Oral contraceptives won’t increase a woman’s risk of death — in fact, birth control pill users may live longer, researchers said. In a population-based study of women in the U.K., death from any cause was 12% lower among oral contraceptive users than among those who never took birth control pills, Philip C. Hannaford, MD, of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, and colleagues reported online in BMJ. “This is very reassuring and enables us to say with confidence to women that if they chose to use the pill as their contraceptive, they are highly unlikely to do long-term damage to themselves,” Hannaford said in an e-mail to MedPage Today. Previous studies have shown no increased risk of mortality with oral contraceptive use, but the researchers said...

At the launch event for Best European Fiction 2010 a few weeks ago, the Norwegian author and dramatist Jon Fosse made some wonderfully cutting and dismissive remarks about crime fiction. Here, exclusively for ReadySteadyBook, Jon expands on his thoughts about what he calls the "pornography of death":Literature is basically a personal, and at the same time universal, asking into the fundamentals of existence, made possible by the aesthetic possibilities of language. The more personal it gets, the more universal it becomes. When literature gets private, it looses its quality, as it does if it ends up as universal in this sense: something everyone agrees about. Of course, one can learn about life in literature, for instance to see how life is for other persons, perhaps in another time,...

Several hundred people in the UK have died from swine flu since May 2009. As a historical note, this text from 1942 puts our modern health problems in some perspective. In the England of 1840 the average age of death was twenty-nine, today [1942] it is fifty-eight. …the babies of 1840 suffered an appalling mortality. To-day one child in seventeen dies before it is a year old, but in 1840 the figure was about one in six, and about a third of the children born died before the age of five….Infants died of convulsions, diarroea, and atrophy, the latter being a polite term for starvation. The fact that in 1937 some twenty-six thousand English people died of tuberculosis will no doubt seem appalling to our descendants [yes, it does], but only a small minority of the people of...

Proof, if any were needed, that the obesity crisis is a grave health issue.Here we see the consequences of being overweight. Not only are you vulnerable to psychopaths levering massive rocks down at you, but you don't even get a decent death scene.The rock struck Piggy a glancing blow from chin to knee; the conchexploded into a thousand white fragments and ceased to exist. Piggy,saying nothing, with no time for even a grunt, traveled through the airsideways from the rock, turning over as he went. The rock boundedtwice and was lost in the forest. Piggy fell forty feet and landed on hisback across the square red rock in the sea. His head opened and stuffcame out and turned red. Piggy’s arms and legs twitched a bit, like apig’s after it has been killed. Then the sea breathed again in a...

The American Law Institute has decided to pull its model death penalty statute, as recounted in this New York Times article.  As Kent Scheidegger points out in this detailed post, the action was not  intended to be a statement by the ALI that the death penalty should be abolished.  Nonetheless, that appears to be the spin being put on the action by death penalty opponents.  I found particularly interesting Berkeley Law Professor Franklin Zimring’s statement in the New York Times article that they ALI “were the only intellectually respectable support for the death penalty system in the United States.”  Apparently now if you support the death penalty in this country (as most Americans do), then you are not “intectually respectable.”  Professor Doug Berman has an...

A few weeks ago I introduced you to The Group Of Death via a video showing a special package from ESPN that was delivered to my doorstep. But now, in homage to Spinal Tap and for a little bit of fun on a Friday, we have a video of The Group Of Death rock band playing the first song off their EP entitled “Welcome To The Group Of Death” (see above). Who said ESPN doesn’t like to have a laugh and isn’t excited about marketing World Cup 2010? If you enjoy this video, be sure to watch the other Group Of Death videos from their December 4th concert at Nevada Smiths on our sister site World Cup Buzz. Related posts:ESPN Promotes World Cup Draw And Group Of Death1990-91 English First Division Season Review: VideoESPN360 Coming To Comcast: Soccer Fans Rejoice...

Ethnic Uighurs found guilty of murder and other crimes during unrest in JulyA Chinese court sentenced five people to death today for killing a police officer, kicking bystanders to death and other crimes during ethnic riots in the western region of Xinjiang in July. Two others were sentenced to life in prison by the intermediate people's court of Urumqi, the Xinhua news agency reported. The five sentenced to death had names indicating they were Uighurs. Many Uighurs resent Beijing's rule in Xinjiang, their traditional homeland. Hundreds were arrested when Uighurs attacked Han people, who make up China's ethnic majority, in violence that left nearly 200 people dead.Of the five sentenced to death, Memeteli Islam was accused of killing a police officer by smashing him in the back of the...

