What's New Robert L. Park June 18, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, 18 Jun 2010   Washington, DC

1. CELL PHONES: LAWYERS MAY BE PLANNING A MASS TORT BLITZ.
On Tuesday the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 10-1 to require=20
retailers to post the "specific absorption rate" (SAR) of cell phones. =20
Others will follow. The story begins in 1988; David Reynard gave his wife=
=20
Susan a cellphone.  She died of brain cancer 4 years later; as David=20
explained on Larry King Live, "she held it against her head and talked on=
=20
it all the time" (WN 29 Jan 93).  With such compelling evidence David=20
Reynard sued the cellphone industry.  Confronted with pseudoscience, the=20
first question is who profits by this?  With an estimated 5 billion cell=20
phones in use, it's fertile soil for a "mass tort blitz," the dream of=20
every tort lawyer. As with asbestos and tobacco, companies face so many=20
lawsuits that it becomes a cheaper to settle than to defend.=20

2. COSMOS: AN ACRONYM I AM AT PRESENT UNABLE TO DECIPHER.
The WHO study that prompted the board's decision seemed to settle nothing=
. =20
Indeed, even as the non-results were announced, still another mobile phon=
e=20
study, the COSMOS cohort study of of health effects in five European=20
countries, to be carried out at Imperial College London over a  period of=
=20
thirty-years was announced. It must be a joke, in 30 years the technology=
=20
will be completely different.=20

3. EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION: FEWER UNWANTED CHILDREN.
Who can forget the heroic struggle, waged by Susan Wood during the Bush=20
years, to gain approval for the emergency contraceptive Plan B (WN 2 Sep=20
2005).  On Thursday, a federal advisory panel voted unanimously to approv=
e=20
a new emergency contraceptive called Ella.  Although born in the US, Ella=
=20
was approved for sale in Europe last fall.  It is effective if taken five=
=20
days after intercourse, as opposed to three days for Plan B.  As you woul=
d=20
expect, there are complaints from the religious conservatives who believe=
=20
it should be considered an abortion drug. It is a chemical relative to th=
e=20
abortion pill RU-486. According to James Trussell, director of the Office=
=20
of Population Research at Princeton University there are more than a=20
million women having unprotected sex every night who do not wish to get=20
pregnant.  We do not need more unwanted children.

4. JESUS STATUE: GAZE ON MY WORKS YE MIGHTY AND DESPAIR.
A familiar landmark in southwestern Ohio, the six story statue of Jesus=20
from the torso up was nicknamed Touchdown Jesus because the arms were=20
raised like a referee signaling a touchdown.  Constructed of plastic foam=
=20
over a steel frame, it was consumed by fire on Friday after being struck =
by=20
lightning, as if to invite comparison.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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