boy identified himself to authorities in Campbell County, Kentucky, on Wednesday morning. He told investigators he escaped two kidnappers who have held him captive for seven years, according to a Sharonville, Ohio, police report. He said that he was staying at a Red Roof Inn with his abductors and that after he escaped, he ran across a bridge to Kentucky, the police report states. He could not provide the exact location of the hotel, authorities said.

 

An FBI spokesman told NBC News that agents in Louisville and Cincinnati are coordinating with other police agencies in multiple states on a missing child investigation. "There will be no further statement made on this matter until we have additional information," the spokesman said. Police in Aurora, Illinois, said in an emailed statement that two detectives travelled to the Cincinnati area to assist the FBI in the missing-persons case. "We cannot confirm that the person of interest here is Timmothy Pitzen," a spokesman with Aurora police said. "At this time we have no further information to provide." Timmothy's grandmother, Alana Anderson, told NBC News on Wednesday that she has been in touch with Aurora police. Anderson said she never stopped thinking about her grandson. "His mother left me a letter and she said that he would be with people who would love him and take care of him," Anderson said. "She felt that her life had come to an end and she was going to end her life and she didn't want to leave him without good parenting." Anderson said she last saw her grandson when he was 6 years old, adding: "I just prayed that when he was old enough that he would remember us and contact us. That was kind of the best I could hope for."

I'm fascinated with mysterious disappearance cases so I've read about this case a few times. I really hope it's him so the family can finally get some relief. The mother clearly had some profound mental issues to have taken him away and then kill herself. God knows what's happened to this kid since. 

[ousefox]

1 hour ago, MattP said:

If there is any truth she has seriously offered any form of second referendum the whole of the cabinet apart from her and Hammond should be out the door by midday tomorrow.

 

She'd do less damage to the Conservative party among its voters legalising noncing and calling it the Jimmy Savile party.

MPs aren't going to vote for a second ref though are they? Seems like an addition asked for by Labour to attempt to say they are sticking to party policy.

 

Attach it properly to a deal and May could have got her deal through without Corbyn.

[Grebfromgrebland]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/04/fossil-ancient-four-legged-whale-legs-hooves-discovered

 

This is fascinating.

[UniFox21]

21 minutes ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/04/fossil-ancient-four-legged-whale-legs-hooves-discovered

 

This is fascinating.

It's brilliant, but I'm sceptical given they haven't linked or referenced the paper this comes from. A lot of newspapers take findings and run with the potential implications.

 

Ignore that, did some reading around the subject and its a potential they've thought for a while. Whales have so many smaller bone regions covered which have potential to have had function in the past

Edited 4 April 2019 by UniFox21

[Grebfromgrebland]

True it might not be out yet, I just love the idea of hooved almost whales and the fact, as far as I know, nothing like it is alive today.

[Alf Bentley]

1 hour ago, urban.spaceman said:

I'm fascinated with mysterious disappearance cases so I've read about this case a few times. I really hope it's him so the family can finally get some relief. The mother clearly had some profound mental issues to have taken him away and then kill herself. God knows what's happened to this kid since. 

 

Seems it's NOT him, sadly: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6888101/Boy-wandering-streets-Kentucky-NOT-missing-Timmothy-Pitzen.html

 

"A 'boy' found wandering the streets in Kentucky who claimed to be missing child Timmothy Pitzen is actually a 24-year-old MAN, police have said.  

Police say Brian Michael Rini, from Medina, Ohio, lied to investigators and claimed to be boy who vanished seven years ago, saying he had escaped two kidnappers in Cincinnati and ran across a bridge to Newport, Kentucky. But DNA tests proved that he was not the missing child, FBI in Louisville said". 

Edited 4 April 2019 by Alf Bentley

[urban.spaceman]

50 minutes ago, Alf Bentley said:

 

Seems it's NOT him, sadly: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6888101/Boy-wandering-streets-Kentucky-NOT-missing-Timmothy-Pitzen.html

 

"A 'boy' found wandering the streets in Kentucky who claimed to be missing child Timmothy Pitzen is actually a 24-year-old MAN, police have said.  

Police say Brian Michael Rini, from Medina, Ohio, lied to investigators and claimed to be boy who vanished seven years ago, saying he had escaped two kidnappers in Cincinnati and ran across a bridge to Newport, Kentucky. But DNA tests proved that he was not the missing child, FBI in Louisville said". 

Bastard!

[Guest MattP]

Pretty much as expected, very low turnout.

2.4% swing from Labour to the Conservatives.

 

Seeing this makes it feel a little crazy that either of the big two would want an election.

Edited 5 April 2019 by MattP

[Buce]

Even one drink a day increases stroke risk, study finds

And no protective effect on cardiovascalar disease.