Yesterday we told you about the Windows Black Screen Of Death, that a number of Windows users had seen on their PCs using various versions of Windows which included Windows Vista and the new Windows 7. Microsoft [MSFT] has finally issued some details on the problem, and according to them the Windows Black Screen Of Death is not causes by their latest security update, instead it has been caused by malware. We’ve conducted a comprehensive review of the November Security Updates, the Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool, and the non-security updates we released through Windows Update in November. That investigation has shown that none of these updates make any changes to the permissions in the registry. Thus, we don’t believe the updates are related to the “black screen”...

We’re all familiar with the Blue Screen of Death (or BSoD) giving you a friendly notice that your computer has encountered a critical system error, which makes Microsoft’s latest Black Screen of Death just that bit more exciting. An unlucky lucky number of Windows 7 users this week have faced said black screen … [visit site to read more] Windows 7 Black Screen of Death Caused by Malware: Safety Tips is a post from: UK Gadget and Tech News, Reviews and Shopping Site - Gaj-It.com...

Any Windows user will be familiar with the blue screen of death (BSOD), something I have seen myself many times over the years, well it seems like the latest Microsoft  Security update has added a new error screen to a number of PCs, the Windows Black Screen Of Death. The Windows Black Screen Of Death seems to be effecting multiple version of Windows, which include Vista, XP and the new Windows 7, users are getting a black screen with an error message after logging on to the system. Firstly, there appears to be many causes of the black screen issue. The symptoms are very distinctive and troublesome. After starting your Windows 7, Vista, XP, NT, W2K, W2K3 or W2K8 PC or server the system appears normal. However, after logging on there is no desktop, task bar, system tray or side bar....

The American anti-healthcare right has been making a big fuss about "death panels". According to Sarah Palin a system where a panel of people decide whether society can afford to pay for your health care costs is "downright evil". Guido backs her up stating that NICE has a limit of £30,000 per year for a "quality year of life". So a Nationalised, single payer system does have death panels. This is true. It can't keep everyone alive at exorbitant cost if it can't afford to. Its very unfortunate. But so is people getting ill in the first place. So are many things.Now, what would a free market insurance system do? Well there'd be no social value placed upon the cost of treatment, but still lots of people would not be able to afford treatment for one "quality year of life" at much less than...

A 20-year-old woman divorcee accused of committing adultery in Somalia has been stoned to death by Islamists in front of a crowd of about 200 people. A judge working for the militant group al-Shabab said she had had an affair with an unmarried 29-year-old man. He said she gave birth to a still-born baby and was found guilty of adultery. Her boyfriend was given 100 lashes. It is thought to be the second time a woman has been stoned to death for adultery by al-Shabab. The group controls large swathes of southern Somalia where they have imposed a strict interpretation of Islamic law which has been unpopular with many Somalis.According to reports from a small village near the town of Wajid, 250 miles (400km) north-west of the capital, Mogadishu, the woman was taken to the public grounds where...

Overturned convictions and growth of DNA forensic evidence shake state's rock-solid faith in capital punishmentEven in Texas they are having their doubts. The state that executes more people than any other by far – it will account for half the prisoners sent to the death chamber in the US this year – is seeing its once rock-solid faith in capital punishment shaken by overturned convictions, judicial scandals and growing evidence that at least one innocent man has been executed.The growth of DNA forensic evidence has seen nearly 140 death row convictions overturned across the US, prompting abolition and moratoriums in other states that Texas has so far resisted.But the public mood is swinging in the conservative state, which often seems to have an Old Testament view of justice. A...

3 Bizarre Cases of Death by ShavingFuneral for 1979 Saudi fall nurseDeath Penalty World MapDoom boxart artist dies of heart attackParents find notes from 6-year-old after her death (via)The 6 Best Towns To Live in (If You Have a Death Wish)Ten Types Of Tombstones To Die For (via)Man attends own funeral after mix-up over body's ID6 People Who Faked Their Own Death (For Ridiculous Reasons)Russian Mafia...

Mauricio Fernandez. (Photo: AP)Mauricio Fernandez, mayor of San Pedro Garza Garcia, an affluent community in northern Mexico is psychic. Yup, no doubt about it! How else to explain how he could announce the death of a bitter rival during his acceptance speech some 3.1/2 hours BEFORE any body was found and 2 days before it was identified as that of his rival? I mean, the only other explanation for Sn Fernadez’s foreknowledge of his rival’s demise would be that he was directly or indirectly responsible for the death of Hector Saldana whose barefoot, blindfolded body was found hundreds of miles away. And that, of course, is unthinkable. Fernandez has naturally denied having played any part in Saldana’s death – testifying that he was told of the death by US...

