Who is right?
A woman tries to commit suicide. She’s rushed to the hospital but she’s conscious still and hands the doctors a living will that stipulates that she doesn’t want to be treated, just kept comfortable as she dies.
The doctors respect her living will and don’t treat her. They feel that if they do treat her, she could come back after them later and accuse them of assault, since she specifically refused treatment. She dies.
Her family is angry, accuses the doctors of allowing the woman to die (which they did). They say, they had not choice because she told them …read more

Researchers and students at Carnegie Mellon University have created a death calculator that allows users to compare mortality risks by gender, age, cause of death and geographic region based on  publicly available data from the United States and Europe.
Answer a few simple questions and you’ll be enlightened, perhaps even frightened. Of course, it can’t actually predict when you might kick the bucket. But it is able to  calculate your risk of dying in the next year and allows you to compare that risk to others in the world.
More specifically, it displays the risk ranking for up to 66 causes of …read more

Death – it happens to all of us…eventually. And when it does, the usual chain of events is a funeral and/or where you are either buried or cremated, followed by a period of mourning for those you left behind.
But, according to this fascinating article from mental floss, it doesn’t have to be that way.
Might sound somewhat morbid and gross, but it turns out there are plenty things your body can do and places for your body to end up rather than six feet under or in an urn.
According to this mental floss article  ‘10 Things Your Body Can Do After …read more

Everything and I mean everything seems to be virtual and wireless these days – including, thanks to this iPhone application,  even cemeteries.
I’m not too sure what to make of it really. The Pocket Cemetery lets you create virtual memories using cusomizable tombstones and cemetery plots with pictures, bios, and favorite memories.
And it doesn’t have to be just for your family. You can memorialize anyone, including celebrities and pets. You can even put virtual flowers and personalized messages can be placed on graves.
Given that family members are often spread around the world and can‘t always get home, this might not be …read more

Swiss clinic Dignitis and the issue of assisted suicide have been in the British media spotlight lately, mainly due to a debate that is taking placing before the  House of Lords.
This debate revolves around an old law and a new case. The old law, the 1961 Suicide Act bans assisted suicide in Britain and criminalises anyone who aids, abets, counsels or procures someone else’s suicide.
The new case -  a 46-year-old woman with progressive multiple sclerosis who wants to travel abroad to die and wants to ensure her husband Omar Puente won’t be  prosecuted if he helps her travel.
The law as it …read more

The sad news of the death of four-year-old Exodus Tyson who died as a result of strangulation from a treadmill cord offers a somber reminder to parents everywhere of the dangers of treadmills.
Treadmills and other home gym equipment is great for keeping adults fit but are a definite danger to children.
In fact, the Australian Office of Fair Trading has become so concerned the increase in reports of treadmill injuries to children that they issued a public education campaign in 2008.
Called  Treadmills and Kids Don’t Mix, this campaign highlights the dangers of treadmills for children, especially how a treadmill’s moving belt …read more

It’s a little know fact but since 2001 all military personnel killed in Afghanistan or Iraq have had autopsies done and since 2004 have also been given a CT scan within an hour of their arrival at Dover Air Force Base.
It’s something that never happened in previous wars. But this is now a routine way of not only determining accurately the cause of death but to also obtain full details about injuries from bullets, blasts, shrapnel, and burns.
The end result of these autopsies is yielding a wealth of information that highlights any deficiencies in equipment (ie body armor, vehicle shielding, …read more

I’m sure you’ve heard of the winter blues, or seasonal affective disorder, where people are unable to function due to lack of sunlight. In fact, it’s long been thought that there is an increase in the number of suicides in late autumn and early winter months due to this lack of sunlight and increased hours of darkness.
But now a new study by Swedish researchers indicates that, in some places in the world, too much sunlight can also be a catalyst for an increased number of people committing suicide.
The researchers studied the suicide rates of people living in Greenland,  a country …read more

The winner of The Path DVD giveaway is…

 
Tobey
Congratulations Tobey. You will be receiving an email shortly with instructions on how to claim your prize.
The Path DVD, if you remember, is the first in a series of documentaries that are being created by Michael Habernig and April Hannah of Path11 Productions, who interviewed 13 individuals – well renowned authors, practitioners and well respected local practitioners in Upstate New York - who offer their their expertise on their own souls path, what they have learned along the way and their knowledge about the afterlife.
You can find out more about this interesting documentary by…
1. …read more

Earlier in the month I asked ‘Where Do You Go When You Die?’
It’s not exactly a light question but the reason I brought it up was because I had just run across a new documentary called The Path which was due to released mid Febuary and I had arranged for a DVD giveaway for Healthbolt readers.
I haven’t seen the DVD yet but the trailer gives the impression that it would definitely be worth checking out.
See for yourself…

The Path DVD giveaway is being extended until the 14th of February. So go and check it out and then leave a comment over …read more