 

Even light-to-moderate drinking increases blood pressure and the chances of having a stroke, according to a large genetic study in The Lancet, countering previous claims that one or two drinks a day could be protective.

The UK and Chinese researchers followed 500,000 Chinese people for 10 years.

They say the findings are relevant to all populations and the best evidence yet on the direct effects of alcohol.

Experts said people should limit their alcohol consumption.

It is already known that heavy drinking is harmful to health and increases stroke risk - but some studies have suggested drinking small amounts can be good for the health, while others indicate there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.

What did the research find?

The researchers, from the University of Oxford, Peking University and the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, found that:

• one to two drinks a day increased stroke risk by 10-15%
• four drinks a day increased the risk of having a stroke by 35%

For the purposes of their study, one drink was defined as either:

• a small glass of wine
• a bottle of beer
• a single measure of spirits

About 16 in 100 men and 20 in 100 women will have a stroke in their lifetime in the UK.

So, if a group of 100 non-drinkers started drinking a glass or two every day, there would be an extra two strokes - a small increase.

According to Prof David Spiegelhalter, from the University of Cambridge, that's an increase in total stroke risk of 38% for every half a bottle of wine drunk per day.

He said: "It is very roughly the opposite effect of taking a statin", which are drugs prescribed by doctors to help lower cholesterol levels in the blood and prevent heart attacks and strokes.

The study also found no evidence of light or moderate drinking having a protective effect, in other words, reducing the risk of stroke.

When it came to the effect of alcohol on heart attack risk, the researchers said the effects were not clear cut and more data needed to be collected over the next few years.

"Claims that wine and beer have magical protective effects is not borne out," said study author Prof Richard Peto, from the University of Oxford.

• How many cigarettes in a bottle of wine?

Why China?

East Asian countries are useful places to study the effects of alcohol.

Many people with Chinese ancestry have a combination of genes that puts them off drinking alcohol. It causes an unpleasant reaction and makes them feel unwell.

As a result, there is a wide variation of alcohol intake in China - one in three men doesn't drink and very few women do.

 

But by comparing the health outcomes of drinkers and non-drinkers according to their genetic profile, scientists say they have been able to assess - with much more certainty than before - the direct effects of alcohol on stroke risk, distinct from any other factors.

Western populations don't possess these genes, so it would be impossible to carry out a similar study here.

Most studies are observational, which makes it's difficult to judge which factor is causing what effect.

Dr Iona Millwood, study author and senior epidemiologist at the University of Oxford, said: "Our genetic analyses have helped us understand the cause and effect relationships."

So what does this mean for me?

The researchers say their key message is that there is now clear evidence of no protective effect of moderate drinking on stroke.

That means drinking even small amounts of alcohol each day can increase the chances of having a stroke.

This is reflected in the current UK guidance - which advises a limit of 14 units of alcohol a week, with several alcohol-free days to keep health risks low.

What do other experts say?

Dr Stephen Burgess, from the University of Cambridge, said there were some limitations to the study - that it only looked at a Chinese population and focused mainly on the drinking of spirits and beer, not wine.

But he said the research reflected the culmination of many years of research into the impact of alcohol consumption.

"It strongly suggests that there is no cardiovascular benefit of light drinking and that risk of stroke increases even with moderate light alcohol consumption," he said.

"Risk of stroke increases proportionally with the amount of alcohol consumed, so if people do choose to drink, then they should limit their alcohol consumption."

Prof Kevin McConway, emeritus professor of applied statistics at the Open University, said the study didn't answer every question.

"It has certainly advanced what we know about the role of alcohol in some diseases but it can't be the last word," he said.

"The new study doesn't tie down exactly how alcohol works to increase stroke risk but doesn't appear to increase heart attack risk."

Prof David Spiegelhalter, Winton professor for the public understanding of risk, at the University of Cambridge, said the study was making him waver.

"I have always been reasonably convinced that moderate alcohol consumption was protective for cardiovascular disease, but now I am having my doubts," he said.

 

 

[Jon the Hat]

10 hours ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

 

Like a Windows 95 screen saver

I bloody love a murmuration.

[Buce]

10 hours ago, Grebfromgrebland said:

 

Like a Windows 95 screen saver

 

14 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

I bloody love a murmuration.

 

When I was a child, there was a huge flock of starlings living on Abbey Park and they would display like that every evening.

 

Sadly, starling numbers have dropped dramatically since then.

[ozleicester]

16 minutes ago, Buce said:

 

 

When I was a child, there was a huge flock of starlings living on Abbey Park and they would display like that every evening.

 

Sadly, starling numbers have dropped dramatically since then.

Giant flocks of these little buggers have descended on town .... today had to have the aerial wire replaced on my TV Antenna as they have chewed through it... It was brand new in November grrr