No fashionable geek should be without this accessory, the Windows Blue Screen of Death Belt. Printed with a glossy finish on the chrome buckle of this belt is the screen that everyone loves to hate, the old Windows blue screen of death. Hopefully with the release of Windows 7 this week this screen should be assigned to the history books. But you never know a different and more wacky window of death may already be waiting for us in this new release. The buckle has a clam closure and  is about 1.3″ x 1.75″ and the belt part is 44″ inches of 1 1/4″ wide. The Windows Blue Screen of Death image is sealed under a gloss finish for  protection and as added bonus the belts are Vegan friendly! One belt length fits all, just trim the length of the belt to your size....

Jurors read from scripture as they deliberated on whether Khristian Oliver should be sentenced to deathThe Texas jury didn't hesitate to find Khristian Oliver guilty of shooting and bludgeoning an elderly man to death. Oliver had stood over his bleeding victim, repeatedly hitting him in the head with a rifle butt before robbing his house.But then came the difficult decision over whether to sentence Oliver to death, and that's when the Bibles came into their own.A clutch of jurors huddled in the corner with one reading aloud from the Book of Numbers: "The murderer shall surely be put to death" and "The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer."Another juror highlighted passages which she showed to a fellow juror: "And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, the murderer shall...

Nine now face death penalty over Urumqi riots between Muslim Uighurs and Han Chinese which killed nearly 200 peopleChina sentenced three people to death today over murders committed during riots in the western Xinjiang region in July, bringing the number of people facing the death penalty for the riots to nine.Nearly 200 people were killed when riots erupted in the regional capital of Urumqi, with Muslim Uighurs attacking members of China's dominant Han ethnic group. It was the country's worst communal violence in decades.The official Xinhua news agency said three new defendants were sentenced to death by the Urumqi intermediate people's court and three others were sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve – a penalty usually commuted to life in prison.One of the condemned men...

• Family of teacher killed at protest unaware of review• Scotland Yard commander reopened file 10 years agoScotland Yard secretly reopened an inquiry into the death of Blair Peach two decades after its officers were widely believed to have killed the anti-fascist campaigner in one of the darkest incidents in the Metropolitan police force's history.Relatives of Peach, the 33-year-old teacher from New Zealand whose skull was crushed at a demonstration against the far right in Southall in 1979, said tonight they had no idea the file into his death was "reviewed" in the late 1990s.No officers were ever charged in connection with the death, although Commander John Cass, who investigated the case as the head of the Met's complaints bureau, was believed to have produced a report that...

Here is a funky geeky t-shirt for all the Xbox fans out there, the Xbox 360 Achievement Unlocked Red Ring of Death T-Shirt. The Xbox 360 Achievement Unlocked Red Ring of Death T-Shirt features a new achievement which hopefully you haven’t seen appear on your Xbox, the Red Ring of Death. If you want one, the Xbox 360 Achievement Unlocked Red Ring of Death T-Shirt is available for $17.99 from Think Geek. via Technabob This is a post from Geeky Gadgets, who bring you the latest cool Gadgets.Xbox 360 Achievement Unlocked Red Ring of Death T-Shirt Related posts:Geeky Clothing – The Xbox 360 Red Ring Of Death T-ShirtXbox 360 RROD CoastersDeath Star Cookie...

Investigators decided there was no evidence of police wrongdoing in the death of Ian Tomlinson just three days after he collapsed at the G20 protests, it has emerged tonight.The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) planned to announce that it had completed its assessment into Tomlinson's death on 1 April and discovered nothing suspicious. At 11.30am on 4 April, investigators prepared a document announcing Tomlinson died of a heart attack after being caught up among protesters "dressed entirely in black" who, it said, were charging police."It was during this charge and retreat that Mr Tomlinson has seemed to have been caught up in the crowds and a number of people describe seeing him 'collapse and fall to the ground'."The statement went on to say the IPCC had examined CCTV...

Check out this Geeky  Star Wars Death Star cake created for a lucky six year old by  Rick Reichart of cakelava bakery. The detail on this cake is just amazing and the center of fondant and  Strawberries Chantilly flavor sounds delicious. Rick’s wife and bakery-partner Sasha: This Death Star birthday cake was made for Andrew, a 6-year old whose parents started a tradition of ordering a sculpted cake each year for his birthday based on what he’s into.  This year it was Star Wars.  In our initial contact with the client she explained: “…having a sculpted birthday cake has been a tradition of ours that i would like to uphold – i know it’s excessive for a 6-year-old, but the cakes are so beautiful and they always represent a “stage of life” for our son and what he is...

• Cause of death to be determined• CNN reports signs of intravenous drug useThe plans for Michael Jackson's burial and his cause of death remained elusive today, as emerging details of the condition of the late singer's body fuelled speculation of drug use and ill health in the days before his death.Jackson's body had track marks on the arms and that his veins were "collapsed", suggesting a history of intravenous drug use, cable news channel CNN reported. The network cited a source who had seen the body and described it as emaciated and "lily white" from head to toe, and said the pop star had no hair.But Jackson's dermatologist Arnold Klein said the star had been in good shape during an office visit three days before his death on June 25."He danced in my office," Klein told ABC...

