Gastric bypass surgery performed by remote control

Sunday, August 21, 2005 A robotic system at Stanford Medical Center was used to perform a laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery successfully with a theoretically similar rate of complications to that seen in standard operations. However, as there were only 10 people in the experimental group (and another 10 in the control group), this is not a statistically significant sample. If […]

Acting teacher and director Milton Katselas dies at age 75

Tuesday, October 28, 2008 Acting teacher and director Milton Katselas died Friday at age 75, after suffering from heart failure at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He began the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1978 and taught acting classes there to noted actors including George Clooney and Gene Hackman. Katselas is survived by a sister and two brothers. Katselas […]

ACLU, EFF challenging US ‘secret’ court orders seeking Twitter data

Thursday, April 7, 2011 Late last month, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed objections to the United States Government’s ‘secret’ attempts to obtain Twitter account information relating to WikiLeaks. The ACLU and EFF cite First and Fourth amendment issues as overriding reasons to overturn government attempts to keep their investigation secret; and, that with […]

Honda Civic tops Canada’s list of most stolen cars

Wednesday, November 22, 2006 The 1999 and 2000 year model Honda Civic SiR tops the list of Canada’s most stolen cars. Consumer popularity also assures the cars will be popular with thieves. Its the second year in a row the Honda SiR has topped the list. Rick Dubin Vice President of Investigations for the Insurance Bureau of Canada said “The […]

Antje Duvekot on life as a folk singer, her family and her music

Sunday, November 11, 2007 Boston-based singer-songwriter Antje Duvekot has made a name for herself in the folk music world with powerful ballads of heartbreak and longing for a deeper spirituality, but coming up empty-handed. Below is David Shankbone’s interview with the folk chanteuse. David Shankbone: Tell me about your new album. Antje Duvekot: It’s called Big Dream Boulevard and it’s […]

Alaska senator Ted Stevens indicted in corruption scandal

Tuesday, July 29, 2008 United States Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska has been indicted by federal grand jury on seven criminal counts for making false statements in his Senate financial disclosure forms. The longest-serving Republican in the Senate, Stevens is the highest-profile politician ensnared in the corruption scandal surrounding VECO Corporation and its executives’ attempts to influence politics. VECO, a […]