The leaders of France and Germany said Thursday that Iran remained a danger and that other nations should keep up the pressure over their nuclear program despite a United States intelligence report's conclusion that Iran is no longer building a bomb.

President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor Angela Merkel said that they had not changed their minds despite the findings of The American intellegence estimate released Monday.

"The threat exists" said Mr Sarkozy, "everyone is fully aware that there is a will among Iranian leaders to obtain nuclear weapons."

I report, U decide. alanrph2@msn.com.

North Hawaii Community Hospital is a 40-bed full service hospital located in the town of Waimea (population 29,000) on the Big Island of Hawaii. It opened in 1996 with the help of Earl Bakkan, founder of Medtronic, and other members of the local community. The hospital takes a holistic bio-pscyco-social-spiritual approach to health care. In the first hospital of it's kind ,the medical staff of the hospital practices blended medicine. Alongside the usual "western medicine" the patient can request healing touch by a practitioner actually employed by the hospital. Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy and Clinical Psychology are all available to help patients heal.

Wide hallways, numerous windows, skylights, natural lighting in operating rooms and each room has a door opening to the outside.Each nursing station staffed by five various employees serves seven or eight surrounding patient rooms. With this patients are better able to become familier with fewer caregivers.

In 1940 there wasn't a lot of technology in medicine at all.In those days the doctor had to come to the patients home and what the doctor practiced more of then was the "art" of medicine: high touch, holding the patients hand and touching his or her forehead, smoothing the sheets and adjusting the pillow, and adding the magic of words. Words were then, as they are now, powerful medicine. Neither technology nor high touch alone is sufficient; properly applied technology can give direction to the body's healing processes.

My own personal experience, as a very young child Dr Hedenstrom was called to the house to treat me but I was ascared and hid behind the trunk in the closet. I was found and returned to bed and with Dr. Hedenstroms kind words and manners the cure was miraculous. After reading Mr, Bakken's book I may soon start looking beyond technology.
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I had the pleasure of a one hour visit with Mr. Earl Bakken at the Medtronic World Headquarters in Fridley on Friday morning November 30th. The reason we got together was because I knew Warren Mauston recipient of the world's first electronic heart pacemaker in the year 1958. Warren, more commonly known as Bill, was a customer in my drustore on Payne Avenue and recovered and lived an additional and active seven years.

Following is forward to book written by Mr. Bakken titled ONE MAN'S FULL LIFE. I was impressed with his total honesty and sincerity. Just a wunnerful guy.

"At the heart of all my disparate activities has been a genuine desire to help people lead better lives. That desire is a legacy of my parents and was the shared interest of Palmer Hermundslie with whom I co-founded Medtronic in 1949 and is the ongoing commitment of that companies 20,000 employees around the world and the driving force of the 'Healing Island' my friends and I are striving to establish in Hawaii. For all of us and our thousands of colleauges in the healing arts and sceinces, the concept of restoring men and women to full, productive lives has been more than a corporate strategem; it's been a way of life"

As said by William W. George, present Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Medtronic, Inc, "only rarely in life do you have the opportunity to work closely with a true pioneer, a person who, through his vision, inspiration, courage, and leadership can change the course of human history. Earl Bakken is such a person. What makes Earl unique, in my opinion, is his soul. Earl is a man with a mission to use science to benefit humankind, an idea he received from his pastor in his early teenage years and from which he has never deviated. He has a deep sense of spiritual calling, an understanding of his purpose on earth. Mission statement drafted by Earl early on, and repeated by new employees, 'you are here not to make money for yourself or the company, but to restore people to full life'. Earl asks each new employee to come forward and receive a bronze medallion that illustrates the mission with the Medtronic symbol of the 'Rising Man' and the words 'Toward Full Life' engraved on it"

I say amen.

A common practice carried out by Democrats is, if you don't like something "JUST PASS A LAW". Now Senator Amy Klobuchar is doing her Democratic duty by sponsoring a bill to control wireless phone companies. Her main point is to abolish fees charged for early termination of a contract. Upon making a survey of five wireless phone companies I find that two require a one or two year contract and the other three require no contract. Mine, Verizon, with a two year contract gives a $149.00 phone for $29.00, a saving of $120.00. Consumers can avoid the fees by signing up with a prepain wireless phone plan. Klobuchar claims that when moving from Minnesota to Washington DC one of their phones lost contact. It's hard to believe that DC would not have full coverage. She also proposes other actions to improve service. When this is done it costs money and the consumer ultimately pays the charge. There are many choices of vendors in a very competitive industry. There ain't no free lunch.
I report, U decide.

Oprah Winfrey has annointed Barack Obama as her choice for '08. By the sound of over 20 million TV remotes she can determine the votes of her fans. SHOULD AN ENTERTAINER HAVE SUCH POWER? Is her judgement that much better than mine? She should share her platform with me and allow me to reply. There are many people I would go to for advice other than Michael Moore, Sean Penn (close and personal friend of Hugo Chavev),Jane Fonda (Hanoi Jane), George Clooney, Rosie O'Donnel (all mouth and no brain) and most of hollywood. They have an inordinate amount of influence over the Democratic voters. In 1992 Hollywood voted 83%,as did north Minneapolis, for Bill Clinton and they have a venue to spread their message to millions of gullible voters besides donating millions of dollars to the Democratic party. That's too much power for a small group of people to have. I report,U decide. alanrph2@msn.com.