This has to be the ultimate geeky accessory for Star Wars fans, the Death Star Cookie Jar. The picture shown is concept art for the Death Star Cookie Jar, it will go on sale in September but you can pre-order it now, it measures 12 inches by 12 inches, a great place to store all your Darth Vader cookies. The Death Star Cookie Jar is available to pre-order for $49.99 from the Star Wars shop, and it will be shipped in December, if you want one I would order it soon as I suspect this will sell out pretty fast. via Nerd Approved This is a post from Geeky Gadgets, who bring you the latest cool Gadgets. Death Star Cookie Jar Related posts:Geeky Toys – Star Wars Transforming Death StarStar Wars Chess SetGeek Toys – Talking Darth Vader...

The modern symptom of the death of “celebrities” can be shown perfectly by this news story: Michael Jackson has topped the UK album chart and made six new entries in the singles top 40, six years after his last number one. Greatest hits album Number Ones rocketed from 121 to the top spot after a surge in sales since the superstar’s death on Thursday… Four of his other hit albums also made a reappearance in the top 20, the Official Charts Company said… Jackson’s albums have dominated sales at music retailers and download sites across the world since his death. Earlier on Sunday his songs topped Apple’s iTunes download charts in every country except Japan. (BBC) Because Jacko has died, his music has suddenly become more desirable. It immediately...

Well, I suppose the Onion.com is a reasonable place to consider the death of the "King of Pop".Given the astonishing abuse of his body through needless drugs and needless surgery, I guess fifty was not too bad an innings, but as usual the po-faced media will glory in the shroud waving: no cliche will be left unstated as the endless recycling of the story of "someone you've heard of dies unexpectedly, relatively young" now allows them to make more sales.It is not pretty.I can not make too many deep statements- I suppose his best song was "Billie Jean", which is not exactly a meditation, even if it is a good record. Was he a pervert? On balance probably yes. Was he a victim? On balance, probably yes to this too. Beyond those two questions, and his music, I wonder how many people would...

Why is it okay to laugh at the death of celebrities? Genuine question. As news of Michael Jackson’s death swept the world last night, causing the Internet to grind to a standstill, two things about our new cyber-age stood out to me. First, that it was a US celeb website, TMZ.com, which broke the news of Jacko’s demise, leaving traditional media, including the wire agencies and LA Times, in its reporting wake. Its maintained the frenetic and frequently intrusive coverage today. If you want to see pics of the paramedics arriving at Jacko’s house, or of his grief-stricken relatives at UCLA hospital, or if you want to see the body bag arriving at the coroner’s – it’s all there for your voyeuristic viewing pleasure. Gorge away, you know you want to, just as you know you’d slow...

The Dead on Display8 Intriguing Pairs (and Trios) Who Died on the Same Day10 Shocking Deaths, You May Not Have Heard Of (via)You're Out - The national pastime's shocking death tollNY Car Ticketed Repeatedly With Dead Body InsideAncient mass grave found on Olympics sitePeople with life after death. Thanks Anon.How long do dead bodies remain intact in the ocean?Dead passenger goes unnoticed on London bus for six hours (via)Teenage girl dug up to be 'corpse bride'Catholics and the death penaltyNeda Death Footage: Poster Child For A Million More Tragedies?Mongolian Death WormDoyenne of the Death MaskThe mysterious death of a young hotel chef in China mobilizes...

Red Ring of Death Coasters The RRoD (Red Ring of Death) is one thing that all XBox 360 owners fear will happen to their beloved console one day. When the red ring starts to flash you know your in trouble. The RRoD can happen happen for a number of reasons which we wont go in to here as the RRoD we are talking about today is actually a coaster for putting drinks on. The Red Ring of Death Coasters were designed for XBox owners to always remember what the RRoD is and how upsetting it can be The RRoD coasters come in a set of 4 although they seem fan made and not available to purchase. A flickr user mentions that someone named Pierre built them for him....

A coroner has asked for more inquiries to be made into the death of a 77-year-old woman who was involved in a "collision" with a zebra in Africa.Eileen Whale, from Ipswich, died in hospital in the town in February after returning from a holiday in Kenya with husband Charles late last year. The cause of Mrs Whale's death was originally given as pancreatitis. Dr Peter Dean adjourned an inquest to allow time to obtain more information about what caused her death.He said the hearing was adjourned after discussions with Mrs Whale's relatives. Dr Dean said the cause of death given when Mrs Whale's inquest was opened earlier this year was pancreatitis. It is understood that doctors will try to establish any links between injuries caused as a result of the zebra incident and the pensioner's...