UltimateRisk: The Inside Story of Lloyd’s Catastrophe

By: Adam Raphael
Publisher: Transworld/Bantam Press, 61-63 Uxbridge Rd.,
London, W5 5SA, U.K., 335 pages.

Three hundred years old, Lloyd’s of London was once a byword for fair dealing and trustworthiness. It was brought to the brink of financial catastrophe by rampant greed and dubious practices, which were allowed to flourish unchecked by the management.

It’s a fascinating story,part morality tale and part corporate intrigue, that is made all the more interesting because of the spirited narrative, which sets down the facts but never ignores the human element. The author is a distinguished journalist, but his own enormous losses have made him less than completely disinterested.

The book’s tone is irate, but the author never loses his perspective. The story of Lloyd’s financial misadventures and its prospects for the future is engagingly and carefully laid out in a cautionary tale which, as yet, has no happy ending.

**Sumber foto: Asiaweek

Taking Anxiety Seriously

Depression and anxiety account for 15% of visits to primary health care providers, in developing countries as well as rich ones. Yet this is often paid little attention. Last year’s World Bank health report measures diseases by “disability adjusted life years” (DALYs).

Among non-communicable diseases, only cardiovascular problems account for more time lost than psychiatric illnesses. The World Health Organization’s push to incorporate mental health into primary care in developing countries is frustrated by a dearth of trained personnel.

Another obstacle in many societies is the heavy stigma associated with serious illnesses like schizophrenia.

Sometimes the Cure Is Worse

Impotence and loss of bladder control are the humiliating side effects of treating prostate cancer by surgery. Yet as this kind of tumor grows very slowly, it might be possible to retain one’s dignity and live just as long without treatment.

So some urologists argue that the cure is worse than the disease. Dr. James Talcott of the Dana Farber Cancer Center in Boston directed a study that looked at data from 192 patients as three hospitals associated with Harvard University.

In the month before the study, some 77% of patients who’d undergone surgery reported they were impotent and 40% said they wore pads for urinary incontinence. The figures for men who had undergone radiation therapy were only 41% and 5%. The findings fuel the debate about removing the gland in men who show early signs of cancer.

The names: Burma or Myanmar?

Much of the world, including most international news organizations, still call Myanmar Burma. But the ruling State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) junta has called it Myanmar since 1989. The United Nations (UN) and virtually all governments recognize SLORC’s handle, and it will be enshrined in the new constitution.

Local and foreign commercial interests have adopted it as well. And starting this week, Asiaweek will follow suit. SLORC spokesmen are vehement that their name is best for the country. Myanmar Trade Minister says, Burma does not cover or refrect the whole union. If you call the country Myanmar it will embrace all the ethnic races.

However, the many overseas dissident groups have all stuck with Burma, arguing that unelected SLORC had no right to make the change.